Chapter 376

R​ead​ on Ka​tReading​Cafe

Sariel surrendered herself to the memories that washed over her like waves.

Was it the aftermath of being absorbed by Ereshkigal?

Memories buried by time surfaced one by one.

Reassembling the self-awareness of ‘me’ anew.

Sariel savored the traces of the past that flowed by.

Yes, that’s right.

If the trigger was jealousy that led to killing Whitey.

The real beginning was the meeting and deal with the devil.

As black as if containing the universe.

As blue as if holding the sea.

As red as if embracing the sun.

A beautiful devil who appeared like smoke.

The promise made in the tomb.

Aimed for a pipe dream.

And turned delusion into reality.

It was quite tough. Yes, it was. The devil wasn’t like a magic lamp that granted everything with a snap of her fingers. 

What she prepared was the process to achieve the goal. It was up to the individual to follow that process and reach the goal.

It was enjoyable.

So much so that the hardships weren’t worth recalling.

One by one. Slowly. Little by little.

Dyeing her sister in her own colors.

Was a delicacy that couldn’t be expressed with any flowery language.

Infinite potential. Someone who could become anything, go anywhere. That was the person named Azazel. 

If there had been no interference, what kind of person would Azazel have become? Sariel sometimes wondered. Where would her sister, whom she hadn’t ‘processed’, have gone? 

She would have been beautiful in a different way, for sure. She would have been lovely in a different form, for sure. She would have been brilliant in a different direction, for sure.

She wouldn’t have been called by derogatory titles like ‘Lazy Pinnacle’ either.

That’s why even more,

Sariel couldn’t contain her delight.

It’s her creation. The Lazy Pinnacle. From head to toe. Everything is the result she created. She whittled down, subtracted, and scraped away the infinite potential. 

And sculpted the current Azazel. The feeling that resonated in her heart was an indescribable sense of fulfillment. 

What flowed down her chest was an unfillable love. What pooled at the bottom was immeasurable joy.

‘My lovely sister.’

You haven’t changed at all.

Hasn’t quite a bit of time passed since I went missing?

And yet, you’re still preserved in that form from back then.

‘I want to tell you everything.’

Whenever she saw that innocent and pure face.

Whenever she saw the pure trust without a shred of disbelief.

Sariel felt a pain that stabbed her heart.

Of course, it wasn’t guilt. There was no room for such emotions within her. It was the pain that arose from the process of suppressing her desires. 

She wanted to tell her. About the things she had done. The expression her sister would make after hearing it. She couldn’t stand it because she was so looking forward to it.

‘You’ll resent me, right? You’ll be furious with betrayal, right? You’ll cry your eyes out with intense emotions, right?’

How lovely.

Those tearful eyes.

Those small lips trembling with betrayal.

‘But no.’

Sariel smiled bitterly. She had to endure. Committing such an act should be the very last resort. When it’s truly the final moment. She had to endure until then. 

The most delicious dessert should be eaten last. The fruit tasted at the end of a long period of patience would be an incomparable delicacy.

‘Ereshkigal. A monster that stole my body. Heh, I see. This monster is the devil’s…’

Even if she regained her self-awareness, there was nothing Sariel could do. It was only natural. Sariel was a non-supernatural. 

Even supernaturals would be helplessly absorbed if their bodies were taken over by a monster, so it was miraculous enough that Sariel, a non-supernatural, had regained her self-awareness. 

Asking for more than that was a luxury. Enduring like this and being absorbed again was the only future given to Sariel.

‘Thank you, Devil.’

Yes, the only future.

Under the condition that there are no variables.

‘I’m always just receiving favors.’

In her childhood.

Sariel had spent a long time with the devil.

They shared many stories, shared many pasts.

And in the process, Sariel learned more than she deserved.

The devil.

She was a wanderer of time.

Having been defeated by the ruler of time, she was doomed to wander through spacetime.

The reason she had found Sariel through a connection.

Was because she needed a wedge to somehow fix herself in spacetime.

Although she had not achieved all the goals she wanted, she had at least certainly relieved her boredom. 

The devil said that wandering the maze of time was like watching a movie without context. 

An old classic movie with blurry picture quality, interrupted sound, and no color. It’s boring, difficult, tedious, and trivial. 

She was fed up with it. Sariel was a clown, an external stimulus barely found in a maze devoid of such stimuli. The devil was the audience. That was the relationship between the two.

[It was fun. Really. You’re the first human I’ve liked this much since Regina. It’s a shame we have to part like this. 

Well, there’s nothing I can do about it. There’s a limit to how long I can stay in this era. Let’s meet again if we have the chance next time. 

This is a farewell gift. Someday, it will definitely be useful, okay?]

The devil chuckled and left.

Leaving an intangible key in her hand.

