The Villain in the Side Story Wants to Live - Chapter 56
Sacrifice
I have three secrets from you, Oran.
First of all, you are not a demon.
I kidnapped you when you were little. And I fed them my blood every day and turned them into demons.
Why did it have to be you out of so many people?
That’s right, in the future you were a member of the hero’s party. The fate that foretold me as the demon king told me that.
Coming back to the main topic, why did you become a demon?
I didn’t want to be killed by a hero. It was necessary to cut the power beforehand.
But a big variable occurred here. It was said that interfering with the flow of destiny would come at a price.
I got a restriction that I can’t get out of the demon castle. Because of that, many plans went awry.
I’m angry. I even wanted to kill you in an instant. But are you actually a victim?
I couldn’t bear to kill her——that’s a lie.
Isn’t it worth killing? As a reward for interfering with my destiny, I was burdened with constraints, and many plans were thwarted because of this, but I couldn’t let go easily.
Because he’s a fellow warrior, he’s talented, and he’s young enough to curse him.
So I decided to brand you with obedience and raise you as my hound.
It felt like a fun toy. It started out of necessity, but gradually I got interested in it, and at some point I even thought I didn’t want to lose it.
But you betrayed me.
He saved a member of the hero’s party. Besides, seeing Serena’s actions, it seems like it’s not the first time or two that she’s been sent back in good health?
I was angry and decided to punish him. Aren’t hawks medicine for a bastard who bites his owner?
I tried to forgive him again with only a light punishment.
Did you find the diary in your room?
What was written in it was a bit shocking. Taking advantage of the fact that I can’t escape the demon castle to grow a hero.
I didn’t even order you to deal with the warrior party because I thought you might be in danger.
How could you do this to me?
Besides, the reason you betrayed me was because you didn’t want to follow my orders.
Oran, you seem to have forgotten about me for a while because I treated you well, but you belong to me. He’s my toy and he’s a bastard who only listens to my words.
You are mine, you cannot rebel. You have to move only as I tell you.
I decided to give you another punishment. Our Oran’s wrong mind didn’t seem to be erased with a light rod.
So I erased your memory.
When you wake up, you’ll forget everything you thought and did.
You said that no one else has to remember your sacrifice, but what if even you forget your sacrifice?
Would you literally lose the reason for living? You will remain as Oran, the Demon King’s minion.
Of course, if you completely erase it, it might be annoying later, so I’ve made it into a ‘novel’ so that you remember only a part of it.
It feels like an unintentional favor. This is not a punishment. So I sent your mind to another world.
I will fall into a place called hell and suffer until I die. If you wake him up too late, his mind might be completely ruined.
That’s the second secret I hid from you, the truth about the demon king’s curse.
After I punished you, I thought that the future of my death would not change.
Because you made the hero too strong. I can’t beat him on my own.
In the end, is this your victory? Congratulations.
But you won’t win, you won’t lose.
I can’t fight a losing battle, can I? As soon as I had that thought, I stopped blocking the hero’s party and focused on making artifacts.
What was created like that is a space-type artifact called the Demon King’s Stone.
A microcosm of my hiding place, a space that I can open anywhere and no one else can find, let alone interfere with.
This is where you can hide until the hero’s lifespan is over.
I will not be defeated by a hero. Of course you will lose some freedom. Even if the human lifespan is less than a hundred years, it will be boring.
That’s why I thought, I don’t have to be locked up alone, right?
I’ve decided to go with you, Oran. It’s starting over from the beginning in a space that no one can find.
As calmly as when there were no heroes. Let’s be as happy as before you betrayed.
It’s only the two of us in this room, but nothing will be boring.
Why? That’s why I wrote this book.
If I feel bored, I will hand you this book. When you open this, all the memories will come to mind.
Are you going to realize the truth and get frustrated? You might run at me in anger?
I think it will be fun too.
Oh, and don’t worry. After subduing you, I will erase your memory again.
You will forget everything again and live in peace. If you’re bored, you’ll break it again and erase your memory again to restore it.
We’ll be together forever like this.
This is the last secret I hid from you, the story of our future.
.
.
.
“But the demon king’s last plan didn’t succeed.”
As I closed the book, I heard a soft voice.
“Serena arrived at the castle earlier than planned to kill you. Because of that, the demon king couldn’t escape.”
When I turned my head in the direction the voice came from, the hero, Evil, was standing there.
And at his feet was Serena, tied to a rope.
