Chapter 196: Pre and Post-processing – Part 1 (6)

Ten minutes. Exactly ten minutes have passed.

It had only been ten minutes since Mana used her magic.

Yet in that short span, Raizein had experienced what felt like hundreds of thousands of times more.

The entirety of one person’s life had been forcibly etched into her mind.

It would be a stretch to call it a pleasant experience.

Even the fragmented glimpses she had seen of the man’s memories were horrifying and tragic enough.

“You’re back, Raizein. How was it? Seeing someone else’s life from the inside?”

“Haa… haa… haa…!”

Raizein gasped, her expression twisted in agony.

Something’s wrong. No matter how she thought about it—something was off.

She hadn’t been tortured.

There were no visible signs of physical trauma.

All that had happened was a brief, inexplicable trip to some strange world.

And yet… it wasn’t as though her mind had been tampered with either.

Her sense of self was intact—unchanged.

Then why?

Why did her chest feel so tight, as if something was crushing it?

“Y-You! What did you do to me?! What did you do to my body while I was unconscious?!”

“I didn’t do anything special,” Mana replied coolly.

“Other than the adaptation procedure—modifying your body to let you remain in this world.”

“Then that must be it! That’s what’s causing this pain!”

It had to be. There was no other explanation.

This lowly pointy-eared creature had defiled the noble body she inherited from her father.

That’s why she was feeling this stabbing pain.

But Mana shook her head firmly.

“No. The procedure only optimized your body to function in Elpidion.

It doesn’t affect your mind. The pain you’re feeling has nothing to do with the adaptation process.”

“What kind of nonsense is that?! I said my chest hurts!

If something physical was altered, then that matches up perfectly!”

“No, it doesn’t,” Mana said with certainty.

“What you’re feeling is guilt. Your elevated heart rate is purely because of that.

You empathized—deeply—with the man who suffered at the hands of the demons.

So once you returned to yourself, the corresponding weight of that guilt came crashing down.”

“…!?”

Raizein inhaled sharply.

She wanted to deny it, call it absurd.

She wanted to scoff—why would she ever sympathize with a lowly human being?

But the pain in her chest wouldn’t let her.

Every time she tried to spit out something cruel, invisible thorns rose up from within and pricked at her heart.

And that voice—

It whispered to her, over and over again:

Apologize. Apologize.

“Esther struggled with this,” Mana continued, staring directly into Raizein’s eyes.

“She wondered how one could teach compassion to demons, who lacked even the concept of a conscience.”

“A person’s nature doesn’t change just because of a few words.

Especially not demons who’ve lived for decades, centuries even, believing that way of life to be perfectly normal.

You could preach to them all you want—but it’d go in one ear and out the other.

They’d pretend to listen in the moment, sure—but no real change would come.

It’s obvious, if you think about it.”

“So Esther chose a different method.”

As she spoke, Mana separated a glowing orb from the rod she carried.

She held it out in front of Raizein—the orb swirled with white energy.

Artifact: Another Page.

A relic that allows you to temporarily experience the life of a specific deceased soul summoned into the orb.

It was originally a sacred item passed down through the Church, but Esther decided to use it to awaken a sense of conscience in demons.

She figured the only way to truly implant the notion of empathy into a brain that had no precedent for it was to forcibly insert the entirety of another person’s life.

And as for choosing which soul to summon—it wasn’t difficult.

The afterlife is full of spirits who were unfairly sacrificed by demons, desperately wishing for a chance at retribution.”

Mana pulled a chair over and sat down, aligning her eyes with Raizein’s.

She met her gaze squarely.

“One of those volunteers—was Allen, the man whose life you just witnessed.

So—what do you think?

Feeling even a little remorse?”

Raizein clenched her teeth in frustration.

But only for a moment.

Then, with a twisted smile, she snapped back at Mana.

“Me? Remorse? Why should I feel any? I didn’t do anything.

If anyone should repent, it’s Igor—the one who designed all those horrific practices. Not me.

