CHAPTER 518: SIDE STORY - THE END (3)

0% “Ugh... Ugh... Aaaah...!!”

The once-great Outer God, now reduced to the form of a frail girl, writhed within the flames.

When she had first arrived in hell, she had spat out words like “This isn’t over” and “You’ll regret this someday.”

But it hadn’t taken long for her to crumble, overwhelmed by the agony of her burning soul.

“B-But... the will beyond... still...”

- Whoosh...!

“St-Stop... please...”

It didn’t matter how powerful she had once been.

Now that she had become human, she was helpless.

Bound like rope, flames coiled around her body, while countless blades dug into her flesh—an eternal torment she could never escape.

The miserable, pitiful end of the being who had once threatened an entire dimension.

“Let... me go...! D-Do you even know who I am...!?”

“It hurts... Please, let me out...”

“Ugh... Ugh...”

And hell, as of late, had been overflowing with souls who had met a similar fate.

Now that Frey and Ferloche’s endless cycle of regression had ended, the dormant underworld had finally resumed its true function.

But it wasn’t a problem.

For a long time, hell had been neglected, barely maintained with a rudimentary punishment system—submerging souls in lava—after the Demon God had abandoned their duties.

However, now that Kania, the foremost expert in curses and torture, had ascended as the new Demon God, hell had become far more efficient in its operations.

The years’ worth of accumulated wicked souls had been meticulously prepared for their due retribution.

Hell’s current state?

A place of absolute judgment, where Rifael, now dragged to hell after the world was restored, suffered alongside her mother Ramie, the fallen Emperor Raikon, the exiled Crown Prince Killian along with Countless corrupt nobles and villains purged from the Empire.

Each of them subjected to various agonies, tailored to their sins.

“...”

And at the farthest edge of this place,

Standing before the Door of Darkness— the most feared location in all of hell—

She knelt.

A blank, dazed expression on her face.

The Magic Tower Master.

The story that had begun on the first page of the journal she clutched in her trembling hands...

Was now unfolding vividly in her mind—

Like a play she could neither stop nor escape from.

.

.

.

.

.

Back when she was still known as Komerun Philliard, and at the same time, feared under the infamous title of the Wicked Witch—

“W-W-W-W-W-Witch...”

“Hmm.”

Komerun had been spending her time hunting intruders within the Ashen Forest, her domain.

But that day, something unexpected happened.

“A brat? How did you get in here?”

“Ugh... Uuu...”

A filthy, ragged little boy had wandered into her territory.

His claim?

That he was starving and had entered the deserted forest just to pick some fruit.

Komerun didn’t believe him.

“Lying is a bad thing, child.”

“B-But...!”

“Especially when you do it in front of me.”

There was no way a mere child—not even an adult man—would dare step into her domain, a place feared even by the villagers, where rumors claimed a witch boiled children alive.

Of course, there was a chance that the boy was simply unaware of this.

That is, if not for the massive barrier magic she had cast to prevent anyone from entering.

“Who sent you?”

“...Hiccup.”

“You’re not going to answer?”

Komerun’s cold voice pressed the boy, making him sweat nervously as he squeezed his eyes shut.

- Crackle...!

Then suddenly, the space around the boy began to distort, surging with an immense energy.

“...Interesting.”

Komerun watched the strange phenomenon, murmuring in a low voice.

“For someone your age... that level of magic?”

The magic the boy was unconsciously casting was not simple teleportation.

No, it was something far more advanced.

Teleportation merely moves the caster from one fixed point to another.

But what this boy was doing—was bending space itself.

The end result might be the same, but the precision and technique displayed here were impressive even in Komerun’s eyes, a mage who had long surpassed her rivals in magic.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“W-What...?”

For a moment, she considered letting him go—as a reward for showing her something so amusing.

But... before she realized it, her curiosity had already taken hold.

She reached out her hand, weaving her power into the boy’s magic, interfering with the spell.

“W-Why...?”

The boy, failing magic for the first time in his life, stared at her in shock.

Taking slow, deliberate steps toward him, she whispered,

“You’re trapped now.”

