Demon of Honesty and Heartbreak (4)

"No, no way. Are you saying that the skeleton is the Archduke [Gremory]?!"

Christopher spoke first in a surprised voice.

I nodded, and then put a little more force into my sword.

My sword is now reaching the base of the neck. I feel it come to life, and the skeleton slowly begins to take on the form of a human being.

A beautiful woman, off-white in color, with dark black hair, pupils engraved with a unique pattern, and the symbol of the demon Baal exposed between her clavicle. A mountain goat symbol is prominent.

This is one of the archdukes like Paimon, the demon who brought the curse on Kramsar.

[Gremory].

"It's a curious thing, I've never seen a human in these ruins who wasn't affected by illusions, and I'd like to ask them how they did it."

With that, Gremory gently pushed my sword away with her raised fingertips.

A brief trickle of blood forms on the tip, but it heals quickly; the Archduke's resilience is too much for me.

'Paimon was like that once. He had tremendous defense. Even in his weakened state.'

But he doesn't reveal the truth. He simply asks her as bluntly as he can.

"Why did you plan to use Kramsar to curse Tahalin and consume the kingdom?"

"Isn't there only one thing a sealed demon wants?"

"Resurrection."

"Yes."

Her meek admission, but I found it funny.

For one thing, she could never be resurrected in the Inner Lunatic that I knew.

And for another thing, she could never hurt me. She may have great power, but she has limitations.

And at this moment in time.

I had a hunch that the perfect time to bring it out had arrived.

"I understand that an angel sealed you in the past."

"...what?"

For the first time, her stoic expression twisted.

What the hell is he talking about?

The look on her face said it all.

Of course, I don't know the whole story.

I relaxed into Gremory's bewildered expression and thought back to a time when I was enjoying the game.

Gremory. One of the 72 demons, why did she have to be stuck in these ruins, underutilized in the main story?

The reason for this was hidden in the past.

* * *

[In the past, there was an archangel whose name is unknown].

[She descended to earth and sealed away a myriad of evils, one of which was Gremory, the demon of honesty and heartbreak].

[Gremory deceived people in the name of honesty].

[Her definition of justice, what she called good, was a contradiction in terms, and she deceived countless people and caused them to hurt each other].

[A good that was cruel to man, a terrible scourge].

[It was a different kind of evil, with different greed and curses, and it was eating away at humanity].

[As such, she became an emblematic outpost of the word heartbreak].

[Her goodness was manifestly twisted].

....

It was an excerpt from the literature of the past.

And the special beings who appear there.

Angels.

No one would question the existence of angels in a game set in a world where demons exist. They are at odds with each other, always fighting to the death.

Some novels, games, and other works present angels as evil and demons as good.

Most works treat them in a stereotypical way.

Yeah.

After all, the symbolism of an angel is goodness itself.

The devil is evil itself.

This was also true of the Inner Lunatic.

As much as it depicts evil in its worst forms, it certainly depicts goodness in its presence.

However, there was a question in Inner Lunatic.

While demons are constantly featured in the main story, angels never make a single appearance in the main story.

Inexplicably, at least until Part 1, the angel's place in the story remains in the form of an Easter egg, a fragment of history.

So I assumed that the story would be resolved in Part 2.

Apparently, there were quite a few people who thought the same thing.

But now I need to learn more about angels.

I find myself constantly searching for literature and resources, trying to find some sort of record of them.

I have come to the conclusion that their existence is likely to hold great secrets of the Inner Lunatic.

Also,

To do so, I need to use the Gremory before me.

'She was sealed by the Archangel, and then imprisoned here in the Great Ruins, which is practically a prison for her.'

This also means that Gremory knows something about the archangel who sealed her.

Angels.

Who they are and how they sealed her. She already knows the vague details.

So I walked up to her and opened my mouth.

"There is something I want to ask you."

"Am I obligated to answer?"

"If you answer my question, I will spare your life."

"...what?"

It was a radical proposition.

A demon in a human subject. And he was offering to spare the Archduke's life.

'Because you're such a crazy person...'

Gremory was puzzled.

What about all the humans she'd met?

Most of them were shaking, nervous, or running for their lives.

But Nox. No, he did not.

Which made her panic many times over.

For making such an outrageous suggestion.

Gremory stammered.

"You don't seem to understand… I, Gremory, am one of the Archdukes, and I can kill a human like you in a heartbeat....."

I smirked and responded in a low whisper.

"You think I'm going to fall for that crap?"

I take a step toward her, energizing my sword.

"I already know. Because of your contract with the angel, you can no longer harm people. Isn't it?"

I can feel my heart pounding wildly in my chest.

Bingo.

Gremory. She can't hurt people.

That restriction was imposed on her in the past when she lost a battle with an archangel.

That's why she used Kramsar as a ruse to resurrect herself.

Bribing a human with power, then using him to drain them of their corrupted emotions and life.

That way, she wouldn't have to get her hands dirty.

