Pretending to Be Human Is Exhausting Again Today - Chapter 106

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

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Pretending to Be Human: Episode 106

‘Damn it!’

The moment Loreil spotted the tree root, he frantically threw himself backward, but he couldn’t escape the wound entirely.

“Ugh…!”

At least it hadn’t pierced through. Watching Loreil leap backward with his hand clamped over his abdomen, Asmo-rina let out a low whistle.

“Quite nimble, aren’t you? Were you prepared for an ambush?”

“What are you doing? Killing me won’t benefit you in any way….”

“True. In fact, I’d lose out. If I kill a Nobleman, it becomes the Empire’s achievement, and if traces of demonic power are discovered, those cursed Priests will hunt me down.”

She shrugged her shoulders.

“So what? That’s something to worry about later. Right now, killing you—the one who’s been irritating me—is more important.”

“You mad, reckless fool….”

Loreil cursed under his breath while pressing firmly on his wound. Without immediate blood control, it was a critical injury that could prove fatal. He steadied his breathing and spoke.

“Even if you kill me, that won’t get you into the Imperial Palace, will it?”

“You’re really underestimating me. Didn’t you hear earlier? I’m going to use your body.”

As she traced a circle in the air with her fingers, dozens of tree roots tore through the ground and erupted upward, all aimed at Loreil.

“I may not be skilled at mind-control magic, but I’m excellent at infusing demonic power. I’ll saturate your body with my power and drop you right in the middle of the Imperial Palace. Then the Priests will naturally realize you’re a Demon.”

“…And you’ll use that chaos to investigate the Imperial Palace?”

“Exactly.”

It was an absurd plan, but Asmo-rina might actually pull it off. Cold sweat beading on his forehead, Loreil retreated step by step, his eyes darting sideways to assess his surroundings.

It was to find an opportunity to counterattack, or a place to escape.

“I’d advise you not to entertain such foolish thoughts.”

But Asmo-rina, as if reading his mind, sneered and pointed to the Subordinates sprawled across the ground.

“If you run, I’ll simply use these humans as bait instead.”

“And here I thought a former soldier would have more pride than to resort to such cowardly tactics.”

“I don’t care one bit about a soldier’s dignity. …Wait, did I ever tell you I was a soldier?”

“You mentioned Captain and Subordinate. Don’t you remember?”

“Did I?”

In truth, it was an inference drawn from Deina’s memories, but Asmo-rina didn’t dwell on it deeply. After all, it was a fact that her tongue was loose.

“In any case, you’re laboring under a grave misunderstanding. This arrangement with you came about through my whim alone—not because we stand as equals. From the very beginning, I have held the blade.”

“So, shut your mouth and follow my lead?”

“Yes, and it would be even better if you showed proper deference like a human should.”

‘This accursed Demon….’

Loreil ground his teeth so hard they audibly creaked. He hadn’t expected to sway her through conversation, but he certainly hadn’t anticipated such brazen obstinacy.

‘I miscalculated. I should have called for reinforcements before entering.’

Perhaps due to the recent tumultuous events, his vigilance had dulled, leading to this blunder.

Loreil drew a deep breath and straightened his posture.

“…Very well. I misjudged the situation. If I bring you to the Imperial Palace, will you spare both me and my Subordinates?”

“Oh, have you finally come to your senses?”

Asmo-rina’s lips twisted into a smile of delight at Loreil’s obedient response.

“Right, you should crawl like a proper human. Good thinking. Though I can’t say my anger has completely subsided….”

She glanced swiftly around the surroundings.

“Since I had my fun before you arrived, let’s call it even.”

Loreil’s teeth ground together once more with an audible click.

Yet Asmo-rina laughed aloud, clearly delighted by even that reaction.

“…In any case, would it be alright if I treated your wounds? I’ll need to escort you to the Imperial Palace, and I should be in perfect condition to avoid the Priests’ eyes.”

“Ah, wait a moment.”

Asmo-rina leaped over her subordinates’ bodies and approached Loreil. Then she gathered demonic energy in her right hand and placed it against his abdomen.

“…!”

The wound that had been pouring blood moments before began to close. Loreil was taken aback by this miracle that even holy power could not achieve, and Asmo-rina spoke with a smile.

“I’m unusual among the Demon Clan—I can wield life-force demonic energy. A wound of this caliber is easily healed.”

