Betrayal
I removed the glasses this body had been wearing and gave a slight nod to Isabelle, who was visibly tense.
"Your master's friend, his owner, and your mother."
"It's not that complicated, is it? It's exactly what I said. Your master has become nothing more than a slave who only knows how to offer his desire to me now."
Isabelle's eyes widened in disbelief as she gripped her gun even tighter. Her voice trembled with barely contained patience. It was honestly adorable.
The woman who had once despised the Mask's owner and the Saintesses had now become a Saintess herself, burning with rage on her master's behalf. Watching her play right into my hands without realizing it, I couldn't help but burst into laughter as I stood up.
"To me, Choi Woo-joo was a goose that laid golden eggs. A goose that endlessly produced high-quality desire, the greatest goose of all—one that wouldn't die no matter how many eggs it laid! The only flaw is that he's a bit capricious..."
"......"
"Anyway, waiting around for that stubborn goose to lay eggs was driving me insane. Sometimes he'd produce, sometimes he'd stop if something went wrong... And Choi Woo-joo proved completely immune to having his reason stolen. After all, he's just a human, yet he possesses a desire far greater than my own power. Hehe..."
As expected of Isabelle. Even with me standing right in front of her, she kept the gun barrel pressed firmly against my forehead, maintaining her composure.
"It's been so long since I had someone to talk to that I got carried away. Anyway, the conclusion is—"
"Ugh?!"
Isabelle let out a groan and dropped the gun she'd been gripping so tightly. I climbed up her now-stiffened arm and gently stroked her cheek.
"It means I slowly tampered with that goose called Choi Woo-joo's tiny brain until he had no choice but to obey me."
"What...?!"
When I first made him my contractor by chance, I thought he was just a disposable man. That was before I saw the desire spreading out endlessly within him, sparkling like stars across the universe. If I could make that desire—that universe—mine, I could realize my dream in an instant instead of waiting centuries.
It took me hundreds of years to develop the intellect to understand the purpose of my birth. Thousands of years had passed just cycling through contractors and Saintesses for the sake of my dream as a 'witch.' And I would need tens of thousands more to create a body of my own.
But here was a desire vast enough to leap across eternity. In my ecstasy, I immediately tried to dominate his reason, but I failed. Inside his universe, my power was smaller and more insignificant than a speck of dust.
Still, I didn't give up. If dominating him all at once was impossible, I'd do it little by little. I deceived Choi Woo-joo, devoured his desire, and stockpiled immense power. I invested that power back into him to earn his trust, slowly dyeing his inner world with my own strength.
The result? Success. I had grown strong enough to exert influence over his soul. I engraved domination into Choi Woo-joo's subconscious, brainwashing him into a slave who would spew desire and semen like a dispenser. By the time he wakes up again, he'll probably have become a beast who can think of nothing but mounting women.
"Honestly, I never expected things to go this smoothly... It's all thanks to you, Isabelle. Hehe, you really are my daughter."
Even with her arm twisted in midair, she endured the pain and focused solely on finding Choi Woo-joo. Her willpower and obsessive attachment to her pillar of support had been incredibly useful for my dream as well.
"...Do you remember the day you killed that human named Park Jaehyeok? Your master's friend, I mean."
"............What...?"
Isabelle's expression hardened. As I thought. How pitiful... She had been blaming herself for everything, hadn't she?
Time to lift the heavy burden that had been tormenting her.
"Doesn't something feel off? The idea that Park Jaehyeok died because of your mistake... You administered the memory-erasure drug too early, and he got hit by a bus, right? That man."
"Don't misunderstand~ I'm on your side. There's no way Isabelle would make a mistake like that. I'm just pointing out the strange parts. It wasn't even an urgent situation, so why were you in such a rush? Why did you ignore your colleagues' opinions and administer the memory-erasure drug to a civilian who wasn't even the Mask's owner?"
It hurts my heart to see Isabelle suffering over her past mistakes. So let's reveal the truth quickly.
"Because I ordered you to. You simply followed my command."
"........What are you saying right now...."
"Hehe, do you remember reading the characters engraved on my true body when you were little? You barely avoided becoming a Saintess, but even then, your mind had already connected with mine. Thanks to that, I wasn't bored during those ten years I was trapped in the British branch. I had fun controlling your mind! It was like a game—manipulating and raising a single human life exactly as I wished... It was incredibly entertaining."
