Memories of the past flash by like a shooosh.
It’s different from just ‘seeing’.
Belphegor’s experiences are flowing into me.
Demons and humans are all completely different in body structure and way of thinking.
But the senses and experiences of being a demon flow directly to me without any filtration or interpretation.
It’s full of things I just can’t understand.
But there’s one thing I can definitely know.
The emotions Belphegor felt.
That alone has been clearly conveyed to me.
This is Belphegor’s trauma.
A painful past that has become her shackle and filled ‘My Inner World’.
“I kinda get it.”
Things that happened after Belphegor arrived in the current world were pretty obvious and easy to predict.
A demon who couldn’t communicate descended into the current world, so what kind of reaction would people show?
Naturally, they rushed in to slaughter her.
In response, Belphegor tried to initiate a conversation.
However, the way of conveying meaning was so fundamentally different that there was no way it could work.
In the eyes of humans, Belphegor probably just looked like a mindless demon scrap.
Thus, Belphegor kept running away.
Avoiding the Holy Knights pursuing her and disappearing from people’s sight.
She crawled into increasingly darker and gloomier places.
With her power as a Great Demon stripped away, there was no option to fight back.
All she could do was keep running until she was cornered and about to be caught.
At that moment, an entity reached out to her again.
“Draken…”
The being she reveres as ‘that person’.
Draken’s powers started to be injected into Belphegor.
With that newfound strength, Belphegor managed to escape the humans’ siege.
“No need to look further.”
What followed was really predictable.
Even though hundreds of years were still left in terms of time.
She would merely dedicate herself to ‘that person’ who saved her and serve to help the descent.
Flashes of Transylvania’s face and Luna’s living appearance passed by, but she simply ignored them; it was urgent right now…
“Tsk. What a mess.”
“Ah…”
Did I make her recall too many memories right after stepping into ‘My Inner World’?
With a gaze lost in a daze, Belphegor stood still, her pupils dim.
Even if I snapped my fingers in front of her, there was no response.
Trying to pull up her skirt playfully didn’t budge her either; she must really have lost her mind or be on the brink of it.
At that moment, the scenery of the world began to tremble, and the ground shook.
If this continued, she would sink into the ground and die.
In a world where neither demons nor mana could be wielded, experiencing such disasters would mean certain death.
“Let’s get out.”
“……Okay.”
“……”
Holding Mi Jeong’s hand, I look around.
There’s only one way out of here.
Belphegor must bring us out.
She is the master of this world.
While it’s still impossible to eliminate the entire world or change its geography.
At the very least, the master should have the ability to freely enter and exit.
“Belphegor. Pull yourself together. Are you going to die like a dog here?”
“Maybe… dying might be better…”
“Come on.”
In the midst of this, a huge black figure crawls up from deep despair.
Anger, Satan.
It clearly takes on his shape, but unlike the Satan I’ve seen, it has a disgusting grin and is crawling forward in a low crouch.
Damn.
If Belphegor doesn’t pull herself together, I’ll end up getting dragged into that creepy Satan and trapped in despair.
|Where are you going, daughter! Let’s sacrifice together! We’ll become the eternal heroes of the Demon World together!|
“Belphegor!”
“……?!”
Crack!
I grab Belphegor’s face firmly with my right hand.
As I apply a strong grip, her eyes begin to regain some faint life as she sobers up a bit.
“Do you think dying is fine? Was your life with no regrets really worth ending here?”
“That can’t… be true…”
“Then let’s get out.”
“How…?”
With tear-filled eyes, Belphegor stares at me.
Her expression is like that of a child at a dead end, asking an adult what to do next.
I let the tears flow as I quietly whisper.
“You need to recognize that this place represents your essence and you are just a powerless resident here.”
“I’m already powerless—”
“No. That’s wrong. You’re just shaking in fear right now. Accept it! This place isn’t just a simple memory projection; it’s a vast world!”
“……!”
An infinitely vast and immense world.
In comparison, beings like us are nothing but tiny specks of dust.
The moment we accept that, we become infinitesimally small.
And paradoxically, we become infinitely omnipotent.
|Kkkk…!|
Belphegor’s eyes clear up.
Just before the Satan’s hand reaches the back of Belphegor’s head, it disperses into black fog.
She did it.
Belphegor has finally learned how to navigate this world.
This immense world is mine.
I am the master of this place.
The moment she realizes that, Belphegor becomes both a helpless resident and the omnipotent god of this world.
“Ahh…”
“Are you feeling calmer now? The more you fear, the more this world will try to devour you and eliminate you because it’s based on your trauma.”
“It feels like it… but I still don’t want to be here any longer. I want to leave.”
“Wait a moment. Before that.”
“……?”
Belphegor closes her eyes, breathing deeply to leave.
But first, there’s something I need to do.
I kneel before Belphegor and pour a luxurious potion from my pocket into my hand.
It’s the last potion I have left.
“What are you…!”
“Just stay still.”
“Ugh?!”
I then lift Belphegor’s clothing and carefully apply the potion on her belly and waist.
Though she cannot move under my command, I can see she’s twitching from the coldness of the potion.
Now it should be fine.
