The Boss Wants to Die - Chapter 52

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Boss wants to die.
Episode 52
Adult Aktr had thick facial features and a muscular frame all over—nothing like what I’d imagined.
But this child was so small.
Apart from white hair and dark eyes, there was scarcely anything recognizable between them.
I deliberately drew the child close.
The small frame settled against me like a young animal.
The child, who’d been holding his torso awkwardly upright, collapsed into comfort and burrowed into my chest.
“You smell like flowers, big sister.”
The child breathed in my scent and babbled happily.
“Like roses.”
“Roses?”
“Like the flowers you brought me. I smelled them so much. That’s why I remember them.”
“Is that so?”
“Why aren’t you afraid of me?”
“Why would you be frightening?”
The child caught his breath.
“Because I’m a monster.”
My arms tightened around him.
“A monster?”
“That’s what people say.”
“Those people are the ones saying cruel things.”
I met the child’s gaunt face and spoke with conviction.
“Adults who call a child a monster—they’re the ones who are wrong.”
“No. You’re the one who’s strange.”
“Not at all.”
“Everyone says I’m a horrible monster. You’re the only one who likes me.”
‘What could his story be?’
Yet one thing was certain: the child bore no guilt.
He didn’t have the kind of cruel nature to harm anyone.
‘Perhaps there’s another reason. Just as I’ve become the Demon God and drawn everyone’s hatred.’
I caught my lower lip between my teeth, then noticed a Hand Mirror jutting halfway out of an open Bag.
“Look at this mirror. Have you ever seen a monster that looks like this?”
…
“You’re a child. Not a monster. If there’s any guilt you carry, it belongs to the adults. You have nothing to be ashamed of.”
The child’s dark eyes wavered with heartbreak.
He pushed away the mirror and buried himself in my embrace.
The mirror, loosely held, slipped from my fingers and fell onto the grass.
…
The child cried in silence, the way he’d learned to.
I adjusted him in my arms and patted his back gently, over and over.
Suddenly, I saw the mirror on the ground reflecting my face.
A flash of crimson eyes caught my gaze.
‘What?’
I furrowed my brow in confusion, staring hard at the mirror.
Black hair, flowing in elegant waves, scattered in the wind from my waist down.
My eyes were wide open.
‘This face is…’
Me.
Roun, the Demon God.
Elinpia’s most terrible Boss Monster was holding a child close, comforting him gently.
***
At the same moment, my eyes flew open.
“Huh…”
Tears spilled down the instant I sat up in bed.
I didn’t know why I was crying.
There was only a deep, aching sorrow.
I pressed my palms against my eye sockets and caught my breath.
Only then did I understand what I’d witnessed.
‘This was Roun’s past.’
I only knew of the Demon God’s origin from the game’s lore.
No one had told me, but from the moment I opened my eyes in the game, I understood it naturally.
The Demon God hadn’t always been this way.
I rummaged through old memories and recalled the Demon God’s background.
‘The Demon God was originally just an ordinary person.’
With roots in the Sanctuary, she lived a life even more austere than a commoner’s, but beyond that, there was nothing remarkable about her.
Since her friends and family all came from the Sanctuary, her daily life was monotonous to the point of tedium.
Yet she was someone who knew how to be grateful.
There were no wicked people around her, and surrounded by kind souls, she lived cherishing her good fortune as a blessing.
That is, until that day when everything fell apart.
‘The Demon God awakened and killed everyone around her.’
It was an Awakening.
One day, suddenly, an ordinary person awakened as the Demon God and went berserk.
How she became the Demon God, why she was consumed with rage and slaughtered them all—it remained shrouded in mystery.
The Demon God was seized by fury, unable to resist the urge to kill, and snapped the necks of everyone.
Her parents, neighbors, and even her friends.
A single Sanctuary was destroyed that way.
Since each diocese had one Sanctuary, destroying one was tantamount to wiping out an entire village.
After laying waste to the Sanctuary, the Demon God returned to the Demon Palace and opened her eyes.
That was the beginning of my hellish existence.
I happened to awaken in the Demon God’s body right after that rampage.
Everything had already crossed the river of no return.
The Demon God is me, and I am the Demon God, but because we were awkwardly fused, the Demon God of that era felt like someone other than myself.
‘That’s why it felt like game lore. That’s why I didn’t think much of it.’
But I never expected to experience it like this directly.
It wasn’t a pleasant feeling at all.
‘The monster wasn’t that little one. It was me.’
I stopped rubbing my dry palm across my face and grimaced.
‘But did the Demon God’s lore mention having a younger brother? I know she had several older sisters, but a younger brother? I’ve never heard of that.’
