-The Dungeon Master is dead!
‘Envy’ was originally the ‘Guardian’ of a certain dungeon.
That dungeon belonged to ‘Gluttony’. Gluttony loved food. Her favorite food was humans.
So Gluttony turned an entire village into a dungeon. She granted the foods some petty powers. Something amazing happened.
The foods started creating other foods to offer to ‘Gluttony’. Since it was done willingly by humans, they managed to prevent the dispatch of their only formidable opponent, the ‘Windsor Knight Order’.
Well, more accurately, they probably didn’t notice. The foods desperately hid the information out of fear that their powers would disappear.
Thanks to that, ‘Envy’ was able to enjoy a plentiful childhood. Though a guardian, she rarely had to risk her life, and ‘Gluttony’ doted on ‘Envy’.
But eternal peace doesn’t last forever. One day, while happy days were passing by, a girl visited the village.
-It’s not Aztec or anything, what is this.
Silver hair and silver eyes. Even to demon race eyes that could only see shades of gray, the girl was exceptionally beautiful.
The girl sighed as she watched the ‘foods’ trying to offer themselves as sacrifices.
-The concept is novel… but disgusting.
Envy’s peaceful and comfortable village shattered to pieces.
The girl was unbelievably strong. No, saying she was strong wasn’t enough.
She was ‘inhumane’. The girl mechanically cut down the foods. There was no mercy in her strikes.
How could someone do something so terrible?
Fifty years of farming went to waste.
Gluttony screamed and confronted her. But Gluttony, who had seemed taller than the sky to Envy, was torn apart.
The demon race followers mourned greatly and became enraged. But ‘Envy’ was different.
She gnawed at her nails like crazy while unable to take her eyes off Cecilia.
The trajectory of her sword swings, her posture, everything about her was elegant and beautiful. Envy thought that she might be the ‘Goddess’ she’d only heard rumors about, delivering d*ath without a hint of mercy.
At the same time, Envy felt envy. Why me? Why wasn’t I born like that?
-I’m so jealous, so jealous, I’m going crazy with jealousy.
Fear engraved in her soul. Yet she admired. She also looked up to her. Deep down, Envy hoped to become like her.
So she came to Terezia. Finding a suitable place as her residence, whenever nearby demon races suffered ‘devastating damage’, she would go there to read the memories of the corpses.
And based on those memories and her own, she created a ‘Butcher’. Around that time, a ‘human’ from the Demon King’s Castle bestowed upon her the alias ‘Envy’.
An order came down to k*ll as many humans as possible. Envy did not follow it.
There was only one thing she was interested in: making the Butcher resemble the ‘original’ as closely as possible.
No, surpassing the original. She believed that when she eventually faced the ‘original’, she would gain their recognition.
“I see. That’s really sad.”
Cecilia said this with a face that showed no sadness at all.
‘Envy’, whose face was covered in purple bruises, struggled to open her poorly swollen eyes and said:
“Th-that’s all! I’ve been so focused on research that I haven’t killed a single person! It’s true!”
“But your way of speaking has changed a bit.”
“Th-the Butcher-sama said he didn’t like it…”
“Butcher?”
“Eeek! Sorry! I’m sorry!”
Envy bowed her head and trembled in fear.
She became this obedient because Cecilia, who found it troublesome, showed a glimpse of her true presence.
With no one watching and not particularly wanting to entertain herself, it was a reasonable judgment.
“The concept itself is strange from the start. It’s not good.”
“B-but… I worked hard on it…”
“Yeah. The concept of being crazy with envy is good, but the lines are too long.”
Cecilia narrowed her eyes.
Why am I giving concept lectures to a demon…
Well, let’s finish what we started anyway.
“The problem is the lack of weight. You’re one of the seven deadly sins, ‘Envy’. If you’re ranked 21st in the demon world hierarchy, you should at least look somewhat powerful. You need to show some impact.”
Envy rolled her eyes wildly. Cecilia’s expression hardened. She looked so ugly that words couldn’t describe it.
“I don’t really know…”
Cecilia sighed and lightly stamped her foot.
A chilly wind blew, scattering Cecilia’s silver hair at a stylish angle.
“I’m saying add some special effects like this.”
“Woah, woaaaah!”
Seeing Envy, who was acting like a child, Cecilia suddenly felt a wave of reality hitting her. Suddenly, Envy’s eyes widened, and she bowed deeply.
“H-he’s awake!”
“He…? Oh, the object of admiration?”
“Huh. H-how…”
Envy covered her mouth in surprise.
“A-anyway, I have to return to the dungeon quickly! I’m not lying, absolutely not! The dolls won’t listen because we’re too far away!”
“You don’t need to worry about that.”
“Huh? B-but there are 20 of them! If there are 20 objects of admiration, it would be incredibly powerful…”
“Sigh.”
Cecilia sighed again.
As expected from the first encounter, this demon… isn’t very intelligent.
“Why did I chase after you first? If you were following me, you should know that I never allow anyone who comes on a mission with me to d*e. Didn’t you think I would have taken some measures?”
“Ah…!”
“If even one of the seven deadly sins doesn’t know this, how do you plan to survive in the harsh demon world? You’re hopeless.”
‘…But a stupid demon is easy to use.’
Cecilia blinked and thought from various angles.
Currently, the movements of the Demon King’s Castle are unusual.
In many ways, an informant was needed. A demon of sufficiently high status who can move in and out of the Demon King’s Castle to some extent.
But trusting a high-status demon might lead to betrayal at any moment.
A wrong move could significantly increase the difficulty of subjugating the Demon King.
In that regard, Envy was a useful talent.
