Chapter 78
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 78
Chapter Title: Getting Real
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Almost dawn now, but the lights in the Association's control room hadn't gone out.
The staff were pulling an all-nighter with their eyes wide open.
And so was I.
[User, your fatigue has reached critical levels. ]
[How about taking even a short break?]
[ (* •︠ ̯ •︡) ]
The system was right. I nodded.
I'd been planning to do just that.
A quick catnap should be fine.
A few dozen minutes ago, I'd laid out my plan to the Association's team leader and staff here in the control room.
Pairing up with Mary to handle the treatments.
From their perspective, now that devilish sorcery had been confirmed, there were no other options.
Hand capable Hunters over to the devil's clutches.
Or follow my reasonable plan and pray desperately.
One or the other.
"So... when do you plan to start?"
The team leader asked me.
His voice was half-broken from exhaustion.
I glanced at the clock.
It was 4 a.m. now.
Most of the Haetae Guild Hunters were asleep.
Around 6 a.m. should work.
The goal was to wrap it up as fast as possible.
"6 a.m., two hours from now."
One of the staff piped up at my answer.
"Should we... take shifts to sleep, then...?"
His question spoke for everyone's weary hearts.
They nodded without hesitation, eyes bloodshot.
And I was right there with them.
Mary dreamed.
Always the same dream. Waking up drenched in cold sweat, heart pounding like mad.
It always started so peacefully, so beautifully, you wouldn't notice.
The Divine Kingdom of Erebos.
Mary hailed from the Divine Kingdom.
Her homeland was where two moons rose.
A city of ivory spires.
A city brimming with temples.
A world governed by divine law.
She was the first—and last—from there.
In the dream, she was always a little girl.
A trainee priestess in pristine white robes at the grand temple, receiving teachings from her seniors and praying.
To her eyes, the world was nothing but God's grace.
The shining city, the ivory towers.
That was her entire world.
And the nightmare began then.
A rift cracked open in that peaceful sky.
An inexplicable unease crept into the priests' hymns, tension etched on the faces of the holy knights guarding the city.
The Mary in the dream didn't know what was happening yet.
She just vaguely sensed the foul sulfur tainting the fragrant breeze.
Trembling at the adults' anxious gazes.
That's when her gentle sister-priest, always brushing her hair so kindly, rushed up pale-faced and grabbed her small hand desperately. Her sister's hand was ice-cold.
"Mary, this way. It's okay, nothing's wrong."
Her sister led her deep into the grand temple, swiftly hiding her in the secret space beneath the altar.
"Stay here... Don't come out, no matter what. God's grace will be with you. You're God's child..."
Her sister stroked her head with a forced smile, on the verge of tears, then turned to leave. Mary instinctively reached out.
'Grab her. Don't go.'
In the dream, Mary screamed desperately, but couldn't move a finger.
Her voice just echoed in her throat.
Well.
If she'd grabbed her then, it wouldn't be a nightmare.
-BOOM!!
The world came crashing down.
The pillars holding the altar crumbled, and the ceiling of her hiding spot collapsed entirely.
The already cramped space shrank even more.
"Kyaa...!"
Mary screamed, then clamped her mouth shut reflexively.
Pure instinct.
-WAAAAAHHH!!!
Screams of holy knights echoed from outside.
Mary huddled small, shaking uncontrollably.
How much time passed?
All sounds slowly faded.
The deafening roar vanished, leaving utter silence.
Mary spent days like that in the dark.
Senses long gone.
Stomach empty, throat parched.
Vision blurring, consciousness fading.
I'm dying like this.
No grace from God, just like sister said? Nah.
The moment she gave up everything and her eyes began to close.
-Thud...
The heavy stone slab blocking overhead shifted.
A beam of light poured into the darkness.
"Mary, there you are. We searched everywhere."
A familiar voice came through the light.
Mary barely opened her eyes.
There stood the Grand Priest, most revered in the Divine Kingdom.
With the same gentle smile she remembered.
"Priest... sir..."
A cracked whisper escaped her parched lips.
But...
Something was off.
The Grand Priest's robes weren't the dazzling ivory.
They were pitch black.
"......"
The silver sun emblem on his chest was charred black, a serpent crawling at its center.
Mary's body froze.
'Apostle.'
She looked up at his face again.
He extended a hand, cold as ice.
"Fear not, child."
His voice was the same.
But instinctual revulsion hit her.
"Come, take my hand. God has... bestowed new grace upon us."
Mary backed away unconsciously.
Her small body hit the altar's cold wall. Nowhere left to flee.
"No..."
A tiny refusal slipped out.
At those words, the smile vanished from the Grand Priest's face.
His gentle expression twisted into demonic fury in an instant.
"Foolish child."
He reached out.
"No...!!"
Then.
With Mary's cry, a pale purple beam erupted.
"Grah?!"
The sacred flames touched his black robes, and he screamed as they burned.
He flailed madly, but the fire wouldn't die.
Holy Fire.
"GRAAAAH!!"
The flames spread from cloth to flesh.
Human skin melted, revealing what lay beneath.
Obsidian-black skin.
A devil.
And today's dream ended there.
-Twitch!
Mary bolted up in bed like a spring.
Drenched in cold sweat, heart racing wildly.
Eyes open: Association dorm.
But her ears still rang with the phantom screams of her master and comrades.
A nightmare.
Just a nightmare, as always.
"Hoo..."
Mary exhaled a trembling breath, forcing calm.
