episode_0086
by fnovelpia
“Did I come too late?”
The moment I met the empty eyes of a man rolling around like trash at my feet, I closed my eyes tightly, feeling that something bad had happened.
All over the city, helpless corpses are left on the streets like trash or stones.
Among them, there was one with a red flower, but it seems that something happened while he was high up and he lost consciousness and fell down.
Sera said that souls cannot be absorbed from living people, so perhaps the person who did this was Theresina?
Then this must be one of her secret tricks.
I haven’t seen it in person, so I could be wrong, but I think the intention was probably to take out the souls of citizens and summon some kind of demon.
It is unknown whether the plan was successful, but given that the streets are relatively clean, it appears that a powerful demon has not descended and started a rampage.
As the level increased, my senses became sharper and pointed to the presence of a powerful presence near the mansion, but as you can see, the city was relatively intact.
Of course, there were countless casualties, but this was probably Terezina’s fault.
“… In that case, the one waiting over there must be Sarah.”
“Is that what you think?”
“From what I can see, the people whose souls have been stolen are not the only ones living in this area. At least thousands to tens of thousands of people would have died.”
A demon that appears after eating that many souls has an impact on those around it just by its presence, just like Hanji did.
If a demon comparable to Hanji had been summoned here even for a moment, the street wouldn’t have been so safe.
Unless, by chance, the summoned demon had pathological myelopathy and was expedient in returning the place he had swept away, it would be natural to assume that Theresina’s plan had failed.
“Either way, you will be able to find out soon.”
“… I guess so. Then let’s go quickly. The smell is slowly rising.”
Considering the date, the weather was closer to winter than fall, but it was not yet cold enough to wear winter gear.
It is unknown how many hours have passed since this disaster, but after a few days, the corpses will rot and a plague will spread through the city.
Going around the city and disposing of corpses one by one is an impossible task, no matter how much one has reached the level of a transcendental person.
To be precise, you can do it if you want to, but it is impossible without damaging the appearance of the city.
If I dispose of the corpse, the entire city will be covered with trees, and if I dispose of it normally with fire, the city will burn to the ground.
It would be too much to contact Lang now and ask him to send manpower, so it was safe to say that the history of this city ended today.
The good news is that the souls have completely disappeared and the land is no longer tainted by fraud?
As I was moving forward, thinking about the treatment of this city, I heard a familiar voice in my ear.
[Return this city to its original state.]
I sighed softly and nodded at the snobbish voice that carelessly entered other people’s hearts.
Since it is a place where recovery is impossible anyway, there would be no complaints even if Theresina were alive.
I can’t complain though.
Eventually, after a long walk, we arrived at the mansion, and waiting for us at the front gate was Prince, who gave us the impression of a butler every time we saw him.
“Madam, I was waiting. Let’s go inside. Lady Sarah is waiting.”
I don’t know the circumstances, but it would be safe to interpret the fact that he’s here as if everything went well.
As I stepped inside, I noticed that, unlike the street, there were burn marks inside the garden. It seemed like a battle had taken place here.
Seeing that the mansion visible from a distance was covered in what looked like spider webs, it seemed like that mansion also participated in the battle.
The mansion is participating in the battle.
This is a ridiculous expression that makes you think the world has gone crazy.
As I was walking with that thought in mind, my eyes naturally turned to an overwhelming presence in the distance that I could not pretend to notice, even if I tried to ignore it.
“Sera?”
It is no wonder that the tone inadvertently seemed to doubt her existence.
Sarah, who had Terezina on her knees and sat on top of her in an alluring position, revealed features that had never been seen before on her body.
A horn that emits blue light towers above the head.
Black wings that seem to have a very pleasant scent.
Sarah said while thinking about the corpses scattered throughout the city.
“Welcome. Felt.”
*****
“… Why don’t you negotiate?”
As soon as the thread blocking her mouth disappeared, Terezina spoke calmly, trying desperately to hide her fright.
Upon seeing Sarah’s newly transformed appearance, Terezina’s will to fight disappeared without a trace.
In fact, from the moment I met her at the front gate, I had long since given up that I could not win against Sarah.
In the eyes of Terezina, who had acquired many skills by contracting with numerous demons, Sera was seen as a strong person on a level similar to or slightly lower than Chancellor Lang.
This is not an opponent you can beat.
So, after somehow forcing Sera to retreat, he tried to negotiate by creating an opportunity for dialogue with Felt.
To that end, we wasted time by engaging in long, meaningless conversations, but ironically, such struggles actually brought about anger.
