Chapter 96
Chapter 96
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 96
Chapter Title: The Pupa in the Cocoon Dreams of a Butterfly
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Liliet was the ultimate expert at breaking human minds.
She had shattered a swordsman called Beyond Heaven, whose realm even the greatest Sword Saints of history couldn't touch; a contractor who made a pact with a demon out of pure vengeance to slay the kin of Gluttony from the past; and even the great Dwarf King who once drove the Demon King's army to the brink of ruin. All of them fell by her hand.
In the process of corrupting countless heroes, Liliet had discovered the most efficient method, one that worked flawlessly even on those great figures she'd mentioned.
First, she relentlessly prodded at their unfortunate pasts or traumas. More people broke here than one might expect. In a world where war had raged even before the Demon King appeared, everyone carried wounds in their hearts.
But there were always exceptions—those who clung to flimsy ideals like friendship, justice, or duty. For them, with their strong wills, mere nightmares couldn't trap their egos in the mental world.
How could she break those with ironclad minds? After much thought, Liliet arrived at a simple answer: make them deny the very values that supported them.
Instead of negative memories, evoke happy ones and emotions. Even those who stayed defensively guarded against external stimuli would loosen up with feelings of happiness. It worked even better if she brought in bonds with friends or loved ones.
From there, it was straightforward. She slowly twisted those good memories. Implant trauma into the recollections themselves, sow doubt into their convictions, and drag out the negative sides of their beloved ones.
The moment cracks began to form in the pillars that held them up, the human unconscious inevitably took one of two paths.
They would wake from the dream with a shattered mind, consumed by madness, or erect a massive barrier or cocoon in their unconscious and retreat inside, falling into a dream within a dream. In the real world, their ego would remain asleep forever, leaving them a vegetable.
This time was no different. Liliet would stir Violet's bad memories, corrupt her good ones, and at the end, instill malice toward the last man standing, Arthin. Then Violet would slumber eternally in her dream within a dream.
"That's how it should be... So why isn't it working?!"
A tiny fragment of Liliet, embedded in Violet's unconscious as an aspect of her authority, glared at Violet inside the cocoon and vented her frustration.
Time in the cocoon, the deepest layer of the unconscious, flowed far slower than in the dream. By her fragment's reckoning, it had been nearly a year of pouring everything into destroying Violet's mind.
But every attempt had failed. She had succeeded in guiding her through the process to form the cocoon, but every effort to make her harbor malice toward this man Arthin ended in vain.
"Bullying doesn't faze her, violence doesn't work, cheating doesn't work, ignoring her doesn't work—what the hell is wrong?!"
To put Violet to eternal sleep, the dream within the dream had to be perfect. That required severing all her attachments to the outside world, but she couldn't manage it.
Every time she inflicted a certain level of mental pain, Violet resisted. Whenever it seemed like memories of this man were driving her to rampage as if they meant something special, Liliet had to give up and soothe her back to docility with illusions of Arthin.
Even more infuriating was that she'd tried to interfere with the intruders—Arthin's group—but failed, leaving Arthin and Al'Miraz unchecked.
"Why do the illusions I created ignore my commands and go berserk the moment they glance at him!?"
The illusions, crafted from Violet's memories and warped by Liliet's authority to torment their master, should have obeyed perfectly. Yet Arthin's illusion constantly slipped her control, trying to help Violet instead.
[You're too worried for your own good. Trust yourself as much as you trust me.]
"Again! Again! We need to eliminate the intruders right now—why is some stupid illusion getting in the way!!"
This ridiculous tug-of-war had dragged on for a year in Violet's time. Now, Arthin's group had finally reached the doorstep of her unconscious cocoon. There was no more time to let her sleep.
"Argh! I'm done with all of this!! I've been holding back to conserve power since recovery takes time, but now I'll use every ounce of my fragment's authority to shatter her mind!"
Liliet's fragment knew that the moment Violet's mind collapsed, the part of her embedded in the unconscious would vanish too. But her towering pride wouldn't allow failure over death.
Resigned to sacrificing herself and her subordinates in the dream, Liliet's fragment unleashed all her remaining authority on Violet.
But contrary to the fuming fragment's expression, Violet—still dreaming—wore the most serene look imaginable.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Violet's childhood was filled with loneliness. She had lost her parents young, received only expectations instead of love from her only remaining family, her grandmother, and realized far too early that even her witch sisters were fundamentally strangers.
What had soothed that loneliness for Violet was a single picture book her mother—whom she couldn't even remember—had made just for her when she was a baby.
The protagonist in that book was named Violet too: a pink-haired girl who was none other than the princess of the Magic Kingdom! As a very young child, Violet identified with the heroine, but as she outgrew her childishness, she stopped.
The Violet in the book was loved by all. She was a splendid princess of a nation, a powerful witch who personally punished wicked villains tormenting the people. And at the end of the tale, she married a tall, handsome, wonderful prince in a happy ending.
...In contrast, real-life Violet was a bit different.
She wasn't loved by all like Saint Olga, nor a splendid princess of a nation like Imperial Princess Agnes, nor a genius like Shaomei who magnificently vanquished villains.
