222
I Killed the Demon King. It Was a Mistake.
Chapter 222
Gloria had been free from nightmares for quite a while, but showed no signs of getting up from bed.
Agatha examined Gloria's condition and spoke.
"It's because she's mentally exhausted. She's not having nightmares."
"So she's just sleeping?"
"Yes. She'll wake up after getting some rest."
"How long do you think she'll sleep?"
"Well... That's complicated to answer."
"Could you explain it slowly so I can understand?"
Agatha cleared her throat to buy time to organize her thoughts.
Then she took a deep breath and spoke.
"Well... So as you probably understand to some extent, things got a little... No, very twisted from the original plan, right?"
"Yes. Originally, we were just supposed to receive Flawless in the dream."
"But to approach Gloria, we had to persuade Flawless, and in that process, we knocked down... Flawless to approach Gloria. You know this too, right?"
"Yes. I know that too."
"So strictly speaking, we magically manipulated Gloria's inner self. Think of it as a kind of brainwashing magic. Of course, brainwashing magic doesn't work this way... but anyway, it's similar in nature."
"So I overdid it. I should have just asked for Flawless."
"No! That's not it. Gloria wouldn't have even known what Flawless was, so receiving it wouldn't have been easy. How could we receive Flawless when she didn't even know she had it? If we had asked for something she didn't know she had, Gloria might have reacted strangely. So that wasn't wrong. However..."
Agatha scratched her head.
Her thoughts seemed as tangled as her ruffled hair.
"Since I didn't manipulate the nightmare, I can't gauge how Gloria will change when she wakes up. Originally, I was planning to carefully manipulate the 78 nightmares Gloria saw to restore her original personality as much as possible... But now I can't touch those nightmares."
"Because Gloria has already overcome the nightmares?"
"Yes. Let me explain this properly..."
Agatha created a heart in the air as big as her head.
Then she made a small tear in the middle.
"Right. When you get injured, flesh grows back and scars form, right? The mind is the same. The mind also has natural healing abilities, so with enough time, it heals to some extent. During this process, the self develops and thinking patterns change organically."
The heart Agatha created completely healed, leaving a small scar.
Eventually, Agatha split the heart completely in two.
"But Gloria's case is very different. Because of Raum, her inner self was in pieces, so it needed urgent treatment. So you became a surgeon to stitch up Gloria's wounds and poured lots of potions to heal the wounds quickly."
Agatha urgently stitched up the heart.
In the process, large stitch marks and scars remained.
And the original heart shape became slightly twisted and bumpy.
"So you're saying Gloria's inner state looks like that now?"
"Yes. Gloria's nightmares have already become one with her, so manipulating the nightmares would cause cognitive dissonance. Of course, I could manipulate the nightmares if told to. But that would mean having to wound this heart again, manipulate the nightmares, and then stitch it back up..."
"We can't ask a patient who just finished treatment to undergo surgery again."
"Right. Gloria is already in a weakened mental state, so if I manipulate her again, her mind might completely break and she could become a vegetable."
So Gloria is now in a state that can't be touched anymore.
And as Agatha said earlier, we don't know how she'll change.
"Anyway, back to the main point, Gloria is currently stabilizing. While sleeping, she's adapting by refining her changed inner self in her own way, and also recovering from accumulated fatigue. Until now, her days were more like abuse than sleep."
"Okay, I understand."
The conclusion is that we don't know exactly when Gloria will wake up.
Only Gloria knows that.
"But it won't be long. We saw Gloria's inner self, right?"
"Yes. Gloria is strong. No..."
Caesar firmly held Gloria's hand.
"She's a strong knight."
Agatha understood Caesar's worried gaze toward Gloria, but felt somewhat uncomfortable.
Although she knew she shouldn't, was it jealousy she was feeling?
Just as Gloria relied on Caesar, Agatha also relied on Caesar.
But Agatha's reliance on Caesar wasn't simply that of a friend.
Because Agatha knew it was an emotion entangled with something more personal.
Agatha couldn't help but feel envious and jealous of their clasped hands.
"Ahem! More importantly, how is it?"
"How is what?"
Agatha pointed to the sword at Caesar's waist.
"Is there any difference with or without Flawless?"
After escaping Gloria's dream, Flawless's ownership transferred to Caesar.
It was a bit surprising since Gloria didn't seem to want this, and no one expected the ownership would transfer like this.
He wondered if he could communicate with Flawless through psychometry like when he was with a gargoyle, but Flawless remained silent.
Caesar removed his hand from Gloria and grabbed Flawless.
"I'm not sure yet. I've never really been under brainwashing magic or anything like that."
"Are you sure the ownership really transferred to you?"
"That's for certain. Here, try holding it."
Caesar drew Flawless and handed it to Agatha.
Agatha grasped Flawless.
"It's not as heavy as I expected?"
"Right. The blade is made of Pluma and For Honor."
"Pluma? What's For Honor?"
"The lightest alloy in the world, and the hardest alloy in the world. They were mixed to make this."
"What? So this sword itself isn't Flawless?"
"Strictly speaking, Flawless is only the handle part you're holding. That's why it's called the 7th piece of the baptismal sword."
"Then what happened to the other pieces of the baptismal sword?"
"The other pieces are in the hands of other baptized ones. Anyway, that's not important right now, so let's move on. Hold that tightly."
Caesar stepped back for a moment.
Then he willed to reclaim Flawless.
Suddenly, Flawless disappeared from Agatha's hand and appeared in Caesar's hand.
