254. Is it me or you who killed the emotions? (1)
“…Dernivan.”
The operation to steal the baby was carried out early in the morning on the last day.
Originally, I wanted to process it faster, but… I guess things in the world work the way we want them to.
Satisfied that he had been able to protect the baby, even if it was just to the point, Oel looked at the baby in his lieutenant’s arms with complicated eyes.
“You know, I… now that I think about it, I haven’t even named the baby?”
“….”
“…So I feel really fortunate.”
I probably won’t ever see my baby again.
I feel like I want to hold onto it. I want to cancel all plans, hide it somewhere in the Demon King’s Castle, and raise it in secret.
…But if we get caught again, neither I nor the baby will be safe. Besides, babies are human, right? It is natural that the human world would be better than this place full of demons.
‘More than anything, I am the enemy who killed the baby’s parents.’
It seems as if my mind has also grown while raising a baby, and my increasingly mature thoughts are hurting me.
It was better when I lived without thinking and only with curiosity. Thoughts like that creep up on me, but I don’t regret picking up the baby. Because thanks to you, I was able to learn a lot.
I stretched out my hand. A faintly trembling fingertip touched the baby’s forehead as if blessing. Despite his trembling hands, his voice came out calm.
“Because humans who pick up and raise babies can now name them themselves.”
I’m so glad.
Things that you name yourself tend to become more attached to and precious to you. It would be truly fortunate if the person who would pick up the baby was attached to the baby and cherished it.
‘Baby, I am grateful to you.’
The baby giggles as if he is happy to be touched by his mother. Oel smiled bitterly and slipped his hand. A hand gently reached down and rubbed the baby’s cheek.
Thank you for letting me experience something new.
I am truly grateful that it helped me understand what a ‘mother’ is, taught me ‘maturity’, and allowed me to experience first-hand how painful ‘separation between parents and children’ is.
It was fun for once. Maybe I was happy.
‘How did this happen?’
I shouldn’t have picked it up in the first place.
‘…No, if I hadn’t picked it up that day, the baby would have died.’
Then shouldn’t they have killed the baby’s mother? But it was an order.
Where did it go wrong? The flow of thoughts moves further and further back in time, but I can’t find the right point and end up circling around similar sections. There, Oel broke his thoughts and withdrew his hand.
When I raised my gaze a little, I made eye contact with Dernivan.
“Please take care of me, Dernivan.”
“….”
…I feel like I’ve been seeing a lot of new faces of my boss since picking up the baby.
Dernivan looked at Orel with new eyes and bowed his head slightly. From a while ago, his senses as an animal were telling him that something was ominous, but in the current situation where he couldn’t pinpoint the cause, there was only one thing he could say.
“I’ll be back.”
I need to come back as soon as possible.
He bows his head slightly and disappears in an instant.
It’s the last time, so go slowly so I can at least see the back. Although he knew that there was nothing he could do under the circumstances, Oel looked at the spot where Dernivan had disappeared with a sad, sad expression on his face. His expression immediately hardened as if he felt something.
“this.”
“….”
“Are we a step too late?”
I quickly turned around. A huge hand, completely different from a human one, was reaching out.
Oel, who quickly grabbed the bow, put away his hand and glared at his opponent. As if he had just tried it once, the demon that shouldn’t be there was standing still and looking this way.
“…Trover.”
“I came here because it was the last day, but I had no idea it would really get busy. If I had come a little sooner, I would have been able to catch the scene, but it’s a bit disappointing.”
It seems like he was just waiting for this day to come here early in the morning when he could have come in the afternoon or late morning at the most. Besides, the fact that you came all the way here means you’ve already visited the room.
Tired eyes turned to Trover.
Trover just shrugged his shoulders and smiled, despite not knowing that he was being viewed as an incompatible demon.
“I guess now isn’t the time to do that, right? Why don’t we just go straight to report to the Demon King? Since we haven’t left in a while, we’ll be able to track him down right away. Won’t both your lieutenant and the baby be dead by then? Oh, of course, you’ll be dead.”
“…!”
Orel’s body stiffened, pretending not to be like that.
Ha, the commander of the army, who has only one demon lord above his head, is like this because of only a human child. A sneer appeared on Trover’s lips.
“If you don’t like that, there is another way.”
“…other way?”
“Okay.”
Maybe you’ll like this too.
He snapped his fingers playfully. A soft voice fell with the cool morning dew.
“You’re going to kill me.”
“….”
“The Demon King is an old man, so he openly favors the strong. Especially if it has already happened and is not known to those around him, so he can easily cover it up, he will take the side of the winner, or the strong, without hesitation.”
For example, the life-and-death struggle of two corps commanders who moved from place to place.
Military strength the size of a corps commander is precious. What can we do since the opposing army commander is already dead? I need to take care of the remaining corps commanders.
He will ignore any and all serious matters, and if necessary, he will take care of the surviving corps commanders, even if it means putting the blame on the already dead and useless corps commanders.
“Don’t you want to kill me? Even if you don’t, I don’t like you either. How about risking your life to have a fight?”
“…gibberish.”
It looks like the brain is full of muscles, and the tongue is like a snake.
Orel, who had been listening quietly, frowned.
“That assumption is what it would be if the ‘Demon King’s order’ were not in the way.”
What if we take as an example a conflict between extremely personal corps commanders? The situation is completely different now.
Where are you selling drugs? Suddenly, a bitter taste lingered on my tongue.
“If you think about it, you are the one who was sent according to the Demon King’s orders. If I succeed in fighting and killing you like you said, that would be a direct violation of the Demon King’s orders. I will definitely die. On the other hand, you succeed in killing me. There won’t be any problem if you do it.”