So Violet tried even harder. To earn her grandmother's approval, to become like the wonderful Violet in the book, she pushed herself relentlessly, giving her all every moment.
──But all those efforts seemed futile, yielding results far short of her expectations.
A witch's hair changes color upon awakening her innate 'color,' which every witch is born with. Among them, the bloodlines of the seven Great Witches were especially unique. Her grandmother, Valburga Purplecrow, hadn't half her hair turned purple?
Violet? Not a single strand had turned purple even right before enrolling in the Academy. She left the witches' tutelage for the Academy because she could no longer bear her disappointed grandmother's gaze.
Perhaps that's why she never refused Jorba's invitations to the social circle each regression. She was exhausted, yearning for rest. Violet was worn out.
That social circle only made her feel more insignificant over time. Everyone Jorba brought was extraordinary.
Kaiyen, perfect like the prince from her mother's book; Shaomei, hailed as the top genius of the first years; needless to say, Princess Agnes; Giant Slayer Princess Marianne; and even a real prince, Prince Ozzie.
They were all too grand and intimidating for someone who was merely the granddaughter of a great archwitch. All except one person.
Arthin Ludwig. A talentless runt, short in stature, more cute than handsome compared to the other guys—the one ordinary guy who fit right in.
Naturally, Violet felt an inner closeness to Arthin. Everyone else felt like characters from her book, but only Arthin seemed like a real person from her reality.
As expected, they grew close and spent long hours together. Just like in the earlier dream, they studied together, talked, and Violet ended up caring for Arthin, who was always getting hurt or exhausted from his efforts.
And those times became cherished memories, shining like jewels in her heart.
...Of course, Arthin didn't always show his best side.
Sometimes he'd snap in ways that surprised her, spout rough or bizarre words that confused her, show unusual weakness, or blunder repeatedly in pathetic displays.
But none of it bothered Violet. Witnessing those sides of him, overcoming hardships together, that little boy Arthin only grew larger in her heart.
Though she didn't realize it herself, it wasn't just the third regression she cherished. She remembered every regression intensely because each time, she had fallen for that regression's Arthin.
Her little prince—not as splendid or perfect as the one in the book, but the one who made her feel complete, who let her endure anything just by being there. Her one and only prince.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ As Liliet's fragment went all out to torment her, Violet endured nightmares so agonizing she could barely hold on.
"Aaaah—!! Violet! Because of you! Because of you!!"
Images assailed her of Arthin enduring torture—nails ripped out, fingers broken—his screams of agony echoing endlessly.
"To think I raised a worthless wretch like you as my granddaughter. My life is truly shameful."
Her grandmother's contemptuous gaze was ice-cold. She spat those words and left without a backward glance.
"You really think Big Brother confessed because he liked you?"
"Violet, you're just a clueless idiot who doesn't know her place."
Agnes and Shaomei's venomous barbs cut like knives to the chest. They kept mocking her.
It was horrific, agonizing, as if everything about her was being denied. Violet's mind seemed fragile, on the verge of shattering.
But every time she felt like letting go, Arthin came to mind. He had faced death itself, yet when they met again, he smiled at them, encouraged them, showed brightness.
──That must have been painful. Amid those horrific deaths, he could have resented them. But he didn't.
'...I want to be like Arthin too.'
The more Liliet's fragment tormented her by summoning Arthin, the more Violet understood the hardships he'd endured. That year in the dream had tempered her mind with pain and insight.
'I want to become a bold, wonderful girl like the Violet in the book, and be Arthin's strength.'
Amid the endless hellish nightmares, what Violet wished for wasn't despair like others, a plea to stop getting hurt.
──What she yearned for was hope that Liliet couldn't erase no matter how hard she tried.
"I miss you, Arthin."
──Thump
The cocoon enveloping Violet in the deepest unconscious began to pulse. Silence followed.
──Crack
The pupa, once afraid to become a butterfly, had resolved to break free and spread its wings.
"Wait! What are you doing!? I died because of you! Even trying something is a burden on everyone!"
-"Don't be scared. You're stronger than anyone. I'll help you get there." -
The accusing phantom of Arthin began to drown under echoes of his past encouraging voice.
"No! It's not over yet! You arrogant little witch, daring to defy my author—..."
──Slash!
At that moment, a slicing sound rang out, accompanied by a woman's agonized death cry.
Darkness tore open, and pure white light poured through the rift. It was so dazzling that Violet had to shield her eyes.
Simultaneously, the figures who had been berating her vanished. A sharp, bloody metallic scent assaulted her nose from beyond the light.
Violet wondered if this was another nightmare, but the light shining on her felt too warm for that.
"Even a beauty needs her sleep, but you slept way too long, dummy."
A familiar voice—one that always greeted her warmly—came from beyond the light.
"──I'm here to get you, Violet. Time to wake up from the dream."
From the other side of the light, someone extended a hand. Without thinking, Violet reached out and grasped it. A warm hand pulled her from the edge of the dark unconscious.
"Sleep well?"
"...Yeah."
Arthin, covered in blood and wounds, asked gently. Violet held back her rising tears and nodded.
The long nightmare was over.