episode_0060

The scariest words in the world

“…An angel?”

Cecilia, greatly shocked upon realizing Merzel was an angel, muttered in a trembling voice. Merzel, meanwhile, slumped down onto the ground, clutching his head and continuing to groan in distress. Ugh… I never imagined he would be in such distress… Through Cecilia’s memories, I knew the extent of the anger she felt, so the moment I realized Merzel was an angel, I couldn’t suppress my own anger. It burst out, and I strongly pushed him to reveal his identity, but… this wasn’t the reaction I wanted…?

“Zeke-nim… To think you would personally step forward so as not to trouble me!! Aria is so touched!!”

“That’s not it at all!! Th-that Merzel?”

“Ugh… Ahhh… Ugh…”

For some reason, Merzel seemed unable to hear my words, continuing to clutch his head and groan in agony. Why on earth was he in such pain…? As Merzel continued to suffer, I began to feel that I had been too harsh in pressing him.

“Merzel? Try to pull yourself together…”

“…Zeke-nim. I’ll handle this.”

Aria suddenly gently took my hand and whispered to me. Why was she suddenly stepping in…? Surely she wasn’t planning to hit him with her staff again…? I felt a slight unease, but as there was no other choice, I quietly nodded. Aria then smiled softly and approached Merzel.

“Ugh… Ugh…”

“…Why are you so afraid?”

“Afraid? What do you mean…”

“Shh. Zeke-nim. Please leave everything to this Aria here.”

I felt doubtful at Aria’s words, implying Merzel was afraid, but when Aria smiled softly and asked me to be quiet, I closed my opened mouth again. Both Cecilia, who had been greatly flustered, and Estur, who had been sitting at the table with a dark expression, silently watched Aria crouch down. Then, Aria, now at the same eye level as the slumped Merzel, asked him again.

“What is it that scares you so much?”

“Long ago… the angels killed all the demons… all of them, long ago…”

“Then what are you so afraid of that you’re trembling like this?”

“Ugh… Ugh…”

“Are you trembling because you’re afraid of the Archangel…”

“No!!!”

Merzel suddenly screamed in response to Aria’s question about whether he was trembling out of fear of the Archangel. Merzel, usually calm and composed, reacted so violently that I was startled and nearly fell backward. What on earth was making him react so excessively?

“Then what exactly is it that you’re afraid of?”

“That’s… Th-that’s… Ugh…”

“If you only suffer like this, neither Zeke-nim, who wishes to help you, nor Estur can offer any assistance. The reason Zeke-nim pushed you was to help you.”

‘…Huh? Me…? Well… half of that’s true… but the other half was me being genuinely angry…’

When Aria said I had pushed Merzel to help him, I felt inwardly flustered. This… it’s probably better not to talk about it, right…? The moment I felt a prick of conscience, Aria slowly and gently caressed Merzel’s cheeks with both hands.

“Slowly raise your head. And if you’ve done something wrong, please tell us. Zeke-nim, Cecilia, and Estur will all help you. Now.”

“…Help me…?”

“Yes. Come on. Slowly…”

Led by Aria’s hand, Merzel raised his head and looked at us with trembling eyes. Aria then turned her head to me and said with a soft smile.

“This is how it’s done, right, Zeke-nim?”

“Uh… I thought you would never do such a thing, even if the world split in two…”

“Hehe… It’s my repayment for Zeke-nim personally stepping forward and showing anger on my behalf earlier~ Oh, don’t worry! If Zeke-nim were to tremble with anxiety, I’ll comfort you even more gently and kindly than this~”

“Uh… right. So Merzel… what exactly are you afraid of? Only then can we help you, as Aria said…”

Except for one person, of course. No… one demon. While speaking to Merzel, I glanced at Cecilia. I could see that Cecilia was still flustered… it was as if a tremendous crossroads of choice had appeared before Cecilia… The moment I worried about Cecilia in my heart, Merzel finally opened his mouth.

“I… previously received orders from heaven and purged the demons… I continued to kill demons… and kept killing them… That glaive you saw is the glaive I used when I killed demons…”

“…Did you hear the truth about demons and angels from Estur-ssi?”

“I had already realized it before meeting this person. But I couldn’t discard that glaive… From the start, that weapon reacts with my soul, so it’s impossible to destroy or disassemble it. I can’t even discard it. If it gets too far away, it’s summoned back to me. And… there’s one more reason.”

“What reason?”

“Even if I discarded it, my sins wouldn’t disappear… I kept that glaive so I wouldn’t forget…”

I see… So he kept that glaive, a weapon that couldn’t even be destroyed, to prevent his guilt from disappearing… But… hearing this story would only cause more pain to Cecilia’s heart. Let’s make this quick. So Cecilia’s heart won’t ache any further.

