152. Cruel Truth, Cruel Fate (5)
Why do children speak so harshly?
Is this the harmful effect of war? It seems like the swearing I’ve heard here is worse and more numerous than the swearing I’ve heard since I was born…
Dan hesitantly backed away with a pale, tired face.
“…Are you okay alone? From the looks of it, he looks like he’s been left behind and he’s vomiting blood…”
“Do I have to tell you twice? Really porridge….”
“Ahh, okay. “I’m really going.”
However, the feet do not fall off easily.
How long would a child like that survive in this war?
A small and delicate body, and a sharp attitude that seems to have gone through a lot of hard work. Dan was so anxious about all of this that he couldn’t take a few steps before turning around and speaking to the boy who was glaring at him warily.
“Um… is the thing that caused you to vomit blood an injury or a chronic illness?”
“You really, you bastard…!”
“If you have a chronic illness, I recommend hiding it.”
“….”
“You’re an ordinary soldier, right? “In fights between ordinary soldiers, the most formidable ones are targeted first.”
While on the move, I once watched a battle in a valley from the top of a mountain.
“Whether you swallow the blood or stuff a cloth in your mouth, it would be best to hide it at all costs.”
“….”
***
I hear someone coming down the stairs of the mansion.
Remember, who was standing in the central hall, looked up and saw Deon and Dan following him. In the atmosphere that seemed to have been sorted out, the old man’s unique playful voice flowed leisurely as always.
“Are you leaving?”
“yes.”
“I was just about to teach you some internal affairs, but you’re leaving out talented people like this. “I am also very old, so I don’t know where to find a replacement.”
Deon chuckled at the playful grumbling of the old man who noticed that Dan was being taken away. It was a dry laugh.
“Now that you’ve decided to teach me, what have you been teaching me so far?”
“I was only entrusted with processing documents that were superficial and auxiliary, leaving out all the important information. “In the beginning, we were entrusted with processing fake documents to determine whether he was a spy or not.”
“…Then why on earth did Dan change the filing system…?”
“Isn’t it possible to understand how the document system works just by processing fake documents? In that sense, Dan was an excellent candidate for deacon.”
“…I’m asking this again, but what is Remember’s true identity?”
“I am the butler of the Marquis Hart.”
“….”
Deon, at a loss for words, began to walk again, having stopped for a moment.
Remember passed me and spoke to me behind him as he headed toward the door.
“Aren’t you taking the Murderous Knights with you?”
“It’s easy to get caught in large-scale movements. Besides, they are the ones who will not move quietly even if they die soon…”
“That’s right.”
“So, I’ll just leave…”
“Then what about Lord Lien?”
Are you not taking me with you?
Deon stopped and turned his head to look at Remember.
“She is so upright. It won’t fit where I’m trying to go. “You know.”
Don’t ask questions you know.
Remember, who smiled kindly despite his irritated voice, spoke softly to Deon, who was just stepping outside.
“I’m so glad you recovered.”
“….”
Deon paused for a moment and walked out without even looking back.
Dan, who had stopped for a moment to watch his steps seem to be a little faster, nodded in greeting to Remember and hurried after him.
….
“There’s a place I’d like you to stop by before you go.”
“…I’m not asking where I’m going.”
Deon, who was loosening the reins in the stable, just rolled his eyes and looked at Dan.
The eerie red gaze scans the expression. Dan smiled calmly in front of him.
“I think I know.”
“…So where would you like to stop by?”
***
The people of a small village in a mountain valley who were just about to pack up their belongings and move were frozen by the unexpected visit of an uninvited guest.
“Was it here?”
“yes. It’s usually a quiet place, but today it’s very chaotic. “As if… they were about to move.”
The man whom the shaman grandmother referred to as ‘disaster’ and Dan, who said he would be a ‘pawn of disaster’.
Dan puts his hand on his sword and looks around at the people without any emotion. He spots the person he was looking for and raises one corner of his mouth. He kept walking and approached an old man who was trembling with fear and anger.
“Long time no see.”
“you you…!”
“I suddenly remembered it. “I came here because I wanted to see my grandmother’s face at least once before I put her prophecy into practice.”
