Chapter 258: To the Capital (10)

“You, what are you…! What are you, I ask!”

Wolf was experiencing cognitive dissonance. This rhythm, this voice, those multicolored hair shining with various lights. Wolf remembered all of it. He remembered the brilliant light that had saved him in his most difficult times.

“You…! What in the world are you, I ask!!”

A demon with a face that looked exactly like the Goddess.

The world that strangely spun whenever he tried to do something.

Colleagues who died one by one.

Finally, the last colleague who betrayed him, and that voice, unusually friendly towards the demon.

“You!! What kind of guy are you, I ask!!”

Wolf screamed, frothing at the mouth. In that moment when no one could move, Lilith smiled brightly and said to Wolf.

“I still remember that day clearly, but have you already forgotten?”

“No…! It’s not true…!”

Wolf shook his head, trying to deny reality. The reality he faced now was too horrific. His trusted colleagues were all dead, and the last remaining one had betrayed him by siding with the demon. His family had all abandoned him and left, and even the Goddess he had believed in until the very end was emitting an evil aura.

All the stories pointed to one answer, but Wolf’s brain couldn’t accept it.

“No…! It’s not true…! It’s not!”

Wolf slammed his head against the floor, refusing to accept reality. Kung kung kung sounds echoed menacingly, and Petunia Titi, with a bewildered face, reached out as if to stop Wolf.

“It’s okay. You won’t die.”

Lilith said that and pushed Petunia’s hand away. It seemed like she hadn’t used any strength, but Petunia’s body was pushed back, landing in Evan’s arms. Evan tried to say something to Lilith, but only his mouth moved, no sound coming out.

Taffy and Milia were twisting their bodies back and forth, but they couldn’t move an inch, as if bound by invisible chains. Lilith stroked her wings and looked at Wolf. Wolf’s head had been mangled as if his scalp was torn off, but then, it returned to normal in an instant.

Lilith spoke.

“I still vividly remember what that poor child looked like. It was a warehouse where mice squeaked jjik-jjik, and the straw was damp and smelled rotten. The child was stuck there alone, crying.”

Both Evan and Wolf flinched. Lilith knelt down in front of Wolf. Wolf gritted his teeth and shouted.

“You, you…! You deceived me…! You deceived me…!”

Lilith looked at Wolf with a baffled expression and asked.

“Deceived you with what? Did I tell you to act like such a scoundrel? Or did I urge you to do something evil?”

“Shut up! Aaaaaaaah! Aaaaaaaak!”

Lilith said this while stroking Wolf’s face. Wolf thrashed wildly, forcing his limbs, which wouldn’t move properly, to twist. Lilith whispered in Wolf’s ear in a tone like she was handling a child.

“Wolf. I only gave you power because you wanted it. You completely messed it up using that power yourself, didn’t you? Hmm?”

“I, I…! I…!”

Wolf’s face contorted. Seeing Wolf make that strange expression, Lilith chuckled and turned away again. No one could know if her words were true or not. Did Wolf really fall into darkness on his own? Did Lilith give him power purely out of goodwill?

Lilith turned away without giving an answer.

Her actions, as if Wolf’s well-being didn’t matter, made him feel humiliated, and he trembled, but he couldn’t do anything more.

All he could do right there was shake his head with his freely movable head or squeeze his eyes shut.

Lilith’s eyes turned towards Evan. At that gaze full of love, Evan couldn’t help but flinch. It was because a chilling aura emanated from her, seeming like she was looking at a beloved child, yet also like the guise of a predator.

“Evan. My Evan.”

Hearing her warm words, Evan tried desperately to hold onto his senses. The cold mockery he felt when she spoke to Wolf was gone, but an even more dangerous aura filled Evan’s body.

Impulse.

A strong impulse to obey Lilith’s words continuously tested his will. Lilith said.

“You’ve grown so much, Evan. You can finally defeat the hero.”

