[My ko-fi link:- https://ko-fi.com/punisher87 ]
If you tell me the truth, I won't kill any more helpless bugs today.
Jin didn't believe Paellito's words.
"The truth..."
Jin aimed his sword at Paellito while struggling to catch his breath. His strength was almost depleted, and he felt that the sword would tremble even more if he lost concentration for a moment.
"Very well. But before I answer, I have one question."
Swish!
Paellito once again sent a sword energy towards the outside of the battlefield. Just like the forest where Dante had been moments ago, this sword energy would undoubtedly kill innocent lives.
"I'm the one asking the questions here. Thanks to your nonsense just now, another thousand bugs died."
Tears were drying on Jin's cheeks. A mixture of blood, sweat, ash, and tears left dark stains on his face. It was a pain that he could never forget and should not forget.
HHis exhausted body felt heavy, and the guilt of not being able to prevent the deaths of so many people weighed on him and made it hard to breathe. Jin was not looking at Paellito before him; he was staring at the weight of that guilt.
"I am currently at your mercy, Paellito. So, whatever you do, I can't stop you. On the other hand, you can't shut my mouth either, unless you kill me or pull out my tongue. But you can't do that... otherwise, it would be futile."
Paellito couldn't deny it. He had not yet accepted Sakiel's death. He needed to hear an answer from Jin, something he could understand. He wanted to hear it.
"We both have wounds that cannot be washed away. You lost Sakiel, and I failed to protect the people I had to. Maybe even my friends died just like you said. Now, no matter how this fight ends, we can't live as we did before. What awaits you and me is not the joy of victory but an eternal pain that we can never forget."
The pain they could inflict on each other had already surpassed its limits. There was undoubtedly a limit to the sadness a person could feel.
So, from now on, it didn't matter who would lose more or who would suffer more. At the moment when Paellito lost Sakiel, the most important meaning of his life was lost, and Jin would despair the same even if everyone else died.
"So, there's no need for such a sensitive reaction just because I'm asking a few questions. Just like Sakiel won't come back whether you kill me or not, the dead won't return no matter what I do."
Gulp!
Paellito spat out a mouthful of dark blood that had gathered in his mouth. The purple energy enveloping him was gradually turning darker. The inner demon continued to draw out his inherent demonic nature.
In fact, Paellito knew that better than anyone else. That no matter what he heard about Sakiel's death from Jin, the result was already determined. He was being devoured by the emptiness of revenge, and the constant sense of loss and grief had intensified his inner demon.
In Jin's eyes, his future was also crystal clear.
Therefore, Jin was not afraid of the future. Even if he died, someone would eventually put an end to Paellito consumed by demonic nature.
Even if Jin fell in battle, there would still be Chiron and Luna in the Runcandel, and there would be his siblings, knights, and comrades in Tikan.
Someone would surely inherit his will among them, just as Jin had been inheriting the will of Runcandel from a thousand years ago.
But behind Paellito, there is only the monster of the abyss who wants only terrible pain. His ranks are just full of unfortunate beings who have been brainwashed by that monster.
"Tens of billions of people who have forgotten even who they used to be."
"...What are you suddenly talking about?"
"You're one of them too, Paellito. Even someone like you, who has reached Genesis Knight level, doesn't know who you are. You don't know what you're fighting for."
"What I want is clear, Jin Runcandel."
"To establish a new order of pain and seek revenge for Sakiel's death? The latter is probably correct. But the former, is it really your will? That's not yours but Zito's will."
"Lord Zito's will is the will of the True Demon World."
"I have encountered demons who broke free from that brainwashing unlike you, even though they were weaker than you."
"Indeed, it seems Visepps has clung to you."
"They had beliefs. Beliefs to protect their families, comrades, and lives from Zito's oppression. And you have fallen even though you once led them as the leader of the resistance, and become Zito's slaughterer."
"These lower beings have difficulty understanding a higher world. A world where the order of pain is established will not be as chaotic as it is now. Everything will be in its place, and everyone will bear their destined fate."
"Did Sakiel think the same way?"
Swoosh! Paellito swung his sword down. Jin was momentarily pushed back by the impact of blocking Paellito's sword. Even though it was a sword that Paellito had thrust with the intention of driving him into the ground, for some reason, Jin did not fall and regained his balance.
Paellito couldn't understand what was keeping Jin so resolute. The time when he could resist with resolve or willpower had long passed.
"If what Sakiel truly desired wasn't Zito's order, what will you do, Paellito? Don't give me nonsense like I am insulting Sakiel or anything like that. Have you ever looked directly at Sakiel, yourself, or the people who fought alongside you? Have you ever seen the faces of your comrades who were sent to the battlefield by Zito's orders and died?"
