Dungeon Defense

I prepared myself to accept Barbatos’ final words.

No matter what she said, I knew I would never forget it. Not just the words themselves, but the nuance, breath, and emotion woven into her words would stay with me. From now on, Barbatos will become someone who only speaks and makes gestures in my world.

Though I expected her words to only be curses and her gesture to be an attempt to choke me, it didn’t matter. The fact that I could still see Barbatos, even in that form, might actually be considered a form of luck. Or, does that mean I would have to accept the presence of my phantoms……? A dilemma indeed.

Barbatos and I exchanged a glance.

“…….”

“…….”

In my time that was dirtier than mud, Barbatos alone shone brightly.

A Demon Lord is like dust that lightly settles on the ground. It can easily be lost if one becomes careless. Being able to feel the emotions of others isn’t a blessing but a curse. I can’t even be sure if my own heart is truly mine…….

It probably would’ve been more normal to live a chaotic life of gambling and alcohol like Andromalius did. But among all the Demon Lords, Barbatos stood out with an incredibly firm sense of self. Every word she spoke felt like a symphony of victory, endlessly echoing, “I am Barbatos.”

It was almost love at first sight.

What makes me different from you, Barbatos? I still find it hard to understand. The more you strive to be Barbatos, the more your existence becomes a hymn to yourself, spreading like fireworks across the night sky. But why is it that the more I try to be myself, the more I strive to uphold the things I’ve set for myself—the more I seem to lose who I am?

Barbatos, I ask you with the deepest tears:

Why is life a victory and a blessing for you?

Why is nothingness my final stop?

I do not love you so much as I admire you. More than anything, I longed to live as you do. I ask that you understand—I have always been an outsider. I am not someone who was permitted to dwell in this world, and so I had to prove my existence through my own actions.

Yet what was the very first thing I did upon entering this world—murder! And after that, slaughter! From that day onward, my life became solely devoted to justifying those initial atrocities. In other words, I had no path to follow but that of living as a villain.

Barbatos.

Please.

Barbatos.

“…….”

And then, she gently knelt on both knees.

There were no words. No extraordinary gestures or glances. Barbatos simply met my gaze one last time and, with an utterly ordinary motion, lowered her head. I stared blankly at her, and then it dawned on me.

Without a final word.

Barbatos intended to die without leaving any last words behind.

Because she had realized I could see phantoms. Because she knew that whatever words she spoke would become a curse upon me—Barbatos chose instead to die in silence.

The shock paralyzed my entire body.

This couldn’t be.

There are things you want to ask me right now. You could ask if I loved you. You have every right to want to ask me that. No, at the very least, you must be dying to ask what became of your subordinates, the Plains Faction Demon Lords.

What about a final word instead of a question? A last will? Barbatos, this is your end. There’s no way someone like you, who has lived for thousands of years, would leave this world without saying anything. Surely, there must be feelings buried within your chest—emotions that could not be expressed even with a thousand sentences or ten thousand words. Resentment and gratitude. Curses.

To give that all up……?

Merely to avoid leaving a curse upon someone like me?

For just that reason, you would choose silence over everything you have lived for?

“Don’t joke with me!”

I shouted. It was a scream that came out unintentionally, but also one filled with sincerity. My body had already slipped beyond my control. My hand moved on its own, pulling at Barbatos’ hair.

And then I realized one more thing. Barbatos had her eyes closed. The reason was simple. She was doing it to avoid giving me one final gaze. Anger surged even more inside me as I pulled her face closer.

“Look me in the eyes and leave your final words!”

I slapped Barbatos’ cheek. Yet, she didn’t flinch at all. The citizens in the square, perhaps mistaking this for a brief scene of torture, cheered loudly. I continued to stomp on her foot and strike her cheek until she opened her mouth, until she finally opened her eyes.

The more the violence continued, the hotter the excitement in the square became. However, in stark contrast, it felt as if she and I were separated from the rest of the world. The cheers and claps from the crowd grew fainter, until almost nothing could be heard around me.

“……Kaha.”

Barbatos laughed.

“It’s a thousand years too soon for you to try lying to me, Dantalian.”

“Lying? What nonsense are you spouting now?”

“Paimon. You said you stabbed her neck on purpose to keep her from leaving a long will, didn’t you? Sloppy. If you thought you could fool me with such an absurd trick, you’re truly a fool. Hah, it was so convincing, I almost fell for it.”

Barbatos subtly opened her eyes and looked at me.

“But when I thought about it carefully in my cell, it didn’t add up. If you truly didn’t want to hear a will, you should have cut her head off immediately, don’t you agree? Or you could’ve ordered your little bodyguard to kill Paimon. Instead, you said this: once at the neck, once at the back, and once again at the neck, you drove the dagger in…….”

Barbatos’ lips twisted into a smirk.

“What could this mean? It’s simple. Dantalian, you killed Paimon while embracing her in your arms. That’s the only position that would allow that. But wait. Huh? Isn’t that strange? Is it just my imagination, or does something smell fishy here?”

“…….”

“The man who supposedly killed Paimon quickly to avoid being tormented by hallucinations, actually hugged her tightly while doing it? And you didn’t even slit her throat? Dantalian, you idiot, that’s a contradiction. It doesn’t add up.”

