Chapter 729: Test

As Kent confessed his sins, he suddenly asked Oliver for a favor.

He wanted Oliver to share his own sins.

Hearing this, Oliver instinctively pulled back.

Oliver, who hadn’t even flinched under the onslaught of the Royal Army, Defense Force, or even Puppet.

That was how uncomfortable Kent’s request was… No, it was more than that. It was terrifying.

Oliver didn’t hide his feelings.

“That’s quite a sudden and unreasonable request.”

“I understand. I know how painful it is.”

Kent, sweating and breathing heavily from confessing his sins, acknowledged it.

He knew how unreasonable his request was. Yet, he didn’t back down.

“Even so, I’m asking.”

“Why are you putting me through this all of a sudden?”

“I can’t say now, but I’m not doing this to torment you. Trust me.”

Kent was sincere. However, Oliver still refused.

“I believe you. But I must decline.”

“Even if it’s the dying wish of a friend?”

Kent brought up something unexpected.

However, Oliver wasn’t particularly surprised. His face tensed, but he wasn’t shocked.

Seeing Oliver’s reaction, Kent smiled.

“Hmph, as I thought, you already knew.”

Kent said this and then showed the dagger embedded in his side.

A familiar dagger.

It was the same one Jane, under Fen’s control, had stabbed Oliver with when he first arrived in Neverland.

Oliver had pulled the dagger out back then, but for some reason, it was now in Kent’s side.

“…Was it Puppet who did this?”

Oliver, whose eyes could see through all evil, asked.

Kent nodded.

“When the zombie army invaded… Honestly, they attacked Randa just to stick this dagger in me. Quite impressive, don’t you think? They invaded Randa all because of me.”

Kent, with the dagger embedded in his side, joked casually.

Though a bit late, Oliver asked a question.

“Does it hurt?”

“As you can see, it doesn’t. I can’t feel pain anymore.”

Kent poked the dagger in his side and around it.

It wasn’t a bluff. From the beginning Kent had been able to converse normally despite the dagger in his side, because his body couldn’t feel pain.

Not being able to feel pain… It seemed like a blessing, but it wasn’t. Because…

“I’m essentially a corpse. A living corpse. You already knew, I’m sure.”

Oliver slowly nodded.

Kent was, just as he said, a living dead man.

Oliver had realized that ever since entering the room.

Kent’s body was practically dead.

The only thing preventing the body from rotting was the dagger in his side… More accurately, the demonic power in the dagger was holding his soul and body together, keeping him in a state of living death.

That’s why Oliver hadn’t touched the dagger embedded in Kent’s side.

The item that killed Kent was also keeping him alive.

“Puppet called it a safety measure, meant to keep you in check.”

“So if I cross a line, they’re going to kill Kent using that dagger.”

“Seems that way. I guess they’re pretty scared of you. Maybe you’re not just a ‘finger’?”

Kent joked again. Oliver brushed his hair back.

“…Why did you agree to this? If you hadn’t, they couldn’t have stabbed you.”

Oliver, whose eyes could see through everything, pointed out.

The dagger that kept the dead alive had immense power, but it couldn’t work with just demonic magic alone.

In fact, it required far more conditions to wield, precisely because it was powered by demonic force.

One of those conditions was ‘consent.’

The person being stabbed had to willingly give their life up to another—an absurd condition.

Of course, Oliver already had an idea about why Kent had been stabbed. He knew.

It was because of Puppet’s threats. If Kent didn’t agree, Puppet would kill half of Randa’s population.

Even knowing this, Oliver asked anyway.

It was the only thing he could do.

That dagger— it wasn’t something Oliver could do anything about.

Though he had grown nearly omnipotent with his broken limits, he still couldn’t interfere with something influenced by demonic power.

For the first time in a long while, Oliver felt powerless.

“Let’s skip the trivial details.”

“Trivial?”

“Yes. Either way, even without accepting it, Puppet would have just made me a corpse. In that case, it’s better to be a living corpse. Thanks to that, I get to have this chat with you now, don’t I?”

Oliver stayed silent. It wasn’t wrong—it was the truth. But because of that, guilt surged within him.

