Chapter 80
Chapter 80
Translator: XZY
Chapter 80: Person (8)
***
The instinct of a demonic beast was to kill people.
It did not seek a reason for it. Just as there was no particular reason for humans to crave honor and achievement, a demonic beast simply killed people.
The one who understood this fact more clearly than anyone was Siern herself.
She learned that at some point, if she let go of the reins of her reason, she would kill people. By the time she noticed that everyone who saw her treated her as a monster, she had already given up on her life as a person.
Feeling revulsion at the loathsome blood of a demonic beast, lamenting a life that was just futilely being weeded out... such one-dimensional emotional games had already ended long ago.
If she could have controlled that instinct even just once, she might have been able to see a sliver of hope.
However, there was no one who would stick by her, risking their own life to try and control someone they did not even know if they could control. Such Sullivan-like great figures were not common in the world.
Even her own family shook their heads, so it went without saying for the noble magic teachers who valued their own safety.
The surrender of countless teachers only emphasized Siern’s incompleteness.
There was no one left who would risk their life to correct her.
If that was the case, all that remained was a descent into a long darkness.
Slowly, slowly being weeded out as if falling into the deep sea, and then, when even her father could no longer handle her, she would just have to quietly end her life.
Until then, it was a life of just briefly stopping by the world.
It was a blessing if she killed one less person in the process. It was enough to tell those who trembled in fear and treated her as a monster. I am not a person but a monster, so do not come near.
The only fortunate thing was that the blood of that monster was not always a hindrance.
It seemed that occasionally, there were people in the world who deserved to die.
There were many who were born as humans and harmed humans, extorted the poor, violated women, and, drunk on their own self-interest, drove others to ruin.
Whenever Siern saw such people, she could not help but think to herself. Even if they are human, there are many who are not like humans.
It might even be good that she could kill them without remorse.
It meant people just like Derek, right before her eyes.
Kwaaaaaaaaaaang— !
The outer wall of the Rochest mansion collapsed, and from within the pouring dust, Derek’s figure emerged.
There was a single beast that charged, trying to kill Derek by firing magic at random. The beast, demurely dressed in a pretty dress, followed Derek in and began to indiscriminately fire all sorts of elemental magic.
‘This is not good.’
While evading Siern’s rampaging magic and widening the distance, he had ended up returning to the mansion.
Derek, who had intended to finish the entire situation in the snowfield, could not help but scowl.
Hoodoo-dook—
Krrr—
The sight of Siern standing straight on the rubble of the collapsed wall, bathed in the moonlight. No one in the world would find it easy to call her a person.
Ghostly mana floated around her in the form of blades, and in her two eyes, filled with murderous intent, there was no longer the light of reason.
“Hiiik! Lady Siern is rampaging!”
“Bring the master! Hurry! We can’t stop her!”
“Save me... please save me...!”
Had they seen this side of Siern several times already?
The servants who had been working in the garden began to run out to save their own lives.
Derek brushed off a scratch on his shoulder once, then looked up at Siern, who was rampaging from the demonic blood, and thought.
‘It certainly feels less like dealing with a person and more like dealing with a demonic beast one often encounters in a high-level labyrinth. The magic-using demonic beasts were often tricky, but a case like this is much more troublesome.’
There were types of demonic beasts, like banshees, liches, and reapers, that specialized in slaughter and wielded forbidden magic.
Of course, they were not commonly seen individuals, but at the very least, Siern seemed to be more troublesome than those types of demonic beasts, not less.
Above all, he could not kill her. She could not get too hurt either.
But if he dealt with her half-heartedly, she had the momentum to sever his neck in an instant. There were probably almost no personnel capable of such a tightrope walk against a mage who could freely use 3-Star level magic.
He had to risk his life. That was what it meant to teach Siern.
Derek wiped his face once and then took a deep breath.
Hwaak— !
Kwang— !
The movement of Siern, who had broken through the mansion’s outer wall and charged into the garden, felt like the wind.
Siern’s movements, which had been hard to follow with the eyes even when she was maintaining her reason, had now reached a level that was difficult to even gauge without an insight bordering on precognition.
Derek calmly felt the flow of mana and intercepted all the 1-Star magic ‘Flame Arrows’ that Siern fired.
Pababak! Pak— !
He twirled his staff and parried the fingernails of Siern, who had charged right up to him.
Kagagang! Kaang— !
Siern had shattered Derek’s sword with her bare hands using transmutation magic, but she could not break a 4-Star magic staff so easily.
