Chapter 77 (1/2)

A Demon’s Temptations — Part 2It felt like I was thrown into the midst of a nightmare. Everything I thought I had was taken away from me—no, that isn’t quite right. I was forced to realize that I never had anything to begin with. It’d all just been an illusion, a hallucination I happened to be able to touch. And today, I’d finally learned the truth. Coming to understand my own circumstances had already made today the worst day of my life. But the day had yet to end. And neither had my suffering.

Losing everything I had—and everything I’d thought I had—was only a turning point. His words, my supposed saviour’s words, only tortured me all the more.

“It’s a pity, but still the truth. At this rate, you won’t be able to do a thing, not to the demon, nor to Yumis. I’ll murder her in cold blood without allowing you even the slightest bit of involvement. I could care less about how you feel, or what she’s done to you. There’s no reason for me to yield anything to you,” Kaito sneered.

I leapt at him. It wasn’t a conscious action, but rather, something my body had simply happened to do. The sheer amount of hatred coursing through my veins had forced me to action, to attack.

But I was powerless.

He evaded my pathetically weak attempt at a lunge, knocked me to the floor, and suppressed me by placing a foot on my back.

“Hurts, doesn’t it? How about this, I’ll lift my foot if you swear that you’ll give up on exacting vengeance.” He spoke in an overbearing, know-it-all like tone as he pointed out all my weaknesses and forced me to face everything I’d tried to avert my eyes from. “I’ll get you out of here if you give up on her. I really do feel sorry for you, so I’ll even give you some cash. You can find a place for yourself out in the countryside and live the rest of your life out in peace.”

The combination of his smirk and the preposterous words he spoke made him look exactly like an evil sorcerer taken straight out of a fairytale. But the offer he made was the opposite of enticing. It was something that, as far as I was concerned, held no value whatsoever.

The life I used to live was one I could no longer go back to. It’d already been shattered, destroyed, spirited away to a place beyond my grasp.

Quietly living out the rest of my days was downright impossible.

“I see,” he said in a gentler tone as he removed his foot from my back. Looking up, I noticed that his face was now decorated with an ever so slight smile. The heavy, intimidating air that’d surrounded him just a moment prior had vanished. And only then did I finally realize that he wasn’t a spirit—but I didn’t care.

He would steal my prey if I didn’t do something to stop him. Both the people I wanted to kill, to enact vengeance on, would be taken away from me. That alone, I couldn’t permit. I would much rather die than yield.

And for that reason, I assaulted him again. I opened my jaws and sank my teeth into his leg

I knew I was going to fail. He was once again going to dodge my miserable excuse of an attack and step on me. And this time, he was probably going to kill me.

It was only a given. I rejected his aid and met his kindness with hostility. There was no reason for him not to kill me with the way I’d turned down his offer.

He’d completely overwhelmed a demon. There was no way someone like me could so much as scratch him, let alone beat him in a fight. Yet, I still chose to attack him.

Because I had no other choice.

Because I myself had decided that revenge was all I had left.

I’d already given up once. I’d accepted my death as an inevitability. But the moment that’d happened, I realized I didn’t want to die. And for that reason, I decided. I wanted revenge, and I would attempt to take it regardless of how likely or unlikely I was to succeed.

“Why… aren’t you fighting back?” I asked.

I didn’t think it’d be possible for me to hurt him, but, for some odd reason, my attack had damaged him. At first, I’d seriously tried to bite into his flesh and tear it apart. But soon, my jaws began to slacken. I realized that, for reasons unknown, Kaito had decided not to avoid or resist me in any which way.

“Because I deserved it. It was just for confirmation sake, but still. I spouted a bunch of annoying bullshit at you, and I know it.” He responded in way that left me taken aback.

Recovering from the shock, I looked him dead in the eye, only to find that his gaze was lightless. His pupils seemed to contain a sort of endless darkness, much like that of a bottomless abyss.

It was precisely that gaze of his that prompted me to look at him, not just as someone out to poach my prey, but as a person; his eyes caused me to take interest in him.

