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Chapter 10: 2nd Legion (4)

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Have you heard of lucid dreaming? It’s when you’re aware you’re dreaming, even while you’re in the dream.

Like me, right now.

My heavy eyelids fluttered open. Judging by the feeling against my head, I was lying down.

“You’re awake?”

“…Sister?”

I opened my eyes to see Lucia greeting me.

‘A dream…’

It wasn’t unusual for her to join me during my afternoon naps on weekends, giving me a lap pillow. It had happened often enough that I wasn’t surprised. But… it meant I missed her enough to dream of this.

‘What’s this feeling?’

A strange unease lingered. Like a thorn in my throat. I looked around, trying to identify the source.

‘Huh?’

And then I saw it.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“…It’s nothing.”

Lucia’s face was… blurry. Her height, her figure, her clothes – everything was clear, except her face, shrouded in a haze.

‘Is it because of the shock?’

Yes, that must be it. I could never forget Lucia’s face. I tried to ignore it, closing my eyes, but…

“Aria?”

“Yes?”

“Why did you leave?”

!!!

Lucia’s words…

…sent a chill down my spine, shattering the peaceful illusion. The scene around me shifted. The warm room dissolved, replaced by the outside world. The bright sunlight turned into a dark, ominous sky.

And then, the transformation was complete.

A ruined, burning city. Bloodied figures approaching me. Familiar faces, yet… some were headless, some had swords piercing their hearts, all bearing different wounds. But their expressions, filled with hatred, were the same.

Traitor!

Die!

Happy to be the only survivor?!

Dozens of voices, accusing me. Their hatred, sharp and focused, pierced me from all directions.

“I… I just wanted to save you…”

“If that were true, you shouldn’t have left.”

Lucia’s reply was cold. I wanted to say something, anything, but the words wouldn’t come.

“W… wait…”

Lucia turned away. I reached out to her, but my hand grasped only air.

“Aaaaagh!”

I fell, and woke up.


“Ha… ha…”

I gasped for air, drenched in cold sweat. My lungs burned, as if I’d been drowning.

‘Was it a dream?’

I took deep breaths, trying to calm my racing heart. And then…

“You’re awake? Look at you, sweating so much. You need to wash up before you catch a cold.”

Bathory’s voice.

“I pushed you too hard today, trying to get you acclimated.”

‘Liar.’

I remembered her smile as she showed me my opponent. The rest of the dream was hazy, but that image was vivid.

But what difference did it make? I was the one who obeyed her.

“Ugh…ngh…”

“You can rest. I won’t make you train like that for a while.”

She embraced me, a comforting gesture. I should hate her. I should despise her for what she’d done to me.

But right now… I just want to stay like this, for a little while longer.


We were in Bathory’s private bath.

“…”

“Feeling better?”

“Mmm-hmm.”

She’d carried me here after I’d woken up from the nightmare, crying and clinging to her. She’d said I’d catch a cold if I stayed in my sweat-soaked clothes. I’d only regained my senses after soaking in the warm water for a while.

“…”

We sat in silence.

‘I’m not a child…’

Eighteen, technically still a minor, but with the mental age of a twenty-year-old, I felt a wave of self-consciousness.

“Asmo… Bathory.”

“Yes?”

“Thank you for being kind to me, for comforting me… but…”

“…But?”

The words caught in my throat. But I had to say it.

“You’re the one who brought me here, who made me do that.”

“…So don’t expect any gratitude?”

“…Yes.”

“Sigh…”

She sighed, then stood up and walked towards… wait.

“W-What are you doing?!”

“Listen to me, Aria.”

She cornered me, her face inches from mine. Asmodeus was one of the most beautiful characters in the game. Her close proximity made me flustered.

“Y-Yes? I mean, okay.”

I almost slipped into formal speech.

“Do you think anything will change now?”

“…”

“The moment you killed that man, you became a traitor in their eyes.”

It didn’t matter that I’d been forced, that I’d had no choice. I’d still killed someone.

“A traitor… huh.”

Traitor. A title that would follow me forever. The man I’d killed was gone, but Asmodeus wouldn’t let me forget it. She’d make sure humanity saw me as a traitor, trapping me in this world.

…it would be easy for a Legion Commander.

“Ha… haha… hahahahaha!”

“I see you understand now.”

A hollow laugh escaped my lips, tears streaming down my face.

“Ahahahahahaha…”

It was inevitable. I’d known it since I decided to follow the original story, but I’d ignored it, hoping things would change. I looked at her, and she smiled, uttering the words I dreaded most.

“Then let’s get along.”

And then, with chilling certainty…

“Traitor.”

“Hahaha…”

I saw it clearly now. The path ahead, the one that would break me, shatter me completely. A path to hell, with no return, no escape.

And she, the one I should hate, the one I had no choice but to rely on, smiled at me.

This wasn’t a game. This was reality. There was no reset button. Knowing this, I had only one option.

-See? I told you.

“I… look forward to it…”

-You’d accept it eventually.

Just two days in the demon realm. And I was already breaking, choosing the path of destruction to survive in this hell.


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