Chapter 169
Chapter 169. Mary Ryudshiel (2)
Since meeting the specter of the Four Saints, Mary had been unconscious. If it hadn’t been for the turtle spirit Chameleon, someone would have been carrying Mary on their back.
While sleeping on that shell, Mary dreamt. The sensations were too vivid to simply dismiss as just a dream.
“Hey, my friend. I might have killed numerous people.”
Countless insects appeared, swarming in overwhelming numbers that seemed to swallow the mountains and sky whole.
Even though her favorite insects showed up, she felt no joy. The path the insects passed left no traces of life.
More importantly, why did she like eating insects? Had she ever considered that?
It felt as if she was just realizing this for the first time. All she’d ever felt when seeing insects was the instinct to eat them.
“If you see this, you might end up hating me.”
It wasn’t just insects that appeared in Mary’s dream. She saw a traveler alliance gathering to fight against the swarm.
They confronted the insects with magic and swordsmanship, but the number of insects decreased only slightly; the damage was minimal.
Instead, they kept appearing, replenishing their ranks, and the starving, crazed insects devoured thousands of travelers.
– Kyiyaaaaaah!
– Kuhaaaaaa!
– Don’t cling to me! Kyaaaaa!!
The dying screams of countless people.
Kwaaa-gwa-gwa—
Kwa-jik kwa-jik—
The sound of the gluttonous insects devouring their meals.
Controlling those insects was none other than Mary herself in the dream. As the travelers were left as mere bones, what blocked her path next were the four Clerics.
One looked very similar to Tariel, while the other three were the same as those who had appeared as specters.
She realized they were the past Four Saints, and Mary fought against them. After a flurry of various spells from both sides, it was the Four Saints who shed blood first.
Except for one, she annihilated three of the Saints without leaving a trace.
“I’m really sorry, my friend.”
Mary said while being embraced by a boy.
“I’m truly sorry for deceiving you all this time.”
Mary was able to learn from Heidern what was sealed within her.
Thirty years ago, one of the demon lords who suddenly appeared and turned the Empire into hell.
Beelzebub, the Demon King of Flies. According to his infamous reputation, he controlled all the insects and brought about a great calamity.
“Since when?”
“After I trained with Lyman… I knew since then… but I kept it hidden. I didn’t want to be hated…”
Mary said as she fell away from Radon’s embrace. She seemed to struggle to get the words out because she was sobbing.
“But the Exarch Heidern said it’s something my mom and dad already knew… that they raised me knowing that.”
“They’re good people.”
“Yeah. Too good, in fact.”
In the past, the Ryudshiels, together with a Saint, defeated the Demon King. They thought they completely obliterated him after decapitating him, but his remnants still lingered.
Unaware of this fact, the exhausted couple married and had a child.
Semyah Ryudshiel, the wife, was overjoyed the moment she saw the child, but her expression quickly shifted to despair.
Because she sensed the power of Beelzebub, whom they had defeated, in the newborn.
“My mom and dad kept that fact secret from me too. They put so much effort into making me look like a ‘human’.”
Right before Beelzebub died, he squeezed out his power.
So that he could be reborn as the child of the one who brought him down.
That curse was successfully applied.
As he could sap the despair from the White Magic Tower’s leaders, who contributed to his downfall.
But Semyah couldn’t easily disown the child she bore. Tayli would feel the same.
Even if it was the reincarnation of the Demon King.
“Now I understand why I have a high aptitude for magic and why I get hungry for insects.”
“….”
The former could be explained by the bloodline of a great mage. That they inherited the talents of the mages up to this point.
But the case concerning insects was truly a mystery. Why did insects, which would make others vomit at first sight, taste like honey to Mary?
That could be attributed to a habit formed through wild training.
Yet there was a separate reason.
“Listen, my friend. I’m the Demon King. Even though I live like a human now, someday that grotesque instinct might awaken. Even so, can you still consider me your friend?”
Mary, who had finally learned the truth, heard Heidern’s revelation and realized that hiding any longer was pointless.
Heidern felt heavy-hearted while explaining. He took great care to ensure that Mary wouldn’t feel guilt.
However, Mary wasn’t a fool in that regard. The moment she heard, guilt overwhelmed her instinctively.