Dan, who had said that far, burst out laughing.
“Then why are you shaking?”
Shamelessly.
He took a step closer with an eerie expression that didn’t contain any emotion, then lowered his head and whispered softly into the grandmother’s ear.
“You are the one who made me like this.”
I shouldn’t have said something like that so carelessly. I went astray like this.
It is not for nothing that shamans are reluctant to talk about the future. Dan smiled as he kindly showed him the consequences of breaking the shaman’s unspoken rules.
“I won’t kill you. “You must live to see me fulfill your prophecy.”
“….”
“So live your whole life in guilt.”
I hope you live your whole life as if you are suffocating, and at the very last moment, die in a more painful way than anyone else.
Words are like blades. Even though it was not directed at him, Deon felt his heart ache and gently closed his eyes.
He opened his eyes when someone approached him.
“…!”
“…what?”
Deon opened his eyes and snatched the hand that was trying to touch his shoulder, glaring at the other person with full of frustration.
He had no intention to kill and had received help before, otherwise he would have put the knife in his head a long time ago.
Without even trying to free his wrist, Ran looks at Deon. When Deon, who couldn’t wait, was about to get annoyed, she whispered softly in a voice that no one else could hear.
“Watch your eyes.”
“…eye?”
What does snow suddenly mean…
Moreover, it is not clear whether you are talking about snow falling from the sky or snow that is a part of the body.
There was no way he would have noticed Deon’s questioning expression, but Ran pretended not to notice and tapped the hand holding his wrist to signal for him to let go, then quickly blended into the crowd and hid.
‘…Even if you ask me, I won’t say more.’
This is what an excellent shaman said. Deon, who remembered her words in the back of his mind, turned his head and looked at Dan.
He was standing three steps away from the trembling grandmother and looking in this direction.
“…Are you done?”
“yes.”
“Then let’s go.”
The two people suddenly disappear, as if they had suddenly visited.
Ran walked among the people leaving the village at a much faster pace than before, and muttered softly as he watched them riding away.
“Please don’t commit too many sins.”
This too may be just a vain wish.
***
0The corps commander brought a human!
In the Demon King’s city, where all kinds of rumors and news were abuzz due to the war, a rumor that overwhelmed them all spread.
If the people he brought in were prisoners or hostages, there wouldn’t have been such an uproar. However, since that human seemed to anyone to be the assistant to the commander of the 0 Corps, the demons had no choice but to go on a rampage in many ways.
[I’ve never even been able to wash feet, but a human is helping me?]
[I won’t forgive you in the name of demonism.]
[De-se.]
I was jealous.
[How capable is he that Daemon himself brings him here?]
[They even say he’s a human. Other than Demon, I am the first proper human being who is not an intruder.]
[If possible, I would like to have a conversation with them at least once.]
There were also demons who showed pure curiosity.
[Bringing humans into the Demon King’s Castle?]
[Daemon-sama is a special case, but other humans are a bit…]
[Daemon-nim brought them directly, so wouldn’t it be better to kick them out rather than kill them?]
Showing conservative tendencies There were also demons who expressed a shocked reaction.
And Deon Hardt, the hot potato of the Demon King who drew all these reactions.
“I heard that your fever has gone down, but are you really feeling better?”
The altar was separated and the two of them were face to face with the Demon King alone.
Deon, who answered by nodding roughly, lowered his head, clenched and unclenched his fist for a moment, and then looked at the Demon King again. It’s been a while since the red eyes that lost their vitality and completely hid their emotions faced the devil’s eyes.
A low voice came out slowly.
“Once upon a time, a shaman predicted my future.”
“Hmm… It seems like telling me that will make it come true, right?”
“…yes.”
If I were to be honest, yes.
The Demon Lord, leaning back comfortably in his chair and crossing his arms, touched the corner of his mouth as if he was interested.
“It’s a prophecy.”
“….”
“In case you get confused, I would like to add that prophecy is different from seeing the future.”
Prophecy is an absolute thing that cannot be changed no matter what you do.
Looking at the future is a fluid thing that can be changed depending on how much effort you make.
