Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 393

Chapter 393

“Aren’t you indulging me too much? What if I become spoiled?”

I felt a little embarrassed and said it with a laugh, but Ellyuen looked at me with an uncomprehending expression. His gaze turned serious, which made me nervous, too.

“Did I ever tell you to treat me with the respect due to a father?”

“Huh? No? I don’t think you ever did.”

“Then why is becoming spoiled a problem?”

“Well… because you’re my father?”

“Since you properly recognize that, there’s no chance of you becoming spoiled.”

Oh? Does it work out that way?

Something felt off, yet I couldn’t quite argue with it. I closed my mouth, speechless, and Ellyuen chuckled, as if he knew exactly what I was thinking.

“I’d rather you were spoiled. Accepting your child’s whims is also a father’s role.”

“…There are more fathers who don’t do that. Usually, they want their children to be respectful to them, right…?”

“It’s difficult to compare us to those who mistake forced submission for discipline.”

“Well… it’s common for kids to grow up unruly when they’re spoiled too much…”

“That’s also a case of poor discipline. I’m not a foolish father who would lose his sense of judgment, so you don’t need to anticipate the limits beforehand.”

“Still… you’ll dislike it if I cross the line, right?”

“Of course, I wouldn’t like it.”

“See, look. Then…”

“But that doesn’t mean I’ll dislike you.”

“…!”

“No matter what kind of son you are, I will never reject you.”

I blinked slowly. My insides felt hot, as if a long-hidden weakness had been exposed. It felt like I had heard something I shouldn’t have. Yes, I was afraid of being cut off from him. I was afraid that the existence of a father, as sweet as honey to me, would one day reject and dislike me. If only I hadn’t known anything, but I had come to know the most wonderful father in the world, someone I could brag about to anyone. Now, I felt like I couldn’t go back to the way I was before I met him. I don’t think I had ever shown it, but Ellyuen had already seen through my inner thoughts. And he was trying to reassure me that such a thing would never happen.

It’s a strange thing. He always easily understands and answers difficult problems for me. And there was an amazingly strong power in his words, making me want to believe them.

I couldn’t choose the words to answer and hesitated, when a large hand pressed down on my head. Surprised by the unexpected pressure, I opened my eyes wide, and Ellyuen met my gaze directly.

“El, you are my son. There’s no need to be wary of wanting to rely on me.”

“…!”

“I am your father, and you have the right to receive and demand affection from me. Don’t forget that.”

It felt like my heart was filling with bubbles. The fluffy balloons suddenly expanded, filling my breath. It was painfully distressing, but at the same time, not distressing at all. It was a really strange feeling.

“You guys are really having fun.”

If Lapis hadn’t interrupted at this moment and sneered, I could have felt the lingering emotions of this strange and overwhelming feeling for a little longer. Anyway, he was a guy with a talent for ruining the mood. I frowned and was about to say something, but Ellyuen, with a light sigh, looked back at him first. Then, “Ack!” A short scream burst out, and Lapis fell to the floor as he was. He couldn’t get up properly, as if crushed by a huge pressure. It seemed Ellyuen had done something.

“El, let me give you an accurate example of why you don’t need to be wary. That’s what it’s like to be truly spoiled.”

“…Ahahaha.”

“Ah, damn it! Hey! Aren’t you going to release this? Release this right now while I’m asking nicely!”

Lapis, enraged, screamed and shouted, but Ellyuen ignored him as if he couldn’t hear anything. Rather, he increased the pressure, and Lapis let out an even louder, suffocating sound. Meanwhile, Troel scurried up to Lapis and poked him as he struggled, watching him. There was not even a sliver of thought of saving him (rather, he was openly mocking him), and it goes without saying that Lapis was as annoyed as he could be by his actions.

It was such a leisurely scene that you couldn’t think of it as the most important moment of your life, with the purification of the Evil God right in front of you. It was so peaceful that it was scary.

