Chapter 26
The Birth of a Demon
"A traitor...?"
Luise's voice trembled as she stared at Shed, who was slumped over as if dead.
She knew how devoted Shed was to Ideana. He had gone out to the front lines and poured all his abilities into protecting Ideana countless times.
But he was a traitor?
"That ungrateful Lupus saw that mess and tried to kill me."
Felix frowned unpleasantly, clicked his tongue, and glared at Shed.
Luise suddenly remembered Shed's words about finding his sworn brother, Pamen.
So, Shed had gone to find Pamen and witnessed the mountain of Lupus's corpses.
One-sided slaughter and massacre.
He was furious and picked up a sword, losing his reason.
And he rushed to kill Felix Ideana, the head of the Ideana family, the perpetrator of the slaughter.
But unfortunately, his revenge failed.
"A slave dares to oppose Ideana. This is an insult and treason against our family."
Trying to kill the lord of this land was a serious crime and deserved the death penalty.
Even though Lupus's massacre was not a serious crime.
"You, who cherished this guy, must feel betrayed too."
Felix's expression hardened as he looked at his daughter, who was too shocked to say anything.
Then, he quietly took a step back, placing Shed in front of Luise.
The knights threw the limp Shed onto the floor.
"Will you carry out the execution?"
Felix's voice rang out elegantly.
Execution...?
She shook her throbbing head.
She couldn't accept it.
That her beloved father had done such a thing, that she possessed this strange power, that Shed... had come to hate Ideana.
Then, Felix drew his sword himself.
"If you don't execute him, I'll have to do it."
Felix raised his sword as if to show off.
Killing one Lupus was nothing to him.
The metal blade that soared into the air shimmered coldly.
Her eyes, which had been lost in confusion, widened.
The blade fell towards Shed's neck without hesitation.
At the same time, Luise's heart plummeted.
"No!"
At that moment, a black light soared from her body, blocking Felix's sword.
The sword bounced away, and Felix staggered greatly.
His eyes were filled with bewilderment, but soon a smile appeared on his lips.
"Yes. You've finally become aware of your power!"
He looked at her with a joyful face.
In an instant, Luise realized that she was enveloped in a black aura. Very familiar and natural.
The girl shook her head at the Black Magic that flowed out as skillfully as her own limbs.
"No, no...!"
Luise hurriedly hid the black light.
Her head ached as if it would break.
Nightmares mixed with reality.
The memories she had believed to be happiness were sinking into a blood-soaked mud floor.
"You can control your power and hide it as you please now. I really feel like you've become perfect."
Felix said, deeply moved, as if he had a special feeling.
"Now I don't have to rely on brainwashing spells anymore."
Until now, he had to use other spells such as hypnosis, brainwashing, and control to deal with Luise's unstable state.
But now, after completing the final experiment, it was different.
He had sacrificed as many people as there were in a city to complete Luise.
The constant wars and the bringing of the Lupus were all for her.
And when even the Lupus, who had been used as mercenary slaves, were sacrificed, Luise became perfect.
"Now the era of Ideana has arrived. This empire will soon be in our family's hands."
Felix clenched his fist and muttered.
"We'll take the head of that Cheffbolden family and take this empire."
Felix said in a dreamy voice.
Take the empire...?
"For generations, the Cheffbolden family has monopolized the throne. It's a position that is traditionally given by the election of our Elector Family."
The Electors' 'right to elect the Emperor' remained only in name and had no real effect.
Among them, Ideana was the weakest of the Elector Families.
Ideana was prosperous, but it was on the frontier.
It was also far from the island of Dynames, where the Great Temple was located, and far from the imperial territory.
As a result, its power and influence over the center were weaker than those of other Elector Families, and it was often ignored.
"With your power, it's possible to take over the center. It's easy to eliminate the Clerics with Divine Power."
Only then did Luise recall her father's decision to expel the Clerics from Ideana.
At the time, she thought he was angry with the Clerics who couldn't cure her illness.
But...
"Then... my illness..."
"It was a kind of trial and error."
Not an incurable disease, but trial and error?
"It's just that it couldn't be perfect from the beginning."
Felix explained about his daughter's illness.
The pain she had experienced was a side effect of injecting Black Magic.
"In the process of going to perfection, an imperfect state is inevitable. It's an unavoidable ordeal to gain great power."
