Youngest on Top - Chapter 265

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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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Chapter 265

* * *

“Ah— haha, I’m seeing all sorts of strange illusions. It seems turbidity has infiltrated the space and caused problems.”

Kaishurit observed Saelika quietly.
He seemed to think he was speaking normally, but that wasn’t the case at all.

A pallid, ashen face.
Lips stiffly contorted into an awkward smile.
Eyes trembling with anxiety.

“Well, first… we need to resolve this turbidity. There must be a reason why the turbidity infiltrated.”

Even so, she methodically listed the tasks that needed to be done.
Despite being so visibly shaken, she didn’t examine her own heart—only contemplated ways to solve the problem.

‘…It would be better if she were rambling incoherently and saying strange things instead.’

At the thought that arose unbidden, Kaishurit let out a hollow laugh.

He had witnessed countless humans succumb to panic and speak nonsensically.
Before Saelika sealed his curse, there were people who would go mad with frenzy merely by standing before him.

Some would collapse before him, tears and snot streaming down their faces.
Others, driven mad by terror, would scream that he was a monster and attempt to kill him.

A child born of the Demon King’s conspiracy.
A murderer who killed his own mother in her womb and emerged from it.

Young Kaishurit had despised humans to that very extent.
As years passed, that emotion only grew stronger, never fading.

Yet now, he found himself wishing Saelika would panic instead.

“This space isn’t physical, so it can expand infinitely. That’s why if we divide and search for the cause—.”
“Is there anything else?”
“Pardon?”
“Do you have anything else to say?”

Saelika hesitated and looked at Kaishurit.
He was the same as always.
He didn’t raise his voice, nor did he contort his face.

Yet anger emanated from him.
A quiet yet powerful anger.

‘…I’ve never seen Shuri this angry before.’

Why?
Saelika couldn’t understand.
But it was clear that Kaishurit found himself in a situation he shouldn’t have to endure because of her.

‘That’s right. I chose him as my partner for Haejoo’s sake, but if the corruption is this strong, it won’t help—
it might even stimulate the curse instead.’

And Kaishurit himself knew this better than anyone.
The curse, stimulated by the corruption, would be writhing to break through the seal.
Right now, Kaishurit was barely managing just to suppress it.

“I’m sorry.”
“What?”
“I mean, I’m sorry that because of me, the curse you sealed away is being stimulated. I’m sorry. This must be difficult for you?”
“Who—!”

Kaishurit, who had cried out, exhaled a long breath as if enduring something boiling over inside him.
Then he asked in a subdued voice.

“Who told you to apologize for such a thing?”
“But—.”
“It’s not the Sacred Maiden’s fault, so why are you apologizing?”
“….”
“You’re so considerate of others’ pain, yet why won’t you look back at your own?”
“…!”

Saelika’s pupils trembled.
But they quickly steadied themselves.

“This is just— nothing serious. Since the space is distorted, it’s better to think about how to escape from here first. The longer you’re exposed to the miasma, the worse the curse becomes….”
“Nothing serious?”

Kaishurit’s voice dropped low.

“This is nothing serious?”

Where Kaishurit was looking.
An illusion was unfolding there again.
No, this time it wasn’t an illusion.
It possessed a distinct, tangible form.

“You filthy vermin daring to eavesdrop on lessons meant for priests?! You thieving wretch!”
“I’m s-sorry….”

Saelika’s body went rigid.

* * *

My breath caught in my throat.

“I’m s-sorry…. The vermin is s-sorry. The vermin is b-bad.”

Ah, yes. That was how it was.
There was a time like that.

I envied the children who could move about freely so much.
The smiles that came back when I greeted them looked so, so wonderful.

“If I just did a little better, maybe they’d accept my greetings too.”
“It’s all because I’m so incompetent. I’m the problem, I’m lacking in everything….”

So I tried harder.
Fortunately, even without eating or sleeping much, there were no major problems—only blood loss.
I didn’t know it then, but it was because I was Artemia’s Sacred Maiden.

