Chapter 255

Episode 255 What if (3)

“...If this happens, the temple will convulse and try to kill you.”

[What?]

“No.”

Okay, there’s no point in feeling lost about things that have already happened. Even if I had known, I wouldn’t have run away.

I passed it on and quietly asked a question.

“I wonder why they leave each other alone if it is possible to sacrifice their own people.”

[That’s it... Humans know that if they kill someone, they can get that person’s property, and they know that, but they don’t necessarily kill them, right? Isn’t that the context?]

“...I think it’s because there are social norms that involve coercion. Does the devil have any laws or customs to maintain order?”

[I don’t think there will be a social standard established by everyone’s agreement. But you have that, right?]

The crazy king succeeded in connecting dimensions even though he used himself as a wedge.

[If a guy like that banned fratricide, everyone should follow suit.]

“Is that the logic?...”

I imagined Satan summoning demons and announcing that they should ‘ban each other from fighting.’ This was kind of funny.

[By the way, it is still questionable whether the original owner of the body went around hiding his demonic energy. Judging by the fact that they have been collecting bodies for sacrifice for five years, it seems like the contract was made before then... is that right? You made a contract with the devil and hide the devil? If that were the case, the devil contractors would have been devastated long ago, right?]

But I laughed about it because my reality was so harsh.

We changed the topic that had been leaking to the original topic. There was still no answer in sight.

[...perhaps the devil himself hid it?]

“Didn’t you hear clearly?”

[As I said last time, it is almost impossible for a human to hide demon energy alone. But if the devil tried to hide his magic power himself... then the story would be different. okay. If the devil himself hides his demonic energy, the story will be different!]

The six ghosts stopped talking and suddenly raised their heads like Archimedes shouting Eureka.

[Yes, yes, this is it! This is the answer!]

“...I don’t know yet.”

So calm down and try to explain. I said it around, but it didn’t have any effect.

[But why? Is there any benefit to be gained by the devil cooperating?]

“...I want to understand, too.”

[Ah, sorry.]

But I said it directly one more time, and it worked that time. After apologizing, the Six-Gwi lowered its majestic head and tapped the moss with its fin.

[Once you become an archdemon, you won’t suffer from side effects from changing your body composition. So, there is no need for the body to become deformed or suffer due to the restoration of demon energy like humans do. Because the demon energy is theirs in the first place.]

Of course, Yuk-gwi added that there are no side effects, such as becoming vulnerable to external attacks and suffering internal injuries as a reaction the longer it continues.

[So, if the devil himself came forward, it wouldn’t be impossible to hide his demonic energy. However...]

“Is there a reason to come forward to him? This is it.”

[That’s right.]

I tapped my fingers on the question he raised. Coming this far, I felt like there was something bothering me.

“...First of all, the contract between the original owner of my body and the devil was made more than five years ago. Is that correct?”

[You wouldn’t think of collecting sacrifices unless you made a contract... I guess so?]

“And they brought me with the sacrifices they had collected. “This is the definite truth.”

[Right?]

“...Why did you do that?”

[...?]

Would that place still be full of fierce cold, widespread death, and slow downfall? Are the warriors who die to survive still fighting a meaningless fight there?

The weak are eliminated, the strong are broken and blood flows endlessly, and yet the land is still only white.

『...pass the glacial ordeal twenty times. That was the punishment we gave you. And you passed it with flying colors. You are free now.』

Still.

『Leaving? What is it? There’s nothing binding you anymore, so you can do that if you want. Because we have no right to stop it.』

Does she still have her sister?

『But keep in mind. If you fail to die, you will definitely come back. Just as we cannot leave this land even though the land dries out and the number of prey decreases, you too will eventually come back here.』

Berserk tightly gripped the metal, which became colder the longer he held it.

“I heard there’s a spell on the Nordan warriors.”

Wise Birgir already knew. As long as her sister is buried there, Berserk has no choice but to return there. Her escape was bound to end someday.

“You were right.”

But I didn’t feel any sense of rebellion or anything like that. It was only natural that the longer I shook my head, saying I didn’t want to face the truth, the more difficult it would become.

“You were right.”

So there is only one option left.

Now it’s time to go back.

Berserk stood up. As I wandered around the south, I lost the reason I was longing for, and layer upon layer of cold began to build up in my heart.

* * *

Before stabbing myself with the blade, I tried to think until the very end.

For example, if you are in danger of death, you worry that the devil might come out again. Contrary to my expectations, I am anxious that the life and death of this body may not be related to their profits and losses. The question of what will happen if I really die, etc.

Most of them were like that.

[Sleep!]

But my new body, which has already sat on the edge of the grass, has nowhere else to retreat.

I pulled myself together.

[Hey hey. Even so—!]

“Please.”

Above all, I had confidence.

So, even in the worst case scenario, if I die, I’m dead and I’m confident that the devil won’t take over my body.

Anyway, looking back at the history so far, it was clear that there were some limitations to the devil’s ability to take control of this body.

For example, the rage must be turned on and the madness gauge must be full, or a sortie like Deus Ex Machina is only possible in situations where it seems impossible. Well, it seems like there is some kind of limitation.

For your information, the ‘unlikely situation’ mentioned here does not use my life as a baseline. This is a natural judgment, as there have been so many times when my life has been at risk, but the devil has only appeared twice.

Then, when will the devil descend?

It’s not just my life at stake, but the lives of many more people. I think that in order to save them, the real devil knight compromises with the devil and sends them out instead.

Clues collected in Bemurchen—Honestly, what reason would there be for a devil to save a human hero? Unless it was forced—it was almost certain.

“Please keep the request I just made.”

Regardless, for that reason, this gamble is not that much of a loss. Even my death is like that.

The best thing is to return when you die, but if you die without being able to return... isn’t that the point? Anyway, if I can’t hide my demonic energy, I’ll have to live the rest of my life being chased and hostile, but I don’t have the confidence to handle that. In that case, it would be better to die holding on to at least hope.

[You really...]

“I’m sorry.”

Therefore, it is by no means excessive for me to resort to such means.

『...don’t do it again.』

I’m sorry. The apple that would never be reached sank into the abyss.