Chap 50-The Girl’s Past 3

 

In a desperate struggle, the girl finally arrived in front of Serena’s room.

Leaving behind the corpses of the magical beasts that had blocked the burning corridor, she stood before the firmly closed door, gasping for breath.

The girl’s condition was wretched.

Her whole body was torn and scratched by the magical beasts’ claws and teeth, and smoke still billowed from the burns inflicted by the flames.

The tattered clothes, matted with red blood, were difficult to recognize in their original color.

But in contrast to her serious physical condition, her face was strangely flushed.

Not pain or fatigue, but a strange excitement and heat lingered in her eyes.

“No. It can’t be…”

The girl repeated to herself in a trembling voice.

As if soothing herself, or desperately trying to deny reality.

She repeated that it would be okay, that her sister would be safe, but in fact, she already had a premonition.

While fighting her way here through the magical beasts, she, who was more sensitive to the aura of Contamination than anyone else, had felt the increasingly intense ominous energy flowing from Serena’s room.

And she vaguely anticipated the terrible consequences that energy implied.

With trembling hands, she grabbed the doorknob.

And after taking a deep breath, she opened the door.

Creak-

As soon as the door opened, she was assaulted by a strong stench and the smell of blood.

And the first thing she saw was the figure of Marie, the head maid, collapsed right in front of the door.

‘Marie…’

Her body was covered in several deep wounds, and she was already dead.

The girl paused for a moment.

Along with her sister, one of the few people in this cold duchy who treated her like a ‘person’.

She was always full of nagging, but it always contained sincere concern.

She… just like Annie had done, had tried to protect her mistress, Serena, to the end, and had ended up dying.

Forcibly swallowing the rising sorrow, the girl shifted her gaze into the room.

And there, she witnessed the scene she had expected, but never wanted to face.

In the middle of the room, Serena Bennet stood.

But she was no longer the Serena she knew.

Her whole body was covered in black spots to the point that it was hard to believe she was a living being, and her eyes were empty.

And around her body, an ominous energy swirled, and a distorted ‘gate’ that summoned magical beasts was opening.

Serena… had become the core of the gate herself.

Beyond the gate’s rippling surface, another magical beast was wriggling, trying to crawl out.

Revealing its hideous claws and teeth, it was only waiting for a chance to cross over into the duchy.

“…!”

The girl realized that there was no more time to wallow in despair.

She immediately threw a dagger at the head of the magical beast that was just about to crawl out of the entrance.

Crack!

With a sharp sound, the magical beast’s head exploded.

And without hesitation, the girl gathered all the Mana in her body and swung her fist, which had condensed a huge amount of power, towards the unstable gate.

Crack-! Kwaaaang!!

With a tremendous roar, the gate shattered into pieces.

A shockwave that seemed to tear apart the space itself swept through the room.

And at the same time, as the gate, having lost its core, disappeared, Serena’s body also collapsed powerlessly to the floor.

The black spots still covered her body, but her empty eyes were closed again.

The girl immediately ran to Serena and checked her condition.

Faintly, but she was still breathing. Her pulse was also beating weakly.

‘…She’s still alive!’

A hopeful monologue arose in the girl’s heart.

But that hope soon wavered in the face of cold reality.

Someone completely infected with Contamination can never return to normal, no matter what you do.

That was the absolute setting of Contamination known in the game she knew, .

Serena, whose whole body was already deeply soaked in Contamination…

There was a high possibility that she would no longer be able to return to the kind and strong sister she knew.

But…

The girl shook her head.

She no longer blindly believed in the settings of the game.

Because she knew that the arrogance of knowing the game’s settings and flow could lead to irreversible consequences.

After that painful experience, she no longer accepted game settings as absolute truth.

‘The Evil God’s power.’

The girl recalled another power sleeping within her.

The ability to seal the Evil God’s power and use a portion of that power at the same time.

It was a dangerous and difficult power to control, but perhaps…

‘If I can only use this… somehow, I can save my sister…’

The girl’s eyes shone strongly once again.

Even if it was a faint possibility, she could never give up.

She couldn’t lose her only family, her beloved sister, like this.

Just then, she felt a familiar presence behind her. A rough, panting breath.

It seemed that someone had rushed into this horrific scene.

Without turning around, the girl said in a coldly subdued voice.

That low voice contained suppressed anger.

“…You’re too late.”

A desperate voice came from behind her.

It was Duke Isaac Bennett.

He seemed to be in shock at the terrible sight in the room and the sight of his daughter collapsed, Contaminated, and only managed to utter Serena’s name with difficulty.

The girl slowly turned her head and looked at him. Her eyes were filled with contempt and cynicism.

“Is this also… one of your great experiments, or something?”

