“This place is unbelievably massive.”
I muttered unconsciously at the enormous space spread out before my eyes. After barely escaping the swamp, the place we arrived at following Melody’s guidance felt like a giant underground city. More impressive than the densely packed buildings reminiscent of a ghost town was the street where not a single person existed.
‘Why even create a space like this when there aren’t any people here anyway?’
I frowned as I walked along what looked like a shopping district. The fact that there wasn’t even a single ant in a place that should have been bustling with people gave me an eerie feeling. Melody, who had been walking ahead, spoke.
“This is a space that Deus-nim first created when he was a boy.”
“Still, it seems relatively more intact than that mansion.”
“No, it’s far more dangerous than that place. Since it was created with unstable magic during his childhood. There must be monsters everywhere that grew by feeding on that unstable magic.”
I silently picked up something like a crowbar that had been lying on the ground. Even though I had gotten a weapon, I didn’t have much stamina left, and I was hungry since I hadn’t been able to eat properly. I was literally on the verge of passing out. Unaware of my condition, Melody shouted happily.
“Young Deus-nim was such a curious boy, endlessly wondering about the outside world. This city can also be said to be proof of that curiosity.”
“…He wondered about it?”
“Of course, whenever he had the chance, he would ask me what existed in the outside world.”
I recalled Deus’s bitter expression when he said he wasn’t curious about the real world. Well, if he truly had no interest from the start, he wouldn’t have created this fake space mimicking the real world. I imagined young Deus drawing or creating something within this ash-colored city.
“I wonder if he was lonely? Deus too.”
I flinched after unconsciously blurting out those words. Like a thread coming loose from clothing, it was something that slipped out without me knowing. After a brief silence, Melody answered.
“Ash-nim.”
“Yes?”
“As a first-class butler who has served Deus-nim since childhood, I’ve watched over him by his side for a long time. And I came to a conclusion. Deus-nim is actually…”
I was listening to Melody in a daze when my eyes widened. The knight armor decorations lined up in a row behind Melody were gradually starting to move.
“Someone who feels loneliness more than anyone else.”
“…”
“However, I don’t have many days left to live. Having spent a long time in the Void, I became addicted to Dark Magic. I’ve endured for Deus-nim’s sake until now, but… at some point it seems it will no longer be possible.”
One of the knights that had been moving while grotesquely bending its joints slowly approached, drawing the sword at its waist. At the knight’s action of raising the sword toward Melody, I shouted unconsciously.
“Look out!”
CRASH!
A cloud of dust billowed with a roar. I made eye contact with Kiss, who had wrapped my body in the robe he’d been wearing. I awkwardly avoided his gaze at the suddenly shortened distance.
“I’m sorry, Kiss-nim. In a situation like this, I should be helping.”
“It’s fine since I didn’t expect anything anyway.”
Well, okay then… Only after the dust settled a while later did I see the giant killer rabbit that had transformed into something like a muscle mania champion.
Melody, who was blocking the endlessly charging armored knights, continued speaking in a strained voice.
“After I die, I don’t want Deus-nim to be alone and lonely in this Void any longer. Rather… I hope someone would end his solitude that’s like a punishment.”
“…”
“I beg you.”
Now everything made sense. Why he showed a happy yet bitter expression whenever Deus’s story came up. And why he brought us here even knowing his master would disappear.
“I hope my lord will be liberated from this endless Void.”
With a clang, Melody deflected the armored knight’s sword and mercilessly poured out attacks. Kiss, who grabbed my arm as I couldn’t bring myself to move, spoke in an emotionless voice.
“Don’t think about it.”
“…”
“You don’t need to think about anything.”
I eventually moved my feet as his hand forcefully pulled my arm. My caught wrist hurt. It was a grip strength that couldn’t come from someone who truly cared about the other person. I lowered my gaze at Kiss’s following words.
“You just need to move exactly as I tell you to.”
* * *
Was it because of the guilt from leaving Melody behind and running away? My already poor physical condition deteriorated even more. The murderous cold was a bonus thanks to the ash-colored snow suddenly falling from the sky.
“You have a fever.”
Kiss, who noticed my poor condition, suddenly placed his hand on my forehead. I smiled awkwardly with his warm hand resting on my forehead.
