Chapter 122 – Final Farewell

I didn’t expect it at all.
A goddess appears at the moment when I refuse the position of king.

Iril said while looking at the shape of light floating in the air in confusion.

“W-Goddess?!”

“A goddess?”
“Is he…?”
“Surely the princess just said she was a goddess…”

After exchanging glances with each other, they belatedly realized the situation and knelt down.

“Wow, the goddess has appeared!”
“Ah, it’s an honor to see the goddess in person!”

Kiella and Agnes were of course surprised, and all the elves in the throne room, including the knights, were surprised.

The only two people who did not bow down and pay their respects to her goddess were Dayke and Iril, who had encountered her before.

“Everyone, please raise your head.”

The elves who had bent their knees stood up one by one at the relaxed and benevolent voice.

“Hero Alvin. No, Dake. You have finally achieved your goal.”

“Ah… Yes. Thanks. Thank you.”

“You called Dake a warrior.”
“Really the author…”

I can feel the atmosphere of the throne room buzzing with the conversation between me and the goddess.

Still, thanks to the goddess, I saved myself the trouble of having to separately explain to the elves that I was the reincarnation of a warrior.

Anyway, I wonder why it suddenly appeared.

Why have you been quiet so far and now at this moment?

Before I could ask directly, a voice came out of the goddess’s mouth.

“Dake. Why are you refusing the position of leader?”

“It’s just… I think it’s right for the elf kingdom to be led by elves, not humans.”

Actually, it was because I wanted to live comfortably next to her rather than sit in her responsible position, but it was a bit awkward to say it out loud, so I just put it around.

“The quality of a leader lies not in race, but in character. It doesn’t matter whether he is an elf or a human, as long as he is suitable for the position.”

“Goddess… I’m sorry for breaking the prophecy. Please forgive me…”

Nermedia, who was listening next to her, bowed her head as if she was offended by the word ‘becoming’, but the goddess shook her head.

“I’m fine. Just ask for forgiveness from the sisters who trusted you.”

“…Yes.”

“Dake, you defeated the Demon King in your past life, and even after your reincarnation, you are protecting this land from monsters coming from another world. Therefore, you are a suitable person to become the leader of this land.”

He keeps telling me that I will be the king, so I don’t feel bad, but I’m not very happy either.

I was just working hard at my job, but it felt like the professor was appreciative of my efforts and kept suggesting graduate school.

But all I wanted to do was play and live comfortably without working.

“…No. I think Aeril is more suitable than me. She’s not ready yet, but with the help of us and Nermedia around her, she will be able to become a great queen.”

“As you said, the princess is also a great vessel. However, she is not as good as you, who sacrificed your life to save Elora.”

“But she also received professional training and is a fellow elf, Ililly…”

“No, Dake, you should be king.”

The goddess’s attitude becomes increasingly resolute.
Instead of making me decide to become my own king, it gave me an inexplicable sense of discomfort.

‘Why are you trying to make me king like that? I wonder if there is a hidden reason…’

If you think about it normally, it would be presumptuous for me, a human being, to doubt the goddess’s intentions.

Still, the reason I had doubts was because of the uneasy feeling I had felt from the goddess.

The unnatural and radical corruption guide’s advice to commit Iril.
The true nature of the corruption’s progress is never told.

These unanswered questions were enough to raise suspicions that the goddess might be hiding something.

‘When he appeared before, he asked me to keep him a secret, so it’s strange that he suddenly revealed himself now.’

Haven’t I just rejected the throne of king?
She was a quiet goddess, but she suddenly appeared at this time, so she could not help but be suspicious of her intentions.

‘… ‘I’ll have to check.’

“Goddess. Can I ask you something?”

“If it’s a question I can answer.”

I consciously manipulated the app and displayed the screen in the air.

A text that other elves cannot see: 98% corruption achieved.

After last night when Nermedia knelt down and prayed, the number from 90 rose to 98.

One of the questions I had about this progress system was why it wasn’t 100% even though the final goal, Nermedia, had been defeated.

“Please tell me clearly what the corruption progress is and what happens when it reaches 100%. If you tell me without being vague like last time, I will consider becoming king.”

“…The answer to that question will come naturally when you accept the position of king.”

The goddess avoids answering again this time.
I don’t even know what shame related to corruption has to do with my becoming king.

As the suspicion grew rather than being resolved, my stubbornness of not wanting to become a king became even stronger.

“Of course it won’t work. I’m not fit to be the leader of the kingdom.”

“I understand that the desire for social status and power is a natural human instinct. This is an opportunity to obtain all of these things.”

No matter how much of a goddess she was, she kept her true intentions hidden and persistently bitten me with soft words, so she started to get irritated.

“I won’t do it.”

“…You really don’t listen to me.”

“Yes?”

Suddenly, the goddess’ tone of voice changed.

“Don’t you know who helped you get here? When they say something nice, do as they say!”

At the 180-degree change in attitude, all the elves in the throne room were frightened, saying that the goddess was angry.

On the other hand, Mannan asked while maintaining his composure as much as possible.

