TSMFTDG 15

Episode 15 

“Ha… I’m alive…”

After Rehel vanished, a long silence followed—until one person finally spoke.
That was enough for everyone frozen in fear to come to their senses one by one.

“R-run!”
“Kyaaa!”
“Move! I’m getting out first!”

In an instant, the plaza before the Grand Temple turned into utter chaos.

All that remained were the priests paralyzed by terror, a few civilians whose legs had given out, and those who stayed behind to confront the Saintess about what had just happened.

Even after Rehel’s disappearance, snow continued to fall upon the capital.
Feeling the cold touch of it on her cheek, Esia was filled with humiliation.

“Saintess! What is going on?!”
“If it snows this season, how are we supposed to survive?!”
“Please, help us!”

Citizens surrounded Esia, clutching at her robes and begging.
As the snow fell, the once-warm air grew colder—a death sentence for crops.

“……”

Esia couldn’t answer them.
No—she wouldn’t.

‘How did I end up like this…?’

She’d always hidden behind a polished facade when dealing with others.
But now, it felt like that beautiful mask had been stripped away completely.

Unable to maintain her usual composure or her practiced smile, she ignored the desperate pleas and walked into the temple.

Inside, the priests were just as shaken.

“What are we supposed to do now?”
“Even His Holiness might not have a solution.”
“Maybe the Saintess can handle it. She looked like she knew that demon personally.”

Their whispers stung, dragging Esia’s emotions down even further.

‘Damn it… damn it!’

She cursed inwardly and was about to storm off to her quarters when a priest—one of the Pope’s aides—stopped her.

“Saintess, His Holiness requests your presence.”

“…Understood.”

Esia turned and made her way toward the Pope’s chamber.
As the heavy doors slammed shut behind her, the golden chalice on the altar shattered as if on cue.

“Esia. Do you realize what you’ve done?”

The icy tone of Melrenis made her eyes tremble.

“You thought just because that demon lived quietly, you could take her life easily if you interfered?”

His words struck home.
Since becoming a Demon Lord, Rehel had never once left the Nieves Mountains.

That was why Esia had underestimated her—believing she could be killed easily.

“Summon every hero scattered across the nations.”

“…Your Holiness?”

“This isn’t about saving Lian Serius. We are preparing to exterminate the Demon Lords.”

Until now, the Empire had stayed defensive, conserving strength for prosperity.
But since the Demon Lord had attacked the capital directly, it was time to act.

“Before you’re disciplined, you’ll take responsibility for fixing this mess.”

“…Yes, Your Holiness.”

After bowing, Esia retreated hastily to her room.
The moment the door locked behind her, tears welled up uncontrollably.

“Why?! Why do I have to go through this?!”

She threw everything within reach, then collapsed onto the floor, her legs giving out.

“What’s so wrong about killing those filthy monsters? I was only doing my duty!”

Her sobbing voice filled the empty room.
Her fists clenched so tightly that her nails cut into her palms.

—You should know your place.

That mocking tone, that sneer—
It played vividly in her mind, burning with humiliation.

‘I’ll kill her. Someday… I’ll make her pay.’

Esia bit her lip hard enough to draw blood, her face twisted with hatred.

❖ ❖ ❖

When I returned to the castle after finishing the mission, the quest had already been cleared.

SYSTEM: Main Quest — “Instill Fear in Humanity” Completed. (1000/1000)

It was surprisingly easy to complete the second quest, but I couldn’t feel good about it.

Was it guilt—for the 26 years I’d lived as a human?
For tormenting innocent people without hesitation even though I’d been human longer than I’d been a demon?
Or was it because, despite all this destruction, the children still might not wake up?

“Terio, go to the annex. Report immediately if anything happens.”

“Yes, Lady Rehel.”

After bowing, Terio quickly departed.
Left alone with Lian, I headed toward my bedroom.

He followed silently—his room was in the same direction.
Only the sound of our footsteps echoed in the quiet corridor.

