Ch.166166. Comfort

“You son of a bitch!”

The hideous demon horns rising above her forehead. The husky speech and suddenly rough accent.

“It’s Vellica.”

True to her name as a demon born with deformities. The great demon Vellica, whose demonic instincts had transformed abnormally, causing her to join with Stella.

She seemed to have recovered now, though she had been unconscious due to the Holy Grail’s flames when I put Stella to sleep inside me.

“You seem energetic.”

“Of course I am. I’ve been sprawled out sleeping my fill after dying.”

Right, I shouldn’t forget.

Stella.

Vellica.

They were both ultimately just the deceased.

They were only borrowing my body for their peace. In reality, their lives had already reached their final curtain.

“Are you thinking of fighting Magan? Ugh, you stupid little runt.”

“This works out well.”

“What does?”

“Do you have any information about Magan?”

Come to think of it, wouldn’t Vellica, being a great demon herself, know the most about Magan?

I had tried using Lemegeton to turn the tables, but I didn’t think Magan would die from just that.

If that were possible, other great demons would have coveted Magan’s position long ago.

I thought I’d found a rather competent informant, but Vellica bared her grotesque teeth that had grown alongside her horns and shouted:

“You son of a bi—… S-stop. Vellica, please stop.”

But instead of the profanity that was about to pour out, a calm, settled voice resonated again.

“No, Stella! Didn’t you hear what he just said? He’s talking about fighting again! Even with his arm crippled!”

“B-but! No swearing. The gods wished for mercy to be shown to the foolish, not for them to be condemned.”

“…Those damn gods. I should kill them one of these days.”

Is this what watching a one-person play feels like? Two people were conversing through Stella’s mouth, but their speech patterns and accents were polar opposites, so it wasn’t difficult to understand.

“You didn’t call him here just to lecture him anyway.”

“But I need to say what needs to be said! I’m doing it because you can’t! I know you were excited to see him after so long, but…!”

“Wah! Waah! Ve-Vellica!”

Stella firmly covered her mouth with both hands. With a reddened face, she glanced at me nervously, and I pretended not to notice.

But one of Stella’s hands pulled the other away and shouted:

“I got a little exci—”

Thump.

She covered her mouth tightly with both hands again.

She seemed genuinely angry, furrowing her brow, and the horns that had protruded from her forehead disappeared.

After pressing her hands against her mouth for a long time and staring at the floor, Stella finally looked up slightly and made an excuse.

“Vellica said strange things because she’s a demon.”

“I see.”

“It’s absolutely not because I’m sharing my emotions with her while she’s with me.”

“I didn’t particularly think that.”

“It’s true.”

“…Alright.”

More than that, there was something bothering me from the conversation I had with Vellica earlier.

“I heard you had a reason for calling me.”

“Ah, that’s right.”

Stella composed herself, slowly turned her body, and extended her hand forward as if guiding the way.

Then the blank canvas-like scenery began to change. It became an ordinary night sky with the moon and stars hanging above, and clouds floating serenely.

We appeared to be floating in that sky.

Thump, thump.

I tapped the ground with my toes. It seemed this wasn’t actually a physical relocation but more like a wallpaper concept.

It could be considered a kind of optical illusion.

“Amazing, isn’t it? I figured it out after trying a few times.”

Stella began walking slowly across the sky. I followed behind her.

“There’s a village over there.”

“…”

At the end of where Stella was pointing, there truly was a village scene unfolding. Were they having some kind of festival?

Despite it being late at night, it was quite bustling with bright lanterns lit.

Of course, it wasn’t a real village.

It was probably something from Stella’s imagination.

But I rather liked the atmosphere.

“Do you think the gods see us from this perspective?”

“Probably so.”

A village viewed from the high heavens.

It was certainly a sight rarely seen on a continent without developed internet, aircraft, or satellites.

“Hehehe.”

Stella covered her smile with her hand, finding something amusing.

The reunion after so long was joyful.

Even though I had disturbed her peaceful sleep, it was pleasant to be able to converse with her again.

“I’m sorry, Stella, but I don’t have time.”

“…”

“There are people who will be worried about me after what Magan did. Also, my body must be in a critical condition.”

“It’s quite damaged.”

“Yes, I need to return immediately.”

