Chapter 186 – Episode 119 – Interlude (Irresistible Temptation)

*All characters appearing are adults.
*This is a fictional story that is nothing but fiction. Never follow

“Vice-captain, think carefully. Who would you like to join hands with to make your wish come true?”

Charis, holding a small crystal like a pearl.
Not wanting to eat it, Rika clamped her mouth shut.
She intended to kill herself by biting her tongue here, if force-fed.
Even though she was used by the dream demons, she was not Rika who would be afraid to end her own life just because of that.

However, Rika couldn’t help but be shaken by what Karis said to her.

“Your mother. I heard that she is in critical condition, is she okay now?”
“Ugh, everything, it’s none of your business!”
“I don’t know. How can we forget the most famous singer in the kingdom? There was a time when the kingdom was shaken by the news that the singer was ill…”
“…”
“Certainly, you wouldn’t even deny her mother’s achievements, would you?”
“… Shit.”

It was as Karis said.
Rika’s mother was a famous singer.
She was a singer with a beautiful voice that made one think that a new goddess had descended.
When she heard her song she sang, her emotions filled her with tears.
Her song touched people’s heartstrings to the extent that it was cautioned that she should always pack her handkerchief.

‘I want to become a singer like my mother.’

Rika was so proud of her mother.
It was so satisfying to see the people of the world praising her mother and daughter.
Rika wanted this happiness to last for a long time.

But happiness came to an abrupt end one day.

She said, “She can’t sing anymore. She didn’t know that there were all such incurable diseases in the world.”
“…”
“Thanks to that, the singer who was enjoying her popularity at the height of her popularity was disappearing from people’s memories, and she despaired of that reality.”
“…”
“Her daughter, who wanted to save such a mother, took her sword instead of her song.”
“…”
“It’s really ironic. To think that his disease would ruin everything.”
“…”

Rika couldn’t resist.
Because everything was true

‘Heo-eok, heo-eok, heo-eoeok, heo-eoeok!’

Rika’s mother fell ill.
A disease in which the voice no longer comes out.
Rika had no way of knowing why she got it, or why her mother had such an illness.
She didn’t know if it was because her tight schedule was straining her body, or if it was because of her frequent binge drinking.
What we can say with certainty is that her mother fell into abyss because of her terminal illness, and Rika herself had no choice but to give up her dream of becoming a singer.
Having lost her voice, Rika’s mother had no other way to communicate her thoughts than with her paper and pen.

‘Tea, I need to find it. I have to get my voice back.’

Rika’s mother did everything she could to cure her illness.
She’s a singer and she has a golden opportunity to rise to the top because she doesn’t want to blow it up because of illness.
Even with all her possessions, Rika’s mother tried to regain her voice.

‘I’m sorry, but this disease is not something that can be cured.’

But she failed.
Famous doctors and therapists all shook their heads.
This disease is not a disease that can never be cured.
I have no choice but to live a life without a voice for the rest of my life.
So give up her dream of being a singer. Everyone advised so.
Upon hearing that, Rika’s mother despaired.

‘I want to sing a song.’

The words of a woman whose dreams were broken were miserable.

Lying in her hospital bed, she reminisces about her old self.
Wearing her fancy dress, she sings her song in her own beautiful voice in front of her audience.
Listening to her own song and seeing her audience applauding her, she expresses gratitude.

As she greets her, the voices of her audience disappear, and so does her own voice.
She is bewildered and when she opens her eyes she is confronted with the reality of lying in a hospital bed.
An old run-down house.
A skinny body in shabby clothes.
She cries loudly as she sees herself in a pitiful downfall.

The brighter her dream, the greater the despair she experienced in reality.
Rika’s mother lived each day with a miserable heart.
Her mind was driven to the edge of her precipice to the point that she wanted to end her life.

Rika couldn’t bear to see her mother like that.

“Vice-captain. You joined the Knights for such a mother. She wanted to save her mother even to the point of giving up her own dreams.”
“…”
“But you don’t have to do that anymore, Rika.”
“…”
“If she accepts this like her mother, she can become a singer again. That she can get her lost dreams back. Her mother and daughter will be able to get her back on top.”

I want to cure her mother’s illness.
To make it better, we need money first.
You need to find a job that pays stably.
So Rika gave up her dream and joined the Knights.
When her paycheck came out, she used it to treat her mother every day.

But this is pouring water into a bottomless pot.
No matter how much money she poured into it, her mother’s incurable disease could not be cured.
It was just that she was just prolonging her dying life.
Her mother screamed at her unchanging reality, and Rika, who saw it every day, felt more and more impoverished.
She even wondered why she had joined the Templars.

She said she wanted to be a singer, but why did she take up the sword?
I want to make my mother better, but why doesn’t that damn disease go away?
Can he live like this?
Rika was so confused about what to do now.

Karis was well aware of this.
Because he was always the only one who listened to Rika’s worries.
That’s why she was able to convince Rika in this position now.
No matter how hardline she is, Rika won’t just ignore the opportunity to make her dream come true.

“I-I…”

Rika’s golden eyes shook greatly.
Charis, who did not miss this, pushed her sub-captain even further.

“Vice-captain. Think carefully. It’s an opportunity she won’t come back for. If you accept this, both you and your mother can be happy. She can regain the admiration she once enjoyed.”
“Even if she becomes a monster in return?”
“The price is very cheap. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could live as a monster for the rest of your life and still be able to do whatever you want?”
“Even if you say that, it will be thrown away when it is no longer useful…”
“That will never happen.”