“...!”

The boy’s eyes trembled violently.

.

.

.

.

.

The boy sitting at the table shovels food into his mouth, barely chewing.

“Nom... Gulp... Cough, cough...!”

Foolish.

Watching him choke and pound his chest, Komerun silently hands him a cup of water, all while a thought crosses her mind.

...Maybe I should raise him.

A stray boy with an unusual power suddenly appeared in her front yard.

A new toy had entered her dull life, piquing her curiosity.

Doesn’t seem like an assassin.

The boy’s story—that he had wandered here while aimlessly using his powers to survive as a vagrant—was at least somewhat believable.

The different types of soil stuck to his tattered shoes, from various regions, backed it up.

And this ability of his... emerging out of nowhere. Interesting.

After blocking several of his escape attempts, she had confirmed something—

This child wasn’t ordinary.

He was one of the extremely rare cases—a mystery potential carrier.

A unique constitution that, once awakened, could lead to absolute mastery in a specific field.

A trait that, far into the future, her final disciple, Glare, would also possess.

And seeing it for the first time, Komerun’s eyes burned with insatiable curiosity.

Yes, I should keep him.

Without her curiosity and thirst for knowledge, she might as well be dead.

So, with that, Komerun made her decision and approached the boy.

“Hank.”

“...!”

“Hank Dimer.”

The moment she uttered his name, the boy froze, his expression haunted as if seeing a ghost.

“How... how do you know that name?”

“I know everything.”

One of Komerun’s favorite spells allowed her to uncover true names.

A spell usually used to weaken great demons, but just as effective at instilling fear into a mere child.

“A-Aah...”

As expected, terror flashed across his face.

Even more fear than she anticipated—as if the name itself was a trauma.

“...No.”

“Hmm?”

“That’s—that’s not my name!”

Was it the truth?

The boy suddenly jumped up, shouting in defiance.

“I threw that name away a long time ago!”

“Which means—“

“Yes! My... my real name is—!”

And the name he proudly declared as his “true identity” was...

“Pfft.”

It was amusing.

Not because the name itself was ridiculous or childish.

But because...

He was lying.

Pretending a fake name was his real one—it was absurd.

“You sure love lying, don’t you?”

“Ugh...”

If the boy truly believed in the name he had just spoken, her spell would have recognized it as his true name.

It hadn’t.

“Well, it doesn’t really matter.”

“W-What?”

Placing a gentle hand on the boy’s shoulder, she smiled kindly—a fake, eerie sort of kindness.

And at that moment, perhaps instinctively sensing danger, the boy unconsciously reverted to speaking politely.

“From the moment you stepped into my domain... you became my property.”

“...H-Hiiik.”

“You’d best behave, brat.”

Only now realizing that he had fallen into the hands of a very bad witch, the boy stared at her, eyes brimming with tears.

“Otherwise...”

Komerun licked her lips, eyeing him with predatory amusement.

“...I might just eat you up.”

“...!!!”

The boy shrank away, trembling like a cornered animal.

“Fufu.”

Komerun chuckled softly, wondering how long this new toy would keep her entertained before she got bored.

.

.

.

.

.

“So, when exactly do you plan to eat me?”

“...Shut up.”

That day, the decision I made was the greatest mistake of my life.

“You used to serve me all sorts of delicious meals, saying you needed to fatten me up. Now you don’t even bother to call.”

“...”

I never expected that the brat I raised would grow up to be this insolent.

“If you’re going to eat me, at least give me a heads-up. I’d like to take a bath first.”

“I said, shut up.”

And I certainly never expected that, in just ten years, he would surpass me in magic.

“Get out of here and go to the palace. You don’t have time to waste.”

“I can just teleport. Time is not an issue, so don’t worry about it.”

“Ha. How ridiculous.”

I thought I was getting rid of him, yet just a few years later, he became a hero, a renowned archmage, and the one who vanquished the dragon that invaded the empire.

Even after achieving such greatness, he still returned every evening for dinner.

“Please, leave.”

“No.”

