Chapter 25
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Origin (2)
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Azazel let out a deep sigh as she gazed at the sleeping people.
This monastery was located in a harsh, rugged region that even the dwarves of the north rarely visited.
They had survived until now thanks to an anonymous benefactor who occasionally brought food or money.
Was it mere coincidence that they had come chasing after him?
"Of all people, the ones that she guided here... How absurd. What, are they trying to play family now?"
The thought of her sister's loathsome face—so similar to her own—filled Azazel with irritation. The tentacles writhing behind her reflected her mood.
"Azazel, that man. Doesn't something seem off about him?"
At that moment, a grating voice like metal scraping against metal whispered in Azazel's ear. It was Morgidian, the outer god she had contracted with.
Surprisingly, he was one of the few outer gods benevolent toward humans—rare as a needle in a desert.
It was his arrangement that had amplified her powers, allowing her to put everyone to sleep without dirtying her own hands.
"Pardon? Morgidian, what do you mean?"
The outer god had noticed something amiss and addressed her directly.
"I can't pierce through what dreams he's having. This is the first time I've encountered such a case. A being that can resist an outer god's dignity...?"
At Azazel's feet lay a man with white hair, sleeping soundly. Her tentacles trembled as if resonating with something as she looked at him.
"Could it be that she pulled some trick? Dream demons are inherently resistant to nightmares, after all..."
"No, it's not that simple. The veins in that man's body are completely clogged with 'something.' As if warning off any external intrusion."
"What does that matter? They're all fast asleep in the dream world I've created."
Azazel had holed up in this remote monastery to reclaim the love of Kang Si-woo, who had abandoned her for her sister.
All to reset this flawed world and start over, meeting and loving the man she adored from the beginning.
She had grown strong enough to tear apart everyone in the Papal Court who refused to acknowledge her as a saint,
and she was confident she could burrow into people's hearts deeper than even her sister Gabriel could reach.
"No, this is practically another outer god marking its territory."
Crack, craaaack!
As if to prove Morgidian's words, her tentacles froze solid the moment they tried to approach Bing Yeon even slightly.
"No way..."
This was a first for Azazel too. Outer gods were chaos from beyond the universe, beings beyond human comprehension.
Who could emit such chilling cold as to freeze an outer god's divine form?
"And look at the children he brought with him, Azazel."
At his words, Azazel glanced at the others sprawled on the ground.
A black-haired girl in eastern garb, and a blonde girl in simple cloth clothes like those from a rural village.
Looking at Biwol and Verdandi, she realized they were about her age.
"One bears innate evil energy, the other innate good energy—existences that cannot coexist."
"Like... a demon king and a hero?"
"Exactly. The blonde girl even has the blessing of some god, while the black-haired one is infused with the baleful aura of a ferocious star..."
Wriggle, wriggle.
Unlike with Bing Yeon, who repelled her approach, the black tentacles gently settled over their heads. Morgidian read the information and relayed it to Azazel.
Normally, another outer god would have ripped out their brains or driven them mad.
"Frankly, even I couldn't think of a way to handle them peacefully without putting them to sleep. If they had resisted an outer god's dignity and drawn their weapons, the outcome would have been uncertain."
Morgidian was a benevolent outer god who tried his best not to cause harm, unlike the others.
He had lent Azazel his power out of sympathy for her story of losing the man she loved to her sister.
He only wanted to turn back time so she could meet Kang Si-woo first instead.
But what was this situation now?
Heavenly Killing Star, Heavenly Demon Biwol.
Hero of Justice, Verdandi.
Including Azazel the Saintess of the Outer God,
three beings capable of ravaging the world if they grew up were gathered in one place.
Realizing the gravity of the situation, Morgidian trembled in fear. At least Azazel was bound by contract and wouldn't harm him.
"I have no idea where he found children who could all reach the realm of God-Slaying—monsters like these."
He had glimpsed the possibility that the future Biwol and Verdandi could truly kill him.
"That serious? They just look like ordinary kids to me."
Azazel questioned Morgidian with a puzzled expression. Weren't they just innocently sleeping children right now? If anything seemed threatening...
"Oh, I did glimpse a strange future. But that future will never come to pass."
A future where she and those children, now grown, had the white-haired man tied to a bed with a blindfold, preparing to violate him.
Azazel, who still hadn't given up on Kang Si-woo, vowed in her heart that such a future would never happen.
"I think so too. A master sleeping with his disciples? What a horrific relationship."
Morgidian recoiled his black tentacles as he spoke to her. He knew well how reviled such relations between master and disciple were in society.
"But how can that man travel with children standing at opposite ends of good and evil?"
A sudden question arose. Normally, they would be at each other's throats.
