[It’s a coffin… .]
tock. tock.
Maleus tapped the armrest with his index finger and whispered.
What followed was a heavy silence that weighed on the whole body.
The answer came after a long time passed so that only tension remained on the faces of the party.
[Yes, it is the piece I have. Why are you asking that?]
It was positive.
Renee’s head flashed. The color of his face began to come to mind when he realized that he was one step closer to his goal.
“Can I get the coffin? Please. We need that stuff.”
The words that came out of his mouth were deeply ingrained in earnestness.
Renee, who was talking, waited for an answer, thinking that maybe things might be easier than expected.
That’s right, although he sometimes exudes a sense of intimidation, this is because Maleus’ tone and atmosphere were still.
It is an attitude that shows that they are showing a favor to them, so the thought of ‘maybe’ comes to mind without me knowing.
From https://noblemtl.com
One, it was a hasty decision.
[Is there any reason I should give it up?]
Maleus’ answer returned in the form of stubborn refusal.
[Your mother’s daughter, I don’t know why I should give it to you.]
The conversation was still sloppy.
Renee’s body trembled. The same goes for the other party who were listening to the story behind them. They were also in the midst of recalling the same embarrassment as Renee at that stubborn word of refusal, which was different from a favorable attitude.
Renee raised her dismayed heart at Maleus’s retort.
‘… That’s right.’
It was true.
Maleus’ question is a question he should be asking of course.
It’s not that important to Maleus that they need that ‘coffin’.
A word that is principled and poignant at the core.
Renee bit her lips for a moment, then cleared her breath and spoke again. I didn’t come here with a light-hearted readiness to back down at such words of refusal, so at least I had to persuade him.
“The continent is in danger.”
[Well?]
“I met Orgus-sama. I have heard from him about the disaster that will happen in the future. A lot of people will die and they will be sad. I want to stop that. So… .”
Aside from the frivolous rhetoric and nonsense, only the sincerity was conveyed.
“… please. Please allow the ‘coffin’ to do the job.”
Hearing these words with his head bowed, Maleus laughed.
[Your mother’s daughter, you speak so ridiculously.]
… It was a laugh.
Renee’s head was raised. The eyebrows were slowly narrowing.
It was a phenomenon that naturally occurred as he faced a view of thinking that he could not understand, expressing the death of countless lives as ‘ridiculous’.
Why do you answer that way?
Renee could understand the reason in the words that immediately followed.
[Isn’t it never happened that life was lost?]
In addition, I was able to realize again who I was dealing with now.
[Since the creation of the world, all life except me and my brothers have been born and passed away. Isn’t death one of the most natural phenomena? But why are you talking as if it was a tragedy that shouldn’t have happened?]
Nine ancient species of this continent.
The king of the dead who has lived as it is for a long time since the creation of the world.
[Parents’ daughter, death is not the least reasonable reason to convince me.]
He was Maleus, the king of rotting flesh, a demigod who presided over all life and death.
[You know? How many deaths have occurred since our parents built this earth, how many species, lives and cultures have been lost.]
“that… .”
[Nevertheless, this land did not fall. Even if all intellect on this earth, including humans, disappeared, there would be no problems. Because, as always, that void will be filled by a new species. Because there will be more life than death.]
Renee knew. That was a certainty that he could do because he was Maleus.
It was not a simple prediction, but a certainty that could be given because he was a demigod who had been contemplating the world since the creation of the world.
[I can’t find a reason to give up the ‘coffin’. Can you convince me for another reason?]
Renee realized that the answer to preventing death was not a valid reason at all for those who resembled death the most.
Strength entered Renee’s hand. A tendon bulged over the back of the hand holding the cane.
‘… You have to think.’
It was a reaction that came to me as I struggled to find a way to convince him.
Renee wasn’t stupid enough to find the hidden meaning behind Maleus’ words. It means that you know what the phrase ‘convince yourself’ means.
‘It’s not that I don’t want to give.’
From https://noblemtl.com
On the contrary, I can give it to you as long as you give it a good reason. That must be the purpose of what Maleus said.
Words that could convince the king of the dead. Words that could make him crave.
While Renee was contemplating it with a lot of force on his body, Vera opened his mouth.
“… Your brothers are in trouble.”
It was a powerful voice.
Maleus’ head turned to Vera. It was an empty, dark eye socket, but it was a blatant movement that could be seen with certainty that his gaze was directed toward Vera.
Vera confronted Maleus as he looked at him, resisting the pressure of being entangled in his thoughts, and continued his thoughts.
‘Maleus did not move in the future either.’
Recalling the scene where Miller and Renee had a conversation in the first round in the illusion Grimore showed, there were words that came to mind.
It is said that the Archduke of the cold winter evacuated the people to the cradle to escape the war caused by Lokrion and Nertania.
If you think about it a little deeper, it becomes clear that he did not get out of the cradle until that moment and continued to be kind to humans.
If we had to divide the enemy, he was an ally.
