Chapter 45

Ȓеаđ өṅ​ ḰａｔЯҽ​аđ​ɩոցСαғе

Tap. Tap, tap.

A stack of papers was piled up on an old, worn desk.

The rhythmic tapping sound broke the silence.

It was the long-time habit of the captain of the 2nd Division, Kallad.

Whenever he was deep in thought, he unconsciously left fingernail marks on the desk.

Leaning back against the creaking chair, he furrowed his thick brows.

Tap. Tap, tap. The steady, rhythmic sound filled the room.

“Aren’t you the person who was all smiles just a moment ago—what’s got you worried now?”

“…Ariene. I wasn’t smiling like that.”

“Oh? Then what was it that I saw?”

As he opened his eyes, which he had closed for focus, he saw a woman smiling mischievously.

“Wasn’t it because your beloved daughter hugged you tightly, which made you grin like a fool… did I see it wrong?”

“…”

“Hehe, alright, I’ll stop teasing you.”

The young-looking beauty chuckled softly as she stepped closer to Kallad.

She gently stroked his fingers, which had been tapping on the desk.

This was also one of their long-standing habits, a promise.

Whenever he had worries, she would listen.

Despite her youthful appearance, she was actually fairly mature in age.

Since she had a daughter who had already entered the academy, she was at least in her late 30s.

In fact, she had been a year below Kallad in her academy days, and now she served as the deputy captain of the 2nd Division.

She was also Arin’s mother—Kallad’s precious wife.

“…Angelica was seriously injured.”

Kallad spoke with a heavy tone.

Ariene had already heard the report, and the news had initially shocked her.

Currently serving as an academy teacher, Angelica had once been a promising candidate for a captain.

Even now, if she returned to active duty, she could easily rise to the rank of deputy captain.

If someone of her skill had been seriously injured, it meant something truly grave had occurred.

“The girl in the red fox mask—Astaroth, wasn’t it?”

“You mean the prime suspect in this incident?”

“Yes.”

Kallad’s brow furrowed deeply.

A dangerous individual had attacked Class A during their field training.

Fortunately, there were no student casualties, but the same couldn’t be said for the National Institute researchers.

Not a single survivor.

Despite the stationing of skilled heroes at the Institute, they hadn’t even managed to send a distress signal and were all killed.

In her effort to protect the students, Angelica had fought the girl in the red fox mask—and lost.

“Apparently, she couldn’t inflict even a single wound. It was barely a fight at all.”

“Angelica? Then that means…”

“At least captain-level. No, she might even be above that.”

That’s not the only concern.

They didn’t even know her exact abilities.

Through her mask, she could control and strengthen monsters, as well as manipulate people.

And considering she had seemingly pulled items out of thin air, there might be some space-related ability involved.

The fact that she withstood all attacks barehanded suggests she could have a hardening-type ability—or maybe her real ability encompassed all of these.

“And considering her hints that she’s not alone, it’s highly likely she belongs to a certain organization.”

“Could it be The Family…?”

“Who knows. I doubt they have the resources to nurture someone of that caliber.”

The terrorist group The Family was indeed an annoyance, but that’s all it was.

Since a large-scale purge operation was carried out a few years ago, their influence has long since waned.

“There have always been illegal organizations made by supernaturals. It’s just that The Family’s former dominance absorbed or subsumed most of them, so they weren’t visible.”

However, this time, the situation was different.

An organization that could include someone capable of toying with an academy teacher on par with a deputy captain.

Even if we assume that Astaroth was their only talented member, the threat level was still high.

A captain-level supernatural associated with a terrorist group.

Only someone of the same rank could fight with another captain-level supernatural.

If Astaroth were to appear again, it would take one of the seven captains to step in to avoid needless sacrifices.

But what if…

If there were several supernaturals on par with Astaroth…

In the worst case, if they were to continue the Family’s legacy and launch terrorist activities…

“We might face a disaster rivaling the Great Catastrophe five years ago.”

“…We need to hold a captain’s meeting.”

“Yes. Inform all divisions in my name.”

With a grim expression, Ariene nodded resolutely.

A captain-level supernatural with hostile intentions toward humanity was, in some ways, an even greater threat than any monster.

However, Kallad did not know.

They weren’t human to begin with.

◈

The sound of footsteps stopped in front of a marble round table.

The round table, over 10 meters wide, had long lost its grandeur due to years of wear and tear.

