152. Luke (5)
Countless hours have passed. No, to be precise, only Luke’s time passed. Except for Luke, the world continued to perish and rewind.
With Arthur changing each time, Luke helped Arthur by making the most of the information he knew. However, in the end, only the result of being destroyed by the Demon God was waiting.
The Demon God always looked at Luke and said the same thing and then disappeared.
How many lives have you already lived? Luke gave up counting after reaching three digits. He, who had been Arthur’s reliable helper in every episode, was now exhausted.
Now, when I see Arthur die, I don’t think anything of it. because everyone is different Because they are strangers, not the real Arthur.
Sometimes Arthur did nothing. It is as if the end of the world is a set sequence.
At some point, Arthur left the academy and worked alone. Of course, even then, Luke clung to him like a leech and followed him, but in the end, the end was not good either.
At one point, Arthur slaughtered the people of the academy. That was the worst time for Luke. At that time, Luke killed Arthur with his own hands.
I’m tired now Why is it so painful that only one memory remains? Why can’t I always die and survive to the end? Does everything end with suicide?
-Are you resentful? then come find me
The words of the demon god that comes to mind in an instant. Only now did I understand what he was talking about. Luke did nothing in this life.
With that destruction approaching, Luke faced the Demon God in the red-stained sky.
“…I came just as you said. So tell me how to end this hell.”
[I see… I guess I finally found it.]
“what?”
[It’s a self-talk. I want to tell you how, but I think it’s too late this time, so next time you’ll find me yourself.]
The Demon God told Luke how to get to the Demon Realm. To be precise, she told me how to contact the Demon God. He said that if you contact him at the designated location using the method the demon god told you, the demon god will come to pick you up.
It’s already too late to do anything in this life. The moment he spoke, the world was destroyed and everything went back. It’s not true for the first time, but it wasn’t just humans who got caught up in it. The Demon God in front of him also turned into dust and disappeared.
When I came to my senses, I saw the dormitory that I had already seen over a hundred times. Luke left the academy with only the sword. The location is the place that the demon told me about.
There, I drew a magic circle as I was told by the demon, and placed the ingredients prepared on the way in the right direction.
Blood as the last ingredient. Luke slashed his wrist with a knife and drew blood. Immediately, the blood was sucked into the magic circle, and eventually the space was torn apart.
It was the Demon God who came out of that torn space.
[Well? what are you How do you know this method?]
“You told me.”
[is it. I see the situation. So, have you decided?]
“···uh.”
It’s been a long time since I made a decision. I’m going to end this fucking regression. And for that purpose, whether it’s a demon or a demon, he’ll use it as much as he wants.
Upon hearing Luke’s answer, the Demon God entered the torn space. I didn’t say anything, but I felt like I was being followed.
In the eyes of Luke, who had followed, it was an audience room somewhere. However, the color feels artificial somewhere different from the usual.
“Is this…?”
[It’s a demon. It’s easy to think that the empire has been reversed.]
The throne room of the imperial palace, never seen before. In the past, it was my dream to work here, but now I gave up on it all.
“So. I came to you just as you said. Now how do I end this fucking bondage?”
[Simple. Kill God.]
I’ve had doubts once. If there is a demon, why is there no god? Demons kill humans, but why doesn’t God send an angel? If there really is a God… why is he giving himself such an ordeal?
All doubts have been resolved. God was just a mere spectator enjoying the suffering of his creatures.
“Isn’t it okay if you kill me?”
[I and she cannot harm each other. Regardless of our will, all of our attacks are blocked.]
“How are you asking me to do something you can’t do?”
[To be exact, it only needs to be me. I just need you to become as strong as me and kill me.]
Being as strong as you drink? Do you think that’s possible for humans? If that was the case, I wouldn’t have come this far. In the first place, I would have killed Arthur and the Demon God and finished everything.
[I doubt it. Even if it is impossible for a normal human, it is possible for a god’s agent.]
“…I’m not like an agent of God.”
[That’s what I decide. You should have seen it too. A human who blocks my way every time.]
I know it well because I watched it until I got tired of it. A person who gets in the way of the Demon God every time, and whoever is inside has all the goals gathered into the Demon God.
“…Arthur.”
Arthur… all the people in Arthur’s body were agents of that damn bystander.
“Then did I become your agent?”
Even if it is a demon god, a god is a god. You should be able to create an agent.
[First of all, you must give up being human to become my agent.]
Does it mean that you want to become a magician yourself? You can do anything like that. You can do it right now if you want.
[Do you know how to turn a human into a demon?]
“…it’s enough to accept the magic.”
The way humans become demons is to accept demons. Whether it is with the help of demons or with the help of the same demons.
In that way, even a newborn baby can easily give up on humans.
[Then, do you know how humans can become demons?]
“···what?”
Humans can become demons? It’s a golden age. Even though I have seen humans who have turned into demons, there has never been a human who has turned into a demon in history.
[Karma. Also called business. The more sins you commit, the more your soul departs from humanity.]
Although Luke had gone through a lot of things and thought he was ready for anything he was asked to do. What the demon said next made even such a Luke hesitate.
[You must kill all humans on the continent with your own hands to accumulate karma.]
