Ch.169The Demon Lord Belphegor (8)
by fnovelpia
# Demon Lord Belphegor (8)
“Actually, I saw you recently. You just didn’t spare me a glance.”
“Is that so? I apologize. I’m generally a person who’s quite preoccupied.”
“Understandably so.”
“Should I thank you for understanding?”
“Whatever makes you comfortable.”
“Hmm, that’s true…”
Belphegor rested her chin on her hand as if pondering something, then quietly nodded.
“No, an apology should come first. I regret how things turned out. Saintess.”
She fought for survival and took what she needed.
She committed irreversible wrongs without regret.
She had no intention of denying or justifying her actions.
She offered no excuses.
And yet…
“I thought that if we met again, I should say this, even if it sounds insincere.”
There were aspects she couldn’t even attempt to excuse. Parts where only her ugliness was emphasized.
“I’m sorry.”
***
Belphegor was known as a mutant of the Manmata clan, but it took considerable time for this fact to come to light.
Originally, she was quite docile.
How absurd to expect strength from someone who normally doesn’t resort to violence.
Glimpses of her true nature emerged when the clan’s youngest child collapsed.
“…I’ll try to find medicine. I’ve heard that some medicinal herbs grow where the Banshees live.”
“Do you want to die, Belphegor?”
“Don’t worry about a lazy woman like me going out to die. Don’t concern yourself with someone like me—just take good care of Lilith.”
The Manmata clan was one of the few demon races that possessed a sense of kinship. So it was natural that they united when Lilith, the future of their race and their youngest, collapsed.
However, concern and capability are different matters. The Manmata clan wasn’t particularly strong among the high-ranking demons; they were only good at causing trouble when they moved in groups.
In that sense, Belphegor’s actions were incredibly reckless.
She was talking about infiltrating alone into territory claimed by the high-ranking Banshee demons to gather medicinal herbs.
But Belphegor succeeded. She calmly accomplished these impossible tasks and began reliably bringing back herbs for Lilith.
“If only I knew the name of the disease, I wouldn’t have to wander around so aimlessly…”
Despite Belphegor’s numerous efforts, Lilith showed no signs of improvement. Simply bringing back fever reducers wasn’t enough to solve the problem.
Belphegor hated her own ignorance. What good was strength if she couldn’t even save this child?
So she studied. She racked her insufficient brain and worked hard.
Throughout this time, she never stopped gathering all kinds of herbs.
She calmly performed tasks that would have been too much even for two people.
But the reward for her efforts was utterly devastating.
“There’s no cure…?”
The tiny bit of knowledge she gained through endless exploration brought despair instead of accomplishment.
There was nothing she could do.
Nothing she did could save Lilith.
Everything had been meaningless.
“That’s impossible.”
Belphegor denied her hard-earned knowledge about the disease and began to continuously devour medical texts.
But the more she did, the more clearly the shadow of death appeared.
“Ah…”
It couldn’t be solved with strength or wisdom. This was already determined.
Lilith would never rise again.
Yes, unless a miracle happened.
Belphegor ultimately had no choice but to turn to a deity. She had neither knowledge nor conviction.
She merely begged something she couldn’t even name, seeking refuge from her terrible helplessness.
But that nameless something answered her prayer.
“I have seen your efforts to save this child even in such a barren environment. I’ve watched you continue to hold on until the end despite failing repeatedly and facing uncertainty.”
That unidentified entity didn’t ask for any compensation. It simply reached out and gently stroked Lilith’s forehead as she lay collapsed.
“Your desperation has called me here, so it is you who saved this child, not me.”
That miraculous scene was etched into her eyes.
What Belphegor couldn’t accomplish despite days and nights of ceaseless effort, the being before her resolved simply by stroking a forehead.
She felt something sprouting in a corner of her heart that she didn’t even recognize.
Reverence, fear, and gratitude.
Yes, that something sprouting in her heart was…
Faith, just beginning to take root in the middle of the barren demon realm.
***
Belphegor was originally not destined to become a transcendent being. Even with sufficient qualifications, she would have eventually self-destructed, unable to withstand her own power after pushing herself too hard.
That was Belphegor’s predetermined fate.
But everything changed after meeting the Saintess.
Belphegor, who had been quiet but diligent, began to live lazily after that day.
The demons of the Manmata clan left her alone, knowing she had recently been making all kinds of efforts to save Lilith.