My teeth trembled. I could taste the metallic tang of blood in my mouth.

“It was the complete opposite, Dantalian. You didn’t stab Paimon’s neck to prevent her from leaving a will. You did it to hear the most concentrated will possible. You deliberately chose the method of killing that would let you betray her in the most humiliating way, hear the most painful curse, and do it all from the closest possible place.”

Barbatos sneered.

“Don’t deceive me. I’m not that foolish of a woman. I’m on a completely different level from Paimon. Do you think I’ll just die the way you want? Idiot, listen carefully to what I’m about to say.”

Barbatos brought her face close to mine. She whispered with a soft breath that held a hint of a smile.

“I don’t blame you.”

“…….”

“I’m the one who trusted you. I’m the one who liked you. I’m the one who gave you too much power, leaving myself open to betrayal, and I’m even the one who ordered you to kill Paimon. So, the death I face now is entirely my responsibility, Dantalian. It’s not because of some insignificant man like you.”

As I stood frozen and unable to respond, Barbatos sighed softly. It felt like she was muttering, “You’re really hopeless.”

“But……fine. I’ll leave you with this one thing. I’m sorry, Dantalian.”

“…….”

“I’m sorry.”

What is she apologizing for?

What exactly is she saying sorry for?

“Ah……ugh……. Ah…….”

For some reason, my vision blurred. The objects before me swayed faintly. If I delayed any longer, it would become dangerous. I wouldn’t be able to kill her. I wouldn’t be able to do what I must. And then, I would lose.

I’ll end up……falling too deeply in love……with Barbatos.

I mustn’t.

I can’t allow it.

I am someone who must remain thoroughly entrenched in evil. I cannot use my love, my unwillingness to kill, as an excuse to flee from what must be done. I must not sully the countless lives I’ve massacred. I cannot justify myself to them by saying, “I, too, am just an ordinary person capable of love.”

I must not grant myself absolution.

“You idiot……. What are you doing?”

I heard Barbatos’ voice through my blurred vision. Her voice came out as if it were softly brushing against my ears. Even her voice carried a faint, wavering something within it.

“Hurry up and kill me, you son of a bitch.”

That single phrase pushed me forward.

I raised my sword. It was regretful that I couldn’t clearly take in her final image, but there was no other way. I had to kill her. Now. If it doesn’t happen at this very moment, it will become impossible for me to do so.

—I, will be the one to kill Barbatos.

Gripping the hilt of my sword desperately, as if it might slip from my grasp at any moment.

Steeling my knees with all my might, though they seemed ready to collapse beneath me at any second.

Aiming for her neck, I will strike without hesitation to end her life.

“…….”

Barbatos lowered her head.

At that very moment, my blade descended.

Since the very beginning, I should have never met you. No, when the adventurers invaded, I should have simply surrendered and let myself be killed by an unknown executioner. That would have been far better. At the very least, I wouldn’t have caused you any pain.

I should never have been born.

I should have killed myself first before I could kill someone else.

But I couldn’t do it. I wanted to live, even if it meant massacring others. And as I lived that way, eventually, I became someone who could no longer afford to die—a being for whom meaningless death or suicide was no longer permitted.

If there truly is such a thing as hell in this world,

Then, when the time comes, I will confess to you there.

I will apologize to you.

So, please, don’t forgive the me who cannot say “I’m sorry” to you now.

And with that, I plunged my sword down once more.

—The sound of metal clashing rang out.

My right hand was knocked away.

A moment later, Baal’s greatsword did a somersault through the air before embedding itself deeply into the ground. The pain radiating from my right hand distorted my expression. I grit my teeth in pain and turned my head to the side with an enraged scowl.

“My apologies.”

Standing in the direction of the voice.

“Father.”

Daisy was crouched in a low stance, quietly glaring at me.

I stared at her in disbelief before the situation dawned on me. Just as I was about to strike down Barbatos, Daisy had kicked my hand, causing me to lose my grip on the greatsword.

“How dare you……. You wretched girl, what are you doin—.”

“I have agonized over this countless times.”

Daisy looked me directly in the face. Her pitch-black eyes reflected nothing but me, completely unwavering.

“For countless nights, for an immeasurable stretch of time, I agonized. The reason you kept me alive. The reason I haven’t killed you, and the reason I must. Which choice is right, and which path I must take—I thought about these things over and over again.”

But now, Daisy continued.

“Now I am certain.”

She extended her palm toward Baal’s greatsword. The blade, drawn by Daisy’s mana, entered her grasp. Daisy raised the sword toward me.

“I will stop you.”

And the girl, her black hair fluttering, declared with resolute conviction:

“My name is Daisy von Custos. With every bit of my life, Demon Lord Dantalian, I will stand in your way from this moment onward.”

***

TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. Sorry about how long this has been taking. The first half of this month has been sort of a blur. I guess you can say that I’ve been trying to accept things. Was a bit hard to get into the mood to translate again. It doesn’t help that work has been feeling hectic lately because they keep giving me work that’s due on same date it’s given. It’s just really stressful trying to finish things on time while also getting larger projects done.

In any case, I think my mood to translate is coming back, so I’ll slap myself into shape.

See you guys in the next chapter.