Chapter 145: Demon Capture

Viviana’s sword pierced the demon’s chest.

[AAAH!]

The demon, writhing in agony, transformed into black smoke and attempted to flee out the window.

However, Lillian’s divine power, which enveloped the mansion like a net, ensnared the demon as if it were a snare.

Countless threads of pure white light began to wind around the demon’s body, one by one.

[AAAH! Damn you all!!]

Viviana ran and slashed the bound demon once again.

In the face of Lillian and Viviana’s combined efforts, the demon could not resist and slowly lost its strength.

“Viviana! You can’t kill her!”

“Don’t worry, Tina.”

I didn’t come here without preparation.

Before we set off for the mansion, I had sent a letter to Lillian and Viviana using Miranda’s messenger.

And as we hurried here with Grandma Miranda, I left her with a few instructions.

-I’ll stall for time. In the meantime, make sure the demon can’t escape.

-Leave it to me.

After speaking with Grandma Miranda, I entered the mansion alone.

Fortunately, things went according to plan.

So now, my childhood friend and the demon, helplessly bound, were staring at me.

[Ha, ha… I never expected you to mastermind something like this.]

“It’s all because of you that I learned.”

[…How foolish of me not to realize it.]

“You always get so worked up when it’s about me. I used that against you.”

[You’ve become quite clever, Tina.]

Leaving my bound childhood friend behind, I carefully helped my mother.

She still seemed troubled by the fact that her biological daughter had made a contract for her to kill her.

“Mother…”

“…It’s alright. I just need a little time.”

“…Okay.”

After entrusting my mother to Grandma Miranda, I stepped forward with Lillian and Viviana, facing the demon.

“So it was you. The demon who has tormented Tina all this time.”

Lillian gave the demon a mocking smile filled with killing intent. The demon snickered derisively.

[If it weren’t for you, Tina could have been happy.]

“Stop talking nonsense. The one who made Tina miserable is you.”

[…What do you know to speak like that?]

The saint and the demon’s gazes clashed sharply.

And in that tense atmosphere, unexpectedly, it was the demon who smiled first.

[No matter what you do, it won’t matter. If you can’t fulfill the contract, Tina will eventually die.]

Lillian bit her lip at the demon’s words. Though she succeeded in trapping the demon, the matter of the contract was still unresolved.

I stepped forward, past Lillian.

“Artasha Bland will suffer for the rest of her life until the moment she dies. Is that the content of the contract?”

[Heh, yes. In the end, Tina, you can never be happy here.]

But one question crossed my mind. If what my childhood friend said was true, then there was a clear flaw in the contract.

“Is that all? No other terms in the contract?”

[One more thing, she asked me to take her to where her father is. I told you everything, why are you asking again?]

“Then… there’s no deadline or anything, right?”

[Deadline?]

The devil’s body trembled slightly. Just that reaction was enough to confirm it.

Ah, I messed up again.

Just like when I made the contract with her.

I’ve told her so many times that I need to be thorough…

“So… the contract is that my mother will suffer her whole life until she dies, right? But there was never a mention of when she has to die, was there?”

[…And?]

“Then, in the end, whether the contract was fulfilled or not will be decided the moment my mother dies.”

If my mother suffers her whole life and then passes away, the contract will be successful.

If not, it means the contract is invalid.

Moreover, since there was no clause about a deadline, the contract is practically meaningless until the moment my mother closes her eyes.

[…Huh?]

“Isn’t it also vague when it says she’ll suffer her whole life? It doesn’t mean she has to suffer to the point of dying, and every human being carries some degree of suffering throughout their life.”

Besides, now that she knows her biological daughter tried to kill her, my kind mother will probably bury that wound in her heart for the rest of her life.

According to that, my mother may indeed live with suffering for her whole life. Since the contract didn’t specify how much suffering is required.

[Ah, no, wait.]

The devil closed her eyes tightly with an embarrassed look on her face. The deep furrow on her brow showed that she was deep in thought.

[Is… that so…?]

[……]

“…Fool.”

A sigh escaped me at her consistent foolishness.

The contract wasn’t made complicated for no reason. If the terms were that simple, they could be interpreted in many ways, and the whole thing could be turned around.

For instance, if the contract said, ‘Feel suffering so intense that you want to die every day and die within 10 years,’ there would be no loophole.

But somehow, it seemed the original owner of this body wasn’t that meticulous.

“…Is she really a demon?”

Viviana shot me a cold glance, as if in disbelief, then tapped my childhood friend’s forehead with the scabbard.

[Kyah! Don’t touch me, you inferior human!]

Ignoring the demon’s thrashing words, Viviana kept poking her forehead with the scabbard.

[Kyahhh!]

While the demon’s screams filled the space, Lillian came up to me.

“Congratulations, Tina. It’s really over now.”

Lillian smiled brightly and took my hand.

She was right.

My mother was safe, and I was able to catch my childhood friend.

Moreover, that horrible contract was practically useless now, so as Lillian said, there was nothing more to worry about.

[No! No, damn it!]

My childhood friend shook as if having a seizure.

The black mist that spread everywhere writhed, but the pure white thread firmly bound it all.

[Tina, you need to go to hell. You can never be happy here.]

It wasn’t just an empty threat; the voice sounded far too serious.

I stepped forward and walked toward her.

“It’s dangerous, Tina.”

Viviana grabbed my arm.

“I’m fine, Viviana.”

“With a faint smile, Viviana hesitated for a moment but quietly released her hand.

[…What’s this?]

“I have something I’m curious about. You’re hiding something from me, aren’t you?”

[Why do you think that?]

“Why are you trying to drag me into hell like this? And the thing you said before, about how you couldn’t protect me… No matter how I think about it, I can’t shake the feeling that you’re hiding something.”

If it was just love, then we could simply be together here. But still, my childhood friend is desperately trying to take me to hell.

It’s as if that’s the only place where I belong.

[You can live forever in hell.]

“That’s not the reason.”

[And if you go to heaven or reincarnate, I’ll never be able to see you again.]

“I know that’s not the real reason either.”

[…]

There must be a more certain reason.

But my childhood friend didn’t open her mouth easily. The threads surrounding her began to glow strongly.

[Ugh, damn saint!]

“Answer honestly to Tina’s words.”

Lillian’s smile lacked warmth. It was more of a chilling, eerie smile.

[Ugh, ugh…!]

Even under the pressure, my childhood friend never spoke.

What in the world could be so desperately hidden?

“Please tell me. Okay?”

I gently held my childhood friend’s hand. I slipped my fingers between her long, black nails and interlocked our hands.

[Hi, hi…!]

Although I couldn’t read her expression, since her face wasn’t visible, it was clear she was agitated.

“Tell me, okay?”

I quietly asked again. This time, I interlocked our hands with her other hand.

[Ugh, ugh…!]

My childhood friend, who had been screaming in agony, turned her gaze toward Lillian.

Lillian smiled softly and brought her hands together, as if in prayer.

At that gesture, my childhood friend, with a trembling face, widened her mouth and screamed.

[No, no, we didn’t kill your mother!]

As soon as she spoke, a heavy silence fell around us.

Lillian, Viviana, and Grandma Miranda, along with my mother, all looked confused.

But I, more than anyone, immediately understood what my childhood friend was trying to say.

“…What?”

[It’s not your mother now, but the previous one…]

“I know, so keep talking.”

[The woman who died, and the reason your family divorced, and why you had to suffer from that damn woman’s abuse every day…]

My childhood friend hesitated for a moment, then opened her trembling lips once more.

[It was all… intentional misfortune.]