Objectively speaking, between Deus and Narikeh, the worse bastard was Narikeh. At least Deus, “so far,” didn’t seem to have attacked the elderly or children.
However, if you asked me to choose not the “worse bastard” but the “scarier bastard,” I would unconditionally pick Deus. Because at least Narikeh had never broken my legs or waterboarded me.
That’s why the moment I reunited with Deus, who was walking toward me like a tiger just before the attack, the emotion I felt wasn’t joy but primal fear. At Deus’s menacing atmosphere that made me feel like I’d piss myself just looking at him, I unconsciously hid behind Narikeh. And I grabbed Narikeh’s arm and pleaded earnestly.
“N-Narikeh-nim! Please hide me!”
“What?”
“Isn’t there somewhere to hide here? If I get caught, I’ll die. That bastard will definitely kill you first and then kill me too—no, more than that!”
While Narikeh looked down at me with a dumbfounded face, Deus stopped short. And he looked at me with an expression of disbelief. It was the most shocked expression I’d ever seen on Deus’s face.
“You, right now… you’re hiding behind another man instead of me…”
Deus, who had been muttering to himself, clenched his fist tightly as if suppressing his anger. After letting out a huff of breath for just a moment, he smiled affectionately as if he’d never been murderous at all and beckoned.
“Come here.”
“No.”
“Come here while I’m asking nicely.”
“You’re only talking nicely but you’ll kill me when I go. No.”
“I won’t kill you. I won’t. I’ll just break a few of your limbs. I’ll fix them again anyway.”
Even that wicked Nolbu only broke one of the swallow’s legs, but this son of a bitch was boldly threatening to break just a few. To begin with, there are only four limbs total, so saying “a few” meant he’d break the majority, didn’t it? I shook my head while clutching Narikeh’s arm.
“I said no. Who was the one spouting incomprehensible things like let’s stop this or whatever?”
“What?”
“You said that before. To stop.”
Deus, who had been watching me silently as I suddenly brought up the past, frowned.
“You think I’m so callous that I’d be fine after hearing harsh words from my beloved wife? I’m far more sensitive than Ash.”
“A sensitive bastard who made my nose bleed…! Ha, forget it. I was the fool for trying to have something like a conversation with you in the first place.”
In the heated atmosphere, my heart surged for some reason. You evil bastard, when you blatantly ignored me even when you saw me, and now you’re acting like you know me again—I couldn’t figure you out. Seeing me shake my head as if to say let’s drop it, Deus let out a hollow laugh and rubbed his eyelids as if tired.
“What do you mean ‘forget it’? Why do you talk like that again?”
“Can’t I say what I want with my own mouth? Ah geez, why is this so long and goddamn annoying.”
Unable to contain my temper, I tore off the Hamak I’d been wearing and slammed it on the ground. Still not satisfied, I kicked the sprawled Hamak. Deus, who had been silently watching my tantrum, let out a sigh.
“Don’t throw things when you fight. That’s a really bad habit. Hurry up and pick it back up.”
“I don’t want to do that either.”
“This won’t do. Narikeh, sorry but could you step out for a bit so we can talk? I’ll finish quickly.”
Deus gestured to Narikeh, who was standing there blankly, to step out for a moment. Narikeh, suddenly treated like a friend who’d come over for a housewarming party without reading the room during a couple’s fight, shouted in an irritated voice.
“Enough!”
At the resounding voice that came from his core, both Deus and I shut our mouths at the same time. Narikeh, who had been pressing his temples with his arms crossed, opened his mouth as if to sort out the situation.
“So let me summarize the story—you’re saying this female isn’t a virgin?”
“Virgin?”
At Deus’s increasingly fierce gaze, I unconsciously turned my head to avoid his eyes. Deus, who had been staring at me intently without caring, muttered in disbelief.
“You even pretended to be a virgin? While being a married woman…?”
“What conditions for the word ‘married woman’ do I even meet? Who’s calling who a married woman?”
Narikeh, who had been blocking me with his arm as I finally couldn’t hold back and flared up, nodded his head as if telling me to answer.
