NOVEL NEXT Chapter 84: The Last One Is Me
The struggle of the previous night, regardless of victory or defeat, was halted by the formidable entity known as Tashian Pheloi.
Had she harbored ill intent, both might have died on the spot, but Tashian, in fact, did not harm them further and even healed their bodies.
Not out of mercy, but purely to prevent him from noticing the commotion.
‘I have no business interfering in his love affairs, but make sure you don’t harm him by fighting amongst yourselves. If you disrupt his work, I won’t stand idly by either.’
Indeed, she, like herself, did not offer direct help but also wished for the continuation of Woo Hyo-sung’s personal journey.
Her purpose would serve as a deterrent against the demon unable to control her frenzy, ensuring at this moment her wariness towards her dissipated, accompanied by such certainty.
“…What is that?”
“It’s the new armor Hyo-sung has acquired.”
The upper part of the armor landed with a thud in front of Merilyn, who was drinking tea at the table.
“You’re a demon, so you should feel it, right? What material is this armor made of?”
“…Let me check for a moment.”
While it might seem macabre to use the same species as material, Merilyn likely wouldn’t take issue with it.
After all, demons lived for their own desires.
As most of them prioritized themselves, there was a lack of kinship among them.
Sniff, sniff.
And unable to go against such a desire, she would start by smelling it once she knew it was his armor.
Realizing the issue belatedly, Airi quickly grabbed Merilyn’s hem to stop her.
“…Stop smelling it.”
“No, just a little more…”
“What do you mean, ‘a little more’?! I haven’t smelled it either… No, that’s not the point! Get off it right now!”
Even for a savage demon, she was a high-ranking officer of the Demon King’s army, yet why did she seem to lack any dignity?
As she struggled to pull Merilyn away, Merilyn, having finished smelling, propped her chin and began to rummage through her memories.
“This… it’s a pureblood demon from my memory.”
“…Pureblood?”
“As you know, the Demon King’s army has been plundering each world across various dimensions. Given their aggressive nature and high mortality rate, how would they fill the vacancies?”
They formed relationships with the different species captured during the plundering process and had their offspring join the army.
Although devoid of love or greater purpose, the numbers were maintained across countless dimensions, presumably because they replenished their ranks in each dimension.
“In short, the Demon King’s army is a group made up of various mixed breeds.”
“Yes, those who are pureblood demons without a mix of other races’ blood are primarily from the ‘First World’ where the Demon King’s army was established. But with most of them gone, the remaining purebloods, including myself and the Demon King, could be counted on one hand.”
This essentially meant that almost all the original members had perished in the current era.
Even the Demon King no longer held affection for the army, and two of the most powerful pureblood Four Kings had died… The remaining two left the army for their own purposes, reducing the number of purebloods even more.
“Do you remember all the pureblood demons?”
“I may not know now, but I was serious about the Demon King’s army activities in the beginning, so I remember all the notable purebloods.”
Being such rare beings, they stood out more in memory.
Merilyn’s eyes, gazing at the armor, began to half-close, as if immersed in nostalgia.
“The one who became the material for this armor was a leader in the initial Demon King’s army, but even after earning the right to become one of the Four Kings, he refused the position.”
“He gave up being one of the Four Kings?”
“At first, he was annoyed by everything except fighting, but at some point, even fighting became a hassle, and he was content being just an ordinary soldier.”
The growing pity in her gaze was probably due to sympathy or a sense of kinship.
Though demons lacked kinship, she faintly sensed that the Demon of Sloth had walked a path similar to her own.
“Understandable. To see the strong figure you idolized lose their motivation must have been disheartening.”
Perhaps he foresaw the fate of a demon loyal to their desires surviving to the end, recognizing the state of the Demon King even before she did.
How trivial must she have appeared in his eyes, still unable to let go and seeking ways to revert the Demon King?
No, perhaps even that was too bothersome for him.
His desire for sloth once meant excluding everything but his purpose, but once that purpose was lost, even his motivation for growth must have waned.
“I’m a bit jealous. He foresaw the future of the Demon King’s army before me, and yet he ended up having a closer relationship with Hyo-sung than either I or Airi.”
“…Even when you speak, it’s always…”
A moment of annoyance at her characteristically frivolous joke.
But just as she thought that might be her way of deflecting a path she could have taken, Merilyn soon turned a serious look towards Airi.
“So, what would you like me to do with this armor?”
“I thought you might know more about your own kind than Tashian.”
No matter how adept a dragon, the lord of all creatures, was at handling materials, demons were beings from another dimension.
The dragon’s understanding of materials from outside this world was limited, so her understanding of equipment made from demon materials might be higher.
“The point is to awaken the potential this armor possesses.”
“Yes, this armor is necessary to protect Hyo-sung’s life right now.”
Whatever the case, both Tashian and she wished for him to become stronger than he currently was.
And that transformation should be gradual, building upon what already existed.
The future must be rooted in the past, and a rightful future couldn’t be grasped by uprooting those roots.
“…Is it possible?”
However, this purpose did not resonate with her, who had despaired over the calamity that had befallen this world.
She had considered refusing, but the look on Merilyn’s face as she gazed at the armor was one of relief.
“Well, I’m not sure if it will work, but I’ll do my best.”
A very cheerful acceptance.
Wondering if there was an ulterior motive, Airi looked at Merilyn, who nonchalantly continued.
“Don’t be too wary. As you know, demons live for their desires, and I wish my love to last as long as possible.”
As she said, the only clear thing about her unpredictable nature was her love for him.
