Ch.41Chapter 41. The Maddened Jester

Merilyn said.

Her performance interferes with people’s emotions, amplifying the most prominent emotion they’re currently feeling.

And that means it simultaneously diminishes all other emotions.

Just as I had focused intensely on my survival instinct when I heard her performance, everyone who heard it would certainly experience emotional turbulence.

“Grrrr, urrrgh!”

“I-I can’t hold back anymore. I can’t stand it anymoooore…!”

The Demon Tribe members, true to their desires and possessing aggressive tendencies, fell into a craving for slaughter and battle.

“I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die!”

“Everyone stay still. If we try to escape, who knows how that Orc will react!”

The humans, at a disadvantage compared to them, were consumed by fear, inevitably overwhelmed by the urge to flee this place immediately.

Yet the reason they had all remained docile until now was simple.

The overwhelming power dominating over them was controlling this space with sheer presence alone.

“…Human Hyoseong Woo.”

Hellcry.

Born an Orc who rose to become an executive in the Demon Lord’s army, a warrior so powerful that even the aggressive Demon Tribe trembled in fear before him.

“Do you understand what it means to point a spear at me?”

But even such a powerful being experiences emotions, and when consumed by them, might he not rampage here for the honorable battle he so desires?

“Damn it… Do you take me for a pushover just because I showed some respect!?”

Though I’m aware this is madness, if the one before me is also consumed by emotion…

Despite our previous agreement, he might rampage and destroy everything here.

“Move aside right now. Otherwise…”

“Otherwise what will you do?”

If my life is going to fade meaninglessly anyway, I’d rather struggle than just sit and wait.

As I was being consumed by such impulses while losing my composure, he stood there motionless and quietly spoke to me.

“With that dying body, you would rush at me and meaninglessly extinguish the life you’ve barely managed to protect?”

“Shut up! You think I won’t do it!?”

My heart pounding, my head overheating.

The emotions that ran wild because of this finally made me throw my spear at him.

-Kwak!

The spear embedded in his chest without resistance.

But its tip barely penetrated, not even properly piercing his skin.

This was the expected outcome. No matter if it was a mythril ego-weapon, it was still a weapon wielded by me.

If my strength is feeble, then neither its sharpness nor magical explosion can function properly.

“Yes, I can feel it.”

Despite such a pathetic throw.

The monster blocking my path didn’t mock me at all, but gripped the spear and continued his evaluation in a calm voice.

“I can feel in this attack how desperate you are, how much you’ve endured… And that this moment of recklessness isn’t born from fear, but from something you value more than your own life.”

The spear being pulled from his chest.

Afterward, Hellcry looked down at it, as if lost in thought, and continued speaking.

“I was once like that too.”

It was reminiscence.

As if recalling the path he had traveled upon seeing my desperate struggle.

“Born with nothing, I fought desperately, and finding that insufficient, I pursued greater things and came this far. Leaving behind my kin who believed that simply sowing seeds and dying was enough… who thought that making their bloodline repeat the same path was the entirety of life, I strove to leave something more meaningful in this world.”

One step at a time.

With footsteps that carried no threat directed at me, he then gently extended the spear in his hand toward me.

“…That is why I am stirred in this moment.”

Though the words he uttered were quiet, they felt heavier than those of Sloth, with whom I had fought for my life.

And I could tell they were accompanied by even greater patience.

“Rather than crushing the one who has stirred my heart right here, I find myself dominated by the desire to see how you will grow after surviving this place… to witness your future.”

He will not kill me.

Even the urge to kill me, he is suppressing with mental strength that surpasses mine, who threw a spear at him out of a sense of crisis.

“So I ask everyone present here!”

Yet he bursts out with emotion boiling in his voice.

“Did you truly feel nothing from this battle!?”

He shouts thus.

Having erased even the pressure that had been suppressing them, he makes those watching this scene calm their emotions and focus here.