"I have always observed all of that very closely."
"No, all you've seen so far is just the truth clouded by brainwashing. Do you remember Dylus Claupino? He shed tears in his final moments when he died by my sword, as if he realized something belatedly. As if he had only just realized something. How about Sakiel? What do you think was in her heart in her final moments? How did she feel as she died, who did she curse?"
A moment of silence passed.
"...Unlike Dylus, I couldn't see Sakiel's final moments properly. Because of the Field of Loss. But right now, our record mage is examining the battlefield. She will probably soon find out what Sakiel was like in her final moments. What she was thinking and who she cursed. Somehow, I think it will be Zito."
What Zito desires is not just the suffering of the human world.
Jin had been feeling that way ever since the war began against the True Demon World. He believed that the monster wanted everyone to be engulfed in pain including the demons under his control.
Otherwise, there would be no reason to use his subordinates as mere expendables, and there would be no reason to conduct the war in this manner.
If Paellito had been sent to the human world before the fall of Grosch Castle, if more fractures had been opened throughout the human world, if Zito himself had acted more quickly...
The human world would have never gained the upper hand. Jin believed that the moves Zito had made on the battlefield were not for victory but merely to plunge everyone into pain.
"Furthermore, I've heard stories from Visepps that most of them have family members or loved ones held hostage by Zito. But I wonder, are only Visepps' people held captive? If I were Zito, I would have captured and used your family members as well."
Phuahaha….! Paellito chuckled.
"You have a knack for exaggerating things too. Yeah, I guess you are right. But even if that's the case, it doesn't change anything. You killed Sakiel. You, a mere human, killed Sakiel Grosh, who was particularly superior among the demons. That's why I can't forgive this world without order."
"Eventually, it all comes back to your crazy fatalism. You've stopped thinking and become Zito's slaughterer, trapped in the chains of hatred without breaking free from brainwashing."
"I've heard enough from you, Jin Runcandel. Now it's your turn to answer me. Why do you care so much about the deaths of other humans? Why do you feel such a heavy sense of responsibility? Tell me."
Paellito began to gather his strength again.
Now, he thought it was time to finish off Jin. He could kill him and calmly sink into the swamp of inner demon.
Paellito wished that Zito would not pull him out of that swamp at that time.
Swish
The blaze of flame of hell began to surround Jin once more.
"I've never talked about this since I killed Kidard Hall during my time as a reserve flagbearer,... Paellito, the reason I feel a sense of responsibility toward people is simple."
I died once and came back in time.
"...What did you say?"
Paellito's pupils dilated.
Regression, he had never heard of such a thing. But Paellito could tell that Jin was telling the truth now.
"Twenty-four years ago from now, I faced death in the Akin Kingdom. The me at that time was a very different human from what I am now. I didn't have as much on my hands to take responsibility for as I do now. I was just living a life for my personal success. Thanks to being chosen by Solderet at the last minute"
Jin made eye contact with Paellito.
"The me from my previous life died in 1808. And now, it's 1804... The 1804 I remember and the current one are entirely different worlds. Back then, Glyek, the Evil God, and Zito didn't appear in the human world."
"How is that even...!"
Paellito couldn't even suspect it. Right now, Jin seemed to emit an unprecedented and immense light that he had never seen from any immortal. He couldn't possibly dismiss Jin's story as a lie.
"I don't know why I regressed either. How it was possible, why it had to be me, why so many lives were influenced by me. If I hadn't regressed, perhaps even more people would have lived than they do now. It feels like the world was less chaotic back then compared to now, but that's just my thinking."
Paellito's heart was pounding as if it would burst.
"But, Paellito, according to that fatalism you've been preaching. My regression is superior to any fate. If I hadn't regressed, neither you, nor Sakiel, nor Zito, nor anyone in the True Demon World would have set foot in the human world."
Paellito once again charged at Jin with the intention of killing him, but Jin deflected Bascala away with his eyes wide open.
"I will transcend this fate without fail. So, overcome your brainwashing, Paellito Belgasyum, and remember the fate that was originally meant for you."
[T/L: I have launched two new tiers of memberships on my pateron page. You guys will get daily chapter updates on those memberships, so check them out: patreon.com/Punisher87translation ]
[T/L: You can read more chapters and support me here: https://ko-fi.com/punisher87 & https://bmc.link/punisher87 ]
[T/L: Join $29 membership on my "buymeacoffee" page and read 55 chapters ahead and daily 1 new chapter update. I have introduced new memberships, and you can read upto 75 or 85 chapters ahead.]