Chapter 247

Chapter 247

The evil god gave a warning.

“Remember, it’s the very last coffin.”

Don’t open any other coffins.

* * *

Ather wandered through the ruins alone.

“...”

Somehow, the sound of his own footsteps seemed to echo louder in the ruins.

In the meantime, Ather had learned the structure of these ruins. They held deeper and greater knowledge than what he had seen when he was called a hero. Faded paintings and jewels and the like were strewn about.

Old memories surfaced.

‘...Surely, here...’

There should be a way.

“...Ah.”

A staircase leading underground opened.

Clenching and unclenching his hand, Ather stepped down. The stairs were extremely dark. If he hadn’t brought a torch, he wouldn’t have been able to see anything. Strangely, there was no dust.

‘Maybe because it’s been so long, it feels quite unfamiliar.’

Even after coming to his senses, he had only checked this side and had never actually come down. This was once the place where he and his comrades had devoted everything to sealing the Demon King. Since he might cause an accident if he entered rashly, he hadn’t even approached it in the first place.

But now the time had come.

‘It’s quite deep...’

He couldn’t see the end.

There were also obstructive devices along the stairway. They were things he and his comrades had installed in preparation for any unforeseen situation. Since he knew the answer, he could solve them easily.

It was when he had gone down far enough that it felt a little suffocating.

“...Is it here.”

An enormous door greeted him.

‘Even a castle gate wouldn’t be like this—this really shows how desperate we were back then.’

In fact, it didn’t even look like a door.

It couldn’t be helped. With magical devices alone, permanent closure was impossible. It had to be a door so heavy it couldn’t be opened even physically. So they made a door like this, mimicking a wall.

“It’s open.”

The door that should have been tightly shut was open, leaving a small gap.

“The mages’ doing...”

Blasphemers who said they would kill the Creator by borrowing the evil god’s power. If it weren’t for them, no one would have forced this door open. The door, pried open ever so slightly, was just wide enough for a single person to squeeze through.

‘Could this be why he was able to come out into the world, even if only in human form? Because the seal’s door is open even a little? If so, perhaps I should be a little grateful to those mages. Thanks to them, I was able to escape the thorn prison...’

Ather went inside.

“...”

Candle flames burned here and there throughout the saints’ tomb.

“...This is still...”

It was surprising. It was probably a magical device the mages had installed.

‘If not, then it must be the influence of the seal.’

Yet even though an uncountably long time had passed, the candles still crackled and scattered sparks, making his stomach churn.

Perhaps because of that, even though it was still a pitch-dark underground tomb, the scene of the tomb came clearly into view.

“Ah.”

It was a lineup of coffins, neatly arranged.

‘We didn’t do this.’

The battle with the Demon King had been fierce. Even just sealing him had exhausted the heroes greatly. Many had died. The Demon King who had created so many victims would not have had the energy to make such a tidy tomb.

‘The mages have no reason to go this far, either.’

They were those who sought to become godslayers. They would have no reason to treat an evil god, not even the Creator, like this.

‘Then...’

Did he do it himself?

‘Argio, him?’

Or was it some kind of mysterious miracle?

‘I can’t know.’

But he had specified ‘the very last coffin.’ That meant he knew the sight of this place.

‘At the very least, it must be connected to this scene.’

Even with a torch, the air in the underground tomb was chilly.

“...”

He started walking again.

Every coffin was the same size. Carved from pitch-black marble, each one was quite huge—bigger than Ather. It carried the sharp poison and thick blood smell you could sense in the Black Forest.

‘Every last aura is ominous.’

It was completely different from when he had seen Argio in human form.

He remembered the first time he had faced the Demon King. Those enormous wings and the human shapes fused together, the beast’s torso stretched long like a snake...

Just as it came back to him.

“...”

“It’s here.”

Suddenly.

A familiar voice reached him.

“Here, Ather.”

“Look this way.”

“Open this coffin.”

It came from all directions.

“Come on, you should look here, right?”

“Where do you think you’re going right now?”

“This way.”

“Hurry and take me out.”

“You came to see me, didn’t you?”

“My true face.”

“It’s in here.”

“Come on, don’t waste time.”

“Ather.”

Beyond the marble coffins, the evil god was calling to him.

“...Ha, what is this...”

He faltered back, moving away from the coffins.

Coffins lined both sides of the tomb, stretched out like a long corridor. The ones that had been silent just a moment ago began to open their mouths.

The soft voices flowing out were that of the ‘Argio’ he knew.

“Why are you hesitating like that?”

“Wasn’t it the true me you wanted to speak with?”

“Ather, hurry and open this door.”

“Let’s talk.”

“That’s why you came here.”

Suddenly, Argio’s words came to mind.

‘Remember, it’s the very last coffin.’

Don’t open any other coffins.

“...”

So that was why he had said that.

‘What is speaking to me now are the saints who died before Argio.’

Once, Argio had said this: he had suppressed the rage that would devour him with an even greater rage. That it was because he had won that he was what he was now.

Which meant the old rage had not been resolved.

‘In the end, unable to defeat the final persona, they’re trying to tempt me, a visitor to the tomb...’

His name called from everywhere. A chill ran down his spine. If the last saint, Argio, had not trampled them down and imprisoned them, Ather could not have survived.

‘I have to go to the last coffin.’

The gentle voices turned into shrill shouts the deeper he went.

“Where the hell are you going?”

“It’s here—here!”

“Look this way...!”

“Are you passing me by?!”

“Ather! Ather!!”

“Please, let me out...!!”

“It’s too narrow! It’s suffocating! It hurts!!”