“Shall we test our skills against each other? Like old times?”

“I’ll pass. I thought I was going to die last time.”

“Then what will make you leave?”

“Just indulge me in some conversation. Both you and I, Master, have become figures difficult for others to approach. We both need someone to talk to, don’t we?”

“Who is your master?”

“Haha.”

As he grinned shamelessly, waving his hands dismissively, I silently glared at him.

“...Now that I think about it, I do have a question.”

“You? Curious? That’s shocking—Ow.”

“Must you constantly flap your mouth? Do you have some curse that prevents you from staying silent?”

“Maybe?”

“Forget it. Just answer this—“

I narrowed my eyes and finally asked what I had always been curious about.

“Why do you use a different name?”

“...”

For the first time, his constant chatter stopped.

“Why did you abandon your real name?”

Truthfully, my curiosity wasn’t the only reason I asked.

I also wanted to push him away.

“If you won’t tell me, then stop coming here. I hate secrets more than anything.”

A secret he had kept for over ten years.

Even for him, it wouldn’t be an easy topic to discuss.

A perfect way to get rid of an unwanted guest.

“The Dimer Marquisate.”

“...What?”

“The ill-fated house that disappeared overnight.”

“...”

“I was the last surviving heir.”

I had assumed he wouldn’t answer.

But once again, he defied my expectations.

“One night, masked men infiltrated our estate and began butchering my family. I was just a child... I couldn’t do anything. All I could do was hide.”

“...”

“One by one, the survivors disappeared. And when those bloodstained hands finally grabbed the handle of the wardrobe I was hiding in—“

“...”

“I suddenly found myself outside, rolling on the mansion’s front lawn.”

His face remained composed, but his eyes burned with fury—a rage I had never seen in him before.

“I prayed so desperately. Please, just let me escape.”

“That...”

“I guess that’s when my latent powers awakened.”

I had no words. I simply nodded, stunned.

“After that day, I wandered from place to place, hiding. And I made a vow—to uncover the truth behind that night. Without my name, without my identity.”

“...I see.”

“The name I use now is part of that plan.”

“Wait. My journal—why are you—?”

Before I could stop him, he suddenly picked up my journal and began writing in it.

“Let’s see if you can figure it out.”

“...What is this?”

“This is my real name, written in my family’s secret cipher. My alias is simply a distorted version of this name.”

“...”

As I stared down at the page, his calm yet serious voice reached me.

“Even if I use a false name, I can’t allow myself to forget who I really am.”

But my focus was entirely on the symbols in front of me.

How... How does he know this writing?

This script—it was an ancient demonic language that had been lost for centuries.

The only time I had seen it in use was by the head of the Sunset family, long ago.

“This was taught to me by my family. My sister and I used to send each other secret letters using this code.”

So... that’s how he knows it.

But why was the Dimer Marquisate preserving a lost demonic script?

“Ah, look at the time.”

“Wait—“

“I should be going.”

I tried to stop him, but he suddenly stood up.

“Already?”

“Coincidentally, while we were talking, I received a message from my informant.”

His expression, which had been lighthearted moments ago, had hardened.

“I might finally learn the truth this time.”

“Have you been investigating all this time?”

“From the moment you made me strong enough to do so.”

For the first time in a long while, I saw him with a truly serious look.

I knew I had to let him go.

“Alright, then...”

Suppressing a strange loneliness welling up in me, I waved him off as he approached the door—

“...!”

My eyes widened.

A ring had been slipped onto my finger.

“Haha. Even you, Master, let your guard down. You didn’t notice at all.”

“...What is this?”

Staring at the ring he must have teleported onto me, I looked up and asked.

“Isn’t it obvious?”

With insufferable audacity, he answered—

“It’s an engagement ring.”

“...!?”

“You’ve heard my deepest secret. Now, you must take responsibility.”

As my brain struggled to process what he had just said, my stunned voice finally stumbled out—

“Do you—do you even know how old I am?”

“My dear friend, the Elven Queen is much older than you, and yet—“

“What does that have to do with anything?!”

And then came his most ridiculous response yet.

