The Oracle of the Villainous Baby - Chapter 201

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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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Side Story Episode 5
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Footsteps echoed through the darkness.
I walked down a long corridor lined with gray stone walls, stretching endlessly into shadow.
Drip, drip.
Thud, thud.
The blade dragged weakly across the floor with a grating screech, leaving a trail of blood in its wake.
“…Hah, hah….”
The Man breathed heavily, his entire body drenched in blood. Yet he pressed forward, each step deliberate, as though this was the only thing he could still do.
At the end of the long, shadowed corridor stood an ornately carved Crimson Door.
‘This place….’
The Man lifted his head blankly. His eyes, devoid of any spark of life, held only emptiness.
Walking forward as though I had lost all direction, all purpose—as though I had nothing but what was given to me.
The Man stood silently before the sealed door for a long moment, then slowly reached out his hand.
He paused. His hand was stained crimson. A sickening sight.
“This is the end….”
Once I opened this door, it would all be over—one way or another. Whether I died or my opponent fell, a conclusion would be reached.
‘The Demon King….’
What would the Demon King look like?
I had hoped she would be less human than the Demon Clan Members. Perhaps then the guilt would weigh less heavily.
Every Demon Clan Member I had encountered thus far seemed so human. The mental exhaustion had been considerable.
Truthfully, I was already worn down, wanting nothing more than for this to end. Whether I died here or my opponent fell—either way, let it be finished. And then….
‘…I want to rest.’
I wanted to rest so desperately. To do nothing and simply rest.
“This is where it ends.”
Creak, creak, creak.
As I applied force, the heavy door slowly swung open.
The sight that revealed itself froze me in place.
What were the Demon Clan?
The Demon Clan I had been relentlessly taught about were beings who exploited others’ suffering and despair to satisfy their own desires and pleasures.
Infinitely cruel, infinitely savage, and thus endlessly at odds with humanity.
Evil beings that must be purified. Creatures of unspeakable horror.
Entities that seduced humans and toyed with them for amusement.
“…Are you the Demon King?”
Yet what was different about those I had cut down until now?
They were not so different from humans.
They…cried, laughed, suffered, despaired, and some grieved in anger at the death of their comrades.
Many were not like this, of course. But among them, there were certainly those with emotions not so different from humans.
Yes, they existed. Quite different from what I had learned in books and been conditioned to believe.
I stared blankly at the figure seated upon a throne that rose solitary in the center of the vast, empty Grand Hall.
Seated upon the throne was a woman with crimson hair.
She gazed down at him with an air of ennui, her chin resting languidly in her palm.
A delicate-looking woman.
She appeared human. Were it not for the horns upon her brow, one might certainly have mistaken her for one.
Skin pale as porcelain. Eyes of crimson. Hair black as midnight. A beauty so breathtaking it seemed almost unreal.
A woman.
Her appearance differed little from the Demon King I had heard described for so long.
Yet why did she seem so utterly alone the moment our eyes met?
A ruler ought to be surrounded by attendants and protection, yet here she sat in solitary silence. Perhaps that was why I could not immediately recognize her as the Demon King.
“….”
The woman reclined in her throne, one arm draped across its armrest, her chin tilted at an angle.
Her gaze swept across him in silence—a lifeless stare devoid of vitality, containing only the echo of profound loneliness.
“….”
This war was one that could only end with someone’s death.
Thrust onto the battlefield beneath the title of Hero—he who was the very source and essence of the Demon Clan itself, the Demon King.
Did this war hold any meaning?
Upon bloodied earth where lives crumbled and blood flowed endlessly… why did we wage war at all?
We could simply live, each in our own place, fulfilling our own roles.
‘Must I still wield the blade?’
My breath caught in my throat.
Even if I killed this woman and returned as a hero, they would demand the annihilation of countless more Demon Clan members. They would hunt down every last one who fled seeking survival, capturing them as one might trap rats.
“….”
Clang—!
In that moment, strength drained from my hands without my consent.
I stared blankly at the sword that clattered to the floor. Its blade was chipped in places from neglect, stained crimson with blood.
“…Ah.”
I wanted to stop.
I had no strength left. Reaching this point alone had already pushed me to my limit.
I slowly lifted my head.
“Will you kill me?”
“….”
The Demon King’s expressionless brow furrowed ever so slightly.
‘Ah, I think I understand what she’s thinking.’
She seemed almost human in that moment. Even with such an indifferent expression, she could not be entirely without emotion.
She tilted her head slightly.
“You encountered no poison or illusion-type magic on your way here.”
Her cold, matter-of-fact voice uttered such an unexpected statement that my eyes widened slightly. So this was how she expressed the word “mad.”
“I lack the strength to continue fighting. I wish to stop.”
“If you are not at full strength, return once you have recovered.”
“You wish for me to come back here?”
The Man nodded in response to her question.
“Is something the matter?”
“They should be killed immediately.”
“Crushing an ant holds little meaning.”
At the Young Lady’s words, The Man blinked slowly. It was an unexpected response.
“Do you find meaning in defeating your enemies?”
“I suppose.”
The Young Lady blinked languidly.
“Without even that, there’s no amusement in it.”
“….”
The Man’s eyes widened slightly.
She rose from her seat and descended. The Young Lady’s footsteps echoed—click, click, click—as she walked.
The Man closed his eyes slowly.
In that same moment, the Young Lady brushed past him.
“…!”
The Man’s eyes flew wide open.
“Rather than remain shackled and do what you despise, why not cultivate the courage to flee? Pathetic wretch.”
“…!”
“Better to become a wild beast than live like a leashed dog.”
“…Why.”
“I have no interest in killing those who come seeking death. Leave, human.”
At the Young Lady’s words, The Man fell silent.
“My interest has waned.”
The Young Lady departed from the Hall.
The Man, frozen rigid, suddenly spun around and pursued her.
“I have nowhere to——!”
Click, click, click.
The Young Lady’s footsteps vanished beyond the Corridor without pause.
Yet The Man harbored not the slightest doubt that she was listening. She would be listening, without question.
“What if I have nowhere to go?”
“Are you truly asking me to provide a den for a wild beast?”
“…That’s not quite it.”
“Do wild beasts have homes of their own?”
The Young Lady scoffed and vanished in an instant.
The Man with sky-blue hair blinked slowly. He exhaled a long breath and rubbed his cheek with agonizing deliberation.
“So it doesn’t matter where I go, then?”
The Man murmured softly, standing motionless for a long while, frozen in place.
And truly, he had nowhere to return to.
Whether he returned defeated by the Demon King or survived through her mercy, he would only be sent to the Battlefield again and again.
Dios Yudia no longer wished for that. From the beginning, he had never wanted war. Never, truly never.
However, since he was told that if it wasn’t him, then the Youngest Sibling with the next strongest magical power would have to go, he had only participated out of obligation.
“….”
I didn’t want to go back. So then….
Having made his decision, Dios Yudia slowly walked in the direction the Young Lady had disappeared.
“Why not have the courage to run away rather than be shackled to something and do what you don’t want? How pathetic for a man.”
“…!”
“It would be better to become a stray dog than to live like one on a leash.”
The decision was already made.

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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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