Chapter 12
The Fate-Shattering Researcher
Part 3
I began researching Lord Diavolos from that evening onward.
When I thought about it, I realized I had never looked into him before, assuming we would be able to meet again soon anyway. In the human world, he is a figure forgotten even in books, but in the demon world, his legend is still passed down, albeit sparsely. His great existence is recorded not only in history books but even in picture books for children.
That said, even back then, there was little clear information about how Lord Diavolos disappeared. I researched various sources, but the finer details were filled in with the writers’ speculations and fantasies. Because of this, the information wasn’t consolidated.
But indeed, he was someone everyone feared, sometimes respected, and even worshipped. While some texts wrote that he was sealed somewhere in the human world, none explicitly stated that he had died. However, the crucial location wasn’t recorded.
“Next, I’ll look into the country of Armania…”
That was the country named by the human who called himself Eric, the “place where Lord Diavolos is sealed.” It might just be that I have no interest in the human world, but I’d never heard of such a country.
It might sound arrogant coming from me, but I am a fairly high-ranking demon. Of course, I’m nowhere near Lord Diavolos, but I’ve lived for nearly 1000 years. There are few demons with enough magical power to live this long without some strange ability. Because of this, I’m somewhat well-known in the demon world. I even managed to get permission to view non-public materials housed in the demon world’s largest library just by lightly threatening the receptionist.
As I was researching information about countries and towns in the human world from 1000 years ago, I found information about a strange country.
“A small country… deep in the forest?”
The country’s name wasn’t written, but it caught my attention. It was information about a country that existed as if hiding deep within a northern forest.
Though it was called a country, the land was so small it wasn’t much bigger than a typical town. It was an isolated place with no trade, no surrounding towns, and winters were severely cold, making it unsuitable for humans to live in. It was an anomalous country that existed quietly, as if hiding in the forest. There were rumors that powerful magic had been sensed there, and at the time, it was said that humans were researching magic to oppose demons.
It matched the characteristics of the ‘Armania’ country that Eric had mentioned.
I decided to let him be the judge of whether it was correct or not. Over several days, I compiled the fragmentary information I had gathered into a notebook. Frankly, the research itself took time.
It was an immense hassle. But, regardless of the country, I had always been curious about Lord Diavolos, so I ended up getting absorbed in the investigation. Besides, since I’d gone this far for him, Eric’s remaining sliver of wariness should surely dissolve.
Now then, how shall I cast this human into the depths of despair?
“Hey Eric, I’ve looked into the information you wanted, just a quick summary though.”
The day after I finished compiling the notebook, I went to see Eric at the same time as before. As usual, he was holed up in his hideout. When I handed him the notebook and some of the materials I borrowed from the demon world, he was visibly happy, his eyes shining. He thanked me repeatedly, to an almost amusing degree.
Eric swept all the materials he had collected off his desk and plopped down the booklet I gave him. He began flipping through the pages of the library materials with a serious gaze. I looked over his shoulder from behind, watching him.
Then Eric’s hand stopped perfectly on a page detailing Lord Diavolos. Several illustrations of His Lordship were drawn there. Having met him in person, I could tell they were exquisitely rendered.
That page depicted both his usual form, where he suppresses his power, and his true, original form as a demon. Lord Diavolos’s appearance was feared even by humans. For demons it’s one thing, but for humans, a demon’s true form seems terrifying. I’ve seen countless humans run around screaming and crying, so there’s no mistake about that.
Expecting him to be perplexed by that form, I looked at Eric’s face, but he was smiling. He seemed somewhat excited, his cheeks slightly flushed. His eyes and mouth were curved in arcs, and he was stroking the paper with Lord Diavolos’s illustration with his finger.
“Ah, that’s right, this is what he looked like!! So this is his true form? I didn’t know about this… Ah, this form is beautiful too… Ah, I want him, I want him, I want him, I want him!! I want to keep him by my side, bind him, stroke him, hug him, make him mine alone… No, that’s wrong. He’s already entirely mine. I’m happy, so happy…”
As he stared intently, his demeanor tinged with madness and excitement, yet he stroked the paper with unexpected gentleness. For some reason, a intense chill ran down my spine.
This guy is seriously messed up.
Even though he’s just a human, a trickle of sweat ran down my back. It was as if my instincts were screaming ‘Danger!’ I shouldn’t feel this way towards a foolish human, yet my pounding heart wouldn’t calm down.
