Chapter 2: Enlightenment
“Shit, he collapsed.”
Once, just standing, he exuded a turbid energy.
An evil man who enjoyed seeing someone suffer,
Who would scream, curse himself, and exude killing intent,
And then beg for death,
The man who was called the Demon King by all races,
Now, was slowly collapsing, pouring his own blood onto the ground.
“…I don’t need to pray for your death, Demon King.
You just need to die, crushed by the weight of your own sins.”
The saint sensed the end of the battle and stood before the man, retracting the pure white energy from her hand.
“With this, there will be no more suffering elves, or humans… Ever.
Your entertainment ends here.”
Still holding her arrow, the elf woman scrutinized the man with a sharp gaze, in case he might rise again.
“…And give the reason for that hideous smile, Demon King.”
A long sword, soaked in black blood, stood before the Demon King’s neck.
The blade had already entered his neck, yet
This man did not show any sign of stopping his laughter.
“Yes, that the four of us stood proudly before me as if completed… And I’m so looking forward to what will happen!”
“What will happen, you say.”
He was clearly a man who was about to die,
Who was the one who cried out upon realizing he could no longer enjoy himself,
But now, seeing the vitality return to his jet-black eyes, the three could not help but shudder at his audacity.
“There’s no way a second chance will come to an evil person like you.”
“That’s right. I’m already good as dead. But… it was worth it. Absolutely.”
“If your goal was to turn your body into a pile of rags, you succeeded brilliantly, but?”
“You have no idea, really. Truly. It also means my sorcery worked perfectly.”
“Sorcery, you say?”
“Twisting the thoughts a person has towards another person. How wonderful and – beautiful.
If that guy, ha. If he had been with me until the very end, how great would that have been?
I wonder if my beasts have already torn him apart. That’s – so unfortunate, isn’t it?”
“You keep spewing incomprehensible words. What exactly are you talking about?”
What exactly did you succeed at? What are you sorry about? Defeat? No. He’s talking about something more important. Could it be.
“That – the guy who got caught up in it. That young man. The great guy who reached my territory perfectly, without any blessings!”
“…You mean that disgusting man?”
“Hee-hik, uhahahaha – ! Disgusting? Disgusting! Hah, right! Disgusting? Of course! Absolutely!”
The Demon King, in his tattered body, twisted and turned as he burst into wild laughter, leaving an unforgettable sight in their eyes.
Now, a truly ‘mad villain.’
Later, a terrible being, laughing at their foolish selves.
“Ah, it’s such a shame! It’s really a pity. What if I had tortured him and burned him and brought him before you? What would that have been like?
Wouldn’t it have been great to keep him alive, hating you as if he wanted to kill you?
Or like a crawling bug – ah, but my beasts already did that, didn’t they?”
What is this man, who can’t help but laugh and spout terrible delusions?
Is he truly evil itself?
But somehow, I didn’t feel much resistance to such thoughts.
For now.
The three, perhaps, even had the thought that the fate of Woojin, which the Demon King spoke of, was not unsuitable for him.
The memory that flashed through their brains became a deep source of self-loathing, as if they wanted to kill themselves right away.
And when they struck the Demon King’s neck,
His expression is still vivid before the eyes of the three.
A smirk.
They couldn’t understand.
But now they know.
Now, they were showing that emotion to themselves without reserve.
“…Haaam.”
How long have I slept? The sun is rising… is?
What the hell. Why is the sun rising?
How long have I slept? How many days have I been sleeping?
No, more than that, why am I okay?
I didn’t light a fire, and I’m supposed to be taking care of the sleeping arrangements –
Ah, originally, the sleeping arrangements are my job…
“That’s right. The Demon King died.”
The land, which boasted a strange appearance despite being in the same world, is gone.
The screams, as if echoing in my ears, no longer sound.
This is a world where the Demon King is gone, and a deep forest where no one is.
Yes. I have been resurrected.
“Tsk.”
The loud cry, rumbling from my stomach.
I can’t even estimate how many days I’ve been hungry, or how many days I’ve spent sleeping.
But what is clear is that my stomach wants food.
“The backpack is… gone.”
On that day, the day I was kicked out before dying, I was definitely given a bag.
Even though the journey isn’t over, because of that, I have to be careful.
Wait a minute. Thinking about it, I completely…
“I was going to die, me.”
And did they do that, knowing that I was going to die?
In a place where danger lurks,
To be torn apart and die,
“Ha, haa.”
Even if I swing the sword, it won’t cut, because of the thick leather.
“Uh, uhhaa,”
Knowing, knowing, yet swinging the sword
“Ah, aah.”
Blood splatters, bones are visible
“Uh, uhh”
“Uh, aah.”
Screaming,
My stomach is torn,
Ah, aah.
I will die.
I will die,
Here,
Lonely.
“…Ah.”
When I came to my senses, the sun was already hanging on the right side of the sky.
More time has passed. But I can’t even estimate it.
There’s no calendar, and there are no companions to tell me.
Even if I lost consciousness here, there is no one to wake me up,
No, waking up is my job, wasn’t it?
Losing consciousness isn’t my job.
No, what am I always spouting?
“Alright, let’s get a grip, Woojin.
You are alone, and you died once.
…I don’t believe it.
