331. Before today passes (3)
The red eyes looked directly at the silver-blue eyes, as if these were being said to Remember.
“Please record this as well.”
“….”
“There are probably many shortcomings with the information known now. There may have been some parts that were questionable. “I will tell you everything directly from the person concerned.”
You said you would write a book with me as the main character.
Just like the conversation we had back then, Remember smiled as if he couldn’t resist the playful remark.
“I will listen. However, doing so will consume quite a bit of time, is that okay? “You looked busy.”
“okay. “I benefit from being able to listen to my junior’s story, but I also have to fight the battle.”
The two observant adults remembered the child who seemed impatient. I’m sorry for holding you back from your busy pace, but the reason we’re taking more time here is…
“…we’re not in a position to stand still and have a conversation in the first place.”
“You mean… you’re going to talk while fighting?”
“Is there something wrong?”
Deon’s remarks are tantamount to ignoring stigma. This means that it is enough to fight while telling my story, rather than focusing entirely on the battle.
However, Stigma, who was good at self-objectification, calmly shook his head instead of getting angry.
“No. “My junior, you are a warrior, so it’s natural for you to have that much leeway.”
“….”
“You have a face that asks why you aren’t angry. Didn’t I tell you before? “If your junior is overwhelmingly strong, no one will be able to say anything even if you swing from the chandelier in the banquet hall.”
Even if it were the imperial palace, even if you held your head high in front of the emperor, no one would say anything.
“And now, junior, you have become a warrior and the strongest that no one can deny. So there is no reason for me to be angry.”
“….”
“But it’s going to be a fairly one-sided conversation. Please understand if I cannot answer your words during the battle.”
As if he had said everything he wanted to say, Stigma drew his sword. Instead of facing each other, Deon stood still and quietly rolled his eyes. There was a bit of bewilderment and absurdity in the red eyes.
‘What… is this nonsense, the law of the jungle?’
They’re worse than demons.
In the past, when I heard advice like this, I was tired and scared and thought it was a scary and unique idea, but when I heard it again, it felt like madness.
It’s to the point where one wonders if a wild animal has been humanized. I think he would adapt better to the Demon World than anyone else, but if the situation had been somewhat peaceful during the time when I was traveling between the Demon World and the Human World as a spy, I might have encouraged him to immigrate to the Demon World.
At that time, a sword was pointed in front of my nose.
“It is not a good habit to think differently about someone holding a sword.”
“….”
“Of course, this would be useless advice for you now, but….”
“…No. “Thank you for the advice.”
I adjusted my grip on the dagger and took a stance. Despite the momentum that made him look like he was about to fight, Deon stopped and glanced at Remember.
Remember, who sensed the meaning, smiled.
“Then this old man will stay away.”
“I wonder if I can hear it because it’s so far away.”
“Even if you look like this, you have good ears, so you don’t have to worry. “I listen from a reasonable hearing distance.”
It is a fight between a warrior and a hero. No matter how good your ears are, you are not a warrior, so it would be meaningless if your voice was far enough away to be heard.
If the voice reaches you, the aftermath of the battle will also reach you. It was obvious that he would get caught up in it, so Deon hesitated and could not easily start the battle. The worse stigma added.
“He is an Esperanian, so he should be able to protect himself. “I’ve been around with you and seen your skills, so I’ll vouch for it, so you don’t have to worry.”
“…then.”
Blood flows as if announcing the start of a battle.
The two types of weapons clashed as if Deon had taken a stance and was waiting.
I thought I had gotten used to fighting hero fragments after the previous few days of fighting, but it seems that wasn’t the case. Deon was startled by the strength and speed that exceeded what he had expected.
‘…It’s definitely on a different level from the heroes I’ve faced so far.’
Well, Stigma Primiro is a war hero whose accomplishments went beyond surviving the eight-year war. It is natural that it differs from the hastily gathered pieces of debris.
Even among the empire’s ‘official heroes’, he had a reputation for being particularly strong.
The emperor at the time, Edoardoya, was an unusual hero who was strong enough to be suspected of being a hero until the hero came out, so even if we skip it, Stigma was the next best hero.
As if Deon wasn’t the only one who felt something from the other person, Stigma frowned after exchanging several attacks.
“…It’s strange.”
I lightly drew my sword horizontally, as if testing. Deon raises his dagger to block it. Without giving him a chance, he dug straight in and stabbed his sword aiming under the chin.
When he saw Deon avoid the attack by stepping back, his eyes narrowed with suspicion.
“Junior, are you feeling unwell?”
“…what do you mean by that?”
“The movements are strangely awkward, as if submerged in water. There are no visible injuries…”
The brown eyes examine the body thoroughly, as if trying to dismantle the opponent. Deon, who paused for a moment, quickly abandoned his defensive attitude and attacked.
Percussion! The agitated attack was caught by the seasoned hero.
Stigma, holding the wrist with the hand not holding the sword, places the sword in the ground and raises his other hand. He did not miss the chance of the opponent faltering due to his movements without any intention of attacking and pointed his forehead at him.
“…you have a fever.”
“….”
“It doesn’t seem like the heat is enough to make your movements awkward, but did it last for a long time?”
“…It’s not enough to be a hindrance.”
Without waiting for an answer, Deon swatted away his hand and swung his dagger sharply.
Stigma, who obediently stepped back while holding the sword he had used in an attack intended to push the opponent away, made an uncomfortable expression. It was obvious that he wanted to say something, so Deon continued his attack to silence him and hastily cleared his mind to divert his thoughts elsewhere.
The topic was, of course, the story of Deonhardt, as promised.