“Then, my subordinates as well….”

“No. I only need to take you, so why should I waste my power on them?”

Loreil’s hand moved discreetly to his back pocket as he clicked his tongue.

“How petty for one with godlike power.”

“You’ve simply misjudged demonic energy. From the start, there’s little difference between us Demons and your so-called Deity….”

While she was distracted by her explanation, Loreil grasped something in his pocket.

‘If I activate this….’

That instant.

“Did you really think I’d let my guard down?”

“…!”

The magical energy that had been healing Loreil’s wounds shifted form, coiling around his body.

Asmo-rina spoke to Loreil, whose eyes widened in shock, her voice dripping with madness.

“I was going to heal you if you’d just stayed quiet, but it seems you had ulterior motives after all? Did you really think I’d be fooled?”

“Ugh, what do you….”

“Don’t make excuses. Right now, you have the eyes of a beast trying to resist on the brink of death.”

With a sickening crunch, the magical energy transformed into the shape of tree roots, squeezing Loreil’s body mercilessly.

“…!”

His arm bones shattered, and the object he’d been trying to pull from his pocket fell to the ground. Seeing this, Asmo-rina let out a contemptuous laugh.

“See? You really were hiding something. That’s enough—I won’t listen to another word you say.”

“You….”

“Just die. I’ll have to find one of your subordinates to use as bait instead.”

Without a shred of mercy, she unleashed her magical energy with greater force. It was a situation where death seemed imminent, yet Loreil forced the corners of his mouth upward.

“Your instincts are sharp, but your thinking is still shallow. Your intellect falls short.”

“What?”

“I finished preparing my counterattack the moment you drew close.”

In that instant, an intense light burst forth from the object that had fallen to the ground.

Only then did Asmo-rina discern its true nature.

A small orb suffused with platinum-colored radiance. The light within it began to surge as if shattering through its shell.

“That is…!”

It was a power that Asmo-rina had desperately tried to avoid until the very end.

Holy power—the natural enemy of all Demons.

And that orb was a bomb with holy power at its core.

A weapon against Demons, secretly completed by the Prime Minister’s Family after stealing Atlas’s blueprints.

The moment Asmo-rina approached, Loreil was about to activate the orb.

‘The blast will be so powerful that even I, standing beside it, won’t survive.’

Loreil’s final choice was mutual destruction with Asmo-rina.

The lives of my subordinates and my own life were precious, but for the Empire… and for Deina, it was an unavoidable choice.

“This is insane…!”

Asmo-rina desperately tried to pull away, but this time Loreil refused to let her go. He reached out with his one remaining intact hand and seized her arm.

The grip was unnaturally powerful for a human, and Asmo-rina couldn’t break free.

“Where do you think you’re going? You will never reach the Imperial Palace.”

“Let go! You’ll die too!”

“You’re a calamity I brought upon myself. It’s only right that I take responsibility to the very end.”

“You crazy bastard!”

The holy power converging in the orb was extraordinary. It possessed enough force to obliterate this entire Manor.

“Did you think I’d make a contract with something like you without preparing a counterattack? I’m not as foolish as you. I poured half my personal fortune into this bomb.”

Preparation for the case where the deal would fall apart and she would be released into the Empire.

Loreil had calculated that possibility from the very beginning.

A faint glimmer of fear appeared on Asmo-rina’s face, weakened from her prolonged stay in the Human Realm.

“This damned human…!”

“That’s my line.”

Watching the scene unfold, Loreil added with a smile brimming with exhilaration.

“Let’s die together, you damned Demon.”

In that instant, the orb shattered, and a divine power so overwhelming that even Asmo-rina braced for death engulfed them both.

“…!”

With the explosion came deafness, and platinum light consumed my vision.

As consciousness blurred in the agony, Loreil’s memories flowed past like a lantern show.

Ironically, the clearest memories that remained were those after meeting Deina.

‘Damn it, if I’d known it would come to this, I would have accepted that betrothal contract.’

Then perhaps even this fleeting lantern show would have shone a little brighter. I could have carried more of Deina’s face with me.

But regret came too late.

Loreil closed his eyes quietly, as if releasing the memories that remained.

Just as I thought everything had ended,

“Stop, Second Legion Commander.”

A dignified and resolute voice pulled me back into reality.

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

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