Chapter 25

### Chapter 25: The Fuse (2)

* * *

#5

I have no certainty that I am alive.

...

I have no sensation in my limbs.

No matter how hard I try to make a sound, no voice comes out, and it feels as if my entire nervous system has suddenly turned rigid, leaving me completely paralyzed.

I wonder where I am, what I am doing, and whether my body even exists in this world.

...

If I were to drift eternally with the currents in the sea of unconsciousness, perhaps this is how it would feel. Floating with a consciousness that cannot speak or act, drifting aimlessly without any will of my own.

It was a world of complete darkness.

An unknown place where no one else existed.

That was the greatest fear.

Am I... dead?

In my life, I have experienced the sensation of death only once, when I crossed a very close threshold. Perhaps I had already crossed it. At the time, I thought I was irrevocably dead. I believed that I had finally died but ended up in a state where I could not truly die and had to continue living.

The sensation I feel now is quite similar, yet fundamentally different. I felt my life's light extinguish definitively back then.

But now, more than that, the only thing I can imagine is the terrifying thought that this state of numbness will continue forever.

In this space of my own consciousness.

Goo—

A dark, shadow-like, suspicious thing, darker than the black background I see, is slowly taking shape, undulating.

Even though no sound can be heard, the truly bizarre and strange movements caused an unbearable feeling of disgust and discomfort, and I tried to close my eyes tightly, but unfortunately, I no longer had eyes.

The bizarre mass soon took on a human form.

"...Ah, it's a success. Did you come in well, I?"

It chuckled softly.

A pale, milk-like skin that had deteriorated. Pupils that had expanded ominously with a dark red glow. Hair that writhed and disturbed my vision like living tentacles.

Between the lips that drew a seductive smile, elongated fangs, not human, gleamed as if ready to bite someone to death.

The robe and dress she had been wearing were nowhere to be found.

Her extremely voluptuous body, which no human could imagine, was barely covered by scraps of black fabric that clung to her entire body.

The pair of black wings I saw in the last moment stretched out horizontally and fluttered lazily in an unstable rhythm.

In such a moment, I quietly gazed at her long, thick horns that rose between her fluttering hair.

"...Oh?"

Undeniably.

When the demon appeared before me, I felt a great tremor in the space of unconsciousness where I had been floating.

It was a reflexive reaction.

Just an instinct.

Facing a demon, a single devil, made my insides and intestines twist violently. Although I had no physical body, I was certain I had retched dozens of times. The disgust was so strong that I couldn't bear it.

She, perhaps sensing the massive tremor that had momentarily shaken this space, widened her dark red eyes.

If a soft-looking female professor had made such a gesture, it might have seemed innocent and pure, but with a vulgar devil like her, it only made me want to tear her apart.

I couldn't speak.

I only revealed my boiling anger, which was infused with a burning heat, to the devil who had deceived me so thoroughly.

Who are you, you bastard?

"...How vicious. Suddenly showing such hatred, even I am taken aback, Elio. "

The devil smiled.

I wanted to run over and tear off her wings right away.

"A bit of a shock. I thought I had been quite friendly to Elio, and I believed we had a mutual understanding. It's a sad realization that it was all one-sided. What a pity..."

Who are you?

"Are you in a position to ask questions now?"

...

"Hmm, hmm... I see. Even now, I can feel your intense hatred searing through my skin. ...You fear me, but more than that, you deeply hate me, Elio?"

I gritted my non-existent teeth.

Shut up.

Do you think you'll be safe doing this?

This is the Frontier. If you demons set one foot in here, you'll be surrounded by the faculty and face certain annihilation. Don't you know that?

"Hehe, that's a B-list villain line, you know?"

The devil chuckled again.

"Do you think I came in without considering that? Not at all. I will absorb all of Elio's divinity here, and that alone will achieve my purpose."

...You don't care if you're annihilated?

You're insane.

"What, this body... It took 40 years to create Nadia Halenya, but compared to the value of Elio's divinity, 40 years is nothing. I liked the design, but it couldn't be helped. This body was made specifically for this moment."

It sounds like you have a main body.

Damn.

"Don't curse so much, Elio. I really like you, Elio. Of course, I prefer this side of you, which is closer to my honest taste, over the cute, clumsy Elio. Hehe."

Stop spouting disgusting nonsense.

I will definitely kill you.

"So, if I get hurt, I'll cry?"

Go to hell.

You despicable woman.

"...Hmm, I'm getting quite excited. When a magnificent human like Elio shows such strong reactions in a situation where they can do nothing, it's the most blissful thing for me. I can't help but feel wet down there. It's all Elio's fault, right?"

