Chapter 117: Body Growth Sorcery
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 117: Body Growth Sorcery
“My identity? Dia doesn’t know anything about that.”
I feigned ignorance and shook my head. However, that wasn't enough to dispel Rosette’s suspicion.
“Don’t lie to me! What on earth are you?!”
“Ugh!”
An agitated Rosette grabbed my arm and shook me. My weak, child’s body was tossed to and fro by her rough grip.
I grit my teeth and tried to hold my ground, but it wasn't easy. My body was too small and fragile, and while my opponent was a woman, she was an adult far larger than me.
Bibi’s Indestructible Body had also been weakened by the temple’s barrier. As pain and dizziness began to cloud my senses, I clenched my jaw.
[Master, stay focused!]
[That crazy woman!]
‘Ugh.’
The voices of the demons echoed chaotically in my head. As I struggled to break free from Rosette’s grasp, my fingernails grazed her forearm. Rosette screamed and shoved me away.
“Aaah!”
“Oof.”
“You little brat!”
Rosette ground her teeth as she looked down at the scratch on her arm. Then, she raised her hand toward me.
“Rose.”
“...!”
“What do you think you’re doing to a child?”
Just then, a gentle voice rang out. Startled, I looked up. I saw pale, slender fingers wrapping around Rosette’s arm.
‘The Empress Dowager!’
Wearing her usual relaxed and soft smile, the Empress Dowager was looking at Rosette with warm eyes. The sight of that gaze sent shivers down my spine.
“Y-Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager.”
“You should be kind to children, shouldn't you?”
“I... I apologize.”
Rosette bowed her head, looking embarrassed. Despite her fiery personality, she was acting incredibly submissive toward the Empress Dowager.
Even if she was the one helping her seek revenge, the Empress Dowager was the person who had turned her into a half-monster. To think she could be so obedient... The Empress Dowager’s ability to manipulate others was truly extraordinary.
“I’d like to speak with the child alone. Would you mind stepping out for a moment?”
“...Understood.”
Biting her lip, Rosette nodded slowly. Even as she left, her glaring eyes lingered on me.
Click.
I didn't let my guard down even after Rosette left. In truth, the Empress Dowager standing before me was far more dangerous than her. I instinctively took a few steps back.
“I’ve thought something was a bit off since the first time I saw you.”
Speaking leisurely, the Empress Dowager approached the table, paying no mind to the distance I had put between us. On the table lay a heap of syringes that Rosette used on the children. Every single one was filled with Demon’s Poison.
“I simply assumed I felt that way because you were the child of Cedric and Veronica, born with a vast amount of innate mana.”
“....”
“But looking at you now, I see that isn't it at all.”
The Empress Dowager smiled thinly as she picked up a syringe. The ominous green liquid inside and the Empress Dowager’s smiling face filled my vision.
“You’re a contractor who made a deal with a demon too, aren't you?”
“...!”
I couldn't hide my agitation at her question. I soon realized that denying it was pointless. The Empress Dowager already knew everything.
“If it weren't for the Demon’s Poison, I might not have noticed until the very end. That means your demon is exceptionally powerful.”
“....”
“Hehe, how very interesting. This is a truly unexpected harvest.”
Muttering softly, the Empress Dowager slowly approached me. I kept backing away, but I soon reached my limit. I felt the hard wall against my back.
When I finally had nowhere left to run, the Empress Dowager stood right in front of me and stared down at me. I looked up at her, my body tense.
“Even if you kill me, you won't be able to take the demon I’ve contracted with.”
“Ha, to think that acting like a child all this time was just a performance.”
Since the cat was out of the bag, there was no need to keep up the act. I spoke calmly in my original tone. At that, the Empress Dowager burst into laughter.
“I’m very curious as to how this happened, but I don't think there’s any need to uncover the details.”
“Ugh.”
“And I have no intention of killing you.”
“Then...?”
The Empress Dowager reached out and gently stroked my cheek. Her delicate touch, as if she were handling a precious gem, made my skin crawl.
