Chapter 31
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: Sin - 4
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Sera's eyes still gleamed a deep blue even in this darkness. When we were kids, I used to envy those pretty eyes of hers. Unlike my utterly ordinary black ones, hers sparkled beautifully in the clear sky during the day. At least those eyes still shone with the same unchanged purity.
But everything else about her felt horrifyingly defiled.
Her flushed body was still slick with viscous fluids. Saliva, sweat, and love juices—all mixed together, glistening on her soft skin. My gaze slowly traced a bead of sweat as it trickled down her body.
Her figure was similar to Nadia's in some ways, yet vastly different in others. For one, there wasn't a single wound on her body, unlike Nadia. Compared to Nadia's skin, scarred with brutal gashes, Sera's was as pure as untouched snow.
Instead, her body bore the heavy traces of other men who had passed through it.
Lip marks clearly imprinted on her protruding nipples. Discolored labia and handprints from strangers that no amount of scrubbing could erase. And above all, a faint semen stench wafting from her entire body. As I carefully examined those indelible stains of filth that even washing couldn't remove, Sera's voice suddenly reached me.
"Luca..."
Yeah. They always called my name like that. Each carrying their own stories and emotions.
I looked up, and Sera was staring at me with an incredibly complicated expression. Countless predictable questions mingled with ones only she could ask, swirling behind her lips. But in the end, all she could manage was a simple phrase.
"Luca... Is that really you?"
I didn't answer. Instead, I stared straight into her eyes.
"Luca, you... it's really you? That can't be... How... How..."
"You thought I was dead?"
The moment I spoke for the first time, Sera hurriedly opened her mouth, then trailed off.
"Ah... No! I just..."
This time, Sera's eyes scanned my body thoroughly. Eyes, shoulders, then arms and legs in sequence—before returning to my face.
"It really is you, Luca. But... why are you here?"
Doubt resurfaced on her face. Her mouth agape and eyes wide, she almost looked innocent.
"Don't tell me... you came to save me?"
A faint smile crept in, and a slender breath brushed toward my face. I just silently met her gaze.
"That's it, right? The moment you broke free from the curse, you heard about me and came? You found out I was caught by Bobby and suffering like this, so you came to get me out. Right?"
"..."
"I knew it... Yeah... It has to be. Right? Luca, why won't you answer..."
"Sera."
"Yeah?"
Her eyes sparkled at the sound of my voice for the first time, looking my way. But soon, as if realizing something, her face flushed, and she shook off my hand, scrambling backward.
"W-Wait... No...!"
The moment I loosened my grip on her wrist, Sera crawled awkwardly toward the corner. For a second, I wondered if she was calling for help, but what she desperately grabbed was the clothes she'd discarded earlier.
"No! Don't look!"
A sharp scream echoed through the room. Sera clutched the thin scrap of fabric preciously, covering her exposed nakedness. Her face had turned bright red with shame.
"You can't see me... like this... like this..."
Her wandering hands moved downward, then up again, finally covering her face. She curled up tightly, hiding her face before slowly peeking through her fingers at me.
I watched her, then took a step toward her.
With each step I took, she shrank back more. But when I was close enough to touch, she lowered her arms slightly.
And reached out toward me.
It hit me then. I had reached out to her too. Watching her desperately cry for help, I'd stretched out a hand that would never reach.
Sera might have thought that now, finally, I would take her hand.
But she'd realize the truth soon enough.
That it was all far too late.
I passed by her outstretched hand, knelt on one knee, and bowed my head. Then I spoke heavily.
"Sera."
"Yeah?"
"Where's Bobby."
"Bobby...?"
She tilted her head as if hearing the name for the first time. But she quickly regained her bright smile and replied.
"Ah, right. Of course. You have to deal with Bobby first. Right? That's why you're asking?"
Why did hope always bloom in the midst of despair? It suddenly struck me that hope was no different from weeds. No matter how much you trampled, uprooted, or burned them, they sprouted annoyingly in people's hearts at some point.
Uprooting the hope in my own heart had been exhausting enough. Burning the hope that grew in others' always required even greater effort.
"I know, Luca. I know where that bastard is and what he's doing. Just get me out of here, and I'll tell you everything. Okay? Let's get out of here right now. Then..."
"Tell me now, Sera."
"Should I? But Luca, people could come in here anytime... We can talk slowly outside..."
I quietly grabbed her ear. The earring bearing the Order's emblem dangled from her fragile lobe, as if it would crumble at a touch.
"Luca...? What's wrong..."
"Tell me where Bobby is."
"I'll tell you. So let go of my ear...?"
I tugged the earring slightly, and Sera winced as if in pain. Each pull tilted her face toward it.
"Tell me now."
"Luca... stop... I'm scared right now. Don't do this... please?"
"Where's Bobby?"
I gripped her neck to hold her head steady, then pulled the earring again. Her earlobe stretched until the hole was visible.
"Ah... aaa... sob..."
"Sera. Answer me."
"Why are you doing this to me, Luca...? Are you mad because... because of what happened to me? Is that it?"
As the flesh stretched and blood began to seep, tears welled up in Sera's eyes. Watching her, I asked once more.
"Where's Bobby."
"Bobby... Bobby's in the basement under the confessional... But the guards are tight, and the paths are complicated. You'll need me. No... what am I saying. You need me anyway. Right, Luca?"
"Why would I?"
