228

Chapter 228 — Filled with Suffering (1)

“We have to kill him!”

Deathbringer walked forward while listening to the shout.

Tok.

His hand touched the makeshift iron bars.

Even with manpower desperately scarce, craftsmen had been ordered to construct this cage as the highest priority.

“How do we know the demon isn’t recovering its power even at this very moment?! We must kill him immediately—!”

“How? How exactly do you intend to kill him? With the Hero collapsed and showing no sign of waking, and most of the mages unconscious as well—how?”

“We’ll find some way……!”

And inside the cage, a figure bound tightly with chains and ropes breathed quietly.

“And even assuming we somehow manage it. What if instead of killing the Adventurer, all we do is wake the demon?”

“That……!”

“What will you do then? What if what the demon said wasn’t a lie meant to buy time for recovery, but every word of it was true? What then?!”

Deathbringer lowered himself to his knees until his eyes were level with the other person’s.

Of course, their gazes did not actually meet.

The person had not awakened.

And even if he had, with consecrated cloth covering both eyes, he would have been unable to see his surroundings.

“Besides, Bishop, didn’t you see it too?! That regeneration? Half his neck was cut through, and within minutes it had recovered! Do you truly think we can kill something like that?”

“That doesn’t mean we can leave the demon alone! My Lord, you saw it too! If that thing wakes up again……!”

“Every person who barely survived will die. Yes. I know. But we also know that attempting to kill that Adventurer is what causes the demon to wake. Bishop, do you truly want to see every citizen of Bemurchen slaughtered?”

“That was not my intention, my Lord!”

“Not your intention?! How is what you just proposed any different from wagering every citizen of Bemurchen on a gamble with terrible odds?!”

Deathbringer, however, was different.

“Bishop, do you understand how desperate our situation is right now?”

“…I have eyes and ears. Do you really think I don’t know how hard you’ve been working, my Lord, and how many places still remain beyond our reach despite that? But…….”

“But? But? Do you truly understand? If you did, the word coming from your mouth should not be ‘but’!”

“My Lord.”

“What we need now is faster cooperation and unity from everyone! At this very moment, the true threats facing us are not the Great Demon inside that man, but our lack of food and medicine, Bishop!!”

Deathbringer remembered the face wrapped in consecrated cloth.

And because he remembered it, he could draw what lay beneath vividly in his mind.

“My Lord, I understand that too, but—”

“Enough! I don’t need words like that. Instead, let me make my position as Lord of Bemurchen perfectly clear right here.”

Yes.

Deathbringer knew what face was beneath that cloth.

“I will never—never lay a hand on that man. At least not until the people of Bemurchen have regained some stability. Even if God Himself were to condemn my actions, I will not touch him until then!”

“My Lord!!”

…And Deathbringer knew how that face had slit its own throat.

His forehead touched the bars.

He wanted to cry.

“If you want to brand me a heretic, do as you please. But you may do so only after every evacuation is complete, immediately after the citizens finally have room to breathe.”

“…You may regret this.”

“I don’t care. And the Bemurchen Magic Tower Branch has decided to take the same stance as I have, so I suggest you avoid wasting everyone’s time by going there next.”

The shouting behind him finally quieted.

Then came the clank of metal.

From the sound alone, Deathbringer could soon tell it belonged to the Lord and the knights.

“Franz.”

“Yes.”

“I’ll assign you five soldiers. Guard the entrance to this prison. Let no one touch him!”

“Yes!”

“And if anyone tries, cut them down. No matter who they are. I will take responsibility for everything that follows.”

“Leave it to me.”

The Lord shouted loudly enough for everyone nearby to hear.

One knight and five soldiers began surrounding the cage.

Naturally, Deathbringer, who had been sitting in front of it, received several questioning looks in the process.

Looks that clearly asked, Who the hell are you, and why are you sitting here?

But no one chased him away.

For one thing, the Lord recognized his face.

And secondly, the Lord gestured to those around them to leave him alone.

Deathbringer was a little grateful for that small kindness.

A little more so because it also meant shielding the Demon Knight.

“Then I’ll be going. We still can’t establish contact with the west, and escaped criminals are causing shit all over the place under cover of the chaos. Having to waste soldiers here on top of everything else is really enough to give a person an ulcer.”

“…Try not to be too angry, my Lord. The Temple is only acting out of concern for the worst-case scenario.”

“I know. Their fears aren’t wrong either.”

But Deathbringer’s favorable impression went no farther than that.

