Chapter: 190
Startled by the sudden change, the Demon King’s eyes widened as her white hair and golden eyes vanished like a mirage.
Panic quickly faded into a dreamy daze. Her body felt limp, as if submerged in warm water, and her eyelids grew heavy. There was an astonishing calm, as if she were being cradled by a divine hand radiating comfort.
‘Is this what humans call paradise?’
Just as this thought sprouted in the Demon King’s mind, Lian gently pushed her hair back over her shoulder. Her gaze slid toward him.
While looking into the Demon King’s serene, shimmering eyes, Lian reflected on his thoughts.
‘Saving the world is something a hero should do.’
In the Gag World, everyone has a defined ‘role.’ The inhabitants go about their business, unaware of their parts, but Lian, having come from another world, could see each person’s role quite clearly.
Just like a mad scientist remains a mad scientist even after ten years, individuals in the Gag World hardly step beyond their set roles.
Having lived in such a framework for so long, it had become second nature to Lian that saving the world—rescuing those placed in innocent circumstances—was a task for heroes alone.
He had always thought that only heroes could bear the weight of enormous narratives, such as rescuing someone like Ellensia, who was forced to live as the Demon King.
However, that fixed mindset crumbled in front of the Demon King’s desperate heart. Was it thanks to their emotional fusion? Or perhaps the gag filter’s influence had weakened?
He couldn’t pinpoint the exact reason, but—
“…I will definitely come back and save you, Ellensia.”
The words filled with determination rolled off his tongue heavily. It felt slightly eerie, as if he had strayed from his genre, and in the end, he couldn’t help but chuckle.
“….”
As his resolve seeped into the Demon King’s ears, her gentle smile etched itself into his mind, and suddenly, a loud thud echoed from somewhere.
The Demon King swallowed hard, as if she had been shoved off a high place, feeling a dizzying sensation of floating. It was as if the divine was playfully stretching time, and the way her lips curled and her eyes drooped trapped her in a slow, lingering moment.
Only after a brief instant did the Demon King realize that the loud noise originated from her own heart. Her fingertips quivered, and her head felt light, as if she were wandering through a dream.
Thud!
A ferocious sound sliced through the warm energy swirling between them. Startled, the Demon King’s gaze whipped in the direction of the noise.
Jess, wearing a fierce expression, was scratching the walls with her claw-like hands. Her smooth, swift movements were as gentle as slicing tofu, yet the aftermath was anything but gentle.
Just by looking at the deep, elongated scratches left by her finger lengths, one could tell how strong Jess was.
Jess shot the Demon King a menacing glare, as if saying, ‘The next thing to get cut will be your neck.’
“Jess?”
“Meow!”
As soon as Lian glanced towards Jess, the menacing gaze evaporated, leaving only her sullen face in its wake.
Lian was taken aback by Jess’s blatant affectation.
‘That beast…’
At that moment, a surge of anger boiled up within the Demon King that she couldn’t even comprehend. It was a furious turmoil uncontrollable, surpassing the rage she felt when Jess obstructed Lian.
‘…Why am I feeling this way?’
Instead of lashing out, the Demon King questioned herself. The weight and intensity of her emotions were enormous.
It was utterly bewildering to experience such overwhelming feelings she had never felt before.
Whoosh!
In the midst of her confusion, Jess stepped forward and pulled Lian’s head towards her, giving him a hug from behind.
“Gah…!?”
Caught off-guard by the sudden soft assault, Lian froze up. Jess’s arms naturally covered his eyes and, peering down at the Demon King, she wore a fierce expression.
Faced with this obvious hostility, a hollow laugh escaped the Demon King’s lips.
‘Oh, so this is what it’s like.’
Thanks to Jess’s unfiltered behavior, the Demon King could instantly recognize her own feelings.
‘The ‘love’ my father spoke of.’
Her parents were the type that succeeded in marriage after a long romance. Perhaps that was why, from a young age, she was constantly singing about the need to find ‘true love.’
It took her a long time to realize that her feelings were love. Her father, who had worked hard during their lengthy discussions, had meticulously educated her about the various feelings and reactions one experiences when finding someone they love.