Agatha's eyes widened.
"Wow, that's amazing?"
"Right? This is one of Flawless's characteristics. The owner can call it back anytime like this when desired."
"Can other baptized ones call back their weapons too?"
"No, that's not the case. Only Flawless has this strong attachment to its owner, other pieces can't be called back like Flawless. Instead, they each have different abilities."
"For example?"
"We don't need to look far for an example, ‘Nameless’ that Yan has is also made from a baptismal sword piece."
"Huh? Yan's sword didn't seem particularly special? Oh, is the blade made from the baptismal sword piece?"
"No, in Yan's case, the pommel is the baptismal sword piece. The reason Yan's blade is black is because it's made of For Honor. For Honor is black in color."
"Then what ability does Nameless have?"
"It has the blessing of growth, meaning the body continues to grow as you use the sword."
"So does that mean you get stronger and faster as time passes?"
"Right. Physical performance increases without limit the more you work at it. It's probably considered the most overpowered ability among the baptismal sword pieces."
Agatha looked at Caesar in disbelief.
"What, such an overpowered ability exists?"
"Because of that, Nameless doesn't have abilities like calling back the sword like Flawless or other abilities. Rather, it has side effects."
"What side effects?"
"The stronger you get, the more your mind breaks. You develop a strong obsession with the sword and tend to try to solve everything with the sword. Like, when you get angry or sad, you first try swinging the sword? Something like that."
"It sounds concerning when you say the mind becomes strange?"
"Right. All the baptized ones who received the blessing of growth became devils. So the Dre Order sealed the blessing of growth for a while."
"What? They gave Nameless to Yan knowing this?"
"I guess they wanted to kill the Demon King badly enough to take that risk."
"Ha! This is ridiculous."
Agatha's eyes grew fierce with apparent irritation.
"Does Yan know about this? That he could become a devil and his mind could break?"
"No, not many people know about this. The Dre Order would be in trouble if flaws in the baptismal swords became known."
"Then how do you know about this?"
Having learned this through the game Valent Saga... There's no way to say that, so it's quite difficult to answer.
There's a standard method to use in times like this.
"I can't tell you. It's a secret."
"Come on, what kind of secret is it?"
"I'll tell you when the time comes."
Agatha accepted it easily.
"Well, fine. It's not like this is the first time you've done this."
After thinking for a moment, Agatha spoke.
"Then isn't Yan in a very dangerous state right now? They say you could become a devil if you keep holding Nameless. If a hero becomes a devil... Wouldn't that become a disaster that could shake the continent?"
As Agatha said, in the game, Yan invariably became a devil.
And it's true that he became a disaster that shook the continent.
But for some reason, the future has changed.
"I think that will be fine. Yan entrusted Nameless to Raven."
"Huh? He entrusted Nameless?"
"Yes. He said his mind seemed to get strange the more he used Nameless, so he entrusted the sword to Raven. Honestly, I never thought he would do that."
Originally, the more you use a weapon containing the blessing of growth, the more obsessed you become with the sword.
Caesar was also very surprised because he never thought Yan would give up the sword so easily.
That must mean the Elijah incident was that shocking to Yan.
"More than that, shall we try a test?"
"What kind of test?"
"Whether the Demon King's command works on me."
At Caesar's words, Agatha gulped.
"Are you sure you'll be okay? It might not work."
"If even Flawless can't block it, then there's nothing we can do."
"What do you mean there's nothing we can do?"
"It means we'll have to find another way. Though I'm not sure if there are any other methods besides this one."
"Okay, fine. Let me take a deep breath first."
"Why do you seem more nervous?"
"Because you're not nervous at all? Aren't you worried? I could... Break you."
Caesar chuckled.
"Since you're being so careful, I don't need to add to the worry. Just think of it as having nothing to lose and ask me anything."
"Alright."
After taking several deep breaths, Agatha looked straight into Caesar's eyes and spoke.
"Should we... Go outside for a walk?"
"Sure, why not."
"Huh?! It doesn't seem very effective?"
"I just wanted to take a walk because I'm full from eating. It's not because you said so."
"Ah, ahh... I see."
"Try something you really want, not that. It seems the ability hasn't properly manifested."
"If it's something I really want..."
Agatha's eyes deepened.
And she expressed the pain and longing buried in her heart with her tongue.
"Stay with me in the demon realm, Caesar. I need you."
Sincerity could be felt in Agatha's eyes.
And through Flawless, he could feel that Agatha's command had properly activated.
It was because Flawless vibrated slightly, keeping Caesar's mind clear.
Therefore, Caesar could speak rationally.
"I'm sorry, but that seems difficult."
Agatha smiled as if relieved.
"That seems to definitely have an effect."
"Agatha."
"Well, shall we go for that walk we talked about earlier? While picking some flowers to give to you too."
As in Gloria's dream, Agatha truly wanted Caesar to stay.
But Caesar still had things to do, and knowing this, Agatha understood.
However, knowing that the process of understanding wasn't easy, Caesar could only say this.
"Thank you."
Agatha smiled brightly.
"I know."
The reason Agatha could force herself to smile was because she knew Caesar was a person who kept his promises very well.
-When you have nothing more to achieve among humans. When I need the doppelganger 'Caesar' rather than the human 'Caesar', you will return to the demon realm. And you will be with me.
-Yes. I promise.
Eventually, Caesar will come to Agatha.
Just as Caesar swore on Agatha's pinky finger.