Chapter 272
Chapter 272
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 272
Chapter Title: Chaos
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[Are you the chaos of this world?]
"What do you mean by that, you talking skull?"
[The primordial scales. The balance of the universe. The system that bears the weight of fate. As gods violate the rules sustaining the world with their foolish desires, it accumulates until judgment descends in punishment. That is called chaos. Ones like me... and you.]
"Oh?"
She began to gleam with interest as she listened to him.
In truth, from the moment he appeared, anticipation had flickered in her eyes.
How could she not be excited? The air suddenly rippled, and a skull adorned with three plainly extraordinary skulls floated into view, radiating an ominous aura.
[You have descended in mortal flesh. Likely, a being born into this world from a god's personal desires exists. Eradicating it must be the purpose of your existence.]
"And who are you to presume and dictate my purpose?"
Once.
But that remark had been a touch arrogant.
[I am the king of the undying. The living death. The embodiment of the concept of death itself.]
"...Itself?"
[As gods frantically fled from me—born of their own mistakes—lifeforms succeeded in overcoming me with their own power. Though they borrowed strength from another world, borrowing is a skill in itself. They splendidly conquered the first trial.]
"Hm. Is there a second?"
Her brief flash of irritation faded quickly.
The tale the skull spun was novel and captivating to her.
For someone perpetually bored and seeking amusement, it was irresistible.
[There is... and there isn't. The second trial is surviving a world where this body no longer exists.]
"Hm?"
[This body embodies death. Its annihilation means the concept of death vanishes from that world.]
"Oh? Sounds good to me."
[Foolish humans might think so. But its true nature harbors a calamity like no other.]
Twice.
[Things are born but never diminish. Food doesn't rot, discarded objects don't decay in the waves of time. Creations live a thousand, ten thousand years without reaching rest.]
"...Doesn't sound all that great."
[This second trial, too... they overcame.]
"Oho. How?"
[One life absorbed all others.]
"...Hm?"
The Heavenly Demon, who had been listening raptly, tilted her head.
[Death and life are each other's absence. No death means life, no life means death. As long as the concept of life persists, absorbing all life can conversely grant something akin to deathly rest to the absorber.]
"That's... complicated."
[No need to overthink. In the end, the lone survivor conquered the trial by granting rest to all life save himself, obligating me to bestow the reward.]
"Anyway. Are you my enemy?"
[If the trial's conqueror wills it.]
"Then let's fight."
No need to overcomplicate things.
Enemy or not, there was no reason to pass up a battle with someone this intriguing—especially if he was her foe.
Quite convenient, in fact.
[Chaos of this world. Have you yet to find the creation you must destroy?]
"I have a suspect, but no intention of destroying it."
[You are foolish, too. To deny your reason for birth.]
-Crunch
Thrice.
"My purpose in being born, and the meaning of my life, are mine to decide. Nothing has the right to impose them on me."
[Is that your will?]
In an instant, the three skulls dwindled to two.
"Will or not, he's prickly and a handful, but how could I discard such an adorable husband?"
Before this skull arrived.
Unable to contain her boiling rage, she had been smashing everything in sight when a woman appeared.
-Crackle!
"Hea, Heavenly Demon? Why are you h-here...? Ah, no, more importantly, have you seen the vampire?"
"...Is that you."
"...The vibe's off. What happened?"
She wasn't one to think of herself as emotional, but irritation surged the moment she saw that woman.
"...Why."
"Wh-what?"
"Why... do you look at me alone with such fearful eyes?"
She didn't feel she'd neglected him.
On the contrary, of all her life, she'd courted him with the most passion and devotion.
She never stuck with anything longer than three days, yet every moment and effort poured into him felt neither wasteful nor dull.
Yet why did he...
"...Speak."
"...Pardon?"
"Tell me how to win his heart. How to be loved by him."
-Grip.
Hard to calm her emotions.
Was this the jealousy she'd only heard of?
Even after all her efforts, all her love poured out, her husband regarded her only with fear. Imagining him whispering sweet nothings and acting cute before this woman ignited her jealousy.
If she wouldn't speak freely, force would be applied...
"Uh... you know it's been less than a week since you stole him away, right...?"
"...And?"
"H-have you even gone for walks together? Or spent time getting to know each other? Do you know what he likes? Hobbies beyond drinking."
"......"
"...You haven't even done the basics and you're angry?! "
-Rumble!
In that instant, an eerie roar shook the dimension.
"Argh, seriously...! Anyway, I'm no expert at romance either...! If you want love, take it slow and easy! Don't rush!"
-Crackle!
She vanished in blue lightning, just as she'd appeared.
"...Patience."
Thinking back, she hadn't seen her husband smile much since arriving at the Demonic Cult.
She'd thought time would fix it, but impatience had led her to this ugly outburst.
"...I was definitely too hasty."
The first splash of vibrant color in her ashen world since birth.
Drawn to that beautiful light, she might have rushed to claim everything.
And...
-Grip.
"In the end, everything else is just as ashen, you skull,"
Only he shone in her world.
So whose words to heed was obvious.
[Very well. Chaos of this world. If that is your will, see it through.]
-Rumble!
As his words ended, the ground quaked, and countless deaths rose from the deep earth.
"Hurry and finish so I can gift him that crown."
What face would her cute husband make at the trinket worn by this talking skull?
She was already looking forward to it.
"What... have you done?"
"Hm? What do you mean?"
"Don't play dumb! Monsters from your world are invading through the broken barriers?!"
"Ah, that? Of course. I sent them, after all."
"...What?"
Yeo So-cheon steadied herself from the rebound and heard the shocking words.
"How vast is the distance between our worlds? Trial and error is needed to carve a safe path here. Undead make perfect expendables. Even if they get lost mid-dimension, the dead don't age—ideal for later reuse, no?"
"You... all this time..."
"You were quite the nuisance, actually. Blocking the paths I scouted delayed total annihilation, forcing this hassle."
"You revived the ones who destroyed your world and sent them here?! For one man?! Are you insane?!"
"How could I not be?"
Madness gleamed in Erdel's eyes.
"The hero who whispered he loved me. Who promised eternity after the war. He fled—how could anyone stay sane?"
"How does this guy attract only women like this across worlds...!"
"Come, hero? Your world is ready. No more pain from others, no stress. In this paradise without death, just you and me... forever in love."
I couldn't comprehend.
The depth in those eyes overwhelmed my brain.
"N-no... I don't want..."
Incomprehensible.
One inevitably fears the unknowable.
Especially when it wears a human guise but writhes with an unfathomable monster within.
"But I didn't lie entirely, hero. No more males in this world—that's true."
"Th-that..."
"I just didn't say I'm the only female."
No males.
And only Erdel as female.
Which meant...
"...You're alone?"
"Yes♪ All alone. Eve, the sole survivor in a world without death♪"
"...Unbelievable."
The shocking truth.
The ruined world's form was more wretched than imagined; I was speechless.
"That's why I need you more. The world fell—shall we rebuild? Your god stole such a precious hero. Time to return him to his true owner."
"...Settle ownership claims in another dimension. We don't buy or sell people here."
"If you insist on this to the end... fine."
"I'll claim my hero after he crushes this world."
With that, Erdel slammed her spear into the ground.
-Hummm
"...Huh?"
"So watch from there, hero."
A translucent white barrier enveloped me, severing me from the world.
"Watch the world that stole you get trampled."