Chapter 287 Goddess Aurelia ㉗
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
I walked through the wide corridor for what felt like an eternity. By any logical measure, I should have been outside the temple walls by now. The space itself was likely warped; I’d even tried stopping time to move ahead, but the scenery remained static and no hidden doors revealed themselves. Eventually, I gave up on tricks and just kept walking.
Before long, a figure stepped out from behind a massive pillar-another of the Goddess’s Knights, right on cue.
”I’ve been waiting for you, you predatory piece of filth,” a woman’s voice spat.
I recognized that voice, and especially that line. Even after our names were cleared, she was the one who insisted on branding us as s*xual criminals.
”Todoroki Hazumi…”
”I have no desire to hear my full name in the mouth of a s*x offender,” she countered.
Todoroki Hazumi. With her sharp looks, she was the quintessential “Steel Maiden.” She’d been a star in the kendo club back in Japan, but she was plagued by a narrow-mindedness that bordered on a personality disorder. Once she decided something was true, the rest of the world could scream otherwise and she wouldn’t budge.
”To go from a common creep to an enemy of all mankind… how typical of a bottom-tier Otaku like you,” she sneered.
”Your insults are as dated as your worldview, Todoroki. You’re still only seeing what you want to see.”
”Does it matter? You are an enemy of the Goddess, which makes you an enemy of humanity.”
”I’ll grant you the ‘enemy of the Goddess’ part,” I replied. To be honest, most of my actions in Maginoia would be considered crimes in Japan. In that sense, being called a criminal was almost fair-though back before the summoning, the charges had been a total fabrication.
”Then die!” Todoroki gripped her bastard sword with both hands, dropping into a perfect mid-level guard. Unlike Nishiyama, her stance was seasoned and lethal. I could sense others lurking in the shadows of the nearby pillars, but they stayed back.
”Don’t worry about my friends,” she said, sensing my hesitation. “Even a monster like you deserves a fair, one-on-one fight. I won’t let them interfere.”
”I don’t trust you for a second.”
”Don’t compare me to a lowlife like you! Once I give my word, I never break it!”
(Right. She’s stubborn to a fault.) If things got ugly and the others jumped in, I’d just have to cleave them all in a single swing. “Fine then. Have it your way.”
”You’re free to use your sorcery¹, you know,” she added.
”I’m not interested in using stopgap tricks.”
”Good.” She seemed to take my words at face value, though I was mostly being sarcastic. She viewed magic as a temporary measure-a crutch for those who couldn’t master the blade. She was incredibly confident. I decided to match her energy, stepping forward and lowering my blade into a bottom-level guard.
”Come!” she cried.
She lunged, her blade whistling through the air as she aimed for my head. It was a textbook kendo move-precise, powerful, and utterly predictable. Her rigid personality was her downfall; her movements were so ‘correct’ that they were easy to read. Before her blade could connect, I stepped inside her reach and countered with an upward diagonal slash. Shick.
The sword I’d forged didn’t even feel resistance as it sheared through her ‘impenetrable’ armor and the flesh beneath. Todoroki’s upper half began to slide slowly from her left shoulder down toward her right hip. Thud.
”You… murderer…” she gasped, her body collapsing in sections.
”We’re both killers, Todoroki. How many Demonic Beings did you slaughter without a second thought?”
”What… are you… talking about…” Her eyes lost their focus and went dark. She was dead. I wondered if she truly had no guilt over the massacres, or if, as clones, these versions of my classmates simply didn’t have the memories of what their originals had done.
”Hazumi-chan!?”
Amanozuka Teruaki burst from the shadows. He was small, like Honoka, but with a toddler’s build and a personality that people called ‘innocent’ only because they didn’t want to call it ‘sociopathic.’ He’d been the one cackling in the background while the Duo and I were being tormented back home.
”Sasaki! How could you!?” Amanozuka screamed.
”How can you stand there so calmly after killing a classmate?” another voice joined in. Hizaki Shogo, Mizuki Ren, and Kazamatsuri Gyobu all stepped into the light. The whole gang was here-everyone I’d failed to finish off before. Since I hadn’t harvested their Unique Skills yet, this was actually a stroke of luck.
”We can’t let a monster like you roam free,” Hizaki growled, stepping forward.
”Wait, Hizaki,” Kazamatsuri said, putting a hand on his shoulder. It was rare for the quiet, observant Kazamatsuri to take charge. “I want to apologize first.”
”An apology? Now?” Hizaki barked.
”Yes. Sasaki, I’m sorry for turning a blind eye to Sugita’s atrocities back then. I should have stopped him.”
This was a twist. We were in the middle of a temple of a hostile Goddess, and he was playing the penitent.
