* * *
“Still, Joel. How can I possibly betray the one who has granted me miracles several times…”
But his father began to defend preacher John once again, and Joel let out a frustrated sigh. As he struggled to find a way to persuade him, a clever idea suddenly flashed through his mind.
“Fine, Father. If that is your wish, there is nothing I can do. But did you know? I’ve also sold my soul to that John guy.”
“What?”
“That scammer refused to let me see the Crown Prince, so I agreed to give him my soul in exchange for meeting His Highness. Why do you think I’m locked in this cage? If you think I’m lying, go ask John yourself.”
If his father had no reason to betray John, Joel would simply provide him with one.
Adding a bit of a lie to the mix, Joel explained it as if he were about to be devoured by John along with the Crown Prince.
Upon hearing that Joel had sold his soul, Sir Bennet’s face instantly turned pale. He burst out in anger.
“Joel, are you insane? Good heavens, how could you do something so terrifying! Do you not know how horrifying it is for a soul to vanish?”
“Is that really something you should be saying to me right now, Father?”
At Joel’s rebuke, Sir Bennet’s face turned various shades of red and purple.
“My case and yours are—you brat! They’re different! I’m old, and I’ve killed people in war!” Sir Bennet shouted, but Joel cut him off and spoke as if delivering an official notice.
“Anyway, once I die, I’ll be eternally extinguished just like you. If you want to save my soul, the only way is to defeat John right now. Either go up immediately and bring the 4th Knight Order, or stay here and watch me get eaten by John along with the Crown Prince—do as you please, Father.”
Fortunately, Joel’s trick worked effectively.
Thinking his son was about to die, Sir Bennet cried out, “I will definitely bring the knights, so make sure you wait for me!” and began scurrying up the basement stairs.
When he was halfway up, the basement door suddenly swung open.
Startled, Sir Bennet let out a short scream—”Whoops!”—and tumbled back down the stairs.
“Father!”
“My, where are you going in such a hurry?”
Unfortunately, the one who had opened the door and entered was preacher John. He questioned Sir Bennet in a curious tone.
Joel was terrified that John might have overheard what he just said, or that his father might say something useless.
Fortunately, for once, God seemed to be on Joel’s side.
With an uncharacteristically calm face for a man usually so clumsy, Sir Bennet lied: “Ah, Leader. My unworthy son won’t listen to a word I say, so I was on my way to ask for your help.”
“If I could have persuaded your son, I would have done so long ago. I’m disappointed that you, his own father, failed. By the way, the atmosphere on the surface is unusual. You should go up and see how things are developing.”
“Yes, sir.”
Bowing his waist so low his forehead almost touched the ground, Sir Bennet clutched his aching back and climbed the stairs.
Joel guessed that reinforcements had arrived outside.
If there were additional troops on top of the 4th Knight Order, there was a chance of winning the fight against John. Since his father went up to call the knights, he just had to hold out a little longer.
“Your father is quite naive and easy to handle, but you are unnecessarily stubborn.”
Shaking his head, John approached the iron bars. Then, a key appeared out of thin air, inserted itself into the lock, and turned with a click. The cage door opened, and John stepped inside.
“So, time is up. Have you still not changed your mind?”
At John’s words, Joel looked at the hourglass in shock.
Only three grains of sand remained in the top half of the glass.
As John said, time was truly almost up.
At this rate, the Crown Prince would be devoured before his father could return with the knights.
Meanwhile, one of the grains of sand began to fall slowly.
Now only two grains remained.
Joel forced strength into his trembling legs and stood up.
As he blocked the way as if shielding the Crown Prince, John let out a scoffing laugh as if it were pathetic.
Fiddling with the dagger hidden in his sleeve, Joel babbled anything he could think of to stall for time.
“Well, about His Highness’s intentions… mmmph. Mm…”
But as soon as he opened his mouth, John waved his fingers in the air with a look of extreme annoyance.
Joel’s mouth instantly clamped shut.
His tongue became stiff, making it impossible to utter a single word.
“As I said before, I can’t wait even a second longer. I won’t listen to your nonsense anymore. I’m far too hungry for that. I’ll take that as a refusal.”
John waved his hand again, and this time, Joel’s legs moved on their own.
Like a toy soldier, Joel walked with a rigid gait to the corner and stood at attention.
All of this happened regardless of Joel’s own will.
Having underestimated John’s power, Joel was deeply panicked.
He was so busy making meaningless “Mmmph! Mmmph!” noises that he didn’t even notice another grain of sand fall from the hourglass.
“Then stay there and watch carefully as I deliciously devour your lover’s soul. Since it’s something you’ll experience later anyway, it won’t be bad to see it with your own eyes and prepare yourself.”
After finishing his sentence, John cracked his shoulders.
The black pupils in John’s eyes began to flicker and spread until they filled the whites, and a pair of wings resembling a bat’s burst through his shirt from his back.
The body of the middle-aged man grew until he almost touched the ceiling, his arms and legs became extremely thin, and his stomach protruded like that of a pregnant woman.
His naturally pale skin now had a deathly blue tint, and dark blue veins bulged out disgustingly.
When Joel finally locked eyes with the demon who had shed his human form, he felt a chilling sensation as if his organs were freezing.
The overwhelming pressure of a demon, encountered for the first time in his life, was beyond description. Joel froze like a rabbit in front of a wolf.
Cold sweat broke out on his back. He had to stop John, but his legs were shaking so much he couldn’t do anything.
John reached out a terrifyingly long finger and placed it over the Crown Prince’s heart.
As if picking up a piece of chocolate, he pinched a small sphere glowing with a brilliant golden light from inside the Crown Prince’s chest with his thumb and index finger.
Joel realized that the lump shining between those black, rotting, disgusting fingernails was the Crown Prince’s soul.
‘No!’
Desperate, Joel tried with all his might to move his body.
As if enjoying Joel’s desperate reaction, John intentionally smacked his lips with a disgusting sound.
Bringing the soul close to his mouth, John tilted his head back and opened his maw wide like a pelican. He looked ready to swallow the soul at any moment.
Just as the last grain of sand in the top of the hourglass fell and hit the bottom, John spread his thumb and finger with an expression of pure ecstasy.
‘No, please no…’
Joel squeezed his eyes shut, unable to bear the sight of the Crown Prince’s soul disappearing down the demon’s throat.
“Gah-urk!”
The next moment, a sharp scream reached Joel’s ears.
Snapping his eyes open, Joel found the demon, who had been standing triumphantly just a moment ago, now collapsed on the floor for some reason.
At first, he couldn’t tell what had happened.
The demon was now clawing at the dirt floor in agony.
Because the demon had dropped it in his struggle, the Crown Prince’s soul floated in the air before seeping back into the Prince’s chest.
“Agh… AAAARGH!”
A horrific scream shook the narrow basement cell.
Vomiting blue liquid, the demon looked as if even he didn’t understand what was happening.
Between his terrible groans, he kept rambling incoherently: “Why… Why me? What on earth… Urgh!”
Watching the demon writhe in pain like a leech hit with salt, Joel suddenly realized his frozen body could move again.
As soon as he realized this, Joel acted like lightning.
He pulled the dagger from his sleeve and lunged at the demon.
Joel plunged the dagger deep into the demon’s left shoulder blade.
The blade, which had been so dull, sank into the demon’s flesh with strange ease.
* * *
What, what’s happening?