I Became the Master of the Devil

It was dark at night. Redian put down the soaked towel and ointment. How many times did he stop in fear of breaking this woman’s thin ankle, which was barely a handful?

 

“What on earth did they do?”

 

Throughout the treatment, Redian’s jaw clenched. He should have crippled those b*atards… He gritted his teeth for a long time, thinking about how he could just let them go.

 

Her ankle is done. Now, it was time to treat her shoulders and neck.

 

“…”

 

But looking down at the sleeping woman, Redian hesitated. It was because he couldn’t bear to touch the wound on her shoulder. Siani was good at touching his whole body, but he wondered why it felt so difficult for him to do the same.

 

Moonlight seeped through the fluttering white curtains.

 

“…”

 

In the end, he sat down on the bed and looked down at the woman’s face. Long eyelashes, fair skin, shiny and disheveled golden hair.

 

Why is she like this?

 

Suddenly, his eyebrows furrowed.

 

Pretty…

 

Redian suppressed something that was brewing in his heart. Then he got down on the floor and sat at a distance. He needed a distance. A safe distance so the woman’s breath and body scent don’t reach him.

 

Tick, tick, tick. How long has it been like that? In the deepening dawn, the only sound that could be heard was a clock ticking.

 

“Ah, damn it.”

 

Redian got up and walked around the spacious room. He looked at the paintings on the wall, then looked through the bookshelf and sat down on the sofa.

 

“Hu…”

 

He wiped his face and tried to sleep by leaning his head against the wall. However,

 

I’m going to go crazy.  

 

He couldn’t do anything. There was no way he could do it.

 

The cold floor of the iron cage, insomnia, and terrifying nightmares were natural to Redian. He was used to nights when he collapsed from exhaustion or lost consciousness due to sedation. The warm and cozy air he felt for the first time in his life was too much for him to suffocate. He thought about using the necklace around the woman’s neck to return to the underground castle, however…

 

How can I sleep?

 

There was no way he could touch Siani for that reason when he couldn’t even get treatment. Even though he could hold a sword and a gun and got dirty blood without hesitation… Strangely, it was difficult to even touch her body with his finger.

 

“Master is very comfortable.”

 

“…”

 

Redian, who had been wandering around, eventually landed under Siani’s bed again.

 

“Always doing as you please.” He murmured softly with his chin resting on the bed because someone didn’t let him sleep.

 

“Sleep well alone.”

 

The cold eyes rested on the woman’s cheek for a long time.

 

The day that woman first came to that cage, the day she appeared in front of him. And the day she said hello to him.

 

“Hello, Redian.”

 

“I’ll come again. I hope you’re doing well.”

 

Days when he stayed up all night just from the sound of her voice. It was an unusually long night, and all those moments passed through Redian’s mind. Why did this woman appear to him?

 

…Smell of summer.

 

He muttered without realizing it. It was the air of the season that he felt for the first time in a very long time. The laughter of people filling the streets, the green leaves that were turning green, and this calm breeze right now. Things he couldn’t even dream of things he could only look at in a cold iron cage…

 

“Rere, are you watching? Isn’t it pretty?”

 

It became a reality next to the woman. Siani gave him things one by one that he couldn’t even be greedy for. The curtains rose and fell. The wind blew and scattered. All the while, his gaze filled with strange emotions never left the sleeping Siani.

 

“Strange woman.”

 

Redian, who was looking at Siani with his chin resting, leaned down and rested his head. It was something unfamiliar. Following Siani’s breathing, an increasingly languid feeling of sleep came over him.

 

‘I told you so.’

 

In my blurred consciousness, he heard a voice he didn’t know whose.

 

‘I will definitely find you.’

 

At that moment, when he slowly closed his eyes, Redian prayed. He hoped this night would never end.

 

* * *

Where is this place?

 

Deep in the forest, Redian’s eyes gazed at a rusty castle. He didn’t know if this was a dream or a memory he had forgotten. He also didn’t know if he was carrying out a mission or if he was wandering in a dream.

 

“This time too, you just have to handle it like you always do, Redian,” someone said to the boy.

