Episode 256 What if (4)
Ha.
The moment the blade plunged into the knight’s chest, Mephistopheles let out a sharp laugh. The white hair that sways in response seems even more colorless in contrast to his pitch black clothes.
How dare you threaten me with your life?
He gritted his molars as he looked at the red liquid that was falling from the sky and starting to fill up.
How dare me?
When this is all filled up, this body will die. It will die and crumble.
And if that happens, his soul, bound by the contract, will be in a similar situation and will be panting for a long time. This means that it will be broken and broken and crawl on the floor miserably until the incontinence is filled.
Damn Ganna…
I don’t like that. I just don’t like that. Mephistopheles reminded me of the helplessness of the enemy who would have my body taken away. Having my soul shattered would be a shock comparable to that, and I never wanted to experience that again.
His hand once again pulled the sleeve of the clothes that tightly wrapped around his body.
bang!
At the same time, his feet hit the ground in the image. The liquid that had begun to accumulate at the bottom began to rise and return to where it came from.
Death will never be able to chew this body.
“It’s meaningless,”
said the person in the corner of my mind. The soul, shriveled over the years, barely makes out an old and tired voice, unlike its appearance.
Who decides that?
It’s none of my business. Mephistopheles expressed irritation instead of sympathy and anger instead of positivity. Actually, that is correct. In this case, he loses. Those feelings are tightly hidden and not a single detail is revealed to the outside world.
Deception and lies. It was the first compliment he ever received.
“…You lost.”
So who decides that?
At the same time, he dug out the hidden truth from the subtly slow speech of the other person.
A foolish thing. You’re not even sure of your own victory. That was pretty good news for Mephistopheles.
good. If you use it well, you can somehow avoid the ending of having your weakness caught by Gretchen and being exploited again and again, even in the future where you have to die without any help.
Beep boop. Laughter in the form of swallowing rather than spitting out a sound echoed throughout the empty world. The opponent flinched and gave him another chance.
Kid, you don’t think this is the end, do you? That he’s going to die and go back to where he belongs?
“…You can’t save him.”
Oh, do you really think so?
I guess I just have to push harder. Mephistopheles was convinced of that and roughly shaped a chair.
A throne that was repeatedly destroyed and regenerated soon emerged.
really?
“…Yeah.”
Lie.
He sat down on the chair with a gentle gesture. The long cloak-like robe was folded and pulled up to her knees, revealing the thin ankles hidden by the trousers.
You can’t see any bare skin, but the fluttering feet make it difficult to tell whether the ease is fake or genuine. The opponent, unable to read Mephisto’s hand, stiffened again.
If this fight continues, he will lose before long, but he doesn’t know that and is anxious. That’s stupid.
Mephisto laughed at that joke.
You already know. Gretchen knew too much.
「….」
However, it is possible to deceive an opponent who is this stupid.
Just because I don’t win… doesn’t mean I lose. yes?
「…!」
I don’t know if I could use all my power, but now most of my power is tied up in a contract. Because the other person does not know that, let alone filling the hole in the heart, the only need is to replenish the flowing blood and insufficient oxygen.
I didn’t know that even in that great forest, if it weren’t for the follow-up measures taken by the people around me, saving my life would have failed.
By reducing the concealment of ignorance, the room for intervention has increased, but I don’t know that it’s just something that allows me to last 30 minutes or an hour!
That’s why you can be deceived like this.
Mephisto leaned back in his chair and burst out laughing again.
Now then, let me speak frankly. Who will win this endless battle of spears and shields? That guy who has to stab himself in the heart until he dies? Or should I restore his heart until he gives up?
“…You.”
Who will have a harder time withstanding it?
「…!」
Well then, I guess I should cook and eat this foolish and ignorant thing. Mephisto whispered like a song with those thoughts.
Of course you still think that way. Even if it takes a while, it will be more profitable for him if he just dies. That person will probably suffer for a little while and want to go home… But is that really the case? Is there any guarantee that a person who stabbed himself in the heart multiple times will lead a normal life after he dies?
“…Huh!”
Ah, poor, pitiful Gretchen. How did Lee Da-ji fall prey to such a cruel and ruthless person?
“…Shut up.”
How did… I ended up in a situation where there was no one to help the person who was trying to stop him from hanging himself.
“Shut up!”
