Chapter 134
Chapter 134
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 134
Chapter Title: Decision
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The star-iron circlet that Yuria always wore scattered light around her.
Normally, something like that should suppress any demon or Fragment, but right now, it paid no heed to such things as fierce white energy raged around her.
Thanks to the Fragment's curse now mixed with the white demon's demonic energy, it was breaking through the star-iron circlet and everything else.
‘...It’s about time it exceeds the suppression.’
If it could normally suppress the demon, I wouldn’t have been split in half by Yuria last time to begin with.
But.
[System Log]
[ The event related to the target ‘Yuria’s’ ‘second fragment’ will soon be released! ]
With something like this appearing, it was obvious the demon’s power was growing stronger. Strong enough that even star-iron couldn’t hold it back.
The reason I brought her here was that there was something I could ‘test’ only in a situation like this.
And if I could successfully produce those results.
Homunculus sisters’ enhancement. Gaining an advantage in the main scenario leading into Chapter 4. And as a side benefit, soothing these people’s moods.
And above all.
‘The key’ to unlocking the ‘happy ending.’
I could obtain it all.
‘...Taming the demon, huh.’
I gave a wry smile as I recalled the phrase I’d thought of earlier.
Though I’d phrased it grandly, doing exactly that in the literal sense was impossible.
What I was doing here was just to obtain even a small ‘clue.’
Dangerous as hell, though.
[System Message]
[ The ‘White Demon’ detects the presence of beings related to the ‘Seraph.’ ]
[ The target flies into a rage beyond the point of reason. ]
[ Target ‘Yuria’s’ corruption level surpasses 150%! ]
[ Rampage will occur definitively soon. Take action immediately! ]
I read the messages scrolling down before my eyes and let out a sigh.
I’d known bringing this girl here would lead to this.
Unlike the time I encountered the Fallen Angel in my mental space, the angel uncles here worked directly under the Seraph’s command.
From the perspective of the demon, who had an immense grudge against them in the story, just sensing their presence was enough to make its eyes roll back.
Normally, seeing a corruption level like this would have me breaking out in cold sweats.
‘...Still low, though.’
In a situation like this, it was actually ‘too low.’
I needed to raise it a bit more.
“Saintess.”
“...Y-Yes?!”
I calmly issued instructions to Lucienne, who turned to me in utter bewilderment.
“You have the consecration ritual you always do for Yuria, right? Do it here and now.”
“...By myself?! On Yuria in that state?!”
Lucienne gaped in horror as she looked at Yuria.
Yuria thrashed like a truly captured beast, her reason lost as she lunged toward the angels.
She must have sensed herself that if I hadn’t grabbed her leash just now, she’d have been sliced in half by the path she was on.
“It’s fine.”
I said that as I prepared myself.
One hand on Lucienne’s leash, one on Yuria’s.
I set it up so I could switch their positions freely and continued.
“It’s not just for you to do alone, Saintess.”
“...You drag in a walking bomb out of nowhere, and the way you say it is just—! You bastard, just you wait—!”
Then, the Archangel who had previously passed his divine blessing to me spread his wings with a shriek like that.
For angels, it was something akin to entering ‘battle mode.’
“Ar-Archangel, what the hell is that?!”
“Demon fragment, you idiot! Less talking, get in there now! If that thing blows here, we’re all dead!”
“No, I mean, we’re off duty and everything—what the hell is this?!”
The area grew chaotic in an instant.
Well, from their perspective, it was like they were relaxing after work when suddenly an enemy marshal popped out. It’d be weirder if they didn’t react hysterically.
“Hey, miss! Looks like it’s packing some serious heat, so pin it down first! If it blows here, we’re toast—calm it down somehow!”
“...Wh-what?!”
“No time to explain—going in!”
With those words, divine power from the angels began pouring into Lucienne’s body.
They couldn’t directly affect this side from the Backside World, but they could at least ‘assist’ the Saintess.
Since it was transmitted indirectly across dimensions, the efficiency would be abysmal compared to the original output.
But with the senders being ‘angels’ and in such numbers, it covered for that to some extent.
It was a level of divine power that would rupture a homunculus’s body on the spot, but she was someone who’d dumped all her stats into divine power at the cost of various ‘side effects.’
You could tell just from how her entire body now emanated holy light.
“...Hngh! I don’t even know what’s going on right now, but...!”
