â...â
â...â
Whenever and wherever these two were together, a suffocating silence always seemed to emerge.
Such thought occupied Faenolâs mind as she alternated her gaze between Sullivan and Eleanor, who was silently glaring at each other.
Though they gathered here out of necessity, it was still hard for Faenol to stay in the same room with those two. Mostly because she still couldnât adapt to such a tense atmosphere.
Nonetheless, she was a genius mage even among the powerhouses of the entire continent. Even in such an uneasy ambience, she still managed to fulfill the task she had to undergo.
â...All preparations are complete.â
Faenol said as she stepped back from the barrier she had created.
Yuria, who was in a deep slumber with her eyes tightly closed, was laid in its center.
Ever since the First Ordeal ended, when both her and Dowd lost consciousness, she had not opened her eyes even once.
Sullivan, who had been quietly observing her, turned around to look at Eleanor.
â...As I have explained before, what you need to do is simple. If you are ready, just step onto the Transmission Array placed in the center of this barrier.â
âFrom my understanding, while itâs an easy thing to grasp, it isnât necessarily easy to achieve, Chancellor.â
Eleanor said in a flat tone, which prompted a bitter smile on Sullivanâs face.
She was right.
There was a reason why Sullivan even mentioned the possibility of it reaping her life when she first called upon her.
âHave you fully understood the risks involved, Lady Tristan?â
âNo.â
â...â
Upon hearing her shamelessly confident reply, Sullivan clamped her mouth shut.
âTo be perfectly honest, Chancellor, everything that you said went in one ear and went out the other. It was all too far-fetched of a theory.â
â...â
âThen again, it isnât like I need to know much, donât you think so too?â
Eleanor let out a sigh before continuing.
âDowd is in danger. It might be a risk to my own life, but you need me to save him. Thatâs enough of a reason for me.â
â...â
She wasnât wrong, butâŠ
There were still things that needed to be properly straightened out.
â...You canât take this matter lightly, Lady Tristan.â
Sullivan continued with a sigh.
âWithin here is an Image World constructed by the White Devil. A place where mortals of the Material Realm shouldnât even dare to approach. Inside, the power that the White Devil holds is no different than a godâs.â
That certainly was true.
Faenol inwardly conceded with a bitter smile.
The White Devil was known to have the most dominant âmentalâ Authority even among the Devils.
After all, controlling minds was the core of the beingâs Authority.
What they were doing was essentially âforcibly shovingâ Eleanor into such a space to retrieve Dowd.
It was a plan so absurd that only those out of their minds could ever come up with it, let alone agree to it.
â...Given that you are capable of hosting the most powerful entity even among the Kings of Pandemonium, your chances of holding your ground are considerably high. This is why we are requesting you to do it. Thereâs no one else but you who can do it.â
Eleanorâs expression crumpled slightly at her words.
Devil. Kings of Pandemonium.
Both the unidentifiable Cursed Speech User and Chancellor Sullivan had mentioned such terms.
Telling her that something like that was harbored inside her body.
And how that something was somehow related to her mother.
FurthermoreâŠ
As far as Eleanor knewâŠ
There was only one person who knew the full truth behind all these claims.
Someone who was likely entangled in everything related to such a topic.
â...Duke Tristan.â
Gideon Galestead La Tristan.
Her father.
The next time they metâŠ
Eleanor swore that sheâd try to find out exactly what all that meant.
She was quietly lost in such thoughts when another sentence flew her way.
âAt any rate, you must brace yourself. Even though they were both Devils, your safety still isnât guaranteed since you are dealing with a differentââ
Just before Sullivan could continue her words, Yuriaâs body suddenly twitched.
Given her complete lack of movement until this moment, this was a rather dramatic reaction coming from her. That was why everyoneâs body turned frozen stiff as they watched her closely.
Not long after thatâŠ
-!
-!!
As if trying to declare that she didnât move for no reason, the barrier Faenol had deployed started to violently shake.
So much so that the expressions of all three women inside the room were instantly filled with alarm.
â...Faenol. ThisâŠ?â
At the Chancellorâs question, Faenol hurriedly inspected the barrier.
Then, she replied in a grave tone.
â...It seems something serious is happening inside.â
âSomething serious?â
âIâm not sure what exactly it is, but what Iâm sure of is that the creator of this Image World is extremely angry. If this continuesâŠâ
Faenol trailed off.
It was as if she could not bear to voice the following words.