“I guess my tension loosened a bit after seeing a familiar face while being constantly on edge.”
“…”
“…You’re not going to abandon me and leave, are you?”
“Yeah, I’m going to abandon you.”
I hastily grabbed the arm of Kiss, who turned around to leave without any hesitation. At Kiss’s cold attitude of trying to pull his arm away with an annoyed expression, I unconsciously whimpered and shouted.
“D-don’t abandon me! I just have a fever, I’m not dying yet so it’s okay. I feel like throwing up and I’m dizzy but it’s fine.”
“Can you get away from me? I think you’re going to get snot on me.”
“Please, please don’t leave only me behind in this crazy bastard’s lair…”
Kiss, this guy without any blood or tears, I knew from the moment he threw Ash into the basement where Deus was that he didn’t think about Ash at all. But still, I didn’t think it would be to this extent. Originally I wasn’t planning to sweet-talk Kiss no matter what, but maybe because I had just seen the pack of monsters charging fiercely, I was even more scared. At Kiss’s reaction of not even pretending to listen and trying to pull his arm away, I hugged his arm completely.
“I’m really scared, I’m telling you…”
I deliberately made sniffling sounds while clinging to him. It wasn’t the time to care about male pride or anything. In this monster lair, the only thing I could rely on was Kiss. After a while of silence, I heard Kiss sigh deeply. Not long after, a calm voice returned.
“Ash.”
“…”
“Help me so I can get by on tree fruits or something for meals.”
Does that mean if I don’t let go right now, next time he’ll get by on me for meals? I silently let go of Kiss’s arm without the whimpering from before and gave off a gloomy atmosphere. Kiss, who had been smirking at me like that, pointed somewhere. Judging by the rooster statue installed on the roof, that place must be…
“I think it wouldn’t be bad to just settle down and live here.”
“No, that’s clearly bad.”
I pretended not to hear Kiss’s rebuke. Whether there’s no law saying to die, that place was an inn within the ghost town. Although hot water didn’t come out, there were tunics to change into in the wardrobe. Unlike me who came out after finishing a bath in deep emotion, Kiss, who had been indifferently watching outside the window, opened his mouth.
“Seeing the snowfall getting fiercer, it would have been difficult to move right away anyway.”
“It’s cold even inside.”
I muttered while rubbing my upper arms. It was so cold that white breath formed every time I spoke. Kiss, who had been silently watching me shiver, placed his hand toward the fireplace in the center of the room. Then a large flame instantly engulfed the wood inside the fireplace. My body warmed up from the warmth that spread in an instant.
‘I thought he’d tell me to go outside and die if I was that cold…’
It was more likely that he did it because watching me whine was unsightly, but either way, it was livable now that my body was warm. I approached closer to the fireplace and opened my mouth while warming my frozen hands.
“About Deus.”
“…”
“He might just lack common sense and concepts, but maybe he’s not such a bad guy.”
Kiss, who had been watching outside the window the whole time, only turned his head to look at me. Since I didn’t have the courage to turn my head, I continued speaking while keeping my gaze fixed on the burning flames.
“Melody said, you know, this Void disappears the moment it becomes unnecessary to Deus. Then even without going so far as to kill Deus…”
“What did I tell you?”
At the same time a sharp voice returned, the sound of footsteps gradually approached. Kiss grabbed my chin, which had been trying to only look straight ahead, and turned it with a swoosh, asking with a cold expression.
“I’m asking what I told you.”
“…Not to think about anything.”
“The reason I had you interpret Deus’s words in the first place was to open this Void. When an opportunity to eliminate Deus has finally arrived, why should I give up this precious opportunity?”
Why, you ask? Because I need to make Deus an ally to survive. However, since I couldn’t answer so straightforwardly, I pretended to ponder and lowered my gaze. And I answered calmly.
“That person… has eyes similar to Kiss-nim’s.”
Kiss’s hand holding my chin flinched. For the first time, I felt like Kiss’s eyes were wavering. I leaned my body slightly and continued speaking while placing my hand on Kiss’s thigh.
“That’s why my heart goes out to him.”
At that moment, the flames in the fireplace blazed fiercely. It was a heat that seemed like it would melt away even a giant glacier.
