PMEVBO 67

Prison visiting room. Before the possession, I never had any reason to go near a prison, but I had seen enough of them in dramas and movies. Narrow, bleak, and strangely unsettling…

I assumed this hellish visiting room would be similar, if not worse. But the visiting room I entered following Palet was completely different from what I had imagined.

I opened the large door and stepped onto luxurious carpet right from the entrance. My bare feet, accustomed only to cold stone floors, now walked on this plush, warm carpet, creating a strange sensation. I passed through a narrow corridor lined with several religious paintings and emerged into a reception room fit for a royal palace.

Against a backdrop of black tapestry embroidered with the Order’s crest, the Pope sat on a sofa. His immortality wasn’t just a rumor; his appearance hadn’t changed a bit since the last time I saw him.

So that’s why. It feels like I saw him not six years ago, but six hours ago…

At that moment, the Tali cord connected to the restraint around my neck was pulled taut. Palet, who had been holding the Tali cord’s end in his hand, hastily bowed his head.

“Wa-Warrior of the Creator God Debiamas and…”

Come to think of it, there was a greeting I should offer upon seeing the Pope.

His Holiness the Pope, warrior of the Creator God Debiamas and representative of Hail, immortal hero, emperor of the saints, and lord of punishment. May Debiamas’ blessings always be with Your Holiness.

When I first arrived in Hell following the Pope, every guard I encountered recited it so often that I ended up memorizing those convoluted titles myself.

“Lord of Punishment”…… Ah, so that’s why…….

Come to think of it, the Pope was the one who held exclusive dominion over punishment in this world. All the prisoners incarcerated in Hell were those branded as sinners by the Pope. Who could possibly dare to meet with sinners whom His Holiness himself had cast into Hell? Only the Pope himself could do such a thing.This place is essentially an audience chamber of the Pope, by the Pope, for the Pope.

That must be why it’s decorated so lavishly.

“Ha, representative of Hail, and, and, and…”

At this rate, we won’t finish today. Well, maybe I should help him cheat a little.

Palet was already shorter than me. Because he was bending over double, the Tali cord was pulled taut. 

My neck was starting to ache from stiffening it against the force of the Tali cord pulling down.

Around then the Pope smiled and spoke.

“What is your name?”

Palet, whose shoulders had flinched at the Pope’s gentle voice, answered in a voice raised an octave.

“P-P-Palet!”

“Very well, Palet. May the blessings of Debiamas always be with you.”

Only then did Palet straighten the body he had been keeping bowed low.

“It’s an honor to the famil… Ah, no, I’m deeply honored, Your Holiness.”

“You may go now.”

“Yes. …Have a pleasant time.”

Palet, who had bowed repeatedly toward the Pope, released the Tali cord wrapped around his hand and hurriedly retreated.

Soon, the sound of the door closing echoed. As I massaged my stiff neck, a dry command reached my ears.

“Sit.”

His face, gesturing with his chin toward the seat opposite him, was expressionless.

What, you want me to resist and defy you?

He acted as if he were giving orders to a dog, it was infuriating.

But I couldn’t be bothered. I sighed and walked over to sit opposite him. I plopped down on the sofa, the soft cushions enveloped my body.

The Pope leaned his chin on the armrest and watched me quietly before offering his assessment.

“Good boy.”

Bullshit… Just because I sat down when told, does he really think I’m a dog…?

But that damn dog treatment showed no sign of ending.

“You behaved well for six years, so why did you suddenly cause a commotion a few days ago?”

It was a question similar to what I’d heard from the instructor five days ago. So I figured I’d just give a similar answer and be done with it.

I know.

I know… but strangely, I didn’t want to. I just stared silently at the table.

“You should answer, Lulu.”

Even the Pope’s tone when urging me was dry and emotionless. That fact was unbearably irritating, and I spoke harshly without meaning to.

“…Stop asking things you don’t even care about. Say what you really want to say.”

