The Apple

Waking up, Sylvia looked around to see that Adam and Eve were already awake and were probably doing their daily chores.

Feeling something on her wrist, she noticed that the snake has already returned and acted like a bracelet.

Noticing that it was sleeping, she held back her questions about Lilith and decided to ask them later.

After all, she needed him to be fully prepared in case anything went wrong.

Confirming that the two weren't nearby and that Satan was present, it was time to put her plan into action.

Standing up, she began to walk towards the tree at the center of the garden...

Coming into view was a magnificent tree that beheld hundreds of plump and enticing apples.

Even an amateur could tell that the quality of this apple was leaps and bounds above all of the other fruit in the garden.

Although there were other apples in the garden, this one was clearly special.

After all, it came from the Tree of The Knowledge of Good and Evil.

The fruits from the modern age where technology was vastly superior couldn't even be compared to the fruits on the regular trees in the garden.

Let alone the apples from the center...

Walking closer, she now stood in front of the tree as she double-checked her surroundings for any onlookers.

After confirming that nobody was nearby, she slowly plucked one of the apples from the forbidden tree.

The size was massive and it was already oozing juices without even biting into it. Satisfied, she began plucking some more and stuffed them all in her inventory.

She was able to fit a total of four apples within her inventory. However, due to the limited space, she was required to throw out some of the other fruits she had previously harvested leaving her with only 2 regular fruits.

Though, it didn't really matter.

All she needed to do now was wait for the perfect opportunity...

Returning back to where the three had slept last night, she found Eve leaning against a tree as she was sitting amongst the animals.

Once Eve noticed her, she immediately looked away before bashfully greeting her.

"G-Goodmorning S-Sylvia!"

Seeing her cute expressions, Sylvia simply nodded as she plopped herself right next to Eve as their shoulders were now touching.

Under the shade of the tree, the two sat in silence as they listened to the calming ambient noises of mother nature.

Taking the imitative, Sylvia started a seemingly innocent conversation.

'Did you eat anything yet?'

Eve, surprised that Sylvia would actually take the initiative to start a conversation, quickly shook her head and replied.

"N-Not yet..."

'Hmm, would you like some of the fruit I picked?'

Hearing her offer, Eve enthusiastically nodded her head as her eyes were eager to eat the fruit personally picked by her angel.

Sylvia thought that this was way too easy, in fact, deep inside she knew that Adam would be the real challenge.

Unlike Eve, she never really communicated with Adam and Adam didn't really try to communicate with her.

Well, most of it was because she didn't really feel all that comfortable talking to someone of the opposite gender that was literally naked 24/7.

However, she still was confident in her ability that she still went with the plan. Not like she had a choice as she was pressed for time with Him descending the next day...

Anyways, Sylvia hid her hands away from Eve's sight as she sneakily took two of the forbidden fruits out of her inventory.

Although Sylvia was supposed to tempt them, she herself wanted to eat one of the fruits. It wasn't like anything negative was going to happen to her.

Hell, she already felt immense shame being around these exhibitionists and it wasn't like she was going to suddenly become imperfect out of nowhere.

After all, she was born imperfect and was imperfect her entire life.

In fact, her 'family' members would constantly remind her through their small petty actions each and every day.

And the one thing that was perfect about her and gave her value, was her potential.

Ended up as a heavy disappointment and resulted in her being essentially kicked out of the household.

Though, she didn't really get to that part... instead, she was now stuck in the past...

On the other hand, the benefits of eating the apple were immense. Even without eating the apple, she could feel an incredible amount of mana that was heavily concentrated within.

She was certain that she could raise her rank to F+ after eating the apple.

Though it seems that Eve didn't share the same thoughts as her as when Sylvia pulled out the two, juicy apples, she had a terrible complexion on her face.

'What's wrong Eve? Don't you want to eat the fruit I picked for you?'

Hearing this, Eve began to heavily sweat as she unconsciously began to distance herself from Sylvia.

"A-Ahh! Y-You should put those back Sylvia! H-He told us to n-never eat them! I won't tell Adam s-so just put them back before he finds out!"

This girl clearly wasn't thinking straight... In the first place, how would she put these apples back without Adam realizing?

It wasn't like she could reattach the apples to the tree. She could just leave them on the ground near the tree, but then Adam would immediately know that something was amiss.

However, one thing that was beneficial about this was that Eve was willing to hide something from Adam.

This was progress.

'Why should I? It's not like anything bad will happen to you. Here, let me show you—'

Just as Sylvia was about to eat the apple in front of her, she was rudely cut off as she felt a presence behind her.

