The Prisoner [II]

[A/N: This chapter has not been revised and may have several errors. Keep in mind that it will be reviewed.]

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[Where is the Demon King?]

Honestly, when I wrote the original manuscript of this story, in my past life on Earth, I never imagined things would be so grim --- reading and seeing things were essentially different.

The Demon King's castle, a region that was supposed to be one of the most safe in the world, was falling into disrepair.

Besides, because of the things I once casually wrote, a massacre had ensued. unrolled in this place.

I had seen everything in this place.

From lacerated corpses with their limbs ripped off and unnaturally bent, to people who'd had their eyes ripped out of their respective places.

It was disgusting.

Disgusting was the least I could use to describe these facilities.

The way to the prison warden's room, a demon that the former owner of this body probably knew, was no different.

The stench actually only got worse as I got closer to that damn place.

There, I came across a shocking scene of a woman dressed in luxurious attire, almost completely naked and decapitated.

I quickly understood what had happened to her and churned inside.

R*p, death, massacres, and the extermination of who knows how many races — all this had happened and was about to happen because of me.

This world was clearly rotten.

So, could I say that all demons were all crazy, by any chance?

"Those crazy bastards."

It was bizarre, certainly. However, frankly, it was hard to believe that all of this had happened in such a short period of time.

Everything seemed to have happened very quickly.

What had motivated these people to commit so many atrocities?

The twisted ideals that I had implanted in their minds and cultures, just for fun? --- Now that I thought about it, my grief and regret could make me feel mediocre.

A mere insignificant ant who, for a moment, deluded himself as a God without a doubt, should be being the Reapers' source of happiness, right?

Shit.

Those damn motherfuckers had done a good job of pissing me off.

"I'd better not keep thinking about it for now." I stated, walking towards the cell of the little red-haired girl.

I tried to stop the morbid thoughts, without success.

"I have to try to stop or it will only make me feel even more pathetic."

I needed to think of something else, something that would make me feel more confident with myself.

Something that would give me more sense, instead of making me feel angry with myself.

"I went back." I commented, waving through the procession of metal bars towards the girl trapped there.

Determined, I stopped in front of the thick metal bars that barred the only way out of the cell and started trying to unlock the thing's gate.

I didn't know what the right key was, so I brought all the keyrings I found in the warden's office at the end of the cells in the Demon King Castle's confinement facility.

"Sob… Sob, sob…."

As I tried each of the keys on the strings in my hands, the little girl in the ragged white clothes continued to cry, clinging to the adult woman's corpse.

"....." I kept silent.

I had no idea what it was like to lose someone important like that.

I might be handling this better than expected, but that was only due to the fact that I was the author of this messed up world shit and therefore didn't have a real family in this place.

I was basically an orphan, in the literal sense of the word -- both because I wasn't originally from this world, and because the father of this body is now dead.

However, if I were the original Demon Prince, with his memories and past acquaintances, then without a doubt, I would be mourning my father's death right now.

"But I want them to fuck off, now..." I muttered, disgusted by the actions of demons and humans alike. "Not that humans and others are the exception to the rule, but…"

I stopped my solitary monologue and fixed my gaze on the little girl as I still went from key to key, trying to open the gate.

She was silent, just crying in the corner of the dirty cell.

Her dead fish eyes were hopeless, as if she had lost all hope.

Somehow, I felt familiarity with that lifeless gaze.

However, my past life memories felt incredibly blurry at one point and therefore I couldn't readily remember where I felt that closeness to the girl's blank expression.

I opened my mouth, trying to distract her.

"Can you hear the sounds outside?"

"Yea...."

The screams of humans could be heard loud and clear.

I couldn't go into details, but somehow I wanted to tell her that everything was going to be okay --- but honestly, I knew I had no right to say something like that to her.

She'd been through too much, enough was enough.

I had to do something to cheer her up, so I swallowed the guilt and started: "We'll be fine. You can trust me."

Stopping to think a little, if everything continued to run like the scenarios I set up on Earth, then, inevitably, this war had already been won by humans and the other races.

They had triumphed over the demons and the sinful Demon King, Roselyn Urus II.

"Yes..." She replied like a robot.

At my fearful but confident words, the girl continued to cry and nodded resolutely.

She looked extremely tired as well as sad.

"This is one of the last." I commented to myself.

It took some time to find the right key, much longer than I expected, that is.

There was a moment when I wondered if it was really necessary to open the door, but I wanted to get her out of that miserable place for now.

I looked her in the eyes, realizing that the situation inside the cell was much worse than I had thought, from what I could see through the bars before.

How long had she and the others lived in this place?

They had only endured so much to end up in this state?

What a cruel world and fate these are.

"Hey." I called out to her. "It might be dangerous to get out, but…I'll open this for now, even if you don't want to get out."

I gestured gently with my hands as I flung open the cell's iron gate and strapped the key rings to my waist.

"Y-yes, yes..." The little girl's voice shook violently.

Was it fear?

No. Instead, it felt like she lost control of her emotions after meeting another living human like her.

The problem with all of this was that I wasn't even remotely human.

