Chapter 249
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 249
A vivid spectrum of emotion radiated from the girl.
The Demon God took in those shimmering, kaleidoscopic colors and erupted into a maniacal laugh.
“Kukuku. Very well. If you want it, then try and take it!”
To stand before him with such a pitiful amount of power and shout so defiantly…
Humans were truly fascinating creatures.
They were a lesser race with abilities more pathetic than an insect's, possessing no discernible strengths. Other races at least had specialties they could call their own.
Orcs had powerful bodies and overwhelming reproductive rates. Elves had the forest's blessing and long lifespans. Dwarves possessed outstanding dexterity and technical skill.
Giants, who resembled the gods, were descendants of the ancient sages and possessed great wisdom. Dragons, as magical creatures, reigned supreme over all other living things.
But humans were nothing.
They had frail bodies, received no divine blessings, and possessed no remarkable skills. They lacked any particular wisdom, and even their affinity for magic was abysmal.
Where, in all the world, were this race’s strengths?
They were a species that should have been weeded out and vanished long ago. And yet, it was always humans who surpassed the other, stronger races to rule the continent.
This was perhaps the mortal realm's longest-standing mystery.
What, then, made it possible?
The Demon God hoped that this war against the humans would finally provide an answer to his age-old question.
Fwoosh—
The girl rushed toward the Demon God, who was lost in thought.
For a human, her speed was quite impressive, but to the Demon God, she was no faster than a slug. She swung a gauntlet wreathed in mana at him. It looked powerful at a glance, but to him, it was a triviality.
Flick—
The Demon God blocked Ciel’s fist with a mere flick of his finger.
The immense repulsive force generated by the impact sent Ciel flying.
CRASH—!
“……!”
Ciel was flung backward, slamming hard into a distant wall. The debris of the building collapsed on top of her. But before the dust could even settle, the rubble shifted, and the girl’s figure emerged.
“Hah, hah…”
Covered in blood, the girl gasped for breath. Though the impact had shattered bones throughout her body, her eyes remained unshaken. If anything, they burned brighter than before, her will blazing.
Fwoosh—
Like a moth drawn to a flame, the girl flew at the Demon God once more.
The Demon God watched her with cold, sunken eyes.
“……A futile effort.”
It wasn't even worth raising a hand to block anymore.
Vwoom—
A thick barrier of space materialized before the Demon God. The girl’s fist was stopped short, unable to penetrate the transparent wall.
Crrk—
Her entire body trembling, the girl poured more strength into her gauntlet. She looked as if she didn't have the strength to stand, yet a fierce flame still blazed in her eyes.
The Demon God looked at Ciel and spoke.
“……What is it that drives you?”
The difference in their power was beyond comparison. His own power, having descended into a new vessel through the succession ritual, was so immense that no one in the mortal realm could stand against him. He could likely subdue even a Spirit King without much difficulty now.
And yet, she threw her body at him, waging a pointless battle. When the outcome was already decided, why did humans fight to the death? It was an irrational, ephemeral act.
To the Demon God’s question, the girl answered in a trembling voice.
“You… will never understand.”
Sometimes, one must fight even when victory is impossible. There are values worth protecting even at the cost of one’s life. That, perhaps, was the very power that made humans human.
There was no way a hollow being who had lived only in pursuit of strength could ever comprehend it. For the power of will was a right reserved only for the weak.
“Is that so? Then die.”
A powerful surge of mana erupted from the Demon God and began to crush Ciel. For Ciel, whose body was already broken, this was a fatal blow.
Feeling the strength drain from her limbs, Ciel lowered her head.
‘I’m… sorry.’
She couldn't comfort Roen as he agonized over his duty. She couldn't even see him off as he made his grim decision and left everyone behind. Nor could she reawaken Roen, whose soul had been completely consumed by the Demon God.
In truth, she had held a sliver of hope at first—that the moment he saw her, his consciousness would awaken, just like in a fairy tale. If not that, she had hoped that at the end of a desperate battle, Roen’s soul would be revived.