“The orphaned child you raised doesn’t care about such trivial matters.”

“...”

“If you refuse, you can always just eat me, as promised.”

With that, he turned and left, leaving me standing there, dumbfounded.

“By the time I return... pick one. Eat me or marry me”

I should have stopped him.

Because that night—

He never came back.

Imperial Magic Tower Collapses! Hundreds Feared Dead—Shocking Tragedy

Primary Suspect Identified as...

“...What?”

A few days later, his face was printed across the front page of every newspaper.

.

.

.

.

.

“...It’s been a while, Master.”

“...”

A few years later.

“Have you finally come to eat me?”

“...Shut up.”

This time, I faced him in the Imperial capital.

“What exactly have you been doing?”

Ever since that day—after he suddenly went berserk, rampaging across the empire—not even the Imperial forces could contain him.

Eventually, a request for his subjugation reached me, the witch hidden in the Ashen Forest.

I had no intention of clearing my name.

From childhood, my innate talent had always made me an outcast.

Before I could even control it, I had already earned the title of witch, and by the time I had mastered my power, it was too late—the world had already condemned me.

I had long since accepted it.

But I would not tolerate them condemning him.

There had to be some misunderstanding.

He must have had a reason.

- Crackle!

“...Ugh.”

That’s what I had thought.

“Out of respect for old times, I missed the first shot.”

But when I felt the deadly killing intent in his attack—

“...I knew I should’ve severed ties earlier.”

I had no choice but to prepare myself—

To put an end to the disaster I had created.

“You will not leave here unscathed.”

.

.

.

.

.

“Cough... Cough...”

“Your body is in bad shape. This wound... it’s quite fatal.”

I had given it my all.

But in the end, I could do nothing but kneel before him.

“Urgh...”

I tried to force myself up, but my body refused to obey.

The disciple I reunited with after so long... was now several times stronger than when he first defeated me.

“...Why.”

Seeing him approach, realizing this was the end, I reached out with a trembling hand and grabbed his leg.

“Why did you do this...?”

The ring I still wore on my finger—engraved with his name—emitted a faint glow.

“To find the ones responsible for my family’s massacre.”

As my dimming vision took in that glow, I heard his cold voice.

“...What do you mean...?”

“It was the Empire that secretly wiped out my family.”

His words left me speechless. All I could do was stare up at him in shock.

“My family’s bloodline... it turns out we carried the blood of demons. Not just a trace, but our entire lineage was filled with latent half-demons.”

“...”

“And yet, we never rebelled against the Empire. That was a grudge our distant ancestors bore. But in my generation? No one even knew what we were.”

His eyes held hatred and rage—emotions I had never seen in him before.

“But when the Imperial Family discovered the truth, they refused to leave even the slightest threat alive.”

“...No way...”

“The Moonlight Family’s assassination squad moved that day under a secret Imperial decree.”

The truth he had uncovered over the years was beyond cruel.

“I will destroy the Empire.”

I understood now.

I could see why he had become like this.

“You must know it as well. The Empire has been rotting for centuries.”

There was no longer doubt in his voice.

Only conviction.

“I will gather others like me. For the Demon King who will soon rise... to tear this wretched Empire down.”

“...Hank.”

Shrugging off my hand, he raised his own to the sky, chanting an incantation.

“...Damn it.”

I didn’t know what spell he was about to unleash.

But from the size of the magic circle forming above us...

If I let it go unchecked, something catastrophic would happen.

“...Looks like I’ve been forced into playing the hero.”

Gathering the last remnants of my mana, I glanced around.

The citizens of the Empire—the people who had once called me a witch—now watched us in fear.

- Crackle!

I turned my gaze back to the once-terrified boy, the one who had crawled around my courtyard all those years ago.

And with everything I had left, I threw myself at him.

Maybe this would be enough to take him down with me.

At the very least, I could stop that spell.

That thought alone propelled me forward—as I reached for his heart.

- BOOOOOOM!

A brilliant light swallowed us both.

.

.

.

.

.

“Huff... Huff...”

“...”

