Ochiden V5 - Chapter 1: Regarding 'Eris'

Volume 5

Chapter 1: Regarding ‘Eris’

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---

They said his little sister was born. They said her name was Ferris.

He didn’t understand what that meant at first.

He knew the words ‘little sister.’ But they didn’t mean anything to him personally, so he didn’t really understand what it meant then.

“……”

The cradle swayed in the dark room, and there was a baby inside. She was cute to the point where it didn’t feel real, and she had the exact same blue eyes as he did, and soft but messy blonde hair, pale limbs, and an innocent smile.

The baby looked at him. But he couldn’t tell if she realized he was there or not. She just stared. She looked right at him.

“……”

Relux Eris’ eyes narrowed. He was a boy with the same blond hair and blue eyes as the baby. He’d turned four this year, so there were four years of difference between him and the baby.

“…Four,” he whispered.

When he did, Ferris said “aah,” raising her voice like she was trying to reply to him.

He smiled. “I don’t know what ‘aah’ means.”

“Aaaaaaah.”  

“……”

“Aaah, uuuu, aaahhh?”

“What. Do you want me to do something?”

“Aaa~ aaaaaa~”

He didn’t know why she was raising her voice, but she seemed like she was having a lot of fun. He couldn’t help but feel cheerful.

He raised his hand up to touch her cheek. Because she looked really soft.

“……”

But he didn’t, in the end. Because his hand was covered with blood. It was so red that he could tell even in the pitch black of the room.

“…I can’t. Not while I’m covered with blood from the dead,” he whispered.

“Kyoo kyoo,” Ferris babbled in return.

Relux smiled. “What’s so funny?”

“Daaa.”

“Yeah?”

“Aaa, uu, aaaa~”

His baby sister was frantically trying to communicate with him. She smiled, scrunched up her nose, waved both hands around, and really seemed to be trying to express something to him.

Relux was filled with a mysterious feeling. 

He’d never seen something as expressive as this before in his four years of life. He’d never seen something laugh and smile so innocently before.

“……”

He raised his head.

The room they were in now was completely dark.

This place they called the Eris estate was always dark, day or night.

They were monsters obsessed with power who just got madder and madder from where they lurked in the dark.

The weak weren’t allowed to live here. People who would embarrass the Eris name weren’t allowed to live here. That was why he didn’t recall ever having a real conversation with his parents. All of his memories were them hitting him with wooden swords.

His only praise was when he grew stronger. Other than that, they didn’t talk.

So this was the first time he’d ever seen another human smile before.

“……”

It was his little sister’s smile.

Ferris’ smile looked very strange to him. It was innocent, happy, even in this dark, dark place.

It was just so weird. He watched her smile and wave her arms around as she continued to “aaah, aaaah,” at him.

“……”

For some reason, he ended up smiling too.

And then he heard a voice from behind. “You’re here again? You sure do love Ferris.”

Relux turned around. He looked up at the tall man in the doorframe. He had the same blond hair, the same blue eyes, and the same abnormal beauty that Relux had.

It was his father, the current head of the Eris family.

“She might become your wife someday,” his father said. “I guess it can’t be helped if you like her…”

He said she might become his wife.

Even four year old Relux understood that something about that was wrong. He read the books they kept around, and one of them said that close relatives having kids together was dangerous. But the Eris family kept doing it anyway. Because they were obsessed with the Eris family being the absolute strongest of all, and they didn’t want their blood to be stolen. So everyone married within the family and everyone had the same face and the same powerful children.

His parents were siblings. Apparently his grandparents had been parent and child. So his parents told him that he might end up like that with Ferris back when she was born three months ago.

His father approached and brushed Ferris’ cheek. She laughed happily when she did, making the same sound as before. But he looked down at her coldly. “But don’t get too attached to her. She might not survive.”

He said it so easily.

“You were exceptional, but we killed seven of you guys before you were born. And if Ferris isn’t strong enough….”

“You’ll kill her?”

“There’s no reason to let the weak live.”

“……”

“So don’t get too attached to her. Well, we don’t need to get attached to anyone in the first place. Isn’t that right?”

Relux looked back to Ferris, who was still smiling happily and babbling. He regarded her emotionlessly. “That is right.”

