Chapter: 282
In the eyes of an ordinary person, a distant sky beyond observation.
A One-Winged Demonic Beast was lazily floating above the clouds.
Sitting atop the beast was a woman draped in a dark hood.
As she looked down from the sky on the demon beasts rushing towards the Human City, she couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Hahaha, Lily is certainly impatient. Well, considering she’s been forced to wait and twiddle her thumbs because of me, it’s understandable.”
The woman thought about the countless demonic beasts surging towards the Human City, led by the Witch of Lust, Lily.
Truly, she was just a simple child moving as expected.
Ever since the Witch of Gluttony had been sealed by the hands of the people in the Human City, the woman had been certain that Lily would immediately rally the demonic beasts to invade the city.
How many times had she said this over the years they were bound by their contract?
A contract made long ago between the woman and Lily, which prevented the witch from meddling in the Human City without her permission.
If that contract hadn’t existed, she would have invaded the Human City long ago and turned everyone into puppets.
So, the moment the obstacle of the Witch of Gluttony was removed, it was already a foregone conclusion that Lily would invade the Human City.
“What a dire situation for the humans.”
From the humans’ standpoint, it must be utterly horrific.
They had just barely overcome the calamity of the Witch of Gluttony, and right after, here comes the Witch of Lust attacking.
Lily’s ability to control other life forms in a fight against many would undoubtedly be powerful; the woman believed the city would fall to Lily’s hands.
Even if the people had managed to fend off the Witch of Gluttony after all was said and done, this time they might not succeed.
Of course, if you looked solely at the total amount of power, there was an overwhelming gap that couldn’t be filled by either the Witch of Lust or Gluttony.
But at this moment, the forces of the city were already diminished from dealing with the Witch of Gluttony, not to mention Lily had the Sacred Remnants given to her by the woman.
Despite being one of the weaker witches, even Lily could easily bring down a place like the Human City if her powers were amplified by the Sacred Remnants.
Thus, no matter how many witches defended the city, the outcome was predetermined.
That was what the woman was thinking, and indeed, the unfolding situation seemed to match her expectations.
However…
“Oh?”
The woman’s eyes widened in surprise at an unexpected occurrence.
A Fury Beast, appearing from nowhere, joined the witch in the city and began to repel Lily’s forces.
Furthermore, that wasn’t the end of it.
A tremendous flame, shot forth by the witch who borrowed the strength of the reinforcements, erupted.
Lily, caught in its intensity, was seen retreating, abandoning her troops.
In short, the city had managed to repel the assault of the Witch of Lust.
Contrary to what the woman had predicted.
After observing this scene for a while, the woman couldn’t help but murmur excitedly,
“Cough, hehehe… Ah, this is amusing. Good, good. It’s just not fun when everything flows as expected!”
It was the second time an unexpected result had emerged.
The Witch of Gluttony, whom she thought would never be defeated.
And now, the Witch of Lust.
She had been certain this time would be the end, yet the city continued to prove her wrong once again.
With a smile akin to a child discovering her favorite candy still left in the jar,
“Keep struggling hard for me. So I can enjoy this world a little longer.”
The woman whispered softly towards the small city before closing her eyes and leaping towards the vast sky below.
And the moment she opened her eyes again, she found herself standing upon an empty plain.
Yet, the woman knew that something very important existed in that seemingly empty plain.
After all, this was the place where the Witch of Gluttony was sealed.
Standing in that spot, the woman muttered towards the void.
“You know, I love it when characters in a play behave unexpectedly. An ad-lib that defies my script makes everything far more thrilling than I had imagined.”
She directed her voice towards the empty air, but certainly, toward the existence she had made a pact with.
“But there’s one thing I emphasize: when characters exit the stage. I could overlook it if they were supporting characters, but at least for the leading role, it shouldn’t happen. Yet you exited far too abruptly, contrary to my expectations. That won’t do. You were cast as the lead in this script, destined to end this world.”
“A contract, right? I’ll release you, but in return, you’ll have to fulfill one promise from me later on. Understand?”
With a smile, the woman whispered to the being she had tied to her previous contract.
“So now, please awaken.”
“You’re still far too early to exit.”
“… Mya! Fetch it!”
– Mya!
“Wow! You did great, Mya!”
Once, she had read an article about a place called heaven.
“Mya, let’s play! Come here!”
– Mya! Mya!
“Hahaha! Mya! That tickles!”
The article had stated that heaven was a place without sadness or hunger.
If that were the case, then surely, this place was heaven.
“Child! Come eat now!”
“Ah! Okay, Grandma! Mya! Let’s hurry!”
– Mya!
The girl lived in a family home in a certain village.
She was raised by a kind elderly couple who took her and her friend, the puppy Myang, in.
“How is it? Today, for a snack, we’ve baked pies with the special apples Grandpa brought!”
“Hehe, everything Grandma makes is delicious! Thank you, Grandpa!”
“… Is that so.”
“Oh my, dear. You certainly are shy.”
The elderly couple treated the girl as if she were their own granddaughter.
Although they weren’t blood-related, the girl could feel through them what familial affection truly meant.
– Mya!
Ah, of course, Myang couldn’t be left out; he was also a precious member of the family.
The girl loved her family who lived together with her.
“Who’s that? Are you going to play with Myang?”
“Yes! Today, we’re going to catch fish in the stream!”
“Really? Here, this is some corn I boiled for you this morning; share if you get hungry. Don’t trip and hurt yourself.”