Because all of this seemed to be his fault.

“Hup.”

Suddenly, Kent stood up from his seat. Then, dragging his chair, he came over to sit beside Oliver, instead of opposite him.

“Seems like you’re mistaken.”

“…What?”

“This dagger in me is my choice, not because of you. So don’t make that face. It makes it hard for me to be honest. Also…”

Kent paused for a moment and looked directly at Oliver.

“Because of this, you don’t have to talk about things you don’t want to. However, I still really would like you to tell me about your sins. As a favor to a friend.”

Kent, locking eyes with Oliver, asked earnestly.

Oliver looked straight at Kent too.

He was sincere. Kent genuinely wanted Oliver to tell him about his sins of his own will.

Seeing this, Oliver hesitated for a moment. Should he talk about his sins or not?

It wasn’t an easy decision. Ever since he got these eyes, it’s been hard to even look at himself in a mirror.

When he looked, he saw nothing but his sins.

Facing his own sins was just as difficult as seeing the ugliness of others.

Oliver and Kent stared at each other, and a silence that felt eternal fell between them. After what seemed like an eternity, Oliver finally spoke.

“Once, a long time ago, I didn’t share my potato soup.”

***

Oliver began telling a story from long, long ago.

Back when his entire world consisted of the orphanage and the mine.

“In the mine… They didn’t give food to kids who didn’t work properly. ‘If you don’t work, you don’t eat,’ they said.”

“I’m listening.”

“So if you got injured, it was a big problem. If you got hurt, you couldn’t work properly. If you couldn’t work, you couldn’t get soup. If you couldn’t get soup, you wouldn’t recover. In other words, getting hurt in the mine was almost a death sentence.”

“I’m listening.”

“Sometimes, injured kids would beg the others to share their soup. But most people didn’t share. They didn’t have enough for themselves… I was no different.”

“I’m listening.”

“The kid next to me asked if I could share. Just a little soup.”

“I’m listening.”

“I didn’t give him any, as I said before. I didn’t even have enough for myself.”

“Do you regret it?”

Oliver shook his head.

“No. Even if I went back, I wouldn’t have shared. Back then, I only cared about surviving. However… I do wonder how things would be if I had shared. Looking back now, he was probably the only kid who was kind to me. Maybe because we sat together.”

Oliver said this in his usual, calm manner. But Kent noticed the very slight tremor in Oliver’s eyes.

“…Is that it?”

“…No.”

“Then, tell me more. Anything.”

Oliver thought for a moment and then began speaking again.

“…At the orphanage, when I saw the kids bullying others, I remained silent. I was scared they’d bully me too. Should I mention this?”

“If it’s what you want to talk about, then yes.”

“…I blew up a boy named Tom once because I wanted to learn Dark Magic faster. We had a duel. We were competing for a spot as an apprentice. Looking back, I could’ve just subdued him.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“I don’t know… I guess I didn’t care. I probably didn’t see people as people back then. Just as tools. That’s why even after the beggars helped me, I still took the easy way by becoming a Contractor.”

“I’m the one who suggested you become a Contractor.”

“Even if someone else pushes you, it’s still your choice to move your feet. Even if you offered me another path, I would have taken the same one. Because it was the easiest and most comfortable. Because I’m just…”

Oliver didn’t finish his sentence. Kent prompted him.

“Is there more?”

Oliver thought again before continuing.

“I’m just…”

“I’m listening.”

Oliver continued to confess his sins. And each time, Kent listened as though they were his own, always assuring Oliver he was there for him.

And so, the quiet voices of Oliver and Kent resonated in Room 444 for a long time.

For quite a while.

“Is there more?”

“I’m not sure if I’ve done more or not.”

“That’s right. People commit sins without even realizing it.”

“But I’m not human, and even if it’s unconscious, a sin is still a sin.”

“Right, a sin is a sin. It can’t be denied or erased.”

Grip…

Kent squeezed Oliver’s hand tightly in agreement.

It was only then that Oliver realized Kent had been holding his hand.

There was a clear intent in Kent’s hand, and just as Oliver was about to ask why, Kent spoke.

