Chapter 53: Good destruction is only dead destruction!

[No. 740: Confirming the truth of the story.]

“No…! Th-These aren’t my mom and dad!”

—Dash!

After the innocent Luna, unable to bear the adults’ greed, ran away.

“This meeting concludes here today. As you all know, the moment you open that door and leave, everything discussed here must remain strictly confidential.”

“We understand, Your Majesty.”

“Haa… It breaks our hearts to pretend we know nothing every time Her Highness the Princess stops us and asks if something is wrong.”

“…I am well aware of your hardships. My own heart is tearing and shattering, but… please, everyone, just bear with it a little longer.”

—Click.

Even after all the retainers had left, the King and Queen of Seleneum did not rise from their seats.

The King, as if exhausted, massaged his brow with his hand and let out a deep sigh.

“Until when… Just how long do we have to keep bringing treasures to ‘that fellow’…? We’ve already given an enormous amount, yet he devours it all like a bottomless pit. It’s clear to see the kingdom is slowly being swallowed by his endless greed.”

“My dear… have you been sleeping well lately…? You’ve been working late constantly, and it’s taken a toll on your health.”

The Queen pulled the weary King into her embrace.

“I apologize… I know a king of a nation shouldn’t show such weakness, but today, I feel a bit overwhelmed.”

“Hmph… I know better than anyone how hard you strive, so please don’t worry too much.”

The Queen’s benevolent smile enveloped the King’s heart more warmly than anything else.

Yet, a large shadow still loomed over their faces.

“Our daughter… It has been too long since we left Luna alone. Even if it’s unavoidable due to the deal with Greed… how much pain must our young, innocent Luna be enduring…? I feel as though I will be an unforgivable father even in death.”

“It’s… the same for me. As a mother, instead of embracing her with love… I, who only ever make her wait… will surely go to hell when I die….”

—Drip.

Transparent tears streamed from the Queen’s eyes.

When did it become like this?

Since when… did they start hurting their daughter like this?

“Perhaps the gods grew jealous of our peaceful nation….”

A few months ago, on the day a grotesque being shrouded in a dark crimson aura appeared before the King, all misfortune began.

[First, I should introduce myself, shouldn’t I? My name is Greed. I hold one of the Thrones of Sin that lead humanity to ruin. Just like my True Name, I desire everything in this world!]

[Not only resplendent treasures and the status and honor that all humans revere, but even those emotions and love you so readily speak of. I wish to collect everything that exists in this world.]

[Ah, you ask why I came here? Seleneum is said to have a very beautiful princess, isn’t that right…? I truly desire that beauty.]

Greed had come to ‘collect’ Luna, the only princess of Seleneum and the daughter of two people who possessed the world’s greatest beauty.

Naturally, the King and Queen resolutely refused and resisted with all their might.

Normally, sins could not be driven away by the power of mere humans, but Seleneum had him.

The Savior, Lucian.

With his help, the King and Queen were able to bind Greed with Chains of Demon Sealing and imprison him in the underground dungeon, but it was impossible to keep the sin bound indefinitely.

To the two, agonizing over what to do, Greed proposed a deal.

[If Luna does not grieve even after seeing you fall into greed, I will cleanly give her up and depart. I promise not to appear before your eyes ever again!]

[There are two conditions. You must offer me an endless amount of treasures, and you must conceal this truth from your daughter.]

[If, by any chance, you ever mention this deal to the princess… you understand, don’t you?]

It was an unreasonable deal by any measure, but they had no choice but to accept it.

[Try to endure until the full moon rises and sets three times. Hahahaha!!!]

A profound sorrow settled upon the King’s face as he recalled the past.

“My daughter… our beloved Princess, Luna… please forgive this incompetent father… Though it’s to protect you, for doing such a terrible thing… please….”

“Don’t blame yourself too much… Sir Lucian said he would find a solution as quickly as possible, so you and I just need to endure a little longer until then….”

However, contrary to their wishes, Greed had no intention of keeping the deal from the start.

When Luna grew weary from loneliness, he secretly opened a passage to the basement.

Greed, who had promised to remain neutral regarding the deal, lied to Luna, telling her that her parents had become tainted by greed and forgotten their daughter.

[Now, take my hand, Luna. I will always be by your side. Forever….]

Because of this, all stories began to twist, and ultimately, Luna’s narrative became one of ruin.

[No. 740: The truth of the story has been confirmed.]

****

After confirming the truth, I couldn’t help but stare blankly for a while.

‘It’s exactly the same as the story I told Luna?’

As leaders who wield power often do, I had thought the King and Queen of Seleneum had fallen into greed and distanced themselves from Luna.

But if I told Luna this truth directly, her golden eyes would surely be stained with sadness.

So I had only assumed, ‘Perhaps Luna’s parents wouldn’t have done that~’

“Haha… And that was the hidden truth?”

There’s a limit to how perfectly things can fit together!

“No, this is too much of a coincidence—”

Ding!

[Waaahhh…! S-Sihyun-nim! I… I believed in you! Even when you said you had a trump card, I was so worried! From the night you told Luna the story, Sihyun-nim, you had a plan all along…! Please punish this foolish me for not trusting Sihyun-nim, even if it was just for a moment!!]

“…….”

Now, there’s truly no backing out.

I tried to argue with the system, asking if it wasn’t too much, but the Notification Window’s intrusion made that impossible.

‘Ha, ha, hahahahaha. Right, right~ I don’t even know anymore! It must just be because I’m incredibly lucky! Hahahahah!’

In a world where urban legends have become reality, a bit of luck like this is okay, isn’t it?

I stopped thinking about this topic and decided to brazen it out again.

“I won’t punish you, so just come out for a moment. I can’t see anything if you’re so close to my face.”

