Kays Translations

Chapter 25: Reliving the Past

I was swallowed up by the girl who looked just like Aya-chan, and I became a girl.

No, that explanation is not entirely accurate.

From the perspective of the girl, I saw the past of that girl.

It wasn't like the mental world seen through "resonance."

It was an unchangeable, cold past no matter where you looked.

Deep—within Aya-chan, inside the girl within the Ice and Snow Princess, a deep bottom, which is why I might have resonated with her even more strongly.

No, it doesn't matter how it works.

I just found myself drawn to the girl, and I saw her past.

In a village not found on any map, winter didn't end even in the summer.

A young monk who came from the capital said someone had to be a sacrifice.

They wanted a child filled with magic power.

So, that girl who looked just like Aya-chan was chosen.

They couldn't get enough food, and her younger brother died from malnutrition. Still, they managed to survive by eating tree roots.

There were only a few children in the village, less than ten. Among them, only three were healthy, including her. But the other two were boys, so they couldn't be offered as sacrifices.

They had to consider the future of the village.

So, the girl accepted it.

If sacrificing herself could save the village, she willingly became the saint.

In this way, the young exorcist guided her to the "Winter Lord" to end the winter.

That was the beginning.

That exorcist lived for a long time.

But the end of his life approached, and he sought a way not to die.

The girl was chosen for one of his experiments.

A child who keeps touching monsters will eventually become monsters themselves.

It was called ‘Generation,' and the young exorcist found eternity in it.

So, in a village unknown to maps, surrounded by monsters he controlled, he trapped them, maintaining the perpetual winter and using the girl's kindness to turn her into a monster. He made her come into contact with the ‘Yuki onna (Snow Woman)’ he had subjugated.

And thus, the girl became a monster.

She was turned into a being that needed to consume monsters to survive, but the young exorcist aimed to increase his own magic by having her consume "monsters."

High-ranking monsters can live for hundreds of years.

He wanted to make her such a being.

In order to eventually reach that height himself.

So the girl ate a monster.

She knew the taste well, resonating with her.

The taste was like days-old raw fish, with a raw smell, like crushing maggots in your mouth, it was disgusting.

However, the girl ate it.

Because if she didn't, she would die.

Because if she didn't, she would be killed.

So she ate and ate, continuously increasing her magic power.

Over the years, hatred accumulated within the girl.

Hatred for the exorcist who had turned her into such a state, no one else.

She heard he was performing similar experiments with others.

He would take other children, turn them into monsters, and making them eat monsters.

When she asked the exorcist how he could calmly do something that goes against the natural order, he responded as if it were nothing.

"There's no way my life, as someone who can wield magic, is on the same level as that of a mere young girl."

Ah, I see.

That must be the case.

So, the girl ran away.

Strangely enough, it was during a cold winter.

With a fallen body tainted by "monsters," she couldn't return to the village, and yet, she had no destination to go to. She simply ran away. Escaping and devouring the "monsters" that harmed people.

She knew that she could have taken and eaten the children in the village, left untouched for days, it would be safer and more efficient. However, as someone who was once human, she couldn't bring herself to eat children.

So she ran, and she kept running, but she was found by the exorcist and wounded by his spell.

The girl screamed.

She hadn't done anything wrong.

She was captured by the exorcist and turned into a "monster."

But she hadn't killed anyone, only eating "monsters."

But the exorcist responded heartlessly.

"No need for questions."

Ah, that must be the arrogance of the exorcist.

He trampled on human lives without a second thought, dividing those who could use spells from those who couldn't, never listening and forcing his own beliefs.

And so, the girl killed someone for the first time.

However, rumors of a girl killing exorcists reached the capital, and the same young man returned.

He captured her, fed her live insects, and said.

"Among my fallen children, only she survived. Therefore, I entrust her with the insects. In the world beyond, bloom as a butterfly."

And so, the girl was sealed away.

In the dark stone for a long time, she resented and hated the young exorcist.

The curse accumulated in her, turning into magic power and eventually raised her rank even without eating anything.

To kill the exorcist.

That was the only thing she had in her heart for hundreds of years.

Her mind twisted and distorted, but she only hated the exorcist.

That's why she thought to kill every exorcist once she was free from her seal. 

"I'm glad. With this, the seal is broken."

Surrounded by the kindness of the only girl who released her seal. 

"Why did you release my seal...?"

"...Because it's not fair. You didn't do anything wrong."

Only one person.

Even though she was only six years old, she woke up in the middle of the night and released me into the shrine. The only girl who did that was the one who swallowed up my long-held grudge.

"If we get caught, Papa will get angry, so let's sneak away quietly."

"What's your name...?"

"I'm Aya. Aya Shimotsuki."

So, I decided to protect her.

Even if I had to use the power of the fallen "monster," anything would do.

If she were threatened by other "monsters" as a young exorcist in the future, I made up my mind to protect her. I decided to protect only her.

However, that young exorcist left one curse in my body even after death.

The black insect he gave me at the end.

It was a symbol of immortality.

In the West, it is called 'Seal,' and in Japan, it's called ‘Kokujutsu,' a magic that manipulates human spirit.

It doesn't work on monsters, but it's different for humans.

That "nesting" malevolence fed on Aya-chan's inner power, growing and spreading "darkness" within her heart.

And then the girl, or rather, "Ice and snow Princess," manipulated the feelings in her heart, directing her intent to kill the exorcist who would come to save Aya-chan.

I saw those memories.

As I blinked, cold air filled my lungs.

In front of me was the girl who had just resonated with me.

The sky was overcast, and it was nighttime.

The snow falling around the girl had turned into a blizzard.

Before I knew it, I had returned to the winter village from a while ago.

So that's what it was all about.

The girl at the bottom of Aya-chan's heart.

Having relived all that, I understood what the Snow Princess wanted to show me.

"Ice and snow Princess has been waiting for this moment all along...

Inside Aya-chan's spirit world, the Ice and snow Princess is being manipulated by the insects, controlling her emotions and intentions.

However, to protect Aya-chan, she froze her own magic power and cut off the connection to the "insects."

Even though her resentment towards the exorcist grew, she continued to hold onto her sole purpose of protecting Aya-chan.

And so, she had been waiting all this time.

Deep in her heart, she awaited the moment when someone would come to rescue Aya-chan.

"Itsuki, save Aya-chan!"

The girl's figure turned pure white.

Her eyes changed from black to blue.

Nevertheless, the "Ice and Snow Princess" entrusted me with her wish.

To protect Aya-chan.

"...Sure, leave it to me."

Having understood everything, I turned around.

And there, I saw the young exorcist.

The person who had turned the girl into a monster.

He seemed to have evaded my "Sky Piercer."

His clothes were covered in snow, and he was glaring at me.

However, his appearance hadn't changed.

The appearance of the young exorcist who had turned the girl into the Ice and Snow Princess was exactly as I remembered it.

That's why, as if passing on the message to the Princess, I said in a loud voice:

"I'll exorcise you."

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