No matter how much of a natural genius Siern was, she could not glimpse the realm of 4-Star at this age.
Derek parried Siern’s fingertips, then raised one foot and kicked her away.
Pababak! Kaaaaak— !
Siern, who had rolled on the garden floor, flew and was embedded in a flowerbed.
At the sight of him kicking the young lady of the Rochest family without a second thought, all the servants who were hiding in the building and watching this scene swallowed dry gulps of saliva.
To lay a hand on the body of a noble young lady was, from a commoner’s perspective, no different from dipping one’s arm in lava. It meant it was no different from an act of hastening one’s own demise.
However, Derek did not care about the consequences. He had already become used to wielding the ‘Rod of Love’ while working as a magic teacher.
Head Butler Layton was feeling a chill as he watched Derek’s expression from beside the collapsed building debris.
Derek’s expression was truly calm, and no emotion could be felt in his hand movements.
It was a calmness that made one wonder if he was even human.
“Get up.”
Derek said, flicking his staff once in front of the flowerbed from which dust was rising.
“Aren’t you going to kill me?”
Silence.
No sign of life could be felt from the messy flowerbed.
“Do you think I will die from this?”
Derek spoke in a domineering tone, as if pressing down. It was also a way of provoking his opponent.
Even without doing so, Siern had already lost her reason. However, Derek’s actions seemed as if he was trying to drive Siern’s emotions to the very limit.
Derek knew.
Demonic beasts were beings that seemed to have the killing of humans programmed into their instincts.
However, as Aiseline had said, not all beings in the world lived solely by their instincts.
Just as humans endured their appetite, sleepiness, and sexual desire, suppressed their nature for ambition, told lies in the face of injustice, and acted at a loss out of a guilty conscience...
There had always been those who went against their instincts. This was not limited to humans; it was not different for beasts or demonic beasts either.
There were many demonic beasts that had charged at Derek to kill him.
However, the demonic beasts that had been broken in the face of an overwhelming power difference often gave up their instinct to kill humans and shifted their course of action to survival.
Simply feeling fear was not enough.
Only when one lost all reason and could regain their reason in the midst of that rage where only instinct raged, could it be said that they had overcome the slaughter instinct flowing through their blood.
The slaughter instinct that came without warning was like a wave.
It would be troublesome to think that one could control the waves just by overcoming a few small ones.
It was only when one overcame the biggest wave that crashed into the heart that it finally gained meaning.
Therefore, Derek pushed Siern to the absolute limit.
He pushed her to the edge, inciting her so that the will to kill Derek would surely rise. Her entire mind had to be filled only with murderous intent toward Derek.
And only when she finally broke that impulse would Siern have, for the first time, overcome her instinct... and built up such a successful experience.
The first time was important. That one time would change Siern’s life entirely.
Hwaak— !
Kang— !
A beast soared from within the dust.
It charged toward Derek at an unbelievable speed and swung its fingernails.
He had parried the fingernails, but it was not easy to parry all the numerous blades of mana that flew in behind her.
Pabababak— !
A situation where a girl equivalent to a 3-Star mage was charging with the sole intention of killing.
Derek managed to parry most of the mana blades, but a few dug into the area around his shoulder and collarbone, leaving wounds.
Blood flowed down his arm, but Derek’s expression still did not change.
Hwik— !
Derek pulled his staff back with a sharp motion.
Siern, whose center of gravity was thrown off, fell forward, and he twisted her wrist and threw her onto the snowy ground.
Kwadang-tang! Kwang— !
Then he drove a mana arrow into that spot, and Siern, with her animalistic senses, manifested a protective magic and blocked it.
She reached out her arm to tear at Derek’s leg, and actually left a scratch near Derek’s ankle.
Blood splattered, but Derek, still without even a hint of concern, used his mana to send Siern flying.
Kwadang-tang! Kwang— !
Close-quarters brawling, long-range magic battle, psychological warfare, speed battle, firepower battle... she could not surpass Derek in anything.
As they fought back and forth, the scratches on Derek’s body increased, but Siern also began to gasp for breath as if she were getting tired.
If she was going to reach her limit, it should have come long ago.
The level of magic Siern wielded was something that even veteran mages had to concentrate to manifest.
It was obvious that she would quickly tire if she spammed them, but for Siern, who had already lost her reason, such stamina management was not a consideration.
Tak— !
And so, at some point, Derek, who was bleeding quite a bit, grabbed Siern by the collar.