However, she didn't need to know that – in fact, if I wanted to survive until the important events, naturally, no one could know that.

"....."

Essentially, I as the oldest one in the room, and also someone whose mental state was far more mature and developed than the age of the body he was in, should put her mind at ease.

To sum it up, I needed to make her relax a little.

"Look. I'm not going to lie to you: I'm scared too."

She looked at me, looking a little interested.

Then, I continued.

"However, we have to take it easy.... We're going to live. You will be able to live. I won't let anything happen to us."

It was an intimate promise of mine, coming from the bottom of my heart. This was also something I wanted to say to myself.

Maybe that was the reason behind my sentimentality with that phrase?

Well, whatever.

We have to get out of this damn stinking hole and move on, to survive. There is no other option.

I needed those words more than anyone else, to be honest.

So I muttered "Let's calm down, let's calm down, we can live" to myself as if trying to hypnotize me.

I opened my eyes then.

Just by looking at that kid, I could tell she was seriously skinny, to the point that I could almost compare her to a skeleton.

I couldn't even begin to imagine how hungry she must be. I felt even more pity, and then...

"Oh!" Come to think of it, I can fix this. "Wait, wait a minute."

Startled, she answered me.

"H-huh? What? Huh?"

I ran somewhere else instead of continuing in front of the door with the girl.

In the background I could hear what sounded like the child calling me, but I ran like the wind and rummaged through the clothes I had taken off earlier.

So I quickly came back with the things I took from there.

"Look. I found these things where the keys were and thought they might be of some use to us." I lied blatantly.

I mean, I didn't have to tell the truth every time, so I told a little lie and gave her a lollipop and something that looked like a big candy.

It was some sweet groceries that I had needlessly put in my pocket when I woke up in this world.

Luckily, I remembered that now and was able to get it back at a crucial moment.

With that, maybe I could gain some trust with this child.

"Take it." I spoke. "You must be hungry, so eat this. Children must eat well if they want to grow."

The red haired girl suddenly saw a lot of sweets in her hand, which made her eyes widen without realizing it.

I couldn't help but think it was cute, but then I felt bad again.

Yes, things are sad and depressing, and you're in mourning -- or whatever you're doing -- but you must also feel a hellish hunger in this pitiful place.

So, take it and eat.

I leaned against the wall and watched her calmly.

"And... And y-you?" She spoke shakily.

The girl was exchanging stares with me and changing direction, between the candies and my eyes.

She looked puzzled that I'd given her the whole candy, but I just shrugged.

"I'm fine, don't worry. The important thing here is that you eat first. So go ahead."

I began to prowl around the front of the cell, fiddling with the keys, reading the little symbols inscribed on them.

The girl kept looking silently between the candy and me, as if trying to decide if it was okay for her to eat it or not.

I was lost in thought for a few minutes, almost drowning in worries, and then…

— Crunch!

Along with that crunchy, noisy sound, something was pushed against my mouth without my noticing it, as I was still preoccupied with the events that would unfold after I left this castle.

The little girl had gotten up without making a sound. Was she a damn ninja?

"Y-you're good..." Said the child. "S-so, you too... you eat too."

I felt emotional for some reason.

Are humans like this just to atone for some kind of sin they've committed?

Could it be that everything I'd been through these last few hours, having died and coming to this world, wasn't enough?

The Reapers and whoever was the god behind the system of trials and atonements really had created something interesting but sickening.

My eyes grew strangely cold as I began to feel outraged for no apparent reason.

Anger at those damned Hell Workers overshadowed every other feeling I had in me.

Then, I nodded slowly and then regained focus once more.

"Thanks." I thanked her.

The girl started crying again after she bit into the candy.

Surprisingly, I didn't know if she was crying because the food was delicious or because she was sad.

Honestly, how did the food taste after having been through such terrible treatment?

I didn't even want to imagine the pain the poor thing felt.

I sat next to her without saying anything.

— Crunch!

Taking a bite of the half the candy she'd given me, I stared at the iron gate as I wondered what I should do next.

******

The cell had been open for some time, but the girl made no mention of leaving.

I didn't want to interfere, though. I let her have her way, she didn't look good after all.

I had some assumptions that, by the way, were evident, as to the motive behind her way of acting.

Maybe she didn't want to leave that body she was holding behind.

She knew it was impossible for us to carry a corpse through the halls of the Castle while we were running for our lives.

'But maybe leaving is the wrong choice?' I thought.

I mean, I was sitting inside, just a few short steps away from the girl, thinking about just leaving that place behind without looking back.

However, on further thought, it was clear that I knew it was not a good idea to leave without proper, detailed planning.

For starters, it could still be dangerous. So it was better to wait here patiently.

So, without a second thought, instead of leaving the prison cell open to let someone out, I did this bizarre thing of going inside and leaning the gate so it looked like it was locked.

Somehow, I was hoping to be able to avoid fighting enemies like this.

Compromising my identity or being attacked were two things I wanted to avoid in the meantime.

"Um, Sir?" The child called out to me and I turned around.

"Yes?"

"Can... C-can the Demon King be killed, after having become so powerful....?"

I smiled and answered.

