So this was what it meant that Parallel World Ruvlian had beheaded the Demon King. It meant he had slit the throat of Baek Sihyeon, who had turned into the Demon King. The back of my head throbbed. Unpredictable situations kept appearing one after another. My mind, which had been working just fine, overheated. This was driving me crazy.
“When we screamed at him asking why he did it, Belitent said, ‘He turned into the Demon King—you expect me to just leave him like that?’ We couldn’t say anything. We’d been ordered to kill the Demon King, so what could we do if we didn’t kill him? What’s more, the Hero had fallen to become the Demon King in an instant.”
He acted like it was nothing, but I could see he regretted having easily abandoned his comrade. Even if he hadn’t been able to stop the killing, it was clear he wished he had at least argued against Parallel World Ruvlian’s words. Though I wasn’t certain, Montrio’s guilt seemed to stem from this.
But setting that aside, if you looked at Parallel World Ruvlian’s actions separately, they were closer to being right. The Hero and his companions had to kill the Demon King, and what would have happened if they hadn’t was obvious. Even if they did kill him, as long as they kept their mouths shut, Parallel World Baek Sihyeon would have become an honorable Hero who died killing the Demon King, or a Hero who disappeared after finishing his duty.
However, for him to have become either an honorable one or one who vanished suddenly, even just the servants of this mansion despised Parallel World Baek Sihyeon. They revealed their ominous feelings while pretending otherwise. That meant only one thing.
“Looks like they didn’t keep quiet about the fact that the Hero became the Demon King.”
“……You really are different.”
I heard a voice murmuring quietly. It seemed to be comparing me with Parallel World Baek Sihyeon. I had no choice but to stay still, since I was no different.
But I couldn’t understand at all what they were looking at to feel that difference. I wondered if Parallel World Baek Sihyeon’s head had been bad, but if his bloodline was exactly the same as mine, that couldn’t be. It’s hard to survive in that family without a good head.
Rather than thinking about that family, it would be more beneficial to hear Park Sichan’s story. I cleanly erased from my mind the house I would leave once I became an adult. Completely.
“As you expected, we originally intended to keep quiet.”
I heard a low, melodious voice that had lost its playfulness. The gaze was directed at me, but the essence seemed to be looking toward a more distant place, as if recalling the past.
“So there wouldn’t be any noise, we wanted to leave Sihyeon as a Hero who had performed his mission and departed. But one day, rumors started spreading.”
I could see strength entering Deadrian’s hands. His veins bulged clearly on his white jade-like hands. Montrio, who had been colored by complexity and guilt, and Alli, who had been biting her lower lip hard enough to draw blood, were also quietly enraged.
While mentioning various rumors like ‘The Hero was actually the Demon King’ and ‘The Divine Oracle was wrong,’ Deadrian practically ground his teeth. Even though it wasn’t something that had just happened, I could see he was about to blow his top.
“Montrio investigated and found the person who spread the word….”
This is also Parallel World Ruvlian, isn’t it?
“…Belitent showed up.”
I wasn’t even surprised. If it was the same as what I’d experienced, the only people who could have killed the Demon King would have been Parallel World Baek Sihyeon and his companions. And among them, who else would break the tacit agreement? There was only Parallel World Ruvlian, who had beheaded his companion in one stroke.
“And it seemed like he spread it on purpose. But we only found out it was deliberate after Montrio contacted Belitent, so we ended up falling for Belitent’s plan.”
I was curious about what conversation Montrio and Belitent had, but Deadrian didn’t tell me. He just unraveled the story bit by bit. From how Parallel World Baek Sihyeon was less expressive and less talkative than me, to how much of a son of a bitch Belitent was.
While the melodious voice flowed into my ears, no other voices entered. Only the sound of the curtains attached to the window we hadn’t closed when entering fluttering and the sound of the wind lingered nearby.
“…That’s the end.”
The story had reached its endpoint. It seemed like he tried to tell it as lightly as possible, but the content wasn’t light, so it was useless. To them, Parallel World Baek Sihyeon had been a precious comrade. That’s why I could understand why they weren’t happy to talk about Parallel World Baek Sihyeon. Who would like bringing up the story of the dead, especially one who died dishonorably? What’s more, when their comrade died, they hadn’t even been able to offer a single rebuttal. This was their shame, their reverse scale.
As I didn’t rashly open my mouth, Deadrian maintained silence without saying anything. It seemed like consideration in advance, knowing that while I looked composed, I would be confused inside. I decided to use this brief moment usefully. There wasn’t nearly enough time to combine what I’d heard with the information I already knew to derive a conclusion.
As a result, I understood that Parallel World Ruvlian had killed Parallel World Baek Sihyeon. I also understood well that he felt guilt about it. But then why did Alli say that Parallel World Baek Sihyeon was a scapegoat substituting for me?