Rather, wouldn’t it be a sufficient reason to say that I killed you because I tried to kill you, rebelling against the Demon King’s orders?
“….”
“But.”
I fiddled with the bow. It was a good idea to bring a quiver of arrows just in case. Oel said with a smile on his face.
“Anyway, the current situation is such that I have no choice but to die.”
“…then.”
“If you’re going to die, shouldn’t you at least kill yourself and die?”
Even if we leave without a collision like this, our lives will end as soon as Trover reports. In that case, I should at least slit the head of that damned culprit and die to feel relieved.
I picked up a bow. Trover’s face becomes brighter as he understands the meaning a little too late. Soon, a refreshing laugh broke out.
“Haha! Yes, that’s it! Very good!”
“….”
“Then should we change seats first? It’ll be difficult if we get interrupted in the middle!”
“…okay.”
Get out of the Demon King’s Castle so as not to be caught by anyone.
***
I want to kill you.
This was the thought that came to mind as soon as I realized that Trover had brought the baby to the Demon King. I didn’t express it outwardly, but I was quite angry.
I wonder if he knows how grateful I am right now for so kindly providing a space for me in such a situation.
Let’s end this now.
As soon as the battle broke out, OL retreated, widened the distance, and protested.
‘….’
Compound eyes that replace the pupils and whites of the eyes shine between the squinted eyelids.
I calmly aimed my hand between the eyes of the guy who was charging at me like a hungry monster and let go. As if only one arrow was enough, the three arrows flew fiercely towards their target.
Although the speed was qualitatively different from that of regular arrows, Trover managed to duck and dodge it. The guy who rushed at me without slowing down swung a hand that looked more like a monster than a human. There were no funny magic spells that I usually chanted.
Kwaang!!
For a moment, Oel flew through the air.
Let alone a legitimate hit, the attack was not even permitted. I swung the bow in front of him and managed to block it…
“…Ignorantly using too much force…!”
“Are you jealous?”
This time, Trover kicked off the ground and jumped as if it was his turn, swinging his fist at Orel in the air. Boom! And an eerie sound split the air.
When his fist reached its intended destination, Orel was not there.
“…!”
Trover quickly twisted his body. Orel, who had moved behind his back as if using magic, was holding an arrow in his hand and striking it at the back of his neck. Even though she was in the air, she was able to avoid it, so her arrow failed to achieve its goal and ended up leaving a scratch on her neck.
“Cowardly using magic…!”
“I’m going to use up all my magic power because I’m going to die anyway.”
Although it is not at a level comparable to that of the Demon King or the 11th Legion Commander, it can still be seen as being overflowing compared to Trover, who has no magical power at all.
“And why is this so cowardly? All demons have it, so it’s strange that they don’t use it. You can use it too.”
“….”
“I used a lot of ‘magic’ on a regular basis.”
Grumbling.
Trover’s fist tightened. Starting with the hand, which originally belonged to a monster, the black energy travels up the arm and encroaches on the shoulder. The other side, which was a healthy human hand, also turned black and grew in size, and changes occurred all the way to the shoulder.
The arms of the white shirt he was wearing, which he said he wore neatly, were so tight that they all burst out.
Trover tilted his neck to the side making a crunching sound and then clenched and unclenched his fists.
“…annoying bastard.”
“Here’s what I have to say, you son of a bitch.”
Thinking that today was the last day of his life, Oel grabbed a handful of arrows from his quiver, prepared to use magic without hesitation.
Soon, a rain of arrows poured down, filling the sky with black.
***
The fight lasted longer than expected.
It may have been more so because Orel was focused on long-distance combat and Trover was focused on close combat. Because both of them were good at creating distances that were advantageous to them.
Their battle, where one person widened the distance and the other narrowed it, aiming for each other’s lives in a cycle of infinite repetition, became not only fierce but also cruel in the latter half of the battle.
When Oel ran out of arrows, he created an arrow with his magic power and shot it. It was an act that would immediately shock even the 11th Corps commander, who was said to have the most magical power among all corps commanders.
Trover, who had nothing but a strong body and stamina, was fighting against magic by changing the level of his body beyond his arms to all parts except his head. It was something I would never normally do because it was so hard on my body.
The fight was now taking the form of a game of chicken. The situation becomes dangerous for both of them unless one of them stops first. It was clear that even if he won this fight, the losses would be severe.
Still, neither of them had any intention of backing down. Because if you stop, you will lose. Defeat means death. Even if we had to die together, there was no way we could stop it.
As time passed, the once clear arrows became blurred and cracks appeared all over the black body.
There was a difference between victory and defeat.
“ah.”
The arrow heading towards Trover lost its power and scattered in the air before it reached its destination.
The moment Orel, embarrassed by the unexpected situation, let out a sigh, Trover, who mustered his last remaining strength and reached right in front of her, grabbed her small head and threw it to the floor.
Quaaaang!
“…!”
Oel lost consciousness for a moment due to the shock stronger than expected, wondering where the strength came from for a guy whose body was completely broken. There was no time for screams or moans to come out because the huge hand was crushing the face squarely.
bang! Quang!
As if to make sure, the hand that didn’t let go of his head kept slamming the back of his head to the floor.
‘Oh, I’m going to die.’
Oel no longer had the strength to fight, so he let go of the bow he had been holding tightly until that moment. The bow fell from its owner’s hand and rolled around helplessly on the floor.
Only then did the black hand move away from the face. I could see that there was also a crack in the palm as it moved away.
“….”
“Any last words?”
