Chapter 204

The demons asked me.

[How long will the contract last? Until they are defeated… abstract time is not allowed.]

[Until the tenth step.]

[Very well, I accept. The moment you take the tenth step, your soul will turn to dust and vanish.]

After all, it’s the body and soul of someone who has no value. Whether it’s a hundred or a thousand times, I didn’t care if I turned to dust and burned in the darkness. As my mother said, I was now a human who could kill without a second thought, a human with no value left.

The final dark magic I could use, [The King of Phantoms], was a spell that required the user to sacrifice their entire soul. Even then, it was a power only allowed for a very short time, as permitted by the demons.

“I didn’t expect someone to use that dark magic. How much time is left on the contract…?”

“Ten steps.”

“Have you lost your mind? Do you really think you can kill us in such a short time…?”

“In those ten steps, I will change the future and return to my family.”

“Hah…! Sir Lancelot. Leave the Spirit King alone and teach this foolish youth how harsh the world can be.”

If both of them come at me together, it’ll be easier for me.

I took the first step.

One step. With that one step, I kicked off the ground. As long as my foot didn’t touch the ground, it didn’t count as a step, so I decided to use that loophole.

[Demons who respond to the Tree of Emptiness, obey my command.]

I gripped a plain black sword with no decorations.

[Magic Sword, Clifa.]

Holding a sword that condensed the power of ten demon kings, my arm felt like it was burning. It was painful. But it didn’t matter. The arm of someone who couldn’t even fall into hell didn’t matter at all.

Bang!

Lancelot’s sword clashed with mine. Even if it was a sword that could seal everything, it couldn’t easily destroy a sword that condensed the power of ten demon kings. After the swords clashed, to prevent my foot from touching the ground, I immediately struck Lancelot’s blade with my right hand and used the recoil to float back into the air.

[Malphas, obey my command.]

The giant bird Malphas absorbed the heat of the sun shining on the area into my body. My entire body was burning. This way, I could gain more power, but I had to endure the pain of being burned by the sun’s heat. It’s fine, I’m used to it.

[Shadow of the Sun – Form of the Madman.]

I descended and struck again. Finally, Lancelot seemed to feel the pressure of my attack and gritted his teeth.

“I will stake everything I have, and I will save everything I have.”

I hope that everything I endure today becomes the hope for the future.

Even if I’m not there, as long as those who are everything to me can smile and be happy, as long as they don’t shed tears, I can endure even more.

Even if I spend an eternity rolling in the gutter, living a miserable life, I can still smile and wish for their eternal happiness.

“If I had used that dark magic when my body was still intact, the outcome might have been different… But with my bones shattered and my body disintegrating from the holy spear, what can I even do now?”

“At the very least, I can teach whiny brats like you who complain about the world not going their way how the world really works.”

“…You’re rushing your fate.”

“It’s a life that’s about to go out anyway. Rushing it won’t change anything.”

I continued to swing my sword at his neck from the air. I had only taken one step so far, so I still had time.

“You’re letting him run wild too freely.”

The holy spears came flying again. It seemed they realized there was no way to dodge in this position.

“Guh…!”

The holy spear pierced my heart and instantly disintegrated it. My mind grew hazy. I felt like throwing up. I couldn’t breathe.

“Your entire body is burning, and your heart has evaporated… At this point, even a dragon should die instantly, right~?”

“Don’t talk nonsense, you disgusting woman…”

Just because my body is burning?

“There’s something hotter than these flames flowing inside me.”

Just because my heart is gone?

“There’s something more precious than a heart in my chest.”

My foot touched the ground. That was the second step.

“Oh my, how scary~. At this point, aren’t you just a monster, not a human?”

Yes, I am a monster. A monster who kills people without hesitation. To protect my younger siblings, I had to become a monster.

Even if this body is burned in darkness and suffers, it was the only path left for me.

“Hey… Do you think begging is a choice for a beggar? Or an obligation…?”

“Huh?”

I once asked my mother. Is begging a choice for a beggar? Or an obligation?

It’s not an obligation. A beggar has the choice to work or starve. But if they’re not even given the opportunity to work… All that’s left is to live by begging or to starve with pride.

If it were just me, I would have starved with pride. But since I have younger siblings, if they don’t want to beg, I have no choice but to bow my head.

“The answer is… Neither, so let’s fall into hell together… All of us.”

No matter what reason I attach to it, I’m no different from a beggar who abandoned their pride. Like him, I abandoned my conscience and killed people. No matter who it was for, that fact remains unchanged.

“Looks like the injuries have driven you mad? Don’t worry. I’ll make it quick.”

I kicked off the ground again. That was the third step.

My sword and my strength-clad arm clashed with Lancelot’s sword and Media’s magic.

The impact sent all three of us flying, and I landed on the ground again. That was the fourth step.

I didn’t care if I died fighting. I had to shed all the dirty blood tainted with the sin of killing people to purify myself. Otherwise, I wouldn’t even have the right to stand before my parents.

I lived a life where no one would shed tears for me. Now that I have no regrets, even dying won’t shake my spirit.

“Damian…!”

My mother’s voice reached me. Ah, yes, that’s how her voice sounded. When I was lost, when I came home beaten by friends, when I almost drowned, her voice always reached me.

When my eyes opened, I saw my father’s face. The face of my father, who was my ideal, was streaming with tears.

“Ah, yes… I almost forgot. It’s always the role of a hero to deal with villains like you. Not the role of trash like me.”

I always just fulfill the duties given to me.

Lancelot’s sealing sword, which tormented my father to the end, and Media’s left arm, which inflicted great wounds on my mother with the power of the Spirit King.

If those things are obstacles in their path… As their son, I will simply remove those obstacles.

I concentrated all the power of the demons. For a single attack.

And then I kicked off the ground. That was the fifth step.

“I am… Damian! The only stain on the great mages Werner Altan and Lorcha Altan! The first captain of the Black Sorcerer Unit Bungcheon! The worst heretic who came to carve a new path for the future!”

I decided to twist fate for the people I love. Even though I knew how dangerous and selfish that act was.

With all the demonic power wrapped around me, time seemed to stop for a moment. Or rather, I moved so fast that everything around me seemed to stop, and my senses became so sharp that it felt slow.

[Dance of the Ghost.]

I tore apart everything blocking the future.

I shattered Lancelot’s sword and stole the sealing power contained within the gem.

I ripped off Media’s left arm. Along with the power and authority of the Spirit King she had stolen.

“Guh…!”

As the sword shattered, Lancelot, who was also damaged, showed blood flowing from his mouth.

“Kuh…!”

Media instantly regenerated her left arm with healing magic, even though it had been torn off. Of course, that arm no longer had the power of the Spirit King engraved in it.

“Haa… Haa…”

It seemed even they were stunned by the unexpected injuries. I thought if I attacked now, I might be able to win.

But I had exhausted all my power.

“Mother… Father…”

With my current body, I couldn’t kill them. So, for the remaining time, I wanted to be with those precious to me.

Sixth step.

Mother… Was it okay for me to be born…?

Seventh step.

Father… Did I tarnish your name…?

Eighth step.

Mother… I pray for your health.

Ninth step.

Father… I pray that you won’t lose to them.

Tenth step.

I took the final step… But I couldn’t reach my mother and father.

As I took the final step, my body began to crumble into dust. Starting from my feet, slowly.

“I’m… sorry…”

I was too lacking.

In skill, in character, in love, in steps.

If by any chance I am born again as your child in the next life… Just once… Please… Praise me…