Chapter 34
Who wouldn’t fall for it, there.
And on top of that, pretending to tremble and speak slowly—it could only be described as demonic.
No, it’s really a demon…
Terion seemed like someone who could live a false life like this until the day I found a way to die, as long as he never actually faced a real priest.
“By the way, what I asked you for… was it about exterminating the monsters?”
“Would you like to see?”
Did he really mean that we could exterminate monsters without moving a step? My suspicion must have been obvious, because Terion gestured for me to come closer.
I obediently approached him, standing at the edge of the cliff beside him.
From this vantage point, it felt as though the entire canyon spread out before me.
‘Ah, this is it.’
This was exactly the spot where Terion had stood. That was when the winged monster had flown up from behind, and Ethan had charged from the opposite side.
Though only a few hours had passed, the events felt impossibly distant.
On the canyon floor, the dust had settled, and rivers of blood flowed, with all kinds of monsters crawling around.
Even though Ethan and I had tried our best, were there even any survivors left?
Squinting, I looked down the cliff. The wind blew my hair across my face, stinging my cheeks.
Terion reached out and pulled me close to him.
“It’s dangerous, so watch from the inside.”
“Excuse me?”
What’s more dangerous now? The crawling monsters? Or you?
I frowned in confusion. Terion didn’t look away from the canyon as he snapped his fingers.
“……!”
And then everything became clear. A small, sharp click echoed unnaturally loudly in my ears.
At that moment, the eerie, wailing wind sweeping through the canyon gradually ceased.
“…This is….”
The monsters that had been sluggishly moving shrank significantly in size.
Then, the fog that had wrapped the canyon ominously lifted, and the wind dispersed the smell of blood.
The monsters dried and withered, freezing in place.
All in an instant.
“We couldn’t handle the monsters that went to the campsite, but we’ve cleaned up the ones that appeared in the canyon, right?”
“Wow….”
Terion looked at me with a smile as if waiting for praise.
I was speechless.
‘…You could’ve done this from the start.’
“…Can you really kill just by snapping your fingers?”
“Retrieving the curse was the more important task, but cleaning up monsters that shouldn’t have been here was part of the job too. I just got distracted by Lady Edith.”
So this was a device he had prepared in advance.
Yet, instead of clearing the monsters quickly, he let them fly at me, sent swarms of spiders into the flames, and watched me strain every bit of strength to exterminate the gigantic Arachne.
‘Ha….’
Suddenly, I was boiling with frustration at Terion. I could have vomited from anger.
Terion’s tone, however, remained calm.
“The places where the curse existed will soon be completely buried, so even high-level search magic won’t detect them.”
“…I know.”
I never imagined that after hundreds of lives spent visiting this place, it would feel so utterly pointless.
As I rubbed my face with dry hands, Terion spoke lazily.
“Then, would you like to look below?”
Below?
The monsters are finished. What else could there be…?
Frowning at his words, I looked down the canyon and noticed something strange among the withered monsters.
“…? Wait, Terion. That is….”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Amid the monsters, a pale corpse rose naturally, without any warning.
It was so natural that I almost didn’t notice.
Even seeing the surrounding dried monsters, the corpse didn’t show fear or surprise—it looked up at me.
Its hollow eyes met mine.
I glanced at Terion, who smiled gently and scratched the back of his neck sheepishly.
“I thought you’d like saving people.”
“…Who said anything about reviving the dead?”
This is insane.
My headache worsened. How could I even address this?
I touched my forehead, and Terion frowned in apparent grievance.
“I specifically chose corpses that were still mostly intact.”
And what followed was just as absurd.
“Except for minor restrictions, they can ‘live as before.’ They won’t remember dying once… yet Lady Edith never praises me.”
“…Hah.”
A deep sigh escaped me. A demon is always a demon.
He has no respect for human memory, life, or mortality. Reviving them from death in any way only disturbs their rest.
He kills at will… and revives at will.
My voice sharpened naturally.
“Rimos Terion.”
“Yes? Finally, praise?”
I turned to him, gripping his collar. He bent slightly toward me.
My hair whipped in the wind, mirroring my emotions.
“Immediately. Put things back the way they were.”
“Excuse me?”
“The dead should remain dead, and the living should live. Restore the natural order. Do not disturb human rest.”
“…Lady Edith….”
I pressed my face close to his, glaring at his lavender eyes as I enunciated every word.
Death is a tragedy.
And treating it like this is nothing but mockery.
Rimos Terion muttered under his breath, his gaze wandering.
“You must see yourself and these vermin as the same.”
…No. That’s not it. Not at all.
“I am no different from them.”
What difference does it make? Even after countless repeated lives, I am still human.
Terion shook his head gently, despite being grabbed by the collar.
“No. You are different. Very different.”
…He’s not a rational conversation partner.
“Enough. Stop this pointless argument. Terion, return them to where they belong. Now.”
I released his collar, and he stepped back obediently.
“I can’t.”
…What?
“Why not?”
If you’ve revived them, killing them should be simpler, shouldn’t it?
I shuddered at how freely he could manipulate life, but that was reality.
And the moment our eyes met, I sensed it.
‘…He made a contract.’
“…Hah.”
The humans had only recently died, so there was still a chance.
Did he demand their souls as payment?
‘He made contracts with so many humans in an instant.’
I could not even estimate the full extent of Rimos Terion’s power. I had never heard of a demon with such abilities.
I closed my eyes tightly and bowed briefly to the corpses gathered below the cliff, silently mourning.
…Even if these lives were meaningless in this world, they did not deserve to be humiliated by being resurrected like this.
I slowly opened my damp eyes and warned Terion in a low voice.
“Never do this again.”
To a demon like him, human life seems utterly meaningless unless layered hundreds of times.
Rimos Terion glanced at the anger simmering in my eyes and lightly nodded.
“Yes.”
“Good.”
As soon as I finished my brief moment of mourning, he came back to my side like a well-trained dog.
I stayed silent for a long while. He glanced at my expression and brought up a new topic.
“The monsters… by my estimate, most died here. Only a few reached the campsite.”
“…That’s fortunate. Then let’s move quickly.”
How many must have died in this canyon alone? Compared to the previous time when the academy was nearly wiped out, there had clearly been some improvement.
Still, there were likely casualties at the campsite as well.
The atmosphere was already tense, so it’s likely they could not respond properly to the attack.
‘If only the Royal Knights had responded immediately…’
I needed to check quickly, especially whether Yan and Camilla evacuated properly.
“Wait a moment.”
Yet, despite my urging to go, Terion oddly delayed without helping Ethan.
“Not going?”
“I have one more surprise….”
Confused, I looked back at him. He smiled slightly and gestured behind me.
…An unbelievable sound came from behind.
Footsteps.
There are more survivors?
