Episode 2 – The Day I Came Back to Life (1)

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…It’s dark.

[Hmm? Could it be… is consciousness returning? Finally?]

[Oh, yes. Finally, the coachman of this rotten body is returning. It’s still just unconsciousness, though.]

I don’t want to die.

[I didn’t want to hurt you. I mean it.]

[Almost there, eating away at the memories, consciousness is growing more and more.]

What is this? A fishy smell?

[Ah, the senses are returning! Finally, the moment this terrible prison becomes a carriage has arrived! Oh my god, it’s been so long. I can’t believe it, I feel like I could cry.]

[It certainly has been long…]

Ugh, get rid of this fishy smell.

And why does my body hurt so much? It feels like my whole body is torn apart.

[Your body hurts? That’s strange.]

[Welcome back to a world full of sorrow, rage, and pain. Your first pain upon returning is a fishy smell, that’s quite a mild start for you, wouldn’t you say?]

Who are you? What am I talking to right now?

[You’ll know as soon as you open your eyes, you bastard.]

[I’ll tell you everything when the time comes.]

I can feel something. A fishy smell, something sticky and dried up,

something leathery chewing in my mouth, silence.

I can feel my senses. But it feels like something is missing…

[Open your eyes.]

[Haven’t you noticed? Do you know how long we’ve been trapped in this unfeeling body?]

My body. My consciousness. What the hell happened to both of them?

[I saved your body. It got a little twisted because of that guy’s interference, though.]

[That bastard ruined your consciousness. Utterly.]

[That wasn’t my intention!]

My consciousness… is ruined? Why?

[Don’t you remember?]

[You were betrayed.]

…Mella.

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I suddenly came to my senses from the piercing fishy smell. My eyes are gritty.

I thought I had been keeping my eyes closed, but it seems I had been keeping them open for a very long time instead.

When I rubbed my eyes, the blurry vision gradually cleared up.

I was definitely killed by the Hero with the Holy Sword…

Where is this? Am I by the Goddess-nim’s side? Is it hell? Or did I miraculously come back to life?

First, let’s get my head straight.

I woke up my still drowsy mind.

And a shocking sight unfolded before my eyes, enough to make me lose my mind again.

A rotten corpse was torn to pieces so horribly that almost no flesh remained,

the decayed blood, close to black, was smeared all over my hands and face,

and the torn rotten flesh and crushed entrails filled my mouth.

It seems I was eating this corpse.

Startled, I spat out everything in my mouth and screamed.

“Ugh! Ptooey, hack hack! What the hell is this…!”

I recoiled in horror, stumbling backward away from the corpse and the chunks of flesh I had spat out.

“What… what have I done…? What’s going on?”

Don’t panic. I need to figure out the situation first.

“Ugh, ptooey.”

I kept spitting out the blood still in my mouth along with saliva.

Overwhelmed with bewilderment, disgust, and a sense of depravity, I slowly got up and approached the corpse.

This corpse, with only bones remaining except for a very small amount of flesh…

Looking at the clothes, it must be the Demon King’s corpse.

“Oh my god…”

Was I tearing apart and eating the Demon King’s corpse? Why?

I stared blankly at the pool of black blood that had collected beneath my feet.

“… Huh?”

Reflected in the pool was an emaciated, undead creature with rotten skin, wearing a frightened expression.

I raised my hand and stroked my face.

Blood was smeared on my face, but I didn’t care at all.

The texture of the dry, rotten, bumpy skin beyond the sticky liquid was so horrifying that I couldn’t think of anything else.

The undead in the water was also stroking its face with a dumb expression.

I couldn’t believe it, so I looked again, but the amber eyes and the thick, blue-gray hair were definitely mine.

No, something is wrong here.

Not only did I die, but I became a reanimated corpse?

I became… a monster?

“N-No… No way…”

At that moment, I stopped denying reality.

Because until I opened my mouth, this Demon King’s castle was too quiet.

“Ha…”

Yeah. It was definitely too quiet.

Because I couldn’t hear my own breathing, my heartbeat, nothing.

Only then did I admit it.

I had become an undead.

“…”

I pursed my lips.

Again, an eerie silence filled this space.

The silence pressing down on this space is heavy. This unbelievable reality is too much to bear.

As if mocking me, bright sunlight poured in through the window.

I couldn’t feel even a bit of warmth on the skin that the sun was shining on,

“Aaaaaaaaaaah!”

I screamed.

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I don’t know how long it’s been since I died, or since I became a walking, living corpse,

but it was definitely a long time, enough for the cloth or leather to be damaged.

While screaming and rampaging, the light armor, shirt, and leather pants I was wearing couldn’t withstand it and fell apart weakly.

I screamed, vented my anger, and lamented, but even if I screamed again, my breathing didn’t falter at all, and my heart rate didn’t budge at all.

“Haha…”

In the end, just a hollow laugh.

I casually wrapped the Demon King’s cloak, which I had torn off the Demon King’s corpse, around my body. Unlike my clothes, the Demon King’s cloak was still sturdy, only slightly faded.

Maybe it’s because I vented my anger for a while, but I had the space to organize my thoughts.

I sat down on the floor and calmly pondered.

I was betrayed and killed by the Hero.

The mage was also in on it.

But, no matter how I think about it, there was no reason for me to be betrayed.

Is there something I missed?

I slowly recalled each of my party members one by one.

First, Lara.

An elf, an archer with monstrous archery skills.

Tanned brown skin with long black hair tied up in a ponytail.

