The Possessed Evil Woman Wreaks Havoc - Chapter 79

Alright. Time for the next step.

I slowly began to release the power within me.

The monsters in the hunting grounds started reacting one by one.

Krururuk! Krururuk!

Hmm. After hesitating for a moment, I spoke to Nigel, “Carry me and run.”

“What?”

“My legs have gone weak. If I move now, I might fall.”

Only half of my strength had returned. And since I was using my power while in Isabella’s human body, it was taking a toll.

“You’re not serious…?”

“Move quickly. I put on quite the show, so it’d be embarrassing to collapse now.”

At my words, Nigel made a troubled expression but still slung me over his back.

“Run to a place with no people. Ah, and pick up a sword on the way.”

Nigel obediently followed my orders.

As expected of a beastkin, Nigel was incredibly fast.

The moment I disappeared from view, all the monsters in the hunting grounds started charging in my direction.

Nigel glanced back while carrying me.

Kruruk! Krururuk!

When he saw the horde of monsters chasing us, he let out a groan of frustration.

I also took a quick glance behind and frowned.

Dozens of monsters with their jaws wide open were rushing toward us…

I had lived as a demon for a long time and seen all sorts of horrors, but this was one grotesque sight I wasn’t accustomed to.

Normally, I would kill monsters the moment I saw them, so I had never experienced being chased by them before.

It was the same for Nigel. Frowning, he muttered to me, “Bella, I think experiencing this once is more than enough.”

“Agreed.”

I strongly agreed with Nigel’s words.

***

Nigel ran a long distance, leading the monsters far away from the people.

Only after we were at a safe distance did he finally stop.

“Didn’t you say you’d handle this?” Nigel asked in a voice full of complaints.

From atop the tree where I was perched, I looked down at Nigel fighting the monsters and said, “I told you to deal with them. Which means if you handle them, it’s the same as me handling them.”

“Wow. That’s shameless.”

Nigel clicked his tongue but still began taking down the monsters one by one with his sword.

Thanks to my magic suppressing the monsters, they couldn’t resist even as the blade pierced through them.

I leisurely observed Nigel’s movements.

This was my first time seeing him use a sword. In the past, he had always remained in his beast form, fighting with his claws.

His movements were precise and fluid. It seemed Nigel was quite familiar with swordsmanship.

As I watched the aura flickering along his blade, I fell into thought.

Compared to before… his aura seemed weaker.

Had Nigel aged?

But that didn’t make sense. He had lived for over ten thousand years—there was no way five hundred years would weaken him this much.

Once most of the monsters were taken care of, I jumped down from the tree.

“I’ll handle the rest.”

At that, Nigel pointed to the largest monster and said, “Wait. Don’t kill that one yet.”

“Why?”

“Let’s try questioning it first. You never know, it might have information about Dantalion’s plans.”

“Interrogate a monster? Me?” Nigel asked.

His reaction annoyed me, and I frowned. “…Why do you think I can communicate with monsters?”

“…Well, aren’t they kind of like your distant relatives? Monsters and demons both possess magic, after all.”

The moment he finished speaking, I swung my hand at the back of Nigel’s head.

He dodged just in time, avoiding the hit, but I still scowled.

“You… just insulted me in the worst way.”

I was irritated, but… Nigel wasn’t wrong.

Not all demons could communicate with monsters, but demon lords could.

I wasn’t exactly sure why, but it likely had something to do with the relationship between the Demon God and the demon lords.

The Demon God was corrupted by magic, and demon lords were born through the Demon God’s power, making them inherently influenced by magic as well.

That might be why demon lords could communicate with monsters, who were composed of magic.

I slowly approached the monster.

Even though Nigel’s words were infuriating, it wasn’t a bad idea to find out what Dantalion was planning.

Standing before the monster, I instinctively frowned. This one emitted an especially strong magic compared to the others.

A very tempting magic—

I quickly shook my head.

Magic amplified a demon’s power, but being consumed by it led to madness.

No matter how strong one became, it was meaningless if they lost their reason.

I steadied my mind and spoke to the monster.

“Hey.”

—”……”

Even after I addressed it, the monster didn’t respond.

I tried again.

