Chapter 21: The Curse of Living

Flash

“Ha… ha…!”

Bisus jolted awake, gasping for air.

He clutched his chest.

The sensation of a sword piercing through him, the fading consciousness, and the touch of death lingered vividly in his mind.

“Ugh…”

Gripping the bed, he retched.

The months spent living as the dream’s Bisus had merged with his own being.

He had thought and acted like that version of himself, as if reclaiming another’s memories.

“What was that?”

It wasn’t a dream tied to Claudia.

Nor was it related to Sofia or Artoria.

“The empire, they said.”

The imperial knights who killed him in the dream.

But their armor and insignia didn’t resemble those of the current empire.

It’s almost like…

“Another dimension.”

Bisus began to suspect that the dream might not depict events from this world.

If so, the dreams Sofia and Claudia spoke of past lives might not be from this dimension either.

They could be misinterpreting memories from another world, seen through dreams, just as he was.

“The Demon King’s army…”

As far as Bisus knew, no such thing as a Demon King’s army existed in Eclipse.

That must be why Sofia’s talk of a past life felt so alien.

“I thought dreaming again would bring me closer to the truth.”

Instead, he was deeper in the labyrinth.

“Bel…”

The emotions tied to Bel were etched deeply in his memory.

Having merged with the dream’s Bisus, he felt an inexplicable affection for this unknown girl.

“Did she survive after I died? I hope she’s okay.”

Even though the dream’s story seemed unrelated to his world, the long immersion in its emotions left him oddly concerned for her.

“But more importantly…”

If his theory was correct that these dreams were memories of another self from another dimension—then what about his past life?

His life on Earth… could that have been a dream too?

What if he hadn’t reincarnated but was merely experiencing the memories of other versions of himself through dreams?

“You, brooding like that? That’s a first, Bisus,” a voice called from the bracelet.

“Lucifer…?”

Bisus reacted to her voice.

“You always acted like everything went according to plan, but even you have things that don’t go your way, huh?”

The bracelet…

Right.

Lucifer, sealed in here, was someone I faced in a dream.

If these are events from another dimension, it’s strange that this bracelet exists in this world.

“…Hey, answer me!”

Lucifer raised her voice as Bisus stared silently at the bracelet.

“Lucifer.”

“That’s right!”

“Feeling that lonely, huh?”

“What?”

“A great demon craving attention from her enemy out of loneliness? Your dignity’s hit rock bottom.”

“N-No, it’s not!”

Lucifer’s voice cracked, clearly stung.

“Pfft.”

“Don’t laugh at me!”

Her unexpectedly cute reaction made Bisus chuckle, easing his heavy mood.

A great demon who commands astronomical numbers of fiends, sealed here, lonely and desperate for conversation.

Her amusing response lightened his heart.

“You’re always like this! Even your muttering is just to mock me!”

“Not really.”

The angelic version of me in that dream enjoyed teasing her too.

Seeing her react like this, I kind of get why.

Hum

“I’m about to change, so take a nap for a bit.”

Bisus channeled holy power into the bracelet.

“Hey! Not again! Stop—guh!”

A faint dark aura leaked from the bracelet before it fell silent.

Rustle

Bisus got out of bed.

Who would’ve thought I’d dream of raising a disciple when I know nothing about teaching?

Wait.

Disciple.

Right.

A dream about a disciple.

The night he took Naber as a disciple, he dreamed of raising Bel.

Maybe the trigger for these dreams was encountering something related to them.

The dream of fighting the Demon King’s army with Sofia came the night he saw her wield that power.

The dream of facing Lucifer came the night he obtained her bracelet.

If my actions can trigger new dreams…

Could I induce specific dreams by taking certain actions?

Darkened Student Council Room

Diabel sat in her chair, lost in thought.

“What’s a kid doing in a place like this?”

Her first meeting with her master.

He found her living “normally” in that village.

No, “normally” isn’t right.

As a baby, Bel’s mother was killed, and she was kidnapped by demon worshippers.

She didn’t know then that the villagers raising her were cultists, grooming her as a sacrifice.

They claimed the Demon King had impregnated a woman he fancied and vanished.

Bel thought her master had needlessly taken her from kind villagers, so she vowed to kill him one day for revenge.
To him, her attempts were probably just cute antics.

“Go ahead, try to kill me. If you can.”

She swung weapons at him whenever she got the chance, but he’d block them, laugh lightly, and ruffle her hair.

“You think you can kill me with that?”

A strict master, he taught her countless skills:

How to survive against stronger opponents.

How to use magic efficiently.

How to endure in combat.

He worked tirelessly to ensure she could survive without him.

“You said you’d die by my hand…”

That day, when the emperor learned she was the Demon King’s heir, he sent the Imperial Knights to their cabin to use her as a material for an elixir of immortality.

Her master, a former mercenary of great renown, single-handedly decimated the knights and cornered their commander.
No, he had practically won.

If I hadn’t interfered, trying to help…

“You promised me…!”

Now, long after his death, she understood.

Her master had only saved her from demonworshippers.

He taught her everything and sacrificed his life to protect her, a stranger with no ties to him.

He did nothing wrong. It was all my fault.

Crunch

Diabel clenched her fist, blood trickling down her hand.

She tried to meet her master through death but couldn’t.

Bound by the demonic oath she made to him to live, she couldn’t choose death.

Her body rejected it, no matter how much she wanted it.

Selfish master.

Did you think I’d want to live alone?

After countless failed attempts at death, she concluded that only the world’s destruction could free her from this curse of life.

If the world ends, I can go to the afterlife and meet him.

Awakening her Demon King’s blood, she attacked the empire.

If anyone deserved death, it was the emperor who targeted her and killed her master out of greed.

The continent united to stop her, the “Demon King” descended upon the world.

“Why won’t you die?! Just die!”

Boom! Crash!

A hero party, claiming to be saviors but colluding with the empire in countless crimes.

“Argh!”
“My arm! My arm!”

Crunch!

“Please, spare me!”

In her battered state, Bel annihilated the hero party and the continent’s forces.

Thud.

No one survived the battlefield, but she, too, collapsed, drained of all energy.

Her consciousness faded.

Is this the end?

I can finally meet him…

Master…

If I see you…

Flash

When she opened her eyes, she was a newborn.

Reborn as Diabel, a noble lady.

I thought I died…

This curse reincarnated me?

I thought I’d finally meet him.

Diabel resolved herself.

Only destruction can free me.

The oath tying her to her master didn’t restrict her actions toward destroying the world.

Her “organization” was built for that very purpose.

As a human, Diabel slowly advanced her plan.

“It won’t be long now.”

Within three years, her plan would come to fruition.

If this world is destroyed, I’ll meet him.

“Just wait a little longer.”

When they reunited, she’d give him a good smack for making her suffer so much.

That’s fair, right?

Or maybe he’ll smack me.

“You destroyed the world just to see me? Is that what I taught you?”

That stiff but warm-hearted man might say something like that.

Destruction…

If it succeeded, she’d become the worst mass murderer.

She might never be forgiven.

But if it meant escaping this life, if it meant meeting him, she’d endure any punishment in hell.

The man who sacrificed everything for me.

My… love.

If I can just see V again.