224
I Killed the Demon King. It Was a Mistake.
Chapter 224
Seo-han used everything he could after falling into the world of the Valent Saga.
As a spy for the Demon King's army and a low-ranking soldier on the battlefield, his fate hung on the orders of low-ranking officers and squad leaders rather than high-ranking generals, so he used all the coincidences and future knowledge within his reach.
There were times when he anticipated large-scale greenskins attacks and refused the squad leader's charge order, pretending to be dead, and times when he anticipated vampires' mass aerial descent and refused the platoon leader's order to standby, instead charging forward with his squad to survive.
What was Seo-han's life like before Valent Saga?
Seo-han was an extremely obedient and diligent office worker.
He was good at following his superiors' orders and understanding their intentions, staying just half a step ahead in handling tasks.
That's probably why he got promoted better than his peers.
Yes.
Seo-han's life is divided between before and after entering the world of Valent Saga.
From someone who was obedient and submissive to others, to someone who needed conviction and backbone for survival.
From someone who waited for opportunities to come to someone who sought and seized opportunities first.
From an obedient subordinate to a herald of change.
All of this changed through the bloody battlefield.
He discards Seo-han, the office worker.
Instead, he embraces Seo-han the warrior.
Seo-han drew a 'battlefield'.
Not a battlefield where war has just begun.
The battlefield Seo-han draws is a battlefield turned to ruins after all wars have ended.
The first thing felt there is the piercing smell of blood.
The battlefield was filled with traces of death reeking of blood, as blood pools were everywhere and dismembered corpses were bound to give off such smell.
And standing alone on that battlefield is Seo-han...
No, Caesar.
In this lonely and futile battlefield where neither victor nor loser can be known, what does Caesar want?
Just as Tatiana looked at the night sky and drew the moon.
What does Caesar wish to draw from this meaningless battlefield?
Caesar drew Thunder.
Then clouds gathered in the sky.
Rumble!
Clouds carrying fierce rain and wind covered the sky.
Caesar drew lightning.
Then rain poured down.
Rain is fair.
It erases all traces.
Pain, screams, smells, memories, reminiscences, all were washed away into small streams.
Even corpses were devoured by streams and washed away.
Thunder was drawn again.
Then wind and rain struck, bringing a fierce typhoon.
Broken spears, shattered spears, torn flags, everything flew away in the fierce wind.
Traces of the battlefield disappeared, swept away by the wind and rain.
Yes.
This is what Caesar wanted.
For savage nature to completely erase all traces of war.
And...
As the clouds cleared, clean sunlight embraced Caesar.
That sunlight was so warm he wanted to hold it forever.
Caesar turned his eyes to the battlefield.
No, there was no longer a battlefield.
Here, only young sprouts shyly greeting the sun filled the horizon.
Caesar closed his eyes, intoxicated by this beautiful sight.
And spreading both arms, he fully felt the low, refreshing wind crossing the vast land.
No, not just feeling it.
Caesar felt as if he had become a gust of wind freely racing across the vast plain.
Caesar would call this sight and this feeling:
"Clear Field"
This was the world Caesar yearned for.
And the birth of Caesar's unique strengthening technique.
***
An unfamiliar ceiling.
Though Gloria prided herself on living quite a luxurious life as the daughter of Viscount Bellum, she had never had such a dazzling, gaudy, yet expensive chandelier in her room.
And the soft bed that sinks when pressed and the heavy, thick blanket were absolutely not her taste.
Gloria preferred a somewhat firm mattress that supported her waist, and for blankets, she preferred slightly rough but light materials rather than thick and heavy ones.
"...Is this a dream?"
Gloria had surely dreamed a very, very long dream.
Moreover, nightmares that couldn't even be described as just bad.
To such an extent that despite clearly lying on a soft bed, her back still remembered the feeling of that hard steel shelf.
"Must be a dream."
Gloria's hands trembled.
Her whole body shook at the thought that this soft and comfortable feeling wouldn't last long.
When would she escape this nightmare?
No, when could she escape from Raum?
Click!
The sound of the doorknob turning echoed loudly.
The sound reverberated because the room was so large with little furniture.
Gloria squeezed her eyes shut.
It would be better not to look.
No, she would not be toyed with by Raum's nightmare again.