“…Who are you? Are you really a goddess? Or is this the goddess’ true form?”

“You’re so arrogant about humans! If you don’t want to die, get the prophecy right away, ugh!”

“What?”

“Ugh, what…! How dare you!”

The goddess held her head and began to suffer.
She looked as if she was fighting something inside her.

“Ugh! Be quiet, you old bastard! Kwaaaaah!”

The goddess screamed in pain and suddenly dropped her head.

After a moment of silence, she slowly raised her head again.

“Dake.”

The calm voice came back again.
Although I couldn’t see the other person’s expression because it was obscured by the light, I intuitively recognized it.
The current goddess is a different being than before.

“Nice to meet you, warrior.”

“…Who are you.”

“This is my first time seeing you in person. My name is Ruinua.”

“Then what did you just say…?”

The answer that came back was quite unexpected.

“This is the demon lord you defeated five years ago.”

A chaotic atmosphere filled the throne room.
Even when I took over the royal castle or violated the queen and princess in front of my subjects, it wasn’t like this.

“The devil is alive!”
“Then did the Demon Lord pretend to be a goddess just now?”
“What happened!”

The elves are gibbering in fear that the Demon King has returned.
Even though I had always maintained my cool, my voice trembled this time.

“The Demon King must have been me five years ago…”

“I’m running out of time, so I’ll explain quickly. Just as you said, he was stabbed by your sword five years ago and fell into the fire pit. His body burned up, but unfortunately his soul did not disappear.”

“That can’t be possible…!”

“I don’t know how, but just before the Demon King was destroyed by the Sword of Harmony, he was freed from the constraints of his body. Now able to freely cross the boundaries of time and space, he trapped me, who had been weakened while making the Sword of Harmony, in his soul. “Yes.”

“The goddess?”

She nodded.

“Yes. And he wanted to be resurrected again. However, being free from the shackles of the body and becoming a transcendent being meant that he could no longer physically interfere with this world. Therefore, he needed a new body to return to this world.”

“That body…”

“Dake, it’s your body.”

“Dake’s body…?”

Agnes’s surprised self-talk.
There was no one who was not shocked, including Kiella, Rize, Iril, and Nermedia, but I was the most shaken.

“Do you mean you tried to steal my body…?”

“That’s right. The Demon King created a suitable body from his own vessel and placed your soul there. You were betrayed by the elves and have a deep grudge against you.”

It was the devil who reincarnated me, not a goddess.
Even while my eyes were shaking, her explanation continued.

“He gave you a special ability called an app. Then, you will carry out revenge on the elf without being told to do so.”

“Let me take revenge on your behalf…”

“…Yes. But the purpose of giving you the app is not to entrust you with revenge.”

“Yes?”

“You were curious about the corruption progression included in the app. It doesn’t refer to the elf’s corruption. It refers to your corruption progression, Dike.”

“W-what is that!”

Unlike me, who couldn’t hide my embarrassment, the goddess’ voice was still calm.

“The Demon King descended when Elora was overflowing with pleasure and desire due to corrupted humans. Likewise, he can only take that body if you are completely corrupted.”

“…”

“You gradually accumulated a karma of corruption by intoxicating the elves with pleasure. However, unlike the accumulated karma, only your heart did not become corrupted. That is why the progress stopped at 98%.”

As the saying goes, I have used mean and violent means, but at least I have tried to protect humane goodness in my heart.

So, I’m glad that it wasn’t 100% fulfilled, but it sent a chill down my spine to know that I was perfecting myself as the devil’s vessel without knowing it.

“The Demon King thought that the remaining 2% would be a desire for power and status, not a sexual desire. He planned to steal your body and return to Elora when you become king and become infected with obscene desires.”

Now all questions have been answered.
Inducing me to violate Iril as a guide to corruption and offering me the position of king were all done to corrupt me.

If I hadn’t let my guard down until the end, everything might have come true according to the devil’s will.

“I hope that Dayk can live as he wants. You have already sacrificed and devoted yourself to Elora in his past life. However, please prevent the Demon King from returning to this land that I cherish.”

“…Yes, I will. Thank you, goddess.”

“It’s a pity, but I can’t suppress him any longer, so I think we’ll have to end our meeting here. Lastly… My beloved daughters.”

“Ah, goddess!”

“What I wish for is your well-being and peace. What is needed for that is harmony and harmony. Please remove the darkness in your heart and cooperate with the warrior to protect Elora.”

In response to the goddess’s words, the elves once again knelt and showed respect.

“Then, goodbye everyone. Even if my soul perishes along with the Demon King, my affection for Elora will be eternal.”

After leaving her final greeting, the goddess slowly lowered her head.
Like a toy doll whose batteries are slowly running out.

Then, the pure white light that felt sacred began to change into black flame.

What was heard next was an ominous voice that seemed to be a mixture of male and female voices.

“Ha, that bitch ruined it all. Damn it.”

An ominous and creepy voice that seems to be a mixture of male and female voices.
Dake clearly remembered this voice.

“…Devil.”

“Yes. Nice to meet you, warrior. No, you are just a shell of me.”