Even though they’d finished the story, there were many things I didn’t know, such as the reason for calling him a scapegoat and the source of the longing and familiarity Montrio directed at me. The only part where I didn’t hear detailed content was when Montrio fell for Parallel World Ruvlian’s plan and contacted him. It seemed like they learned more information then that they didn’t tell me…. I quickly scanned the three of them. Their attitude said they’d said everything they had to say. There was no way they’d give me answers. It seemed I would need to make separate contact with Montrio, who held longing for me.
Scapegoat. Scapegoat…. I rolled the same word over repeatedly. Usually when you say scapegoat, it means substituting for the other party, but all I’d heard was that Parallel World Baek Sihyeon became the Demon King and died.
Then was I originally fated to become the Demon King and die? Was the substitution death? Even if that were true, how did Parallel World Ruvlian know my future? Moreover, according to God, Parallel World Baek Sihyeon became the Demon King when his accumulated desires suddenly burst all at once. Then what was the cause that made those desires erupt at that particular timing?
I tried hard to use my head a bit more, suffering from the non-concise, far too much information. That’s when it happened. The voice that had been telling me about Parallel World Baek Sihyeon until just before rang out in the room fallen silent.
“The reason Alli and I don’t really like you is largely related to Belitent. At least Montrio has memories. Alli and I only heard the story, so we don’t have the emotions from that time.”
“Deadrian!”
Montrio shouted angrily. As if he’d mentioned something that hadn’t been agreed upon. When I looked at Deadrian in response, he was smiling ambiguously. I didn’t know what whim it was, but he deliberately threw information at me.
“Montrio. Don’t be angry. I’ll only say this much. It seems like this Sihyeon will find out eventually anyway. Hiding things isn’t the only answer.”
Deadrian gently soothed the indignant Montrio. Montrio’s reaction was certainly excessive. It seemed like he was preventing me from getting close to a fact he didn’t want me to know. As if adding certainty to that fact, Alli, who had no good feelings toward me, was slightly raising the corners of her mouth.
After observing their reactions for a moment, I mulled over the word ‘memories’ from Deadrian’s statement that had caught my attention. As expected, it seemed that only Parallel World Montrio and Ruvlian knew ‘me’ well, not Parallel World Baek Sihyeon. Especially Parallel World Montrio felt familiarity as if he’d known me for a long time, and felt longing as if seeing someone after a long while. When I asked if he knew ‘me’ at all, he’d even agreed. That would be the difference of whether they had those ‘memories’ or not.
Memories that Alli and Deadrian don’t have, just as I don’t have them. If someone had tampered with my head, there should have been something wrong somewhere. However, as I’d checked a moment ago, there was no such thing at all.
Then it narrows down to two possibilities. Either it hasn’t happened to me yet so it’s not in my memory, or it’s a memory completely erased from this world. One of the two.
However, it’s right to discard the hypothesis that it hasn’t happened to me yet.
For that to hold, since ‘yet’ is the assumption that it’s something that hasn’t happened, the future me would have to meet them. And by going to the past.
Parallel World Ruvlian and Montrio already know me. In other words, that means for them, meeting me is a thing of the past.
I don’t know how far back in the past they went, but if they encountered Montrio and Ruvlian, there’s a high possibility I met Alli and Deadrian as well. Moreover, if I mull over the statement ‘we don’t have the emotions from that time,’ I can tell that in the memories I don’t have, they were together.
However, Alli and Deadrian, like me, don’t have those memories. Tampering with someone’s head is quite dangerous and rude, so I haven’t been able to check directly, but judging from their visible attitudes, there would be no traces of tampering with their memories either.
Divine Power focused on healing is especially excellent in mental aspects as well. If you possessed such tremendous Divine Power, you would naturally discover abnormalities in your memories.
It was similar for Spirit Mages. Spirits who like natural things would immediately heal if someone left artificial traces on their friend, their Spirit Mage. It was certain since Alli had said it during subjugation when she was a Hero.
Of course, if they themselves had sealed their memories, it would just pass. However, if that were the case, there would be no need to hear the story from Montrio. They could just unseal the sealed memories themselves.
Then the hypothesis that it’s a memory completely erased from this world is correct…. I frowned faintly. For an event that existed to be completely erased as if it never happened, you would have to turn back time. To before that event occurred.
But is that even possible? Time is God’s domain. Which means it’s absolute. It’s not something you can tamper with carelessly.
Someone who would do such a thing… exists. Someone who could do such a thing and more, with a high success rate at that. Moreover, someone who has a track record of transcending worlds and tampering with God’s jurisdiction.
Parallel World Ruvlian.
Parallel World Ruvlian turned back time.
