I Am Jemma
I am Jemma. 37.
I am Jemma. Haze was incredibly cheeky, yet at the same time quite serious, possessing a truly bizarre personality. Having never encountered such a being before, I found myself in a rather awkward state of mind. Nevertheless, as we traversed this barren wilderness, the demon who chattered nonstop all day long eventually made me let out a small “...ugh...” Once, my ears ached so badly that I squeezed my eyes shut and slowed my steps for a moment. But “Huh? What’s wrong? Are you hurt somewhere?” the fellow immediately wrapped their arms around me or pressed a hand to my forehead, never once considering that they might be the cause. It was rather unpleasant.
On top of that, I had woken up only to be swarmed by monsters and left in a daze. Just how much time had passed for the stream to run dry and the lush forest to vanish entirely? The mound of dirt that had covered me while I slept had not simply been carried by the wind; it had piled up from flooding and erosion, making it brutally heavy. Fortunately, perhaps because my original monstrous body had merged with this small human form, I did not feel nearly as frail as my delicate human body suggested. That was a relief. It seemed I had not yet forgotten.
Tap, tap—
Carrying the quiet longing that simmered deep in my chest, I followed Haze. Eventually, far in the distance, I saw it: a colossal mountain of bricks I had never laid eyes on before.
“See that? That’s the Demon King’s Castle~ Home to a ridiculously violent tyrant~!”
“T-Tyrant…?”
I had no knowledge of buildings or castles at the time, so I could not fully grasp the words. Still, I understood that some terrifying being lived there. And that same being kept…
…kept trying to reach into my mind.
I had never felt anything like it when I was with the little one.
“What’s wrong? Are you uncomfortable somewhere?”
“...No.”
Even so, I felt that if I could just meet that existence, I might learn something. The world Haze had spoken of—one where all evil had been erased and only the ones I loved remained. For some reason, the more I walked beside Haze, the more curious I became. What could love mean to this demon who never stopped talking, who seemed free of any worry or fear?
More than that, I wanted to meet the Demon King, an existence I had known nothing about during my days with the little one. I wanted to know exactly how many of my own kind I would have to devour before I could become something like that. How much more would I need to consume to protect this fragile human body?
That curiosity, however, did not grant our peaceful journey across the wasteland much time.
Just as we were walking toward the Demon King’s Castle, Haze chattering away, the ground began to shake violently from deep below.
“Ah, damn it… Why are you coming out now—”
The sudden quake threw even the ever-talkative Haze into visible panic. At the same time, I caught the thick stench of blood.
“What the… this smell…”
Rumble—
The tremors grew fiercer. Then—
BOOM—!
“Uwaa—!”
The earth suddenly split open as a gigantic centipede-like monster burst forth.
“Oh boy, if it eats both of us, that thing might actually become a demon—!?”
It was a colossal desert-worm monster that had already devoured countless of its own kind. And now it had found us, intending to use us as its final meal on the way to becoming a demon.
I panicked, trying desperately to break away and protect the little one’s body. But the creature reared its head high, countless eyes ringing its massive maw as it stared down at us. Then it lashed out with tentacles that sprouted from its body, aiming straight for me as I cautiously backed away.
Swoosh—!
“Ugh—!”
I was caught before I could even resist, dragged toward its jaws. But—
“Not really my taste, but…”
Haze clenched their right fist tightly, then swung it wide. A thick fog exploded outward in every direction.
“I don’t know how well the mist will work on that thing, but hang in there, kid—!”
Haze, who had called me “kid,” immediately charged into the fog. Thanks to the mist slowing the monster’s tentacles, they found an opening and—
CRACK—!!
—drove a powerful punch into its side with their other hand.
I hadn’t seen it with my eyes, but the scent told me everything. The giant monster staggered, then hurled me to the ground.
Thud—!
“Ugh…”
The impact left me unable to stand right away. But then—
Tap, tap—
“Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere? Did you break any bones?”
“...”
Haze brushed off their fist and reached out to help me up. Their face was hard to see through the fog, yet they wore the exact expression the little one used to give me. Whenever I returned late from hunting alone, the little one would always look at me like that.
“Thank goodness… you’re not hurt.”
A worried smile born from relief. I took Haze’s hand and stood, then simply stared at them.
“You’re really okay, right? Why… why are you staring at me like that…? D-Don’t tell me you’re looking at me with those kinds of eyes—”
Suddenly Haze clutched their own body and began twisting around. I had no idea what the gesture meant and could only tilt my head in confusion.
