Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 941: True Nature

On the other end of the phone was a pre-recorded voice message: "The number you have dialed is no longer in service."

Lucifer put down the receiver with a hint of resignation. This was the only old-fashioned telephone at the monastery, the sole way to communicate directly with the outside world. There wasn’t even internet here.

This meant Lucifer was almost entirely cut off from Charlotte and the other demons. The call just attempted was to the private line at the "Flaming Lips" bar. But since the number was no longer in service, it either indicated that the bar no longer existed or that Charlotte had left for some other important matter. There was even the possibility that Charlotte had become involved in something dangerous. This thought only deepened Lucifer's already irritable mood.

In truth, there was another way to reach the outside world—by walking out. Enough time had passed, and the landslide that had blocked the mountain road was cleared, and travel had resumed.

However, leaving the monastery posed a significant challenge for Lucifer. Due to Gabriel's interference, Lucifer couldn’t stray too far from the two nuns, one older and one younger, within the monastery. Gabriel had implanted a method to control shackles in their minds and endowed them with a form of divine insight.

As a result, when Gabriel left and the two nuns awakened, Lucifer’s mood became despondent.

“Are you… really the Queen of Hell?” the young nun, Chalty, asked incredulously, even going so far as to pinch Lucifer’s cheek out of curiosity.

“Holy Mother Mary! Has the fallen angel of sin truly been brought here? Is this a test for me?” The older nun knelt before the statue of the Virgin Mary, praying fervently.

Both women quickly accepted the situation, however, due to the revelation they received. Among devout followers of Jehovah, it was believed that the Lord would grant divine insight to his most faithful. Receiving the Lord’s vision and carrying out His will was of utmost importance to some believers.

Sighing, Lucifer left the room where the phone was kept. She had to navigate cautiously through the backyard—Chalty was busy doing laundry there. After successfully evading her, Lucifer then had to quietly cross a long hallway, mindful not to pass by the older nun’s reading room.Once known as the "Morning Star of Dawn," Lucifer had now become the "Star of Dust," rolling on the ground.

The reason for her caution was that the older nun had given her a task today—to scrub the floor of the small chapel. The nun had said it was an act of penance and cheerfully informed Lucifer that she would be assigned this duty regularly. If the floor wasn’t cleaned by sunset, she wouldn’t be allowed dinner.

While they still saw Lucifer as a poor child who had escaped a cruel adult’s clutches, receiving divine insight changed the nuns' attitudes, especially the older nun, who grew stricter toward Lucifer.

Despite the power to restrain Lucifer, the older nun often avoided Lucifer’s gaze and continually murmured Bible verses.

This feeling of helplessness reminded Lucifer of the early days after leading the angels in rebellion and falling into Hell. Although the former angels had abandoned their faith, there was still conflict with Hell’s native demons, and discrimination from the various demon clans was rampant…

“This is the worst,” Lucifer thought, feeling a growing sense of despair. “I’ll just go take a nap.”

“No way, Lucifer!”

Just as Lucifer was about to walk away, someone grabbed her by the collar from behind—Chalty!

Chalty, sleeves rolled up and hands on her hips, stared Lucifer down. “No slacking! Otherwise, the nun will withhold your dinner.”

“Stop…”

“Lucifer, you won’t make it without food,” Chalty warned, bending down and staring seriously.

“Stop…”

“You’re even weaker than an ordinary child now. If you don’t eat, you might starve!” Chalty lectured, hands on Lucifer’s shoulders. “A good child finishes their tasks!”

“Enough… The Queen of Hell, starving to death…?”

“Lucifer, are you even listening? It’s rude not to pay attention to others! Or is there something you’re dissatisfied with? You need to tell me, or I won’t know. Self-reflection is essential… Lucifer, you’re distracted again! I told you, listen when someone’s talking, look them in the eye—that’s basic etiquette!”

“Shut up! Shut up!! You pig!! How dare you lecture me?!”

“Chalty!”

Chalty quickly muttered a series of rapid syllables, and instantly, Lucifer felt a heavy weight on her. Her body dropped to the ground in a squatting position, with chains locking her wrists and neck.

This was the ability Gabriel granted the two nuns to control the Queen of Hell. Chalty could summon shackles to restrain Lucifer, while the older nun could call forth chains to bind her completely. The two referred to this power as a “Command Spell.”

Now, Lucifer could only look up from her restricted position, unable to rise.

“It’s not okay to use harsh language, Lucifer,” Chalty said sternly but patiently, determined to continue her lecture.

“Oh, mighty abyssal will of Hell…”

"Save me…"

Lucifer exhaled, as if expelling her very soul, her face weary and exhausted, and then…she collapsed!

…

Collapsing was, of course, a joke. As the proud Empress of Hell, even if her body were to perish, her soul could revive in the Abyss within the hidden divine vault of Pride.

