༺ The Red Devil Who Embraced Stars (4) ༻
My daughter….
Her whole body was burning.
It felt like hot molten iron was flowing through her veins, causing excruciating pain.
Her skin repeatedly tore and regenerated.
However, that agony… was not as painful as a heart being torn to pieces.
Guuuoooooo-
A groan that was unimaginable to hear from a human mouth.
Her vision turned red as she took one step after another towards her daughter. Inside her heart, the urge to destroy, the urge to kill, grew uncontrollably, making a mess out of her mind.
However, no emotion…
No physical pain…
Could ever be as agonizing as the ache in her heart.
My daughter.
My precious baby.
Her ever so lovable and adorable child was crying out in front of her.
Her heart felt like it was going to rip apart at the sight of her child screaming and shaking violently towards her.
My darling baby. Mommy is coming. I won’t ever leave you again.
***
“HAHAHA!! Commander! Did you see that? How could I not respect you when you’re like this?”
“Cough….”
Three swords were stuck in the Commander’s torso as he vomited blood.
“Your actions were not wrong, Commander. You really found a Devil!”
“De…vil…?”
“Do you see it? That terrifying monster? Iyaaaa, wow. It’s truly the Devil itself. Who would have known? That they were actually carrying the lineage of the ‘Demon Race’ from legends.”
“That is… impossible. They were… just ordinary people.”
Clay was looking at a massive red monster over 5 meters tall, indiscriminately swinging its tentacles and destroying everything around it.
“Haha. Maybe we wouldn’t have known if you hadn’t been here, Commander. Thanks to the specimens you had hidden away, we could create a definitive result.”
“Cough. What happened… to them?”
“You’re asking something so obvious. Of course, they were used as sacrifices for the experiment. If we could have awakened that girl, we would have seen much better results, though… It’s said that her blood runs the thickest from what they had inherited. Tch. Pity. Apparently, the Magic Tower already interfered too much for it to show any effects.”
“Eugh.”
“It was troublesome to amplify that mother’s emotions to the maximum, but still, a success is a success. It was worth it to keep injecting her with drugs all this time.”
While the monster was destroying the surroundings, mages of the Magic Tower and knights from other orders began to control the area and prepare to capture the monster alive.
“Hm… But… I thought she shouldn’t be able to maintain her sanity, right…?”
The monster was indiscriminately attacking the vicinity while steadily moving towards the scaffold.
“Anyway, the impact is weaker than I thought. Apparently, their traits are more effective the more emotional they get, you know?”
The Commander felt a sense of dread upon hearing Clay’s words.
“Stop… it.”
“Haha. A criminal like you can just mind his own business.”
Clay ordered the people near him to launch a magic bombardment at the girl on the gallows.
“If she sees her own daughter explode before her eyes, I am sure she will give the greatest performance.”
“You crazy… bastard.”
“Haha. That should satisfy the higher-ups as well. And the Magic Tower will be overjoyed to have obtained the best specimen.”
And then, he turned to the Commander and smirked.
“Also, I’ll be promoted from Vice-Commander to Commander.”
As the mages prepared their magic, mana swirled around the entire region. Despair filled the Commander’s eyes. Layers of mana from the mages began to gather in the sky, creating a phenomenon.
Whooooooosh-
“…!”
A menacing, blackish red orb; just looking at it was enough to feel a sense of foreboding.
However, Clay was calm even at the sight of it.
“Do you see it? The ferocious mana that makes your hair stand on end just from gazing upon it? This is the result of our research on them.”
“….”
“The Empire is at its limit after prolonged wars and divisions. Simple theatrical acts of propaganda have their limits. The Empire needs a powerful enemy to unite against. Not a different species that looks like humans, but a real monster. A Demon King itself, under our very control.”
The Commander could sense the sinister intent hidden behind Clay’s smile.
After all, creating a controllable monster would make it easy to eliminate politically inconvenient opponents under the guise of uniting humanity.
Therefore, it was a monster created, not for the sake of uniting humanity, but due to boundless greed. That was the essence of the project Clay was working on.
Whooosh-
The mages’ magic pierced through the monster’s tentacles and hit the scaffold dead-on. Then, a mana explosion occurred around the gallows.
Booom-
“Huh?”
A massive explosion occurred, sending the people in its vicinity flying. Clay furrowed his brows.
“What happened?”
As the smoke cleared, a blue force field was seen protecting the inside of the scaffolds.
***
“Mother….”
“My daughter, why are you crying?”
“Mom….”
Clear tears were flowing from eyes that had its blacks and whites reversed. In the girl’s arms, her mother, who had partially returned to human form, was stroking her hair. Although her lower half was still buried in a massive flesh, there was no doubt that those warm eyes belonged to her mother.
The girl wanted to scream out, overwhelmed by her emotions. However, she hesitated upon seeing a message floating in the air. With an awkward yet incomparably sad smile, she took her mother’s hand. Tears were welling up at the corner of her eyes.
“…I missed you.”