“Ugh, you’re no fun.”
Haze waved their hand lazily, clearing the mist, and tried to continue forward.
But it was not over. Not by a long shot.
“...Kid.”
Swish—
Haze draped the outer garment they had been wearing over my shoulders.
“No matter what happens, if I tell you to run, you run straight for the Demon King’s Castle with everything you’ve got, okay?”
They spoke with unusual gravity. The moment I saw that expression, the little one—who had once whispered that they loved me—rose in my mind. Without thinking, I clutched the hem of Haze’s clothes.
Why? Was it because the little one who had said those words had betrayed me? Was that why I didn’t want to be betrayed again?
“It’s fine, dummy!”
Haze dropped a hand on my head and roughly tousled my hair.
“You’re special.”
They poked my chest.
“It’s already special that a monster can take this form, but I can see something sparkling inside you.”
They offered me a warm smile.
“This is something truly, truly precious.”
Then they added, as if making a promise:
“So, kid, if it gets dangerous, you have to run. The Demon King may be violent, but they protect precious children like you.”
I didn’t know why. Every time Haze stroked my head or smiled at me, I felt a faint trace of that longed-for warmth. It wasn’t exactly the same feeling I had known before, but it was close enough.
“...Yeah.”
In the end, I made that promise.
Rumble—
Once again the earth shook violently. This time the stench of blood was not from a single source. Haze knew what it meant.
When I began to panic again, Haze grabbed me and shoved me hard in the back.
“Run—!”
My body flew forward. The moment I hit the ground I spun around in a panic, searching for Haze.
“Haze—!”
BOOOOM—!
Haze had already vanished into the mist, swallowed by a swarm of sand monsters. My whole body stiffened.
“...N-No…”
Again. Was everything going to disappear from my side again? First the little one I cherished, and now even Haze—who had saved me, who had told me so many interesting stories—was going to vanish too?
I stood there trembling, watching helplessly.
But Haze had made me promise for a reason.
Patter, patter—
More sand monsters. Smaller than the giant one, but far more numerous. A pack that hunted by tearing prey apart with savage bites. They had followed the giant here. Unlike the colossal beast, my body was soft; if they noticed me, death was certain.
So I forced myself to my feet. Leaving behind Haze, who had thrown away their life for me once again, I ran toward the Demon King’s Castle.
Crunch—!
That was when it happened.
“Guh—!”
A few of the smaller ones that had broken from the pack leaped at my legs. The searing agony of their teeth tearing into my flesh kept me from running. I staggered and collapsed.
But—
Thud—
“Don’t you dare lay a hand on the little one’s body—!!”
I had said my body was soft, never that it was weak.
Crack—
One by one I ripped the creatures off my leg and flung them away. Before the main swarm could lock onto me, I struggled back to my feet and tried to run again.
But—
Thump—
“Hah… ugh… no…”
One leg had been gnawed so badly it would not move at all.
“Haze… no… please…”
Thinking of Haze, who had thrown themself into danger so I could live, I tried desperately to escape the battlefield where giant and small monsters clashed in a frenzy.
Yet misfortune never stopped.
More beast-like monsters burst out in front of me.
“Ugh… uwaaaa…”
It was too cruel. All I had ever wanted was to live with that warmth and kindness. To sit together in the forest with my precious little one, purring in their arms. That would have been enough. If only the little one who loved the affectionate sounds I made had kept listening, it would have been enough.
So why? Why did they keep taking everything from me?
Was it because I was weak? Because I was a frail, lonely little monster?
Why take the little one from me, and now Haze too? Haze, who had been the only one to offer warmth to me after I opened my eyes anew. Even though Haze was loud, they had willingly given me that warmth.
I wanted to be warm. I just wanted to be warm.
It’s so cold. It’s too cold here.
Drip, drop—
I was freezing. So very cold. I had not realized it while I was with the little one, but being alone was unbearably cold and lonely. I simply needed someone. No—I needed that warm little one.
I wish they would stroke me again. I wish they would hold me in that endlessly gentle embrace. I wish they would speak to me in that lovely voice while hugging me on the rustling bed of leaves.
If only I had that, I could live quietly and be perfectly content.
Why? Why were monsters made so that they could only survive by taking everything from others? Why did the more honest we became with each other, the more we hurt one another?
