Ch.5858. Execution

The one fortunate thing was that there was a high possibility this was just a nightmare.

This was the thought that crossed Gwon Heejin’s mind as he grinned while trapped in the cramped room.

For some unknown reason, since right after breakfast, he kept breaking into random giggles. His mind felt strangely hazy, and his vision was blurry.

‘But honestly, this doesn’t make any sense.’

This was something that could never happen in a civilized world.

Beating people like dogs, cutting off wrists, and even locking someone in a cage like an animal while hundreds of people took turns tormenting them.

Even in a primitive world where gold coins jingled, no one wearing the mask of humanity could do such terrifying things.

“That’s right, it’s a nightmare.”

Gwon Heejin nodded with an excessively bright expression while making an “Mmm!” sound.

…Of course, for a nightmare, the sensations were a bit too vivid.

His severed wrist still tingled madly, and he remembered too clearly the expressions of those who pressed their faces against the iron bars while spewing curses.

“Still, with time, everything will…”

Gwon Heejin wrapped something like a ragged mat around his body and blinked. Suddenly his face itched, and he tried to scratch it with his right hand, but unfortunately, the hand wasn’t there.

It should have been a shocking situation, but somehow it didn’t bother him at all. Perhaps this numb sensation was proof that this was all a dream.

If he just went to sleep and woke up, probably his father would…

…

However, his prosecutor general father never came to wake him up gently.

Instead, a sturdy man suddenly burst into the cell and subdued Gwon Heejin in an instant.

Gwon Heejin tried to get up in panic, but the beating started immediately.

“Shut up and stay still.”

When he tried to move his limbs somehow, the man mercilessly punched the back of his head.

Was he being taken to the execution ground?

His heart sank, and his stomach churned. He even felt like vomiting up all the porridge he had eaten for breakfast.

But Gwon Heejin, already weakened to the extreme, didn’t have the strength to resist. Tears immediately welled up in his eyes.

Wait.

I still have something to say.

His frightened words just circled inside his mouth. They couldn’t come out as sound. If he couldn’t speak, at least he wanted to scream…

“Hero. Please shut up. We’ll both die at this rate.”

Wait. Did he say Hero?

Gwon Heejin’s struggle temporarily ceased. He hadn’t expected anyone in the imperial palace to still call him the Hero.

Surely someone sent to escort him to the execution ground wouldn’t make such a mistake.

Gwon Heejin stopped resisting and behaved obediently. From that point on, the mysterious man also began treating Gwon Heejin more respectfully.

“I’ve already secured an escape route. We’ll get out this way.”

At those words, Gwon Heejin burst into tears.

***

A short while later, Gwon Heejin was lying straight in a rattling coffin. This was according to the instructions of the man who had promised to help him escape.

The man’s plan was simple yet realistic.

“I bribed the guards, but it wasn’t easy to escape. Fortunately, an old maid from the servants’ quarters just died. Thanks to that, we can disguise you.”

Due to his foggy mind, he wasn’t sure what it meant, but it seemed like if he lay still like a corpse, they would get him out somehow.

The man said that if they could just reach the morgue on the outskirts of the imperial capital, he could survive. He couldn’t be certain, but the success rate was about 70 percent.

Seventy percent. Such a realistically specific figure was actually reassuring.

“If we fail, we’ll both die.”

But why would this man risk the 30 percent danger?

After a while, the rattling stopped, and he felt the coffin being moved. Only then could he solve the mystery.

“I intend to deliver you to the Demon Lord’s army, Hero.”

“…?”

“Ah, you can come out now. We’ve arrived at the morgue, and your helper will be here soon.”

The man helped Gwon Heejin out of the coffin and sat him up. Perhaps because it was dark, he couldn’t see anything. It was pitch black all around, as if he had gone blind.

“Why would you risk death by cooperating with the Demon Lord’s army?”

“It’s all thanks to you.”

“M-me?”

The man said he was a knight who had suffered greatly because of Cordana. It wasn’t just about losing money; he had almost been divorced by his wife.

“Honestly, I wanted to tear you apart.”

But at that very moment, he said, a servant of the Demon Lord’s army had approached him. A demon with extremely weak magical power.

The man, skilled with a sword, had immediately killed that insignificant creature and was about to report it to the imperial palace, but he couldn’t. The demon had offered him gold.

“It was too much money to refuse. I later found out that she was a succubus who had been operating at the Cordana exchange.”

“Ah…!?”

Come to think of it, he seemed to have heard something suspicious while being beaten in front of the exchange.

Nonsense like there were benefactors buying up stocks at twenty million, and since the price wasn’t dropping, it seemed the Hero would just get a scolding before facing the Demon Lord’s army again.

‘So that buying spree was the work of the Demon Lord’s army…!’

The more he listened, the more plausible it sounded. Gwon Heejin almost let out a cheer but barely held back.

However, he was still curious about something.

“But I’m not the Hero anymore, am I?”

“I suspect the Demon Lord’s army wants to use you for propaganda.”

Ah. That’s it.

Gwon Heejin bit back a bright smile. Finally, all his questions were answered.

It was somewhat surprising that the Demon Lord’s army, which he had thought was even more stupid than the Empire, would use such a clever tactic, but he couldn’t deny its effectiveness.

Gwon Heejin had already regained his composure and started running his mouth.

“When you think about it, I’m better than most of the Tetrad.”

“…Is that so.”