At my request to get to the point, Stella scratched her cheek, sighed, and answered:

“You don’t need to worry about your body. Um, actually, I can roughly guess what condition your body is in right now, so that’s why you’re in such a hurry, right?”

“…I’m either dead or on the verge of death.”

“That’s right. Magan actually thought you were dead. That means he used your body quite violently.”

“I see.”

Though it was shocking information, I could only react calmly.

Having witnessed the boundary between the living and the dead, it wasn’t as surprising as one might think, and I had always considered that such a situation might come someday.

“But don’t worry. There’s someone protecting your body well.”

“Pro…tecting?”

“Yes, so there’s no need to be hasty. Strictly speaking, you’re ‘not yet’ dead, and even if you go back now, you’ll just repeat the same thing.”

It was difficult to follow Stella’s meaning. It felt like she was giving me raw interpretations of difficult gospel passages.

But Stella smiled gently, as if my reaction was expected.

“There’s no need to worry. You’ll definitely be able to return.”

“…”

If Stella was saying this much, there must be a reason.

The reason she was holding me back despite my ability to return.

Now I was curious about that.

“But you know. How long do you plan to keep up this act?”

“…”

“Look at yourself now.”

At her words, I slowly lowered my head. There, instead of the nobleman’s coat that Deus usually wore, I was dressed in the modern suit I used to wear when working as an office employee.

“Ah.”

I hadn’t realized it at all.

Now I understood why Stella had been calling me “you” or “this person” instead of “Deus” until now.

“Hehe, so that’s what you looked like?”

I had somehow become Shinwoo Kim.

“Even while sleeping inside you, I could hear and see quite a lot. The inside of a person isn’t as comfortable a resting place as one might think.”

“I’m sorry.”

Stella shook her head and smiled at my honest apology.

“No, I actually liked it. Because I could keep listening to your story like a lullaby.”

“…”

Stella didn’t stop there and continued asking:

“Is that why? I listened carefully to your journey. Comforting the dead, guiding broken disciples to the right path, giving value to monsters created through injustice.”

“…”

“At one point, you almost went down the wrong path, but still, you came back.”

“…”

“And this time, you brought the great demon of the Republic, who sees humans only as food, to the brink of death. Truly heroic actions.”

Listing the previous incidents wasn’t simply to praise me.

Because the more she continued speaking, the darker her expression became.

And then.

“Why?”

She posed a question to me like throwing a large stone into a calm lake.

“What?”

“Why do you go to such lengths?”

Shinwoo Kim.

The way Stella added my name at the end felt like a reminder of the clear boundary between this continent and myself.

“I was actually curious.”

Stella slowly bent down and sat. It looked as if she was sitting on the clouds in the night sky.

Her blue-green eyes moved across the distant sky like drawing a horizon, and eventually settled on me.

“You’ve been wrapping it up to yourself as ‘for survival,’ right?”

“…”

“You’re carrying too much responsibility to simply say you’re preventing the continent’s destruction just to survive.”

I couldn’t deny it because it wasn’t wrong.

“In fact, you don’t really care much about your own death.”

Each of her words pierced through me, but what was drawn on Stella’s lips was a gentle smile.

After a moment of silence, as if giving me time to organize my thoughts.

Stella asked, reminiscing about the past.

“Do you remember the time we talked together at the convent?”

“…Yes, I remember.”

“It’s exactly the same. I just want to listen.”

Tap, tap.

Stella patted the space beside her, inviting me to sit.

I naturally sat beside her, as if entranced.

“To comfort souls, you’ve listened to countless stories. But there’s no one on this continent who listens to your story.”

My eyes trembled involuntarily. Meeting my gaze, Stella carefully embraced my head with both hands.

“What is the real reason you’re serving this world?”

“…”

Clearly, as a soul, nothing should be felt.

Yet strangely, Stella’s embrace was warm, and that warmth spread quickly within me.

“It’s okay. Answer slowly. It’s fine to take a short break.”

“Ah.”

My body, which had stiffened at the penetrating question, gradually began to stabilize.

“You’ve worked so hard.”

The warmth enveloped my entire body, and as I slowly closed my eyes, her whisper tickled my ear.

“Let me comfort you.”

The one who has comforted the continent.