His father smiled. But it was emotionless, completely lacking everything in Ferris’ smile, intentionally constructed but inherently empty. He turned that smile to Relux. “You really are exceptional. You very much remind me of myself, and I was always called a genius.”

“No, I fall quite short when we’re compared.”

“Don’t be modest. Me and my sister - I guess I could call her my wife, too -  both think so. You’re the child of me, the first to be called a genius in all of Eris history, and Ephilia. You’ll become much, much stronger from now on.”

Relux gave a little nod. “I will work hard so as to answer to your expectations.”

“You better.”

“Understood.”

With that, his father turned to leave. Relux stared at his back as he did. He tried to imagine how he might kill him.

“That’s still impossible for you,” his father suddenly said.

“……”

“You can’t kill me with your power now.”

“……”

“But it is important to calculate the strength of those more powerful than yourself. Surpass me and have an even stronger child than yourself,” his father said, then left the room.

“……”

Relux took another look at Ferris. At his sister who might become his wife in the future. She was smiling just like before, a real and radiant smile. It made Relux smile, too.

Then he looked back down at his bloodstained hands.

“…I’ll wash my hands. Then I can hold you. It’s late, so I’ll rock you and sing you a lullaby until you fall asleep.”

He left the room, washed his hands, and changed his blood stained clothes for clean ones. Then he checked himself over in the mirror to make sure all the blood was gone. 

His blond hair and blue eyes were reflected back at him. He was smiling.

It was a smile from seeing Ferris.

However.

“……”

It was empty just like his father’s.

It was completely emotionless.

It looked fake.

Even in its very depths, all he had was darkness and madness.

“……”

His father was right. He did resemble him. Because he was a child of the Eris family.

They had the same blond hair, the same blue eyes, and the same doll-like, heartless beauty.

His parents called him exceptional. They called him a genius. They said that they were expecting great things from him.

Relux smiled sarcastically, watching his face in the mirror. That smile, too, was fake. It was completely different from Ferris’. Ferris had an inherent brilliance that he didn’t, and he couldn’t really understand why.  

“……”

He didn’t know what it meant for him yet, either. Because his little sister had just been born. And he’d only just started wondering.

He heard a voice from afar. It was a crying voice. It was his sister’s voice. The voice of a human with emotions, something that was forbidden in this house.

He turned to face her voice. “I’m coming, Ferris,” he whispered.

---

Three years passed.

His little sister’s babbling turned to words.

“Brother!”

She was beautiful, with long blonde hair and blue eyes, and skin so pale it was nearly transparent. Those were all qualities he had, too. But they were somehow different in her.

“Brother, Brother!”

She always yelled that when she was looking for him, calling for him with a bright and shining smile on her face.

She smiled when their eyes met, like there was something really great about it. But her face was covered with wounds. Their parents punched and kicked her day after day, so she was covered in bruises. That was why she smiled when she saw him. Because Relux didn’t hit her. She said he liked him because of that.

Relux didn’t really get what the word ‘like’ meant, but he didn’t hate Ferris saying it about him.

“Brother!”

“What is it, Ferris?”

“Umm, uh.”

“Mm.”

“Um, so I don’t need anything, but.”

“Mm.”

“You were just here, so.”

“Mm.”

“It’s just because you’re here.”

“I see,” he said and smiled. But it was hollow. He pet Ferris’ head. When he did, she laughed. Laughed like she was happy.

He knew that she only smiled in front of him nowadays.

She was trained daily until she was on the verge of death. She used to cry about it, but now she didn’t. She just went through her training with a pathetic expression on her face. She was slowly losing her smile and he knew it. But the way that she was losing them was different from how he had lost his.

He’d never been very expressive. His parents were probably the same. They all had the Eris blood thick in their veins, and with it came great power.

He didn’t get beaten so much anymore. Because his parents were busy attacking Ferris instead.

Of course they were going easy on her. They tailored their training to their children’s age groups. But Ferris didn’t do well, even then. She moved too slow and learned too slow, so their parents abused her daily for being such a useless child.

So Ferris had cried daily, wondering why all of this was happening. But she didn’t talk about it now. She didn’t cry about it, either.

She was just hit. Just scolded and verbally abused. And then her smile became something she only ever showed to Relux. Because if she smiled in front of their parents… 

“What’s that trash grinning about?”