Monsters are hideous creatures. Why can’t we live like the little one and I did, sharing warmth? Why did I have to kill all those monsters?
Drip, drop—
With my left arm torn off, my entire body drenched in bright red blood, I staggered across the wasteland. My intestines had spilled from my abdomen long ago. My lung had been pierced from behind, making every breath agony. One leg was missing entirely. Yet I tore the leg from one of the small monsters I had killed and attached it to myself so I could move. That was how I kept walking.
“...Haa…”
I no longer wanted to devour anything. I no longer wanted to steal from others. When the monsters charged at me, I cursed this absurd world. I hated the being that had created us, forcing monsters to devour one another in order to become demons. So I killed them all. Without eating a single one. I simply killed them all.
Every last creature that tried to attack me, I tore apart. Those who had surrendered to the vicious cycle of predation no longer needed to survive. I had been able to survive perfectly well in my one and only sanctuary. Creatures as base as these held no meaning.
I was sorry. Sorry to the little one, and to the precious body they had left behind. I had promised to protect it, yet I was forced to treat it so roughly. Still, to survive, I had no choice. Because Haze had told me I was precious. Because Haze had told me I had to live and reach the Demon King’s Castle.
I felt as if I would fall asleep at any moment, yet I kept walking toward the castle. Haze had not been as dear to me as the little one, but that smile… it had been warm. Haze… Haze. Are you still alive? It must have been impossible to survive inside that swarm of giant monsters.
It’s too cold. I staggered alone across the wasteland for what felt like an eternity, and it was so cold. Cold enough that I had to clutch tightly at the clothes Haze had given me. They still carried Haze’s scent. The fragrant smell of grass, the scent of open fields.
Ah. But because that person was no longer before my eyes, it was cold. So unbearably cold. I missed them. I missed Haze. I missed my little one.
Thud, splat—
I tripped on a rock and fell.
It was too cold. The ground was far too cold. If I had lain there with the little one, it would have been impossibly warm. It would have been so cozy I could never describe it.
Cold.
At some point I had returned to my rabbit form. Even the small human shape had vanished from me. I could only despair. The one thing the little one had left me was that form, and now even that was gone.
It’s too cold, far too cold. The chill reached my very bones; my whole body felt as if it would freeze solid. Please, someone hold me. Stroke me. It’s cold. I’m cold. Little one, my little one. Please come back. Hold me again as if nothing had happened. I’ll bring back even more food. I’ll finish hunting faster and return sooner. So please smile and hold me again. Please. I feel like I’m going to freeze to death. You told me to survive. Please save me from this ice. Save me… Just your palm. That’s all I need…
In the end I became a rabbit-like monster once more and crawled across the ground. My flesh was falling away; I felt close to death. Yet the cold that froze my heart hurt far more than any physical pain. Nothing warmed me. Everything in this world was cold. Every landscape was freezing.
Sadness. Yes, I was unbearably sad. I had lost everything about my little one, and now I had lost even Haze, who had purely tried to help me. If survival meant living like this, I no longer wanted to live. It was too cold.
Yet—
Slither—
As I crawled along the ground, I realized I had reached the very gates of the Demon King’s Castle. Even so, just as Haze had said, I refused to die. Just as the little one had whispered, I struggled to survive. The moment I finally arrived at the castle, I spotted the demons standing guard.
I tried to approach them, but—
Thump—
I failed to notice the small hole right in front of me. I had been too exhausted, too sleepy, too cold. A hole just big enough for my body to slip through.
Terribly unlucky. I had been only one step away from the Demon King’s Castle. Yet I fell straight into a hole perfectly sized for me.
“Ugh—!”
Clatter, tumble—
I rolled down helplessly, spinning round and round. Just like my life. Like this rotten excuse for a life. I fell for what felt like an eternity—banging against the floor, scraping along the walls, slipping through hole after hole into ever deeper darkness.
Yet there was one small mercy within that grotesquely miserable and freezing fall.
Splat—!
The place I finally reached was a vast, square cavern. Cracks in the ceiling allowed faint rays of surface light to filter down. Even that light felt cold, but for some reason, after falling all the way to the bottom of the bottom, my heart felt a little lighter. Realizing that my life had reached rock bottom in such a literal way somehow made it easier to accept. So I simply lay there, crumpled on the floor, ready to die.
