About the Truth. (3)
"Hero!"
What I felt when Ariel embraced me was an unparalleled sense of satisfaction.
Her body, trembling with anxiety, was so pitiful.
A strange sense of superiority welled up when I remembered that I was the one she was waiting for.
But I shouldn't get lost in that feeling.
Because to a being like Ariel, the Hero was a sinner.
"It's a relief that you're safe."
I knew it wasn't pure concern.
It was a feeling akin to possibly losing one's possession.
Perhaps it was natural to wait for a being who had promised never to leave my side.
"It's a real relief that you're safe too."
The Hero slowly raised a hand and stroked the top of her head.
She flinched when his hand first touched her, but soon, as if accustomed to his touch, she quietly accepted it.
No, to be precise, it would be more accurate to say she was lost in other thoughts.
Her eyes, clouded as if recalling something, had long since ceased to reflect the Hero's image.
"Hero."
"..."
"Just for a moment, let's talk for a bit."
I obediently followed Ariel as she tugged at my sleeve.
I had no intention of refusing in the first place, but I certainly wouldn't refuse her when she spoke with such a troubled expression.
"Um, so..."
Ariel, who had led the Hero into an empty room, slowly began to speak.
Where should she start?
She had already said it was a relief he was safe, so should she talk about Hallibel's condition?
Or should she start with the fact that humans summoned the demons?
Her head throbbed.
She wasn't confident she could remain calm no matter what she said.
"You can speak slowly, so please calm down a little."
She must have been biting her lip without realizing it, as the teeth pressing against her lip released at the Hero's touch.
The Hero sighed at her vacant gaze looking up at him.
I wish you wouldn't struggle so much, but why are you tormenting yourself alone?
Of course, listening to her worries might not solve them, but it would surely bring her more peace of mind to confide.
"...Don't you want to know why the demons appeared?"
"..."
His expression hardened.
He tried to remain calm no matter what he heard, but in this case, the feeling was different.
For what reason did the demons appear?
And how did they appear?
She had called him aside specifically to tell him the answer to that.
"Actually, I only found out for the first time after coming here, but yes. "
Ariel let out a small cough.
She coughed several times as if her throat was blocked, then hesitantly continued speaking.
Right, so.
The reason the demons appeared was.
"Humans summoned the demons."
It was a very simple fact.
Humans summoned the demons.
A simple and certain answer.
But the Hero felt his vision blur.
Humans summoned demons?
Why? For what reason?
"You probably think it's nonsense, don't you? You'll think I'm lying to deceive you, won't you?"
Tears welled up in her eyes as she spoke.
From her downturned eyes, as if it were natural not to be believed, the Hero felt a deep sadness.
The ones who summoned the demons were humans.
Moreover, if the Demon King had said that, no one would believe it.
"No, I believe you."
But there was no reason not to believe her.
Her golden eyes trembled slightly at the answer, which was spoken without a moment's hesitation.
Seeing her filled with anxiety, he hugged her small body tightly.
That was all he could do.
"I, I thought you wouldn't believe me. After all, when we first met, you were so—"
"..."
"—so disbelieving."
He raised a finger to wipe away her tears, but they didn't stop.
Instead, they seemed to burst forth, as if everything she had held back until now was finally released, and they grew more intense.
"Don't cry. It's my fault, so don't cry."
"Huk, heua, euh..."
When you cry, I don't know what to do.
I couldn't figure out how to deal with you, who would start crying even more when I tried to comfort you.
In the end, all he could do was hug her tightly.
"Hallibel, Hallibel... she overexerted herself to save me. So, so I cut her horn to calm her down—"
"..."
"She won't wake up. What, what should I do? What should I do if she never wakes up because of me?"
He wanted to avert his gaze from her terrified face.
Because the other's terrified face reminded him of the things he had done in the past.
But he had to face it.
He shouldn't avoid his sins; he had to accept them.
"Everyone says it's not my fault, but if it weren't for me, Hallibel wouldn't have ended up like that."
If I weren't the Demon King.
