Chapter 75 - The Demon Lord and the Hourglass
Though it is late to mention it, I will begin the happy ending for which I have received several inquiries.
This branches off from the "Why is it you?" scene.
The moment the blade attempted to pierce the Hero's chest, Elenoa halted her movement.
Her crimson-black wings spread taut, her eyes gleaming with murderous intent as she stared at the Hero, yet she could not move that knife.
Creak.
Something seized her wrist. It was a vine. It had surged forward from behind Elenoa, coiling around her tightly, and even now it groaned with a creaking sound.
Bewildered, Elenoa understood whose magic it was. The mana seeping from the vine conveyed 'his' anger, steadily and relentlessly.
"No way," Elenoa's lips moved, whispering softly.
She did not turn around.
More than the Hero before her, more than the Hero's Party standing dumbfounded around her, she feared her husband seated on the throne far behind. "What is the matter...?" "Hmph, is this infighting?" "Nii-ni, Nii-ni, over here, hurry!" The Hero's Party was attempting to regroup. That would not do. She had to do it now.
—My resolve will go to waste...!
Elenoa tried to move her other hand to swing the knife, but that hand, too, was caught by a vine. Her slender arms possessed more strength than they appeared to, but they were no match for the hardness of the plants created by the Demon Lord. Captured, unable to leap, Elenoa could only struggle in silence.
A clear crack in the once-solid monolith that was the Demon Lord's side.
The Hero did not view the Demon Queen, whose hands were bound, as an enemy; if anything, he looked at her with pity as he approached.
"...Elenoa-sa,"
"Do not touch me."
But the moment the Hero attempted to place a hand on her, the Demon Lord on the throne stood up.
"She is my wife."
He waved his arm once. That alone dominated the space. He looked down, his expression hidden by his bangs. Wind swirled around him. Even that wind, gentle as a spring breeze softly stirring his hair, was his—his utterly elegant, blue mana.
A tremendous pressure containing rage, sorrow, confusion, and various other emotions.
Sensing it from behind, Elenoa's body trembled. Her footing became unsteady.
"...Ah, a—"
From the floor, numerous vines shot out, surrounding her. They were thick, perhaps three times the thickness of Elenoa's thigh. Their bark was hard. That deep, dark green seemed less like a plant and more like a living creature with a will of its own.
The slender tips raised their heads toward her alone, and
"Capture her."
At Louis's single word, they attacked her.
"Ugh...!"
The intent to restrain assaulted Elenoa. It was none other than her beloved Demon Lord who desired it.
Her slender waist, her arms, her legs, her entire body were bound, and she finally dropped the knife from her hand.
Squeak, groan. To the dull groaning of the vines, Elenoa let out a faint cry of "Hic!" It was the first time hostile intent had been directed at her by Louis. She had never imagined it. More than the shock running through her body, her heart trembled violently. Helpless, she ceased all movement.
The Hero roared.
"Demon Lord!! You bastard, are you not her husband? Will you hurt her again!"
For the Hero, 'Elenoa being captured' was the ultimate trauma.
"............"
Louis responded silently to the fierce roar of anger. Frowning as if annoyed, he snapped his fingers.
The Hero and his companions were bundled together by thick vines and thrown out through the glass ceiling. If they lacked the ability to fly, they would fall to the ground and die. Though that was likely of no concern to the Demon Lord.
"Now, with the nuisances gone."
The Demon Lord chuckled, "Fufufu." His expression took the shape of his former gentle smile, but only his eyes remained cold and frozen. He mocked his beloved consort who had nearly betrayed him, and mocked his own shallowness.
Click, click, click—
Making leisurely footsteps, Louis moved around to stand before Elenoa. The throne room, now devoid of the Hero's Party, was quiet, an environment sufficient for a conversation between husband and wife.
Louis spoke gently.
"Shall we talk for a moment?"
Sweetly, as always, as if whispering love in the bedroom.
The next instant, Elenoa's entire body was tightly constricted by the vines. "Ugh." Her toes lifted off the ground.
