Chapter 18: The Lifted Veil (1)

“So, what I’m saying is, is it possible there was poison in the water bottle?”

“That’s a possibility! Let’s set the water bottle aside for now. And find out who prepared it!”

“Right… Huh? Wait a minute, now that I think about it, I prepared that water bottle myself.”

“Ed, you bastard… How could you…!”

“Hold on a second. Why is your train of thought going there?!”

Ah, now that I think about it, Ben wasn’t completely out of the battle’s aftermath.

Which meant, he wasn’t in his right mind.

‘*To call for someone like that, were you trying to kill me?*’

I shot Ed a somewhat colder look, but then again, he was thinking of me and looked genuinely flustered, so I decided to let it slide.

It’s definitely not because I was afraid that the next adjutant would be someone like Dahar, the 12th Corps Commander’s adjutant.

It looked like those two might actually start a deathmatch, so I hurriedly cleared my throat and called out to them.

“I’m fine, so both of you stop… *cough*.”

“Demon-nim!”

“What in the…! There’s no blood, and the mana stone isn’t reacting… What is it? Is the mana stone defective? I need to get it replaced as soon as we get back!”

No, that’s not it.

Ugh, damn it….

I completely burned myself out.

What did I burn out? My mental energy.

Who knew it would take this much mental fortitude just to prove that it wasn’t poison.

Even after all that, the two of them still didn’t believe me.

They just sort of convinced themselves, ‘Our strong Demon-nim is enduring the poison alone and lying so we won’t worry. So let’s just play along this time.’

I appreciate them stopping there… but why am I so frustrated?

“Then Demon-nim crushed the former Commander of the 7th Corps while falling between them…!”

An excited, overly exaggerated voice chirped up.

Completely exhausted, I sat on the cloak Ed had laid out, leaning against the carriage wall, listening blankly to his voice.

A cool breeze blew, ruffling my white hair. The wind slipped through my strands, caressing my scalp as if urging me to snap out of it.

Thanks to that, my head cleared somewhat, and the truth about ‘my heroic feats’ began to fill the empty space in my mind.

*Yeah, that’s it. That’s why my stomach hurts again. It’s driving me crazy, really.*

I didn’t kill the Hero.

I didn’t stop the Hero who was trying to self-destruct, nor did I take his self-destruction upon myself.

The story about the former Commander of the 7th Corps was also quite distorted.

Let me take this opportunity to re-evaluate myself.

My name is Deon Hart.

Currently, due to unavoidable circumstances, I’m living in the Demon King’s castle under the name ‘Demon Hart’—

—I was the ‘last companion’ of the ‘last Hero.’

‘The last Hero, huh….’

I tilted my head back against the carriage wall.

The black sky, dotted with three moons and countless stars, filled my vision.

*…Isn’t it ridiculous?*

‘Last Hero,’ ‘last companion.’

These are terms the Empire uses. The reason is simple.

The Empire likes things that sound impressive. Calling them the ‘Hero’ and ‘his companion’ doesn’t have the same weight as adding the modifier ‘last.’

I think the term ‘last’ is meaningless. Especially when it’s attached to the Hero.

*Because there’s no such thing as a permanent last.*

Imagine a family with two children. The second child would be the youngest.

But what happens when they have another child? The title of ‘youngest’ that belonged to the second child now goes to the third.

The same goes for the Hero.

The world values balance. The Demon King’s power is so immense that it disrupts this balance, and because the Demon King is alive, the world will send another Hero, sooner or later.

When that happens, the word ‘last’ attached to my dead comrade will be transferred to that new Hero.

So, instead of being the ‘last companion’ of the ‘last Hero,’ I’m just the ‘last companion’ of ‘one of the many Heroes who have existed.’

In short, there’s no need to dwell on the word ‘last’ too much.

It’s just a kind of pretense to make things sound more important.

“He grabbed the Hero who was about to self-destruct by the shoulder—bam!”

Ah, were they still talking?

It wasn’t that, you know. I just put my ear closer because I couldn’t hear the Hero’s voice properly.

So… where should I start explaining….

Right, from the story of being selected as the Hero’s companion and heading towards the Demon King’s castle.

*…Thinking back on it, it’s a miracle I’m alive.*

Just thinking about what happened back then sends shivers down my spine.

The road to the Demon King’s castle was incredibly difficult. No, ‘incredibly’ doesn’t even begin to describe it.

So many others who were chosen as companions died along the way, how could I simply say it was ‘difficult’?

Eventually, when the Demon King’s castle finally came into view, I was the only one left alive, and the Hero trusted me implicitly as his only companion.

The reality was, I was just lucky.

*Yeah, I was lucky.*

Watching the legion members enthusiastically chatter about me, I gave a wry smile.

***

“I’ll go the rest of the way alone.”

“…Are you serious?”

The question slipped out before I could stop it.

Can’t he see them? The legion members in front of us?

No, that can’t be right. Why else would he be called the ‘Hero’? The Hero is someone born with overwhelming talent and an overwhelming physique to face the Demon King.

He can probably see that army even more clearly than I can.

I turned my head again to look at the massive Demon King’s castle.

It truly is magnificent. And the Demon King lives right there.

Then why doesn’t he just stay cooped up in there and keep living his life….

*Why did he come out to greet us and cause this fuss?*

The grand and imposing Demon King’s castle.