“Truthfully, I’m not even sure whether I’m making the right choice. If this scene itself is exactly what the demon wanted… then we may even lose our chance to attack.”

“My Lord…….”

“But we can’t ignore the other possible worst-case scenario either. Especially after what the Great Sage said.”

The way Deathbringer saw it, the Lord could defend the Demon Knight only because they had not personally suffered direct harm.

“Phew… I only hope that Adventurer doesn’t betray my expectations.”

If the rampaging Demon Knight—

no, the demon that had taken the Demon Knight’s body—

had harmed civilians, there was no chance the Lord would have responded this way.

Just as they had thundered at the Bishop moments ago, only to reveal uncertainty now.

“Anyway, I’m counting on you, Franz.”

“Yes.”

Still, goodwill was goodwill.

Deathbringer hoped that opinion would never change and lifted his forehead away from the bars.

“…Sir. Is this really right? Is it truly right to… protect a demon?”

“Quiet. Our duty is to obey orders, not question them.”

“But…….”

“If it troubles you that much, change the way you think about it.”

“……?”

“Your doubt about the order ultimately comes from your fear of what is inside that cage. If so, then obey this order precisely because you never want to face that terrifying thing again.”

The conversation between the knight and a nearby soldier suddenly stabbed into Deathbringer’s mind.

“Because trying to kill that man is exactly what will awaken the evil thing inside him.”

『Consider this notice that the instant you try to put a blade through this bastard’s heart, I’ll come out.』

The scene he had replayed countless times since dawn tangled his thoughts again.

『Of course, from my perspective, I’d prefer if you did exactly that. Then I’d win the bet, and this vessel would become mine.』

The demon wearing the Demon Knight’s face had behaved unexpectedly in many ways.

Despite introducing itself as “Wrath,” its languid voice soaked in composure was the first contradiction.

It felt strange to say, but judging solely from voice and manner of speaking, the Demon Knight under normal circumstances seemed closer to Wrath than the demon itself.

『But… yes. Giving you this warning is part of the wager’s conditions.』

The same went for confusing everyone with words whose truth or falsehood could not be determined.

『…How are we supposed to believe that?』

『Then don’t. I told you already, I’d actually prefer it if you refused to believe me and attacked. Nothing’s more convenient than killing all of you, is there?』

The demon plainly understood exactly how those words would divide the humans.

Those who believed it.

Those who did not.

It knew they would split into those two factions and then waste time fighting one another.

And it had spoken deliberately because of that.

『Honestly, if not for the wager, I would’ve killed every last one of you already…….』

Truthfully, none of that fit the name “Wrath” at all.

Lies.

Deception.

Fraud.

Mockery.

Incitement.

Something along those lines fit far better.

『Look… at how my wager with Gretchen restrains me…….』

But simply understanding the trick did not mean anyone could avoid being manipulated by it.

Not humans who could neither respond nor even react when the demon reached for the Lord’s throat.

If the demon had not stopped by itself—

or, assuming its words had been true, if the wager with Gretchen had not restrained it—

they would have watched the Lord die in front of them in real time.

『Truly, don’t you think I’m pitiable? All I want is to kill all of you and live comfortably… so why does Gretchen insist on stopping me?』

A “wager” was not something visible to the naked eye.

Yet everyone saw the demon’s hand tremble less than a finger’s breadth away from the Lord’s throat, unable to advance any farther.

They also saw it shamelessly beg for sympathy before breaking into quiet laughter.

Veins bulged along the back of the hand not covered by the glove as the demon exerted force.

Then finally, it withdrew the hand and curved its eyes.

『Well, whatever. Gretchen loves humans to a pitiful degree… but you people don’t, do you?』

Truly.

A cunning demon to the bitter end.

『Right? You won’t, will you? Gretchen’s devotion. The sacrifice. You’ll ignore all of it and execute this body anyway, right? You’ll let me win the bet, won’t you?』

It advertised its own danger while constructing the situation so that no one could tell whether its restraints were real or fake, thus preventing anyone from attacking carelessly.

A truly cunning demon.

『I believe in you. So if possible, please do it soon.』

Even then—

yes.

The demon laughed soundlessly until its shoulders shook, then lowered its head.

『…You’re the Lord, right? Is the Hero alive?』

『……?』

『If she’s still alive… tell her something for me.』

What followed was another blow aimed at one of the people already suffering the most.

