Chapter 75: Chapter 75: Your Atonement Must Have Meaning
[Encountering an attack like that of a beast.]
[The situation was far more serious than you imagined, but fortunately, you had been closely monitoring Elesia.]
[Otherwise, a tragedy would have unfolded.]
[Elesia! This is Moran! He is here to help you! Why… why… were you such a good child…]
A woman knelt on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.
She had noticed her daughter's abnormal behavior a week ago.
Initially, she thought it was just a minor illness, like a cold, but she never expected it to escalate into such madness.
"Moran! Please… Elesia's illness… even the doctor is at a loss… we can only rely on…" a middle-aged man pleaded.
"Don't worry, I will not give up on saving this lost girl. Even if it's a high and mighty god, I won't let them take a life from me so easily."
Moran restrained the frenzied girl with one hand.
It was as if he was holding a hungry wolf with one hand.
Such a skilled and precise technique that avoided harming others was truly commendable.
The bakery couple understood Moran's casual demeanor.
Although he didn't appear to have the image of a priest, he was not careless when it came to his work.
They entrusted their daughter to Moran.
[After Elesia's parents left the city]
[You grabbed Elesia by the neck to restrain her, then began to chant a baptismal incantation in the room.]
[You used a technique on her soul as well.]
[With your profound knowledge of magic, you successfully suppressed Roa and allowed Elesia's true consciousness to surface.]
[But you knew this was a temporary measure.]
[It wasn't because your magical skills were insufficient.]
[Roa was not something that could be easily exorcised; he had fused his soul with Elesia's from the moment she was conceived.]
[To completely kill Roa, there were only two methods.]
[The first was to kill Elesia's soul along with him; the second was to wait until Elesia was fully transformed into Roa before killing him.]
[The second method was the most reasonable.]
[The mature Roa consciousness would completely overwhelm Elesia.]
[At that point, even if you used soul techniques, the damage Elesia would suffer could be minimized.]
"Elesia… I'm sorry… I… I…"
The sound of her sobbing echoed on the bed.
Elesia was fully aware of her actions.
Although her body was dominated by Roa's consciousness, her original self was still there.
She clearly remembered how much she wanted to bite her parents' throats, like a nightmare from which she could never wake.
"Elesia, this is not your fault. There is another parasite within you that is controlling your actions."
"Parasite…?"
Elesia showed a confused expression.
She clearly couldn't understand the deeper meaning behind it.
[Then, you began to explain to Elesia.]
[You mixed in knowledge about magic and Dead Apostles to help her understand the situation, which was undoubtedly necessary.]
[Soon, she grasped the situation.]
[From the moment she was born, her soul had fused with a demon.]
[Just from what you revealed in your explanation about the consequences of Roa's fourteen previous reincarnations,]
[It was as if a current flashed through her mind.]
[She could see memories that did not belong to her, that mad vampire laughing heartily in a river of blood.]
[She saw the hell where daily life ended.]
[She saw the hell where parents killed their children.]
[She saw the hell where children killed their parents.]
[She saw the hell where everyone was killed indiscriminately.]
"Don't, don't… don't, don't, don't…"
Elesia trembled, clutching her delicate body.
Her current consciousness was highly assimilated with Roa's.
Even if she didn't want to see those scenes, the bloody memories still flowed in relentlessly.
[A self like this,]
[Continuing to live would surely bring disaster.]
[At least before that—]
"I… I really… someone like me… has no reason to live… I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"
[The kind girl cried continuously.]
[She felt pain over the ugliness she possessed.]
[Even if it meant falling into painful death, she absolutely did not want others to be slaughtered and melted away.]
[You watched Elesia cry like this.]
[In a daze, it was as if you saw yourself sitting on a throne.]
[For a thousand years, enduring the madness of the bloodlust, exhausting everything for the love in your heart, even using your own fall.]
[Not wanting to become a calamity of blood.]
"Elesia…"
[The girl's gradually cooling heart heard the call.]
[It was a gentle caress.]
[Facing a self that would eventually become a demon, she still held onto hope, unwilling to let go.]
[She did not choose to betray herself.]
[The chest she pressed her head against allowed her, even in her cold state, to feel warmth.]
"You think you are unforgivable because you believe you lack the resolve to defeat the demon. Perhaps your existence is unforgivable, but that does not mean you must rely on death as the outcome."
[You embraced the girl, revealing your true feelings.]
[Once, you too were afraid of falling, but in the end, you chose to resist for a thousand years.]
[Holding onto your love, you persisted until now.]
[The future is destined to fall into madness and corruption; knowing this, if you choose death immediately,]
[Then you will not be able to obtain your love.]
[You will not be able to see Arcueid and Altrouge, the smiles they showed you during your time together.]
[For this reason, you have more than enough qualifications to prove to Elesia.]
[Even if the future ultimately leads to destruction, this process can be directed by your own hands.]
[Perhaps you will never receive forgiveness in your lifetime.]
[Perhaps you will never atone for your sins.]
[But right now, you still have the opportunity to fight against it.]
"Even if you will commit sins in the future, as long as you have a kind heart now, hold onto it, and do not give up. Then what you do now is definitely not meaningless. Do not give up on fighting that bastard vampire. As long as you do this, your atonement will surely have meaning…"
Moran's words were laced with sadness.
It was as if he was gazing at the unfulfilled things of his past.
His fallen end was destruction.
No matter how much he denied it, he could not escape this point.
Looking at Elesia, who was in a similar situation to his past, he longed for this girl to defeat evil.
[Elesia gradually stopped crying.]
[In her consciousness, something seemed to roar.]
[It mocked the weakness of humanity.]
[However, the girl was trying to forcibly strip away the darkness.]
[Even if it meant enduring the pain of flesh being torn away.]
[Even now, she could hear a voice coming from afar.]
[It was a voice that believed in her, encouraging her to fight back.]
[To respond to this trust,]
[She could endure even the pain of her muscles cramping and bones pulling.]