She buried Evan’s face in her chest and breathed into his ear. Evan felt his consciousness grow hazy and his vision darken. Taffy was twisting her body, trying desperately to break free from restraint, and Milia clenched her teeth, trying to move, but no one could budge.

Petunia, lying on the floor, could only stare at Lilith.

Helplessness filled the audience chamber. Everything seemed to be happening according to Lilith’s will. Amidst the suffocating temptation, Evan finally opened his mouth and asked a question.

“Why, why are you doing this… this…!”

Even the question, asked after regaining his composure, seemed like a fragment of growth to Lilith. She wore a proud expression, the kind shown when a pet performs a trick, and hugged Evan tighter.

Lilith began whispering in Evan’s ear in a gentle voice.

“Once upon a time, a very long time ago, my husband and I lived happily in the Demon Realm. My very kind and strong husband was a powerful god who ruled over all the demons living in the Demon Realm, and I was a woman who vowed to be with him forever.”

Evan’s body had lost the will to resist. His limbs, trying to move somehow, felt heavy as if they were made of lead, and every time he tried to open his eyes wide, his eyelids only sank lower. Amidst a sweet fragrance, Lilith’s gentle voice, like a lullaby, echoed in Evan’s ears.

“But one day. An evil god appeared, and we started a war. My husband and I fought desperately. After fighting for days and nights like that, it ended with my husband and the evil god taking each other down, you see?”

The story of a god’s death was revealed in the royal audience chamber, where there were no true believers. The words, whose truthfulness no one could ascertain, seeped into Evan’s ears without resistance.

Evan, on the verge of losing consciousness, accepted the story in his daze, while the others, unaware of what Evan and Lilith were discussing, could only struggle to move their bodies.

Wolf, in particular, couldn’t forgive Lilith, who had her back completely turned to him.

“Isn’t that terrible?”

Lilith asked that and hugged Evan tightly once more. Evan’s mouth moved slightly, letting out a faint voice.

“….Yes. It was terrible.”

Lilith wiped her tears, nodded, and began whispering again while stroking Evan’s head.

“That’s why I decided to take revenge on this world created by that god. No matter how many eons passed, I was determined to swallow this world whole. You understand my feelings, don’t you?”

Lilith’s voice trembled. She continued to shed tears while holding Evan tightly. The warm tears and her body scent. Elements that stirred even Evan’s emotions were relentlessly eroding his mind.

“Evan. The world is all about revenge and destruction. Right? Humans deserve to die, and this world is not worth forgiving. Think about how terribly this world treated you, after killing my husband and slaughtering my beloved demons.”

“Ah……”

Evan’s eyes wavered. Lilith’s hand stroked the top of Evan’s head, making him recall his life as a slave.

He grew up on the streets from childhood, begging as soon as he was weaned. The thug who looked after Evan would beat him up first after getting the money, then toss him a piece of hard bread instead of a thick wad of cash.

When the guards raided to crack down on the group of beggars, Evan claimed to be the leader of the group and bribed the captain of the guard. The guard captain accepted the thug’s claim, took Evan away, and Evan was dragged to the slave market without a trial.

The sanctuary where he had barely settled burned down after someone reported his owner as a devil worshipper, and he had to part with his family.

After changing owners several times, this mansion was where he finally settled.

Half of his life was like trash, and the other half was like merchandise. Being beaten daily for pointless reasons, his life was soon to be discarded.

So he hugged the straw and spat curses.

He wanted revenge.

The master who hit him, the maids of the mansion who ignored him, the servants who tormented him for no reason. He wanted to crush them all.

He wanted to live in luxury like those heroes and inflict pain on everyone.

Tok tok tok

And then, Lilith appeared and whispered in Evan’s ear.

“Let’s get revenge, Evan.”

Lilith’s sweet scent and her hazy, beautiful voice. Along with a bright smile, she continued whispering while hugging Evan tightly.

“Together.”

Evan’s lips followed Lilith’s words and said.

“Let’s get revenge.”