Chapter 118
“Look at this! All your men are in my hands, aren’t they?”
“Leo’s not here. You missed him.”
“Don’t talk back! If they’re in my territory, they’re in my hands!”
“Ah, yeah, yeah. Truly impressive.”
“You ignorant woman! Do you want me to show you that my power surpasses yours? Do I have to kill you for you to believe it?”
“What can you even do?”
Raphaela deliberately mocked him further, aggravating Blehel’s temper. She didn’t forget to lower her eyebrows and give him a look of feigned pity.
“At most, a pervert playing with dolls using human bodies—what power could you possibly have? And on top of that, you’ve been sealed in this forest.”
Blehel, who had seemed like a ticking bomb ready to explode at Raphaela’s provocation, suddenly laughed wildly and slapped his own knee. Then, he looked at Raphaela disdainfully and sneered.
“Ha ha ha! Raphaela, that’s why you received such a trivial punishment—you think so narrowly. Tsk tsk, not knowing the ways of the times. You may be ignorant, but considering the fun we once had, maybe I’ll show you mercy… or maybe not.”
“You and I are in the same position, both punished. Mercy? Ha! That’s ridiculous.”
“Hey, if I return to the demon realm, I can get you a good position. Want to come with me? Forget that flimsy spirit of yours—you’ll get an even more extraordinary one from me.”
For a moment, Raphaela’s gaze sharpened, but Blehel, intoxicated with his own words, continued rambling.
“How about the goddess of fraud and destruction? Or, based on your personality, the goddess of violence and coercion would suit you!”
“You’re saying you’ll give me a new spirit? You?”
“Yes! I’ll erase that thousand-year-old human form of yours. I’d love to tear you apart right now, but I’ll hold back. There’s one condition, though. First, help me get out of here. And the men you brought—give them to me.”
“And then?”
“You’ll be free of punishment, seated high in the demon realm! You’ll be completely free—so free that no deity can nag you! How does that sound? Tempting, isn’t it?”
Blehel had stopped attacking Raphaela entirely, absorbed in his vision for the future. Watching him twist his black hair with his fingers and chatter excitedly, Raphaela snorted.
“Is that all it was?”
Whether gods, humans, or demon princesses, true intentions tend to slip out in the end.
“Blehel, so you wanted to return to the demon realm to become king.”
“Huh? What? No, that’s not it!”
Blehel, flustered, fell swiftly toward the ground where Raphaela stood. Yet, no dull thud was heard. His feet stopped precisely a hand’s breadth above the swamp mud.
“I… I never said I wanted to be king.”
“Logically, to give me a title, you’d at least have to be king, right?”
“Even as a princess, that would be enough…”
“Enough? Do you think the Demon King would heed a sealed daughter’s request? Just be honest—you’re plotting a rebellion.”
“Rebellion? What are you talking about!”
“Don’t worry. I won’t go around blabbing like you. I’ll gladly keep it a secret. I don’t know what fool helped you eat the Demon Fruit or how you plan to use the mirror, but I’ll keep all of that to myself.”
Raphaela spoke the truth.
Their hot-headed temperaments were similar. Even though their closeness had been brief, Raphaela could tell it was genuine. Unable to believe it, Blehel even tried using his clairvoyance—but it was useless.
Raphaela’s bold sincerity was enough to contort Blehel’s face.
He was displeased.
Here he was, trapped in a forest, waiting for an opportunity to escape, and suddenly the one who sealed him appeared. Planning revenge, protecting the mirror fragments, and venting his anger, he had intended to toy with her before tearing her to pieces. The excitement of revenge and the prospect of two ridiculously handsome humans made him blurt out words he shouldn’t have.
‘But she’s pretending to ignore it? In the past, I would have seized this moment to lash out. Is this really the Raphaela I knew? What happened while I wasn’t watching?’
Blehel’s annoyance quickly turned into indignation. Why had this reckless goddess suddenly become magnanimous? It angered him just to see it. Normally, when someone in a similar position suddenly looks competent, it twists the stomach.
“Why are you sincere?”
“What?”
“You know. I can see everything. You weren’t pretending just now—you were genuine. I saw it all.”
“Hey, aren’t you keeping your eyes open? Even if I said I’d keep a secret, you’re staring sharply like that.”
“Why? Why did you change? You weren’t like this.”
“Hmm. Have I changed?”
Raphaela shrugged nonchalantly.
The reason she could be sincere was that she intended to annihilate Blehel. She could easily keep secret the futile dreams of someone she was going to destroy.
But Blehel didn’t realize the flaw in her power. He believed his eye of truth was flawless.
Moreover, while he was trapped on the ground, Raphaela was trapped in a human body. At least inside this forest, she could almost use her full abilities. She just couldn’t return to the demon realm.
Thus, he thought a half-powered Raphaela couldn’t possibly be a threat. To efficiently toy with her, he first separated her nearby minions, like tearing a wing off a bug before killing it.
The gap in strength was so obvious.
Yet Raphaela’s expression remained calm from start to finish. As if on a picnic playing tag, as if the whole situation was just a game, the playful look infuriated Blehel.
He wanted to fill that face with frustration and misery, make her cling desperately and ultimately wail in despair.
Then his gaze fell on the black bracelet around Raphaela’s wrist, holding the elemental staff. It was the seed he had scattered when he had bewitched William.
Blehel’s mouth curled into a wide grin.
“That… you had it?”
“This? I couldn’t bear to see William used as a sacrifice.”
“So you remembered what it was, huh?”
“Not so bad a memory that I can’t even recognize your seed.”
“…Ha ha ha!”
The corners of Blehel’s black lips finally stretched to his ears.
His rasping laugh was the embodiment of a terrifying demon.
Raphaela felt as if she could hear Leo’s screams at seeing Blehel’s face nearby—he would have freaked out, calling it grotesque and terrifying.
Blehel’s black hair flared wildly in every direction, and dark, ominous energy rose from his body. His long, torn black lips moved.
“I had intended to end this nicely, but I’ve changed my mind. You’ll be treated like the other humans who entered this forest.”
“Hah. No need to be that much like your old self.”
“Don’t think you can get through easily just because you know the secrets of my forest.”
“Blehel, why are you acting like this? Let’s go back to earlier, when you were talking about becoming king and giving me a title.”
“I was serious earlier. When I barely opened the demon realm’s gate with the mirror’s power, I truly wanted to return. Seeing the peaceful scene without me… I missed it so much that I wanted to trample and destroy everything.”
“Yeah, yeah. Let’s talk about going home. If you want to make a scene, do it in the demon realm! Feels so satisfying, doesn’t it?”
Earlier, Raphaela had provoked Blehel to understand his intentions; now she soothed him. She had prepared a makeshift shield from a plush doll, but ideally, she wouldn’t have to use it.
“Think carefully, Blehel. Do you plan to move as whoever gave you the demon fruit and mirror fragments wants? You weren’t like that. You never obeyed anyone. You kicked aside every order and did the opposite, creating more work.”
“Yeah. That’s true.”
“So why now? Is it that upsetting that I, not William, have your seed?”
“No. That’s wrong.”
Blehel’s hand motioned, and dark energy like mist surged toward Raphaela.
“I hate that you’ve changed, Raphaela.”
His terrifying gaze swept over her.
“You were tolerable before, but now… you’re pathetic, it makes me sick.”
Raphaela shrouded herself in her golden power. A small circular dome covered and protected her, but sparks flew where Blehel’s black mist touched it.
Crackle—!
Blehel pressed more power into the black mist, sneering.
“Try to endure with that pitiful human body.”
With a rough impact, Raphaela’s golden dome began to chip away bit by bit.