But…
‘Things like that only happen in old fairy tales.’
Ciel bit her lip. The fairy tale where the dead princess awakens with a prince’s kiss and lives happily ever after had not come to pass. Reality was far too cold.
In the end, this was all she could do: to die with him in the place where he had died. Perhaps this was a fitting end for a worthless maid who had failed to protect her master.
As her consciousness began to fade, Ciel managed a faint smile.
‘Still… in my next life.’
If she had a next life, she wanted to meet him one more time. Not as master and servant, but in a much closer relationship. She wished not to walk behind him, but to walk by his side.
Clinging to this small, now unattainable wish, Ciel slowly closed her eyes.
It was at that moment, as Ciel’s consciousness faded…
Thump—
“Keuk—!”
The Demon God suddenly clutched his heart and staggered. A horrific agony, starting from his chest, spread throughout his entire body.
Vwoooom—
Simultaneously, a spatio-temporal barrier unfolded, swallowing his body into another dimension.
Within the space of nothingness, the Demon God realized the source of the agony. He bit his lip and hissed.
“That bastard… he wasn't completely gone!”
Then, Roen’s voice echoed in the Demon God’s mind.
[Yeah. Turns out I couldn't disappear even if I wanted to.]
*
The Demon God writhed, clutching his heart. From beneath the surface of consciousness, I watched him twist in pain.
‘Now that he has control of the body, even the Demon God’s consciousness is bound to it.’
The pain was now entirely his to bear.
“How… is this possible……!”
The Demon God was demanding to know how I was still here. I wasn't entirely sure myself, but I had a guess.
‘I was never a being that belonged to this world in the first place.’
It seemed that even he couldn't just erase my soul as he pleased. Even as he writhed in agony, he screamed his lungs out.
“You want a rematch? You will only be defeated again amidst eternal torment!”
He shouted with confidence, referring to how he had seized control of the body by inflicting pain on me before.
[Doesn't matter. Now you and I are on the same footing.]
Before, the Demon God was the one attacking, so I was the only one who felt pain. But now, things were different.
‘To have control of the body means to be bound to it.’
It was his turn to taste the body’s pain, just as I had. Now, it was a battle of endurance.
At my explanation, the Demon God smirked.
“Kukuk, to challenge me with the mind of a mere mortal. Your courage is commendable. Very well, let us fight on equal terms!”
He declared it boldly. But I cautiously added one more thing.
[Sorry… but the conditions aren't exactly the same.]
A function that had temporarily disappeared when Roen’s body was reconstructed—the system that adjusted the multiplier of the pain I felt—had returned.
[Pain Absorber]
As the body restabilized, the system had reactivated.
‘Until now, I’ve been crawling through hell because I didn't want to die, all due to the constraints of the system's quests.’
And now, at the end of this long story, the time had come to reap the benefits of this damn system.
When I mentioned the Pain Absorber, the Demon God faltered.
“What… does that mean?”
To his stupid question, I replied with a smile.
[It means you're the only one who's going to be in a world of fucking pain, you son of a bitch.]
*
“Kuaaaargh!”
Beyond the dimensional barrier, the Demon God shrieked in the space of nothingness.
It was my body, but I wasn't the one feeling the pain. The Demon God screamed and screamed, feeling the extreme agony coursing through his nerves.
‘An endless cycle of pain.’
Every time the physical pain caused a shift in the soul’s mental fortitude, control of the body would switch back and forth. Whoever held control of the body felt the pain more intensely. The Demon God and I repeatedly exchanged control, locked in a struggle within the cycle of pain.
But the advantage was clearly mine.
Thanks to the Pain Absorber, I only felt ten percent of the pain. Of course, even at a tenth of the intensity, the pain wasn't easy to bear, but compared to before, it was a godsend.
On the other hand, for the Demon God, who had reigned as an absolute being and had never properly experienced ‘pain’ in his entire existence, this situation was fatal.
“Kuaaaaaargh!”
He had mocked me for being a mortal, yet he couldn't even endure the pain that a mortal could. Was this truly an immortal being? It was utterly paradoxical.
