218
I Killed the Demon King. It Was a Mistake.
Chapter 218
Agatha looked around with interested eyes.
"It's a very modest yet cute house."
"I'll admit it's modest, but cute might be a stretch?"
"Compared to my castle, it is cute."
"Your castle is unusual, you know? This is plenty livable. With a castle as big as yours, cleaning must be such a hassle."
"Why would I clean it myself? That's what servants are for."
"I only have one person I could call a servant. Even this size house is too much for one servant."
"You make a single servant clean this big house? Isn't that wrong of you?"
"...Didn't you just say it was cute a moment ago?"
"Hire more servants, you miser."
"That's the first time in my life I've been called a miser?"
Agatha let out a small laugh.
"Fine. Setting aside the servants, how come there's not a single flower in the garden?"
"I often do personal training in front of the garden. It would feel bad if I accidentally damaged flowers while training."
"Why don't you decorate a little? It's too dreary."
Agatha waved her hand in the air, creating a flowerpot.
"See? Just putting flowers by the entrance instantly livens up the atmosphere. Don't you think so?"
"You can create things here too?"
"This is technically a dream, so making something like this isn't difficult. Though making something huge like a castle would be hard."
Caesar looked at the flowers from a distance.
As Agatha said, having flowers by the entrance wasn't bad.
"When I get back, I should plant flowers and make a small lake too. I haven't really trained here since getting the training grounds anyway."
"I'll give you some seeds when we return. They're flowers that grow well in the wild, so they should be fine. But if you're not going to care for them yourself, you'll need to hire a gardener, right?"
"Alright. I'll try hiring a gardener."
Chatting with Agatha helped ease the tension a bit.
It seemed he was getting somewhat used to this dreamy world.
Perhaps Agatha had deliberately extended their conversation to give Caesar time to adjust to the dream world.
Caesar felt grateful for Agatha's thoughtful consideration.
Agatha tried to open the house door but found it locked.
"As expected, we can't get in. Though I can see inside through the windows."
Caesar turned the handle Agatha had tried.
The door opened easily, as if showing off.
"It opens?"
"Huh? Why does it work for you?"
"I don't know either."
Caesar looked around the first floor he hadn't seen in a while.
He could see the kitchen where Jake's wife cooked, and the dining table where they all ate together, with toys scattered chaotically on top.
It was a typical house with children.
"Where could Gloria be?"
Caesar looked around the first floor briefly before shaking his head.
"No, she's not here."
"Then where could she be?"
Why did Caesar's house appear in Gloria's dream?
And why would the door open easily to Caesar's touch but not to Agatha's?
"...I think I know."
Caesar left the house and headed to the backyard.
In the backyard, there was an iron gate connected to the back door.
"This wouldn't open for me either."
Creeak!
Caesar pushed the iron gate lightly.
It opened very easily.
"Why does it really work for you?"
"Shouldn't you know that better than me?"
"...Just because it's me doesn't mean I know everything."
"Right. Let's just go in for now."
Opening the door revealed a wide training ground bathed in brilliant white moonlight.
And in the middle of the training ground was a small hill, with a tree perched on top.
Under that tree, Gloria was swinging a greatsword.
"There she is."
Caesar walked towards Gloria as if entranced.
"Gloria!"
Though Caesar called out to Gloria, she seemed not to hear and continued swinging her sword.
Caesar called out again.
"Gloria...!"
Whoosh!
Caesar stopped at the sharp gust of wind that crossed his feet.
The wind blade came from the direction of Gloria's house entrance.
Since this training ground was shared by Gloria and Caesar, it was connected to both back doors.
And at Gloria's back door stood a large tree, whose moon shadow obscured the face of the man who had sent the sharp wind.
"You cannot go further."
Agatha immediately recognized the all-too-familiar voice.
Caesar, however, had barely heard it before and couldn't properly identify it.
"Who are you?"
"...Who am I? Caesar."
The man stepped out of the moon's shadow.
First emerged his pure white Flawless, white as the crescent moon in the sky, followed by his blood-red hair.
And finally, his distinct red eyes appeared, which even the bright moonlight couldn't obscure.
"That's you."