‘Back then, I couldn’t understand…’
The things she learned about love felt so absurd that it seemed like mere legends.
‘Now I get it.’
Realizing her feelings, she instinctively tried to tighten her arm around Lian, but on purpose, she loosened her grip and let go. Then, she stepped back and stood up straight.
“…Thanks to you, I was able to regain my composure. Thank you.”
With a strangely calm voice, she expressed her gratitude and then quickly turned to face one side of the passageway, pointing toward the end with her index finger.
“If you walk straight down this path, you should be able to exit the castle. You should hurry before that… thing comes after you.”
Having quickly regained her composure, the Demon King provided an escape route. Jess narrowed her eyes as she tried to grasp the meaning behind it.
Tap tap.
“Hey Jess? Could you, um, let me go?”
Hearing the Demon King’s words, Lian softly tapped Jess’s arm that covered his eyes. With no choice, Jess had to loosen her grip.
“Well then, I’ll be off.”
Without a moment’s hesitation, the Demon King strode past Lian and Jess into the opposite passage.
“Wait a second..!”
Lian jumped up in haste, turning to look back at the Demon King.
At Lian’s call, the Demon King’s steps abruptly halted. Yet, she didn’t turn around. After a moment of hesitation, Lian managed to voice his concerns.
“If it’s… okay, would you consider leaving together?”
Lian was well aware that bringing this up after promising to come back might seem strange.
‘But… leaving you behind like this is—’
Before Lian could finish his thought, the Demon King spoke up.
“I cannot easily leave this place; I am bound by a contract.”
After a brief pause, she continued.
“…I will wait for you, so hurry on.”
“…!”
Taken aback by the unexpected words, Lian’s voice caught in his throat. After a moment of silence, the Demon King began to walk away again. Before long, the sound of her hurried footsteps faded into the distance.
“…”
Once Lian and Jess were out of sight, the Demon King turned to stare into the dark passage beyond.
Desperately wanting to escape the horrific place where rotting corpses grabbed at her ankles, neck, and arms, she had been looking for Lian.
Had she only needed to breathe for just a moment, she would have instantly bound Lian to her side without hesitation.
However, there was not a shred of consideration for Lian in that decision. Arguably, she had used him as a ‘tool’ for salvation.
It was because she wanted to ‘live.’
‘I’m sorry.’
Now that she was aware of her feelings toward Lian, her mind began to craft one goal after another, completely different from her previous desire to survive.
‘I want to make my own final choice.’
The moment Lian declared he would save her, ironically, she resolved to face death. It became her ultimate declaration of love she had just come to realize, and it was her last chance to achieve a meaningful demise.
*
A rough snowstorm blanketed the white mountain as if all the snowflakes in the world had descended. The blizzard was so fierce that it was an ordeal to take even a single step forward, with visibility nearly zero.
“Huff, huff…”
“Wheeze, wheeze…”
Two figures, one a red-haired beastman and the other a black-haired human, struggled onward through the fierce wind and swirling snow. It was Jess and Lian, both battered and bruised, climbing the snow-laden mountains.
“Haah, ha… over there—a cave…!”
“…!”
With the storm blending in with the falling snow, it created a thunderous noise akin to an avalanche, making it nearly impossible to communicate. Consequently, their exchanges were reduced to short words.
Lian barely caught on to the word ‘cave’ and began to laboriously make his way in that direction.
‘Should I be thankful the gag filter isn’t working properly?’
Typically, when two Gag World residents found themselves trapped in such a blizzard, the odds were higher that one of them would meet their end. The remaining individual would cry out in tears, “No! Damn it! Open your eyes!” before ultimately succumbing to an avalanche—a classic trope.
Every situation has its positives and negatives. Thanks to the weakened influence of the gag filter, his body’s wounds had not healed easily, but it allowed them to survive in the blizzard.
While he was forcing his mind to think positively, they finally reached the cave that Jess had pointed out. It had a narrow entrance that required them to bend down to get in.
Inside, it was shaped like a hollow dug out by animals, curving inward.
“Huff, huff…”
Shivering from the cold, Lian collapsed inside the cave, fumbling around for Jess with his searching gaze.
‘If I’m this battered and the gag filter is still active, Jess must be…’
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