The Demon King’s fragment couldn’t defeat the Mangja Seongnyeo, a being with the power to obliterate itself from a previous world.
If all fragments were to combine and the main body were to descend, maybe there would be a chance, but right now, in this world called Earth, it wasn’t the time to act. It was still the moment to conserve and gather strength.
If they recklessly moved the host to confront the Mangja Seongnyeo, all the hard work accumulated thus far could collapse in an instant.
Thus, the fragment reconsidered.
[If we can’t win, we can bring in a being that can defeat it.]
So, the fragment prioritized hiding in the soon-approaching world’s rift.
It shook the doppelgangers living there, eroded the dimension, and simultaneously melted the dungeon.
The dungeon, now melted like shapeless doppelgangers, could invade any world, becoming such an unstable dimension that it could blend in anywhere.
And it spread primal desires.
A being that could respond to its maliciousness, the hateful Mangja Seongnyeo, a being from another dimension capable of killing a fragment of the god.
It succeeded in summoning Isia, who had experienced similar yet different despair from a different world.
[Done.]
The fragment cheered.
Because the existence, which was both its most terrible enemy and most hated rival, the extreme counterpart of the Mangja Seongnyeo, had been drawn close.
Now, the fragments of the god would be obliterated by the hands of the same.
[Now, call me. Then I shall respond.]
The fragment, lodged inside Lirisia, shouted, guiding her this way.
Come, let’s hold hands.
Is one not enough for you?
If so, I shall lend you my strength.
O Witch of the Dark Star.
Quickly, grab this hand.
Creeeak!!!
[!?]
In that moment, the fragment felt its body shatter.
The fragment lodged in the heart was caught by something and pulled into the world.
Crunch!
Creak!
Crack!
[…!]
Stooop…!
What are you doing right now?
“You know there have been many playing with me, right? Of course, being the Seongnyeo, I sometimes let them have their way… And then I ended up being used like a sucker. Huff.”
Crack!
Swallow!
I brought you here.
“Ah, I’m gratitude to you for that guidance.”
Crack!
Huff…
Stop.
“But you know… even now, I may be the Witch of the Dark Star, but I was originally a Seongnyeo, you know?”
Squish, squish.
Stop it.
“You think I’m crazy enough to see the Demon King flickering before my eyes and just let it go…?”
Crack!
Hahhh…
I shall enjoy this.
Crunch!
*
Miracle – Great Healing
Leaving behind the fragments that shattered with ice, Isia embraced the frozen Yeonhwa and used the miracle of Great Healing.
With a single miracle, all harmful effects disappeared. The state of the body improved to its peak, and when Yeonhwa returned to her usual appearance, Isia let out a sigh of relief.
“Yeonhwa! Yeonhwa!”
“Hah, ugh… cough!”
“Are you okay? How many are you?”
“I’m okay, Unnie. Thanks to the miracle you cast, I feel even better than usual, so you don’t need to worry…”
Yes, if it’s Isia, she truly possesses a powerful healing miracle capable of reviving someone who had just died.
But even so, witnessing someone she cherished frozen and shattered before her was something she couldn’t disregard.
Having endured over 60 years of hellish experiences in the previous world.
Even if she tried to fix it or not think about it.
What tormented Isia the most as the Mangja Seongnyeo was the pain of innocent people and the wounds of those she held dear.
Supporting Yeonhwa, Isia stood up and finally was able to survey her surroundings.
It had been completely devastated.
Due to the aftermath of the destructive miracle that contained an atrocious malignance, the dungeon, which once resembled a city center, had become a wasteland.
Cracks in the space remained, and buildings that had engulfed many bustling areas were neatly obliterated, leaving not even fragments behind.
[Heh, hehehehe…!]
“….!”
However.
I heard a laugh I absolutely didn’t want to hear.
The laughter resonating from all around sounded much like my own voice, making me unconsciously shut my mouth.
[Look, you know?]
