A Stoic (2)
…Yeah. Live long enough and you really do hear every kind of offer under the sun.
The first thing I felt when the Demon King’s army tried to recruit me was, naturally, pure bewilderment. I had never once imagined the hero would extend such a hand. After clearing over nine hundred runs, this was a first. Then again, almost nothing had stayed the same since I fell into this world, so I suppose something like this was bound to happen eventually. These weren’t NPCs stitched together from zeros and ones; they were living, breathing people.
I meant to refuse, of course. The offer wasn’t even worth hearing. It was nonsense. I tried to shake my head and brush it aside.
“…….”
But for some reason my mouth wouldn’t move. Then a single ugly question rose in my mind.
…That’s right. Why the hell am I doing this shit while listening to all their garbage?
—Damn it, what a scumbag.
—Why the hell was someone like that chosen as the hero?
—The continent’s finished.
Even now, if I listened carefully I could hear the same old slanders echoing inside my skull. They weren’t illusions. Every single phrase was something I had heard before. This was my reality. This was my place in the world. Yet here I was, swinging my sword for the very people who cursed me.
“If you join the Demon King’s army, you won’t need to worry about any curses. Since it’s a curse tied to the goddess, it holds little power over us who stand against her. Even if it does affect you, I’ll explain everything on your behalf.”
His words were sickeningly sweet. At the very least, if I entered the Demon King’s army I wouldn’t have to endure any more pointless stress. This rotten world—I could tear it down and rebuild it however I liked. It was obvious my treatment would improve dramatically.
After thinking for a long time, I eventually shook my head.
“…I refuse.”
“What?”
My refusal made him tilt his head. The look on his face said he genuinely hadn’t expected rejection.
“I don’t understand. Why throw away such a golden opportunity?”
Right. Why had I refused? Even I wasn’t entirely sure, but I still gave him an answer.
“I’m human. I don’t want to live among monsters.”
“Ha, that’s your reason? Then tell me—do you honestly believe you can communicate properly with the humans if you stay on their side?”
“…….”
“From where I stand, humans and monsters aren’t so different. Plenty of beings in our army can hold a conversation. Even those who can’t, we don’t blindly antagonize. Are you worried about appearances? Don’t be. Our forces have no shortage of humanoid monsters. The succubi can attend to your personal entertainment as well.”
“…You really do talk too much.”
I lifted the holy sword.
“I’m the hero. You’re the Demon King’s army. What more reason do we need to fight? So shut your mouth and come at me, you bastard.”
“…You will regret that choice.”
Apparently he had finally decided to get serious. The moment his mouth closed, he began drawing another magic circle. It was the same black sigil as before. He was trying to use the corpses as sacrificial offerings again.
“Can’t let you do that.”
Of course I wasn’t going to stand by like an idiot. Blood lay thick across the floor—my blood and the monsters’ mixed together. I poured mana into it at once and activated a spell.
Blood Power Substitution
Property: Fire
Whoosh!
The blood-soaked ground turned into a sea of flames in an instant. The roaring fire began devouring the corpses. By destroying the offering materials in advance, I made sure he couldn’t complete the ritual.
“…Hm.”
He let out a displeased groan.
The battle continued in the same pattern. Monsters charged without end. I kept cutting them down. The occasional black magic flying my way was irritating, but still bearable. Perhaps because I had blocked the sacrifice, he needed time to prepare any large-scale spells.
“Haa… Haa…”
Before long the underground waterway echoed with nothing but my ragged breathing. No matter how many I cut down, the horde showed no sign of thinning.
‘Are they seriously respawning somewhere…?’
Nothing was ever easy. The voices in my head kept playing on repeat, making my skull throb. My shortness of breath wasn’t just from physical exhaustion. The curse of exhaustion he had layered on me was taking its toll.
I glared at him.
‘As expected, he’s the biggest pain.’
If I didn’t take him out first, I would be the one who dried up and died. The problem was how to reach him. As I’d already noted, he was surrounded by a swarm of monsters. To get to him, I first had to carve a path through them.
It already felt like a suicidal charge, but… what choice did I have?
I sprinted toward him.
That was when it happened.
WARNING! WARNING!
A variable has occurred in the scenario!
The same disgusting alarm that always rang out whenever things went wrong. This time it had come at the worst possible moment. I couldn’t help but panic. Damn it, right now? When my head was already splitting?
When I looked at him, black “mist” was pouring from his entire body. An effect only one person in this world possessed—the power of the Demon King.
“I didn’t expect you to force him to use the power granted by that person so soon. I commend your skill.”
