An illusion occurred as if time was flowing slowly. It was because all three of them stayed still for a moment as if they’d heard something they shouldn’t have heard or as if they’d touched a reverse scale. The one who opened her mouth the fastest was Alli.
“You! What did you hear from that bastard Belitent? What did he say! Answer me!”
She closed the distance in one breath and raised her voice twice as loud while fuming. At that sound, Montrio and Deadrian seemed to come to their senses and blocked the hand heading for my collar.
What a shame. I hadn’t anticipated Alli being angry at me, but I was going to obediently let her grab my collar. After that, I was planning to listen to the words Alli would spew out. It was an opportunity to easily obtain information about the Parallel World’s Baek Sihyeon. Thinking about it again, it’s regrettable.
Deadrian, who had the best-working mind among them, coaxed the struggling Alli while gazing at me coldly. In that his face was full of smiles the whole time, Ruvlian and Deadrian were definitely the same kind.
“Why?”
Completely ignoring their agitation, I asked calmly as if asking what I’d done wrong. Deadrian didn’t say anything and just shook his head. It was natural. I had just said I had something to ask, then executed it.
It was true that I momentarily remembered and tried to use the fact that the Alli I knew would spit out all the words inside when angry. But so what? They were also trying to send me away because of their own circumstances. It’s six of one, half a dozen of the other.
“So, the answer?”
Montrio, who had been covering Alli’s mouth, gave in to her even more violent gestures and let her go. As soon as she was released, a clear ringing voice immediately returned.
“Why do you want to know that!”
She seemed to have forgotten it was night. What on earth was the Parallel World Ruvlian, who was overlooking this, aiming for from this meeting between them and me? Since there seemed to be nothing for him to gain, I had even less way of knowing his intentions.
“I’m a Hero.”
I laid out one of the cards I had to draw out an answer.
“…So what! Are you trying to say you’re great?”
Her habit of being endlessly soft toward her own people and picking fights with thorns raised at every turn toward people she didn’t like was the same. I thought it was time to fix it, but I didn’t advise her. Since she wasn’t my comrade Alli, there was no need to take care of her.
I ignored Alli and opened my mouth. Deadrian stopped her as she tried to butt in again without considering the consequences.
“As a Hero who subjugated the Demon King, I should be treated well. Most would admire me. But the servants here seemed to despise me.”
So I’m just curious. When I finished the rest without hesitation, all three of them clamped their mouths shut. Resentment, sorry feelings, anger. I could see all sorts of emotions swirling.
Only Deadrian restrained and didn’t reveal his emotions. Though the other two were useless because they couldn’t hide theirs.
I didn’t continue speaking and waited. Until Deadrian made the judgment to explain the situation to me.
“Haa.”
A sigh flowed out between his pale-colored lips. It was a sigh where I could feel the sentiment that things had become complicated. Deadrian seemed to have finished deliberating already.
“First, Sihyeon who isn’t you is a Hero, that’s right.”
I was right to expect he was a Hero. Then why does he receive such glares?
“You want to know about Sihyeon, right?”
“Right.”
“Phew. To be honest, I don’t particularly want to talk about Sihyeon. It’s not a very good story for us either.”
“……”
“But it’s mostly known content anyway, and it seems you should know too, so I’ll tell you.”
“What are you saying!”
“Deadrian!”
A fierce reaction rushed in. One from worry about me, the other from feelings about the owner of the story.
“Calm down~ I’m not keen on it either, but that side’s Sihyeon should know what he needs to know.”
Deadrian showed them both palms and told them to calm down. It was a familiar sight.
Since I thought he would tell me to some extent, I indifferently turned my gaze away from the noisy them. I’d prefer if they told me quickly and left. Because it made me think of my Hero days for no reason, and I seemed to be immersed in untimely memories.
‘God.’
Leaving them coordinating how much to say, I called God. I had no expectation that an answer would return.
[Hueoong! Sihyeoon!]
However, contrary to expectations, my head rang. It was God’s appearance after not coming for several days.
[Sihyeon’s comrade Ruvlian is really too hateful. Hic. He’s threatening me and all, huuk. This isn’t even a world I’m in charge of, and on top of that, two gods can’t exist in one world, so just getting permission took a long time, but he won’t let me go either… Hueoong. I really had a hard time….]
‘First, be quiet for a bit.’
My head was dizzy and had a tingling sensation, so I caressed the side of my head with my hand. I did wonder what he’d experienced to lament like this, but my head was more important. It was a head that had already been overworked by sounds whose identity I couldn’t know.
‘What did Ruvlian say to make you like this?’
[Iwasaskingtothegodofthisworldforpermissiontogetabitofauthoritywhensuddenlyaproblemoccurredintheworld!]