"Raum, I won't submit."
Gloria tried her best not to let her voice tremble.
But her lips trembled and cold sweat flowed, making her voice carry more anxiety than resolution.
"No matter how much you torment me, I will never follow your will."
Gloria thought of the strongest and bravest person she knew.
It was Caesar.
What would Caesar do?
Gloria's voice trembling subsided and her fingertips became calm.
Anxiety subsided and she began to thoroughly consider ways to counterattack.
"If you're going to kill me, then kill me."
Step! Step!
The sound of footsteps drew closer.
Gloria gauged their position by the sound.
Since Gloria wasn't tied down with leather belts now, she thought a side kick would work well after throwing the blanket to block their vision.
At that moment, Caesar's image and voice came to Gloria's mind.
-I'm watching over you. So don't worry.
Words that she had never seen or heard even once.
Somehow Gloria felt as if she had heard this story before.
Caesar's face and voice imprinted in Gloria's mind gave her courage.
When Gloria finally arrived within arm's reach.
Whoosh!
Gloria threw the blanket forcefully toward where she heard movement.
And she delivered a side kick toward the figure.
Thump!
But Gloria's ankle was caught.
The hand that grabbed Gloria's ankle was cold as ice.
The intruder removed the blanket covering his face.
Then a man Gloria had never expected was looking at her.
A vampire.
"I thought you'd be weak from starving for five days, but you're quite energetic."
Gloria was startled by the vampire's appearance, which she had never seen in Raum's dream.
But this guy feels familiar somehow.
"...You."
"Don't worry. You're safe."
"What are you saying? Who are you? Why is a vampire..."
"First, I'm Borden Mijalovsen. But is my name that important?"
He quietly released Gloria's ankle.
Gloria quickly got up, grabbed a pillow, and backed into a corner.
"Where is this? Don't tell me Raum..."
Click!
"Raum is dead, Gloria."
A woman with pink hair entered through the door.
She had a pair of horns on her head, and a mysterious scent mixing gentle roses and fresh soil wrapped around Gloria's nose.
"...De, Demon King?"
"Borden, what did you do to make her so scared?"
Borden straightened his clothes and spoke.
"I did nothing. She suddenly tried to break my neck. I was the one who almost got hurt."
"Come on, Borden. There's no way you could get hurt. Didn't you scare her?"
"Scare her? She asked for my name, so I told her."
"Who cares about your name? She's asking because she wants to know what this situation is."
"Then shouldn't she have asked what this situation is?"
"Enough, Borden. I'll explain."
Agatha spoke while slowly approaching Gloria, who was trembling in the corner.
"Now, kitten. Would you like to calm down and listen?"
"What are you... Where is this? Is this another nightmare?"
"The nightmare is over. This is reality. Though I understand it won't be easy for you to accept."
"Don't lie! What is Raum trying to do now! I can't take anymore...!"
Agatha snapped her fingers.
Then one wall transformed into a glass window, and red moonlight poured in.
The red moonlight illuminated a vast garden, and in the middle of that garden, a man with red hair was wielding axes in both hands.
No, wielding isn't the right word.
Dancing would be a more accurate description.
Every time his axes moved, the surrounding grass and flower petals gently circled around.
"...Master?"
"Yes. Caesar rescued you and brought you here."
Then, Gloria heard Caesar's faint voice in her mind.
-Leave what's behind to me and slowly move forward.
Her heart swelled so much she could cry every time she heard those words.
She wanted to run to her master right now and cry in his embrace.
But her master seemed to be doing something important, so she couldn't bring herself to approach him.
"I know you must have suffered a lot because of Raum's nightmare. That's why Caesar asked me for help."
"...Really? Raum is dead?"
"Yes. Though it might be difficult to accept reality..."
Agatha snapped her fingers.
Then the door opened and a succubus walked in carrying warm soup.
"You must be hungry, shall we eat first? I'll tell you everything."
Gloria's stomach growled loudly at the smell of warm soup.
This terrible hunger felt like proof that this was reality.
***
"Just one more bowl."
"More here?"
Agatha looked at the empty soup plates stacked beside the table.
"Are you planning to empty our food storage?"
Gloria said with a blushing face.
"...This will really be the last one."
"I'm letting you have it because you're being polite."
