Chapter 77: Diablo"Cough cough." Deerheart spat out blood from his mouth, after his body crashed down like a meteorite into the wall of the floating throne room.

    His body had landed right beside the throne, which didn’t even shift from the impact.

    ’Why is he being so dramatic?’

    [You did hit him really hard with a sword that transformed into a demon-slaying vestige.]

    ’Yeah... I didn’t kill him, just struck him really hard. Isn’t he supposed to be an intermediate-ranked demon?’

    Glancing at Deerheart, who now resembled a sickly old man. I suppressed the urge to laugh as I saw his once-handsome face wrecked by my attack.

    Well, I guess I was the fortunate one in this battle, because I doubted things would have gone so smoothly if Deerheart hadn’t underestimated me and been caught off guard when I displayed strength beyond what he had calculated.

    I walked past Deerheart, dragging my sluggish feet. It seemed that whatever form I had used was starting to take its toll on me.

    Collapsing to the ground, I leaned against the side of the throne opposite him, the side directly facing the front entrance.

    "So... can you tell me about her?" I asked softly.

    "Who?"

    I smiled and leaned closer to the cold throne, my voice barely more than a whisper in the empty room.

    The only thing separating us was the throne we both rested on. I was basking in sunlight, while Deerheart sat in the shadows.

    "Who else? I mean your wife."

    Deerheart chuckled faintly. "About Diane, huh?" He tapped the throne twice. "Why are you suddenly curious?"

    I couldn’t help but curse the guy in my head. I simply wanted to understand him, as his creator and someone who literally wrote his story.

    "Never mind then," I said, closing my eyes to rest my mind.

    "She was stubborn, for sure," he suddenly blurted out, making my eyes snap open.

    His words cut me off guard, but still, I wanted to hear his version of the story, something beyond what I knew as the author.

    After some coughing, he went on. "I remember the books she used to hide in the corner of our bedroom. I’d find them all the time and tease her a bit when I read what was inside... the things she wanted me to do with her."

    Tears streamed down his cheeks and dropped onto the cold, cracked floor, his eyes filled with exhaustion.

    He leaned back on the throne and took a deep breath. "Then, and even now, she was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. Her voice was like a lovely melody. Every time I left to clear a dungeon, her smile always made my day brighter. But do you know what, Kaiser? She died. Because of me... she died."

    Deerheart’s voice turned grave, as if he wished to die before I could kill him. "If... if only I hadn’t been born with this cursed face, if I had been hideous or stronger, maybe she wouldn’t have died so horribly in the smoke of the mana beast’s flames. But it didn’t stop there. After she died, I found out she’d been assaulted before her death. And it wasn’t just her..."

    He clenched his teeth, the tears he’d tried so hard to hold back now flooding out. "...but also my five-year-old daughter. All under orders from my colleague, who was obsessed with me."

    Deerheart looked at the cracking orb, then muttered under his breath, "I suffered... again and again. Even when I tried to find happiness, I suffered once more. The world..."

    He dragged his fingers across his pale face, his voice breaking, "...the world always found a way to make me suffer even more. So tell me, Kaiser, is it so wrong to want to make them feel what I did? Why can’t I save those I love in exchange for the ones who destroyed me?"

    His words hung in the air, and as if the air had stolen my own words, I stayed quiet before muttering. "I can’t say that I’ve gone through what you have. And I won’t pretend to be some kind of saint, or hero... so honestly, I can’t really be the one to judge."

    I paused, waiting to hear something from Deerheart. When nothing came, I continued. "All I want is to live a peaceful, quiet life, reach the end of my story, protect my friends, and maybe live in a small mansion with a beautiful wife and kids."

    Deerheart smiled. "Is that so, I guess..."

    Before he could say anything else, my voice cut in. "However..."

    Deerheart’s eyes widened; he hadn’t expected me to add more.

    But the words I spoke were something he never anticipated hearing. "...If something like that did happen to me..."

    My mana began to rise fiercely around us. "I would do far more... I would burn everything to the ground."

    Deerheart was speechless, unable to form words.

    The two of us sat in silence, as if feeding off each other’s words.

    There were no sudden attacks, just calm silence. Even though we were enemies moments ago, we both rested our heads on the cold throne.

    To others, it might have appeared different. But to me, it was a rare moment.

    An author and his character, a connection I could never forge through the cold screen of my monitor.

    I inhaled the crisp air of the crumbling dungeon.

    "Then why don’t I help you?" I asked him.

    Deerheart was confused for a moment but then asked, "Help with what exactly? If it’s serving you like a slave like your people have already done before, then I’ll pass."

    "No..."

    Even if I ignored what I wanted from Deerheart, like what the title Young Lord meant, or what weavers were, or how Hari and I, Jin-sung, were connected to it, I still wanted to help him.

    "I’m not entirely sure yet." I looked down at my hands, which seemed too soft for a fighter. "...but if what I’m thinking is possible, then I might be able to bring your wife and child back."

    The whole hall went silent as the cracking sound of the collapsing orb dungeon echoed through the throne room.

    "Are you mocking me? Do you think I’d believe that?" But despite his words, Deerheart’s tone carried a flicker of something — Hope.

    A deep hope he had buried long ago and replaced with revenge.

    He might have intended to use most of the female students as a catalyst to resurrect his wife and child, not because only girls could do it, but because of his hatred for women after what his colleagues had done to him.

    But even then, he was still a good man inside. A man broken by the world’s cruelty, a hero who had to turn into a demon for the sake of love.

