Chapter 192

INTERLUDE Her Journey Had I only been born an ordinary girl to an ordinary family. Maybe then, I would’ve been spared this pain. Verda Al-Hazard was the greatest magic scholar in all of history. Possessed of a godly intellect, she had served as a military chief of the Demon Lord and as one of the Four Heavenly Kings. Her long, glittering list of achievements and prestige were known worldwide. The people acknowledged her as the greatest among the greats. However… …she saw her abilities as a curse. Lawrence Al-Hazard was a man on the Demon Lord Varvatos’s Council of Seven. He operated as the brains of the military, conducted research as a magic scholar, and advanced civilization culturally. He was also Verda’s father. “Doting father” described Lawrence best. Verda’s divine talents blossomed under his discipline. And when her unique abilities caught Varvatos’s attention, he requested that she become one of the Four Heavenly Kings. So the story went, anyway. That was a fabrication, however. The true story was too cruel, so a false one had been recorded in the historical records. A friend of Lawrence’s, a fellow member of the Council of Seven, compiled the fake accounts. He twisted the truth to protect his friend’s honor, and the story survived to future generations. No consideration was given for Verda’s feelings. From a young age, she stood out as unique. She was born to a famous man and possessed extraordinary powers. For this, she was locked away and never permitted outside, so that her father’s high esteem would be preserved. At the time, Lawrence was lauded as second to none in magic academia. He was a man of ultimate talent. Not even Varvatos outmatched him in matters of academics. When he boasted of himself, nobody faulted him for it. Lawrence suffered none who threatened his supremacy, not even his own child. It happened one fateful morning… Lawrence stared at the stack of papers strewn about on the floor of his study. The irregular letters on the pages resembled worms. At a glance, he knew his daughter had written them, yet she was only half a year old. Lawrence had suspected that Verda was a rather clever girl. Then, two years later… “Hey, Dad, is it okay if I correct this paper?” …his daughter, who wasn’t even three, found an error in what Lawrence considered his magnum opus. “You impudent child! What the hell do you know?!” He clenched his fists and shouted at her. There were no traces of paternal love in him. Lawrence had lain with some woman, and a baby had been born. That’s all the affair had meant to him. He allowed Verda to stay in his home not because he was her father, but because he worried about what people might say about him. Verda was not his beloved child, just a stranger. Perhaps that’s why he felt so threatened by her. It was only a matter of time until the anger showed. However, Verda was still too young to pick up on Lawrence’s fragility. “See, your thesis itself is correct, but you messed up a couple of the steps that got you there. Like this part.” If Lawrence had been able to laugh off her comment as child’s play, reminding himself that she was only a toddler, he might have kept his anger in check. Unfortunately… “That’s…impossible.” …he understood. Verda had discovered genuine errors in his greatest work, and in so doing, had demonstrated that her intellect surpassed his. It broke him. Insanity exploded within Lawrence. The next thing he knew, Lawrence was beating his daughter. He grabbed the golden locks she’d inherited from him and slammed her, over and over, against the ground. “You insignificant brat! How dare you mock me?!” She had committed the ultimate sin—she was the greater mind. He could never forgive this transgression. Lawrence Al-Hazard’s persona was corrupt. And when his daughter’s head split open and she passed away… “There—huff—now nobody—huff—will ever threaten me again.” …he sighed in relief. There wasn’t a hint of remorse in him. If anything, he felt accomplished. “I’m sorry, Dad…I did something wrong, didn’t I?” The daughter he’d just murdered stood in the doorway. “Y-you…?! H-how…?!” Lawrence had no idea what was happening. “I made many clones and put pieces of my soul into them. Even you can do that, can’t you, Dad?” He couldn’t. Cloning was possible. Lawrence understood it perfectly. Splitting a soul, however, was beyond him. “Nn—ahh—oh—…… Hrahhhhhhhhh!!!” The next thing he knew, he was killing her. A second time. A third time. A fourth time. A fifth time. No matter how many died in his hands, another appeared. By the time he killed his thirtieth daughter, Lawrence changed tactics. If he couldn’t eliminate her, then he would conceal her existence. Maintaining his station was Lawrence’s highest priority. So long as no one knew of his daughter’s brilliance, he would still stand at the top. Thus, Lawrence locked her away in his home. At the time, Verda couldn’t understand why he treated her that way. How did this happen? I just wanted him to love me. I only wanted my father to accept me. But every time he sees my face, he beats me. Every time I see my father, he kills me. Why does he do this to me? What did I do wrong? I don’t understand. But there’s something I know for certain… “I hate you! I wish you’d never been born!” …this man will never love me. Upon realizing that, I lost the will to live. I returned the fragments of my soul into one body. “Die! Die! Die! Die!!!” Now it will all be over. He trampled on my stomach. My organs burst. I bled out. I was dying. If he will never love me…if I can never get him to love me…then there’s no use in living. I accepted my death. However, he denied me of it. “Now, that’s a boring way to go. For both of us.” A new voice had spoken from nowhere, its tones smooth and elegant, like an angel’s song. This was no angel, though. His was the voice of a devil. “Ghhk?!” My father’s body contorted. First his limbs. Then his torso. Then his neck. He was being slowly punished “Agraff! Ghhf! N…no… Have mercy…” As my father stared at me, begging for his life, the other presence spoke, his peaceful words no louder than a whisper. “I love humans. Whether they’re good or evil is irrelevant. I love them because they make for perfect toys. And that’s why I love you, dear Lawrence. But you see…” His angelic beauty couldn’t hide his wicked smile. “You must die for me. Because you make me sick.” He twisted my father. The revolting sounds of his flesh, skin, bones, and