episode_0039
by fnovelpia“The vestige of an ancient evil spirit.”
The grudge of the evil spirit killed in the past Divine War.
That grudge traveled through generations, bringing ruin to those it possessed.
It is a power that slaughters or harms people around regardless of the host’s will.
Of course, the shadow couldn’t move as it pleased, and its power was limited by the host’s emotions.
Conversely, when the host was in danger, fueled by intensified emotions, the host would go berserk, causing great calamity.
The tragedy of Heidel in Alice’s village was also such a case.
Therefore, the central government isolated Alice in an orphanage and managed her to a certain extent.
Providing meals on time and keeping a suitable distance to prevent her from going berserk.
However, despite this, Alice’s shadow grew gradually, and it seemed that the evil spirit would eventually resurrect.
The fact that the host was an emotionally vulnerable young girl made it even more dangerous.
But simply killing the host was not an option.
The host’s emotional turmoil, sensing a threat to her life, allowed the shadow to go berserk to the fullest, which would lead to a disaster akin to the past tragedy in Heidel.
Moreover, even if the host were killed, the vestige of the evil spirit would find a new host.
To solve this problem, it was necessary to handle the shadow itself, not just eliminate the host.
In the end, the government dispatched their best agent, codenamed V, along with Agent Verus.
Even the Resistance, who had been the government’s greatest enemy, had crumbled internally, leaving only V, the worst elite agent.
From the point where the government used its strongest force to stop just one girl, it was evident how seriously they regarded the shadow, a vestige of an ancient evil spirit.
“What? A vestige of an ancient evil spirit?”
“That’s right. V. Your mission is grave.”
“What? What are you talking about? Is that really a thing?”
At first, when given orders by the superior, it seemed absurd.
I wondered if someone was playing a prank on me.
My thoughts changed after seeing the highly classified documents.
“The Tragedy of Heidel”
In the village of Heidel, there lived a girl named Alice.
Unfortunately, she fell victim to the “shadow” at a young age.
Contrary to the girl’s intentions, the shadow caused several accidents, leading the villagers to consider her a cursed child.
It would have been irrelevant if it had stopped there, but they tried to purify the cursed girl by fire to prevent harm to the village.
How foolish.
In the end, Alice’s emotions unleashed the restrictions of the shadow.
The entire village vanished.
The government discovered the lone girl left in the vanished village and learned that she was the host of the “shadow.”
“The director of the orphanage is also affiliated with the government, so you don’t need to worry.”
“That’s true…”
A girl possessing the worst ability that could potentially bring about the destruction of the world if mishandled.
This should be interesting.
At first, it was just a simple interest.
A girl containing fragments of an evil spirit within her body.
I decided to win the girl’s favor first.
“I said it doesn’t matter. So, I want to start supporting that child.”
“Are you serious? You might regret it!”
I staged small plays with the orphanage director whenever the girl passed by.
I confirmed that Alice, the target, was eavesdropping on the director’s conversations.
Winning the affection of a deeply wounded girl through this one act may be difficult, but if repeated, the story would change.
Then, I began to approach the girl directly under the pretext of sponsorship.
“Haha. Sir, you must really like our Alice. You’re thinking of sponsoring her, right?”
“…You’re just targeting my body anyway.”
My body, huh.
Is that so?
I heard that other agents who had tried to care for the girl before were taken away by the shadow, regardless of gender.
I can’t possibly feel suspicious of my own emotions and harbor such doubts about this little girl.
Incompetent fools.
…Whatever.
It’s an outrageously stunning appearance.
An appearance so exceptional that it seems to know why the remnants of evil have chosen this body. The girl was so beautiful that she could even captivate a woman.
But I won’t waver.
That’s what I thought at the time.
Even after that, I continued to approach Alice.
“Ta-da! Mister’s here! Did you miss me, cutie?”
A nickname is a useful tool for increasing intimacy.
“Hmph. I knew you would.”
A ticklish response. But warmth could be felt in that voice.
The efforts made thus far were beginning to shine.
