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Chapter 19
The path leading underground seemed endless. The pitch-black darkness below felt as if it would swallow Rosha whole.
If it had been just ordinary darkness, Rosha wouldn’t have been afraid.
But the deeper she went down the stairs, the thicker the darkness became—and along with it came a stench so foul it pierced her nose. Rosha knew this smell. It was the smell of evil. The scent from demons was at least familiar enough to endure, but this stench now was unbearable.
It was a horrid smell, like rose thorns twisting through her insides.
With every breath, the stench filled her lungs, making her stomach churn. It wouldn’t have been strange if she vomited at any moment.
“Ugh…!”
Suppressing her nausea, Rosha kept descending. At last, after passing through a long, dark tunnel, a reddish light seeped out. It was coming from the crack of a door somewhere underground. Rosha gripped the gold-plated handle of her staff tightly and leaned against the wall.
“Haah…”
She let out a long breath. She felt like she might make a mistake from being too tense. And it made sense—Rosha, who had faced countless demons, had never directly confronted a member of Babel before.
Until now, she had only discovered traces of Babel while dealing with demons, brushed past them by a narrow margin, or heard stories from her siblings who had directly faced Arteliers. It was said that the Golden Dawn had killed many members of Babel, but many of their own had also been killed by Babel.
This was a moment where she absolutely could not let her guard down.
Rosha held her breath and peered through the gap in the door.
The first thing she saw was a massive magic circle drawn on the floor, emitting a faint purple glow. Inside the circle, children from the orphanage, dressed in white pajamas, were sitting together.
On the wall hung an upside-down cross, and directly beneath it was an altar that looked as if it was meant for offering sacrifices.
And on top of the altar, decorated lavishly with lilies—
‘Lily…?’
A girl wearing the same white pajamas as the others was lying there.
The girl’s short bobbed hair was clearly golden. Without realizing it, Rosha widened the gap in the door. Her pale eyelids, delicate nose, and rosy cheeks came into clear view.
There was no denying it. That was Lily.
Even though it had been five years since she last saw her, Rosha recognized her at a glance.
A magic circle for a ritual. An altar. A human placed upon it.
Lily was the sacrifice for this ritual.
The moment she realized that, Rosha lost her reason.
She tried to push the door open and rush into that grotesque ritual space. But before she could, the door opened on its own—as if granting her permission to enter.
‘…They knew I was coming.’
Rosha instinctively realized this could be a trap. But even if it was, if Lily was at the end of it, she had no choice but to go.
The children inside the magic circle noticed her belatedly and looked up at her with fearful eyes. Among them was the child who had once given her a lollipop. Receiving their gazes, Rosha stepped inside.
“Welcome.”
At the voice that rang out the moment she took a step, Rosha flinched and looked toward the altar. Standing in front of it was Director Susan Artelier, her hair now let down unlike earlier in the day.
‘There was definitely no one here just now…’
She hadn’t even noticed her hiding herself with magic.
Rosha realized instinctively.
I’m not a match for that woman.
If they fought, she would definitely lose.
“So, you finally found your younger sister.”
“……”
“How admirable.”
Rosha gritted her teeth. She had hidden Lily on purpose, yet spoke as if she were proud—Rosha wanted to tear that mouth apart.
“…Artelier of Babel.”
“You caught on sooner than I expected. Did I underestimate you because you’re just a brat?”
“You took Lily in knowing she’s my sister, didn’t you? You lured me here on purpose!”
“That’s just speculation.”
“Shut up and answer what I ask!”
“Oh, little Rostellier of the Golden Dawn.”
“……”
“That emotional attitude won’t help you save your sister.”
If she fought that woman, she would lose. In terms of controlling mana, Rosha was already far inferior.
Even so, Rosha willingly unleashed the mana within her.
Light matching her hair color burst out from her body. Susan Artelier did not stay still—she immediately released her own mana, and purple energy collided with Rosha’s.
In the narrow space, the mana of the Golden Dawn and Babel clashed.
Susan’s mana coiled around Rosha’s like a snake.
Suddenly, Noah’s words came to mind.
The amount of mana one possesses is important, but if one cannot handle it skillfully, it is no different from carrying brute force without control.
After a year of effort, Rosha had succeeded in awakening the immense mana within her—something no one had noticed during her first measurement. But it was too great a power for a child like her to handle. Noah had compared it to giving a long sword to a five-year-old.
Noah had said fighting demons and fighting Babel were on entirely different levels. That was why Rosha had only been sent to eliminate demons until now. Even when she became indirectly entangled with Babel, it had only been by chance.
And now, for the first time, she truly understood what Noah had meant.
In terms of controlling mana, Susan far surpassed Rosha.
“Let’s make a deal.”
Her hand holding the staff trembled, and cold sweat ran down her body. Her nails dug into her palm, drawing blood that dripped onto the floor. Even so, Rosha tried not to show it and calmly proposed the deal.
“Just give Lily back.”
“If I return your sister, what will the young lady of the Golden Dawn do for me?”
“I’ll pretend I didn’t see anything here today. I won’t report it to the Golden Dawn.”
“And how am I supposed to believe that? We don’t trust each other.”
“That’s—!”
“Then let’s do this.”