“Abyss-san, thank you so much! May I borrow these materials and the notebook for a while? I want to read them thoroughly and take my time cross-referencing them with the information I have.”
Startled by his words, I looked at Eric’s face. He was looking at me with purely sparkling eyes. The eerie aura from moments before was gone, and he was back to being the Eric from before he saw the materials. What in the world was that all about?
“Ah, ah, of course. I prepared them for you. I’m very happy you’re pleased.”
Feigning composure, I bowed my head to Eric. Eric smiled sweetly, neatly organized the booklet I gave him, and placed it in a desk drawer.
After that, we made a bit of small talk before I took my leave and parted ways with Eric. I really wanted to talk a little more for future plans, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it, feeling as if the chill from earlier was still clinging to my back.
It must, it must have been my imagination.
Telling myself that, I went to bed early that day.
After that, I continued to meet Eric regularly, talking about various things and handing over new materials. Eric’s notebook, which had only been filled with a dozen or so pages until then, was completely filled within a few weeks. It seems there simply isn’t that much material on Lord Diavolos in the human world, and even if there is, ordinary people apparently can’t access it.
Whenever he obtained new information, no matter how trivial or uncertain, Eric was genuinely delighted. Since I hadn’t felt that chill since that time, it really must have been my imagination.
The more Eric rejoiced, the more unbearably happy I became.
Despair is all the more exquisite the greater the落差 (落差, rakusa -落差, contrast) is.
While searching for materials, I constantly thought about when to betray him.
That’s right, the perfect time would be when he meets Lord Diavolos.
I had thoroughly understood over these past few weeks that Eric is deeply infatuated with Lord Diavolos. It seems he’s under the misconception that if he can meet Lord Diavolos, they can be together, so I should use those feelings.
To be looked at with icy, dispassionate eyes and treated like a bug by the demon he desperately researched, sought, and finally found. It’s obvious he wouldn’t even be noticed much and would likely die immediately. No, how about I secretly suggest to Lord Diavolos, ‘Shall we torture Eric?’
Just imagining such a scene makes my chest burn with anticipation.
And then, when he begs me, his only reliable ally, for help, he’ll be betrayed by me too. I don’t know if it will go that smoothly, but if it succeeds, he’ll undoubtedly show me the most beautiful face I’ve ever seen on a human.
If Eric finds Lord Diavolos and if Lord Diavolos becomes active in the human world again, humans will once again spend sleepless nights filled with terror and anxiety.
This research will push the proper fate of all humans down into the abyss.
Such a world would surely be more beautiful than any paradise in a picture book.
Besides, I want to meet Lord Diavolos too, and the more information Eric gathers, the more information I hold increases. It’s more convenient to keep him alive until we find Lord Diavolos’s location.
Even if we ultimately don’t meet, given his level of obsession, watching that would be interesting in its own way. He’s just a puny human who can only live for less than 100 years anyway; I can kill him whenever I want. When I get bored, I can just discard him.
Since there aren’t enough materials to give him something every time, each time I visited, I casually handed over accessories or flowers as gifts.
Eric accept them all, albeit somewhat shyly, carefully placing the accessories in a drawer and putting the flowers in a beaker filled with water. We talked about towns far away, and I felt Eric began to show his smile more often during our conversations.
Eric also told me about himself.
That he was from ‘Forest Lake’, funny incidents from his student days, and even trivial human world news. All of it was unimportant information unrelated to his research, but I nodded along with a smile as best I I could.
I believed everything would proceed smoothly without a hitch.
That day, when I went to the hideout as usual, Eric was sitting in his chair as always. As he slowly turned towards me, I felt he seemed somewhat more listless and paler than usual.
“Are you alright?”
I decided to pretend to be worried for now.
“I’m still okay. Sorry, I’m not very strong physically…”
Eric laughed, but his expression was stiffer than usual. He didn’t seem able to concentrate, and it appeared he hadn’t even looked through most of the new materials I gave him the other day.
“Hey, this might be… important, but I don’t think I can come here anymore.”
“Huh?”
“You’ve helped me so much. It pains me that I can’t repay you, but my physical condition will probably worsen day by day. So you don’t need to come here anymore either.”
His sudden words made my thoughts stop for a moment.
Don’t come anymore? Are you joking?
I’ve invested a considerable amount of time in this human. It shouldn’t end like this.