“Have you already forgotten the first thing I said? I’m here to recruit you, Shuria,” he said with a smile.

“Re…cruit…?” I questioned.

“Exactly,” he replied. His one word response had been accompanied by such a wide range of emotions that it almost seemed to reverberate its way into my head. It seemed to sneak its way into every last nook and cranny of my brain as I digested his words. But before I could, he added even more. “You said you would rather die than forget your vengeance. And so, Shuria, I have an offer for you.”

“Would you like to be reborn, here and now?” Kaito smiled demonically as he whispered. “Won’t you join me down vengeance’s path?”

His hand looked exceedingly human, but I was sure that taking it was no different from taking a demon’s, for his offer was as tempting as would be a forbidden fruit.

“Join… you…?” I repeated his words under my breath.

The words were so alluring that I felt like taking his hand would cause me to plunge into the darkness of the abyss.

“Would you rather be an observer? Or join me as an accomplice? Make your choice, here and now. If you take my hand, then I’ll give you the power you need to exact the vengeance you desire, but accepting that power will take you beyond the point of no return. You’ll be forced to continue your quest for vengeance and shoulder all the grudges I bear, even after Yumis’ death. The contract you’ll make with me runs deeper than blood, no joke. If you die, then I’ll die. And if I die, then you’ll die,” Kaito elaborated. His words almost seemed to come from really far away; they were all blurred together and extremely difficult to make out.

I was convinced that the person before me was a true demon, the kind that tempted people and led them astray in fairytales.

But as far as I was concerned, that was perfectly okay.

“I don’t care about all that extraneous detail. There’s only one thing I want to know. Will taking your hand allow me to see her suffer? Will I be able to see her expression twist in indignation and resentment?” I asked. I only cared about getting my revenge. I didn’t care whether I had to do it alone or if I had to work with an accomplice. All that mattered was that I would be able to carry it out. And that was why the only thing I wanted to know was whether or not taking his hand would allow me to achieve my goal.

“Did I not make myself clear? I said I was giving you a chance to become one of my accomplices. Therefore, the question shouldn’t be ‘will I see her,’ but ‘can I make her?’ I’ve pretty much said this already, but, you decide,” Kaito paused for a moment before continuing. “Pick your own future. Choose your own fate. I won’t make any guarantees, nor will I only only show you the conveniences that come with siding with me.”

“You really are a like a demon,” I said indignantly. “You’re enticing me to join you without any words of comfort, nor even a guarantee of success. You’re basically not doing anything for me at all.”

“Well, I’m sure you already know all about just how much it can hurt you to leave something entirely in someone else’s hands,” he countered my complaint by hitting me right where it hurt. His lips curved upwards even though his expression seemed far too dark to be entertaining a smile—an expression I was sure I shared.

Though he wasn’t doing much of anything at all, the hand he had extended symbolized an offer that could give me everything I could ever want. I was sure that taking his hand would turn me into a demon, just like him.

So I accepted. “Fine. I’ll offer you my body, heart, and soul if you make me into a demon, just like you. I don’t care what happens, as long as accepting will take me even one step closer to getting my revenge.”

☆

“Fine. I’ll offer you my body, heart, and soul if you make me into a demon, just like you. I don’t care what happens, as long as accepting will take me even one step closer to getting my revenge.” The hand I had extended was gripped by a smaller, paler one as Shuria acknowledged my offer.

Wait, did she just tell me to make her a demon?

“Damn, you’re harsh. First you called me a ghost, then a spirit, and now a demon? For the record, I’m only human.” I grinned as I pulled Shuria to her feet. I let go of her hand as soon as she got up and summoned in it the dagger the Holy Sword of Vengeance used to establish its contracts.

“A regular human being wouldn’t be able to make take on a form made entirely out of mana. Nor would they be capable of making a dagger that ominous out of nothing but mana,” she retorted.

“Well, this sword’ll probably be able to answer about half your questions. I’ll answer the other half later, when we have more time,” I said.

