Letting Go and Accepting. (7)
Escaping outside the Royal Capital, I ran for a long time.
I couldn't hide my anxiety, feeling as though the warmth held in my arms might slip away.
"Just a little, just hold on a little longer."
My mind was a complete mess.
The thought that I might lose her like this filled my mind.
If I pull out the sword, what will I do?
Could Ariel really endure it?
"...Arthur."
"...Yeah."
"......I'm so thirsty."
Entering the ruins, I slowly laid her slender body down on the ground.
With trembling hands, the Hero took out a leather pouch and poured out the water inside.
Ariel, who drank the water as if a baby bird was receiving food, then let out a deep breath.
From that hot fever, my brain felt like it would be paralyzed.
"I'll pull it out."
"...Okay."
I couldn't delay any longer.
If I left it as it was, she might not be able to use her arm.
Although I wasn't sure if she could endure it, it was something that had to be done.
If I don't pull it out, she will surely die.
If I pull it out, she might live.
"...!!! Ugh, Aaaargh...?!!?!!?!"
"Take a deep breath. Slowly, slowly..."
Throwing away the sword caked with dark red blood, I pressed down on her shoulder.
The bloodstains covering my entire palm made me feel dizzy, but I gritted my teeth and endured.
Please, please hold on.
With gasping sounds, Ariel's breath faltered repeatedly.
At the faint breathing that seemed like it would stop any moment, Arthur's heart pounded wildly.
"Ariel, Ariel..."
"...Hmph."
The bleeding completely stopped a long time after that.
As the person with a pale face looked up at me, I gritted my teeth and wrapped the wound with cloth.
We had passed the crisis, but this wasn't the end.
If I left the wound as it was, her arm would surely rot.
"I need a doctor..."
But where do I find one?
The option of returning to the Royal Capital didn't exist.
Then, where on earth should I go?
"...Ariel, just hold on a little longer."
"..."
I covered her with the cloak that had been draped over my shoulders, and then carried her on my back.
A place where I could avoid the Kingdom's gaze and protect Ariel.
The Hero's gaze turned towards the distant North.
To think that was the only option left.
'I vowed never to go there again, but in the end, only that place remained.'
The Hero let out a hollow laugh.
Fate, I wonder why it's so cruel.
A brief thought flashed through my mind.
***
"...Arthur."
"Are you awake?"
My head ached as if it would split.
When I opened my eyes, the dizziness that rushed over me made my stomach churn.
So, the moment I opened the passage door, I was attacked, right?
I remembered up to my shoulder being cleanly pierced.
"Where is this?"
"It's the North."
The air was cold.
Perhaps because my body temperature was naturally low, the surroundings felt even colder.
If it weren't for the cloak, I would surely be trembling.
"You somehow managed to bring me all the way here."
A neatly tidied room and even clean clothes.
At the feel of the soft fabric fluttering on my wrist, I slowly exhaled.
"You'll have trouble using your right arm for a while."
"I see."
When I tried to exert force, it hurt as if it were burning, so I eventually gave up.
At this rate, not just for a while, I might never be able to use it again.
Letting out a hollow laugh, I turned my head, and a haggard face filled my vision.
"Were you very worried?"
"...Of course."
He looked as if he hadn't slept a wink.
He must have run all day, claiming to save me, to arrive here.
How admirable.
And funny too.
"If only, at our first meeting, you had killed me, this wouldn't have happened."
"..."
There was no resentment in my feelings.
I was already too exhausted to embrace such darkness, so I couldn't.
Yes, I should have just died back then.
Why did I struggle so much to live?
"Are you going to seek revenge again?"
"...No."
"How spineless."
I let out a soft laugh.
One moment, he acted as if he would leave forever to seek revenge, and now he acted as if he would settle down right beside me.
The Hero was staring blankly at me, and that sight was funnier than I expected, so a tear trickled out.
...You're an idiot.
"I miss the children."
But in my current physical condition, it was too soon to go to the Demon God's Temple.
Above all, to head to the Demon God's Temple, I had to pass through the Kingdom, but the situation wasn't favorable for that.
Since it's Rin, she must be doing well.
She's a child more mature than anyone else, so she must definitely be doing well.
I trust her.
Because I trust her...
"I'm sorry, Ariel."
"..."
Even at my words, the Hero merely apologized.
An apology for not being able to let me see the children.
