Chapter 5
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Whirling Fate (1)
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I wandered through countless memories for a long time.
Bound by soul and memory, forced to repeat life and death, not a single one of those lives had been happy.
No matter how I was born and raised, I always ended up back at the Demon Emperor's side. It was made that way.
By Demon Emperor Berkis's side, I killed people for him and gathered souls.
As I fattened him up and made him stronger, in the end, I died by his hand.
And then I was reborn, remembering nothing, to return to the Demon Emperor's side once more.
But Liberic, this young boy, was the first to receive overflowing love.
I don't want it to end like this.
I've finally broken free from that yoke.
I've finally seized a chance to live properly.
I can't die at such a young age...
Cough.
I let out a small cough and opened my eyes. My throat burned, and my whole body throbbed.
I could sense the murmurings around me. The familiar ceiling overhead swayed.
Many people surrounded me, but my vision was blurry, so I couldn't see them clearly.
A warm fingertip touched my cheek. That soft touch and scent were familiar.
"M-Mother...?"
"Lib, Lib."
A warm sensation pressed against my forehead.
The drops of water falling one after another atop it were Mother's tears. I could feel her sorrow and pain as if it were my own.
I coughed a few more times, and the final one felt like it was tearing my heart apart.
The smell of blood began to fill the air again.
As my breath grew labored and my mind started to fade, a large hand covered my forehead. Soft yet powerful mana spread from the palm, pushing my consciousness away.
I lost consciousness again.
I had no idea how much time had passed, but when I next opened my eyes, my awareness returned far more steadily than before.
The stuffiness on my left shoulder and chest made me shift my body, and I slowly exhaled as I opened my eyes.
Darkness had fallen outside the window. It was the same view I always saw.
I was in my bed, in my room.
"...Lib?"
I slowly turned my gaze to Mother, who had been holding my hand the whole time.
She looked exhausted and sorrowful. But the moment our eyes met, life bloomed across her face.
Tears began to fall from those green eyes.
"Lib, thank goodness. Really..."
Mother gripped my hand tighter.
I didn't know what to say. It was the first time I'd seen her so disheveled.
Mother held back her tears and smiled at me.
"I need to call your father. And the doctor, and Mr. Klaus too... Amara!"
"Yes, Madam."
Madam Amara's voice came from not far away.
Mother instructed her to fetch everyone, and Madam Amara replied with a choked sob before hurrying off.
Mother clutched my hand tightly, stroking my forehead, cheek, and arm.
"Lib, does anything hurt badly? Are you okay?"
"Yes..."
Cough.
Even those few words made my parched throat cough.
Mother startled.
"Ah, right. Water. I'll get you some water."
Thankfully, the cough didn't worsen, and it wasn't as painful as before.
After taking a sip of the water Mother hurriedly brought, I felt much better.
"Lib!"
The door burst open, and Father led a rush of people into the room.
Father's face was filled with immense relief as he hurried to my side. He took my hand and brushed back my sweat-damp hair.
"It's really a relief. You have no idea how worried we were..."
"I'm sorry..."
I could tell how much my parents had worried just from Mother's appearance.
My heart ached for them.
Father patted my back soothingly.
"No, no. It's not your fault. It's those wicked demons' fault. I don't know how they dragged you out, but it's okay now. We've dealt with it."
"I'm sorry..."
Repeating the same words, my eyes grew hot.
I couldn't make sense of why this had happened.
"Selena... she did it. I thought she was my friend, thought she was human, but she wasn't. I'd been mistaken all this time..."
Words spilled out amid my confusion and shock.
Each time I spoke, my breath ran short, and my chest tightened.
"We met and played every day. So when she suggested going to the back garden, I thought it would be fine, of course."
Not just Father and Mother, but everyone in the room froze in shock, not even breathing.
Tears streamed down my face.
Even as suffocating pressure built in my chest, I couldn't stop talking.
"I should have told someone. That Selena was strange, how I never realized... I'm sorry... I'm sorry for worrying you."
"Lib, it's okay."
Father pulled me into a tight embrace.
I heard the heavy thud of his heartbeat. Listening to it gradually calmed my mind.
Father quietly asked from above my head.
"Selena, the friend you mentioned? Could you tell us what happened, from the beginning?"
I nodded, rubbing my stinging, tear-filled eyes.
Mother wiped my face with a cloth and handed me more water. I took another sip.
