I’m Not That Kind of Talent - Chapter 227
227. So that the soul is broken (2)
[The Demon King.]
[A being created by the world to kill the warrior.]
***
The Demon King is a being created by the world for a purpose.
A completely new race created with the clear purpose of ‘killing heroes.’ Therefore, the significance of the existence of the ‘demon race’, including the demon king, that is born from him, boils down to only one thing.
‘At least the demons are born regardless of the world’s intentions, so there are few restrictions…’
The demon king, who is directly related to the will, is different.
Do you know that feeling that feels like your whole body is wrapped in chains? The Devil’s free will is considered subordinate to the purpose of the world. This means that even death cannot be freely chosen.
‘I am freer than anyone else when it comes to things that are not related to achieving the meaning of existence, but then what can I do?’
What you desire most cannot be reached.
On the other hand, heroes are born based on humans. Humans are a species whose meaning of existence is to live with free will and create various ‘history’. In other words, the free will of the warrior, born by giving power to such a human being, is superior to the purpose that the world gave belatedly.
The Demon King sneered.
‘I’m jealous.’
The weight of free will varies greatly depending on the purpose given to the world when it first created its species.
In the first place, the ‘Demon King’ was created hastily without deep consideration with the intention of being disposable for the world, so there are many errors.
For example, when you can no longer achieve the meaning of existence by killing a hero, you have to wait endlessly until another hero appears who is not allowed to die.
Or, the purpose of ‘disposability’ and the basic rule set when the world first created life, ‘all life has a duty to preserve its species’, clashed, and the latter won, resulting in the birth of ‘demons’ and ‘monsters’.
‘Even if other things are the same, death is not allowed even if you kill a hero…’
The current Demon King is the strongest of all Demon Kings.
Now that I think about it, the former Demon King said something in the distant past, right? To the ‘Devil King’, being strong is a curse. It’s as they say.
Being strong has become a curse.
According to the meaning of existence, the Demon King must do his best when dealing with heroes. I couldn’t lose on purpose.
As time passed, the Demon King grew tired. I think I was angry in the beginning when I was just tired. Why do you put human free will first while completely trampling on my free will? It is said that an incident that brought the human world to the brink of extinction occurred at this time.
And as time passed, I met Deonhardt again.
‘…I first saw it through a bet with the Duke.’
I quietly looked at the white-haired man who was obediently offering his head.
The Demon King does not regret the bet he made with the Duke over Deonhardt. Even if he realizes this incident, hates me and harbors murderous intentions, his thoughts will not change. No, if that were certain, I would rather praise myself for making an excellent choice at the time.
Thanks to this, I was able to watch the growth of a warrior from a closer perspective than ever before.
‘It’s always been a refreshing experience from the beginning, and that doesn’t change even after becoming a hero.’
This is the first time, even for a long time, that the Demon King has a warrior under his command and resides in the Demon King’s castle. This is also the first time that 90% of magical power has been consumed to save a human being, and that the saved human has become a hero.
Perhaps that’s why the Demon King, who had been generous to Deonhardt since the time when he was simply regarded as a toy, became even more kind when he became a hero.
The person who gave interest and fun from the beginning ended up having the qualifications to teach at the end, so no matter what he did, it wouldn’t be pretty.
You can try to eat away at my magic power, or you can do other tricks behind my back.
You can be arrogant in front of me like you are now, or you can fight back like you were a while ago. There is only one thing I want from you.
“I’m going to teach you so many things. If there is something else you want to learn, you can say it without hesitation. “There’s no need to think of it as a debt, you just have to teach me that one thing later.”
“….”
“I’m willing to wait until then, so please entertain me like you do now.”
Do you understand, my hero?
The atmosphere suddenly became lighter.
The Demon King ended his sentence with an exaggerated playfulness and withdrew his hand with a grin. His expression and eyes were as bright as usual, to the point where I suspected that what he had seen before was an illusion.
‘….’
Deon could not easily open his mouth and looked at the Demon King.
I couldn’t bear to ask, even though I didn’t even mention what the only thing I couldn’t learn was the subject I was asking for instruction on. Not only because the atmosphere was not like that, but also because I felt like I knew what he was talking about.
I realized it instinctively. Oh, this is not it.
‘This is dangerous.’
There is no way I can make what he wants come true. Perhaps, if what he wants is revealed to me explicitly, the nature of the game itself may change once again.
The changed game type would be unpalatable to both the Demon King and Deonhardt, for whom breathing and living itself is a pain. It is terrible to even imagine living a life of hide-and-seek with the devil for revenge until the long life of a warrior comes to its natural end.
Maybe that’s why the voice was a little shaken after a long silence.
“…If you hint at what you want, I might find it and make it happen in reverse.”
“You really would be in trouble if you said that out loud, right?”
“….”
…I was so agitated that I made a mistake. Deon closed his mouth and swallowed the saliva that was about to escape.
I unintentionally revealed that I had bad feelings toward him and received confirmation from the other person that he already knew. A situation where something that both knew but pretended not to know surfaced without preparation.
I don’t know when I clenched my fist and my fingernails dig into my palm. He opened and closed his mouth several times, increasing the silence, and then slowly spoke again.
“…I guess that’s what I meant to say.”
It was a somewhat unexpected remark, but the Demon King quietly nodded.
“I’m serious when I say you need a hobby. “It’s like doing double duty.”