[B-But…! I feel so foolish for not trusting Sihyun-nim…!]

Yeah, you’re not foolish.

It’s natural for you not to trust me.

Because I jumped into re-establishing the narrative without any thought, let alone a trump card or anything!

……But I can’t say that.

‘Why would I purposely diminish my trustworthiness, which has soared to the heavens?’

I stroked the Notification Window once, wearing a very benevolent smile.

“Notification Window.”

[Y-Yes…?! Sihyun-nim, why are you suddenly calling me in such a low voice—]

“Since you wish to be punished so much, I shall give you one.”

[W-What kind of punishment are you planning to give me with such a serious voice…? I-I’m a little scared…!]

I deliberately maintained silence for a moment before opening my mouth.

“Don’t leave my side.”

[H-Huhhh…?]

“That is your punishment. To be by my side forever. The only punishment I can give you.”

[Ah… *Gasp*…?!?!]

—Poof!

The Notification Window turned bright red, puffed out smoke, and then toppled over onto the floor.

[Sihyun-nim… Th-Those words are cheatingggg….]

‘Cheating, my foot. It’s because I can’t re-establish the narrative or do anything without you.’

I need to nail this down properly while I have the chance.

I’ll die without you!

‘Well, after saying all this, it won’t suddenly glitch out and go silent like before, right?’

Judging by the Notification Window’s state, it seemed it would be fine for a while.

“Alright, then, shall we properly teach Greed a lesson?”

He clearly promised not to touch Luna as a condition of the deal, and then he gaslights her behind her back?

Such fraudulent bastards need to be utterly slaughtered.

Someone might say I’m reacting too strongly.

But!

“Reprimand! (Khat!)!!!!!!”

I am absolutely not doing this because I couldn’t catch that scumbag landlord who absconded with my deposit when I was a rookie in society.

It’s because he deceived Luna, absolutely, abso-lutely not because I’m trying to unleash that past fury on Greed, no way.

“Notification Window, snap out of it and get up now.”

[Hehe, my cheeks are a bit red, but I’m perfectly fine!]

Ding!

[Would you like to re-establish the narrative of Greed, who gained power through falsehoods?]

“You already know the answer, why ask such a thing?”

I pressed firmly on the system window with my right hand.

“Of course, I’ll change it! Rewrite it into a story where our cute princess smiles happily, and where that damned Greed doesn’t exist!”

Ding!

[Provider of the False Narrative: Greed (貪慾)]

[……Confirming that the target is not present in the space where the narrative re-establishment is activating…….]

[Forcibly summoning Greed.]

****

[What in the world is this, what is this?!]

Greed couldn’t tell where he was currently trapped.

Just seconds ago, he had been annihilating humans in the middle of Seoul.

He had been comfortably observing the destruction, listening to sweet screams.

Then he suddenly felt as if he was being sucked in, and when he opened his eyes, he was in…

[The Void…? Why am I bound here?!]

—Swoosh!

Greed desperately tried to gather the aura of destruction at his fingertips to escape, but…

[My power… my power isn’t gathering… Why?]

No matter how much he concentrated, he couldn’t even sense a fragment of destruction.

What in the world was this phenomenon?

As Greed was failing to properly comprehend his predicament…

[The story of Greed, rotten to its core and false.]

[His narrative concludes today.]

A low, emotionless voice, enough to shake the void, was heard.

An echo, as if produced by a machine.

[What did you just… ? End my story…?]

An unknown dread assailed him.

Changing an already written narrative is impossible, even for a Calamity-class being with the power of sin.

Only one being could meddle with it.

God.

Or Law.

Or World.

Or Universe.

Or Providence.

It was a domain that only such a being could touch.

[That can’t be… ‘That Being’ doesn’t concern itself with insignificant creatures like us… Even if countless worlds are destroyed, it wouldn’t bat an eye!! It’s a lie… it’s a lie…!!]

Greed couldn’t believe what was happening to him.

More precisely, he didn’t want to believe it.

However, as if his comprehension wasn’t needed, the voice spoke again.

[Narrative Re-establishment: Eradicating Greed’s story, then reconstructing it.]

At that moment.

—Crumble.

Greed’s fingertips began to disintegrate into tiny puzzle pieces.

[N-No…! This can’t be… This shouldn’t be possible…!!]

Yet, despite his screams, the narrative re-establishment did not stop.

It annihilated Greed without any hesitation, as if a child were erasing wrongly written words with a pencil.

The demise of Greed, who bore the name of destruction, was utterly pathetic and swift.

[P-Please stop…! I was wrong! I was wrong!! I will never appear before the princess’s eyes again. No, I will leave the world where the princess lives entirely! So please stop…! Pleeease!!]

However, despite his screams, his hands and feet, and even his entire lower body, had already disintegrated into puzzle pieces and vanished.

[Ah… Ahh……….]

To think there was an ability that could render him, destruction itself, so utterly powerless.

It was so… so terrifying.

Finally, when even one of his eyes and his mouth had vanished, Greed was at last able to hear the voice of the one who possessed this ability.

“Farewell, Greed.”

[……!]

“You common fool, who coveted Luna without knowing your place.”

—Dissolve.

With Sihyun’s final words, the existence known as Greed could no longer be found there.

Only the fragments that had composed him remained, turned into dust.

Greed’s story thus came to an end.

Ding!

[Hehe, we finally got rid of—]

“Stop right there.”

[Huh?]

—Grab.

Sihyun swiftly grabbed the Notification Window with his right hand.

“Don’t you dare try to cast a revival spell, shut your mouth.”

[Hmph…! Y-Yes, sir!!]

‘It really keeps me on edge until the very end. No matter how I think about it, the Notification Window seems to be the source of all trouble!’

Only after barely stopping the Notification Window’s last-minute trolling did Sihyun finally feel relieved.