Ch.79Chapter 79: Second Day at the Fortress (1)

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With my eyes closed.

“…”

With my arms crossed, I calmly organized the information about yesterday’s attack that had come from my sister’s mouth.

The identity of the perpetrator, easily identifiable from my sister’s description.

Concerns about how this perpetrator had already begun activities, unlike in the timeline that now only I remembered.

And contemplation on how to effectively subdue this perpetrator.

These thoughts alone occupied my mind, moving back and forth.

This was an overwhelming task that would be difficult for me to solve alone, so I doubted these deliberations would end with any clear resolution.

But I needed to continue thinking to be able to respond flexibly to future events. As I continued my uninterrupted contemplation, my sister’s measured voice reached my ears once again.

With my eyes closed, I couldn’t see her expression, but from her voice alone, I could easily tell she had composed herself after the brief burst of passion she had shown earlier.

The emotional state I could discern through her voice was as follows, and the story that emerged through that voice continued with a recitation of the incident overview.

Most of it concerned what they had discovered while inspecting the fortress interior after yesterday evening’s attack ended with the assailant’s escape.

Most of the details could go in one ear and out the other without much consequence.

But one thing was quite noteworthy: while examining the sanctification barrier installed to block the demonic realm’s impure entities, they had discovered damage in a shape similar to the build of the attacker described by Lord Löwenhart.

This sanctification barrier installed around the fortress perimeter was designed to turn most impure entities from the demonic realm to ash upon contact, or at the very least, inflict tremendous physical damage.

I thought the impact would be significant when fortress personnel learned that someone had precisely destroyed just enough of it to slip inside.

What I had increasingly suspected while listening to the earlier account was now transforming into absolute certainty when coupled with the explanation of how they had neutralized the fortress’s sanctification barrier to infiltrate.

If nothing else, the combat style of striking the opponent’s cheek without warning to render them incapacitated,

The large, pitch-black goat horns on the head reminiscent of the high-level demon Baphomet,

The blood-red eyes,

And the fact that they were unaffected by the sanctification barrier designed to counter demonic realm entities—

Just listing these facts made me certain that Adorator was the one who caused yesterday’s commotion.

Despite possessing other means of physical violence,

Deliberately slapping opponents with an open palm rather than a more powerful fist,

That hand motion satisfying both the desire to humiliate opponents and their own sadistic urges matched the vile temperament of the Adorator I remembered.

The red glow like the ruby embedded in my mother’s keepsake hanging around my neck,

But unlike the warmth emanating from the ruby, those unusual eyes glowed with a redness that evoked madness and bloodshed—this too matched what I remembered.

Above all, the absurdity that despite being more deeply influenced by the demonic realm than anyone else there,

They remained largely unaffected by barriers that repel impurity with the help of the divine nature (神性) faintly residing in their body—this also matched Adorator’s characteristics.

Divinity has no good or evil.

There are only differences in rank.

To put it simply:

The divinity imbued in this fortress’s sanctification barrier isn’t strong enough to repel the divinity residing in Adorator’s body.

That’s all there is to it.

I should probably subtly suggest to my sister that when the fortress defense budget review comes, they need to plan for more holy water and divine power resources to reinforce the sanctification barrier.

Anyway, combining just these elements, I could be certain without a doubt that the attacker’s identity was Adorator.

That’s why I needed to continue contemplating about her.

It was my duty to consider how to eliminate this attacker who, despite not having fully recovered the power lost during the Great Holy War, had started activities early and remained sufficiently threatening.

Yes, it’s my duty.

Rather than that detestable demon god who merely observed the situation after giving me a share of power and authority when I happened to be discovered sleeping in the Obsidian Palace of the demonic realm,

I firmly believe that stopping or eliminating Adorator—who calls herself the most faithful servant of the demon god while expanding the front line and causing innocent casualties—would lead to a somewhat better situation in the near future, allowing us to proceed one step at a time more smoothly.