For the current conversation, I taught various things and encouraged questions for the sake of creating a hobby.
To let you know in advance that you will find out someday anyway.
I know that it is easier to lead a situation in the direction you want by not telling it than by telling it. In fact, the Demon King tried to keep his mouth shut until the day Deon found out for himself.
But yeah. I have the urge to express this level of gratitude and respect to the human being whose fate is so strange that it catches the eye of the devil, and yet who works hard to see the end.
‘…selfish bastard.’
Deon’s expression hardened.
The devil is cunning. He was certain that Deonhardt would not do this just because of the ‘hint’ of the true method of revenge thrown in front of him. That’s probably why they revealed everything they wanted to say, but didn’t mention anything directly.
Thanks to this, I was so agitated that I ended up dragging useless things to the surface. Deon raised his downcast eyes in dissatisfaction.
“…I think it would be better for both of us if we just left off the conversation we just had.”
“Is that so too?”
“yes. … And if you had to teach me something, it would have been better to use some kind of weapon technique rather than something like this.”
I cast my gaze at the vivid portrait painted on canvas.
The Demon King, reading his attitude of trying to get out of an uncomfortable situation as quickly as possible, smiled and asked.
“I’m serious? “In order to teach and properly learn weapon skills, you would have to reveal the foundation.”
“….”
“And even if I teach you, you won’t be able to spar, so you won’t have a chance to understand my origins. Only you will be robbed of everything. Is that okay?”
“…When did I ever wonder about the Demon King’s origins?”
There’s just no direct mention, but now they’re talking about the situation openly.
Red eyes shine as if they are unpleasant. He raised his head straight as if there was nothing to worry about and made eye contact with the Demon King.
“He said if there is something you want to learn, just say it without hesitation.”
“….”
“I want to learn martial arts. “I take care of my own finances.”
You just teach. I will take care of whether it’s hiding the original source or creating a new one, or at the very least, figuring out your skills.
Deon was saying that.
A hint of arrogance appeared in his eyes, as if the words he spoke with his own thoughts had touched his pride.
I don’t think I really had any intention of learning, but I just encouraged it. The Demon King laughed lightly.
“If you say so, that’s fine.”
Only then did Deon, who nodded and calmed his eyes, frown as if something had occurred to him.
“But why are you saying we can’t spar?”
“The Demon King does his best when dealing with a hero. To be precise, it may not have been controlled to ‘not kill’. “If we force it, it won’t be a sparring match but a fight to the death.”
“….”
“I don’t think that’s more important right now. “Is it okay to be peaceful like this?”
The Demon King grins. Deon suddenly raised his head as an ominous feeling ran down his spine.
The devil doesn’t go out of his way to tell people things he didn’t ask about first. What you just said must have been a hint. My head, awakened by tension, began to turn quickly.
“…is it related to war?”
“huh.”
“It looks like we have some new news.”
“well.”
“Then it’s not new news, but it looks like I’ve belatedly received information I’d been missing… What is it?”
answer. The Demon King gave an answer filled with laughter.
“The Shan State and the Empire have renegotiated their alliance. “It seems like it’s been a while.”
“….”
“Well, there seems to be some other minor news, but… you can find out about it yourself.”
Are you going?
The portrait is presented with a question that is not a question filled with certainty. Deon, who suddenly accepted it, made eye contact with himself in the picture and stiffened in shock.
“Why is this….”
“It’s a gift, so take it.”
“….”
I feel bad because it looks like a mirror.
Still, I couldn’t refuse what the Demon King gave me. With a shaky expression, he held the picture in one hand and placed the flower pot on the table on the other side… then lowered his gaze when he felt his waist tightening.
Green stems wrapped around his waist.
“?”
“Yuck.”
“Oh, I’ll hang on to it on my own, so you can take your hands off me?”
“Pfft.”
After hesitating for a moment, I quietly placed the flower pot. Fortunately, no flower pots fell.
Deon chuckled at the weight bouncing off his side, took the picture with his free hand, and looked back at the Demon King.
“I heard a lot this time, but I won’t ask anything. “I will not ask you what the Demon Lord wants from me.”
“….”
“Let me just tell you one thing.”
There was a dark light in the eyes.
“Whatever it is, don’t let me find out.”
That’s for all of us.
***
A loud voice is heard from the hallway.
Ed, who was lingering in front of the door to greet Deon Hardt, raised his head when he detected a familiar voice. Sure enough, the superior he was supposed to serve was walking from afar.
…For some reason, he had a flower pot attached to his side and a large portrait of himself in his hand.
“It’s admirable that you want to listen… but I heard you don’t need to.”
“Yuck.”
“Just hanging on is enough for you.”
“Damn….”
“Besides, the paint hasn’t dried all the way, so if you do something wrong, the painting will be ruined. “It’s a painting the devil drew, and I don’t want to hear that I ruined it, so I’ll just do it myself…”
Well, you’ve changed a lot in a way that I haven’t seen before.
Even though the green stems were almost wrapped around the upper body, Ed, who accepted it as a personality with an open mind, suddenly tilted his head as he approached to meet him.
‘But whether it’s the plant or Deon that lifts it, isn’t the weight that Deon must ultimately bear the same?’
Well…that’s not important right now.
I bowed politely towards Inyoung, who was now getting closer.
“Are you here, Deon?”