‘I said I would tell you everything, so I guess I should tell you from the beginning…’ I don’t know
how far back I should go.
…It would be a good idea to start with the bet between the Duke and the Demon King. In the beginning, I was the sacrifice and game piece for the bet. After a short thought, I opened my mouth.
“Do you know that Duke Starbe Illuster signed a contract with the Demon King?”
“…what?”
The tip of the sword shook.
It’s definitely a shocking introduction, but the feeling of discomfort suddenly disappears and a shocked expression is revealed. Deon grinned at him.
“It would be quite an interesting story.”
….
Deon opens his mouth and the longer the story goes on, the faster the exchange becomes slower.
And when Stigma finally heard all of this, he laughed and lowered his sword.
“I heard it was interesting.”
“….”
“That’s a terrible story.”
It was a terrible story influenced by others from beginning to end.
It’s a pretty terrible story that was wrong from the start, and the discrepancies led to discrepancies, which led to cracks and eventually collapsed. Now I understand why Deon wanted to destroy the human world.
This may be one’s own revenge against the world and one of the few ‘paths chosen by oneself.’
“I respect you for holding on until now.”
Is it because I faced a distorted reality from a very young age, or is it because the present is the most difficult and there is no inspiration in the past? Stigma looked at Deon, who casually revealed his past.
I made eye contact with the child who had walked a rougher path than I thought and smiled with regret and regret.
“I guess I should apologize first.”
“…?”
“Normally, it would be better for me to come forward and offer to help you kill the Demon King, but I can’t do that.”
“I understand.”
As I listened to his story before the fight and learned about the person called ‘Stigma’, I understand it of course.
‘Because the dishonor gained by helping a hero who betrayed the human world will be greater than the honor gained by killing the Demon King.’
Moreover, if he dies while fighting the Demon King, he will be forgotten as one of the many heroes who died while helping the hero, and even if he survives, the hero will get almost all the attention. In the latter case, even the only time to die properly is missed, so from Stigma’s point of view, whether he dies or lives while dealing with the Demon King, he only loses and has no gain.
That’s why Deon nodded without any hesitation.
“That’s not what I said I wanted in the first place.”
“I know. “It’s just that I feel bad.”
The slow attack and defense began to pick up speed again.
A short but heavy question followed.
“There’s nothing more to say, right?”
“…yes.”
“okay. “Then there is no reason to waste any more time here, so I guess I’ll just end this.”
You have to do your best to hold back your junior.
The wind blows like a typhoon, and the trees around are cut down like straw.
Stigma, who was attacking fiercely as if he was going to pour out everything as it was the last time, lowered his sword at some point and gave himself a vital point to the flying dagger.
Deep.
An eerie sound rang out and Deon’s body froze.
‘As expected…’
That’s a good thing. Stigma laughed.
This is the side that was stabbed. Look at his pale complexion, as if he himself had been stabbed. If you just look at the face, you might mistake it for the exact opposite situation.
‘Why does he look like that when he didn’t stab me with his own intention?’
There is a difference between killing someone by moving them directly and killing an opponent by running at your sword. Although the current situation is the latter, looking at this facial expression, I wonder what the former must have been like.
I slowly opened my mouth, feeling fortunate that I was able to relieve my guilt even just a little.
“I am convinced of something after hearing your story. “You are a strong person both internally and externally.”
“….”
“So I guess I can survive even if I’m added to that thorny path.”
Perhaps because he is a hero, his life does not end easily even when he is stabbed in the vital area.
If it had been any other situation, it would have been hell, but I’m glad this time. Regardless of whether my body collapsed or not, I smiled softly and reached out my hand to stroke my wet cheek.
I’d like to tell you that you’ve worked hard, but I don’t deserve it for adding to your hardships.
“I’m sorry. “I added another thorn to your thorny path.”
“….”
“I’m sorry for leaving you with bad memories.”
All that comes out is an apology.
“I hope it’s an invisible thorn.”
“….”
“Why are you crying when you should be angry?”
Tears are falling from their wide-open eyes, as if they cannot accept the situation.
Deon may not have even realized that he was crying, but he touched the area around his eyes. When he noticed that it was wet, he made a puzzled expression.
“Why…”
A question arose, not knowing what it was directed at.
Stigma just coughed slightly and spit out blood, then raised the hand that had been wiping away the tears and brushed the opponent’s messy hair. Even that small gesture contained the meaning of apology.
It had to be that way.
“In the end, I put myself first.”
Honor goes beyond proving the value of being a stigma prime and has become a stigma itself, but this is just an excuse, and in the end, it can be said that this is a case of putting one’s own selfishness ahead of the hurt Deonhardt will receive.
Therefore, Stigma, who was about to apologize again, kept his mouth shut, thinking that any further apology might result in violence.
Instead, I looked back at Remember, who had come nearby.
“Don’t you think this part is a useless scene in a history book?”
“…History is not something that is recorded based on usefulness or non-usefulness.”
but.
Remember, who knew what Stigma wanted, smiled.
“Someone else’s opinion should not be involved.”
“What does that mean?”
“The fact that the hero gave up his life to the warrior is this old man’s guess, and the fact that he was stabbed by the warrior’s sword is the truth, so if it were a ‘novel’ type book, I think only the ‘affairs’ would be included in the ‘affairs’.”
“…Thank you.”
Stigma seemed to feel a little more at ease then and closed his eyes.
My breathing, which was otherwise light, gradually became thinner and stopped at some point. In the suffocating silence, a clear liquid dripped onto my chest, which was no longer rising and falling.
…The blood was rushing like crazy.
