Chapter 23
The basic ability of a succubus is to target the gaps in a person’s heart and show them the dreams they desire.
But,
“In Azazel’s case, just making eye contact allows her to peek into that person’s future.”
Azazel had eyes unlike anyone else. With a glance, information about a person’s future would flow into her.
Because of this, she had a vague fear and trust regarding seeing the future since childhood.
She had experienced fixing the future where the precious pot treasured by the old lady next door broke, and she felt sad when she couldn’t prevent the future where her beloved stray cat died.
Because of this, Azazel always had to keep her eyes closed while going about her daily life or learned to converse without making eye contact.
“This is similar for Bi-Wol and Verdandi.”
I bit my lower lip and bowed my head. It was all my fault that they had unfortunate pasts.
“Bi-Wol, who thought of the moon in the slum.”
I thought of the Heavenly Demon Star when I heard my father calling me the monster that ate my brother.
“And Verdandi, who didn’t want to live in the present.”
Because he was ostracized and pointed at by girls due to his handsome face, he wished to have the ability to discern whether someone was a saint or a villain.
“Azazel, who thought of friends with angelic faces but acted maliciously.”
And someday, she dreamed of a successful future as a writer, thinking she could escape this sad past. All the hopes I dreamed of to escape my damn family environment became powers of the Final Bosses.
“Azazel, I know this is quite shocking, but… whatever you saw in the future, I am not here to harm you.”
Just like Azazel and Gabriel took on angelic names, my life was intertwined within these novels.
It was all my fault.
“D-Don’t come any closer! If you come any closer than this, I really have no choice but to kill you!”
Azazel threatened me with a red face. I didn’t know what vision she had seen, but it seemed to be a major misunderstanding.
What future did she see?
“Just now, while looking at me, she called me a ‘lewd man’ and mentioned a future where we decide who rolls around on the bed first.”
“It could just be a future with a pillow fight.”
I cautiously set aside the thought of “No way!” and pondered. The scene popping into my head was only having fun on the bed with my three disciples.
After all, Azazel’s future isn’t perfectly accurate.
“Azazel, you do know that the future you see isn’t entirely true, right?”
I stepped forward and said. In the original story, she lost the protagonist, Kang Si Woo, to her sister because she was overconfident about the future.
Believing doubtlessly in the Hero who seemed like he would only look at her for life, there was also the mistake of confusing the game character with its avatar.
And,
“I know you’re sad about losing the man you loved to your sister, but you can’t just shut yourself away and live like this forever, can you?”
The vision she thought was her future turned out to be her twin sister, who looked just like her and that was the variable she didn’t know.
“I came to show you true love. It’s about meeting the right man and understanding true love.”
I was trying to speak calmly. I felt like if such a big misunderstanding went unchecked, it would escalate to a point where it couldn’t be resolved later.
I raised my empty hands slowly as if to show I had no intention to fight,
“Stop lying.”
Azazel’s expression was full of disgust. She furrowed her brow and pulled down the corners of her mouth, revealing her displeasure.
“You must have involved me in some plot with the old fogies from the Vatican. If not, there’s no way I would have you as my master, a lewd man!”
Her cold demeanor felt like ice piercing my heart. The tentacles aimed at me seemed like they would attack at any moment.
Her tentacles could split dimensions to move freely, create defenses, or act as weapons like spears or whips.
“That’s not true! My master came here to save you!”
Seeing the tentacles, Verdandi drew her holy sword from her chest. There was power in her voice.
“Surprisingly, we seem to share a sentiment right now, sister.”
“That’s right! If you even lay a finger on our master, we will never forgive you!”
Seeing that, Bi-Wol took action to help. She prepared to wrap her magical aura around herself.
“No, but what exactly did you see in the future, Azazel?”
It was clear fighting wouldn’t solve anything. I pressed my fingers against my temples to relieve the headache and said.
As much as I thought about it, what Azazel was saying about the “future” was weighing heavily on my mind.
“Is it really going to be serious kidnapping later on?”
Gulp, the conclusion that came to me sent a shudder through my heart.
No way, our good disciples couldn’t do that.
They couldn’t.
Shouldn’t have.
“It was a future where someone blindfolds you and decides who gets to jump on top first by playing rock-paper-scissors while you’re tied to the bed!”
“…What?!”
I couldn’t help but freeze upon hearing that future. It was far too detailed, a plan that my disciples would actually pull off.
“Ah, so that method…”
Bi-Wol grinned with a sly smile after hearing Azazel’s foresight,
“Uh, why would we decide the order of who gets to climb on top of our master? Are we trying to ride horses or something?”
Verdandi tilted her head in confusion, not understanding the implication. The tension between innocence and cunning was taut.
“Ahem, it must have been a mistake.”
