Chapter 27 - Volume 2 (2/2)
{And four of them…!? This wouldn’t even be funny as a joke.}
If she had paid the cost and they [Manifested], the only move left to make would be to try to escape.
Whenever an Arch-Demon had appeared in the past, it would either be defeated with an entire nation’s army or be brought down by heroes who exceeded common sense, without which nothing could be done to the Demon other than waiting for death..
To summon forth an Arch-Demon, just who was that [Saint]…?
{Well… It’s already too late to be thinking about it.}
A single person shouldn’t have been able to summon and meet the [Sacrifice] requirements to contract with four Arch-Demons. .
The Arch-Demons that were summoned this time, should have already consumed her as a sacrifice.
They should withdraw as soon as possible.
The Count and Millaine had sent their subordinates on their [Prey Hunt], and were at the altar in the cave.
Although if they were to join forces, they might have been able to oppose an Arch-Demon, the Countess didn’t turn to fight, as there would be no way to convey to the others the danger, and her [Allies] would be easily mown down.
Having abandoned her name so often that she had forgotten her own real name, there was not a single ounce of hesitation in her fixation to survive.
{Still, I need to recover a little bit.}
Even if she wanted to leave the country, she who couldn’t walk under the light of the sun would need some [Servants] who could move through sunlight.
In the chapel, dozens of her protégés, the maid vampires, were waiting.
After she picked them up, she would leave the country right away.
Count Oberu and Millaine would certainly be able to earn her some time to escape.
(*POV Change*)
Tina went to the chapel alone.
She wondered to herself. Golden Beast… err, Yurushia, had given her, a fragile lesser demon, [Life] and the [Power (Knowledge)] to let her [Transform].
While she wasn’t dissatisfied with it, and she held strong faith and worship for her master, she could not help but think of her as an oddball. What Yurushia had given had made Tina stronger, but brought changes of its own. The frayed [Soul] of the weak human being she had fused with had, after she had eaten the blasphemous [Hatred] towards Master, allowed strange [Feelings] for Yurushia to sprout.
{… The adorable Yurushia-sama. I love her so much I just want to eat her…}
If you catch her meaning. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
(TL note: The above sentence was the author not us, no comment on the face. We do believe it improves accuracy of the translation.)
As Tina arrived alone at the chapel, while worrying endlessly, a new feeling appeared in the corner of her mind.
Tina faintly grimaced as the fused soul sent out the memories of her treatment at the hands of the Countess, the [Hatred] gushing forth.
It wasn’t uncomfortable, though. Since those too were definitely her real feelings.
Tina opened the door of the chapel slowly. She wanted to smash it in, but her great lord may have use of it.
(*POV Change*)
Pulling together her maids, the Countess, who was hastening to escape from this land, was surprised to see a small shadow emerge from the slowly opening door.
With golden hair set in curls and blue eyes, it was a small girl in a tiny maid uniform.
She had previously sipped her blood to torment her, although that fearful appearance didn’t fit this demon, it was that little girl for sure. Something was off about her appearance, though.
Even an ordinary person could see…
Although her appearance was much more beautiful than before, the Countess felt a chill while looking at the expression on the face of this cool-headed doll.
“[Gugaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!]”
Without noticing it, all of the [Runts] that couldn’t feel the danger, ran towards their young prey.
“………”
The [Girl] placed her hands together in front of her waist and walked forward gently without the slightest inelegance, a cold beauty… Quietly, [Crimson Pupils] appeared in her eyes.
*Kishi…*
With a creaking sound, the hundreds of runts who were attacking the [Girl] froze in their movements like statues.
Their color lost, dozens of the runs who were about to attack from the ceiling fell to the floor and shattered on the floor as though they were made of stone.
“……”
The Countess was left speechless at the sight.
Even though the overwhelmingly intimidating aura of the Arch-Demon was completely gone, she felt trapped by the difference in power.
“… Why, what sort of nonsensical things… that brat summoned…”
As the Countess leaked her thoughts, a silent [Rage] engulfed the chapel, golden whips lashed out at the seemingly alive [Sculptures], wanting to tear everything to pieces, spreading their dark red blood along the walls and floor of the chapel.
“The likes of a lowly mosquito… dares to disparage my creator and mother, the sunshine of the Demon world… know your place.”
The voice sounded like a curse from the underworld, the [Girl], as if becoming aware of the Countess for the first time, had a twisted smile upon her face.
“How do you do……. Countess. I’m pleased to see you.”
As she said that, she bowed her waist gracefully like a noble.
“My master who created me named me [Tina], the [Gorgon]. Well then, goodbye.”
Saying such without a hint of strong emotion, Tina’s golden curled hair swelled and tightened as if it had a will, and turned into countless golden snakes.
It wasn’t even a fight.
There were several hundred runts and vampires in the room, but not a single one was allowed to resist or escape. Tina quietly stood, and with the eyes of the golden serpents, turned them all to stone, scattering their souls.
“……”
The countess, who was petrified from the waist down, watched the [Demon] with an expression of despair… the Demon began work on the enemy chosen by her master with a joyful expression.
＊
A catastrophe had happened in the dark forest.
It started all of a sudden… a lone white haired girl appeared in front of the thousand or so [Runts].
“You know, Yurushia-sama gave me a name.”
That [Girl] was laughing joyfully. Looking at the innocent and defenseless girl, the runts wore bashful smiles.
The runts reached out to try to catch the [Girl], but their hands passed through the image, only grasping a [Girl] shaped haze. The runts became confused.
Nobody could catch her. They couldn’t even touch her.
To the runts who were absorbed in their orders, it did not seem strange that the [Girl] was floating in the air among the trees.
The [Girl]’s white face… hardened, transforming into a smiling porcelain mask like that of a [Harlequin], the mask formed into a laughing smile, as if it had no cares in the world.
“Shall we begin?”
The Harlequin girl dismantled the thousand live runts’ bodies in a moment.
She stripped the flesh from the bone, and then dragged out the internal organs, taking out the nerves one by one. While their brains were in hideous pain, their mouths screaming in fear, but their bodies couldn’t even twitch.
“Shall we begin?”
Their bodies quickly returned to their original form with the voice of the Harlequin girl, and a wave of pain and fear assaulted their minds again, driving them mad.
All of this [Work] is happening simultaneously, every one receiving it at the same time, further increasing their mad terror.
“Shall we begin?”
Over… and over, the nightmare repeated, the runts going [Mad], unable to [Die].
“I am [Fannie]… You may call me [Nightmare Fannie]… that is, if anyone can still understand me.”
After the [Nightmare] repeated several tens of thousands of times, all of the runts were alive, their [Hearts] broken, to the point that they were just lumps of meat standing still in the forest clearing.
“Well then… on to the next thing…”
Fannie said, then started to harvest the loosened [Souls] which were about to disappear.
Even though she didn’t like work, it was different if it was for Yurushia.
In that lonely, scary, dark, cold Demon World, Master Yurushia served as the lone presence of warmth, the Sun.
To her weak self, who only knew of feeding, the excitement she felt the first time she felt that warmth could not be forgotten.
After fusing with that person’s [Soul], Fannie was thinking differently about her feelings about the world.
It was only natural…
“After all, my [World] is for the sake of Yurushia-sama.”