Chapter 17
Chapter 17
Chapter 17
Reaper's Diary
I am a Reaper.
In the Demon Realm, the only one who can treat me condescendingly is the 52 Lords.
Excluding the 52 Lords of the Demon Realm, everyone kneels before me.
If they're human, naturally, they'd fall into terror just by looking into my eyes.
My formal name is Grim Reaper.
I was called the God of Death.
When humans saw me, they trembled in fear and tasted the agony of their souls being torn apart.
I enjoy the suffering of humans. It is a very sweet amusement.
And I was born to enjoy this.
Therefore, fear before me was quite natural.
At least, everyone was like that before I met the Ice Witch.
"I need to make a summoning contract."
A brazen human appeared, and I tried to correct her manners to use her as a slave. I planned to make her taste all the pain in the world very cruelly and even tear apart her soul.
But the impossible happened.
I lost that fight.
It was the first time a Reaper lost in a fight against a human. Unless it was the manifestation of a Dragon, there was no way I could lose.
But I lost.
I had to fulfill the contract.
Since I never even imagined I would lose, it became a slave contract.
-Serve as master until the contractor dies.
It was a humiliating situation, but I couldn't break the summoning contract.
In the end, I spent a thousand years as a slave.
-'Why won't this human even die?'
I couldn't directly harm my master. That would be a breach of contract and against the laws of the Demon Realm.
Eventually, I spent time hoping for the human's short lifespan. But when that time exceeded a thousand years, I came to give up.
She was a human who had mastered magical power to a level similar to the 52 Lords of the Demon Realm.
Once I acknowledged her strength, my heart was somewhat at ease. My pride was hurt, but I consoled myself that she was the strongest in human history.
But there was a serious problem.
'This is too boring.'
For a thousand years, the Ice Witch didn't say a single word to me.
-'Why did she make a summoning contract when she doesn't even need one?'
No matter how much I asked, there was no answer.
For a thousand years, I did nothing in the Ice Castle. At least thanks to those Gaia Empire bastards starting a war, I was able to express the anger I had been suppressing once.
But even this was closer to the Ice Witch's amusement than mine.
Those Gaia Empire bastards who didn't realize her power were slaughtered by the Ice Witch.
The bastards who had charged in with high spirits returned leaving only tens of thousands of corpses.
After that war ended, boring times started again.
But not long after, strange humans appeared.
Humans who came over from another dimension showed abilities that surpassed the limits of the human body, instead of magic.
"Go and kill them all."
The Ice Witch gave the order as if annoyed. I was happy about that fact.
I enjoyed the blood for a while.
But then a bastard called Heavenly Demon stood before me.
I lost again.
I couldn't believe it.
To lose to a human twice.
Heavenly Demon was overwhelming.
If he had properly known about me, I surely would have been annihilated.
When my form became transparent, Heavenly Demon withdrew his hand. He mistook it for the end.
That mistake saved me.
After that, Heavenly Demon and the Ice Witch engaged in battle.
I barely endured annihilation while watching this.
-'War of gods.'
That's how I felt.
I clearly saw in that scene how far humans could grow.
The two fought as if they would destroy the world, and the match was hardly decided.
Then the final moment came.
It was an unexpected result.
Heavenly Demon and the Ice Witch died at the same time.
'Freedom.'
I can't forget that sweetness.
The two humans who had beaten me died, and I became free.
Without hesitation, I returned to the Demon Realm. It was the moment I escaped the Ice Witch's Ice Castle.
And then I made a resolution.
'I will never lose to a human again.'
From the moment I gained freedom, I focused on building my strength.
The problem started 100 years later.
The Ice Witch summoned me again.
Reincarnation is common, but it was peculiar that she had all her memories from her previous life.
She was barely an eight-year-old witch.
The witch proposed a summoning contract.
There was no reason to refuse. I immediately entered into contract combat.
The witch couldn't gauge how much I had grown, and everything flowed as expected.
But then the bastard who used to be Heavenly Demon appeared and interfered with the battle.
Others cannot interfere in a summoning contract. But those bastards ignored everything.
'Is it because they're twins?'
That's not what's important. What's important is that I became a slave again.
My pride was so hurt that it felt like my soul would burst.
But I have to fulfill the contract.
I must obey my master, and if ordered to do what I can do, I must do it. If asked about what I know, I must answer. I cannot decide and act on my own to do something that would harm my master.
'I'll tear you apart!'
I have to curse only in my mind. I can't do it to my master.
'Do I have to spend another thousand years like a statue?'
That didn't happen.
The reincarnated Witch would answer if I spoke to her, and sometimes she would ask something first.
At first, I thought it was at least fortunate.
But that was only for a while.
"Guard the house. If even a hair on my family members is harmed, know that you'll die."
I preferred when we didn't speak to each other.
I really did a lot of things.
I caught the Witch's mother when she misstepped, and I blocked stones from flying at the Witch's father as he mowed the lawn.
After the Witch's younger sister was born, I was assigned an extremely sensitive mission.
For three months after the Witch's younger sister was born, I was punished dozens of times.
The greatest punishment a summoner can inflict on a summon is to hold them at the boundary.
When placed at the boundary between summoned and unsummoned, the summon suffers tremendous pain. Power drains away, but one doesn't actually exist anywhere.
