My Possession Became a Ghost Story - Chapter 81

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The man was clasping his hands together as if praying with his eyes closed, but around him were dismembered corpses scattered inappropriately. There were five heads, but seven arms and more than thirteen legs. He hadn’t arrived that late, so how many people had died in the meantime?

“Lord Azazel.”

When Saraka called him, his peacefully closed eyes flashed open wide. Azazel Astaroth was not part of the knight order led by Gabriel, but someone Bishop Marik employed as a personal guard. Azazel reproached Saraka.

“You’re late, Saraka. I was bored so I was playing with the palace attendants for a bit.”

“Bishop Marik seems to have found his lost item, so I was a bit late confirming its authenticity.”

The item Bishop Marik had lost naturally referred to Gabriel.

When Azazel blew air from his mouth, the room that had looked like a serial murder scene was cleanly tidied up. If not for the scent of blood floating in the air, one wouldn’t have been able to notice the horrific murders that had taken place in the room.

“Saraka is truly devoted to someone who’s dying.”

Azazel replied sarcastically without emotion, then stood up and embraced Saraka. He reached out to untie her scarf, revealing her lower face with vivid burn scars. Azazel didn’t stop there and took Saraka’s hand to remove her gloves as well. Like her face that needed to be hidden, beneath the gloves were hideous burn scars that looked as if they had been melted by fire. Azazel leisurely traced Saraka’s scars.

“What’s so good about the person who made these scars?”

Saraka’s burns were deliberately created by Bishop Marik. However, Saraka had never once resented Bishop Marik. That’s how she had been raised. Knowing that sarcasm was useless, Azazel soon changed the subject.

“So, did you try the holy water?”

“Yes. The holy water didn’t work on Evangeline Rohanson. She doesn’t seem to be a demon. Hard to believe, but perhaps she just has a cursed constitution?”

“Do you really think that’s human?”

Azazel asked back as if it was absurd. Could a being that made demons submit and want to bow their heads dare be called human?

Saraka took out a bottle of holy water from her apron, put some on her hand, then splashed the water at Azazel. Azazel’s flesh where the water hit melted and burned in the shape of the droplets.

“I made her drink it directly and even splashed holy water droplets, but there was no change. If she were a demon, even one droplet like with Lord Azazel would have melted her flesh.”

“It’s hard to recover again, so could you not experiment on me?”

Azazel guessed why Saraka was being contrary. Probably Saraka was expressing dissatisfaction with Azazel for cursing Bishop Marik, whom she respected to the point of wanting to become one with him.

His flesh slowly filled in at a slow pace and regained its original form. His body’s recovery speed was much slower than before. This was because Azazel was suffering from prolonged starvation. Even this was only possible because he had eaten heartily during the heretic massacre incident 20 years ago.

“Then what is she?”

Could she really be a god? That couldn’t be… Azazel recalled the pure white divine form that had caused turmoil with just a fleeting glimpse.

“Saraka. Are you really sure it’s okay to frame Evangeline Rohanson as the culprit?”

“Rather, it’s meaningful precisely because it’s Evangeline Rohanson.”

Saraka nodded without hesitation. While Azazel wanted to exclude Evangeline, whom he judged he couldn’t control, Saraka thought the opposite.

All of this was to recreate the heretic massacre period, the most brilliant revival period of the temple, just as Bishop Marik had done in the past.

Bishop Marik had taught her by burning Saraka’s hands that direct experience was most important. Just having the same scars wasn’t enough to become that person. Only after Saraka vividly experienced the heretic massacre that Bishop Marik most longed for and reminisced about could she truly become that person.

If she was a being that demons followed and holy water didn’t work on, wouldn’t she be the perfect existence for believers to unite against?

Azazel suddenly buried his head in Saraka’s nape and inhaled. Mixed with the sweet, sweet human scent came a nauseating fragrance. While Evangeline Rohanson’s identity couldn’t be determined, fortunately he could quickly identify the other side.

“This is Plauros.”

Judging by the lingering scent, he had definitely snuck into the banquet hall. He must have brushed past Saraka while moving around. Plauros seemed to have followed the scent to find his way here too.

Azazel suppressed his nausea and urged Saraka to quickly change clothes. Saraka took off her maid uniform for the squeamish knight.

“Will there be problems with the plan?”

“Not at all. Deceiving Plauros is very easy. Aside from his good eyesight, he’s nothing special.”

It was really just bad compatibility. Azazel blew air with a “whoosh.” By now all the lights in the banquet hall would have gone out. He could hear humans bustling about in confusion, but the most flustered would naturally be Plauros. Having taken away his vision, he’d be flailing about helplessly.

He couldn’t miss such an amusing sight.

***

Azazel, who had instantly disappeared from in front of Saraka, reappeared above the chandelier in the banquet hall where all light had vanished and only confused murmuring filled the air. Looking down, he could see Plauros with his angelic face all scrunched up, covering his nose.

Perhaps because Azazel and Plauros were incompatible, they found each other’s scents particularly revolting. With his vision taken and his sense of smell not functioning properly either, he wouldn’t be in his right mind, yet even so he sensed Azazel’s presence and charged at him.

