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[Translator - Tangrine ]
[Proofreader - Seeker ]
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Chapter - 14: The ability to try to understand
The moment the priestess uttered the word ‘Gigachad’.
A cold hand gripped her heart with a crushing force.
With that chilling sensation came the screams of saints cast into hell, drowning the world in their terror.
Even with her ears covered and eyes shut, the screams rang on.
The smell of the fire burning with corpses as fuel, the smell of sulfur, entrails, and filth stung the tip of her nose.
The world had perished.
Every human, saint, and angel had fallen into hell.
‘…’
Clink—
Chains erupted from the void and coiled around the priestess’s wrists and ankles.
Agonizing heat surged from the seized limbs, burning pain like seared flesh.
Amid those blood-curdling wails of the infernal realm, a man’s voice echoed.
-“What do you think you’re doing?”
It was the voice of the Duke of Nosferatu.
This hell and chains were an illusion created by the Duke.
-“Why are you trying to reveal my identity to Priscilla? Is this what the Libra truly want?”
Despite the grotesque vision, the priestess remained composed.
She reasoned that these chains were just illusions.
No physical force behind them.
With that confidence, she took a single step forward.
“Urk?!”
In that instant, the world around her accelerated wildly.
As if she had launched herself with monstrous strength, the scenery distorted violently.
A distant wall defied perspective and drew close, spinning as it came.
She slammed into the charred wall of the infernal temple.
If only the surrounding scenery hadn't moved at all, if only these chains had held her back.
She might have trusted her senses and stood her ground.
But the extreme overreaction to even the slightest step destroyed her sense of spatial awareness.
Now she couldn't even tell if she was standing upright or lying on the ground.
- "Stop talking nonsense and explain first."
“I thought this wasn’t a combat-type ability… was it not?”
-“Not against Demon Lord-class foes. How am I supposed to fight someone who shares the vision with tens of thousands of monsters using illusions? Heroes can sniff out evil anyway, so it’s useless on them.”
“……”
CRACK—
The ceiling collapsed.
The priestess looked upward.
Space itself twisted, spiraling around a central point.
A terrifying, overwhelming gravitational force distorted the cosmos.
THUD—
The world shook. Gravity crushed her body under its pressure.
And then, a massive hand lifted the temple above the stars.
A giant, holding up the world in his palm, looked down upon the priestess and spoke.
-“At best, this is just some cheap Buddha’s palm trick.”
The giant’s face was identical to the Duke of Nosferatu she knew.
…But was that truly his real face?
If everyone had been under illusions from the beginning, then she had no way of ever knowing what Nosferatu actually looked like.
-“I’m feeding Priscilla the most painfully boring Bible verses from Genesis right now, so we’ve got time. What exactly are you trying to do?”
"…Her becoming the priestess will also work to your advantage."
-"I don’t get it. How does sabotaging my plan help me?"
"She is deeply attached to the existence known as 'Gigachad.' As long as she suspects that 'Gigachad' is a real being, and if she becomes a hero, she will start investigating it. That would greatly increase the chances of the truth about that existence being revealed."
-"Interesting. Keep going."
"But if she becomes the priestess of the Libra, the contract will prevent her from exposing the existence of 'Gigachad.' The contract of Libra is absolute."
As if responding to the priestess’s thoughts, an ancient parchment appeared before her eyes.
On it was written the oath sworn by the gods of the Great Temple.
["I will never interfere or reveal secrets."]
-"So… this is all for my benefit?"
"Yes."
-"Then why did you plan this sneaky scheme behind my back?"
"Because I knew you were constantly watching Priscilla."
-"No need to explain? I'll be watching anyway."
"Yes."
-"Hmm. I’m convinced!"
The massive hand of the Duke of Nosferatu that held up the temple began to tilt.
The world slowly slipped off the duke’s palm.
Once again, gravity pressed down heavily on the priestess’s body.
From the void beyond the stars, a hand as huge as a mountain approached her.
Between two giant palms, holding all the world itself.
Clap!
"Ugh!"
The sound of applause.