And with that influx of energy, Lucienne squeezed her eyes shut and began the consecration ritual.
“You said you were just here to cheer us up, but this scale is way too big---!!”
"..."
I had nothing to say to her scream full of grievance.
Well, that was the original purpose.
But with all the side things I had to handle, this was the result. Bear with me.
Yet contrary to her scream, complex and advanced divine blessings befitting the title of Saintess unfolded one after another.
Just like always, they enveloped Yuria’s body and began erasing the curses layered upon her one by one.
The combination of curse and demonic energy that even star-iron couldn’t suppress wouldn’t have worked at all normally, but bolstered by the angels’ divine power, it was managing somehow. The energy rising from Yuria’s body weakened bit by bit.
“W-Working? Working?!”
“Don’t jinx it! Just a bit more and...!”
The surrounding angels cheered her on in response.
But contrary to that, Yuria clutched her head and let out a howl.
At the same time, the divine power enveloping her was shaken off in one go, and the demonic energy and curse aura emanating from her body grew even more intense than before.
As if rebelling even harder against the divine power.
“...S-see, it’s not working...!”
“No. You did well.”
I said that as I adjusted the leashes. I flung Lucienne’s body far away in an instant and yanked Yuria’s toward me.
With Lucienne screaming as her body flew off into the distance, the distance between Yuria and me closed in a flash.
“...Dawood! Stop, stop—!”
Lucienne shrieked with a face pale as a ghost.
She must remember what happened last time I pulled something like this.
Of course, I’d been split in half once, but this time was different.
There were angels around now, and Lucienne bolstered by their power. The situation wasn’t the same as before.
That’s why I brought her as a safety measure.
And above all.
The state of the one trying to ‘slice’ me was worlds apart.
Yuria’s eyes, already devoid of reason, locked onto me, and she gripped her sword hilt.
But for a moment, her pupils wavered.
She must have recalled the previous similar situation where she’d tried to cleave me in two.
Even with her corruption level past the critical point, the bitter memory etched in her mind instinctively halted her movement.
And that was enough.
“...Hngh!”
I grabbed her by the throat, slammed her to the ground, and forcibly turned her gaze away.
I absolutely could not let her ‘see’ the Fallen Heaven’s Seal on my chest right now.
If I showed her the presence of both the Gray Devil and Blue Devil at once, her corruption level would skyrocket. That wouldn’t do.
What I wanted was exactly the right amount.
[System Message]
[ Target ‘Yuria’s’ corruption level surpasses 300%! ]
[ Target is on the verge of rampage! ]
Good. Perfectly ideal level.
If it had gone over 500% like Elnor’s before and rampaged immediately, it’d be hopeless, but this was right at the ‘verge.’
Normally, whether 300% or 500%, once corruption was confirmed, you’d just repeat ‘dead.’
But now, it made a hugely significant difference.
[System Message]
[ The ‘Fallen Heaven’s Seal’ reacts to the ‘White Demon’s’ energy! ]
The message that always appeared when confronting demonic energy showed up before my eyes.
Normally, that’d be it, but recently I’d died and come back once, unlocking its second stage.
So, assuming my theory was correct.
There was something I could do.
[System Message]
[ Confirming the seal’s stage. ]
[ Stage 2 confirmed. ]
[ ·̶̛͈̪͚̹̺͖͉̪̇̎̃̏̃̎̚͡ͅ ̷̥͉̞͎̯̥̫̳̻͆͊̉̀̾͘͞·̴̵̢̢̥̱̝̘̟͎̯̥̟͖̞͊͐͌̿̎̋̔̈́̃̕̚͘͜͟͝͞͞·̶̛͈̪͚̹̺͖͉̪̇̎̃̏̃̎̚͡ͅ ̷̥͉̞͎̯̥̫̳̻͆͊̉̀̾͘͞·̴̵̢̢̥̱̝̘̟͎̯̥̟͖̞͊͐͌̿̎̋̔̈́̃̕̚͘͜͟͝͞͞ privilege grants control over the target! ]
[ Proceed with ‘subjugation’ of the target? ][ Y/N ]
That’s right.
I smirked inwardly as those messages scrolled down.
No hesitation—I tapped Y.
