Chapter 15 – 5. Corruption (End)

5. Corruption (End)

At first, to me, the devil was merely a means to gain power.
I thought that if we were to converse, it would be a brief discussion about the contract, terms, and such things, as written in the books, and that would be the end.

But it was not so.
The connection, which I thought would be very brief, lasted much longer, much longer than I thought.

And the reason began with my wish to travel the world.
Starting from the coastal city where the hero was chosen, the village where the saintess grew up, the forest where the hero first slew a monster, the city where the hero met the saintess, the dungeon where the hero and saintess first fought together, the vast plains where they first faced the Demon King’s army, the city where they defeated the demons….

“Isn’t it strange that there’s so many cities related to the hero and saintess?”

“It just means that the influence of the hero and saintess is that significant. The influence of the two heroes who restored peace to the world wouldn’t stop at one or two cities, would it?”

“That’s true.”

That was a valid point.

“Then let’s go to the Demon Kings’s territory now.”

“Yes, I will guide you.”

We headed to the Demon King’s territory through the Hell Gate as before. It was harder to find a building in good condition in the Demon King’s territory, which had been swept away by the army carrying the hero and the saint on their backs.

It was fallen, decayed, corrupted, feeble, and desolate. It was the miserable end of those who had lost, who were powerless and weak.

“Are there any demons left?”

“True first-generation demons, including the Demon King, have long been extinct. All that’s left are the second and third generations of demons who were sold as sex slaves or laborers. Most of them are scraps without any power, their horns cut off as soon as they were born.”

“Demons can’t use their power if their horns are cut off?”

I blinked at this new information. The demon chuckled and pressed his temple, and a long horn sprouted from the top of his head.

“The horns that demons have hold a very high magic conductivity. However, it is very stable compared to the amount of magic that can be moved at once. It’s thanks to these horns that demons can handle magic as if there were their hands and feet. You can think of it as an extension of the human brain.”

A human with a damaged brain can’t move their hands and feet properly. It was like that. I nodded at the demon’s explanation.

“What about the sub races?”

“Hmm… 70% of the races that allied with the demons and opposed humans have gone extinct, the rest have been sold as slaves or have hidden in places out of human sight, like the demon worshippers.”

“So how many of them were directly involved with the Demon King?”

At my question, the demon twisted a grotesque smile and held up a finger. I quickly understood what it meant.

“10%. Only 10%.”

“What about the other 90%?”

“They were guilty by association. Everyone was killed because their parents, friends, colleagues, entire tribes, had contact with the Demon King.”

I stared blankly at the completely collapsed Demon King’s castle and replied.

“I see.”

“Do you plan to save them? Becoming the second Demon King could be a way. The second Demon King who stood up for the fallen demons, and being the child of the hero and the saintess… Haha. It’s amusing.”

I didn’t bother to respond to that and wandered around the Demon King’s territory. It was quite fascinating that there were still living beings in such a ruined city.

The few remaining demons were all on the verge of dying from old age. As soon as they saw me, they fell flat on the ground in terror.

“Why are they doing that?”

“That’s their survival strategy. They beg for their lives by groveling on the ground, even if it means selling their children, friends, and even their lords.”

“I see.”

“Ah, by the way, they’re reacting like this because I’m here. If you were alone, they would have tried to rob you in any way possible.”

Because that’s the kind of beings they are.

“That’s just like humans. Nothing surprising there.”

“Heh, you’re cold-hearted.”

“Call it being objective, if you will.”

After that, I traveled to many places with the demon. Each time, the demon told me about the history and past of the city.

I learned from the demon what I couldn’t learn from my parents. I learned from the demon what my parents wouldn’t teach me.

I saw a lot, and I saw countless human faces. It’s an odd phrase for me to use… but it felt like I was traveling.

This journey taught me a lot, as I was still ignorant of the world. Really… a lot.

“You’ve seen a lot while traveling the world. How do you feel?”

“Neither bad nor good. It’s like looking at a stone rolling on the road.”

I was sincere. No matter how beautiful the world is, in the end, its all meaningless to me.

