195. Time To Remove It (3)
I had thought about it enough.
I could hesitate and waver no longer.
I could feel the seat of the Underworld Grand Judge that had taken up residence within me growing heavier and heavier.
At this rate, my inner world would soon be completely filled with the Grand Judge’s seat, and it would become impossible to even try to remove it.
My decision was quick.
-Ah, no······!-
The moment I flicked my finger, my inner world condensed infinitely.
It had clearly been a vast and enormous world, its end impossible to fathom.
The towering sky crumpled, and the vast snowfield buckled.
It grew smaller and smaller until it condensed into a single point.
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-H, how is that even possible?!-
“How is it possible, you ask?”
-The inner world is merely an independent microcosm······. It may be possible for the master of the body to oversee the microcosm, but it’s impossible to destroy it at will–
“There’s no reason why it should be impossible.”
It seemed that Satan thought too highly of ‘my inner world’.
He seemed to believe that only an existence on the level of an Underworld deity could condense and destroy a world.
But that wasn’t true.
“What does my inner world mean? It’s simple. That world is also a part of myself. A large part at that.”
It was nothing more than a play on words.
When you say ‘my inner world’, it sounds as if ‘I’ and ‘my inner world’ are separate entities.
But the two can never be separated.
When a person dies, their inner world also disappears.
When a person is shaken, their inner world also begins to crumble.
Whether unconsciously or consciously, we are always interacting with our inner world.
That means that it’s also possible to expand it infinitely.
And even to condense it infinitely and destroy it.
Of course, it seems that I am the only one who can manipulate my inner world so freely in such a short period of time.
‘My inner world’ is ultimately a part of me.
And it occupies a considerable part of my identity.
The moment I was appointed as the Underworld Grand Judge and the seat entered my inner world, that suspicion turned into certainty.
The moment I destroy this world.
The proof of my existence will disappear.
And I too will be forgotten and disappear from the world.
“You said that the Grand Judge’s seat clings to my identity? Then all I have to do is cut off my soul, cut off my mind, and cut off my existence. Until I’m free!”
-B, but if you do that, you’ll be forgotten by everyone! Even if you return, no one will remember or recognize you! Is that really what you–
“Someone will remember me.”
-······?!-
Flick.
I raised the hand that was clasped with Mijeong’s, and Satan’s eyes widened.
I am not the only one who makes up ‘me’.
Mijeong and I share neither blood nor soul.
But in the midst of disappearing into nothingness, we had embraced each other and proven each other’s existence.
I will not disappear with this girl.
Mijeong will prove my existence.
Even if everyone else forgets, Mijeong will remember me until the end.
That’s enough.
As long as I don’t disappear, I can plan for the future.”I always thought I was untalented, but I found many unexpected talents after coming to the Demon Realm. But now, it seems like it’s time to get rid of them all.”
-Wait! Just wait a moment and reconsider! I was wrong!-
“What will change if you say you were wrong now? It’s not like you can take back the position of Grand Judge.”
-Even so, I will somehow–
“I don’t have time. I can’t leave my women as widows for long. It seems like our relationship ends here. I owe you a lot!”
Click.
My fingers snapped, and a loud sound rang out.
The world inside me, which had been condensed into a single point, exploded and was destroyed.
The position of Grand Judge within it.
The vast snowy field where the snowstorm raged.
Everything that made me up was scattered into pieces.
And my vision went dark.
.
.
.
-Whew······-
A corner of the scorched Demon Realm.
One-tenth of the Demon Realm’s land had suddenly dried up of magic.
In the center of it, there were traces of a huge explosion.
However, no wounds could be found on Satan, who was sitting down in the center.
-He’s gone.-
Someone had been here.
It was definitely not a small influence.
The entire Demon Realm had been shaken by his presence alone.
Satan’s long-prepared plan had also been revised.
But no matter how much he went back over his memories, he couldn’t remember who it was.
It was as if someone had artificially taken away his memory.
Or, as if his very existence had been erased from this world······.
-Ugh······ Ughhahahaha!-
Satan burst into a strange laughter, his forehead resting on his hand.
He still couldn’t remember ‘his’ identity, but he had figured out what had happened.
‘He’ was a human, and he was familiar with death.
He had not been able to display any talent in the present world, but he had first blossomed in the Demon Realm.
He soon gained power that was not inferior to that of a monarch who could command the entire Demon Realm.
His qualifications were also suitable, so he was given the position of Grand Judge, which would prevent him from leaving the Demon Realm for the rest of his life······.
But ‘his’ choice went beyond Satan’s imagination.
