9
Chapter 9
'Filthy.'
It's been a while.
Since I last felt this disgust toward humans.
It's been nearly a hundred days since I entered Tartarus. The only humans I've encountered in that time are the Saint, Kelth, and the Holy Emperor.
That's why I had forgotten for a moment.
'The stench is absolutely foul. I love humans like this.'
Just how horribly hypocritical, disgustingly fake, and hideously malicious humans can be.
That is why I like humans. Noble elves, arrogant dragons, greedy dwarves—everyone has their own flaws and shortcomings, but none are quite like humans.
"Ugh...!"
The Cowardly Hero, Frey de Siegfried.
She is the most 'human' of all the heroes in history.
She fears those stronger than her, and she envies and feels jealous of comrades with superior abilities. She feels a petty sense of superiority over those beneath her. Truly, she is 'human.'
She is different from the demons, who treat evil as a virtue. Because she refuses to admit that she herself is evil.
"I suppose it's a bit hard to make a decision on a whim, isn't it?"
"Fuck."
"Wow, you've stopped acting with that annoying voice? You don't care if you get caught or not, huh?"
"Shut up. My patience has a limit."
The Hero lowered Excalibur and muttered in a low voice. The various negative emotions embedded in that sincere tone were by no means impulsive. They were mixed with a deep-seated grudge that had accumulated for at least several years.
"Phew... Maria."
"Yes, Hero."
"Do you know why you're destined to be executed in the Empire's Square for all to see?"
"Because I committed a crime."
"No, it's because of me. I asked the Demon King for this."
Huh?
"The reason I came for a visitation today was for that day."
"Is that so."
"I wanted to see your face when you realize that the friend you trusted most—the friend who even came to apologize—had betrayed you twice right before your death. A face overflowing with despair, hatred, contempt, and disillusionment, being vainly severed by the guillotine... I wanted to see that side of you, Maria."
Holy shit, this Hero is a bigger lunatic than I thought.
No wonder the continent is going to hell with a piece of trash like this serving as 'hope.' I'm truly curious about what the Sun God was thinking when he made this bitch the Hero.
"Did I do something wrong to you during our journey, Hero?"
"No, you were perfect. You were kinder and shone brighter than anyone."
"Then why do you harbor such deep hatred for me?"
"Do you know, Maria?"
The Hero's golden eyes grew sadly damp. The blond girl's eyes wavered, filled with long-held resentment.
"When the light is too bright, the surrounding shadows are revealed all too vividly."
"...."
"We first met at Eden Academy. Though we were from different countries, you, the Saint of the Sun, and I, the Hero of the Sun, became close faster than anyone."
"We did."
"In every field we studied there... you never missed first place. Every semester, every year, and eventually until graduation, you always took the top spot. It was as if God had ordained it to be so."
"I simply did my best."
"Maria, do you know the heart of someone in second place, who can never surpass the first?"
Before I knew it, the Hero's Excalibur had been quietly returned to its scabbard. The Hero continued, detailing her point by point.
"The feeling of facing a wall that cannot be scaled, even when studying at a desk without sleep until my eyes bled. Do you know how it feels to face a bitch who memorizes everything, whether it's mathematics, literature, or alchemy, with just a single glance?"
"I do not."
"Right, you wouldn't. That's only natural. Because Maria was always first."
Before I knew it, the Hero was talking to the Saint, completely excluding my existence. I simply listened, finding the sweet mixture of lowliness and inferiority seeping from her words truly delicious.
"But you know what's even more absurd?"
"What is it?"
"When I realized that a genius with such ridiculous talent also puts in more effort than anyone else."
"...."
"When I saw an insurmountable talent building a wall of effort that I couldn't even hope to climb. I found it so absurd back then...?"
The Hero's tone grew slightly agitated. The waves of emotion, which had been held back by a breakwater, slowly approached like a tsunami.
"It's unfair... If a genius among geniuses like you puts in effort that others can't even dream of... then what the hell is everyone else supposed to do...?"
The tsunami approached faster than expected. In an instant, unconsciously, suddenly—boom!
"How am I supposed to catch up to you!! Tell me!!"
Once a dam breaks, it can never be filled again. The torrent that explodes after accumulating simply will not stop.
"I even tried cheating!! I tried copying!! I even paid off the professor to get the exam papers in advance!!"
In that moment, I felt a deep sense of crisis from the Hero. This was despite the fact that she held neither Excalibur nor any weapon in her hands. A madness and bloodlust greater than before erupted from every single word she spoke.
"That was the first time I ever got a perfect score... For a moment, I actually beat Maria and took first place. But then Maria found a flaw that even the professor didn't know about...? In the end, the answer sheet I got from that damn professor turned out to be wrong! And you became first place again!!"
"...."