Haha, kid. You shouldn’t take out your disgust on others… This is purely a choice you made?
It was really boring that it bounced as soon as you gently scratched it.
So… why don’t you make a decision. Should I gamble by neglecting him or will I ease his pain?
This is why young and immature things are a no-no. Mephistopheles gently raised his lips and waited for an answer. Slap, slap. As a result of struggling to avoid being noticed by the opponent, the red water is now touching my ankles.
“…There are conditions.”
…Oh my. I didn’t know you would despise Gretchen this much.
“If you don’t want to accept it, don’t. Just see who gets tired first.”
….
But even this will increase noticeably after about 30 to 40 minutes. Until then, I have to persuade that damn brat to gain the right to use my power.
Mephistopheles ‘pretended to listen’ while maintaining a subtle smile.
“Give it back. “The power that the Six Ghosts should have.”
It probably would have been the case if the damn kid hadn’t made a request that crossed the line. The veins stood out on the hands covered by the gloves.
“Otherwise I won’t allow it.”
Did you get caught? Did you get caught? Mephistopheles stared into shaking eyes. No, he isn’t sure either. But…
you’ve lost your cowardice.
“I told you. “If you don’t like it, you can refuse.”
I just tried to weigh the treatment of Gretchen, who might have to try to harm herself for dozens of days, and what I could do with the power of the Six Ghosts in the future.
Okay, that was it.
Don’t sign it.
“Good.”
Flames began to drip from the tip of Mephistopheles’ collar.
* * *
Six Ghosts stared at the person who stabbed his chest with a calm expression.
It wasn’t something I really wanted to see. He has no power and can’t do anything other than watch, so he just stays silent.
[…Should I call you now?]
No. Actually, there was at least one way. After all, just because he doesn’t have the ability doesn’t mean other people should, too.
In addition, he had the ability to convey this scene to the mountains right now. All I had to do was wish. If you recognize Sangun and call his name, it won’t take even a second to convey the message.
In other words, if Yukgui truly wanted to intervene in this crazy act, he could.
[Do I really think I should be watching something like this in my later years?]
At the same time, I couldn’t do that. Sadly, Yuk Gui had essentially no ability to save the knight. The story is that he does not have the power to convince himself that he does not have to fall down the cliff, or the power to resolve the contradiction of having to choose death in order to live.
So how can you stop it? Saying ‘that’s not right’ without providing an alternative or solution is just another offense. He has no right to stop that knight from gambling.
[…Sangun.]
[Yes?]
[When you come later… Don’t just come, get some more food. I think it’s good for recovering energy.]
[Oh. I understand.]
Also, I had no desire to show this crazy side to my descendants. Yukgui lowered his head, wondering if his choice was truly right.
[Is this Daniel, the Inquisitor living in Dörfumein?…]
In the meantime, he tried to remember the knight’s request. It would be fortunate if this attempt came true as the knight hoped, but there was a possibility that it would not, so there was nothing we could do.
If he couldn’t even grant this request, he wouldn’t be able to raise his head until the day he died.
[Dörfumain… Daniel Inquisitor… Dör… Why do humans use tongue-twisting pronunciations like this?]
But… While I was thinking about it so as not to forget, a little question arose.
From the context, Dörfumein seems to be the name of a city and Daniel is the name of a person… What on earth did they have to do to deliver the body? Is this a being that can be seen as a physical relative? However, if you are a Heretic Questioner, you must belong to a temple. Even if they were relatives, would the temple staff treat the body of someone stained with demonic energy?
[…Really me.]
I don’t know. If you ask me to send it to you, I will send it to you. And it’s not dead yet.
Yukgui grumbled and curled up a little more in a gloomy manner. 5 minutes. 10 minutes. Time passed by with the sound of falling water drops.
[Ha.]
And when exactly 20 minutes had passed since the wound was carved into the knight’s heart, the wound healed in an instant and the knight opened his eyes.
His eyes, which had been colored with a bit of gloom and faint hope and resignation before he collapsed, are slowly heating up with anger.
[Humans, etc.]
It wasn’t just that I was angry that I had to go this far. The very root of the spark is a different fire. A terrible flame that wants to burn everything in the world.
[How dare you insult me…?]
[…Crazy.]
Those damn flames I saw in the human city.
[I will kill you. I will definitely kill you.]
