The battle didn’t last long.
In just a short span of ten minutes, a fierce exchange determined the victor—me, with a giant hole in my side.
‘…I lost.’
Despite fighting with all my might, I was utterly defeated.
The top-tier attack Sacred Spell, ‘Sun Judgment,’ was engulfed in my counterattack and vanished.
The strongest defense, ‘Sun Barrier,’ crumbled under the onslaught of aura-laden punches.
Total defeat.
It was such a clean-cut loss that I couldn’t even deny reality.
“…That hurts.”
The Apostate Saint, who dealt me a deadly blow, murmured wearily.
It was a ridiculously absurd thing for her to say to me, so I chuckled while pouring Sacred Power into my side.
“You’re insane.”
Another me used a truly unhuman form of combat.
A reckless offense of charging at the enemy, swinging aura-covered fists.
It was so simplistic that the trajectories of the attacks were clear, yet I couldn’t block them all. I had marvelous regeneration abilities that allowed my limbs to reattach themselves almost instantly.
Even now, my battered body was slowly regaining its original form.
‘What kind of monster is that…?’
I was disgusted by her feral way of using her limbs like consumables.
Is that really a human?
I could roughly guess why she had such transcendent regeneration. It was probably from her Sacred Power.
That girl had been abandoned by the Goddess and even marked as an apostate.
Thus, her body, unable to handle the holy energy accumulating from her faith, could no longer use Sacred Spells.
However.
The Sacred Power still rose like an inexhaustible spring.
Despite being forsaken by the sun, she didn’t lose her faith in wanting to follow the sunlight, gathering a massive amount of Sacred Power inside her.
That’s why she possessed superior healing abilities that most monsters and demons could never attain.
‘…Impressive.’
She didn’t give up her will to pursue the sun, even after being cast out.
Honestly, I wanted to emulate her. She was such a model clergy that I would want to introduce her to the young priests and holy knights.
If the situation were different, we would’ve exchanged countless stories about faith.
It surely would’ve been enjoyable.
Maybe I would’ve shed tears listening to her stories, finding them fascinating and unbelievable.
But from the very beginning, that kind of mild conversation was not permitted for us. Someone had to die—it was our fate.
“I have one confession to make.”
As I was patching up the hole in my side, having run out of Sacred Power, I spoke with difficulty.
There was something that needed to be said.
Though I might die here, I could not just leave the unnerving future I foresaw unspoken.
“What is it?”
“I’m becoming the Demon King.”
“……”
The face of another me twisted in shock at my words.
“Explain in detail.”
“A Demon King that spreads curses before dying. Isn’t that just a cliché?”
The Apostate Saint and her companions must have lost to the Demon King. I could guess that just from the desolate looks on their faces.
Therefore.
I had to convey this fact.
“The curse is slowly eating away at me. With each passing day, my personality becomes a little more vicious, and malice seeps out bit by bit.”
“…Are you saying it’s a curse that turns you into the next Demon King?”
“That’s right. I’m holding on with my reason for now, but I don’t know when I’ll collapse. If I stay still, it will completely devour my soul.”
Even if we kill the Demon King, there will be no happy ending.
Our hero party had achieved the great feat of defeating Demon King Balreer but lost our families and fell into despair.
And I ended up being cursed and became a potential disaster across the continent.
Why did I, who had done nothing wrong, have to face such misery?
I didn’t know that, but I understood what I had to do now.
“If perhaps the next hero party is chosen, please warn them to be careful.”
I must prevent the same tragedy from repeating, even in another world.
If I could shed a little light on others’ futures through my death, that would be fine. I could close my eyes with an incredibly refreshing feeling.
Cough.
At that moment, blood suddenly burst from my throat.
This time, it was quite a bit. It seemed to show how little time I had left.
“Thank you.”
Another me looked down at me with a puzzled expression.
To ease the guilt in my heart, I offered one last smile.
“Please use my life wisely.”
I had almost no strength left.
My journey in this life was coming to an end. Rather than dying in vain, it felt more like relief.
“O radiant sun…”
I slowly closed my eyes and whispered my final prayer.
“I wish to become a fading spark. I hope to find eternal rest in your embrace.”
And so.
I finally escaped the painful life and met a peaceful death.
…At least that’s how it should have been.
I realized something was off only after lying there for quite a while, feeling dazed.
“Why am I not dead…?”
“I wonder.”
Despite inflicting a fatal wound, I should have been dead by now, yet I wasn’t. Instead, my injuries were gradually healing.
‘What the…?’
While I was bewildered, the Apostate Saint picked up a bracelet that had fallen nearby and showed it to me.
It was the broken Ancient Artifact ‘Connection Device’ with shattered beads.
“Is it broken?”
“Completely.”
From the situation, it seemed the Connection Device had broken, leading to a malfunction in the life-exchange system.
That’s why, even though I should have transferred all my lifespan and died, I was alive and well.
An incredible glitch that didn’t exist in the game.
It was a totally unexpected turn of events.
“So what do I do now?”
“Who knows?”
“……”
“……”
We sat there dumbfounded and blinked at each other for a while.
Then we both burst into laughter simultaneously.
“Ridiculous.”
“Indeed.”
The life-or-death duel ended there.
Should I be glad no one died? Or is it unfortunate that neither of us achieved our goals?
Although I didn’t realize it at the time, I can confidently say now.
Coexisting with another me was the greatest stroke of luck in my life.
“Since it’s like this, let’s combine our efforts.”
“Sounds good.”
Right after understanding the situation, we began brainstorming ways to navigate our predicament.
Interestingly enough, though we were fundamentally the same person, the gaming knowledge we recalled was a bit different.