As if finding it too funny, she spoke to me.
[You know.]
Crack!
[That’s all it takes?]
The frozen fragments began to melt.
[Just by such fluke?]
The flesh bubbles.
The flesh swollen from the earth and dust became a living maw that devoured each other and merged.
[Me.]
“……”
[We.]
Did you think we would die?
[Hahaha… You know, Isia. I am you.]
Is that true?
Did you really think we would die just like that?
[No, no.]
If we were to die, then.
If we could die…
[We would have long died already.]
With this body that should have died.
With these heinous acts worthy of death.
This Mangja Seongnyeo would have long vanished from this world.
Long before, I would have cracked my own head and would have died by now.
Cradled in the merciful arms of death, I would have cried out loud.
“You know. Right?”
From within the writhing flesh, Lirisia, reborn and shedding black tears, smiled as always.
Until a moment ago, the dark malevolence that occasionally trickled down her eyes was now engulfing her whole being.
Even hugging that immense malignance, Lirisia undoubtedly retained her sanity.
*
Flesh Bubble Miracle – Great Explosion
“….!”
*
Miracle – Orphan’s Sanctuary
“Unnie!!!”
Ugh…!
With a miracle bursting forth from the squeaky flesh that had not fully adhered yet, Isia hurriedly unfolded the sanctuary.
Despite the unprepared shock, Isia felt pain as if her insides were ripping apart.
Great Explosion
Boom!
Great Explosion
Boom!
Great Explosion
Bang!
Kaboom!
Kaboom!
This is serious.
The shock is much stronger than before.
Whatever she did, the degree of malignance emanating from Lirisia was growing thicker.
No, it was beyond just thickening.
The level of that malignance started to erupt in a truly horrifying manner, to the extent that it felt like a different dimension.
Moreover, the miracle of Great Explosion, which I thought wouldn’t even be repeated, was now being unleashed as if breathing freely, pressuring Isia.
“It’s an odd thing to say, but you’re adorably precious. Hehehe..”
The shattered fragments stuck back together.
What I thought would die was now wearing an even deeper smile than before.
Buried in flesh, entangled in tentacles, vomiting dark, murky malignance, Lirisia advanced with a giddy expression.
“Hah, hah…”
“By the way, I want to ask you one more thing…”
“Stay away from my Isia!!”
[Ice-Winning….!]
Flesh Bubble Miracle – Great Explosion
“What!?”
With a light strike of the Great Explosion miracle, Yeonhwa was sent flying far away.
Even though the Sanctuary had absorbed the injury, the physical shock wasn’t completely eradicated, causing Yeonhwa to be unable to resist and crash into the fragmented debris.
‘Yeonhwa..!’
Get up right now.
You’re the Seongnyeo.
Save the people.
What are you doing…!
“You dare think you can keep everyone safe while leaving me behind…?”
In that moment, flames and steel erupted.
From Lirisia’s shoulder, rusty skeletal wings grew, dark flames emerging from the corroded steel.
A calamity descended.
Black flames and malignance surged forth, progressively engulfing everything under her.
Even the earth began to decay.
Metals would corrode, and living things perish.
The golden eyes, identical to Isia’s, held an eerily inorganic look while her skin, paling more than a corpse, became stained black with black flames and malignance.
“You know.”
Hehehe…
“I’ve been letting those chunks of meat breathe just to play with you guys…”
It was amusingly true.
If Isia and Lirisia were indeed the same being, then at least one possessed all the powers, if not more, and currently, Isia could not stop Lirisia.
When the Mangja Seongnyeo went wild.
Isia knew very well what happens when you discard your humanity, sanity, and ethics for malignance and flesh.
Until now, the only reason there hadn’t been any casualties was that Lirisia didn’t head towards the shelters. Her attention had only been focused on Isia.
Stomp!
Slap!
Slap!
Lirisia’s tentacles began to grow impatient and gnash their teeth.
