Chapter 109

* * *

Corrupted demon.

‘Merrich Toulouse’.

This name came from a very distant, antique time, when he was a demon who wielded power, greed, and the power of domination.

‘Toulouse’ had a vicious temper that had to have everything to feel fulfilled.

Even the same demons couldn’t handle that huge desire.

One day, the demon gods, who always regarded Toulouse as a thorn in their eyes, decided to permanently expel him from the group.

Toulouse was tied to a stake in the middle of the demon land.

The demons shouted, one after another.

“Cut off Toulouse’s limbs!”

Bind his limbs and tear them apart.

“Toulouse will not be a demon, but will crawl and live as a monster for eternity!”

To never set foot on the land of the demons again.

Toulouse’s power was sealed, his limbs were cut off, and his body fell into the “Marsephone Hell of the Demons”.

It was a place where only the worst of the monsters gathered.

Toulouse, who fell into Marsephone, ate the monsters and fed some of them, slowly developing their evil powers.

And hundreds of years later.

Finally regaining the power of the demon…

Toulouse, who had returned as the ‘King of Marsephone’, proclaimed this.

“I, Toulouse, will rule the world, devouring the fear and despair of men, forever.”

The lust for power and domination, which he had endured for hundreds of years, completely captured him.

Toulouse was gradually transformed into the form of the ‘Judge Crow’ in mythology.

Six cold eyes.

And black feathers and wings sprouted from the place where his arms were severed.

He transformed into a monstrous being, neither a demon nor anything, and found his tool.

A human who resembled himself.

One born with an evil heart for no reason.

A cold-blooded person who could send one with the same human life to hell without a blink of an eye.

A human being who was purely evil from the moment he came out of his mother’s womb.

Absolutely evil.

He found such a human, and finally he confirmed he had the same desire as himself.

Toulouse and the human cut through the passageway between Marsephone and reality, uniting the five continents with the pouring demons, and made a plan to rule by treating humans as slaves.

The only god of the land would be Toulouse.

The eternal emperor of that land would be this man.

“Today is going to be a pretty important day.”

Johann stood in front of the round black fountain, muttering to himself.

This was the inner room of the private shrine.

It was the room where Johann prayed almost every day.

Except the day when the ceremony was held for the fragment of Zephyross.

Johann prayed to Toulouse from the age of five.

He first offered blood, but…

At some point, he was satisfied with wine.

Among them, Toulouse was very fond of ‘The Dew of Montaigne’.

Was that the taste that most resembled blood?

Johann didn’t understand it before, but now he enjoyed the taste of blood too.

He leisurely tilted the bottle of wine in one hand, whispering Marsephone’s language in a deep bass.

《Di Merrich Toulouse marso.》

Merrich Toulouse, answer me.

Plok—

Wine red as blood seeped into the black spring.

《Enkini ni persona nardei.》

Your servant and friend is calling you.

Johann’s low tone subtly wet the air… 

Bubbling, the black fountain began to boil unpleasantly.

The smoke rising softly suddenly took the shape of a grinning crow.

[Ah! I thought I was going to die of boredom. Long time no see.]

Johann looked at the crow expressionlessly.

It was a raw face that did not even form a pretentious kind expression.

He had seen this crow since he was three-years-old.

It was his secret, this crow could only be seen by him, it was invisible to others.

Then the day Johann turned five-years-old. The crow whispered.

Secretly, like a snake that recommended the forbidden fruit.

“Shall I make you emperor? In return, other people will be very unhappy.”

That day Johann signed a contract with the crow.

He liked being emperor, and he liked making others unhappy… It was pretty exciting to him.

The fallen demon and the human child, who was originally evil, confirmed that their desires met in the same way as decalcomanies.

Toulouse possessed great powers, but could not influence the human world on his own.

He was transferring his energy little by little to the human connected to him, Johann, since he was five-years-old.

That power was almost on the verge of completion.

And for Emperor Johann, who would rule the world with eternal life, he needed a companion.

A strong empress suitable for the new world.

A woman who would give birth to his children.

A woman who would permeate the children’s consciousness from generation to generation and enjoy true eternal life with Johann.

She was a woman who would always produce a body that was old but new.

[Did you say that you choose your partner yourself?]

“Yes.”

[That’s interesting. It’s the first time…]

Toulouse muttered to himself.

Johann didn’t even bother to answer. Toulouse was more often than not speaking bullshit.

[I need that woman’s body part! I like the arms and legs. They’re all delicious.]

