“I… don’t know what I’m supposed to do…”
It was a situation where no one could be blamed. Being born a certain way isn’t a sin. You can’t call it a crime to be born weak. That’s why I have no idea what to do.
Myungho was weak. If he were by my side, I honestly think he’d only get in the way like shackles. It wasn’t out of ill will; it was purely an honest thought.
If I accidentally swung my greatsword wrong or forgot he was there while unleashing my full power, or if I collided with him by mistake while being thrown back by an enemy attack. If Myungho got hit by a blind attack aimed at me…
I’d consider myself lucky if there were remains to bury. Maybe only ashes would be left behind. If that happened, I wouldn’t be able to bear it. I’d collapse completely. Even if I were still alive, I wouldn’t feel like it, and for the rest of my life, I’d scream about how things shouldn’t have gone that way.
Most importantly, Myungho was someone who could have become family. I didn’t want him to get involved in anything dangerous. What happened to his white hair didn’t matter.
It was that bastard who dragged Myungho into this dark path in the first place. If I had the chance, I’d tear him apart. There’s no way I could let it slide easily. I disliked him from the moment we met.
Even though Myungho’s face showed signs of fatigue, he wore an expression of complete peace, without any sign of discomfort. In fact, he even looked relieved, smiling faintly as if everything were fine.
“Why… are you so calm?”
Still, if I had to find fault with someone, it should be Myungho. I’m not criticizing him for using forbidden powers. Rules set by humans mean nothing to me. But when it involves destroying his own body, it’s a different story.
“…You should have told me! No matter anything else, you had to tell me!!”
At the very least, you should have told me. Regardless of anyone else, you needed to inform me. The only thing I’m angry about is that you hid something so important from me.
I can understand his motives. Wanting to stand beside the person you love isn’t wrong. Moreover, it’s partly my fault for provoking the dragon in the first place, leading him to think this way.
Desiring strength isn’t wrong either. If the method was flawed, then criticism would be justified, but… Hmm. Knowing Myungho, he probably sought immediate ways to grow stronger out of impatience, and that led him to dark magic.
Myungho lacks patience. Wanting to stand by my side right away, he must have searched for various methods and ended up falling for that guy with white hair.
“You’ll tell me to stop because you’ll say you’re getting stronger and I won’t be able to keep up anymore. You said it that day when I felt disillusioned as just a spectator. That’s why I couldn’t say anything. I knew you’d tell me to stop.”
Of course, I’d tell you to stop. When it involves harming your own body and risking being hunted by all kinds of humans, especially since it’s your fiancé taking such a path, who wouldn’t try to stop you?
“Stop. Right now. Don’t make excuses. This isn’t a request. I won’t say it twice. Stop immediately.”
“Sorry. This is something I can’t give up. For the first time in my life, I made a decision on my own. I can’t go back on it. I truly apologize. Forgiveness… might be difficult.”
The hand gripping Myungho trembled. My eyes burned with anger mixed with tears, feeling unbearably hot. Why couldn’t you just stay still—why—
Though Myungho felt light, for some reason, he weighed heavily on me. Why? On reflection, it was simple. Because, perhaps, no matter what I said, he wouldn’t change his mind.
His gaze was resolute. I could force him to change temporarily, maybe through beating him, but what about next time? Would I have to beat him every time? Love doesn’t work that way, does it?
Slowly lifting him, I put him down again. Carrying him wouldn’t change anything. Above all, I hated looking down at him with that gaze.
I disliked the look in his eyes, which seemed to pity me, so I lowered my head again. The tears streaming down my face were now dripping onto the floor.
Until now, every problem I faced could be solved by force. Surviving amidst humans and beasts targeting my neck was a prime example. Negotiating with the humans of Golsamet… Honestly, it could have been resolved easily with brute strength.
When my mother tried to take my body… it was a somewhat complicated issue, but ultimately, it too could be resolved by force.
