Episode 272. The Devil’s Nature (1)
“Ugh.”
Askaron came to his senses and opened his eyes, groaning.
He soon realized that his body was restrained by something and raised his head.
“It looks like you’ve come to your senses.”
Then, I made eye contact with an unfamiliar human woman whose identity I could not identify.
If I remember correctly, she was the same person who had thrown the sphere of nothingness over her head before she lost consciousness.
Ascaron hurriedly checked his condition.
“Nah, the bondage of salvation?”
Dozens of twinkling chains of light were entangled all over the transparent magic circle.
Looking around, his group was also in a similar state.
“Did you make me like this?”
Lunav just nodded indifferently.
After showing the dark attribute magic called Sphere of Nothingness a little while ago, this time it’s light magic?
Does this person ignore the very concept of attribute values?
Betsy and Rogers soon came into his confused field of vision.
The two were looking at Askaron with anxious eyes from a distance of five steps away from Lunav.
“Right. “You are the one who goes in and out of the Demon King’s Castle.”
“It looks like you’ve already become a celebrity without even knowing it?”
Lunav did not specifically deny it.
Rogers came up to him, looked down at him with wide eyes, and said.
“I need you to give me a proper explanation. Askaron.”
Ascaron let out a confused sigh and lowered his head.
“Before I start explaining, let me ask you one thing. “Did I try to destroy Betsy’s pendant just a moment ago?”
“Rather than trying to destroy the pendant, it would be more correct to say that it was trying to destroy the wearer.”
Lunav answered with an indifferent expression.
Askaron began his explanation with a look of regret on his face.
“Until recently, I had no idea Betsy had a pendant like that. “I just knew that there were some unknown people going in and out of the Demon King’s Castle.”
Rogers frowned and gave a calm reaction.
“I’m asking if you are aware, but are you aware that there has been recent contact with humans, not by us, but by one of the factions opposing the Demon Lord?”
“What do you mean by that?”
Rogers jumped up and asked.
“I guess you didn’t know. Recently, the Demos faction cut off all contact with other factions, and there were rumors that they were traveling with humans. “I met that person while trying to determine the truth about the rumor.”
“What kind of person are you talking about?”
“I don’t even know the name. It was hard to see her whole body properly because she was wearing a robe, but she had blonde hair and a strange sword at her waist. “I don’t know how he knew, but he came to our base and suddenly started talking about Betsy.”
Betsy flinched at this.
The only clues were blond hair and a sword with strange energy, but just from that alone, Lunav was able to immediately tell who the person was.
“He told me plainly that my daughter was in danger and that I should save her. Then she told me the truth about the pendant. I think things got a little weird from then on. “The more I made eye contact with that person, the more headaches I got and the more dazed I became.”
“It’s similar to when I was first deluded by the pendant.”
Betsy added an explanation, saying the symptoms were similar to hers.
“Anyway, I’m sure I wasn’t in my right mind back then. Normally, I would have investigated the facts before taking action. But I led the group and headed straight to the Demon King’s Castle. “I don’t know about anything else, but I think I had a strong desire to save my daughter.”
Askaron made eye contact with Betsy for a moment, but immediately looked away.
“I was sincere when I tried to destroy the pendant. However, from the moment the magical power manifested, I started going crazy again. “Nothing else mattered, only the pendant caught my eye, and I reached for it without realizing it.”
Ascaron closed his eyes tightly and recalled the dizzying situation at that time.
“If I hadn’t stopped him, he probably would have tried to force it off. So what happened… … “I don’t really want to think about it.”
His eyes turned to Betsy again.
“I am truly sorry. Bestie… … .”
As if overcome with emotion, Betsy’s eyes fluttered violently after receiving the apology.
“Your father was also affected by the power of deception. “It’s something no one can blame.”
Bestie denied it, saying it wasn’t his fault, but she couldn’t bear to face him and turned her head away.
“I want to be alone for a while.”
Then I walked alone towards the lakeside.
“Rogers!”
At that moment, reinforcements from the Demon King that Rogers had requested arrived on the scene.
Rogers, who was looking at the reinforcements and Bestie alternately, soon asked Lunav for a favor.
“Without shame, would you please Runab-nim take Betsy-nim back to the castle? “I will handle the follow-up.”
“I will.”
Lunav immediately agreed without any hesitation.
While Rogers and the reinforcements were carrying out the post-processing,
Lunav approached Betsy, who was standing blankly alone at the lakeside, looking out over the horizon.
“How did you know?”
“I overheard you and Rogers talking in another room. “I’m sorry for sneaking in without permission.”
Lunav apologized for overhearing the conversation, but Betsy reacted in surprise.
“Are you saying you heard our conversation through Rogers’ barrier?”
“yes.”
Lunav answered calmly, as if it wasn’t a particularly difficult task.
Betsy was once again amazed at her ability, as she had easily absorbed Ascaron’s magic just a moment ago.
“This is truly amazing. If it weren’t for Lunav, it might not have been possible for me to even be alive right now. “In fact, I should be grateful.”
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Then he politely bowed his head and expressed his deep gratitude.
“I heard that this person named Ascaron is your father… … .”
“… … !”
“I guess you were taking the opposite path from your father?”
It was a somewhat sensitive question, but Runav’s personality of never being curious about questions meant he didn’t just pass it by.
