Chapter 26
Chapter 26
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Until Dawn Breaks
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Creak.
The only sounds left in the underground chamber were the crackling pops of sparks.
The firmly shut door swung open, and the light of a small lantern stretched out, illuminating the interior.
When it reached the girl made of blue flames at the far end, she, who had been gazing down at the ground, slowly lifted her head.
Meeting Emily's eyes, Pindenai smiled and asked,
"Feeling a bit better now?"
[…….]
At Pindenai's question, the girl glanced down at her own hand. She had thought a necromancer's flames could inflict near-eternal torment.
But perhaps because they merged with her grudge, Maalks's soul had unexpectedly failed to last even a few days before achieving complete annihilation.
[I thought revenge would ease my heart a little.]
"And?"
Pindenai asked gently, as if ready to listen patiently, but Emily took a deep breath, unsure what to do.
The blue flames flickered, signaling her unstable emotions.
[The research director screaming in agony under my grasp, begging for mercy, apologizing—it was definitely satisfying.]
"……."
[But even after he completely vanished, the lump in my chest remains.]
Pindenai nodded in understanding and subtly gestured outside.
"That's why our master prepared a stage just for you. Want to go see it?"
[……Is that really the right thing?]
Pindenai smiled as if enjoying the girl's questioning—it was the best consideration she could offer.
[If I go now, I could inflict the same pain on Ditros Verdi too.]
"Exactly. Just like Maalks, he'll scream in front of you, kneel, and beg forgiveness."
[And if he ends up completely annihilated like Maalks?]
The girl's concern wasn't simply about wanting revenge.
Having already annihilated Maalks, she found it more hollow than expected.
And she had realized that even then, the lump inside her would persist.
[Even if Ditros Verdi vanishes, what if my grudge still lingers? Then who do I unleash this anger on next?]
"……."
The girl's rage was justified.
However, if pouring it out endlessly brought no end...
[Wouldn't that make me another monster?]
Emily gazed at the shattered remnants of the bone centipede. Fear trembled in her voice, tone, and words.
The dread that she too might become a monster consumed by emotion and revenge.
Whether she could vent these feelings as she wished.
"Don't worry."
But to the girl's concern, Pindenai grinned as if it were a foolish question.
"Our master may be annoyingly unlucky,"
[…….]
"But he's a very special necromancer."
Pindenai subtly stepped aside by the door. Now, a straight path led outside before Emily.
"He'll absolutely ensure you never become a monster or an evil spirit."
[Ah.]
Letting out a sigh, Emily had unwittingly taken a step forward. Screams of evil spirits echoed from outside.
She was swept up in the instinctive urge to head there.
"So let's go. Pindenai of the Verdi Family will escort you."
Emily nodded at Pindenai, who politely clasped her hands and bowed.
[I ask you.]
With a soft smile, Pindenai led the way up the stairs, out of the basement, to the first floor, and to the mansion's entrance.
At the main gate stood the head butler and head maid together; they bowed deeply in unison.
"We greet the honored guest."
"We greet the honored guest."
The main gate opened.
Countless souls roamed the dark predawn sky.
Deius Verdi's ritual hadn't merely summoned the souls of the mansion and graveyard—it had drawn in the many spirits wandering the surroundings.
And as numerous souls gathered, even ordinary people could now glimpse them.
This was a temporary phenomenon known as a spirit domain, occurring in places like Robern Academy where spirits congregated heavily.
[Ah.]
Before the gate stretched countless servants, standing at intervals to form a path.
Its end wasn't yet visible, but she knew well who waited there.
Thus, Emily stepped forward, following their guidance without hesitation.
"We greet the honored guest."
Each time she passed a servant, they bowed deeply and greeted her courteously.
The Verdi Family was showing her their utmost respect.
Then, a nearby soul tried to descend onto her path.
Whoosh!
A sword whipped through, stirring wind. It couldn't directly harm the soul but could distort its form.
The man who swung was none other than the current head of the Verdi Family, Darius Verdi.
He stood silently on the path, glanced at Emily, then slowly turned to clear the way.
"I'm sorry."
A brief moment of silence.
Emily accepted it and continued forward.
"Clear the path! Don't let them swarm recklessly!"
"Guard the cemetery area! The candles must not go out!"
As she neared the path's end, gruff voices rang out.
Scrap Merchants members were blocking unrelated souls from interfering with the public graveyard.
Pindenai frowned, worried the commotion might ruin the mood, but Emily knew it was all for her and said nothing.
Boom!
A drum resounded.
Strangely, it tugged at Emily's heartstrings.
And at the path's end.
The black-haired woman, Deia, bowed politely and extended a hand into the graveyard.
