Chapter 112
Chapter 112
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 112
Chapter Title: Assemble!
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Clack—.
After sending Sion off, Trisha’s expression twisted into something grotesque in an instant.
She was dying to chase after the man who had just left the room, but these strange women had gathered and were holding her back—it was enough to drive her mad.
‘Should I just kill them?’
The flames that the Stigma had possessed transferred over to Trisha’s psyche, swelling into an even greater inferno.
They blazed fiercely, as if she herself might erupt into a bolt of fire and engulf the entire world at any moment.
But the leader of the group she faced was the Succubus Queen.
A being who knew her way around toying with reason, and who had a keen sense for reading a woman’s heart.
“If you start a fight right here, some will die and some will live.
But what if Sion ends up on the dying side? What would you do then?”
At Lilith’s words, Trisha’s body twitched and trembled.
She could kill anything that tried to take Sion away from her.
But the thought of killing Sion herself? She had never even considered it.
She couldn’t. She had never once harbored such an idea.
Because what she wanted was to possess him, not destroy him.
“Cut the crap, you demon.”
“You must have sensed it too, even vaguely—that Sion can’t handle mana.
He’s a human child who wields the Stigma, albeit faintly.”
“...”
“You’re free to show off your power in front of that man. But if you end up hurting even a hair on his head, this big sister might just lose it completely and go berserk, you know?”
Trisha showed a flicker of tension at those words.
An upper-class knight, Risikida.
Strong, but a match she could handle.
The mage woman standing beside her.
Her mana was potent, sure, but her physical abilities were lacking, so a little attention would let Trisha take her down easily.
And that cat? A bit tricky, but nothing she couldn’t beat.
But the demon woman standing right in front of her, wearing that relaxed smile—that one was different.
‘She’s strong.’
The Stigma slumbering within her sent a chilling warning.
If they clashed again in her current incomplete state, her head really would roll.
She needed more time if she wanted a real fight.
But Trisha ignored the Stigma’s words.
Because in the moment she had briefly merged with it, she had witnessed fragments of what the heavenly race intended to do upon descending to this land.
‘Shut up.
You want something different from me, don’t you?
You crave a new world, but I want this one.
I don’t care about some shiny new world full of hope without Sion.
As long as Sion is there, I’ll take any hopeless, filthy world.
If you lot insist on burning it all down, I’ll use this power to incinerate every last one of you fire-crazed maniacs.’
Roar—.
Flames and lightning answered the fire in Trisha’s heart.
They were clearly their heralds and vanguard.
Fine, she wouldn’t deny that.
But they weren’t parasitic trash—they were beings who respected and coexisted with each other.
If she wanted to burn, they would burn. If not, they would simply watch.
‘I don’t believe you.
You plan to torch my world—the one with Sion and my brother.
Before you do, I’ll burn all you smug heavenly bitches first.’
In response, the flames and lightning spoke again.
If that’s what she wanted, so be it.
If it was the heavenly race’s fate, then there was no helping it.
“What are you doing?
You’re glaring at me like I murdered your family or something.”
Lilith’s slender, smooth finger poked at Trisha’s forehead.
Trisha glared back with murderous intent flashing in her orange eyes, but she showed no sign of actually using force.
“Oh my.
Is this little thing scared?
Ufufu!
Yeah, even with the Stigma, it’s just a mark dwelling in a human body—what can you do?”
“...Shut up.
And I know your situation isn’t all that great either.”
“What?”
“Your mana.
You’re almost out, aren’t you?”
Lilith’s face hardened coldly at the sharp jab.
She’d been trying to play it cool, but her secret had been exposed in one go, and irritation bubbled up.
“Pot calling the kettle black, so let’s drop the provocations.
I’ll hold back for now, if only for Sion’s sake.”
“...Ahaha.
Our little brat’s getting too cocky.
Want to settle this right here?”
Even with all those women around Sion, Lilith hadn’t felt much rivalry because the others respected her.
They were close to Sion, harbored good feelings for each other, but they didn’t monopolize him or dismiss the women who had been by his side first.
That unspoken rule had kept the peace until now.
Risikida, Lucia, and even Lia.
All of them had chosen that path for Sion’s sake.
But Trisha was different.
She openly declared him as hers, vowed to monopolize him, bared her teeth at the other women.
She’d shown staggering possessiveness toward Sion right in front of everyone.
‘This is a declaration of war.
No, not even that—she just smashed us over the head from behind.’
Thanks to that, Lilith wasn’t the only one whose feathers were ruffled; the other women were deeply offended too.
Who wouldn’t want to monopolize the man they’d fallen for all on their own?
They were just suppressing that natural desire because they didn’t want to fight, didn’t want to risk losing Sion’s heart in the crossfire.
And Trisha had yanked that ultra-sensitive trigger without a second thought.
“I can understand having feelings for the Young Lord.
Even spending time with him is fine.
But monopolizing him alone? That’s where I draw the line.”
“Hah.
You were calling me ‘squire this’ and ‘squire that,’ cornering me, and now it’s all polite honorifics?
What, you got a Dark Dragon tucked in your chest too?”
“I-I was just fulfilling my assigned duty!”
“...I was about to rip you apart first, but good thing I changed my mind.
Thanks to you, I actually thought seriously about my relationship with my brother—and ended up connecting with Sion too.”
With that, Trisha grinned at Risikida.
“If you hadn’t treated me like dirt, none of this would’ve happened.”
“Th-that’s!”
Risikida nearly blurted out what had happened between her and Sion on reflex.
But she wasn’t the type to run her mouth, and more than that, she absolutely didn’t want rumors or weird stories about Sion coming from anyone else’s lips.
She was fine taking the blame and misunderstandings herself.
She couldn’t afford to lose her beloved lord over something so trivial.