“You weren’t against it from the beginning. “My father was the demon who was happiest when I transformed the demon king, no, Belkarion.”
After contemplating for a moment, Betsy soon brought out the story she had kept in mind.
“I don’t know what the situation is like in the human world because I haven’t been there, but the Demon World is a very cruel land. It is a cruel land where strength is everything to survive, and demons without strength cannot survive and are eliminated.”
In fact, this principle was not much different in the human world.
“That’s what I thought. Wouldn’t it be good if the Demon King, who reigns as the strongest in this Demon World where power is everything, used his power for the Demon World? I definitely believed that it could become a peaceful land where even powerless demons could live in peace. In fact, Belkarion changed, and as he changed, the Demon World became a better place to live than before.”
Betsy firmly believed that this was the most peaceful time in the demon world.
“But at some point, my father began to object to the changed appearance of the Demon King. He also urged me to get out of the Devil’s Castle quickly. I couldn’t understand. The demon world has never been as peaceful as it is now, so why is my father against it? “I still don’t know why.”
“Me too. “Even now, I don’t agree with my grandfather, so we keep fighting.”
Lunav comforted her, saying that she was in a similar situation.
After struggling to confess her feelings, Betsy felt lighter.
So I asked what I was curious about about her.
“How can Lunav be so strong?”
“You mean why I’m strong?”
Lunav, who had never thought of herself as strong, tilted her head.
“Rodgers did that before. Humans are said to be the species with the greatest potential for development. My father is also a renowned demon in the use of magical power, but I never dreamed that I would be able to subdue him so easily. “I may not be able to match your strength, but can you tell me what kind of mindset you used to develop your strength?”
Lunav thought for a moment, but then came up with an answer right away.
“Would you say I just kept chasing after the person I desperately wanted?”
“… … “Is that all?”
“yes. “I want to be by that person’s side and keep moving forward with the desire to help that person, and I don’t have anything else to say about this.”
Betsy felt like she had been hit hard in the back of the head.
Lunav’s answer was simple, but it contained a lot of meaning.
Continuing to chase after someone you desperately want.
Isn’t that what you have been doing all along?
“I don’t know how you see me, but in my eyes, Betsy seems more amazing and stronger.”
“Uh, why?”
“At least the man that Bestie desperately wants is taking care of her. “I still have a long way to go.”
Lunav suddenly showed a look of regret and looked intently beyond the horizon that Bestie was looking at.
After chatting briefly in front of the lake, the two women soon climbed up to the castle with the Demon King’s group.
* * *
“I will not report today’s events to the Demon King. “It is absolutely imperative that today’s incident is never mentioned, not only by us but also by their forces.”
“Are you planning to keep it a secret from the Demon King?”
“Because the Demon Lord knows, it’s not a good thing.”
Rogers, who volunteered for the post-processing, only asked Ascaron to crack down on the incident without any major compensation or apology.
“Let me ask you one thing. Rogers, do you really think that the changed Demon King is better for our Demon World?”
“I don’t want to answer questions that aren’t worth answering.”
Rogers looked like he was going to turn away, but he just turned his face again and said.
“The current peace was not created by the Demon King. Bestie made it. “Don’t you acknowledge that fact, Ascalon?”
“It might be good right now. But how long do you think this peace will last?”
Ascaron opened his eyes and revealed his true feelings that he had been holding inside.
“We, the demon race, have survived for thousands of years in this harsh land called the Demon World. A diet of the fittest? Survival of the fittest? That is the source of our demons’ ability to survive and become strong! Rogers, don’t you know very well that the Demon King is ultimately a being that appears within the laws of the Demon World?”
“… … .”
“A peaceful demon world? There is no need for peace in our demon world. In order for our demons to continue to survive in the future, we need a demon lord who is vicious and merciless in nature.”
Rogers just kept his mouth shut and did not respond.
“Rogers, you too will realize someday. What is the form of the Demon King that is truly needed for the Demon World? … .”
Rogers ultimately neither confirmed nor denied.
However, I was absolutely certain of one fact.
Now is the time when this peaceful era of the demon world can come to an end.
That this is the most dangerous time.
Meanwhile, in front of the Demon King Castle at that time,
“Where have you been, Bestie?”
“B-Belkarion?”
Belkarion greeted Betsy with a happy smile as she returned to the castle from the unknown lake.
Everyone was shocked because he returned much sooner than expected.
“Wow, you came back quickly?”
“Well, that’s how it happened. But where did you go as a group? “Can’t you see Rogers?”
“Well, that means… … .”
The other demons who guarded them, including Bestie, could not easily respond.
“Why can’t you speak? Is it difficult to say it directly? “Then should I ask the other person?”
Belkarion’s eyes immediately turned to Lunav.
“Then you tell me. “Where did you go with Bestie?”
“Where is your senior?”
However, what came back was not an answer to the question, but another question.
“Where did you leave your senior? Why did you come back alone?”
“I asked you first. Where have you been? … .”
“… … .”
Lunav sharply focused her eyes on the Demon King, as if she would not answer until he answered first.
“You guys. I think I’m misunderstanding something… … .”
“Wait a minute, Belkarion! “Let me explain!”
Bestie, who sensed an unusual energy, quickly tried to dissuade him, but
“Don’t ask any more questions, just answer. “If you don’t want to die!”
Belkarion’s eyes were already burning red with anger and death.
(Continued in the next part)
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