Caris said firmly.

“I won’t let it go like that. It is my wish to hear your mother and daughter sing.”
“…”
“It’s not just me. Lorelai and the other sirens also want to hear your mother and daughters sing.”
“That, the monster, no, the Sirens?”
“They are also famous for singing well. If there is a woman with a beautiful voice like your mother and daughter, she wants to accept her as her own no matter what.”

Thanks to that, I was able to receive the essence.
Karis added that too.

“The audience wants to hear your mother and daughter sing like this, but you, vice-captain, are you going to turn a blind eye?”
“Do you want to make demons and demons your audience…”
“Whether it’s a demon or a human, it’s important that there are people who want to listen. Isn’t that right, vice-captain?”
“…”

I want to refute. I want to yell at you to stop talking nonsense.
I wanted to get angry at someone who wanted to sing for the demons.
However, only her lips moved, and no sound came out of Rika’s mouth.

‘I want to call you too.’

I want to sing too.
I want to become a singer like my mother.
I want to stand on stage with my mother and sing.
Decades have passed since she became a knight, but Rika has not forgotten the wish she had in her heart when she was young.

Rika couldn’t help but shout when she said that she would give her a chance to make that wish come true.
She couldn’t even be angry.
If that happens, you will lose your chance.
Rika couldn’t help but keep her mouth shut.

‘Did the commander-in-chief go through like this?’

She was well aware of Rika’s wish that the commander-in-chief also had a wish.
Even if she is stigmatized with humiliation, she is only trivial if she can fulfill her wish.
To the extent that he said that, the commander-in-chief wanted to make his wish come true.

Maybe she fell for the temptation of the demons because she was such a person?
Now that she has a helper to make her dream come true, could she refuse it?
Just as the current Rika herself was shaken by the words of the commander-in-chief, the commander-in-chief must have been shaken by the words of the demons.

‘What should I do?’

I have a sincere wish to come true.
There is someone who can make that wish come true.
Those beings have the power to do so, and are obliged to keep their promises.
If you just obey, you can do anything.
Although Rika was enraged by the commander’s betrayal, she could understand a little why she betrayed her.
And she felt a little bit that she wanted to be part of the treachery.

“I will ask you again, vice-captain. Please open your mouth.”
“… I am.”
“Let me hold her hand. Let’s do our best so that the people can live as a member of the demon tribe. Let’s live for each other’s wishes. If you accept this, you can achieve both.”
“…”

Will you accept or reject it?
After much hesitation, Rika made her choice.

“Ah, ah…”

Opened her mouth
Seeing this, Karis smiled heartily.

“You made a good choice, vice-captain.”

Laughing, Karis put her essence into Rika’s open mouth.
Rika closed her mouth and gulped down her essence.
And after a while,

“Huh? Aaaaa!”

A tremendous pang of pain took over Rika’s entire body.

“Aaaaa!”

It feels like my body is being cut with a knife.
Pain as if skin were peeling, muscles were torn, and bones were shattered.
Rika couldn’t breathe in her own pain as she was being torn to pieces.
Tears flowed from her eyes and her body convulsed incessantly.
She couldn’t even control her body and collapsed onto her floor.

“Keheo-uh? Uh uh uh uh uh uh…”

The sound of her breathing fading along with secretions came out of her mouth.
Her pupils shrink and dilate over and over again, and her head spins tight.
A blue aura began to wrap around Rika’s entire body.
And,

Fish scales began to form on her thighs one by one.

‘It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts!’

It’s like being burned alive.
It hurts so much that I can’t tell the difference.
Although she thought that there would be a price to pay for the transformation, Rika could not have imagined that it would be so painful.
Rika was worried that she would die without achieving anything.

“Keuuuuu!”
“Don’t worry, vice-captain.”

Karis raised Rika to her feet.
Like a parent comforting a frightened child, they embraced the vice-captain.
He also loosened the ropes that were tightly tied to Rika’s body.
As soon as the rope was untied, Rika’s arms drooped.

“Because I’m going too.”

Another essence was held in Karis’ hand.

‘Would it be all right now?’

Said Lilia.
Just don’t use integers.
When a situation arises where the problem does not arise even if you become a demon,
It’s good to use it when you completely dominate the knights.

Karis thought she had a point.
Because if I blindly became a monster, I could lose everything.
So, Karis waited until the time was ripe.

And finally the time has come.
Princess Bellion sat on her throne, and the Knights headquarters was almost taken over.
Now there is nothing wrong with becoming a monster.
Now it won’t be a problem to bring her daughter in.

“Then I’ll ask you to do the next job.”

Karis said towards her woman behind her own.
A woman with golden hair down to her waist and black eyes.
Her looks were identical to Selena’s.
Except for a piece of cloth covering only her nipples and pubic area, she was virtually naked.
On her back and buttocks were wings and tail reminiscent of a demon.

The woman, Selena’s daughter Pretis, nodded her head.

“Yes, I understand, Commander-in-Chief. Headquarters will be secured while you are away.”
“Then…”

Believing her words, Karis swallowed her essence.

“Keuheuk, aaaaagh!”

Like Rika, Karis suffered from great pain.