'This is unfair!'
Shouting was useless.
The Witch brazenly mentioned reasons and oppressed me.
"Why did Yuna cough?"
This is the reason.
"Yuna fell down."
This is also a reason.
'It's natural for a human baby to cough and fall while learning to walk!'
It was a perfect reason, but it didn't work.
The injustice continued, but the Witch had no leniency when it came to her younger sister.
"Yuna says she's cold."
This is also my fault. The child took off her clothes herself because she was hot, so what am I supposed to do?
"Why did Yuna wake up late?"
Even this is my fault.
I endured all of this.
It was unfair and sad, but I let even this pass, thinking it was the master's shitty personality.
The decisive blow happened after that.
"You take care of my family's nail management."
-'What does that mean? Why would I do such a thing......'
"I think that would be good for trimming nails."
At first, I didn't understand.
Then I confirmed where the Witch's gaze had landed and received a shock that felt like my soul would be torn apart.
The Reaper's Scythe.
My symbol and the treasure of the Demon Realm that cuts souls.
-'You want me to use this for nail management?'
"In this world, there's even a profession that specializes in that."
-'I refuse.'
This is about pride. I couldn't do that.
The Witch punished me again.
I endured the pain at the dimensional boundary.
"Will you do it?"
She asked again, but not this one.
'She absolutely won't back down.'
I know the Witch. I also knew that enduring was meaningless.
But I couldn't use the Reaper's Scythe like that.
"Fine. I'll let this one slide."
I thought I was dreaming.
A Reaper dreaming?
The Witch saying she'll let something slide?
Fortunately, that was reality.
I protected the Reaper's Scythe that way. But the humiliation wasn't over.
"Guard the house well."
I hate hearing this.
-'This is work that Hellhounds do.'
"Then go catch a Hellhound."
-'That goes against the laws of the demon race.'
"Then pick a decent one. Provoke it appropriately so it responds to a summoning contract. One that Yuna would like."
I have to follow orders I'm capable of. That's the rule.
In the end, I told her about a Hellhound that could transform into a cute appearance.
-'Didn't you say you'd make a contract?'
"I'll do it when I have time. For now, you guard the house."
It's infuriating, but there's nothing I can do.
At least there were targets to vent on. Sometimes there were bastards who invaded the house.
-'Think of it as bad luck.'
I bestowed upon those bastards all the pain they could feel in their lives. That was my only pleasure.
But even this ended after about a year. There were no more intruders, so it seems word got out.
'Please, someone pick a fight!'
As a Reaper, I felt like praying.
But whether that earnest heart got through or not, someone picked a fight.
"Hey, skeleton. Let's have a match."
Even to my Reaper's eyes, she was a very pretty woman. But she suddenly attacked, asking to fight.
I had no choice but to ask the Witch for permission. The witch's order was simple.
"Only to the extent that it can be healed."
Surprisingly, permission was granted easily.
That's how the fight to relieve stress began.
That human was strong. She had steel-like skin and giant-like strength.
But it wasn't to the extent that I would lose.
The problem is this human's tenacity.
I've never seen a human with such strong tenacity.
No matter how much I beat and tormented her, her will wouldn't break. Rather, even after receiving wounds enough to die, she'd attack again asking to fight after 2 hours.
The bigger problem is that she enjoys this.
She wanted to fight regardless of the result. She genuinely enjoyed it and grew rapidly.
'What kind of human is this?'
My evaluation of humans keeps changing.
The battles with the human named So Iryeon continued for 3 years without missing a single day.
And just over 3 years in, I suffered my first defeat.
'In just 3 years......'
So Iryeon and the Witch were growing day by day.
'Crazy bitches.'
Especially, the woman named So Iryeon continued to pick fights even after beating me.
Until 6 months after the first defeat, it was evenly matched, but after that, I couldn't win.
'I'll train too!'
In this house, there are 3 humans who beat me.
The male human who left home 4 years ago and the 2 females who currently torment me.
Moreover, the four-year-old kid practically holds my lifeline.
At this point, it's not about the contract.
'I have to protect my pride.'
The Witch has already grown to the extent that I can't touch her.
'I'll catch So Iryeon.'
This is a matter of the Reaper's honor.
"Yuna woke up. Make sure she's not uncomfortable."
"Hey! Skeleton! Let's fight!"
Vicious bitches.
I will surely build my strength and repay this humiliation.
Just as I was about to train with determination, another person was added.
'What's this human now?'
He was a bastard with dark skin and a small build.
He wasn't Black in this world's classification, but seemed Southeast Asian. His age was early 30s and he was a man of few words.
So Iryeon went out and returned three days later, and this bastard came with her.
The bastard didn't speak. So I thought there would be no clashes, but that wasn't the case.
-Gasp!
He's a bastard who suddenly stands behind me and startles me.
My pride was hurt by the fact that I didn't sense a human's presence.
So I approached the bastard using the night. But the bastard disappeared.
And without fail, he appeared behind me.
The problem is that I realized he was behind me belatedly.
This is another first for a human. He intentionally erases his presence.
Fortunately, this human accompanied So Iryeon with an expressionless face every time she went out for work. Thanks to that, I also had time.
'Finally, training!'
In this household, training has already become a trend.
I can't just sit still either.
A Reaper can't be treated like a dog guarding the house!