“But to draw attention, just taking me isn’t enough. They need to treat me properly to show the humans.”

“……”

Once opened, his mouth wouldn’t close. The mere thought of escaping his fate of being dragged to the execution ground elevated his mood.

His heart pounded wildly at the thought of becoming a member of the Demon Lord’s army and getting revenge.

“Hero, do you have any requests for the Demon Lord’s army? Though I have no authority, of course.”

“First, something should be done about my hand. I think it will automatically be restored when I return to my original world, but I don’t know when that will be.”

“Even without your right hand, you could easily be a commander. The Demon Lord would love you.”

“Couldn’t I be one of the Tetrad? I’ve already killed two of them, so there are vacancies. By the way, I wonder if there are proper chefs in the Demon Lord’s castle. When I briefly entered the Demonic Land before, it didn’t seem like a place fit for humans.”

“Aren’t you worried about your party members? I gave up on rescuing those women too, as it was impossible.”

“Oh, them?”

Having regained his composure, Gwon Heejin crossed his legs with a “hmm.”

His lovely party members. If there were any beings in this world he had considered human, it was them.

But now, his affection for them had completely dried up. It was because of the cold gazes they had shown while he was being treated like a dog by the Hero pursuit team.

He did feel a bit concerned about the elf Silvina, who had remained loyal until the end, but…

Anyway, he had to go to the Demonic Land now, so he had to let go of what needed to be let go. Fortunately, there would be beautiful women among the demons too.

“They’ll find their own way to survive, I guess.”

With his tension released, Gwon Heejin began to talk even more enthusiastically.

***

The Grand Cathedral in the Imperial District.

For an hour already, Gwon Heejin had been performing a one-man show with a happy expression.

At some point, he no longer even needed responses.

“I’ll turn that bastard Erick into a half-cripple and make him work as a eunuch. No, is there a better way?”

Several nobles glanced at me when Gwon Heejin mentioned the word “eunuch.” I just gave a bitter smile.

The hallucinogenic drug mixed in large quantities into his breakfast seemed to be working properly. I had also cast a spell that temporarily paralyzed his vision.

Was it because the drug was so effective? Or was it because he couldn’t think straight due to the joy of escaping death?

Gwon Heejin firmly believed he was in a morgue.

It wasn’t strange. He hadn’t even realized that the man who suddenly barged in and kidnapped him that morning was “Garland,” the wrist surgeon, nor had he noticed the flaws in the strange plan to escape to the Demonic Land via the morgue, and had been dragged here.

‘Even though I wrote the script, I didn’t expect him to go this far.’

Either way, it was clear that Gwon Heejin’s one-man show was captivating many people.

Just looking at the audience was no joke.

The Emperor, Prince, and other imperial family members.

Hundreds of nobles including myself, and just as many clergy from the Papal State.

And even commoner investors who had requested to watch.

Except for the Hero’s party members, everyone was completely absorbed.

They seemed determined to see how far his happy delusions would develop, how high he would float in the air.

Gwon Heejin responded to that expectation by growing his delusions bigger and bigger.

Even though he was under the influence of drugs, the sight of a man facing death talking arrogantly with his legs crossed was quite impressive.

“…I think it’s better to place the governor’s residence in the imperial palace. It’s easier to procure women there, and it’s good for tracking down the humans who tormented me.”

In his delusion, Gwon Heejin was already wielding enormous power. He was on the verge of creating a harem with selected beauties from each race—elves, humans, beastkin, succubi, and so on—while enjoying fine cuisine and being served by beautiful women every day.

Meanwhile, a happy smile spread across his face.

“This is the life. Heh.”

Now, it was time to drop him.

When I gave a signal to the guard with a nod, an antidote was immediately put to Gwon Heejin’s mouth, and he sucked on it eagerly, mistaking it for something else.

He, who had been intoxicated by hallucinations, slowly, very slowly began to recover. Almost simultaneously, the spell cast on his vision was also removed.

Focus returned to his hazy eyes, and his mouth, which had been drooling while spewing lengthy speeches, gradually closed.

He still didn’t seem to have completely escaped the fantasy, but it was only a matter of time.

“Huh?”

He seemed to be looking for something while fumbling with his body.

Soon after, he stood up awkwardly and looked around at the crowd of three thousand people surrounding him.

At first, his gaze was like someone who had just fallen into another world, but soon he seemed to recognize us.

And also why he was here.

“Wai—”

“Carry out the execution.”

With the Emperor’s order, Gwon Heejin was dragged out of the cathedral. Everyone in the hall followed him in an orderly manner.

Outside the cathedral stood a huge pillar erected on a pile of firewood.

Gwon Heejin was bound to that pillar.

“Huh?”

The smile had not yet completely disappeared from his face. Even though his eyes were already brimming with tears.

After carefully checking the knots, the soldier stepped back a few paces, and the court magician lit the fire with a simple spell.

Up to this point, it was a typical burning at the stake.

The difference was that several clergy were standing by nearby.

Soon the flames spread to Gwon Heejin’s trouser legs, and simultaneously, holy power enveloped his body.

His skin, distorted by the high temperature, was immediately seen to recover. At that moment, Gwon Heejin seemed to cry out something faintly, but—

I couldn’t hear it.

Unfortunately, at that very moment, a noblewoman behind me screamed out:

“Burn him without leaving even ashes!!”

Surrounded by dazzling light and flames, Gwon Heejin began to display a much more majestic appearance than during his time as the Hero.