organs straining filled the room with nauseating anguish. They crumpled to the floor disgracefully. My father was wrung out like a cloth. “Da…d…” It was a traumatizing sight, yet I felt no sadness. I shed no tears. My heart was stolen that day. I cared more for a devil than for my father’s death. “Well, hello there, little Verda! I’m Mephisto Yuu Phegor. You can call me Daddy Mephy if you’re feeling extra affectionate.” He looked down at my broken body. “Geeee…you really are a mystery. I sense special feelings for you. This might be a first for me. Then again, I have no idea whatsoever where they’re coming from.” His golden eyes betrayed curiosity and insanity. Neither frightened me, though, because his eyes looked just like my own when I stared at the mirror. Surely, he thought the same thing. “Would you like a new home, little Verda?” “A home…? What’s a home?” “It’s a place where you can relax. I guess you could say it’s a metaphor for a person who makes you feel that way.” “Are you…gonna be my home?” “No. I can’t ever be that. But I might be able to give it to you.” Mephisto reached for me, and there was sadness in his face. Oh, he carries grief just like I do, I thought. I took his hand. He stood me up and said, “Let’s go.” “Okay.” And we began to walk. Our route would surely take me on an evil journey, but I didn’t care. “Oh, by the way, I just turned your mother into a new test subject for my research. Was that wrong of me?” “Your research… Is it okay if I participate, too?” The warmth I felt from his touch and gentle gaze filled me with peace, the first I’d known in my life. That’s why I chose to walk with this man, even if it meant destruction in the future. Because he was my… “Oh… Did I fall asleep?” Verda muttered, yawning to shake off the heavy blanket of slumber. She was in a room inside a lab located in the center of Kingsglaive, the ancient capital. The lab had become a giant fortress through which the capital could be controlled at will. It was the heart of Kingsglaive now. “I guess doing all this alone is impossible, huh…?” Manipulating all of Kingsglaive and everything in it was exhausting. It required expending massive amounts of magical and mental energy. The recent battle had left Verda exhausted, and she had fallen unconscious. “The automatic operation switch is on, but still…” One wrong move, and there might have been a hole in the defense grid that intruders could exploit. Unwilling to let that happen, Verda had given herself sole functional control. “Some people think nightmares are a defense reaction to stress. Did you know that?” spoke a familiar voice. “Master…” “Hey there, my little apprentice.” When did we start addressing each other like this? This man is the only person I ever call my master. And I am the only person he ever calls his apprentice. Even now, it brings me some joy. That’s why I don’t feel a bit of regret for betraying them. At least, I didn’t think I would. “Like I said, think of nightmares as a means of diffusing stress. But nightmares can also make your bad feelings seem worse. Must be a kind of shock therapy. My, humans are so amusing.” Verda sighed quietly at Mephisto’s pontificating. “Are you trying to tell me that I’m stressed out?” “Um, yeah? Do I have to spell it out for you? You shouldn’t ask stupid questions. It’s a waste of time, and it makes you dumb.” His tone was oddly challenging. Then again, it was very true to form for Mephisto… Verda sensed something different in the way he spoke this time, though. “Are you trying to make me angry so I’ll abandon you?” Mephisto fell silent, another rarity for him. Ordinarily, he answered any question promptly, always wearing a devilish grin. His smile today was cynical, and he scratched his cheek. Verda thought he looked trapped. “You never change, do you?” she said. “You grow lonely so easily, yet you push others away from you. You look aloof, even when you’re happy. You clutch your stomach and laugh, even when you want to cry. You’re a walking contradiction. You’re so twisted that nobody can stand to be near you.” He was just like she used to be. Mephisto Yuu Phegor’s persona was beyond twisted. He did love, and that’s why he wished to know what it would feel like when that love was destroyed. His curiosity would not be denied. That’s why he could only use agitating, hurtful language with others. “You killed my friends…to drive me away, didn’t you, Master?” Verda thought back to the day she left Mephisto’s side and followed the Demon Lord. Her decision had been motivated by tragedy. “My test subjects were my only friends at the time. I loved them. I meant to keep my heart shut to all but you and them. And you killed them.” At that moment, Verda had a revelation. Remaining with Mephisto meant she would lose everything. Had Verda known this the day Mephisto took her in, it wouldn’t have bothered her. But over time, she’d found a reason to live. There were other people she didn’t want to see destroyed. That pushed her to leave Mephisto. She couldn’t stay with him while there were people she longed to protect. Perhaps that tragedy had been Mephisto’s attempt at consideration. “What you did that day seemed awfully roundabout for you. You never intervene with anyone unless they interest you. If you only half love somebody, you form an indirect relationship with them. It’s only when you love someone fiercely that you destroy their mind and body directly. That one incident was the exception to your usual style, a reflection of your state of mind, I suppose.” Mephisto had no answer for Verda. He held his silence with an anguished smile on his face. “Please don’t treat me like a child. You’re the child—and a bitter one, at that. Let your guard down and accept my friendship. I don’t care what you say…I’m staying with you until the end. I have to. You’re my—” Before Verda could continue, a deep, earth-splitting rumble from an attack shook the room. Verda gasped. She knew the ones responsible. Her conversation with Mephisto had given them the necessary opening. “So…was this part of your plan, too?” Mephisto shook his head. There was no telling if he was being sincere. It didn’t matter. “We’d better fight back. Our enemies are here.” Our enemies. Verda’s heart ached to call them that. Still, she rose to her feet and steeled herself to prepare a counterattack. And as he watched Verda march out of the room, Mephisto whispered something quietly. “Oh, how troublesome…truly.”