Plus, with a little bit of hope, he might not like the fuss of the future.
They say they are not interested in the loss of lives, but in reality they do not know what will happen again.
I had to walk to that point.
“Your brethren will rise up. No, we are already doing that. Alaysia has done a trick in the Empire. The gap between Nertania and Lokrion was so deep that they couldn’t get any deeper. and… .”
Also, if this speculation were true, it was clear what Maleus would most dislike.
“… There are signs that Ardain will wake up.”
Ardein, the eternal sacrifice.
The one who stood at the end of every era in history.
And in the current situation, the one closest to the Demon King.
Let’s be hopeful, Maleus will never like him.
‘Please, respond… .’
After a brief silence after Vera’s longing words, Maleus cried out.
[Hoo… . That’s an interesting story.]
His massive body leaned forward and the jewels squealed.
[I want to hear a little more, so tell me.]
First big reaction.
At that, Vera groaned inwardly, and licked his lips.
*
It was a persuasion that continued by unraveling the things that had happened before. Maleus intermittently ‘hmm… .’, ‘Oh… .’ Miller, who had never heard the details of the path the two of them walked, also listened to the story with wide-open eyes.
After all the talk, Vera took a deep breath and looked straight at Maleus, waiting for an answer.
Maleus, who was worried as he stroked his jawbone with his white finger bones, soon began to speak to himself.
[Certainly, he might have thought he was a moving omen. Well, no. Orgus intervened. then… .]
It’s been a while since I’ve been able to hear all the fragmented and incomprehensible sounds.
Maleus immediately let out a low laugh and asked Vera.
[…] Yes, you need a ‘coffin’ to stop it. That’s what I’m saying. That’s justified.]
As he continued with a nod of his head, the hopeful assumption in Vera’s mind was drawn more clearly.
“then… !”
[I want to ask one thing.]
Vera was about to say something more, but Maleus cut it off and asked a question.
[Son of promise. Even if there is a ‘coffin’, can you stop it?]
Maleus tilted his head. Yet the pitch-black eye sockets pointed straight at Vera.
[Yeah, don’t admit it. You did have a rare power indeed. One, in the end, that’s all. do you know In the history of this long continent, there have been countless people stronger than you. And none of them could stop Ardain.]
The jawbone slowly opened up. The muscle fibers connecting the cheekbones and the jaw trembled with irregular contractions and relaxations.
Vera recalled that it was a phenomenon that happened together with Maleus making a certain expression.
There was no reason to worry about what the expression was.
[But you, weaker than them, don’t seem to be able to stop Ardain just because you have a ‘coffin’.]
It was a laugh, needless to say.
Anger rested on Vera’s face. teeth are tight His fists were also being clenched so hard that he couldn’t hold them any longer.
I should have responded, but because I couldn’t.
‘… rot.’
He was right. Even Hodric, who was guarding the gates of this castle right now, was unable to defeat him. From Maleus’s point of view, isn’t it a natural thing to say?
In the midst of growing resentment, Vera said he could not tolerate such a thing.
“… If you prove it, what would it be?”
Renee’s head turned quickly. Headed to Vera. The other party also looked at Vera blankly.
Maleus moved his bones in a jumble, then nodded his head and said.
[Well… , okay. Hodrick’s been fooling around again. Are you sure you’re saying you’re going to fight him and prove it?]
“That’s right.”
It was an unwavering answer.
In addition, it was not an answer that was made with emotions in the first place.
“You can’t win right now. You know it and I know it too. So, there is something I want to ask you.”
[Tell me.]
“I want to be challenged several times, not just one challenge.”
I knew Vera too. The current self, who was pouring out all of his energy while facing only one corps commander, could not get through the hardships that would continue.
So much stronger force was needed, and the means for it existed here.
It was a request with its own calculations.
If it’s a ‘coffin’ you should get anyway. If you have to prove your own powerlessness in order to receive it, it is the most profitable judgment to take advantage of the process.
[Do I really have to do that?]
“It will be a moment of entertainment for you.”
Maleus laughed out loud when he responded with the thought that he was fussing over the subject he had been living in for a long time.
[He’s such a shy kid. good night. don’t wait for me Try it if you can.]
tick tick.
As Maleus applauded, there was a sound of bone-to-bone clashing.
[Hmm, okay. don’t expect me Then go out and rest. Fortunately, there is food for you to eat in this castle.]
Cheokgaekryong, performed in a tone full of joy.
Vera, who was about to turn around with a sigh of relief, paused when he remembered that he had belatedly forgot about Jenny’s question, said Maleus.
[Do not ask me about the child, as I am going to leave it to her will.]
As if he already knew what question he was going to ask, it was the first answer.
[If you dare to answer a question, there are many people in the castle who can answer it, so ask them.]
A stubborn expression of the will that he said no more.
The party stopped at it and stood still, then bowed their heads to pay respects and set out for Daejeon.
Koo-.
The gates of Daejeon closed with a heavy noise.