Salvation of the Fallen - Chapter 36
Lucy had never breastfed. Come to think of it, she had never heard even a single cry. Remembering the piercing cries of newborns at the orphanage sent chills down her spine. But when she met those blinking blue eyes, a twisted affection soon followed.
That meddlesome old woman must have found some cow’s milk to feed it. Lucy thought easily, watching Arsena smile as if pleased with her name. Now that she looked around, there were unfamiliar household items scattered about. It was clearly the old woman’s doing.
Now, what should I do with this money?
As she turned around, jingling the gold coins again, a pain struck her stone-hard b*****s. When Lucy’s gaze met Arsena’s, the liquid began to flow, soaking her chest. As if hypnotized, Lucy exposed her b****t and let Arsena latch on.
The child seemed to know what to do, instantly engulfing Lucy’s b****t. The forceful suckling felt as if it was drawing out her very soul. It was stealing away her glory that had been buried somewhere. Nothing remained in the empty body. That tiny child was devouring her.
Lucy, startled, pulled Arsena away. The child smacked its tiny lips as if disappointed. Lucy was simply terrified.
“What a surprise to see you at home.”
As soon as she saw the old woman entering with a rattling door sound, Lucy handed over the child as if getting rid of something dirty. The old woman naturally took Arsena. She changed the diaper and dressed the child in clean, albeit old, clothes with practiced ease. Even during this, Arsena was eyeing her b****t, licking its lips. As if eyeing a very delicious prey.
I must escape. Right now.
It was clear she would be devoured otherwise. Lucy headed for the door without hesitation.
“Where are you going, leaving a nursing infant?”
“Use this to take care of it. And do something about those shabby clothes.”
“Oh my. Poor thing.”
Lucy tossed a gold coin to the old woman who was clicking her tongue, and rushed out like the wind. Then she drank alcohol excessively. Until the intoxication made her fear disappear.
***
“She’s crazy!”
“Don’t look at her.”
Escaping from a vague fear, Lucy had become a shunned existence in the village before she knew it. Stupid fools. Not knowing what money they’re living on. No, they must know. They were once those who feared and revered her. Not a blade of grass or a single brick in the village that didn’t belong to Lucy. Once. Lucy washed away her misery with alcohol.
While the abandoned messenger of god continued her endless fall, Arsena bloomed brilliantly. Beautiful black hair like polished silk and clear skin without a speck of dust. Arsena was undeniably beautiful. Even those who pointed fingers at her cared for and pitied the beautiful Arsena. It was different from her image in the mirror, worn out like an old leaf.
A monster that grew by eating away at her flesh. Her beauty, her blood. When anger boiled, it became uncontrollable. It was as if someone was whispering. That if only that girl was gone, she could go back. To when she was beautiful. To when she was radiant.
The strange thing was that whenever she met those blue eyes, such feelings melted away like snow. Those deep eyes had a peculiar power. A vain hope that everything would be alright welled up, and at the same time, she was engulfed by an unbearable anxiety. Whenever she met those blue eyes, Lucy staggered like a ship drawn to a rock, wrecking and sinking itself.
It had been 16 years since she was dragged around by that small monster. Yes. It was exactly the 16th anniversary. Lucy drank that day too. She sprawled in the tavern and drank and drank. There was enough money.
Strangely, the chilling cold didn’t go away that day. Try as she might, she couldn’t erase Arsena’s strange gaze that seemed to devour her while pretending to be pitiful. Lucy raised her glass again.
It’s unfair. Why only me? Why am I the only one who became unhappy?
As everyone in the tavern chattered about the nearly completed temple, an unprecedented courage welled up inside her. Lucy dragged Arsena towards the cliff.
The temple, completed with her youth as a sacrifice, was beautiful and majestic. Just like her past.
Lucy gritted her teeth. Her blood boiled and anger surged.
“Come out! You damned things! Did you think I’d just sit still?! I’ll destroy everything! This wretched monster. This damned temple.”
Lucy struggled, spewing curses. Even as startled priests restrained her arms and covered her mouth, her protests didn’t stop. She couldn’t accept the fact that she couldn’t enjoy the glory built by selling her own body.
“Everyone, step back.”
As the old priest, whom she once regarded as a father but who had now coldly abandoned her, appeared, she felt heat as if her entire body was engulfed in flames. It should have been that old man who was miserable, not her. It was that old man people should be pointing fingers at, not her.
“Lucy. Come here. You’ve been through a lot.”
Stupidly. Foolishly, with just one word from the old priest, Lucy crumbled helplessly. Like a dried-up sand castle, the higher the anger was built, the more precarious it became, and it was that easy for it to collapse.
“You are a chosen child. Everything is God’s will. God has entrusted you with a difficult task.”
The old priest embraced the sobbing Lucy and whispered gently. It was the same voice he used when he told her to spread her legs for a man she had never seen before, for the glory of God.
“Kill it. That is your final mission.”
The chosen messenger of God. The task given to her. A cruel trial.
“Can you do it?”
It was as if the tangled questions she couldn’t even begin to unravel had been cut away. Lucy nodded as if in a trance.
Lucy realized. The task God had entrusted to her. The intention behind incarnating evil on earth through her. The disgust she felt every time she faced Arsena and the impulse that welled up. Everything made sense at once.
Oh God. I was foolish and late in understanding.
Lucy wished as she received the high-purity Felita wine. That by killing Arsena, she would become the world’s salvation. Imagining herself walking the streets again, wrapped in God’s glory.
But at the moment of glory filled with ecstasy, someone pushed her. Surely, that’s what happened. It was because of this that she lost her balance and dropped the Felita. A hot heat enveloped Lucy, and Arsena escaped. Save me. I can’t die like this. I still have things to do. God wouldn’t abandon me. I am the chosen one. Strange voices scattered in the flames, murmuring. In her fading vision, she seemed to see a pure white man. Though she wasn’t certain.
<Salvation of the Fallen> END
T/n: This was not what I had expected at all after reading the description of the novel. Honestly, I thought this was another angst novel where the Ml was a pile of garbage. I would normally not translate angst novels, but the short length made me want to give it a try. I̶t̶’̶s̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶ ̶b̶e̶c̶a̶u̶s̶e̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶c̶o̶v̶e̶r̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶l̶u̶r̶e̶d̶ ̶m̶e̶ ̶i̶n̶.̶
¯_(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)_/¯
Boy was I wrong with my thoughts about the story xD
Is that going to teach me not to let pretty covers fool me anymore?
Nope. ᕕ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° )ᕗ
Hope you enjoyed this fever dream-like ride with me, and I look forward to seeing you in other projects of mine in the future.
. ｡ﾟ+.ღ(ゝ◡ ⚈᷀᷁ღ)
