Chapter 271: Side Story - Interlude (2)

"You son of a bitch. Everyone's worried about you, so why are you freaking out like that? Why should I cry because of you?" Sienna shouted before kicking Hamel. She hoped that Hamel would fall over. Then she could prove that he was broken, that he couldn't even withstand her kick.

Just stay here. We'll definitely come back, so believe in us and pray for us. That's all she wanted.

"Don't talk nonsense, Sienna." However, Hamel did not fall. He did not even falter. Rather, he took large strides toward Sienna before grabbing her shoulders. "Do you think you can kill the Demon King of Incarceration without me? Who's going to buy us time without me? Who's going to keep Molon in check without me? Who's going to stand in front of Anise? Without me, who will fight by Vermouth's side?"

"Don't be stubborn, Hamel...! You know best that it's impossible for you right now!" shouted Sienna.

"Yeah, I know my body well. I know where you're coming from. I know that I'm becoming a cripple. Even so, I can fight. I won't be able to fight any longer one day, but today's not that day. You want me to wait here after letting you go on?" Hamel scoffed before letting go of her shoulders. "I— Do you really think that's going to work? Sienna, Anise, Vermouth. You guys know me. I.... Do you think I'm going to accept that? I'm going to be a burden? So what? If I start holding you back, leave me behind. Fuck, I'll crawl after you if I have to."

"...Hamel." Vermouth gave a long sigh.

Hamel passed Sienna, and she instinctively reached out to take him by the wrist. Instead, he brushed her hand away roughly, causing her to flinch.

"If you choose to leave me behind, I'll accept it, even though it'll feel like shit. I'll choose to follow you anyways. But... you want me to wait here? You want me to wait here? No, you shithead," Hamel said before grabbing Vermouth by the collar.

"...We will take down the Demon King with you." However, Vermouth did not shy away from Hamel's gaze. "I said this is for you. We don't know how long it will take for us to reach the Demon King of Incarceration's palace. We don't know what kinds of dangers we will face. So we will pave the road. You should rest here until then. Once we face the Demon King of Incarceration—"

"Do you hear yourself?" Hamel scoffed before releasing Vermouth. "If you want to throw me away, then do it. What? You'll come to get me when you fight the Demon King of Incarceration? Do you think I've been doing this shit for sixteen years because I want that fucking honor?"

"Hamel, that's not what I meant. I just...," responded Vermouth.

"If," said Hamel. "I become so crippled that I can't even crawl; then I will die there and then."

"Hamel...!"

"If it came to that, there would be no point in living. But, as long as I can crawl.... I'm coming with you." Hamel knew that he was being stupid and stubborn. He knew that everyone was speaking for his sake.

Even so, he could not accept it. He still had a few fights left in him, and he still had control over his broken body. If the day came when he could no longer move, even then, he could make himself useful. But if he stayed behind, there would be nothing he could do except kill himself in misery.

"You all know how stupidly stubborn I am," Hamel said before returning to his spot and sitting down. "If you told me to stay here, did you all think I would be grateful and listen? I would rather die. As I said, if I'm getting in the way, then leave me behind. Go first since I'll follow on my own."

Sienna screamed, "You idiot!" and tried to slap Hamel in the face. Normally, he would have let the blow land as he had done in similar situations, but this time he dodged it with a slight tilt of his head.

"Look. My body's still working fine. I even dodged a slap from Sienna Merdein, the great Archwizard," said Hamel.

"Y-you idiot...!"

"Let's let him do whatever he wants," Anise spoke up. Half of the liquor still remained in the bottle in front of her, but Anise took a swig and chugged it all down. "We all know this bastard doesn't listen to what anyone says, right? If we really want to leave Hamel behind, we'll have to crush his legs first."

"Then I'll crawl along," retorted Hamel.

"Then we can smash both of your arms as well. If we do that, will you flop along behind us like a worm? Oh my, I just imagined it, and I think it'll suit you quite well, Hamel. Why don't you start practicing now in preparation, you insect?" mocked Anise.

Hamel approached Anise with a frown and began to say, "Oi, Anise. You're going a bit too far...," but before he could finish, Anise swung a bottle and smashed it over his head, sending pieces flying in all directions. Sienna and Molon's jaws opened agape with shock.

Hamel was the most surprised. He had never expected her to hit him in the head with a bottle. As he rubbed the sore spot on his head, he couldn't help but wonder why Anise had the right to hit him when he was the one who had been insulted.

Hamel stared at Anise in astonishment.

The scorn disappeared, her face softened, and her long eyelashes quivered as she spoke, "Does it hurt to listen when we say it nicely?" Despite her bloodshot eyes, Anise managed to hold back her emotions, unlike Sienna, who ended up in tears. Anise was skilled at hiding her feelings, which allowed her to maintain her composure. "Hamel, we're not telling you to stay because you'll actually get in the way. Sienna and I.... No, all of us here are asking you to stay back because we don't want you to die."