In the meantime, everyone waited with grave expressions. Luwen Klaus and Erner Belliuud, who had entered the room, Madam Amara, and even the village doctor were the same.
With my mind somewhat settled, I began to speak.
"Selena came to the study to play. We always read books together there. But she said the training noises outside were too loud, so she suggested going to the back garden. It's quiet there...
She led the way through the side door we always used."
"The side door was open?"
Mother turned to Madam Amara in surprise.
"Amara? What happened?"
Madam Amara's face went deathly pale under everyone's stares.
She looked ready to faint, the tray with the teapot trembling in her hands.
Madam Amara barely managed to speak.
"Th-that can't be. The side door by the kitchen is old and doesn't open easily. It's always locked..."
"Selena opened the door."
I was just as shocked.
Selena had opened it naturally, without a hint of worry, as if it had never been locked even once.
"Y-Young Master... How old was that Selena girl? What did she look like?"
Only then did I remember that Selena had called herself Madam Amara's daughter.
"...Eight years old. Auburn hair, blue eyes."
Crash.
Madam Amara finally dropped the tray and teapot.
Mother rushed over and supported the staggering woman. Madam Amara shook pitifully, shaking her head.
"This, this can't be. Madam, Young Master, that child died young... She was only one year old."
Madam Amara began to sob.
Neither I nor Mother could find words.
My vision spun.
When was the first time I met Selena?
It was from a childhood I could barely remember. From before I could even speak, Selena had grown up with me.
My one and only peer friend—we'd shared so many stories.
I could no longer picture Selena's bright smile.
In its place loomed the demon's form, clutching my shoulder until it bled, baring its terrifying fangs.
As I trembled and clutched Father's clothes, he held me tight.
"...Lib. How long have you known that Selena girl?"
Luwen, standing by the window, asked. His face was gravely set.
"Since I was very young... We played together almost every day."
"How did no one notice? That Lib was playing with a dead girl all this time?"
Father spoke angrily, and Luwen sighed, running a hand over his forehead.
"It seems that demon put quite some effort into your son, Jayden."
"What do you mean?"
"To get close to Lib, it absorbed the soul of the dead girl 'Selena' and pretended to be her friend for years... Right up until today."
I couldn't understand what he was saying. Neither could the others in the room, it seemed.
"Not only transformation abilities, but its perception interference was strong too. It disrupted others' awareness, so normal people couldn't properly notice its presence."
"No way..."
Mother's voice trembled. Luwen clicked his tongue and frowned.
"It's one of the survival skills demons use to hide among humans. But I've never seen one evade people's eyes for years like this."
Come to think of it, I'd never seen Selena with other people.
That fact only hit me now.
A few days ago, when Shuren burst into the study with news of Father's return, Selena suddenly remembered an errand and left.
I'd never once seen her crossing the garden back home.
"Why Lib of all people?"
Father hugged me even tighter, protectively.
Luwen stared at me intently. The mage's gaze was deep and sharp, as if peering into my mind.
"As you saw, that demon grew at an astonishing rate right after revealing itself. That's..."
"Because of Lib?"
"...Something that only happens after a tragedy like a village being wiped out. A few drops of a young boy's blood wouldn't do it. You know that."
Father gripped my shoulder hard instead of answering. His hand felt both hot and cold.
Luwen pressed a hand to his forehead, pained.
"Probably because we're here. After years as friends, we suddenly show up... It must have felt threatened."
Because of me, the demon grew quickly. Because of me... Swallowing my blood and mana.
My vision blurred again.
"What does that mean? Is there something wrong with Lib?"
The bewildered and shocked Mother asked Luwen.
Cough.
I wanted to hear more of Luwen's words, but my heart throbbed as if being squeezed, and I couldn't endure it.
Not wanting to worry my parents, I forced out a small cough.
Then a stinging pain surged from the wounds on my chest and shoulder.
"...Hold on a moment. I need to check the Young Master's condition."
The doctor, who had been quietly observing, stepped forward, and the startled Father properly laid me back in bed.
I tried to say I was fine, but my body had no strength.
The doctor unwound the bandages on my shoulder and carefully examined the wound.
I couldn't even hold my head up. Fever rose, and every breath brought the thick scent of blood.
Bleeding had started again somewhere.
Whether from my chest or shoulder, my whole body burned, and I couldn't tell the wounds' state.
But one thing was clear: Father and Mother clutching my right hand tightly.
From that grip, their desperate feelings reached me.