The moment I signal that it’s done.
Belphegor’s face flushes red with humiliation as she closes her eyes, and in an instant, the surroundings change.
“Huuh?! Cough! My belly! Damn! It hurts! Aaaaaaah!!!”
We’re back.
To the current world, no, to the Demon World.
On the scar left by my massive sword of mana sweeping past, Belphegor clutches her belly and rolls around wildly.
“Seems like it worked well.”
I had accidentally torn her upper body apart.
But when I thought about applying the potion while she was intact in ‘My Inner World,’ it really worked.
Though a minor scar formed around her belly and waist, what of it, right?
Other than not being able to wear a bikini, it was a perfect fix without any problems.
“Stop whining.”
“Ah! You crazy bastard…”
“Stand up.”
“It hurts to death, what the…?”
“Stand up.”
“Huh…?”
A command without the power of magic.
As I reach out and say so, Belphegor, who had been shedding tears, takes my hand.
And then, she suddenly stands up, facing me.
Standing tall, she looks up at me.
There seems to be a bit of strong will in her gaze now.
“You said you have no regrets about what you’ve done.”
“Of course not. You saw it, so you know. There was no other path for me. Regrets? That’s what the rich with plenty of chances or foolish folks have. If I hadn’t walked this path, I wouldn’t be here. I would have been trapped in that abyss or dead long ago… So, I have no regrets. No, I can’t have them.”
“……”
For Belphegor, the concept of regret cannot exist.
Regret only arises when one has the opportunity to return to the past and make different choices.
But for Belphegor, every other path leads only to death or imprisonment.
Though that path is smeared in filth, it remains true that Belphegor has desperately clung to her best choice and survived.
‘Was that it?’
That is definitely a point that distinguishes her from Luna and Kali.
When looking back at the past, do they regret or not?
Did they live believing they were doing their best?
Belphegor is satisfied with both.
And I believe that a person who has lived such a life should have the opportunity to choose.
“Choose, Belphegor.”
“What? Ugh…!”
Crack!
I grip her face tightly and apply pressure.
Belphegor furrows her brow in pain, her expression showing her discomfort.
But I have no intention of easing up.
If it comes to it, I will crush her to death.
I am fully prepared for that.
“First option. You die by my hand here. Then your painful life will end, and you will receive the justice of the God of Underworld under His guidance. No more need to struggle to survive.”
“Don’t be ridiculous…!”
“Second and last option. You come back to the current world with me.”
“……!”
“You will atone for your sins. I’ve heard from the God of Underworld that the conditions to atone for your wrongs involve the acknowledgment of the wrongdoer and the forgiveness of the victim. However, given how many terrible things you’ve done, I have no idea where to start or how to meet those conditions… But at least there’s a possibility. Maybe if you struggle for hundreds or thousands of years, you might get to suffer less in the afterlife. The choice is yours.”
“……”
Putting aside the accumulated personal feelings over the past twelve cycles.
I give Belphegor a new opportunity.
It’s not particularly for her.
It’s simply because I think I might be able to persuade her.
If successful, I could turn the Great Demon who did all sorts of things to destroy the current world into an infinite serving machine, so there’s no loss to be had.
“……I will.”
“What did you say?”
“I will… go back to the current world… to that place filled with my ugly past…”
Gazing down, Belphegor whispers quietly.
The first time confronted with a fork in the road after having only one choice in life.
There, Belphegor chose not to flee.
She chose to face her own sins.
And her ugly past.
For the first time, she took a step forward and chose her path.
I release my grip on Belphegor’s face and gently caress the red marks left behind.
Looking like this, she’s actually quite pretty by human standards.
I wonder how demons see her…
“Why? What? What’s wrong with my face?”
“Uh… it’s not that…”
Belphegor tilts her head in confusion, clearly puzzled.
This face.
What can I say?
Something…
|Hoh hoh hoh! Amazing! You truly are amazing!|
“……?”
At that moment, a hearty laugh rings out along with clapping sounds.
Anger, Satan.
He twists his throat to produce an unpleasant voice while clapping his hand made of demonic energy.
It’s undeniably a bizarre scene.
|Already ruling a tenth of the Demon World with that tremendous power! Truly a being familiar with death! When everyone else was uncertain, I firmly believed! No matter how much you’re in a human body, you will definitely pull it off! Of course, I never anticipated you would go this far! Hoh hoh hoh!|
“What on earth does that mean? Being a being familiar with death?”
|Don’t worry about it! Just think of it as a talent you were born with! You’ve cultivated that talent and not only control parts of the Demon World, but you’re also even training Belphegor as your bride! It’s a presence that every demon looks up to and worships! It would be too much of a loss to return to the current world now!|
“No, what the hell are you trying to say with such foreshadowing—”
|Thus, I, the Great Marshal of the Demon World, appoint the great human who came from the current world as the Great Judge of the Underworld!|
“Wait a moment…!”
In that moment.
With a clank clank sound like chains clamping down.
An overwhelming pressure begins to envelop my body.
“KA-A-A-AAG!!!”
In an instant, a snowy landscape unfolds before my eyes.
In the blizzard-blanketed expanse lies a colossal throne.