...Disgusting bat woman.

"Yes, yes, I'm a bat. A slightly larger bat."

The devil playfully flapped her wings.

"Hmm, I can clearly tell that Elio hates us to the core. There seems to be no possibility of trusting us even a little... Even as you express anger towards me now, I never expected it. Hmm, hmm..."

The devil, as if deep in thought, nodded her head like a pendulum and then snapped her fingers, laughing brightly.

"Elio, you never trusted me from the beginning, did you?"

...

"When you entered the laboratory, when you listened to my lectures. You never trusted me, not even for a moment. You cooperated with the research within your limits and intended to get the corresponding reward. You're surprisingly cold."

...

"...No."

...

"You never give your heart to anyone other than yourself. It's like a wall. While this form of consciousness is not uncommon, Elio's is particularly solid."

...

"Your heart is terribly broken. ...How pitiful."

You're spouting unpleasant things.

It's extremely unpleasant and disgusting for someone, especially a devil, to try to read my inner thoughts.

"You don't have to answer why. I think I know. Probably when you obtained your divinity, right? That's usually the case."

The devil laughed, covering her mouth.

At that moment.

...My freedom of thought was tightly bound.

My consciousness began to settle very slowly.

"I covet Elio's divinity. Truly."

"Because, unlike humans, we cannot possess divinity. My personal curiosity about Elio is not a lie, right?"

"Originally, Elio, I would have just chewed and swallowed Elio's divinity, but... my mind has changed a bit now. Elio's divinity is so... special. Just eating it would be a waste, so I want to know as much as possible about the divinity Elio possesses."

"I want to taste it all. I want to savor it leisurely in my mouth for a lifetime. If I could make it a physical form, I would make it a candy that never melts. Every moment would be sweet. Really."

"To Elio, who has given me such a great gift, I must also give something in return. I will tell Elio the things you might be curious about. Hehe."

"My name is Eligor. One of the 72 demons exiled for not participating in the war."

"And I am also a researcher, before being a demon. What is the divinity that only humans can possess... I was curious about that. I devoted my life to finding the answer to that question."

"Why can non-human demons not obtain divinity? Is there really no way for a demon to obtain divinity? What kind of potential do humans have that allows them to inherently possess such divinity...?"

"God is really unfair. It's like discrimination."

"Of course, I don't want the tiny divinity that ordinary humans have, which is almost non-existent. What I want is only... the divinity of people like Elio, who are unique and have a strong, distinct light."

"This is based on my experience. Humans who acquire unique divinity later in life usually have something in common."

"Before obtaining divinity, they were ordinary humans, or they only had a faint, almost non-existent divinity... something like that?"

"But humans like Elio, at some point, suddenly awaken. The timing and form are all different. As you heard in my lectures, most people who awaken to latent abilities are like that. Elio, being a diligent student, must remember that, right?"

"Anyway, humans who acquire divinity later in life usually... have another common point. They experience something close to a miracle."

"What is it? What is so important that it awakens divinity? What exactly triggers the transformation of an ordinary human into someone special like Elio?"

"I was desperately curious about that."

"And after observing for a long time, I finally came to a conclusion."

"The common point they have... I call it a trial."

"Those who pass the trial gain immense divinity."

"Those who fail, die. Right there and then."

"So."

"Only those who have truly overcome death gain the right to possess such divinity."

"...Elio."

"I said that the environment is important for the awakening of latent abilities, right? That's not a lie."

"When a trial is given to a human, that human is either inherently involved in a significant event or harbors a deep fear and pain close to death."

"There are individual differences, but generally, that's how it is."

"...So, Elio."

"I will now taste Elio's divinity very carefully. At the same time, I will closely and meticulously observe the process by which Elio obtained divinity... the form of the trial. It will be a kind of data collection. It seems to be very important research material."

"I will experience the experience that only the one who has undergone the trial can know, right by Elio's side. Squeal! It's going to be so much fun. Isn't it?"

"I know Elio is not a bad person. So, please, Elio, share your divinity with me... just a little, no, all of it. Elio."

"Relax and enjoy it, Elio."

"Of course, it might be a little, very little, difficult. Because from now on, Elio will relive the events and the pain that you experienced while passing through your trial, right here."

"But I believe you won't break down. Elio's mental strength seems quite strong among humans. Such a calm and vast inner world hasn't been seen in a long time. Hehe..."

Eligor is moving away from me.

...No, I am descending.

"Now, Elio."

"Show me."

"...What happened on November 19th, when the pillar of light struck the continent."

* * *