However, unless she truly reached the point of no return, Lucifer had no desire to let her soul retreat to the Abyss… She knew that, upon her next rebirth, her current personality as Lucifer might very well vanish.

But just as Chalty was lecturing with gusto, there came the sudden sound of a breaking cup — from the room where the old nun had been reading.

Chalty immediately abandoned her lecture to Lucifer, lifting the hem of her habit and dashing toward the room. This finally allowed Lucifer to get to her feet, though the shackles around her neck and hands remained.

She sighed softly and slowly followed.

When Lucifer reached the door, she saw Chalty holding the old nun, who had fallen to the ground, beside a shattered cup and splattered water.

The old nun's eyes were shut tight, her expression one of pain, her hand clutching her chest.

Lucifer frowned and walked over slowly. "What's wrong with her?"

"It’s probably her old ailment acting up," Chalty replied hastily. "A few years back, Mother started having episodes of angina. She’s seen a doctor and has been on medication, and it's been under control for the past year."

"Oh, really? No wonder she looks ready to die," Lucifer said with a slight smirk.

Bound by the shackles, Lucifer couldn’t directly harm the two nuns who held her command spell. But if death came naturally…

"I just remembered," Chalty said anxiously, "Mother’s medication ran out this month! I was supposed to get more, but the mountain road’s been blocked, so I couldn’t go… She must have been without it for several days now."

Lucifer sneered, "Probably thought it was fine since it hadn’t flared up in a year… Guess she couldn't afford the medicine any longer?"

"How did you know…?" Chalty looked at her in surprise.

"Anyone with a brain could figure that out, you pig!" Lucifer shrugged. "Looks like the old bat might not make it through the night. Better get ready to bury her; wouldn’t want the smell of a corpse lingering around. I don’t mind, but you…might not handle it as well."

"I can’t!" Chalty stood up, red-eyed. "I just can’t!"

She gently helped the old nun to her feet and struggled to carry her toward the garage where the motorcycle was kept. For Chalty, moving someone who’d lost all strength was evidently difficult, so she ended up carrying her on her back.

Perhaps out of her deep worry, the shackles on Lucifer had vanished. Free of her bonds, Lucifer wore a faint smile, trailing behind Chalty.

How moving…

The sight of a girl struggling in hardship, grieved and terrified as her loved one slipped away. Even though she could no longer draw power from this despair, simply witnessing it filled her with joy!

This might just be Lucifer’s happiest day since arriving at the convent.

"Give up. You can’t help her. Even if everything goes smoothly, it’ll take at least an hour to get out of here. In her condition, she won’t last that long."

Chalty gritted her teeth, her eyes rimmed with redness, damp. Lucifer’s despairing words lashed like merciless whips.

"Come on, even if she dies, it doesn’t affect you, right? You might even inherit this convent. It’s shabby, sure, but it’ll be yours!"

Lucifer walked ahead, spinning theatrically with her arms spread. "Imagine it — no one to restrict you anymore! You could do whatever you want. No more reciting those disgustingly dull hymns every day. Isn’t that wonderful? Ah, freedom, right in front of you!"

Chalty said nothing, only quickened her steps.

"Guilt? Reluctance? Hypocrisy?" Lucifer’s voice was taunting. "Have you forgotten the filthy books hidden under your bed? Or the things you do some nights…? I’ve seen it all, you know?"

Chalty’s pupils contracted sharply.

Like a demon’s whisper… No, she was Hell’s queen.

Lucifer leapt onto the low railing beside Chalty’s ear, murmuring, "Need me to repeat? Your hands, slowly, slowly roaming over yourself, trembling, stifling your sounds in fear Mother might hear from the next room… Such shame, yet such bliss from the guilt. I’ve seen everything…all of it."

Her voice was a soft whisper, right by her ear…Lucifer suddenly licked Chalty’s ear. "You were fantasizing about me, weren’t you…you little pervert? You don’t want Mother to know, right? Don’t want her to be disappointed in you? But, well, no secret stays hidden forever…except from the dead. Got it?"

Chalty’s body shook as if drained of all strength.

"That’s right, just stop," Lucifer said in a softer, coaxing tone. "No need to worry. Let her die a natural death. After all, at her age… Though annoying, I must admit, Mother’s piety will send her straight to heaven… That guy up there would likely appreciate her soul. Why stop her from reaching paradise?"

Smack!

A crisp slap.

Chalty’s head was bowed, but her raised hand had slapped Lucifer’s face with a loud crack.

Lucifer stood stunned, instinctively covering her cheek.

Tears glistened in Chalty’s eyes as she looked at Lucifer, her voice hoarse with disappointment, "You…you’ve never been loved, have you?"

With that, she ignored Lucifer and hurried to the garage with Mother on her back.

Lucifer continued to cover her cheek. After a while, she raised her head, looking up at the sky above her, blinking slowly.

"Love… Who needs it."