Chapter 11
Chapter 11
The sun began to set.
At the time when the day was fading, the crimson sky dyed the snow-covered peaks of the Northern Taesan Mountains in a warm orange hue.
Only then did Bell realize why the empire had chosen the red sun in the sky as its symbol.
The sun, seen from the heights of the sky, was more intense and beautiful than anything else in the world.
It wasn’t exactly the kind of feeling one would have in the middle of an enemy stronghold, but somehow, he wished time would stop just like this.
He wanted to stare at this magnificent view as long as possible.
"...."
As he gazed at the scenery, the moments of his journey flashed through his mind like a panorama.
Finally, this cursed life seemed to be reaching its end.
Of course, a lingering unease still remained in a corner of his mind.
The Demon King, quietly watching Bell from outside the castle, asked him a question.
"Hohoho… Bell. Do you know the reason for death?"
Bell quietly shook his head at the Demon King’s usual rambling.
"..I don’t understand what you mean."
The Demon King laughed heartily at Bell’s response.
"Khahahahaha!"
"I meant, do you know why fate chose the two of us?"
Bell paused for a moment, pondering the Demon King’s words.
"I don’t know who fate is, but in the end, aren’t we linked by one thing—death?"
"..Then maybe it’s because life is always close to death. I think you have a similar reason too."
Seeing him talk so freely, unlike his usual self, it seemed the reddened world gave Bell courage.
The Demon King laughed once again at Bell’s words.
"Khahahaha! Correct!"
After stopping his laughter, the Demon King asked Bell another question.
"Then, do you know why you’re stronger than me?"
"..I don’t know."
The Demon King burst into laughter at Bell’s answer.
"Of course. It’s because you’ve survived more brushes with death than I have. Your life has been closer to death than mine."
He looked at Bell with eyes full of respect.
"Do you remember what I said earlier? Fate is far more capricious than you think."
"Whether you become a god’s messenger or the adversary of a Demon King’s fate, nothing is predetermined."
In other words—
The Demon King continued.
"You truly were destined to die. In fact, there must have been countless times death narrowly missed you."
"Your destiny, tangled endlessly with death, has cursed your life."
The Demon King laughed boisterously.
"You’ve survived so far, both you and I."
"Shall I tell you my story?"
Bell nodded. He was genuinely curious about a life entwined with a fate named death.
The Demon King gazed at the view outside the castle.
The sunset had deepened. The orange gradually turned red, painting the Northern Taesan Mountains. The light quietly fell on the Demon King’s profile.
"I’m from the southern part of the Demon Realm."
The Demon King spoke softly.
"The southern part of the Demon Realm."
Bell repeated the word silently in his mouth.
The Demon King continued.
"The south isn’t much different from your empire’s slums."
"The mana is weak, the land is barren, and strong demons don’t even bother looking. Only the weak are left in the wild jungles and swamps. A place you can never escape."
He let out a small chuckle.
"I was born there. Without a name."
Bell listened quietly.
"Having no name in the Demon Realm means having no existence. Only when a strong demon grants you a name do you earn the right to live in the Demon Realm."
"So as a child, I had no name. I just had to survive in the harsh southern lands."
The Demon King’s gaze drifted into the distance beneath the sunset.
"The south has weak mana, so demons can’t fully use their abilities. Even strong ones are weaker than those from the north. That’s why only weak demons gather in the south."
"And when weak ones gather…"
"...I know the answer."
Bell understood all too well.
In an environment where there was no overwhelming authority to set the hierarchy, where predator and prey could switch in an instant, the answer was simple.
"They eat each other."
His voice was calm.
"My daily routine as a child was simple. Wake up, find food, avoid stronger demons, hide at night, sleep without being noticed."
"Every day was the same. Without exception."
Bell remained silent, memories of back alleys from his own childhood flashing through his mind.
"Then one day,"
The Demon King continued.
"A demon from the north came down to the south, aiming to expand his power. He intended to gather the weak southern demons under his control."
"He swept through the south. Those who resisted died, and those who obeyed were placed under him. In an instant, the entire south became his."
The Demon King paused for a moment.
"That was the first time I thought about what it means to be strong."
"If you are strong, you can have a name. If you are strong, your food won’t be taken. If you are strong, you don’t have to hide."
"If you are strong,"
The Demon King said softly,
"No one will dare try to devour me recklessly."
The sunset deepened. The red sky turned a dark crimson.
"So I fought. Every day, I fought. I challenged opponents I couldn’t possibly beat, faced death more than once or twice. But after winning again and again, eventually, I was granted a name."
"Satan."
The Demon King spoke his name quietly.
"At the time, it had been about twenty years since the previous Satan, the right-hand of the Demon King, had died. His reputation was considerable."
"Even so, being called by that name meant everyone acknowledged I was one of the seven strongest demons in the Demon Realm."
"The day I received that name,"
The Demon King paused.
"I cried for the first time."
Bell looked at him.
"Out of happiness?"
"Partly happiness,"
He smiled softly.
"And partly relief that I survived."
"And…"
The Demon King’s gaze trembled slightly.
"I realized no one could treat me recklessly anymore."
Bell understood the weight of that statement.
The feeling of wanting to reach a position where no one could treat you carelessly—it was the same thing Bell had built as his own dream.
"But,"
The Demon King continued,
"not long after becoming one of the Seven Deadly Sins, the Demon God summoned me."
"To appoint me as the Demon King."
For the first time, his voice sank low.
"I wanted to refuse."
"You refused?"
"I did."
He chuckled softly.
"I didn’t know back then that refusing the Demon God was pointless."
"The Demon God didn’t say a word. He just appointed me as the Demon King and granted me power. There was never any choice."
The Demon King lifted his hand and gazed at his palm.
