Chapter 21

Demon.

A being inherently evil and greedy by nature.

As seen and heard through various media and folklore, the demons I witnessed in Hell were no different.

If they desire something, they take it by force; if they lack strength, they grovel before the strong, waiting for an opportunity to strike from behind.

Such an environment teeming with demons is colloquially called Hell.

Indeed, in the deepest part of the world lies a realm of evil, boiling with pain and filth. It’s only natural that a human trying to survive there would eventually become just like them.

If not, they would miserably perish.

To avoid that fate, one must become even more ruthless and stronger than them.

“……Miss.”

Yes, I was a demon.

The time when I was once human is now a distant memory.

Having lived as a demon for far longer than I did as a human, my current essence is closer to that of a demon.

At best, what remains of my humanity is like a root stripped of its stem—a grotesque mass of ugliness. That is the being facing her at this moment.

“I dare to ask you here, Miss.”

Why, then, did I choose to act human when I descended into this world?

Why did I, who no longer possesses a human heart, go out of my way to blend into human society?

“Even now……”

To live as a human is to give up so much.

To kill one’s self for the sake of others’ understanding, to discard one’s weapons to avoid provoking hostility.

To sacrifice freedom for safety, living confined within the rules of law and morality—such is the stifling nature of human life.

“Do you still desire revenge?”

If you turn away from all that, you can grasp a more convenient means.

Release your suppressed violence, abandon ethics and order… Yes, I have that power.

Through the existence of the one who summoned me to this world, I could wield all of that against those detestable humans.

“……A dream.”

If I must submit to her to savor that liberation, then so be it.

The resentment of wanting to take revenge on this oppressive world—I now have the will to guide her, born with the fate of a villainess, down the path she was meant to tread.

“Is this… a dream?”

Even a peaceful daily life is ultimately a hope that blossoms through repeated compromises.

If there’s no need for such compromises, I could act on my emotions and sweep away everything that displeases me.

“It’s fine to accept it that way.”

She stared blankly at the embodiment of evil, her eyes half-closed.

Was it the lingering effects of the drug that had subdued her mind?

Or was it my overwhelming will that forcibly roused her from her slumber?

“Yes, that must be it. It’s a dream. Sebastian looks different too……”

Either way, life must have felt like a dream to her.

Every moment of existence must have been a terrifying, painful nightmare.

In such a nightmare, it was inevitable that a demon like me would approach her.

“Above all, Sebastian never spoke of revenge to me……”

“……Yes, that was the case until now.”

I had urged her to abandon revenge.

For my sake.

For the sake of a trivial hope born from repeated compromises, shackled by memories of my time as a human.

“But this is a dream. I won’t interfere with you.”

Only when that hope was dashed, and direct danger loomed over her, did I realize.

This world wants to make her a villainess.

Now fully a demon, I descended to fulfill that destiny, and she was the one who would sever the last thread of my humanity.

“So, be honest with me.”

Let go of that simple hope.

Crush all those who forced you to abandon it.

Turn their screams and despair into a song, and let the blood-soaked stage become a festival of pure pleasure.

“In a dream, you can achieve anything…… No one will interfere with your true feelings.”

Imagining such a cruel and exhilarating future, I carefully whispered, my voice laced with longing.

“What do you desire?”

The temptation of a demon. A poisonous whisper. And a predetermined future……

Following it might lead to ruin in the distant future.

But so what if it’s ruin?

It won’t be just her and I who face it. She has the right to pursue such a future, and I, as her executor, am prepared to make it happen.

“……Revenge.”

Convinced of this, and spurred on by me.

She quietly uttered the word I so desperately wanted to hear.

Still, it was just a fragment, not yet a full declaration.

“I’ve always thought I wanted it……”

I silently listened to her faltering voice.

I couldn’t force her to say more.

After all, it was I who told her to take hold of her own destiny.

“I thought it was the only path left, but lately, I haven’t felt that way at all.”

“……Miss.”

“Yes, Sebastian…… You dislike it when I talk about revenge.”