“Prophecy is the future seen and uttered by those who can break the rules of the world. “It’s that absolute.”
“That means that the shaman…”
“He was a person with enough skill to break the rules of the world if he wanted to. “It’s great for human subjects.”
The topic of conversation continues with no meaning or intent. If it had been anyone else, he would have cut off the conversation right away, asked for the main point, or gotten annoyed, but the patient Demon King willingly rolled his eyes and accepted Deon’s words.
Deon, whether aware of this or not, lowered his eyes as if thinking for a moment and then slowly asked a question.
“So does that mean you can make prophecies?”
The Demon King is the most representative person who can break the world’s rules.
The Demon King raised an eyebrow at the mention of ‘you’ and laughed for a moment as if it was funny.
“of course. Not only me, but all demons can basically make prophecies.”
The race that was born from the errors of the world, ignoring the world’s intentions, is the demon race.
The fact that he was born from the power of the Demon King is proof that he can break the rules of the world, but how can it be that the birth itself is like this?
Deon furrowed his eyebrows as if he didn’t understand.
“But… I’ve never seen demons make prophecies…”
“They just don’t. “Looking at a future that can’t be changed is meaningless and not fun, right?”
Prophecy becomes the basis for even attempts to change it.
It would be better not to make the prophecy at all than to experience something so unpleasant.
Rather than that.
The Demon King smiled happily while looking at Deon.
‘We always exchanged only our goals and kept small talk to a minimum, so I wonder what kind of wind was blowing.’
This isn’t as bad as it is, or rather, it’s more fun, so I have no complaints.
Deon, who had been silent for a moment as if he was finally getting to the point, slowly opened his mouth.
“Before… when we caught a hero candidate who had infiltrated the Demon King’s Castle, do you remember delaying the reward because we didn’t want anything right away?”
“of course.”
“I want to use it now.”
“However much.”
The Demon King nodded willingly.
His eyes showed interest that he could not hide, but since he meant no harm to me, Deon spoke without hesitation.
“Please completely destroy the empire.”
“…what?”
The Demon King’s eyes opened wide.
Deon paid no heed and continued talking like a runaway carriage.
“I’ve thought about it. “Is there any way to get revenge on the duke and the emperor?”
What is the Duke’s most precious thing?
What did the emperor consider most important?
“Empire. The emperor always said that the burden is the empire. Toppling the empire would mean overthrowing the emperor. “We need to investigate the duke’s side more, but he probably also values the empire.”
Because the duke seemed to be aiming for the emperor’s position.
So, if you completely destroy the empire, you will be taking revenge on both of them.
If I succeed in my goal of destroying the empire, their lives will easily fall into my hands. If you directly end that life, revenge becomes closer to perfection.
“So I dare ask. “Please completely destroy and trample the empire so that it can never rise again.”
“…Haha!”
“….”
“Ahahahaha! Hahahahaha!! I never thought I would use it like this! very good! Do you like it!”
In the end, the Demon King couldn’t suppress his laughter and burst out loud.
It’s truly the best! That’s an awesome request! As expected, I chose the right toy!
“You said more investigation was needed on the duke’s side, right? For that purpose, feel free to do as much research as you want! “I’ll help you!”
“That purpose…?”
I was so excited that I made an uncharacteristic mistake.
I smiled and hurriedly added, pretending like nothing had happened.
“You know that request is too big compared to the contribution you made, right?”
“…yes.”
This is not a request worth making just for one hero candidate.
“I will conquer the human world.”
Deon Hardt’s eyes darkened as he realized what his intention was.
He got down on one knee. He lowered his head and bowed his head.
“…I will follow you with all my heart.”
“good.”
Foolish human being.
If the emperor is a hypocrite, then the devil is a hypocrite.
The Emperor is the same on the outside and the inside, but the Demon King is different on the outside and the inside.
Compared to the devil’s sins, the emperor’s sins are nothing more than fireflies in front of the full moon, deceived by the outer shell.
The Demon King smiled, closing his eyes as if to hide his true feelings.
at las.
After a long patience.
The toy fell into my hands.