Then, breaking the silence, Lian finally spoke.

“…Why didn’t you kill the humans?”

What?
I frowned, turning to face him.

“I told you—I won’t kill humans.”

Did he not hear me earlier?
Moments like this reminded me how little he trusted me.

“You could have killed them, though.”

“Why? Did you want me to?”

Lian’s expression shifted slightly.

“I don’t know what to think. I can’t tell what’s going on in your head.”

“……”

“You say you want peace.
But if that’s true, why don’t you avenge the people who hurt your followers?”

I’d imagined telling him everything so many times.
Maybe then he’d understand me—maybe we’d grow closer.

But deep down, I knew he wouldn’t believe me even if I did.

“You act like you’re carrying the whole world on your own,” he said quietly.

“…From the start, I never planned to rely on anyone.
I chose this path knowing I’d fight alone.”

I only wanted to make him stronger—so he wouldn’t die easily.
Not because I wanted him by my side in battle.

His red eyes wavered, still full of doubt.

Why is he asking me this now?
Was he finally starting to care about me?

If so, maybe I should’ve been glad…
But I didn’t have that kind of strength left.

“Don’t try to understand me. I never asked you to.”

With that cold reply, I turned away, entered my room, and collapsed onto the bed like a sheet of paper.

“…I’m exhausted.”

The day had drained more out of me than expected.
And it had taken everything I had to hold back my anger during that conversation.

Talking to the Saintess kept bringing the fallen children’s faces to mind—
I’d almost lost control.

“I just want to rest…”

Since I’d possessed this body, I hadn’t had a single proper night’s sleep.

The room was lavish, the bed soft enough to drown in comfort—
If I weren’t the Demon Lord, maybe I could’ve enjoyed it.
But with everything that still needed to be done, sleep felt like a luxury.

Even without eating, my stomach churned.
This body wasn’t human anymore, but that didn’t mean it didn’t need rest.

Trying to fight off the nausea, I finally surrendered to the weight of sleep.

❖ ❖ ❖

When I awoke, it was nearly dinnertime.
Normally I would’ve eaten with Lian—but I had no appetite.

Why were my emotions so uncontrollable?
The room was silent, yet it felt noisy somehow.

When I turned toward the window, I realized why.
The once-clear sky had turned dark, heavy rain pouring down.

“…Figures.”

Rain always made me feel this way—on edge, uneasy.
I sighed, running my fingers through my tangled hair.

“Terio.”

“You called, Lady Rehel?”

He appeared instantly, kneeling before me.

“How’s the annex?”

“About an hour ago, priests from the temple came and delivered medicine.”

“Medicine?”

“According to Master Felix, it neutralizes corrupted holy power and stabilizes the body’s energy. It works on both humans and monsters alike.”

Faster than I expected.
I thought it would take days.

I couldn’t help but smirk, remembering Esia’s terrified face.

“So the medicine even works on demons?”

“Yes. Apparently it’s effective for both races. The ingredients are rare, and the preparation process is extremely difficult. They brought several dozen doses.”

“…They just wanted to survive.”

Humans would do anything to escape death.

“The children have already taken it. Your blood removed the holy contamination, but they were injured and their energy is unstable. It will take some time before they regain consciousness.”

“…Good. I’m glad.”

A sigh of relief escaped me.
For the first time in a while, I felt the weight in my chest lift slightly.

“Will you be having dinner, Lady Rehel?”

“No. Tell Lian to eat without me.”

It was always like this when it rained—
My insides felt twisted, and I couldn’t do anything.

Another thing Rehel and I had in common.
In the game’s story, she could never sleep properly when it rained, always irritable and restless.

“Understood. I’ll return if anything happens at the annex.”

“Good.”

Terio hesitated, as if he wanted to say something else, then closed his mouth.
He gave me a worried glance and began to leave.

“Ah—wait.”

I stopped him before he left and spoke the thought that had just come to me.

“Bring me some wine.”