Fated to Be Loved by Villains C.103: Incarnation (2)

→ Incarnation (2) ←

In the world of Sera, there were various kinds of divine beings.

From the Existence of an Ancient Era deep in the sea that Tatiana served to the Gods in the Astral Realm that ruled over angels and were worshiped by the Holy Land. Even the Devils of Pandemonium were included in this illustrious list of existences.

In terms of strength, beings from the Astral Realm and Pandemonium were the most powerful, but they were just a fraction of the elements that made up the entire world.

And Incarnations were existences chosen by such beings as the ‘ones closest to them’; Those who were specifically selected to wield their power in the most effective ways.

In the original game, the easiest Incarnations to encounter were Vessels that had collected all the Devil’s Fragments. And among them all, Eleanor, who became the Grey Devil’s Incarnation, was the one you’d stumble upon the most.

Since she was the Final Boss, it was an inevitability that all the Devil’s Fragments would be gathered to her, without you needing to fulfill anything specifics..

‘…Also, she is the only one you could communicate with when in that state.’

Maybe it was because she was chosen from the very beginning? Out of all the Incarnations, Eleanor, who had collected all the Fragments, had the least amount of ‘side effects’.

Even among those existences, there was virtually no one who could become like her. That was why, you could consider that being chosen as an Incarnation gave you no benefit whatsoever.

An incarnation with a completely intact body or personality was an extremely rare case.

Look at Alan for example. He became an Incarnation of the Riptide, but his body had transformed to the point that he could never return to his original appearance.

But, those who reached the realm of an Incarnation could easily perform unreasonable feats that were impossible to explain by any laws.

For example…

Coming back to life despite dying once.

“The amulet looks fascinating.”

Faenol remarked as such while gazing at Soul Linker erratically emitting light.

This phenomenon was caused by Caliban. It seemed he still found it hard to believe that the person in front of him was the very same being he had once killed.

“…There’s no need to worry about it.”

I hid Soul Linker behind me.

At the moment, nothing good would come out of revealing this person’s existence. After all, the reason why I came here this time was to seek her cooperation.

“To be honest, I didn’t expect you to come see me first.”

Faenol elegantly sipped her tea.

Considering the setting, she was undoubtedly a young lady of a noble household.

That was why she had the tendency to ignore anyone who wasn’t a member of a noble household; Thinking that they didn’t belong in the same level as her.

“Haven’t you been deliberately avoiding me until now?”

“…”

“You don’t have to look so surprised. I’ve always been listening to information about you.”

She let out a faint smile.

“I can understand the intention behind the way you treat me reasonably well.”

Why did every woman I meet have so much interest in me to the point of being creepy?

Yes, I knew I had this special constitution, but wasn’t this a little too much?

“Still, you’re quite alright, compared to the bugs that swarm around nearby.”

“…”

“It is even more so in this barbaric place. It’s a backwards country where reason can not be found anywhere, as they believe in everything and anything if it’s a tradition. Don’t you think so as well?”

Each and every word she uttered was something that could get her stabbed with a knife if she were to say it out loud through the entirety of the Tribe Alliance.

In this country, the tradition of a tribe held a status close to a religion. After all, even though anyone would agree that Alan Ba-Thor’s extortion of statutory power was a bizarre circumstance, they all acknowledged the regime change all in the name of tradition.

However, Faenol’s voice, which spewed out such crazy sentences, was not agitated at all; Rather, it went beyond calm and could even be considered serene. Almost as if she was nonchalantly expressing her true feelings.

‘…In the whole universe, only I exist.’

I groaned inwardly, recalling a sentence that best described Faenol.

She was an egalitarian in the truest sense.

After all, she saw every human except herself as mere garbage.

Well, at least Yuria and I had something that could make her unable to look down on us.

‘…She went berserk as soon as the Fragments gathered because she was this kind of person, after all.’

As seen in Eleanor’s case, the more Devil’s Fragments were collected, the more the negative aspects of the target’s personality got amplified..

The Crimson Night Incident had probably occurred because, unlike other Vessels, this woman had no intention of suppressing the negative effects transmitted by the Fragments.

[…If that’s the case, we have to kill this bitch right here and now.]

‘…Caliban.’

[Damn it, it’s not like you don’t know either. She is a walking calamity. I don’t know how she came back to life after dying once, but if we leave her alone, then—!]

‘You promised me.’

To not do anything foolish.

My words were transmitted clearly through Caliban’s silence, as he gritted his teeth.

Yes. I knew as well.

Caliban’s concern was quite accurate since she was the Final Boss of Chapter 4.

However, killing her right now was completely illogical, even if I disregarded the fact that I came to request her cooperation.

‘She won’t die.’

[What?]

‘I said she won’t die.’

Until I managed to place the Holy Sword in Iliya’s hands in Chapter 4, there was absolutely no possible method to kill her.

Incarnations were all such bizarre beings, after all.

“…And there is probably no need for me to step out and do it either.’

If my thoughts were correct…

She probably didn’t appreciate being brought back from the dead either.

There was a reason why she was called Deathwish.

“…I came to request your cooperation.”

However, that was one thing.

Right now, I had no time; I had to devise a method that could stop the Reversed Sea within a day.