With a grave expression he began casting. Sinister energy surged from his hand, even more ominous than when he had drawn power from the sacrifice. Once the spell was complete, he hurled it at me.
I tried to block, but it was curse-type magic again. I couldn’t stop it.
Immediately afterward—
“Kuaaaaagh…!!”
Excruciating pain crushed my mind. It felt like my head would explode! The noise that had been ringing nonstop grew dozens of times louder than before!
“Did you know? That curse stacks. If you’re going to force someone to hear unpleasant things, isn’t it more effective to repeat them hundreds or thousands of times? In the old days I drove quite a few people insane with it.”
He laughed heartily.
“As an extra gift, I added something to make you a little more honest. It’s called the Whisper of Desire.”
Just as he said, amid the torrent of slander I began hearing what sounded like my own voice.
—I want to stop.
—I’m so tired.
—Does any of this even matter?
They were thoughts I had unconsciously entertained at some point. Even inside my fracturing mind they rang out with unnatural clarity.
Slash!
Yet the monsters kept charging. I felt like I was going crazy.
“What a dark inner landscape. Is it the curse? You look utterly exhausted.”
After I had writhed in agony for some time, he spoke again. Apparently he could hear the voices inside me too.
“Nothing but dark, negative emotions. Truly pitiful.”
“Kh… Just shut your mouth. Please.”
“Do you know what the most vicious aspect of the relationship curse is?”
He looked straight at me.
“That you often clash with people? That cooperation is impossible? That misunderstandings pile up? No. Those are merely side effects. The real problem is that it feels so unbearably unfair and infuriating.”
He continued.
“Stress. It seems trivial, yet it is an incredibly effective tool for killing people. Too many overlook the power of this weapon. In truth, stress has killed as many lives as the Demon King’s army itself.”
By now his eyes held pity. He wasn’t looking at an enemy; he was looking at a child abandoned by the roadside.
“I advise you one last time. Join the Demon King’s army. This is not for our sake—it is for yours. If you accept, I will silence those noisy voices ringing in your head.”
The second offer. This time it was incomparably sweeter than before. If nothing else, accepting would let me escape these damned voices. And just as he said… I was already exhausted beyond measure.
The entire world was my enemy. Everywhere I went, hostility awaited. Forming bonds with people was unthinkable. Sometimes—very rarely—when the realization that everyone hated me hit with vivid force, my nose would sting and my throat would tighten regardless of reason.
As he said, giving up might make things easier.
Yet strangely, different words left my mouth.
“No… I won’t.”
Why? Even I didn’t know. Why I was refusing. Why I kept fighting while clutching my fracturing skull. I didn’t understand it myself.
It seemed he didn’t understand either.
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
I raised the holy sword. Monsters still filled my path. My plan hadn’t changed. Break through them and cut him down.
Even then his voice continued.
“Is there any value in that? No, there isn’t. Why insist on walking a path covered only in thorns?”
Strangely, my vision blurred. In other words, I was crying. Whether from pain or because part of me agreed with him, I couldn’t tell.
“There will be no glory on the path you walk.”
I know.
“There will be no honor either.”
I know that too.
“Even if, by some miracle, you defeat the Demon King, the future that follows is obvious. You will die alone. No one may acknowledge your efforts. In the end, only emptiness awaits.”
“I know.”
Tears pooled in my eyes. I knew every word. Even if the goddess spared my life, the achievements of hero Luke might be disparaged and erased. It was uncertain whether I could even reach the Demon King in the first place.
Rationally, my choice was foolish.
But.
“But fuck it… I still have to save the people first.”
Someone had to wear the filth. It just happened to be me. It was unfair and infuriating, just as he said, but if I ran away now there would be no one left to take responsibility. Even if they tore me apart with their harsh words, there were still landscapes I wanted to protect.
The cheerful voices of children walking down the street. The bright smiles of people on flower-lined paths. The many pleasant words that rang out vibrantly in places where I didn’t exist.
Even in this rotten world, happiness bloomed everywhere. Even if I could never taste it myself, it was worth protecting.
So I cut.
Slash! Slash!
I sliced and stabbed the oncoming monsters, advancing one bloody step at a time.
He muttered in an admiring tone.
“You truly are a stoic. In more ways than one…”
“Just an idiot. A stubborn fool.”
After fighting for what felt like forever, I sensed the time had come. The pain I had accumulated inside me was begging to be released.
I thrust my right hand forward and cast the spell I trusted most.
Pain Memory — Activated
In that instant, everything before me was shredded apart.