And the predicted time of fate arrived.

“El.”

I turned my head at Ellyuen’s call and swallowed slightly. I could see a new scene appearing on the screen he had unfolded. The magic circle, which had been quiet until just now, was fluctuating greatly. Black currents of electricity jumped wildly on it. They were soon slowly gathering together to form a shape. No, it seemed like they were forcibly pulling it in. What was clear was that something was being summoned into the magic circle.

It was only a moment before what had been just a lump formed a clear shape. The completed shape was close to a human. It was difficult to distinguish the gender, but I could tell that it was asleep or unconscious, with its eyes closed. The jet-black hair that flowed down to the tips of its toes was so vivid that it was painfully etched in my eyes.

There was no way I couldn’t recognize the identity of that person. I had met him just a while ago. The only difference was that what I saw then was just a soul, and now he had a body. Moreover, it was not someone else’s, but the demon’s original body. The appearance was the same, but the thick demonic energy emanating from his whole body was undeniable proof.

It was a success.

My fingertips rapidly turned cold with a chilling sensation. It felt like a non-existent heart was beating fast. Even while seeing it with my own eyes, it didn’t feel real. He really succeeded. He even managed to pull out the hidden main body. Even when Kanos took his magic power, I honestly didn’t expect much. So, I couldn’t believe the result in front of me even more.

“Karyuan.”

I unconsciously muttered his name. At that moment, as if responding to his name, he opened his eyes. Blood-red eyes poured out all at once, as if overflowing.

Kuaaaaak!

A violent sound began to vibrate in all directions.

* * *

A strong wind blew, scattering my hair wildly. A thick cloud of dust rose so badly that it obscured my vision. I was a little embarrassed by the phenomenon that occurred immediately after Karyuan roared. The center of the purification circle where he was located was far away from here. Logically, it was a distance that could never be affected. But I could clearly see that this wind was a result of his shockwave.

The roar he had just let out rang directly in my head. It wasn’t just that I felt that way, but it really did. I was sure that not only me, but the entire population of Arkadon had heard that roar a little while ago. He wasn’t even fully completed yet, but he had this kind of power. The Evil God really seemed amazing. It was amazing that such an existence was helplessly captured.

The fluctuating screen constantly showed Karyuan writhing. The entity was not visible, but he was in a position as if he was tied to something. Whether it was a structure that bound him more strongly each time he resisted, his limbs were gradually twisted strangely. A phenomenon like burning was also appearing around that part. It seemed that purification had begun in earnest. I watched with a nervous feeling and looked back at Ellyuen.

“It looks like his body is being burned?”

“It probably is. Because he’s actually burning.”

He answered as if it were nothing. I didn’t expect my guess to be really correct, so I opened my eyes wide.

“When you purify it, doesn’t it turn back into an ordinary demon?”

“Of course not. That guy dies as he is. It will be a complete annihilation where even the soul is destroyed. It’s just that we purify it to make it easier to annihilate.”

“Ah, I see.”

Even the soul is annihilated. Well, the sins he has committed are too great to keep him alive. Aside from the damage I received, I can’t even count how many people died because of that guy. The methods of murder were also vicious, and he deceived the gods several times in the process. There was no room for extenuating circumstances.

“How long will it take for the purification to be completed?”

“At least half a day.”

“Huh, it takes that long?”

“There are that many overlapping karmas [accumulated consequences of actions]. All of them are karmas accumulated with curses, so they can’t be purified in a short time.”

“Hmm, it’s kind of scary.”

“In the first place, an Evil God is like that. It’s a foul flower that blooms on top of a curse. That one was especially dirty from birth.”

“Does being dirty from birth mean because he’s a demon?”

“I can’t completely deny it.”

“…There are good demons too.”

I felt like As and Deron were thinking and muttered as if making excuses, and Ellyuen looked at me with a strange expression. It was like the gaze of a parent who belatedly realizes their child has gone astray and is shocked (I really can’t explain it any other way), or the gaze of pitying the innocence of a victim who has been scammed and hasn’t noticed (again, I can only explain it this way).

