Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 407

407.

“So, should I call you ‘junior’? Now that I think about it, I don’t even know your name yet. What’s the name of the new Demon King?”

“…Why do you ask?”

“Well, you’re the last Demon King, so I should at least know your name. That way, when I make Kanos kneel before me, I can mock him even more.”

“Keep dreaming. I won’t be the last Demon King, and Kanos would never kneel to the likes of you.”

“Huhu, the demons’ blind faith in the Demon God is truly remarkable. I used to be like that too. Well, whatever. But the fact that you’re going to die here today won’t change. Instead of disappearing in vain, wouldn’t it be better to leave your name behind?”

Asmodel’s face hardened at the blatant provocation. He glared at Karian for a moment before speaking.

“I don’t intend to die quietly, but I don’t mind telling you my name. My name is Asmodel.”

“…What?”

“Asmodel, that’s my name.”

Karian’s eyes widened slightly. He looked surprised, even shocked. Then, the next moment, he burst out laughing.

“Puhahaha! Asmodel! You’re Asmodel! Keuk, right. Now that I think about it, you did presumptuously say that I would lose everything one by one. So that’s what you meant. Very interesting. Very interesting!”

Karian was enjoying himself, even though I couldn’t understand why. I glanced at Sibelius, feeling a bit flustered, and he just shrugged. He had a ‘what do you expect from a madman’ look on his face. It was such a typical reaction from him that I was about to laugh it off when I noticed Luseph’s expression. His face was pale.

‘Luseph?’

After a long while, Karian stopped laughing and raised his head. The gleam of hatred in his eyes was now devoid of laughter.

“No, I won’t lose anything.”

Muttering as if declaring it, he slowly raised his hand, stretching it out as if pointing at Asmodel.

“From now on, I will take everything back.”

At that moment, I felt a chilling shiver run from head to toe. The energy rising was incomparably stronger than when he faced Deron. But Asmodel didn’t seem to notice it. Or rather, even if he knew it in his head, he was overwhelmed and couldn’t avoid it.

“No, As!”

There wasn’t nearly enough time to protect him. All I could do was push Asmodel out of the way. At the same time, a jet-black energy swept over me.

“El!”

It felt like everything in the world stopped for a moment. At that moment, Karian’s figure, Asmodel’s shocked expression, someone’s voice shouting towards me, and the huge curtain covering my vision in black were all distant. Was it just my imagination? Just before being swallowed by the tidal wave of energy, it felt like something was embracing me. All the noise around me stopped, and a terrible silence fell.

“…”

“…”

How much time had passed? I blinked slowly, feeling that my consciousness had returned. I thought I would be badly hurt, but strangely, I didn’t feel any pain at all. Instead, I felt a stuffy sensation, as if I was trapped in something.

Did I die so quickly that I couldn’t even feel the pain? Was I a soul now? That was the most plausible explanation for now. Otherwise, there was no way I could be so unaffected. I didn’t expect to be completely fine, but I was dumbfounded to think that it ended so anticlimactically. Still, I was lucky that I didn’t completely disappear and at least remained as a soul.

To accurately assess the situation, I slowly raised my head. But the scene that came into view was quite different from what I had expected. The first thing I saw was golden hair. Bright and beautiful hair covered me like a curtain. Beyond that, I saw delicately sculpted features and eyes that resembled the sky. When our eyes met, beautiful lips formed a faint smile.

“Thanks to my reckless son, I’m experiencing all sorts of things.”

The voice, which was lower than usual, sounded slightly different.

“Elu…en?”

Why was Eluen on top of me?

For a moment, I couldn’t understand the situation. As I blinked blankly, his figure seemed to get closer and closer, and soon a heavy sensation covered one of my shoulders. Every moment felt incredibly slow, like a video edited in slow motion. Only after a little more time did I finally realize that he had collapsed on top of me.

“E, Eluen?”

I was about to get up in a panic when I felt something lukewarm. A bad feeling rose sharply, and I instinctively held my breath. When I slowly raised my hand, my palm was full of a vivid red liquid. It was blood.

