The Devil Does Not Need to Be Defeated

Chapter 359: “Don’t Do That Again.”

“—”

Silence filled the air.

Everyone’s gaze focused on Beatrice, observing the always-silent girl with a mix of emotions.

Elise’s eyes held awe.

Lasha’s were wide with astonishment.

Shien’s were complex and difficult to describe.

He had known all along that Beatrice’s identity was extraordinary.

There was a record of it in the ancient book Treece had given him.

“Since the founding of the kingdom, the Stalim Duchy has often experienced a strange phenomenon.”

“Many people have claimed to encounter a little girl with golden hair and purple eyes, and to have shared some experiences with her.”

“Some adopted her and took great care of her, only to find her suddenly vanished one day.”

“Some had malicious intentions towards her, wanting to use her for something, but their bodies were later discovered, seemingly having died from extreme fright. Some even showed signs of mental instability, their deaths horrific.”

“Even nobles had encountered this little girl. Some of them could no longer find her one day, while others suddenly died in their homes. It was very strange.”

“Gradually, this matter began to cause panic among the people in the duchy. Some even claimed that it was the work of demons trying to harm the duchy, creating unrest among the people.”

“Finally, to prevent chaos, the Stalim family, as the rulers of the duchy, issued a decree forbidding all residents from discussing this matter, under penalty of punishment.”

“Under these circumstances, the duchy gradually returned to peace, but rumors of this matter still surfaced from time to time, seemingly because people were still encountering such incidents.”

“Therefore, people began to claim that the little girl with golden hair and purple eyes was a vengeful spirit lingering in the Stalim Duchy. Because she hadn’t found happiness in life, she wandered the duchy, leaving on her own when she encountered kind people who were willing to take her in and treat her well, and cursing and killing those who had evil intentions and tried to harm her.”

This was a very famous thousand-year-old legend in the Stalim Duchy—[The Vengeful Spirit Seeking Happiness].

It was said that even now, people still occasionally claimed to have seen this vengeful spirit. There were also unexplained deaths of nobles or criminals in the Stalim Duchy every now and then, making the legend deeply ingrained in the minds of the people. Despite the decree, some still whispered about it in secret.

Therefore, Treece had reacted so strongly when he saw Beatrice.

It was enough to show how famous the legend was, making people immediately think of it.

However, those outside the Stalim Duchy had never heard of this legend.

Treece thought Shien had been targeted by the legendary vengeful spirit, so he couldn’t help but advise him to stay away from Beatrice.

Unfortunately, Shien not only ignored this matter, but even took Beatrice with him.

The reason was simple.

“If she were truly a vengeful spirit, how could a group of magical lifeforms kidnap her and then leave her with me by committing suicide?”

Shien sensed something was amiss. Coupled with the strange occurrences in the Stalim Duchy and the Old Demon Faction causing trouble in the area, Shien felt that there might be something more to Beatrice’s story. ṟ𝓪𐌽О𝔟Ęs

It might be trouble, but it could also be a good thing.

“If the Old Demon Faction gets involved and appears before me, that would be great.”

With this thought, Shien not only didn’t reject Beatrice, but even took her with him.

Of course, besides this intention, the main reason was that Shien didn’t know how to deal with Beatrice.

“I can’t just leave her on the side of the road, can I?”

Therefore, Shien gave Beatrice the choice, letting her decide whether to come with him.

Beatrice made her choice.

So, Shien took her along.

But it wasn’t until this moment that Shien realized how significant Beatrice’s origin was.

Elise told Shien,

“Although she has always been in the dark temple, sealed along with Lilith, Miss Beatrice’s freedom wasn’t restricted too much.”

Because although Beatrice was Lilith’s other half, she was only the separated rationality and had no power of her own, nor was she considered a threat. The Divine Race didn’t want to do anything to her.

Not only did they not want to do anything to her, but the Divine Race also hoped that Beatrice could return to her main body, allowing Lilith to break free from her uncontrolled state, regain her rationality, return to the Divine Race, and enhance their strength. Therefore, the Divine Race treated Beatrice quite gently, never imprisoning her, and even granting her the freedom to enter and leave the temple as she pleased.

Therefore, whether it was when the temple was exiled to the world’s gap or sealed in an independent small space, Beatrice could freely return to this world and move around.

Beatrice’s purpose for moving around in the outside world was simple: to travel the world and observe the ways of life of others, thereby strengthening her rationality and spirit.

“Only in this way can Miss Beatrice have enough rationality to suppress her chaotic instincts when she returns to her main body, successfully merging into one and becoming a true goddess.”

This was the reason why Beatrice became the [Vengeful Spirit Seeking Happiness].

It was precisely because Beatrice was traveling the world, observing all walks of life, and strengthening her rationality that she was sometimes adopted, sometimes targeted, and eventually disappeared. It was simply because she continued her journey.

As for those with malicious intentions, their horrific deaths were probably because, although Beatrice had no power, as the other half of the evil god who governed evil and chaos, Lilith’s power would still activate to protect her when she was in danger.

After all, it was the power of the goddess who governed evil and chaos. Making someone go insane and die suddenly was too easy.

“Unfortunately, Miss Beatrice’s rationality has never been able to grow to the point where it can suppress her chaotic instincts.”

This was to be expected.

Even as the embodiment of rationality, Beatrice’s essence was still evil and chaos. How could she allow her rationality to grow unchecked?