“Understood… So you killed demons too…”

“Yes… My sin is killing innocent demons… with these horrible hands… I was an angel who operated in the Kriton region a long time ago.”

“…?! Wait… What…?”

“I raided the demon nation in Ogforthria and killed all the demons in that nation…!!!!”

“St-stop!!”

I was greatly flustered when Merzel suddenly mentioned operating in the Kriton region, and as Merzel was about to say that he killed all the demons in Ogforthria, I hastily covered his mouth. Although I quickly covered Merzel’s mouth to prevent him from saying ‘killed,’ everyone had already realized what Merzel had done from the preceding context, and Cecilia stared blankly at Merzel.

‘Th-this damn it!! In short, Merzel was… Merzel was…!!’

“Ogforthria? You… you killed all the demons in Ogforthria?”

“Mmph… Mmph!!”

“Zeke, take your hand off.”

“Ce-Cecilia…!! Just cal…”

“Hand. Off.”

Cecilia suddenly began to exude demonic energy and started to reveal her true form. Merzel was greatly flustered, and Estur gritted his teeth, looking at the furious-looking Cecilia. Startled by Cecilia’s sudden demonic energy, I removed my hand from Merzel’s mouth, and as I took my hand away, Merzel looked at Cecilia and spoke in a trembling voice.

“A de…mon… you were alive…”

“You. You killed all the demons in Ogforthria?”

“…Yes… I, along with my comrades, killed the demons there…”

“…What did you do after that? Why do you have no wings, and why isn’t your angel ring visible?”

“…I am… I am… a grave sinner… to angels… and to demons…”

“…Zeke, don’t worry and let me speak.”

“Cecilia…”

“It’s fine.”

When Cecilia gave me a bitter smile, I left Merzel’s side. Cecilia then walked up to Merzel and asked him.

“Then what did you do after that?”

“…After the Ogforthria Massacre… I received a summons from Archangel Arjel. Arjel praised me and asked me if I would like to take on the position of Archangel. At that time, it was a great honor for me… But… at the same time, I learned a tremendous truth.”

“A tremendous truth, you say…”

“That the God of Light and the Archangels had made angels perceive all demons as harmful beings. Realizing this, I chastised myself, recalling that I had killed demons under the name of purification or judgment until then… I chastised… self-harmed… and blamed myself…”

“…And?”

“When I looked back, my path was already… filled with blood. The blood of innocent ones who screamed at me and pleaded in agony… They kept whispering to me… asking why I killed them… what they had done… As their echoes continuously sounded in my ears, I rebelled…”

“Rebel…?”

“There were lower-ranking angels like Merzel who realized the truth and rebelled. An angel named Wolryeong also regretted and blamed herself for killing a demon who was her benefactor, then challenged Caju of Light.”

When Cecilia was surprised to hear that Merzel had rebelled, Estur explained that there had been angels who rebelled. So good angels existed too… Wait… Then Merzel losing his wings and ring…

“But it was futile… I rushed at the Gods and Archangels to at least appease the grudges of the innocent ones I killed. But we were miserably defeated. My wings were torn, and my ring was destroyed, and I barely clung to my life in this Crentid World…”

“…But why did you end up managing this graveyard?”

“…At first, I tried to die. I tried to die, but… their whispers came to my ears. Asking how dare I die so comfortably… saying I didn’t even deserve to die… Yes… I was just a fool… a fool without any qualifications or any strength… a fool who could do nothing… Once my body could move, I immediately headed to Ogforthria. And I dug the earth every day.”

“The earth…?”

“I dug and dug the earth every day… hoping there might be a body we hadn’t desecrated amidst the massacre… I kept digging the earth with my hands… And a few years later, I created this graveyard…”

“…Wait… Then this place…”

“…This place is a space created for the innocent demons who are still wailing because of us to rest… All the occupants of this graveyard are… demons killed by me…”

I was greatly flustered by Merzel’s words and inadvertently looked out the window. All those countless graves visible out there were graves to mourn demons?! I couldn’t help but be horrified as I realized the true nature of it.

“So I beg you… I beg you, Demon… Cecilia… please kill this sinful me… No… you don’t even have to kill me…”

“What…?”

“It doesn’t matter if you inflict eternal suffering on me instead of killing me. I have sins that warrant such punishment… and it would be fitting for the innocent demon race to do so… It doesn’t matter what you do to me… Even if you strike me down with this glaive… whatever you do…”

Merzel summoned his glaive, placed it before Cecilia, quietly knelt, and bowed his head. Cecilia sighed and quietly picked up the glaive Merzel had placed on the ground. Wh-what the…?

“Ce-Cecilia! W-weren’t you not going to do this?!”