She’d just get hit again. So she didn’t do it.

And slowly, slowly, her smile began to fall to the shadows.

“……”

Even so, it was still too bright. It had something that Relux and his parents’ smiles didn’t. That was why he thought it was probably something precious.

So he pet her head as kindly and gently as he could.

She smiled when he did. Smiled and laughed that little ‘eheheh’ of hers, a little clumsier and less sure than she used to smile.

And then she suddenly began to cry.

“Why are you crying?” Relux asked.

She shook her head. “I don’t know.”

“Is your training hard?”

“I don’t know.”

“I see.”

“Mm.”

“…I see,” he said and nodded. His eyes narrowed as he watched her, crying and smiling.

Something was changing. He knew that.

But Ferris wasn’t the one who was changing. It was him. Something inside of him had changed because of her. Because of the darkness that slowly began to hang over her.

“…Do you want to sleep in my room tonight?” Relux asked.

She nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah!”

He pet her head again, kind as he could, then lifted her up in his arms.

---

Five years passed.

Relux was twelve now. His sister was eight.

“Brother, are you in here?” she asked, then barged on into his room without waiting for a response.

Relux closed the book he’d been reading and looked up. Ferris was growing up really pretty. She wore a white martial arts outfit. But her face didn’t have any emotion at all. It was like a doll’s face.

When had that happened? He couldn’t remember, even when he tried. Because it was just too long ago.

Still. He looked deep into her expression. And when he did he saw a light lurking inside of it that he just didn’t have.

“……”

A hazy smile rose to his face.

“Is something funny?” Ferris asked.

Relux shrugged. “No, nothing. More importantly, did you need something?”

Ferris nodded. She spoke with a flat, emotionless voice. “Our little sister was born.”

Relux’s eyes widened like he was surprised. But that was an act, a fabricated expression made for the explicit purpose of making himself appear human. “Iris?” he asked.

“Is that her name?”

“Father said it would be.”

“Father…”

Ferris hated their father. She hated their mother, too. But that went without saying. They’d always hit and cursed her, ever since she could remember. There was no way that she wouldn’t hate them. But she didn’t show any emotion even when he mentioned their father.

“……”

He stared at her for a while, but no emotion ever surfaced. So he stood.

“Let’s go see our little sister’s face.”

Ferris nodded. “Mm.”

Relux smiled. He smiled because Ferris had gone out of her way to come here and tell him that their little sister was born. He smiled because it didn’t matter how much their parents or the world tried to break her - that light was still inside of her.

“……”

But it probably wouldn’t last much longer. Because there was no reason for her to be alive anymore.

She was a failure, so she was unnecessary. So his parents had talked about killing her as soon as they had a replacement. By ‘replacement,’ they meant a baby girl who could carry on Relux’s excellent genes.

That was Iris. 

If a boy had been born today, then Ferris would have had a chance of surviving. She could have been allowed to live for the sole purpose of bearing heirs. But their little sister was born. So the single reason why Ferris was allowed to live now disappeared. So they’d kill her. They’d kill her even though she had such a bright light inside of her.

“……”

He felt that he should do something about it. But he didn’t know why.

All he knew was that something inside of him was screaming at him to save her, save her, save her. It was something inside the darkness of his heart. He knew that much.

They entered the room where the baby was born.

It was dark, and the baby was crying. But he couldn’t look at the baby.

“It’s been born,” their father said. “A girl.”

“She’ll be your future wife, Relux.”

Their parents didn’t see Ferris at all anymore. They didn’t have to. Because she was useless garbage. They had no reason to acknowledge her now.

Their parents only looked at Relux.

His father held the baby.

He told him that she’d be his future wife. Told him that she’d have his children.

The baby cried. She screamed and cried, like she was terrified, begging for someone to free her from this house of demons and monsters.

“Ferris,” Relux whispered.

“Mm?”

“It’s true that a baby girl was born.”

“Yeah.”

“And big sisters protect their little sisters.”

Ferris looked up at him. “Like you did for me?”

“I protected you?” Relux asked, without meeting her eyes.

She nodded. “Yeah.”

“Did I.”

“Yeah.”

“Then do the same thing I did, and protect Iris.”

“Understood.”

Ferris walked right on over to Iris, and raised her hand to touch her.