Unable to bear it any longer, the being writhing in agony even resorted to threats.
“You bastard! Do you think your woman will be safe while you contend with me?!”
The Demon God was referring to Ciel, who was out there. But I didn't need to worry about that.
‘The flow of time inside the spatio-temporal barrier I created is hundreds of times faster than the outside world.’
It was a barrier that combined the power of the Cognitive Acceleration Stone with a spatial barrier. The stone’s penalty—the inability to breathe—was still in effect, but it was no longer a major drawback. Even if the lack of oxygen led to death, the lungs and the blood vessels in the brain would just be reconstructed, bringing me back to life.
So now, the penalty of the Cognitive Acceleration Stone was just another means of inflicting pain on the Demon God.
‘Well, if there is one problem…’
It was that as long as I was trapped in this spatio-temporal barrier with him, I couldn't go to Ciel. The lovely girl who, even after knowing the whole truth, had come all this way to fight the Demon God to the death. I wanted to go out and greet her right this instant, but the situation didn't allow for it.
When even his threat using Ciel failed, he screamed again in desperation.
“You bastard, do you really intend to repeat this for all eternity? You too will die with me in eternal pain! Forever, in this void of nothingness! But no one will ever know of your sacrifice! Is that truly the future you desire?!”
Eternal pain. A sacrifice no one would ever acknowledge. It was a future I didn't even want to imagine, but…
“……I can do that.”
At the very least, as long as I kept his consciousness tied down, he wouldn't be able to influence this world. That meant Ciel, and everyone else, would be safe. For me, it wasn't a bad deal at all.
“Let’s see who wins.”
*
“What’s happening……”
The Demon God’s form had suddenly vanished beyond the dimensional barrier.
Just moments ago, they had thought the Demon God’s soul had completely taken over the Successor’s body, but judging by the situation, that didn't seem to be the case.
As the other Venerables hesitated, unable to comprehend the situation, Carmilla approached the battered Ciel and offered a hand.
“……I do not require your help.”
But Ciel coldly slapped her hand away. It seemed her feelings toward Carmilla were still bitter due to past events, but from Carmilla’s perspective, that was none of her concern.
“Shut up, you bitch. It’ll be a pain in the ass if you die.”
On the off chance that Roen regained control of his body, that is. He would be devastated if this girl died, and Carmilla didn't have the confidence to handle his rage. She was definitely not healing the girl for the girl’s own sake.
Shhh—
Carmilla forcibly pulled Ciel to her feet and used Blood Magic to heal her wounds.
“Thank you.”
She had refused just a moment ago, but once the treatment was finished, Ciel offered her thanks. Carmilla shot back coldly.
“If you’re grateful, then do your part. If that Demon God bastard comes out of the barrier… you have to be the one to snap him out of it. You’re the only one we can count on.”
“……”
Ciel lowered her head, her expression uncertain. Could she really do what she had already failed to do once? Was Roen’s soul truly still inside that body? And even if it was… would he really answer her call?
Regardless of her own feelings, wasn't it possible that to Roen, she wasn't that significant a person? Various anxieties and troubling thoughts filled Ciel’s mind.
How much more time passed like that?
Crackle— Crackle—
As everyone held their breath, waiting for the outcome, black lightning erupted from the empty air, swirling to form an opening. What emerged from beyond that opening was the Successor, his face weary.
They couldn't know what had happened inside the barrier, but unlike before, it was clear that a final conclusion had been reached.
Thud— Thud—
Who held control of the body? Was it Roen, or the Demon God? Everyone watched the Successor in silence, waiting for the result.
“……”
In the dead silence, the Successor walked with heavy steps. Though his steps lacked strength, he was clearly walking in one direction. Roen walked until he stood before Ciel, who was trembling slightly, and stopped.
Step—
He opened his mouth with a smile.
“Sorry. I’m a little late.”
“!”
Ciel’s eyes widened. Before she could say anything, he silently lifted her chin and pressed his lips to hers.