The feeling of traveling? Sure, I felt that. But that’s just because it felt like a trip while listening to the demon’s explanations as we traveled together, not because the world was beautiful.

“That’s surprising.”

The demon widened his eyes in surprise at my answer. I wondered if I said something surprising, but I couldn’t think of anything.

“What?”

“It’s surprising because it’s similar to the worldview of a god.”

“…Should I feel bad?”

“There’s no need to feel bad or good. Just accept it calmly. It means you’ve grown.”

“Is that so…?”

Growth… Honestly, I don’t feel it.

The demon tells me I’ve grown, but I never had a chance to confirm that growth. I’ve grown a bit physically with age, but that’s just about right for my age.

There was no surprising increase in muscles, nor did my swordsmanship improve. Just the usual feeling. That was it.

“Heh, checking your power is something you can do slowly from now on. Now, then… lastly… What did you think while looking at the whole world? No, let’s go deeper. What did you think when you saw the virtuous people?”

What did you think when you saw those who gave to the needy, those who shared what they had with those in need, those who love their neighbors, and those who were faithful? The demon asked, smiling as if posing a riddle.

“I felt sorry for them. It’s pitiful that they don’t know that no matter how “I felt sorry for them. No matter how hard they try, god doesn’t care, and there’s nothing to gain. They don’t know that, and it’s pitiful.”

“Then what did you think when you saw those who were wicked?”

“I thought they were great. Yeah, since no one cares anyway, it’s right to live as you please.”

“You think they’re great, even though you suffered so much at their hands?”

“It was great. And, it’s my fault for being weak. They were just being honest with their feelings. Ah, of course, separate from finding it great, I did feel bad.”

Upon hearing my response, the demon clapped his hands and laughed as if genuinely amused.

“A masterpiece! A truly astonishingly distorted answer!”

“Is that a compliment?”

“There’s no greater compliment amongst demons.”

The demon, chuckling and clapping, placed a hand on his chest and spoke.

“So, what’s your plan moving forward? Please share your plan with me.”

“For starters… I want to corrupt a reasonably good person.”

“Not to destroy the world?”

I looked at the demon, who was grinning and speaking, with a dumbfounded expression. Total destruction. Destruction is the only answer. He was teasing me because I had once sung that song.

Without giving any response and just quietly observing, the demon backed off first. I sighed deeply as I watched the demon, who had bowed his head.

“I won’t bring about destruction. I’ll save that as a last resort.”

“Is that so. Then, as you said, it’s corruption. Have you thought about who you will corrupt?”

“Yes. I’ve thought about someone after sorting out my thoughts a bit. You’ve seen that person too.”

“Someone I’ve seen? Hmm… There are too many people who could be expected, that’s the problem.”

The demon seemed to genuinely ponder, letting out a thoughtful hum. I thought about letting him ponder as punishment for teasing me, but waiting was boring, so I decided to give him some hints.

“It’s the village we visited second.”

“Hmm? Hmm. Ho. Aha….”

The demon, who seemed to have reached the answer with just a hint, kept exclaiming in admiration and looked at me with a twisted smile. I gave a small smile at the demon, who seemed genuinely clueless, and he started asking questions one after another.

“Do you plan to go to the cathedral in the village?”

“Correct.”

I nodded.

“Indeed, do you plan to visit the person with the highest status in that village?”

“Correct.”

I nodded again. Each time, the demon’s smile deepened.

“Now I see. Yes, now I understand.”

“Who do you think it is?”

This must be why the demon was laughing while asking me for the answer. The corners of his mouth danced uncontrollably with unbearable anticipation.

He held his head tightly and lifted the corners of his mouth. As we shared the story and imagined, the corners of my mouth had already risen on their own.

“The stepfather of the saint and the one who raised the saint, the Saint Bishop Barkius. Is that correct?”

“Correct.”

I gave a twisted smile as I looked at the demon who had finally given the correct answer.

“I wonder how the saint will react when she sees her father has fallen? Will she ignore him, pretending not to know, like when she saw me fall into the abyss? Will she cast him aside, claiming him as a stranger? Or will she try to restore him to his former state?”

Aren’t you curious?