The World Is Mine For The Taking

Foriel smiled bitterly, wearing the kind of smile that made it obvious she had already given up on trying to argue any further.

"Well... I guess she’s yours now, huh?" she said quietly, sounding like she’d already accepted the outcome whether she liked it or not.

"Yup. Sorry, but I don’t ever want to go back to being wrapped up in bandages again," Samui replied, making sure that point landed squarely on Foriel. "I understand that you want to kill someone, and I get why you’re so desperate, but even then, I seriously doubt you’d be able to use me to make that happen. If I happened to be feeling a little kinder, I might even let you swing me at the person you want to kill just to satisfy your curiosity. Even if I did, though, I still don’t think you’d be able to inflict any meaningful damage on the person you’re trying to kill."

Those words were coming from Samui herself.

This was the exact same Samui who had tried to kill me the moment I first obtained her by draining an absurd amount of my life force without the slightest bit of hesitation. Looking back on it now, that really wasn’t the warmest first impression anyone could’ve asked for.

Now she was calmly telling Foriel that even if she somehow managed to wield her, she’d only get a single swing before losing her own life. Even after all of that, she still wouldn’t be able to accomplish anything against Satania.

"That person..." Samui continued after a brief pause. "Master fought her, so I know how powerful she really is, or at least I know most of what she’s capable of. Master might’ve been able to stand against her..."

She paused again for just a second.

Then she finished her sentence.

"But you can’t."

She really wasn’t pulling any punches with those words.

If anything, she crushed whatever hope Foriel still had left without showing the slightest bit of mercy. Hearing something like that from Samui only made Satania seem even more terrifying than she already was. Samui was a Cursed Sword that had existed for decades. If even someone like her believed that Foriel had absolutely no chance, then arguing against that would just be wishful thinking.

"So it’s better if you just give up," Samui said in a calm but unwavering voice.

A heavy silence settled over the room for several long moments before Foriel finally found the strength to speak again.

"How am I supposed to just give up...?" she asked quietly. "I can’t go home... and if I don’t do something, then I’ll never be able to. That’s exactly why I have to do something, even if I know it probably won’t be enough..."

I heard every single word she said without missing anything.

So that was what she’d been hiding all this time.

Everything finally made a little more sense.

The moment those words slipped out of her mouth, it looked like she immediately realized she’d revealed far more than she’d intended. She quickly shut her mouth, turned around, and headed toward the door without saying another word.

Before she could fully open it and leave the room, I stopped her with a question.

"You’re not from this world, are you?" I asked.

She didn’t answer my question at all.

Instead, she simply spoke in a quiet, composed voice.

"Goodbye, Mr. Faust."

With those final words, she opened the door and walked out without looking back even once, leaving the room behind as though she had already made up her mind.

I kept staring at the closed door for a while before letting out a long, tired sigh.

Honestly, I still wanted to talk to her.

I wanted to ask where she’d originally come from and what kind of portal she’d gone through to end up in this world. Maybe it wasn’t even a portal at all. Perhaps she’d experienced something similar to the Hero Summoning.

After the way our conversation had ended, though, I seriously doubted she’d answer any of those questions.

Trying to force the issue right now would probably only make her shut me out even more.

Leaving things alone for the time being was probably the smartest choice.

Unfortunately, that didn’t make me feel any better about it.

At this point, I honestly had no idea when, or even if, I’d ever run into her again.

***

Two days passed after my conversation with Foriel, and I finally decided it was time to leave the town and head back to Mammon’s place.

Just as I’d expected, Foriel had completely disappeared after our conversation.

Nobody had seen her anywhere around town since then, and I couldn’t find even the slightest trace of her no matter where I looked. It was probably safe to assume that she’d left shortly after we parted ways, just like I’d expected from the beginning.

Finding her again definitely wouldn’t be easy.

Completely losing track of her, however, probably wasn’t impossible to avoid.

She would’ve had to disappear all the way to the ends of the earth before I completely lost the ability to find her, provided I actually devoted myself to searching for her seriously.

While I was preparing another carriage for the trip back, even though flying would’ve been much faster and far less troublesome, someone unexpectedly showed up.

"You’re going home now?" she asked.

It was Beelzebub.

She was sitting comfortably on top of a nearby rooftop with her legs spread apart in a way that most people would’ve called completely unladylike. Then again, considering she was genderless, I doubted she cared much about things like proper posture or elegant appearances.

"Yeah," I answered with a small nod. "My job here is done, after all."

I’d already accomplished everything I’d originally come here to do.

Finding Elise had always been my biggest priority.

Knowing she was alive and safe was more than enough for me.

Everything involving the Seven Deadly Sins had honestly been an unexpected bonus, although calling it a bonus felt like the wrong choice of words considering how ridiculously dangerous the entire situation had turned out to be.

"I see..." she murmured softly after a short pause.

For some reason, she sounded genuinely disappointed.

That surprised me a little.

After remaining quiet for another moment, she looked at me again before speaking.

"Before you leave... would you like to visit it?"

I tilted my head slightly in confusion.

"Visit what?" I asked, wondering what exactly she meant.

"The cave where Mother lived with me and the others," she replied quietly. "It’s the place we used to call home before everything changed."