“Your words are a bit much.
You think we’d just stand by if you tried to harm Risikida?”
“Nyaang!
That’s right!
Touch her and you’ll get a major scolding from us!
Haaah!”
“Hah.
Minus that demon woman, you lot weren’t much help in a fight, and now you’ve got a lot to say.”
“Those chatty women are all the ones Sion dotes on and finds cute.
I’m really curious how he’d react if you threw a tantrum trying to monopolize him and ended up hurting them.”
“...”
Trisha let out a groan at Lilith’s words.
Sion was her man, unconditionally.
Not now, but someday, absolutely.
She wouldn’t give him to anyone.
Only she could hold him close, feel his warmth, claim him entirely.
But there were way too many others who wanted the same.
One of them was stronger than her right now, and that one was protecting the rest.
Above all, the thought of what Sion might do if even one of them got hurt instantly quelled her killing intent.
‘Do I really have to put up with them?’
It felt like flames were surging inside her.
She was supposed to savor the finest delicacies alone, rationing them bit by bit—and now she had to share?
No way she could accept that easily.
At that moment, the Stigma within Trisha spat out a tiny spark.
‘...What?’
Roar—.
‘Do it that way?
Follow what they say?
Hah, what nonsense...’
But at the next advice from the flames and lightning, Trisha clamped her mouth shut.
You want that human man, and you want his affection—so step back for now.
But don’t go soft like them, they warned.
‘...Make Sion stick to me on his own?’
Roar, crackle—.
Yes, the flames and lightning answered in unison.
Trisha glanced around subtly.
Setting aside the demon woman and the beastkin for now, starting with the two human women who seemed easiest.
‘...Knight, mage.
Talented, sure, but not hugely threatening.’
Even the greatest genius had limits.
To Trisha—and the Stigma within—even if those two grew more, they’d hit a wall soon enough.
So no real worry there.
‘Next, beastkin.
Specifically... yeah, feline-kin.’
Her combat power didn’t stand out much either.
But the flames and lightning flinched and pointed something out.
A small, sparkling blue scar on Lia’s forehead emitting a faint glow.
The old Trisha wouldn’t have known what it was if she died and came back to life, but now, partially attuned to the Stigma, she understood its meaning—and the changes it might bring later.
‘What’s the difference from you?
Lightning in both cases, isn’t it?’
Roar—.
Crackle!
The flames and lightning replied in turn.
Theirs was red lightning laced with fire and sparks from it, while the feline-kin’s mark was pure, thunderous blue electricity.
‘So I need to watch out for her, huh?’
Muttering that, Trisha finally looked at the demon woman, Lilith.
She’d thought she could edge out even Lia and monopolize Sion’s attention and love, but staring at that woman melted her confidence away like snow in spring sun.
‘...Succubi are cheating.’
Trisha clicked her tongue inwardly.
Succubi were beings who seduced by whispering sweet nothings into the ear of reason, after all.
Beating one to claim ultimate victory? Honestly, Trisha couldn’t be so sure.
Roar—.
The flames asked if she planned to give up, then.
‘What are you talking about?
Sion is mine.
I’ll never give up.
Not even over my dead body.’
She would be the final victor.
It was just that she couldn’t force a win right now, so she had to avoid pointless fights that drained her strength or cost her points.
“...”
Trisha extended her hand toward Lilith.
The Succubus Queen shot her a look asking what this was about, and Trisha answered.
“A truce proposal.
No hostilities until Sion can focus solely on us without any distractions—and make his choice.”
“Hmm?”
Lilith tilted her head at the sudden offer.
This crazy woman handing over her hand so meekly? Highly suspicious.
She’d seemed ready to burn them all alive moments ago.
‘...She’s got something up her sleeve.’
If she were an ordinary human, maybe not—but Lilith was a demon.
The highest-ranking one, queen of the succubi.
She could read intentions from a glance.
‘Strong, sure, but green. Lucky for me, or just stupid?’
Normally, she’d call out the scheme and pressure her to drop it.
A bit more talk would reveal whatever petty trick she was plotting.
But this wasn’t a normal human woman—she was partially synced with the Stigma.
Push too hard, and she might snap and do something unpredictable.
‘And if she promises to stay quiet, that’s a godsend for me right now.’
With her mana nearly depleted, even holding this stance was getting tough.
She needed to rush to Sion, throw a tantrum, and flirt shamelessly—but with this lunatic blocking the way, she couldn’t relax.
“...You know exactly who Sion’s enemy is?”
Lilith tossed the question indirectly.
Trisha had probably glimpsed it through the Stigma too, at least partially.
Who the ones were that sought to burn the continent, to erase the world where Sion lived.
Just who their true enemies were.
“Would I be pulling this nonsense if I didn’t?”
At Trisha’s reply, Lilith smirked and took her hand.
She didn’t fully trust the woman, but two things were certain.
One: her feelings for Sion were genuine.
Two: The heavenly race might one day face this woman as their foe and scream in despair-filled horror.
“Tr-Trisha!”
The door burst open as Jimmy Faker rushed in.
He frantically checked his little sister for any serious injuries.
“I heard the story.
You pushed through the exam until you passed out...”
“Who do you think I am? Of course I passed!
This Trisha... ahem!
D-Dark Dragon, yeah!”
Now synced with the Stigma, she seemed a bit embarrassed about her old Black Flame Dragon persona.
But she couldn’t show this sudden change in front of her brother, so Trisha put on her old act and calmed him down.
“...”
Watching it all, Lilith sank into thought.
‘The ones who tried to assassinate Sion could come again anytime.’
Yeah, they might knock on the door again without warning.
So the more shields guarding Sion, the better.
Why?
Because while someone held the shield and blocked attacks, she could hide behind and enjoy some deep loving with Sion!