Chapter 255: Pathetic Demise

Magic depleted, stamina at rock bottom.

Yet, with an oddly serene calm, Oel blinked slowly, her gaze shifting from the empty air to Trober.

“Once I’m dead, you’ll twist this situation to your advantage and report to Lord Demon King, won’t you?”

“……”

“Then naturally, the baby sent to the Human Realm will also be in danger.”

“……This is quite severe.”

The muttered remark about it being boring went unheard.

Lord Demon King wouldn’t normally care about the life of a baby sent to the Human Realm, but one could never be sure of his whims. Oel had already risked too much to leave everything to such uncertainty.

Besides.

“Even without Lord Demon King’s command, you could still find and kill the baby, right?”

Her eyes lingered on his body, so fragile it seemed ready to shatter at a touch. It wasn’t an exaggeration. His body, like cracked pottery, clearly needed considerable time to recover.

Therefore, in his vengefulness towards Oel for ruining his condition, he might seek out and kill the baby. Or perhaps, simply out of sheer curiosity, he might harm the baby.

“Well…”

Trober shrugged, offering no denial.

Oel lay there, clenching her fist tightly.

This life she was about to lose was a life she could have saved if she’d abandoned the baby. In other words, it was a life sacrificed for the baby.

‘To ensure my sacrifice isn’t in vain…’

More reliable safeguards were needed.

Of course, to exert any influence from a distance, magic was essential, but her magic was currently depleted….

‘It’s alright.’

Demons possessed a potent magic, distinct from their innate magic capacity, usable only once in their lifetime.

The purest magic from the demons’ origin, the fundamental force constituting their very being.

“Trober, you should be grateful that magic can’t directly take someone’s life.”

If it could, I would have used it to kill you.

It was truly strange. Human sorcery supposedly required a significant price, but it seemed capable of directly ending lives. Why couldn’t magic do the same?

‘Magic is only capable of indirectly creating deadly situations.’

Since she couldn’t guarantee a kill, it was better to prioritize the baby’s safety.

Common knowledge held that sorcery was a lesser version of magic, but was that really true? Oel pondered this pointless question until the very end, drawing upon the magic that formed her being.

There was no need for lengthy incantations.

‘[May the baby not fall ill until adulthood.]’

‘[May they remain unharmed, uninjured, and healthy.]’

Just living healthily was enough. If they could reach adulthood safely, she would be content.

Trober, sensing her use of life-force magic, stared at her with suspicion. Not sensing any immediate threat, he hesitated, seemingly debating whether to intervene or ignore it, but Oel simply offered a faint smile, unperturbed.

‘Ah.’

Instinct whispered.

‘It succeeded.’

The final magic had succeeded. Now, somewhere, the baby would be protected by an invisible, solid barrier. It would vanish without a trace upon reaching adulthood, but until then, it would remain unbreakable no matter what. That was enough.

Her fingertips crumbled. Trober, belatedly grasping the situation after replaying their conversation, wore a disgusted expression.

“Using your last moments to wish something for that human brat? A demon, a legion commander, stooping to such pathetic human sentiment.”

“……”

“How boring.”

He clicked his tongue and turned away.

He was a being who would vanish without even leaving a corpse. Ah, since he wasn’t a demon purely formed from Lord Demon King’s magic, some remains might linger.

In any case, he had no intention of watching the unsightly demise of a creature who wouldn’t even leave a proper corpse, so Trober forced his trembling legs to move, as if about to collapse at any moment.

A familiar voice reached his ears when he had taken about three or four steps.

“……Lady Oel?”

……Ah, damn it.

What awful timing. Startled by the familiar voice, Trober turned around.

Derniban stood silently, watching Oel disintegrate, seemingly oblivious to when he had arrived or how he had found them.

“……”

His expression was as blank as ever, and his pupils remained unmoving, yet the area around him seemed shrouded in shadow—was it just his imagination?

“……Lady Oel.”

He slowly walked over and knelt before Oel on one knee. He reached out to take her wrist as if to help her up, but upon seeing it crumble, he immediately withdrew his hand.