The man who resembled Caesar showed hostility as he rested Flawless on his shoulder.
"If you wish to reach Gloria, you must defeat me, Flawless."
Agatha let out a small gasp at Flawless sharp tone.
"Wow..... You really look like him."
"What do you mean I look like him?"
"You really look like someone who won't listen to reason."
Though Caesar couldn't completely agree with Agatha's words, he thought he could understand what she meant.
Seeing those hostile eyes, that gait, and that tense energy as if about to cause trouble right now, he thought it would be better to back off rather than want to deal with them.
"Now I see why people are easily persuaded by my words."
"They're not persuaded, they're giving up."
Flawless glared at Caesar after standing in front of the line he had drawn.
"Let me ask you. What's your purpose for coming here?"
Caesar didn't have the magical knowledge about whether weapons could have consciousness.
So while he wasn't sure if this tension could be resolved through dialogue with Flawless, he thought it would be good to resolve it through dialogue since communication was possible.
"I came to help Gloria. Flawless."
"Help Gloria? How do you plan to help?"
Agatha stepped forward and spoke.
"We're going to change the endings of all 78 nightmares Gloria had. Just enough so that she only feels like she had an unpleasant dream. Then Gloria can live her daily life without much trauma."
Flawless emanated killing intent as if he would cut Agatha's throat right then.
"So you're saying you'll manipulate Gloria's memories."
Agatha flinched, overwhelmed by that gaze.
Caesar stepped in instead of Agatha.
"That's how we plan to save Gloria."
"Yes. I understand that your good will is directed toward Gloria and is clear. That must be why you were able to pass through that door."
"Door?"
"I'm talking about that iron door you just passed through. This is Gloria's inner world. Most can't even enter because of that iron door."
Flawless glared at Agatha.
"But since you're not qualified to be here, I'd appreciate it if you left right now."
"I came to help Gloria too!"
"I know. But how can someone who doesn't even know Gloria well claim they'll save her?"
Flawless took a step toward Agatha.
"Your method was wrong from the moment you said you'd treat Gloria by manipulating her memories. Gloria doesn't want to avoid her trials in that way."
Although Agatha knew Flawless was clearly a different being from Caesar, she felt like she was being interrogated by Caesar just because they looked alike.
Tears kept threatening to spill out as sorrow leaked from deep in her chest.
"Gloria wants to overcome her nightmares on her own. She wants to overcome them herself like now, not be trapped by the fear and terror that befalls her."
Caesar stood between Flawless and Agatha.
Agatha grabbed Caesar's collar with trembling hands.
"That's enough. Flawless."
"Caesar, you're actually the biggest problem."
The killing intent flowing from Flawless made the nape of his neck tingle.
The pressure was no joke, as if he would have cut off his head right away if he had been holding Thunder.
"Do you understand what kind of person Gloria is and still say you'll manipulate the nightmares? Do you think Gloria wants to be saved like a fairy tale princess captured in the Demon King's castle, waiting for a prince on a white horse?"
Flawless growled in front of Caesar.
"Or did you teach her to wait because you'll solve everything if she just stays still? Caesar?"
Caesar saw Gloria swinging her greatsword while sweating behind Flawless.
I see.
Gloria is in the process of overcoming her nightmares right now.
Gloria is training herself to be able to overcome the fear and terror that befalls her.
One corner of his heart ached as he found it both pitiful and admirable.
"So get out. There's nothing for you to help with. Gloria will stand up on her own as time passes."
But Caesar knew.
While the method Caesar tried wasn't right, Flawless's method was wrong too.
"How do you know that?"
"What?"
"How do you know Gloria will overcome this on her own?"
A blood vessel popped up on Flawless's forehead.
"You don't trust Gloria enough. I was wrong about you."
"Then did you comply with Raum's schemes for so long thinking Tatiana would be okay? Are you saying you just watched as Tatiana was used as a devil's puppet?"
Flawless placed his sword on Caesar's neck.
Blood flowed down the blade.
"If you're trying to provoke me, it seems to be working very well."
"It's not provocation, it's facts. Facts hurt the most, you know."
"Speaking that way, can you save Gloria? Do you have a definite treatment method?"