From the tentacles, black malignance drooled like slime, and the malignance that touched the ground scorched black.
Thoughts didn’t linger long.
Bang!
“Oops?”
Isia decided to disregard her accumulated state caused by blocking the Great Explosion miracle.
The white divine power cut through the darkness.
A glowing puppet pierced through the malignance, creating a splendid explosion.
Wooooooosh!!
A delayed sound rushed in.
In the immense wind pressure erupting like a bomb, the Witch of the Dark Star and the Mangja Seongnyeo stared at each other.
They swung their arms.
Flesh splintered, malignance erupted.
And then it shattered.
Blood of unknown origin flowed like a river, while tentacles bit and tore at each other.
Whoosh!
Bang!
They entangled.
Striking.
Smashed, and exploded.
Repeating and repeating again.
The more they knew about each other, the more they attacked and killed.
Once again, they punched with bodies imbued with divine power.
Yet, despite having the power to kill anything, Isia could not defeat the Witch of the Dark Star.
“Now you understand.”
At the moment their hands touched, the Witch of the Dark Star scoffed.
“Did you think for a moment that you could kill me?”
Ah, that’s why this punch isn’t heavy!
That’s why you’re still holding back!!
Boom!
“Ugh!?”
“Hahahahahahahaha!!!”
The tentacles
The tentacles…
Grew so massive and innumerable that they overwhelmed Isia’s tentacles, biting, binding, and seizing her body.
“You’re still holding onto that flimsy string, huh?”
“You’re still holding onto hope!”
“You’re still clutching to that nonsense light!!”
You dare to not kill me?
“Hehehe, haha… Ahaha… How ridiculous. You think I’ve never tried? You think I didn’t struggle? Your future is me. I am you!”
Even throwing everything away to bravely charge will not suffice, you dared to dominate me and expect to show mercy?
Hearing a sob story about something complex, did you think I’d grant you forgiveness or understanding!?
You dare continue pretending to be a Seongnyeo!!!
“Ah, or maybe you still find it insufficient?”
Lirisia’s gaze shifted toward the direction Yeonhwa had flown.
“Should I try devouring that girl first?”
“….!”
Isia’s eyes widened, bound by tentacles.
What a great response!
“And then, enjoy devouring all the ignorant humans who still have no idea what’s happening.”
There are plenty of human bodies around, right?
“It’ll taste delicious. You know that, right?”
Why the astonished face?
As if saying you’ve never starved even once.
“The tastiest thing isn’t the demons or monsters.”
But you know?
“The tastiest thing is humans, right?”
Sinking my teeth into a warm, fluttering heart and chewing it while it’s still alive is so divine.
Impaling a living woman’s neck to suck the blood is quite pleasant too.
The flesh of a child is especially tender.
How’s that? Is your mouth watering?
“………….”
“Hehehe, what do you think you can do, trying not to kill me?”
And at that moment, the tentacles of the witch, which had been biting Isia, were torn apart in one fell swoop.
Splatter!
“Oh…!”
[You, do you think I can’t do it…?]
Crack!
Crack!
It doesn’t matter if you underestimate me.
I don’t mind your insults.
I don’t care about your humiliation.
Nor do I care if you scorn me or belittle me.
Even if your purpose is to wound me, or even to kill me, it doesn’t concern me at all.
If there’s conflict, we can solve it through dialogue.
In a situation where swords are drawn against each other, the situation will ultimately end with one side’s death.
There’s no need to carry a grudge.
There’s no need to harbor dark and vile emotions as the Seongnyeo.
I thought that way.
I thought it didn’t matter at all.
[To bring pain to those connected to me?]
You dare declare to kill my people?
To consume even the merciful peace of death?
To declare that as a Seongnyeo?
Don’t be ridiculous.
Sure, fine.
If that’s what you want, fine.
I won’t let you…
[I will not forgive you.]
Crash!
Crack!
Let’s cross the line. Let’s cross the line!
