Chapter 611: Jealousy is My Power (End)
Chapter 611: Jealousy is My Power (End)
Long ago, there was a war between those who followed the Heavenly God and those who followed the Evil God.
The war lasted for hundreds of years, refusing to end until corpses formed mountains and blood carved out rivers—until an Apostle, bearing the 'Heavenly Sword' by the will of the heavens, finally took Delphirem’s head.
Through that long war, humanity came to a realization.
Delphirem and the Seven Deadly Sins were far too dangerous.
Great power possesses a magic that, in and of itself, allures the hearts of men. Though the physical bodies of the Seven Deadly Sins were struck down, their Authorities originated from the stars in the firmament and thus would never truly vanish.
If left alone, the Seven Deadly Sins would one day feed upon human desire and be resurrected.
And so, humanity decided to divide the remains of the Sins.
The corpse of 'Gluttony' was scattered in the East, creating a land of abundance; the corpse of 'Sloth' was scattered in the West, creating a parched wilderness. The corpse of 'Greed' was scattered in the South, where thickets and life grew lush, and the corpse of 'Jealousy' was scattered in the North, forming the frozen snowfields.
Yet, no matter how much they divided and partitioned, there was one sin that would never disappear.
It was a power like a wildfire, jumping endlessly from one place to another, capable of incinerating the entire world with but a tiny spark.
Humanity buried that sin deep within a secluded underground vault. They hid it so it would never be seen by anyone again, ensuring that the spark of that terrible sin would never leap back onto the surface.
But how could evil lurk forever in the shadows?
After thousands of years deep underground, waiting for its chance and recovering its strength, the sin was finally discovered by a miner excavating a mountain. It appeared in a form more brilliant and radiant than anything else.
That was the truth behind the gold mine discovered so suddenly on the back mountain—a mine that had remained hidden for generations.
Furthermore, great evil always has a way of enchanting people.
There was one individual who had succumbed to those whispers, being encroached upon without even realizing it.
"Excavate the gold mine immediately."
Baron Haster.
That was the reason he had grown frail and collapsed after the gold mine was taken from him.
The power of the Seven Deadly Sins that had been encroaching upon his entire body had vanished.
*
Silence.
The story, which felt both long and short, came to an end, but I couldn't bring myself to speak.
It was a truth I had never imagined. Looking back, the clues had always been there.
The Alphenhauser family follows the Emperor's will. It was suspicious that the great nobles had suddenly formed an alliance just to target a gold mine in a rural estate. And then there was Baron Haster, who still showed no signs of recovery after his collapse.
But, why?
I couldn't hold back the question that surged up.
"If that's the case, you could have explained the situation...!"
"That one of the Great Evils that nearly destroyed humanity thousands of years ago was waking up? Ian Percus... are you serious?"
I felt a surge of emotion, wanting to retort something, anything.
But no appropriate words came to mind. In the end, I could only swallow a groan and avert my gaze.
"His Majesty the Emperor and the Sword Duke have been paying close attention to the abnormal phenomena occurring across the continent. In the process, through a combination of coincidence and luck, we were able to secure one of the seeds of the Seven Deadly Sins in advance."
"But because of that, Celine is just too..."
"Are you going to take revenge?"
At that question, the words caught in my throat.
My silent gaze turned toward Senior Sienne. Befitting the legitimate daughter of the Alphenhauser family, Sienne’s silver-gray pupils were almost indistinguishable from the whites of her eyes.
Naturally, it was impossible to read the implications hidden in that gaze.
If I were to take revenge?
The tip of that blade would have to go beyond the Alphenhauser family and reach all the way to the Imperial Family. But was that truly the right thing to do?
My lips felt parched. Senior Sienne remained silent, and in the end...
The answer was mine to give.
As it always was.
"No, no, no..."
A trembling plea.
It was a desperate voice. Celine shook violently, her eyes brimming with tears as she begged.
Don't do it, please.
The truth?
Celine wished she had never heard it. It wasn't because her resentment and hatred had faded, of course.
She had lived her life since childhood with only one goal: revenge.
How could she simply cast aside that rage?
There was a different reason for Celine's fear.
The Emperor had brought about the downfall of the Haster family.
The reason was perfect. To prevent the second coming of the Seven Deadly Sins. After hearing this explanation, would there be anyone in the world who would take Celine's side?
They knew nothing.
They had no power, and they had done it without a shred of malice, yet her father had fallen into a coma. Her mother was suffering every day from financial ruin, and the lives of the people in their territory had fallen into misery.
And hadn't Celine grown up as little more than an orphan?
So, there was no way her hatred would be diluted just because she heard the truth. In her current state of mind, Celine did not possess the superhuman mental strength required to empathize with others' circumstances.
She simply had an intuition.
The whole world is my enemy.
The Emperor, the Empire, and everyone who condemned the Dark Cult would justify the downfall of the Haster family.
They would brand Celine's revenge as foolish childishness, and if she tried to argue, they would clamor to have the traitor's head displayed in the square immediately.
Why?
I didn't do anything wrong. I was just a plaything of fate.
If you think about it, yes.
It's the world that's wrong.
Tears flowed endlessly from Celine's bloodshot eyes. Her retinas stung enough that she should have closed them at least once, but her eyes remained wide open, refusing to shut.
"No, no... Ian, please..."
Not you, Ian. Anyone but you.
It was fine if the whole world turned its back on her. It was fine if they denied her revenge and shouted that the Haster family's ruin was just.
Only one person.
As long as Ian didn't turn away.
Because he promised. Because Ian never tells a lie.
