Chapter 278: The Malevolent Spirit of Babel

"Oh no, Miss Riko, you've been possessed by a malevolent spirit!"

Jia Ji gestured wildly as he spoke to her, yet his expression was as serious as if he'd just awakened his Stand.

In the laboratory reserved for the head of the Second Technology Department, Sakurai Riko had just raised her coffee to her lips when she nearly spat it out at his words.

"W-what do you mean by that?"

"Stop pretending—you can't fool me… Phine."

Jia Ji gave her a cold smirk and opened the box.

These days, who dares walk the world without at least two aliases?

"..."

Sakurai Riko's violet pupils instantly shifted into pure, unblemished gold; realizing she was exposed, she abandoned all pretense, and a sharp, fierce aura—completely opposite to her previous calmness—emerged.

Simultaneously, hostility, malice, and murderous intent enveloped the mysterious man.

"Relax, sister."

A crushing pressure, like a mountain descending, spread through the room; Phine instinctively felt a chill surge through her—though she sat in a warm room, it felt as if a monstrous, terrifying beast were watching her, a threat a hundred times more dreadful than her own overwhelming her aura.

"How much do you really know… no, let me ask—just who are you?"

That intense urge to attack, that lethal sensation as if he would tear her apart in the next second regardless of place or timing, made Phine's breath catch; she decided, for once, to observe silently.

The being before her was not human—Phine could tell.

No one in this world could be more certain of that than she, because—he bore no "Baal Curse."

This curse was something every human in the War Goddess world carried.

From Jia Ji's perspective, the poet of this world's Fist Fighting Division.

Because humans in this world did not evolve from apes, nor were they part of Earth's evolutionary chain—they were suddenly "created" at some point in time.

The origin of humanity was divine creation.

The creators were extraterrestrials—the superior race known as the Anunnaki—who arrived from ancient space in a primordial life form and performed colossal miracles.

They bestowed upon humanity an innate "Unified Language," so that all ancient people could communicate with perfect understanding and mutual empathy.

But one day, the god Anunnaki cursed humanity with the Chaos Curse (Baal Curse), stripping away the Unified Language; humans could no longer understand each other, and the noise mentioned earlier was a tool created by humans during that era to kill their own kind.

Sacred relics, alchemy, songs… all arose because of the Chaos Curse. In essence, this was the most fundamental origin of the War Goddess world—the "Original Sin" that caused the world's division and human warfare.

"The Baal Curse—the one that robbed humanity of its Unified Language and prevented mutual understanding."

If Phine weren't right in front of him, Jia Ji might have given the curse a thumbs-up and praised it.

Though the curse caused problems like "I can't read Japanese/English/Chinese. pg," a world where everyone could communicate with perfect understanding and mutual empathy—he couldn't even imagine it.

If humans didn't fight, attack, and wage war among themselves, were they even human? Even the Trisolarans fought each other—Earthlings would've flown into the future long ago if they were this advanced.

"The Anunnaki really respect personal privacy, huh."

Ordinary people born into nations and ethnic groups naturally had no complaints, but certain spirits from past eras went to great lengths to lift the curse and unify humanity.

The woman before him, Sakurai Riko, was in truth the shaman Phine from a prehistoric civilization thousands of years ago.

By imprinting her consciousness and genetic markers, she ensured that her descendants, upon encountering Aufwachen (Awakening Waveform), would awaken her memories and abilities once more.

Ten years ago, when Fumine Tsubasa accidentally triggered the awakening of Tsumuha, Sakurai Riko—who was present that day—was possessed by the evil soul of Phine, and has lived ever since as a double-faced person, solely to fulfill her lifelong wish.

And the key to breaking the curse is…

"Destroy the moon!"

Perhaps because it had been so long since she could speak openly with someone, Phine spoke plainly—she didn't know how much he knew, but there was no point hiding anymore.

Because she herself was the one who caused the Baal Curse—

In legend, humanity built a tower in Shinar to reach the heavens, soaring into the clouds, but God deemed it a symbol of human arrogance, so He confused their languages, making them unable to understand one another.

"Hmph, how utterly condescending."

If this were the truth, someone would already be ranting—but the true legend is…

The shaman named Phine built the tower to approach the gods, only to anger them; they struck the tower with thunder, destroying not only the structure but also the language humans used to communicate.

Phine closed her eyes and recalled: "The moon is also humanity's prison. The curse 'Baal,' operating above it, unleashed endless chaos and severed the connection between gods and humans."

To reclaim her love and stand once more beside the deity she adored, Phine had reincarnated for thousands of years, returning from history, all to destroy the moon.

"The moon must be destroyed!"

She cared nothing for how many humans would die or how many disasters would follow—she had fully become a demon of obsession.

"Ah, the moon really is cursed… tsk tsk tsk—literally the gravity-bound ghost of Babel, the strongest super-ancient localization team ever, striving to unify human language, the ultimate representative of shamans! Phine, you're still a love-struck fool!"

"Shut up, brat—what do you know about me?"

The reincarnated shaman named "End," her expression twisted violently; her brown hair instantly unraveled, turning pale gold and writhing like chaotic lightning.

"See, you're getting worked up again."

Jia Ji shrugged and asked: "If the one you worship truly loved you, why would He punish you? If He didn't love you, why keep licking His boots? Just go find yourself a nice 0721."

Before Phine could retort, he continued on his own: "That means there's only one truth—whether you believe it or not, the Baal Curse… is actually a blessing!"

"Enough! I'm not listening to your nonsense anymore!"

Phine leapt to her feet in fury, her body instantly engulfed in the glow of transformation.

"Fine, I'm done arguing with you!"

As expected, under the Baal Curse, this old hag was one of those who couldn't understand human speech—then let's just punch first!

Gender-equality punch—launch!

(End of Chapter)