He had thrown everything away.
Without hesitation or regret.
He gave up his immense power, which was close to omnipotence.
He gave up his own existence.
He left the Demon Realm, even destroying the world within him that he had finally learned to control.
The reason was simple.
So simple that it was ridiculous.
It was for freedom.
-hahahaha! How foolish! How foolish! Freedom is not something that someone gives you!-
Part of the Demon Realm had been devastated, his plan had been ruined, and his memory had been erased, so it would be normal to be upset.
But Satan had gained an epiphany, and he felt a joy as if he had the world in his hands.
The plan that he had been clinging to for so long.
He realized that his own thinking had been foolish.
The plan to sacrifice the seven great demons to give freedom to all demons.
It sounded plausible when you just heard it, but in reality, it wasn’t.
Just as happiness without hardship is worthless.Freedom gained for free is also worthless.
Freedom is something you strive for by shedding your own blood.
I realized that obvious fact only after witnessing a human’s desperate struggle.
-I’m only sorry for Aamon Belphegor······-
I was blind.
What I was chasing after was not a splendid ideal.
I believed I was making a noble sacrifice by shouldering all the sins of the demons.
I almost sacrificed my daughter and plunged the Demon World into chaos.
It was a stroke of luck that I stopped just in time.
That’s what Satan thought as he looked up at the sky.
An empty sky of nothingness spread out before him.
He might be floating around in the emptiness like an idiot again, waiting to be extinguished.
Or he might have successfully returned to the mortal world.
No. Maybe he’s right next to me right now, looking at me with pity······.
-You’re only giving me enlightenment. I haven’t given you anything yet. I don’t know if it will reach you from here······. As the Great Demon General, I will pray for your protection, Judge of the Underworld-
Black magic slowly crept up from Satan’s fingertips.
The magic, which had been flickering like the smoke of an extinguished candle, shot up into the sky.
In an instant, it spread out as if it had been pulled by some force.
-······!-
However, after that, the magic didn’t make any strange movements.
It just slowly rose into the empty void.
Was it heading towards the human on the other side of the void?
Or was it just dispersing without meaning?
No one knew.
.
.
.
‘I’ am disappearing.
My vision is fading to black.
The sound is being cut off.
Except for the faint sensation of my fingertips clasped with Mijeong’s, everything is disappearing. It’s the second time I’ve experienced this, but it’s still not something I can adapt to.
I’m scared.
I’m afraid I’ll disappear.
I’m afraid I won’t be able to keep my promise to the heroines.
But that’s why.
I have to move forward.
In the pitch-black darkness where I can’t see or feel an inch ahead of me.
I gripped my sword.
I couldn’t tell if I was holding a sword or magic in my hand, but that didn’t matter.
‘I’m cutting through space. The means don’t matter.’
The Spear of Longinus, the sword, and the magic.
Each of these is considered an essential tool for cutting through space and opening a dimensional rift.
But that’s not true.
If you know how to pull the bell, you don’t need to rely on those tools anymore.
Slowly, I search my memory.
I recreate myself, the one who tore through the rift.
I try to move my feet, but there’s no way to tell if I’m actually moving.
I can’t tell if space is really being cut.
I just believe.
I just pray that what I’ve learned hasn’t been in vain.
‘I did it!’
And finally, I felt it.
From my intangible hand, a sense of success was transmitted, and it tingled and rang throughout my entire soul.
I grabbed one hand in each of my hands and quickly jumped inward.
At that moment, my vision cleared.
A bright and clear light poured in.
But that was an illusion.
It wasn’t a particularly bright light.I had only thought it was bright because I had come to a world with light from a world without it.
Once my eyes adjusted, I saw that it was a terribly dark and black space.
And I had a feeling that I had been here before.
“Keuheuk······!”
Thud!
I coughed up blood as I felt something heavy descend from within me.
I hurriedly covered the eyes and ears of the two people next to me and looked up alone.
Darkness.
Endless, pitch-black darkness.
The God of the Underworld, the King of Hell, looked down at us with his body stained with ghosts.
-In the end, we met again in the Underworld as I said we would.-
“I greet the God of the Underworld······.”
-There’s no need to be so formal. It’s just you and me. Isn’t that right?-
“······.”
It was a clearly emotionless, inorganic voice.
But for some reason, I felt a strange sense of anger from the God of the Underworld’s words.
‘Damn it. Why did I get caught?’
I had planned to erase my existence and escape from the God of the Underworld’s sight and return to the mortal world······.
Things had gone wrong.
They had gone terribly wrong.