MTLNOVEL chapter 11 - I Hate You
"Back when I used to play the game,
The stories of playable characters always ended in death.
And without exception, the same entities were always involved in those deaths.
Archenemies.
Sworn enemies who opposed and despised them, figures who brought great misfortune to their lives.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the majority of their deaths were tied to this bastard.
A dynamic of mutual hatred, an endless cycle of seeking each other's demise.
'…Though, for some reason, only one side kept dying.'
It was the same as the law I mentioned before.
Like the example of the Hero and the Demon King.
[ Every playable character has their own Archenemy. ]
They existed as mechanisms designed to kill the characters I controlled.
A relentless force, threatening them through countless scenarios.
And in the end, they always died, inevitably following the fate dictated by the game.
No matter which choices I picked, I had never been able to change that outcome.
Now that this world had become my reality, nothing had changed.
If I wanted to, I could kill those entities right here and now.
But that wouldn’t solve anything.
Like how the world would create a new Demon King if the original was slain too soon—
It would twist causality itself just to enforce the law.
If I killed an Archenemy, a new one would take its place.
One whose actions I wouldn't be able to predict.
It wouldn’t improve the situation—it would make it worse.
'…That leaves me with only one option.'
I looked at the Sacred Relic in my hand.
A worn-out, battered book.
The same book that the Sage of the Stars always carried in the game.
Past, present, future—
A fragment containing the laws and memories of the world.
It was merely a fragment, a fake, its power weak.
But even so, the information within—events that had to happen—was more valuable to me than anything else.
'An Archenemy, seven sacrifices, the descent of a demon, the Hero’s awakening.'
This book contained the events that must occur in this place.
What was written in it had to come to pass.
Not even I could change that.
'But what if I changed the targets?'
After agonizing over this book, I finally found my answer.
The laws had loopholes.
If an event didn’t explicitly specify a who, then I could twist it.
Change the Archenemy, change the sacrifices, change the demon that would be summoned—
As long as the framework remained intact, destiny would be fulfilled just the same.
If you are reading this translation anywhere other than .net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.
So, I changed everything.
I killed the director, who was originally meant to be Ren’s Archenemy.
Instead of the children who were supposed to be sacrificed, I used the worthless adults.
And to ensure what was to come, I altered the ritual, summoning a different demon—one that would serve my purpose.
'…'
'…Ain? What the hell… is this?'
'You’re finally here.'
Ren’s gaze dropped to the ground.
A severed head lay there—a friend she had laughed and played with just yesterday.
…At least, that was what the illusion showed her.
In reality, it was the severed head of that wretched director.
'…Ain… w-what happened? What is that sword? And that body…?'
'Ren.'
Ren was sharp and intelligent.
She was only ten, but she was more than capable of understanding the reality before her.
The only reason she was still hesitating—
Was because the perpetrator was me.
'There’s no need to deny it. I’m the one who killed them.'
'…'
'They begged for their lives, crying and wailing. It was pathetic.'
'…Why?'
Ren lowered her head.
I had no way of knowing what kind of expression she was making.
'…Calm down. This is the only way.'
Hurting her like this—
It was just like in the game.
But this time, something was different.
I wore the mask I had prepared.
'Why… why did you—'
'Why did I do it? That’s a strange question.'
Thud.
I kicked the director’s severed head.
It rolled across the floor, stopping right at her feet.
Still appearing as a child’s face.
'…Ah… hic—!'
'They were just sacrifices to me. What does it matter what happens to them?'
'…W-we were all friends, Ain—'
'Friends? Hah…!'
Thud.
Thud.
I walked toward her, slowly.
Lowering my head, I whispered a cruel lie into her trembling ears.
'We were never anything to each other. Did you really think just because I played along for a while, we were actually friends? Me, with idiots like you?'
'…Stop.'
'I was just enduring you all until the right moment. Now that I’ve used you as sacrifices—'
'Stop it, Ain!!'
Ren clamped her hands over her ears, rejecting reality.
But I didn’t stop.
Wham—!!
I kicked her in the stomach with all my strength.
A faint trace of aura had enhanced the blow.
Ren’s small frame flew backward, slamming into the wall near the door.
'…Hngh?! Keuhk! Cough, cough!'