"Of course it is possible. The brave heroes will defeat him."

She may not even know it, but I think this guy is already dead.

At the very least, everything so far indicates that he was sent to the realm of the dead, along with the group of heroes from the prologue tale of the original storyline of [Where's the Demon King"].

It was strange to think like that, but honestly, I wasn't disturbed by the death of my unknown biological father, from this world.

"I'm sure that soon we will be rescued too."

Hearing what I said, the girl shivered and muttered things as she shed more tears, burying her tiny little head between her knees.

"Viens." She started. "V-viens said he was coming to rescue us... He promised me."

Whatever happy feeling I had was instantly gone.

Unfortunately, against that poor child's beliefs, the Demon King probably dragged, not just Viens – the sword hero – but the entire legendary group of heroes with him.

So even though the words wouldn't come out of my mouth, I knew he wouldn't be able to save us, but the human side will probably come here.

At least, I hoped.

"Yes. Someone is surely coming to save us. We just need to wait."

It was just speculation, not the truth.

Nonetheless, given that they had started to flood the Demon King's Castle, it was almost a certainty that, at some point, they would reach this stinky dungeon.

I looked at the little girl with the big golden eyes, completely moistened by her tears.

"I can't hear them anymore…" She shivered even more than before as she said that.

And then I noticed it too: the booming, deafening roars caused by the war suddenly stopped.

I hadn't noticed it before as I was completely absorbed in other things, but it was weird.

Thinking that the human army was defeated, the girl became increasingly frightened.

She looked like her heart was about to jump out of her chest, she was so nervous.

I understood her feelings, so I reached out and hugged her shoulders.

"Look, it's okay. It's going to be okay." I said, brooding inside. "Surely the human army will triumph."

"Y-you think so?" The girl looked surprised by what I had said, but her big eyes showed hope.

"It's weird..." She commented. "You…you look so calm."

I froze for a second.

Those words felt kind of weird and made me stiffen a little, but soon I broke the stiffened state and answered her.

"Oh no. Don't get me wrong. Me, I... I'm scared too. It's just that what's the point of showing it? It's only going to make those guys happy."

She nodded in agreement and I sighed in relief.

I think it was because I was next to a child, so I exaggerated a bit, but it's true that I was really scared.

Like, she'll certainly be fine once the soldiers get here, but I could have my head cut off soon if I made a mere mistake.

"I-I see." The girl said. "If I may ask, what's your name?"

That was a truly difficult question to answer.

If I were stupid and answered her without thinking, I would say the real name of this body "Roselyn III" and end up going straight to the special execution line in the capital of the human Empire.

I couldn't tell her that name.

It would be as if I were asking to kill myself.

To begin with, even a human, dwarf or elf would be maddened if they heard someone naming a child after the Demon King.

"That, you see..." I scratched my head awkwardly. "I do not remember..."

In the end, I resorted to the most cliché, idiotic thing I could think of at the moment and gave her the first lame excuse that came to mind.

So, I continued with my act.

"Well…technically, I can't remember almost anything, to be honest. Who I am, why I'm here, what they wanted with me. I don't remember anything at all."

Amnesia.

I remembered this condition by accident at this point and realized that this was the most convenient excuse I could come up with.

I've seen scenarios like the one I'm in, in which a character lied to have amnesia, in books, movies, and popular novels on Earth.

So I decided to go with the scenario of having lost my memory after those endless days of merciless torture.

It even made sense, if one stopped to think.

The girl's eyes filled with tears.

"Sob… so...so, what should we do...?"

She hugged me like she felt sorry for me. The girl held me in her slender arms, but she squeezed me a little too tightly, too.

"....."

— Click, Click, Click.

Before I could finish thinking of anything useful, I heard the sounds of armor swinging in the distance, as if someone was running in the distance.

However, it wasn't the only thing I could hear.

Then voices rang out through the corridors of the confinement facility.

"This looks like the prison. Proceed carefully."

"Captain! What should we do?"

"Search the cells and look for any evidence of survivors!"

"They're all dead! The bastards exterminated them all..."

I could understand quickly; those were definitely human voices.

They were people I couldn't tell if they were knights or soldiers, but who ran to check the prison cells one after the other, until they finally met our eyes.

One of the men looked surprised to see me and the girl.

"Survivors!" He screamed. "We have survivors here!" All other sounds instantly ceased.

The excited exclamation of the one who found us echoed through the prison and the others came running towards where the girl and I were.

Apparently, waiting had been the right choice.

"Ugh..."

Again, tears welled up in the girl's eyes, and my heart began to beat wildly against my chest, as if it were going to break my ribs.

The mixed feelings of fear, excitement and relief coursed through my veins in record time.

Then, a gray-haired, middle-aged knight followed the screams and finally stepped in front of us.

His imposing figure looked dignified and strong.

He was silent, but as soon as he saw the girl beside me, his once calm and impassive face contorted into a horrible, frightening grimace.

"W-wait..." He said. "Your Majesty! Your Majesty... The Princess..."

No. Calm down.

Wait a second… Wait, wait, wait…

WAIT, SON OF A BITCH!

What the fuck did you just say?! She's what?!