33 - Click, the Door Locked
A click, and the door locked. An unfamiliar ceiling.
"......"
I blinked, and my blurry vision slowly cleared. And the first thing to fill my sight was a familiar, dearly missed face.
"......Evan?"
Her voice trembled faintly.
"Evan!! Are you coming to? Do you recognize me?"
"Ugh... Piarot... where is..."
My mouth was parched, my voice cracking. My body felt like a lead weight.
"It's the infirmary. At the Northern Outpost Base. You've been out for a full three days."
"Ah... three whole days."
How much had she cried? The skin around her eyes was puffy and red.
Piarot gripped my hand tightly with both of hers and shouted.
"Evan!! You liar!!"
"......Liar?"
"You promised me you'd put your own life first!!"
"Ah... sorry."
"I thought something had happened to you... I really thought you were going to die like that. Sob sob..."
Finally, the tears she'd been holding back burst forth. Hot droplets splashed onto the back of my hand.
"Promise me! Promise you won't do it again!! That if it's dangerous, you'll abandon me and run!!"
She clung to me, screaming like a demon. But I didn't look away from her eyes. Instead, I slowly shook my head.
"Sorry, Piarot. I don't think I can keep that promise."
"What?"
"From now on, I'll be putting your life first."
"Why!!"
She screamed, as if she couldn't comprehend.
"Why...? Piarot, you're doing the same thing."
"You've already sacrificed for me once. Now it's my turn."
"Now... your life is more precious to me than my own."
I spoke from the heart.
"Your life is more precious to me than mine too!!"
We butted heads like idiots, both insisting the other was more important. The world's dumbest, most heartbreaking argument.
I sighed and pulled out logic she couldn't refute.
"......Piarot. Think about it. Prioritizing your life is ultimately the best way to boost my survival odds."
"What are you talking about?"
"You have to be alive to protect me, right? So saving you was saving me. And this is the result. Me, alive."
"......"
"Can't you see it that way? That I saved you to save myself."
She bit her lip at my sophistry.
"Every time! Every time you talk like that! With your pretty words that just weaken my resolve...!"
"Haha... sorry. And thanks for worrying about me."
I laboriously lifted my hand and gently stroked her disheveled hair.
"I'm okay now. See? I didn't die. I'm right here by your side."
"Waaah!"
Finally, she buried her face in my chest and sobbed like a child. I silently patted her back until she calmed.
Her shoulders stopped shaking, her breathing steadied. Only then could I release the tension I'd been holding.
"Phew..."
But the relief didn't last. The moment I relaxed, pain like anesthesia wearing off slammed into my brain.
"Ugh..."
Swish. I pulled up my patient gown. In place of the gruesome hole that had pierced my gut, only a small red scar remained.
"The treatment... how?"
"We kept pressure on it the whole way here... and the moment we arrived at base, high priests cast healing spells. They said the wound is fully closed. But the shock from blood loss kept you unconscious..."
"I see."
I let out a sigh of relief. That wound—stabbed through with a sword, guts stirred like jjajangmyeon. Ah, I want jjajangmyeon. Anyway, surviving was a miracle. Fantasy world's magic is the best.
"Sera? What happened to that demon?"
At my question, Piarot paused mid-wipe of her tears. She silently stood, went to the infirmary door, and clicked the lock.
Then she whispered, voice low.
"Sera... is heading back to the Argent family estate soon."
"What? The estate?"
I couldn't believe my ears.
"That doesn't make sense. We confirmed she's a demon."
"Yeah. But even as a demon, her appearance didn't change. To everyone else, she's a perfect human. And she's cooperating now, pretending to be human obediently."
Demons are usually easy to spot. No, impossible to mistake. Anything corrupted by demonic energy loses its color, skin tone shifting. Humans too—their skin changes first. Horns sprout, eyes turn red, forms twisting grotesquely.
In short, one look and you know: "Yup, demon."
But Sera Argent was different. Porcelain skin, clear eyes, saintly aura. Incredibly, she'd become a demon while retaining her human beauty intact.
No, that doesn't explain it.
"And you're just letting her go? Not handing her to Imperial Intelligence?"
"Right now... Intelligence is investigating. She'll be released soon."
It made no sense. Sending home a walking time bomb of a demon—the killer of her comrades? No matter how powerful the family, Lina wouldn't stand for it.
"How is that possible? Lina agreed? She wanted Sera dead."
"......"
Piarot fell silent. Her gaze dropped to the floor, avoiding mine.
"Piarot?"
"......Lina's dead."
"What?? "
My heart plummeted.
"Wait... what happened? Why Lina? All threats were gone. Saintess neutralized, no monsters or beasts left."
Something off in Piarot's expression.
"Did another gate open en route?"
"No..."
Piarot bowed her head gloomily, black hair hiding her face.
"Ambushed by hidden beasts. While I was tending to you..."