 

Normally, Redian would have moved his feet as soon as those words were said. It didn’t matter whether the end was the sea, a forest, or ruins with corpses lying around. He only moved for the sake of results.

 

“Where am I…”

 

But Redian stopped in front of the rusty castle and asked.

 

“This is Lord Peidion’s castle. It’s a ruin that has no meaning anymore.”

 

Peidion? Redian quietly rolled that name in his mouth.

 

“It’s something you’ve always done, so there’s no need to explain, right? Bring everything that might seem suspicious.”

 

When given a mission, it was Redian’s job to carry it out without question or reason. Even though he knew this very well, his feet wouldn’t move for some reason.

 

“What are you doing, Redian?”

 

“…I understand.”

 

Only then did Redian walk into the castle. Cool air surrounded his entire body. There was no way there was anything left in the castle that had been rotting alone for thousands of years. Still, he just walked.

 

“…”

 

Time seems to have stopped until no sound was heard. He was so familiar with all the places, as if he already knew them…

 

How long did he walk? Redian suddenly came to his senses and stopped in place. Before he knew it, the sun was setting. He couldn’t even tell where he had come from.

 

Why and how did I get to here? Redian, questioning himself, tried to turn his steps. But then,

 

“…Uh?”

 

A large wall blocked Redian. To be precise, it was an illusion spreading out, filling the air.

 

Who is it?

 

A man appeared in the vision that gradually became clearer. Redian frowned his eyes. The man leaning against the wall was sitting down with his face buried in his knees.

 

‘You shouldn’t have been born. Because you’re cursed! You’re dirty, so go die!’

 

Next, a loud, resounding scream was heard. Those sharp voices were pouring down on the man who lowered his head.

 

‘She will leave you too. She will completely forget you, just like everyone else.’

 

The man seemed familiar with this situation and didn’t move.

 

“…No. No.”

 

But Redian covered his ears and backed away from him. Even though they were not being spoken to me, it felt like the curses were strangling my neck. At that time…

 

‘…!’

 

The man slowly raised his head. “Can you see me in your eyes?”

 

Their eyes met just like that.

 

“You will see my castle in ruins like this.”

 

When Redian saw his black hair and pitch-black eyes, his breath caught.

 

“…How?”

 

He looked so much like himself. But the dark hair and lazy gazes weren’t his.

 

“Ever since she sealed me away and left, I have been alone for endless time.”

 

“…”

 

“For my goddess.”

 

For a moment, the empty, pitch-black eyes twisted.

 

“Redian.” The man called his name. “You’re just like me.”

 

As a cold smile appeared on his face, Redian turned around and ran out. He ran until his breath caught in his chin, avoiding the illusion that was chasing him.

 

That dream again… The nightmare that always repeated. The curse that even that woman would abandon her, just like everyone else did!

 

“Uurgh!”

 

Running in the endless darkness, Redian vomited blood. At this point, he had to wake up from his dream, but his body sank deeper into the mud.

 

‘Dirty thing, you’ll be abandoned.’

 

“Please, please… please.”

 

No matter how much he ran, his ankle was caught.

 

‘She says she is using you, and eventually, she will leave you too.’

 

No matter how hard she struggled, the darkness spread as if swallowing the boy.

 

“Please stop…”

 

Finally, when his knees were about to give way.

 

“Rere, are you sleeping?”

 

“…Gasp.”

 

Redian let out a heavy breath.

 

“Are you having another nightmare?”

 

A dazzling light was pouring through his sweat-soaked hair.

 

“Do you know? I’m going to start counting to ten now.”

 

Ah, this voice…

 

“Then everything will be over.”

 

His vision gradually became brighter. The endless hell split apart, and a gentle wind blew.

 

“It’s okay, Redian.”

 

At that moment, Redian closed his eyes tightly. His face was filled with sweat or tears.

 

This was a dream that always repeated. A dream that ended only when he was completely swallowed up by darkness and vomited blood. But now…

 

“Don’t dream about anything and get up after a good night’s sleep.”

 

Even the terrible nightmare was dispelled by that beautiful voice.

 

Redian thought. If there really is such a thing as Goddess… wouldn’t it resemble this woman? 

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