“What did you feel seeing an empty being who merely lives because they cannot die, accepting their end without resistance? What did you feel watching this weak warrior who struggles desperately to cling to life, even though that life is merely an existence that continues only because they cannot die!?”

Without the bloodlust or fear that had been raging.

Just by seeing him receive my weapon, they showed agreement, as if captivated by his voice.

“Yes, whatever you felt, it will surely influence the path you will walk from now on! This world calls it honor—to leave your mark on others and take pride in influencing their lives…”

Having drawn empathy from the crowd, he turned his body, handed me the spear, and gripped his iron mace that was stuck in the ground.

Lifting that mace, he spoke to me.

“I, Hellcry, acknowledge you who have proven the possibility of grasping such honor. Though your body remains weak and the fight was desperate, you who have claimed victory at the end are by no means pathetic.”

He gave meaning to my desperate struggle.

And now he channels the desire dominating him in this moment into the strength to swing his mace, pouring it into opening a path toward the future.

“So go.”

-Kwaaang!!

“Go, warrior!!!”

In that moment, all the soil and rocks piled on the collapsed cliff were blown away.

As even the remaining dust was swept away by the strong wind revealing the open field, Hellcry, who had opened the path I needed to take, planted his iron mace into the ground and shouted.

“I sincerely congratulate you on your survival as you leave this place, paying my respects to the potential you’ve shown! And remember this after you escape from here! The next time we meet, this respect will lead to a battle between warriors, with our fates at stake!!!”

His trembling hand meant that the desire for battle still remained within him.

Nevertheless, he did not charge at me, but exercised patience upon patience, dreaming of our reunion.

To him, who showed me mercy while expecting the future, I felt reverence from the depths of my heart.

“…Alright.”

Yes, he was a warrior.

Despite being born to a species that merely sought propagation, despite belonging to the Demon Lord’s army that threatened humanity, he was someone who understood what honor meant.

So I didn’t thank him.

This was merely a reprieve.

Even if I survived here, I foresaw that if I didn’t make use of this opportunity, the death that should have occurred at this moment would be delivered by his hand.

“I’m looking forward to it. When we meet again… I’ll give you a satisfying blow then.”

So I only conveyed the words he wanted to hear, and faithful to the reprieve that had come, I left his side and ran beyond the cliff.

There was no hesitation.

Though my body at its limit was in excruciating pain, there was something I couldn’t accomplish if not now.

“H-hey, are you alright!?”

“I-I never thought you’d actually survive and win against that monster… W-wait!? Where are you going!?”

Despite hearing the voices of the adventurers who had survived with me calling from behind, I just kept running toward the dark forest ahead.

I don’t know what awaits me ahead.

Running through the darkness where I can’t see even an inch ahead, my head might roll before I even realize it.

“Meryl…”

Nevertheless, I chose to move forward without hesitation.

Even though the performance had stopped at some point, I was being true to my greatest desire at this moment.

“Merilyn… You’re safe, right?”

Merilyn Sutherland.

I hoped that my connection with the woman who had helped me preserve my life would continue beyond this moment.

****

-Whoosh.

As the performance ended, a fresh wind blew through the dark forest.

There, the jester who had been silently focusing on the music’s excitement quietly opened her eyes and looked around at the scene surrounding her.

A bloodbath everywhere.

Beneath it all, Demon Tribe members, Beastmen, and humans were lying without any particular distinction, equally sprawled out.

Most were Demon Tribe members or Beastmen.

The relatively smaller number of humans was probably because their desires in this situation were focused on survival.

Unlike the Demon Tribe and Beastmen who were enthusiastic about killing and fighting each other, the humans were only desperate to escape this situation.

It felt somewhat ironic to her that she had unintentionally let the humans escape.

“…Hehe.”

Yes, it was only a momentary feeling.

The reason she traveled was to create stories that would please her master.