Beatrice wanted to suppress her chaotic instincts by developing her rationality, but her chaotic instincts would also suppress the growth of her rationality, resulting in a contradiction.

The result was that, even after countless years, Beatrice still couldn’t suppress her chaotic instincts.

“This girl…”

Learning this, Shien looked at Beatrice, his gaze somewhat displeased.

It couldn’t be helped.

After learning this, Shien understood two things.

One was why Beatrice couldn’t speak.

Although she possessed a certain level of rationality, it wasn’t complete. This made her somewhat like a newborn baby, unable to speak, but with some mature thinking and judgment, making her current situation contradictory and somewhat distorted.

The other thing was why Beatrice asked him to break Lilith’s seal.

“It must be because after countless years of effort without results, she wanted to take advantage of this sudden incident and accident, have me enter the manifested temple, forcefully break the seal, and then make a desperate attempt to return to her main body, right?”

Shien finally saw through Beatrice’s thoughts, which made him unhappy.

It was obvious how dangerous this was.

It was possible that this time, Beatrice, as Lilith’s rationality, wouldn’t just be separated, but completely destroyed and obliterated.

She herself knew this very well, which was why she ultimately agreed when Shien proposed to postpone the action and not break the seal last night, right?

What did this mean?

It meant that Beatrice herself had no chance of success, which was why she hesitated and was afraid.

Understanding this, Shien glared at Beatrice.

Beatrice, seemingly aware of her guilt, didn’t dare to meet Shien’s eyes, lowering her head and remaining silent.

Elise, on the other hand, after explaining everything clearly, let out a breath and took another sip of black tea to moisten her throat before speaking.

“The mastermind behind this incident not only destroyed the spatial node and released the temple that sealed Lilith, but also kidnapped Miss Beatrice. Honestly, we have no idea what he (or she) is planning to do.”

Not only Elise, but even Shien didn’t know what the mastermind was up to.

Setting aside everything else, what was the purpose of leaving Beatrice with him?

Shien couldn’t understand the other party’s motives, his brows furrowed tightly.

However, Elise’s motives were clear.

“…I don’t know why you invaded the dark temple and broke Lilith’s seal without knowing the whole story, but I want to ask you not to do that again.”

Elise looked at Shien and spoke, mustering her courage.

“If Lilith’s seal is broken, the world will surely suffer a great disaster because of her arrival and turn into hell.”

It was easy to imagine the consequences if a being with power comparable to the Three Goddesses and the Six Demon Lords were to wreak havoc in the human world.

“Before the world was divided into three parts, the land suffered endless disasters because of Lilith’s rampage.”

Elise said.

“I’ve heard that at that time, there were many other races in the human world, including some with racial advantages no less than elves and beastmen. But they were all wiped out by Lilith.”

“It is said that Lilith also destroyed several continents and spread evil, causing monsters and even life itself to lose control and go berserk.”

“The land at that time undoubtedly became hell, and even the demons chose to avoid her.”

Such an evil god was undoubtedly more dangerous than the Demon King.

At least, the Demon King wouldn’t go insane and recklessly destroy everything in the world.

But Lilith did.

Therefore, the Divine Race had no choice but to intervene, with the Three Goddesses personally sealing her and exiling her to the world’s gap.

All because Lilith’s threat was too great.

“Now, after at least thousands of years, few people remember Lilith’s existence. Even legends only mention her in passing. Demons and the Divine Race have also forgotten this evil god, and only a few people still remember her.”

“And those who remember her know how terrifying she is and sincerely hope she will never appear again.”

“You are a noble of the Kingdom, and I heard that you once subjugated the Old Demon Faction. You wouldn’t want to see the world turn into hell, right?”

“So, I beg you, please don’t do that again.”

Elise’s tone was full of pleading.

“…”

Shien fell silent.

Lasha looked at Beatrice and found that she had raised her head at some point, staring intently at Shien.

The living room fell silent once again.

The silence lingered.

…

Later, Elise cautiously suggested returning to the temple, but Shien flatly refused.

“Although I now know what I wanted to know, your priest group must hate me to death now. If I let you go back, they will definitely interrogate you thoroughly and come after me for revenge.”

Therefore, Shien directly told Elise that he would hold her hostage to threaten the beastmen priest group.

“You… You really are a bad guy…!”

Elise accused tearfully, but it had no effect.

Shien wasn’t worried about her running away.

“Your magic power has been sealed by me, meaning you can’t use magic at all. Under these circumstances, as a rare and precious fox-person, what do you think will happen to you if you run out onto the streets, considering the current state of Cosmos, where criminals are rampant? Think carefully!”

Shien threatened Elise, making her face pale and tremble once more.

Compared to other beastmen, fox-people were fundamentally different.

Ordinary beastmen were naturally born with outstanding physical abilities, suitable for becoming excellent warriors. Only fox-people had no significant physical advantages, but they possessed magical talent that other beastmen severely lacked.

Their magical talent was even comparable to that of elves.

Thanks to this, the beastmen saintess was usually a fox-person.

Such a fox-person could only use magic and knew nothing about close combat. Once her magic power was sealed, she couldn’t even pray and could only be a weak, ordinary girl.

With her priest group not around and her timid personality, how could Elise dare to escape on her own?

“You will be punished by heaven! You will suffer divine retribution!”

Elise uttered these harsh words, then ran to Lasha, either seeking comfort or protection.

Beatrice also disappeared unnoticed, her whereabouts unknown.

Shien was left alone, standing on the balcony, looking at the chaotic buildings outside, lost in thought.