About the Truth. (2)
"...Why is he so late?"
Could it be that we missed each other?
Or was he caught by the beastmen?
No, that can't be.
The Hero is the Hero, so there's no way he'd be defeated by mere guys like them.
"Hero, Hero..."
I bit my finger hard.
Ever since I cut off Hallibel's horn, my anxiety hasn't stopped.
Even with Elli and the children by my side, I couldn't control my trembling.
"Please, come quickly..."
Because I'm scared, please.
I pulled my knees up and buried my face between them.
Now that I think about it, he was there when Reina died, and when I killed that damned Magician.
He told me it wasn't my fault.
And when I killed the Magician, he even lent a hand.
Perhaps that's why.
What I needed, after cutting off Hallibel's horn, was the same comfort I received back then.
"Ow?! S-stop biting! Ah?!"
Miko, being bitten all over by two babies, caught my eye.
She wasn't much when she had nine tails, but now that she's so small, she's better.
For some reason, it also seemed like she felt guilty towards me.
"Mother, please have some of this."
"...Thank you."
Rin held out some small fruits, seemingly having found them in the nearby forest.
I hadn't realized I was hungry, but I thanked the child anyway.
Now that I think about it, it seems like a while since I last ate something.
As I took a bite, a sweet and sour taste spread through my mouth.
It was a taste that whetted my appetite, but unfortunately, I could barely finish one.
"The Hero will surely be safe."
"...I'm not worried about him."
It was half a lie, but for now, my biggest concern was Hallibel.
When I cut off her horn, she was vomiting blood and in a frenzy, but why is her current state, lying as if dead, even more unsettling?
Thinking I had done something unnecessary, I clutched my clothes tightly.
As I squeezed, the back of my hand turned white.
My face must be the same color.
'Now that I think about it, she mentioned a Demon God's Temple, didn't she?'
Demon God's Temple, Demon God's Temple, Demon God's Temple...
I repeated the unfamiliar word in my mouth, but nothing specific came to mind.
A place and setting that didn't appear in the game.
From the start, demons were only described as an extremely wicked race, so everything else about them was unknown.
"You seem to have something on your mind."
"...You."
Raising my head at the voice from in front of me, I saw a haggard-looking woman staring at me.
The dark circles under her eyes and her black pupils made her look even more worn out.
Now that I think about it, this person was the one who gave Hallibel that Maseok, wasn't she?
"Using the Maseok was her own choice. So, please don't feel too guilty."
"..."
"More than that, there's something I want to tell you."
Something she wants to tell me? What?
I didn't want to know anything more.
Just being like this is painful enough, what else do I need to know?
As the woman sat down next to me, I subtly put some distance between us.
"I know it's difficult for you, but you still need to hear this. It's an important story for you."
"Right now, the only thing important to me is Hallibel."
Whether she'll open her eyes or not, whether something serious has happened to her body or not.
Only that was important.
Other matters can be heard later.
"It's about the truth of the demons, but don't you want to hear it?"
"...What."
What are you talking about?
The truth about demons? What truth?
The haggard-looking woman held out a purple gem to me.
Even though it was clearly something I'd never seen before, I recognized it at a glance.
Maseok.
It was the object that healed me and caused Hallibel to go berserk.
"It's not much of a skill, but I have the ability to show past memories through Maseok."
As the haggard woman grasped the Maseok, my vision flashed, and a single scene appeared.
Blood, slaughter, screaming humans, and laughter.
My eyes widened at the vivid scene unfolding before me.
It didn't take long for my vision to return to the haggard woman.
"Th-this, what in the world..."
"These are memories imbued in the Maseok. They are fragmented, but that's enough."
Memories imbued in the Maseok.
They showed scenes of demons massacring humans.
How many people had died in just a few seconds of that flashback?
I didn't want to dwell on the nauseating sight.
'These are the guys who did such things, so does the truth even matter?'
No matter how grand the truth, it couldn't possibly cover up what they had done.
Especially since they were the ones who did such things even after I tried so hard to stop them.
I instinctively let out a hollow laugh at the countless options that came to mind.
I tried my best to stop it, but in the end, it turned out like this.
"I'm not trying to justify what the demons did. This is about something more fundamental."
For example, how the demons came to appear in this world, things like that.
My eyes widened at the haggard woman's words.
"Indeed..."
There were many theories, but nothing had been definitively revealed.
There were stories that demons existed from the beginning, and stories that they came to conquer a new dimension.
Since it was a setting where nothing had ever been properly revealed, I couldn't help but be intrigued for a moment.
Though I was a little surprised that I could still think like this.
"Then, please see for yourself and judge."
My vision began to crackle with static.
The distorted scenery, like an old television with poor reception, soon painted a single scene.
A dark hall, and a large throne placed in its center.
I felt a sense of déjà vu.
Of course, it was where I first came to my senses in the Demon King's body.
"It's the Demon King's Castle..."
But the beings inside weren't demons.
Only humans.
Along with grotesque drawings filling the surroundings, fresh blood splattered.
Humans were killing humans, and with their blood, they were drawing a massive Magic Circle on the floor.
No way.
At this point, even if I didn't want to know, I couldn't help but understand the development.
The ones who summoned the demons were none other than humans.
As the massive Magic Circle drawn with blood glowed red, my vision finally returned to normal.
"What's the reason for showing me this? Are you telling me to take revenge? Or did you want to say it's humans' own doing?"
Just because humans summoned demons, it couldn't be the sin of all humans.
Just as most demons committed sins, but the Demon King of this iteration hasn't killed anyone.
Such a reason alone couldn't justify everything.
"I just thought it would be better for you to know."
"What is it?"
"To be honest, it was a more important story for the person who will be by your side forever than for you. Since that person isn't here, I told you instead."
The person who will be by my side forever.
Only one such person came to mind.
A relationship forged at the end of a twisted fate.
It was none other than a reference to the Hero.
"No way, are you planning to tell the Hero all of this?"
"I've already told him. It's your choice whether to convey the story to him. Of course, it's also fine if you don't tell him."
What would happen if the Hero learned this truth?
I closed my eyes at the hypothesis forming in my mind.
He would surely draw his sword for revenge.
He would undoubtedly rage, vowing to punish the humans who summoned the demons.
If that happened, it would be irreversible.
Because humans punishing demons and humans killing humans could never be on the same level.
"What, what exactly is your goal?"
"..."
The other person didn't answer.
She merely curled the corners of her lips, showing me a rounded smile.
Perhaps she actually had no goal at all.
What if her only goal was to tell the truth?
I felt uneasy.
'...What exactly do you want me to do?'
Knowing the truth changed nothing.
My life was bound by the Goddess, and I had to give birth to the dead again.
Knowing an uncomfortable truth didn't cause any sudden changes.
If what I had just seen was a world beyond a screen, something might have changed.
But for now, this was reality.
Reality wasn't easy, and because it wasn't easy, it didn't change readily.
"Hero, if I were to tell you the truth, what choice would you make?"
I muttered blankly.
In the game, it ended with the Demon King giving birth to as many as she killed, but now, that has become the beginning.
How long would it take to see the end?
Ten years? Or a hundred years?
If the Hero chose revenge, it would surely turn out that way.
No matter what anyone said, the Hero was the protagonist.
But there were too many things bothering me.
I felt as if I was forced to dance on a well-crafted stage created by someone else.
"A guest has arrived."
The haggard woman said.
Even at her voice, which sounded like a passing murmur, I couldn't help but become alert.
I felt like I knew who the woman's guest was.
Instinctively, I couldn't help but know.
"...The Hero."
I pictured the now familiar figure in my mind.
The Hero.
He has come.