Chapter 22 : How Was He Supposed to Endure This
Chapter 22: How Was He Supposed to Endure This?
“....”
Hillan opened his eyes.
It was dark and pitch-black. Damp and filthy.
He instinctively frowned at the unpleasant smell. The back of his head throbbed. When his hand moved on reflex toward the pain, clanking chains halted the motion.
Ah.
Only then did Hillan fully grasp his situation. His limbs were bound, and his mana was sealed.
He was a hero, yet now nothing more than a prisoner.
The final moment came back to him.
The woman who greeted him wearing a masquerade mask suitable for a ballroom.
She had introduced herself as a subordinate of the Demon King, a spirit sorceress of darkness, but how could he not know?
The platinum-blonde hair that was the very symbol of the Hilderan royal family.
The strangely unforgettable violet eyes.
She had been unmistakably the Crown Princess of Hilderan, Ernan Hilderan. She had been the target he was meant to rescue.
‘Why was the princess…?’
He could not understand.
The Demon King kidnapped the princess.
The hero fought the Demon King to rescue the princess.
That was the truth. It had been the truth.
Hillan had climbed countless towers as a hero, yet he had never encountered a case like this.
“Are you awake?”
“...Sir Granada.”
The prison did not hold Hillan alone. Granada, bound in similar fashion, opened his weary eyes.
‘Damn it.’
Why did he have to deal with this?
Granada grumbled inwardly.
Hillan being captured should have marked the end of his mission. But the Demon King had thrown him into the cell along with Hillan.
— There’s no one with a looser tongue than a weakened human. Stay locked up together and pry something out of him.
‘What is he planning to use a hero for?’
This was Hillan Cargill. A hero with the achievement of having defeated a Demon King.
This time, using the princess had allowed for a relatively easy capture, but there was no guarantee of next time.
He had no right to say such a thing as an elf, yet from the Demon King’s perspective, letting a hero live could only lead to future trouble.
‘Surely he doesn’t mean to recruit him as a subordinate like he did with me.’
The idea was so absurd that Granada found himself dumbfounded even for thinking it.
A hero as a subordinate to the Demon King?
‘But what was with that dwarf?’
Why was a dwarf making something like a mana cannon inside the Demon King’s tower?
And he even seemed to have been a hero.
“Are you all right?”
“My head throbs. My body won’t move, and my mana won’t respond at all.”
“I’m the same.”
“I remember up to the moment the Crown Princess appeared. But I don’t remember what hit us.”
“Neither do I....”
“This is troublesome. Everything is.”
Hillan sighed. Everything had gone smoothly up until they arrived at Hortonwork—so how had things ended up like this?
“This tower. Something is strange about this tower.”
Hillan had truly begun to make a name for himself after killing the Lust Demon King, but he had climbed multiple towers even before that.
And all towers had one thing in common.
“On the 1st floor, monsters and traps.”
“On the 2nd floor, stronger monsters and traps.”
“On the 3rd floor, even stronger monsters and even harsher traps.”
That was normal. It wasn’t just his experience—this had been an unbroken rule for hundreds of years since the Demon Kings began descending.
But in this tower—
“There were mana cannons and ballistae on the 1st floor.”
That single blast, which no one could have anticipated, had obliterated everything except Hillan and Granada.
“Why would something like that be in a tower?”
“...I don’t know.”
“Right. There’s no way you would know, Sir Granada. No one would.”
If it had ended there, they might have simply accepted it. A mana cannon was just another crisis, and once they defeated the Demon King and rescued the princess, it would all eventually be polished into the fond memory of ‘that happened back then.’
But.
“Leaving a shocking surprise on the 1st floor, then having nothing on the 2nd.”
“The 3rd was the same. And when we reached the 4th....”
Crunch—
A thin line of blood trickled from Hillan’s lips.
“Why would the princess!”
Unbearable fury pounded through his heart.
“Why would she attack me—who came to rescue her—and side with the Demon King!”
His small muttering erupted into a shout.
“How far I came to get here!”
“How much I did!”
“How much I endured to make this hero’s march a success!”
The fury pouring out of him like a waterfall soon quieted.
Krrrhhrh.
And then he began laughing like a madman.
“Do you know?”