From the moment I held that thought, Isia felt her sanity devoured.
But even so, it’s fine.
I can no longer forgive that Witch of the Dark Star, that malice who impersonates another me.
Don’t cross the line.
One day, Menelapie and Teresa told me.
If you cross that line…
No one knows what might happen.
Look, gaze at the heavens.
It’s blackened and burning.
Now, look at the ground.
It’s bubbling with stink and rotting malevolence.
Now, look at yourself.
You are just like me.
You’ve fallen like me.
“Hahaha, what’s this? I can do it, right?”
Ah, you are indeed like me.
Floundering in the rotten filth is pitiful enough to cause envy.
I feel jealous that you are still holding onto that light.
I feel jealous that you are still upright!
[You say you don’t understand me? No way.]
That’s why pulling you down with me is such a delight.
[You just don’t know it yet.]
The overflow of malignance soon enveloped the Witch of the Dark Star, crushing down upon her.
You had been hiding this all along.
Crossing the line revealed how ugly and beautiful you are!
“Ah, my adorable junior. Young me. Today, let’s cross that line together.”
Once you cross that line, the joy of liberating oneself into desire and ecstasy is something you’ve yet to know.
You can’t even imagine it!
“Now, come here.”
Fall with me.
Let’s become evil together.
Let’s be beasts together!
Let’s drop that loathsome star!
Those cursed stars that mock us…
That forever jeer at us!!
*
No, you don’t have to join me.
[Just… devour me.]
*
[Grow great by eating me!]
*
[Become evil by consuming me!!]
*
[Devour the star!!]
*
After all…
You need to have the burden to survive.
*
“Isia.”
Is that a hallucination?
“Did I not tell you?”
A familiar voice…
“You swore long ago, didn’t you? That you would remain my burden.”
Who are you?
“So don’t fight without a sword.”
What is this?
Is it an illusion?
A memory?
Or is it a dream?
Isia saw rose petals softly grazing her cheeks.
Like the flowing black waters of the Empire, beautifully cascading like a flower.
But it wasn’t an ordinary rose petal.
Brightly blooming, it was tinged with golden colors, disintegrating and disappearing before she could even touch it.
—I call this sword the Flame Sword.
—It might be fire itself, or just a delicately blooming flower.
But there were countless petals.
More than those disintegrating,
The re-blooming petals adorned Isia’s world so beautifully that she felt they could cover it completely.
—The form differs depending on the observer’s heart.
—So tell me.
As the golden roses fluttered, Isia could see the figure of someone more familiar than anyone else.
—What does that sword, Menelapie, that I entrusted to you look like?
“Hehehe, why the face?”
[Ah…]
The dark, murky malevolence streaming from her eyes has now turned into transparent tears.
The same rose as before.
A brilliantly shining golden rose.
One day, you arrived, shining brighter than gold, blinding me completely.
You, the light that came to me, was so dazzling I could hardly bear it.
Even against the light that obscured everything… still, I couldn’t close my eyes.
It was all so beautiful.
So ecstatic.
So lovely.
Just recalling you could make me forget pain, sadness, suffering, and even the gnawing hunger that consumed me, however briefly.
So I always thought.
If I could see you again, if I could really meet you again…
I wish to see that wonderfully blooming golden rose.
To hug that rose with all my might…
As always, to have you come meet me.
I wished for us to meet often before we die.
Even knowing how futile it was, I had those desires.
Knowing we would never meet again.
So I just missed you.
I knew that no one would accept the hand I reached out to grasp.
But oh, ah…
If you suddenly reached for my hand…
If you stretched out that hand I thought I could never grasp forever…
[Ah… Ah……….. Ah…..!]
How could I not cry?
The Seongnyeo, so shamefully.
I could only cry before my hero.
Ah, that’s right.
You have always been my hero.
Whenever I was sad, whenever I was hurt, you were the only one who would embrace and comfort me…
*
“My one and only hero.”