The blinding light that had filled the surroundings disappeared, and my dulled consciousness began to return.

“...Huh?”

Lifting my heavy eyelids to confirm the outcome of the attack, I could only let out a dazed voice.

“Ugh...ugh...”

“W-what...?”

He was lying there, collapsed, his heart pierced through.

What the hell happened?

He should have had more than enough stamina left to guard against my attack.

And yet, he had accepted my strike without any defense.

“What is this... What did you do?”

Forcing my fading consciousness to stay intact, I grabbed him by the collar and demanded answers.

“What the hell did you do...!?”

“Haha, ha...”

Then, a familiar expression surfaced on his face—one I had longed for, that arrogant smirk.

“I completed the magic.”

“...!”

At those words, I hastily looked up at the sky—only to be utterly horrified.

“That is...”

A massive ancient spell, so complex that even I couldn’t begin to understand its structure, had taken over the sky.

“A causality-altering spell devised by the Demon King a thousand years ago. It was originally meant to be used on the Hero, but since that plan failed spectacularly, it’s now being used on the two of us instead.”

“...”

“My years of running around in search of this have finally paid off. If only it weren’t a one-time-use spell, I would have used it on the second-generation Hero who will appear soon...”

He spoke with a smile, even as blood trickled from his lips.

“Not that it would have worked anyway. They say Heroes possess a mysterious power, after all...”

With that spell activated, his victory was all but certain.

And yet... why did he have that smug expression on his face?

“These past few years, as I roamed around for revenge... I stumbled upon some truly unfortunate information.”

The answer came in the form of an unbelievable statement from his lips.

“The Empire is preparing to hunt you down.”

“The Empire... is after me?”

“They must have assumed I had some sort of connection with you since I rebelled... Hahaha...”

It was at that moment that my body began to tremble uncontrollably.

“Y-you...”

“But now, everyone will know. That you are my enemy.”

“Hank...”

“You were the only one to defeat me... and now, even the Empire won’t be able to touch you so easily.”

It was only then that I understood his true intention.

“And so... this is farewell, Master.”

“N-no. Wait.”

“All information regarding our relationship... will disappear from the world today.”

“Wait!!”

“Of course, even from your and my memories.”

I tried to interfere with the spell in the sky at the last moment, but it was already too late.

“I-I’ll join the Demon King’s Army! So please—“

“Unfortunately, we only accept demons...”

“Hank, don’t do this. Please...”

At some point, tears had begun to flow down my cheeks, and I was sobbing uncontrollably.

“You told me... to either eat you or marry you. Y-you said I had to choose one...”

“...”

“I never chose this...!”

As the magic circle began to glow brightly, I held him in my arms and cried out in agony.

“Leave this place... and please, live happily...”

“I... I...”

And then, the world turned upside down.

The moment I, who was once feared by the world, became the Empire’s respected hero and Archmage—

The moment I abandoned even the costly magic that maintained my youth, becoming obsessed only with power in a desperate attempt to recover the first love I could no longer remember—

It all began on that day.

.

.

.

.

.

“...Ha.”

The Magic Tower Master abruptly opened her eyes, blankly surveying her surroundings.

“...”

Behind her, the infernal landscape of a burning hell stretched endlessly.

“I see.”

After taking a moment to steady herself while gazing at the scenery, the Magic Tower Master let out a resigned breath and stepped forward.

“So that’s how it was.”

The journal she had been holding had already vanished somewhere.

But all the forgotten memories had vividly resurfaced in her mind.

The face of him—the one she had desperately longed to remember. His name. Every truth tied to him.

“So that’s how it was...”

And yet, instead of going to meet him, she had no choice but to step toward the ‘Gate of Darkness’ ahead.

Rather than walking to the edge of hell for atonement, she would uncover the truth.

It was time to fulfill her contract with Frey.

“I would have liked to see his face one last time.”

-  Creak...

“But I don’t deserve that.”

As she slowly pushed open the Gate of Darkness and stepped inside—

-  Shaaaa...

Complete and utter darkness enveloped her.

“...Mmm.”