"At least I can stop her from digging alone like that."
"Shut up!"
When Flawless shouted, dark clouds gathered.
Thunder roared and rain began to fall in an instant.
Cold rain fell heavily, soaking their entire bodies.
"If your words are true, prove it."
Flawless removed his sword from Caesar's neck and stuck it in the ground.
"Pick up your sword, Caesar. If you're so certain you can help Gloria, defeat me and go to her. But if there's even a speck of doubt in your will, you'll never defeat me."
Caesar drew his sword.
As he did, the sword became shorter and blunter, and its pure white blade turned dark.
This was Thunder.
Flawless stretched his hand into the air.
A sword appeared in his hand.
"Very straightforward."
"It's never easy..."
Caesar swung Thunder down without warning.
Clang!
The sound of screaming steel filled the training ground.
Agatha stepped back covering her ears, feeling like they might burst from the thunderous noise.
Crackle!
Thunder's current flowed along the blade but was blocked and discharged at the handle.
Flawless looked at Caesar with disappointed eyes.
"Was your resolve only this much?"
"No way."
Caesar pushed Flawless back forcefully, crossing the line Flawless had drawn.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
As Thunder and Flawless clashed, the grass field began to turn into chaos.
Sharp wind blades burst forth from Thunder and spread in all directions, starting to tear Flawless's clothes and cut his skin.
Despite bleeding all over his body, Flawless calmly blocked Thunder.
When a sharp gust of wind rushed at him, Flawless blocked it with his thin blade.
Slash!
Despite blocking it, the wind Caesar created left a deep wound from Flawless's shoulder down to below his stomach.
Screech!
Flawless bent his knee and barely stopped Caesar's Thunder, while Caesar pressed down hard trying to split Flawless's head.
"Flawless, I understand you want to protect Gloria. And I'm grateful for that."
Caesar pressed down harder, veins bulging in his neck.
The axe drew closer and closer to Flawless's head.
"But you're only making Gloria's condition worse. It's time to step back."
"Then explain."
Flawless's red eyes flashed.
"Why did you become so strong alone, without relying on Gloria or anyone else?"
At that moment, Thunder slid smoothly along Flawless's blade and struck the ground.
Boom!
When dirt scattered and blocked the view, Caesar prepared for Flawless's counterattack.
Sure enough, a pure white blade came through the dust cloud toward Caesar.
Caesar tried to deflect it by swinging upward with strong force.
Clang!
But contrary to Caesar's expectation, the sword didn't get deflected.
Instead, Thunder bent in an unexpected direction, leaving his chest exposed.
'What...?'
The image of someone swinging upward overlapped with Tatiana's figure.
Moonlight Sword Technique Form 1
Crescent Moon
Slash!
A sharp gust of wind flowing from Flawless's sword tip cut Caesar's shoulder.
As Caesar's blood scattered, the blade came at him again.
Caesar pulled Thunder back to block the sword.
Clang!
Caesar's Thunder flew off in another unexpected direction, leaving his body exposed, and Flawless's sword came down.
Slash!
The sharp blade deeply cut into Caesar's chest and stomach.
Caesar's vision went white from the terrible pain that made him gasp.
"You had no master. Yet you realized things alone, learned alone, and grew alone. Why do you think Gloria can't overcome this by herself?"
Flawless's sword came down again.
Caesar gritted his teeth and blocked Flawless's sword.
The ground crumbled and rain scattered everywhere.
"You became strong alone in front of Gloria, so why are you so certain she can't do it? What makes you so different from Gloria?"
Caesar hadn't known Gloria thought of him that way.
Becoming strong alone and growing alone.
Caesar had never thought that way at all.
Even when making the leap, he had Smir's help; when defeating Geotech, he had Raven's help; and when establishing the pharmaceutical company, he had Miles, Gregory, and Finn's help.
While Caesar initiated all of these things, they would have been impossible without others' help.
'Is this really true?'
Does Gloria really think that way, as Flawless says?
Caesar wanted to know about Gloria right now.
Then, someone's voice flowed into Caesar's ear.
-I... will become strong.
-Just like Master became strong alone...
-I'll overcome this alone, you'll see.
It was Gloria's voice.