Chapter 251 : Chapter 251
Chapter 251 : Phantom Demon, Nebria
"I heard they call that a Phantom Demon in the Empire, right?"
I stood still and looked at her.
Because I had somewhat expected this possibility from the moment I heard she was sealing it inside her body.
On top of that, perhaps I had built up a resistance to shock after continuously experiencing things that would make someone faint in surprise......
I was surprisingly calm.
"......Let's make this clear."
Instead of drawing the Heavenly Demon, I crossed my arms in front of my chest.
'The woman in front of me right now is not Nebria.'
She wasn't a 'complete' evil spirit either.
What was certain was the fact that the Nebria who had shown a holy heart until just a little while ago wasn't acting or a lie either.
'Is it a kind of symbiosis.'
Should I consider it fortunate that she hasn't been completely deprived of the initiative?
Therefore, I need to point this out and move on.
"How I should accept you."
The corners of the woman's mouth rose slightly. It was the mischievous smile of a playful young girl.
It was neither that of a Saintess nor a villainess.
"Come to think of it, I've never even thought about a name."
"A name?"
"Because I haven't even broken out of the egg yet. Even though I don't know what I am, would there be a way for me to explain it to you?"
I clicked my tongue briefly. Seeing as her tongue was long, it seemed the evil spirit's side was dominant after all.
"It seems you haven't properly heard news of how the world turns because you've been trapped in there."
I aimed the tip of my index finger at her glabella.
"Half of your siblings have already been annihilated by my hands."
"......."
"Because I've seen and experienced various cases while dealing with you guys during that time. I've become somewhat more flexible in coping, you could say. So I'm giving you an opportunity that isn't really an opportunity."
I flicked my index finger, tilting it to the left.
"Whether I'll kill you and get rid of you right now."
This time to the right.
"Or if I'll kill you slowly."
It was a death sentence in my own way, but—
"......Pfft."
"......?"
"Ahahaha!"
I thought she was struggling to hold it in, but her fully puffed-out cheeks soon burst. She giggled while holding her stomach, but her laughter itself was innocent without any malice.
"Ah, so you're saying you want to distinguish friend from foe. I wondered what it was."
She wiped the tears welling at the corners of her eyes. What was so fucking funny?
"Then, perhaps we are on the same side?"
"The same side?"
"Yes. For now, the Phantom Demon's talent is quite helpful to Nebria's steps. Think about it. No matter how much utmost sincerity and a commendable heart she possesses, in the end, a human's vessel has limits, right? Because that miracle revered by all people...... is impossible with only human power alone."
Is she talking about foresight?
'The undulation of that lantern earlier too.......'
The moment my eyes narrowed, the bastard spoke with a noticeably refreshing voice. It was while confidently straightening her shoulders.
"Villainess and Saintess are ultimately one. Like light and shadow. And that is exactly me."
The bastard whispered while making a gesture of slitting her own throat with her index finger.
"If I die, the Phantom Demon dies too, but—"
Is it a hostage situation in the end?
"The Saintess also dies."
......Let's summarize. According to the bastard's claim, the entity in front of me right now is a third something that is neither Nebria nor the Phantom Demon.
'More accurately, a hybrid where the two egos are mixed together.'
Is she saying this is the price for sealing an evil spirit inside a human's body? Well, what use would it be to argue about the cause at this point?
But what's also funny is that while she is aware of her own true identity, she doesn't lean toward the mission of either side.
'This is a headache.'
I'm flustered because this is another first. What should I do.......
It was when I was firmly pressing down on my throbbing temples.
"Brother—!"
The entire cave rang resoundingly. It was a loud roar to the extent that dirt and dust fell in droves from the ceiling. My shoulders trembled unconsciously. Perhaps because it had been so long, it seemed my resistance had hit rock bottom in the meantime.
"I am truly startled every time I hear that voice."
I slowly moved my gaze, which had gone to Bolero, who was approaching from afar while emitting his unique presence.
'......Hah.'
The hybrid whose true identity couldn't be known had returned to Saintess Nebria before I knew it.
***
It might be stating the obvious again, but my daily life after regressing rarely had smooth-sailing days. It wasn't a metaphor, but every single day was truly a war. I lived as if throwing my body into a swirling raging wave.
Still, for now at least, I need to keep my wits about me and organize my head once.
'It was an impulsive choice.'
Setting aside Adeline being involved, it was so disgusting to see them throwing away human lives like old shoes that I jumped down without measuring the front or back.
Of course, it could have been a dog's death. However, as a result, I survived and fucked them over, so that's enough.
Moreover—
'It actually turned out well.'
Zisair would have continued to try and shake me using Adeline as a hostage. It's rather better for me to move alone after falling like this. It's safe to say a misfortune turned into a blessing.
The problem is the variables that fall outside the scope of my expectations.
'The Martial Artist of Defying the Heavens and the Knight of Embers.'
At the current point in time, the fact that bastards stronger than me exist in this Kingdom.
Those bastards are walls I must overcome without fail someday and the greatest potential threats.
'Phantom Demon and Nebria.'
The immediate headache. Under the premise of unconditionally pulling out the root of evil, I must make a decision as quickly as possible.
'And Shadow Village.'
Accurately speaking, Bolero and the unruly siblings I met again.
"Have you been well? How is your body?"
I asked Roxy and Isaac at the same time. The first thing that caught my eyes before their answer was Roxy's belly, which had slightly bulged to the point it was noticeably visible on the outside now.