“Are you… giving up on searching for Lord Diavolos?”
“It’s not that. But it seems impossible for me to search for him directly now. Just coming here from ‘Forest Lake’ leaves me breathless. I didn’t think I needed to say it, but I’ve always been sickly.”
Eric said he was almost 20, but for his age, he was small, with pale skin that couldn’t be called healthy. Him being sickly probably wasn’t a lie either; he coughed fairly often. But since he always came here, I had assumed it would continue like that forever.
“…Th-then, I’ll go meet Lord Diavolos directly. And I’ll negotiate for him to come to you.”
“The place is severely cold; searching recklessly at this time of year is dangerous even for a demon like you. Even if you could meet him, my home is a dorm in the central district of ‘Forest Lake’. There are many exorcist patrols, so it would be dangerous for a demon to come.”
“Tch…”
At this rate, I don’t know what I spent all that time for. Thoughts crossed my mind: How dare this human waste my time? Should I just kill him here and now?
Frustrated beyond measure, I unconsciously raised my arm in front of Eric.
“Ah… I knew you’d be angry. That’s troubling… I’m sorry.”
Eric wasn’t surprised by my behavior; he just quietly lowered his eyes and spoke. I came to my senses and stopped my arm, which I had been about to bring down with full force, dead in its tracks.
His eyes looked… resigned. If I brought this arm down now and hurt him, I wouldn’t get much of a reaction. He probably wouldn’t let out a agonized scream, but would just die solemnly and quietly. Hurting him might vent my frustration a little, but the time wouldn’t come back.
It’s a huge loss. If that’s the case, it would be better to just kidnap some random human off the street and torture them slowly before killing them.
I gritted my back teeth, desperately suppressing my anger, and gently placed my raised hand on top of Eric’s head.
“…It’s fine. Sorry for startling you.”
My voice trembled a little with anger, but I probably managed to hide it.
“I’ll wait for you to get better, Eric. When it gets warmer, let’s go on a journey together. I’ll treasure you more than anyone else in the world, so I want you to fight your illness, using my words as your support.”
“Abyss-san… I’ll do my best, as much as I can…”
He had been coming here all along until now. He did seem a bit more fatigued, but I didn’t think he was in a life-threatening state. Eric’s soul seemed a little unusual, but I didn’t think it posed a danger to his life. I couldn’t really tell about his chronic illness, but at a glance, he seemed the same as always.
It’s fine. Surely in a few weeks, Eric will show me his healthy self. Once Eric is healthy, we can skip the leisurely small talk and move on to the next step. Telling myself this, I watched Eric’s retreating back as he returned to ‘Forest Lake’.
A few days later, I headed to the hideout again.
Eric, who was always there, was absent, and a trickle of sweat ran down my face from anxiety.
He had said he wouldn’t come anymore, but I had held onto a little hope.
But what shocked me more was what was on the desk and the farewell letter left there.
The letter said:
‘Thank you for the precious information on Diavolos. I’m not sure if it’s adequate compensation, but I’ve left a large amount of human world money. Thank you for everything until now, goodbye.’
On the desk, along with the note, was a bundle of several hundred banknotes and all the accessories I had ever given him. I don’t fully grasp the value of human money, but I understand it’s not an amount a human around 20 years old can just produce easily. Next to it, all the demon world materials I had given him were piled up.
I had hoped. I had hoped Eric would come back here. But seeing this made me understand that he wasn’t coming back here anymore. Precisely because I had been looking forward to the future where, at the end of his research, he would meet Lord Diavolos, the shock was immense.
Ah, should I have just killed him back then?
Frustration with no outlet bubbled up inside me.
“Damn human, causing me all this unnecessary trouble…”
I crumpled the farewell letter and burned it with magic.
I collected all the demon world materials and the banknotes left on the desk, and left the hideout.
It’s displeasing, but with this much money, it’ll be a good way to kill time in its own right. For the time I invested, this amount is on the generous side. My main objective wasn’t achieved, but I switched my mindset to thinking I’d acquired something good.
It’s infuriating, but I have no other attachments.
Expecting a human to possibly lead me to Lord Diavolos was a mistake from the start. Thinking calmly, there’s no way a human could pinpoint the location now, of all times.
A few hours later, I was only thinking about how to have fun with this money.
And I decided to leave this place far behind, never to return.
And so, little by little, I forgot, and before I knew it, ten years had passed.
