DKFTI 111

“Demon King! Demon King!”

Ruru ran over and checked the situation. The two who had lost consciousness looked strange.

“What happened? The Demon King’s demonic power…”

Ruru was confused because he could feel the same demonic power from Aizen that he could normally feel only from Sibel. The two of them radiated similar waves.

“They’ve mixed.”

Ramiel examined Aizen’s state as he spoke. During the explosion, the energy of the two had merged together for some reason.

“Interesting.”

Ramiel observed Aizen, amazed that he was still breathing when death would have been the natural outcome. A different kind of energy now flowed through his body. It was too dark to be holy power and too divine to be demonic energy. A strange, mixed aura surrounded him.

“Will he be sad that he’s no longer human?”

Ramiel muttered a question that seemed to be a soliloquy. It was a question he could not contirm until Aizen woke up.

“Or perhaps… joy.”

Aizen’s heart had changed to that of a demon. That meant he no longer belonged to the human race, and his lifespan would no longer be bound by human limits.

But a human body couldn’t contain demonic energy. Normally, an ordinary human body would rot, unable to withstand the poison within demonic power. The only difference was that his body had once held immense holy power, a vessel unlike any other.

“A being that is neither human nor demon will be born.”

“Ramiel, what exactly are you?”

Shanti asked warily as he looked at Ramiel, who even seemed pleased. The wings on his back and the sacred energy surrounding him were clear signs.

“Are you one of the Celestials?”

Shanti’s eyes burned fiercely as he spoke. Ruru bit his dry lip.

“I’m merely an observer.”

“…That’s exactly the kind of disgusting thing Celestials say.”

Ruru pointed at him and shouted.

“I knew you were shady!”

“If our goals align, you won’t find a better ally than me.”

Ramiel answered their hostility with his usual smile. Shanti and Ruru both felt uneasy about his attitude, but since Sibel still hadn’t regained consciousness, there was nothing they could do.

“We should move the two of them.”

The knights of the Holy Kingdom were already retreating from the Demon King’s castle. The place where their waves had swept through had turned into a wasteland.

“Grrr!”

Far away in the sky, Kairin, who had come upon hearing the news and rushed to aid the Demon King’s castle, spewed fire and drove away the remaining knights.

“Demon King… Hero…”

***

‘You don’t have to cry like that…’

‘No, I can’t accept this. Not like this… not this way…’

The master of the dream had decided to disappear. But the one by his side couldn’t accept it.

‘Why must Lord Silvaren disappear? Why, for those worthless beings who are nothing!’

Sorrow turned into rage, and that uncontrollable rage led to an unforgivable sin.

‘I won’t let it happen.’

The frost-like sword shone.

Slash. The sword tore through the heart. Death has arrived.

That moment shattered all order. The corrupted energy that the dream’s master had kept sealed spread across the world.

The one he loved most had unleashed impurity upon the world. Memories of the days they dreamed of paradise together flashed by.

In those endlessly falling tears, the master of the dream gathered his last strength and gently patted the one who had killed him.

It was pity. Even though he knew the other would never find salvation, he couldn’t bring himself to let go. All of it had been created together, so how could he blame the pitiful one?

And so, the master of the dream closed his eyes.

***

His head hurt. Sometimes, after a long sleep, he gets a severe headache, but this long sleep… felt like it held an immeasurable amount of time.

“…Ugh.”

Sibel woke in bed and curled up as he groaned.

“Demon King!”

Shanti, who had been dozing off by the bedside, was startled awake and checked his body. Sibel’s skin was freezing cold.

“Are you alright?”

“Ugh…”

Sibel clutched his head. Strange memories that didn’t feel like his own flooded his mind.

His eyes stung and he was crying for no apparent reason. He had an ominous feeling that something had gone terribly wrong.

“Haah…”

As Sibel gasped for air, Shanti quickly brought water and placed it in his hand.

“Breathe slowly, My Lord. Everything’s fine now! The men of the Holy Kingdom have all fled!”

When Shanti patted his arm, Sibel slowly breathed. Focus gradually returned to his eyes as he looked around.