"From that day, my fate was set."
"To exist to destroy the human world. That became my name and my role."
He lowered his hand.
"But, Bell,"
He looked at Bell.
"I didn’t really care about the human world."
"...?"
"I fought to survive in the south, to earn a name, to become one of the Seven Deadly Sins. But in the end, all of it was merely a prelude to becoming the Demon King."
"And that wasn’t what I wanted."
"What did you want?"
Bell asked quietly.
The Demon King stared at the sunset for a long while.
"Honor."
He said softly.
"And glory."
"To grow strong, earn a name, fight worthy battles, and lose honorably to a strong opponent. That’s what I wanted."
"Not to become the Demon King and destroy the human world."
He gave a bitter smile.
"Fate is cruel. It forces you to walk the path completely opposite to what you desire."
"A weak boy fleeing the south became one of the Seven Deadly Sins. A member of the Seven Deadly Sins became the Demon King. And the Demon King bore the fate of destroying the human world."
"I wanted honorable battles,"
The Demon King said, staring at Bell.
"But in the end, what I chose was cowardly survival."
The sunset disappeared completely. The crimson sky turned deep navy, and only the outline of Taesan remained faintly visible, touching the sky.
The Demon King slowly rose.
"Bell."
"Yes?"
"You possess something I have longed for five hundred years."
He spoke softly.
"To fight honorably and win honorably."
Bell was momentarily taken aback.
Honor. That was a world far removed from his own.
He had always run to survive, taking any means necessary. He had fought unfairly, ambushed enemies.
"..I don’t understand. Honor… I’ve just been running to survive."
The Demon King paused.
"..Regardless of your purpose, you chose to become the hero party and defeated the Demon King honorably. As I said, honor is merely another expression of strength. You are strong, Bell."
Bell thought for a moment, then said,
"..If strength is measured by misfortune,"
He nodded.
"Then I understand why I’m incredibly strong."
The Demon King smiled.
"...Cough."
Suddenly, the Demon King spat blood.
It was because Bell’s sword had pierced his heart during their life-or-death struggle.
"..Bell, my adversary."
"Yes."
"For me, glory mattered more than death."
As the Demon King murmured, a victory announcement sounded from the opposite side.
"..We did it!!"
The rest of the hero party had succeeded in killing Lucifer.
Although Bell knew the outcome, he felt a sense of relief.
"..But now that death has come, the word ‘glory’ doesn’t even come to mind."
The Demon King muttered, and Bell replied softly.
"..I see."
The Demon King smiled faintly.
"Do you know what I’ve been preparing for the past two months?"
Bell felt a sudden unease.
"…"
"You really look clueless."
Bell looked at the Demon King’s pierced heart.
The Demon King, who had conserved his strength to reduce the number of monsters, had been defeated far more abruptly than Bell had expected.
What had the Demon King been preparing for two months?
At that moment, Bell realized what the Demon King had prepared.
'KWA-AAAANG!'
A massive shield, nearly impossible for Bell to pierce, enveloped the Demon King.
He spoke to Bell.
"I intend to flee from here. I will discard all my power and hide where you cannot reach."
"Then, fate will take the two of us together."
Bell was stunned.
He could never have imagined the Demon King, who had always insisted on honor, making such a choice.
"..Are you serious?"
The Demon King nodded.
"..I know it’s a despicable, absurdly ugly ending."
"I won’t make excuses. I just want to preserve even a tiny bit of life. I probably won’t even die peacefully."
"I’m truly sorry to you."
Bell nodded slightly.
He realized that with such a shield, he could never have killed him. If the Demon King had planned to flee from the beginning, he could never have been caught.
But there was no need for regret. The hero party had Claire’s compass.
Just as Bell was about to plan his next move,
"..By the way, I’ll be taking out insurance."
The Demon King gathered more mana in his hand than Bell had ever seen.
'KWA-AAAANG!!'
The mana struck Bell.
"..!!"
'Shuuuuh!'
Bell reacted with his aura, but he couldn’t block all of the incoming mana.
The mana struck his throat.
'KWA-AAAANG!'
The mana enveloped Bell’s throat.
"..This is the authority,"
The Demon King said quietly.
"You must never reveal that I am alive to anyone."
Bell felt the heat inside his throat.
The Demon King smiled faintly.
"..I’m sorry, Bell."
"Truly."
Mana rose from the Demon King’s body, enough to consume half a lifetime.
"I know this is not an honorable ending,"
He continued.
"But after living five hundred years, suddenly choosing honor…?"
He gave a bitter smile and stepped back.
"I’ve lived too long."
"Fate will follow you. Once again, I apologize."
With that, the Demon King, shrouded in his shield, leapt outside the castle.
Bell stood in place, watching the direction the Demon King had disappeared toward.
The heat inside his throat hadn’t subsided.
He could hear the approaching footsteps of his companions, victorious over Lucifer.
Bell slowly lowered his hand.
"Bell!"
Claire’s voice came first.
Bell turned his head.
His companions were running toward him. They were sweaty, breathing heavily, but their eyes were alive.
"What about the Demon King?"
Aden asked.
Bell paused.
The fire in his throat flared again.
"..He’s dead."
The moment the words left his mouth, Bell realized he had just lied for the first time.
His companions’ expressions relaxed all at once. Ricardo exhaled deeply. Claire looked up at the sky. Lucia’s eyes turned red.
Bell watched each of them in turn.
And said nothing.
The sky had grown completely dark. The sunset had vanished, and the outline of Taesan had been swallowed by darkness. Stars began to appear one by one.
Bell looked up at the stars.
It had all happened so suddenly.
The Demon King’s last words lingered in his mind:
"I’ve lived too long."
Bell looked at his palm.
The heat in his throat hadn’t gone away.