And at that moment,
[System Message]
[ Subjugating the target’s demonic energy! ]
[ Target’s corruption level plummets! ]
[ The ‘White Demon’s’ demonic energy charges into the ‘Fallen Heaven’s Seal’! ]
[ Energy required for ‘mutation’ charges 33%! ]
With those messages, all the white demonic energy surging around was ‘absorbed’ into my chest.
And the next message was the most important.
This was the reason I was pulling off this stunt.
Please, appear.
Prove that what I just did.
Has the ‘meaning’ I think it does.
[System Message]
[ The ‘White Demon’ momentarily submits to you. ]
[ ‘Worship’ stack +1. ]
[ When stacks are full, the target will function as part of ·̶̛͈̪͚̹̺͖͉̪̇̎̃̏̃̎̚͡ͅ ̷̥͉̞͎̯̥̫̳̻͆͊̉̀̾͘͞·̴̵̢̢̥̱̝̘̟͎̯̥̟͖̞͊͐͌̿̎̋̔̈́̃̕̚͘͜͟͝͞͞·̶̛͈̪͚̹̺͖͉̪̇̎̃̏̃̎̚͡ͅ ̷̥͉̞͎̯̥̫̳̻͆͊̉̀̾͘͞·̴̵̢̢̥̱̝̘̟͎̯̥̟͖̞͊͐͌̿̎̋̔̈́̃̕̚͘͜͟͝͞͞! ]
“...”
Thank goodness.
It worked.
[...You seem to have obtained some crucial clue, my liege.]
Valkasus’s voice came from within the Soul Linker.
[It’s not your usual glee from something going well. Is subjugating that girl just now that important?]
Of course.
It was crucial.
This meant I was becoming a being who could exert ‘dominion’ over demons.
A being that didn’t exist anywhere in the original game’s lore.
“...”
There’d been one thing I’d been thinking about for a while.
The root of this soul trait that makes villains love me—where it came from.
And how far I could develop it.
This ‘interaction’ with Yuria just now was decisive proof backing up my theory.
That I could give them all happy endings.
As I caught my breath thinking that.
“...You, just now.”
The Archangel’s voice came from beside me.
“Did you forcibly ‘seal’ a rampaging demon fragment?”
Unlike their usual noisy demeanor, it was subdued, but I quickly understood why from the surroundings.
All the other angels around were silent with shocked expressions.
Faces like they’d seen the impossible.
“...I can’t do it to that extent. It only worked now because I came fully prepared.”
I gave a wry smile and tossed out that answer.
I’d anticipated the situation, planned meticulously, prepared all the means of control, and struck precisely at the moment the ‘exact level’ hit.
If the fragment rampaged out of the blue, even the Fallen Heaven’s Seal wouldn’t cut it. My head would fly.
It was like hanging a bell on a wild beast with the safety and medical teams all ready. Risky, but doable.
Without prep, I’d just get mauled to death.
“...Honestly, is it that surprising? Subjugating a demon right on the verge of rampage—you guys could do it too if you were in the material world, right?”
“No, what shocks me isn’t that you did it—it’s the ‘way’ you did it.”
“...”
“Of course we could. If we were in the material world, we’d beat the demon down with divine power and shove it back into its vessel. But.”
His words continued in a groan-like tone.
“Just now, that demonic energy seemed to retreat ‘respecting your will.’ Isn’t that right?”
“...”
“As if it recognized you as a ‘higher being.’”
“...”
“And coming prepared from the start makes it sound like you knew it was possible and came to ‘test’ it.”
I had nothing to say, just scratched my head.
As expected, sharp. The Archangel title wasn’t for just anyone.
“...From the first time we met, I knew you’d become something great.”
His voice dropped low again as he continued.
“But what the hell are you turning into right now?”
“...”
Who knows. I couldn’t say straight since the Fallen Heaven’s Seal was only at stage 2.
At least.
I could tell them this much.
That I’d taken the first step toward a feat no one in history had achieved.
“...Dreaming of becoming a vessel large enough.”
“What?”
“Large enough to hold all six demons, that is.”
“...Hold them?”
“I can’t yet, but maybe later?”
“What does that even mean?”
“Hmm... to put it precisely.”
I’d still be chased around sweating bullets whenever one of them rampaged from now on.
But at least, I needed to firmly grasp the ‘end point’ that my vessel and the demons would reach after all that hardship.
“I plan to take all six with me.”
“...”
“Does Pandemonium have laws or anything? Recognize polygamy there?”
“...”
The Archangel’s jaw dropped as he fell silent.
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