Because Ian Percus would never, ever abandon Celine Haster.
Her teeth chattered, singing a song of extreme anxiety. Her mind, already stained with self-reproach and inferiority for months, was on the verge of breaking after days of continuous illusions.
There was only one reason she could endure this.
Because Ian Percus was there.
[“I...”]
In the illusion, the man slowly opened his mouth.
Celine's breath hitched. The sound of her heart thumping wildly hammered against her eardrums. It felt as if her heart might swell and burst at any moment.
Time stopped.
Slowly, the man's lips parted.
His tongue moved between his palate and teeth, forming a rhythm.
[“Will... not... take revenge.”]
"Gah...!"
It wasn't even a scream.
With the sound of escaping air, the scenery tinting Celine's retinas flickered out. Even then, Celine remained motionless for a long time.
After a while.
"Hee... ugh... ah... uuuuuuuh, aaaaaaaaaaaaaah...!"
Snap, snap.
The blood-red threads binding Celine's wrists slowly began to tear. It was something unimaginable with her usual physical strength, but Celine didn't have the presence of mind to notice.
The only thing carving itself into Celine's mind was a whisper she had heard many times before.
'Incompetent.'
She was abandoned.
'Useless.'
Even by Ian, she was abandoned.
'A burden.'
Then what exactly was she living for?
The whole world had abandoned Celine. She had nothing, and as if it wasn't enough that the man she had loved since childhood was taken from her right before her eyes...
She couldn't even be of help, and in the end, she was discarded.
Why?
Questions that couldn't be put into words scrambled through the blood vessels of her brain. Celine felt as if...
As if she were going mad.
Fireworks.
Pop. Her emotions scattered like sparks of flame.
"Aaaaaah, ugh, hee, ah, guh, ah, aaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!"
Celine's hands began to frantically dishevel her hair. Not satisfied with that, she scratched at her own skin and pounded her chest before finally letting out a scream.
She felt the illusion of fire spreading to every single nerve bundle. Her heart, her head—it hurt so much.
It hurt far too much. She had reached a point where she could shed as many tears as she wanted.
"N-no... ugh, aaah, ugh, uuuuuuuuuuuu!"
She trembled like that for some time.
How many minutes, or how many hours had passed?
Celine, who had now lost even the strength to struggle, only had tears dripping from her eyes. A cold voice pierced her eardrums through the streams of water flowing down her face.
'Incompetent.'
'Useless.'
'A burden.'
"I... I didn't want to be like that either..."
She had worked so hard that her hands were covered in calluses. But the gap in talent was cold and cruel, and Celine, whose status and wealth were nothing special, ultimately couldn't be of any help.
And then, in the end, she was abandoned.
"Uuuu, ugh, h-huuu, sob...!"
Her chest, her chest hurt so much.
Would it feel like this if you poured a gallon of acid down your esophagus?
No, it was worse than that. It was to the point where she couldn't bear it.
Because this fire was a flame that would never go out.
It was then.
"A wish."
An alluring voice reached her.
Celine's hollow eyes slowly turned toward the source. There, a pair of sinister red eyes looked down at her.
"I'll grant it. If you pay the appropriate price."
A 'price.'
She was a human whose family had fallen, who had no wealth, and who possessed no talent.
But Celine didn't even have the strength left to hesitate.
She simply closed her eyes and recited her only desire.
"Please... make it stop hurting..."
Put out this fire in my chest.
The woman showed a heart-fluttering smile, as she always did.
"As it should be. For I am Delphirem."
Celine's ragged breathing subsided, and her eyelids, which had slid shut, showed no sign of opening.
"Because I love all those whom God does not."
That day, the wildfire that had caught in the girl's heart was extinguished.
Leaving all her emotions as a pile of ash.
What Celine Haster offered as the price for the contract was her 'emotions.'
With only one exception.
It was the birth of a new Seven Deadly Sin.
"...However, a price must be paid."
At my following condition, it was Senior Sienne who frowned.
It was natural. From any perspective, the Empire and the Alphenhauser family had made the right decision.
But there are always exceptions.
There were those who could never accept that choice.
"Even if nothing can be done right now, I will eventually obtain an apology from the Imperial Family and the Alphenhauser family. Along with appropriate compensation and the restoration of the Haster family's honor..."
"Ian Percus, do you... do you realize what you're saying right now?"
Demanding an apology from the Imperial Family.
It was the same as telling the pinnacle of the Empire to admit they were wrong. In other words, it was an extremely sensitive political demand.
But I had no intention of backing down.
"I know."
"And yet you say such nonsense? Didn't you hear me? We simply did our best..."
"The Haster family was sacrificed despite being innocent. Knowing nothing, simply because they were unlucky."
With that, I slowly stood up. Senior Luna was startled and tried to grab me, but my hand was raised first.
"Those are my requirements. I don't care if you report this to His Majesty the Emperor."
"Crazy bastard."
Senior Sienne's blunt assessment followed, but I didn't bother to react.
There was just one thing I was curious about.
I stopped mid-stride and looked back slightly to ask.
"By the way, what did you mean when you said it can't be hidden anymore anyway...?"
"That fragment of the Seven Deadly Sins is scheduled to be moved to the Academy soon."
It was such an unexpected statement that my gaze, which had been about to leave the room quietly, momentarily went blank.
It was Senior Luna who was now parting her lips to speak.
"The greatest authorities are gathered here. Also, while it may not be the case now, it is a neutral zone with a long history... Experts from various countries are scheduled to be dispatched to analyze the relic."
A new storm was approaching.
---
'Celine Haster'