If that child was indeed a younger sibling, had she died by the hands of her awakened sister?
‘That would be too pitiful…….’
The child was already unfortunate enough.
I—before the Demon God awakened—was the only person the child could rely on.
Why had the child been trapped behind a barrier?
The little one was someone I couldn’t turn away from in any case.
My gaze kept lingering, and my heart ached.
The Demon God before her Awakening likely cared for the child in secret for similar reasons.
I rubbed my chest and bit my lip.
I couldn’t understand what this had to do with the game’s ending.
‘I need more information.’
Like a mirror reflecting my desire, a holographic window materialized at just the right moment.
Ding!
I examined the system with weary eyes.
The glittering window obstructed my vision as if urging me to check its contents at once.
“I’m exhausted…….”
The system never accounts for human emotion.
It drives the Player forward mechanically and relentlessly.
Just like now.
I sighed and skimmed through the information.
[A new Quest has arrived.]
I quickly checked it, scanning the contents rapidly so I could rest.
[Justice Devoted to Evil.
A magnificent evil must have a righteous warrior to stand against it.
A Demon God without a Rival is nothing more than a tedious Boss Monster.]
I seem far too strong to have a Rival.
I read the next part.
[Can a Demon God who rampages without anyone caring truly be called the setting’s greatest Boss?
Unfortunately, there is no apostle of justice around you to check the Demon God.
But do not worry.
To ensure you become a magnificent Demon God, we have selected a promising Player for you.
How does this sound?
The only being capable of defeating the Demon God.
The Primordial Priest is a unique class that only one person in the fantasy world of Elinpia can possess.
Quite an enticing proposition, wouldn’t you say?
Raising him as a rival, then consuming him once he’s fully ripe—that does sound appealing.
It might even breathe some life into the Demon God’s dreary existence.
— Completion Condition: Use your minions to help Aktr Hevbgenia, the Primordial Priest, complete his class quest.
— Reward: The next quest will be unlocked.]
A chained quest.
I narrowed my eyes.
‘If I follow this quest, could I uncover more hints about the ending?’
In truth, following quests was the most orthodox way to see an ending.
In that sense, it wasn’t terrible.
Except for the part where I had to deal with Aktr.
‘There’s only one Primordial Priest.’
No wonder it wasn’t just a legendary class.
I let out a pained sigh and pressed my palm to my forehead.
I’d been looking for any excuse to slip away, and now the system itself was fanning the flames to keep us together.
‘Maybe the most efficient way really is to raise Aktr and have him kill me…….’
Uncertain, I accepted the quest and collapsed back onto the bed.
It had been a bright afternoon when I left the Lord’s Castle, but darkness had already settled in.
‘One day should be enough to clear some simple dungeon.’
This wasn’t a hunt to level up, so my involvement shouldn’t cause problems.
‘After all, all I need to do is clear the dungeon.’
Simple.
Far too simple, as it turned out…….
***
“How did we end up like this.”
I stared blankly at the campfire, listening to the rhythmic crackle as it burned down.
Across from me, Aktr—battered until he was nearly in rags—fed another log into the flames.
Like me, he was watching the fire.
His face, scraped and bruised, looked drenched in exhaustion.
“Are you hungry, Roun?”
“How could I possibly eat in a situation like this……?”
I cut him off before he could insist on preparing a meal.
“Don’t worry about me—just take care of yourself.”
“I’m fine.”
For someone beaten half to death, he certainly spoke well.
Though he showed no signs of pain, it seemed Aktr was simply good at enduring it.
When I had to carve out a parasitic monster that burrowed under his skin with a blade, I thought he’d pass out.
He didn’t even blink.
‘Terrifying man…….’
Every time I glimpsed that duality in him—his obedience, his gentleness—my spine went cold.
He was something beyond my comprehension.
“Maybe we should abandon the dungeon and leave?”
We were inside the Den of Worshippers’ Depravity dungeon.
‘After all the trouble it took just to get here…….’
I hesitated, unable to answer immediately.
Before we even entered the dungeon, we’d been through quite an ordeal…….
***
It was ten days ago, in the morning.
Until we set out, everything had been smooth.
After reading the hidden story, I’d decided I needed to uncover more clues.
Since what I ultimately wanted was the ending, I harbored hope that continuing to follow the quest would unlock more hidden stories.
That’s why I’d decided to obediently follow Aktr.
Whether because he didn’t want me to feel burdened, Aktr said nothing about my circumstances.
His consideration was heartbreakingly kind.
Burdening someone with your feelings simply because you like them is a mistake many people make.
But not him.
‘Is it truly possible to genuinely love a monster in a game?’

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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