It looked as if a touch would cause powder to fall from its surface.

Cracks ran across it, making it seem as though it would crumble with the slightest disturbance.

Yet, the girl in the red fox mask didn’t care at all.

She sat down in one of the four chairs around the table, taking a seat in an empty one, and lightly snapped her fingers.

Candle flames ignited.

Dim light finally filled the dark room.

“So, what’s going on?”

Astaroth spoke as though she had no idea, feigning ignorance.

Of course, she knew. It was obvious that this meeting had been called to question her actions.

“Isn’t the regular meeting supposed to be once a month? And I’m the only one you summoned this time… What’s your intent?”

“Be thankful you were summoned alone, Astaroth.”

Across from her sat a man with a blue Rakshasa¹ mask.

“If all of us had gathered, this wouldn’t be a warning; it would be an execution.”

The man in the blue Rakshasa mask spoke softly.

Though there was no wind, the candle flame flickered.

A deep shadow cast over his mask.

“I made it clear: until the time is right, we are forbidden to interfere with the human world in any noticeable way.”

“Yes, I’ve heard it to death—so much that my ears are worn out.”

“Then why didn’t you obey?”

“I couldn’t help myself because it was all just too sloppy?”

Astaroth responded nonchalantly.

She tapped her shoulder lightly with her parasol, her lips smirking beneath her mask.

“Your way is just so outdated. Or maybe ‘pathetic’ is a better word?”

“What part?”

“The way you tuck your tail between your legs and crawl around like a frightened dog.”

“Foolish. We have yet to find the ‘Chosen One’ or the ‘Needle of Causality’.”

At his words, Astaroth fell silent for a moment.

He wasn’t wrong. In fact, his words were spot on.

Acting prematurely would only bring calamity in the current state, where they had yet to discover a single lead.

Despite crossing over to this world, they had only moved in shadows, never openly showing themselves.

It was due to the traps set by the detestable gods of the Four Seasons.

“The Chosen One’s awakening is a fixed outcome by causality. Any attempt to prevent it would only accelerate the awakening. Do I need to re-educate you on such a basic principle?”

“Who doesn’t know that?”

The war that had raged for over 300 years had finally ended in humanity’s victory.

With the efforts of those chosen by the gods, beings from the otherworld were permanently banished from this world.

Refusing to accept this outcome, they had challenged it repeatedly by defying time itself—yet the results were always the same.

The four gods had set causality in stone.

The Chosen One would inevitably awaken.

Even if they went back in time to kill them, the Chosen One would somehow come back to life and awaken.

To prevent that, they had to shatter the fixed causality.

“Unless we find the Needle of Causality—the spike that anchors the Chosen One’s destiny in place—this cycle will only repeat.”

“But we don’t know who they are, do we? Neither the Chosen One nor the Needle of Causality. When will we find them? What if they awaken in the meantime? Then we’d have to abandon this cycle as well. Sure, once they awaken, we’d know who the Chosen One is. But can we carry that knowledge to the next cycle? We can’t, can we?”

“…Which is why we must proceed with extreme caution.”

“You from the last cycle, and you from the one before that, probably said the exact same thing.”

“And you probably argued the same way you are now.”

Astaroth chuckled.

Well, perhaps they had.

“You do things your way, then. I’ll act according to my own will.”

Nothing would change, no matter how much they argued.

As if she had no more interest in listening, Astaroth rose from her seat.

In the dark room devoid of sunlight, she opened her parasol and began walking toward the door with a confident stride.

“Astaroth. There will be no second warning.”

The candle flame went out.

The shadow cast over her parasol vanished into darkness, leaving a hole in the fabric.

A crack appeared in the red fox mask, and a few strands of her hair were severed.

“Do you understand what I said?”

Astaroth glanced down at the scattered strands of hair.

She sighed softly.

“…They say when the tiger’s away, the fox plays king. Seems that you’re really enjoying yourself.”

Astaroth grabbed her red fox mask.

She removed it from her face and turned her head, glaring coldly at the man with piercing blue eyes.

“Must be nice for the eternal second-in-command, playing leader now that the real boss is gone, huh?”

“…”

“But here’s the thing—I’m the fox, right? Doesn’t that mean I should be the one playing king?”

“Are you prepared to take responsibility for those words?”

“Why wouldn’t I be? It’s been bothering me for a while that I’m only ranked 29th.”

The air grew heavy, like the depths of a dark, lightless sea.