"Maria, Maria, Maria! What on earth do you want from me!! How am I supposed to surpass you!! Even when we formed a party and defeated the Demon Army! You acted all noble and kind, all by yourself! Even when the Military Nation's Armored Division was isolated in the middle of the Demon Army! You were the only one who couldn't give up on people we were obviously supposed to abandon! Even though everyone else was against it!!"
"I was taught that there is no such thing as a natural sacrifice in this world."
"There is! That's how everyone lives! You throw away what needs to be thrown away! You save who can be saved! Every Hero Party in history has done the same! But... do you know what's truly sad...?"
"What is it?"
"That you, who went into the Demon Army alone, somehow achieved a legendary feat and led the Armored Division to safety...! If you succeed like that! What does that make me, the one who said we should abandon them! I simply made a rational decision!! Yet everyone calls me trash and points their fingers at me!!"
I've heard of this before.
That Hero Frey was the weakest of all heroes, and Saint Maria was the strongest of all saints.
A life where the Hero, who should rightly stand as the first-in-command, is blocked by a genius Saint and collapses at the wall of being the second-in-command.
The Hero had endured this for years.
"...Honestly, I'm so happy right now."
"You are?"
"Yeah, because you failed. For the first time. You lost to the Demon Army and were destined for the guillotine. Even though I know the continent will be plunged into deep darkness, I'm just so, so happy that you finally failed. I know a Hero shouldn't feel this way, but who cares? I threw away the title of Hero a long time ago anyway."
Though she bore the grandiose title of the Hero of the Sun, in truth, the Hero's heart had been rotting away.
What was even more tragic was the fact that the Saint was always by her side.
Because she was blindingly bright, the Saint unintentionally dragged every single sin surrounding her into the light. Unless they were someone who aspired to evil like me, those around the Saint were forced to confront their own inner natures.
And they became aware of their own hideous side. While they wouldn't have cared about such ugliness among ordinary people, since everyone is moderately evil, they felt it acutely while spending time with the Saint, who was composed of pure white goodness.
What followed was a bleak sense of self-loathing. Along with that, one cannot forget the cold gazes and cruel evaluations of those around them, who constantly compared the Hero to the Saint.
That was how the Hero walked the path of corruption.
"...This is just too good."
"Mr. Demon?"
"Joker?"
"Oh, nothing. Keep talking. I was just talking to myself."
My inner thoughts had accidentally slipped out of my mouth. Fortunately, neither of them paid much attention to me.
The Hero was too busy pouring out her grievances and feelings to the Saint.
To actually corrupt people by acting good—what a novel idea.
If I have a next life, I think I'd like to try using that once. Of course, it's a vain delusion, but just imagining it is quite enjoyable.
The kind of devilish temptation you'd find in a Demon Realm textbook? Dragging people into a pit of corruption through a gutter-like life?
Wouldn't this be far more interesting than those clichéd, old-fashioned methods?
Seeing them struggle with self-loathing as they reflect on their own ugliness, eventually accepting corruption and transcending self-hatred to collaborate with demons.
"Ah, I really can't stand it anymore. Just being in the same space as you for a single second makes me suffocate."
"Hero."
"Don't open your mouth. That... crystal clear voice of yours, no matter how tired or cracked it sounds, only reaches my ears as the howling of an evil spirit."
"...."
"You'll never understand me, Maria, but that's just who you are. Someone who turns natural normality into unsightly ugliness. I wish you would disappear from this world forever."
"You are in deep agony."
"Fuck, I've reached the point where I hate the Sun God. Why did he create a Saint like Maria during my time as the Hero? If it wasn't for you, I would have fought the Demon King until the end and died a glorious death."
Ah, I don't quite like that part.
If you've already succumbed to evil, you should embrace it fully. Why still cling to the idea of goodness?
"Hero? Blaming the Saint is all well and good, but why not stop using it as self-justification?"
And so, I cut in. Since the Hero had calmed down completely, she wouldn't be easily agitated again.
"Joker, what do you mean by that?"
The Hero responded sharply. Toward her, I let my lips curl into a sly smile.
"The reason you succumbed to the Demon King was purely because you're a coward. You didn't have enough justice in you to risk your life resisting him. So, don't give me this 'if only the Saint wasn't here' bullshit. Stop blaming others."
"...! What do you know about it!"
"The heart of a second-in-command pushed aside by the first? That's my specialty."
"Ha, are you just babbling because your life is about to end?"
"No, no, I'm serious. I'm exactly like you. The only difference is that you had the Saint, and I had the Demon King."
"What...?"
The Hero's demeanor shifted instantly. Hearing my words, she suddenly remembered who I was.
The second-in-command of the Demon Army, Joker. In other words, a man who had spent his entire life overshadowed by the first-in-command, the Demon King.
"Earlier, you asked the Saint what a genius is supposed to do when they put in effort too, right?"
