I Saved the Demon King Who Was About to Commit Suicide – Chapter 15

‘What’s that…’

Evan’s eyes were filled with confusion as he looked at the pattern.

What was on Lucia’s back might seem like a simple tattoo, but…

Given the faint magical energy emanating from it, it was clear that it was anything but an ordinary tattoo.

Although it was a form he had never seen before, Evan felt a strange familiarity about the pattern.

It was similar to the one etched on his own wrist.

In the shape of a massive dragon with wings spread wide.

‘Apostle.’

The pattern engraved on Lucia’s body resembled the marks that Apostles received.

However, there was something strange about it.

The shape of the pattern was not like anything he had seen from any god.

None of the nine gods with Apostles bore a shape like that.

Yet, it wasn’t dismissible as a non-Apostle mark, as the pattern radiated an oddly familiar magical power.

As Evan pondered all this in his mind, Lucia shoved him aside and spoke.

“Get out.”

Her voice contained a killing intent unlike before.

If he didn’t leave, it felt like she would genuinely kill him.

“Right now.”

It was as if she was showing a face that mustn’t be seen.

Evan glanced at Lucia’s distorted face for a moment before nodding.

He thought about torturing her one more time for her ignorance of the subject, but he also had information he needed to find…

Above all, seeing Lucia, who had never once shown anger even through painful torture, in such a state made him think there must be a reason.

“…Alright. Kerena, you come out too.”

“Yes…! Just a moment…”

Kerena hurried out after treating her wounds as quickly as she could.

‘I need to either stop this quickly or finish it…!’

She thought that maintaining her life was more important than making a lot of money…

Remembering the look in Lucia’s eyes when she had just treated her, she hoped for a safe exit.

*

After coming up from the basement.

Evan went straight to his study and opened the history book he had read last time.

This time, he was searching for information about the Apostles.

Flipping through the pages quickly, he found the information he was looking for and spread the book on his desk.

After reading the contents written in the book for quite some time without a break.

Having seen all the written information, Evan let out a deep sigh.

Most of it was information he already knew from the Pope.

‘There’s nothing I want here…’

Evan briefly stopped his hand from the book and tapped his fingers on the desk.

It was an unconscious action that came out when he plunged into deep thoughts.

‘Based on Lucia’s behavior earlier, it definitely feels like there’s something linked to the pattern.’

Clearly, she was hiding something.

Even when she was being treated by Kerena, she had deliberately tried to hide the mark on her back.

‘What is she trying to hide, even if it means facing a fate of dying from torture.’

And why was she trying to hide it?

Thoughts kept spiraling in his mind endlessly.

Tap, tap.

Only the sound of his fingers tapping the desk echoed in the quiet study.

While that state continued, suddenly, a gust of wind from the window flipped the pages of the book.

So, when Evan turned his gaze back to the book to place it on the original page, one line caught his eye.

‘The Apostles are beings who receive powers from the nine gods that protect the nine countries of the Aisha continent. If they die, another person receives their powers to inherit the Apostle.’

It was the first thing that came up when describing the Apostles, a fact known to everyone in the continent, so he had glanced over it the first time he read it.

Upon seeing that, Evan immediately flipped the page to the part that had information about the Demon King.

He checked how long it had been since they existed.

‘It usually takes less than ten years for a new Demon King to appear after the old one dies.’

This matched the average time the Pope had mentioned for the succession of Apostles.

‘And after all, the Demon Realm is one of the countries existing on the Aisha continent.’

If each country has a god that protects it…

It would only make sense for it to be so.

‘If the Demon King is the Apostle of the god that protects the Demon Realm, then… it makes sense for her to have such power.’

That was when he finally felt like a puzzle piece clicked into place.

Evan would have usually been pleased to think that his assumptions were correct, but…

Soon, another question arose in his mind, preventing him from feeling joy.

‘Then why does everyone on the continent know only of ten gods and not eleven?’

If a god of the Demon Realm existed, it was strange that people didn’t know about it.