“…Zeke. Leave this to me. Just like you trusted the Saintess earlier. I… I’m your friend, right?”

“…Of course.”

“…Thank you, Zeke… Then… you can trust me, your friend, right?”

“…Alright.”

When Cecilia showed me a bitter smile again, I sighed and resigned myself to not interfering. Aria then turned her head to Merzel and asked him.

“Do you have any lingering regrets?”

“…Many. But… now that I’ve met you, no… No… I’ll suffer eternally while holding onto these regrets.”

“But… why do you still have such a cold expression?”

“The moment I realized the truth, rebelled, and was defeated… my emotions withered away. Fear, however, remained with me… What I fear is the innocent demons I killed whispering in my ear… and that must be the punishment they inflict upon me…”

“…So that was what scared you the most… And that you yourself were an angel scared you too…”

“Yes… I’m afraid and scared… My own race, angels, who bear the worst epithet of ‘demon hunters,’ I hate and despise them so much… even myself…”

“You see… I am the last demon who survived the Ogforthria Massacre you carried out.”

“…!!!”

“Wh-what did you say?!”

When Cecilia revealed that she was the last demon who survived Ogforthria, Merzel, who had been bowing his head, immediately raised it and looked at Cecilia with trembling eyes, and Estur also looked at Cecilia, greatly shocked. Merzel then trembled all over and, with his head bowed to the ground, spoke to Cecilia.

“Ah… Ahhh… I… I… I…”

“My whole family was killed by you, weren’t they? Even if that’s not the case, it means my neighbors and friends were all killed by you and your comrades.”

“Ah… Ahhh… I… I… I was wrong… Punish me as you wish… It doesn’t matter if you treat my life as a tool… Though a tainted soul like mine would be utterly insufficient to appease your wrath… I… I…”

“…And Arjel, who trampled on the smiles of demons, is your superior…”

“I… I…?”

Merzel, having realized Cecilia’s identity, was so overwhelmed with fear that he didn’t know what to say. At that moment, he heard the sound of something heavy falling beside him. At the sound, Merzel slowly turned his head and saw the glaive that had fallen beside him, and realizing that Cecilia had let go of the glaive, Merzel was dumbfounded.

“Why… why…?”

“Seeing you react like that… it seems everything you said was true. That you are the enemy who killed my family, friends, and neighbors. But… but you know… I’ll forgive you.”

“…?”

When Cecilia said she would forgive him, Merzel slowly raised his head to look at Cecilia’s face. Merzel saw Cecilia smiling, and Cecilia saw the bewilderment etched on Merzel’s face.

“What is this… You were keeping such a cold face just a moment ago.”

“Why… why? Why… me…?”

“…Are you so flustered you can’t even speak formally? That’s understandable… I felt the same way. So I know well what that feeling is like.”

“Why… forgiveness…?”

“Hmm… Still, because you realized your mistake. Because you, who were so grief-stricken and resentful that you even rebelled, at least even built this graveyard. That’s why I’m forgiving you.”

“…I can’t understand…”

“You wouldn’t. Well, I didn’t live virtuously after that either. I made mistakes too. But… someone forgave me for that. At first, I couldn’t understand it, just like you… But still… because they were such kind words… I couldn’t forget them…”

Cecilia slowly turned her head to me and shed a single tear. My forgiveness hasn’t been forgotten, Cecilia… Seeing Cecilia’s tears, I smiled slightly, and Cecilia, seeing my smile, softly chuckled and spoke to Merzel.

“But isn’t it truly ironic…? At first, you know… those warm words… they came to me as immense fear. Forgiveness… it’s warm, but… doesn’t it feel like the scariest words in the world…? Huh? Zeke?”

At Cecilia’s question, I quietly smiled. Cecilia then smiled at me again and turned her head to Merzel.

“Anyway… I’ll forgive you, Merzel. Even though you took everything from me… at least you realized your mistake. Don’t you think?”

“Ah… Ahhh… H-how could you say such a thing… Sob… Whaaa… Ahhhh….. Sobbing….”

When Cecilia forgave him, Merzel shed tears profusely and began to cry as if the world was ending. Estur then took Aria and me out of the room, and before the door closed, I smiled as I saw Cecilia tightly embrace Merzel, who was weeping profusely.

**Special Chapter: ‘If’ Scenario – #2**

[This special chapter is being uploaded because 30 episodes have passed!]

1. What if Rascal hadn’t targeted a piece of Cecilia’s soul in Episode 33?

The moment Rascal hit the rock and took damage again, Rascal’s black arrow pierced Aria’s heart. Aria cried out in pain and slumped to the ground.