It was a strong sense of confinement she had never experienced while living under the Demon Lord's wings.
She herself was one of the strongest in the world. She possessed mana and combat capabilities incomparable to when she had been toyed with by that trio. She had thought she would never again be subjected to such overwhelming pressure.
It was an unbelievable feeling. Yet Elenoa knew that it was she who had made the gentle him do this. In Louis's leisurely approach, she saw the Demon Lord within him.
"It seems I was indeed Louis Stylus. Seeing you in such a state, I am thoroughly relieved."
He smoothly stroked Elenoa's skin, and
"Would fleshy tentacles have been better? Among the ugly, writhing things, the radiant beauty of a fairy would stand out well, wouldn't it? ...Ah, but the thought of your skin being defiled by anyone other than me..."
I dislike it. —He muttered those words low and softly.
He narrowed his eyes. With just that gaze, a ring of light wrapped around Elenoa's neck and fixed itself there. When the glow faded, what remained was a silver collar. Pure silver, which stripped fairies of their power.
The filthy red hue drained from Elenoa's wings.
"Ah, a... Louis...?"
He was serious.
He was directing a fraction of the Demon Lord's cruelty, which he had never before shown to Elenoa, toward her. Suppressing the urge for her teeth to chatter, Elenoa stared at him with frightened eyes.
Her fear. Even seeing that, he returned a faint, ecstatic smile, appearing composed. If he were the him she knew, he would have released her with a voice permeated by guilt, saying "I'm sorry" and "It hurts, doesn't it?"
Had she angered him that much?
Elenoa glimpsed the edge of despair. She recognized it as punishment in the presence of her 'owner.'
"What were you attempting to do?"
"...I tried to kill him."
"'Killing one's own kind.' ...You attempted to kill a fairy, the same as yourself?"
"............"
Silence.
Nevertheless, Louis nodded as if satisfied, saying, "I see," and
"You got carried away just a little, didn't you? Now that I have killed that momentum, you cannot do the same thing again, can you?"
Elenoa looked down. Because it was the truth.
She did not regret letting herself be swept away by impulse, but once a single act of recklessness was blocked, it would become difficult to do the same thing again. Especially since he had noticed, there would be no second time.
His hand moved, reaching toward Elenoa's neck.
"Louis."
Elenoa's face paled at the unthinkable. She had a bad premonition about what he was about to do. Even if she pleaded for him to stop, he did not listen, reaching into her collar and finding what he sought.
"Elie. I love you."
And so, he snatched away the hourglass hanging from Elenoa's neck.
The item she had cherished. The form of his love, given to her by Louis's own hands. It was now taken by his own hands.
The thin chain was cut miserably, and Elenoa's eyes widened.
"No, give it back, it's mine, no, no, please."
"I cannot return it. This is something you must not possess in your current state."
She felt it was akin to a death sentence.
For that instant, Elenoa felt as if the blood in her entire body had stopped.
"I was aware that you were troubled by something recently. You were somewhat strange toward me as well. I did not believe myself to be such a blind husband that I would not notice your changes. And yet, did you not even realize that you were being observed by me?"
"Ob-served."
"Cute Elie. You should have remained a carefree and innocent fairy, fitting for your foolishness."
She felt he was saying terrible things.
Elenoa stared blankly at Louis. Her suspended body felt strangely heavy.
He raised the hourglass he had just stolen to her eye level, and
"'Reset Button'."
"Ugh...!"
"The letter I received from my past self also mentioned this. You considered using this, even once, didn't you?"
"Why..."
"It is easy to understand. ...May I ask why? It is alright, I will not get angry unreasonably, so please tell me slowly."
Come now, be a good girl. Do not be afraid. If you do not speak properly, I will not understand.
His gentle voice was eerie. A chill running down her spine made her legs tremble, and the coiling vines tightened even more strongly.
This was not a discussion between husband and wife. It was an interrogation by the Demon Lord. Even if this was exceptionally generous treatment, a question-and-answer session while bound was nothing but terror.