“Ah…”

Kwaang!

A loud noise rang out nearby at that moment. In my dazed vision, I saw someone fighting. Luseph was attacking Karian. Beyond that, I saw Asmodel opening his mouth and shouting something at me. “…ly!” “…bu, nega…!” A few words were cut off and heard intermittently in my buzzing ears.

“Great Father!”

“…!”

It was as if lightning struck before my eyes, and I suddenly came to my senses. It felt like the breath that had been blocked suddenly burst open. All the situations rushed in at once like a torrent. I hurriedly got up, and the body that had been leaning on me limply slumped to the side. I wondered if I had seen it wrong, and I checked his face several times. But the man with the beautiful golden hair that flowed like honey was definitely my father, Eluen. His face, with his eyes closed, was pale as if he would crumble at any moment. It was a sight I had never imagined I would see from him. Only after supporting him and laying him down straight did I finally see his condition properly. His upper body, from his chest to his abdomen, was all stained red.

“E, Eluen…! Wake up, Eluen! Eluen?”

My hands trembled as I tried to check the injured area. When I opened his collar, the sight of the gushing red made my eyes dizzy. The blood didn’t seem to stop.

“…You don’t have to call me that to know that my name is Eluen.”

Fortunately, he wasn’t unconscious, and I got an answer from him. But his voice was noticeably weaker than usual. Was that why? I should have felt relieved to hear his voice, but instead, I felt even more uneasy.

“Just a moment! Just hold on a moment! I’ll heal you right away! You, you can’t die!”

He chuckled softly. Hoping for the best from that laugh, I immediately used healing magic. But it didn’t work.

“What’s wrong? Why isn’t it working?”

My mind was filled with confusion. I already had the experience with Deron, so I didn’t expect to heal him easily from the start. But this time, it felt different from that. No matter how much healing magic I poured in, the blood didn’t stop. It wasn’t just slow; it felt like it had no effect at all.

“No. No! Heal! I said heal!”

I felt like I was being eaten away by the growing anxiety. Every time I shook my head, tears dripped down and wet Eluen’s cheeks. Then, the tightly closed eyelids fluttered and slowly opened. The thinly opened blue eyes turned to me.

“El.”

“I’m, I’m sorry, Eluen. Does it hurt a lot? I’m working hard to heal you right now. Just hold on a little longer. I’m sorry.”

I tried to hold back my sobs, but I couldn’t stop my voice from being choked up. My expression must have been a mess too. Seeing that, he smiled faintly. Then, he slowly raised his blood-soaked hand. Feeling that he was trying to touch me, I quickly grabbed his hand first and put it to my face. As the warmth touched my cheek, the sorrow I had been holding back burst out in full force.

“My one and only son is too scared, which worries me.”

“But, but…”

“I’m fine, son.”

“How can you be fine! You’re not fine at all!”

“No, I’m really fine.”

The smile on his face deepened. It was such a peaceful expression that I almost felt relieved, even though I knew his condition.

“So don’t overdo it.”

At that moment, his arm lost strength. I reflexively gripped the hand I was holding even tighter.

“Eluen!”

I called out in a hurry, but his hand never regained its strength. Rather, his energy seemed to be rapidly disappearing.

“No! You can’t die! Can you hear me, Eluen? Are you listening?”

But no matter how much I shouted, there was no response. I held my breath and looked at his face, which was quietly closing his eyes. With the vitality gone from his beautiful face, he looked like a wax doll.

I don’t know how to check the life or death of a god. Of course, it would be different from humans. But I had never heard of a god who disappeared leaving a corpse behind. He must have just lost consciousness. That must be it. There was no way Eluen could die like this. He had definitely said that he wouldn’t die if I wanted him to. Eluen doesn’t lie to me. So this time too, he would be right. He definitely would be. But unlike the thoughts in my head, my body trembled more and more.