After saying all this, what’s there to hide?

Before my regression, I was the one who preemptively eliminated her in what amounted to a purge—she who openly rejected me as the unwilling agent of the demon god and tried to eliminate me at every opportunity.

It was the first thing I did after driving out the malice controlling my body through Excel’s sacrifice.

It was also something I did to die as a human.

And it was a priority measure to stop the demonic realm entities who treated the world as a toy to fulfill their twisted desires.

If I did it once in the previous timeline, it shouldn’t be impossible in this timeline either.

Of course, it will be dangerous.

Adorator is a being that the word “dangerous” alone is insufficient to describe.

The arrogance stemming from childish notions—priding herself as the most faithful servant of the demon god, Desire, and finding even the thought of someone standing as her equal unpleasant.

The cruelty of building her position by turning those who despised her immaturity, revealed by such shallow inner thoughts, into pieces of flesh one by one.

The lust for power to solidify her position as second-in-command, possessing a divine nature (神性)—faint but very distinct—achieved entirely through her own efforts without directly receiving the demon god’s grace.

And a coldness beyond description—treating even the Mains who turned their backs on the blood-red pentagram necessary for fulfilling the demon god’s twisted ideals as expendable when it suited her.

She was a being that could rightfully be called the demonic realm itself.

Just thinking about this gave me a headache, and to think I would face such a powerful entity again so soon after regressing.

From the first day after my regression, I encountered variables like Laplace—a mysterious servant of the demon god Renium who invaded the nursery to eliminate Shizu.

I knew things wouldn’t go exactly as I wanted despite turning back time.

But to face such a massive barrier so much sooner than I expected…

“Sigh…”

I couldn’t help but let out a heavy sigh to relieve the frustration.

What should I do?

If I’m not careful, I might have to risk my life before even a year has passed since my regression?

After regressing, I vowed to protect Shizu’s happiness and the world where she could live a happy life.

The fear that I might not even get to see her become happy feels like it’s baring its teeth, ready to tear at my heart.

Of course, despite confirming Adorator’s appearance, the situation wasn’t entirely bleak.

I could easily tell from my sister’s incident overview that she hadn’t fully recovered the power lost during the Great Holy War, having started her activities three years earlier than I remembered.

Even though she’s a madwoman who enjoys tormenting weaker opponents slowly rather than killing them outright,

The fact that she fled upon sensing Lord Nighthart’s presence, despite having entered the fortress—where she could have turned the entire place into a sea of blood in an instant—made it clear that Adorator hadn’t fully recovered her power yet, regardless of her resumed activities.

When my thoughts reached this point, the weight of my worries lightened somewhat.

‘There might still be hope.’

With that, I temporarily set aside my negative thoughts and immersed myself in contemplation for a better future.

#

I wanted to continue my contemplation by establishing countermeasures against Adorator, who was presumed to have resumed activities, but…

“It seems it will be difficult for you all to continue activities related to the Subjugation Festival.”

My sister’s concerned voice, having calmed the anger she had been emitting while reciting last night’s incident overview, cut off any possibility of continuing my contemplation.

Although I regretted the interruption of my thoughts about the valuable experience of facing Adorator in the previous timeline,

I felt it was right to focus on my sister, who had now contained her earlier passion and was speaking with a worried voice.

So I set aside the contemplation I had been engaged in while my eyes were closed.

And looked at my sister with slightly opened eyes.

Her expression, having regained composure compared to when she had been expressing raw anger earlier, revealed concern.

It would be difficult to discern exactly what she was worried about unless she spoke directly,

But somehow, as I examined her expression, I felt I could easily figure out what her concern was related to.

“I wanted to let you gain experience by traveling outside the fortress, learning about these northern territories and acquiring knowledge about the demonic realm we must face beyond, but…”

And without needing to voice my guess, the basis of her concern came from her own lips.

Her worry stemmed from feeling sorry that we were unable to properly engage in Subjugation Festival activities due to this sudden unexpected situation.