“...Yes? Know what....”
“Since the moment we entered this tower, we haven’t encountered a single monster or a single demon.”
A twisted smile curved across his lips.
“In the Demon King’s tower! Instead of what should obviously be here, the princess is hostile toward the hero! Just what the hell is this damned tower supposed to be!”
“...I understand.”
Understand? Of course he did. Granada had found the situation absurd even hearing it in real time—how much worse must it have been for the one who actually lived through it?
“It is the Demon King’s tower. And I am the master of this tower.”
The answer came from outside the cell.
Between the dim lights of the prison, he stood there.
Black eyes and black hair. Human in appearance, yet exuding a pressure no human could.
“Pleasure to meet you, Hillan Cargill.”
Berje smiled.
It was new. It was delightful.
‘Hillan Cargill.’
It was the first time in either his past or present life that he had witnessed Hillan in such a pitiful state.
Originally, Hillan’s defeat hadn’t been in the script.
He had enjoyed broader support than anyone and had always succeeded. Until the day Berje was killed, Hillan had reigned as one of the greatest heroes.
But not now.
Berje couldn’t hide his smile.
He hadn’t simply captured a hero. He had broken the wings of a hero who should have soared even higher.
It was something that had never happened in the past. Fate had changed.
And so Berje was excited—a rare emotion. This was the first meaningful achievement he had made.
Proof that his choices had not been wrong.
At last.
He could change the future.
He could succeed in revenge.
“It’s you.”
Hillan’s eyes flared.
“You. It’s you!”
“If you mean the master of this tower, as I said, that is correct.”
“You bastard. You worthless piece of shit I should chew to death.”
“Hillan Cargill, I’ve heard, is always well-mannered, courteous, and respectful.”
“Bullshit. You’re about to get kill me and you dare talk manners? Why the hell did you build the tower like this! If you’re a Demon King, act like one and put monsters or traps in it!”
“I did set a trap. There may not be monsters, but I dragged you into it quite effectively.”
“That’s nothing like a Demon King, you bastard.”
Hillan sneered.
“I’m ruined because of you. Even if I make it out alive, I’ve got a mountain of creditors waiting to tear me apart.”
“It’s hard to believe one failure could bankrupt you. You are Hillan Cargill, after all.”
“You demons wouldn’t understand. There are people more obsessed with money than demons are. Do you know how much money I poured into maintaining connections, how much I have to keep pouring? My head goes blank just thinking about the debts I still owe.”
“That I didn’t know.”
It was a fact he hadn’t realized.
He knew humans went mad for money, that they even killed their kin and families for it, but he hadn’t imagined that even a successful hero would be entangled in debt.
He had learned something.
And at that moment, Berje thought of one possibility.
‘Could this guy also be…?’
Murderous intent surged.
The blood of a Demon King still boiled within him, along with the memories from before his regression, screaming for him to slaughter every last hero.
But he was not like Roger. Unlike that man who barely resembled a hero, Hillan Cargill was a true hero.
If they clashed head-on while Hillan was at full strength, Berje couldn’t confidently claim victory—not yet.
Even so, he could endure it only because Hillan was not one of the heroes who had killed and mocked him.
Because he had a precedent—Roger.
‘If I can use a hero to bring down Arein.’
If he could stop a hero with another hero—one of the heroes who once mocked him.
That would be the best script, the perfect revenge.
The thrill of the thought sent a shiver through him.
But Berje didn’t speak of it immediately. Everything had its proper timing.
A wounded beast trusted no one except its parents—he needed Hillan to weaken further.
“Looks like your fangs haven’t quite been pulled yet.”
“So you’re planning to use me as leverage to negotiate with the kingdoms, why not just kill me?”
“That is for me to decide. For now, it seems best to spend a bit more time breaking your spirit.”
Berje stepped out of the cell.
“Let’s escape.”
The moment his back fully disappeared, Hillan returned to his former self.
“I apologize for my disgraceful display just now. Given the situation, I showed you something you shouldn’t have had to see. But venting it all out cleared my mind a little.”
“Ah, yes.”
Granada nodded blankly.
“Since he kept us alive, he likely has no intention of killing us immediately. He probably means to use me as a hostage to negotiate with the kingdoms—that’s when we strike.”