Even so, I was happy back then.
Because I felt something like hope.
If I could just do a little better, maybe they would acknowledge me.
Maybe they would pat my head.
Just like the other children….

But such a thing never came to pass.

“Effort is something that belongs to people. A worm doesn’t strive—it just writhes.”
“So why don’t you just stop trying? The more you writhe, the uglier you become.”

Red lips curved into a sneer.
Red nails dug into my body with brutal force.
Cackling laughter echoed from all directions.
No matter how I covered my ears, that laughter whipped across my body like a scourge.

In that moment.

Crash!
With a deafening roar, the faces of the Parmanace Priests who had mocked and despised me crumbled to dust.
Standing in the gap of that collapse was….

“Shuri—.”

Before I could finish calling out, space began to ripple.
Murky energy coalesced and writhed, forming another strange shape.
It was me from around that same time.

The Parmanace Priests pressed down on me, my body covered in wounds.

“Didn’t I tell you not to stand out! Stay hidden in the corner like a dead mouse, like you don’t exist!”
“A worm with no sense of its place, harboring such greed.”
“Come now, let’s repent. Repent and wash away that filthy greed of yours.”
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Please, please save me. Please, please!”

I tried desperately to escape, but it was futile.
I was forced to “repent” again and again.

Crimson blood soaked the ground beneath my feet.
Then my ankles.
My knees.
My chest.
Soon reaching my chin.

My breath grew increasingly suffocated.
The thought that I needed to escape flickered dimly in my mind.

‘But… it’s so viscous.’

I couldn’t move at all.
I couldn’t escape.
The blood rose to my crown, and my eyes closed.

Then, someone grasped my hand.
Water sprayed upward.
A powerful force pulled me upward.

“Saelika!”

Ah.
That was my name.

“Look me in the eyes and say it again.”

Not a worm.

“Is this really nothing serious?”

My shoulders were gripped firmly.
I stared blankly at the man before me.
The blood was disappearing from the points where he touched me.

“Shu… ri?”
“… Yes.”

I couldn’t comprehend it.
Why was Shuri angrier than I was?
Why was he sadder than I was?

Suddenly, everything felt terribly uncomfortable.
If it were Ilay, he would have simply let it pass.
He would have pretended not to know.

“…I almost fell prey to Takgi. Thank you for helping me.”
“You asked me. Whether this was a big deal or not.”
“It’s not an important matter. It’s all in the past—.”
“In the past?”

Shuri spoke to me with a growl in his voice.

“Then why do you look so intimidated?”
“…”
“Why do you have such a frightened expression on your face?”

Was I really making such a face?
I tried to laugh it off as nonsense, but my muscles wouldn’t respond properly.

* * *

Saelika raised her hand and slowly touched her cheek.

“Strange? Why is my cheek so stiff?”
“…”
“Wow, how fascinating.”

She looked at Kaishurit as if to ask if he found it amusing, then hesitated.
Kaishurit’s face was contorted.

“What, isn’t it funny? Why is it like this—.”
“Stop.”

Shuri’s hand covered Saelika’s hand.
The warmth was so intense it felt like touching fire.
Only then did Saelika realize that her hand and cheek were as cold as ice.

“Don’t force yourself to smile.”

It wasn’t forced.
I wanted to say that, but my lips wouldn’t move.
The moment I met Kaishurit’s gaze, I couldn’t say such things.

‘Damn it.’

Kaishurit cursed under his breath as he watched Saelika’s face, where she’d clearly swallowed her words awkwardly.

He knew it.
She had simply lived with all her effort.
Without looking back at the past.
Without even caring for herself.
She had only moved forward, eyes fixed ahead.

That was how the Artemisia Temple had surpassed its former glory.
How the Sacred Maiden of Artemisia had become the Grand Sacred Maiden who encompassed all the Sacred Maidens.

She had simply always made the effort.
So how could he tell her not to care for herself, to dismiss it as something trivial?

“Saelika.”

Kaishurit pulled her into his embrace.
Very firmly.
His large hand stroked her golden hair again and again.

“You did well.”
“….”
“You endured well.”