Her slender figure and smooth skin were often talked about by many people.

But I remember her brightly burning gray eyes the most.

Could she have anything to do with my death?

She used to bicker with me all the time, but we became deeply close as we bickered, and eventually became best friends.

She may speak rudely, but she was definitely a good person with a strong sense of responsibility.

She took on all the dirty work of the party, such as hunting, camping, and scouting,

and she was practically the only one who handled the minor problems that could arise during the journey.

There’s no way she would have participated in the plan to kill me.

She used to say like a habit that elves must stay away from evil deeds.

But if it were her personality, she would have found my corpse and taken care of it…

…No, let’s not suspect her for now.

Mella.

My childhood friend, the Goddess’s first daughter,

and my lovely lover.

Orange-tinted blonde hair and fair skin like white jade.

Large eyes with brown pupils embedded like jewels.

I can clearly picture her, her skin and eyes always seeming moist.

What happened to her?

Was she sad?

Did she cry a lot?

Did she cry quietly, hugging her knees and burying her face between them, like the her I knew?

Unable to accept my death, did she try to follow me in death?

Despite being a saintess, did she resent the Goddess?

Or has she overcome everything by now?

Did she… forget me…?

[Wouldn’t the Hero who betrayed you and that bitch be in cahoots too?]

[That’s not true!]

What is that…?

No, more than that.

Could it be that she knew too? That the Hero would betray me? Did she also plan my death?

No, that’s not it, absolutely not. You’re crazy, I can suspect others, but suspecting Mella?

Yeah, I have other bastards to curse.

Jennifer

A mage, a perfect master of magic without hesitation or mistakes.

The Hero’s lover. And

The Hero’s accomplice.

Seemingly indifferent sky-blue eyes, a red robe that clings tightly to reveal her figure.

She was short, but boasted great volume in her chest and hips.

She often let her braided hair hang long over her large breasts.

I wasn’t very close to her, Jennifer isn’t an easy person to get close to.

But, no matter how I think about it, I don’t remember harboring enough resentment towards her to be killed by her.

Was the plan to kill me made by the Hero after all?

Is she just a simple accomplice as his lover?

She tends not to do things that are not beneficial to her.

Was killing me something she needed to do?

And why did she take my dagger?

It’s not exactly a famous sword or anything, but it’s my beloved sword that I’ve been using since I was a thief.

I will definitely get that sword back.

Robin

The Hero. The true hope of humanity who finally caught the Demon King.

And a real son of a bitch.

Sparkling blue eyes beneath sparkling blonde hair, a handsome boy with distinct features.

His warm smile and clean private life as much as his face

were the envy of many women, and also the object of everyone’s fantasies.

Why would such a guy kill me?

Did I do something to earn his resentment without me knowing?

Did I rob his house when I was a trashy thief?

Then what was all that friendship?

What were those days when we fought with each other’s backs?

What about the worries we confided in each other as the only same-sex friends in the party?

Seeing that Jennifer didn’t even bat an eye, it was definitely a pre-planned thing.

They planned to kill me.

Bastard, to plot such a thing on a mission to assassinate the Demon King.

What are you going to do by killing someone like me? Goddamn it.

Why the hell?

I have to know the reason.

Robin, I hope you have a good reason.

If I don’t like the reason, I’ll definitely kill you.

After finishing my thoughts, I looked out the window. The red sunset was already setting.

Whether it’s Mella or Robin, meeting them again won’t be easy.

Right now, I’m a monster, so it will be difficult just to enter the village.

But I’m ‘Edward’.

The thief of the Hero’s party, the saintess’s lover.

The owner of the blue-gray hair she liked and the amber eyes that stared at her happily.

And a phantom thief and master thief who has never been caught in history.

A thief who probably would never have been caught if I hadn’t turned myself in at Mella’s persuasion.

There must be a reason why I came back to life.

What happened to me, the cause of that, the saintess’s current situation, how to become human again.

I will find out, no matter how hidden it is.

Stealing is my specialty.

I slowly get up and walk forward.

I leave this castle, which has been my and the Demon King’s tombstone and grave.

The Edward who entered this place is dead.

What’s leaving is just one monster thirsty for the truth.

After passing through the long corridor, the undead standing in front of the huge castle gate slowly opened the door.

Kkii giiik

The heavy castle gate opens with a tremendous noise.

The wind blew from the endless forest spread out under the sunset, brushing against my skin.

Just as I was about to take a step, I saw someone behind a tree in the forest.

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“…”

There was an elf staring straight at me.

An elf standing tall and motionless, half-hiding her body behind a tree.

The distance is a bit far, but I could tell she was definitely looking at me.

Because our eyes met.

A slender, well-proportioned woman’s body.

Her jet-black hair tied in a ponytail sways gently.

A dark green cape cut short so as not to hinder the movement of her arms.

Under the cape, she wears a dark brown, form-fitting, three-quarter-sleeved top.

The top is also so short that it barely covers her slightly visible underbust, leaving her bare skin exposed below her sternum.

Her healthy, tanned, and supple waist catches the eye.

Several arrow quivers and multi-purpose pouches are attached to the two rows of rope belts that cross between her waist and hips,

and dark-colored leather pants, as dark as ebony wood, flaunt the lines of her lower body.

Shoes and gloves dyed green to resemble leaves,

and she is holding a moderately sized bow in her hands.

There is only one woman I know among the elves who looks like that.

The elf archer who was my companion.

“Lara.”

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