Chapter 5: The 0th Legion Commander, Deon Hart (3)
Chapter 5: The 0th Legion Commander, Deon Hart (3)
Commendably, even in this absurd situation, my hand was still clutching my lifeline.
The torch, gripped tightly in my hand and blazing furiously. The moment I recognized its presence, without a moment's thought, I swung it at the vine coiled around my leg.
"Kieeeeeek!"
With an eardrum-shredding shriek, the vine dropped away from my ankle.
Good! I was right to keep the torch in hand! I never imagined I'd actually need it... but still.
'But... why does my back feel cool?'
And that grotesque flower seemed to be getting farther away... No, the getting away part was good. But something...
'Wait a moment! I'm falling!!'
How high was this place? That thing covered a 10-meter radius, so this must be close to 10 meters too.
"......Haha, fuck."
Somebody save meeeee!!
Even as my heart practically leaped out of my mouth in shock, my body, beaten and battered from countless battlefields, was steadily preparing for a breakfall.
Sure, a bone or two would definitely snap. But still... better than a broken neck.
I steeled myself and tried to time the breakfall, but someone snatched my body out of the air.
"D-D-D-D-Demon-nim! Are you alright?! Are you hurt?! Are you hurt anywh-anywhere?!"
I'm the one who should be shocked, so why are you stammering? Would you look at that, you even bit your tongue.
I wanted nothing more than to shove this root cause of all my problems straight into the jaws of that man-eating plant, but I forcefully suppressed the urge.
Not because he was stronger than me. Feeling the solid support of his arms, I raised my head and looked at Hien.
'......He caught me. I'll let it slide this once.'
To catch me from that height without any issue. Light as I might be, I still fell within the normal adult weight range. Demons really are demons.
"Demon-nim?"
"......I'm... fine."
I subtly pushed against his chest.
Interpreting this survival-instinct-driven rejection as a signal to be put down, Hien carefully lowered me to the ground.
Once my feet touched the ground, the world swayed violently this way and that.
I stood with my eyes closed, letting my reeling senses settle, then lowered the hand that had been covering my face and turned to Hien. And then...
"......."
I had no choice but silence.
Behind Hien, the background that should have blended the silver of moonlight and the black of night was stained crimson.
An acrid smell stung my nose, and searing heat scorched my skin.
A single bead of cold sweat rolled down my back.
Not because it was hot...
'This... is because of me, isn't it?'
Because of the torch, my lifeline that I'd dropped when I fell. The garden was on fire.
I was going to die today.
'No, I'm definitely going to die.'
The scorching heat against his skin made Hien bow his head weakly.
The plant he had been cultivating tried to devour Demon-nim. Of course, Demon-nim couldn't possibly be harmed by a mere plant, so it was clear he simply did not like it. Why else would he have deliberately allowed such a worthless attack to land?
He hadn't liked that plant. No, he had been looking for an excuse to burn down this entire garden.
Or perhaps he didn't like Hien himself.
The plant's fault was the gardener's fault.
Whatever Demon-nim's underlying intentions were, the fact remained that his plant had attacked first, leaving Demon-nim with no choice but to retaliate in self-defense.
This rendered Hien unable to blame him for the garden burning, and instead placed Hien squarely in the position of bearing responsibility.
Not that the thought of holding Demon-nim accountable for the burned garden had ever even been an option.
'If he doesn't like me, that's my fault.'
He was usually an incredibly magnanimous person. Just hearing Ben, his personal physician, boast proudly about it had made that clear.
So, if he was angry, it must be because this side did something to displease him.
He had been prepared, but death was still frightening. Composing his surely pale face, Hien bit his lip and stared at Demon-nim's back.
Perhaps because it was his back, perhaps because he couldn't see his expression, but his whole aura felt different from usual.
'No, no. Now isn't the time to gauge his mood.'
It was time to prostrate himself.
Hien bowed deeply toward the figure who, without even a backward glance, was staring at the flames consuming the garden.
"I apologize."
The feet that had been showing their heels slowly pivoted around.
Seeing those shoes turning toward him, Hien squeezed his eyes shut.
Wow, it was really burning splendidly.
Was this what they meant by slash-and-burn farmers who fled excessive taxes and set mountain fires to farm?
The problem was, this wasn't a mountain but the Demon Castle. And there was no farming to be done here.
What do I do...?
It was burning too well. Far too well.
The wretched man-eating plant that had attacked me was already completely devoured by the flames, its horrific shrieking silenced. The other repulsive plants nearby had disappeared into the fire without a sound or a trace.
Already having swallowed half of the west garden, the flames were greedily spreading, as if still hungry, lunging to consume the remaining plants.
I felt a piercing gaze on the back of my head. It had to be Hien's.
I couldn't muster the courage to turn around and see his expression, so I deliberately let my mind go half-blank and just stared at the red-stained garden.
Ah, yes. I had no intention of denying it. This was pure escapism.
This was the Demon Castle's garden, and the gardener was of course a demon. A demon.
Somebody put this fire out. Anyone, please.
I was even performing a silent rain ritual in my head, hoping for at least rain, when a faint voice reached me from behind.
"I apologize."
"......?"
I thought I'd misheard. Clearly, this was a situation where I should be apologizing. Why was he the one apologizing?
My ears insisted they'd heard correctly, and my brain insisted they hadn't. Hesitating immensely, I slowly turned around to verify the truth.
Fortunately, what entered my vision wasn't an enraged Hien, but a bowing Hien.
Half relieved but still utterly confused, I remained silent. He then explained on his own.
"I did not realize that plant, no, that this garden, was not to your liking."