Saelika’s lips trembled slightly.
Something surged up from deep within her chest.

“I thought you’d be angry…”
“I am angry.”
“…”
“With me.”
“…”

Saelika lifted her head.
Even within the murky distortion warping the space, Shuri’s eyes remained beautiful.
Eyes that looked desperately earnest.
And so, somehow, the words spilled out.

“Did I… did I really do well?”
“Yes.”
“Was I of any help at all?”

The words were disjointed.
But Kaishurit listened to them quietly.

“I am Artemia’s Sacred Maiden, after all.”
“…”
“I’ve only caused trouble since long ago. I’ve never been of help even once. All I ever heard was that I was diminishing Artemia’s reputation.”
“…”
“Since Artemia chose someone like me… this time, surely…”
“Saelika.”

At the call, Saelika lifted her head.

“Is that what the goddess Artemia wanted?”
“…What?”
“When she chose you as her Sacred Maiden, did she wish for you to sacrifice yourself, to suffer, to neglect even your own wounds?”
“…”

Saelika could say nothing.
Artemia, who was so tender and affectionate and kind.
She could never have wanted such a thing.

“B-but Artemisia Temple was in decline, and so Artemia’s power had to weaken as well. So naturally, I—.”
“Then what about you?”
“….”
“Your life?”
“I, I—.”

The words wouldn’t come.

“I don’t know anything about Artemia or any of that. I don’t want to know, and I don’t care.”
“….”
“But there’s one thing I know for certain.”

Kaishurit’s gaze fixed upon Saelika.

“I want you to treasure yourself.”
“…!”
“Put everything else aside and smash through these annoying things on your own terms.”

Kaishurit flashed a grin.
Saelika couldn’t tear her eyes away from that smile.

“That’s what you’re good at, after all.”

* * *

Beyond the Gate.
High above where the coronation was clearly visible.
A man lay half-reclined upon an ornate table, sipping from a wine glass.

“It’s begun.”
“Your Majesty Behemoth.”

The man—Behemoth—had a demon attendant beside him, who bowed respectfully.

“Why? Are you curious too?”
“How could I presume to question Your Majesty’s intentions?”
“Is that so? I’m genuinely curious. What choice will my darling make?”

Vertically slit pupils gazed downward with keen interest.

“Finally, I could abandon that irritating Artemisia and embrace you instead, couldn’t I?”

It was then.
A young—at least in appearance—demon came rushing through the air with rapid footsteps.

“Your Majesty, Your Majesty!”
“What.”
“Parmanace’s subordinate has been contacting us since earlier. What should we do?”

A flicker of irritation crossed Behemoth’s eyes.

“Did I not speak of this before?”
“But they keep pestering us….”
“We made a contract and fulfilled its terms. Everything is concluded.”
“Still—.”
“Enough.”

The Attendant cut off the young demon’s words.

“It suffices to carry out His Majesty’s already-given command.”
“….”

The young demon fell silent.
The Attendant clicked his tongue disapprovingly at the show-off, but offered no further objection.

Behemoth leisurely raised his goblet.
There was no reason to spoil such a fine day.

‘However.’

One thing weighed on his mind.

“By the way, that one who entered with Darling.”
“You mean the one with mythical bloodline, Your Majesty.”
“Yes. That one bothered you as well, didn’t it?”

The Attendant bowed silently.
The young demon puffed out his cheeks.

“Your Majesty is always concerned about any man near Sae.”
“What are you talking about? It’s fine if darling plays around with other men. I’m the most special man to darling.”
“…That’s a lie. I don’t know how I ended up acting so childish like this. It’s all because I was playing around with Sae… Ugh!”

The young demon fell silent.
He hastily added more words.

“Ha, haha, I merely made a trivial mistake while striving to bring Your Majesty’s darling to you. But I must say, I’m also curious about the power that mythological bloodline possesses.”

Only then did Behemoth’s gaze withdraw from the young demon.
He spoke.

“Yes, I felt it from when we met before, but now it’s certain.”

Behemoth’s eyes narrowed as he gazed at the Gate.

“How do you possess my power?”

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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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