“Given the current situation, I fear it will be difficult to guarantee your safety even inside the fortress, let alone outside.”

This too was a measure taken out of concern for us.

It was an expression of responsibility—she couldn’t leave valuable future talents unprotected and vulnerable to demonic realm entities that had infiltrated the fortress.

Hoo

After finishing her words, my sister let out a light sigh, her expression revealing the mental fatigue accumulated from staying up all night.

Ah, come to think of it, my sister must have been up all night, right?

Even though she had the constitution to endure one night without sleep without physical strain,

The mental fatigue felt from facing an unexpected situation could only be shaken off with the help of adequate sleep.

Anyway, I had already gleaned all the facts I could from the incident overview my sister shared, and there was nothing more for me to do here.

Staying longer would only interfere with my sister’s rest, so…

“You must be tired, get some rest. I’ll take Shizu and leave.”

I took measures to give my sister, who had stayed up all night facing the unprecedented situation of a demonic realm entity infiltrating the fortress, some space to rest, even if briefly.

If she had reached the realm of a completed vessel, a superhuman state,

She wouldn’t feel any burden on her body from staying up for just one day.

But if one day became two, and two became three, it was clear that there would be some burden on the body, big or small.

As soon as I thought I should provide my sister with a place to rest, even a little, I rose to my feet.

My sister, who had pretended to be calm while reciting the incident overview despite showing anger that I could easily detect, and who had then shown clear concern about what was to come, ended with:

“Yawn…”

A brief yawn that briefly revealed the mental fatigue accumulated from the unexpected situation.

“I’ll sleep for just three hours.”

“Is three hours enough? You’ve always needed more sleep than that.”

“You’re talking about the old days. I’d like to stay up for three days and nights if I could, but everyone keeps insisting I sleep, so I’m reluctantly doing so.”

Unlike the mild fatigue showing on her face, a spirited voice came from my sister’s lips.

“Don’t overthink things. Return to your assigned quarters and wait for further instructions. And of course, don’t think about leaving your quarters after sunset—stay put.”

With these final words, my sister gestured for the two of us to leave.

“Sleep well.”

“Take care of yourself, sister.”

Shizu and I bid her farewell and left.

Creeeeak-!

Despite closing the door carefully, the sound of hinges poorly lubricated due to the cold weather filled my ears.

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Only as we were leaving did I have the leisure to turn my head toward Shizu, who had listened to the conversation with me.

I thought she might show some degree of seriousness, but…

“Hmm…”

Contrary to my expectation, Shizu merely tilted her head, showing a composed demeanor while slightly furrowing her brow in thought.

I couldn’t tell what she was thinking unless she spoke up herself, but…

“Hmm…”

As she closed her eyes and lightly nodded her head from side to side while humming,

I couldn’t help but think how beautiful she looked despite her slightly furrowed face.

Even with the drowsiness of having just woken up from morning sleep.

[You lovesick fool. I was frustrated earlier because I couldn’t hear what you were thinking, and now this is what I get to hear.]

….

Paphnir’s voice, tinged with irritation at being unable to find a gap in my thoughts to interject, reached me, but…

When else would I use the shamelessness I built up in the previous timeline if not now?

‘There’s nothing wrong with finding my fiancée, the most beautiful and lovely person in the world, pretty.’

I retorted thus, and…

[…Sigh.]

Paphnir’s voice echoing in my head ended with that sigh and didn’t continue.

Hmm. That’s a good method. I should use it often when Paphnir gets annoying in my head.

Just as the corners of my mouth were about to curl up in small joy at having devised a countermeasure against Paphnir while contemplating the complicated matter of Adorator,

I turned my head toward the hand tugging at my collar.

Shizu, looking much more lovely than when she had slightly furrowed her face, was moving her lips with a serious expression, as if she had made a firm decision.

“Cal…”

That gentle voice calling my name softly.

Even at this point, I had no idea why she was calling me.