After all, the Demon King was a definite proof that a god of the Demon Realm existed.

But people did not acknowledge that.

The stories he had heard since childhood, the history books, the content learned in the Holy Kingdom…

All stated there were ten gods, not eleven.

‘So, does that mean history itself has been manipulated…?’

That was nearly impossible.

At least, even if the content of the history books could be changed, it would mean twisting people’s memories as well.

There was no one who could likely do such a thing other than a god.

‘Who… could it be?’

While he was lost in thought, suddenly, Lucia’s words popped into Evan’s head.

– “Even if I want to speak, I can’t. It’s like some sort of restriction has been placed on me.”

Suddenly, he stood up, as if remembering something.

‘Someone who can place restrictions on a Demon King, which can barely be defeated even by nine Apostles.’

Only at that moment did Evan understand Lucia’s words.

Why battling her meant fighting against the whole world.

If his previous assumptions were true, then the current world had been twisted and manipulated by that existence.

“Ha, haha…”

Evan let out a hollow laugh.

If this was the case, then Lucia might not truly be evil after all.

A skewed history had labeled her as such…

She too could be a victim of the manipulated history.

“This is madness.”

Evan slammed his hand on the desk as if struck by the revelation.

Anger swelled within him, but more than that, he felt overwhelming guilt.

He couldn’t definitively say that all this was the truth, having no solid proof yet…

But if it was true, that meant he had clearly been an evil person towards Lucia.

Not just killing her people for the simple reason of labeling them as evil, but torturing her like this.

“Was that why I asked that kind of question back then…?”

Evan’s mind hung onto the memory of Lucia asking, “Do I truly look like an evil person?”

Crack-.

His grip tightened.

The nails dug into his flesh, resulting in blood dripping down.

Of course, it was true that Lucia killed his dear companions.

That’s why it was also true that he still held hatred for her.

Even if she were a victim, he would still likely feel hatred toward her.

Releasing hatred toward someone was a challenging feat in itself.

But before that, he had to uncover the truth.

If all his assumptions were correct, he needed to apologize to her.

The ones who made the first wrong move were the Apostles.

Therefore, the torturing, born from misunderstanding, was also his fault.

Having made his decision, Evan went down to the first floor and called for Bephyr.

“Bephyr.”

“Yes, master.”

“Prepare a carriage that can reach Anima within three days. I have something to do.”

“Isn’t that the Land of the Dead? Why would you, a living master, want to go there… Are you thinking of dying?”

“Of course not. I have someone to find there.”

“…Understood. I shall prepare it.”

“Oh, and there’s something else I would like you to prepare…”

Just then, while Evan was discussing his trip to Anima with Bephyr, someone urgently knocked on the door of the mansion.

“Evan! Please open the door!”

Given the urgency of their call, this must have been quite an emergency.

Evan opened the door of the mansion.

Standing at the door was a young man living in the village where he first encountered Lucia.

Seeing the beads of sweat on his forehead and the heavy breathing, it seemed he had run all the way from the village to here.

“What’s going on?”

“The monsters… the monsters have attacked the village…! Knights who came to help from the neighboring village are trying to hold them off, but there are too many of them…”

“What type and how many monsters?”

“Ten Rank 2 monsters, the Minotaurs, and other Rank 3 monsters too.”

It was unclear why Minotaurs, which usually don’t come out of deep caves, suddenly appeared in the village, but it was clear it was a critical situation for a small village with so few knights.

In no time, the village and nearby ones could be completely ravaged.

There wasn’t much time left.

“Let’s get ready and head out immediately. Bephyr, how many of the mansion’s attendants can handle magical power?”

“Counting me, there are about five.”

“Then prepare all of them to go to the village. Also, get Kerena ready since she can heal people.”

Evan picked up the sword that was hanging on the wall and continued speaking.

“Bring Lucia out too.”

“W-What? Why Lucia…?”

“Because it would be problematic if she escapes while the surveillance is lax.”

“Understood. I’ll bring her out.”