“I’m asking. If you’re a virgin, I don’t care if your relationships with men were a bit complicated before meeting me. I just need to kill this bastard right here.”
“…”
“Are you a virgin or not? Just say that clearly.”
I didn’t understand why that was so important, but it seemed to be a very important condition. Deus, who had been looking at Narikeh expressionlessly, smiled faintly. And asked in a calm voice.
“If it were you, would you leave a wife like that as a virgin?”
Narikeh, who heard Deus’s answer, suddenly pushed my forehead with his index and middle fingers. Just as I was thinking this action didn’t match the situation, I saw Deus’s expression harden instantly.
‘Huh?’
The moment I checked my hands at the inexplicable sense of wrongness, I froze. Because unidentifiable black stains had colored my entire body as if I’d been burned. Just as I was blinking my eyes, nosebleed dripped from one nostril. Narikeh, who had been watching me with an amused expression as I looked dazed, opened his mouth.
“I’ve channeled enough Dark Magic into your body to kill at least a hundred humans. It’s insufficient compared to the price of betraying me, but if you die too easily, you won’t be able to feel the pain.”
The nosebleed that had been just a few drops soon dripped enough to thoroughly soak my front. I unconsciously turned my head slowly. Right behind me was the black hole that had been called the “corpse disposal site” in the original work. One certain thought flashed through my mind.
‘Ah, I’m…’
At Narikeh’s action of pushing my shoulder, my body fell backward.
‘Going to die here.’
Just before falling, Narikeh, whose eyes met mine, muttered in a voice full of contempt.
“I almost took a filthy whore as my mate.”
* * *
After Ash fell into the hole, a silence like a dead mouse descended. From the moment Narikeh pushed Ash, he had calculated various probabilities, but they all came to the same conclusion. The conclusion was that there was no way Ash could be alive after not only being poisoned by high concentrations of Dark Magic but also falling down such a deep hole.
After quietly mulling over his thoughts for a while, Deus dropped his sword on the ground. And let out a sigh.
“Haah…”
Deus, who raised his bloodshot eyes upward, muttered quietly.
“I’m screwed.”
Narikeh frowned as he watched Deus calmly accept his loss. Because although he’d seen countless forms of despair, he’d never seen this type of despair before.
Rather than being sad or angry about losing the object of his attachment, it was a reaction as if he feared the sense of loss that would soon come to him. Narikeh, who had been watching this indifferently, clicked his tongue.
‘A bizarre bastard in many ways. The flow of his magic power is also subtly different from ordinary bastards.’
If he were a man who would feel a sense of loss just because he lost a female, he should definitely be an insignificant bastard. Narikeh’s body stiffened as he felt instinctive danger. Because of the unusual flow of magic power.
In the silence, color returned to Deus’s face as he pondered something carefully. Then he snapped his fingers with a click and nodded as if he understood.
“No, you hid her somewhere. Right? I know that feeling. I sometimes feel like hiding Ash in the Void too. But can’t you stop now? I don’t think this is fun…”
“Ridiculous. No female who’s fallen in there has ever come out alive. Because an enormous amount of Dark Magic is condensed down there.”
Narikeh answered in a voice full of ridicule. Deus asked with narrowed eyes.
“You pushed her even knowing that? You seemed to be quite fond of Ash.”
“My principle is not to let females who betrayed me live.”
“…”
“You’re pitiful too. To take such a whore as your mate. That kind of female clearly won’t even know how to respect her husband. Better off dead.”
Narikeh ground his teeth with a crunch. He only regretted that he couldn’t properly crush that detestable face that had been pretending to be so innocent. He sneered with his chin raised.
“There are females far more beautiful and gentle than that ill-mannered female all over the world…”
Narikeh, who had been continuing confidently, frowned. Because of the strange sensation he felt from inside his body. Narikeh, who had been stepping backward, soon coughed up blood with a retch. Thick drops of blood dripped between Narikeh’s white fingers. Bewilderment appeared in eyes that had been arrogant all along.
“Huh?”
