Chapter 94. The Path of the Beast (3)
Daji didn't remember why she had corrupted King Zhou of Shang.
Later records gave several explanations.
Some claimed she had acted under orders from Nüwa, who stood behind the war.
Others said the Zhou dynasty had sent her as part of a honey trap to destroy Shang.
Apparently...
One theory arose because the character Da in the name Daji combined the radical for "woman" with the character Dan, associated with Duke Dan of Zhou.
Either way...
Daji herself didn't remember the details.
She simply assumed...
Since she was an evil demon anyway...
Perhaps she had instinctively done evil things.
What she did remember...
Was the moment before her execution after losing the war.
Jiang Ziya, Taigong Wang...
The "protagonist of the era" who led Zhou and destroyed Shang...
Had looked at Daji and declared in a solemn voice...
No excuse will save you.
You are the unparalleled wicked woman who corrupted a king and plunged a nation into ruin.
You are more evil and lustful than anyone else.
Never again in the future will a woman as wicked as you appear.
It had been a political statement.
Taigong Wang and the Zhou dynasty intended to leave King Zhou of Shang in history as the worst tyrant imaginable.
Only then would the Zhou revolution gain legitimacy.
That meant...
They needed to emphasize Daji's image as a wicked woman.
Claiming that an evil woman had seduced the king and destroyed the nation...
Was the most effective kind of black propaganda against him.
Daji had felt wronged.
She knew she had done terrible things...
But she didn't think she deserved words like that.
Surely...
Given enough time...
An even worse woman would appear.
But the longer she heard those words...
The more she began to wonder whether they might actually be true.
And this wasn't merely psychological.
The words of Jiang Ziya...
A legendary hero of the age...
Possessed tremendous magical power in and of themselves.
Those words continued binding Daji.
And as though enchanted...
She continued playing the role of wicked woman throughout history.
In Zhou...
In India...
In Japan...
Across countless countries...
She played the role of the evil nine-tailed fox.
She couldn't stop.
A thousand years passed.
Two thousand.
Three thousand.
And still...
Daji remained the wicked woman who seduced others.
It was only two years ago...
After she was defeated in a Scenario and sealed...
That she finally regained clarity.
Inside an empty darkness...
Daji finally realized that she had spent all this time trapped under the curse of Jiang Ziya.
She had spent thousands of years acting according to another person's binding...
Not her own will.
That realization filled her with terror.
That was why...
Daji had cooperated with Cheon Sangwoon.
She wanted to regain her freedom...
And finally live according to her own will.
She intended to borrow the power of Cheon Sangwoon and his Constellation...
To completely erase Jiang Ziya's curse.
But...
"I mainly operated in the East, so I don't know much about Western traditions."
"I know almost nothing about the Bible either."
"The beast appears twice in the Bible."
"Once in the Book of Daniel."
"And again in the Book of Revelation."
"Isn't it only in the Book of Daniel?"
"The one in the Book of Revelation is actually more famous."
"The beast from the Book of Daniel is relatively minor."
"And why does that matter?"
"The fourth beast in the Book of Daniel resembles the first beast in the Book of Revelation."
"A ten-horned monster rising from the sea."
"It is sometimes associated with the Roman Empire too."
"Is that so?"
"But the Book of Revelation describes the being who rides and rules that first beast."
"The one who rules it?"
"The worst harlot."
"A woman who seduces kings and corrupts them."
"...!"
"That's right, Daji."
"A being whose concept is extremely similar to yours."
"Wait..."
"Then..."
"This is the real reason Cheon Sangwoon and Hector released you."
"So they intended to..."
"Just as they sought a Chimera to substitute for the first beast in the Book of Daniel..."
"They intended to secure you as a substitute for that harlot."
"As insurance in case Cheon Sangwoon couldn't control the beast."
"How could..."
"How could they use my very existence..."
"Right until the end...!"
Yes.
Cheon Sangwoon and Hector had never intended to free Daji.
Just like Jiang Ziya...
They wanted to keep Daji trapped in the role of history's ultimate wicked woman.
"Her name is Babylon the Great..."
"The greatest wicked woman of the West, riding the beast."
"What a magnificent sight, Nameless."
A cold voice came from behind me...
From a place untouched by anyone else's gaze.
"Count."
"Yes."
"Your sponsor."
The S-rank Constellation "King of Avengers."
He had descended into the human world just like me...
And now stood looking at me.
"You can descend too...?"
"You possess [Avatar Descent]?"
I was currently using the EX-rank Constellation Skill [Avatar Descent] to remain on Earth.
Did the Count possess the same Skill?
"Avatar Descent isn't the only way for a Constellation to descend to Earth."
"Imagine whatever you like."
"So you possess some method to descend."
"Yes."
"You've learned some very rare information."
The Count smiled coldly and stood beside me.
"Sometimes..."
"I want to see things directly with my own eyes rather than through an observation device."
"You're not here just to watch."
"You wanted to inspect the progress yourself too?"
"Correct."
"Then things are proceeding well."
"It certainly looks that way."
Looking toward the distant beast...
And Daji standing on top of its head...
The Count murmured.
"The magical ritual converting Daji into Babylon the Great..."
"Looks like it was prepared properly, just as you requested."
"I'm glad my sponsor has such useful connections."
"Don't act shameless, Nameless."
"I will collect the price for this."
I already knew how to control the beast through Babylon the Great.
Cheon Sangwoon had once exterminated an organization researching that method...
And their research had fallen into his hands.
But actually using Daji to reproduce that ritual...
Was extremely difficult.
There had been no preparation.
I wasn't an expert in magical rituals either.
So...
I had asked the Count for help.
With the Count's wide network...
I thought he might know a Constellation capable of handling such a ritual.
"We had very little time."
"Thanks to you..."
"I ended up owing someone a large favor."
"This won't be settled for free."
"We'll talk about repayment later."
Either way...
Daji had now become Babylon the Great...
Allowing her to steal control of the beast from Cheon Sangwoon.
"Hmm."
"But what if Daji uses the beast's power to rule the world herself?"
"Stopping her would be extremely difficult."
"I already prepared for that."
"But I doubt it'll be necessary."
"You don't think it'll be necessary?"
"Right."
I nodded.
"The person who hates the role of Babylon the Great more than anyone..."
"Is Daji herself."
A strange, seductive laugh echoed.
It felt as though sticky filth was flowing down her entire body.
Wrapped in extreme wickedness...
Daji experienced pleasure hundreds of times greater than sexual climax.
"So this..."
"Is Babylon the Great..."
This truly was a role only Daji could perform.
Only someone who had played the role of a wicked woman for thousands of years...
Could accept such lustful and evil energy.
"ROOOOAR!"
The beast beneath her roared and shook its head.
In the Book of Daniel...
The fourth beast was ruled by the "new horn."
Cheon Sangwoon had taken that role.
But in the Book of Revelation...
The first beast was ruled by "Babylon the Great."
The beast seemed confused...
As both existed at the same time.
"Now, now."
"Calm down, my cute little beast."
Daji whispered gently.
Seducing others with sweet words...
Was something she had done for thousands of years.
"Grrrr..."
The beast gradually settled down.
Mother... Mother...
A voice suddenly echoed inside her mind.
Had the beast begun perceiving Daji as its mother?
Come to think of it...
Babylon the Great seemed to possess the attribute of "mother of evil things."
"Yes."
"Mother is here."
Daji almost laughed...
