Overgeared

Chapter 1857

There were no mirrors in Marie Rose’s castle.

A face that was praised by the whole world for being beautiful—it was because the existence of ‘I’ faded every time she looked at this face.

“It wasn’t like this from the beginning.”

Marie Rose raised herself up from the pure white coffin and looked up at the throne. A small soul was approaching the throne, which had been untouched for so many years and had gathered dust. It was while casually asking the question about why there were no mirrors in the woman’s palace.

“I once cherished and loved my face, which looked just like yours.”

A faint smile spread across Marie Rose’s face as she recalled the past from hundreds of years ago. It was a time when she loved her reflection in the mirror. She had laughed quite often back then. It was because her face became a tool to remember her mother. It was proof that she was her mother’s daughter and that she had a family.

Her heart had warmed. It was warm enough to soothe the body and mind that had been cursed. Then little by little, the years went by and she started to grow taller.

Marie Rose gradually got a strange feeling. It was shortly after confirming that her grown body was more powerful than before.

“You will transcend me.”

The words that her mother told her before dying never left her head.

Transcend. Yes, her mother clearly said it.

You are going to go beyond me. Kill Baal using this power and release my resentment.

This meant that Marie Rose’s growth was a very natural result. It was a demonstration of the value of a creature born at the expense of Beriache’s own life. However, a question arose.

Do I really need to look like my mother?

One day, Marie Rose stood in front of the mirror and examined herself very closely. It was from head to toe. She felt a sense of strangeness from her appearance, which looked exactly like her mother as she grew up. The more she compared herself to her older siblings, who looked so different from her mother, the most suspicious she became. She didn’t know the reason.

Did she need to be like her mother? The more she thought about it, the deeper the anxiety that crept into her mind.

In fact, it wasn’t a matter to think deeply about. There was no need to be anxious. Her mother was dead. It was enough for Marie Rose to live her life after fulfilling her obligations. Nevertheless, her instincts cried out to her.

Be suspicious of the situation. Neglect your duty.

It wasn’t a coincidence. It was a warning delivered from the knowledge and information that her mother had passed onto her. It wasn’t known exactly what the warning was about. It was proof that the knowledge and information she inherited from her mother was incomplete. Marie Rose was vaguely aware that her mother had deliberately concealed some information from her.

Then she was reunited with Braham. At first, he was her mother’s enemy. He had the same attitude as the past and barked nonsense like a dog. Then shortly after she promised to marry Grid, Braham came to her castle for the first time and spoke ‘words’ rather than barking.

“You are Mother’s ideal. It is necessary for you to behave properly.”

Ideal—this terrible word was a wake-up call to Marie Rose. It was a wake-up call that revealed the true nature of the anxiety she had been feeling.

That’s right—Marie Rose was Beriache’s ideal. It wasn’t just innate strength and personal appearance. Marie Rose was the ultimate being Beriache had hoped for.

Why did her mother give birth to her? Was it purely for revenge? She didn’t think so...

“”I loved you once,”” the small figure sitting on the throne said.

The torches that started to burn in response to her magic cleared away the darkness of the great hall. The appearance was soon revealed to be that of a little girl. The identity of the person sitting on the throne was Beriache’s soul. She was covered with wounds.

If the method to maintain the soul wasn’t magic power, mental power, and ‘desire,’ perhaps she would’ve disappeared immediately—Beriache’s soul was in such a bad state that people couldn’t help thinking this. All the wounds were presumed to have been caused by powerful magic. The amount of magic power that rose and leaked like smoke seemed considerable.

“”Thank you, and I’m sorry.””

Beriache’s origin was the underground area of Reidan Desert. It was the aftermath of her taking this place as her home after being expelled from hell. Thanks to that, the magic power of all the vampire cities in the desert flocked to Beriache. It gave a distinct form to her soul, which had been repeatedly blurring due to the magic power leaking from the wounds.

“Mother!” There was a being who witnessed the magic power returning to its origin and rushed over in surprise. He was the only ‘survivor’ of the direct descendants apart from Braham and Marie Rose. It was Noll. He inherited the attribute of ‘compassion’ from Beriache and was very affectionate. His tears were well suited to him because he looked like a little boy. It wasn’t at all awkward for him to cry and hug his mother after reuniting with her for the first time in hundreds of years.

“...Visitors who come without permission aren’t welcome.”

“Keuk.”

