episode_0016

Jeopuk, Jeopuk-.

I walked down that road without saying anything. The steps were light, but heavy.

The responsibility of carrying a saint became a burden and pressured me.

Jeopuk, Jeopuk-.

“… .”

“… .”

The saintess continued to let out breath that seemed as if it would break at any moment. I moved forward, firmly supporting her hips.

Jeopuk, Jeopuk-.

Some people cried when they saw us, and some threw stones at us. Some rushed at me, while others gave me a look of disdain.

Kwaaang-!!

The sound of a bomb exploding was heard from a corner of the square. A cry is heard, ‘Let’s rescue the saint!’

Of course, those voices were brutally suppressed by the Demon King’s army in less than twenty minutes. The corpses of rioters who could not be guillotined are piled up on one side of the square.

When I passed by the elves, I felt their gaze especially more burning. The Queen of the Elves, Shrine Elain Asteria, was glaring at us as if she would kill us with blood-filled eyes.

The elves cried towards the saint and cursed at me. I giggled in a voice that only the saintly woman in close range could hear.

Perhaps because he was carrying the continent’s biggest woman on his back, the road to the guillotine was truly not smooth. To the point where I thought there was no such thing as a thorny road.

A ‘protest against the death penalty’ staged by humans broke out in the middle, a ‘tunnel rescue operation’ by dwarves targeted a saint, and dragons who lost their leader to me launched a ‘breath bombing’.

Of course, they were all easily suppressed by winged angels and demons. Now that the Demon King had become a god among gods, the angels who served God were devils.

It was an eventful and twisty road, but the saintess and I were peaceful. As if there were only two of us in this world. As if we were walking the only road in the world, just the two of us.

Jeopuk, Jeopuk-.

Before I knew it, I had reached the stairs. When I looked up, I saw a guillotine.

“Enter.”

“Please go in… .”

Fortunately or unfortunately, the stairs weren’t that long.

I would like to give you a favorable review for saving you effort, but I would give you a harsh review for hastening your time of death.

Truly.

When I reached the end of the stairs, there were a couple of guillotines lying side by side.

There were four soldiers standing holding long rifles, and two giants, one for each guillotine, were placed to lay down the guillotine’s rope.

“Saint, you can’t walk alone, right?”

“Now it seems like my strength has returned to some extent… It looks like you can walk there.”

“That’s it. I’ll take you there. If I’m going to die, I should die comfortably.”

I walked with unwavering steps and placed the saint on the guillotine first.

After putting her neck through the round hole, the soldiers tied the saint’s arms and legs to painless ropes.

Strangely enough, the giants and soldiers just stared at me. They even handed me a rope to help me.

The babies are missing.

“Saint, are you in pain?”

“It’s okay.”

“Tell me if it hurts. I will tie it more weakly.”

“It really doesn’t hurt. I’m worried that you may have tied it too loosely.”

“I have no intention of running away anyway.”

“That’s right.”

After the process of placing the saint on the guillotine was completed, I myself lay down on the guillotine next to her. Then he used his telekinesis to tie my arms and legs tightly.

When I looked up, I saw a crowd buzzing. Below, an endless sea of crowds.

Every time they made a noise, the square shook like a wave. Anyway, it’s a huge crowd.

Among them, there were several absolute powerhouses of the continent.

Emperor Julius kneels in despair.

The horse Taeseus looks at us expressionlessly.

Lilith, the Duke of West, is fidgeting and has a pale face.

Shingung Elaine, tears of blood flowing from her bloodshot eyes.

Besides that, several transcendents and powerful people were focusing their attention on us.

The Demon King and the hero were nowhere to be seen. Are those guys not planning on coming to see their friend die? There was a bit of a fight?

The Demon King wasn’t that kind of guy to begin with, but he chased after power and fame and got tired of it. The speed is getting narrower.

When I raised my head all the way, a sharp blue blade with a diagonal edge appeared at the edge of my vision. This is a blade that will soon be painted with red paint that will spew out from me.

“Giggle.”

This time I turned my head to the side. What I saw was a saint standing on the guillotine in the same position as me with her eyes closed.