***
-You must kill all humans on the continent with your own hands to accumulate karma.
The way to become a demon was simple. All you have to do is kill all races yourself. In order to improve his skills, he decided to kill himself, but if a person who was too strong for him to handle appeared in the middle, the demon god would help.
At first, Luke was hesitant about the fact that he had to slaughter an innocent person, but he also had a plan of his own.
According to the Demon God, the condition for time to return is when all mankind dies.
Of course, Luke asked if it would mean nothing if he went back, and the demon god answered.
– Once accumulated, the karma belongs to your soul. No matter how much time passes or goes back, that karma will never disappear.
Then, when he killed everyone and committed suicide, time would go back once more. Luke felt relieved when he thought that everything would go back anyway.
Even though he knew this was self-justification, his long-wearing mind forced him to think that way.
So Luke returned to the continent with the help of the Demon God. Start right now. There was no need to procrastinate.
However, when I returned, I was not alone, contrary to when I left. Upon returning, the invasion began. Luke appeared in the dwarven city of Maquina along with demons and demons.
His guilt, which started with Marquina, grew dull as it went on. The country of beastmen, Alfheim, the village of elves and world trees. There was no more guilt in killing all races except humans.
And finally, the country of humans, the empire. Luke rode a prepared portal and came out of the underground canal of the Empire and immediately invaded the Imperial Palace.
It was so easy to have an audience with an emperor he had never seen before in his life. The emperor tried to say something, but there was no room for negotiation in the first place.
The emperor had to be silenced by the demon before he could negotiate.
[Kill. In an invasion, the absence of a commander means a lot.]
The demon possessed overwhelming power, but was also a strategist. That’s why, out of countless lives, the empire could never defeat a demon god.
Luke killed the Emperor in one stroke, painlessly. After that, he killed the servants inside the imperial palace one by one.
Then, knights with gold embroidery on their armor rushed to stop Luke.
The Imperial Knights appeared to stop Luke and the demons.
However, even Luke could not be stopped by the Imperial Knights.
“·· Mine to eat!”
“·······.”
The knight kneeling in front of Luke said. No matter how much time passed, even if his face was covered by the helmet and I couldn’t see him, I couldn’t forget that voice. That’s because it was the moment he had a dream.
– Overcome unfairness with your skills and prove it to everyone.
In the eyes of the knight, Luke only looked like a demon. The young man who pursued his dream could no longer be found anywhere.
-Suddenly.
Like that, Luke is the chivalry that he admired.
“Lou, Luke…? Is it really you…?”
“···sorry.”
-Suddenly.
Even the mother she loves.
He killed them all with his own hand. With the help of demons, all but two people were annihilated. One of the two survivors is an unknown imperial citizen. He was the one who saved the man in front of him with a trigger that kept time from going back even if he killed him.
And now, Luke was looking down at the person who was struggling until the end. As always, the last one was the man who always stood in front of the Demon God. Arthur had already been defeated and was on the verge of death.
The Demon God, who was watching the scene, insinuated.
[Well done.]
“···shut up.
I didn’t do this just to get praise from someone who drank.
“What can I do now?”
[Since karma has accumulated to some extent, all you have to do is throw away your current body and move only your soul to a new body.]
“Where do you get the body?”
One hundred words are not enough. The Demon God chose to show rather than explain. As she stretched out her hand, a bad vibe wafted through her.
Eventually, the energy flowed into all of Arthur’s pores, and Arthur, who was in pain, died shortly after.
His body gradually turned darker and changed to that of the demons. However, a corpse quite different from that of the demons.
[Lie down next to me.]
Luke followed the devil’s orders. There was no rejection. It’s too late now to feel rejected.
The demon’s hand approached Luke, who was lying next to Arthur’s corpse.
[It’s going to hurt a little because it’s moving the soul.]
How much do you think you’ve been injured in so many battles? I’ve lost my eyes, and I’ve had all my arms and legs cut off.
Luke was thoughtless, but a moan escaped from his mouth at the pain that accompanied him immediately.
“Keuk… Kkeuk, aaa…!”
A sharp pain that felt like having your heart ripped out with your bare hands. Even such a metaphor was not enough. The pain of moving the soul was beyond words.
Luke’s consciousness was cut off at some point due to the excruciating pain. When Luke opened his eyes again, the first thing he saw was his body lying on the floor, cold.
[How are you feeling?]
“… It’s not bad. Rather, it’s the best.”
The new body was much better than the old body, which could not break through human limitations no matter how hard it tried. I don’t know if it’s because my current body is the body of an adversary chosen by God, or if it’s the effect of becoming a demon.
[Even if time goes back, there is no way your body will return to its original body. Find me once again in the next life. and kill me All preparations are finished by absorbing my karma.]
“How do you find God?”
[If you kill the last agent, she will come for you. I won’t be able to turn back time without killing you, who became a new demon.]
Now I can put a knife in the face of that damn god. It was Luke who involuntarily smiled.
“finally···.”
Overjoyed, Luke killed the last human he had left with the trigger. The world collapsed once again.
***
After all the memories ended, the three returned to their original place. Not in a pure white space, Luke in the Demon Realm… no, the Demon God’s dormitory.
After peeking into their memories, they were back in their original place before they knew it.