Chapter 80

〈 Chapter 80 〉 Conclusion (8)

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#15

"Looks like you're the one, just by looking at your face."

"..."

Why do you know about my love life?

"Why do I know about this? Don't misunderstand. I didn't find out; it was 1 who told me directly."

"…What? Told you directly?"

"He asked if I would kill or save the monster you've become. He begged me not to kill you. He was so desperate, I wondered how close you two were. Then he said you were his ex-girlfriend. I was taken aback."

"..."

I knew Miu was around the scene, but what exactly happened then?

Confused for a moment, Erena looked at me with a peculiar expression and said,

"Of course, if I really wanted to, I could find out how far you and your ex-girlfriend went. But I'm too tired now."

"…Even if you weren't tired, please don't. I'll be more careful about my thoughts when I'm in front of you, senpai."

"Yeah, yeah. I know. I won't show it on the outside. I'll just pretend not to notice, okay?"

No, senpai.

"But you know, it's kind of fun to know these things?"

"…?"

I tilted my head.

"I once met a cute girl called the Ice Flower among the common people. She really looked like she was emitting ice. She broke off an engagement that had been arranged for generations, and said she had no intention of marrying anyone. She was so determined that she was even prepared to drop her family name."

Erena suddenly started telling a story.

"No matter how I looked at her, she didn't seem to be someone who didn't know men. Of course, I'm not an expert in that area. But there's a saying, isn't there? That those who haven't given relationship advice are the best at it."

I almost thought that Erena senpai had no experience in love, but I quickly stopped myself, fearing she would see through it. I didn't want to look bad.

Fortunately, there were no repercussions. In the swirling smoke, Erena said with a smile,

"I can see things that even the criminals can't. When she moved the dishes, when she sat in her chair, when someone called her, when she took a walk in the garden, when she heard the marriage talk she must have heard countless times, and when she gave orders to the butler on her way to her room. I saw the butler, the only one allowed to enter the room that no one else could, and I checked, despite knowing it was a huge breach of etiquette."

Even now, thinking about that moment, Erena tilted her chin and reached for the cigarette she was gnawing on.

"It turned out she had a thing with the butler. By the way, he had served the previous head of the family and was over fifty."

"..."

"That's it. You can't tell anything just by looking at someone. No one knows what shocking secrets others might be hiding."

Some people hide knives behind smiling faces, and it's common to be betrayed by those you trust the most.

What you see with your eyes isn't always the truth. The uglier the truth, the deeper it's hidden.

"In that sense, what you've always thought was normal might not be. The world operates by set rules, but it's always full of exceptions. There will come a time when the common sense you know doesn't apply. …Actually, it's already happened to you."

She nodded again.

"You've already broken free from the rules. I have too. Your ex-girlfriend, 1, is the same."

Her words were cryptic. Why was Miu mentioned here? Her past story seemed to float in my mind like an illusion.

"…What do you mean by breaking free from the rules?"

Swoosh.

Erena suddenly raised her finger.

"Defying Heaven (逆天)."

"…What?"

"It means defying the heavens."

Erena, who had lowered her hand weakly, smiled.

"Coincidentally, the heavens provided the opportunity to defy, led us to a situation where we had to, and allowed us to do so. Yet, the heavens claim to be fair, so they make us pay the price for defying them. …It's not funny. It's like giving you a disease and then the medicine. Isn't that what this is for?"

"..."

"This is a different story. Some start from the ground, while others are already flying high in the sky. If the world were truly governed by a fair god, it wouldn't be fair. There's a huge difference in the standard of fairness between the immortal gods and the mortal humans."

Erena spoke as if in a stream of consciousness. I couldn't help but agree that the world is unfair. Just thinking about myself, I remembered the days I had to work hard to find even a useless talent.

Even so, I was born into a noble family. I grew up without lacking anything. Yet, there are always people dying somewhere on the continent because they can't get what they need.

"Ultimately, that's the point. From the heavens' perspective, the life of a single human is insignificant. Whether they die or live, whether they are sad or happy… as long as the world operates as it should, the heavens don't care about what humans want. They just assign fate. We have to follow, because we can't defy the heavens. If we do, we have to pay the price."

Her tone was self-deprecating.

Erena continued,

"However, there are exceptions even to the absolute laws of Heaven (天理). We are the exceptions born to handle those exceptions."

