[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): You're talking about that King of the Night, right? Just an immortal zombie. Taking him out is no big deal.]
[Kyoko (Level 2, Stage 7): Is that so...]
Looking at Eriri's reply, Kyoko immediately fell into silence.
Although everything she had done so far was to help the King of the Night achieve his goal of death, now that she knew he would actually be killed, she couldn't help but feel a deep sense of reluctance.
After all, what girl would want to see the person she admired die just like that?
Even earlier, while watching the memory recording, when the King of the Night died, she could clearly feel the sense of loss rising from deep within her heart.
Yet she had no choice but to forcibly suppress her emotions.
Because that was the long-cherished wish the King of the Night had pursued all this time, so all she could do was help him fulfill that wish, rather than let him continue to suffer.
So after a dozen seconds of silence, she voiced her wish in the chat group.
[Kyoko (Level 2, Stage 7): If possible... Eriri-sama, could you help the King of the Night fulfill his wish of obtaining death?]
[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): That's easy. No problem. I accept your request.]
[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): But I have a few things to take care of over the next few days. Once I'm done, I'll go take care of that King of the Night.]
[Kyoko (Level 2, Stage 7): ...]
[Kyoko (Level 2, Stage 7): Even though your way of putting it is a bit... blunt, thank you for agreeing to my unreasonable request.]
[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): Don't worry about it. It's just a small favor.]
[Chika Fujiwara (Level 7, Stage 2): Wow, this is a first. Someone who actually finds living painful. I don't get it. Haven't many emperors throughout history chased after immortality?]
[Chika Fujiwara (Level 7, Stage 2): Besides, that King of the Night isn't even sick or in pain. Isn't living comfortably a good thing?]
[Arche (Level 7, Stage 2): Indeed, I find it hard to believe as well.]
[Ruri Gokou (Level 7, Stage 2): +1]
[Kyoko (Level 2, Stage 7): You don't understand. Judging by your ages, you all look like you're only in your teens. How could you possibly comprehend the pain of being unable to die?]
[Chika Fujiwara (Level 7, Stage 2): Well, yeah, I don't get it. But I think even if I lived for thousands or tens of thousands of years, I would never lose hope in life.]
[Kyoko (Level 2, Stage 7): How can you be so sure? After a few hundred years, your thoughts will definitely change.]
[Chika Fujiwara (Level 7, Stage 2): Absolutely not. After all, I'm not alone.]
[Kyoko (Level 2, Stage 7): Heh. Say what you want. Let's see if you can even live that long.]
[Chika Fujiwara (Level 7, Stage 2): No need to worry about that. Even though we haven't achieved immortality, Eriri has said that with our current strength, we can live at least tens of thousands of years. And as we grow stronger, our lifespan will increase too.]
[Ruri Gokou (Level 7, Stage 2): Hmph, who are you looking down on? Living for thousands of years is nothing.]
[Kyoko (Level 2, Stage 7): ...]
[Kyoko (Level 2, Stage 7): Alright, Eriri-sama, you may deal with me now. Whether it's kicking me out of the group or avenging those I killed, I won't resist.]
[Kyoko (Level 2, Stage 7): If it's the latter, I hope to die on the same day as the King of the Night.]
[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): You really are overthinking things. Sure, I don't like what you've done, but why would I avenge the people you killed? I don't even know them. Whether they're dead or alive has nothing to do with me.]
[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): To be honest, I have a much better impression of you than that unrepentant Naoka Ueno.]
[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): So I've decided to let you stay in the group. What happens next will depend on how you behave.]
[Kyoko (Level 2, Stage 7): Eh?]
Seeing Eriri's message, Kyoko was completely stunned.
From the earlier messages sent by the other group members, Kyoko already knew they weren't fond of her.
Which was to be expected. Doing wrong deserved punishment. Just like the future shown in the memory recording—she may not have died, but her punishment was centuries of imprisonment, never to be remembered by anyone.
To her, that kind of punishment was even more terrifying than death.
But she never imagined Eriri would say something like this. It didn't sound like the behavior of a typical justice seeker.
[Kyoko (Level 2, Stage 7): But won't keeping me in the group cause dissatisfaction among other members? There must be others who dislike me.]
[Chika Fujiwara (Level 7, Stage 2): That's true.]
[Arifureta (Level 7, Stage 2 / Group Leader): Well, you don't need to worry about that. Since Eriri said so, we have no objections.]
[Kaguya Shinomiya (Level 7, Stage 2): Aichan is right. Onee-sama can speak for me.]
[Gabriel (Level 7, Stage 2): Whatever. So boring. I'm just going to keep playing my game.]
[Asuna Yuuki (Level 7, Stage 2): I don't like how you indiscriminately killed the innocent, but I still support Eriri's decision unconditionally.]
[Fumino Furuhashi (Level 7, Stage 2): Same here.]
[Luo Cuilian (Level 7, Stage 2): Haha, I don't dislike you, little girl. When it comes to brutality, you can't even hold a candle to me.]
[Chika Fujiwara (Level 7, Stage 2): Eh? Sis Cuilian, are you finally admitting you're brutal?]
[Luo Cuilian (Level 7, Stage 2): Hm? Are you mocking me, Chika? Want me to have a little heart-to-heart with you?]
[Chika Fujiwara (Level 7, Stage 2): No no no, Sis Cuilian, I was wrong.]
[Luo Cuilian (Level 7, Stage 2): Hmph!]