One was the hero said to be chosen directly by the God of Light, the other a demon king-like being fated to live through slaughter, bearing a star's aura.
"Now I understand. That man shouldn't exist."
A chill ran down her spine.
Morgidian peered into Bing Yeon's body and realized something. The ominous energy clogging every vein.
"What are you talking about...?"
"How could a mere human be under the watchful eye of one even higher than me?"
"He looks like an ordinary person."
Azazel eyed Bing Yeon appraisingly, noting no special features or weapons, and voiced her judgment.
Didn't dangerous people usually look more brutish and menacing?
The children who seemed to be his disciples did look threatening, as the outer god said—they had even aimed holy swords of light at her.
But,
"How could you not feel fear upon seeing an ant that speaks human words and is adored by humans?"
The outer god's judgment differed from hers. Morgidian conveyed his thoughts in an icy tone.
There was only one kind of being higher than a Great Old One like himself.
"Those called the Cosmic Origins... is that what you mean?"
"Yes, beings on a completely different level from a mere Great Old One like me."
Outer Gods.
Absolute and ultimate gods who operated beyond the outer universe, in the deepest abyss.
Such a being's favored one stood before her.
"What humans do out of love for ants—like cutting off their legs or burning them in the sun—how could an ant comprehend it?"
This analogy barely scratched the surface; their ecology was filled with utterly unique and incomprehensible traits.
It was why even Morgidian, benevolent to humans, was considered an oddity among outer gods.
"......"
"That man is dangerous. We can't kill him, nor can we let him live. Best to pretend we saw nothing and move on."
"Does that mean abandoning this place? No way! Si-woo said he'd come find me someday!"
Azazel shook her head vehemently, declaring to the outer god that she wouldn't budge an inch.
This place was the site of her first meeting with Kang Si-woo, who had been playing the hero character.
The spot where they had parted with a promise to meet again.
She thrashed with all her might because she didn't want to forget or erase those memories.
"Azazel, sorry, but you need to flee now. The moment it's discovered we touched him, who knows what will happen."
Morgidian manipulated her tentacles, trying to drag her out of the building.
"Then I'll just burrow into their minds and find their weaknesses!"
Ignoring the outer god, Azazel came up with a ploy. Infiltrate the white-haired man's dream and peer into his past thoughts.
The classic way a succubus ensnared humans.
"Absolutely not. All my senses are screaming in protest."
Morgidian rejected her proposal. As she said, others' dreams were transparently clear even to outer gods.
Biwol dreamed of a happy life bound to Bing Yeon, Verdandi of becoming the world's most renowned and just hero, adored by all.
"Peeking into that man's dream means instant death."
It was like a void smeared with black crayon—utter emptiness that revealed nothing.
The moment Azazel stepped into Bing Yeon's dream, she would plunge into endless darkness, go mad, or beg for death.
"Then what do we do? We can't kill him, and we can't leave him alive!"
Azazel stomped in frustration.
A saintess couldn't just kill people. Nor could she run to the Papal Court claiming this man was favored by an Outer God.
She wasn't an officially recognized saintess.
Born a demon race with half-baked holy power. In her life, only the game's player, Kang Si-woo, had understood and loved her.
"If you accept that man's offer, you might buy some time. Outer gods are fickle and capricious, after all."
"Absolutely not! I love only Kang Si-woo, follow only him, and vow eternity beneath him alone!"
As Azazel and Morgidian, linked through her black tentacles, argued,
a rustling sound heralded a presence.
"...Hah, damn it. Of all dreams, it had to be that one."
The hoarse curse and deep sigh came from the white-haired man they feared most.
"Ah, y-you're awake...?"
"Yeah, thanks to someone, I slept like a rock."
It was Bing Yeon.
Regaining his senses, he scanned the room, confirming his disciples were deep in slumber. His final contingency had been utterly foiled.
"Um, are you really human? No one could taste the power of ■■■■■ and stay sane..."
Azazel tried once more to invoke the outer god's true name to subdue him. But unlike before, he seemed completely unaffected.
"Have you lived your whole life deceived? My name is Bing Yeon. I'm the one who came all the way from the East to save you."
Now, he stepped forward, closing the distance with Azazel.
Was he truly blessed by an Outer God? Her shoulders hunched instinctively, her body retreating.
"Azazel. Won't you become my disciple and leave this harsh place? Winter's coming soon—you'd be trapped here alone for months, unable to descend to the city."
Bing Yeon attempted persuasion.
"No. If you're so insistent, then subdue me by force."
But Azazel's resolve didn't waver. She was ready to stake her life to defend this place.
"...Fine. I'll take you by force then. The one you're waiting for will never come."
Exhaling cold air, Bing Yeon assumed a stance to drag away Azazel, who pined eternally for a protagonist who would never arrive.