Volume 3, Chapter 13-3 – The First Step to Conquering the Abyss

Stella stood on the steps, watching the black-cloaked figure gradually melt into the night.

Stella couldn’t help sighing.

Being a Saintess was hard.

Being a fake Pale Daughter was even harder.

‘Lord, what kind of life has Your servant been living every single day?’

Dark crimson haze drifted beyond the courtyard as Aetlana passed through the gates of the Blood Demon Manor.

At the edge of the iron fence, she brushed past a figure who had just stepped down from another Nightmare carriage.

The night wind lifted the edge of Aetlana’s hood.

The newcomer stopped.

She had long crimson hair, crimson eyes, and the stride of a lioness.

It was Cheryl herself.

The second daughter of the Valentine family, who had just arrived at the Blood Demon Manor.

She stood outside the iron gate with a suitcase in one hand, her face filled with confusion.

Cheryl stared in the direction Aetlana had left.

Just now, she had watched with her own eyes as a demon who looked exactly like her, practically her identical twin, swaggered straight out of the Blood Demon Manor belonging to the Valentine family.

And that person who looked like her had been carefully cradling a strange white egg tied with a red bow.

Cheryl stood frozen in place.

‘What the hell is going on?!’

Long crimson hair.

Crimson eyes.

The beauty mark beneath the corner of the eye.

A perfect copy of her own face.

Cheryl stood there.

Why was there someone who looked exactly like her?

Could it be another illegitimate daughter of Vivian’s?

No way.

Cheryl shook her head hard, trying to clear it. She had only woken up not long ago, and her entire mind was still foggy.

Several Watches had already passed since Remedios told her that the severely wounded Bone Dragon had headed straight for Stella, prompting Cheryl to make full preparations to launch an attack.

When she tried to examine many of the details closely, her memory was completely blank. Even the parts she did remember were hazy and incomplete, and she had no idea what exactly had happened afterward.

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Cheryl only knew that she had ultimately lost to Aetlana.

At the beginning of the battle, she had possessed absolute confidence.

She had already developed all four forms of the Blood Thorn to completion, fully touching the realm of a higher demon.

Against a Bone Dragon already at the end of her strength, Cheryl was absolutely certain she could win. Even if she had to drag things out, she could wear her opponent down to death.

And Cheryl really had held the upper hand in the dark alley.

Feather Thorn shattered in midair, transforming into blood crystals that filled the sky and blanketed every possible angle with firepower.

Armor Thorn covered the surface of her skin and deflected lethal slashes.

Scale Thorn was fluid and ever-changing, allowing techniques to flow freely from her hands.

Tail Thorn struck the perfect balance between offense and defense.

Aetlana truly had not been her match.

But who could have expected that the battle-hardened higher demon apparently had no intention of dragging things out with her and decided to use a dirty trick.

Play dead.

Aetlana had simply stopped her own heartbeat. She stubbornly waited until Cheryl let down her guard and walked past, then the supposedly dead higher demon suddenly erupted into action, shattered Armor Thorn’s defenses, and struck the back of her neck.

When Cheryl opened her eyes again, she was lying on a mattress in some unknown hotel.

Her Lilith School uniform had been completely stripped off.

If she hadn’t repeatedly confirmed that she was completely unharmed, Cheryl would almost have thought someone had robbed her of her chastity.

The attack had failed. Although the Bone Dragon had not killed her, Cheryl knew the other party had been heading for Stella. No matter what, she had to rush to Lilith School and confirm her elder sister’s safety.

Except while passing through Nightmare Street, she happened to run straight into Remedios and Dorothy, and from them Cheryl learned where Stella was.

It was on the way anyway.

So Cheryl followed them onto a Nightmare carriage and came to the Blood Demon Manor.

Then she watched with her own eyes as someone who looked exactly like her swaggered right out.

So what exactly was going on?

Cheryl scratched her head. She felt as if the left half of her brain were flour and the right half were water, and one shake would turn the whole thing into paste.

Before Cheryl could figure it out, the figure who looked like her had already vanished into the dark crimson haze.

Then came the sound of hurried footsteps.

Cheryl saw Stella striding toward her, her silver-and-red hair swaying in the wind and her cheeks slightly puffed out.

“Elder Sister, long time no see.”

Cheryl took the initiative and went to meet her.

“Long time no see?”

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Stella stopped in front of her and tilted her head, her tone full of grievance.