“Answer my questions, and I’ll grant you an easy death.”

Nigel, who had been watching from the side, clicked his tongue and added, “Bella, that’s not how negotiations work. You should promise to spare it first, then change your mind later—”

At that moment, the monster opened its mouth.

—”Kin.”

Hearing its words, I glanced at Nigel.

Fortunately, he didn’t understand the monster’s speech. Well, of course he wouldn’t.

I unconsciously let out a breath I had been holding.

Where did it get the nerve to call me kin? Just because I possessed magic didn’t mean a demon and a monster were the same.

I spoke harshly to the monster, “Nonsense.”

—”We are kin.”

“Stop spouting ridiculous things. Anyone can see we are different.”

—”Same presence. Same existence.”

“Ha!”

The monster’s persistent nonsense tested what little patience I had left.

In a chilling voice, I told it, “We are different. Because you… are incredibly ugly. So grotesque that your creator must have given up halfway. If I were you, I’d curse every mirror in existence.”

That was why, obviously, a demon like me could never be the same as it.

—”……”

As soon as I finished speaking, the monster fell silent.

It seemed my logic had convinced it.

Nigel, who couldn’t understand the monster’s words but could understand mine, clicked his tongue and spoke up.

“Bella, even a monster would find that hurtful.”

“…I didn’t realize I was supposed to care about a monster’s feelings.”

I let out a hollow laugh.

What was I even doing? Besides, considering the monster’s level of intelligence, it probably had no idea what Dantalion’s objective was.

At that moment, the monster, which had remained silent, spoke again.

—”You are right. We are different.”

“Good. At least you’ve figured that out.”

—”That’s why I will kill you.”

“Now we’re finally speaking the same language.”

I shot a glance at Nigel.

I had attempted a conversation, but the monster was the one who initiated hostility first.

So this was clearly self-defense.

The monster lunged at me with its mouth wide open.

I dodged its attack with ease, grabbed a nearby tree branch, and stabbed it into one of its many eyes.

Kruruk!

I sneered as I watched the monster writhing in pain.

I gathered magic in my hands to finish it off in one blow.

Just then, the monster spoke again.

—”The disgusting one is you.”

“A pathetic final struggle—”

—”Were you not once a god? The God of Contracts.”

“……”

—”A being once divine—how did you fall so low?”

I blinked slowly, staring at the monster.

I had sensed an unusual amount of magic from it, but… it seemed this creature had lived far longer than I had expected.

—”The God of Contracts was once a being of absolute beauty. Of course, it was our hands that killed them.”

At its words, I hesitated.

The wielder of power inherits all the memories of their predecessors.

The power I wielded—the Power of Contracts.

If I traced back through all the memories I had inherited, I would eventually reach the very first holder of this power.

‘That one was known as the God of Contracts.’

And that god was the first deity to die at the hands of an invading force.

The God of Contracts had perished, but the other gods, who needed its power to survive the invasion, pleaded with those who held the Power of Creation to revive at least its abilities.

And thus, the first demon was born.

As the war dragged on, more and more gods fell, and with each loss, their powers were revived.

By the time the war ended, only three gods possessing the Power of Creation remained.

—”To think Morpheus would break the taboo to revive you gods. And in such a pathetic form. What are you called now? Demons? Angels?”

“……”

—”Do you resent him?”

Hearing the Demon God’s name after so long, I momentarily lost my words.

Anyone who wielded power knew the truth. Yet, at the same time, it was a truth that everyone chose to ignore.

I hadn’t expected to hear it again—least of all from a monster.

“If your kind had never invaded our world, none of this would have happened.”

—”Destruction and slaughter are our nature. What predator ignores prey that stands before them?”

Destruction. Slaughter. Instinct.

The moment those words sank in, my mind went blank.

For hundreds of thousands of years, relentless invasions had continued. The endless cycle of death and resurrection.

Of course, my predecessors and I were separate beings, but… after inheriting all their memories, it was difficult not to feel as if I had lived those lives myself.

This was why I—and the other demon lords—rarely spoke of the past.

I blinked absentmindedly.

Seizing the opportunity, the monster launched another attack.

Kruruk!

Its massive maw opened wide as it lunged to devour me whole.