I couldn’t understand why the Pope had come down here personally in the first place. If a prisoner caused an escape commotion, it should have been enough to just punish them and end it. Why did he have to come all the way here and show his face? …It just made me feel uneasy.

“That’s an interesting thing to say.”

The Pope muttered, but he didn’t look like someone who’d heard something interesting. With a face devoid of emotion, he spoke again.

“Did you think I had something I wanted to say to you?”

Now he was treating me like an object that couldn’t even communicate. That contempt made my teeth grind.

“…Then why did you come here?”

“Because both conclusions you just reached are wrong, I suppose.”

The Pope sank deeper into the sofa’s backrest as he continued.

“I have nothing to say to you, but I am curious what might come out of your mouth.”

“So.”

I touched the back of my neck and took a moment to catch my breath.

“So you crawled all the way down here just to hear the reason for an escape that failed in less than half a day?”

“Yes.”

…Guess he has nothing better to do.

It was absurd, but I decided to focus on the fact that I knew his purpose.

If I tell him the reason he wants to hear, he’ll leave.

I blurted out the words carelessly, with the energy of someone telling another to eat and get lost.

“I did it because I was frustrated.”

“Frustration isn’t something that just started yesterday or today. You endured it for six years, and suddenly you couldn’t take it anymore?”

“Yes.”

Up to this point, it felt like repeating the conversation I’d had with the guard five days ago. That’s why I hadn’t expected this conversation to take an unexpected turn.

“So, do you want out? Shall I let you out of here?”

“……What?”

The Pope said it as casually as someone offering to share their dinner menu.

“If you say you want out of here, I’ll grant your wish.”

His face was the same as that day six years ago, when he’d asked me to choose between a punishment and a reward.

‘Shall I lock you in hell for hiding your divine power and taking countless lives? Or shall I praise your belated manifestation and seat you as bishop?’

Then the Pope’s dry gaze pierced my neck.

Only then did I realize. I was scratching my skin again.

Blood pooled crimson beneath my nails, evidence of my relentless scratching. A belated, searing pain surged through the skin on my neck. As I pressed my palm against the torn flesh to stem the bleeding, I heard the Pope’s low voice.

“That habit.”

His gaze, fixed on my wounded neck, slid upward.

Finally, his gaze settled on the spot beneath my left eye. The wound from five days ago hadn’t fully healed yet. He muttered monotonously.

“I thought you’d already fixed it.”

It seemed even the original Lucariel had the same annoying habit as me.

I didn’t respond to the Pope’s words.

The Pope said nothing more to me. Instead, he pushed the napkin from the table toward me. I snatched it almost as if I were taking it by force and wiped my hands and neck.

Under the pretext of reclaiming the system, I chose this place, Hell. But there was also… a desire to punish myself for trampling countless lives.

I simply couldn’t forgive myself. I thought the Pope must feel the same way. I assumed he too wanted to condemn me, who had committed such a terrible sin, by casting me into Hell.

‘They would have died someday, even without you. So what difference does it make that you became the reason?’

Even though he spoke words unlike those of a human, I wanted to believe that wasn’t his true intention. I didn’t want to admit that the being before me, bearing the face of my beloved brother, was a monster who didn’t even understand the preciousness of human life…

But now, I had no choice but to accept it.

Six years ago, the Pope hadn’t presented me with a reward and a punishment out of any particular intention. He wasn’t testing me, nor was he using it as an excuse to punish me… He simply didn’t care either way. 

Whether I chose reward or punishment.

The being before me feels not even a speck of meaning for the countless lives lost that day, in that place. To him, those lives are merely materials. Convenient materials to craft into anything, reward, punishment, whatever.

And that remains true even now.

If I asked him to send me out of here, he’d probably grant it without a second thought.

…… Because it meant nothing to him.

And it was revolting.

Ah… This won’t do.

……I must return to my original world, no matter what it takes.

I was already a monster who had committed an unforgivable sin. But more than that… Facing that monster with my brother’s face was more painful.

Ah, it feels like my soul is shattering into pieces.