Chapter 246

Chapter 246

People who lived in an era when plagues ran rampant always grew up hearing stories about the “cruel beast.”

“If you don’t come home until late at night, the evil god will snatch you away.”

“Who’s making such a racket! The evil god will come and bite you up and carry you off!”

“Live selfishly your whole life and get taken by the evil god!”

If Seo Gio had heard it, he would’ve been dumbfounded and said, “What am I, some tiger?”

Anyway, that was how people were once. Ather was one of those children. In an age when the evil god’s existence had become far too closely woven into daily life, his heart and the depths of his mind were filled with wariness and fear of Argio.

But the Argio he saw in person was different.

“Have you eaten?”

“Did you do today’s exercise?”

“You’ll collapse from crying.”

He would suddenly appear, casually ask after him, then disappear again, repeating it over and over.

“...”

It seemed he did it because he knew Ather was afraid of him.

‘But an evil god?’

That terrifying Demon King, showing consideration?

‘I can’t get used to it at all.’

At first, that was what he thought. It was true that, with his help, Ather had revived as a perfectly normal human being. He felt gratitude for that. But even so, the fear he held toward the evil god could not be washed away all at once.

‘I don’t know why he’s fashioned himself into that shape, but...’

However, as time passed, the situation began to change. Ather, who had been nothing but a madman, gradually regained his composure. He could feel his incomplete mind aligning with his complete body.

“Have you finally found some room to breathe?”

“...Your words are correct. I’ve gotten quite a bit better.”

“You look properly human now.”

“I’m glad it looks that way.”

“Good lad.”

Naturally, his unease about the other party began to subside, too.

‘It couldn’t be helped.’

He had freed Ather from suffering that felt eternal. He was the first god to respond when he called his name—the first to save him. He also had a human form. They ate together, talked, exchanged greetings.

When Ather went mad from the afterimage of the past and raved wildly, he gave him time. That was exactly what Ather needed. Time to think. Time to sort things out. Argio helped him so that he could cultivate himself.

‘If my heart didn’t settle after that, it would be stranger.’

Even today—look.

“It was roughly like this, I think.”

“...Mm, yes. It’s so well-made for something a wanderer is said to eat that it feels oddly incongruous.”

“Anyway, if you can eat it deliciously, that’s enough, isn’t it? Still, it bruises my pride that I couldn’t reproduce the food you brought to mind, so next time I’ll try making a more proper jerky soup.”

“If you put more effort into it than this, it seems only an even tastier soup will come out.”

At the single sentence—“I want to eat jerky soup”—Argio had boiled it himself and brought it.

“The more I feel it, the more astonishing it is that you... are good at cooking.”

It was closer to strange than astonishing. Cooking was work for servants. Nobles treated cooking as a lowly task.

Argio had once been a noble, and even before thinking of that, the recognition of him as “the Demon King” was strong. For a being like that to cook with his own hands.

‘And for a commoner like me.’

Well, it was a world where all that was gone now, but still.

‘Even so, I can’t help feeling awkward.’

What’s more, Ather was also one of the “heroes” who had sealed him. That the evil god did not show resentment toward him still felt unfamiliar even now—because he himself would not have been able to do that.

“...You did say that, when you were human, you lived as a wanderer similar to us, so it isn’t utterly strange. It seems your splendid ruins have been deeply engraved in my impression even now.”

“My home back then did sparkle quite a bit.”

Argio readily received the conversation.

“There were many offerings presented from all over.”

“You received offerings as well? I heard many stories that you ate living people as sacrifices.”

“After I obtained divinity, it does seem there were unusually more human sacrifices, but in life I received far more gold and treasures. Isn’t it only natural that life is more precious than wealth?”

“Ah, so that’s how it got distorted...”

“I truly liked decorating my home. Do you know this? Among the countless saints offered to the Black Forest, I was the only one who lived past twenty. That is, it means I was the first saint who came and went between the forest and what lay beyond it.”

His story was quite interesting.

“All the wealth I plundered and received as gifts, I brought it all to my home. To these ruins. Perhaps because that sense of self remained strongly, even after becoming an evil god and losing nearly all reason, I think I kept that environment...”

“So your memories from back then aren’t intact?”

“In the past, that was so. But now it isn’t—fortunately, through a good opportunity, I was able to gather myself back together. Though it does take a bit of effort to recall the memories of the many saints before ‘me.’”

“Is it not uncomfortable, having multiple selves combined?”

“I’ve never particularly thought so. It isn’t as though the hands and feet or eyes you’re born with feel uncomfortable. You only need effort to clearly recognize that existence and handle it.”

The evil god asked.

“Is it bearable to live here?”

“In the current situation, there’s nowhere more comfortable to live than this.”

“That’s only in your mind—haven’t you stayed inside these ruins the whole time?”

“...You do know how vast these ruins are, and you’re saying that, right?”

The ruins were nearly as wide as a single castle. In other words, it meant they were as wide as the land of the massive, majestic building where the lord of the land resided, and the land of the villages that wrapped around the outskirts of that castle.

“This place is practically like a city center. When I visited as a hero, or when I fled here from people, I had no leisure at all, so I’ve only recently begun to walk around, but it’s truly broader than anything I imagined.”

“I’m glad it seems there’s fun in looking around.”

“It’s less splendid than before, when it was filled with all sorts of wealth, but in a way... it’s also more comfortable because it hurts the eyes a little less. Honestly, the ruins when you were the Demon King weren’t a good tourist destination to sightsee.”