Her eyes met mine and she tried to say something, but her mouth was gagged and her voice was not coming out.
“She’d better not move. Her life might be in danger.”
As I approached, the hero placed his hand on the handle of the sword.
“…Isn’t Serena your colleague? Why are you holding her hostage?”
“Because I am your lover.”
Because of me.
Because of me, Serena was being chased by the hero. She lost her peaceful routine and almost turned her comrades into enemies.
And now, because of me, she is in danger.
When I listed them one by one, they weren’t wrong. All because of me
“……What do you want?”
“Does that mean you’re admitting defeat?”
“Yes.”
After hearing my answer, Evil started laughing like a madman. She was careless But as she held the holy sword, she couldn’t see any gaps in him.
Above all else, as long as Serena was caught, it was difficult for her to move hastily.
“Oh, I’m sorry. The fact that I beat you in the first place makes me feel so good.”
“First time? You could have killed me before, but you let me go.”
Evil stopped her laughter, and her eyes, which suddenly changed drastically, stared at me.
“That’s true, but that wasn’t who you were, was it?”
He pointed to the book behind me. It must have been Evil who put that on the desk as if to show off.
A question arises only then. How far does the warrior know? And how far did you plan this situation? I asked impatiently.
“How did you know where this place was in the first place?”
“The Demon King told me just before he died. Oran is here.”
He pulled out a faded piece of paper from within his bosom. The map drawn in blood, albeit clumsy, clearly indicated the location of the hideout.
“Perhaps the Demon King thought I would kill you and let you know, but killing you who lost your memory is pointless, right?”
He shrugged her shoulders and spat out, ‘That’s why I gave Serena the Demon King’s Stone.’
“So you kept me alive when we met that evening?”
“That’s right, at that time you weren’t Oran, a servant of the Demon King.”
Evil shook her head as if to say the correct answer.
“But thanks to a guy named Giselle, he regained his memory. At first, I was shocked to think you had tricked me.”
He smiled and murmured, ‘I was really angry then and almost killed him.’
“Anyway, I realized that your memories only partially returned. So I let Serena run away.”
I wanted you to recover all your memories and become Oran, the Demon King’s servant. He smiled and said it through his mouth.
“It was easy to predict that you would head to the demon lord’s lair, where traces of the demon lord remained. I sent Layered to help you come as soon as possible.”
Of course he won’t know he’s been taken advantage of. With a smile, he continued.
“Oh, so you drank the elixir?”
“Did you leave it there? But why?”
“It’s a gift because my lifespan was shortened because of me.”
When I tilted my head, he said softly, ‘I wanted to trample on the demon king’s servant, Oran, not the injured Oran.’
“So Oran, you got all your memories back?”
He asked as he drew out the holy sword. I felt that if I spoke a lie, I would be punished mercilessly.
I don’t even need to do that. I had no intention of denying it any longer.
“Yes.”
All memories are back. In the past, I was the Demon King’s minion, Oran.
But that didn’t change anything. Because I was me Right now, my emotions and thoughts belonged exclusively to me, not to Oran, the demon king’s servant.
“Now I can get my revenge.”
But Evil thinks differently. His eyes grew even colder.
“With the death of the Demon King, your history has ended. Your traces must also be erased from this world.”
With that said, he didn’t point the holy sword at me, but at Serena’s neck.
“Wait a minute, weren’t you trying to get revenge on me?”
“Serena, who is deeply involved with you, is no exception.”
Transparent golden eyes, I wasn’t telling lies. He was serious about killing Serena.
Is it because I understood his intentions? His head went cold. As the hero raised his sword, my lifespan was put on the scales.
I didn’t calculate how much I would use. Gave up everything
Is it because of that? The warrior’s gaze, which was heading for Serena’s neck, turned to me.
“Eyes prepared for death. I think they will be a little troublesome.”
“Can you stop if you know?”
Evil closed his eyes while holding his sword high. After thinking for a moment, he opened his eyes and opened his mouth.
“Let me make a suggestion.”
“……Proposal?”
With a friendly smile, he put down the holy sword and said.
“If you kill yourself, Serena will live.”
He spat as he took out a small dagger from his bosom. Truth, the hero was telling the truth.
Actually, maybe that’s what I want to believe. Even if I gave my life, I couldn’t defeat the hero. I wanted to peek at hope like this.
“Yes.”
A glimmer of hope that someone else won’t have to sacrifice because of me.
I hoped for it and grabbed the dagger thrown by the hero.