Chapter 172 – A Man’s Contract (5)

[Did you do this?]

The voice came from a very far place.  The hero snorted as she shook her head.

“Why would I do this?  I thought you did it.  We thought you became scared, so you called for your mommy.   Do you really think I want to bring this story to an end?  Are you arbitrarily trying to become the main character of this story?”

[You cannot even defeat me, yet you want to tackle that?  No, this story is incomplete.  It is a failure.  Just watching this story had been absolutely boring, yet you want me to dance to your beat? I refuse.]

“No······ I’ll achieve it at all cost.”

The hero spoke those words as she activated her Innate ability.  The dumbfounded thief just watched as a bright gold light was emitted from the hero’s body.   He realized that she was using her Innate ability, which had been awakened within her by Regina.

He couldn’t just lie here like this. He had to get up, and he had to help her.  It didn’t matter what she planned on doing.  He would always be by her side.  He had delivered despair to her.  Somehow, he’ll create a bigger hope that’ll overshadow that despair.

However, he couldn’t stand up.

He couldn’t get close to the light created by her.

She hadn’t looked back towards him even once.

Even the Demon King didn’t pay attention to him.

He wasn’t the main character.  He was a minor character.  No, it was worse.  He was basically part of the background of this story.  This was the thief’s lot in life.

Why was it like this?  He always thought he would be able to become the hero’s mate if he tried his best.  He wanted to become the main character that stood by her side.  He wanted to bring this story to an end with her.  That was what he had thought.  So why was it like this?

Why were his actions so futile?

[It seems you are very self aware of your own plight.]

At that moment, an unidentifiable voice tickled the ears of the thief.

[You are nothing.  You are nothing to the hero.  You are nothing to the Demon King.  You are merely here by chance.   You are nothing more than a prop in the background.   You are always tiptoeing around on your feet.  Doesn’t it hurt?]

“You bastard······!”

After he spoke those words, he coughed out blood instead of air.  He couldn’t even turn his head to search for the being that was talking to him.  However, he knew that this being was able to avoid detection from the hero and the Demon King.

[Shall I tell you something that is surprising and fun?  You future will become more miserable.]

‘Miserable······?  I’m already dying here in a miserable fashion, so how can it become more miserable?’

[The world will be rewritten soon.  Surprisingly, it will be rewritten by the man you just killed.  When he died, he had awakened his power.  This power was so powerful that the Demon King couldn’t do anything against it.  The man I serve couldn’t do anything against it.  We are being swept away by that power.]

‘That······ How is that possible······?’

[It is the power of the Innate Ability.  The hero has one, and the current Demon King has one.  My master, who is the one and only Demon King, has one.  However, you don’t have one.  If it wasn’t for me, you would have been swept up in that power, and you would have been none the wiser.]

‘······.’

When he heard those words, the thief’s heart cooled.  Until now, he had accepted his lot in life as a given.   Now the difference in his abilities compared to the others started to feel absurd.

He also knew why it was like this.  He knew it very well.

[Even if you give it your all, you cannot leapfrog the hero.  It doesn’t matter how hard you try.  She won’t look at you.  It’ll be the same next time.  The world will start once again, yet your turn will never come.  Everything will be the same or your lot in life will be worse.  If you are lucky, you might be able to stand on the main stage.  It is truly humorous!  Yes, that man loved the hero.  Maybe, he will chase you out, and he might occupy the spot next to the hero!]

‘Funny······ It really is……hilarious.’

A cold rage bloomed within his heart.  Where could he direct that anger?  Should he direct it towards the Four Heavenly King Petra, who had put him down like this?  Should it be directed towards the Demon King, who didn’t even consider him to be an enemy?  Or should it be directed towards the hero?  He had given it all trying to win her heart, yet in the end, she hadn’t even turned around to look at him.

Maybe, it should be directed towards the man that stole the hero’s heart.  He was an enemy, yet he hadn’t relinquished her heart.

[What are you?  You were born without a meaningful purpose, and your life had led up to nothing.  What are you supposed to call that?  Can you really call that a life worth living?  Are you satisfied with it?  You probably won’t appear in the hero’s story again, and your death is inevitable.  Is your death any different from a common soldier that had his throat pierced by a Demon of the Demon King’s army?]

‘I······.’

The thief had been born to an exceptional station in life, and he had lived an exceptional life.  When he met the hero, he believed his life would become more special.  In truth, he had worked very hard to make his life special.  In the end, he had failed.

Now he had to go back?  The status he had achieved will be taken away from him too?

[Do you want to repeat such a life again?  In the end, you’ll probably live a more ugly life.  Is that acceptable to you?  Will you take that lying down?]

‘You······ What do you want to say to me?’

[What if I said that there is a different way to live your life?  Shouldn’t you pursue that different path?]

‘Live….a different way?’

