Chapter 240 Blitzkrieg 1
Tears kept flowing from Sitri's eyes.
She hugged Elune, who was covered with blood. Her body, which was getting colder little by little whenever she put her lips on her forehead, did not move this time.
She could not believe Elune's death, let alone the others' death.
But it was all true. She could not deny the stern fact. And now, she was faced with the reality she wanted to deny most.
Her whole body ached. Her bloody body creaked before she hugged Elune. This space with the strongest celestial power in the demon world was a land of death even for Sitri, one of the Seven Deadly Sins.
Sitri cried. She squeezed her voice to say something, again tightening her arms holding Elune.
"Don't go."
It was harder than she thought. Her wet voice was small. It was difficult for her even to add one more word.
It was also because of the power of the celestial world, but she was overwhelmed by the emotions. She could not control the overflowing feelings.
Sitri once again opened her mouth, "Don't go. Please, please..."
She couldn't say anything anymore. Dozens of words came to her mind at the same time, but none of them came out of her mouth. What she barely squeezed from her mouth was her desperate appeal to Mammon, her master.
Mammon faced her. Although her face was messed with tears, he touched her beautiful face and kissed her forehead and lips.
That was his way of expressing his goodbye. His fleeting kiss made her wake up to the grim reality more sharply. A world without Mammon, which would disappear forever in a moment, scared her.
"Why?! Why should you go?! Why only you?!"
She shouted out loud. It was a damn world. It was a filthy world full of dirty traitors. She could not understand why Mammon should sacrifice himself in such a situation? Why should Mammon bleed for those traitors?
There were lots of things she wanted to say to him. She wanted to reproach herself for this deplorable situation.
Mammon smiled at her again and said kindly, "Because only I can do it. Because I am the king of you and everyone."
It wasn't simply because he had the Sin and Godly Energy.
He was the king, the leader and the navigator who would lead everyone.
"And because it is mine... Since both you and this world are all mine, wouldn't it be natural for me to keep what's mine?"
His statement befitted his position as the King of Greed. After wrapping up his words playfully, Mammon kissed Sitri once again.
Sitri wanted to show him her own smile. But in the end, she could not help but cry again.
So, she just begged him to take her
Mammon glanced at her lovably. He touched Elune's hand, which was still warm, and quickly stood up.
The sky was twisted. The sky that should be red got mixed with blue light. There was really little time left for him now.
Mammon looked up to the sky. Still smiling, he said to Sitri, "I will be back."
Sitri couldn't go with him together. Since it was his wish, she had no choice but to let him go alone.
She wiped the tears with her bloody hands. She clenched her teeth to hold back her tears. She vividly etched the memory of him going along into her mind.
Mammon went alone. He climbed the stairs leading to the celestial world—the end of the sky.
***
"Sitri."
Everyone pricked their ears when Gusion mentioned her name all of a sudden.
Although the name suddenly popped up, Ophelia and Kaiwan understood why Sitri's name was mentioned. There was astonishment on their faces.
"Yes, Sitri is none other than the Queen of Sloth," said Gusion calmly.
Scathach made a sad smile at that. Catalina could not make head or tail of what was going on.
Of course, it wasn't her fault. Gusion's mention of Sitri was so shocking to everybody.
With his eyes wide open, Eligos was aghast.
With the exception of Yong-ho, Eligos was the one who met Sitri most within the Mammon family until now.
It seemed Gusion had to give them more background explanation.
Kaiwan made an expression as if she was about to shout loudly at any moment, but she held it back to the end. She was now suppressing herself.
Yong-ho closed his eyes. Sitri's face and voice distantly came to his mind.
"Why?"
Yong-ho didn't ask Gusion why Sitri was the Queen of Sloth.
Opening his eyes, Yong-ho looked straight at Gusion and asked, "If Sitri is the Queen of Sloth, why are you resenting her?"
As Gusion admitted, Sitri fought with the Mammon family. She did not betray Mammon like the other kings.
If that was the case, why did Gusion resent her?
Gusion smiled at his question, but his expression was far from a smile.
He replied with a rather weary voice.
"The alliance of the five kings to save the demon world was a good thing. It's fantastic when you hear it. But Master Mammon knew that the reality was not that simple. It is only possible in a fairy tale for those who were fighting against each other until yesterday to join hands to fight together for their common ideal goal."
And that was the reality. In fact, the three kings—Kings of Pride, Envy, and Lust—eventually betrayed Mammon.
"We 12 Spirits did not trust the rest of the kings. So, we opposed our master's alliance with them. But the Queen of Sloth, Sitri, made the case for the alliance. She encouraged Mammon to form the alliance, arguing that if the five kings joined hands, they could solve the current crisis."
Gusion knew Sitri believed the use of the alliance truly. In fact, Sitri really believed their alliance would solve the problem facing the demon world. So, it was Sitri who was more shocked than anyone else by the betrayal of the three kings.
Scathach tightened her hand holding Gusion.
Gusion laughed awkwardly again and said, "Yes, I know. I was probably stupid. Maybe I might have needed someone I wanted to hate."
Actually, Gusion couldn't stand it without hating somebody. But for it, he couldn't face the House of Mammon that collapsed in return for saving the demon world.
Gusion could no longer continue. Scathach gently smiled at him, touching his hand.
She wrapped it up on behalf of him.
"But it's water under the bridge now. There is no more threat from the celestial world. The King of Pride, who was the main instigator of betrayal, disappeared amid the passage of time. We still have the King of Envy and the King of Lust, but I wonder how we should deal with them."
Even now, when she closed her eyes, she remembered that time. It was an unforgettable memory. But the passage of a thousand years made her calm down.
"Master Mammon was worried about us until the end. He had another concern while sending us back to the demon world in a hurry, for it was so obvious that we 12 Spirits would cry out for revenge."
Yong-ho recalled Asclepius at that moment. While he was confined to a thousand years of guilt, he became a madman. Perhaps, he must have thought of revenge before he went crazy.
Scathach closed her eyes then cleared her voice before continuing.
"Master Mammon didn't want his successor, who would appear someday, to be passively entangled in our revenge efforts. That's why he wanted his successor to realize the whole truth only when he could take control of his 12 Spirits."
Actually, Yong-ho came to know the whole truth only after he could take control of Mammon's 12 Spirits like now.
Scathach opened her eyes again and looked at him with a calm and affectionate look, as always, not with an expression full of revenge.
"Young Master, you're now our new master. We will follow your will."
Yong-ho moved his lips a bit. Catalina let down her ears with an anxious look, and Kaiwan just swallowed, looking at him.
Scathach said again, "I'm not trying to pressure you. I'm not arguing for taking revenge right away. Too much time has passed for that. Now I understand what's in Mammon's heart. Mammon didn't want us to pursue blind revenge."
When Yong-ho obtained the heart of the Demon God for the first time, Mammon's memory told him that he should pursue his own path and live a life based on his choice.
That was what Mammon wanted. Like Scathach said, he wouldn't have hoped that his successor and 12 Spirits would be bound by revenge alone.
Yong-ho nodded. Scathach once again considered his feelings. As if to control Gusion who got impatient at the moment, she pulled his arm gently and said again, "Shall I change the topic a bit? Since you guys heard about this all of a sudden, let me answer your questions. If you have any questions about Sitri or what happened on that day, I'll answer it. Just feel free to ask any questions. You won't necessarily focus on Master Mammon."