Felix said kindly.
Now that he had achieved what he wanted, it was as if the failures of the past could be left as memories.
As if all the pain she had experienced was an unavoidable mistake.
Her lips, which had turned white with shock, trembled.
An unavoidable ordeal?
All that pain I had to endure?
Those days when I was too weak to go outside, spent every night with nightmares, and screamed in pain as if my whole body was crumbling...?
Warm memories with her father, suffocating nightmares, and the reality before her eyes were mixed in her head.
"Y-you're lying, aren't you, Father?"
Luise's eyes turned red.
She wanted to deny it.
If it's not a dream, then reality can be a lie.
You can't be so cruel to me.
But Felix Ideana calmly parted his lips.
"For the glory of the great Ideana."
As if anything could be tolerated for this grand goal, the Count's voice was full of conviction.
"Luise, don't you want the glory of our family too?"
He believed that Luise, who had Ideana blood, would be able to understand all of this.
But the young daughter he believed in shook her head.
"All of this cannot be forgiven."
So many people had to die for that mere glory?
That's not right. It can't be.
"Luise."
The moment Felix frowned, Luise picked up the sword her father had dropped.
"...Stop everything."
Luise pointed the sword at her father.
She didn't know what to do about what had happened so far.
But what was certain was that she had to stop what was about to happen.
Then Felix's eyes widened.
He seemed somewhat surprised by Luise's firm choice.
But he soon smiled leisurely.
The sword in his young daughter's hand was trembling insignificantly.
He knew. Luise Ideana could never kill her father.
Felix was her only family and the protector who had taken care of her warmly until now.
For her, who had difficulty going out since she was young, Felix was her world.
That's why she couldn't harm him with Black Magic just now and only managed to deflect the sword.
"Luise, you don't need to hold a sword. You yourself are a weapon that shines brighter than any famous sword."
Felix gestured for her to put down the sword.
A teardrop fell from Luise's red eyes.
And soon, she pointed the tip of the sword at her own chest.
"Stop it, Father."
Luise said with trembling lips.
As he expected, she couldn't kill her father.
The anger and shock of the moment alone could not erase the long-standing affection and love she had built up.
That's why she pointed the tip of the sword at herself.
If Felix valued her, at least valued her as a successful test subject of Ancient Spell, he wouldn't want to lose her.
Whether her guess was correct or not, a look of bewilderment crossed Felix's face.
But soon he returned to his usual kind and calm face.
"Luise. I told you. You have become the strongest human in the world."
A benevolent smile appeared on his lips.
At the same time, he gently grabbed Luise's hand holding the hilt of the sword.
The warm warmth transmitted from her father's hand, and...
Thwack! A sound of something being stabbed deeply was heard.
Luise couldn't understand what had happened for a moment.
"Cough!"
Before she could grasp the situation, blood spurted from her mouth.
When she lowered her head and looked at her chest, she saw the sword stuck in her body.
'Fath...er...?'
Her father had plunged the sword into her heart.
When she raised her trembling head again, she saw her father standing in front of her with a calm expression.
At that moment, as if all the severed nerves were connected at the same time, a terrible pain swallowed her.
"Cough!"
She spat out blood again and collapsed to the floor.
She couldn't breathe as if her lungs were filled with blood.
She couldn't even scream.
Her mouth, wet with blood, only made gasping sounds like a beast.
Her body twisted in unbearable pain.
Every time her heart beat, it tightened the cold blade stuck in her chest, and her vision flickered with pain.
Saliva mixed with blood dripped from her mouth.
But her father stood still and stared at her as she died painfully on the floor.
Then, he stepped on his trembling daughter's body and pulled out the sword stuck in her chest with all his might.
With pain that felt like her soul was being torn apart, her body convulsed greatly.
"Gasp... gack!"
The knights couldn't bear to watch the girl rolling on the floor like a beast and turned their heads.
Bright red blood spread and Luise was trapped in endless pain.
Unable to feel resentment, anger, sadness, or despair, she was only buried in physical pain.
She couldn't see, hear, or feel anything.
Only the sensation of piercing her heart, breaking her bones, tearing her flesh, and spilling blood existed in her world.
It must have been then.
That Luise Ideana, she realized that she herself was a demon.
