DKFTI 134

“Ugh…”

A thunderous roar shook the earth, and Sibel’s eyes shot open. His head felt as if it was going to explode. It was as if his brain had been taken out and ground in a blender.

“…What is this, an earthquake?”

Sibel staggered to his feet. The floor was shaking. White powder pitter-pattered from the ceiling. Memories returned. Leviathan, the Holy King, and the terrible words he had whispered before Sibel passed out.

“A new world.” and “The sound of death.”

“Are you kidding me?”

Sibel hurried to the door. As expected, it was locked. He tried to tear the doorknob open, but it wouldn’t budge.

“You think you can trap me with something like this!”

Sibel gritted his teeth. He wasn’t the weak Demon King Sibel of old. He drew on his magic. Purple sparks flew from his fingertips.

“Open, open!”

Perhaps his desperate will reached it. The condensed magical energy exploded, crumpling the thick iron door like a sheet of paper and flying away.

Honestly, he hadn’t expected something like this to happen, and even Sibel was surprised.

“Hah, hmm, huh.”

Through the dust that filled the air, Sibel ran out into the hallway and to the window to look outside.

“…Ah.”

Sibel’s mouth dropped open. This wasn’t the Holy Kingdom he knew. Outside, it was a mess. Human bodies strewn across the floor, attacking each other.

The once beautiful golden city was ablaze, and the screams of the people echoed throughout the air.

“This is insane… completely insane.”

Was this the new world Leviathan had spoken of? Was the world he’d prepared for himself this hellish?

Sibel felt nauseated. Just then, a massive explosion erupted in the middle of the plaza.

Boom!

Sibel’s gaze was fixed on that spot. Atop the rubble of a collapsed building, two figures were entangled, fighting.

One was a monstrous Leviathan, his entire body turned to gray stone. And the one fighting him was…

“Aizen!”

The man, covered in blood and wielding a sword emitting a blue glow, was Aizen. Blood was visible here and there on his body. He must have rolled around in the dirt for his body to be so dirty…

Is Aizen accustomed to throwing himself like that? For a moment, he felt pity for him. Whatever the purpose, such behavior was a bad habit.

Looking back on the path Aizen had taken in his life, he realized that perhaps he had inevitably developed a habit of risking his life to protect others…

“Ugh.”

With the world on the brink of collapse, this was no time to worry about Aizen alone. Sibel quickly pulled out his crystal communicator. He sent a message to Shanti with aplomb.

His hands were shaking, making a lot of typos, but that wasn’t the point. Hurry, hurry. We have to hurry.

Once he confirmed the message was sent, Sibel quickly scanned his surroundings.

Where am I? A tower? What floor am I on? Should I fly over there?

He took a deep breath, and squeezed himself through the window. Sibel gripped the railing tightly.

The fear vanished, replaced by anger. He must pay dearly for interfering with his people, his world, and his hero.

He couldn’t understand Leviathan’s mind no matter how he thought about it. Trying to fix the mistakes of the past by destroying his own world was nothing but selfish desire.

He couldn’t allow anything to ruin this beautiful world. Paradise? there really is no such thing. Leviathan.

Sibel climbed onto the railing. The wind ruffled his silver hair.

“Leviathan!”

Sibel’s shout pierced the din of the battlefield. At the same time, he launched himself into the air.

***

Black wings made of magica sprouted from his back and sliced through the air. Sibel’s body, drawn by gravity, fell, slowing in a graceful arc as it neared the ground.

Thud.

In the middle of the ruined plaza, amidst the dusty battlefield, Sibel landed between Aizen and Leviathan.

“Cough, cough…”

A harsh cough was heard from behind. Sibel slowly turned his head. There, Aizen lay, covered in blood. The holy sword, once emitting a blue glow, lay sprawled on the floor, and crimson blood gushed from his mouth and nose.

“…Si..bel…”

His unfocused eyes turned to Sibel. Even with his battered body, Aizen smiled, seemingly relieved. He couldn’t even take care of his own body, yet the way he called Sibel’s name was filled with affection.