A lie. Her voice didn't tremble, but her hand gripping mine grew ice cold.
The site where we collapsed was already cleared forest. Hans wouldn't miss anything. Right—no beasts.
"......"
I propped myself up on the bed and stared straight into her eyes.
"Piarot... tell me the truth."
"That's the truth."
"Piarot. You know it doesn't add up."
"......"
"Please... it's us. I can tell just from your face. You're lying."
Her shoulders quivered faintly at my pressing. She bit her lip and shook her head.
"No. Sorry."
"What happened?"
No way. No way, right?
But a dark premonition flashed.
"I told you. Even if the whole world turns against you, I'll be on your side. If it's you, Piarot, there must be a reason. So tell me."
I soothed her as gently as possible. I needed the truth.
But she wouldn't lift her head. Her voice grew wet.
"No."
"Piarot."
"If I tell you... you'll hate me."
"......"
Heavy silence filled the room. Her refusal paradoxically confirmed my dark hunch.
Lina didn't die to beasts.
"Why? If you don't tell me... I'll assume my worst fears are true. Right?"
"......"
Piarot's head drooped. That silence was affirmation clearer than any confession.
She, who'd isolated herself to harm no one. Why would such a kind girl...!!
I closed my eyes briefly, thinking. Should I condemn her? Call her a murderer? No, I have no right.
Whatever blood stained her hands, it was ultimately for me.
"That you're here safe by my side... means everything went according to plan."
"......"
"Yeah, our Piarot. Way smarter and stronger than I gave you credit for. Guess I treated you like a kid. Sorry."
"Ah..."
Her shoulders twitched.
Lina, sorry.
But Piarot can't bear that sin alone. We have... a mission to save this mad world.
No returning to the warm, ticklish past. Killing crosses a line.
And those who cross can never return.
I'll never let go of her hand. So I must cross too.
We head the same way, together. Even if it's hell.
Now, my turn.
"The one hiding the truth isn't you, Piarot. It's me."
I gripped her trembling hand tight.
"So... let me start with my story. Got time?"
"Yeah. Plenty."
"Don't freak out. The world's end... is two and a half years away."
"......"
Her eyes widened. But I pressed on.
"No joke. This is huge, so listen close."
Her face hardened. I took a deep breath and opened Pandora's box.
My countless regressions, repeated deaths, the horrors to come. All of it a journey to kill the Demon King.
"The day second-years graduate, the fully formed Demon King crosses via gate... and wipes the surface clean."
"......"
"I've rewound time countless times to stop it. Never succeeded."
Her face paled, but she listened to the end.
"Two ways."
I held up two fingers.
"One. Before the Demon King goes berserk and powers up, we invade the demon realm, smash the base, assassinate it."
Preemptive strike. The standard, easier route.
"Two. Graduation day. All-out war with the 'complete Demon King' that crosses the gate. Life-or-death."
This... only for special parties of 1v1 duelists. Win rate under 0.1%. Conclusion from guides and 100 loops' data.
But I don't want that.
I clenched my fist. Nails dug into skin.
I love her. She's all in my heart. No eyes for other girls, no hand-holding... no naughty stuff!
But to save the world? No, honestly. Now Piarot matters more than the world.
But she lives in this world. Fail to stop the Demon King, she dies.
To save her, I need other heroines. Bond with them, activate Resonance, boost power.
I cheat because I love you.
Not even "we break up because I love you." What bullshit.
Absurd contradiction. My life, one big dilemma.
As I hung my head with a rotten smile, Piarot gently took my hand.
"Evan..."
"......Yeah?"
"So... that's why you need that power? The 'Resonance' you used on me."
She was sharp. Knew my intent without my lame "build a harem" excuse.
"......No choice. Only way."
"Then do it."
"What?"
I snapped my head up. She smiled sadly, but firmly.
"Even if... you end up with other girls, I'll be okay."
"What are you saying? You won't be! I won't be! I only want you..."
"I told you. You can buff those you have affinity with. If that saves the world—no, us... do it."
She squeezed my hand. Her fingertips, shoulders trembled faintly.
She can't be okay. Her, so jealous and possessive, sharing me? No way.
She's enduring flesh-tearing pain. Allowing it only for me.
A thought flashed.
"That's why... you killed her. Lina."
"Yeah. Sera's essential for us. Lina would've blocked it."
"How long have you known? Before I even said."
"Memories..."
"Memories?"
"I felt it. The energy. Something you'd desperately planned for ages. Vivid, like my own experiences."
"Just a feeling?"
"Yeah. Confirmed when you spared Sera instead of killing her. Knew she'd be your key long-term piece."
"......"
Chills. She knew nothing of my regressions, Demon King,. Just that I spared demon Sera.
Ah, this girl is necessary for Evan. Instinct.
Eliminated obstacle Lina without hesitation.
Devotion, blind love. She'd become the monster first, waiting for me.