Oel chuckled softly.

“You’re back?”

“……Yes. The order… is completed.”

“Good work.”

“……”

He seemed unsure of what to say, his lips moving silently before he quietly lowered his gaze. Amused by her awkward lover, who was always so taciturn even in such moments, Oel called out his name softly.

“Derniban.”

“Yes, Lady Oel.”

There wasn’t much time left to talk. She raised her disintegrating arm, bringing it close to his face. Derniban immediately recoiled, anticipating it would crumble faster if it touched him, but she spoke before he could move further.

“Make you the next 5th Corps Commander.”

“……”

“And…”

Take care of it.

Her faint, whisper-like voice tickled his eardrum.

“……”

Whether she meant to entrust him with the position of 5th Corps Commander or to entrust the baby to him.

Instead of offering a hasty reply, Derniban pondered the omitted object and noticed an unsettling detail, lowering his gaze. Oel’s eyes were closed, as if even keeping them open was exhausting.

Instinctively, he reached out and placed his fingers beneath her nose. After what felt like an eternity, he felt a faint exhale.

‘She’s still… breathing, that’s for sure.’

……Why did it feel like she was already dead?

He quietly withdrew his hand. A suffocating silence descended.

The disintegration accelerated, now consuming her upper body. He knew he had to say something, anything, but Derniban remained silent, his lips sealed, watching her body crumble away.

He stared at the remains after she had completely disintegrated, his sharp eyes suddenly shifting sideways.

“Stop right there.”

“……Tch.”

Trober, who had been slinking away, froze in his tracks.

Turning back confidently, as if he had nothing to fear, he spread his arms wide.

“What? Here to argue?”

“……”

“Oel is the one at fault, isn’t she? Oel was the one who smuggled the baby away and tried to kill me for reporting it. I’m not at fault. The reasons are clear, and it’s already done, so Lord Demon King, being result-oriented, will just let it slide.”

“……”

“Originally, you, who helped smuggle the baby, deserved to die too, but… considering our spars, I’ll keep my mouth shut if you stay quiet.”

So, what do you say? Planning to just walk away quietly?

He implicitly asked. Derniban’s eyes calmly darkened as he understood the unspoken words.

“……Did you say Lady Oel tried to kill the 9th Corps Commander for reporting her?”

“Huh? Yeah.”

“……”

Such blatant lies.

If that were true, it wouldn’t have happened in a place so far from Demon King’s castle, but within the castle itself. And there’s no way you would have brought Lady Oel all the way out here, so far from Demon King’s castle, just to ask about the baby’s corpse.

His voice, deeper than usual, resonated.

“……As you said, Lord Demon King is result-oriented.”

“……? You, don’t tell me…”

“Therefore, even if I kill the 9th Corps Commander, he will just let it slide.”

“……Damn it!”

Seeing his calm demeanor, Trober had thought he was indifferent to Oel’s death, but it seemed that wasn’t the case. Now that he looked closer, the bastard’s calmness was just thinly veiled rage.

In his current state, fighting would surely mean death. Trober took a step back.

“Killing me could be seen as directly defying Lord Demon King’s orders, you know? You’ll be grouped with Oel!”

“I don’t mind. I’ll say the 9th Corps Commander, who had been harboring resentment towards Lady Oel, stole the baby’s corpse to frame her, desecrated it beyond recognition, attempted to flee Demon King’s castle to erase the traces, and Lady Oel, belatedly noticing, pursued him and was killed by him,” he stated.

“Oel and I left Demon King’s castle together!”

Was this guy always such a long-winded talker?

Trober, desperately trying to parry his words to survive, seemed unable to manage his expression, his face contorting in disgust.

“There’s a barrier that detects departures, so that excuse won’t—!”

“In that case, I’ll say you used the stolen corpse as a hostage and bait to lure Lady Oel out. After moving locations together, you desecrated the corpse and provoked her in front of her eyes, and then the rest will be as I said earlier… Thank you for the information.”

“……”

The 9th Corps Commander seemed speechless, his mouth gaping. Derniban cast an indifferent gaze at him, who was only exhaling empty breaths.