Sibel’s heart ached.

“Stay still. Don’t speak.”

Sibel gave a curt reply and looked forward again. There stood Leviathan, a monster whose entire body had turned to gray stone. The fist that had only moments ago been poised to kill Aizen was frozen in midair.

Leviathan slowly raised his head and gazed up at the being that had descended from the heavens.

Swirling silver hair, pale white skin, and piercing blue eyes. The figure, shining alone beneath the ruined city and the blackened sky, seemed almost sacred. It was the image Leviathan had longed for all his life.

Leviathan’s ashen eyes flickered.

He couldn’t see Sibel now. The distant past, the primordial god he had longed for and longed to capture, the afterimage of Silvaren, overlapped Sibel’s form.

“You’ve come.”

The voice that flowed from his mouth was terribly poignant, belying the horrific sight. Leviathan gazed at Sibel in rapture.

Sibel looked down at Leviathan.

The rage that had surged to the very tip of his skull moments ago had cooled like it was an illusion. The culprit who had destroyed the city, killed its people, and brought Aizen to this state was right before his eyes.

But pity, rather than anger, surged through his chest.

The image of Leviathan reflected in his hazy memory wasn’t one of absolute evil. He was like a lost child, haunted by the ghosts of the past, searching for a paradise that would never come.

If he had to choose the word that best describes this feeling… Yes, it was pity.

“Leviathan.”

Sibel slowly spoke. A clear voice rang out in the stillness of the battlefield, where even the wind had died down.

“I told you.”

Sibel’s blue eyes stared into Leviathan’s gray ones.

“There are things you can’t handle alone.”

If only Leviathan had recalled his own words even once during all that time, if only someone had been by his side. If only someone had caught him even once during the countless times he stumbled. Then, this miserable moment wouldn’t have come to pass.

“This plan is meaningless.”

“It does have meaning.”

“…I’ve regained my memories, but I’m not the person you were hoping for.”

Leviathan fell silent at Sibel’s words.

“Weren’t you curious to confirm it? But you were afraid.”

“…”

“Let’s put an end to this. Even if I regain my memories, even if I regain the power of the god you spoke of, the fact remains that I cannot return to my past existence.”

Leviathan slowly raised his hand. He opened his palm and offered it to Sibel, but Sibel shook his head.

“I can give you everything you desire.”

“I already have everything I desire…”

Leviathan tilted his head at Sibel’s words.

“This isn’t the paradise you desired.”

“There’s no such thing. Each person’s paradise is here, in their heart.”

Sibel folded his hands over his heart.

“I hope you don’t live trapped in hell.”

It was a desperate request. He hoped the Leviathan in his memories was now happy. It was an unbecoming sentiment for someone who had committed such a heinous act.

“…My paradise was only you.”

“Not anymore.”

Leviathan lowered his head at Sibel’s firm words. His silence stretched.

“I see…”

Leviathan’s voice flowed slowly. He raised his bowed head and looked up at the sky.

“The paradise I sought… has already been destroyed with these hands.”

The calm voice carried a different aura. The conviction he had clung to tightly slipped from his grasp like grains of sand. Leviathan smiled.

But in this peaceful atmosphere, Sibel’s body grew increasingly tense. It was strange that he could communicate so easily.… It felt like a sign of imminent danger.

“But you won’t be able to stop this ritual.”

“What…”

“If you want to stop me, seek the power of God.”

For a moment, Leviathan’s eyes flashed. A cold wind blew around him.

“Ugh.”

Sibel raised his arm and covered his face.

The gray stone hide that had covered Leviathan’s body shattered into pieces. Through the gap, a darkness darker than pitch poured out like a waterfall.

It wasn’t mere magic. It was despair, madness, condensed over tens of thousands of years.

“Leviathan!”

The moment Sibel called out in surprise, his body transformed into the form of a black monster.

“Ugh!”

A gust of wind blew, causing Sibel to stumble back. At that moment, Aizen grabbed Sibel’s arm and pulled him into his embrace.