"......."
"Or perhaps... you were angry with me..."
"No, that isn't it."
Did I look like someone with no conscience? I subtly massaged my face, then looked back at Hien.
So, in short, he was saying he thought I set the fire because I didn't like the man-eating plant or this garden itself? And yet, rather than getting angry, he was apologizing.
"Are you insane?"
"I'm sorry."
"That's not..."
Looking at it now, this bastard was a total pushover.
In any case, judging by the situation, it didn't seem like he'd get angry at me over this. And my own survival chances were definitely higher with this narrative than with the truth: that I stupidly dropped the torch by accident.
So, what should I say?
"......The garden was not especially to my liking, but that does not mean I disliked it, either."
Well, honestly, I hated it. Absolutely hated it. It was grotesque!
But what could I do? I could hardly tell the Demon Castle's gardener to grow normal human-world flowers like roses or lilies. I'd just have to endure it.
"Then..."
"If possible, I would simply appreciate it if you refrained from cultivating... the plant you showed me earlier."
"Ah, yes! I understand. I'll dispose of all the seeds immediately."
Disposing of them was going too far. I had no intention of meddling with what he grew however he pleased in his own home.
Anyway, it seemed to have been resolved somehow, so I nodded. Just then, a shadow fell behind Hien, who wore a resolute expression.
A silhouette clearly humanoid—no, demon. Squinting to see who it was, a voice emerged from the shadow.
—A very familiar voice.
"What's with this fire?"
Hien's body stiffened rigidly. Though I didn't show it, I froze too.
And for good reason. That voice was definitely...
"Who set it? Was it on purpose?"
...the voice of the Demon Realm's one and only king, hailed as the strongest in history, commonly known as the Demon King.
"M-My king, what brings you here..."
"What, my castle is on fire and I'm supposed to just sit still?"
Cutting off Hien's question in one stroke, the Demon King turned his head. His Inverse Eyes, rolling smoothly, surveyed the flames once before settling on Hien and me with an especially eerie glow.
His eyes, which had been expressionless even upon seeing Hien, instantly kindled with a strange light the moment they landed on me.
"I wondered why no one was putting out the fire... now I see."
He swept back his hair and grinned. Clearly, at me.
Ah, this was that, wasn't it?
The Today is your death anniversary, sort of.
Just as I'd expected, the Demon King spoke my name. Because others were present, he used my name known throughout the demon world, not my real one.
"So you were here, Demon."
As he spoke, he waved his hand. The thick smoke surrounding us was swept back and vanished into the distance. Only then could I see clearly.
The numerous demons arrayed all around us. Unable to act one way or another, they were looking at us with troubled expressions.
No, if you were here all along, why didn't you just put out the fire instead of standing around spectating? Now the Demon King's shown up because of you.
"So, what bothered you?"
"......?"
"Are you angry at the gardener? Or did you not like the garden? I could kill him for you if you want. How should I handle this?"
Wait, hold on. I thought I'd heard he brought that gardener here personally. How is that talk of killing him so easy?
I couldn't brush it off as a joke; there wasn't a hint of humor in his eyes. Alarmed, I glanced back at Hien. He, who should have been pleading or defending himself frantically, was simply bowing meekly, as if accepting whatever judgment came.
Fearing the Demon King really would kill Hien at this rate, I hurriedly spoke.
"I am neither angry at the gardener, nor do I dislike the garden."
"Then why? ...No, before that. Can I put out that fire?"
"Huh? Yes."
I nodded reflexively, and the waiting demons rushed over in a swarm, casting magic.
Giant water droplets formed in the empty sky and cascaded down in unison. If it were just one or two, it might've been different, but with so many of them at it, the fire was extinguished in an instant.
What the hell, they could've been that quick about it, so why...
"Then why did you set fire to the garden?"
Here, I hesitated for a moment.
For now, there was no reason for me to verbally confirm Hien's misunderstanding and risk getting on anyone's bad side unnecessarily. So, should I tell the truth?
'What would they say if I told them I almost died because of a single plant?'
'You're so weak a mere plant gave you trouble? You've been deceiving me all this time? Die!' Wouldn't that be the reaction? No, maybe it'd be: 'You burned my garden over something that trivial?' as he tried to kill me.
But I couldn't just not answer the Demon King's question. I was pondering what to say when, rendering my deliberation moot, Hien abruptly interjected and rattled off an explanation on my behalf.
"The new plant I obtained attacked Demon-nim. So the enraged Demon-nim set the fire."
"......."
Wow. This bastard was a spy. Who sent you? The Revolutionary Army? Or the Empire's Noble Faction?
I was pondering how best to 'deal with' him so word got around properly, but apparently he wasn't done. After a brief pause, he spoke again. His voice trembled faintly.
"It is my fault. I failed to train it properly."
The word 'train' didn't suit a plant at all, but no one here seemed to find it strange.
Well, seeing its behavior earlier, it was closer to an animal than a plant.
"Keuk."
A short groan pierced my ears. I snapped my head up. What I saw was the Demon King, one hand clamped around Hien's throat, lifting him off the ground. And Hien, his face contorting from the blocked airflow, yet not resisting at all.
'Ah, this is insane. This could've all been smoothed over quietly, so why...'
The very air was different. Heavy and grim to the point of being able to crush a person flat.
I stood there, mouth opening and closing dumbly, when the Demon King, still gripping Hien's neck, simply turned his head to look at me. The face that had been ferocious when looking at Hien relaxed mildly the moment it turned my way. No, he was definitely smiling.
"What should we do?"
"......Pardon?"
"Should I kill him?"