episode_0036

The situation still doesn’t seem to be improving.

“Ugh…”

Incubus.

An evil being that feeds on the negative energy flowing from a human’s collapsing mind, the breath exhaled by the soul, and gets excited while consuming it. That is an incubus.

All the eerie descriptions from the novel come to mind. Eligos, who looks down at me with eyes filled with base desires, also appears.

Now, the original work that many students were sacrificed for comes to mind. The pitiful souls offered to the king of the incubi. In legend, Eligos was a being that took human lives and coveted mana. It was written that he killed men to consume their flesh and blood, and drove women mad before playing with them.

Drive them mad.

Drive them mad.

Drive them mad.

I was already on the verge of madness.

Will be driven.

Will be driven.

Will be driven.

…Why?

Because I’m a woman.

Because I’m a woman…

…Why?

Because I am the descendant of Green, who carries a sweet aura. Surely, they can trample, insult, and torment me to the extreme satisfaction. The energy they can extract from me cannot be compared to any other human.

…Why me?

What did I do wrong to be forcibly brought here, to become a woman’s body, and to suffer like this…?

Do I deserve this punishment just because I left a comment? Why single me out among so many people?!

…I hate it.

….

No, isn’t this what I wanted? To receive punishment, to be broken, to pay the price…

Me? Did I want that?

….

Did I…?

Am I trash for not protecting Theo, a worthless woman…?

Yes, that’s right… It was always what I expected, to receive punishment.

I can endure it, it’s only fair, I have to atone in some way…

…That’s why.

I’m… fine… Ah.

I was wrong. Please forgive me for this. If I can seek forgiveness like this…!

*

“Hu, huk…”

At the end of resignation, a sob flows out. It was a silent scream. Lips tremble, hands and feet tremble. Tears flow endlessly from the eyes inside the helmet. I felt so pitiful that I could only be in this situation.

Eligos raised an eyebrow.

Even though he couldn’t see my whole self hidden by the helmet and armor, my reaction seemed to stimulate him even more.

“Anyway, without magic, you’re nothing. Just a slightly stronger magician.”

Eligos betrays me.

I’m nothing, a worthless existence.

Yeah, that’s right…

“I can make you into an ordinary woman. Swear to obey me… then, I will give you unforgettable pleasure.”

Ha, haaa….

If that’s the punishment I have to receive.

If I can atone for my sins, if I can go to Theo who died first.

I, I’m fine—

Like someone unable to control shivering in the cold, I tried to nod my head while unable to calm my constantly trembling body. I felt lethargic and dazed.

-It must have been because it looked good.

-Lies.

-It’s true.

Suddenly, a memory comes to mind.

The unfortunate face, the bright smile of the blond man who smiled brightly every time he saw me, a smile that didn’t expect anything in return.

After possession, that kind of smile was not from Theo but from someone else for the first time.

-That’s a good choice too.

What do you know… What do you know about me, smiling at me like that?

Why did you affirm my choices, saying what’s good, what you like…?

I’m not that kind of, that kind of… woman you think I am. I’m not the Beatrice you know!!

-I heard the story, there was a misunderstanding when you first enrolled. That’s why everyone is wary of you.

You’re not worth worrying about….

…

Damn it!

The golden eyes of the sword mess up my mind. I want to see those eyes one last time. I just want to. I don’t want it to end like this.

Having such a mindset, resignation and fear simply disappear. Now, I don’t want to die. I don’t want to be punished. I still want to live.

In that moment, I thrust my head forward with all my might. Lying down, wearing a helmet, I drove it towards Eligos who was pressing down on me from above with all his strength. It felt like my head was being crushed against a rock. Thanks to that, my mind cleared up.

Eligos seemed momentarily surprised, but without any significant impact, he grabbed my head and pressed it into the ground. Unintentionally, a short groan escaped from me.

“As expected, without magic, there’s nothing special.”

I hear a sneer.

Enduring the pain, I open my eyes. The pitiful feeling of giving up I had just moments ago vanished like dust. Now, only a strong will to resist desperately remains. It might lead to an even more painful outcome.

But it doesn’t matter.

Right now, my mind is solely focused on wanting to escape from this place. There’s no time to worry about methods. It’s unconditional. I unconditionally escape. And when I do, I must see those golden eyes!

Thud.

Eligos’s large palm once again filled my vision.

He was gripping the helmet, trying to pull it off. However, because it was firmly fixed with magic, it seemed more appropriate to say he was trying to break it rather than remove it.