She quickly moved her hand to push him away, but there was no strength in her arm. Siern made a growling sound and tried to tear at Derek’s arm.
A piece of Derek’s flesh was torn off and blood dripped down, but even so, the strength in his hand did not loosen.
The difference in physical strength was at a level where comparison was meaningless. A sturdy man who had trained his entire life, and a frail girl who was only relying on transmutation magic.
Derek’s forearm, with its veins bulging, stood firm like a great mountain, even if this girl tried to shake it off with all her might for a hundred days.
“Kaaaaaak!”
“...”
Siern screamed and glared at Derek. The cold-bloodedness in his red eyes was still the same.
In that moment, she concluded that she could never push this hand away with physical strength alone and manifested more mana.
It was mana she had already drawn out to its limit, but strangely, the more she drew out, the more it continued to pour out.
Hwaaaaaaak— !
From head to toe, a single-minded determination to draw out all her mana and deliver a final blow.
Before long, Siern manifested the 3-Star combat-type magic, ‘Freeze.’
Jjeojeojeojeojeok— !
Kwadeudeudeuk— !
<><><>
Hwiiiiiik! Kadeudeuk— !
The 3-Star magic ‘Freeze’ was a magic that froze everything around the caster whole and subdued it.
Since everything within a radius of nearly 10 meters from the caster was frozen, all targets that approached momentarily were subdued. It was like a decisive move among 3-Star close-range magics.
Not only did it freeze a person whole, but the floor and building, as well as every single leaf on a plant, were all frozen and stopped moving.
The sight was as if time had stopped.
The application of mana had to be meticulous, and the scale was considerable, so it was a magic that even high-level mages did not use unless necessary.
Siern, pushed to the limit of her limits, could also use magic of that level. No matter how much of a Derek he was, it would have been difficult to predict this far.
Hwaaaaaaak— !
And so, the aftershock of the mana faded, and a world covered in ice revealed itself.
It was a world where the garden pavilion, even a single leaf on a tree, was all frozen── but Derek’s arm was still firmly gripping Siern’s collar.
“..!”
Feeling the flow of mana that had been momentarily depleted, Siern’s eyes widened.
In that short moment, Derek had grasped the type of magic Siern was trying to manifest and had manifested a flame arrow and shot it at himself.
His body was full of scratches and burns. But the ice that should have been covering him was not there.
Quick thinking, judgment, and coping ability... Derek was far above Siern. It was a moment that made that fact clear.
“Heo... eok...”
As Siern gasped for breath, Derek gripped her collar tighter and pushed his face forward.
“Is it over?”
“...Heok.... heo-eok...”
“You certainly learn magic quickly. The freeze magic was informative. I’ll have to try using it myself when I get the chance.”
“....You... heok...”
“It seems you can’t use any more magic now.”
Derek was skilled not only in swordsmanship but also in hand-to-hand combat. In fact, without even needing such things, she could not beat Derek in a simple fight of physical strength.
If her mana was depleted, there was no way to kill Derek.
No matter how much of a beast she was, engulfed in a slaughter instinct, she would not throw her body toward certain death.
To charge at Derek further from here was no different from throwing oneself off a cliff.
And even a monster that had lost its reason would not throw itself off a cliff.
“Eoheok... heok... heok...”
Siern, gasping for breath, stared blankly at the bleeding Derek. Even though she had hit him with so much magic, this man was as firm as a high wall.
And so... little by little, the light of reason returned to Siern’s eyes.
“Right....”
“...”
“I... can’t kill you...”
Paat— !
Kwadang-tang— !
As Derek let go of his hand, Lady Siern’s body rolled wretchedly on the snowy ground.
In the softly accumulating snow, the battered Siern gritted her teeth and spoke.
“...Right. At least my heart is relieved since it didn’t work even with all my strength...”
“...”
“Kill me. Dying miserably like this is the most fitting end for me. I couldn’t even see one thing through properly, and just... just... living and dying as a monster was the life given to me from the start.”
Siern bowed her head deeply, shedding tears profusely.
A dress covered in dust. The sight of her rolling on the snowy ground in that haggard state was what suited her best.
“You were right. Even if I live like this, I’ll just direct my slaughter instinct toward someone else again. I thought a day like this would come eventually.”
Siern gritted her teeth and, scattering her welled-up tears carelessly, shouted at Derek.
“Kill me.”
Siern, who no longer had the strength to resist, said.