“Do you have a method?”
“I’ve had one for quite a while.”
Creeeeak—
The shackles and cuffs enchanted with mana-restriction magic were torn apart by sheer brute strength.
“...!”
“They can’t fully restrain me with worthless artifacts like these. I gathered mana bit by bit while speaking with the Demon King.”
“Good heavens.”
He really was a monster.
Hillan tore off Granada’s bindings as well.
“But in my current state, I can’t fight the Demon King. We need to escape without being noticed.”
“What about the princess?”
“That crazy woman? Who cares? I came to rescue her and she lured me into a trap? If I only had evidence, I could have wrung a hefty compensation out of Hilderan. That’s the only thing I regret.”
Hillan muttered under his breath, then crushed the iron bars.
“The stupid Demon King was so full of himself he didn’t even leave a guard. This is a blessing. Let’s go.”
“Y-yes.”
‘What do I do?’
He had to stop him. But Granada himself wasn’t in proper shape. He decided to follow quietly and wait for an opportunity.
Shhh—
Hillan pressed his ear cautiously against the iron door.
“I don’t hear anything for now. Could you open the door? I’ll keep listening.”
“Yes.”
Granada slowly opened the door.
“...Fuck.”
“Such juicy curses. Humans would find it amusing if they knew your true nature.”
“Why are you back...?”
“Did you think I wouldn’t notice your little trick? Though I’ll admit, I’m impressed. I didn’t think you’d actually tear that off. As expected of Hillan Cargill.”
“Damn it!”
Hillan swung his fist. But the attack was caught effortlessly. A brute hand twisted his fist and flung him away.
“Lord Granada!”
Hillan tumbled across the floor and shouted. His desperate voice and firm gaze moved Granada to reflexively kick at the Demon King.
Smack—
“Guaaaah!”
He was sent flying, coughing blood. And then he saw.
“I’m sorry, Lord Granada! Please fight the Demon King like a proud elf! I will avenge you, I swear!”
The hero who had turned his eyes from their shared resolve and was now fleeing.
“....”
“This is new.”
“...Isn’t he just a complete bastard?”
“A dog that bites its owner, and a hero that abandons his comrade. Hard to decide which is worse.”
“...I did my best to carry out my mission. Was it not Your Majesty who ordered me to assist the hero?”
“If you say so.”
“Aren’t you going after him?”
“I was too dumbfounded and forgot for a moment.”
Berje let out a hollow laugh and trudged after the hero.
* * *
Hillan rushed up the stairs. His weakened body quickly grew short of breath, but he had no time to rest.
‘Thank goodness—no monsters so far.’
He was convinced. There had been none up to the 4th floor, not even ordinary guards. Perhaps this Demon King’s tower had no monsters at all.
‘I mustn’t let my guard down. This is a tower with mana cannons and the princess attacking me. Who knows what other bullshit he’s hidden.’
No matter what appeared now, he wouldn’t be surprised. He felt confident.
‘Fortunately, the structure of the tower isn’t too different from other Demon Kings’ towers.’
The prison was underground. If he could climb one floor, and then get past the 1st floor filled with debris, he could survive.
“The elf needs to hold out as long as possible…!”
Though Granada must be shaking with betrayal, elves despised demons more than any other race. Surely he was doing his duty.
“This is why I like elves.”
Even so, his promise of revenge wasn’t a lie. He would definitely return to repay this humiliation and disgrace.
He opened the door leading to the 1st floor. He had expected no one—but a visitor stood there.
“You?”
Short in height. Chubby hands.
“A hero who made it up to the 4th floor? The bastard who smashed my creations?”
A dwarf stood in the center of the 1st floor, glaring at him with venomous eyes.
“The Demon King said this: that the mana cannon didn’t perform as well as expected, that it didn’t do its job. So he said my reward would be postponed.”
Clench—
The dwarf’s grip tightened around his hammer.
“Because of you!”
“I can’t dismantle the tower!”
The dwarf hero charged with his hammer raised.
Hillan stared blankly at the scene. It was so absurd he couldn’t even sigh.
He thought nothing could surprise him anymore.
“Fuck, now even a hero?”
How was he supposed to endure this?