Ch.216On Being Forgotten (1)

Judas woke up in the test chamber.

The boy who had been near death immediately underwent a thorough examination upon regaining consciousness.

“……”

Count Gepetto examined Pinocchio with calm eyes.

Judas’s condition was difficult to describe as good even as a polite lie.

The man spoke with his characteristic expressionless face.

“What a mess. There’s not a single part of you that’s intact.”

His hand moved the pen lightly.

He filled out documents as if recording something.

“Your upper body was nearly cut in half, and Demonic Energy has seeped into your blood vessels everywhere. I’ve stitched you up haphazardly… but that’s just a temporary measure. You’ll need plenty of rest. It will take at least a year of recovery for your body to fully heal.”

Gepetto continued speaking indifferently.

“Coming straight back to the main house was the right choice. There are only a few people on this continent who can handle your body. If you had been even a little later, you would have already said your goodbyes to this world.”

The Count rummaged through his desk drawer.

What emerged was a syringe filled with blue liquid.

He checked Judas’s veins before inserting the needle.

“It’s a stimulant. This should help reduce the pain.”

As the container emptied its contents, Judas felt his pain subsiding.

Originally, his body was resistant to holy power and magic.

For a drug to have this much effect on someone like him…

Judas could easily tell how potent this stimulant was.

It was fortunate he was a doll; for an ordinary person, this would have been a lethal dose.

Judas thought to himself.

‘Indeed…’

That he was not human.

At times like this, he couldn’t help but realize it anew.

With complicated emotions, Judas fastened his top.

The doll was still wearing a red shirt.

“Thank you. I owe you my life.”

Judas reflected on his brush with death.

He had stepped on death’s threshold and returned.

Despite that terrible slash, he had survived in the end.

The boy organized his thoughts as he adjusted his appearance.

‘Since that day… I was unconscious for two days.’

To be precise, it was the third day since his encounter with the Demon God.

While the snake had been unconscious, the continent had already fallen into chaos.

A great commotion had occurred.

‘So the Grand Cathedral ultimately collapsed.’

Baob’s all-out battle.

The manifestation of the Demon God.

These consecutive disasters had finally brought down the center of the church.

The building that had symbolized the era of peace for six years after the Great War ended.

The faith and light that had crumbled so miserably now negated the meaning of that symbol.

The continent was facing another period of chaos.

‘At least there weren’t many casualties.’

About 60% of the people stationed at the Grand Cathedral had survived.

Whether that could be considered “few” was debatable…

Given the scale of the disaster, it was a miracle that casualties were limited to this extent.

Originally, no one should have survived. Judas thought.

This outcome surely came at the cost of a certain old man’s life.

-This is the punishment I deserve.

-Even so… I have no regrets.

The Sovereign.

He remembered the name of the one who had passed away so quietly in such a terrible state.

He always used to mutter that he had no regrets.

But perhaps he was someone who had lived with nothing but regrets.

The snake reflected on the echoes that remained in his ears.

-I ask you.

-Don’t interrupt my story.

Another.

Someone he couldn’t protect due to his own powerlessness.

Had he grown attached to the old man during their time together?

He chewed on this strange sense of loss.

“……”

Meanwhile.

Neria, who had received news of the Sovereign’s death, also wore a complicated expression.

Despite hating him with her entire life, she never expected such a futile end.

The back that had once seemed so large returned as a tattered corpse.

Before it, the girl could say nothing.

She simply remained silent, touching the scar on her face.

“I’m sorry for worrying everyone.”

After completing his thorough examination, Judas.

Having changed his clothes, he stood calmly before his companions.

However, everyone’s expressions were uniformly dark.

Not one of them could properly meet his gaze.

“……”

Perhaps it was due to their sense of powerlessness.

The children glanced at Judas.

‘Always the strong one.’

That was Judas’s image to the children.

Someone stronger than anyone else, someone who seemed undefeatable.

A magician who turned darkness into light and performed miracles as if they were natural.

That’s why his recent defeat remained so vividly in their minds.

“Ugh…”

Lezia quietly sobbed.

Tears had already welled up in her eyes.

The invisible strike and Judas being cut in half immediately after—that horrific scene kept replaying in her mind. She bit her lip.

Her tightly clenched fist had turned white from lack of blood flow.

“Everyone… you don’t look well.”

The other children were the same.

Their encounter with the Demon God.

The powerlessness, or rather the exhaustion, stemming from that brief moment.

Seeing the one they admired being slaughtered, and being unable to help.

This became self-reproach directed at themselves.

‘I should have been of help.’

They should have helped Judas.

If it was difficult, they should have at least died alongside him.

Yet they were fine while only the snake was severely injured.

