Chapter 255

EP.255 Erosion

“None of them came back?”

“Yes…”

“This is ridiculous.”

Minji… no, Marcella, lowered her gaze as if she had no face to show.

Clicking my tongue, I leaned back against the sofa.

If none of the five scouts returned, it means they died in the Demon Realm.

I had infused my dark energy into those five.

The fact that the demons dared to act despite knowing this means a full-blown rebellion is imminent.

I had a vague idea, but I didn’t think it would actually happen. Now that it’s confirmed, I’m even more pissed.

“Where did they die?”

“Their life signals cut off near Malphas’s residence…”

“Do you know how they died?”

“Just before the signal cut off, their body temperature spiked. It seems they were burned to death…”

Burned to death?

Among the demons strong enough to rebel against me, who uses fire…

The first one that comes to mind is Balrog.

A high-ranking demon on par with Malphas, the one who turned Yuria’s parents to ash.

He’s also known for his obsession with power.

“It’s Balrog, isn’t it?”

“I think so too…”

Malphas doesn’t have that kind of ability.

He’s just a wish-granter.

Does that reduce the likelihood of Malphas being the traitor?

No, I can’t rule anything out. Malphas is too cunning to let my guard down.

He and Balrog could be working together to cause this incident.

“What a headache. Sehwa, Yuria, and the Doctor haven’t shown any signs, right?”

“Yes… Since they’re bound by Your Majesty’s power… I don’t think you need to worry about that.”

“Has the Aiter replication research started?”

“It’s currently underway. The Doctor’s help is invaluable. Since she knows everything about Aiter and the Device, we should be able to speed things up.”

“Got it.”

I pressed my temples with my thumb and middle finger, then smirked at Marcella’s next words.

“Um… may I ask how Adeline’s progress is going…?”

“If things went according to plan, Adele should be furious by now. I plan to inject malice into her today. But we need to be cautious. Adele is different from Sehwa and Yuria, so it’s hard to predict how she’ll react.”

“I see…”

“We need to clean up the Demon Realm.”

Marcella looked terrified.

“Clean up…?”

“We’ll have to eliminate anyone suspicious.”

“Forgive me for saying this, but… perhaps you should reconsider…”

Are you telling me to show mercy to those traitors?

Frowning, I leaned forward and stroked Marcella’s cheek.

Then, I grabbed her hair and pulled it to the side.

“Marcella.”

“Yes… yes?”

“Didn’t you say last time in the car that I seemed to have changed? That I seemed kinder? That I should show the rebels what I’m made of?”

“…Yes…”

“Then why are you acting like this now? Did you grow a conscience? Or are you being influenced by divine power?”

“Th-that’s absolutely not the case… I just… I’m worried that in Your Majesty’s current state, the Demon Realm might be in danger…”

I placed my thumb on Marcella’s soft lips.

Then, I moved it side to side, smudging her tinted lipstick.

“You were worried about me.”

“Yes… I only care about Your Majesty’s safety…”

“Good girl.”

“N-no…”

Hmm~!

As I gazed at Marcella with gentle eyes, my phone vibrated. I pulled it out.

[I’ll stay in the lab tonight.]

It was a message from Adele.

Written like a notice… she’s telling me to come.

Something must have happened with Silvia.

And she’s sleeping in the lab? What if the tiger eats her?

Well, where else would you go when you’re angry…

[I’ll be there soon.]

[You don’t have to come.]

[Really?]

[(๑•﹏•) No.]

[I’ll head out right away. Should I bring snacks?]

[Yes. (｡♥‿♥｡)]

I chuckled at the cute emoticon and stood up.

“Let’s head back to the base.”

“Yes… Your Majesty… I hope the erosion succeeds…”

“Right.”

**

Adele inhaled the snacks while puffing out her cheeks.

She muttered to me.

“Really… I’m sooo mad! How could she act like that?”

After hearing the situation, I inwardly cheered.

Everything went according to plan.

“I see… I’m disappointed too.”

I can’t defend Silvia like I usually do.

I need to empathize with Adele and fuel her hostility toward Silvia.

Then, I’ll erode Aiter and fill the Device. That’s all.

“And… I think unnie likes Jihyuk.”

I already know.

Let’s act a bit ambiguous here.

Adele’s anger will grow even more.

“Is that so?”

As expected, Adele lashed out at me.

“Is that so? Did you just say ‘Is that so’!?”

“Huh? Well… I like Silvia too…”

“What did you say!?”

Bang!

Adele slammed the lounge table with both hands.

Her face was scrunched up in anger.

Startled, I quickly corrected myself.

“No, I meant I like her as a colleague.”

At that, Adele’s attitude softened slightly.

She placed her hands on her hips and said.

“What I meant was, Silvia unnie likes Jihyuk as a man.”

“Ah… are you sure?”

“Sure? Are you doubting my intuition now? Ah, I get it now.”

“What?”