“Yes! Thank you, ma’am! I’ll savor the corn too!”
The villagers living in the girl’s village were all kind-hearted people.
They preferred sharing with their neighbors over inflicting pain on others to gain something.
The girl loved those village people immensely.
“I’m off to school!”
“Okay, have a good day.”
“Myang, keep watch over the house until I return!”
– Mya!
The girl attended a small school in the village.
While it was slightly regrettable to be away from Myang while at school,
there were other friends her age to chat with.
“Hello, Ms. Eve!”
“Welcome, come on in.”
At school, there was always Ms. Eve, who taught her many things, making her enjoy attending.
“Did you write the diary I assigned as homework?”
“Yes!”
Today was the day to submit the diary she’d written for homework, so the girl gleefully handed it to Ms. Eve.
Ms. Eve read the diary the girl had written and smiled gently as she asked.
“You always end your diary with ‘I’m happy’ at the end, huh?”
The girl flinched at Ms. Eve’s question.
She realized it had always been that way.
The day before yesterday, she wrote about being happy because Grandma made her an apple pie, and yesterday, she wrote about how happy she was to play catch fish with Myang.
But all those things had reasons behind them, so the girl answered with a smile.
“Because I really was always happy! Every day is just so, so happy for me!”
The reason the girl always wrote that she was happy at the end of her diary was that her days were simply filled with happiness.
Even though she didn’t live in an enormous mansion, she never went hungry.
While she didn’t have blood-related family, she had those who greeted her with smiles when she came home, who were like family.
The ordinary things most people took for granted were immense blessings to the girl.
So much so that she couldn’t imagine any more happiness.
“… I’m glad you’re happy.”
Ms. Eve also smiled, relieved by the girl’s bright smile.
She adored this warm and gentle world,
And the girl was happy.
However, that happiness, unfortunately, wouldn’t last long.
“So now, please awaken.”
“You’re still far too early to exit.”
“… Huh?”
One day, while living happily as usual, the girl heard a voice.
In that moment, she felt a forgotten sensation come back to life.
“Ugh, ah… Ugh…”
It was, quite simply,
“Ah, ugh…”
Hunger.
Suddenly hit by fierce hunger and pain, the girl clutched her stomach and writhed in agony.
– Mya!
“Myang… I, I…”
Seeing the girl in pain, Myang rushed to her side.
Looking at Myang, who seemed worried, the girl suddenly recalled a memory she had forgotten.
“Ah…”
The pouring rain.
The dark alley.
And, and then.
Memories flooding back along with hunger made the girl realize something.
What was before her wasn’t Myang.
Because Myang,
Had died that night.
“Ah, ahhh…!”
A horrendous hunger crashed over her.
A sharp sensation poked from deep inside her belly.
What could be the source of this pain?
Could it be the bone fragment of Myang that she had bitten and swallowed that day?
Could it be a pin from the ragged flower decoration she had swallowed?
She didn’t know.
All she knew was that it hurt too much, and she couldn’t bear the fact that the Myang in front of her wasn’t real.
“I’m… hungry…”
The girl briefly lost consciousness.
“…”
When she regained her senses, she discovered that she was bleeding profusely.
“Eh…?”
With blood flowing this way, there were no injuries on her body.
Then where on earth was this blood coming from?
Instinctively, the girl wiped at the places where the blood was trickling down with the back of her hand.
Her hand became stained bright red with the blood that had come from somewhere.
She was certain she had wiped her mouth…
“Ugh…?”
The girl dumbly surveyed her surroundings.
Myang, who had been with her until just a moment ago, was nowhere to be seen.
Myang had disappeared.
Myang.
“Ah…”
Then the girl realized what she had done.
“Ahhhhh!”
Black tears streamed from the girl’s eyes.
“Please… I’m hungry… I can’t be hungry… It must not be… I’m hungry… It can’t be… I’m hungry…”
As tears carrying the light of hunger overflowed, her hunger intensified.
“Child, what’s wrong!”
“I’m hungr–ah…! Don’t come here…!”
At that moment, hearing the cries, Grandma rushed in.
The girl desperately tried to stop Grandma with whatever sanity she had left,
“Ah…”
It was too late.
“Ugh… I’m hungry… It shouldn’t be like this…”
Grandma disappeared.
“What on earth is this commotion–”
“Please…”
“Wha—”
The late-arriving Grandpa vanished as well.
“Please, don’t… Stop… If I’m hungry, then don’t…”
The girl struggled against the pain of devouring her precious family, her hunger overwhelming her.
“Hunger…”
But still, the hunger wouldn’t fade, and it led her feet outside of the house.
The girl tried to stop herself, yet she could not.
“No… I’m… hungry…”
The kind neighbor ladies who always looked after her vanished.
“I’m… hungry…”
The man who occasionally made her toys.
“Hungry…”
Even her school friends.
“Hungry…”
And even Ms. Eve disappeared, with a sad smile.
The world, once filled with warmth and kindness, shattered in an instant.
“…I’m hungry…”
So the girl gazed at the happiness that had vanished into her belly. She cried.
Weeping, laughing.
In despair, in agony.
In hunger, in hunger, in hunger.
But the girl’s hunger still did not cease.
Thus, she took a step towards quelling that hunger.
Towards the remaining part of the false heaven that had been so full of happiness.
And when there was nothing left to eat in that heaven,
At that moment, the girl would find herself returning to the hell filled only with hunger.
To devour all that remained of hell.
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