From the descriptions of trivial items to crucial plot settings.
As we shared every memory we had of living in [Apollis Tales], memories from those days came rushing back.
It wasn’t exactly a happy time, but there were small joys. The Apostate Saint agreed.
“Did we spend the whole day playing Ataman? It was fun.”
“Exactly. When you immerse yourself in the game, you could forget about reality and go a little crazy.”
It was the first time we spoke about the previous life we had hidden away in our hearts.
Reflecting together on the grim memories of living as Park Si-woo, which I had intentionally turned away from, wasn’t so bad after all.
“I wouldn’t want to go back, though.”
“Me neither.”
“Is living as Park Si-woo really better than being the Apostate Saint?”
“In a way, it’s not that different in terms of hardship. So it’s probably better to live as pretty Clitia.”
“…….”
I felt that continuing this conversation would only lead to more gloom, so I quickly changed the subject.
“So this is your world?”
“There must be a battle space formed on my side of the Connection Device. I accessed it before you did.”
I had forgotten, but the Connection Device operated by having one side transition to another world.
Specifically, it meant the one who accessed later would move.
So I was now in the Apostate Saint’s world.
‘…I have quite the unfortunate fate.’
With the curse of becoming a Demon King weighing heavily on me, I found myself living in a parallel world. I didn’t want to lament my situation any longer.
Still, there was a silver lining to this development.
For some reason, the heavy and gloomy atmosphere in my heart felt like it was evaporating. Like I had pressed a reset button deep within me.
Was it because I had distanced myself from the world I once lived in?
Whatever the reason, I felt good. I was freed from the burdens and constraints that had held me down until now.
“Should I kill you now?”
“No. Now that this has happened, I’ll look for another solution.”
So I rejected the proposal from another me, who had become a last resort for breaking the curse of becoming a Demon King.
I didn’t want to die anymore.
I wanted to keep living.
I hoped to lead the Order safely as a Pope, occasionally drink with my comrades and deepen our bonds, and love Liam for a long time.
That’s why I resolved to fight back against the fate that constantly pressured me. No matter what hardships awaited me.
It would have been tough alone, but thankfully, I was no longer just ‘me.’
“I’m glad you’re here.”
“I feel the same.”
We were one, yet two.
Despite having experienced completely different things, we still knew each other better than anyone else.
Even Liam and my comrades couldn’t really say they were as close as the Apostate Saint and I were.
So, if we combined our strengths, we could overcome any hardship.
“First, let’s decide on a name. Although we are both ‘me,’ we are distinct existences.”
As soon as I suggested it, the Apostate Saint raised a slight smirk. A hint of mischief appeared on her otherwise gloomy face.
“I’ll be Clitia, and you can be Eluke. How does that sound?”
She’s suggesting I take the surname that’s rarely used while she takes the common name.
It didn’t feel bad, and it sounded like a plausible notion, so I nodded in agreement.
“Sure. This is the world you lived in, after all.”
Thus, I became ‘Eluke.’
It was the moment that would define the title I would keep using moving forward.
*
“After that, I had profound and secret conversations with Lady ‘Clitia.’ We would ask each other about our lives, sometimes finding it fascinating and other times in shock.”
As I reminisced about those times with a slight smile, Rema raised their hand.
“Give me a concrete example, Demon King.”
“…I’ve told you multiple times that I’m not a Demon King.”
“Ah, I don’t care! I’m calling you Demon King!”
The childlike Rema, with a nasty disposition even as a Great Demon, made me wonder how much trouble his closest underling, Koruaegenin, must be having.
“Do as you please.”
I decided to let it slide since it seemed like nothing I said would change his mind. He would give up soon enough.
“Anyway, I will share an example. The most significant difference is that I ended up with Liam, while she did not.”
“Haha! So you rejected the hero’s heart, huh?”
“No, it’s not that. In her world, Liam was killed by Demon King Balreer.”
“……”
Even the demons couldn’t laugh at a tale so grim as this, and Rema fell silent.
On the other hand, Kim Ji-yeon continued nodding slightly before finally speaking up.
“Pope, Pope. Hurry and tell the story. What happened with the curse?”
“After going through numerous events in her world, I miraculously rid myself of the curse of becoming a Demon King.”
“Whaaat?”
[-_-;]
Kim Ji-yeon looked at me with disbelief etched on her face.
“Be specific. I demand an explanation. You’re being too vague!”
I squinted my eyes at the humanoid and shrugged, then clasped my hands before me.
“The most noble meddler in the world seems to want to keep my mouth shut.”
Finally.
The revered voice I hadn’t been able to hear while in the Demon World was echoing in my mind.
-…Eluke, stop it.
I couldn’t see her face, but it was easy to tell. The Goddess was feeling embarrassed right now.
“Why?”
-I don’t know. It’s embarrassing, so don’t say any more.
“Come on, I’ve already censored all the parts that would embarrass you, so why do you feel that way?”
-…….
The sun paused for a moment before suddenly expressing irritation.
-Just don’t say it if I ask you not to. Understood?
“Yes.”
I immediately nodded and adopted a more reverent tone.
“Regardless, thank you for saving me.”
Everything I could escape from was thanks to the Goddess.
However, at that time, she was not a deity.
Even as a mere human, she shone brilliant light upon me. Unlike the ‘previous sun goddess’ who thoroughly ignored me as I floundered in despair.
“I hope for your continued guidance.”
-…It’s cheesy, so don’t say stuff like that.
“Then I suppose I’ll have to say it five times a day.”
-Do you want to be marked as an apostate?
“Sorry. Please forgive me.”
As we conversed, a bright smile spread across my face.
Being with the Goddess became a daily occurrence.
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