â...The Image World might be completely distorted⊠And Dowd Campbellâs soul could be destroyed forever.â
â...!â
Sullivan and Eleanorâs eyes widened simultaneously.
â...Then I must go in immediately.â
At Eleanorâs words, Faenol added urgently.
âPlease wait a moment, Lady Tristan. The situation is too unstable for you to go, you will definitely die if you do. Iâll calm the barrier down as quickly as I can, soââ
âWonât the probability of him getting hurt increase while you are stabilizing the barrier?â
â...Yes, but his odds are better than yours. If you dive in right now, itâs a certain death for you.â
Despite Faenolâs urgent warningâŠ
Eleanor just shrugged her shoulders and replied nonchalantly.
âThen, let us just hedge our bets on me dying.â
â...Excuse me?â
âBetter that than the increasing probability of that manâs death.â
With those wordsâŠ
Eleanor dashed into the violently shaking barrier.
â...â
â...â
âThat crazy bitch.â
Those words came to both Sullivan and Faenolâs mind.
!!!!!! Warning !!!!!!
[ You have broken âcharacterâ! ]
[ A penalty will be given! ]
[ The chance of escaping from the Image Space is significantly reduced! ]
At the same time that message appeared before my eyes, screams poured out from all directions.
âYOUR HOLINESS! YOUR HOLINESSSSSS-!â
âCall the physician! A-Activate the s-security system!â
As the Popeâs head rolled on the floor, chaos erupted all around, accompanied by a symphony of screams.
Then, throughout the mansion, armed personnel, various types of Attack Spells, Graces, and Homunicli that had turned hostileâŠ
And so on, and so onâŠ
So many things going on at once, I couldnât even grasp what was what anymore.
Well, the one thing that was clear was the fact that the entire mansion had turned into my enemy.
â...Mr⊠ServantâŠ?â
I heard Yuriaâs voice as she stared blankly at me.
âLook, My Lady.â
I turned to her, letting out a gentle smile.
âDo you know what is far more hellish than being left all alone in the world?â
â...Excuse me?â
âBeing surrounded by people who make you feel alone.â
â...â
Yuriaâs eyes widened.
âSoâŠâ
I continued with a chuckle.
â...From now on, I shall remove such obstacles for you.â
Honestly, I didnât intend to go this far.
But fuck it, I hated everything here.
Young Yuria. The environment that seemed to imprison and ârearâ her. And the attitude of those who seemed to despise her.
Every.
Single.
Thing.
I hated them all.
Because it reminded me of my âpastâ.
â...â
I took a deep breath and grasped Severer.
Thanks to the copied skill, the burden on my body felt lighter than expected.
Letâs see, what I needed to do was to prevent a tragedy to befall Yuria, right?
Since that was the case, I had a simple method to solve everything.
Kill them all before she killed them,
âYou will not die peacefully, you damn traitor!â
âEveryone, surround them! We must capture them alive!â
Them trying to capture us alive didnât mean they were trying to show us mercy. They just wanted to make us suffer before killing us.
System Message freewŃbnoÎœel.com
[ A moment of danger has been detected.]
[ Determined the situation as life-threatening. ]
[ Skill: Desperation raised to EX-Grade. ]
System Message
[ âTristan Style Swordsmanshipâ is applied. ]
[ The proficiency and power of your swordsmanship has increased! ]
System Message
[ âCurse of Severanceâ is currently applied! ]
Since I wasnât holding Soul Linker, my mana reserves couldnât be supplemented, so I couldnât use any divine-related skills.
But if this was just a simple melee combat, with the skills I had access to right now, there werenât many people who could match me. Not even the powerhouses.
Considering that I even possessed the Curse of Severance that was able to decapitate the Pope in an instantâŠ
-!
With just a single slashâŠ
The line that the sword drew âsliced awayâ a part of the mansion.
All people within the range were swept away as well, turning into little chunks of flesh.
Normally, youâd need Eleanor-level stats to be able to change the scenery with just a swing of the sword. But with the combination of Severer, Desperation and Tristan Style Swordsmanship, I managed to mimic something similar to that.
âM-MonsterâŠ!â
âWhat in the world is thatâŠ!â
I heard such screams and remarks clearly, butâŠ
Instead of responding to them, I just sliced through everyone like I was cutting meat.t.
Fountains of blood sprayed and human flesh flew everywhere, making me feel somewhat nauseous. But honestly, I wasnât all that affected.
It would probably be different if this was reality, but this was just an Image World.
Basically, it was nothing more than an illusion created by the White Devil.