Being stupid, if she betrayed us, we would notice immediately, and there was a high probability that she would get caught by the Demon King and executed soon enough.
“What’s your name?”
“F-ferna.”
“…Sounds like some mediocre adventurer party healer name.”
‘Even the name sucks.’
But Cecilia couldn’t bring herself to suggest a ‘contract’ right away. The problem was that Ferna was really unpleasant. She was truly a demon that Cecilia disliked.
“And she’s so ugly.”
“…!”
Oops. I thought it, but it slipped out.
“Huk, huk, huup.”
However, Envy started sobbing while covering her mouth.
Cecilia, being human after all, felt a twinge of conscience.
“You’re being too harsh! Hoooh! I-I didn’t want to be born like this either… huk!”
Cecilia crouched down and lifted Envy’s head.
Envy’s face, smeared with tears and snot, was less pitiful and more repulsive.
“…”
There was indeed only one way.
Let’s fix it.
“Let’s get plastic surgery. Your power is imitation, right? Can you change your facial structure?”
“Wh-what?! Th-there’s such a method?!”
‘Indeed, she’s mentally deficient…’
Cecilia sighed and asked her to try changing into what she considered the prettiest face first.
“…Do you really want to d*e? What if I make you look like me?”
“S-sorry!”
After a minor mishap, Envy successfully changed her face.
However…
“…”
Cecilia felt as if the sky was falling.
Her sense of aesthetics was zero. Her eyes were positioned in different places.
Moreover, her hair color looked like it was painted with poop, dry and rough.
“…Change it according to my instructions. First, make the hair color pink. No, brighter than that. Hmm, let’s raise the nose a little.”
Thus, Cecilia got heated up customizing.
“This is…”
“What happened?”
The rookie knights couldn’t close their mouths at the sight before them.
All the numerous ‘Objects of Admiration’ were broken and rolling on the ground.
The culprit was Cecilia. Not young Cecilia, but statue Cecilia.
“Is she helping us?”
“But that’s something made by demons. Why is she…”
Statue Cecilia began smashing the other Objects of Admiration as soon as they tried to attack the rookie knights.
Whether it was due to a sudden ambush from behind or simply Cecilia’s strength, the statues were destroyed with ease.
“As expected, Lady Cecilia’s clone is something else.”
“Lady Cecilia is invincible!”
‘T-this is not the time for that…’
Beatrice looked at young Cecilia with an uneasy expression.
Young Cecilia showed strong hostility and glared at statue Cecilia.
–I drank so much milk though…
‘M-milk? What does that mean?’
Statue Cecilia, having finished tidying up, walked towards them.
At that moment, young Cecilia approached with quick steps. They met at the midpoint.
They both slightly raised the corners of their mouths and swung their swords simultaneously.
“Are they fighting?”
“Wait a minute… What’s going on? Who’s on our side?”
Following the confused rookie knight’s words, the two Cecilias engaged in a fierce battle.
Cecilia’s swordplay, invisible to the n*ked eye, was awe-inspiring on both sides.
Most rookie knights couldn’t even track the trajectory of the swords.
‘Young Lady Cecilia is at a disadvantage.’
However, Beatrice, who wielded light, could somewhat read the outcome within that speed.
Young Cecilia fought valiantly but was still at a disadvantage due to the difference in caliber.
‘What happens if statue Cecilia wins?’
Statue Cecilia smashed the ‘Objects of Admiration’. But that didn’t necessarily mean she was friendly to them.
On the other hand, young Cecilia was clearly friendly. Beatrice’s judgment was quickly made.
‘Pour all my magic power.’
Beatrice’s golden eyes flared brightly. She precisely targeted young Cecilia with her sword.
“Roar of Light—!”
A golden flash struck young Cecilia directly. At that moment, Beatrice shouted.
“Help young Lady Cecilia! Destroy statue Cecilia!”
“Follow Betty’s words! Everyone, charge!”
Riharten responded, and the rookie knights’ confusion momentarily ceased.
As twenty knights charged simultaneously, statue Cecilia wore a troubled expression.
Young Cecilia, now with a golden outline, twisted the corner of her mouth.
–You should have treated me better normally.
Statue Cecilia seemed to have a lot to say but couldn’t speak.
“Hyaap-!”
The combined force of twenty people and Beatrice’s buff-enhanced young Cecilia’s sword pierced through statue Cecilia.
Statue Cecilia vanished with an extremely, extremely regretful look directed at Beatrice.
“Young Lady Cecilia! Are you alright, are you okay?”
Beatrice spoke with a confused expression, unsure if this was the right thing to say.
Young Cecilia smiled innocently, stood on tiptoe, and reached out to pat Beatrice.
Thinking she wanted to be petted, Beatrice bent down.
Pat pat.
Then, young Cecilia approached the other knights and patted each of their heads once.
Pat pat.
Finally, after giving Beatrice a hug, she moved away to a safe distance.
–Beatrice.
“Y-yes.”
–You’re the blessing of light, right?
“Y-yes, that’s right.”
Why ask something so obvious?
Just as a question arose in Beatrice’s mind.
Young Cecilia faintly smiled and said.
–Can you show me that again just once?
Though puzzled, Beatrice cast Roar of Light once more.
Young Cecilia wore a bitter expression.
–It’s gray…
Then, quietly, she brought her sword to her neck.
“C-Cecilia-sama?”
A flustered Beatrice.
Young Cecilia spoke with clear eyes.
–Tell my main body.
Cecilia’s silver hair fell in clumps.
The blade wrapped in wind energy slowly pressed into young Cecilia’s neck.
–Never forget your初心.
Shwick—!
At the moment her neck was severed, young Cecilia crumbled into gray dust.