“One last favor. Can you pull this dagger out for me?”

Kent held the dagger in his side and asked.

“What?”

“I’m asking you to pull this dagger out. I’ve tried, but I can’t do it myself.”

It was a sudden request, and Oliver was flustered.

“Kent—”

“—I’ve been a dead man since my greed got my family killed.”

“…”

“A nameless Priest gave me another life, but I’ve always considered it a bonus. If I found a good enough reason, I’d be ready to let it go.”

“And you believe this is a good enough reason? If it’s because of me—”

“—It’s not because of you. It’s because of what I want. Do you really think my continued existence is right?”

Kent looked at Oliver and asked. Oliver couldn’t answer immediately.

Because Kent’s existence in its current state wasn’t right.

A dying person could be saved, but no one who was already dead should be brought back to life. Nor should they be.

That was the domain of the gods, and tampering with the weight of life was wrong.

Knowing this, Kent placed Oliver’s hand on the dagger in his side, smiling just as he had the first time they met.

For some reason, Oliver couldn’t refuse the weakened old man’s hand.

“I am neither dead nor alive. It’s a blasphemous state, going against the natural order. Most of all, it wasn’t what I wanted. I only stayed like this to protect the city, and because I can’t pull it out myself… I want to face my end as a human. Dignified.”

Kent guided Oliver’s hand to rest on the handle of the dagger in his side.

“I’m asking for your help in seeing my final moments.”

As Oliver’s hand rested on the dagger, Kent placed his own hand over it.

“You’re serious.”

“Absolutely.”

Kent replied. Oliver, with one hand holding Kent’s and the other on the dagger, hesitated.

He was considering what the best course of action was.

Kent was practically dead already, and only demonic power was keeping him here.

Oliver couldn’t help Kent any further, because Kent was already dead. Oliver couldn’t bring the dead back to life, nor could he go against the power of a demon head-on.

All Oliver could do was help Kent die as a human by pulling out the dagger, just as Kent asked.

Because if Kent continued to live like this, he was nothing but a puppet on a string—either to Puppet or the demons.

After a long deliberation, Oliver made his decision.

“Is there anything else you’d like to ask?”

“Actually, there is one thing. Would you hear my confession?”

“Confession?… You want confession?”

“Yes.”

Oliver shook his head involuntarily.

Confession wasn’t something just anyone could listen to, and certainly not something Oliver could do.

“I heard you did it once before.”

“That was a special circumstance.”

“It seems like we’re in a special situation now.”

“Even if I listened, it wouldn’t do anything.”

“It’s fine. I want to confess to you. This is my real final request.”

Kent repeated his request.

However, unlike the previous ones, Oliver found this one impossible to accept.

Because it wasn’t right. Even if everyone else in the world could hear a confession, Oliver couldn’t.

After all, he was the Prince of Hell.

At the same time, memories of the confession Oliver had heard in the past came back to him.

Colin, a boy, had once made a confession.

Back then, Oliver had been unable to save the boy, who had swelled up. He had only listened to Colin’s confession as something like a pain reliever.

Hoping to ease his fear.

At the time, Oliver thought it had been the best course of action. He believed it was okay as long as he could ease the boy’s fear with a white lie.

But after the boy’s confession, Oliver regretted the lie, and now, the guilt was even more overwhelming.

“Oliver… Please.”

Within that, Kent made his plea. Earnestly.

Oliver opened his mouth.

“Kent. Speak your sins.”

“Father who art in heaven, I have committed countless sins in my greed.”

“Father, forgive us our sins.”

“I have harmed so many to fill my own pockets. Men, women, children, the elderly… I took from them all and hurt them.”

“Father, forgive us our sins.”

“And now, I am about to commit another sin.”

“…What?”

Oliver, who had been holding Kent’s hand and leading his confession, paused.

Oliver looked up at Kent. He was smiling at Oliver. A sad, pitiful, yet affectionate smile.

It was the same smile a parent watching their child in a park would make.

“How arrogant of me, but I ask the Father. Please let me take on the sins of this boy holding my hand.”