Chapter 19

 

Abraxas curled one corner of his mouth into a smirk.

Among humans, there were always a few with bloated egos. Like the foolish humans who had heard rumors of gold and treasures in the Demon King’s castle and ventured in. If you kept them around long enough, they would eventually start talking about who they were and how important they were back in the human world. The words that human was spouting now felt like the same kind of empty boasting.

“Sometimes the warrior, no, Adam… that is, the warrior, would say strange things.”

[Your warrior confesses the truth.]

“He said that killing the Demon King wouldn’t matter… because he’d just come back anyway.”

Eveline closed her eyes, deep in thought. That’s right, he had said that. It was something she had forgotten, tucked away deep in her memory even though it was her own words. Since the warrior legacy continued from the 1st to the 7th generation, of course the Demon King would come back as well.

At the time, it hadn’t seemed like a big deal.

But Abraxas, who had been quietly listening, asked again.

“The warrior said that?”

“Huh? What did I just say?”

Her head was pounding, feeling like it was about to split open.

Her gaze fell to the wine bottles rolling on the floor, but she didn’t remember drinking that much…

‘Wait, did I even drink at all…?’

She couldn’t recall. Abraxas was pressing her for more answers.

Her head swam, and her stomach churned uneasily.

She covered her mouth quickly as Abraxas stepped closer.

But someone else intervened.

The scent was familiar, and Eveline lifted her head to confirm who it was.

Though she didn’t need to see to know, she always wanted to look at that familiar face.

“Hehe, it’s the warrior!”

“Eve.”

How did he find this place? Adam appeared.

Eveline blinked, unsure if the figure in front of her was real or just a vision.

The heavy breathing and the vivid presence of Adam, who seemed to have run to get here, made it clear it was the latter.

‘Adam doesn’t even care about me, so why would he be stressed by Abraxas threatening me? That stupid quest! No matter how hard we try, we’ll just come back again anyway.’

Without even looking at Adam’s expression, she giggled foolishly.

From the outside, she seemed completely drunk, though there was only one wine bottle rolling on the floor.

There’s no way she could’ve gotten drunk from just that…

Adam clenched his teeth.

**Stress level: 70%**

The first boundary has been crossed.

“Hic.”

Suddenly, a message appeared in front of her.

It wasn’t some trivial matter.

As Adam’s stress level crossed 70%, the message’s color shifted dangerously into a red hue. The sobering effect of it startled Eveline, causing her to hiccup uncontrollably.

She covered her mouth hastily, but the hiccups wouldn’t stop.

‘Why, why? Why did it change to red? Why does it feel so scary?’

Though not entirely in her right mind, Eveline tried to stand up, swaying. Just as her legs gave out and she was about to fall backward, Adam swiftly caught her arm.

Pulling her toward him, Eveline seemed to drift into a deep sleep.

Adam gently placed her on the bed, then turned his gaze to the one responsible for this.

“Abraxas…”

“Why are you looking at me? I didn’t do anything. I just showed her the place, offered her a drink once, and it was her choice to drink, wasn’t it?”

Abraxas shrugged his shoulders.

The smug action only served to anger Adam further, and he grabbed Abraxas by the throat.

But Abraxas didn’t beg for his life.

He was tired of playing the role of a subservient servant. Grinning, Abraxas spoke.

It was a bit of a gamble.

“Go ahead, try killing me. You can’t, can you? Because if you lose control one day… and there’s no one to stop you, people will die.”

“…”

“That’s why I made a ‘vow’ to kill you when that time comes.”

Adam’s eyes blazed with fury, but the vow existed, and because of it, he couldn’t draw his sword.

Adam could kill Abraxas at any time.

But if he killed him, there would be no one left to stop him when his mind eventually collapsed.

As long as the line wasn’t crossed, Adam couldn’t kill him. Knowing this well, Abraxas smirked, as if all the previous submissive behavior had been mere entertainment for him.

“It’s disgusting.”

“Urgh.”