This time, Susan made a proposal.
“Prove that you’re someone who can do anything for your sister.”
“…What do you want from me?”
“Walk toward me.”
With their mana still fiercely clashing, Rosha stepped toward Susan. As she walked, drops of blood trailed along the floor behind her.
At that moment, the magic circle Susan had created began to glow. Rosha tried to cast a defensive spell, but Susan’s magic was faster.
A streak of purple light shot out from the circle at incredible speed.
And that light—
“Aaah!”
It pierced the neck of one of the children—not Rosha.
“Kyaaah!”
“Please save me, please save me!”
The children screamed. But as if bound, they could only scream, unable to stand or escape the magic circle.
“What are you doing?!”
“You decide, young lady.”
“……”
“The life of your one sister, or the lives of many unrelated children.”
“You trash…!”
“I’m truly heartbroken as well. But for mutual trust, wouldn’t a price like this be necessary?”
“That’s ridiculous—!”
“Go ahead. Try assigning value to life.”
Her hands trembled. Her nails dug deeper into her skin from rage. She wanted nothing more than to pierce that woman’s throat with magic right now.
But she couldn’t. Not yet.
Rosha looked back and forth between the dead child, the terrified children, and Lily lying on the altar.
To Rosha, Lily had always come first. That was unquestionable. But if innocent people had to die to save Lily, then it was a different matter.
Lily was still her priority—but she could no longer move forward without hesitation.
Biting her lower lip, Rosha dropped to her knees. Blood flowed not only from her hands but also from her bitten lips. Her blood dripped onto the magic circle where the children were trapped.
“Damn it!”
Unable to save Lily or the others, Rosha slammed her staff against the ground in frustration.
Susan clicked her tongue as she watched, gently stroking Lily’s hair. Even for someone who enjoyed tormenting Rostelliers, this was too easy—almost boring.
Perhaps because she was so young.
She had heard that when Dola tormented Kashin Rostellier, it had been quite entertaining. But this Rostellier, not much younger, was far too weak—both physically and mentally.
‘They wanted me to spare her, but it would be more efficient if I just devour that soul.’
The immense mana the child couldn’t control was especially tempting. It would be better for Susan to consume it and use it efficiently.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Annoyed by the sound of the girl striking the ground, Susan turned to devour her.
At that moment, a red magic circle spread across the floor.
Only then did Susan realize.
The small amount of blood the girl had spilled.
That cunning little lady had used it. Knowing she would lose in a direct fight, she had resorted to a trick.
The thin lines of blood connected and overlapped with Susan’s magic circle.
Striking the ground hadn’t been out of anger—it had been to conceal the sound of her quietly chanting a spell.
On the deep magic circle where pink and blood-red mixed, the girl raised her head and glared at Susan defiantly. Even now, a faint chant continued to escape her lips.
Reading her lips, Susan finally understood the repeated words.
“O God, take my blood and lend me your power.”
The girl’s god was controlling her mana in her place.
Rosha’s magic circle, overlapping Susan’s, prevented Susan’s from functioning properly.
“Ha—.”
The children she had held hostage were being released from their restraints. As they hesitated, the small Rostellier shouted:
“Run! Get out of here now!”
One by one, the children fled the basement. When they had all escaped, Susan screamed.
She had only planned to kill a few of the least faithful children if necessary—not all of them.
Susan loved the children. She couldn’t let them go.
Even now, she could chase after them and capture them all again—if she gave up just one person: Lily Lewen.
Drip… drip—
As Rosha’s magic circle grew, it completely swallowed Susan’s and spread throughout the space.
‘That fake god must cherish her quite a bit.’
But she could see the strain. Borrowing a god’s power granted immense strength, but it drained the caster’s stamina. That child could endure it for at most seven minutes.
Susan, on the other hand, could endure as long as she wanted.
But she would lose all the children she loved.
‘And giving up Lily Lewen wouldn’t be much of a loss.’
Susan made her decision. After looking at Lily on the altar, she turned to the small Rostellier and gave a brief farewell.
“As a gift for our first meeting, I’ll return your sister.”
“……”
“I hope we meet again.”
Her hair fluttered, and she vanished into a crack in space—declaring her surrender.
‘Thank goodness…’
Rosha had taken the risk for the children and Lily, knowing she couldn’t fight for long even with borrowed divine power. She had feared Susan might not retreat, so she was relieved.
The children might still get caught—but that was beyond what Rosha could do.
Crrrack—
The underground space, already weakened by the clash of mana, began to crumble.
With trembling legs, Rosha staggered toward the altar.
“Lily… Lily…”
Afraid Lily might be dead, she shook the small body desperately.
“Lily, wake up!”
Her whole body felt like it might collapse, but she forced strength into herself. She had to see Lily open her eyes.
With desperate hope, she shook her again.
“Lily…!”
As if her desperation reached her—
Lily’s eyelids trembled.
And slowly, her long lashes lifted.
“Lily…?”
Lily’s clear green eyes reflected Rosha’s face. Then her pupils widened.
“U-unnie…?”
Hearing that word for the first time in five years, Rosha couldn’t stop the tearful smile from forming—even though this wasn’t the time.
It was Lily.
The same Lily Rosha remembered.
