"Why can't the ones who hurt me… be devils?"
Yukino froze.
Of course.
If Sharon hated devils this much—so obsessively—why couldn't devils be the ones who hurt her? Why had Yukino assumed Sharon was stupid enough to serve the Church that harmed her?
"Your meaning is…?"
Yukino was smart. She was already piecing it together.
Sharon's next words confirmed it.
"In the beginning, the experiment to create powerful warriors by injecting the Demon Factor into humans… wasn't conducted by the Church. It was the devils."
Her flat tone struck Yukino like a hammer.
"You've already realized it, haven't you?" Sharon laughed—not the emotionless smile from before, but a cold, mocking one. "That's right. The ones who injected the Demon Factor into my body… were devils."
It happened when Sharon was still a small child.
She didn't know her parents, didn't know where she was born. Her world only consisted of a few rooms—a pitch-black cell with no light, or a blindingly bright laboratory. She spent her days being moved between them. Beyond eating and sleeping, her life was blood draws, injections of unknown drugs, consuming strange food, and being examined under cold, expressionless stares.
And she wasn't the only one.
There were beings of all races—monsters, yokai, vampires, even angels and fallen angels. Every race under the sun.
And one by one… they disappeared.
At first, Sharon didn't understand where they went.
When she grew older, she realized the truth.
They died.
She had overheard the adults speaking:
"Today's experiment failed again."
"This subject has to be discarded."
"No helping it. Bring in replacements."
"Record the results. Handle the corpse like usual."
The experiments grew more extreme.
More people disappeared.
The adults grew irritated, frustrated, cruel.
Sharon lived in pain.
She lived in despair.
She hated those adults—those adults whose bat-like wings sometimes revealed themselves behind their backs.
Later, she learned what they were:
Devils.
And the ones who told her… were the Church exorcists who eventually rescued her.
"The devil facility was hidden in the human world. Once the Church found it, they sent in an exorcist squad. They destroyed the laboratory and rescued me—the sole survivor."
Sharon's explanation made Yukino's expression shift again and again.
"So you're saying my master… Leo Eligos lied to me?"
Yukino stared sharply, trying to pierce through Sharon's intentions.
But Sharon shook her head.
"No. That guy probably doesn't know." Her eyes darkened with old memories. "I don't know where he heard it, but when he learned I was a Church experiment, he always looked at me like I was mentally unstable. That tells me he doesn't know the truth."
She scoffed.
"And I'm not surprised. Devils would hide an experiment that disgraceful with everything they have. Most devils now are hybrids or reincarnated from humans. If word got out that devils had used people like us as lab animals, the entire devil world would plunge into chaos."
"So the new generation of devils doesn't know. The old generation won't talk. And because the Church also had some inhumane research facilities, people naturally assume my Demon Factor came from them."
Yukino slowly loosened her tightly clenched hands.
"But why would devils conduct such experiments?" she asked. "If they wanted powerful warriors, couldn't they just reincarnate people with Evil Pieces?"
After all, devil reincarnation was unique. Angels and fallen angels didn't have it. No one else did.
With Evil Pieces, devils had already solved their race's crisis of survival. They didn't need twisted experiments just to get strong servants.
"That's because they didn't want ordinary warriors."
Sharon's voice grew low.
"They wanted beings whose power surpassed devils entirely—beings who could rival or exceed even pureblood devils and Maou. Something so abnormal it would make people wonder whether it was even a devil at all."
She paused.
"I once heard them call such beings…"
'Super Devils.'
Beings beyond devils.
Beings impossible to obtain through reincarnation.
So they experimented on creatures that were not devils.
They captured every race they could—including humans—and injected Demon Factors into them.
Of course, a project targeting all races couldn't stay hidden forever. The Church discovered the facility and exterminated it.
"You asked why I would dedicate my life to the Church."
"You asked why I hate devils so much."
"The reason is this."
Sharon stared at Yukino with eyes full of icy indifference.
"Now tell me… am I wrong?"
"Should I not hate devils?"
"Should I not destroy devils?"
Yukino couldn't answer.
"You could say I joined the Church solely to kill devils," Sharon continued. "I trained every day, forced myself to draw out every ounce of power from this disgusting body, used every ability that wasn't human. I even endured the examinations and research from the Church's fanatics."
"All for one purpose—destroy devils."
That was how Sharon became an exorcist.
That was how a devil-killer who would use any method—no matter how foul—was born.
And for that purpose, she could even betray the Church, join suspicious individuals, accept offers from unknown organizations.
As long as she gained the power to kill devils… nothing else mattered.
"I think you can understand me," Sharon said faintly. "After all, you were killed by a fallen angel once, weren't you?"
"When that happened, didn't you want to destroy all of them?"
"After you gained power, didn't you want revenge?"
Yukino bit her lip.
Of course she held resentment.
Of course she had hated them—at least a little.
But the one who killed her had already been reduced to ash by Leo.
So who was she supposed to take revenge on?
As for destroying all fallen angels—
Yes, she had considered it.
The fallen angel who killed her was acting under orders, and that order had been to eliminate her immediately upon deeming her dangerous.
How could she not resent the organization behind it?
But resentment was one thing.
Genocide was another.
Only someone who had truly fallen into darkness would think that way.
Yukino also knew something else:
Her situation and Sharon's were not comparable.
Yukino died once—but she hardly felt pain.
She was revived.
Even if that meant becoming a devil and a servant… she lived.
Sharon was different.
Sharon had suffered.
Sharon had been tortured.
Sharon had felt fear, pain, and despair.
Of course she would hate the devils who brought her that suffering.
Of course she would fixate on her hatred.
Even though the devils responsible had been wiped out by the Church, Sharon couldn't let go.
So she redirected her hatred toward all devils.
"But… is that really right?" Yukino whispered. "Because a few individuals committed a crime, all devils deserve to be punished?"
Complex emotions churned inside her, but she still spoke from her heart—her usual uncompromising honesty.
She already knew this wouldn't end well.
"You're lecturing me now?" Sharon let out a laugh—sharp and angry. "You're right. Your logic is flawless."
"But if I wanted the morally correct answer, I wouldn't have stayed in the Church."
She looked up, eyes hollow.
"I've seen the Church's corruption too. I've seen experiments just as inhumane as the ones that destroyed my life."
"So if I wanted to stand on the side of justice, why would I stay? Why would I obey them?"
She was, after all, the person who had suffered most from those very systems.
"From the moment I chose to look away," Sharon said softly, "I stopped being 'right.'"
Therefore—
"I don't need a righteous revenge."
"Revenge and hatred were never righteous."
The black aura around Sharon exploded outward.
"If you want to blame someone…"
Her voice turned cold enough to freeze bone.
"…then blame yourself for being a devil."
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You can read up to chapter 152 on patreon.com/NiaXD.