A key that couldn’t be touched, couldn’t be seen.

Yet, a deformed key whose existence could be recognized.

She had always wondered what she could open with this.

And finally, she was able to find the answer.

Sariel grabbed the untouchable key and inserted it into the empty air. The key and the lock engaged. Click. When she turned it with a little force, something invisible opened. Ah, she muttered to herself.

‘Hello. Nice to meet you. Devil’s subordinate. How was my body? It was pretty good, wasn’t it? It’s a body I’ve been working hard to maintain. 

From the day I met the devil, I’ve been cultivating it so that it’s second to none. All for you. That was the deal with the devil.’

But,

I’m sorry.

I’ll just take it back for a moment.

My body.

※

She is agitated.

Ere sighed inwardly.

To shake the opponent’s psychology with words. It was an action she would not normally take. That meant she was mentally cornered. Feeling pathetic at her own actions, Ere steeled her heart. 

It would be okay if she was just defeated in battle and died. She could endure that. But. Not to that girl. She didn’t want to die this way.

‘My sister… no, that girl is the most threatening, but Johan is just as dangerous.’

He’s only watching the situation from a step back as if it’s unrelated to this fight, but he’ll definitely step in if necessary. To Johan, she is a monster that must be defeated. He’s not a naive man who would waste the opportunity before his eyes.

‘Fortunately, I still have the death energy obtained by consuming Lucia’s flesh.’

The driving force that had dared to make her confront even a devil god.

She had consumed a lot of power in the battle with Murmur, but there was still so much uncontrolled energy left that it was overflowing.

If she poured out all of this death energy at once… she would be able to create a brief gap to escape.

‘There won’t be a second chance. Further paralyze reason and break down thoughts. I don’t like it, but I have to do this to increase my chances of winning.’

However, she had already done the best provocation she could. She couldn’t think of any further provocations than what she had done now. Ere suddenly thought of her lord. The lord who was now dead. 

The devil god whom she had once devoted her life to serve, now a figure of the past because she was dead. If it had been her, she would have gently scratched the opponent with a smiling face… unfortunately, she didn’t have as thick of a face as her.

‘My sister… no, that girl cherishes me… no, this ‘body.’ If so, I can make her more anxious by deliberately harming myself.’

If a good idea came to mind, there was no time to hesitate. Even at this moment, the ‘light’ flowing out of Azazel was purifying the death energy. It was obvious who would be at a disadvantage as time went on. 

Ere immediately raised her demonic sword. She brought the blade to her wrist and raised her head. Looking at Azazel, whose pupils were shaking violently, Ere said.

“…”

She was going to speak.

But no voice came out of her mouth.

What?

Ere frowned.

Just as she was about to put her hand to her lips due to the unknown sense of incongruity.

“Hmm~♪”

Ere’s pupils widened at the voice that tickled like feathers. It was her own voice, but she had no intention of making such a coy vibrato. The question turned into a clear sense of crisis. The unknown sense of incongruity became a clear change. 

Ere pulled up more death energy and wrapped it around her entire body. If this was an act due to external interference, this would be able to defend against it to some extent.

‘?!’

It doesn’t… move.

The death energy she had pulled up.

Her hands and feet.

The trembling of her body.

Even the breath she exhaled.

Rejected her will like a stuffed specimen.

Cold sweat formed on Ere’s forehead. It felt as if time had stopped. She couldn’t move. She couldn’t even wiggle a finger. 

What the hell? Is this the work of my sister… no, that girl? But how? Death energy corrodes everything. 

The death energy of a Death Knight of Ere’s level was close to embodying the concept of death. Any hand reaching out from the outside would rot. 

Even if she tried to control her with special supernatural abilities, death would have devoured her. Even if it was the authority of a devil god, without any signs like this… wait, could it be?!

‘Not from the outside, but from the inside…?’

As if affirming that conclusion.

Ere’s lips moved on their own.

“Hee♪”

Once again.

A vibrato-filled laugh came out.

As if filled with joy.

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
Lately, Lucia hasn’t been making any appearances…

Wait, who was the protagonist again?

If I want to bring Lucia back, I need to speed up the plot…
But to speed up the plot, I’d need to increase the upload frequency…

Ehehe~

(Escapes)

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Last uploaded, on the 10th of October in 2024…

Yep, in other words, I caught up!

If you read this in the google drive I shared, I guess it’s an early congratulations for you (or suffering while waiting for the author to come back)?

Either way, I guess this is an early thank you for enjoying this story, which is my first (and terribly) translated work? Who knows how long we’ll have to wait for the story to continue. For all that we could know, the author no longer exists! 

But, maybe… just maybe? Well, you’re free to go about your way! I’ll be waiting and waiting here until he comes back, so till then.

This is goodbye?