‘The Demon King’s castle… Shanti.’

The stabbing pain in his head began to ease. He started to remember where he was and who he was.

“…Right. This is… ugh… What happened to everyone?”

“Demon King, you protected the castle safely! Your demonic power nearly went out of control, but you overcame it…”

Shanti’s voice trailed off, and Sibel recalled a certain image.

He had been flying through the sky, ready to destroy everything in sight. Then he felt the warm arms that had held him.

“Aizen?”

Back when his eyes and ears were both numb, Sibel had clearly heard Aizen’s voice. He had whispered something, but Sibel couldn’t remember what it was.

“The Hero…”

Shanti’s eyes trembled. When Sibel saw that, cold sweat trickled down his face.

“Don’t tell me something went wrong?”

Dread coiled around his heart.

“I have to see him. Where is he?”

“Well…”

“Aizen!”

Sibel jumped out of bed. His body swayed, and Shanti quickly supported him. Each step made his skull throb. The scenes from his dream flashed again and again. Green light and darkness, a whispering voice, a tear-streaked face, and death.

He remembered clearly. At the end of that memory stood a familiar presence.

Why?

***

“It’s hot!”

“Just eat it! Do I have to blow on it for you?”

“Ah, it splashed on my face!”

Aizen sat up, perfectly awake, in front of the breathless Sibel who had rushed in. Sibel, seeing that smooth, absurdly radiant face, lost all strength.

He fell to the floor by the doorway, and both of them inside the room turned their eyes to him.

“What’s wrong, Sibel?”

“Oh my, Demon King!”

Ruru, who had been spoon-feeding Aizen porridge, threw down the bowl and ran to Sibel, his tail spinning in circles.

“Demooon King! You’ve come to your senses! You were unconscious for a whole week!”

“Is everyone alright?”

Sibel looked at Ruru and Aizen. Aizen, wrapped head to toe in bandages, smiled with his usual mischievous look.

“I’m fine.”

“He’s recovery so freakish it’s scary. His regeneration’s monstrous to the point of being shameless.”

“Monstrous?”

“All his bones were shattered, but now he walks to the bathroom just fine.”

All his bones shattered… How could a human live through that?

“You’re more of a patient than he is right now, Demon King.”

Sibel found the situation strange. The last image of Aizen he remembered had been terrible.

Then a shadow fell behind him.

“The reason’s simple. Apostle Aizen is no longer human.”

A voice warm as sunlight echoed gently. Sibel turned his head, and his eyes met Ramiel’s, who stood behind him. Ramiel looked no different than usual, but something about him felt changed.

“Look at that heart. Doesn’t the energy feel familiar?”

Ramiel stretched out his hand toward Sibel. Sibel reached out, brushed past it, and pulled his arm as he rose to his feet.

“That’s…”

“Yes. It’s your demonic power. The curse that should have filled the space left by the fading holy power was consumed by your demonic energy.”

“How? I’ve never learned anything like that.”

“You could do it even without learning.”

Sibel’s hand slipped from Ramiel’s arm. He walked forward step by step.

So it meant he was fine after all.

Sibel reached Aizen’s side. Aizen lifted his gaze quietly toward him. The two looked at each other in silence for a while. As Sibel stared into those calm eyes, a question rose inside him.

“What did you say to me then, in the sky?”

At Sibel’s question, Aizen let out a small laugh.

“Out of everything, that’s what you’re most curious about?”

Of course, Sibel wondered how Aizen could hold his demonic power, how he had survived, and what it meant that he was no longer human. But Sibel could feel that Aizen was alive, fully alive, and not in pain. That was why the words from that moment mattered more.

“I said I love you.”

“What?”

“I think that’s what I said.”

Aizen spoke quietly. For some reason, Sibel’s heart tickled and he felt his ears burning.

“If I were to die, I wanted to say it before the end.”

It felt as if the wall he had built up had collapsed.

“What kind of final words are those?”

He ended up laughing. It was so very like Aizen that he couldn’t think of anything to say.