”I did it for my own ends,” Kazamatsuri continued. “I was working with a contact to ruin Sugita’s grandfather. I needed evidence of Sugita’s crimes to post online and destroy their family’s reputation. I was using your suffering to build a case. But we were summoned here before I could finish the job.”
(So that’s it.) He’d used us as bait to take down a political target. It would have worked, too; the internet would have shredded Sugita’s family. But knowing I was a pawn in someone else’s game didn’t make the bullying any easier to stomach.
”An apology doesn’t change anything,” I said coldly. “And I don’t see the ‘justice’ addict or the two aspiring lawyers over there bowing their heads. You guys probably thought a little bullying was just part of the high school experience. You, Mizuki-you want to be a lawyer, right? You should know that what you watched was a crime. How can you claim to be ‘heroes’ now? Are you all delusional?”
Hizaki and Mizuki flinched, unable to meet my eyes.
”But you killed Hazumi-chan!” Amanozuka shrieked. “You’re a serial killer!”
”I killed Todoroki, and I killed Nishiyama a few rooms back,” I said, my voice flat. “I’m a murderer, sure. But so are you. You’ve been slaughtering Demonic Beings-women and children included-since the day you got here.”
”Liar! We’d never do that!”
That confirmed it. These were clones. They had the personalities, but not the blood on their hands. Not yet, anyway.
”Your originals were more than happy to do it,” I said. “And if a Demonic Being were standing here right now, you’d kill them because your ‘Goddess’ told you they aren’t human. You’re just killers with a better excuse.”
”So what?” Hizaki challenged. “Whoever wins here is ‘justice.’ That’s the only rule that matters in this world.”
”On that, we agree.”
We all raised our weapons. Kazamatsuri’s apology was in the past; now, it was just a matter of survival. This was this, and that was that.
”One more thing,” I said, feeling the weight of the mana in the air. “I’ve never called myself a hero. I’m just a man seeking Vengeance. You can tell me it’s empty all you want, but it’s the only thing I have left. You all stood by and let me die once. Vengeance is mine.”
”Then we’ll show you!” Hizaki roared. “Justice is mine!”
Our convictions clashed in a blur of steel and light. A few minutes later, the corridor was silent again. They were gone.
”Back to walking, I guess,” I muttered. It took another hour of trekking through the warped architecture before I finally reached the heart of the temple.
”Time to end this. I’m going to make you regret ever touching Lil.”
—
Summary:
Sasaki confronts Todoroki Hazumi and a group of his former classmates in a warped temple corridor. After a swift duel where he executes Todoroki, he faces the remaining Knights, including Kazamatsuri who offers a cold apology for past inaction. Sasaki rejects their morality and kills the remaining ‘clones’ before proceeding to the heart of the temple to rescue Lil.
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Trivia:
- The Knights in this chapter are clones/clones with shared personalities but lacking the specific memories of the Demonic Being massacres.
- Todoroki was a kendo club member, explaining her rigid stance and ‘head strike’ announcement.
- Kazamatsuri was working for an unknown source to take down Sugita’s grandfather.
- Sasaki explicitly identifies himself as a ‘Vengeance Seeker’ rather than a hero.
- The temple uses spatial warping to make distances non-linear
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Character Insight:
Sasaki shows total emotional detachment from his former classmates, viewing them as obstacles and ‘Unique Skill’ sources rather than people. Kazamatsuri’s revelation shows that the bullying Sasaki endured was part of a larger political scheme, which further fuels Sasaki’s nihilistic view of ‘justice.’
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Behind the Scenes:
The author notes that this chapter is unusually long (over 4000 characters) for a non-adult focused scene, indicating the importance of this confrontation.
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TL Notes:
Notes:
• Todoroki Hazumi – A member of the Goddess’s Knights and former high school kendo club member. Described as a ‘Steel Maiden.’ Possesses a narrow-minded, stubborn personality. Fights with a bastard sword using kendo-style stances. Deceased.
• Nishiyama – A former classmate of the protagonist who was killed by Killer Army Ants. Resurrected as a ‘Holy Knight’ for the Goddess. Uses the skill ‘Class Faker’.
• Amanozuka Teruaki – A diminutive member of the Knights with a toddler-like build. Described as having a ‘small-animal’ appearance but a sociopathic lack of empathy. Participated in bullying Sasaki.
• Amanozuka – A petite girl, formerly the class mood-maker. She is mentally broken after giving birth to multiple orc children. Classmate of the narrator. Possesses Protection of a Spirit King. Radiates intense light that blurs his outline. Uses the spell ‘Plasma Cannon.’ Turned into an ice statue.