“Kuh-huh… Ah… Zeke-nim… I… I-I-I-I… Ah…”

‘Hoo… I’m sorry, Zeke. This was the only way. My final choice was this…’

“I’ll help you soon, so don’t worry~”

‘….?!’

Aria, who had been crying out in pain, suddenly stood up, giggling faintly. The arrow that had been stuck in Aria’s chest was now in her hand, and Rascal saw that Aria’s heart was perfectly fine. Rascal thought with a serious expression.

‘Ah, damn it. I thought it was fortunate it wasn’t a fatal wound… How do I deal with that again?’

[The standard approach is the answer.]

2. What if Zeke hadn’t seen Cecilia’s memories in Episode 34?

“Keuk… To be reduced to such a state by a human…!!”

“Thanks to you, Mr. Rascal returned to his family’s embrace.”

“Ha… Isn’t that a good thing then?! Shouldn’t you be grateful to me?!”

“… What did you just say?”

At the shameless succubus’s words, anger began to surge within me. Was she saying this after killing someone? At the succubus’s utterly brazen attitude, I gritted my teeth and glared at her.

“Ha… What are you going to do by looking at me like that?”

“Your attitude towards life is deeply flawed. To treat the dignity of life so carelessly…”

“What…?! Is that something for you to say?! Your species, who killed us like that in ancient times… you say such things to me?!”

“Our ancestors, the angels, must have killed you because you only chose to do abnormal things!!”

“Shut up, you ignorant fool!!! What did we do wrong?! We didn’t do anything!! It was you who killed us when we were just minding our own business!!”

“What…?”

I was rather flustered by the succubus’s scream mixed with despair. Feeling the profound grief and sorrow mixed in her recent shout, I was dumbfounded. Then, I let out a deep sigh and spoke to the succubus.

“Hoo… What happened? Can you tell me? I’ll listen to your side.”

“What…?”

[The standard approach, no matter what.]

3. What if Aria hadn’t noticed Zeke’s hint in Episode 40?

“Huh?!”

Were you surprised, you guys? As I was being stepped on, I squeezed through the loosened rope, pulled out my hand, and grabbed Alten’s clothes. And Aria was… huh?

“Huh…?”

“Z-Zeke-nim?”

“Ah… Captain Alten!! Kyaaaaaaah!!”

A completely unexpected error occurred in what I thought was a perfect plan. Aria hadn’t noticed my hint at all. As a result, only I, still holding Alten, fell into the World Tree’s mouth. Aria then began to show great shock.

“Z-Zeke-nimmmmmm!!”

“We have to save Captain Alten!! Everyone…”

“How dare you… How daaaare you…”

“….?”

Suddenly, Aria untied the rope with force and summoned her staff, bewildering all the elves. Then, as Aria glared at them with eyes filled with fury, the elves instinctively became afraid and began to back away.

“How dare you drop Zeke-nim…? I will beat you within an inch of your lives…!!!”

‘No, why is that our fault?!’

‘Why is that our mistake?!’

Later, when I came out of the World Tree, Aria had already beaten all the elves to within an inch of their lives. And Alten and I were dumbfounded to see all the elves standing in punishment behind Aria.

[Anyway, Aria is stronger.]

4. What if the World Tree had fully resurrected in Episode 52?

“Oh? Why are only these few vines coming out? About 100 should be coming out… Oh my…?”

The World Tree sensed something strange and lowered its head. Then, it suddenly began to fidget restlessly. Why is it doing this again?

“The roots aren’t lifting…? Oh? What in the world is going on…?”

“What in the… Oh.”

“Aha! Then I’ll just regenerate, right?!”

The World Tree suddenly tensed its abdomen, and vines began to grow from its back. The burned roots also began to restore themselves to their original state, and the red-haired man watching from underground was dumbfounded.

‘… I was trying so hard… Damn it?’

[And would the world have ended?]

5. What if Aria could have become the radiance of the Holy Ring in Episode 57?

“Only strict punishment awaits you!!”

“Such slow speed…?!”

Suddenly, rings of light began to form around Aria, and half of her hair began to turn yellow again. The nun and I were greatly flustered seeing yellow decorations appear on Aria’s clothes. No, was that still possible?! No, wait… Is this really the time for this…

“The punishment for touching Zeke-nim is quite severe…!!”

“Go on, try…”

The moment the nun charged at Aria, Aria struck her in the abdomen and sent her flying towards Grobel… Wait!!! That’s the cemetery!!! I was greatly shocked seeing Aria send the nun flying towards the cemetery. Meanwhile, in a house in the cemetery, a man tilted his head and walked to the entrance.

“What in the world is all this noise… Huh?”

Then, the man was dumbfounded seeing the unconscious nun who had flown all the way to his entrance.

[It seems it was good that it didn’t happen.]