episode_0033

“Ugh… Ughhh… Aaaargh…!!!”

What… what is this?! When I touched the purple gem attached to Aria’s body, something strange entered my head…!! What is this…!! As many things suddenly flooded into my mind at once, I felt an extreme headache. Blood began to gush from my nose, and my mind grew hazy. And a nauseating feeling began to creep over me.

‘C-Could Aria have gone through this too…?! No, this is… This… This can’t be…!!’

“Zeke!! Pull that gem off her at once!!”

“Ugh!! Ughhhhhh…!!…!!”

My head was too chaotic to even hear Raskal’s words telling me to remove the gem from Aria. As I gradually began to grasp its true nature, I couldn’t possibly accept it. This couldn’t be real… Just as I was realizing the identity of what was entering my mind, a hand suddenly appeared and slapped away my hand holding the gem. It was the succubus’s hand.

“Oh dear… That was close.”

“Ugh…”

As my hand detached from the gem, the sensation of something entering my mind ceased. When I regained my senses, I found Raskal behind me, urgently grabbing my arms and pulling me out of the arrow-formed binding barrier.

“Are you alright, Zeke?! Snap out of it! What happened!!”

“Ugh… What… What is this…”

“Why didn’t you pull off the gem, Zeke!… Wait, your… right hand and foot…”

Raskal noticed my right hand was grotesquely twisted and bleeding, and that blood was flowing from my foot, tracing the bloodstains on the ground. He gasped in shock. It definitely hurt. But because of whatever had just suddenly entered my mind, I was still dazed. It was so intense that it made me forget the pain; I couldn’t even feel the ache. I simply clutched my throbbing head with my uninjured left hand.

“Zeke! Snap out of it, quickly!! You know full well this isn’t the time to lose your focus!”

“Ugh… My… My head… Ugh…”

“Your head…? Your head hurts? Don’t tell me that succubus did something to you too?!”

I don’t know… Did Aria really experience the same thing I just did…? Damn it, just when I was about to realize its identity, that succubus suddenly slapped my hand away from the gem, so I couldn’t figure it out… What was it again…?

“Be careful, Zeke! As long as that succubus is clinging to the Black Saint, nothing has been resolved… No…?!”

“Ugh… What is it, Ras…kal…”

“How dare you pull Zeke-nim away from me… You Dark Mage… I will never forgive you…!! I will absolutely not let you live!!!”

Raskal and I, having just regained our senses, stared at Aria in utter shock. Aria, with sluggish movements, planted her staff into the ground and began to chant a prayer. At once, Raskal’s black arrows, which had formed the binding barrier, began to shatter one by one, and the barrier restraining Aria completely vanished. Seeing this, Raskal and I simultaneously had the same thought.

‘Good heavens… the barrier…’

‘Just like that…?’

A barrier is indeed a powerful technique, but among them, a barrier formation that seals a target by creating a magic circle is an ultimate technique capable of imprisoning even transcendent beings. Even a simple barrier formation made with five black arrows is impossible for a restrained individual to break, no matter how hard they try. But she broke it just like that, in one go…? Did Raskal and I underestimate Aria’s strength too much…?

“How could she break the barrier formation so easily…? I didn’t know Aria was this strong, Raskal…”

“I too didn’t expect the barrier formation to be broken. Perhaps it was simple, so its effect was weak… Just how far does the Black Saint’s power extend…”

“Damn it… I’ll block her again… Ugh…!!”

As my gaze shifted to Aria, I finally felt the pain I hadn’t noticed before. I had only moved my right foot one step, but it felt as painful as if my foot had been crushed. My foot, which Aria had stepped on earlier… Damn it… Are my right hand and foot unusable now…?

“It seems you pushed yourself to trap the Black Saint within that barrier… Don’t overdo it, Zeke… Haven’t you done enough?”

“Enough? That’s absurd, when Aria is still staring at us with those vacant eyes as if to kill us… Even if I collapse here, even if I die, Aria will surely lose her mind… If that’s the case… isn’t it better to resolve this situation with the resolve to die… Ugh…”

“Haa… So failing or dying leads to the same outcome. I certainly am not the type to just give up quietly, Zeke.”

“Two men can’t even catch one woman… Is she really that strong?”

From behind Aria, who stared at us with vacant eyes, a laugh rang out. Naturally, it was the succubus. That succubus… But… why, when I see her… huh…?

“Ugh…”

“Are you alright, Zeke? It seems your wound has reopened. Stay still. If you keep moving, the wound could worsen and lead to a senseless death.”

“N-No, it’s not that… Ugh…”

“Hmm…?”

My… Why is my heart so conflicted…? When I see that demon, anger surges, but it’s not just anger… Should I say there’s a pang of sympathy…? What is this feeling…?

“You despicable succubus…!! Release the Black Saint at once! Or my arrow will pierce your heart…!!”

“Despicable, you say… *Pfft*… Saying that makes me even less inclined to return her, Black Human? Why? Is this woman your boyfriend?”

“No. Her boyfriend is this Zeke.”

“Who’s calling who their boyfriend!!”