“Cheryl, my dear little sister, do you know what you did wrong?”

“…W-What did I do wrong?”

Cheryl’s smile froze.

She sensed it.

Her elder sister was angry.

“What did you do wrong?”

Stella’s voice gradually grew louder.

“You ran off alone to fight a higher demon. Was that not wrong?”

“I did it because…”

Cheryl tried to explain, but Stella didn’t give her the chance.

“A disobedient little sister needs to be properly taught a lesson.”

As she spoke, Stella bent down and pulled a wooden stick from a pile of dead branches on the ground.

“That’s what you get for overestimating yourself.”

Stella swung the stick, producing a crisp whistle through the air.

“Elder Sister, I was wrong!”

Realizing things were going badly, Cheryl dropped her suitcase, turned around, and ran.

“You still dare to run!”

Stella immediately chased after her.

“I’ll teach you to run!”

“Elder Sister, I can explain—”

Cheryl ran circles around the dried-up fountain.

“That’s what you get for not taking your own life seriously! That’s what you get for going to fight Aetlana! Let’s see if you dare do it again!”

Smack.

The wooden stick struck the stone sculpture of the fountain and knocked off a layer of lime.

“Stop right there!”

“No!”

“Stop!”

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“If I stop, you’ll hit me!”

“Stop and I promise I won’t beat you to death!”

“That still means you’ll beat me to half-death!”

Stella chased Cheryl all over the spacious courtyard of the Blood Demon Manor.

The door of the Nightmare carriage opened again.

Remedios jumped down from the carriage, with Dorothy following right behind her.

They silently stood at the entrance, watching the chaotic scene unfolding throughout the courtyard.

“Those sisters certainly are energetic,” Remedios said expressionlessly.

Dorothy tilted her head. Watching Stella chase Cheryl around the entire courtyard while waving a wooden stick, she nodded thoughtfully.

“Mother’s love really is heavy.”

Remedios glanced at her.

This little succubus had been getting better and better at talking lately.

It had to be because she had taught her so well!

Remedios clapped her hands.

“Hey~!”

Remedios raised her voice.

“I know you two sisters are very close, but shouldn’t we talk about something serious now?”

Stella finally stopped.

Panting heavily, she raised her head and looked over.

“Remedios? Dorothy? When did you get here?” Stella asked. “Weren’t you at Lilith School?”

“Isn’t getting to Nightmare Street easy?” Remedios replied. “The mirror teleportation passage between the school and Cloudtop Manor has already been opened. Of course we came straight out through the Night King Suite in Cloudtop Manor.”

Stella tilted her head.

“You didn’t run into anyone else at Cloudtop Manor?”

Remedios and Dorothy exchanged a glance.

“No one.”

Remedios shook her head.

“Completely empty,” Dorothy added.

Stella said nothing.

Then why had there been someone inside when she came out?

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And it had even been a Young Miss with pale pink hair, pale pink eyes, and a calming bell tied around her ankle.

Franleya Belphegor.

Why?

Why did she have to run into the Belphegor Young Miss when she went through, while Remedios and the others found the place completely empty when they went through?

What kind of sin had she committed?

Every disaster precisely avoided everyone else and came crashing straight down onto her head.

Was she really that unlucky?

“So…”

Stella tossed the wooden stick aside and tried hard to put on a serious expression.

“What’s the serious matter you were talking about?”

Remedios stepped forward and stood beneath the steps of the Blood Demon Manor.

Facing the abandoned haunted mansion that occupied three thousand square meters, she spread her arms wide.

“Of course it’s the major matter of deciding the future development plan for the Lionheart Society’s stronghold!”

Remedios’ voice rose excitedly through the night.

“From today onward, this place is our base!”

“The third intersection of Nightmare Street, directly across from Belphegor’s Cloudtop Manor. Three thousand square meters of prime real estate, complete with a rear garden and underground wine cellar, plus a main building several hundred years old…”

She paused and took a deep breath.

“The first step in our conquest of the Abyss begins right here!”

Dorothy applauded furiously beside her.

Stella stood where she was, the corner of her mouth twitching.

Conquer the Abyss.

Starting here?

Stella looked at Remedios’ excited face, then at Dorothy’s expectant eyes, and finally glanced at Cheryl, who was still rubbing her leg.

‘…Somehow, I feel Cheryl wasn’t the only one who needed a beating.’

Translator Note

Conquer the demon realm~!