Perhaps I would be able to meet them now. The little one had once told me that beings with souls could meet again after death. And the little one had always held me close, rubbing their face against mine, telling me that my soul was more precious and brilliant than any other soul they had ever seen.
Still… what if our paths never crossed? What if, even after death, I could never find them?
Even so. Even so, we would find each other. Yes, surely we would. Until the moment of death. Even though I would never touch that warmth again, I closed my eyes and recalled the little one’s voice that I still remembered.
“Rabbit, I loved you…”
Only then did I answer in a voice torn to shreds.
“...Me… too.”
That was love. The kind of person who made you want to touch them again and again, who made you want to be together always, who made you keep searching when you were apart—that was a person you loved. I had only realized it after devouring the little one.
And then—
“Rabbit.”
Why?
“Little rabbit, are you all right?”
Someone was speaking to me. A warm violet light enveloped me.
Saaaa—
We floated gently upward. Huge black wings scattered countless feathers as they wrapped around me.
“You’re not supposed to enter a place like this alone…”
The one who looked down at me with narrow, gentle eyes and a compassionate smile was—
“Oh, you poor thing…”
She stroked the countless wounds covering my body with impossibly warm hands.
“Yes, little rabbit… just this once, I suppose the situation calls for special measures…”
Still floating in the air, she placed me inside a warm, softly glowing orb of light and held me close once more.
“You did well, little rabbit who shines like a jewel…”
In that moment, I realized I was no longer cold. It was not the exact warmth or gentleness I had longed for, yet the warmth she gave me was in no way inferior to what the little one had offered. The orb of warm light she created felt exactly like being back inside the little one’s embrace.
“...Little… one…”
Overwhelmed by the drowsiness that flooded me, I fell asleep. Tears kept flowing without end.
When I opened my eyes again, I was beneath an unfamiliar ceiling.
“...”
An incredible softness enveloped my body. A very warm sensation seemed to stroke every inch of me. I closed my eyes again, let out a small purr, and rubbed my face against the large, fluffy garment covering me. It felt as though Haze’s clothes had grown enormous.
“...Ah.”
I realized my body had returned to the little one’s form. I sat up at once, wrapped both arms tightly around myself, curled into a ball, and let out a deep sigh of relief.
Thank goodness. Thank goodness. Really, truly, thank goodness. The little one was still alive inside this body. If at least her body remained like this, yes, I could be satisfied with that. So please… never leave me again. I beg you.
“Hic… huuu…”
Before I knew it, I was crying again. The tears fell onto the clean clothes wrapped around me. Lost in relief, I wept until a sudden uncomfortable sensation made me—
“...Ugh.”
—try to tear the clothes off. But they were surprisingly tough. They refused to rip or tear no matter how hard I pulled. The little one had told me that humans were creatures who wore clothes, but I had never wanted to wear them myself. I hadn’t worn any when I first met Haze, and when they had draped their outer garment over me it had still allowed me to move freely. But this… this was too uncomfortable.
And… and where was the one who had saved me? I wanted to be warm again. I wanted to feel her warmth and remember my little one once more. Those wings. Those black-feathered wings—where had they gone?
Clink—
While I sat in that vast space, fiddling with the clothes and looking around, I noticed her. She was sitting quietly near the bed with her eyes closed, sipping something small.
“Ah, um…”
The moment I saw her again I froze in surprise. But—
“Oh, you’re awake?”
Her wings were nowhere to be seen. She regarded me with half-lidded eyes in a very comfortable-looking human form and greeted me kindly.
“U-Uh.”
I had no idea what to say. I stood there stiffly, desperately trying to think of something, but even though I had evolved by devouring the little one, I had not absorbed all of their knowledge. So I remained frozen in place.
“Don’t worry~ You can relax. I don’t mind~”
She simply smiled at me as if I were adorable.
“So why don’t you come over here and sit down?”
Since there seemed no reason to refuse, I cautiously approached and sat in the chair. Sitting close to her, I caught the soft scent of roses. It made me a little dizzy at first, but it was also wonderfully fragrant.
“You really are a peculiar child…”
She leaned closer, opening her eyes a little. Beautiful violet irises gazed at me.
“Not a single one of your own kind devoured. How on earth is that possible?”
She spoke as if I had eaten no one, then reached out and gently stroked my cheek.
“Even if you had eaten someone… there’s no way you would have devoured her on instinct.”
She spoke as though she knew the little one.
“...Y-You know? That person!”
My whole body trembled as I asked. She answered lightly.