"...I did."
"Do you know how it feels to feel a wall against a genius who doesn't even have to try?"
"...!"
A great monster so powerful from birth that effort was a luxury. The world designated him the sovereign of demons and called him the Demon King.
"Heh, but there is a fundamental difference between us."
"What is that?"
"You envied the Saint, while I revered the Demon King."
"Urgh...! That... that's...!"
"Do you know why? The reason why some people are purely happy when their comrades grow stronger, while others feel jealousy and inferiority."
Her golden eyes, shining brilliantly even in the darkness, wavered like a tide. Golden eyes that possessed a wretchedly corrupted interior, contrary to their bright appearance.
"It's because your very essence is hideous."
"Wh-what?"
"If a comrade does well, you should naturally congratulate them. Even to a demon like me, that's basic common sense. Our great Hero actually possesses an essence more corrupted than even a demon like me, doesn't she?"
"Wh-wh-what...!"
"If you were truly a true Hero, you would have resisted the Demon King until the end, regardless of how well the Saint was doing.
Isn't that what a Hero is? Or did the definition of the word 'Hero' change while I wasn't looking?
Protecting only true justice without ever falling into corruption—wasn't that what a Hero was?"
"...!"
Everything I am throwing at the Hero right now is a sophistry.
Fundamentally, my goals were different from the Hero's. To me, the Demon King was merely a means.
A tool to bring chaos to the world. Therefore, the fact that the Demon King was strong was an absolute advantage for me.
But to the Hero, the Saint was a rival. What human wouldn't feel envy when a rival surges overwhelmingly ahead of them? Unless it was Saint Maria over there—.
This is a fallacy that could be easily dismantled by recalling this simple fact, but unfortunately, our Hero doesn't have the mental presence for that.
What kind of mental strength could possibly remain in someone who just finished a confession of self-loathing?
I simply suppressed her attempts to build a defense mechanism to look away from that self-loathing. All so she could fall completely into corruption.
Now, the rest is up to the Hero. Whether she sinks deeper into the swamp of self-reproach or continues to live as she is, blaming others.
"Please stop, Mr. Joker."
"Heh."
"Hero, please ignore his words. Everyone makes mistakes. What matters is the future."
"Aw, Saint. Why are you like this? I'm giving her a wonderful bit of revenge through words right now."
"I forgive you, Hero. So, please humbly accept your past mistakes and move toward the light. That is the only true atonement and judgment."
Or, she could repent and reflect as the Saint suggests. Though that's the kind of thing I hate the most.
"...I'm leaving. Maria, die well."
After spitting those words out, the Hero turned around without strength. Her retreating figure, looking somehow relieved, shimmered faintly in the deep darkness.
"Hero."
The Saint called out softly, stopping the Hero.
"What."
The Hero answered briefly without looking back. As if she didn't even want to exchange another word.
"Everyone makes mistakes. Please don't forget that."
"...."
With those final words from the Saint, the Hero trudged away and left Tartarus. With Excalibur, now quiet, strapped to her waist.
The creaking sound of the iron door decorated the Hero's exit.
Staring blankly at her disappearing back, I casually made a suggestion to the Saint.
"Hey, Saint. Want to make a wager?"
"A wager?"
"Yeah, let's bet on whether that pathetic Hero chooses evil or good."
"...I believe in the Hero."
"Heh."
I let out a mean little chuckle. Perhaps hearing that, the Saint approached me and spoke as if annoyed.
"What on earth were you thinking when you stepped in earlier?"
"Hmm? What are you talking about?"
"What if the Hero had suddenly gone berserk? It's lucky she didn't cross the line, otherwise, it could have been a disaster."
At a glance, it sounded like she was angry, but the emotion contained in her words was nothing other than 'worry.'
"I stepped in twice, which one are you talking about?"
"The first time. Did you think I didn't know the Hero was acting?"
"Oh, what? You knew all along? Then don't tell me the Saint was wearing a mask too?"
"...If I had been alone, I would have reminded the Hero of her faults, but you were by her side. It could have become dangerous."
"Bwahahaha! You knew everything! I didn't see that coming!"
"Sigh... you have absolutely no sense of caution."
Ah, was that the 'strange emotion' the Saint had been hiding?
It wasn't resentment toward the Hero's betrayal. She had played dumb despite knowing the truth, just to protect me.
Well, it's all in the past now.
"Still."
The Saint lowered her head slightly, her lips fluttering. As if her anger had vanished, her usual benevolent smile was perched on her small lips.
"The way you summoned the courage to step in was actually quite wonderful."
"Ahem."
What is this? It wasn't even a grand compliment, yet the corners of my mouth are twitching upward.
"I never thought I'd live to see the day I got a compliment from the Saint."
Since the Saint can't see my face anyway, I might as well smile my heart out while I'm not hugging her.