“You die in one day, at the same time.”

“That’s right.”

“I’m still smiling. Do you think it’s good?”

“Of course it’s good to have a friend.”

“Honestly, I like it too. If you play with a saint, you won’t be lonely.”

“I was afraid that I would have to walk alone on the long, dark path to the underworld, but I’m glad I have Joker.”

When I spoke in a sonorous tone, the saint smiled and responded.

It was an innocent smile with no shadow at all.

“The demon king who made us like this doesn’t even show his nose, aren’t you angry?”

“Is the Demon King not here right now?”

“Uh, I can’t see it. I hope it’s completely flattened.”

“Haha… okay… That’s how it happened… .”

The saintess smiled meaningfully and muttered something unknown.

The moment I was about to ask her about something she said that I didn’t understand.

Excited-.

Rattling-!

In an instant, my whole body was twisted due to a seizure. Thanks to that, I couldn’t inquire about the saint’s muttered words.

The soldiers on the guillotine were quite embarrassed, but I nodded and told them not to approach. This is because the seizures stop quickly, as they always do.

… … .

Look, you’re fine.

As the seizure that had been with me all along faded away, leaving behind its last traces, I felt a little sad. Now I can say goodbye to this terrible pain forever.

We fucked up together and let’s never meet again! hi! Seizure!

Jjaeeng-.

The sun’s rays were harsh and stinging. I frowned slightly.

I turned my gaze back to the saint. Because two giants were slowly approaching.

Before I die, I want to see a saint.

The saint must have been thinking the same thing as me, as she was also looking at me. Although my eyes were still closed.

Sunlight poured down on the saint. Light no longer emanated from the saint, but to me, she was brighter than the sun.

“… It shines.”

“Yes?”

“That thing, it shines brightly today.”

“Haha, I take it as a compliment.”

The giants held the line. And then I untied the rope that was tied. Not the rope that binds us, but the rope that holds the blade of the guillotine.

“They say that the most shining moment in a woman’s life is when she puts on her wedding dress.”

“Because that is the happiest moment.”

“But, the saintess always seems to shine.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, there hasn’t been a single day in the past seven days that I haven’t shined.”

“I just lived every day with an attitude of gratitude and love.”

At my words, the saintess smiled brightly. Her appearance was beautiful, but her smile was even more beautiful.

“Saint, I want to ask you something.”

“Please feel free to speak.”

“If only I had made different choices, would I have been able to shine like the saint?”

“Of course… .”

“No, you can’t. It’s absolutely impossible. I know. I could never have grown into a shining saint like you on my own.”

I interrupted the saint and said only what I had to say. Thinking about how my head would be cut off miserably in a moment, I became a little impatient. I felt like I was going to die before I could even finish speaking.

“I don’t know what happens after I die. You can go to hell, or you can be reincarnated. But no matter what life I live, I will never be able to shine alone.”

What can I say, I feel like I achieved liberation when it was time to die.

Since it leaves behind some regrets, it cannot be called complete liberation.

“I’m not talking about big things. I want to have just a little bit of light. The love, tolerance, chivalry, wisdom, and courage that the saint showed me… I want to have at least the easiest love among them. Of course, in my current situation, it is just a vain illusion.”

It was like a flood had exploded, and I couldn’t stop talking. The executioner was talking in the middle of the square, but I couldn’t hear it.

“I didn’t know love. I didn’t understand, and I had no intention of doing so. I liked chaos and madness, which are concepts that are completely opposite to love. But now I regret it just a little bit. If I had met the saint a little earlier, I wonder if my life would have been a little different-.”

As if I was going to confession in front of a priest, I confessed my regrets and regrets to the saint. She just listened quietly with a serious expression.

“Ha… … Have you ever seen a person like a saint before?”

She only opened her mouth after I asked a question. She will die soon and will never be able to open her mouth again, but she is truly a very patient woman.

“Yes.”

“I wanted to make that person like me. A great hero with more righteous beliefs than anyone else, I tried to stain him with evil. After ten years of hard work, I finally succeeded.”

“If you are a hero corrupted by Joker… … Ah, I think I understand.”