I’ve never partaken in such distasteful acts. Unless someone was truly rude or out of line, I didn’t harm people recklessly.

So showing me this… it doesn’t affect me. Not in the slightest. I’m perfectly innocent, with nothing to be ashamed of.”

“……..”

Mana glanced down, her gaze trailing over Raizein’s body.

Contrary to her bold claim, Raizein’s form was still trembling— shaken to the core by the horror of the ending she had just witnessed.

The way she desperately tried to hide it and put on a brave front was almost pitiable.

Apparently understanding the meaning behind that gaze, Raizein bit her lip in humiliation.

“So? What now? Since your trump card didn’t work, are you going to kill me? Or maybe brainwash me with the [Eye of the Sovereign] you stole last time?”

“Of course not. We don’t do things like that.”

Mana shook her head firmly in denial.

“From the start, I had no intention of harming you. ‘After showing them the entirety of the life recorded in the orb, they’re released—regardless of what they’ve done.’ That’s Esther’s policy.”

“You’re letting me go?”

“Yep.”

“Let me go………? Does that mean… you’re not going to do anything to me?”

Mana nodded without hesitation.

“Like I said, that’s Esther’s belief. You can’t punish someone who, by nature, has no concept of sin.

From the perspective of moral responsibility, your minds are like those of newborn infants—completely incapable of distinguishing right from wrong, swinging around your power carelessly.

Elpidion law does not sentence such beings. Even if they’ve killed countless people, the law is the same.

I also have neither the desire nor the authority to deliver any harsher punishment.

Whether you repent or not after seeing Another Page is entirely your choice. What you do after you’re released is also your freedom.

As long as you don’t commit another crime, you’re free to do whatever you wish.”

“……….”

Raizein swallowed hard.

The conversation had gone on for a while, but the point was simple—she was being freed. Without any conditions or restrictions.

Is she an idiot? Did she really think I’d be moved by such a cheap, sentimental story?

Too soft. Far too soft.

She had underestimated the mental fortitude of the Commander of Arrogance. This much wasn’t nearly enough to break the noble ego of a Lord Vampire—

“Well then, let’s move on to the next orb.”

“…What?”

At that moment, Mana’s completely unexpected words left Raizein wide-eyed.

“Wa-wait!? What do you mean, the next orb?! Wasn’t that just now the end!?”

“Hm? Oh, I didn’t tell you?”

Mana replied casually, as if just remembering.

“There are seven orbs in Another Page. They’re numbered from one to seven.

Since starting with something too intense could break someone completely, it’s common practice to begin with Orb No. 1, the weakest, and go in order.

What you just saw—Allen’s story—that was Orb No. 1.”

“…The weakest?”

Raizein involuntarily let her mouth fall open in shock.

That was the weakest? And there were six more after that, each worse than the last?

And only after going through all of them would she be freed…?

“Usually, after viewing one orb, there’s a short recovery period to regain mental stability.

But I suppose you really are the Commander of Arrogance—this didn’t faze you at all.
Thanks to that, we can save time. Let’s move right on.”

“W-wait! Give me some time to prepare—!”

Raizein shouted, but it was too late. Mana had already fitted a different orb onto the staff.

Aiming the staff at Raizein, she spoke in a calm voice.

“Then, have a safe journey through the rest.”

A bright light engulfed Raizein’s vision.

The next day.

“I am deeply, truly sorry… for daring to live such a shameless life, arrogantly stealing the lives of others without knowing my place…

I will spend the rest of my life serving and serving humanity in atonement… So please, I beg you, just once, show mercy to this lowly sinner…”

“………”

Watching Raizein trembling, on her knees, groveling and bowing her head to the ground, Sion fell into a brief silence.

Turning to Mana beside her, she asked:

“What exactly did you do to her, Mana?”

“Hehe.”

Mana answered with a bright smile.

“Secret. Not telling.”

“…………..”

At that moment, Sion silently vowed in the depths of her heart—never to mess with her, ever again.