“This is your fate. This is what was meant to happen. Accept the fate of being captured by me.”

Whispering again, he was spitting out words that were almost like a spell. The kind of words that could make one let go of their heart.

But I don’t want to.

I hate it.

I hate it.

I hate it.

I hate it.

“I hate it!!!!!!”

The spine-chilling fear had suddenly turned into burning rage. The intense will I spat out for the first time since being trapped in this body. It was a fury that could reach the author who made me look like this. A desperate shout creates a huge ripple.

Kwaaang-!

“Urgh..!”

The Eligos that had been on top of me flew far away and crashed into the wall. An irresistible force blew him away. It was my power, the power of the Green Emperor who once saved the world. The power of the royal family.

Magic.

Dark, indescribable mysterious power responded to my will and awakened.

The power that had weakened because of the Holy Sword gathered around me again. Like thickly laid mist, it enveloped me. My own comforting power. What always saves me is not light but darkness.

Saaak-

I reached out and gathered magic. The surrounding darkness gathered at my fingertips. I intended to condense it and send it flying. To erase those filthy monsters from the world. To get rid of the monster that dared to lay a hand on me.

I will make them pay for giving me this disgusting feeling that I must shake off.

“You dare to…!!”

Without a moment’s hesitation, I shot out a black beam of light.

*

I want to turn the bodies of the filthy demons into rags.

The extended magic became sharp spears of rain. I took revenge on Theo at the Dallia Mansion using this method as well.

Pavabat-!

But looking at the sharply changing black streaks, they seemed much weaker than before. It was because I hadn’t fully recovered my strength yet.

“I don’t have many chances. I have to finish it in one go.”

Just once more.

There’s one last chance left. If I use magic more than that, it will recoil and shake my body again like before. Remembering that dreadful pain, I focused my mind to not let Eligos slip away.

Eligos, staggering from the wall where he had been thrust, opened his eyes wide as he saw the pouring magic. He quickly spread his arms and created a red magic circle.

Kwagwang-!

When the two forces collided, a bright red and dark light flashed. Amidst the dense smoke, Eligos’s scream was heard.

“Kraaaa!”

I have to finish it now. I need a follow-up attack. Again, I gathered magic in my hands to prepare for the second attack. Perhaps the final attack.

“!”

For a moment, my spine chilled.

“Even after four years…!”

“!?”

Without feeling any fear, as soon as I turned around, Eligos’s hand caught my throat. I made a sound and tried to shake off his hand with both of mine. However, he paid no attention and lifted me from the ground. The two legs that had been on the ground were left kicking into the air endlessly.

“H-How…!?”

Even as I felt suffocated, I wanted to know what was happening. I turned my eyes towards the wall where Eligos had been pinned. There, a demon with gray skin and wings lay bloodied, much smaller wings than Eligos’s.

“Hehehe, I summoned an underling from the demon realm using a magic circle. Thanks to the mana you provided.”

“Ugh, ugh.”

I felt my whole body go numb for a moment. Gasping for rapidly depleting oxygen, I looked back at what had happened. Eligos’s magic circle wasn’t a shield like before; it was a portal to summon an underling from the demon realm, just as Pavian had summoned a demon.

“You should take responsibility for the lives of your kin who just died.”

Perhaps it could have been the last voice I heard while still conscious. A voice I didn’t want to hear… I am being overpowered by his strength. My body won’t move…

Swoosh-

At that moment, a dazzling light flew in from a distance. Eligos, who had been gripping my throat, was startled, letting me go and hastily creating a red magic circle again.

A thud was heard, and Eligos staggered backward.

Freed, I finally focused on taking allowed breaths, inhaling oxygen. My rough breathing leaked out of the helmet, altered by magic.

“What, you had quite the form, but pitifully fell away.”

It wasn’t a thunderous voice, nor was it particularly loud, but each word was etched into my ears.

Yes, it was the voice I wanted to hear. A pleasant voice.

“Hey, horned bat. The gloomy helmet you were holding is mine. Don’t interfere and get lost.”

“….”

The sight of him collapsing unceremoniously in the Magic Potion Lecture Hall was vivid, but the owner of the voice seemed confident and unabashed, as if to say, “When did I ever do that?”

Turning around, a golden-haired man with a mocking smile hanging on his lips, wearing the Holy Sword on his shoulder, was there.

His smile was still handsome.

Karl Mayner.

The owner of the Holy Sword appeared before me once again.

This time, he will never see my expression hidden under the helmet.