The building crumbles, engulfed in flames.
The monstrous roars of the beasts echo everywhere.
The horrendous screams of the students reach my ears.
Yet still, I can only blankly stare at her before me.
“What… did you just say?”
“I said to live as my doll.”
“D-doll?”
The Demon King stares at me fiercely.
“She came here with determination and led her subordinates. She can’t go back empty-handed.”
“So… what now?”
With a trembling voice, I asked, and the Demon King smiled wickedly at me.
“You decide. Will you sacrifice yourself or watch everyone, including the hero, die one by one?”
“N-no, that can’t be!”
“Then you should make a decision quickly. Even as we speak, my legion is devouring your lives.”
My heart began racing at the Demon King’s words.
As she said, it was far from a leisurely time.
In this moment of hesitation, someone may have already died.
‘B-but to be a doll…’
I couldn’t imagine there being a good life.
The Demon Race is inherently cruel.
Being dragged into the Demon Realm, where such demons reside, could be a punishment worse than death.
I could live a life worse than hell.
“I see you’re not quite sure about your hesitation. Well then, take your time to ponder here. She will return soon.”
“N-no!!”
As she tried to walk past me, instinctively, I grabbed her arm to stop her.
“I’ll do it… I’ll be a doll, so please stop!”
I was terrified.
I couldn’t even imagine what I might undergo if dragged away by the Demon Race.
But…
But still…
I want to protect everyone.
This world, where I live, not just a novel I loved.
Not just characters anymore, but the people I cherish.
How terrifying it was when Lily was struck by the Dark Knight’s sword and flew away.
When Melrum’s poison approached Iris and Ariel.
When Darkhan suffered a fatal blow from Arbes.
If my one sacrifice could ensure their survival…
I could overcome this fear.
“If you are ordered to roll, will you roll? If you are commanded to bark, would you bark?”
The Demon King held my chin up with a sadistic smile.
Tears welled up in my eyes from fear, but I nodded with determination.
“Please… stop the attack…”
“Ha ha… very well.”
The Demon King raised her hand high and a massive pool of pitch-black light shot up into the sky around her.
The light split and ensnared the beasts and demons scattered everywhere.
Soon after, the entities of calamity vanished in an instant.
It was hard to believe that just a moment ago, the scene was so hopeless. Peace descended upon the academy.
Nonchalantly, the Demon King smiled at me and extended her hand.
“Now, I have shown mercy, so you must keep your promise.”
Her words made me unconsciously take a step back.
Rejection surged within me, making my stomach churn.
My body was screaming that I shouldn’t go near her.
Ultimately, after hesitating for a long while, the air around the Demon King began to warp horrifically.
“Are you deceiving me? If I don’t kill everyone here, will you finally listen?”
Her words sent a shiver through my body.
There seemed no way out.
There was no one here in the academy who could stop the Demon King.
No matter how I fought, it would only end in a gruesome death at her hands.
“I-I… will go…”
As I resolved with a trembling voice, a woman’s voice echoed in my mind.
[…Don’t go… Duk…nam…]
The kind voice seemed to grasp me.
But there was no one around.
It definitely wasn’t my teacher’s voice.
In the end, it was probably just delusions of my unwillingness to go to the Demon King.
“The patience of the lady is not long.”
Under her prodding, I swallowed the dry saliva and walked towards her.
Each step brought me closer to her, and tears of fear threatened to spill.
[Don’t… turn… away, Reader…]
A voice seeped into my head again.
But I still thought it was just my illusion and took another step forward.
When I awkwardly forced my trembling body to reach her…
[Come back immediately, Reader!!]
“Eh…?”
The sudden, clear voice made my body freeze.
‘Who… are you…?’
[Run away!! Please, run away!!]
Her voice made me realize that something was wrong.
But it was already too late.
Like a beast pouncing on its prey, the Demon King’s hand snatched my wrist faster than the eye could see.
“The path you chose is yours. I hope you have no regrets.”
The Demon King’s energy shifted in an instant.
Confronted with her sinister, glowing eyes up close,
I immediately realized I had made a grave mistake.
My earlier resolve to protect everyone crumbled, replaced by the instinctive terror emanating from her.
“Wait… just a moment…”
“It’s too late. I will show no more mercy.”
“N-no… I-I don’t want to…”
As I instinctively tried to push her away through the overwhelming fear, I could not escape the Demon King’s strong grip that felt like it would shatter my wrist.
“Be quiet. You are now my doll. Do not dare open your mouth without my permission.”
“P-please… spare my life…”
In front of the towering terror, I lost my sanity and could only beg desperately.
“In exchange, I will not invade any further as promised.”
Her vibe was cruel. Violent. It made me tremble like a aspen tree.
I was sure of it now.
If I followed the Demon King like this, I would never see the bright light of the sun again.
“Please… no…”
I had to go back.
To Lily’s side. To Dania’s side. To Mari’s side. To Athena’s side.
But I couldn’t escape the Demon King’s grasp, her black mana started to envelop me slowly.
“I-I… don’t want to… Athena… Lily…”
Desperately looking around, I found myself pathetically seeking their help.
But hopelessly, there was no one around to save me.
With no glimmer of hope, a tear rolled down my cheek.
Then, my vision darkened completely.
I could never step back into the Empire again.
*
I had a dream.
A cottage in the middle of a vast meadow.
It wasn’t a large house, yet it radiated a cozy warmth.
There were happy days spent there with her.
In the morning, we all gathered to enjoy Dania’s extravagant meal.
Mari was smiling brightly in the flower field, making a crown for me.
Lily was still clinging to my side with folded arms.
Iris read scriptures to Sephir, inspiring her.
Sephir frowned, vehemently denying Iris’s words.
I couldn’t help but laugh at their little arguments.
“Hera.”
I turned around at the sound of someone calling me and saw her.
With the most beautiful blonde hair found nowhere else, eyes that seemed ageless.
My love.
As I rushed to her,
Athena effortlessly lifted me.
“I love you, Hera.”
She whispered sweetly into my ear.
I smiled brightly back at her.
“I love you too.”
A dream too good, too happy for me.
Yet after every sweet dream, inevitably follows
The unbearably cold reality.
“…….Ah.”
I awoke on the cold, hard ground.
Every part of me ached as if bruised, my throat was dry, and I could feel nothing but thirst.
“…..Where am I?”
Looking around, all I saw was deep darkness.
Cold iron bars and a hard floor.
It looked just like a prison where criminals would be locked away.
As I tried to rise, painfully slow, just to look around a bit more,
Clank-
“Ugh!”
The throbbing pain in my arm made me grimace.
Turning my head, I saw a single handcuff on my wrist.
It was tightly secured to the wall, not budging no matter what I did.
It didn’t take long to comprehend the situation.
It was an unbearably cruel reality.
I really… ended up in the Demon Realm…
Vague fear and overwhelming loneliness swirled in my heart.
The Demon Realm.
A place inhabited solely by demons, ruthless and merciless.
To be trapped here meant practically receiving a death sentence.
Biting my lip, I held back the tears threatening to spill.
This was the path I chose.
The path chosen to protect the academy students.
So I shouldn’t regret it at least.
“Ugh… I miss you…”
But I couldn’t stop the tears streaming down my cheeks from painful emotions.
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