There was no emotional reunion. Just before he could share a hug with his mother, Noll lost his mind and collapsed. It was due to the magic that Marie Rose had cast.

“”You are violent.””

Beriache, who had been waiting for her son with open arms, smiled bitterly. She sensed it.

‘It won’t be easy.’

Marie Rose’s skills, whom she witnessed used on Noll, were indeed formidable. It would’ve been possible for her to defeat Baal on her own. Well, this was a given. In the first place, Marie Rose was born to transcend her.

Beriache’s thoughts went up to here and her eyes sank. “The reason why you sacrificed yourself to give birth to me.”

Lightly—Marie Rose stepped on the fainted Noll and leapt forward to stand in front of the throne. She bent down and grabbed the armrests of the throne with both hands. She lowered her head to be at eye level with her mother, who looked exactly like her, and demanded the truth.

“It is to take over me, who will one day surpass you in every way, right?”

“”Yes... this insight is correct. I was going to use you to gain the power I couldn’t get on my own, and then take it away from you. I gave birth to you with this plan from the beginning.””

Marie Rose and Beriache were clearly alike, but different.

Beriache’s face wrinkled the more she was in pain or sad, while Marie Rose’s eyes curved in a half moon to avoid showing it.

This child, why is she smiling?

Beriache had only given birth to her.

It happened the moment when Beriache, who didn’t know anything about Marie Rose, had this question...

The armrest of the throne that Marie Rose was holding broke. Due to this, Beriache’s arms that were resting on the armrest floated in the air for a moment. The back of the throne was terribly crushed. It was the result of the shockwave caused by Marie Rose’s raised knee being blocked by Beriache’s small hand.

“”It is a shame that we have to fight after all. If you had fought Baal yourself, rather than Grid, I would’ve resurrected when you were tired after winning and the plan would’ve been completed without much trouble.””

“I see. Then I would’ve died without feeling betrayed.”

“”It was a mistake that the Blood King project, which I prepared in case you betrayed me, was completed so perfectly. Grid is too amazing. He can be my companion and rule hell with me.”’

“...You missed the opportunity to die painlessly.”

Marie Rose had been deeply troubled after noticing her mother’s intentions.

The one who gave birth to her—naturally, Marie Rose couldn’t easily hate her, whom she loved. It was also hard for Marie Rose to resent her because she understood Beriache’s position. It might be a bit disgusting, but how about living together?

She really thought about it seriously. Yet at this moment, her worries were over. The moment Beriache mentioned Grid, Marie Rose’s affection and sympathy for her disappeared like a lie.

Let’s just kill her...

Wasn’t she dead anyway?

For the first time, the smile disappeared from Marie Rose’s face as she had been thinking crazily.

“”Yes, hate me.””

If things had gone as planned, Marie Rose would’ve died without having time to feel betrayed.

It was sincere.

Beriache resented the whole situation.

Baal and Amoract, who drove her to give birth to Marie Rose; Grid, who killed Baal without Marie Rose’s help; Braham, who stood in her way and made her think more; and Noll, who rushed in with open arms and awakened the maternal love that she had suppressed.

Most of all, she resented herself.

She had to try and calm herself down. Beriache sighed deeply and recalled her duty. ‘I have a duty to protect the world my father created.’

It was a duty that no one would understand. Therefore, she didn’t bother to say it. Beriache was determined to be remembered forever as the demon who had harmed and devoured her daughter out of personal greed. She might be criticized by everyone in the world, but she believed she had a duty to live for her father, who was betrayed by his other children.

It was said that it would inevitably be an act of betraying the child she gave birth to, but what could she do? Until she gave birth to Marie Rose, she never dreamed that she would feel sorry for Marie Rose. From the beginning, Marie Rose was just an existence born out of necessity.

Just then, Marie Rose’s right shoulder exploded. It was the result of Baal’s power, which she devoured using her power of ten thousand beings.

At the same time, Beriache’s waist was torn. It was the result of the wound caused by Braham being attacked.

The palace where Marie Rose had lived alone for many years—thanks to the long-awaited guests, the solitude that had been lifted was turned into a form of silence. Everything was ruined in a terrible way.

‘It isn’t good.’

The longer the battle dragged on, the more haggard Marie Rose’s face became. In fact, she had felt it the moment she faced Beriache. It was the sense that the power and magic power she had accumulated in proportion to the passing years were rejecting her and turning toward her mother.