“I saw it in the dream. How many people I’ve harmed and how much trouble I’m causing even now.”
Just looking at her parents, they must have jumped through hoops to conceal her true identity. Those who cooperated with them likely did the same.
And the most shocking was the past she had seen in the dream.
The scars inflicted by the Demon King on the Empire had yet to heal.
The person within this expedition carrying those scars was none other than the former Saint Tariel.
“And remember how the Four Saints appeared while we were here?”
“Those fake ones?”
The specters from the mist.
This square might be safe, but other areas could easily be regarded as a haven for specters.
The criteria for the specters’ appearance is none other than the memories of the people who step into that path. Specifically, those who are no longer alive are drawn out, based on whom they were most powerful in life.
“You might think it’s because of Uncle Tariel that they came out, but it’s probably because of me. After all, I was the main culprit behind the deaths of those three Four Saints. Moreover, those specters specifically targeted only Uncle and me. Don’t you wonder why?”
Even if Mary couldn’t remember, the Demon King within her did.
Those specters were based on the memories of Tariel and the memories of the Demon King.
“So what do you want to say?”
Radon asked with keen eyes, and Mary replied through another bout of sobs.
“I’m really sorry. For misleading everyone till now…”
Along with guilt, she began to think that perhaps her entire life had been a lie.
The girl named Mary Ryudshiel didn’t actually exist; she was merely the avatar of Demon King Beelzebub.
“Do you really want to be punished in the end?”
“Well, I’m… the Demon King…”
“Is there any need to be wronged and punished for something you didn’t even do?”
Mary’s eyes widened in confusion.
Though she was still weighed down by guilt, Radon was not pleased with it.
“That’s merely a curse. You’re an unjust victim who had that slapped on them. Why would you choose to pay the price for it?”
“Even though… a dangerous presence dwells within me?”
Aren’t you scared?
Isn’t it hateful having the Demon King within you?
With the Demon King who scarred the Empire right before her, how could she remain still?
Radon couldn’t guarantee that his family hadn’t been a victim of that either.
Thus, while she wished to apologize to everyone, Radon didn’t want that.
“That’s certainly true. If people found out, they’d be hell-bent on capturing you.”
“….”
“However, what about those who knew the truth and still protected you?”
Mary lifted her dimmed head at those words.
Thinking it over, many had remained quiet despite knowing her true identity.
Starting with her mom and dad, the major personnel at the White Magic Tower. Even Exarch Heidern, too.
Moreover, according to Heidern, some of her father’s colleagues knew as well.
“Why do you think your parents… the Tower Masters didn’t abandon you?”
“Because I’m their child…?”
“If it was merely a matter of being a child, they would’ve disposed of you or dumped you below a bridge and had a new child instead. They had ways to do that yet still chose not to abandon you.”
If they didn’t like the child, they could just discard it and try again.
That was merely the way of the barbaric and arrogant.
Even with the child having the potential to be a nuclear bomb, the Tower Masters never abandoned her.
Even knowing it might one day become a danger to them.
“Besides, those people desperately hid the dangerous existence within you. Thanks to that, you’ve grown up pure till now. Sure, you might have had some eccentricities…but does that mean their judgment about protecting you was all wrong?”
With a Demon King sleeping within her, Mary.
By her own logic, it implied that those people had become a black magic group that had been safeguarding the seed of the Demon King all this time.
Yet Mary had never sensed such ominous signs from them.
All she remembered was a harmonious family.
“They don’t look at you with disgust. And they don’t covet your power. They merely wish for you to grow as a human.”
Upon hearing Radon’s words, a glimmer returned to Mary’s previously dull expression.
She had likely revealed all the secrets by now. Yet, aside from a brief look of surprise, Radon showed no contempt.
Shouldn’t he have been angry at this shocking revelation?
He should have severed ties and made sure that news reached those around him.
“So, does that mean you’re not truly afraid of me?”
“Haha… if you’re going to ask me that, why did you just reveal everything in front of me?”
“….”
When Radon chuckled at her, Mary found herself without a retort.
She had expected to be hated. Still, because Radon was her closest friend, she had instinctively hoped he would understand.
Mary hadn’t realized that she had unwittingly nurtured a glimmer of hope.