Is this old man already trying to get me a girlfriend?! My heart, which had just been conflicted, was now filled with rage. But… Aria… Is she hearing this? Why is her face flushing?! As I raised my voice, the succubus, hiding behind Aria, suddenly snickered.

“Hahahaha! So that’s why this woman was so desperate! She’s pitiful too… No matter how much she pursued you, you couldn’t accept her, so she’s broken like this…”

“She’s not broken because of that… Ugh… you demon…!! Return Aria at once…!”

“Hmm~ Tell me if there’s any person or race that would easily let go of this woman who can even break barrier formations~ There’s absolutely none, right? Isn’t that why you kept her by your side~ Because she’s strong. She’s useful, isn’t she!”

“You’re spouting nonsense, you damn demon… *gasp*… *gasp*… Do you think I’m accompanying Aria for a reason like that…? Do you only have such thoughts in your brain…?”

“What…?”

“Then why aren’t you returning Aria…? What do you intend to do… by using Aria…!!”

“Hmm… I wonder if you know the legend of the angels and demons… It’s been so long that humans these days seem to not know it.”

“Uh… I know it… The angels won the war against the demons… *groan*… so demons could no longer be seen in this world…”

“Correct~ So what do you think I intend to do? To take revenge on everything in this world with this ultimate Saint!”

Damn it… She wants revenge for the ancient war, now of all times…? Wait a minute… But how is that succubus controlling Aria? She’s controlling Aria using that purple gem, but how did she implant that gem in Aria in the first place?

“That gem… You’re controlling Aria with that gem, aren’t you?!”

“Oh ho~ So that’s why you reached out your hand earlier? That’s correct too! This gem, you see… is my magic that I implanted in this woman when you lifted the curse. You could also call it my soul!”

“That’s impossible… How did Aria not notice it?! Aria can sense beings even far away… No, wait… Then the one who released the poison was…”

“Oh, that’s also correct! Of course I was the one who released the poison into that spring water! Hmm… I guess I’ll have to explain my plan step-by-step for you two to understand?”

“What…?”

“First… my goal is to take revenge on the world. You know that already, right? But everyone knows you need a weapon to do that! Isn’t that right! Imagine going to war without a weapon! Even I don’t want to imagine what would happen then!”

“Are you not satisfied with just that poison?!”

“Of course I’m not satisfied! To wage war, I need a weapon that others can’t even imagine! A simple method of taking lives with ordinary cursed poison? That’s too cliché and easy to detect! Look! This Saint even saw through it at once, broke the curse, and detoxified the poison.”

‘She knew that too?!’

It was unexpected. Even if that poison contained the succubus’s curse, how did she know that fact…? Considering how the succubus asked if Aria was Raskal’s boyfriend earlier, it doesn’t seem like the succubus rummaged through Aria’s memories. But how…? Just as I was greatly bewildered, Raskal, dumbfounded, spoke.

“Don’t tell me… the true nature of the curse in that poison… isn’t a curse… but your soul…?”

“Correct, Black Human! The shocking truth is that I released poison containing a part of my soul into the spring! My plan was to use her to take revenge on the world if someone realized the poison contained a curse and purified it!”

“Your soul?!”

“Yes! Most probably thought it was just a curse. Because a curse itself is an act of detaching a part of the soul. And it is us demons who know this. The curse this Saint purified didn’t disappear but rather transferred to her!”

“…Then… the fragments accumulating… formed that gem…!!!”

I finally understood. The reason that gem suddenly appeared on Aria’s body. Aria had detoxified many people’s poisons, and to find the poison, she used prayers to remove the curse. But according to the succubus, the curse didn’t disappear but rather accumulated in Aria’s body. Was it too small for Aria to notice all along!!!

“That’s why I’m so happy that a Saint like her came here, you know? Now I can finally resolve my long-held grudge, and I’m so happy! As a bonus, this Saint has now completely become yours, so isn’t this what they call killing two birds with one stone [a proverb about accomplishing two things at once]? Kyahahahaha~!”

“That crazy bitch… Did you destroy my hometown too?!”

Raskal aimed his crossbow at the succubus and began to rage. That’s right. He said these symptoms were the same as those experienced by the people in Raskal-nim’s hometown, didn’t he?! So that succubus…?

“Huh? Your hometown? I don’t know your hometown. I’m a demon who has only lived here. Perhaps that was a different demon than me?”

“What…? This damned… Then I will leave no trace of you wretched demons in this world…!!”

“Oh my… You want to fight me? But… I’m scared of that crossbow. So…”

“!!!”

Damn it. The succubus began whispering something into Aria’s ear again. I’m half-crippled right now… Damn it… Raskal alone won’t be able to stop both of them…!!

“Let’s kill that man… Don’t you want Zeke quickly?”

“I want him…”

“Kill him.”

“Kill him.”

“Kill him…!!”

“Kill him!!!”

Raskal sensed the change and quickly ran backward. Aria then showed a smile twisted with madness and swiftly charged toward Raskal. No… If that’s the case…!

“Now, quickly kill… Oh?”

“You’re… not going…!!!”