As if waiting to be asked, God continued speaking at a level of rapping without even breathing. I wondered if he’d really just been crying. My head throbbed more than before.
‘Calm down and speak slowly. Quietly.’
[Yes… But the person who caused that problem was Ruvlian. Sihyeon’s comrade. So when I asked what on earth he was doing, he demanded I tell him the world and location where Sihyeon went. He said if I didn’t tell him, he’d destroy the whole world.]
God’s voice that had been speaking quietly as I said gradually began to rise to a high tone. I remembered that at times like this, no matter how much I tried to stop it, the voice would end up getting louder. I gave up trying to stop it.
It’s my fault for reflexively asking back about Ruvlian’s story.
[And when I said to that, ‘This is a world where Sihyeon’s precious friend is too, what will you do if they get caught up in it?’, he changed his route saying he’d half-destroy other worlds while searching for Sihyeon! I’m telling you he’s definitely determined to bleed me dry, right? I just barely escaped from the written apology!]
‘Don’t tell me you told him?’
[……]
‘……’
Drr-rr. I heard the sound of eyes rolling. Belatedly, God made excuses in a crawling voice.
[…Th-that, it wasn’t everything, I only told him after narrowing it down somewhat. On the condition he wouldn’t half-destroy them, I let him search through only about fifteen worlds. That was my best… It was my way of buying time.]
‘……’
Since God prioritizes the world, I understood, but separate from that, I was at a loss for words. Fifteen worlds. Where is he now? My heart became urgent. It was the moment I was about to ask God again to grasp Ruvlian’s movements. As if the story was all finished, they looked at me.
‘Let’s talk more later.’
After quarreling among themselves about whether to speak or not, a conclusion seemed to have been reached as Deadrian approached.
“Sorry. It took a bit, right? I’ll tell you now. First, just in case.”
Having said so, he lightly gestured. The Divine Power barrier that had already been surrounding this entire room became even thicker. It seemed he’d further strengthened what had been there for sound blocking.
There was no mage among the three, and with Magic, there was no one who could beat the Parallel World Ruvlian. Using Divine Power in preparation for any possible situation was wise. That is, if there wasn’t Divine Power nullification Magic or materials in this mansion.
“Hmm, how much does Sihyeon know about this side’s Sihyeon?”
“Nothing.”
“Then since the sun will rise soon, I’ll only talk about the important parts. It won’t be very long.”
He took a deep breath like someone about to make a major announcement. It was a gentle smile, but I could see the inside was festering. Just as I wondered what he was trying to say, his lips moved.
“As I just said, Sihyeon was a Hero. And he was also a Demon King.”
“…What?”
I threw my gaze past Deadrian to Alli and Montrio. There was no change in expression. It seemed I hadn’t misheard. My head couldn’t accept the content.
Hero and Demon King.
Those two were at opposite ends. They had the fate of killing each other. A Demon King, a Hero—that’s what such existences were. But to say one person was a Hero and at the same time a Demon King. It’s absurd. If it weren’t for their unadorned reactions, I would have left without listening further.
Of course, I was also keeping in mind the possibility it was a lie. There was no reason for that, and it didn’t seem likely, but there was no harm in being suspicious. I stared directly at the pale green eyes as if to say continue.
“He wasn’t a Demon King from the start. When he cut off the neck of the originally existing Demon King, his eyes suddenly became bloodshot and he screamed, possessed by evil. After that, he changed. Into a Demon King.”
It’s a face swearing to heaven there’s not a speck of falsehood. Is this even possible? If he’d received God’s blessing and protection, it would be right that he wouldn’t become a Demon King. God had definitely told me so. But it’s not like deciding a successor before death. To change into a Demon King the moment you cut off a Demon King’s neck. It was a completely incomprehensible flow.
‘God. Is that true?’
[Yes. It’s true. I tried to tell you before that there were exceptions, but back then the conversation was cut off because of Sihyeon’s comrade. Besides, to understand this accurately, you need to know the old story too, so it takes time… To answer primarily, unlike what Sihyeon knows, there are cases where you become a Demon King even after receiving God’s blessing and protection.]
At the affirmation flying in as if it had been waiting, I drew in an empty breath. Before grasping how the situation was unfolding, it seemed like I would go crazy.
[It’s difficult to explain without telling the old story, but to put it simply, you have to burst the desire all at once. If you burst the desire that’s been accumulated bit by bit all at once, it’s possible to transform into a Demon King taking advantage of that momentary gap.]
It was a nuance as if someone from behind was transforming them into a Demon King through desire. I had many things I wanted to ask, but since I was in the middle of listening to Deadrian’s story, I decided to ask the rest a little later.
“Continue.”
“And Belitent cut off the neck of the changed Sihyeon.”