“Don’t touch her with your filthy hands, failure,” their father said. He struck Ferris. He was so fast that Relux couldn’t follow his hand as it hit her.

Ferris flew across the room and against the wall, then slumped down on the floor. She’d lost consciousness.

Relux just stared. And stared. 

He… 

“……”

How much more power did he need to be able to protect her? He turned to watch his father’s movements while considering that.

“Come here,” his father said. “Come look at your future wife’s face.”

Relux shook his head. “I am not interested. May I return to my training?”

His father smiled. “Yeah… yes, right. That’s fine.”

“Excuse me, then,” Relux said and turned to leave.

He left the room. Left his two little sisters to the monsters.

He didn’t have any time. There was barely any time at all until they killed his sister.

They’d likely give it about three years.

If Iris’ power exceeded Ferris’ then, Ferris would be killed.

If Ferris’ power exceeded Iris’ then, Iris would be killed.

And they could always decide that they should both be killed. Because they still had a childbearing woman: his mother. And she was strong. Too strong for Relux to beat.

So they might just decide to keep her as the childbearer for both his father and for Relux.

So they didn’t need Ferris, who was powerless. They wouldn’t need Iris, either, if she was weak.

And if that was the situation… 

“…I just need to be strong enough to kill my mother,” Relux whispered. 

Ferris and Iris would become worthwhile if their mother died. They’d be useful as tools to bear more Eris children.

So he needed to become strong enough to kill his mother first.

His genius father was impossible for him to kill right now, but his mother… He could probably kill her pretty soon. Because he’d already memorized everything about how she moved. He already understood her limits.

He just needed to kill her.

That was his goal.

---

That goal soon became unnecessary. Because his mother lost the ability to bear additional children.

It wasn’t just Iris’ fault. She’d already had ten children. Her body was at its limit.

Iris didn’t turn out to be a genius, either. She wasn’t any better than Ferris. So they quickly abandoned the idea of training her, and didn’t even let her stand in the training area. But they let her live for childbearing purposes.

Both Ferris and Iris were allowed to live as insurance, since their mother couldn’t have kids anymore.

Their parents were disappointed. They were sad that they could give birth to such failures. His mother lamented not being able to have another of her brother’s splendid children, lamented the fact that such failures had come of such a genius. 

Iris’ complete lack of potential meant that they raised their expectations for Ferris one more time.

They put her through unthinkably difficult training every single day. Time and time again she broke every bone in her body and lie in a pool of her own blood, and still training wouldn’t stop for the day.

So she lost even more emotion. The light inside her dimmed and dimmed.

Relux just watched. He watched, unable to do anything about it.

There wasn’t any meaning to becoming strong enough to kill their mother anymore. He had to become stronger than their father.

But that was impossible. Because their father wasn’t human. He’d realized that when he was little.

Relux couldn’t see his father’s movements. He couldn’t sense any bloodlust from him. He couldn’t even sense any life from him.

Even his mother had the presence of a human. Even Relux, who was praised as an outstanding child, didn’t have the potential to surpass the limits of what it meant to be human.

His father, on the other hand… was strange. He moved strange. Relux couldn’t even see how he moved. He couldn’t perceive his presence. He was empty to the core, and seemed to drift between existing and not.

Relux tried to assault him with his sword time and time again. But it slid through the air like it was just hitting mist, never reaching flesh.

It puzzled him.

He didn’t have any time. He wouldn’t make it in time.

His father would likely have Ferris birth a child as soon as she had her first period. What expression would Ferris make then? Imagining it made him feel sick. Imagining her without her light made him feel sick.

It’d disappear, wouldn’t it? Even though it’d shone so bright.

“……”

The only light that tied him to the world of humans in this pitch black place would disappear— 

He swung his sword.

Swung it at his father.

For a second he thought that he hit him perfectly. But in this next moment his father had disappeared and reappeared at his side.

“Over here,” he said.

Relux turned to look at him, then flung his sword in his direction much, much faster than before.

He moved it faster, faster, fast enough to reach the limit of what humans could do.

He needed to be stronger, stronger, strong enough to kill this monster.

“……”

But his sword didn’t hit his father. He caught it in his hand with ease. “That was pretty fast,” he said.

Relux stared at his father. “And yet it didn’t reach you.”