“Originally, I planned to kill you and take your mana. The child of a Sword Master and the daughter of a Sword Master... even at a glance, your mana seemed immense.”
“Mm.”
So that was why she had been targeting me so relentlessly. It was a reason I hadn't even considered, yet it was so simple that I wondered why I hadn't realized it sooner.
I let out a groan of self-reproach. The Empress Dowager looked at me as if I were adorable.
“But how could I destroy such a rare jewel? There are plenty of other things I can use to replace mana.”
“What do you mean by that...?”
I muttered, turning pale at the thought that she intended to sacrifice countless people again, just like with the Southern Plague. The Empress Dowager’s amber eyes flickered like candlelight.
“The original candidates were you and Marianne.”
“...!”
“This time, consuming Marianne’s divine power should be enough.”
“You...!”
I glared at the Empress Dowager in a rage. However, she seemed to enjoy my unchildlike reaction even more.
“Don't touch Mari! I won't let you get away with it!”
“Well now, what exactly can you do in your current state? You’re being crushed by the temple’s barrier, unable to do a single thing.”
“Grrr.”
The Empress Dowager understood my condition perfectly. Since she was a fellow demon contractor, she knew that I, being young, couldn't yet control my demon properly. I bit my lip in sheer frustration.
“The demon I contracted with can turn even Opposing Divine Power into its own strength. That’s because I, the contractor, possessed divine power myself.”
“...!”
I had just learned one final secret of the Empress Dowager.
Perhaps, from the beginning, the Empress Dowager was someone qualified to be a Saintess. However, she had made a contract with an Ancient Demon and added even that power to the demon’s strength. That was the reason she could use Saintess Marianne as a sacrifice.
I had no idea how to stop a woman like this. As my mind went blank, the Empress Dowager’s quiet voice continued to ring in my ears.
“You see, I’m going to make you my right hand. I’ll scramble that little head of yours, strip away all your memories, and plant nothing but loyalty toward me inside.”
“Ugh.”
The Empress Dowager’s hand stroked my hair. In contrast to her gentle touch, her words were horrific. As my eyes widened, the Empress Dowager’s eyes crinkled into crescents.
“And then, I’ll kill everyone who loves you. Veronica, Dantalion, Duke Winston, and his household. Even Marianne. Every last one of them.”
“...!”
I thought of Nathaniel, who had become a puppet after being brainwashed, and the people of the Apocrypha, who had become fanatics like Philip. The Empress Dowager intended to turn me into one of them.
“There’s no way that’s possible. Do you even know who the demon I contracted with is...?”
“Yes, seeing as I couldn't sense it, it must be a higher-ranking demon than Grid.”
“Then...!”
“But you’re still a child, aren't you?”
“...!”
I couldn't refute her question. She had accurately identified my problem.
Once again, this young body was the issue. If things continued like this, I would inevitably be brainwashed according to the Empress Dowager’s intentions and become her puppet.
In a situation far more disastrous than the original story, I would live a life of blind devotion to the Empress Dowager after everyone I held dear had been killed.
The thought made it impossible to stay calm. My young, fragile body began to tremble uncontrollably. The Empress Dowager wore a satisfied expression as she watched me.
“I thought it would be easier to brainwash you if you were poisoned by the demon’s venom. It seems I’ll need to inject a stronger poison to make it work.”
“Ugh, let... let go...!”
“You won't die from this much anyway.”
Speaking calmly, the Empress Dowager grabbed my arm. The liquid inside the syringe in her hand sloshed. I frowned as I saw the green poison grow even darker.
It seemed the Empress Dowager’s power had made the Demon’s Poison in the syringe even more potent. The thought flashed through my mind that if I were injected with that, the demons wouldn't be able to detoxify it.
[This is bad, Master.]
‘What?’
[I think we have to use the last resort.]
‘The... last resort?’
My eyes widened at Desmond’s serious voice. At the same time, a conversation I’d had with the demons in the past came back to me.
A sorcery that all the demons had unanimously and adamantly discouraged. Something I had thought would be the absolute final option.
It was the Body Growth Sorcery.