You’re absolutely not going…! It’s already hard enough for Raskal-nim to handle Aria alone, and you want to join in? Not a chance… The moment Aria passed by me, I quickly grabbed the succubus’s tail. The succubus then began stomping on me with her foot.

“Ugh…!!”

“Oh my… Did you just grab my tail? Hey, don’t you know that’s a great offense to demonkind? Can’t you let go?”

“Zeke!!!”

“Raskaaal!! Don’t worry about me!! Ugh!! Aria… Aria!!”

Raskal, seeing me being stomped on by the succubus, worried about me. But I saw Aria had already gotten close to Raskal, and I urgently yelled to Raskal. Only then did Raskal notice Aria, who was looking at him with a smile twisted with madness.

“Oh!!”

“Got you…!!”

“Aria!!! Save him!!”

“!!”

No…!! I frantically cried out to Aria to save him. Aria stopped mid-stride and looked at Raskal and me alternately, falling into confusion. As Aria became confused, the succubus gnashed her teeth and spread her wings.

“Tch… You humans are good at using your heads, damn it…”

“What are you trying to do…?!”

What?! The succubus, ignoring me who was holding her tail, swiftly flew toward Aria. To think she’d fly off, dragging me along! Is she strong because she’s a demon?! And when she reached Aria, she immediately whispered into Aria’s ear.

“Killing the man is the priority. That man’s power is weakening, and Zeke is asking for help. So quickly kill him and remove the curse placed on Zeke…!!”

“Yes… I must save Zeke-nim quickly…!!”

No… This damned succubus…! Just as I reached to grab the succubus’s wing, something pierced through the succubus’s wing, and she was flung backward with the projectile. Then, a strange object stuck in her wing began to emit light, immobilizing the succubus.

“W-What is this?!”

“You damned demon… It’s an Instant Sealing Art… Zeke!! Quickly, the Black Saint…!!!”

Raskal succeeded in neutralizing the succubus by shooting an arrow containing a sealing spell at her. But Raskal, seeing Aria preparing to swing her staff at him, quickly leaped backward. No… She’s still close…!!

“Aaaaargh!!! Greatsworrrd!!”

I called my greatsword, which was far away, and swung it toward Aria’s staff. But… strange sounds began to emanate from the greatsword, and its blade began to shatter into pieces.

‘W-What is this… *Cough*….!!’

Then, a fragment of the greatsword’s blade pierced my right shoulder, and another lodged in my left leg, making me unable to move. But Aria ignored me and aimed her staff at Raskal, who was farther away… Th-That’s…?!

‘From the tip of the staff… light…!!’

“Farewell, Dark Mage!!!”

“Damn it…!!”

Raskal seemed to realize what it was, clenching his teeth and breaking out in a cold sweat. She’s clearly about to unleash a beam of light… like a laser…!! Realizing this, I didn’t hesitate…

“….Huh?”

“Aaaargh!!!!”

I threw my body forward, taking the beam instead of Raskal. The beam pierced my abdomen, and I collapsed powerlessly on the spot. Aria continued to stare blankly at me as I lay there, then glared at Raskal with a furious expression.

“Because of you… Zeke-nim…!!! Zeke-nim…!!!”

“Black Saint!!! Is that important now!! You must save Zeke…!!”

“You… I will never forgive you!!!”

A yellow light, similar to before, began to leak from the tip of Aria’s staff. Raskal frantically pulled an arrow from his quiver and loaded it into his crossbow. Then, he carefully aimed at Aria and exhaled.

‘I must save Zeke quickly. If I’m too late, Zeke might truly die… To do that… what I must do is…!!’

The moment a beam of light shot from Aria’s staff, an arrow was fired from Raskal’s crossbow. Aria’s beam pierced Raskal’s abdomen, and Raskal spewed blood from his mouth as he was flung backward by the beam and slammed into a rock behind him.

“*Cough*…!!”

“Hehehe… Oh?”

The moment Raskal slammed into the rock and took more damage, Raskal’s black arrow perfectly pierced the purple gem on Aria’s body. The pierced gem shattered into pieces in an instant, and as it vanished, Aria began to scream.

“Aaaargh!!! Aaaaaaargh!!”

‘…So when I aimed carefully… it hit… Aiming even at the cost of my life…’

Aria screamed for a few seconds, then collapsed onto the spot. Then she suddenly sprang up and began looking around like a child who had seen something terrifying. Through his blurring vision, Raskal saw Aria’s confusion and said to her, gasping for breath,

“Saint… *gasp*… *gasp*… Zeke… Save Zeke… *gasp*… *gasp*…”

Hearing Raskal’s words, Aria turned her head toward the slowly dying Zeke and began running toward him, screaming. Raskal watched Aria run to Zeke and slowly closed his eyes, thinking.

‘This is it… Zeke showed me the possibility that the world could change, and he is the benefactor who gave me a chance for atonement. It’s worth sacrificing my life… And… dying like this… I can finally see my family whom I longed to see… Father… Mother… And my precious sister… Ah… I can see others now too… My sister… I wanted to protect even a young you… I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you… My sister… My sister… Where are you…?’