A dark light that burned more brightly than the sun filled our sights the moment I handed Shuria the Holy Sword of Vengeance, a clear sign that she was more than qualified to use it.

“How strange. The light’s cold, hot, dark, and bright at the same time,” Shuria remarked.

Her eyes filled with a deep, red glow as she stared at the blade she’d been given. Black sparks radiated off its blade, as if it was both giving a cynical blessing to the girl holding it and urging her to set out on vengeance’s path. She brought the sword to her chest as she would a something she treasured—and drilled it into her body. But despite that, there wasn’t even the slightest trace of a wound.

“Grggghhhh…” I groaned. Second hand knowledge began flowing into me, just as it’d done when Minnalis and I had made our contract; I felt another person’s passion and hatred enter me. It was already my second time feeling the sensation, but it felt strange and foreign regardless. I couldn’t hold back the sheer amount of negatively that suddenly flowed through my mind no matter of how hard I tried; it eventually made its way onto my face and distorted it in rage. By the time it stopped, by the time the blade finally ceased glowing altogether, Shuria’s thirst for vengeance had become one with my own.

“Ugh, that really is way different from just talking to someone and sympathizing with them,” I complained.

“Wow. I really didn’t think I’d run into anyone with circumstances similar to my own so quickly,” Shuria mused as she made an expression comprised of a mix of distaste and resignation. “That was a really strange sensation… but it looks like I’ve obtained an incredible ability.”

She clenched and unclenched her fists several times as she observed her surroundings. A delighted expression appeared on her face a few moments later.

“And I think I’ve found just the thing I need to make it work,” she said. “He’ll be just perfect for commemorating my new skill’s first use.”

The elf-like girl slowly trudged her way over to a stuffed cat. She crouched as she reached it and picked it up by placing her hands around its stomach. And then, she began to chant.

Mr. Cat, Mr. Cat, where are you?The clock breaks in the country full of kindnessThe ice cracks in the country full of coldRight this way, Mr. Cat. I know you’re lost.You’ll find a tasty snack right over there.Thread Spinner Dance — Puppet’s Spiritual Possession

Glowing particles dyed in red, yellow, and black began to rise off the ground and illuminate Shuria’s vicinity as she sang to activate a peculiar sort of spell. Her magical formula pumped the doll full of magical energy, and as the amount reached its apex, the particles that’d appeared around her did as her mana had and suit and entered the stuffed toy.

“Nnn… I feel really unsteady. I must be mana drunk… kyaha, kyahahahaha!” She laughed as she spoke to the stuffed toy, “now, get right up!”

The cat reacted to Shuria’s voice. It twitched several times, gave itself a shake, and got to its feet.

“Huh, that’s a pretty interesting ability you ended up getting,” I said.

“It’s only going to get even more interesting from here on out,” she giggled.

The smile on Shuria’s face was a happy one, but the rest of her expression seemed to indicate that she’d fallen into delirium. Even so, the cat she’d empowered didn’t mind. It simply looked up at her and gave her a refine bow. Seeing that, Shuiria smiled again and issued it a command. “Okay! Here’s your first order. Go consume that pitiful clown. Make sure you get a good taste of him while you’re at it.”

The cat’s lips curved up into a smile. “Nishishi Nishishishishishi!” It responded her instructions by both laughing and nodding simultaneously. The fork and knife it held clinked against the floor over and over as it walked its way over to the demon that’d watched us throughout the contractual process.

I’d originally intended on killing it myself, but I thought it’d be too unrefined of me to cut in now of all times, so I took a step back and decided to play the role of an observer instead.

“S-Shit! What the fuck are you people!?” The demon screamed. It had managed to regenerate about half its body, but it was out of time. Knowing that, it put on one final struggle by decreasing its density so it could complete its form. It tried its best to escape, and it would have, had the stuffed animal retained its original pace.

Shuria’s puppet kicked off the ground and leapt towards its prey the moment it attempted to run.

“Stay away! I refuse to let you take me for a fool!” The demon swung its arms to swat the stuffed animal out of the air.

But to no avail.