Chapter 43
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: The Final Battle
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The moment I acquired the item, a sweet fragrance began to spread faintly.
*Wow, a girl’s room smells nice,* I thought, but that wasn’t it.
The fragrance was coming from the item itself.
The instant I pulled it from the doll's stomach, a sweet scent filled the air.
What in the world was this for?
I carefully examined the item in my hand.
A small glass bottle filled with liquid.
It looked like something you’d find in the science lab.
Still, even as she was dying, Dayeon had opened her mouth to send me here.
It was to give me this very item. This had to be her final message.
I cautiously opened the detailed description.
[Holy Water]
【A glass bottle containing a clear liquid. Used to purify evil beings.】
…Such was the effect of the Holy Water.
The ultimate weapon for defeating the devil.
It was an item far more incredible than I had imagined, and I was a little taken aback. At the same time, a question arose.
Why had Dayeon kept something like this hidden all this time?
If she had a way to exorcise the devil, she would have used it to defeat it long ago.
As I puzzled over this, I discovered a note attached to the Holy Water. Whatever it was, it was clearly a clue. I immediately read its contents.
[How to Make Holy Water]
【1. Collect enough tears to fill the glass bottle. If any impurities get mixed in, you must pour everything out and start over.
2. Dilute with emotions. The more emotions it contains, the more potent the Holy Water will be.
However, the emotions consumed to create the Holy Water will be extinguished. Therefore, please be cautious when adding emotions.
3. Dilute with senses. The same as instruction 2. The precautions are also the same, so please keep this in mind.
4. Once all the additives have been included, the preparations are complete. Simply shake the bottle to mix the ingredients well, and the Holy Water will be finished.
Holy Water has an outstanding effect in purifying evil beings.
Pour it directly or spray it into the air to vanquish them in an instant!
However, the following individuals cannot use Holy Water.
1. Ghosts
2. Devils
3. Criminals
4. The religious
If the above individuals use Holy Water, it may cause great harm to themselves, so please be cautious.
For any questions, please call the number below-】
The note ended there. I thought it was something else, but it turned out to be instructions for making Holy Water.
I pretty much understood the contents.
…Except for the last paragraph.
In any case, creating Holy Water required such a complicated process.
I took the Holy Water out of my inventory.
When I gently shook the glass bottle, the transparent liquid shimmered as it caught the light.
Who could have made this?
I didn't have to think about it for long.
“…Jin Dayeon.”
Suddenly, Dayeon’s face flickered before my eyes. It still didn’t feel real that she was dead.
It felt like she could appear from anywhere at any moment and shout “Thief!” in her usual soulless tone.
But Dayeon was dead.
She would never come back.
My mind was in turmoil. I lowered my head, clutching the Holy Water that was essentially Dayeon’s legacy.
The Dayeon I had known never cried or laughed. She always maintained an indifferent attitude.
The wellspring of her emotions had dried up, leaving her unable to feel anything at all.
But that wasn't the whole story. Dayeon’s outward appearance was merely the tip of the iceberg.
Beneath the surface, there were many secrets hidden from me.
“…So that’s what it was.”
Dayeon hadn’t actually gone mad from the unchanging school life of the past ten years.
She had sacrificed her emotions and senses for the sole purpose of creating the Holy Water.
But she couldn't use it herself. Because she was a ghost.
And so, she waited. She waited endlessly through the unfathomable passage of time.
For someone to use the Holy Water in her stead and exorcise the devil.
Whether that wait was a year or ten years was a secret only she knew.
Left all alone in the empty school, what could Dayeon have been thinking?
“…”
It didn’t matter.
Whatever her past was, the fact that I was in this school remained unchanged.
I was her wish.
The person Dayeon had so desperately longed for.
I had only just realized that fact. In that case, there was only one thing I had to do now.
Kill the devil. Escaping had long since become a secondary concern.
With my resolve set, I muttered quietly to myself.
“You did well.”
There was no one around. Yet, I felt as if someone was watching me.
It was fine even if my voice didn’t reach them. This was both a thought to myself and a message for me to hear.
Dayeon had humbly accepted the past ten years, hoping for a day like this to come.
So now, it was my turn. This was something only I could do.
To fulfill Dayeon’s wish.
No, to fulfill *our* wish.
“I’m off.”
I swore that I would catch that damn devil and make it suffer unimaginable pain.
**
Before heading down to the basement, I went to the restroom.
To fortify my resolve, I splashed my face with cold water, waking my weary mind.
I felt a jolt of clarity.
I also made sure to secure the glass bottle I’d gotten from Dayeon’s room so I wouldn’t lose it.
The trump card to face the devil was safely stored in my inventory.
Now, all preparations were complete. With my items secured, I headed for the basement.
[■■’s Room]
I stood motionless in front of the door and took a deep breath.
The thought that this was truly the end made it hard to calm down.
I checked again to make sure I hadn't forgotten any items.
I went to the bathroom one more time, just in case I had to go during the fight.
I did a few stretches to prevent any cramps, and only then were my preparations truly complete.
Right now, I was in peak condition.
Besides, the current time was 5 AM. The perfect time to put an end to a devil.
I wouldn’t allow even a sliver of complacency.
I was prepared for anything and everything.
And so, I—
“Here I go.”
—entered ■■’s Room.
*Click.*
*Click, clack.*
Whatthehellwhywon’titopen.
My cool act shattered, and I was thrown back to reality. I frantically felt the door. There was no lock, but it wouldn’t open.