Agatha snapped her fingers and spoke to Borden standing outside the door.
"Bring one more bowl here."
Agatha poured a cup of tea in front of Gloria and said.
"It's good that you're eating well at least."
Gloria still hadn't adjusted to Agatha.
When she first saw Agatha, her expression was not only cold but also so elegant and captivating that she seemed unapproachable.
But how about Agatha now?
She wore a comfortable black dress with a white apron and white slippers, and her wavy pink hair was neatly tied back behind her ears.
If it weren't for the white horns on her head, she would have thought she was a pretty servant or a country housewife.
"So, do you roughly understand what I told you?"
Gloria nodded.
"Yes. That you saved me, Master, and killed Raum. But there's one thing I don't understand..."
"You're talking about Flawless?"
"Yes. What exactly happened to me?"
"Originally, if you had just woken up, you would have had difficulty distinguishing between nightmares and reality. Because you were tormented by Raum's nightmares for so long."
Agatha snapped her fingers and created Flawless.
Not the real Flawless, just an imitation modeled after his appearance.
"But Flawless helped you become aware of reality. He created a dream so you could overcome the puppets and escape the nightmare on your own."
"So this Flawless is something that keeps sanity..."
"Yes. An ancient artifact. A dragon's work that can't be explained even by magic. Without it, your mind would have been broken long ago, and you wouldn't even be able to talk with me."
Gloria stared blankly at her teacup.
In the rippling tea, Gloria's nightmares flashed by.
And at the end, she saw herself continuously swinging a greatsword.
"To be honest, that dream is hazy to me."
"You can't remember?"
"Rather than not remembering... I know something happened, but I'm not sure what?"
"That's understandable. It was a space touching your unconscious realm, deeper than dreams. And it's not easy to recall dreams you've had in the first place."
"But Raum's nightmare... Huh?"
Gloria tried to recall Raum's nightmare.
But...
"I'm sure... I could remember each detail specifically..."
"Could remember?"
"When I try to recall the nightmare, I keep thinking of him, Master."
Should it be described as clean red paint covering a black canvas?
Even when trying to shift focus to the black parts, it felt like a large brush soaked in red paint kept covering the black.
"What about when you think of Caesar?"
Gloria saw Caesar swinging an axe diligently.
"I feel grateful and reassured... And keep wanting to see him."
Gloria's heart started pounding.
Her heart raced and her face turned red, just like when she first saw Caesar.
That expression, Agatha knew it very well.
That's the face of someone in love.
'I roughly expected this but...'
What could be the reason 'Flawless' appeared as 'Caesar' in Gloria's unconscious?
Wasn't it because Gloria had been admiring Caesar for a very long time?
From the beginning, Caesar had occupied a large portion of Gloria's mind, and this incident made that portion grow even larger.
So it would inevitably develop from admiration to affection... Though thinking this might be too convenient.
There's a high possibility that Gloria had special feelings for Caesar for a very long time.
No, according to Agatha's instinct, she definitely had feelings toward the opposite sex.
Because Caesar is a very charming person.
But...
'I came first.'
Before saving Gloria, Caesar saved Agatha first.
And Caesar promised Agatha.
That he would return to her.
Although she trusted Caesar, Agatha couldn't help feeling anxious in a corner of her heart, thinking that he might be swayed by Gloria's love.
And Agatha also had some stake in Gloria becoming who she is now.
She blocked Flawless' attack with a shield and advised Caesar with tears to come to his senses.
If the result leads to creating Agatha's love rival, Agatha might regret... No, strongly regret what happened in the dream.
So Agatha decided to be somewhat selfish.
"That's a kind of side effect."
"...Pardon?"
"You probably don't remember, but Caesar helped you overcome the nightmare. That's why you unconsciously depend on Caesar. We all expected you would react this way."
"...So you're saying these feelings are a side effect?"
Gloria fidgeted with her fingers.
"These fluttering feelings?"
Agatha clenched her fist hidden under the table.
However, she lowered her eyes and released the tension in her muscles to approach gently.
"Yes. Those are temporary feelings that arose while healing you. So don't worry too much about it. Rather, it's..."
Agatha decided to be harsh for her own sake.
"Feelings you need to overcome."
Agatha felt like she had become a villain from a novel.