In that process, humans encountered on the journey were nothing more than insignificant beings who would briefly burn their final flame before extinguishing.

The same went for the Demon Tribe and Beastmen.

If there was anyone among them who remained in her memory, it would be someone with enough mental strength to maintain their sanity despite hearing her performance…

“You’re strong indeed. You are.”

After the frenzied battlefield where they fought true to their desires, forgetting even the fear of death.

The only survivor of that fierce battle was the white bear Beastman who served as the action commander of the Anti-Human Alliance.

“Now that we’re face to face, let’s introduce ourselves. What is your name?”

-Crunch.

The white bear Beastman, trampling the bodies strewn across the ground with his heavy foot, looked down coldly at the jester who greeted him with a smiling gaze.

“…Phobia.”

With such a quiet demeanor…

He only introduced himself to the one who had instigated the current tragedy.

“Phobia Homer, assault commander of the Anti-Human Alliance.”

“Yes, nice to meet you, Phobia.”

With a cheerful voice and a twang, the lute string was plucked.

“My name is Merilyn Sutherland, a humble jester wandering the world in search of stories.”

Phobia, who suppressed the strange power emanating from her with his mental strength, growled lowly as he glared at her.

“Cut the nonsense. I figured out long ago that someone who reeks so disgustingly couldn’t possibly be just a humble jester.”

“Disgusting smell? That’s too harsh…”

No, he had lost consciousness when she first intruded, but now that he had regained his composure, the smell was clearly perceptible.

That she only appeared human on the outside, but even that was merely a disguise.

“Oh, by the way, did you hate homosexuality?”

The jester, who calmly smiled in her disguised form, dismissed Phobia’s anger as insignificant.

“I should clarify a misunderstanding—that person approached me on their own, but I have no interest in such things. I’ve never even experienced love for anyone before.”

Love.

An emotion hotter than anything else, accompanied by devotion to its object.

For a species that pursues desires from birth and develops power through those desires, love is considered poison.

If such a species were to feel love, it would merely be mistaking sexual desire for an attractive person of the opposite sex as love.

“Right, a Demon Tribe member wouldn’t know about love.”

Phobia, who had identified her true nature by smell, began grinding his teeth as memories surfaced at this moment.

“If she had known what love was, that damned woman wouldn’t have trampled my homeland and family so mercilessly.”

“…Did you lose your family to my kind?”

“I have no personal grudge against the Demon Tribe itself, just opposing factions. If there’s anything I hate, it’s disgusting homosexuals like the woman who trampled my homeland, who treat the act of raising children as insignificant.”

It’s not uncommon for the Demon Tribe to disregard others’ possessions and relationships due to their nature.

But among them, someone who preferred homosexuality yet had the ability to destroy a Beastman community superior to humans—as far as she could remember, there was only one such person.

A being whose status was equal to her own.

“And even excluding personal grudges, I am the assault commander of the Alliance. If you’re connected to that damned Demon Lord’s pawns, I can’t let you go as you might threaten our faction.”

“Connected, that’s a bit of a mischaracterization. Not all Demon Tribe members belong to the Demon Lord’s army.”

“No, you definitely belong to the Demon Lord’s army. The terrible smell emanating from your body proves it. The power that exists within you is incomparable to the riffraff lying around here.”

Phobia’s eyes narrowed.

The gaze that had maintained composure since regaining rationality began to take on a murderous color.

“And you introduced yourself as a jester. As far as I know, there’s only one person in the Demon Lord’s army who would call themselves a jester despite having such power.”

The fact that those who heard her performance at this scene fell into madness and tried to kill each other is further evidence.

The action commander of the Anti-Human Alliance, Phobia Homer, the only survivor of that slaughter, soon uttered her true identity.

“Demon Lord’s army highest executive…”

“Four Heavenly Kings, Mephisto Rage.”

Also known as the Jester of Madness.

Currently ranked second in the Demon Lord’s army.