• Honoka – Petite maid in gleaming white armor, shimmering angelic skin, hidden wings, large breasts, lewd eyes under a pristine uniform. Former cold class‑rep who mocked Sasaki Natsuki, revived as his masochistic Goshujin‑sama, bound by his scent and a wish to bear his child, survived frozen stasis. Now an energetic Apostle of Lust, wields a Caduceus staff, heals with wind sorcery and wings, trembles with devotion, feels excluded, fiercely protects Natsuki, and serves as a loyal, sexually obsessed companion in his harem.
• Sasaki – 168‑171 cm, 57‑59 kg, baby‑faced with black bangs, in green scale armor and a red muffler, wielding dual longswords. Former outcast gladiator “Seven” famed for “Seven Deadly Sins” and time‑compression, now master of a harem, violates souls, and seeks revenge in Maginoia with a self‑made sword that cuts divine armor.
• Kazamatsuri Gyobu – Kazamatsuri Gyobu is a quiet, observant member of the Knights, noted for his crew‑cut, thin eyes and a green‑tinged, wind‑clad look. He possesses the Protection of a Spirit King, wields the spell Vortex, and was ultimately turned into an ice statue. As an informant he let bullying happen to gather evidence against the Sugita family.
• Hizaki Shogo – Hizaki Shogo is a hot‑blooded male Knight who idolizes Justice. Once a bully of Sasaki, he’s a tokusatsu‑obsessed “justice idiot” and classmate of the narrator, dreaming of becoming a hero. He wields Protection of a Spirit King, transforms into a flame‑wrapped warrior and fires Inferno Blaster, but was turned into an ice statue by the Demon King. Short, baby‑faced, and missing his right arm below the elbow.
• Kazamatsuri – Kazamatsuri Gyobu is a quiet, observant member of the Knights, noted for his crew‑cut, thin eyes and a green‑tinged, wind‑clad look. He possesses the Protection of a Spirit King, wields the spell Vortex, and was ultimately turned into an ice statue. As an informant he let bullying happen to gather evidence against the Sugita family.
• Mizuki Ren – Mizuki Ren, 169 cm, 50 kg, cool‑headed lawyer‑aspirant and Knight, wears glasses, bears a forehead‑to‑cheek scar and is blind in his left eye. He views bullying as minor, stood by while Natsuki was tormented, possesses Protection of a Spirit King, summons scales across his body, casts ‘Maelstrom’, and can turn into an ice statue.
• Hizaki – Hizaki Shogo is a hot‑blooded male Knight who idolizes Justice. Once a bully of Sasaki, he’s a tokusatsu‑obsessed “justice idiot” and classmate of the narrator, dreaming of becoming a hero. He wields Protection of a Spirit King, transforms into a flame‑wrapped warrior and fires Inferno Blaster, but was turned into an ice statue by the Demon King. Short, baby‑faced, and missing his right arm below the elbow.
• Mizuki – Mizuki Ren, 169 cm, 50 kg, cool‑headed lawyer‑aspirant and Knight, wears glasses, bears a forehead‑to‑cheek scar and is blind in his left eye. He views bullying as minor, stood by while Natsuki was tormented, possesses Protection of a Spirit King, summons scales across his body, casts ‘Maelstrom’, and can turn into an ice statue.
• Gyobu – A guy with a crew cut and thin eyes. His name is rare, but for some reason, he has an incredibly weak presence. He is quiet and never hangs out with anyone.
• Shogo – A hot-blooded ‘justice idiot’ and a tokusatsu otaku. His dream is to become a tokusatsu hero.
• Ren – Height 169 cm, weight 50 kg. A cool-headed guy with glasses who aimed to be a lawyer. He viewed bullying as a minor issue and stood by while Natsumi was tormented.
• Sugita – Leader of the Sugita gang and Natsumi Sasaki’s primary bully, born into police privilege—grandfather Superintendent General, father a Superintendent—ensuring his crimes vanish. Lean, sharp-featured, with a cold, arrogant stare that screams “I can get away with it.” Wields Steal (窃盗) to manipulate minds and control women; once impersonated hero Sieben with mask and greatsword, only to be stripped of status and dropped to Level 7. Cursed as a “Hero” doomed to endless death and resurrection, he became a Lesser Vampire, was executed, and erased from existence—yet his legacy lingers in whispers: mocked by girls for having a smaller member than the messenger, and remembered for sexually assaulting Reese and Yukiko, cementing his status as irredeemable evil.
• Lil – 166 cm tall, hourglass 90-56-90, long indigo waist-length hair, sharp golden eyes, wolf ears, dog-like tail, scarred abdomen—silver-haired in human form—Fenrir-kin Queen, wife of the protagonist, mother of Leki, Van, and newborn Mana, called “number one” by Mitsuba; now a Demon King serving as Sasaki’s cherished companion, found naked and entangled in tentacles atop a pillar, drifting in consciousness, abducted to Sky Temple Suria for baptism.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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