Chapter 234
Chapter 234 – Side Story, Or (14)
“So that our people… may finally live in peace… please help them….”
Dian’s lips parted slightly, staring at me in a daze.
“You are the new… protagonist… in this side story… the world that follows the true ending….”
“The new protagonist… side story… what the hell are you talking about…?”
I couldn’t answer Dian’s question.
A violent cough exploded from my lungs, and with it, a gush of blood.
This cursed black mana had already consumed every inch of my body.
I was already as good as dead.
Before I lost my ability to speak, before my mind was completely swallowed by this black mana—I had to secure a promise from Dian.
“Swear it to me first, Dian… that you’ll save the rest of our people! Just like you saved the continent by killing me before… I beg you, kill me again—and this time, save the demons in my place!”
I shouted with all the strength I had left, and Dian nodded with unwavering eyes.
“I swear. I’ll save the demons.”
“Thank you… now I can die… without regret… This is why I came here… from the beginning….”
My vision blurred further and further.
And suddenly, my life flashed before my eyes like a lantern flickering in the dark.
# # # #
I was born the youngest in an ordinary family.
But in our demon kind, ‘ordinary’ meant extreme poverty—wandering without a fixed home, scraping by doing filthy jobs in the cities just to get through each day.
My family was no different.
The six of us—my parents, myself, and my siblings—made our living traveling through the western kingdoms, cleaning sewers in various cities and domains.
I started working when I was six, as soon as I could understand words and communicate. That’s how poor we were.
My father was disabled and unable to work. He had been permanently injured before I was born—beaten by human vagrants.
Even so, he was a man of great character. Despite our poverty, he did his best to raise us properly. So did my mother.
But reality was far colder. Far crueler.
My father passed away during the winter of my seventh year.
Because he could no longer move, he remained bedridden and grew weaker by the day—and that winter was particularly brutal.
The makeshift shack we built and the ratty fabric hanging in place of windows were no match for the cold.
Even when he died, we couldn’t give him a proper funeral.
Demons with horns like those of devils were seen as unclean—our corpses treated like refuse, to be disposed of and avoided.
In that bitter winter, we dug into the frozen earth of the forest with our bare hands and piled stones to bury him as best we could.
We didn’t even have time to mourn. We went right back to work.
Our fingers and toes swelled red from frostbite, but we had no choice.
This was the life of a “normal” demon.
When I turned thirteen, my mother died from overwork.
By the time I was twenty, I had no siblings left.
They died—one by one—from accidents, from disease. One was murdered by drunken humans for fun.
By then, I began to wonder.
What sin did our people commit to deserve such generational suffering?
Was it really just because our horns resembled those of devils?
But who on this continent has actually seen a devil?
And even if our horns were similar—just that was enough?
Doubt turned to fury.
I would not let the children of my children live the same life I had.
So I made up my mind: I would destroy this cursed cycle that plagued us from generation to generation.
I wandered the continent, gathering our scattered kin and raising an army.
I declared war against the humans, and we surged across the land with unstoppable momentum.
I thought it would succeed. I truly did. Until they appeared.
A human hero named Linus and his companions wiped out our forces and eventually reached me.
I evacuated the survivors and stood alone to face the humans.
And as expected, they were strong. I was beheaded by one of the Hero’s companions—a human named Dian.
That was the last memory I had.
Then I opened my eyes again.
Ten years had passed since my death.
I wanted to find my people—but they were scattered far and wide. I had no way to locate them on my own.
So I decided to head for the capital, Calvasar. Maybe I could find some information or clues there.
But as I made my way, all I saw were endless tributes to the Hero Linus—yet not a single person knew who Dian was, the one who actually killed me.
And in the capital, I met someone who claimed to be a Possessor.
He knew that Dian had slain me—and told me everything he knew.
This world… is a novel.
The main story ended with my death ten years ago. And the side story began with my resurrection.
The Demon King returns. And in that process, the black mana consumes his body.
The corrupted Demon King gathers the remaining demons, turns them into monsters like himself, and launches a second war.
Though fewer in number than in the First War, the black mana makes the demons far more powerful, and once again, the continent burns.