Eluen, covered in blood and unconscious. It was a terribly surreal sight. Why was he in this state? Eluen was a strong god. He was said to be as strong as the strongest Demon God in the God Realm. As that saying goes, he always had a thick aura that was hard to approach. No matter how strong Karian had become, he wasn’t someone who could be easily defeated. Even in the moment when he lost the weapon containing the power of the Chief God, he didn’t lose his composure. If things had gone as they should, he would still be maintaining that appearance. Yes, if it weren’t for me. If he hadn’t tried to save me!

“Why! What am I that you would do this! Even if you’re my father, there’s no need to throw your life away for a grown-up child like me!”

He wasn’t even my biological father, just an adopted one. A connection made with just a light word, without any particular reason. A gift that had nothing to gain for him, only for me. That’s why I hesitated even more. The deeper his existence became to me, the more burdensome it would be for him.

“Idiot Eluen! Stupid Father! Damn it! Don’t die, Father! Father, please! Please!”

Ah, why couldn’t I call him that sooner? What was it all for? It was so easy. I should have called him Father sooner. When he was conscious. When he could hear my voice.

“You said you wouldn’t die.”

Was I being punished? Was I paying the price for feeling relieved that Eluen wasn’t the god to be sacrificed, for ignoring the pain that others would experience?

My parents in my past life always said that they were unhappy because of me. I denied that it couldn’t be true, but as a result, that was the truth. I was a child who was born wrong. Everyone became unhappy because a child who didn’t need to be in that family was born. It was the same this time. If it weren’t for me, Eluen wouldn’t have had to go through this. If I wasn’t a clumsy Spirit King, he wouldn’t have adopted me as his son. It was really my fault. It was all because of me. I shouldn’t have been born in the first place. Then no one would have been unhappy.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. It’s all my fault.”

My vision blurred. I couldn’t feel any warmth in the hand I was holding anymore. Just that alone felt like my whole heart was collapsing. I wish all of this was just a dream. It would have been okay if I became Kang Ji-hoon again when I opened my eyes. I didn’t care if I lost everything I had now. It would be okay if I couldn’t be called Eluen’s son again. So please. Please…!

“Please open your eyes, Father…”

It was a little later that I realized the surroundings had become quiet. The fierce wind and noise stopped, and various voices scattered. I felt someone standing in front of me, but I didn’t raise my head. I felt like I knew who it was without looking.

“Who said Eluen?”

The voice I heard was as expected. I slowly raised my head. Karian was grinning with sharp fangs bared. When I glanced to the side, I saw Luseph and Asmodel standing not far away, their bodies battered. Sibelius and Trowel, who were each with the injured, also stood up awkwardly. Tension filled their frozen faces. Everyone seemed unable to move rashly because of the close distance between Karian and me.

“I can’t believe this. It’s absurd that the Spirit King jumped in to save the Demon King’s life, but a god dying to save that Spirit King? I wondered who the hell it was, but you said Eluen just now? The infamous God of Curses and Punishment, Eluen?”

“…Don’t speak carelessly.”

“Haha, so it really is that Eluen! Keukeuk, Puhahaha!”

Karian, who shouted with a dumbfounded face, soon began to laugh like crazy. His lips were raised to the limit, and his uncontrollable joy was clearly revealed.

“Was that all there was to it, God of Punishment! Even the high-ranking god who made the Demon Realm tremble is nothing special now that I see it! You’ve enjoyed an overbearing glory all this time!”

“…You…”

“No, it must be that I’ve become that much stronger. As the one and only being who can defeat the Chief God, it’s only natural. But it’s a bit of a pity. I had no regrets about the God of Punishment. Besides, now that I see it, he’s a strikingly beautiful god. If he had obediently submitted to me, I would have kept him by my side and cherished him. Yes, I could have put a leash on him and made him crawl on the ground like a dog. It would have been fun to throw him rotten meat as a reward for his tricks.”

“…What?”

“Too bad, really too bad. To think he would die such a dog’s death so easily. But the sight of him falling helplessly was quite a sight to see. It was a very fitting end for him.”

Ha.

Something snapped in my head. I couldn’t tell if it was my patience reaching its limit or my last bit of reason. I put down Eluen’s hand, which I had been holding until then, and slowly stood up. When I looked straight at him, he met my gaze with a leisurely smile.