And then—
"I heard rumors that the Hero was bewitched by the Demon King, and it seems to be true after all."
Suddenly, the door opened, and soldiers burst in.
As I widened my eyes at the sudden situation, the woman standing at the very front looked at me and twisted the corner of her lips into a smirk.
Evangeline von Trisraum.
The Queen of the North, and a character who had pursued the Hero.
"Imprison that woman in the dungeon."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The hands that lifted me had no gentleness whatsoever.
My right arm felt like it would fall off, but compared to the shock I was receiving now, it was nothing.
"Me..."
"..."
"To save me, you sold your soul to a demon."
When I spoke as if spitting out words, the Queen burst into laughter.
It seemed truly amusing that I, the Demon King, called her a demon.
Yes, it must be funny.
Meeting the gaze of her piercing blue eyes, I then turned my head away.
"Just wait a little. I will definitely get you out."
"...Okay."
Although there was truth in his words, I couldn't see it as a high possibility.
Which human would think of releasing the Demon King from an underground dungeon?
Especially if it was that Queen.
As I was dragged out of the room, I thought I heard some laughter.
'I never thought I'd meet my end in an underground dungeon.'
It was much more gloomy and drab than the semi-basement I once lived in.
At the sight that didn't suit my clothes at all, a hollow laugh escaped me.
It was dark, damp, and most of all, cold.
Perhaps they were trying to make me freeze to death.
"I'm glad you woke up, Demon King-nim."
"...Perhaps it would have been better if I never woke up."
I thought everything would get better if I met the Hero, but ideals and reality are indeed different.
"It's a relief that I'm crazy. Since I can even talk to you like this."
"Demon King-nim, you're not crazy."
"No, I am crazy."
If I weren't crazy, I wouldn't mistake myself for talking to a dead person.
Going back even further, from the moment I told the Hero I loved him, I was already out of my mind.
Whispering love to the being who killed my dignity?
I'm crazy, I'm crazy.
"Although I really don't like it, how about trusting the Hero? His eyes weren't lying."
"...Trust, you say."
Between him and me, when did trust ever form?
...
...Actually, there was never such a thing, right?
I thought I was fine, but another seizure occurred.
It was a relief that it was an empty underground dungeon.
If there had been any objects, I would surely have made a mess of this place.
"Demon King-nim, you're hurting too much right now. Not your body, but your heart."
Hallibel's finger pressed firmly against my chest.
My heartbeat, which I usually didn't even notice, was pounding even more wildly today.
My heart hurts, huh...
Yes, now that I think about it, it does hurt.
"Hallibel, why did you die and leave me? I wished that you, at least, wouldn't die... Why."
I reached out my hand towards the intangible body.
Naturally, my hand couldn't grasp her.
If I'm going to hear hallucinations and see illusions, I wish I could at least touch them.
Why won't it allow me that much, making me so miserable?
"It's okay. I'll be here, so Demon King-nim, you're not alone."
Even sitting was painful, so I lay down on the cold dungeon floor.
The chill seeping into my bones made my heart feel like it would freeze.
No, perhaps it would be better to just freeze like this.
If that happened, I would be able to gain enough warmth even from a tiny bit of heat.
"Perhaps I was too greedy."
I muttered foolishly.
If only I had stayed in the Demon God's Temple.
Content with Rin and the children, what if I had lived there my whole life?
Not even caring about the Hero, if I had just lived there like that, wouldn't it have been better?
"Mealtime."
Food was brought into the dungeon.
Soup that still had warmth and hard bread.
I stared blankly at it, then turned my gaze away.
In the eyes of the guard who was staring at me with stern eyes, a flicker of light passed.
"You eat it."
In the barren North, food couldn't possibly be common.
Especially if it was right after the war with the Majok.
Seeing his protruding cheekbones, I couldn't bring myself to touch the food.
Pushing the food back out of the dungeon, I settled down in that far corner.
My right arm hurt as if it would fall off, but I could somehow endure it.
"What will be the end of this story, I wonder..."
I recalled the phrase written as 'Happy Ending'.
Happy Ending.
The end of a story where the protagonist lives happily.
The protagonist of 'The Demon King Who Gives Birth to as Many as She Killed,' I wonder if it's the Demon King, or the Hero.
The chill seeping into my backside was so sorrowful that I sniffled, 'Hmph'.
It felt like winter was coming.
A very long, long winter.