episode_0207

“This… this is my true form.”

Many colored pupils. Their gazes, colored with confusion, wouldn’t fall away. The boy took off his red shirt, revealing his upper body. Yuda wore a complicated smile. “I’m only telling you now.”

The serpent’s body was covered in scars. Far from clean, it was difficult to find even a single patch of unblemished skin. The marks of cuts, burns, tears, and stitches seemed to testify to a terrible past. In particular, dozens of branching surgical scars covered his entire upper body.

The children who faced that horrific sight couldn’t bring themselves to speak. They simply froze, as if overwhelmed. “………….”

Silence settled in the laboratory. Yuda thought to himself. *It must be hideous.* *It wasn’t a sight fit to be shown to others.* *Beyond the surgical scars, this body had countless other marks.* *A bitter aftertaste of regret remained.*

“As you can see, it’s not exactly a proud sight.” Yuda chuckled self-deprecatingly. With a clumsy hand, he traced his scars. The underlying surgical marks, and above them, layers of accumulated traces. It was a calendar etched from the early days of his possession.

“It’s a little embarrassing.” The surgical scars were remnants from the process of being created as a homunculus. The others were scars acquired in the early stages of his possession, most of them from the War of Usurpation. Perhaps it was because they were wounds sustained before his body had stabilized. The scars he received then wouldn’t disappear even when he used the [Liar] ability. The same applied to the surgical scars he had from the beginning.

Yuda muttered to himself anew. *‘A fragment of a god… Could it have been related to that?’* It was a mysterious power. At the time, he’d simply thought it was a problem caused by his inexperience in handling the ability. But now, he wondered if it wasn’t connected to that, having doubts. Perhaps the [Liar] ability itself was a byproduct of an item called ‘Fragment of God.’ As it was an item that only existed as a setting in the original work, his thoughts naturally strayed in various directions.

Ignorance, by nature, grants infinite possibilities to a subject. The narrow-eyed boy composed his shaky breathing. “Hoo…”

Yuda organized his messy thoughts. Fragments of God, prophet, liar… various puzzle pieces were scattered. However, they were all disconnected fragments. His agony deepened along with the blankness. His brow furrowed slightly, and his eyes settled with a calm intensity. Before he knew it, the serpent’s characteristic smile had vanished from his lips.

And the children were watching the boy. “Young Master…” “Yuda, student.”

Yuda, troubled by his thoughts. That reaction appeared slightly different in the children’s eyes. The subdued atmosphere, his hand fiddling with the scars, the corners of his eyes devoid of mirth. He seemed like someone revealing their vulnerability, anxious and fearful. A raw blue sadness lingered in the surrounding atmosphere.

“Ah…” Juda Snakers. It was as if they were seeing a festering side of the person they had always believed to be strong. One by one, stones settled onto the chaotic hearts of the children. Their weight pressed down on their trembling inner selves, calming them. They rediscovered compassion from their disordered world.

*‘Just what…’* A body that was no different from a wreck. Even if expressed positively, the only word for it was ‘ragged.’ The children’s eyes gazed at the hideous remnants. *‘Just what terrible things has he gone through…?’*

Everyone chewed on such thoughts. They couldn’t bring themselves to voice them. Even such light words felt as if they would cause Yuda pain. The boy, stripped bare of his tragic past, simply immersed in silence. His pitiful appearance became a sharp thorn, piercing the depths of the children’s hearts. They felt their eyes gradually welling up.

*‘How much he must have suffered.’* Having experienced it directly, they knew. They knew at least that Yuda was not an evil person. They knew at least that he always sacrificed and dedicated himself for others. If there were scars left on him, they must surely be traces of his efforts for someone. Because he was that kind of person.

*‘Why, you… so much…’* That made them upset. His foolishly self-sacrificing actions pained them. They were tormented by the thought that they, too, might have contributed to the etched marks. And yet… they yearned for even the parts that were upsetting, painful, and tormenting. The children depicted even the boy’s contradictions as an aspiration they wished to touch. Their emotions choked them.

“Ugh…” What did it matter if he was a doll, or a homunculus? To the children, it was an irrelevant matter. *‘Nothing changes.’*

It wasn’t even a significant problem. Of course, they were surprised, but what mattered was the present. Regardless of his origin, he was the one who had saved their lives. The light and value they had received were still brilliant. The fresh emotions that colored their hearts remained unchanged.

-I’ll always be by your side. -You don’t need to worry about anything. The voice that whispered as if it were natural. Thanks to that tenderness, the pilot was able to gain courage. A life that had always been lonely. He was able to escape the plight of a loner. His green eyes moistened.