"Th-that... what... are you... s-saying...."
Isabelle trembled violently, tears streaming down her face as she was swallowed by the terror of her past darkness. I pulled her into a tight embrace and whispered into her ear.
"...The fact that you chased after your adoptive father and dreamed of becoming an agent, that you returned to the British branch, that you were able to grow so strong, and that you killed your master's friend—every single thing—"
"....Ah, aah...."
"It was all me."
The ten-year-old Isabelle I happened to meet possessed a soul perfectly compatible with my power. Her father, who had been my contractor at the time, tried to turn his own daughter into a Saintess, but her soul—similar in nature to mine—rejected the transformation and pushed me away. That little girl who refused to become a Saintess, the power of her soul, intrigued me.
Just before the witch hunters stormed in, slaughtering my contractors and Saintesses and nearly sealing me away as well, I infused the 'possession' character—the one that resonated most strongly with young Isabelle—into her. The power of that character was engraved upon her, and at the same time, a small passage connecting us was created.
How such a thing was even possible was beside the point. The fact that a human who hadn't even become a Saintess could resonate with my character and move according to my will... It was the moment I obtained a joker card that would shine in some crucial moment, whenever that might be.
So during the time I was sealed, I twisted and manipulated her will. I had cherished and raised my cute daughter, thinking that planting a spy of my own among the witch hunters would prove useful someday. But I had completely forgotten about her.
Time passed, and just when Choi Woo-joo's growing suspicion was becoming troublesome, my daughter—Isabelle Kang—appeared at the perfect moment. Thanks to her, everything worked out beautifully.
"Ahaha! So it wasn't your fault at all. And, and! You know what? I've been thinking about it, and... Didn't I create who you are now? If you look at it that way, doesn't that make me your mother, and you my daughter? Ufufu, what do you think?!"
"...................I'll kill you...."
"Hm?"
My precious daughter was muttering something with hollow eyes as tears fell from them. I brought my ear closer to hear her adorable tantrum, and finally caught it clearly.
"Krrrrgh...!!"
"Raising your hand against your mother? That's called being unfilial, you know."
Isabelle is a grateful human who willingly offered her short life for my dream. She has more than enough qualifications to become a citizen of the world I'll create, to be my family, to be my daughter. Of course, she herself is violently rejecting it... but that's none of my concern.
"Now, from this moment on, Choi Woo-joo is no longer your master. I am your master and your mother..."
I pulled out my true form—the white mask—from within my embrace and held it up.
"...And you are my daughter~♡"
I pressed the mask onto Isabelle's face as she screamed in despair at the revelation that her entire life had been a lie.
The moment I placed the mask—glowing with an even deeper jade light than Choi Woo-joo's—onto Isabelle—
"───Ughh—?♡"
Isabelle's body twisted, her joints contorting as her soul was overwritten by my power.
"Mmm, huooogh?! Ubp... ugh..."
Her voice grew faint as she convulsed, twisting her rigid body in place. The mask covering her small face spewed out a viscous liquid before falling to the floor with a wet splat.
"There we go... How about it? Has your way of thinking changed now?"
I picked up the mask that had rolled across the floor to my feet—my true form. Then I smiled gently at Isabelle, who was now staring at the ceiling and breathing heavily.
"................."
"...Isabelle?"
"................."
When Isabelle lowered her head at the sound of my voice, her pupils were glowing with a jade light. Moreover, her once-pure white sclera had turned pitch black, transforming her eyes into something demonic. From behind her waist, black feathers scattered with a faint breeze as pitch-black wings sprouted.
"...Yes. It seems my thinking was rather shortsighted... Mother...♡"
Finally, the hostility that had burned in Isabelle's eyes had completely transformed into love and reverence.
"To think my entire life existed for Mother's sake... Why did it take me so long to realize...? Mother even praised me after so long, yet I... Uuuu... I'm so ashamed..."
"Ahaha, no, no. Until just a moment ago, you were Choi Woo-joo's Saintess. I understand completely."
"Aah, as expected, you are so merciful...♡"
A black angel kneeling before me, wings fluttering. My daughter.
"...Ufufu, so this is how the contractors always felt. I've been so busy gathering desire that I missed out on this pleasure. What a loss."