Azazel began acting as bait, focusing Plauros’s attention on himself. While buying time, a girl dressed beautifully in a gown began to move.

Right now in the banquet hall, there was only one person besides Azazel who could see clearly in all directions. The one Saraka had personally chosen as most suitable for killing the Crown Prince was one of the Crown Prince’s twin daughters.

Watching the Princess take advantage of the chaos to stab a knife into her father’s heart, Azazel hung the Crown Prince’s corpse by its collar on the chandelier as decoration, perfectly positioned for everyone to see.

As Saraka had requested, he drew a modified summoning circle on the floor that sorcerers used to summon demons. He deliberately changed the shape slightly because if everyone in the banquet hall summoned demons, it would exceed the temple’s management capacity.

The summoning circle employed wicked tricks to bewitch humans into summoning demons, and even this similar form was enough to incite those who witnessed it.

This pattern would spread from the nobles and secretly begin to trend. Among those bewitched, some would discover real summoning circles after much searching and summon demons, and even those who failed deserved punishment for betraying Rahel God and blindly believing in fake summoning circles. That would be when the heretic massacre would truly begin again.

***

“Preparations complete.”

Azazel, having finished the stage direction as requested, suddenly appeared before Saraka. Just then, Saraka had also finished changing into the clothes Azazel had prepared.

She wore black clothes with all buttons fastened and pressed down a veil. From head to toe, everything was bound with cloth, with only hands that looked like an old person’s showing. Even her lower face that was briefly revealed when enjoying tea or refreshments had burn scars, so naturally everyone would think Saraka was Bishop Marik.

Saraka called Azazel in a voice refined over a lifetime to be indistinguishable from Bishop Marik’s.

“Count Astaroth, shall we go now?”

“Yes, Bishop.”

A middle-aged woman’s dignified voice emerged from Saraka. The tone, word usage, habits, mannerisms – everything was identical to Bishop Marik. It was perfect mimicry that even a demon would admire. It really seems like Bishop Marik possessed her. Azazel marveled quietly.

***

“Lady Rohanson…”

Mrs. Toten called me with a choked voice. I feel like crying too, Mrs. Toten.

Villainess characters always have endings where they go to prison and get executed. That’s why I worked so hard to avoid the execution ending, even playing the field with Gabriel.

I was incredibly good to the heroine Kanna too, like I’d give her my liver and gall bladder. Since Gabriel was completely smitten with me, I felt secure and my vision narrowed, so I let my guard down.

Right, villainesses don’t just go to prison for bullying the heroine. They get caught for treason charges too…

But getting falsely accused and arrested on my debutante day is too much… My past efforts to avoid the execution ending felt utterly futile.

What good does it do to be in Gabriel’s favor when they framed me while Gabriel was away? By the way, it seems Gabriel’s birth secret hasn’t been revealed yet, but if they say he killed his brother, won’t Gabriel turn on me too?

“Marquis Muzeta, testimony states that the weapon that stabbed His Highness the Crown Prince matches the dagger Lady Rohanson brought in. The Imperial Grandchildren also say they saw it right beside them.”

Marquis Muzeta, who was the Crown Prince’s guard knight, glared at me with bloodshot eyes as if he’d kill me. It’s not the same sword! The sword I brought in has no blade…!

But since the Crown Prince didn’t draw the sword, there was no way to prove it. The only ones who could testify that it had no blade were Gabriel, the knights who inspected belongings before entering the banquet hall, or Mrs. Toten. But Gabriel showed no signs of returning, probably still being treated.

“Lady Rohanson, is what he said true?”

“It’s true that I brought a sword. But the dagger I presented to His Highness was decorative with no blade, so it must be a different sword that just looks similar.”

“So you’re saying someone prepared an identical sword to frame Lady Rohanson? Why not just say the blood on those clothes is wine, not blood?”

Yes. That’s actually true… Even I wouldn’t believe it though. If it’s a frame-up, the culprit would have anticipated what I’d give as a gift and prepared two identical swords.

But I didn’t even prepare it myself. The dagger was originally something the Count brought, saying it seemed perfect as a gift for the Crown Prince. Since he said it was a sword the Count had obtained, I didn’t suspect much, but now the source seems suspicious. Didn’t the culprit prepare two swords and slip one to the Count to make him an accomplice?

After putting me in such a predicament, the Count pretended not to know throughout. I didn’t expect anything anyway. Didn’t I say the Count seemed like the type to abandon his daughter and run away alone if something happened? Those words were exactly right.

“Well. The knight who inspected my belongings before entry will testify.”

“A knight? Just asking, but that knight wouldn’t be from the Pararos Knights, would he? I’m concerned he might give false testimony to protect the lady his superior Count Gabriel is enamored with.”

What to do about this. Since he called Gabriel captain, he’s probably from the Pararos Knights.

“How coincidental indeed. Somehow all the people who could testify are only those related to the lady.”

I could feel Marquis Muzeta’s already heated eyes spinning. At this rate, he might implicate Gabriel too.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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