    And even if it took every ounce of knowledge I had, I planned on helping him.

    I stood from where I sat and walked over to where Deerheart leaned.

    He had been crying for a while; I knew he didn’t want me to see him like that. But even when he saw me, he continued crying.

    Wiping some of his tears, he asked, "Can you really bring them back?"

    I wasn’t sure I could.

    Hell, I didn’t even know if I could survive another journey to the astral plane.

    But seeing the man cry like a little child in front of me urged me to make that vow.

    [Do it, Kai. I know there’s nothing you can’t do... Maybe not today, maybe not even in ten years — but you will succeed.]

    Alpha was right. It was like she knew exactly what I needed to hear at that moment. ’Is that why you kidnapped me?’

    [...]

    I smiled and extended my hand toward him, my figure blocking the last bit of light from behind the throne where he sat. Sёarch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    The dim light cast a shadow over his skin, and his eyes were filled with hate... or vengeance.

    But also something I had never seen in either of my lives — reverence.

    He took my hand and used it to rise to one knee, then bowed his head as I straightened up.

    "I, Deerheart, pledge my eternal loyalty to the Young Lord, Kaiser Vanguard... and Cha Jin-sung."

    ’What did he say?’

    Ding

    {Deerheart has pledged his loyalty to you}

    {You have earned your first Mage Saint}

    {Properties of Shadow of Dominion have merged with Weaving}

    I ignored the next system prompt and looked at Deerheart. Only then did I notice my fingers were trembling. "How did you... how did you know that name?"

    Deerheart stammered as my mana pressure bore down on him, my fists clenching tightly.

    ""Uhmm... well, everyone in the demonic cult knows that name. Cha Jin-sung — the Young Lord. I had my doubts, but when you used a weaving technique similar to that of the Demon Duchess, that confirmed it."

    ’Why would the demonic cult know my name?’

    [Well... that’s because your father, Cha Jinwoo, is the Lord of the demonic cult... and also the son of the Demon God. The same goes for the third demonic duchess, the leader of the Lust Order.]

    ’What?’

    [Even I don’t know the full story, but he’s not lying. I’ve heard that Weavers are a rare bloodline said to descend directly from either Demons or Angels. But as far as I know, almost all of them are artificially created.]

    ’That means...?’

    [You hold both demonic and angelic blood. But like I said, I’m not certain. I don’t even know how you became a Weaver, especially since you’re completely free from any divine shackles or links. Honestly... I don’t even know how I became a primordial thread.]

    I pulled up my bangs. ’Damnit! None of this makes sense. I was just an Earthling two weeks ago. There were no demons, no angels, and definitely no Weavers.’

    [Like I said, Kai, I don’t have access to my main body, so my knowledge is limited. But you remember, right? Hari also had weaving abilities.]

    [And unlike you — who was sent here by a god, she on the other hand, somehow found her way here on her own, from gods-know-where. What’s strange is, she carries an energy similar to yours. I think it might come from the Weaver’s bloodline... though it’s still not quite the same.]

    I sighed and let go of my hair. ’So... you were the one who transmigrated me then?’

    [...No. That was an entity called TTT. All I did was provide the system you’re using and assist you — since they only intended to use you for entertainment.]

    Things were becoming more complicated the longer I stayed in Meltonia, and the more I tried to uncover the answers I sought, the more intricate and puzzling questions emerged.

    That meant the only choice was to let events take their course.

    I turned my gaze to the system window hovering in front of me, pushing away all unnecessary thoughts.

    {Do you want to create Mage Saint: Deerheart}

    Glancing briefly at Deerheart and his puzzled expression, I clicked on "Yes"

    {Give a name to this command and Name your Saint}

    "Are you ready? Once this is done, you can’t turn back or ignore my orders."

    Deerheart nodded with conviction.

    I smiled faintly. "Then alright." My eyes shimmered softly as my silver lilac mana enveloped my body, the star in my eyes glowing just a little brighter.

    Then I commanded, "From today, you shall no longer be called Deerheart, but Diablo, my first mage saint. Now Arise."

    The mana within Deerheart seemed to erupt yet remained controlled.

    Black threads began swirling around him like a shadowy cocoon, and in an instant, they scattered away, returning to shadows.

    Standing before me now was Deerheart, his face appeared rejuvenated, even more striking than before.

    Long black hair tied behind his back, behind his round glasses were red pupils with the remaining part of his eyes veiled in shadow.

    Nothing had drastically changed in his height or build, but his mana and presence had.

    {Reward for defeating Deerheart: Advancement to C-rank has been granted to Mage Saint due to user being above the required rank}

    I grinned broadly, his aura was unmistakably that of an S-rank or at least someone on the verge of reaching it.

    "How do you feel?" I asked with mild concern, resting my hand on my jaw.

    "Not much, my liege."

    The words sounded odd, but well, who was I to stop him? It wasn’t like I liked it or anything.

    The orb was steadily breaking apart, and from the sheer amount of raw mana seeping through it, I was certain...

    The others had completed their mission.

    "Enter my shadow for now... You can do that, right?" Deerheart nodded and slipped into my shadow.

    I shivered slightly even though I didn’t really feel anything. The orb was slowly disintegrating due to the absence of a power source.

    I dismissed the threads wrapped around my body, my skin now covered by the white shirt and trousers of my SPD uniform.

    Bright light streamed through the cracks as the orb turned into sparkling fragments.

    The sun was high in the sky, and I raised my hand to block its light, trying my best to adjust to it. "Looks like it isn’t going to rain."