『I failed to repay her faith, so tell her to prepare a certain method of execution.』

It truly knew far too well how to torment humans.

『You’ll see soon enough… but killing a demon isn’t easy. So make sure you tell her that better preparation will be necessary.』

Yes.

It knew all too well.

『…I’m sorry.』

Damn it.

Far too well.

Read only on MUGEX

SLASH!

At the sound of something being cut, Deathbringer jerked his head up.

“Ah, sorry.”

The apology immediately brought back the memory of a dagger blade cutting halfway through a neck and blood spraying upward.

For a moment, the lingering image terrified Deathbringer.

“Crazy bastard, cut it properly.”

“I said I’m sorry.”

“If you’re sorry, then you eat the smaller piece!”

“What’d you say, bastard?”

But that was not what had made the sound this time.

The culprit was merely the eating utensils of the soldiers, who had so few replacements available that they had to eat right where they stood.

“Enough, both of you. There are plenty of people who can’t even get this much. Do you really want to fight over it?”

“S-Sorry.”

Watching them, Deathbringer soothed his startled heart.

His stomach complained of hunger after having gone without food all this time.

He didn’t care.

He had no intention of leaving this place merely to find something to eat.

The prude and Lady Fighter were unconscious.

The Archmage was busy saving people.

Right now, he was the only person who could remain beside the Demon Knight.

…And if that man woke and tried to kill himself again, Deathbringer was the only one here who would try to stop him.

“Great Sage.”

“You’ve been working hard.”

“What brings you here?”

“First, this.”

After Deathbringer had remained curled there for quite some time, another presence arrived.

Judging by the voice and the knight’s greeting, it was the Great Sage, Blue Coral.

“Someone asked me to deliver it.”

“I see.”

“Second, the Lord asked me to examine his condition.”

“I’ll escort you.”

“Do as you please.”

Come to think of it, hadn’t Blue Coral said they could see a person’s essence?

Deathbringer had no idea what that “essence” actually meant……

but he sincerely hoped whatever the Great Sage saw would not push the Demon Knight closer to death.

No.

More precisely, the Demon Knight……

“Take it.”

His thoughts were abruptly cut off.

The Great Sage had stopped directly beside him.

Along with that came a savory smell.

Almost like…

food?

“My hand’s going to fall off. Take it already.”

“……?”

The moment Deathbringer looked up to figure out what was happening, Blue Coral shoved something into his hands.

It was less receiving and more having it forced upon him.

The bowl had already been pushed toward his face before he even reached out.

“Thank you……?”

“Tch.”

Deathbringer looked down at the wooden bowl—roughly carved in obvious haste, without even a proper finish—filled with soup.

Then he looked at the Great Sage.

For some reason, Blue Coral was being carried on another person’s back.

Deathbringer became slightly awkward.

He was grateful, sure…

but why was a Great Sage feeding him?

“Your guardian asked me to. Get that baffled look off your face. I merely brought it along while I was coming here anyway.”

Fortunately, Deathbringer’s confusion was quickly resolved.

Right.

Blue Coral had said the Lord had asked them to examine someone.

And unless the Lord had gone insane, the person whose condition needed examining had to be the Demon Knight.

So the food had apparently been brought along on the way.

As for “guardian”…

probably the Archmage.

“…Magnificent.”

Separately, the moment Deathbringer heard the Great Sage mutter that word, resistance flared inside him.

He still had no idea what that supposed essence was.

But no matter how he thought about it, he doubted the Great Sage could see anything good in the Demon Knight’s essence—

there was a demon inside, after all—

and calling anything about a person harboring a demon “magnificent” sounded like mockery.

“I lost faith in humanity as a species a very long time ago, and yet…….”

But before Deathbringer could snap and say something, Blue Coral finished the thought.

“For the first time, I find myself wanting to reconsider humanity’s potential.”

Deathbringer didn’t fully understand.

But unlike the Temple, those words seemed to affirm the Demon Knight.

Not merely argue that the Demon Knight should be kept alive—

but acknowledge how hard the Demon Knight had tried.

Something like that.

“So there really could be a person like this in the world.”

And that was precisely why it hurt.

Even if the Great Sage offered praise like this, most of the people here would surely equate the Demon Knight with the demon.

Because this was a world where his devotion would not merely go unrewarded—

there would hardly even be anyone who recognized it.

And because Deathbringer could not rid himself of the thought that the Demon Knight would probably accept even that with gratitude……

there was no way not to feel miserable.

It was unbearably sad.