Chapter 87: The Boundaries of Aesthetics

With each passing day, Bellona’s teachings grew more profound.

At first, I simply followed her instructions, but gradually, I began to conceive and create my own ‘works of art’.

In our fourth lesson, Lady Bellona gave me complete freedom.

“Today, you will choose the material yourself, and you will also decide the theme of the work.”

The man I chose from the cage was young and handsome, but his eyes held a glint of cunning.

Unlike the others, he wasn’t terrified; instead, he was glaring at me.

“A fine choice.”

Lady Bellona smiled.

“What about him caught your eye?”

“His eyes. They’re filled with malice.”

“Correct! Your intuition is developing. He is, in fact, a terrible sinner who swindled poor young girls.”

A spark of joy ignited somewhere in my heart.

It was strangely blissful to be praised for my choice by Lady Bellona.

Miel watched the entire spectacle, flying anxiously above my head.

Her once blue-tinged wings were now turning increasingly black.

She still tried to send me warnings, but honestly… it was bothersome.

‘Miel, please be quiet…’

This time, I began the work myself, without Lady Bellona’s help.

I had become somewhat skilled by now.

Holding the scalpel, I carefully avoided the major blood vessels and began to incise the skin.

The man’s screams no longer sounded as horrible as before.

Instead, they felt like background music.

“I need to preserve the shape of the muscles while peeling away the skin.”

I muttered to myself.

Lady Bellona quietly watched my work.

Once the skin was completely removed, the red muscles were revealed.

It looked truly beautiful.

As if a red flower had bloomed.

And this time, I tried something new.

I carefully cut out a portion of the muscle and spread it out like a petal.

The man, in extreme agony, couldn’t even scream and just convulsed.

“Wow, what an original approach!”

Lady Bellona exclaimed in delight.

Hehe!

Her praise made my heart feel warm.

As I continued my work, I became as engrossed as a painter creating a masterpiece.

The scalpel became my brush, the blood my paint.

And the man’s body was my canvas.

The Crimson Bind sent out vibrations of joy at the sight.

The red mist emanating from the sword enveloped the operating table, writhing as if alive.

Sometimes, the mist seemed to guide my hand.

Where to cut, where to preserve…

‘Is this really art?’

The thought occasionally crossed my mind, but even that doubt was fading.

What was unfolding before my eyes was clearly art.

An art more vivid and intense than any painting or sculpture.

As the work neared its end, the man took his last breath.

In that moment, I understood what Lady Bellona had said.

On the boundary between life and death, in that fleeting instant, there was true beauty.

‘It’s truly pretty…’

“Perfect! You’ve now understood the aesthetics of murder!”

Lady Bellona said, cupping my cheeks with a wide smile.

And at that moment, the status window delivered a pleasant notification.

[You have acquired the skill “Aesthetics of Murder”.]

[Aesthetics of Murder]

– You can artistically orchestrate the target’s pain and death. The target’s time of death is significantly delayed.

‘Oh!’

‘The Aesthetics of Murder was a skill too?!’

‘I thought the trait I got on the first day was all I would get from Lady Bellona!’

The next day, for our fifth lesson, I challenged myself with a more complex piece.

It was a work I named ‘The Garden of Flowers’.

I extracted the man’s spine, arranged it in a circle, and spread his internal organs on top like flowers.

The heart in his chest was made to bloom like a rose, and the lungs became wide, spreading leaves.

“I think this is my greatest masterpiece.”

Lady Bellona nodded in agreement.

“Your senses are developing so quickly. It’s amazing~”

From the night I completed ‘The Garden of Flowers’, I no longer had nightmares.

Instead, my mind overflowed with ideas for my next creation.

“Lycoris, true aesthetics lies in eternity.”

Lady Bellona said one late night, under the moonlight.

“All beauty is momentary, but capturing that moment forever is art.”

“Like… preserving the moment just before a flower wilts forever?”

“Exactly! That’s it. Death is not the end, but the beginning of beauty.”

Lady Bellona’s words resonated deeply within me.

This wasn’t mere cruelty, but a sublime art that transformed a fleeting moment into eternity.

As time went on, I fell deeper into Lady Bellona’s teachings.

At first, I was filled with fear and disgust, but gradually, those feelings turned into reverence and understanding.

My ‘works’ became increasingly complex and sophisticated.

Especially the pieces that utilized my essence as a flower, using the sharp tips of roots for intricate carving, and the ones where the agonizing expressions from poison were vividly captured, even impressed Lady Bellona.

Once, while searching for a way to use pollen to create a piece, I acquired a new pollen skill.

[You have acquired the skill “Pollen-Florification LV1”.]

[Pollen-Florification]

– The released pollen is imbued with the property of florification.