Anyway! There are no companions, and you’re free. Now you can live as you want!”
Even so… I don’t know what I should do.
“Grr.”
Ah, should I fill my stomach first?
Why do I feel like I’m going in and out of consciousness?
What about the backpack?
Ah. I gave it to them.
…Let’s stop it.
First, I should find something to eat.
No, before that… where’s the sword?
“Keuuuung – ha. Haa, damn…”
Were there even trees like this in this place?
The sword stuck in the tree won’t come out no matter what.
…Let’s not think about how the sword got stuck here.
I definitely had a panic attack, I think.
Twice, did it happen?
I saw the sword, and then I struggled… I must have struggled.
My body is also covered in dirt, and I have a few more scratches on my hands.
Damn it. Am I going crazy?
Ah, whatever.
There are no hunting tools. If it’s like this.
I can’t even groom it, so how am I going to survive like this?
“Making, stone tools. No, polished stone tools?”
When you leave civilization, you become such a miserable person.
If I had a hunting tool right now –
Damn it, when did I say I would stop thinking about this.
The sun was already setting.
And in front of me was burning firewood, and a rather large fish was deliciously cooked.
“If it’s this big, I could make fish and chips. Tsk.”
Filet the fish, make a batter with flour and beer, and fry the thick fillets in oil –
“Churp.”
I feel a strange urge.
But what can I do? I can’t get that here.
For now, let’s be satisfied with this delicious grilled fish.
“Ummm, ummm!”
Delicious! Delicious!
I was worried because there was no salt, and it was even a freshwater fish, so I was skeptical –
Did the goddess give a blessing? This fish is very delicious!
It doesn’t smell fishy, and the texture is somewhere between soft and firm –
“Mmm, it’s very delicious. If you just grill it like this, Erika – ”
Ah.
“Ugh,”
I told myself not to think like this.
“…”
The inside of the carriage was truly quiet.
There were two passengers and one driver.
If it’s unusual, it would be the driver’s outfit, and the passengers.
The driver was wearing thick armor and urging the horse.
If the horse got tired, he would get a new horse,
If the horse got tired in the middle of the road, he would cast magic on the horse and force it to run.
If the wheels of the carriage were damaged, he would replace them,
He would also urge them to change the wheels.
“Hero, I hope nothing we are worried about has happened. Why are you in such a hurry – ”
“Fix it right away. There’s no time to chat.”
“…”
As the horse was getting tired, the hero suddenly looked around.
“…It’s getting dark. I think we can only go this far today.”
Holding the reins of the horse,
“Whoa, whoa.”
When he shouted that, the horse finally began to slow down.
“I’ll prepare the campsite.”
The carriage stopped completely,
Squeak, the door opened.
The faces of the two people who got out were not very good.
The driver, who usually didn’t have motion sickness, didn’t say that, so the two looked at the armored man strangely, and then realized that he wasn’t the person they expected. They were deeply shaken.
“Ah… Aah. I,”
“I was a little seasick – ”
“…I’m sorry. I was a little anxious.”
‘Anxious’ is not something that can explain why she drove the horse to madness.
The horse was panting, and it was looking around with the look of fear, as if it would start running again at any moment.
The saint was hesitant, went to the horse and looked around its condition, and then drew out her divine power.
“I’m sorry. There is someone in urgent need… to be with.”
As a pure white energy swept over the horse, the horse was once again full of vitality as if it had no fatigue.
“But we’re not running today.”
She clumsily took off the saddle with her small hands, and then patted the horse’s neck twice, just as he had done.
“Now rest. It will be hard to go again tomorrow.”
Only then did the horse kneel down.
“Fthump.”
It was exhaling a rough breath.
“…The horse also understands words.”
“…Yes. That’s right. It’s one of the powers. Granted by the blessing.”
Blessing, power… If he had a blessing, he wouldn’t have had to face the cruel ending.
In the first place, what good was a blessing?
He couldn’t see through one of the Demon King’s tricks, and he killed him.
Right. He killed him.
Only silence was felt.
There were three mouths, but not a single word came out.
‘If he was here, he would have definitely blossomed in conversation.’
He’s not here anymore.
In that place where there were four people, now only three remain.
How they continued the journey, abandoning him,
Even while listening to those last, bitter words, as if a curse,
How they didn’t think something was wrong.
The three seemed to be miserably paying the price for their actions with a deep regret.
“Who’s on watch?”
“I will,”
“I will, do it.”
The archer and the hero opened their mouths at the saint’s question.
“…I’ll do it. The hero drove the horse.”
“I’m not tired.”
“Lies, you’ve been saying that for two days.”
“I’m not tired. I’m not sad.”
“Please, even though you didn’t receive any ‘heal’ from the saint – ”
The hero’s voice became harsh.
“I didn’t.”
Without even taking off his helmet,
Taking a deep breath and exhaling,
Erika didn’t say anything more.
The saint just looked at the two with a painful expression.
“…I’ll take care of it tomorrow. I can’t give up on that.”
“Okay.”
“I mean it. Don’t be so stubborn tomorrow.”
“Then, we’ll go into the tent…”
…
Silence followed.
The tent was not set up.
Yesterday, it was definitely like this.
And yet, the same thing happened.
It was harsh. It’s harsh.
His absence, too much.
“…Hic.”
Too big.