That’s right—she was weakening in real time. The weaker she became, the stronger Beriache became. As a being who was born for Beriache in the first place, Marie Rose’s existence itself worked to give beneficial results to Beriache. It was an inherent limitation. The compatibility was more than just terrible.

By the time she finally managed to get a hold of her dizzy mind, Marie Rose’s left hand was cut off. This was before her right shoulder, which had exploded earlier, had fully regenerated.

It was the moment when she couldn’t use both arms and the shadow of death came to her.

“Stop! It is up to here!”

Someone came running. He stepped through the air several times with bizarre strides, closed the distance in an instant, and separated Beriache from Marie Rose. It was a man with a greatsword.

It was Chris. He didn’t even come alone. Eve, the apostle of the God of the Beginning, Yatan, accompanied him. The strongest forces, which had been absent from the hell expedition for some reason, grasped the situation and arrived at the scene one step earlier than Grid.

“Beriache...” Eve’s voice trembled. She seemed to sadly accept that the child of the god she served had fallen.

Beriache shrugged. “”Isn’t it better than Baal or Amoract?””

At this point, the only opponent who could go against Beriache was Eve. Too much time had passed and there were too many beings who had disappeared over the years.

“”Sacrificing a child in exchange for protecting the world that Father made... I think it is a very cheap price.””

In front of a being who had lived in the same era and had the same aspirations, Beriache finally revealed her purpose and couldn’t bear to make eye contact with Marie Rose. Additionally, the purpose she revealed acted as a powerful curse on Eve.

Beriache’s father was Yatan. The god that Eve served. Now that Eve discovered that Beriache was fighting to protect the world Yatan had created, she couldn’t stand in Beriache’s way. It wasn’t out of personal feelings. Of course, it also wasn’t a betrayal of Grid. It was more of an instinct.

“This...” Chris sighed as he noticed Eve’s immobility, as if she had been nailed down. At the same moment, Beriache’s hand pierced Marie Rose’s heart.

However, Marie Rose wasn’t dead. It was thanks to Noll, who had woken up at some point, rushed over, and wrapped himself around Marie Rose. He told the astonished Beriache with difficulty, “You told me... to cherish and love... my siblings...”

It was too powerful a blow. Before the power of regeneration could work, Noll turned to ash. He couldn’t go to the river of reincarnation. Instead, he was seized by the power of ten thousand beings and was sucked into Beriache’s soul.

“”...It is too late to regret it now.””

The image of Marie Rose was projected on a teardrop falling from Beriache’s eyes.

Will you cry even when hurting me?

Such a questioning expression was reflected from various angles.

Blood gushed out again. It was the blood gushing from Marie Rose’s body.

***

After some time, when everything was over...

“......”

Grid came to the scene and witnessed Marie Rose sitting on the collapsed throne. Yes, she must be Marie Rose. Her appearance, presence, and even her body odor were the same as the Marie Rose that Grid knew.

However, Grid wasn’t relieved. Instead, his face contorted horribly as he pulled out and gripped Twilight.

The name written above Marie Rose’s head—the name that was repeatedly revealed and hidden by the swaying torchlight was Beriache, not Marie Rose.

“Why...?”

Why did this world keep bothering him? Now he just wanted to be comfortable. Thus, he had been working hard without a break. However, he was deprived of an important relationship again.

Grid exploded with killing intent as he recalled the day he first met Marie Rose, the moments he was helped by her, the memories of the bloody kiss, and the promise to marry her. A shockwave shook the palace. It was enough to cause Beriache to tremble despite taking Marie Rose’s body and becoming perfect.

“Certainly... you have completely transcended Baal.” Beriache rose slowly and spoke in Marie Rose’s voice. “Put away your sword and marry me.”

“Shut up.”

“If you kill me, you will never have a chance to bring Marie Rose back to life.”

“......?”

“Now I am Marie Rose. If we get married and have a girl, it is okay to name her Marie Rose...”

Beriache, who had been talking nonsense, suddenly closed her mouth. She suddenly raised both hands and grabbed her neck with enough force to break it.

“Kik... Wait, dear husband...”

A voice mingled between the groans that resembled ridicule—the whispered voice clearly belonged to Marie Rose.

Eve, who was still present at the scene with Chris and watched the situation, approached Grid.

“Maybe Beriache was the one who was eaten instead. This... she is a monster.”

“......”

Grid’s body trembled for various reasons.