NOVEL NEXT Chapter 110
EP.110 The Calamity, Nightmare, and Ghosts (3)
The Succubus Queen, Refe, has hardly ever felt death. Like her kind, Refe has been promised a life close to immortality.
Ordinary attacks won’t work.
Even if she feels pain, she doesn’t die.
She was born as the queen of such a race. Only high priests, or superhumans known as saints or heroes can drive Refe to death.
– Though not strong in combat, killing her is downright difficult.
– What she does is pretty disgusting to begin with.
– Not worth killing. It’s so hard to even find her that trying to capture her is a waste of time.
Being evaluated like that by superhumans… Do I need to say more? For that reason, Refe has felt death only a handful of times.
“Ah, ah…”
And now.
Refe senses death approaching.
Thud.
She steps back. With her trembling legs, she tries to retreat… but the distance doesn’t increase. She turns around. There’s plenty of room to escape.
She quickly turns her head back to face forward.
She gazes at the approaching death. What walks toward her is a girl. The first thing that catches her eye is the girl’s ashen hair. With every step the girl takes, her ashen hair sways.
Clack.
The girl’s shoes echo against the ground.
Clack.
The footsteps draw closer at regular intervals.
The girl’s step is light. She doesn’t rush. Slowly, yet surely, she approaches. Like death itself.
“I have a lot to say, you know.”
She speaks with a very calm voice.
“I don’t think I’ll get any answers if I talk to you. You don’t know either, right?”
What does she mean she doesn’t know?
It was unclear. Refe took another step back. She continues to retreat and approach in turn.
Thud.
And then, the end approaches.
Refe’s back hits the end of the alleyway. Her steps come to a stop. The girl also halts.
“Succubus Queen, Refe.”
She smiles.
“Long time no see.”
The same line from a few months ago.
“What are you trying to steal this time?”
A phrase that remained in her memory.
“Uh, uh!”
Refe’s eyes widen. She swallows her breath and opens her mouth. Speaking in a trembling voice, she says.
“T-This really is the Sympathy Magic…!”
“This crazy girl is really something.”
With a thump, the girl strikes the ground.
The moment her foot hits the ground, the pavement shatters, bouncing up.
Boom!
It’s but a blink of an eye.
In that instant, the girl is right in front of her. She reaches out her hand. Her grip clutches Refe’s head.
“Cough!”
There’s a barrier surrounding Refe’s body.
But, it’s utterly useless.
Anti-Spell.
Anti-Shield.
The barrier tears like paper. The polymorph wrapping her body forcibly disassembles. And then, the shock imprinted in her mind hits Refe.
Smite.
An intangible shockwave rattles Refe’s skull.
“Gah!”
Her vision blurs. Her nose tingles.
Blood drips from her nose and mouth.
“Huh, huuh…!”
The impact feels like it might knock her out.
However, the shock doesn’t end there. The girl swings her arm while still gripping Refe’s head.
Crash!
Refe’s body crashes against the wall of the alleyway.
Her vision flickers. Everything goes dark for a moment.
“Hey.”
Refe barely holds onto her consciousness as she opens her eyes.
The sound of bricks crumbling accompanies her body sinking into the wall.
“I won’t talk for long.”
Refe can see the hand gripping her head.
Through the gaps in the spread fingers, she meets the girl’s gaze.
‘Blue eyes.’
Shiny blue eyes, unlike anything she had known before. There’s so much changed about her, she couldn’t connect the ashen mage to the girl before her.
But, that gaze is exactly the same.
The girl’s cold eyes reflect the image of the ashen mage, unchanged.
‘Cold, sharp eyes.’
In those eyes, Refe reads disgust.
The disgust isn’t directed at herself. The ashen mage reads another being from her gaze.
“Stop delaying and come out.”
What am I supposed to come out from?
That question won’t be answered by Refe.
“Ah.”
Refe’s mouth moves against her will.
“It’s you again.”
Her body’s control has been seized.
The corners of Refe’s mouth stretch wide, revealing a laugh. A strange laugh echoes in her ears.
“The Ashen Child.”
Soon her vision flips upside down.
2.
Four calamities that supposedly destroyed the ancient kingdom.
There isn’t much known about them.
Their origins, abilities, and even their appearances remain a mystery.
‘Nothing is properly known.’
The books recording the four calamities are all damaged in some way. Torn, singed, or intentionally erased.
‘As if someone is trying to conceal it.’
In the end, I had no choice but to confront them directly.
And, after spending five years on the battlefield, I faced all four calamities. I fought for my life against them.
Ancient lich, Skebal.
That skull-bucket is a coward. Always hoarding life vessels. Being a coward, he prefers not to reveal himself directly. Always scheming from behind. Only reveals himself when he’s confident.