There was just one problem, though.
It was clear that a certain someone was really displeased with what I was doing.
!!!!!! Warning !!!!!!
[ Return to your âroleâ immediately! ]
[ Return to your âroleâ immediately! ]
[ Return to your âroleâ immediately! ]
[ Return to yo- ]
The size of the red window in front of me grew larger and larger.
It almost seemed like it was screaming at me.
However, I just ignored it and continued to slash.
To cut, to kill, to splatter blood all around me.
Then, soon afterâŠ
System Messa-
Just as another Message Window was about to appearâŠ
[Mate, what are you doing?]
It got âinterceptedâ by something.
Following thatâŠ
âEverythingâ, including myself, came to a halt.
As if a transcendent being had intervened.
â...â
I inwardly let out a sigh.
Originally, only the Grey Devil could do these kinds of things, but within a âworld of their own creationâ, there was a punk who might be capable of similar actions.
[I am fairly certain I told you to maintain your role, didnât I?]
Along with those wordsâŠ
A âDevilâ emitting a blinding white light tore through space and popped out before me.
It was the White Devil, assuming Yuriaâs form.
â...â
There we go.
This was what I had been waiting for.
I knew if I caused enough of a shitfest, this punk would come by.
Her piercing eyes glowed fiercely. While maintaining a cold gaze that seemed to chill my heart just by seeing it, the being approached me.
Then, after lifting my chin, she forced me to look into her eyes.
[I shall allow you to speak, so tell me. Why did you ignore the warning?]
At the same time, my ability to move returned slightly.
I could barely open my mouth, but I still managed to somehow spit out a sentence.
âIt was suffocating.â
[...What?]
âWhy place such restrictions like a âroleâ in the first place?â
The White Devilâs face twitched at my words.
âItâs strange, isnât it? If you wanted to prevent something from happening to Yuria, there was no need for such constraints. It only limits the range of actions I can take, it also doesnât fit the goal.â
[...]
âAnd why bother going out of your way to emphasize it to me?â
What exactly she was planning, I couldnât say.
But her concern for Yuria was genuine. Creating this Image World and âreformingâ Yuriaâs past to induce some positive effect was evident.
HoweverâŠ
Regarding this roleâŠ
âYou have an ulterior motive, donât you?â
If she didnâtâŠ
She wouldnât need to impose such restrictions on me.
There was only one function that could be expected as a result of that.
It allowed the White Devil to naturally âanchorâ me to the world she createdâŠ
To manipulate me however she pleased.
In the case of the White Devil, known for her intense obsession and desire to control even among the Devils, providing such a âpretextâ meant the fallout could be unpredictable.
[...]
The White Devilâs face continued to twitch.
[...IâŠ]
After a prolonged silence, she barely managed to open her mouth.
While grinding her teeth, she opened her mouth.
[Just wanted to change you.]
âChange what?â
[...The future you are heading towards. The past of the Vessel I inhabit.]
â...What is that supposed to mean?â
[...]
She fell silent again.
This time, the silence lasted much longer
Then, she squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head.
As if to shake off an unwelcome memory. One that she never wished to recall again.
[...Be quiet. At any rate, you have violated the restriction I set.]
With that, the White Devil raised her hand towards me.
[That means I can rightfully strip your soul of its ownership. And that wouldnât even constitute a breach in our⊠âagreementâ.]
â...â
âŠAgreement?
Another incomprehensible term was thrown out.
But given the atmosphere, it seemed unlikely sheâd explain anything to me.
Demonic Aura started to gather in her hand.
[...Though the method was not what I expectedâŠ]
She muttered quietly.
[This time, we can finally be together forâ]
However, before she could even finish her sentenceâŠ
-!
-!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The spaceâŠ
Was warped, twisted, and shatteredâŠ
Then, it was âswept awayâ.
Pure darkness took its place in our surroundings, akin to the abyss I had seen when I first entered here.
As if someoneâs âarrivalâ had completely destroyed the Image World.
[WhatâŠ!]
A cry of astonishment escaped the White Devilâs lips.
In an Image World that she created using her mental power, she should be able to hold full control over it.
That should be an undeniable fact, an unshakeable truth.
After all, what kind of existence could possibly tear through and enter with such ease?
So, when the horrified punk turned aroundâŠ
âYou.â
ThereâŠ
Stood a familiar face.
â[What were you intending to do with Dowd?]â
With those wordsâŠ
A grey aura started to explode around /genesisforsaken