Derek’s cold-blooded eyes, which had been looking down at her, flashed once.
Before long, Derek put his hand in his coat and took out a small glass bottle.
He tossed it in front of the snowy ground where Lady Siern was sitting.
Thump, the glass bottle landed and was buried in the snow right in front of Siern’s eyes.
The glass bottle, which contained a bluish liquid, was crafted in an elegant shape.
“It is a medicine made from shredded Phlonen flowers. Please drink it.”
“Ha...”
Siern let out a hollow laugh.
She had already heard from Aiseline that Derek was trying to kill Siern using poison.
In the end, this cruel boy was trying to make Siern end her own life. Perhaps that was the punishment this boy had in mind.
Siern felt miserable, then realized it was a reality she had to accept and picked up the glass bottle.
However, she wanted to leave a final word.
“Tell my father. That he went through a lot, embracing and trying to take responsibility for a daughter like me. At least I... do not resent... my father... for trying to love a monster like this as a daughter until the end... thank you...”
“...I understand.”
“Right. I understand. That’s enough.”
And so, Siern, holding back tears, drank the medicine Derek had given her.
Tuk—
She dropped the empty glass bottle on the ground and sat down again.
As she gently closed her eyes, in the panorama of her life flashing by, she remembered the first time she had committed slaughter.
The one who had first discovered Siern in the middle of the wolf corpses was Lord Melverot.
He had strode over, grabbed Siern’s arm tightly, and then simply led her back to the mansion.
She did not know what expression he was making, or what he was feeling.
Still, Siern’s killing intent had never been directed at her father. Perhaps that was the last line she was protecting.
He was the father of a daughter who committed slaughter. It was possible that he resented Siern.
Still, she had been loved by her father. She wanted to pass away thinking that.
Regardless of the reality, dying while thinking that would have been the happiest death allowed to Siern.
And so, Siern gently closed her eyes.
A life full of regrets. However, a life where she could not go anywhere and play the victim.
She lived as a monster and died as a monster. If I am reborn, I just want to be a person.
With that monologue... she had gently closed her eyes.
She entrusted her body to the cold wind blowing in the harsh land.
It was the end of her life.
<><><>
“...”
However, life did not end.
When Siern opened her gently closed eyes again, she had thought she would vomit blood and collapse from the effects of the terrible poison.
However, far from the poison’s energy circulating in her body... a warm energy circulated, and before long, her mana began to return, albeit a little.
Through the transmutation magic she had once again wrapped around her body, she was able to endure this harsh climate, at least a little.
“...What... is this...?”
“The Phlonen flower has the power to temporarily amplify the recovery of mana. Its effect is minor, but it will at least be enough strength to endure the cold.”
“W-what did you say...? W-wasn’t it poison?”
“If there was a poison that could kill a demonic beast so easily, would there be a reason for so many mercenaries to die while subjugating labyrinths?”
“Th-then... this is...”
Siern looked up at Derek with a bewildered expression.
Derek put away his staff, treated his wounds, and wore an indifferent expression.
He approached Siern, who was wearing a dazed face, unable to grasp what was happening, and then spoke in a quiet whisper.
“Even though you were driven to an extreme situation, you regained your reason in the end.”
“...W-wha, what...?”
“You did well.”
At those words, Siern’s mouth fell open.
Certainly, it was the first time she had not killed a single person even after being so consumed by instinct.
It was less Siern’s own will and more because Derek had stood firm like a great mountain.
But Siern had, for the first time, regained her reason from the edge of her slaughter instinct.
That much was a fact that no one could deny.
“Remember that feeling.”
Blood was dripping from various places on Derek’s body. It was all a trace of the battle with Siern.
However, the boy, not caring about such wounds, took off his own cloak and roughly draped it over Siern’s head.
“Let’s stop here for today.”
“.......”
“It’s cold, so please go inside.”
And so, Derek quietly turned his body and walked away, crunching on the snow.
Siern could only stare blankly at his figure with wide eyes. His human shadow, quietly scattering through the snowstorm, seemed like an illusion.
Derek was also a wreck in his own way, but he did not express a single complaint and just firmly did his job.
That was the kind of man Derek was.
<><><>
Jeobeok, jeobeok—
“Euh... heok...”
Leaning on the wall of the spire and with difficulty climbing the circular staircase, Siern let out a groan.
Her hair, which had been like white silk, was a complete mess, and her pretty, expensive dress was frayed and torn.