Just as I was checking to see if there was a problem, a message popped up in the air.
“Shit!”
Unlike the usual ones, this message filled my entire vision, and I jumped in surprise.
It was also bright red.
[Do you wish to enter ■■’s Room?]
【Enter/Do not enter】
…So this is really the end, huh.
It was a simple entry message, but it was laden with meaning.
The end of this school was finally in sight.
Will I die?
Or will the devil?
There was nothing to do but charge in and see.
【Enter.】
The moment I pressed the accept button, the tightly shut door swung open.
“…You want me to come in?”
I was a little disgruntled that my actions were being dictated by something else, but it wasn’t like I could back down now.
“Fine, have it your way.”
I strode forcefully into ■■’s Room. And I was met with a sight I had never seen before.
“…What is this?”
The room was pitch black. It was so steeped in darkness that I couldn’t see an inch in front of me.
I took out my flashlight from the inventory and shone it around. The situation didn’t change.
There was nothing to be seen. Only an inky blackness lay everywhere.
It felt like a space outside the real world. A feeling of walking alone through the cosmos.
The floor, the ceiling, the walls—everything was stained black, so I couldn't even tell where I was.
It wasn't a matter of dark or light. It felt as if nothing existed here.
No objects, no floor, no space, no light.
Just a void.
“Where am I supposed to go…?”
I was staring blankly around when a light suddenly emanated from the floor. It then spread out like a single path.
Was it guiding me to come this way?
It was unsettling, to say the least, but I had no choice but to follow where the light led.
Before long, my steps faltered. At the end of the illuminated path, I saw someone.
…It was the devil.
“Found you, you son of a bitch.”
The devil must have decided it no longer needed to imitate Dayeon, as its appearance had changed.
Bizarre, hard skin.
A grotesquely twisted face.
And like the cherry on a cake, the horns on its head were the finishing touch.
It was the classic image that came to mind when one thought of a devil. Still, for a devil, it seemed to be female, with a prominent chest.
Of course, I’m no degenerate.
Besides, this devil was a bastard that needed to be torn to shreds.
With my eyes wide, I approached the devil.
[Oh my, you worked so hard to get here.]
[It must have been tough, wasn’t it?]
An unpleasant, bizarre voice echoed. Goosebumps instinctively broke out all over my body.
I wanted to pour the Holy Water over its head right this instant, but I couldn’t let down my guard.
If the devil managed to dodge it, I’d be well and truly screwed.
So, for now, my job was to carefully watch for the perfect opportunity.
Remember.
Stay calm.
But I just can’t take this anymore.
“You fucking bitch!!”
I pulled an axe from my inventory and charged forward with all my might.
The Holy Water was the final resort, to be used only at the very end.
For now, I would save it and attack with just the axe in my hands.
“Be-hella!!”
I aimed squarely for the devil’s head. And I swung with all my might.
*Whoosh.*
But the axe blade cut through empty air. It didn’t even graze a single hair on the devil.
[My, how aggressive.]
[I prefer to be the one doing things, not the one having things done to me.]
The devil spoke with casual arrogance. It poked my forehead with a bizarre finger.
[But I can’t let this body get scratched. I’ll let it slide, just this once.]
“Damn it…”
I had swung the axe with the intent to kill, yet the devil treated it as nothing more than a game.
*Should I use it now?*
I thought of the glass bottle in my pocket.
What the devil wanted was my body. Therefore, it would never harm me.
This was my chance. If I could catch it off guard and splash the Holy Water on its face…!
I was subtly moving my hand toward my waist to grab the bottle.
[What are you doing?]
The devil’s eyes flashed as it grabbed my wrist. Its pupils dilated so much they looked like they would tear its face apart.
Perhaps because they were inverted pupils, something that doesn't exist in reality, they seemed all the more grotesque.
[What were you just trying to pull?]
[Tell me. Now.]
“Ugh…”
The devil squeezed my wrist violently. I grit my teeth against the pain, feeling as if my arm would burst.
It then reached for my waist. And it found the glass bottle.
[Oh my, how cute.]
[Did you really think you could kill me?]
The devil shook the bottle seductively. The clear liquid sloshed around. It never touched the devil’s body.
[What a shame.]
*Crash.*
The glass bottle fell to the floor.
Shards of glass scattered in every direction.
The clear liquid spilled onto the ground.
[Oh dear, what a pity.]
The devil spouted insincere words. It had known everything from the start.
Is this what they call despair?
Just as Dayeon’s letter had said, the devil had no intention of killing me quietly. Its plan was to toy with me as much as possible and kill me when it lost interest.
*Haaa…*
I let out a deep sigh. It wasn’t a sigh of worry or turmoil born from despair.
*Thank god.*
It was, of all things, a sigh of relief.
With this, the stage was perfectly set. The devil still hadn’t noticed anything strange about the Holy Water.
All that was left was to bide my time.
I deliberately put on a frustrated expression, acting my part. The devil saw this and cackled.
[Kyahahaha!]
[That face is too precious to kill!]
Its laughter rang, piercing my head.
Forcing myself to endure the throbbing headache, I sharpened the blade of my revenge beneath the surface.
*Yeah, laugh all you want.*
*It’ll be the last time you do.*
As I lay in wait, watching for an opportunity, the devil’s gaze somehow softened.
It grinned as if plotting something suspicious and then asked an unexpected question.
[You.]
[Do you want to save Jin Dayeon?]