“I missed you… too, my daughter. So much that… you appeared in my dreams every day. My daughter has grown so much.”
“Yeah… And you haven’t changed at all, Mom.”
The girl, who was framed as a monster, and the woman, who had partially become a monster, saw in each other the warmth of the past.
“My daughter… It’s been hard for you, right?”
“Yeah… It was hard because I missed you so much, Mom.”
The girl tried to hide her trembling hands and show a childish whine. The mother stroked her lovingly as if she found the girl’s every action ever so adorable.
“I’m sorry. Mommy should have come to find you sooner….”
“No. Don’t be. I’m so happy… to at least be able to see you now.”
“But what should I do, my darling? Mommy’s so sleepy.”
The girl desperately squeezed out a smile. She wished to send off her mother with one last happiness.
“Okay…. After you wake up, let’s go eat something delicious and go out to play.”
“Then…. Can I sleep for just a little?”
“Don’t worry. You can sleep as much as you want.”
“My daughter….”
“…Mom.”
Between the blurry tears on the girl’s retinas, complex data values and messages were displayed.
[0% Possibility of Recovery]
[Switching to Emergency Life Sustenance Process]
[Injecting 62 types of drugs including ATX-Antidote, B72C-Enhanced Painkiller, HDV-Tranquilizer]
[Estimated Time of Life Sustenance : 00 minutes 26 seconds]
“Mom. I’m so thankful that you’re my mom.”
“…I’m so happy…that you’re my daughter too.”
“Will you be my mom again, even in my next life?”
“Yes…. I lo…ve you, my daughter.”
“Mom….”
The woman fell into an eternal sleep with a smile adorning her face.
A star in the girl’s heart dimmed away. No, rather, it became a brighter star that would forever float in her heart.
Beside the girl stood the clown doll that had revealed its appearance. However, its condition was not all that stellar; it was damaged everywhere and sparks were sputtering out.
[Emergency Barrier In Operation]
[Self-Repair System – Not Available]
[Remaining Power : 0.12%]
Around them, a blue hexagonal force field was spread, allowing absolutely no one to approach.
Crack- Fizz-
The clown had used up all its emergency power to protect the woman’s last moments.
B-Boom- Bang-
“Break through it!”
“What even is that? Mage! Analyze it quickly!”
“This is not Shield Magic! There is no Shield Magic that is this strong!”
“It is not magic.”
“Then how can something like this exi…!”
“Capture that girl alive! The advancement of the Empire depends gre…!”
The Empire’s mages and knights poured all sorts of attacks, but the barrier didn’t budge.
[Barrier Durability is below 5%.]
[Unable to maintain the barrier. Prepare for impact.]
The girl, who had protected her mother’s last moment until she turned to ashes, stood up.
“Thank…you for waiting. And for the last moments with my mother… H-Heuk. Sniff.”
Deep sorrow welled up in the girl’s eyes. However, she wiped away her tears and lifted her head.
“I will fulfill the contract.”
The girl swallowed down her sorrow. Now was not the time to grieve.
“What do I need to do?”
Turning her mother, who had transformed into something, back into a human form for her last moments was a tremendous miracle.
Moreover, there was this enormous power coming from the thin suit covering her. It was an unimaginable wonder for someone like her, whose body had its tendons snapped and could hardly walk.
What would the being that had so nonchalantly given such a mysterious object to her, a seemingly insignificant person, demand in return?
Her life? Her soul? Or something beyond her wildest imaginations? It could have been anything and everything.
But what was sent to such a girl was…
[A message from the Administrator has arrived.]
-Lifelong Bluadge1Blue Badge: basically a moderator. Orange Badge is Admin. So one step below.
“Excuse me?”
For a moment, the girl could not say anything in response.
Bluadge? What is a Bluadge? Ah, could it be referring to a Vice-Administrator? It was mentioned in the community at times. What was it called again… A Moderator?
“Uh… What do I have to do to become a Bluadge?”
[A message from the Administrator has arrived.]
-First of all, do not ever get hit around by anyone. That’s the first condition.
“….”
The girl looked around. The Empire’s knights and mages were launching attacks with expressions full of greed.
The so-called essence of knights, Aura and Sword Energy, was poured out and the mage’s powerful magic was hammering at the protective layer.
[A message from the Administrator has arrived.]
-Wipe them out.
“….”
An electric thrill ran up her spine, starting from the very tip of her toes.
She, an ordinary person, neither whole in body nor possessing anything of worth, was just told to wipe out the Empire’s knights and mages, who were renowned for their prowess. Yet, why didn’t this sound unnatural to her?
Was it because of the power she felt coursing through her entire body?
The girl looked down at the dark red suit enveloping her figure. A strange gem filled with dazzling starlight was embedded above her solar plexus.
“…What should I call you from now on?”
[A message from the Administrator has arrived.]
-…Master?
The girl nodded.
“I will execute your command. Master.”
Ptfzzz- Clank, Clank-
The Red Devil descended upon the Empire’s capital.