The hallucination vanished, and the surrounding scenery returned to normal.
The priestess realized she was lying on the ground.
-"Get up properly. Steady your voice. I’ll stop the auditory hallucinations on her, so stay calm."
"…Yes."
A truly terrifying power.
The priestess struggled to calm her pounding heart and opened her mouth with a composed voice.
"…We will now begin the baptism."
.
.
.
Priscilla stood before the baptismal tub.
Though she could not see, the sound of water lapping gave her a sense of its size.
The priestess’s hand grasped Priscilla’s.
"It’s dangerous since you can’t see. I’ll hold you."
She slowly entered the tub. The cold water touched her toes.
She stepped deeper until her feet touched the bottom.
The water rippled at her chest.
"Hold your breath and relax so water doesn’t enter your lungs. You’ll be submerged completely."
The priestess supported Priscilla’s waist.
Priscilla's entire body sank beneath the water.
It felt as if she were about to drown at any moment.
‘…’
Amid this drowning terror, Priscilla suddenly recalled memories.
Memories of what she had built up. And memories of what she had given up.
["I broke the witch's cauldron that had been sculpted for a thousand years, baked for a thousand years, and boiled for a thousand years."]
She broke the witch’s cauldron. She renounced all her powers as a witch.
She chose to die as a human, not as a witch.
The scales tilted.
On the opposite side of the tilted scales, another weight was placed.
The balance of the scales was restored, and a new power settled into Priscilla’s soul.
It was 'the power to break a witch's oath'.
Priscilla became the witch’s natural enemy, the adversary of demons.
No unjust fate would remain unbroken by her.
["A witch's love is a tragedy. A witch's ending is only a terrible death."]
She gave up the warmth and happiness of family.
For her family’s safety, she let go of their hands.
The scales tilted again.
Another weight was added.
Priscilla’s soul was imbued with a new power.
It was 'the power to not be hated'.
Priscilla would be liked even in foreign lands and after a day spent together, she would be treated like family.
["A month is enough time to become family…"]
She gave up eternal life.
She chose not to survive by stepping on others’ deaths but to die alongside them.
The scales tilted again.
Priscilla’s soul was bestowed with a new power.
It was 'the power to die together'.
Priscilla became the enemy of immortals and the shackle of destruction.
By nothing but fate itself would she die.
[‘I can see nothing….’]
She could not see ahead.
The only world visible to her was a dense, pitch-black darkness where not even an inch ahead could be seen.
The scales tilted again.
Priscilla’s soul was granted another power.
It was 'the power to not get lost'.
Priscilla received eyes that discern truth from lies.
Even under the dark valley of death, she would not fear.
["From now on, it’s time to walk on your own."]
She lost her only understanding companion.
Her will was gone in that moment.
Only an irresistible act of God remained.
The scales tilted.
The final power settled into Priscilla’s soul.
It was 'the ability to try to understand you'.
“……”
At that moment, the world brightened.
In place of the pitch-black darkness, a scene she had never seen before unfolded before her eyes.
Books written in an unknown language.
Square metal boxes. Lights as bright as the sun.
A thin box radiating light.
A typewriter that clacked crisply with every keystroke.
Priscilla saw a bewildering scene.
Amidst that strange landscape, a man sat in a chair and typing on the typewriter.
From the man’s mouth came a familiar name.
"A poison that kills the soul. If I had this, I could kill the great witch Priscilla."
“…Priscilla?”
.
.
.
“Hmm?”
“Duke, is something wrong?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
The telepathic link connected to Priscilla was interrupted.
It seemed the God of Libra was up to some scheme.
Watching the baptism through the priestess, it seemed nothing went wrong.
Probably ‘I’… that is, the Nosferatu Duke, was receiving a revelation that he was Gigachad.
The Libra had sworn it wouldn’t interfere with my plan, so it shouldn’t be a problem.
After all, Priscilla was not the main concern right now.
“Then, let’s try to stop the destruction.”
From now on, all my abilities must focus on preventing another ‘Triggers of destruction.’
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[Translator - Tangrine ]
[Proofreader - Seeker ]
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