[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): Don't say that, Sis Cuilian has changed a lot.]
[Luo Cuilian (Level 7, Stage 2): Of course, I wouldn't want my precious little sister to hate me.]
[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): By the way, Kyoko, if you don't want to get kicked out later, you better not go around killing people anymore. Randomly slaughtering innocents really isn't good.]
[Kyoko (Level 2, Stage 7): ...]
[Kyoko (Level 2, Stage 7): Don't worry. I no longer have any reason to kill.]
[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): That's good. I hope you mean it. I won't give you a second chance.]
[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): Of course, I'm not saying you can never kill again. If someone provokes you first, feel free to kill them. As many as you like.]
[Kyoko (Level 2, Stage 7): I see. Understood.]
[Kyoko (Level 2, Stage 7): In that case, I'll shamelessly stick around. Please take care of me, seniors. Hehe.]
[Chika Fujiwara (Level 7, Stage 2): ...]
[Pandora (Level 4, Stage 2): What a wonderful emotional exchange. Since Kyoko gets to stay, does that mean I can stay too?]
[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): Judging from your earlier message, the timeline of your world is four hundred years before the memory recording began, right?]
[Pandora (Level 4, Stage 2): Yes.]
[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): Kyoko gets to stay because she turned over a new leaf. Can you give up committing evil too?]
[Pandora (Level 4, Stage 2): Why do you think what I did was evil? It was just something necessary to achieve a certain goal. It was all the choice of fate.]
[Chika Fujiwara (Level 7, Stage 2): Uh...]
[Arifureta (Level 7, Stage 2 / Group Leader): Analysis complete—looks like there's no hope of keeping her.]
[Elaina (Level 7, Stage 2): This one's terrifying. She doesn't think there's anything wrong with what she did.]
[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): In that case, let's hold a vote. Should Pandora be kicked out?]
[Kiss-shot (Level 7, Stage 2): There's no need for that. Whether she stays or not should be entirely your decision, Eriri. Whatever you decide, I'll support you.]
[Arifureta (Level 7, Stage 2 / Group Leader): Shinobu's right. Eriri, it's up to you.]
[Adele (Level 7, Stage 1): Agreed!]
[Kanae Kocho (Level 7, Stage 2): That's right. Just like with Kyoko's situation, you decide.]
[Kyoko (Level 2, Stage 7): Ehehe~]
[Tina (Level 7, Stage 2): I'm with all the other big sisters.]
[Sakura Tohsaka (Level 7, Stage 2): Same here...]
[Rin Tohsaka (Level 7, Stage 2): Count me in too!]
...
[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): Alright, since everyone feels this way, I won't hold back.]
[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): Pandora, since you can't acknowledge your wrongdoings like Kyoko did, you obviously can't stay in the group.]
[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): But since we were once group members, I won't do anything to you—as long as you don't provoke me. Otherwise, I won't be as nice next time~]
[Pandora (Level 4, Stage 2): Is that so? That's truly a shame. I really enjoyed the deep bonds you all share. But it seems I can't become part of your friendship. This too... is fate.]
[Ding! Pandora (Level 4, Stage 2) has been removed from the group chat.]
...
In the world of "Date A Live."
Staring at the system notification that had just popped up in the chat group, Ellen Mira Mathers, who had been silently lurking, furrowed her brows slightly.
After using the dozens of points she got from the check-in system to strengthen her body, Ellen had placed high hopes on the chat group.
She knew that as long as she kept checking in daily, it wouldn't take long before she gained formidable power.
But the sudden memory recordings had ruined all her plans.
Because of the fear toward them as magicians, their hidden village was destroyed by human mercenaries.
Her family and fellow villagers all perished in the sea of flames that engulfed the entire village, leaving only her, her sister, and two other companions.
Thus, her heart was filled with fury and deep-seated hatred toward humanity.
But to exact revenge on humanity, relying on just the four remaining magicians was utterly impossible. So, the four of them founded the DEM Corporation.
In pursuit of power to carry out their revenge, just over a week ago, she and her two companions used spirit formulas in the center of the Eurasian continent to concentrate the world's magic and created a new lifeform in another realm.
This lifeform, which they called a spirit, possessed unimaginable power. Merely its manifestation caused 150 million casualties.
Rather than feel regret, they were ecstatic. To them, it was the first step in their revenge against humanity.
However, the spirit's power was beyond their control. Not long after its birth, it broke free from their grasp, and they lost their tool for revenge.
Even so, they did not give up and mobilized DEM's resources to capture the spirit.
But recently, the two companions who had created the spirit with her began to differ in opinions.
Elliot wanted to protect the spirit and move on from their hatred of humanity, while Isaac wished to continue using the spirit's power to exact revenge.
This conflict had been troubling Ellen greatly.
After seeing the scenes in the memory recording, Ellen learned the eventual outcome of Elliot and Isaac's disagreement, and how Elliot left DEM—taking her sister Karen with him, not her.
This greatly disturbed her, since both she and her sister had liked Elliot, but he hadn't chosen her.
More importantly, her intention to seek revenge against humanity was now exposed.
Seeing what happened to the three other members who joined the group around the same time, she knew that if she wanted to remain, she would have to let go of her hatred.
But even though years had passed, the scene of her village being destroyed remained vivid in her mind, and the hatred in her heart continued to burn fiercely.
Letting go of that hatred... was absolutely impossible.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
40 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon:
Patreon.com/DaoOfHeaven