Black Dragon, Belial.
That black beast moves based on instinct. It’s like a beast. Communication is impossible. It moves by instinct, making it easy to predict its actions.
Ganikalt, the Death’s Blade.
That monster is a knight. He doesn’t kill fleeing enemies. He leaves those who lay down their weapons alone. However, he indiscriminately sentences death to those who face him.
Like this.
I had a decent grasp of their behavior patterns. Five years of experience made it possible. By the time I approached retirement, I could even predict their appearances.
‘Except for one person.’
The Betrayer, Gletus.
That madwoman was beyond my comprehension. I don’t call her a lunatic for no reason.
‘I cannot figure her out.’
She is unlike the other calamities.
She lacks values. She has no beliefs. There’s no reason guiding her actions.
I have confronted her five times.
From those five experiences, what I discovered only amounts to one thing.
“Ashen, ah, Ashen.”
That she is somewhat favorable towards me. The reason remains unknown. All I know is that she is trying to find someone else within me.
“Hah.”
I exhaled sharply.
“Her methods are truly vile.”
“And yet.”
“It’s still pretty damn annoying.”
The Betrayer, having stolen the body of the bat girl, grins. That grin is always grotesque.
Squeeze.
I tightened my grip. The bat girl’s eyeballs try to pop out through my fingers. Yet, the laughter continues unabated.
“Killing this girl would be useless.”
“I know.”
“Is it necessary to put in effort for no reason?”
She chuckles, grinning.
I pulled her head out from the crevice of the wall and slammed it back in again.
Boom!
Blood flows from her nose accompanied by a crashing sound.
“You’ve become quite cute. Skebal can actually be useful sometimes?”
Her voice remains unchanged despite the blood flow.
She reaches out, gently stroking my cheek. As if caressing a lover’s face, her touch feels almost too tender. I felt chills run down my spine.
Thud.
I frowned and twisted her finger until it bent.
“Ashen.”
Ignoring it, she said.
“I’m not particularly hostile towards you. I’ve always been kind to ashens.”
“Why weren’t you kind on the battlefield?”
“During our first meeting, I didn’t know your worth, at our second meeting, I had to kill you, and at the third, fourth, and fifth, you were hindering me.”
She smiled.
“But not now.”
She pointed at herself with her broken finger.
“Do you want this girl? If you do, I can make her an obedient slave crawling on the floor upon your command. I could modify her to serve you eternally.”
Or, she said.
“Should I crush all of Skebal’s life vessels that made you like this? It would be cumbersome, but I think Ganikalt would help if I ask.”
She continues, proposing while smiling.
“In return.”
The laughter suddenly stopped.
Replaced by a chilling voice.
“Give that girl to me.”
“…?”
“The one who resembles me. If you give me that girl, I won’t do anything.”
“You won’t do anything?”
I pointed toward the city center.
Where I pointed, there were ruins of collapsed buildings. Corpses were scattered around.
“Already caused such a ruckus?”
“Hahaha!”
She burst into laughter.
As if she couldn’t contain the humor, she questioned me, as if asking if I was serious.
“Is that all?”
She spread her arms wide.
“Are you really asking what might have happened had I appeared directly here? Be honest, Ashen. Deep down, you think it’s a relief.”
“…”
“Make a choice.”
Suddenly, a balance appeared before her and me. It wasn’t the balance I created. This blackish sludge-dripping balance belongs to the Betrayer.
“Hand that girl over to me.”
The balance tilts toward the Betrayer.
“If you do, I’ll leave without doing anything in return. Only because of you.”
The tilted balance seemed to urge me to even it out.
“…”
I reached out silently.
The answer I could give her was always the same. There was no point in hesitating. I seized hold of the balance.
Crack.
By smashing the balance, I expressed my answer instead.
Through the scattering of the balance, I raised my middle finger.
“Fuck off.”
“…Hhm.”
Refe’s head suddenly cracked as it turned. It wasn’t me. I released the hand that held her.
“Ashen.”
She calls out to me.
“You’re all alone.”
“I am alone now.”
“There’s no one blessed by the stars here. No priests. No scouts. And yet…”
She asks me.
“You alone intend to deal with me?”
“I have to.”
Just like always.
Thud.
I stepped back.
Black sludge poured from Refe’s body. The sludge pooled on the ground.
Splat.
The portal to the Otherworld opened.
3.
The calamity descends.
Even knowing that fact, there’s no way to stop it. From the moment she stepped into the Royal Capital, she must have prepared means for descending.
Screech!
A sound of something burning accompanies as someone walks out from the portal. The first thing that catches the eye is a white robe stained with blood.
Splash.