Chapter 78

Devil.

Why they exist and how they came to be, even the gods do not know.

Just as there is light, there is shadow; where there are good beings, there must also be evil ones. Everyone simply thought so.

Even the devils themselves do not know the reason for their existence. Without a reason, they wander aimlessly, seeking only to fulfill their own desires.

Human misery is a sweet snack to them, and a corrupted soul is their lavish feast.

Devils lure humans with sweet words and seductive whispers. They drive them into the abyss of misfortune, crush their bodies, and corrupt their souls, ultimately making them their prey.

They roam the world solely for their own desires, searching for prey.

But can you believe it? Even such devils have something they yearn for.

Ironically, what they yearn for is a pure soul.

A soul as white as snow, untainted by even a speck of impurity. A soul so beautiful and clear that just being near it feels like their skin might burn.

Perhaps it is because they know they can never become such beings that they yearn for the light even more.

Devils never consume pure souls.

The moment a pure soul enters a devil’s body, their existence would melt away into ashes.

Instead, the devil embraces that soul.

In the sanctuary of hell, they keep that soul in their nest forever.

Like a trophy.

But a pure soul cannot set foot in hell.

So the devil cloaks the soul in darkness.

With deep malice and false flames, they dye the soul’s life with misfortune and bring it to hell.

“Hell…?”

[Yes, your mother will be there too. Shall we go see her?]

The devil tempted a child.

A perfect soul of goodness, found by chance following the scent of misfortune.

The moment their eyes met, the devil vowed to make the child their possession.

The devil tried to cloak the child’s soul in darkness.

It wasn’t difficult.

There was no need to lead them to misfortune. The child’s life itself was already misfortune.

At the age of five, abandoned by their father, living in poverty, the only solace they had was their mother, who showed not affection but disgust.

It was a favor to the human, doing the work for them.

At first, the devil thought just watching would turn the soul black.

But the expectation was wrong.

The child lived in pain every day. The mother beat and verbally abused the child almost daily.

She locked the child in a room, cutting them off from the world, and didn’t even provide the basic necessities of life.

Yet.

Despite the years passing, the child’s soul remained pure and clean.

Unable to bear it, the devil decided to corrupt the soul themselves.

They tempted the child to cut their own wrist and sent the mother to prison.

Then, they made the mother die miserably in prison.

Tormented by guilt over their actions leading to their mother’s death, the child went mad every day.

Relying on the reflection in the mirror, their heart grew weak and shattered.

The devil approached as a familiar presence, further darkening the child’s world.

They imprinted the ugly nature of humans in the child’s mind and engraved the reality that to avoid misfortune, one must harbor malice.

They brainwashed the child into believing that only the good suffer and that malice is the true path to happiness.

Slowly, cunningly, the devil tamed the child into a villain.

To make them commit sins on their own, to walk the path to hell on their own.

They taught the child the pleasure of trampling and manipulating others’ lives as a game.

They taught the child how to lure, use, and treat people like slaves.

But the devil didn’t think.

That the vessel of the soul was too bright to contain such malice.

Unable to bear the malice within, the child ultimately made an extreme choice.

[Ahhh! No!]

The devil’s scream filled the room.

It was still a small room.

But there was one difference.

The floor was covered in fresh blood.

And where the blood flowed from was a deeply cut wrist.

In the past, to send the mother to prison, the child had cut their wrist.

Back then, they were taught to cut shallowly enough not to die.

To avoid the artery and only cut the vein, leaving a wound that wouldn’t lead to death.

But this time, the wound was incomparably deeper.

Not self-harm, but a clear act to find true peace.

The pure soul was fading before their eyes.

Still shining with a clear light, no one could call the soul’s destination hell.

If they let it go now, they would never get that soul again.

The devil reached out through the pain.

Even as their skin felt like it was burning, they grabbed the soul.

Just touching it, the devil’s power began to fade.

But the devil’s desire to possess the soul did not waver.

A soul without a body cannot be held in this world.

A rule even they cannot defy.