“The saint must have heard of it. Because it’s a famous anecdote. Besides that, there are countless other humans… No, this world. I tried to corrupt this world. That was more fun than anything else. But.”

A sacred smile is contained in the lines of the saint’s face. I, this ugly and cruel evil species, have a smile that I will never be able to hold in my hands.

“After spending seven days and nights with the saint, I wanted to be in love with the saint.”

“Haha, good change. Rebirth is the most beautiful grace bestowed by the Great Mother.”

“No, it is my mother, the Lord, and Nabal, and I need a saint. I don’t know? It means that the saint is my Lord. The one and only God who will guide me.”

I am not interested in gods who have not shown me even once. In that case, let’s take a peek at the pretty saint’s face.

“Even at this moment when I am facing the saint, two desires are rushing out. The evil desire to corrupt the saint like a villain like me, and the overflowing greed that makes me want to become a saint like the saint. Isn’t it fun? If the time given to me had been a little longer, I would have been able to slowly find out with the saintess which side’s will was stronger.”

Long words flowed out in one breath. It wasn’t that I didn’t have time, it just felt like it had to be done. The fact that the saint just listened in silence also played a role.

Before we know it, the setting sun shines on us. It was a heavy day when I first arrived at the square, but anyway, the time went by quickly.

The saint’s face and hair were dyed the red of twilight. It was a spectacle like a masterpiece.

Mary, noble, noble and great Saint of the Sun.

She is a multi-talented woman. Good hair, pretty face, body… Even though she is skinny now, when she gains weight, she will become a woman who goes in and comes out.

A guy like me who denied it for a week and now admits it is truly an amazing guy.

“Hehe, it looks like Joker likes love.”

“I can’t deny it.”

“Me too. Although I am a lowly and foolish soul, love gives grace to me equally.”

“Giggle.”

“The person who was the greatest villain on the continent went through agony amidst indoctrination and corruption… … Fortunately, I now realize that the life I have lived was not in vain.”

“Something makes my stomach hurt. Some people are regretting under the guillotine, while others are just enjoying satisfaction.”

Do you know that feeling? I feel like all my burdens have been let go.

That’s exactly how I am now. Until I was in the convoy, my whole body was contorted with lingering affection for the saint, but now I felt at ease, as if I was walking through clouds.

Hwii-ing-.

Maybe it was because a cool breeze blew past the tall spires. The hair fluttered vigorously.

『Joker.』

“… ? What, what’s wrong with your voice?”

At that moment, the saintess opened her mouth with a smile that was unlike anything she had seen before. Even his voice had changed.

At the same time, the executioner waved his arms and let go of the ropes that the two giants were holding.

『If you want, I will be happy to help you.』

It was something I couldn’t understand. How do you mean helping?

The iron blade is falling at an angle, clinking, and falling mercilessly on our hair.

In just a moment, the severed heads of the saint and me will be lying around in the square.

『I will help you, even if it means risking everything. I swear in the name of the majestic Lord.』

What is the saint saying now? Before he dies, is he trying to sell the landowner’s name?

If that’s true, it’s a success. Because I started to feel a cold chill on my neck.

The blade came within an inch of the way to the neck of the saint I was looking at.

If you close your eyes for a moment, it is a sight you will no longer be able to see.

『So, please never forget and come in the year 701 of the imperial calendar.』

In the red sunset light, the blade is wrapped in red.

It is a blade that has not been painted red yet.

『To Eden Academy’s reading club.』

“… … … … !!”

Woe!

As soon as the saintess finished speaking, which I could not understand from beginning to end, the world was instantly filled with white light and brightness.

There was no sound.

There was no pain from the throat being cut, nor was there a rush of blood.

Neither the guillotine, nor the saint, nor the many spectators, nor anything else was visible except the white world.

My body was twisted.

There was no rope binding me anywhere.

The bones became smaller, the body shrunk, and the skin peeled off.

Even as I was experiencing such a strange phenomenon, the words the saint said in her final moments were floating around in my head as if they were engraved in my mind.

In the year 701 of the Imperial Calendar, come to the reading club at Eden Academy… ?

Now, it is the year 712 by the imperial calendar… … … … ?