He probably understood. The details didn’t matter.

What mattered to Lord Demon King was the ‘victor’s’ excuse, the reason. He didn’t care about its veracity.

“And the baby…”

He turned his head and scanned the surroundings.

The ground was overturned, and trees were uprooted or snapped as if struck by a typhoon, strewn all over. Trober trailed Derniban’s gaze, belatedly realizing the devastated landscape, and let out a groan. A dry voice continued.

“During the clash between two legion commanders, it will be said that it was ground to dust beyond recognition, leaving no trace.”

“……Damn it, wasn’t the lover act just you playing along with Oel? Oel’s dead now, so you can become a legion commander! You must have been annoyed all this time, shouldn’t you be happy instead?”

“……”

Initially, playing along was indeed the case. However….

‘Though I don’t know why.’

Derniban lowered his gaze for a moment.

‘……I feel unwell.’

Was it because he heard those words, or because he was trying to think further? He subtly raised his hand and scratched at his constricted chest.

Beneath nails that had sharpened without him realizing, his clothes tore and frayed miserably. The hand that had been directed at himself naturally turned towards Trober.

Startled, Trober hastily adopted a battle stance.

“Why, why?!”

Indeed, why?

The inexplicable urge to kill this man right now surged within him.

However, despite the impulse, Derniban had to retract the claws he had unsheathed as if to pounce. One word in the nonsense he had spouted caught his attention.

‘Legion commander.’

Lady Oel had asked him to become the next 5th Corps Commander.

To do so, there must be no suspicion of defying Lord Demon King’s orders. If Trober died here, no matter how perfect the excuse, a trace of doubt would inevitably linger.

There were other candidates for legion commander besides him. Especially Ed, Commander of the 0th Legion’s adjutant, was quite capable and ranked higher than him in the candidate pool. Moreover, just as the weapons of the deceased former 8th Legion Commander and the 8th Corps didn’t overlap, it didn’t matter if the legion commander and the legion’s main weapons didn’t match….

‘To secure the position of 5th Corps Commander, I must be as flawless as possible.’

Derniban lowered his hand.

“……You said you would keep silent about me.”

“Uh… uh?”

“Pledge on your life force magic. Promise that until your dying breath, no matter what happens, you will never speak of this.”

Magic imbued his words. His dry eyes gleamed ominously, harboring an inscrutable light.

‘This is…’

Trober realized. Derniban was presenting an invisible contract.

Brief and concise terms flooded his mind. If he rashly agreed to escape this situation and later broke his word, his very body would crumble. He would die without even putting up a fight.

Therefore, he couldn’t answer carelessly, but….

‘Damn it.’

What choice did he have? There was no other way to survive right now.

Gritting his teeth inwardly, he nodded.

“I will.”

“……Then.”

The contract was sealed.

This was also a type of magic, and a chunk of magic power vanished, but since magic-based combat wasn’t his forte in the first place, it was acceptable. Having gotten the answer he needed, Derniban indifferently shifted his gaze from Trober.

Even as his presence slowly receded, he paid no attention, his eyes fixed solely on the remains that had been Oel.

Lips that seemed as if they would never open finally parted slowly after Trober had moved far enough to be beyond his senses.

“I say this now, though it’s rather late.”

His voice was as monotonous as ever.

“You made a foolish choice.”

Derniban murmured softly, looking down at the remains that no longer questioned ‘why?’

“To give up your life for… something like that.”

The whispered words held a meaning that came too late.

Just a small human baby, not even a demon. A fragile thing whose life flickered with even a cold draft.

It was utterly unworthy of a legion commander sacrificing their life.

“Why…”

It wasn’t as if she died in place of someone important who needed protection. Not even for another demon of her kind.

Whose blood was it? The blood staining the floor suddenly felt sickeningly foul. Magical beasts, resembling crows from the Human Realm, circled overhead as if eyeing her remains.

Her appearance was unbelievably pathetic.

She was such a magnificent being, and all for what? Some petty emotion?