“Deep down, you don’t want to be abandoned, do you? There’s no need to be too self-deprecating. Such misfortune isn’t yours alone to bear.”
Radon seemed to be reading her mind.
What had he said earlier while embracing her?
He had definitely said, “…You’re not the only one.”
One word got lost in the noise, but she understood the general meaning.
“Could it be that you’re caught in a curse like this?”
“That… I can’t share just yet.”
It wasn’t just about being consoled out of feelings. He too had experienced something similar.
Feeling a strange kinship with Radon, Mary sensed that despite boldly speaking, he was hiding for reasons he couldn’t explain.
“I see…”
Mary’s shadowy expression lifted slightly.
Yet guilt lingered in her mind tied to the memories of the Demon King, causing her to wonder if this was truly alright.
Someone had fought and lived for someone like her.
What would happen if she knelt before the guilt here?
What would their endurance and efforts mean then?
“And let me repeat, you aren’t the Demon King. Even if you possess such power, your personality isn’t that of the Demon King’s. The proof is that even when your horns and wings manifested just now, you remained unchanged.”
“….”
“I’m not suggesting you face it head-on. I’m merely saying to keep it at bay for now.”
With those words, Mary finally smiled. She then crawled up beside Radon.
It felt remarkably wonderful. Was it always this comforting to rest next to someone?
As her eyes closed of their own accord, Mary thought she could never betray him now that he believed in her.
Even if others turned away from Radon, she decided she would stand by him.
“Thank you… Radon.”
With that, Mary fell asleep.
It was the first time she called him by name instead of “my friend,” and Radon couldn’t help but admire her silently.
“I’m grateful as well.”
His faith was genuine. Even if the essence of the Demon King took control of her body, it would be its own matter.
Later on, she would indeed find herself taken over by that essence, yet the irony would be that she’d overpower it and maintain control for life.
This was proof that Mary’s talents were separate from the Demon King’s influence.
“Then sleep well, little one.”
Thinking of her future, Radon tried to comfortably close his eyes.
At heart, she was just a lively girl.
“What did you just say?”
But at that moment.
Sleeping Mary suddenly opened her eyes with a ghostly shine.
The moment Radon met her chilling gaze, he felt a shiver run down his spine.
“No… I just wished you sweet dreams.”
“….”
As Mary closed her eyes once more and fell asleep like an angel, she clutched Radon’s arm tightly.
In the moment Mary had opened her eyes, Radon nearly dropped dead from fright.
Slap! He hit his own mouth, reflecting that he should be more cautious next time.
‘Why is it that at moments like this, she feels just like the Demon King?’
*
Even though it was 11 PM, Tariel hadn’t fallen asleep.
Although the passage of time in this realm seemed no different from the real world, it felt peculiarly alien.
By day, it was a misty and gloomy place, but at night, it transformed into a beautiful spot alive with fireflies.
Usually, wouldn’t the night be scarier? It felt like everything was reversed here.
“It’s as if a cold graveyard has turned into a spectacle.”
The specters of the past emerged from the mist.
The tranquility emanating from that firefly-like light.
It was so confusing whether this place was heaven or hell.
Perhaps it was the boundary between life and death.
“Captain! Captain!”
At that moment, a guard on duty rushed over hurriedly.
“What’s happening?”
He tensed up, worried that a prisoner might have escaped, but that wasn’t the case.
Still, it was far from something trivial.
“The knights dispatched by the royal family are nowhere to be found.”
“The knights? If they’re with the prisoners…”
“Not those knights… the ones who were following us to monitor our mission!”
“What…?”
Tariel was taken aback. Why had he forgotten about that?
Thinking back, their role had been to observe them. It felt odd that they were closely following them.
Then they learned about the royal family’s secret experiments through the prisoners, and at some point, they had vanished.
Unbeknownst even to Tariel.
“It seems they used a magical device to cause cognitive dissonance, so we couldn’t notice.”
Originally, they had been prepared to avoid the ferocious spirits, but the actual intended purpose was elsewhere.
“I see. Now it makes sense.”
They were concerned that they might catch wind of the secret. Then, he could instinctively guess what the knights had slipped away for.
It was no longer a matter of waiting with bated breath for two days; they were in a situation where they had to weather the storm.
Survive as the Academy Scammer.