“Aaaagh!! Aaaaaaagh!!!”

Screams full of despair. Thrashing full of pain. Howls full of rage.

The deeper he went, the worse it became. He could also hear pounding noises, as if something inside the coffins were going berserk and slamming.

He was reminded of himself, trapped until not long ago. He felt like vomiting.

‘Why did he leave them like this?’

Argio had been incredibly merciful to Ather. At times, he even acted easygoing like a friend. But had he shown no mercy to the saints before him? Had he not pitied them?

‘They’re suffering this much—why...’

When he reached the very end, all the noise died down.

“...Huff, huff...”

His legs gave out and he collapsed to the floor.

‘...It got quiet.’

The same silence as when he had first entered greeted him.

He barely forced his trembling body upright. His legs still had no strength. Staggering, he looked at the last coffin at the end of the corridor, identical in appearance to every other coffin here.

‘If I hadn’t been told beforehand, I wouldn’t have been able to tell any difference at all.’

Other than being placed at the very end, there was no difference.

“...”

In the darkness, he felt something watching him.

‘...Who?’

Could this, too, be a part of the evil god?

He felt something vast, like nature itself. It had neither negation nor affirmation. It seemed only to watch what choice Ather would make. No, even the word ‘watch’ didn’t fit. It was simply perceiving.

‘If I open this coffin...’

What would happen, exactly.

“...Excuse me.”

“...”

“Are you here...?”

“Have you come to see me.”

“...Yes.”

“I’ve been waiting.”

Creeeak...

The heavy coffin lid opened, just a little.

“Will you take me out?”

Unlike the other coffins, it opened the lid itself.

Through the gap, he could see a pale hand gripping the coffin lid.

A familiar hand. It was like the hand of Argio, who would cook himself and offer it to him. The bones were thick and solid. It was adorned with all sorts of ornaments.

Long black nails and jeweled rings caught the marble lid with a clear clink. All he could see was that large, pale hand; the torso and face would not readily reveal themselves.

It kept speaking to him.

“I’ve spent a long time in here.”

“...Who are you?”

“People called me the cruel beast.”

“Argio... are you?”

“You may call me that.”

“Are you the ‘Argio’ I know?”

“My friend.”

Swoosh—.

The coffin’s hand reached out.

“...”

“...”

Its arm stretched out, grotesquely long.

“...Ugh.”

To a bone-chilling length.

Ather held his breath for a moment. It looked like a massive snake or a tree branch. The arm kept extending until it stopped right in front of Ather’s face. Then it unfolded the hand that had been curled.

A golden eye embedded in its palm.

“...I know that face.”

It was an eye made of gold, something that could never be called human.

“You came to kill me.”

“...Are you... Argio from before you became an evil god?”

“The being you call an evil god is the same as me.”

“...So the one who saved me from the thorn prison, shaped me into a person, and cooked for me wasn’t you. You’re the evil god Argio that I sealed together with my comrades.”

“Did ‘Argio’ show you such favor?”

The golden eye curved as if smiling.

“It seems ‘I’ safely seized a fine opportunity.”

“...What are you?”

“I have no name.”

The hand with the eyeball withdrew again, gripping the coffin lid. As if amused, the ornamented fingers tapped-tap-tapped on the coffin. Ominous beastlike nails and gleaming rings struck against it.

“It would be best not to introduce your name and honor to us.”

“...Us?”

“When we see a strong soul like yours, souls as wicked as we are cannot help but covet it. Of course, we already know your name, but do not worry. We won’t covet it recklessly.”

“...There were many saints who already called my name.”

“Don’t say that disgusting word ‘saint.’ We are evil spirits sacrificed after being shoved along, not anything like saints. And the fact that they already called your name is no problem.”

“Why is that?”

“Because we are borrowing ‘Argio’s’ mouth.”

A voice like a song.

“He’s quite merciful. Somehow he managed to gather up that much rage. He even shows favor to a puny creature like you. He must have been granted a good opportunity—a very good opportunity...”

“...Are you Argio’s heart?”

“I am.”

“If you come out of this coffin, what will happen? If I do that.”

“Who can say.”

There was a rhythm to his voice.

“I am very angry. The friends here are even angrier than I am. Without a miracle beyond miracles, and another miracle besides, how could a form like ‘Argio’ ever have been fashioned? We were a calamity meant to devour the world, and yet you dare treat me like a person.”

“...”

“My friend, what do you want?”

“...I want to be able to trust you completely.”

“There can be no guarantee you won’t regret it.”

“...That may be so...”

“Go back.”

A pale hand slipped into the coffin.

“Today is not the time.”

“...”

Clack.

The coffin closed.

* * *

On his way back, one of the countless coffins seized Ather.

“Even though he could have granted you the mercy of death, he let you live. How could the new life given to you be salvation? He shaped you into a human to possess you. He is an evil god. Do not trust him.”

Its voice did not seem to be ‘Argio’s’—it was very rough. And young.

“If he were truly merciful, he would have granted peace to you and to all of us. When you ran toward that deep, last coffin, weren’t you disgusted? He bound us and locked us in this deep tomb.”

“...”

“A wicked yoke cannot be cleansed. Call him an evil god, and that is the truth. His mercy is a fragment of interest and amusement. Do not judge a god by that tiny fragment.”

“...In the end, you’re doing this because you want me to let you out of the coffin too, aren’t you?”

“How is that a sin...?”

A childish voice whispered.

“You, too, called the evil god because you wanted to get out of that narrow prison.”

So what, exactly, is different about us?

At the low whisper, Ather simply left the tomb.

(Continued in the next part)