“Hearing you say that, did you originally have interest in researching ruins?”

“When the heroes visited this place, the one who revealed the truth of the Black Forest was me.”

He had been a librarian at the royal library.

“It’s almost impossible to rise to that position as a commoner. In short, it means my ability was outstanding enough to overcome the lowliness of my birth and press down the noses of all those nobles.”

The evil god put on an expression of exaggerated surprise.

“With that physical condition, you were a librarian?”

“...Why are you surprised at that part.”

“I’ve rarely seen anyone taller than me.”

“I am on the tall side, above average, but... among the heroes, there must have been plenty. Even if my memory is vague, there definitely were people taller than me.”

“Good thing I met you when I was the Demon King.”

“It wasn’t exactly good for us, so why do you say that?”

“So I could look down at you? I may be called the Demon King, but wouldn’t it wound my pride if I had to look up at you?”

“Ah, for that reason... I understand...”

For no reason, he felt hollow, and laughter came out.

“Have I said this before? I was surprised that you’re far more easygoing than I imagined.”

“Be grateful that I, the last saint, took hold of the initiative.”

“I don’t think I could be any more grateful.”

But the more he grew accustomed to this peace, the more the anxiety carved deep inside him slowly blossomed.

“...”

Ather was grateful to this evil god.

‘You saved me.’

The only existence that answered his call—and saved him. The debt he owed him was beyond words. Even if he offered up himself, he would not be able to repay it.

‘But at the same time, I’m feeling closer and closer to him...’

It made him uneasy.

* * *

It was something he had been thinking about since the moment he first “came to his senses.”

‘Can I call this being truthful?’

An evil god made by the merging of countless victims’ rage and hatred. And the one who saved Ather and treated him familiarly until now called himself “Argio”—that is, the last saint.

But what is a god? Their truth and falsehood cannot be distinguished by a human yardstick. It was possible that the wrathful evil god, not the merciful and easygoing “Argio” of now, was his essence.

‘If that’s the case, I have to fulfill my role.’

There were many false accusations pinned upon the cruel beast, but there were also many things he had done with his own hands. If fate meant that the same apocalyptic war would be repeated, he had to stop it.

‘Even if, as the sin of repaying恩 with enmity, I must repeat that suffering that feels eternal.’

That was Ather’s role.

‘...But I can’t be certain of anything.’

How could one know a god’s truthfulness?

“Would you have time to talk today?”

“Unusual for you to request conversation first. Did something happen?”

“There’s something I’ve been curious about.”

“As always, I wait for you with a willing heart.”

“Thank you for saying so.”

In the end, Ather decided to ask directly.

“I want to trust you, but could you tell me a way to be sure of it?”

“...”

At that—

“...?”

Argio looked dumbfounded.

“O... You seemed like you were thinking hard about something, and this was the problem?”

“Yes.”

“And you’re asking me directly?”

“Yes.”

“What on earth is the problem with you? I can’t help but be flustered. In the first place, if I told you, ‘This evil god is very safe and harmless, so without further 고민 just trust me,’ would you believe it?”

“Probably not.”

“You truly are a strange one.”

At Gio’s reaction, Ather, as if embarrassed—or wronged—clenched his teeth.

“...Mmph, wh-what am I s-supposed to do...”

“Human language, if you please.”

“What do you expect me to do? The other party is an evil god.”

“Should I call this giving up, or wise...”

Gio, who had been rubbing his chin in thought, lifted his head.

“Can’t you just live like this?”

“I can’t, because I’m uneasy.”

“I don’t know why those who know me are frantic because they can’t define what I am. Human, evil god, ghost, and whatever else—wouldn’t it be enough to just have fun, eat, and live?”

“Relaxing like that and eating and playing isn’t such an easy thing.”

“Do you befriend people by analyzing and defining each friend one by one? I can only feel sorry for you. Being too clever isn’t always a good thing.”

“Humans you meet in everyday life and an evil god with a thoroughly tangled past aren’t the same. You can’t be at ease just because a bomb looks round and harmless when it could explode at any moment.”

“Fussy.”

So he’s prickly in subtle ways.

“Hmmm...”

He probably wants a trust that won’t collapse.

“There is something you do not know.”

“What is it?”

“All trust in the world is not whole.”

We humans naturally become adults from the shocking betrayal of learning that Santa Claus was, in fact, our parents.

“There’s no trust that lasts a lifetime. Everyone believes, gets bruised, grabs each other by the collar, and fills the gaps in trust with friendship and love. Because living creatures cannot live within perfect order.”

“...I understand what you mean. But what I need is not trust in a relationship—I need the belief that you won’t return to the evil god you were then. Any other trust is my part to bear.”

“Then why do you think I would return to that time?”

“You said your heart was missing.”

Ather, letting out a breath, continued.

“The most important thing—your heart.”

Once, Argio had said that he was not whole. He said it was because the influence of the heroes’ seal still remained even now. The evil god of the present could not be called complete.

“I want to know what your complete form would be.”

“Oh, I see.”

He was truly a brave fellow.

“Then shall we open it once?”

“...The seal?”

“I mean the evil god’s coffin.”

“Is that all right?”

“There’s no reason it can’t be.”

In the end, even that is only maintained because Gio chooses to remain trapped.

(Continued in the next part)