As our meetings repeated, her emotions became more diverse.
“Hmph. Is Mister surprised?”
“Mister, I’ll get back at you with my special tickles! Come here!”
The girl’s responses gradually became more varied.
“Eek! Run away!”
After years of encounters, a presence within her, called “Mister,” took its place.
Simultaneously, Alice also took her place within me.
Ha.
It’s truly unbelievable.
When I betrayed and destroyed my Resistance comrades for the mission, I didn’t feel these emotions at all.
Suddenly, Alice had become precious to me.
To the point where she felt more precious than the mission.
I wanted to make it possible for Alice to leave this place and live freely.
I wanted to take her to the sea she longed to see.
I wanted to show her the beautiful lakes of my country.
I wanted her to tread upon the snowy fields of the mountains.
However, in order for her to be free, I had to deal with the “shadow” somehow.
Could I somehow remove the shadow from her or make Alice completely dominate the shadow?
Removing the shadow is impossible.
No matter how fallen it may be, it is still a fragment of divinity.
No method could detach Alice’s shadow. However, there was a way to make Alice’s emotions control the shadow. Through numerous historical records and experimental patterns, it was determined how much power the shadow could unleash when emotions reached a certain intensity. It was also discovered that for a certain amount of power to be used, the threshold of power increases as the shadow transfers its power to the host and the host wields that power.
This means that when Alice’s emotions intensify, the shadow temporarily bestows its power upon Alice. If this temporary power were completely subjugated to Alice?
I subsequently mobilized the government’s capabilities to create an artifact of magical engineering. An artifact that would make the shadow become the property of Alice’s soul if she were to temporarily use the shadow.
However, to make this possible, Alice had to use the power of the shadow to kill me, the caster.
Alice killing me doesn’t sit well with me. Firstly, I don’t like the idea of dying and not being able to see Alice anymore. On top of that, living with the emotional trauma of Alice killing me?
I decided to suspend one method I had found. There might be another way. This is the last resort. If there’s no clear answer, let it be.
But I couldn’t afford such luxury.
“Elimination… you mean?”
“Yes. It’s an order from the upper committee.”
Bang!
“No, it can’t be done!”
I slammed the superior’s desk.
“Don’t you know! The moment Alice feels her life threatened, the shadow goes berserk!”
“No.”
Thud
The superior threw a new order.
“Just assassinate her before she feels her life threatened.”
An order containing instructions for me to unknowingly assassinate the familiar Alice.
“If Alice dies, a new victim will fall prey to the shadow.”
“But it will take quite some time until then. It’ll be safe during that time.”
“Are you saying you’re passing the problem onto future generations?”
“That’s the decision from above. It’s the committee’s order. I can’t do anything about it either.”
The order from above.
This is ridiculous.
“Please attend the committee.”
“What?”
“Haven’t you received one voting right from the committee as a reward for past resistance suppression?”
“…Sigh. I guess there’s no choice.”
“Agent V, do you understand the meaning of what Sir Kugong is saying?”
The voice of the committee’s chief echoed.
“Sir Kugong is suggesting giving up on removing the nation’s greatest threat.”
Greatest threat.
These people are pathologically afraid of the shadow’s rampage.
If only Alice could control the shadow.
“In that case.”
“…?”
“In that case, all we need is for Alice to completely dominate the shadow, isn’t that right?”
“What?”
“Please agree in the name of the committee. If I make Alice completely subjugate the shadow, guarantee her safety.”
“Hmm…”
Anyway, there’s no one else besides me who has enough affinity to kill Alice.
If I don’t do it, no one else can kill Alice.
Due to repeated persuasion and the plans I continued to submit, the committee eventually declared an official treaty as I desired.
It was possible thanks to the trust gained from my past actions.
Of course, I don’t completely trust the committee. There’s no race more untrustworthy than them.
But I’ve prepared some safety measures, so it should be fine even without me.
Rustle
I unpacked the precious gifts I had carefully collected so far.
Alice.
She must live well even without me.
Freely.
Happily.
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