She got out of bed.
Sweat-soaked pajamas clung unpleasantly.
Bath first.
-Shhh...
Hot water washed over her.
Cold sweat rinsed away.
Mary closed her eyes.
Felt like the nightmare was washing off.
Wrapped in a thick bathrobe, she sank deep into the living room sofa.
Nothing to do.
But no desire to sleep again.
Staring blankly into space.
Then.
-Ding-dong.
Doorbell.
Probably breakfast, she thought.
Grabbing a shirt to throw over the robe, she checked the intercom.
"?!"
But no delivery cart on the screen.
A man, looking a bit tired but smiling softly at the camera.
Yoo Seon-woo.
"...A dream?"
Nightmare over, sweet dream starting?
She'd hoped for it.
How'd he get here?
Not even through counseling.
Right to her door.
She eyed the shirt in her hand... then tossed it over the sofa.
Loosened the bathrobe belt further.
Barefoot, she padded silently to the door.
-Click.
Not expecting it to open so suddenly, surprised eyes met hers beyond.
Yoo Seon-woo stood at the door.
He opened his mouth, then lost words at the sight.
Mary savored his reaction, tracking his gaze persistently.
'Lower. Go on, lower.'
She teased inwardly.
But his eyes never dipped below her face.
Pupils shook briefly in surprise, then locked only on hers.
Her pet succubus whispered that suddenly.
She chuckled.
What do you know.
Yoo Seon-woo was always like this.
"What's up?"
She broke the silence.
He answered calmly.
"Got something to talk about. You're up early?"
"Yeah, rough night—bad dreams."
"I see."
"Come in?"
Mary flung the door wide, stepping aside.
"Sure."
She led him naturally inside.
The room steamed warm from her recent bath.
"Emotion amplification... okay?"
"Hm..."
Mary pondered.
She hadn't just decoded the curse—she'd absorbed the devil at its source, turning it into a familiar.
Hard to explain.
After a moment, she found the most plausible answer.
"I'm good. No big issues."
"That's a relief."
Yoo Seon-woo nodded.
Then shifted topics.
"You still skip breakfast much?"
Spot on.
Mornings, she started with just coffee.
He headed to the kitchen, awaiting her reply.
"Pretty much."
He pulled dripper and mug from the cabinet.
Tore open beans, started brewing.
-Drip... drip...
As if he'd known, seamless.
Even her minor routines stuck with him, after just a few years.
Soon, two steaming mugs sat before her.
"Can we talk over this?"
Mary nodded.
His gaze fixed on her, eyes signaling something important.
Yoo Seon-woo's explanation followed.
The curse wasn't simple mental pollution.
Closer to a mental parasite spread by the devil.
Left alone, it could turn them into devil spawn.
Mary knew from her succubus already, but he knew plenty too.
Impressed by the Association—and him—handling contamination so well.
"So, Mary."
Their eyes met.
"I need your help."
"My help?"
Mary's eyes widened.
Me, helping how?
"Analysis shows... anti-demon and holy mana work against the curse."
Regret tinged his voice.
She was a patient, after all.
Fresh out of an S-rank dungeon too.
Burdening her more—with treating comrades, guilt weighed on him.
He hesitated, licked dry lips.
"So... Mary."
"Really sorry, but your help..."
"I'll do it."
Before he finished, Mary answered firmly.
She rose, sauntered to his sofa arm, perched lightly.
Distance closed in a flash.
"You need my help, right? I'm in."
"...Thanks..."
"But one worry."
Finger to red lips, she feigned concern.
"Fine now, but... emotions might amp up suddenly. Might be dangerous alone."
She glanced slyly.
He replied instantly.
"Don't worry."
Firmly.
"That's my job. Not leaving your side till treatments end."
Mary smiled satisfied.
Whispered lazily, catlike.
"...Sounds good."
His face eased, nodding.
"Association's offering extra rewards too. No worries there."
"Huh?"
Association reward?
Money, probably.
Who cared.
Mary ignored such trivialities.
Then, Yoo Seon-woo extended a hand.
A handshake.
"Looking forward to working with you, Mary."
She clasped it.
As he pulled away, her thumb teasingly grazed his palm softly. His shoulder stiffened briefly.
Mary stuck out her tongue, grinning.
But he beat her, awkwardly.
"So... we can be close again now?"
The question flustered Mary deeply.
Brain stalled.
What?
We were always close.
Not close—blood-boiling longing.
Suppressing emotions since no contact.
"...What do you mean?"
What the hell?
She asked, genuinely baffled.
"Ah... not that."
He thought he'd misspoke, waving hands.
"We got busy, haven't met in ages... felt a bit distant."
He didn't know. How desperately she'd bottled her feelings.
To him, just colleagues drifting apart.
Not drifted at all.
She'd waited.
Afraid to bother if busy.
He'd felt the distance too, hesitated to reach out.
She dove into work since no word came first.
Idle thoughts haunted her.
Both assumed busy, no contact.
Just like that.
'Ah...'
Mary felt the past years wasted.
Laughter bubbled from emptiness.
Looking at his apologetic eyes, she grabbed his hand again.
This time, slender fingers intertwined, fully laced.
"Yeah... let's get close again."
She whispered softly. No need to detail her past agony.
Future mattered more.
She squeezed the laced hand lightly, smiling.
"No, how about deeper than before?"
He smiled, nodded.
"Yeah. Sounds good."
Party formation complete.