“Of course~ She was the last witch among those hunted in the human world simply for using magic.”
She told me about the little one I had loved.
“That witch’s name was Berman. She took the name of the only man who had ever treated her with care~”
“H-How…”
When I asked in shock how she could know so much—
“I spent quite some time hunting witches in the human world~!”
She spoke as if it were something to be proud of.
I hardened my expression and glared at her.
“Hehe, don’t look at me with those eyes… I was simply doing it for my own kind. There was no personal emotion involved.”
She told me what had happened that day. In the end, while hunting innocent witches, she had begun to question whether it was truly necessary. After all, the witches were already hated by humanity; did a demon like herself really need to step forward and exterminate them? She had gradually fallen into self-loathing.
“They were just small girls whose magic couldn’t even harm demons… It felt wrong.”
So eventually she had said:
“That’s why I simply brought Berman to the Demon Realm and set her free. The problem was that the child no longer wanted to live.”
She spoke of my little one. Of Berman.
“In the end, the protector who had given her the name Berman had died as well. Nothing was left for the child… I understood, yet I still wanted to save her, even if it meant turning her into a demon.”
She told me what she had done, but—
“Still, when she said that living on as a demon would be more miserable than being torn apart by monsters… I had no choice but to send her back to the forest.”
That was how Berman’s end and my first meeting with her had come about.
“She had such strong pride as a human… I felt sorry enough that I wanted to live with her.”
Once more she stroked my cheek and whispered:
“Still, I’m glad we could meet again like this… little Berman.”
Only then did I understand why my little one—Berman—had been so warm. It was because of the warmth in this demon’s heart, the one who had tried to take her in. Though it had begun coldly, she had done everything she could to save Berman.
“Tell me your name.”
I made the request. Even though she had not protected Berman until the end, I still wanted to know the name of the one who had allowed me to meet her. Though I did not like that she had failed to protect Berman to the last, it was thanks to her that I had learned warmth and experienced love.
“My name is Gematria. I am a loyal executive of the Demon King.”
She slowly withdrew her hand, took another sip from the small cup, and answered.
“E-Executive…”
I focused more on the word “executive” than on her name. Then I remembered Haze.
“Haze! Haze!”
I asked about Haze’s well-being, recalling that they too were an executive.
“Oh my, so you’ve already met that child?”
Gematria looked slightly surprised, then smiled with mock disappointment.
“I’m a little sad I wasn’t the first~”
She laughed briefly, then continued.
“Don’t worry about Haze. That child is stronger than you think… I heard they returned to the castle around the time I found you.”
“...Hah… haa…”
I let out a huge sigh of relief, my tightly wound body finally relaxing.
“Then, little rabbit.”
Gematria spoke again.
“It seems you have nowhere else to go… Would you consider coming under me?”
She was asking me to become her servant.
“You may refuse if you wish. However…”
It was not a forced enslavement.
“I would simply like to get to know a special child like you a little better.”
She was sincerely saying she wanted to be with me. Since I had come here following Haze anyway, and since this was the Gematria who had tried to take in my little one, Berman, I thought it would be fine to serve her. Though I was still upset that she had not taken responsibility until the end, I liked warmth. I liked Gematria’s warm hands.
So—
“Yeah.”
I nodded readily.
“I’ll do it. Servant.”
Though my original purpose in coming here had been to learn how much one needed to devour to become as powerful as the Demon King, and how I could protect my precious little one, Berman’s body… I had now found something even more precious. Something even more precious had found me.
“Good. You’ve made a very wise decision~”
Gematria looked genuinely delighted. Her joy was enough to make me want to follow her with all my heart. For this warmth, I could do anything. Whether it was devouring or anything else, I would manage.
“Now then~ I suppose I should grant you a name befitting my servant.”
Only later did I learn that Gematria was not at all popular among servants. The reason, apparently, was that she was too pathetic.
“Hmm~ What would be good? Jemma. Yes, let’s go with Jemma~!”
“Your soul sparkles like a jewel, so Jemma it is~!”
But I liked it. I liked pathetic Gematria. She was warm. Her heart was truly warm. I could feel it. Through her palm, I could sense how warm her heart was. I had realized it now. I was that kind of monster—one who could feel the warmth of another’s heart through their palm. That was probably why I had been able to evolve without devouring anyone.