“El, let me ask you one thing. What do you think of Kanos?”

“Huh? Kanos?”

“Yes. If you divide it into good and bad, which one is it?”

“If I had to say, I don’t see him badly… ?”

“Therefore, your standard of good is grounds for dismissal.”

“….”

Kanos, what kind of image do you have to Ellyuen…….

I looked up at the sky with a slightly wistful feeling. I felt like I could see his back as he laughed and ran cheerfully. I thought Kanos was a bit mischievous, but he was also a god with many good qualities. I felt like Ellyuen’s expression would be even more distorted if I said this, so I had to hold back.

Anyway, the purification was proceeding smoothly in the meantime. We silently watched the screen showing Karyuan for a while. Other than Lapis occasionally feeling uncomfortable with the sensation of mana circulating, it was truly a time as if sailing with the wind. It was just that as I kept watching, there was one part that felt strange.

“What’s wrong?”

“Karyuan seems a little… docile.”

“You call that docile?”

Lapis threw his gaze at the screen with a dumbfounded expression. The writhing figure of Karyuan was being vividly displayed inside. Every time, big and small winds blew in the place where we were. It wasn’t a scene that anyone would call docile.

“No, I mean the overall atmosphere. I should say he seems less scary than when I saw him before, or I should say his power seems weaker.”

“Isn’t it because he’s captured that you feel that way?”

“I thought so at first too…….”

“You did?”

“That guy hasn’t said a single word until now, has he?”

Everyone’s expression became serious as if they understood the meaning I was trying to convey in that statement. We almost simultaneously stared at the screen. Once I realized it, the identity of the discomfort became clear. Since being summoned, Karyuan didn’t seem to be properly aware of the surrounding situation. He was just twisting his whole body and screaming indiscriminately, and no attempt to escape in other ways could be read. He seemed closer to a beast with no intelligence than a person. When I saw him, I always got the impression that he had a trick up his sleeve, that he was cunning and dangerous, but I didn’t feel that at all now. Even if he was struggling, he shouldn’t look like that.

“It seems he’s not a complete body yet.”

Ellyuen muttered quietly as if he had been examining it for a while. I was a little nervous at his dissatisfied expression and asked.

“Not a complete body?”

“He divided his soul into several places and scattered it. It seems he hasn’t been able to gather them all into the main body. His consciousness seems to still be residing in another body.”

“Then isn’t that bad?”

I had already guessed that Karyuan had a body prepared. I thought it would be solved by summoning the main body, but it seemed it wasn’t that simple. Ellyuen seemed to think for a moment at my worried question, then shook his head.

“Fragments are just fragments. They will disappear along with the main body when it disappears. Since the main body has already entered purification, it probably won’t be able to exert its power properly either.”

“If his consciousness is on the other side, won’t he come to the purification circle and try to interfere?”

“He probably will. First, we need to find his contractor.”

“Contractor?”

“It’s not easy to find a body to contain a god. To use it properly for a long time, the wavelengths must match well, and only the contractor can meet that condition. So, he must have planted the most useful piece in the contractor.”

The contractor was Grand Duke Yukarte. He had disappeared from the foundation that day, and I didn’t know where he was hiding, but it seemed he was trying to remain as a hidden card until the end. Troel came up to me, perhaps because my expression had become too dark, and said.

“There’s nothing to worry about too much, El. The location of the purification circle is hidden. It’s impossible to figure it out in half a day. Even if he finds out, he won’t have the power to destroy it.”

“It’s a relief if that’s the case, but…….”

But why do I feel so uneasy?

I stared at the screen in front of me again. Every time Karyuan struggled violently, the magic circle holding him fluctuated along with him. The sight somehow looked precarious, like a lamp flickering in the wind.

I just hoped it was just my feeling.

It had to be.