But it was trapped. Even though there was no way a chain that could catch fire could exist in the world, it was chained and oppressed.
That was the six ghosts’ only hope.
[…What are you saying? Why are you waking up all of a sudden?]
Yuk-gwi felt a subtle pressure from the perceived power gap, but strengthened his neck and legs. The years engraved on his soul did not allow him to cower in fear even from a restrained beast.
Stand tall.
The greyish-red left eye stared directly at him.
[Let’s make a deal on the name, you musty beast.]
[…What does this crazy demon bastard mean when he suddenly jumps out?]
Did the knight stab his own heart because he knew this would happen? But if you knew this, shouldn’t you have done it? No matter how forced it is, isn’t releasing the devil into this forest like returning a favor with vengeance?
[It won’t be a loss for you.]
While the six ghosts cried out, imagining all sorts of things, the awakened devil snapped his fingers. The two-hender that had been standing nearby melted like slime at the signal.
Wow. The next thing that happened was the white shadow on the floor with its mouth wide open.
[That…]
After dozing off again and again at the boundary of the dimension, only the pure power that remained came out through the white shadow’s mouth hole.
Yukgui’s eyes widened. That was his power.
[What you have to do is simple. All you have to do is keep silent about what happened after this human fell asleep and at the same time agree with whatever this human says.]
In the meantime, the devil put away his dagger, took off his gauntlets, and said quietly. The nervous tone lets you know how much it appreciates this behavior.
[…The conditions are so good that I can’t believe it.]
But how can you believe that? The six ghosts glared at the devil without stopping their guard. One after another, dull gray-red colors, like a crushed lotus flower and faded pink cloth, looked directly at him.
Drop, drop. Black flames fell down the hem of its clothes.
[Do you think your faith is important?]
That bastard’s eyes are rolling. Six Ghosts reflexively closed their mouths at the growling demon.
Grumbling. As if he knew this would happen, the devil gathered flames at his fingertips. What was soon created was a contract.
[The important thing is not mutual trust. This is what both parties will gain through this transaction.]
A contract governed by old magic can be read even if you do not know the letters, and even the blind can see it. Thanks to such characteristics, Yuk-gwi was able to check the contents of the contract presented to him.
What the devil said earlier was written down in detail so that loopholes could not be exploited.
There were no special toxin provisions.
[…Why?]
[Accept it or reject it. You have one of two options.]
Anyway, the guys in that body are all cheap. Six Ghosts narrowed their eyes at the devil’s words.
[Choose.]
The orb of power that was originally his, but was stolen, rolled around in the devil’s grasp.
[…I’ll accept it.]
I don’t know what this deal means, but I’m sure this poor guy will lose another clue.
What can one do? He spoke clearly to the driver. The only person who can be your own eternal ally is yourself. Even those who seem like allies right now may hit you in the back at any moment.
[Good.]
[….]
Therefore, Six Ghosts… chose a choice that would be more beneficial to him than the knight. I didn’t feel good.
The marble fell in front of him and the demon fell like a marionette whose strings were cut.
[…It’s true that being involved with devils has never ended well.]
The six ghosts took the power that was theirs with their mouths and carried it into the shell. It was clear that my body would explode if I consumed this power through a shrunken vessel, so I decided to take my time and absorb it slowly.
[Ugh.]
Of course, this article will be on my mind the whole time. Damn it.
[Blame me…]
But… But…
Ha. Yuk-gwi lamented and even gave up on muttering excuses. Instead, I waited for the driver to open his eyes.
After a while, the gray eyes that had regained their color peeked out between the eyelids.
“…When did I collapse?”
At the same time, I cannot bear to answer the question asked. Either through a contract or just how I feel right now.
[You…]
“Ah… I’m sorry. “I made a mistake.”
However, the knight did not dwell on his fainting for long.
…what? It was at that time that Yuk-gwi, who was groaning without being able to say anything, felt strange.
“sorry. “I’m still immature.”
But the article didn’t even give him time to think.
“I won’t make mistakes anymore.”
The right hand, which the devil had left behind after removing the gauntlet, was raised to meet the gaze. The black skin exposed between the flowing bandages is full of demonic energy.
“How about it? Has the demonic energy been hidden?”
No, it was full.
Until it turns pale and pale like the skin elsewhere.
“Am I successful?”
Yukgui was unable to say anything.