"....."

"The castle of the Demon King of Incarceration will be more dangerous than anything we've encountered until now. All of us have managed to survive until now, but it's possible that this time... some of us may die," continued Anise.

"Maybe so," Hamel acknowledged it. For three years, they had been wandering through the treacherous territory of Incarceration, which was akin to hell. Despite encountering those who were much weaker than Hamel and his comrades, they had seen glimpses of hope in the territories of other Demon Kings, where some still struggled forward with determination.

They had believed that they could do something to help save the world, even though they had been weak.

However, not even a hint of such hope remained in the territory of Incarceration. There was only death, survival, and running. It was only the five of them who moved forward with the aim of defeating the Demon King of Incarceration.

All the other Demon Kings had died while uttering ridicule and curses, mentioning the second Demon King.

—You will perish at the hands of the Demon King of Incarceration, and the Castle of Incarceration will be your tomb....

Carnage, Cruelty, and Fury had all spoken the name of Incarceration rather than Destruction.

"If one of us were to die..."

"Then that would be me."

"...Yes. So, you're better off...."

"I have to die on your behalf," said Hamel while shaking off the glass shards from his head. "...No matter what you say, I'm coming. I can still fight. That's all."

"You idiot!" Sienna screamed even louder. She didn't bother wiping away her tears as she glared at Hamel.

What could she say? She had a headache. She needed to make him understand, but that moron simply wouldn't listen. Would it come to the point where they needed to subdue him?

If she did, could she ever face Hamel again?

Vermouth let out a chuckle as he shook his head, muttering, "What a mess." This unexpected reaction surprised everyone present. Vermouth was known for being serious and rarely laughed, especially in a situation like this, which was far from humorous. "Hamel. Your words are contradictory and illogical. You're only relying on your emotions to be stubborn."

"Do you hate it?"

"No. I think this is rather like you." Vermouth raised his half-filled glass. "I understand where you're coming from.... Let's go together. The Castle of the Demon King of Incarceration will be terrible, far beyond anything we've seen until now. But we won't die. No one will die."

Vermouth's words were truly incredible, filling the listeners with a sense of faith and relief as if his words were guaranteed to come true. Everyone called Vermouth the Hero, and the same was true of Hamel.

Even though he did not want to admit it, Hamel was left with no other choice. If there was any hope in this hell, it had to be Vermouth. No matter how strong the Demon King of Incarceration was, and regardless of how impossible it seemed to fight against the Demon King of Destruction, it seemed like it might work out if Vermouth was with them.

'That's why I have to go with them.'

Hamel chewed on his lips.

"Vermouth is right," said Molon. "None of us will die. Just as we survived until now, all of us will survive. After the fight is over, everyone will drink together in front of the corpse of the Demon King of Incarceration."

Vermouth emptied his liquor and laid down the glass with a rare frown. "Hamel was right. This drink is horrid."

"...Sir Vermouth," Anise began.

"Keeping morale high is important for challenging a difficult place like this. It won't be fun to talk about anything with a drink like this," said Vermouth before waving his finger in the air.

Boom!

A keg as large as a human fell to the floor. Anise sprang up from her seat with wide eyes and said in an accusing tone, "Sir Vermouth! You said that we had run out of alcohol!"

"It was a lie. I apologize," responded Vermouth.

"Why did you lie like that!?" shouted Anise.

"I thought it was important to leave some alcohol for a moment that is really important and happy." Vermouth opened the keg with a smile. Anise was already standing in front of the container holding the holy grail.

The atmosphere changed in an instant. Sienna did not like it. They couldn't simply gloss over the issue like this.

"Well, what can we do?" said Anise after returning from filling her grail. She took her seat next to Sienna and placed a small glass before her. "Hamel will not give in. We cannot change his mind."

"Why not? We can cripple him and...."

"Stop talking about things you won't do, Sienna. If you did that, Hamel would blame you for the rest of his life. Can you live with that?" said Anise while narrowing her eyes. Sienna couldn't find words to speak. She stayed silent and turned her gaze to find Hamel sitting and grumbling between Molon and Vermouth.

"...None of us will die," said Anise, bringing the Holy Grail to her lips. "The Castle of the Demon King of Incarceration will be difficult to clear, but we will survive as we have done so far. Even if we fall and get injured, none of you will die as long as I'm here."

"....."

"Moreover, we have you, don't we, Sienna? The most worrisome things about Hamel are his heart and his Core. But if you're around when his Core is about to burst and explode, you might be able to stabilize it. So, it might be safer for Hamel to come with us," continued Anise.