‘Huh?’

‘What on earth is florification?’

‘Judging by the name, it sounds like it turns things into plants…?’

The florification pollen slowly began to change the body of the man who became my material.

His body gradually started to take on plant-like characteristics.

Small flower buds sprouted from his skin, and his blood vessels turned a shade of blue, resembling the veins of a leaf.

‘It’s beautiful…!’

“Lycoris, this is an incredible innovation!”

Lady Bellona marveled.

“A work that transcends the boundary between human and plant, it’s a completely new level.”

“Hehe! Thank you!”

Encouraged by her praise, I attempted even bolder experiments.

One man’s entire body was transformed into flowers while he was still alive, and another’s internal organs were replaced with plant structures.

Their screams and agony now sounded like music to my ears.

Looking in the mirror every evening became a habit.

Day by day, my appearance was changing.

When I first came to the demon realm, only the tips of my hair were red, but now more than half was stained a blood-red.

My irises had turned a deeper crimson, sparkling like pomegranate seeds.

Even a faint pinkish aura began to hover around me.

‘Will Master and Lord Michael still recognize me even if I change this much?’

That thought came to me again, but a smile soon spread across my face.

‘They’ll surely love my even more beautiful appearance.’

Every night, Lady Bellona would have teatime with me and discuss art.

Her philosophy seeped deeper and deeper into my heart.

Our teatime was usually held on the high balcony of the temple.

It became a habit to gaze at the night sky of the demon realm, illuminated by the black moon.

The time spent in deep conversation with Lady Bellona under that beautiful scenery was special to me.

“Lycoris, you are the most special disciple I have ever met. I thought you were special from the moment I first found you, but I never imagined you would develop so quickly~”

Lady Bellona said as she poured me tea.

We were sitting on the temple balcony, looking at the black moon of the demon realm.

“Hehe… It’s all thanks to your teachings that I can do so well.”

That was the truth.

Lady Bellona had shown me a completely new world.

A completely different perspective on life and death, pain and beauty.

On my way back to my bedroom after teatime, I suddenly noticed Miel was gone.

“Miel? Where are you?”

I found her on the bed, barely able to flutter her wings.

Her once brilliant blue wings were now completely black, and her wing beats were slow and weak.

“Miel! Are you okay? Why have you become so weak?”

Miel managed to pluck a hair and form words.

[The… demonic power… of the demon realm… is draining my life force…]

“What!? Really?”

Suddenly, I snapped back to my senses.

What have I been doing all this time?

Lost in the aesthetics of murder, I had forgotten about returning, forgotten about Miel…

Lady Bellona’s teachings were certainly special, but they were definitely not more important than Miel.

“Miel, just hang in there a little longer. I’ll ask about making the passage quickly. We’re getting out of here soon.”

I couldn’t let Miel, who was dragged here because of me, die.

My Master and Lord Michael must be waiting for me.

It’s really time to go back.

After checking on Miel’s condition, I immediately ran to Lady Bellona’s room.

“Lady Bellona, when will the passage be completed? Miel’s condition is serious. We can’t wait any longer.”

“It’s scheduled to be completed within this week. Are you in such a hurry?”

Lady Bellona asked with a puzzled expression.

“Yes, I think Miel will disappear if she stays in the demon realm too long. Please, help the passage open quickly.”

“Alright. I’ll do my best to talk to them. If you want it that badly…”

A flicker of disappointment crossed Lady Bellona’s face, but it soon changed to a look of understanding.

“I understand how you feel. Everyone wants to go home.”

“Thank you… But what does the passage look like? Can I just walk through it like a door?”

“It will look more like a cave entrance than a door. Since it’s a passage connecting two completely different spaces, the hole will be pitch black, and the surroundings will be contrasted by magic circles with complex formulas drawn on them.”

“…Who makes such a magnificent passage?”

“The passage connecting the demon realm and the human realm has to be created simultaneously from both sides. The demon realm side is being made by evil gods centered around Abraxas, and the human realm side is being made by Abraxas’s followers.”

‘Eh…’

‘Abraxas…?’

‘Weren’t the followers of the evil god I killed a bunch of them, humans who served Abraxas…?’

“Abraxas…?”

“Yes, do you know him? He’s a rather diligent and passionate evil god.

When the connection to the human realm was severed and all the other evil gods gave up on interfering, he alone constantly researched a way to descend to the human realm, and finally, the passage he designed is about to be completed.

Even though he’s a male god, he’s quite respectable~”

‘No way…’

‘Abraxas was that kind of character…?’

‘A diligent and passionate hard worker…?’

‘That’s so different from the image of an evil god I had…’

‘More importantly, what if Abraxas recognizes me?’

‘Will I even be able to use the passage…?’