She slowly closed the distance.

With unsteady steps, her mind still half-asleep, yet driven by the will to reach me.

“That’s right. Sebastian. You’ve always been by my side.”

Though her whisper lacked strength, her determination was unmistakable.

“In the early mornings, when I’d laze in bed…… You’d always open the curtains and wake me.”

There was no anger in her voice.

No hatred, no resentment, no pain……

“You’d guide me, still groggy, and prepare meals for me.”

In her voice, reminiscing about the days we spent together.

There was only a simple, pure emotion.

“And you’d always go out. To earn money for me…… To buy my daily bread and the little things to fill this empty mansion.”

Slowly……

Gradually closing the distance, she finally stood before me.

“I’d wait for you to return.”

She leaned her head against my chest, her arms gently wrapping around me.

“In this still-empty mansion, I waited for you to come back. Those moments didn’t exist before I met you. I thought no one was by my side. Before I met you, no one ever came close to me.”

“……Miss.”

“As the days of you returning from work repeated, I thought… Finally, I have someone to wait for. Finally, I have a place where someone will return.”

“I wanted you to take revenge……”

“The times I fell asleep…… You stayed by my side, waiting for me to drift off.”

“…….”

“……I liked those times. Simple, but such simplicity didn’t exist in my life before.”

Simplicity.

Even as a demon, I couldn’t forget my humanity—it was the only thing I clung to.

“Is that… wrong?”

When we first met, she didn’t desire such things.

Yet now, she trembled as she sought that simplicity from me.

“Is it wrong to turn my resentment toward the family that oppressed me and wish for this daily life to continue?”

This unfamiliar daily life.

The path she stepped onto, free from the fate the world forced upon her as a villainess, felt so sweet yet so fragile.

“……It’s not wrong.”

How could it be wrong?

It’s the world that drove her to find solace in such simplicity.

“Right?”

Even though a life of oppression could have easily turned into revenge.

Now nestled in my arms, she wore a smile of relief, not hatred.

“It’s not wrong, is it?”

Despite the suppression she endured in her past life, she now felt an indescribable lightness.

“……Thank you.”

I couldn’t bring myself to push her away.

“I want to say… thank you.”

Even though I had just urged her to take revenge, I couldn’t force her to suppress her will for my sake.

“Thank you for making me look forward to tomorrow……”

Because it was a desire that had blossomed within me.

Because I realized that my companion now desired what I had once longed for before crossing the line of corruption.

“I want to tell you that…… But the words won’t come easily.”

You don’t have to say it.

Your heart has already spoken.

“When I’m with you, my heart feels like it’s going to burst.”

Even now, as I hold you, your heartbeat is clear.

“I’m afraid that if I speak these feelings aloud, something might break, something might collapse……”

That fragile, precarious heartbeat—it’s no illusion.

Knowing how terrifying it must have been for her, thrust alone into a world where she couldn’t become a villainess, I couldn’t bring myself to let go of her small shoulders.

“……So, don’t leave me.”

If I were to name this feeling, it would be pity.

A heart that pities the powerless—a feeling that could never blossom in a being born cruel and greedy.

Yet, in this moment, I felt it growing within me.

“Stay by my side… until I find the courage to thank you.”

The humanity I thought was reduced to mere roots.

I felt it sprouting anew from its core.

“……Don’t worry, Miss.”

I’ve realized enough.

That feeling this way means I’m still human.

Even if my essence has become a demon, my core remains human.

“As long as you desire me, I will not leave your side.”

That realization turned into loyalty toward the pitiful woman in my arms.

Because through her, I felt a heart I could never possess as a demon.

Because through her existence, I realized that my broken self could still remain human.

“Miss Jeremiah.”

Yes, that’s reason enough to serve her.

Holding onto that small realization, I led her, now asleep, and took a step forward.

“……Let’s go back.”

“Let’s go back. To where we belong.”

To resist the world that forces the fate of a villainess upon her.

To the place where the simple daily life we’ll build together awaits.