In front of the excited crow, Johann raised the corner of his lips and pulled something out of his arms.

It was a thin and long strand of hair.

Platinum blonde hair shone brightly in the candlelight.

“Is this okay?”

[Ah, come on…]

The crow was outright annoyed.

It was just hair.

Johann said, waving the long strand in front of him.

“I want her to take care of herself.”

[Give me this, because I will eat whatever I can get.]

The Black Fountain blew out heat, burning her hair in an instant.

That was the moment.

[!]

The crow’s eyes widened. Then, soon after, he burst into laughter.

[Kek kek kek! Is it really this girl?]

“Berylia Spinel. The Queen of Spinel… and married to my nephew.”

‘That was why I wanted her more.’

[What the hell, are you in love with this woman?]

Johann rolled his eyes, and touched his chin.

He thought very carefully.

Then he whispered in a low voice.

“Her scream…”

Black eyes stared at the crow silently.

“I think it’ll be very pretty.”

The reason gave even the crow goosebumps.

[……You said you want to cherish her.]

Toulouse shook his three heads as if seeing stars, and said,

[Anyway, I’ll choose the woman you picked.]

“How long will it take?”

[If you pray well, as promised, it won’t be long.]

The crow hovered around the fountain, slowly dissipating into the smoke.

It was going back to Marsephone.

[Kekek, but fate is so strange.

……In the end, you choose the same woman. ]

“What do you mean?”

[Humans seem to never be able to get out of that shackle.]

“….…”

[I wish you success this time.]

Before Johann could question the meaning of the words, Toulouse was completely gone in smoke.

* * *

“Berylia… why hasn’t she woken up yet?”

“I’m sorry, Your Highness. Her Majesty’s breathing and pulse are all normal. It must be time for her to wake up…”

The doctor drew his body in front of Rixus to the fullest.

At the overbearing gaze of the crown prince, the doctor shifted his eyes as if awkward and afraid, but still spoke firmly.

“It’s actually a dangerous sign that you’re still unconscious.”

“….…”

“Perhaps…….”

The doctor swallowed his saliva and said,

“It’s very likely a mental problem, so she can keep this state for a long time like Your Majesty the Emperor.”

The doctor’s words sounded like a death sentence to Rixus.

Until now, he felt as if a stone had fallen on his chest, which had been tormented and weighed down while waiting for Berylia to wake up.

To be like his father.

He knew very well what that meant.

It meant that there was nothing he could do for the rest of his life other than waiting for her, writhing with guilt.

Meaning he would never see her beautiful eyes again.

It meant that the poor woman, who had lived her life without knowing what happiness was, would eventually meet a heartbreakingly sad ending.

It felt like his world was turned upside down, and Rixus couldn’t even breathe for a moment.

“Today is the critical moment.”

The doctor said that we should wait until today.

Otherwise he might have to do something else…

But when he said, ‘something else,’ Rixus knew how powerless he was.

Back when his father’s consciousness was gone, the doctor said he would try using ‘another method’.

“Give me one chance.”

Returning to the room, Rixius collapsed in front of her weak body.

His index finger tenderly caressed her pale arms, her slender wrists, and her thin fingers.

To put her to sleep like this, who loved her body temperature too much.

He wanted to hear her voice. Just one more time, her voice as she called him.

Please one more time… 

But Berylia, who was lying on her back as if she had fallen asleep, was motionless like a doll.

Every time he saw her face, he felt like he was going crazy.

“I’ll never leave you alone again. Please don’t leave me…”

‘Isn’t her life too pitiful to sleep like this forever?’

She lived in the swamp, solitary and alone, and not long after she became queen, she came to Aktoum.

A woman who only suffered.

That peaceful face, as if merely asleep, drove Rixus to the end of the hell of despair.

“…Please, Berylia…”

“Ah.”

But it was then. Under the moonlight, she let out a choked breath and opened her eyes.

She called out to him with a thin voice, who was looking at her with trembling eyes.

“…R-Rixus?”

Ame: We knew Johann is sus but to be THIS sus!?!!! And… is that a hint on why she keeps regressing + is the target of the oracle? Brb, Dea and I are going to cook up some theories — do share with me in the comments what are yours!

Dea: We’re finally close to getting answers!! Time to get the detective glasses on because this mystery is about to be solved haha

PS. I feel like Rixus is about the enter his over protective husband arc and lock Berylia up in her room, away from all and any danger