I could only cough awkwardly. Even trying to breathe felt like I was choking.
The future that awaited me where my children, raised like daughters, would pounce on me made no sense.
“Like how your sister stole your lover, futures can always change. So it’s best not to be overly credulous.”
I almost bit my tongue. Even though my pronunciation tangled and my sentences barely came out, I managed to get through it.
Gabriel, looking just like Azazel, had taken the man she loved, which was why she was hiding out here in this monastery to gain strength for revenge against that world.
“How do you know that? Are you here to comfort me in my despair from losing my lover at the behest of my sister?”
Oh no, I messed up.
While I could’ve lied about Verdandi receiving a prophecy, I should’ve been much more careful with Azazel.
“Yes, you can think of me as someone sent by your sister. Family must eventually face each other, right?”
I chose to go for a straight approach here.
Family is just that kind of existence.
Of course, there can be bad relationships too, but in the end, what remains is not friends or lovers, but family.
I realized after my father passed that he secretly collected the novels I wrote, and I cried at the funeral.
“So that you won’t have any regrets later.”
I gave my heartfelt advice filled with my own life experiences to Azazel. I hoped she wouldn’t have regrets like I did.
“…You really are good at talking.”
Then Azazel lowered her head for a moment and pointed at Bi-Wol with her finger as she spoke.
“Then how do you explain that person over there has realized I’m seeing into the future?”
“Realized? How?”
Hearing that, I felt something was off. I had never written such a setting in her abilities.
In the first place, I knew that many characters in this novel world didn’t move according to the predetermined plots or settings.
“That’s why I got mad at the townsfolk of Verdandi. There was no need for even one to fail to admit mistakes.”
But,
“Yes, she looked at me and said, ‘You saw it, didn’t you?’ while bouncing her future foresight.”
Moving beyond this time frame like this was a different story. The novel had a set order of episodes, and the narrative flowed along that grand current.
“Maybe we’re not ordinary humans after all….”
As the final boss of a novel, it seems one might be able to swim upstream against that current. After all, stories featuring the Heavenly Demon returning or reincarnating are common.
“If you don’t leave this place right now, I’ll have no choice but to hurt you. This is a memorial place only for me, Kang Si Woo, and ■■■■■.”
With her tentacles wriggling and radiating hostility, Azazel declared.
This was described as the location where affection events occurred in the game, so it was natural for her to cherish this place.
“There’s nothing I can do! We can’t communicate anymore!”
“Master, just give us the order, and we will drag this fierce wolf in front of you!”
Having judged that conversation wouldn’t be fruitful anymore, my two disciples were gearing up to fight her.
“Okay, then I have a favor to ask.”
I coughed due to the pain tightening around me and left the words asking them to subdue Azazel.
After all this time, I had brought Bi-Wol to an ultimate level and got Verdandi as my disciple to create a plan to handle the malicious outsiders.
All that was left was to hope this method would work on Azazel.
But,
“Actually, a few days ago, I received a holy prophecy from my holy ■■■■■. There should be some prophets who came to find me, so bestow grace upon them.”
Mentioning the outsider, Morgidian’s name, Azazel.
A sensation like my breath stopping, pain like glass shards scraping my lungs, and the feeling of wanting to tear off my ears upon hearing something I should have never heard all struck at once.
I’m going to die. I’m going to die. I’m going to die.
It felt like water rose to the tip of my chin, and I was overwhelmed by the fear of drowning in an empty space.
“My reaction to the outsider I described in the original novel…!”
Behind Azazel, a massive eye quietly stared at us. She had been attacking in such an intricate and delicate way that I didn’t even know when she started using it.
“Khuk….”
“S-Master… I’m so sorry….”
“A-Aah….”
I tried to draw in my inner energy to withstand it, but even my disciples around me were bleeding from their eyes, noses, and mouths, suffering in agony.
“I’m also a demon. Inviting you into a nightmare would be one of the ways to peacefully resolve this ruckus.”
So Azazel softly smiled as she cast a spell to plunge me, Bi-Wol, and Verdandi into slumber.
My vision wavered, and the space around me distorted before my eyes.
What kind of dream will I have if I fall asleep like this? A dream where I keep dying? Or will I roam endlessly in dreams?
“Kurhh….”
“Oh my, you have quite a strong mind. I think I’ll have to adjust my evaluation now.”
With the pain of biting my tongue, I forced myself to keep consciousness as I stretched my palm toward the distant Azazel and sent forth Bing Yeon.
Bang─!
The cold that freezes everything hurtled toward her, but sadly, it was blocked by her tentacles.
“…Please sleep peacefully. This is the last mercy I can provide.”
As I lost consciousness and slumped forward while watching Bing Yeon, Azazel whispered softly.