That this love was important enough to risk her own life was proven in yesterday’s battle.
“Yes, desires are endless, after all…”
But such obsession with their desires inevitably leads demons to short-lived existences.
Even if their desires were fulfilled, it was the same.
Once a desire is achieved, a greater one will emerge, and if this repeats, eventually, even living becomes a pain.
“If I only obsess over achieving that, eventually, I might end up like the Demon King.”
“…Even if such desire leads to your own ruin, will you continue to pursue Hyo-sung?”
“Of course.”
Even though indulging in such desires might lead to ruin.
The demons, true to their nature, gladly embrace the desires they’d newly awakened to in this world.
“Because I’ve left everything behind, only thinking of being with him.”
Airi Haven.
Even though she shared the same passion, she met someone who, unlike her, could protect him rationally and coldly.
If such a rival could curb her madness, she would never become like her lord.
“So, Airi, if you choose to accept me, remember just one thing.”
The demon, believing in prolonging her happiness even in this way, smiled, imagining the moment that would come from maintaining that belief.
Whatever might come afterward.
“Hyo-sung’s first might be you, but the last will be me.”
Feeling that she now had the right to dream.
“In the distant future, the person closest to him will not be you, but me.”
An endlessly serious and gentle voice.
For that moment, her usual madness seemed to have subsided, but that was only as per human interpretation.
Despite being a slave to desires and impulses, she knew patience and enjoyed this moment of restraint.
Wasn’t this a scene that completely shattered the preconceptions built up about the demon race?
“So, make sure you protect him well from me. If you do it right, I might even fit into your unreasonable ideals.”
At the moment when such a product of madness reached out to her, Airi felt a burden greater than last night’s battle press down on her shoulders.
She endured the moment, but as a race crazed by desire, their impulses would only grow more intense.
This meant that, for her love and mission, she must persevere to the end, yet Airi chose to accept her madness.
Even if she was an unpredictable being of madness, it meant she could be a critical card to change the destined future of destruction.
“…Yes, I’m counting on you.”
Before their hands met for a handshake, driven by that belief, Merilyn suddenly stretched out her middle and index fingers in front of Airi’s palm.
A battle of rock and paper.
“Haha~ Now it’s one win, one loss~”
Merilyn won.
“…Merilyn.”
“Oh my~ Our Airi, a fortune teller, lost at rock-paper-scissors~ I’m worried if you can protect Hyo-sung from me~”
“Are you going to keep being childish like this?”
An unpredictable being, seeming playful, then serious, and playful again.
Such a being should be anathema to a fortune teller, yet in a way, it was reassuring to have her by her side.
‘After all, it’s better than her acting capriciously out of sight, potentially turning into an unforeseen calamity.’
At least her love for him was genuine, so there should be no enmity against him.
To check for any potential danger, Airi immediately took out a crystal ball to try and predict the future.
To see how their current relationship would evolve and what would happen in the slightly distant future.
“Please let there be a normal future this time.”
But contrary to her hopes, the crystal ball showed an image of her being even more actively involved with him in bed than ever before…
Crackle!
A scene that made her grimace involuntarily.
At that moment, a sudden distortion occurred, and the future began to change into a new one.
‘The future has changed…?’
Airi, feeling startled, focused again on the crystal ball.
Sensing the unusual turn of events, Merilyn, who had been inspecting the armor as requested, turned her gaze back to Airi.
“What happened all of a sudden?”
“…Merilyn, please continue to check the armor. I need to see Tashian for a moment.”
“What? Why that frightening woman…?”
“I’ll explain later!”
Airi then burst through the front door and ran out into the street.
Her body was still tired and in pain, but her face showed urgency as she rushed through the streets.
‘Why, why has Tashian started rampaging even though Hyo-sung hasn’t died?’
The crystal ball had shown a scene of her standing before an army aimed at protecting humanity, with a gigantic dragon blocking their path.
Everything beneath it was being destroyed and burned. The scene resembled the tragedy she had encountered when reading about the past of the Smoke Dragon Tashian.
Even though there shouldn’t be another dragon in this world besides her.
‘What could possibly happen in the future…? No, what happened to her now that such a whimsical future unfolds?’
A promise was absolute for a dragon.
Then why, despite knowing he was alive in a future where she should have gone berserk from his death, did she reign as a calamity?
After leaving Tacchia, troubled by these inexplicable reasons.
I headed to the guild, the meeting place with Ga-ram, but the only thing I got from there was a message from Ga-ram herself.
“Hero Yi Ga-ram is currently attending a meeting at the Royal Palace and won’t be able to come to the guild today.”
“A royal meeting… Is it something very important?”
“Yes, apparently, a significant mission involving many heroes will be assigned soon.”
Indeed, since the title of hero itself was bestowed by the empire, a briefing on a mission from the Royal Palace couldn’t be ignored.
However, this puts a damper on my plan to seek out a priest through Ga-ram’s connections.
As I left the guild, pondering how to resolve this, I noticed someone at a nearby construction site waving at me.
“Hey, you there, passing by. Can you stop for a moment?”
A man wearing armor covering his upper body and a white helmet.
At first glance, he appeared to be a knight, but what he held in his hand was a shovel, used for digging up roads, not a sword or mace.
The man with the shovel and helmet…
Yes. He’s definitely someone I remember.
“Ah, indeed, it’s the friend I know.”
“Hyo-sung! Have you been well? Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten me after not seeing me for two years!?”
“…Brother Ja-seong?”
Shovel Knight, Nam Ja-seong.
One of the few heroes who had shown me kindness when I first arrived in this world.