*‘Always.’* And it wasn’t just him. The vain one, oppressed by their family, gained freedom. The drunkard, who was about to go down the wrong path, received a chance. Rose, tormented by a curse, was freed from pain. The lonely princess regained her lost sibling and father. The fox, trapped in a cage, achieved revenge and became a brilliant star. They had come too far to feel rejection over a mere issue of race and origin. The children held firm gazes.

“………….” Yuda did not know the children’s devotion. He didn’t know what he had given them, or what meaning he had become to them. Even if he had been a chimera born from dark magic, not a homunculus, they would have accepted the serpent. Though not revealed to the person concerned, their fresh affection was that heavy. And such feelings surged even more intensely upon seeing Yuda’s scars.

One by one, the children took hesitant steps towards the boy. “Young Master…” The first was Regia. Her green pupils welled up. Her world, which had been undulating, soon shattered into ripples. Lines of watery light drew across her pale cheeks. Swallowing her sobs, the girl reached out her arms. Soon, she timidly hugged Yuda’s body.

“Ugh, h-hm…” Her tender heart. The scars of the person she admired soon became her own pain. She imagined Yuda, who must have struggled, broken, and suffered all this time. Even hotter tears soaked the serpent’s chest. *Squeeze*, Regia tightened her embrace.

“Regia, young lady?” “………….” Currently, Yuda was without a single thread of clothing on his upper body. In other words, Regia was burying her face against his bare skin. Normally, she would have died of shame, but the girl now was no coward. She simply leaned into the overflowing sorrow and tenderness.

“I, too, will always be by Young Master’s side.” Regia took a deep breath. As if she wanted to truly feel the boy’s presence. His unique, winter-like scent lingered at the tip of her nose. The air filled with a cozy warmth.

“I… I hope Young Master won’t be in pain.” Tears flowed down. The pilot placed a hand on the serpent’s chest. And then, carefully traced one of the scars. The girl bit her lip firmly.

*‘How much.’* How much pain must he have felt? How much torment must he have endured? Again, how lonely must he have been? The tearful protagonist’s back view was a wretched sight. However, no one felt the girl was weak. They simply followed in her footsteps.

“………….” The fox approached silently and hugged the serpent’s arm. On the opposite side, the sniffling vain one leaned in. Charlotte and Elize also pressed themselves against his scarred body. Finally, the drunkard embraced everyone from behind the boy. Yuda was instantly surrounded by the warmth of his companions.

A rare reaction of confusion. “E-Everyone…?” He tilted his head, but the clinging girls didn’t reply. They simply held the serpent’s body more tightly, as if telling him to stay still. Yuda eventually gave up any further resistance.

Thus, the warmth continued for a while. A faint smile graced his lips. A certain kind of endearment he felt for the children. The serpent murmured. “…………Thank you.”

A scene steeped in tranquility. The serpent quietly counted the seeping warmth. The faint thumping of his heart. “………….” *Was it because he was a doll?* As expected, no tears gathered in his eyes.

***

Meanwhile. In the heart of the Empire, the Grand Cathedral. A land permeated with holy blessings. The heart of the Church, a divine abode boasting a solid history. There, beings with an alien aura were appearing. Secretly, so that no one would know.

“………….” *Rustle—.* In the shadows where no light could penetrate. One by one, masked figures emerged from the darkness. Their deeply hooded crimson robes hinted at their identities. A gloomy aura surged around them. A thick murderous intent stretched out. At the center stood a man.

“Finally… the time has come.” The First Apostle of the Demon God, the Conductor. A villain once called the pinnacle. However, a man known to have met his death at the hands of the Red Sword Saint. The Conductor looked up at the black night sky with blood-red eyes. At the sky that would soon be dyed crimson with blood and screams.

“The Lord said, ‘Pitch black is order.’” Beside him stood the rest of the Demon God’s Apostles. Each one a transcendent being on par with a star. The ground blackened from the intense demonic energy. Behind the Apostles, countless disciples followed. With a single gesture, the Conductor unfolded a domain centered around the Grand Cathedral. Power accumulated over time. A realm achieved by sacrificing hundreds of thousands of lives. Above the sky, a dark red crack descended like a lightning bolt.

“I shall bring the primeval night to the world.” *Crack, crackle—!* It was a scene as if the ceiling was collapsing. The grand crack that descended soon enveloped the Grand Cathedral in a massive barrier. The voices of startled priests, the melodies steeped in fear, could be heard. The Conductor gripped his baton as if savoring every note of that composition.

“Today.” His blood-red eyes gleamed dangerously. Intense demonic energy rose like a shimmering haze. “We shall descend Him.” The entire forces of Baobh, the masked figures, charged into the Grand Cathedral all at once. A night without even moonlight. Only crimson light flashed across the sky. The Apostles entered the cathedral with leisurely steps. Thereafter, screams began to echo, one by one.

“What an ecstatic composition.” The world spiraled out of control. The final chapter had begun.