Then a new protagonist appears—and slays the corrupted Demon King. That’s the side story’s proper ending.
And that new protagonist is none other than the hidden fifth special operative—Dian.
The Possessor was searching for Dian to tell him of the future he knew.
That I would be corrupted by black mana and turn even our people into monsters?
Impossible. That cannot be allowed to happen.
But there was a problem.
The black mana was eating into my body regardless of my will.
My left arm, up to the elbow, was already scorched. I could no longer move it freely.
If I stayed idle, just as the Possessor said, it would come true.
So I thought hard—and made my decision.
If I was destined to fall no matter what, then at the very least—I would protect our people.
Before I could turn them into monsters, I would die first.
But I couldn’t simply end myself.
Black mana is wicked—it never allows the host to commit suicide.
I learned that long ago when I commissioned a golem from a black mage.
So there was only one option: I had to reach Dian.
If the side story’s ending is the corrupted Demon King slain by the new protagonist, then I would bring that ending forward.
I’d die either way. But our people’s fate would be rewritten.
Before I became an irredeemable monster, I would die at Dian’s hands—and entrust our people’s future to him.
Because Dian—Dian would never turn his back on a dying man’s final plea.
And now, just as planned, I die by Dian’s blade.
As I struggled to smile, I realized… there was still something more I had to say.
“…And also…”
I caught my breath and spoke.
“Tell the mage… the one called Kaiden…”
“Yeah.”
“I know… that child was born from my hair… But… even though I had chances to speak… I never did… I was too ashamed… to face him…”
“Is that so.”
“The truth is… I loathed that child… loathed the golem born of my hair and corpse… But that hatred… should have been directed at the black mage who made him—and at myself… That child… did nothing wrong… He just… came into the world…”
A bitter smile tugged at my lips.
“So please… make sure he hears it… That I’m sorry… for bringing him into the world that way… and for abandoning him in indifference…”
“I’ll tell him.”
“And… seek out the Possessor. He’ll tell you… everything. Why I had to do this… He’s been living in hiding… in the sewers beneath the capital…”
“The Possessor…”
Dian lowered his gaze in thought.
“Dian. I have nothing more to say… Don’t delay any longer…”
“…Alright. Then rest in peace.”
Dian’s blade fell upon my neck.
# # # #
“Dian! No!!”
As the black vortex swallowed both the Demon King and Dian, Linus roared and exploded his aura.
The strongest human warrior’s full-force aura was unimaginably powerful.
The aftershock collapsed a section of the wall and sent the stone floor heaving upward.
“Dian!”
The other members of the Demon King Slaying Special Force unleashed their attacks toward the vortex in unison.
The Archmage’s offensive spells. The Saint’s divine power. The sharpshooter’s vicious arrows.
But none of it pierced the black vortex the Demon King had created.
“Deploy the Imperial Knights! We must save Dian!!”
Even Mirelis, who had refused evacuation and remained in the imperial palace, saw it and gave the order.
But she didn’t wait for the knights to act. Drawing her sword, she leapt out the palace window herself.
“Your Majesty! It’s too dangerous!”
Her aide shouted, but Mirelis ignored him. Sword in hand, she charged straight at the black vortex.
“Dian!!”
Just as her blade struck the vortex’s surface and snapped—
FWOOOOOSH—!!
The massive vortex that had seemed immovable suddenly scattered into hundreds of millions of black butterflies.
“Uagh!”
Her aide dove over her, shielding her as they both tumbled across the ground. The Imperial Knights who had just emerged from the palace dropped flat as well.
“Dian! Dian!! Dammit!!”
Linus stumbled, unable to go any farther. Celine caught him from behind, but they both lost balance and collapsed.
“Dian! Dian, no…!”
Lormane fell to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably.
“I never got to tell him how I felt… He never heard my heart…”
“Then it seems your chance still remains.”
Kaiden approached her side and spoke calmly.
“Lift your head, Lady Lormane. Dian is there.”
Tears still streaming down her face, Lormane slowly looked ahead.
There, where everything had disappeared, Dian stood.
Looking down at the kneeling, headless body of the Demon King.