The reason he couldn’t avoid the Demon God’s attack was entirely their fault.

He had reacted slowly because he was trying to get his companions out of range.

Regardless of what Judas might have thought, that’s how the girls saw it.

‘Because of me…’

The companions’ gloom was based on such self-blame.

The silence was like thin ice. Yet no one could break through that thin membrane.

Judas simply stood before the awkward stillness.

“You don’t need to worry so much.”

Pinocchio also read the atmosphere.

The concern and kindness transmitted so vividly.

A smile colored the boy’s lips.

“Hehe.”

Though very faint, it was certainly a smile.

At least, that’s what Judas himself wanted to believe.

“It wasn’t anyone’s fault.”

Judas’s voice was subdued.

His tone lacked any trace of his usual playfulness.

Perhaps it was because of what he was about to do.

Inwardly, he asked for forgiveness.

“Everyone.”

Paradoxically, the affection strengthened the girl’s resolve.

It made her pronounce her own end.

“I have something important to tell you.”

Pinocchio opened his mouth.

***

The Demon God.

The final apocalypse of this world and the primordial night.

I was the only one who could stop it.

‘Sealing, or weakening.’

Dying together would be best, but… given the difference in power, I thought it would be difficult.

Even though its existence wasn’t yet complete, it bore the name of a god.

By this point in my explanation, you should understand that I never had a chance of survival.

My role was simply to burn through my allotted lifespan to slow the steps of destruction.

And so my shattered breath would become fertilizer for what comes next.

So that the world of those left behind could bloom.

-The moment I’ve been waiting for.

Sovereign, I never thought I’d say the same thing as that gloomy old man.

But there was no other way to express it. I was simply fulfilling my calling.

I didn’t crave life.

I thought I shouldn’t.

Because I wanted to protect this world.

‘No.’

The moment I became greedy, the story would meet its end.

A conclusion like a cheap fairy tale: “And they all lived happily ever after.”

Even in that simple sentence, there was no place for me. As always.

For the happy ending of those I loved, the time had finally come for me to leave.

I had waited for this for too long.

“…Do you understand what I’ve told you?”

I explained to my companions.

My plan, and my goal.

I calmly explained that the time had come to say goodbye.

The logic was extremely rational. The most reasonable route for the world’s continuation.

Of course, the responses I received were anything but rational.

“You call that an explanation…?!”

A sharp rebuke came back.

Shaking, but with her characteristic thorny tone.

The red-haired girl glared at me.

“Your Highness.”

“Shut up! After nearly dying, the first thing you say when you wake up is what? That you’re going to die? Do you think I rushed here just to hear such nonsense?”

Elise’s tone was pointed as usual.

But the difference was that it wasn’t at all cynical.

A voice filled with agitation. Green eyes brimming with tears.

The rose looked precarious.

“Judas. Elise is right.”

Beside her was Sharlotte.

Her usual expressionlessness was gone, replaced by a sadly furrowed brow.

She had just heard words she never wanted to imagine.

The rest of the companions had similar reactions.

“D-die… Master, what are you saying…”

“I absolutely cannot allow it! Say something that makes sense!”

Lezia hesitated blankly.

Then Ameila, like Elise, became furious.

“You’re going to shoulder everything alone? Are you… asking us to accept that?”

“I refuse the order. If the captain goes, we will follow.”

“Judas… this is one request I absolutely cannot fulfill.”

Irene roughly grabbed my collar.

Neria, who had turned pale but was trying to maintain her composure.

Selena, glaring with cold red eyes.

The reactions were as expected.

‘It can’t be helped.’

I said to myself.

Reason and rationality.

Sometimes, emotions also become the basis for conversation.

I knew that long ago. Yet I explained it that way.

Because from now on, I had to completely exclude emotions.

Whether they were mine or someone else’s.

“There must be a way! If we all work together, surely…!”

Elise finally began to sob.

The words caught in her throat seemed difficult to express.

I reached out my hand and gently stroked her red hair.

The rose roughly pushed it away.

“Don’t! Don’t look at me with that expression, with those eyes! Don’t act like someone who’s leaving…!”

Her tone was full of daggers, but the essence was a plea.

The girl soon grabbed my hand with a sob.

She pressed her cheek against the back of my hand.

“Please… I don’t know how to live without you anymore…”

Please, and please again.

That pitiful arrangement of consonants and vowels left countless self-inflicted wounds with each stroke.

Thump-thump. The words piercing my heart showed no mercy. I grasped those thorns.

And pushed them deeper so they wouldn’t escape from the wound.

My hands were drenched with emotions and memories that flowed like blood.

I needed this moment, and the world desired it too.

“I’m sorry.”