“Yeah. Reaching me is out of the question at your level.”

“It’s not enough.”

“Yeah. But you still pass. You can advance forward with your power. I’ll open the first Eris door and show you.”

Relux tilted his head. “Eris door? What exactly is that?”

His father didn’t tell him. He just said to follow him.

He led Relux to the depths of the Eris family dojo.

It was a mysterious place - the deeper one went, the less they understood it. It seemed to change shape with every step. The number of doors, the number of rooms, the shape of the halls.

Perhaps nothing really changed about its structure. Perhaps all it really did was spread an odd sensation through his body. It was like his vision was shaking, like gaps were forming.

“Where are we going?” Relux asked.

“To the depths.”

“And what lies there?”

“Darkness.”

Darkness. Darkness. Darkness.

Relux’s eyes narrowed.

All he’d ever seen here was darkness, ever since he was born. And now his father was saying that there was something even darker? A place darker and madder than his home?

“What is ‘darkness?’” Relux asked.

“The reason the Eris family exists,” his father said, his voice as detached and emotionless as always. “Don’t ask any more questions. You’ll understand when we get there.”

“Will I.”

“You will.”

“Then I will leave my questions at that.”

Relux quietly followed his father, who opened a door. The darkness got thicker.

He felt like he was going to choke on it. He felt liquid pour from his eyes.

He was crying. That was surprising. The reason was unknown.

He raised his fingers to wipe away his tears. But when he drew them away again, they were covered in blood. Not tears.

He felt like his mind had left his body, and yet his whole body hurt. It hurt so bad that he could scream. The space around him move like the air itself was limp, hurting him as it wavered.

His body and soul were screaming at him. Screaming that this place was wrong. That humans shouldn’t go here. It told him to turn back, turn back, turn back.

His whole body screamed. But his father didn’t stop. He just opened another door, and the darkness got thicker. He opened another door, and the madness got thicker.

Then his father finally stopped. He turned back to look at Relux, whose eyes were pouring blood.

“Can you bear it?”

Relux tilted his head. “Bear what?”

His father smiled. “Good. You’re composed. We’ve reached our destination.”

Relux looked past his father to where another door lie. But this door was different. It had blood-red words written across it in a language Relux didn’t recognize.

But, just as his father said, there was something that he understood just by looking at it. There was something horrible on the other side of that door. He could feel it from this side.

“There’s something living on the other side of that door, isn’t there?”

“A demon.”

“A demon?”

“Yes, a demon. The Lonely Demon, Ryner Eris Lied sleeps there, crying and holding the broken hero to his chest.”

Relux didn’t really understand it.

But that name, Ryner Eris Lied, resounded with something inside of him. It called out to his blood.

“…Are we protecting this door?” Relux asked.

His father nodded. “Erises live to protect the frail hero - that is what we are all told.”

“The frail hero?”

“The king of this country. All who may become king to this country come here and are violated by the hero’s blood. They come here to be tested by the hero’s power, and we are to protect that hero’s blood.”

Relux didn’t really understand that, but he did know that the Eris family was a distinguished family that protected Roland’s king for generations and generations. “Then… does this mean that Roland’s foolish king is a hero, too?”

“Haha, he used to be a bit more decent. But he was unable to bear the darkness here and went mad.”

“He went mad,” Relux repeated.

“But that’s another story. You need to do your job.”

“My job?”

“Stay here for a while. You’ll surpass your humanity, then. Us Erises are more resistant to this than most, and you’re such an outstanding child. You’ll be able to stay here without going mad. If you are able to stay here, breathe in the darkness, and then leave as yourself, you will have gained the same power I have.”

His father turned his back to him.

“……”

Relux didn’t say anything.

It looked like the Eris family was made of something he hadn’t known about.

The demon who protected the frail king. The Eris family who protected the demon.

Relux reached up to touch the gray door. It pulsed against his fingers, beating like the heart of something living.

But that was all that happened.

The door wouldn’t open. It wouldn’t open at all.

It wouldn’t open, but a voice spoke to him from inside.

“So you’ve returned.”

It was a voice inside his head. It sounded like it came from deep inside of him. Like it was speaking to him from his blood.

So Relux responded. “This is my first time coming here.”

“One of my descendants has come here again.”

“…Oh, so that’s how it is. So your blood is flowing through me?”