But not this time. This wasn’t something that could simply be forced through brute strength. My strength wouldn’t matter to Myungho.
What he wants is to stand by my side. But if I adjusted for him, he’d probably dislike it. I already saw Myungho’s face telling me he didn’t want me holding him back.
Filling my gaze with every emotion, I glared at Myungho. His expression was filled with regret, which only made me angrier. He looked like someone who knows they’re wrong but insists on continuing their mistake.
I clenched my fists so tightly my knuckles cracked. Blood trickled from where my nails pierced my skin. The pain wasn’t physical—it was knowing that Myungho wouldn’t stop.
If only that mirror hadn’t existed. If only I could have remained ignorant and happy. Why does the truth always bring pain? All my resentment toward Myungho and the world was redirected at the mirror.
As I raised my fist, Myungho closed his eyes. However, my punch missed him, tearing through the mirror behind him instead. Shards flew, cutting his cheek and causing blood to trickle down. Instinctively reaching out to wipe his blood, I barely stopped myself in time.
“…Don’t even think about talking to me again.”
Pulling back my trembling hands, I blurted out whatever came to mind. I couldn’t endure it otherwise.
Slamming the door hard enough to break it, I kicked it open and stormed outside aimlessly.
I had no destination in mind.
—
“Hey, Demon King. We didn’t hear about anything like that on the enemy’s side. What is that thing? Bullets don’t work, and mines were used for jumping. Can you explain?”
The only light in the dim room came from a projector. On the screen, a woman in black armor with horns and a tail was seen wreaking havoc alone across the battlefield.
Unfazed by concentrated gunfire from infantry and machine guns, she leaped out of the trench, traversed no man’s land, and moved with precision, seemingly aware of the locations of planted mines.
Suddenly, stepping on a mine, she launched herself into the air, landing in her ally’s trench. There, she wielded her greatsword, fired thorns from her armor, and sometimes caused rocks or pillars to rise from the trench walls, wiping out everything alone.
“…It seems to be a Half-Dragon. We haven’t heard of anything like this either. It looks like Elize has grown stronger during her brief absence.”
“Elize? Oh, you mean that horned doll-bringer from before? Man. Was she supposed to be monitoring? Incredible how the Demon Tribe accepted a half-breed and even gave her a high-ranking position. Whether it’s your side or ours, our ancestors would laugh themselves to death hearing this.”
The black-haired woman sneered and then asked the Demon King, her expression neutral.
“Is there a way to stop her? With just our forces, it seems impossible. Perhaps the magical cannons on the city walls could restrain her for a moment, but they can’t fire endlessly. Besides, if all trenches are breached, we won’t last long anyway.”
The man called Demon King tapped his breathing apparatus and asked the woman.
“If we take no action, how long until the final trench is broken?”
“One per day… well, this one turned them around scared, so let’s say two per day… Hm. A week? Maybe faster, depending on that black armor.”
The woman replied indifferently, as if it weren’t a significant matter.
“What’s the current time acceleration multiplier for the doll?”
“It’s maxed out. Push it higher, and it’ll disappear into the spacetime rift. And… we still have five months left. Absolutely impossible within a week. Care to enlighten us soon? Staying idle means failure for both you and me.”
The man known as Demon King silently stared at the video replaying. The Half-Dragon clad in black armor. How could they possibly stop that?
“…If we dig a moat and create an over-gravity zone…”
“Who’s going to handle that much magic power? Not you, right? Most of your magic power is already allocated to time acceleration. As for your subordinates, they’re in no condition to help. The moat might be possible by twisting the earth veins somehow, but over-gravity is out of the question. Unless someone on-site supplies magic power to the generation device, but we don’t have any mages on our side.”
In the end, it’s come to this. The Demon King sighed inwardly.
“That’s what we’ll do. We’ll cover the magic power somehow, so prepare the moat and the over-gravity generator.”
The woman shrugged and jokingly asked the Demon King who he planned to sacrifice.
The Demon King remained silent.