But it didn’t matter anymore. Whether I devoured or not, what did it matter? I simply liked Gematria, and Gematria liked me. Even though I was the only loyal servant who served only Gematria, that was no great issue. On the contrary, being alone was better. I didn’t have to worry about anyone else.
And so I became the supreme being among servants.
Flutter—
One month after becoming Gematria’s servant, I gained the ability to restore a room that had been messed up in thirty minutes to perfect order. One month and two days after becoming her servant, I learned to bake countless sweets using recipes that left everyone in the Demon King’s Castle speechless. Four days after that, I created my own signature blended black tea and perfected a golden recipe. In addition, I could clean a bathroom in twenty minutes, organize the dining hall in one hour, and—if ingredients were sufficient—prepare most dishes to perfect quality within three hours.
All of that I accomplished within roughly two months of becoming Gematria’s servant.
Thanks to that, Cartoria—the executive who obsessed over perfection—came to me personally.
“So you are the servant Jemma?”
“...Yeah.”
She pointed out that my speech still needed correction, but—
“Hmm. Aside from the speech, you are a truly perfect servant… No, at this level you could be called a perfect life-form.”
She looked me up and down with a very pleased expression, then suddenly grew serious, squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them wide and declared:
“You—abandon Gematria at once and become the servant of this perfect body!”
I tilted my head in confusion. But Executive Cartoria was completely serious.
“I will make your speech, your clothing, everything perfect! You shall become my perfect servant!”
Apparently I was that desirable to her.
“And if you become my servant, you will enjoy extravagant tea parties four times a week!! Eight tea parties a week!!!”
When I simply stared at her without answering, she grabbed both my arms with a face full of madness and desperation.
“Hmph~ Trying to steal someone else’s precious child is very rude, you know~?”
Swish—
Gematria appeared from nowhere, scattering a few black feathers. She pulled me into her arms, separating me from Cartoria.
“So even the oh-so-perfect executive would commit such rudeness~? How disappointing~”
Cartoria’s face turned bright red. She hissed through her teeth, then—
“I-I am perfect—!! A-And this isn’t stealing, it’s scouting! Scouting—!!”
She fled the room as if escaping.
“...”
Of course, more important to me than any of that was—
“Gematria, don’t scatter your feathers. The room gets messy. How many times do I have to tell you?”
Swipe, sweep—
I quickly slipped out of Gematria’s arms and gathered up all the black feathers that had fallen everywhere.
“Ah~ Sorry, Jemma~ Don’t hate me too much~”
Gematria pulled me into a tight hug and gently stroked my head with a mischievous smile.
Stroke, stroke—
“Mmm… mmm…”
The feathers had made me a little irritable, but the moment she touched me I closed my eyes tightly and smiled, letting out a happy purr.
Yes. This was why I could become that legendary servant. My constitution was rather special. Not only could I ignore physical fatigue, but whenever I was touched by the palm of someone with a warm heart, all accumulated weariness vanished completely. That was how I could accomplish such monstrous tasks.
Thus I was reborn as the greatest servant for Gematria.
And so I found happiness again in small ways. I smiled along with Gematria when she ate my sweets and looked delighted. I happily grumbled back when she pestered me every day to brew more of the black tea she was addicted to. Inspired by Cartoria’s criticism, I studied fashion and began giving Gematria new clothes instead of the same dress she wore every day. I added all sorts of accessories and even rearranged the entire room every few months so that the quality of Gematria’s life would improve several times over.
“I don’t know how I’d live without my Jemma anymore~”
“...You’d manage just fine.”
Yes. That was how we lived.
But eventually that moment arrived.
While I was devoting myself to Gematria and spending happy days, one of Haze’s subordinates came to me.
“Jemma, the Demon King wishes to meet you alone.”
I realized the time had come. The salary negotiation. No—the moment I would finally have an audience with the Demon King.
“That fellow… coveting my child again…”
Of course Gematria hugged me tightly for dozens of minutes, refusing to let me go and making things awkward. But I had been waiting for this day.
Demon King. Just what are you? What have you done to make this Demon Realm, this world, so absurd? To turn it into such garbage?
The root of all evil. The most heinous existence.
Though I was a monster, the me who had been with Berman was a monster who was no longer a monster. Even so, Demon King, I truly despise your deeds. Today I will carve your image clearly into my eyes. I won’t do anything. Yes. I simply wanted to see. What kind of being you are. Yes, only then could I come to terms with what I still could not accept—the reason I had to sacrifice Berman.