If I didn't have such a weak body.
Or rather, if I hadn't brought Hallibel from that brothel.
Her shattered self-esteem stained her with darkness.
"What, what should I do? I don't know, I really don't know..."
Arthur lowered his head, watching Ariel collapse.
It's painful.
Seeing her like this is so painful it feels like I'm going crazy.
Why must it be her?
Why must she, who is innocent, suffer so much?
Just because she's the Demon King?
Just for something like that?
"It's not your fault. Hallibel ended up like that entirely because of me."
If I had believed her words the moment we first met.
If I hadn't summoned the Goddess.
If I hadn't received the Goddess's Curse.
If I had noticed that curse and overcome it.
Moreover, if I hadn't cut off her horn.
"...It's all your fault?"
Focus returned to her clouded eyes.
Dark emotions began to surge within Ariel, who was sitting on the floor, weeping.
Yes, it's not my fault.
I didn't do anything.
This is all the Hero's fault, isn't it?
Why would I be struggling like this, huh?
It's because the Hero exists that I'm having such a hard time.
'But.'
"But it's not your fault."
I know.
I know very well that it's not your fault.
Hallibel ended up like that because she made that choice.
She used a magic stone to save me, and in the end, she went berserk because of the magic stone.
Cutting off her horn to stop that rampage was also her choice.
The Hero wasn't involved in any part of it.
"Everything is the fault of those who summoned the demons."
The Hero murmured.
It was true.
It was true, but it wasn't the answer she wanted to hear.
This is why she didn't want to say it.
There was no way she wouldn't know what was dwelling in his eyes.
Vengeance.
That very emotion, which had been present when he first saw her, was once again overflowing.
***
Who summoned the demons?
Why did they summon the demons?
How did they summon the demons?
Such things weren't important.
Just the fact that demons were summoned.
Only that one thing mattered.
'What could be the reason the demons appeared in this world?'
It was a question he had always asked.
Why did the demons appear in this world?
What was their purpose?
What exactly did they want to commit such cruel acts?
'They act as if they're angry. Even though they were the ones who killed first.'
The formidable demons on the battlefield all acted as if they were enraged.
Merciless hands.
A tenacious obsession to devour flesh and blood until death.
And an endless, surging rage.
They tear people to shreds, forcibly violate them, and devour children alive.
To them, demons were nothing more than monsters.
Monsters who could speak human language.
'I curse you. I curse you, you damned humans! You will fall to hell with us, and in the end, you will start a second war there!'
He had thought it was just a simple curse.
He had thought it was merely a desperate struggle uttered by evil beings when their lives hung in the balance.
But what if there was a reason behind all those words?
Of course, he had no idea what that reason might be.
Perhaps there was no reason at all.
Yet, the reason he thought there was a reason for their actions was none other than the demon before him.
"I'll get revenge."
The demon before him was unlike other demons.
Unlike other demons, she wasn't strong, fast, evil, or cruel.
She disliked pain, feared death, and was easily frightened.
She liked children, had a beautiful smile, and often shed tears.
"This is the greatest atonement I can offer you."
These were the ones who had simply left her as the Demon King.
If they were truly purely evil beings, would they have left her alone like that?
It was a reasonable doubt.
If they hadn't been summoned in the first place, such a tragedy wouldn't have occurred.
'Perhaps, it was destined to be this way.'
It would be a lie to say that he had only killed demons with his hands.
The traitors who colluded with the Demon King's army were humans, not demons.
To preserve their own lives.
To gain immense wealth.
For power.
Or for strength.
Their reasons for betrayal were varied, but the fact that they were executed by his hands was the same.
'Certainly, there were suspicious parts.'
How did they predict the Demon King's army would invade?
Preparations for betrayal weren't something that could be completed in just a day or two.
At least several years.
However, if they were involved in summoning the demons, then it was a different story.
They prepared in advance because they knew the summoning would happen.
If he made such an assumption, everything fit.
The true target for revenge was someone else.
But—
"...Don't go."
"..."
"Please, don't go."
—Why are you saying that?