I asked, confused.

"…What do you mean by 'we'?"

"You and me. Your ex-girlfriend… yeah, 1. Miu. And others bound by the crazy contract with the heavens."

—Contract.

Hearing that word from Erena, I suddenly remembered the last time. The burning light, the vast sea, the words about remembering the contract. There was definitely a connection.

Lost in thought, I heard,

"Junior."

"…Yes, senpai."

"You know I participated in the war that happened ten years ago. What do you think was the fundamental reason for that war?"

Humans and demons, who have been fighting over territories beyond the continent's borders since ancient times. The history of this long war is deep-rooted. The most recent record ended with a significant victory for humans.

"…Because demons are the enemies of humans, right?"

They fight because they are enemies. They cut throats and spill blood. Demons take human flesh and blood, and humans, in turn, hate demons as clear enemies and strictly punish them to ensure the survival of their species.

"Enemies… You could see it that way."

Erena rested her chin on her hand, unimpressed.

"There must be a reason why we have to fight a species war. That's the important part."

She continued with a more somber face.

"We fight because we have to. It doesn't matter what the reasons are. The war between humans and demons is bound to happen. It was decided from the beginning, so they endlessly spill blood and fight. It will continue until one side is annihilated."

"..."

"I didn't plan to tell you this much… but this much is okay. You won't understand everything right now."

Erena muttered to herself.

She glanced at me and continued,

"I said there are exceptions to the laws of Heaven (天理). Those exceptions are the demons. They are beings that directly defy the laws of Heaven (天理). They have grown so large that the heavens can't handle them anymore. We, chosen by the heavens, have to take the lead in dealing with them. We can't refuse, because it's our fate."

"Anyway, why are demons called exceptions? The heavens clearly created this world, so why don't they handle it themselves and instead delegate it to their subordinates?"

"But, the sky beyond the boundary is just black. It's fundamentally different from the sky in the human world. It's always dark, and the moon, not the sun, hangs above. Just as we have a sky, demons have a sky. They have their own sky."

"That's the—Primordial Defier (逆天者). Now called the Demon God (魔神)."

A quite extraordinary word.

Demon God.

From the name, it seemed like a god-like concept for demons.

Well, I had learned about the history of demons in class, but I had never heard about the Demon God. Erena was definitely telling me something very secret.

"In simple terms, it's the bold one who first betrayed the heavens. The demons that exist beyond the boundary were created by the Demon God. The Demon God is trying to defy the laws of Heaven (天理) with these demons."

Erena exhaled a puff of cigarette smoke.

"…The war ended with a human victory, but the Demon God is still alive. The war between humans and demons won't end until the Demon God is dead. Even though it seems to have ended, the same history will repeat itself. No one knows when, but it will happen soon. It must, or the fate of defying the heavens wouldn't be given."

"..."

She stared at me intently as she finished speaking.

"Don't you understand?"

"…A little."

"I didn't expect you to. I can't explain all the terms right now. Besides, just hearing it won't make much sense."

Erena shrugged as if to say she understood.

"Just enjoy it while you can."

"..."

"Human time is finite. You can't go back to the past. If you think you'll regret something, just don't do it. Important choices are only given once, and you have to take full responsibility for the consequences."

She tilted her head and rested her chin on her hand.

"If you really want to recover your memories, I'll try to help. But I don't know if it will work. And if I help you, I'll definitely regret it, big or small. I don't see it as a good choice."

"..."

"That's what I mean. Think about whether you'll gain more or lose more by recovering your memories."

Then she leaned back in her chair. During her speech, she had refilled her cigarettes countless times. She put her leg on the table, and a new puff of smoke rose in the already thick gray smoke.

This is also a choice. As Erena said, I don't know what will happen if I recover my memories. Will the losses outweigh the gains? Will the gains outweigh the losses? I won't know until I experience it.

However, Miu trembled. She collapsed in front of me and cried. Her hoarse voice, strained to the point of breaking, kept saying she was sorry. She couldn't tell me what had happened between us.

Seeing Miu, who was so broken, was heart-wrenching.

I didn't know what to say. If I didn't say anything, I wouldn't know, but she said she couldn't say it. So, there was only one thing I could do.

I know nothing. It's not certain.

But—

There is one thing I know.

This can't go on.

I lifted my head resolutely.

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