"...Right."

"Hamel is not going to be fighting alone. Things will be a lot different from... when you faced the Blade of Incarceration. I'm here, you're here, Molon's here, and Sir Vermouth is here too. There will be no need for Hamel to stand alone at the front. So...," Anise paused for a moment. "I don't know why I'm rambling on. I'm just saying that the idiot will survive all on his own even if we leave him alone...."

"You're trying to convince yourself, too," muttered Sienna. "You want to leave Hamel behind, but he won't stay. That's why you're telling yourself that Hamel won't die. You don't want to be blamed by Hamel. You want to feel that you understand him, and that's why you're verbalizing it and comforting me."

"...It is only natural since I am your comrade and the Saint," responded Anise.

"Is that really all?" asked Sienna.

Anise laid down the Holy Grail. The sound of conversation seemed very far away, and she unknowingly turned her gaze toward Hamel. Hamel was laughing while bumping his glass with Molon. His injuries were healed, and he was fine, good enough to drink. He was making a racket while thumping his scarred chest.

'Needless consideration.'

...She met Vermouth's gaze. He nodded with a slight smile with his golden eyes. It was thanks to his consideration that she could comfortably talk with Sienna.

"Did you know?" asked Anise.

"Wouldn't it be strange if I didn't? I'm sure everyone knows except for that moron and that idiot.... I'm sure Vermouth knows, too, since he's used magic for us," responded Sienna.

"I thought I was pretty good at hiding it," said Anise.

"I'm sure you are skilled. But Anise, you had no intention of hiding it, did you? You were pretty blatant with Hamel," said Sienna.

"Ah, I suppose my desire just slipped out without me realizing it. Or perhaps I wanted to provoke a reaction from you, Sienna, as it was frustrating to see you so passive.... Or maybe I simply wanted to taunt the foolish Hamel." Anise playfully lifted her cup and rattled it as if to show Sienna something before leaning in to whisper, "My feelings aren't as sincere as yours. It's just.... Well, I don't have any experience in these things since I lived in purity."

"And I didn't?" retorted Sienna.

"That's just fate, isn't it? I'm the Saint. It's just a light... right, just a playful joke, something like that. I have no intention of stealing him from you...."

"Is that all?" asked Sienna with a wry smile. "Can you be satisfied with that?"

"...Well, what other choice do I have, even if I'm not satisfied? Like I said, I am the Saint. My body belongs to the Light...."

"Don't be stupid. If we return... alive, we have the right to do anything we want. We deserve to be happy. If the Holy Empire tells you not to love a man, but you don't like it, I can help you. Do you think the two of us couldn't possibly take the Pope's head?" said Sienna.

"...That's an ignorant thing to say. It's easy for you to say since you're not religious, but I cannot do something like that. My existence itself is based on faith. If I betray my faith, I will go to hell when I die," said Anise.

"Were you really hoping to go to heaven after living in hell? That doesn't add up." Sienna laughed while sipping on her drink. "We're already living in hell, and we're going to save the world from this hell with our hands.... We deserve happiness after this and Anise, I don't want you to be the only one left behind in hell."

Anise didn't know how to respond to this.

"We did many things, especially you. You saved countless people. Even though I... don't believe in the God of Light, I don't think God is cheap enough to blame you for marrying a man and drop you into hell," said Sienna.

"How could man know the Will of God?" said Anise with a laugh before looking back at Sienna. Her eyes were still wet with tears. Anise stretched out her finger and wiped her tears away. "...As you said, we're living in hell, so the least we can do is dream happy dreams. I'll think about it again when.... Yes, when everything is over."

"It's all a mess," Sienna said with a sigh before shaking her head. "I can't get my feelings straight. I was crying, angry, and going crazy just now, but now... I feel rather at ease."

"It's because you have faith," answered Anise.

"...Faith?"

"You have faith that none of us will die. You have faith that Hamel will be okay." Anise clinked her grail against Sienna's glass. "It's easier to believe than to not believe."

Faith, was it? Sienna emptied her glass before putting it down. The liquor was something Vermouth had saved for a special occasion. Maybe that's why she could clearly taste it.

"...Maybe it's just because the alcohol tastes good."

She was fine now. It was all alright. So she laughed while placing down her glass. She saw Akasha next to it.

'It's fine.'

It was just as Anise said. Things were different from when they encountered the Blade of Incarceration. Vermouth was with them, as well as Molon and Anise.

'No one dies.'

Sienna raised her head while caressing Akasha with her fingers. She happened to meet Hamel's eyes. He was drinking on the other side.

The bastard raised his middle finger as soon as their gazes locked. Sienna scoffed, then mimicked his action.

'Hamel won't die.'

She wouldn't let him die.