"I think I can live a bit now. Until just recently, I really wanted to die because I kept dry heaving all day. Right now, my appetite is completely exploding."
Roxy gave a thumbs up. Just seeing her spirited appearance set my mind at ease.
According to The Way of Medicine, a mother during this period undergoes various hardships due to great physical and mental changes.
'It said it was at a level comparable to shedding one's mortal body and exchanging one's bones.'
The most important thing is rest, and rest again, but. A young mother in her early twenties like Roxy would easily be able to endure that upheaval with her overflowing vitality.
"......."
I wordlessly moved my gaze to Isaac. A sigh almost came out automatically. The real problem was this side.
'He's become a complete wreck.'
His complexion was completely close to gray. Setting aside his haggard appearance that looked like old tree bark, his bright blonde hair had almost been bleached to white hair.
'Thinking about it again, sneaking the two of them out of the family was a good choice.'
The Windermere family does not know the fact that Roxy is carrying a child.
Perhaps they might never know forever.
'......If Isaac continues to be in this state.'
So to speak, right now, I was no different from an attending physician responsible for a younger sister with an unwanted pregnancy, an older brother suffering from post-war trauma and various mental illnesses, these siblings of misfortune.
No, accurately, am I a care worker?
Fortunately, it was incredibly lucky that there was a reliable assistant to help out.
I covertly turned my eyes and looked at the man standing silently guarding Isaac's side.
'Bolero.'
It's hard to deny that I held a considerable stake in those two meeting a tragedy in my past life.
If so, reconnecting the ties I severed back then must be the karma I, who regressed, ought to naturally shoulder.
'This life will be different.'
Because I will protect it without fail.
"I thought you'd be obediently staying in the Imperial Capital, but I didn't know we'd meet here."
I spoke while taking in the three people one by one into my eyes.
Bolero nodded his head.
"There were circumstances for that. What about you, Brother, what on earth are you doing here? I mean, what exactly happened for you to come all the way from Pretoria to the sulfur caves."
I calmly confessed the circumstances up until now. I thought it would be quite a lengthy story, but when I actually spat it out, it was so short it was bland.
After stripping away Adeline's most private and complicated circumstances and my feelings intertwined with hers, there was practically nothing left.
"To think of His Majesty the King and the Chancellor coming to Pretoria together. That is quite surprising."
Besides, Bolero knows well the circumstances of why I have to go to the Imperial Capital. It was a journey I started together with him in the first place.
So there's no need for a more detailed explanation, and since the other two were overwhelmed with their own problems and couldn't even hear other people's affairs, my story wrapped up around here.
"The reason we came here is because of the Saintess's request."
If I had been holding water in my mouth, I would have spat it all out. As soon as I heard those words, what came to mind was that woman's mischievous smile.
"R-Request?"
"Yes. She wanted me to definitely accompany her on this rescue operation. Thanks to that, these two also ended up coming along."
Bolero stroked his mustache down with an uncomfortable expression.
Normally, the Saintess would have shouldered the burden herself rather than passing it onto others, so he seemed quite surprised because it was the first time she made a request in such a manner.
Moreover, seeing as she made such a demand even while knowing he was busy taking care of the siblings, he seemed to find it weighing heavily on his mind.
Like that, they arrived at Shadow Village exactly in time with the human sacrifice cycle of Grimbalt Prison two days ago.
"She definitely hasn't been like her usual self these days. The time she spends meditating and praying alone has also drastically increased."
When you live with a radical martial priest and two reckless brat priests, you have no choice but to semi-forcibly learn Solari's doctrine over your shoulder even if you hate it.
As far as I know, their virtue doesn't lie in accumulating ascetic practice locked in a solitary cell, but in sitting in a circle, debating Elzerus's words, and sharing enlightenment with each other.
'Since she is someone akin to the symbol of Solari, it can't help but bother him.'
Bolero gave me a look. He seemed to have something he wanted to say separately outside.
As soon as we were moderately far away from the tent where Roxy and Isaac were left behind, Bolero let out a deep sigh.
"The real problem is something else. The fact that the Saintess is subtly trying to ostracize those two."
"The siblings?"
"Yeah. It was unexpected. No, I was startled. I thought she would naturally take in those wounded souls...... but she was reluctant to even let them into the main branch at first, so I had quite a hard time."
I was the one who suggested entrusting the siblings to Solari. Bolero also had no reason to refuse.
But Nebria, meaning, the Phantom Demon showed a rejection reaction?
'......Could it be.'
Suddenly, that bastard flashed through my mind.
Lust Demon, Raven.
'Lust Demon and Phantom Demon.'
It's already a known fact that the relationships among the Eight Demons are variously complicated.
There are two possible cases.
'Because the two bastards are in some kind of alliance.'
It could be awkward to keep Isaac and Roxy, who are under my protection, by her side.
'But the bastard didn't show such a reaction when looking at me.'
It seemed she didn't even know the fact that her siblings had been defeated by me in the first place.
Then the next is—
'The case where they are enemies with each other.'
If the bastard who planted the 'Synchronization Insect' in Ramba's body and was monitoring him was the Lust Demon, the story adds up.
Then, from the Phantom Demon's perspective, she couldn't help but shudder.
'Because it's no different from the Lust Demon's eyes monitoring her.'
As I was resting my chin on my hand, Bolero suddenly bowed at the waist. When a bulk the size of a mountain moved, my gaze naturally couldn't help but go there.
The woman in question was approaching this way.
By the looks of it, she was currently in the Saintess state.