The round table trembled as dust crumbled from it.

“Don’t misunderstand. I’m not your subordinate, and I have no reason to follow your orders.”

“If that’s so, then prove it by rank. Astaroth, 29th rank.”

“Fine, let’s do this. It’s been a while since the rankings were set, hasn’t it? Agares, 2nd rank.”

Their gazes clashed across the table.

The entire room began to shake.

A gust of wind blew through the sealed chamber, swirling the extinguished candle flames in midair.

Astaroth’s eyebrow twitched.

An intense pressure weighed down on her shoulders.

She was definitely weaker than before.

Her power had been significantly drained during her attempt to defy fate.

In time, her strength would return, but for now, she was no match.

Closing her parasol, Astaroth watched Agares slowly rise from his chair.

She gripped her parasol with both hands.

Recalling the sensation of Angelica’s spear technique that she had copied, she launched herself at the man in the blue Rakshasa mask without hesitation.

◈

“So, how did it go?”

“I got beat to a pulp.”

Astaroth groaned in pain.

She took off her torn black dress and lay on the bed in her undergarments.

Although all her injuries had healed, her pride still stung.

She had talked big before charging in…

“Tch… I thought I could take him since he’s weakened…”

“You’re 29th, right? The gap between you and 2nd is more than twenty ranks, yet you thought you could challenge him?”

“Rankings are just for show! Everyone’s pretty much the same after 1st place!”

“Judging by the way you got totally crushed, it seems that’s not the case up to 2nd rank, at least.”

“Ugh…”

She couldn’t argue since she wasn’t wrong.

It was true that only 2nd rank was anywhere close to 1st.

In her current state, Astaroth was no match.

She had thought she might stand a chance because Agares was also weakened… She didn’t expect to be so thoroughly defeated.

Though Astaroth wasn’t at her peak like Agares, either…

“So what will you do now? Will you go along with him, as he said?”

“I lost, so I’ll comply—at least on the surface.”

She pointed at her legs. They were stiff and aching. “Massage them for me.”

The girl sighed, rolled up her sleeves, and sat beside her.

Her hands, adorned with rings, touched Astaroth’s porcelain-like thighs.

“By the way, I forgot to thank you.”

“Hm? For what?”

“Thanks to the information you gave me, I knew exactly when and where Class A would be heading for their field training. I had a great time—and it was very useful.”

“Oh, don’t mention it. That’s what friends are for.”

The girl chuckled softly.

“Still, if you were going to cause such a scene, you could’ve given me a heads-up. I nearly died thanks to a certain someone, you know?”

“Don’t worry, don’t worry. I only planned to kill a few as an example. There was never any chance you’d get caught up in it.”

“Well, that’s a relief.”

The girl’s massage moved from Astaroth’s legs to her lower back.

Amidst her purple hair, a crescent-shaped earring glinted.

“Did you find what you were looking for? That… Chosen One, was it?”

“Yes, I found them.”

She hadn’t told Agares.

Astaroth giggled and stuck out her tongue. As if mocking someone who wasn’t there.

“Thanks to the information from the previous cycle, I knew the Chosen One was a student at the Academy. It was tough, with only that to go on… but I got lucky.”

“Are you sure? You’re not mistaken?”

“There’s no mistake. I’m certain. The Chosen One is Eugene.”

“Eugene?”

“Oh… him? He certainly was incredibly strong.”

The girl stuck out her tongue in awe as she recalled the moment.

A first-year student matched a high-rank monster… an absurd talent, indeed. If he was the Chosen One, it made sense.

“The only problem now is the Needle of Causality… But we do have a potential candidate.”

Finding only the Chosen One was meaningless.

Causality is still fixed, so even if they try to kill him now, they can’t. It will only hasten his awakening.

The girl’s hand massaged the bony shoulders and arms of Astaroth.

Astaroth was still capable of such strength despite her lack of muscle and flesh. The girl, who had been idly thinking about this, suddenly tilted her head in thought.

“But why aren’t you telling the other devils? They’re all desperate to find the chosen one too, aren’t they?”

“Agares has his own plans, and I have mine.”

Why would I follow Agares’s plans for anyone’s sake?

I’ll do things my way.

 

Author Note

Astaroth got bullied!

She got corrected because she didn’t respect her elders and attacked them!

Translator Note

Hmm, I’m running out of things to say here…

Anyways, how’s your day, heh.