'Hmm, I had considered using you and Ron as backup, but it turns out seven was enough~'
'…?! S-seven? What do you mean…?'
'What else? Just like the one you saw earlier—
The others are all dead too.'
'…'
Ren murmured under her breath, 'That’s a lie…' over and over again.
…If this went on, she would break completely before she could awaken.
That couldn’t happen."
"'Lilith. You can hear me, right?'
[ … ]
'Inject demonic energy into that child.'
[ …You’re a truly ruthless one. Must you really go this far? You’re still just a child—what are you doing all this for? ]
A voice filled with pity and sorrow echoed in my mind.
'She won’t die, so don’t worry.'
[ What nonsense is that, little one? Do you even understand what our magic does to humans— ]
'I know. Nothing will happen that you’d hate, so please, just do it.'
[ … ]
A sigh came from somewhere, and suddenly, the mist around us began to swirl violently.
A concentrated mass of violet energy gathered in my hand.
It had been a long time since I’d felt this sensation.
'…So this is demonic energy.'
It was my first time using it directly.
I slowly familiarized myself with the foreign energy in my grasp.
Then, I turned my gaze to Ren.
'All that’s left is Ren’s awakening.'
It was time for her to take her first step as a Hero.
For that, two things were necessary.
The first—contact with demonic energy.
Clench.
I gripped her throat with my left hand, which now pulsed with demonic energy.
"Hrrk…! Aaaagh!!"
Ren struggled violently, gasping for breath.
Her body began to discolor, turning a deep violet as the demonic energy seeped into her.
The pain must have been beyond description.
But I couldn’t stop here.
'She needs a trigger. A driving force strong enough to awaken the Hero’s power—one that will be directed at me.'
Resolving myself, I spoke.
"…How does it feel? Painful? Seems like it hurts~? Don’t worry, I’ll send you to where the others are soon."
"Hhngh… Hic…."
"Ron too."
"…!"
Her trembling ceased.
No, it wasn’t just her.
For an instant, everything around us came to a halt.
As if time itself had stopped.
Fwaaaaaash—!!
A blinding light exploded through the cathedral.
An intense heat and overwhelming divinity surged from all directions.
The force of it hurled me backward.
'Ah. Bringing up family really is the best catalyst.'
Groaning, I checked my body.
A scorching, pale-yellow flame licked at my skin, searing me.
The pain was worse than I expected—I bit my lip hard.
Step.
A figure emerged through the flames, walking toward me.
A familiar sight.
Just like I had seen in the game.
"…Ain. I really, really liked you. I loved you so much. But now…"
She held a sword in one hand.
A radiant white blade, blazing with sacred fire—
The mark of a Hero.
It was still underdeveloped, no bigger than a dagger, but it was unmistakably a holy sword.
"Ain, I hate you. I hate you for killing all of our friends. I hate you for threatening to kill Ron."
She pointed her sword at me.
Her lifeless, hollow eyes burned with a murderous glare.
"—I hate you enough to want to kill you."
"…."
Holding the blade in a reverse grip, she lunged at me.
As her sacred sword swung down, another flash of divine light erupted.
'…It hurts.'
It hurt.
The part of my body struck by the holy sword burned as if I were being scorched from the inside out.
But more than that—
The knowledge that I had inflicted an irreparable wound on her hurt even more.
Regret clawed at my mind, repeating over and over.
Could I have done this another way?
What if I had prepared better from the moment I met them?
No—what if I had never gotten involved with these twins in the first place?
Dark thoughts gnawed at me.
I wanted to throw everything away.
To just give up.
[ Child, it’s time to wake up now. ]
***
I opened my eyes.
At the same time, I lifted my upper body.
"Haa… Haa…"
[ That was dangerous, little one. You almost got swallowed by the dream. ]
"…How long was I out?"
[ Around four hours. ]
Only four hours, huh?
I let out a deep sigh and lay back down.
Sweat from the nightmare had soaked into the bed, making it uncomfortably damp.
[ What kind of dream was it? Your reaction was far worse than usual. ]
"…Nothing much. Just a dream about when I first met you, Lilith."
[ …Child. ]
"I’m fine. Really, I am."
[ … ]
I muttered the words and ran a hand over my face.
'…That was fucked up.'
A truly fucked up dream."