And so it was with Kramsar.

A scumbag who had somehow made a name for himself as a court mage.

But of course, it doesn't work for me.

At least she can't kill humans herself. She is incapable of rebellion of any kind.

I came to this place knowing that.

To me, she's simply a life-extending emergency food supply. If I kill her, I will instantly gain more than 100 days of life in one fell swoop.

Even if there is a limit to the Ring of Black Basalt, that kind of increase is natural.

However, I said I would let her live for one reason.

Life can be gained by subduing or sealing her, and there's one more thing to scavenge in these ruins.

The corner of my mouth twitches upward.

"I assume you are prepared to answer… so let me ask you a question."

I said, then locked eyes with Gremory and clenched my fists. For some reason, I could feel Gremory's expression stiffen.

I think she might even be trembling slightly....

'How ridiculous.'

Anyway, on the subject of demons.

A cub. Embarrassing.

* * *

Gremory.

72 One of the demons, and one of the most powerful of all.

She is ... and is currently being blackmailed by a human.

She looks like she's barely past adulthood.

Lavender eyes scanned her up and down. She feels creeped out.

Why?

I can feel the questions creeping up your spine. A cold sweat runs down my back. I feel nauseous in the pit of my stomach.

The boy in front of me was clearly off.

'There's something about him. Kramsar… there was a reason that clever bastard got away with it...! If I had known this would happen, I should have kept them out of the way with a bunch of demons earlier....'

Sadly, doing so would have only prolonged Nox's life, but she didn't know that.

Which was a shame, really.

Anyway.

The boy was about to ask her something.

Nox von Reinhafer.

She didn't know what the scion of House Reinhafer was trying to ask her, or why he knew of her contract with the angel, but....

It occurred to me that this was dangerous.

Why?

"I'll kill you."

Because the Nox von Reinhafer in front of her was indeed trying to kill her.

That couldn't be right.

Gremory was about to be resurrected.

If only Kramsar had tried harder, if only he had been faster.

She could siphon off the life force of the fallen humans, and it wouldn't be hard to get out of these ruins.

It shouldn't have been hard to break free of his archangelic bonds.

But to screw things up like this?

'No way!'

Because.

Gremory could only swallow her pride and ask.

"My-what are you going to ask me?"

"First of all. What was the name of the angel who fought you?"

Nox replied, as if he expected her to take him up on his offer. But she couldn't help but snort.

"Ha! You think I'd remember an angel's name?"

"Really?"

Stab!

(pug!)

Even as Gremory replied, Nox's blade dug into her shoulder a little, and a look of horror crossed her face.

This was an embarrassment she couldn't hide.

"What is this...!"

"Either you answer me straight, or you don't, and realize that your life depends on it...."

Nox smiled faintly.

"I suppose you didn't tell me that."

"You madman…!

Gremory felt her heart pounding frantically.

To the devil, no less. Was he expecting a cowardly answer from an archduke like herself?

It was impossible, she thought, but the sword digging into her shoulder convinced her otherwise.

I must live to fight another day.

"Bird, I can tell you what she looks like… and the power she used."

"We'll start there."

Thankfully, Nox said, removing the sword from Gremory's shoulder.

He didn't want to take it out completely, lest he have to stab it again. Gremory hated the bastard. and stuck out her tongue.

"First of all, it wasn't a damn…, it was an angel with a pair of big, white wings."

puhwas!

"That's about as obvious as saying the devil has horns. If you're playing around and buying time, I'll kill you immediately."

"...."

Huh. Gremory sucked in a breath, then glared fiercely at Nox.

Then.

"I think it had a wingspan of about two meters, and I don't know… its eyes were lavender, and I think they were kind of jewel-like… but I guess that's not really important... Ah! Put that jet-black thing down for a second, you're making me feel uneasy!"

That was it.

The demon of honesty and heartbreak.

One of the strongest of the 72 demons, the equivalent of an archduke.

Gremory's confession began.

Only then did Nox relax his grip on his sword and begin to listen.

Meanwhile.

Elsewhere, Nox could hear the murmur of voices as they watched him, three nondescript figures who had accompanied him.

"I thought you were worthy of the name of House Reinhafer. But to deal with a demon like that…? You're only a first-year student at the academy, isn't that impossible? This Christopher is so embarrassed that he can't even speak properly."

"…Is that the extent of your inability to speak?"

"Don't tell me. I'm shaking so hard I can barely speak. You should have seen me in this situation before, even though I've traveled the world and slayed demons before...."

"Oh, yeah...."

Christopher and Kushan exchanged a look at Nox.

Elena watched Nox's cold stare at Gremory and gave him a small cheer.

'I don't know what it is, Young Master, but you must win…! We can't have more girls here!'

Regardless, Elena was cheering for Nox with a sense of urgency of her own.

She remembered the feel of Nox's hand on her own, and hoped that he would make quick work of the enemy in front of him.