If she could not support her body to this extent, it was natural for the servants to rush over and assist her, but none of the servants could approach Siern.
If they were not sure that Siern had completely regained her reason, no one could approach.
Therefore, despite her noble status as the young lady of the Rochest family, the girl had to force her battered body to move and go up to her room.
In the cold and solitude, the girl thought.
‘Just... what is... that man... Was he trying to teach me... the feeling of regaining my reason...?’
Even in a situation where he could have killed Siern instantly, the man had coolly turned his back and left as if the battle until now was nothing.
There was even a sense of incongruity in his action of returning with a relieved look, as if he had accomplished his mission.
‘It was all an act...? To push me to the limit... to make me try to overcome my instinct even just once...?’
She had heard he was a renowned magic teacher.
Certainly, his skill in dealing with Siern even when she lost her reason and charged at him, trying to catch him off guard, was unusual.
He was a thoroughly practical person, on a different level from the previous magic teachers who were closer to scholars.
If all those actions were solely to set Siern straight.
If he had fought, risking his own life, to help Siern, who had been called a monster by all, regain something as a person... it was difficult for Siern to organize her thoughts on what to do.
If that was true, it meant that from beginning to end, he had been guiding Siern solely as a teacher.
Jeobeok, jeobeok—
As she difficultly climbed one step at a time, Siern gritted her teeth and muttered.
“Still... still... there’s no way such an action can be justified...!”
Grinding her teeth, Siern spoke to herself.
What came to mind was the sight of a girl dying, bleeding on the snowfield.
The sight of that sublime girl, who had to lose her life to Derek’s blade just for being in the way, still flickered before her eyes.
She was a person so noble and principled that she was not suited for a monster like her.
She could never understand that he had driven that lovely girl, like a fairy, to her death, just to correct a monster like herself.
“...”
However, before long, a great chill settled in the girl’s heart.
That one should not kill people, that the value of life was precious... did she have the right to say such things?
She had no such right.
Therefore, she could not blame Derek.
That fact ate away at Siern’s heart even more. It was an undeniable fact.
Nevertheless, Aiseline’s death remained as a great wound, flickering in her heart. At the cruelty of Derek, who had mercilessly killed her, Siern ended up shaking her head.
Somehow holding onto her thoughts filled with confusion, Siern, who had reached the front of her room, difficultly opened the door.
For now, she wanted to lay her body down on the bed.
Kiiik—
As she opened the door like that, Aiseline, who was drinking tea, was startled and put down her teacup.
“...”
“...Aah! Ah! Lady Siern..! A-are you okay..? You’re not seriously hurt anywhere?”
“......”
Aiseline was blushing with an awkward face, and was fiddling with the hands placed on her lap.
Siern thought quietly.
‘Now I’m even seeing hallucinations. I need to calm my troubled mind first.’
Siern walked unsteadily to the bed.
As she finally laid her tired body on the soft bed, a cozy sense of comfort enveloped her whole body.
And so, she released the tension in her entire body, which had been to the brink of death.
What welled up next was a sense of loss.
The death of a girl who had truly tried to help her, and her own powerlessness in not being able to use any strength in front of it.
That miserable feeling ate away at her heart, but she was used to this kind of feeling.
Sadness, grief, frustration, solitude, pain.
As she lay still with her forearm covering her eyes, the tip of her nose grew cold.
It was a moment when her heart ached, as she could not help but sniffle even if she did not want to.
“O-oh... Lady Siern. R-right... you must have had a hard time. How thoughtless of me... I should have given you some time to compose yourself first...”
Sniffle, sniffle—
“Still... an explanation of the situation... you might be curious about what happened... ah, no.. that’s all my own judgment. You should rest for now. I’m sorry for suddenly being in your room.”
Sniffle, sniffle—
“I-I’ll leave the tea for now. It’s a tea that helps with calming down. It’s a good tea, so please try it once. Uhm... once you’ve calmed down, maybe later...”
Jolt—!
Just as Aiseline was continuing to speak in a flustered tone, Siern shot up her upper body.
Aiseline was also startled and quickly straightened her back.
“....Huh?”
Before long, Siern made a dumbfounded sound. She had already held a funeral for Aiseline in her mind.
However, as for Aiseline, she was still fiddling with her fingertips as if awkward, and was glancing at Siern’s face out of the corner of her eye.
It seemed she was feeling quite embarrassed.
There was something one should never do in front of a person who was expressing their condolences with all their heart.
That was resurrection.