“Still saying negotiation?”
“If you say you’re surrendering, they won’t accept it anyway, right? Think about it carefully. Although I am weaker than you, I am confident that my knowledge of demons is better than anyone else’s. Wouldn’t it be better to keep me alive and use me rather than kill me because of a petty grudge?”
“… … .”
“Felt would want that too, right? therefore… .”
Right after saying that.
The giant, who had been bound by Prince’s thread just a moment ago, raised his hand and attacked Sarah again.
Sarah accepted the hand without any resistance, as if a flying insect was flying at her.
-Crinkly!
While a huge hand was pressing down on Sarah and blocking her vision, Terezina immediately turned around and started running without looking back.
Although she has no intention of pretending to be her mother, Terezina has come to understand Sarah’s personality to some extent over the years.
She is the type of person who is easily swayed by emotions, more than meets the eye.
Even if I were to repeat countless times about Terezina’s usefulness and beg for mercy, I’m sure they wouldn’t listen.
‘As long as you survive, there are plenty of next steps!’
There have been many crises so far.
This is just one of those crises, and it can happen again as long as we live.
A huge hand blocked Terezina’s path as she ran with such vain hopes.
“What?!”
It is the hand of Terezina’s familiar, the mimic giant Flacon.
When a giant hand, trembling as if frightened, blocked her path, Theresina raised her head and looked up at the giant with eyes of disbelief.
On this day, Terezina realized for the first time that even giants could be scared.
I also realized that there was a devil who could not understand the contractor’s command as he issued several commands in his mind.
“There is nothing to blame him for. No devil can resist the power of the king.”
“… The power of the king?”
“Yes, I obey the strong. For the devil, this is like an instinct, so to speak. Unless you are a high-ranking devil with a title, you cannot overcome your instincts.”
“Instinct… .”
As I was pondering those words and trying to gauge what kind of being Sarah had transformed into, the hand that was pressing down on Sarah disappeared and Sarah appeared again.
“I should have stopped… .”
The sight of Sarah complaining while shaking off the dust from her body was extremely peaceful.
Seeing that it didn’t look like she had been crushed by a gigantic demon weighing hundreds of tons, Teresina’s legs gave out and she sat down.
Even if he mobilized all the demons he contracted here, would he be able to inflict even a single wound on her?
She literally turned into something other than a human being.
Sarah, who was realizing that fact, approached Terezina at a leisurely pace as if she was sentencing her to death, grabbed her by the neck, and pierced her chest with one hand.
“Ah… !!!”
Unlike the terrible pain that felt as if her internal organs were being torn apart, Terezina’s chest was pierced and not a single drop of blood came out of her body.
My heart is still beating.
The heart that was racing wildly due to fear proved this.
So what on earth did she see through?
Without even having time to think about it, Terezina screamed like a child and begged without realizing the pain that felt as if her soul was being torn from all directions.
Please stop.
I’d rather kill you.
Words that you can’t believe came out of her mouth, as she always said that there would be a next time as long as she survived.
Some people may laugh at seeing Terezina like this, but anyone who experiences this kind of pain has no choice but to beg and pray.
Eventually, when the pain that felt like being thrown into hell ended, all of Terezina’s contracts with the devil were broken, and some changes occurred in her body.
Small devil-like wings sprouted from her back.
That was the only change that was visible on the outside, but I could see that the entire body had changed into something other than human.
He went from being a human to becoming a devil.
Demonization was one of the methods of life extension she had once considered, but when it took its worst form, she could not hide her bewilderment and fear.
Sarah, who was trembling like a child who had encountered a ghost, straightened herself up and spoke calmly.
“You asked me to save you, right? I’ll give you my life. But it’s not life as a human being.”
I will give you the life of a domestic animal below that of a slave.
Teresina was enraged at the contract’s contents, which, if she had any common sense, would have made her wish for death, but she had no choice but to meekly accept the contract.
If you refuse this contract, what awaits you afterwards is something more terrifying than death.
An entity that manipulates people’s souls and turns them into demons.
Wouldn’t such a being be able to play with even the soul of a dead devil?
scary.
Something after death, something unknown beyond the reach of her imagination, Terezina feared more than anything else.
“From now on, I will treat you like a dog. If you listen carefully, well… . Should I at least throw some dog gum?”
“Ah, ugh… !”
“The answer is a bruise.”
“… … Oh, wow!”
“Right.”
Immediately after, Terezina’s face falls to the ground as a foot is placed on top of her head, almost as if hitting her head.
Her only consolation was that she didn’t have to show her tears.
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