"Because we're... friends. Right? The only one in the world... your friend."
The word "friends" barely emerged after a long hesitation. The words she really wanted to say hid beneath vile hypocrisy, buried in another truth.
"The only friend, huh..."
"Yes, Luca. Truly the only... Ah... sob... it hurts, Luca..."
I paused my hand for a moment. Then I leaned in close to her face and asked.
"Then what about Eli?"
"Huh...?"
"You cast her aside like that because she wasn't a friend?"
Sera's lips parted in shock. It took her a painfully long time to grasp that simple truth. But eventually, she realized everything and voiced it anyway.
"You... you knew everything?"
I didn't answer. There was no need.
"Luca... sob..."
I pulled the earring again. Now the flesh tore visibly, blood flowing.
"Don't do this, Luca. I... I had my reasons."
"I know. I saw it all."
"Then you know what happened to me."
"I know what you did to Eli too."
"I...!"
Sera clamped her lips shut as if speechless, her face trembling. The smile was gone from her face now. The familiar stench of fear I'd once smelled on Nadia wafted thickly from her.
"Lucaaa... aaah...!"
"Spill everything about Bobby. I have plenty to say anyway."
"Luca... please don't... I just...!"
Sniffling, she suddenly stopped, her mouth hanging open blankly. Her pain-twisted brows relaxed, and the faint resistance in her gripped neck faded.
I'd thought the moment Sera grasped the truth, all her hope would shatter. But I was too naive. Hope was a far more tenacious germ than I'd imagined.
Blood trickled from her ear, soaking my fingers and seeping into my clothes. At the same time, a tear clinging to her eye fell, sliding between her lips. And those lips, tasting the saltwater, bloomed with another faint smile.
"Are you... punishing me right now? Is that it, Luca?"
"..."
"That's it, right? Punish me and then forgive me? Right?"
I wanted to close my eyes. I'd thought Sera might have grown a little, but after all that suffering, she hadn't changed at all.
"Ah... haha... I knew it. You're mad, right? Of course you are. I get it."
Tears still poured from her eyes. But her smile grew brighter. Sera inched closer to me, pleading in a tear-soaked voice.
"Okay, Luca. Punish me then. Hurt me. If it makes you feel better, I'll endure any pain, Luca."
"Sera."
"Go ahead. Tear me apart if you want. Scar me as much as you like. Destroy me completely. Play with me and rough me up until you're satisfied."
She even pulled her own ear herself. Even as the hole tore open and blood flowed, she didn't stop.
"Break me. Punish me as much as I hurt you."
Sera endured the pouring pain silently for a moment, lips pressed tight. Then, clasping her hands together prayerfully, she spoke earnestly.
"But Luca..."
"..."
"After it's all over... you'll forgive me, right?"
A single tear dropped, staining my pants darkly. I looked into her now sparkling sky-blue eyes, then turned my gaze to the pitch-black darkness.
Why did weeds grow stronger and tougher every time you trampled them?
Knowing death was their fate, why did they cling so desperately to life?
Crushing Nadia had been easy. Just tear and break her as desired. That's the kind of person she was—bowing to the strong and submitting simply to the situation.
But Sera was a bit different.
To flood her heart with despair, it seemed I needed some primer first.
I released the earring. As the stretched flesh contracted with faint pain, Sera squeezed one eye shut.
"Sera."
"Ah... ugh... yeah... Luca."
Just hearing her name made her wag her head happily like a puppy.
"You want forgiveness that badly?"
"Yes. I want to be forgiven."
"Why?"
"I... I..."
Sera bit her lip to hold back tears, then forced a bright smile.
"I don't want to be hated anymore, Luca. Especially not by you."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. It's the truth. I..."
"Sorry, but I can't believe that."
"Why...?"
"You already abandoned me once."
"That was...!"
Sera lunged at me desperately. I stepped back, and she fell face-first onto the floor ungracefully. Tears trickled out, but she still lifted her face toward me.
"I had no choice... You know that, Luca."
"No. You did have a choice, Sera."
I bent down toward her. The priestly robe she wore slipped off and fell to the floor.
"That's why I doubt it. Do you even feel remorse? Do you know what you did wrong?"
"Of... of course I do, Luca! Of course..."
"Yeah?"
Tears flowed from her eyes again from the pain of the fall. I deliberately wiped them with the ringed finger. A teardrop fell from her sky-blue iris onto the golden band. For a brief moment, her eyes shone with hope.
"I see."
I slowly stood up. Then I picked up a potion bottle from the corner of the room.
Crash!
I smashed it against the wall with all my strength. Glass shattered, sharp shards scattering across the floor. I tossed one in front of Sera and said indifferently.
"Then prove it."
"Huh?"
Sera looked up at me blankly. But I avoided her eyes, staring only at the glass shard. Trembling, she picked it up carefully.
"What does this mean, Luca?"
I didn't answer. Instead, I knelt and gently stroked her soft hair. The moment my hand touched, Sera smiled with hope, rubbing her cheek against it.
But at the last second, I pulled away and stood. Walking toward the door, I said one thing.
"I'll come back in two days."
"Luca...!"
Her desperate voice rang in my ears. But I didn't turn around.
"Lu...!"
Before she could call my name again, I left the room. Just before the door closed, I heard something like a sob. Or maybe laughter. Either way, it didn't bother me. It neither soured my mood nor amused me.
Still, if I had to pick, I hoped it was the latter.