They couldn’t have imagined it would continue for years…
Some might have thought she was feeling dejected.
But it was different. Having witnessed that absolute miracle, Belphegor continuously replayed that moment in her mind.
She wasn’t just lying around; she was constantly thinking while lying around.
As a result.
“Auntie.”
“Huh?”
“Why don’t you work, Auntie?”
“…I will. Wait, did that woman tell you to ask me that?”
Belphegor, who should have died unable to suppress her power, overcame her innate limitations.
“Sigh… But even if I’m told to work, I don’t know what work to do…”
“Since you’re strong, how about carrying rocks?”
“I hate repetitive work that requires diligence.”
Thanks to witnessing that single moment, she even twisted her original fate.
While lying around, she developed a body that could withstand her immense power.
“Hmm… Then how about becoming a Demon Lord and ordering others around? You can make others do all the work you don’t want to do.”
“Ohhh… My niece is smart. When I become a Demon Lord later, I’ll make you my aide.”
She stole the position that should have belonged to First, who was destined to be a transcendent being, a Demon Lord, and beyond.
***
“When you’re in this position, you see more than you might expect. Or perhaps you know that better than I do?”
“…”
“As you know, the world is rather well-calibrated, so balance doesn’t easily collapse.”
If balance is disrupted, self-correction occurs to restore it.
“Those who have reached beyond all have each abandoned something to rise, and the power that kills transcendent beings is formed from those abandoned things gathered together.”
“You mean the holy sword.”
“Yes, the holy sword. The hero wielding the holy sword brings peace to the world, right?”
The holy sword is closer to lending power to restore the original state rather than achieving an ideal.
And that original state is certainly people’s happiness.
However…
“…But demons aren’t included in that category of peace.”
Demons are not the subjects of that peace. Regardless of their nature.
The world is divided into six parts, and those in hell are originally wicked people who deserve punishment.
Then what about the demon realm?
What about the land of death contaminated by hell through broken cracks?
How should those who are merely trying to survive there be judged?
Unfortunately, the holy sword is not alive; it’s just a device for self-correction.
“And it’s hard to see it as a weapon meant to kill gods rather than those who have strayed from the category of humans.”
The things transcendent beings discard when advancing beyond the world.
Those things they abandon at the final moment were relatively close to purity.
Wanting to save people. Wanting to save all living beings. One becomes a complete god by escaping from such desires.
Yes, that’s why the holy sword can never kill a god. It’s impossible with the things discarded to become a god.
“So there’s no way a hero appeared to defeat me.”
The levels don’t match.
No matter how great a hero might be, it’s impossible to defeat Belphegor, who is knocking on the wall outside the world.
And it’s equally impossible for the holy sword to designate Belphegor as a threat to the world’s balance.
In theory, Belphegor would be considered a being about to leave this world.
“The hero must have appeared… to face First. That position should have originally been his.”
If Belphegor hadn’t existed, First would have become the Demon Lord. And First would have become an atrocious villain.
Belphegor was convinced of this after seeing First, who lacked humanity.
“So if anyone were to stop me, I thought it would be you.”
Yes, that’s why the hero Esmeralda is not Belphegor’s enemy.
Rather, it’s the Saintess who saves even demons fairly.
“You were truly good and fair. You didn’t seek compensation; you just wanted people to survive. Even if some denounced them as monsters—demons.”
“It’s not quite like that. I’m human too, so I get angry when I’m upset and cry when I’m sad.”
“Really? Then are you angry with me now?”
“Do I look that way?”
“No…”
Belphegor shook her head.
If the Saintess who appeared before her had been hostile, they would have gone straight into battle without needing conversation.
But there was no hostility in his eyes.
“You dare to pity me.”
It’s amusing.
Even though she killed everyone in the imperial city, he still treats her as a person?
No, perhaps that’s why he’s called the Saintess.
“Yes, you try to save everyone fairly, but saving everyone is impossible. I confirmed that on the day I brought you down.”
The moment she joined hands with the Pope and pulled the Saintess down to the ground.
Just by the fact that he could be pulled down, Belphegor understood.
The Saintess is not omnipotent.
He lacks the ability to solve problems. What he does is merely trying within the scope of his reach.
But that’s not enough.
Everyone will just slowly die together.
Yes, that’s why.
“I’m sorry, but I need to save one side even if it means killing the other. I will kill humans… to save demons.”
The Demon Lord Belphegor, who had been sprawled on her throne, finally rose to her feet.
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