The devil, clutching the shining soul, desperately looked around.

What caught their eye was a small game icon on the computer screen.

[Princess Training Simulation.]

Sometimes it happens.

Real events from countless dimensions are recorded through mediums of other dimensions.

The devil distorted the soul’s memory.

Into the memory of being an ugly human.

They decided to implant the illusion that the soul had lived as an irredeemable villain.

Just enough guilt to not commit suicide, to make the soul believe its nature was evil.

In this life, they would definitely dye this soul black.

※

“A devil falling in love?”

On a black horse clad in silver armor, Viviana smirked.

Meanwhile, on a white horse clad in golden armor, Lillian, who was reading a book, smiled gently and replied.

“Yes, devils are always drawn to what they can never become. That’s why they torment those with pure divinity.”

“You’ve become quite the devil expert in just a few years.”

“Hehe, I’ve studied hard.”

Viviana, who knew better than anyone that Lillian’s words were true, nodded indifferently.

Her hands were always filled with records of devils. Lillian’s habit of flipping through books about devils whenever she had the chance was now tediously familiar.

It was even more baffling when they brought down the walls of the enemy country and claimed victory.

While everyone was looting the treasure vault, Lillian alone went into the library to find books about devils.

‘That was really infuriating.’

Her obsession with devils was akin to desperate madness.

“Is it okay for a saintess to believe so much in the existence of devils?”

“It’s because I’m a saintess that I believe even more, Princess.”

“Not a wrong statement.”

Lillian chuckled lightly.

“Viviana, you can instinctively sense when you meet a strong opponent, right?”

“Well, yes.”

Such things could be immediately sensed from the aura or the neatly contained energy emanating from the opponent.

“I can also instinctively sense evil beings.”

“Interesting. Is that related to divine power?”

“Hmm… It’s closer to the intuition of a saintess rather than divine power.”

Viviana looked at Lillian for a moment.

Their relationship, which had been somewhat distant, had now become quite close.

After all, it had already been three years since they had fought together on the battlefield.

The battlefield is a place that binds even enemies with camaraderie.

What Viviana had felt about Lillian over the years was that she was a woman deeply qualified and merciful enough to be chosen as a saintess.

Contrary to the rumors floating around in social circles.

‘Well, that’s just how social circles are.’

A place rife with fabrications and slander.

Clearly, someone who saw this pure saintess as a thorn in their side had spread ugly lies to insult her.

Though she wondered who that liar might be, she decided not to care much.

After all, no one would dare insult the saintess now.

On the slowly advancing horse, Viviana took out a cigarette.

Looking at the faintly visible walls of the empire in the distance, she took a deep drag of the cigarette smoke.

“What will you do now?”

“Huh?”

Lillian looked at her with puzzled eyes.

“You’ve honed your powers as a saintess and even achieved full awakening. I suppose your goals are all achieved?”

“Hehe, I was just lucky.”

“Then, will you seek revenge now?”

The saintess quietly tucked her pink hair behind her ear and smiled a smile devoid of warmth as she gazed into the distance.

“Revenge? How could I do such a thing? I don’t have the power for that.”

“Humility. You are now considered a divine being.”

One day, a seventeen-year-old girl destined to be a saintess.

Many doubted her abilities and qualifications, but she went to the battlefield of her own will.

Even hiding her noble departure in secret.

The saintess stood on the front lines, saving countless soldiers’ lives, and proudly claimed victory in the war against the enemy country, bringing peace back to the empire.

A story fit for bards to sing like a myth. They would sing of the blessings of a goddess descended from heaven.

The treatment Lillian would receive from now on would be incomparable to before.

The entire empire would praise her, and her status as a saintess would rise so high that even the royal family would not dare to challenge it.

“There’s just one person I’d like to be a little mischievous with.”

Eyes even she couldn’t read.

To call that ‘a little’ with such eyes, truly baffling.

“Is it that nonsense about salvation again?”

“Hehe, you know me well. Salvation. Salvation.”

To call it salvation while clearly filled with malice, truly astonishing.

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