“It is.”

“What are you?”

“The demon Eris.”

“Eris. Eris, huh. Then I’d like you to explain something to me.”

“What is it?”

“What do I have to do for this to end?”

“For it to end?”

“Yes.”

“‘End’ in what way?”

“In every way,” Relux said. “Tell me how I can end this farce—”

“To save your sister?” The demon interrupted.

“……”

“You want to end everything to save your precious sister?” The demon sounded happy as it saw through him like he was nothing.

Relux nodded. “Yes. I want to save my sister—”

“I can end your worries right now.”

“You can?”

“That’s right.”

“How?” Relux asked.

The demon laughed like it was enjoying this. “You won’t worry about anything anymore if you go mad here. Then you’ll be able to hold your sister with ease. You’ll be able to leave have children with her. You won’t need to doubt or to hesitate. Your mother and father also wanted to break free of this at first… but you know how that ended up. They’re happy now, aren’t they? Because being a vessel for my power is your family’s happiness. A vessel with no purpose is just sad.

“Now, lose your ‘self.’ Stop worrying about things that don’t matter. You’re tired of it, aren’t you? Tired of everything? That’s why you don’t smile. Even when you try to, it comes out empty. But that’s only natural. Because that’s how I made you. You’re supposed to be crude mud dolls. But I’ll give you the first happiness you’ve ever felt. I’ll show you how it feels to live. So come here. I’ll give you a purpose. You’ll become one with me. You’ll have my power. You’ll go mad, mad, mad, and enter a world without worries…”

Relux tried to take a step back. But he was stuck in place. The door behind him closed, making a loud sound as it clicked shut.

The demon laughed.

It told him that he couldn’t escape and laughed. It told him to go mad, just like the darkness, just like the world, just like the stage a jester dances upon— 

“Ahahah.”

It laughed.

“Ahahahhahhahhahhahahahhaa.”

Its mad laugh descended upon him from the sky.

He couldn’t escape the room and he couldn’t escape the laughter. It was loud, and it was inside of him, inside the nerves in his ears, too close to hide from. It felt like it’d melt him from the inside.

He could feel his human side vanishing as he stood here.

And all he could think was oh, okay. So that was how his father got so strong. He wasn’t human after all. They weren’t human at all. They were just dolls that existed to be used by this demon.

That was why he never saw a human when he looked in the mirror.

He just roamed around in the darkness without ever understanding why he was born or why he was here of all places. But he finally understood why now.

He was born as a monster and lived until today solely so he could be violated by this demon.

His mind was telling him to lose his sense of self, to sleep with Ferris, with his sister in order to calmly, emotionlessly continue the Eris bloodline. It said that she had such a beautiful smile. It said that she was so cute when she cried. It said to dirty her, break her, and feel nothing at all about any of that.

“…I don’t want that,” Relux said with a shaking voice.

“That feeling is fake.”

“Shut up.”

“You don’t have any feelings.”

“Shut up.”

“And even if you did…”

He wanted to scream at the demon to shut up. But he couldn’t even open his mouth, just like the demon wanted. His body, his heart, it was all becoming what the demon wanted.

“Even if you did have a heart… who cares?” The demon asked.

The gray door began to open. Long, pretty fingers slid out of the gap. Something was on them, but Relux didn’t know what. He didn’t have it in him to try to make it out right now.

The hand tried to reach out past the door, but… 

“…What’s…”  

The demon mumbled and moved to rip off whatever was on its hand. But it couldn’t. It was being bound by it. The demon’s hand paused in place.

“Who… what…?”

Relux didn’t know who the demon was talking to. But then he heard a superficially kind voice from behind.

“I’m human,” it said.

“A human wouldn’t be able to enter this place,” the demon said.

“Oh, wow, really? I guess I’m not human then. Man, this is tough. I can’t believe I stopped being human and didn’t even realize it—”

“Silence, Human.”

 The man behind Relux laughed. “You’re a pretty haughty demon, yelling at little Relux here to shut up when you yourself are so talkative and all.”

“A lowly human like you—”

“A lowly human like me has sealed you and left you unable to move, hasn’t he?” the man said. “How does it feel for a mighty demon such as yourself to get a taste of what it’s like to be human? Is it frustrating? Or do demons not feel ange—”

“I’m going to kill you!” the demon screeched. Loudly.