The apples in her hands had already disappeared...

Looking behind her she saw the figure of Adam as he held the two apples along with the disapproving glare that accompanied it.

'Ah... I'm fucked...'

"I was wondering what you were doing demon... I noticed that a few fruits were missing from the tree and it seemed as if I already found the culprit. Now, explain yourself!"

'Who keeps track of the number of fruits on a tree... Well, I guess it somewhat makes sense when there's nothing else to do...' Sylvia could only think that a madman would keep count of every single apple on that tree, after all, there were hundreds of them...

A stalemate occurred as Sylvia was stuck between Eve and Adam on either side.

Well, it wasn't like Eve was doing anything, she too was extremely nervous and still on the ground while Adam was giving her a cold glare.

"Very well, it seems that you don't want to speak... Then, you must die."

After saying those words Adam disappeared without a trace. His speed was so fast that Sylvia couldn't even see a single trace of him.

Suddenly, the monochromatic world began to seep in throughout the environment. Looking at her side, she saw the face of Eve with tears in her eyes begging for Adam to stop slowly losing its colors.

The most shocking element however was the sight of Adam's foot right in front of her head.

Sylvia began to sweat as she realized what was happening.

Adam was just about to kill her and it seems as though her unique skill activated on its own as it sensed impending doom.

Given only a second to think, Sylvia prepared for her body to immediately drop to the floor as color swiftly returned.

However, it seems as if it was easier said than done... Although she did drop as fast as she could, Adam's leg was infinitely quicker.

After all, her unique skill simply gave her incredible reaction time. But, what was the point of having such quick reaction speed if her body couldn't even keep up?

Adam's foot collided with the tip of her head as she was sent flying to the nearest tree.

Thankfully, due to her unique ability, Adam wasn't able to get a clean hit so at the very least she was still alive.

Albeit, barely.

Blood was running down her head as her vision was getting blurry. Her ears were constantly ringing as she made out the figure of Eve trying to hold back Adam with tears in her eyes.

Seeing this Sylvia felt a little guilty about what she was going to do with Eve. After all, she was going to completely deceive her and essentially ruin her life. Yet, here she was still defending her...

Suddenly, a voice invaded her head... a very unpleasant voice...

'You were acting all confident that you would trick them into eating the fruit... Yet here you are, on the brink of death.'

Satan cheekily thought in her mind as he laughed at her situation as he saw the figure of Adam slowly approaching her.

'Fuck... off...'

Sylvia, barely holding onto her consciousness, meekly responded to Satan at her failure.

Maybe she was overconfident. After all, she was only 7years old and she claimed that she would do the work of the devil for him.

Maybe it was because the books made it seem extremely easy. After all, Satan simply said a few enticing words and they happily devoured the apple.

It didn't seem too hard, did it?

Perhaps, her approach was entirely wrong, or maybe she could've succeeded if she was given more time...

'HAHA, cursing me even on your deathbed. How amusing, shouldn't you be begging for my help at this point?'

Satan's laughter echoed in her mind as Sylvia couldn't even resist the pressure and was on the brink of fainting.

She knew that if she lost her consciousness then she would certainly die. There was no mistaking that.

However, she could only laugh at her fate. Being sent back in time against her will, only to die a meaningless death.

She herself didn't realize it, but she wanted a loving family and company, she wanted to live a fulfilling life that she wouldn't regret. And, she especially didn't want to die here...

Hearing her thoughts, Satan maniacally laughed as he finally spoke.

"Interesting... INTERESTING... it would definitely be a shame if you were left to die here. And, I'm sure she wouldn't be too happy if I let you die."

Adam and Eve froze as they looked at the body of Sylvia as her lifeless body began to move.

However, what shocked them the most was the voice that escaped her mouth.

Although it was the same voice that Eve had heard last night, she instinctively knew that this was not Sylvia.

Satan moved his newly possessed body as the blood on his head rapidly retracted back into his body as the wound disappeared entirely.

Sylvia, not being able to withstand the pressure of Satan's voice, passed out as Satan was now fully in control of her body.

"This vessel isn't bad, not bad at all! Hahaha! Now then, let's play a little game shall we."

Adam had sweat running down his back as he saw the devilish grin on Sylvia's face as she looked at him with excitement.

He instinctively knew that if he didn't run then he would surely die.

But, he also knew that running wasn't an option. He could feel it. That if he tried to run away then this demon would simply catch up to him in no time.

There was no escape.