At the edge of hell, what awaited her was absolute darkness—

A void where nothing existed.

“This... might be the most terrifying torture of all.”

Typically, the souls of evildoers, unless sentenced to eternal imprisonment, would suffer endless torment before being purified and returned to the mortal world.

But this space did nothing more than leave souls abandoned in the void until they were completely purified.

Naturally, this process took far longer than forcibly inflicting pain to accelerate purification.

The cruelest punishment in existence.

“Ugh...”

Even now, the Magic Tower Master could feel the creeping despair and fear brought by the void, and cold sweat began to form on her skin.

“Hank...”

In that moment—

“...No.”

As she trembled in fear, she unconsciously started to whisper the name she had yearned for her entire life.

“I told you not to call me that, didn’t I?”

“...!”

A voice rang out beside her—one she had longed to hear more than anything.

“You, you...!”

Frantically turning her head in search of the voice’s owner, the Magic Tower Master’s eyes soon locked onto the figure standing beside her.

“How are you here...?”

“I heard you were coming, so I arrived first.”

“...What?”

“Frey gave me a little tip. It just so happens that I, too, have a lot to atone for, so I requested to be sent to hell.”

As he spoke with that same infuriatingly smug expression, the Magic Tower Master stared at him in disbelief.

“...That aside.”

With a bright smile, he posed a question.

“Are you planning to eat me?”

Hearing that, Komerun let out a scoffing laugh and replied.

“...I don’t think so, you fool.”

“That’s a relief. We’ve only just reunited—I’d rather not be eaten right away.”

At those words, neither could resist any longer.

The two souls embraced each other tightly.

“I’m so happy, yet so unbearably sad—I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.”

“Indeed. I succeeded in my proposal, yet we can’t hold a wedding. That was my wish, you know.”

At some point, a ring had reappeared in the Magic Tower Master’s hand, gleaming brightly between them.

“You just never stop talking, do you?”

“Hahaha...”

Thus came the conclusion of the tale—

Of two souls who met the cruelest yet most merciful punishment.

.

.

.

.

.

Meanwhile, at that very moment, in the Empire of the restored world—

“...Once they’ve fully atoned, I suppose we should release them.”

“Frey, did you call for me?”

As the cold, lifeless bodies of the Magic Tower Master and Rifael were carried away on stretchers, Roswyn approached Frey, who was silently watching.

“Roswyn, I have a question.”

Turning his head, Frey pulled out the Magic Tower Master’s old journal from his coat and flipped it open, pointing to a single word.

Hank Dimer

“How do you read this?”

“Oh, this?”

The somewhat clumsily written text was something Roswyn was quite familiar with.

“It’s pronounced ‘Hank Dimer’!”

With a confident expression, Roswyn gave her answer.

“Is that so? Then...”

As Frey patted her head and lightly tapped the page, the letters of that name suddenly began to shift and scramble before their eyes.

“And how would you read this?”

As he pointed to the newly rearranged letters, Roswyn, who had been grinning under his touch, turned her gaze back to the page.

“This is...”

Unlike before, she furrowed her brows, scribbling something with a pen as she pondered.

After a moment, she wrote down the pronunciation next to the newly formed name and handed the page back to Frey.

“Hmm.”

“So... why are you asking about this all of a sudden?”

Seeing Frey nod in response, Roswyn tilted her head in curiosity.

Frey gave a gentle smile and replied—

“Just needed to confirm something.”

“Is that so?”

“Anyway, you did great, Roswyn.”

“...Hehe. This kind of thing is basic for me!”

Though still puzzled, Roswyn couldn’t help but grin with pride as she shrugged at his praise.

“Hmm... It feels like I’ve heard it somewhere before...”

Scratching her head in thought, Roswyn pondered for a moment.

“Well, I got praised, so I guess it doesn’t really matter!”

“...Ahaha.”

Unable to recall it in the end, she simply tossed the paper aside, as if it no longer concerned her, and began walking with Frey.

Dmir Khan

Behind them, the discarded paper fluttered in the wind, carrying with it a name that felt all too familiar.