I started swiping at an imaginary abacus in my head. I organized every single card that could even have a chance in making her interested in coopera—

“I accept.”

“…”

I blinked in surprise because of the all too easy affirmation that Faenol returned.

‘The fuck?’

From what I knew about her personality, she should’ve demanded various things and put all sorts of shackles on me, as I was the one who reached out to her first.

“…From your expression, I can tell what kind of expectations you had when coming here, but…”

Faenol chuckled before continuing.

“Do you know what kind of position you hold within the Heretic Inquisition, Dowd Campbell?

“…Not a good one, I assume.”

This was a group that saw red and flipped out whenever anything related to Devils were mentioned.

There was no need to even guess how I would be portrayed by them, as I was someone who attracted the presence of Devils by just breathing

That was also the very reason why I had been avoiding the Heretic Inquisition all this time.

However, Faenol’s following answer completely deviated from my expectations.

“The Heretic Inquisition wants to do everything in their power to protect you from any threats to your safety.

“…”

‘Wot?’

“I shall tell you one thing, Dowd Campbell.”

A flat voice flowed serenely.

“The Heretic Inquisition is carefully tracking the possessors of Devil’s Vessels; In order to do our best in making sure those beings do not go berserk.”

Because of that….

“Recently, the Grey Devil went berserk and it took us a bit to figure out everything that happened, including the fact that the Vessel turned back the time axis.”

My reaction to those unexpected words was a bit delayed.

“…”

As I looked at her with a slightly surprised look on my face, Faenol chuckled.

“I can sense your questioning gaze, asking how they found out, but… Well, I’m also an Incarnation in my own right. Even though I don’t know what exactly happened, it’s not that difficult to deduce what happened when connecting the fact that something was ‘twisted’ and the knowledge of the Grey Devil’s abilities.”

She gracefully set her teacup down before staring straight at me with her red pupils.

“And what was more astonishing than the ability itself was the fact that a Devil that had already gone berserk once was able to regain its ‘reason’.”

Without a doubt…

Her eyes were filled with interest and ‘possessiveness’.

“Because of your influence.”

“…”

“It is unprecedented. The power of a Devil belongs solely to the Devil; From the past to the present, there has never been a case where it was influenced by others.”

That was probably true.

There was a perfect example right in front of me. When Faenol went berserk during the Crimson Night Incident, the only way to stop her was to kill her.

“And the Heretic Inquisition is currently judging that some kind of ‘relationship’ manifested between you and the Vessel, leading to this miracle.”

My eyes narrowed at those words.

Atalante had mentioned something similar before.

She had said that my relationship with the Vessels were the only means to seal them.

After saying those words, Faenol took a moment to collect her breath.

“…In other words, it’s possible that a Devil’s Vessel who has ‘fallen’ for you may give you the ‘right to control’ its power based on how precious you are to it. That’s the conclusion they had come to.”

Atalente had said something similar as well.

I had no way of knowing the process, but didn’t she say it was possible to seal the Devils if I formed a relationship with them?

And what this girl was saying right now was the process of such a phenomenon.

“…”

Alright. Okay.

I get it and all, but…

Having heard that much, I could kinda predict what would follow.

And it was not something I would find pleasing at all.

“…Judging from your tendencies, I do believe you already know about this. I have returned from the dead once before.”

Faenol continued with a voice that was void of any emotion.

“I’m not sure if you’ll experience it later, but let me tell you in advance. It was not a pleasant experience.”

“…Isn’t death like that for everyone?”

“No, not death.”

Faenol wore a hollow smile.

“…This… ’Life’ that has… Nothing… After death.”

“…”

“I ‘resurrected’ through part of the Authority given to me as the Red Devil’s Incarnation, but… It cost me something quite precious in return.”

Yes, that was for certain.

I knew very well what she had ‘lost’ while undergoing such a process.

As I mentioned earlier, among Incarnations, this girl was a rare case where she reached such a state without any side effects.

But, I might need to attach one more explanation to that.

Strictly speaking, this girl also had a ‘flaw’.

“…”

And that flaw…

Was a bit more terrifying than one may think.

To the point where she would be far more scared of living right now than being dead.

It was even enough for their ‘mutual interests’ to align.

What a strange thing to think about, huh?

Going beyond a Vessel, a completed Incarnation was attached to the Heretic Inquisition, who were known to denounce anything related to Devils.

However….

The Heretic Inquisition wished to capture and exterminate all Devils.

And Faenol knew that she fell into such a category.

So, the conclusion that those two reached was that…

In the end, the most convenient ‘tool’ in achieving both of their goals was me.

As such, it was incredibly obvious what she would ask of me.

“Dowd Campbell. I will cooperate with whatever you wish. Since I’m currently standing in as the Acting Inquisitor for the Heretic Inquisition, I will give you my cooperation using my authority. However, I would appreciate it if you could grant me just one thing.”

Faenol grinned as she opened her mouth.

“Could you seduce me?”

“…”

“Please make me fall in love with you. Through that relationship, help me suppress the Devil imbued inside me.”

Such words sank heavily in the tense air of the reception room.

“That way, I can finally die again.”

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