But the man just laughed. “You haven’t awoken yet. It isn’t the right time yet. So you should leave.”

“You bastard—”

“You’ve been cut in half. This isn’t your full power. Even your memories are fuzzy, aren’t they? What did you intend on accomplishing like this? What did you want to become? You’ve lost ‘Lonely,’ lost Ryner - you don’t know what you’re doing, do you?”

The demon was silent. 

“And do you know why Ryner isn’t there anymore? Do you know why you were suddenly torn from your precious other half, which you had given to the hero to devour?”

“What… what are you talking about?” The demon asked.

“It’s because I tore it off and stole it,” the man said. “Then I destroyed it. Your precious Ryner is no more. I took it, cut it up into such tiny pieces that it can never be put back together, and killed it.”

The demon’s voice became quieter. More serious. But it was afraid. That voice that had threatened Relux so much was terrified. “What are you trying to do?”

“What do you mean, ‘what am I trying to do?’”

“If you kill Ryner, then this world will…”

“Be destroyed,” the man finished.

“Then why did you do it? You’re human, aren’t you?”

“I am.”

“The humans are the ones who suffer most if this world is destroyed, are they not?”

“They are.”

“Then why did you do it?”

“I wonder.”

“You… you aren’t human.”

“I am.”

“Silence, monster… What could you be?”

 The man took a step forward. He was a man with poor posture, blond hair, and sleepy blue eyes who seemed to lack motivation. He was probably nobility. Most likely every blond in the country had noble blood, and he was well-kept, too. He wore a chic black suit and carried a well-made briefcase.

He spoke, half-sad, half enjoying himself. “Despite everything, I am human. A foolish human who sacrificed the world, sacrificed his wife, and still wants to protect his child. Scary, right? Isn’t it scary, being unable to understand my thought process? Duh, of course it is. I’m crazy, see. Ahaha. The mad magic scholar’s come to destroy the demon~ so isn’t it best if you try to escape? Oh, but you can’t move. Right. Because I cast some magic on you.

“So what will you do? You can’t escape. Will you scream? Scream and beg for someone to save your life? If you do, then I’ll tell you this I’ll tell you, who made humans to be used as dolls, this. I’ll tell you what you told Relux here a little while ago. The fear you feel is fake. You were born to be used by me. So you don’t need emotions. You don’t need to be afraid. Even if you did have emotions, who cares? You’re just…”

He lifted his fingers to the air, light gathering at his fingertips as he drew something in the air.

A magic circle characteristic of Roland’s magic formed. But Relux didn’t recognize this spell. At the very least it wasn’t one of the spells described in any of the books at the Eris estate.

The man drew the magic circle with impeccable speed. Its scale was on a different level than other magic circles - it was huge, several times larger than others.

But the man’s fingers just kept going. His feet moved too, tapping rhythmically, and the magic circle just got bigger and bigger with every beat. “You’ll meet your end here,” he said.

“Don’t kid yours—”

“But it’s already over,” the man said. “I stole Ryner and destroyed it. This world will soon have no need for your power—”

The demon’s hand twisted around, then moved back into the room like it was trying to escape. And then the heavy, gray door closed.

The man stared at the door. “It ran away.”

The briefcase in his hand opened, a great number of papers flooded out, then stuck to the door, completely pasting it over with white paper.

“By the way, half of what I said was a lie. I’d die if you got serious. But instead you chose to run away. So this is my win.”

The man laughed. But the demon didn’t answer. So he laughed again.

“You can hear me, can’t you? But we can’t hear you. So don’t bother talking. I’ve covered the gap between our world and the underworld, and now you can’t come to our side. I was telling the truth when I said that Ryner died. It’ll take time for you to get enough power back to come to this side again. You would have won if you hadn’t gotten scared and ran away. You would have been able to kill me. But you were too scared. Of a human. You were too scared of a human. The fact that you lost here will stay with you for all eternity. When you next open that door—”

The man turned back towards Relux.

Relux raised his head.

He could move his body. This man had freed him of his paralysis by sealing the demon. He confirmed that he could move everything, then looked at the man.

When he did, the ambitionless monster looked down at him and spoke. “It will really end when you next open this door. I’m going to teach this child how to eat you.”

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