"I've been waiting."
Taking over from Pindenai, Deia carefully turned.
Then Pindenai and the other servants turned as well, bidding farewell to Emily's path one last time.
"May you go in peace."
[…….]
Boom!
Passing the old man drumming alongside Deia, she entered the graveyard.
There, countless evil spirits tore into each other ferociously.
[Dieeeee!]
[I'll gouge out your eyes! Just like you did to me! I'll eat your eyeballs!]
[Kaaaaah!]
[Rest? Rest? While I burned with grudge, wandering toward Verdi, you closed your eyes in peace?!]
They ignored their own forms entirely, focused solely on wounding, resenting, and screaming at each other.
It resembled a kind of hell.
And at its center stood Deius Verdi, looking up at them.
Deia, who had guided her this far, bowed deeply and retreated backward.
Now it was time for just the two of them.
"How was it?"
Deius gazed at the evil spirits tearing into each other like a whirlwind in the sky and asked.
"Has your resentment eased a bit?"
Emily hesitated at his probing words, then answered honestly.
[……No.]
"I see."
As if expecting it, Deius calmly continued.
"Can you see the man at the end there?"
A man whose entire body was being torn by countless evil spirits' teeth, yet who thrashed his limbs frantically.
[Yes.]
"That's Ditros Verdi. The man who massacred you, your family, and your kin."
Emily silently tracked him with her eyes. He still seemed unaware of her presence.
"If you inflict the same pain on Ditros Verdi, will that relieve your resentment and let you rest?"
[……I don't know.]
Emily's voice carried a heavy dullness. She exhaled in frustration, unsure what to do.
[I want revenge, but will it truly erase the grudge inside me? I tormented the research director endlessly.]
"……."
[It felt good only at first. After that, only emptiness settled in, and my resentment didn't fade.]
Only now did Deius's gaze turn to Emily. She too cautiously met his eyes.
[What should I do?]
At her words, Deius looked at her for a moment, then spoke in his usual tone.
"Many say revenge is how you resolve resentment."
[…….]
"Indeed, countless souls wander without rest, unable to purge their grudges even in death."
Having witnessed innumerable deaths and heard their laments, Deius could assert this confidently.
"Most of them drift aimlessly, achieving nothing, until exhaustion claims them into rest. Their resentment lingers deep in a corner of their heart, dreaming of a miraculous revenge someday as they close their eyes."
And this scene was granting that very thing.
"Revenge has come, Emily. So what must you do to resolve your grudge?"
[……I.]
Deius's staff tip pointed at Ditros Verdi, now crushed beneath the horde of souls.
"Inflict endless torment on Ditros Verdi until he achieves complete annihilation? Or somehow revive Maalks and make him grovel once more?"
Emily fell silent, gazing at Deius as if demanding an answer. She knew it too—nothing could purge her grudge.
And Deius as well.
"Emily, unfortunately, resentment isn't an emotion that gets spent."
Lowering his staff, Deius looked at her again.
He slowly knelt on one knee, staring into her eyes.
"The phrase 'resolve your resentment' is wrong. Emily, it's a wound. An indelible, deep scar that brings constant pain whenever recalled."
[Ah…….]
If she weren't flames, tears would be streaming from Emily's eyes now.
What Deius had just said.
Meant no salvation remained for her.
"You can't forgive the one who ruined your life and your loved ones' lives just by tormenting the culprit, making him scream, hearing his pleas for life."
[That's right.]
Having already annihilated Maalks, Emily deeply empathized and understood.
Such acts couldn't erase the grudge within her.
Tap.
Deius's hand touched Emily's head. The flames blazed fiercely, but recognizing their master, they warmly enveloped him instead.
"The living can give nothing to the dead. 'For the sake of the dead' is ultimately self-consolation and self-satisfaction."
But he added,
"I'm a necromancer. Coincidentally, I don't fall into 'most.'"
Stroke.
He petted her head.
Emotions and warmth she thought she'd never feel again transmitted through his palm.
"This is the only parting gift I can give you."
[…….]
Emily's entire body began to blaze. Her blue flames burned more intensely and massively than any in the graveyard.
"Regret will remain, but struggle with all your might until dawn breaks."
The ritual is sometimes called a festival.
She vaguely recalled stories that in old times, when a shaman held one, people even from neighboring villages would gather to enjoy it together.
Here, no songs—only resentment and screams toward each other filled the air.
No dances—only ghastly scenes of them tearing into one another unfolded.
The music was simple: just drumming to the rhythm.
Yet.
"Dance and sing to your heart's content. Until you're exhausted and collapse, able to close your eyes naturally."