Adam’s grip tightened on Abraxas’ collar. As much as he wanted to, he still couldn’t kill him.

“Still, you dare to use your powers on her?”

“I just wanted to help since she seemed troubled.”

Abraxas smirked as he spoke.

He knew the warrior wouldn’t kill him. If Adam intended to kill him, he would’ve drawn the holy sword before speaking.

‘Bingo.’

As if his guess was correct, Adam’s grip loosened.

“You’d better keep thinking carefully about your actions. Because the moment you lay a hand on her, I’ll kill you without thinking about the future.”

“That’s what makes you a warrior, huh? Even if no one wants you to be, you still act like one.”

“…”

Adam didn’t respond. He didn’t want to give in to Abraxas’ provocations with a lie.

But he did exact a bit of punishment.

“Ugh!”

Adam kicked Abraxas in the knee, and the demon crumpled to the ground, clutching his leg.

“If you want information, ask someone who actually knows something.”

Adam muttered, looking down at him.

“She doesn’t know anything.”

Because I’m intentionally keeping her from knowing.

If Eveline had truly known something important, Abraxas would’ve used his powers to extract that information by now.

He’ll probably lose interest now that he hasn’t gotten any useful information this time.

But Abraxas snorted at Adam’s words.

“Oh, is that so?”

“…”

“She seems to know a lot more about you than you think.”

Abraxas grinned as he spoke.

Adam frowned, but Abraxas, casually picking up the wine bottle from the floor and drinking directly from it, continued slyly.

“Honestly, you thought it was strange too, didn’t you?”

“…”

Adam didn’t answer.

Even Adam himself had unresolved doubts about Eveline.

“Thank you, Warrior!”

“You are our savior.”

“Our village, Dainel, will never forget the debt we owe you, Warrior!”

Was there ever a child in Dainel Village?

Out of all the countless encounters, there had never been anyone like that before.

Yet somehow, someone he hadn’t seen in any of those encounters knew about him in the Demon King’s castle and volunteered to stay there.

He recalled the unnatural appearance of Eveline when she first showed up.

She had frozen when she saw his face.

It wasn’t the reaction of someone meeting a stranger. It was more like she hadn’t expected him to be there at all.

‘Maybe she heard about me from someone in a nearby village.’

Although he couldn’t be certain yet, there were many suspicious aspects, just as Abraxas had suggested.

It was surprising that he hadn’t realized it until now, having deliberately ignored these thoughts.

“Enough.”

But there was no need to listen to the words of a mere demon. If he wasn’t careful, he could fall prey to his powers and be turned into a puppet.

“I have no reason to believe a demon’s words over hers.”

“Oh, you’re right~”

Abraxas nodded as if Adam’s reasoning made perfect sense, despite still being held by his collar.

“But think about it, Warrior. Aren’t humans even more ruthless? How many assassins have come here? And back when the Demon King was around, none of them dared show their faces except for you.”

“So what?”

“I’m just saying, since we’ve both been left behind, let’s get along.”

Adam let out a hollow laugh.

Cooperation.

But Abraxas, oblivious to Adam’s expression, continued to ramble.

“Let me ask you something. Why do you keep your guard up around me? I mean, sure, I might act all pitiful and pathetic sometimes, but I don’t remember ever doing anything to you.”

“…”

“Oh, and I’ve never touched that human either. If anything, I’ve been treated harshly by her. So, what’s there to be afraid of?”

Afraid.

Adam laughed bitterly at the thought.

“Is it strange for a warrior to be wary of the Demon King’s subordinates, all with different powers?”

At those words, Abraxas’ eyes narrowed.

“And do you know exactly what my power is?”

“Who knows.”

Adam responded calmly, disregarding his question.

‘What’s going on?’

Judging by the warrior’s attitude, it seemed like Adam knew something, but that shouldn’t have been possible.

Abraxas smirked, raising the corners of his mouth.

“Out of all the warriors I’ve seen, you’re the strangest.”

“Unfortunately, I’d have to agree with that.”