"...You may savor that pleasure from now on. For Mother's dream... If you simply give the order, I will squeeze every last drop of desire and semen from Choi Woo-joo. I will extract all his desire and dispose of him so he can never become a threat again..."
"Hmm... Well, that would be fine, but first let's return the soul to its original body. Desire should never be tainted by another's will, after all. Choi Woo-joo is still useful."
My cute daughter, who had been fiercely protecting her master only moments ago, now casually suggested taking his life. With the formation of a physical body so close at hand, I could finally understand the emotions the contractors had felt.
To take a human soul and make it mine. To make it obey and dominate it completely. What an intoxicating pleasure this was...
"...More importantly, there's a Saintess currently protecting Choi Woo-joo's body inside the Chamber of Desire, isn't there?"
"...You mean Noa?"
"Yes. That girl named Noa has also worked hard for my dream... I think she has more than enough qualifications to become my daughter and your sister."
Above all, the sense of blasphemy from stealing everything Choi Woo-joo had built up was indescribable.
There was no longer any need to be wary of Choi Woo-joo. Even if I returned his soul, he had been so thoroughly altered by my power that he would be capable of thinking about nothing but women and ejaculation.
In that case, the one I needed to be most wary of in this situation was my rival on this land. I had to watch out for the other mask that had accumulated power comparable to mine and become a witch candidate.
From what I could see, that one had also obtained a weapon called Yumekawa Harumu, just as I had done with Isabelle.
".........."
"...Mother, your command..."
Isabelle knelt silently before me as I was lost in thought. I really do love this about her. Looking down at Isabelle, who had become my Saintess and my daughter, I gave my order.
"...We must increase our power while remaining wary of the opponent called Yumekawa Harumu. Let's take all of Choi Woo-joo's Saintesses and turn them into my daughters—your sisters—to bolster our forces."
"As you command...♡"
My heart began to race. All of this is thanks to you, Choi Woo-joo. Everything you left behind has become a stepping stone for my dream. You are my benefactor. I'll never forget you.
"Hehe...♡"
Yes. This is Choi Woo-joo.
"..........."
I definitely remember being dragged into Isabelle's room and having a conversation... but my head started feeling fuzzy midway through, and I must have fallen asleep.
"...But where the hell am I..."
When I came to my senses, I was lying on a bed inside a dark, gloomy cabin. I sat up, flapping the slightly worn blanket, and walked across the creaking floorboards.
It was a cabin I'd never seen before, yet the interior somehow felt familiar. A fireplace, bookshelves, a desk and carving knife, a large pot...
"This place..."
It was the cabin I'd seen inside the Chamber of Desire, the one with masks hanging all over the walls. It was definitely that cabin, but the interior looked slightly different from what I'd seen before. The countless masks that should have been hanging on the walls were gone. The furniture, though still old, looked intact. The ceiling hadn't collapsed. Even light was filtering in through the cabin's windows, which had previously been pitch dark.
Unlike the half-collapsed, completely dilapidated cabin inside the Chamber of Desire, this one looked relatively whole. But why was I here? For now, I needed to get out and return to my original body.
I carefully stepped across the creaking floorboards, grabbed the doorknob, and turned it—but—
"...It's not opening."
It wouldn't budge. This old door that looked like it would break with just a little force was blocking my way.
Wait a second. Was this a serious situation? Had I been trapped here?
"...Huu..."
I took a deep breath, lifted my leg up to my chest, and kicked the door as if trying to push it open.
"Whoa?! Oof...!!"
The door was perfectly fine. On the other hand, I was sent flying backward and fell in a ridiculous heap. To make matters worse, the impact of my fall shook the bookshelf, causing a bunch of small books to come raining down and smack me in the face—a slapstick scene straight out of an '80s cartoon.
"Fuck..."
Rubbing my stinging nose where the corner of a book had hit it, I got up. That's when I noticed the books covering my body. Come to think of it, the last time I saw these books, they were all so tattered I couldn't read them. But now, some of the pictures and text remained.
But these characters...
"...They're the same ones that were written on the masks..."
They were ancient characters that should have been impossible to read, yet for some reason they felt both unfamiliar and familiar to me. They carried completely different meanings from the characters engraved on the masks, but somehow I could read them.
I placed my finger on the cover of the most worn-out book and squinted. Then, like someone just learning English, I muttered the words under my breath, barely managing to decipher a single sentence—the title of this book.
"...Wi...tch... and... the... Artist...?"