It felt as if his world was falling apart.  The thief’s world was crumbling apart.  He didn’t know if the world was falling apart, but he knew it was the end for him.

The end of the world was being rolled back like a scroll being curled back on itself.  The Demon King realized what was going on, and he was astonished by the development.  The hero was the only one that seemed to have predicted this.  She kept increasing the size of her golden light.  As expected, she was the main character that shone brilliantly in any situation.  She wasn’t swept up by this new development.  Instead, she was using this new development to her advantage.

She was different from him.  In the end, he wasn’t able to stand next to the hero’s side.

She wouldn’t stand by his side.

[Steal her.  You just have to take what you want.  You kill those that get in your way.  Ah.  You actually tried that already.  We will give you a more suitable position.  We have the power to do that. We’ll make it so that you’ll be able to possess the hero.]

‘The hero······?’

[You don’t have much time.  We did our best to make the minimum preparation.  You have to choose quickly.  Do you want to accompany us?  We just want to dye the human realm in a more effective manner.  If you stand at the vanguard of our efforts, we can give many things beyond your imagination.]

‘······.’

The thief couldn’t remember which choice he had made.  The only thing he could remember was the last voice he had heard.

[If that is your choice, I’ll hold your memory in trust for the day when we meet again.]

“My spot was stolen away?”

Silpennon answered as if nothing was wrong, but he was letting out cold sweat.  He had become very sensitive to Mana, so he was able to size up his enemy through the Demonic energy leaking out from the Demon.  At the very least, the Demon was 10 levels higher than him.

However, that wasn’t the only reason why he was letting out cold sweat.  Something about this Demon was ominous.  Silpennon had always thought he was standing on solid ground, but after meeting this Demon, it felt as if he was standing in a swamp.  His legs were unsteady, and it worried him.

[You don’t have to be so nervous.  I just want to have a conversation with you.]

“If you wanted to have a conversation with me, I would have preferred it if you had sent an envoy to my palace.”

As he spoke those words, Silpennon started to retreat little by little.  He wanted to lure the Demon towards a location where there were no soldiers.  Of course, his opponent knew what he was trying to do.  The Demon didn’t care if the small fishes died or not.  He went along with Silpennon’s play.

[You are much stronger than your past self.  You’ve become very powerful.]

“Past?  This is the first time I’m meeting you.”

[I see.  You are still stuck in a minor role.]

“······.”

Silpennon hesitated when he heard the Demon’s words.  It was as if he didn’t have total control over his body.  He gritted his teeth as he activated his Mana with all his strength.  The Demon snorted when he saw this.

[You should think hard on it.  We’ve already had this conversation before.  Do you not remember the choice you have made?]

“I’m sorry for being the bearer of bad news, but I think I’m suffering from dementia.  If I wronged those that are normally around me, maybe I should go around apologizing in advance?”

Silpennon had learned the skill to provoke his enemies from Artpe, and he had worked on it!  The problem was the fact that he always learned such useless skills.  He grumbled to himself as he relaxed his body.  The enemy surprisingly smiled when he observed Silpennon’s action.

[You are mimicking him.  Are you doing it so that you’ll be able to get closer to the hero?]

He hesitated once again.  At this point, Silpennon was sure that the Demon knew about his feelings.  It was quite unpleasant.  He had seen this bastard for the first time, yet this Demon acted if he knew Silpennon’s inner thoughts and feelings.  It pissed him off.

“I really hate adventures….”

He had no choice.  He mumbled to himself as he adjusted his stance.  He hit his daggers against each other to create a spark.  He had found this Artifact from a ruin pointed out by Artpe.  It was a twin dagger called the Thunder God’s Rage.

[I see.  You really don’t know anything.  As expected, you are merely a prop in the background.  Nothing has changed.  If so, I’ll have to make you remember your contract.]

“You dare!”

When he sensed the Demon approach him, Silpennon moved very fast as he crossed his daggers.  He created a clone, and his clone blocked the scythe.  In a flash, an enormous thunderbolt appeared, and it hit the Demon!

[Oh oh.  How thrilling. However, you’ll feel something more exhilarating.  Right?]

“Koo-hoohk!?”

If it was a normal battle, this was the best play Silpennon could have made.  He had used the highest ranked Unique skill of a thief.  It allowed him to attack and defend at the same time using clones.  Moreover, the Artifact was imbued with the property of thunder.  Silpennon’s dodge was perfect.

“Ggoo-oooooooohk!?”

However, his enemy didn’t care what he did.  It didn’t matter if it was Silpennon, his Mana or his clone.   Everything was fine if the Demon was able to make contact with his Record.

“This······ What the hell is this!  Maetel······!?  Koohk!  Why was I at the Demon King’s castle!  My memories…shit!  What the hell did you do······!”

It had been enough for the Demon to activate his Innate Ability called Record Keeping.