The girl asked sarcastically.

“Like last time…”

Her voice was as cold as ice.

“No…! I… I just…”

The Duke panicked and tried to make some excuse, but he couldn’t bring himself to speak.

In front of his daughter’s miserable appearance, all his excuses were scattered in vain.

“Uwaaaaa…!”

He finally collapsed to the floor, covered his face, and burst into a beast-like cry of despair.

“Serena…! My daughter…!”

Looking at that miserable sight, the girl shouted as if she was frustrated.

“Get a grip! My sister is still alive!”

The Duke stopped crying and stared blankly at the girl.

“No one will have seen my sister’s appearance in this commotion. Hide her in a safe place for now!”

The girl quickly assessed the situation and suggested.

“And… think of a way to save her somehow! Are you going to give up like this?!”

At the girl’s urging, the Duke nodded blankly.

The hope that his daughter was still alive, and the desperation to save her somehow, seemed to faintly revive in his empty eyes.

He staggered to his feet, regained his senses, and carefully carried his daughter Serena on his back.

And following the girl’s guidance, he began to move towards the mansion’s secret passage.

…

Having finished her reminiscence, the girl slowly opened her eyes.

A cold reality still unfolded before her eyes.

Her sister, Serena, covered in black spots, unconscious, and bound by thick iron chains.

Her appearance was no different from the one in her reminiscence a moment ago.

The girl quietly got up from her seat and turned to face the presence standing behind her.

“Shall we begin?”

Her voice was calm, but it contained a subtle sense of anticipation.

Duke Isaac Bennett was standing behind her.

But his appearance was far from that of the dignified Duke he usually was.

He had a complicated and pained expression, and his hands were trembling so much that he couldn’t even look properly at his daughter and the girl.

He didn’t answer the girl’s question.

He just lowered his head and agonized.

“…What are you doing?”

The girl asked irritably.

There was no time.

The Duke mumbled, avoiding the girl’s eyes as if he was sorry.

“This is… this is too…”

“Ha.”

The girl let out a burst of laughter as if she was dumbfounded.

“What are you trying to do now?”

She took a step towards the Duke and glared at him with cold eyes.

“Don’t tell me… you’re feeling guilty now?”

“…!”

The Duke’s shoulders twitched.

The girl couldn’t help but sneer.

“You told me I was a tool! Who was it that shouted at me to fulfill my mission like a tool should!”

Her voice rose sharply.

“Don’t pretend to be nice now. It’s disgusting!”

At the girl’s sharp rebuke, the Duke seemed to be at a loss for words for a moment.

But soon, he seemed to steel himself and gripped the sword in his hand tightly.

His eyes were still full of anguish, but the desperation to save his daughter was felt even more strongly.

“…Okay.”

The girl confirmed his determination and said calmly.

“Remember. You can’t kill me in one go. My ability gets stronger when I receive pain. As much as possible… as painfully as possible.”

She paused for a moment.

“I’ve calculated it, and it’s exactly five times. That’s how much leeway I’ll have to withstand the backlash and prevent myself from dying completely. Exactly five times. Got it?”

The girl’s calm explanation was so terrible and cruel, but the Duke had no other choice. He nodded silently.

“Oh, right. And…”

The girl added as if she had remembered something.

She took out a small glass bottle from her bosom and showed it. It contained a transparent liquid.

“I asked Dorothy in advance to get a memory erasing potion.”

“…Erase memories?”

The Duke asked with a puzzled expression.

“Yes.”

The girl looked down at the glass bottle and said calmly.

“Unlike you, Marie was a real family to my sister. If she finds out that she killed Marie with her own hands… she’ll never be able to forgive herself and will suffer for the rest of her life.”

The girl looked at the Duke again.

“And… remember that I have to be the culprit this time, right? Our plan.”

Her eyes were filled with unwavering determination.

At the girl’s words, the Duke couldn’t say anything with a heavy expression.

In the end, he nodded powerlessly.

“…Then, begin.”

The girl said calmly, as if all preparations were complete.

Was it some kind of minimal conscience?

Isaac Bennett closed his eyes tightly and raised his sword with trembling hands.

And he swung the sword at the girl.

Swoosh-

Thanks to that, he didn’t see it.

The eerie smile with a strange sense of satisfaction that appeared on the girl’s face the moment she was cut by his sword.

Author’s words:

I think I’ll have to adjust the update cycle until May 29th due to exams.

I’ll definitely upload one chapter each on Saturday and Sunday, but weekdays are… random.

I’m sorry…

But I’ll be back tomorrow!

TN: Man, translating this with Freesia playing in the background hits me with sadness… and a weird kind of p̷l̷e̷a̷s̷u̷r̷e̷ <(“)