“You got excited touching Silvia unnie’s body, didn’t you? And you feel good about it, right? Because a woman like her likes you?”

Even the sarcasm… perfect.

You’re ready to fall.

“Enough with the nonsense, go to sleep.”

“Nonsense!? Answer me first!”

“Adele.”

“What!”

“What did I say yesterday… no, earlier in the lab?”

“…You said you only love me.”

“Does that answer your question?”

Adele nodded once.

I gave her a bitter smile and pressed further.

“Did I enjoy touching Silvia’s body? How could you say that to me? You know how hard it’s been for me…”

“I’m sorry… I got too worked up…”

“I understand.”

“Silvia unnie is an idiot. It’s been so long since she came to Earth… she hasn’t even thought about dating. That’s why Jihyuk and I have been suffering… Even though I agreed to it, I regret it so much. I hate her.”

I suddenly pulled Adele into a hug.

Her arms naturally wrapped around my neck.

“A good night’s sleep will help.”

“…Okay…”

To inject malice, I need to temporarily leave the human body.

Which means Adele might detect the dark energy.

But that’s not even a problem. The real issue is after injecting the malice.

I took Adele to the Doctor’s lounge, covered her with a blanket, and removed the Device from her wrist.

Watching quietly, Adele asked.

“Why my Device?”

“Since we’re in the lab, I’m going to expand its capacity. The Doctor said it, right? The demons’ movements are strange. We might have to keep fighting… so we need to prepare.”

“…I hate the Doctor too. She tempted me with sly words.”

Oh? That’s great.

The Doctor would be thrilled to hear that.

“But you understand her intentions, right?”

“That’s true… but are you going to do it now?”

“No. I’ll stay here until you fall asleep.”

“What about sleep…? Aren’t you going to sleep with me?”

“I’m not sleepy. I’ll get drowsy while working. I’ll come back then.”

Adele looked worried.

“You made a mistake earlier…”

“After understanding your feelings and being comforted, I feel much better. If I feel like I’ll make a mistake, I’ll stop. Don’t worry.”

“If it’s too hard…”

“If it’s too hard, I’ll come straight to you.”

“Okay… hold my hand.”

I smiled warmly and took Adele’s hand.

She tightly gripped the fox necklace I gave her and closed her eyes.

When people are mentally and physically exhausted, they tend to sleep deeply if they have something comforting.

Adele was no different.

I’ll patiently wait until she falls asleep.

**

Sizzle…

The Aiter in front of me made a clean, peaceful sound as it moved.

I brought the Device modification tools to a luxury hotel, swallowed hard, and released my finger.

A drop of blood, containing my essence of malice, formed on my pinky.

I transferred the blood to a tiny dropper and relaxed my tense body.

Eroding Adele’s Aiter requires extreme caution.

It’s incomparable to Sehwa and Yuria’s cases.

The amount of malice must be smaller than a quark or lepton.

Just a tiny, insignificant amount, then let it grow gradually through my relationship with Adele.

I’m sweating. I can’t remember the last time I was this nervous.

I wiped my face with my palm, made up my mind, and inserted the dropper into a tiny passage I secretly made in the Device.

Then, I carefully let a tiny drop of malice flow in.

At that moment,

Squeak-! Squeak-squeak-squeak!

The Aiter let out a pleasant scream.

It’s rejecting the malice as it mixes in.

I only added an amount invisible even under a microscope, but the reaction is more intense than with Sehwa and Yuria.

It must be because it’s fused with divine power.

I expected some resistance, but not this much.

I operated a small remote control I had prepared.

It was a sealing device I made to control Silvia and Adele.

As soon as the button was pressed, a polymer silently emerged from the Device and tightly bound the Aiter.

Squeak! Squeak-squeak!

The Aiter, which had been screaming in pain, soon quieted down except for the top part, which I assumed was its head.

It looked like a god sealed in an unbreakable noose, and a smile naturally formed on my lips.

‘Behave…’

After a while, the Aiter’s trembling, like it was being tortured, stopped.

I waited a moment, then carefully pressed the remote to release the seal.

Then,

Squeak… squeak… squeak… sizzle…

The Aiter, which had been gasping in pain, let out a clear sound again.

Has it been eroded? Or purified?

I calmed my pounding heart and zoomed in on the Aiter.

Once, twice, thrice, four times… and beyond.

I moved my fingers dozens of times to zoom in, then clenched my fist so hard it bled.

‘It worked!’

The edges of the Aiter had turned pitch black.

I barely held back a cheer and sealed the Aiter again to prevent it from causing trouble.

Then, I went to the bed, buried my face in it, and chuckled.

There’s still work to do.

The final task is to attach the Device to Adele’s wrist.

This is the most critical part, but there’s no need to worry too much.

The fact that the Aiter, infused with divine power, has been eroded means it’s successfully fused with the divine power.

Adele likely won’t notice.

Once this is done, her heart will slowly turn evil.

To the point where Rosario would shed tears of blood.

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