Normally, one’s attention would be captivated by its size and majesty, but right now, something else was drawing my eye even more.

The black masses gathered in front of it.

Right, the ‘demons.’ They’re probably legion members who came out to watch their Demon King’s fight.

Did you catch that? I said ‘came out.’

In other words, the Demon King is currently outside the Demon King’s castle.

Isn’t the final boss usually supposed to be holed up inside the deepest part? Why is he out here?

“From the start, the role of a ‘companion’ is to pave the way for the Hero to reach the Demon King. The battle itself is solely the Hero’s responsibility. So, Hart-nim, your role ends here. Thank you for your efforts.”

“…….”

“But… if I win, I’ll come back here, so could you please wait here until the battle is over?”

“……Of course.”

Looking down at the massive army again, I felt certain.

The Hero will lose. There’s no way he can win.

Facing just the Demon King alone would be overwhelming, but he has to fight all those soldiers too? Even for the Hero, that’s impossible.

There’s one thing he didn’t say.

Paving the way to the Demon King is the role of the ‘companion.’ So, blocking that army so the Hero can fight the Demon King without interference is also the companion’s role.

The reason he didn’t mention that is probably to avoid a pointless death.

If he’s going to die anyway, it’s better to save at least one person.

Truly a Hero’s way of thinking.

“Th….”

The words caught in my throat. It felt like someone was squeezing my neck, making it hard to breathe.

What was I even going to do by calling out to him? There’s no way to stop him, nor should I.

Even if I called out to him, I wouldn’t have anything to say. I couldn’t dare tell him to turn back.

From the start, the Hero was born to kill the Demon King. For him to turn back with the Demon King right in front of him would be abandoning his very reason for existence.

But I couldn’t bring myself to say I’d go with him either.

I struggled so hard to survive, I barely made it this far, there’s no way I could easily say I’d go to a place where death was certain.

Damn it, I wanted to live.

“…….”

I closed my mouth and tried to organize my thoughts.

What I can say in this situation….

……There was nothing.

Nothing.

“Then, I’ll be off.”

“…Yes.”

By the time I managed to choke out a reply, he had already climbed down the cliff where we were hiding and was walking towards the Demon King’s army.

His stride was unwavering.

His confident gait, as if he didn’t even consider the possibility of defeat, only stopped when he reached the Demon King.

A brief exchange of words, and the Demon King gestured around him. The legion members, who had been in formation, scattered to form a large circle.

*Well, at least he has some decency.*

Honestly, I wasn’t expecting a one-on-one fight.

He is the Demon King, after all. It’s an position where even cowardly acts would be accepted.

However, my thoughts changed not long after the battle began.

*Crazy, what is that?*

He didn’t move his subordinates away out of decency.

He moved them away because he was confident he would win.

It was then that I understood why he was called the strongest Demon King in history.

Overwhelming.

And his opponent was the ‘Hero.’

Like an adult playing with a child, the Demon King effortlessly received all of the Hero’s attacks with a bored and listless expression.

The outcome was, of course, the Demon King’s victory.

The sword that pierced through the Hero’s stomach and out his back dripped with red blood. The Demon King looked down at him as if he were insignificant, and then grabbed the hilt of the sword embedded in his body, as if to finish him off.

That’s when it happened.

“Who’s there!”

“…!”

I froze instantly. Goosebumps erupted all over my body.

A chilling voice that sounded like it was scraping against vocal cords. It was definitely coming from behind me.

Instinctively, I drew my dagger.

And after confirming my opponent, I immediately relaxed my grip.

*…An ogre.*

There’s no way I can win against that.

It can even talk. That means it’s a ‘demon’ influenced by the Demon King’s power, making it much stronger than regular ogres.

I have to run.

Fortunately, I’m better at running away than anyone else.

*I’ve survived until now with 80% luck and 20% nimble footwork, which says it all.*

To be precise, ‘escape ability’ would be a more fitting description than ‘nimble footwork.’

*But it’s better for my pride to call it ‘nimble’….*

Whoosh!

“Ugh, damn it!”

I barely dodged that. To swing a sword without even trying to talk first, wasn’t an attempt at dialogue the standard procedure before attacking?

Thanking my reflexes for dodging and my flexible back for enduring it, I took a couple of steps back.

And then I belatedly realized.

*Right, this is a cliff.*

Crumble. The ground supporting my heels broke apart and fell below.

The only way out is the path that guy is blocking.

I calmly nodded as I took in the ridiculously long sword he was holding, the bulging muscles of his upper body, and his relaxed demeanor that clearly indicated he knew the situation perfectly.

*Looks like my luck runs out here.*

If he were stupid, I might have been able to lure him and make him fall off the cliff, but judging by his attitude, he doesn’t seem dumb.

If I die, it’ll probably be because of the guy right in front of me.

But my life was too precious to give up.

*How have I survived until now!*

Being chosen as the Hero’s companion wasn’t something I wanted in the first place.

So I can’t die here feeling cheated!

Dying together is also unfair. You die, I’ll live.

Holding a dagger in each hand, I charged directly at him. I naturally didn’t do anything stupid like shouting to announce my presence to the enemies below.

I just ran silently with my mouth tightly shut and my eyes wide open.

He seemed surprised, his eyes widening, but then he chuckled dismissively and raised his sword again.

As he took a large step forward, and the raised sword sliced through the air towards me, I, who hadn’t blinked even once, counted the timing in my head.

“Now!”