Told, "I will not understand if you remain silent," Elenoa spoke as if driven.
"I thought Louis had changed."
"How have I changed?"
"...Because I,"
Because I.
Tears fell drop by drop from Elenoa's eyes.
"Because I am weak, Louis does anything to keep me alive. He kills anyone other than me. He easily buys whatever I want. He wasn't like that in the past."
"Is that all?"
"It's not just that!"
Unable to articulate it well, Elenoa searched for words.
No matter how she thought about it, it was not something to appeal through tears. She was aware of that. Louis was kind to her, whereas he hadn't been in the past. Why that was so sad, she did not truly understand herself. But it was also true that she had recognized it as a desperate change.
Enough to resolve to bear the same sin of killing one's own kind. Enough to consider whether to reset the world after doing so.
Louis's change was that sad.
"Certainly, I have changed."
He admitted it quietly, and
"But that is my will. I have come this far for my own sake. For the sake of the me who wants to live with you, not for your sake. It is utterly arrogant. I cannot accept your thinking."
He rejected Elenoa's thoughts. He declared it arrogance.
"But, killing so many people, with this kind of method..."
"Do you wish to say it is wrong? I do not think so—"
After a pause, Louis corrected himself, "Ah, no, I was mistaken."
"I made a fatal mistake only once. At that time, when I left you and that child at home. It is detestable. Even now, recalling it makes me want to vomit at my own carelessness."
"Carelessness, such a thing."
"From the mistake, the failure of that moment, things branched off to the present. But there have been no mistakes since then. Because you recovered, you stayed with me, and you have lived until now."
Louis said.
That he had resolved not to make mistakes again in order to keep her alive.
That because she had not died, he had not made a mistake.
It was a resolve akin to a curse. Elenoa's kindness—her fragile heart, which could now be called naivety—could not fathom it.
Elenoa's resolve to kill her own kind. She believed it was not wrong. But Louis's resolve to 'never make a mistake again' was surely not wrong either. Which feeling involved was greater? Which was stronger? There was no need to think. Looking at the current situation, it was obvious. Which was correct. Which was wrong. Which was smarter, and which was foolish, which should submit to which, which should prostrate before which, and which had been hurt more.
(...I am sorry)
Elenoa's thoughts stopped.
—I was captured.
—I lost.
His hand touched her silver hair as she hung her head.
"I made an effort."
"............"
"To become happy with you."
"............"
"Do you deny that effort of mine?"
The lonely voice, spat out drop by drop, reminded her of the him from the past.
"You may be saddened that I have changed. But if you end everything with that, what will become of my feelings, here and now?"
Elenoa uttered a single word, "I am sorry."
To the loser's apology, Louis smiled with satisfaction, and
"Is there anything you desire?"
"Eh..."
"Something you wish to eat, or a book you would like me to read to you?"
"............"
"If not, I will bring pickled peaches, apple compote, and perhaps mint tea to your room tomorrow. I will share my blood for your staple food."
"Louis."
"This throne room receives moonlight just as it does sunlight. It is an excellent environment for raising a fairy, and quite suitable for keeping you."
Looking around the surroundings, he patted Elenoa's head, saying, "Good girl, good girl."
"It is punishment. Please cool your head here for one night."
The 'punishment' in bed is no longer punishment, is it? Because you have been held by me many times and have come to like pleasant things. I was thinking of devising a new method for you. Thus, I did this. I dislike causing pain— To his rambling declaration, Elenoa replied mechanically with "Yes, yes," her eyes dark.
"I will return you to your room tomorrow. If you need anything, call for me. I can do most things. I am accustomed to caring for you when you cannot move."
I love you, Elenoa. Good night. Sweet dreams.
Leaving behind words like a good husband, the Demon Lord departed. Returning to his own room, still holding the hourglass his wife had cherished.
Elenoa softly opened her mouth, and
"I am sorry."
The massive doors of the throne room slowly closed.