Chapter 55

In a world consumed by darkness, Adam slowly closed his eyes before opening them again.

And once more…

“Warrior. To slay the Demon King, you must—”

He had returned to the moment of his coming-of-age ceremony at eighteen.

As soon as it was over, the High Priest naturally came to find him, imparting knowledge necessary for defeating the Demon King.

Something was wrong.

Something felt off.

But Adam couldn’t quite grasp why he suddenly felt that way.

Right now, he had just awakened as a warrior and had completed his formal recognition at the temple.

Soon, he was to set out to slay the Demon King.

The holy relic in his hand was proof of that.

Yet, for some reason, the relic felt unsettling, so Adam placed the ring on the table.

The one who found his action strange was the High Priest.

“Warrior? Is something the matter?”

“…No, I just spaced out for a moment.”

Adam shook his head with a slight smile.

The High Priest let out a hearty chuckle, leading him to his assigned chamber, saying it had been difficult to bring him here.

As they walked through the temple, someone was admiring the interior in awe.

“Ah, thank you for recognizing my talents so highly! I will make sure to atone for all my past sins in this subjugation mission.”

The man, who introduced himself as Declan, had been caught sneaking into the temple to assassinate a priest.

However, after revealing his unfortunate past and signing an oath to never assassinate again, his exceptional skills were acknowledged, and the High Priest had decided to spare his life.

“His background is a little questionable, but his skills are unmatched. Warrior, he’ll be a good companion for you.”

“…I see.”

In his dream, he had fought alongside someone called the Mercenary Queen. But this time, things were different.

His friend Kyrillos was still with him, but now an elite assassin had joined their ranks.

Something felt… off.

But if this was God’s will, then there was no reason to refuse.

Adam accepted him as a comrade.

And then—

“Ugh… Why…?”

A poisoned dagger had pierced her stomach.

Meriel’s body slowly crumpled to the ground.

The one who had been supporting him from behind had collapsed, blood spilling from her lips as she was struck down by an ambush.

Hearing her dying scream, Adam instinctively turned away from his fight with the Demon King—

And his eyes widened in disbelief.

His comrade—his trusted ally—had betrayed them.

“You know, I was never really suited for your side.”

Declan wiped Meriel’s blood off his dagger, a satisfied grin spreading across his face.

“The Demon King promised me power. Said if I obeyed, I’d gain the same strength as the demons! I was getting sick of playing along with weaklings like you.”

Shlck—

That was probably the first betrayal.

Or maybe it was one of many he could no longer remember.

How many times had it happened?

“Do you think everything will end just because you kill me? Hah… Fool. You will be cursed!”

With the Demon King’s final words, lost memories came flooding back.

“You will be doomed to slay your beloved comrades, friends, and even your lover.”

Cold corpses.

Blood, no longer warm, soaking his hands.

The bodies before him were all familiar faces.

Once, they had been his companions.
At times, they had simply been people who cheered him on.
Some had been his dearest friends.

Adam recoiled in horror, his bloodstained sword slipping from his grip.

I caused this.

I was the one who killed them.

The crimson stains on his hands would never wash away.

If they had never met him, they would have lived peaceful, happy lives—free from death.

If only he weren’t alive.

His trembling hand reached for the sword that had fallen to the ground.

At that moment, a warm presence enveloped him.

The one I had waited and waited for…

* * *
“What in the world…”

Adam, who had seemed perfectly fine after taking his medicine, had walked into his room on his own upon returning to the Demon King’s castle.

But when she entered with medicinal herbs to treat his wounds, she had been shocked to find him groaning in pain.

“Even with synchronization active, I didn’t notice.”

Your warrior

is recalling the past.

Since the content didn’t seem particularly significant, she hadn’t paid it much mind.

She had let him rest alone, thinking it would be fine—only to now hear his pained groans from outside the door.

Setting down the basin and towel she had brought, she rushed over to him.

Afraid his wounds had worsened, she knelt beside the bed the moment she reached him.

“Warrior? Warrior. Are you alright? Wake up.”

She didn’t dare shake the injured Adam, so she merely tapped his shoulder, trying to rouse him.

But Adam only let out faint groans.

His body twitched slightly as if struggling against something, but he didn’t wake.

Feeling a strange unease, she pressed a little harder.

“Adam!”

It was only when she called his name one last time—

“Gah—!”

Just like before, Adam jolted upright, as if in the throes of a seizure.

The sudden movement startled her so much that she nearly fell backward.

Still caught between dreams and reality, Adam hastily scanned his surroundings.

His breath was ragged and uneven as he asked in a hoarse voice,

“Was there… someone here just now?”

“No. As you can see, it’s just me.”

“Ah… I see. Of course… it must be…”

For once, Adam looked visibly disappointed.

He seemed a bit crestfallen.

Muttering to himself that it couldn’t be, his expression carried a trace of sadness that made her feel strangely guilty.

Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, Adam rubbed at his eyes repeatedly.

Sensing that he had fully regained awareness, she spoke up.

“Are your wounds alright? Let me change your bandages.”

Adam unwrapped his bandages himself.

The fabric had dark, dried blood clinging to it.

Yet, he didn’t so much as flinch, as if he felt no pain at all.

As the bandages unraveled, his well-defined abdominal muscles came into view.

She wrung out a lukewarm towel and gently wiped around his wound, carefully removing the dried blood.

Once she was done, she dried his skin with a fresh towel and began reapplying clean bandages.

As she leaned in to wrap them around his torso, she found herself much closer to him than before.

His steady breaths were unmistakably audible.

To distract herself, she spoke.

“You must have had a bad dream.”

“Yes… Just a common nightmare.”

He brushed off the question lightly.

Even so, something about his blank stare unsettled her.

She assumed it was just the fever making him look so out of it and let it go.

“You have a fever.”

She reached out, pressing a hand to his forehead.

Adam didn’t pull away.

The heat from his skin radiated through her palm.

His warm breath against her wrist felt fragile, almost unstable.

“I’ll bring medicine and a cool towel to lower your fever. Please wait here.”

Leaving Adam behind, she stepped out and made her way to her room.

Gathering the fever medicine and various supplies she had prepared with Abraxas, her mind drifted back to what she had just seen.

“What… was that?”

If what she had glimpsed before waking Adam hadn’t been a trick of the light—

Then it had looked like a black haze.

Like tendrils of shadow, it had slithered from Adam’s body, writhing like a snake.

But the moment she had shouted his name in alarm, it had vanished.

“If I wasn’t imagining it… then what was that?”

Whatever it was, it clearly wasn’t something beneficial to Adam.

The moment she had seen that eerie black mist, her entire body had shivered.

Woom— Wooooom—

She absentmindedly fiddled with her ring.

When that ominous energy had surged around Adam as if trying to consume him, the holy relic had resonated—almost as if it was trying to protect him.

Whether it was because of the relic’s reaction or because Adam had woken up, by the time she returned, most of the ominous aura had disappeared.

Yet, the lingering chill on her arms told her that what she had witnessed had been real.

“What in the world… is this?”

How could something so unsettling exist within a warrior chosen by God?

 

 

 

 

 

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