CHAPTER 24.5 – The Eye of Desmolfer. Part 2
I look at myself in the mirror, wiping the blood from my nose and checking my eye.
If my memory serves me right (and it might fail sometimes since they took away my perfect memory), my nose has bled several times before, and they all have something in common: stress. It mostly happened during exam seasons, when I was denied a scholarship, or when I saw my grandma come home exhausted from work, and I didn't know how to help her.
I get stressed pretty easily, huh? Ah…
"God, what's happening to me?"
Killing hurt at first, but I accepted it quickly because I knew it was for the good of all worlds. This might sound arrogant and wrong, but I'm a good person. I've never stolen, I always avoid lying (only when necessary), I never litter, it pains me to see homeless people, kids selling candy or begging… I'm a good person, but I'm also smart. I know perfectly well that not everything can be solved with words. Doing what's necessary for the greater good is always right. Fighting for justice isn't a sin.
So, if I understand and accept all that, why is it so hard to accept escaping this time?
… No… Does it not hurt anymore? Now I feel… like I want to see that dictator on his knees, begging for mercy.
What?
First, I enjoyed watching Bravo suffer, and now this?
Why am I having such evil thoughts? Why do I enjoy them?
This isn't me. What's wrong with me?!
… I don't know, and I don't have time to think about it.
A blank mind is better than a chaotic one. Thanks, Bravo.
"Ah… Why does my eye burn?"
I don't see anything unusual; they're not even teary or red. Why does it burn?
Hmm? What happened to my eyelashes? The base of my black eyelashes is white. It's impossible to notice at a glance, but they're white. Have they always been like that? I never noticed.
White eyelashes… No, they wouldn't suit me.
I sigh… Alright, time to head back.
I leave the bathroom, and Bravo approaches me.
"Everything okay now?"
Let's get back to the main topic; I don't want to think about the other stuff anymore.
"The members staying at Froulen's base, waiting for orders—what else do they do? It seems odd to have so many people in one place, risking losing a huge chunk of their army if someone decides to bomb the base. Wouldn't it be smarter to spread them across the country?"
If their total army is 5,000 members and over 2,000 are at the base, it seems foolish to keep them all in one spot. If he doesn't need protection, what do they do all day? Train?
"When some members are defeated or killed, the territory they held is given to other Froulen members. That's why they're there, waiting for their turn to get a territory. They're also together because Froulen wants brave people under his command. He knows full well he'd lose half his army in a surprise attack, which is why they're grouped."
Having the whole world as your enemy… Yeah, you'd definitely need to be brave to stay in a place that could explode at any moment.
"Well, well. I see… If they're defeated, are they no longer part of Froulen?"
No room for mistakes, huh?
"No, because they're killed along with their families."
I see, I see. Well, well. Just what you'd expect from a true diabolical vill… ain…
… Huh?
…
…
…
What? Huh?
W-Wait… If they lose, their families are k-killed?! Their families?! Their entire families?! They pay for the stupid mistakes of those damned idiots?!
Why do they do that?! T-This must be a misunderstanding! Maybe in this world, "family" means something else. Maybe it refers to their villain comrades or something. I refuse to believe there are people who'd risk their families! Are there really such idiotic and cruel people?!
"Daniel? Daniel, don't get worked up!"
"Huh? K-Killed? Their families?! You mean their wives, children, parents, siblings?!"
"… Ah…"
That pain-filled sigh. No. Please, no.
"It's a sad reality. Yes, I mean their families, families."
No… This is too much. I knew he was a villain, but this is beyond inhumane. Why is he so cruel?!
"Froulen doesn't want weaklings, so defeated members are killed, and their families suffer the same fate. The same goes for members who are killed. They have a small camera in their mask that transmits what they see to a main office. The people working there are called 'Observers,' whose job is to report defeated members to the dictator, and he orders some members to kill their families."
… No… No, no, no.
I… defeated several members today.
I defeated three members who tried to kill me for sleeping in the park. I defeated the bodyguards of the dictator's son.
I… killed them, and not just them—I caused the deaths of… their families. Their children, partners, siblings, parents, grandparents. I… killed them.
Because of me, their families will die or… have already died… I'm a murderer! I indirectly killed innocents! This is my fault, my damn fault! If I'd just investigated the place instead of sleeping, none of this would've happened! Because of my irresponsibility, innocents died! I-I have innocent blood on my hands. T-They died because of me. Because of my damn fault!
"I-I…! I…"
Daniel, tears won't solve anything. Stop crying! I don't want to cry! Don't cry, damn it…! Why…? Why can't I stop crying?
My heart hurts. My right eye hurts. Everything hurts! I'm a monster!
"Daniel, unfortunately, we—"
"Why?! Why does he do something so horrible?! T-The families don't deserve to be punished for their actions. It's not fair. It's not fair at all! Why do innocents have to pay for those bastards' mistakes?! I know the dictator's a villain, but this is ridiculous! I refuse to believe someone so evil exists!"
"That's Froulen's government. There's no justice, only pain and cruelty. Why? Simple entertainment—that's all we are to him. He doesn't even consider us a threat, which is why he hasn't come after us."
Simple… entertainment? That's all people are to him?
How many people have been killed? How many women raped? How many disgusting crimes have Froulen's members committed with total freedom?
Murders, rapes, torture, theft… Even… possibly… not even children are spared… N-No, not now, little Daniel. I don't have time to dwell on my traumas. Not everything's about you!
And right now, all that's happening in this country. All because of one son of a bitch.
Arghhh! Damn it!
"Damn it!"
"Daniel, don't panic!"
Bravo tries to hug me again, but I push him, and he falls to the ground again. I'm sorry, I really am, but I don't want you touching me right now! I'm a monster! An idiot! A useless damn mess!
"I-I defeated three members before meeting Nismei! I-I also killed four members… I… I caused their families to be killed… I-I… Damn it!"
I punch my right cheek hard with my fist. Come on, come on, physical pain, help me distract from the inner pain! I don't want to keep feeling like this!
"I'm an idiot!"
I don't want to keep feeling this!
I punch my left cheek with my fist. It's worked before, so why not now?! Daniel, focus on the physical pain, not the emotional! I don't want to feel all this guilt! I don't want to feel like a monster! I don't want to carry this. Why did this happen?!
"Because of me, innocents died!"
Arghhh! Why isn't it working this time?! It worked when they bullied me at school! It worked when memories of my traumas kept me from sleeping! It worked when my grandma came home exhausted from work! It's always worked to distract me from the pain in my heart! Why the hell won't it work this time?! I need to stay focused right now! I can't afford to be a crybaby! I want to save my grandma!
I keep punching myself. Work, work! Damn it, work already!
"Stop! Have you gone crazy?!"
"Please, stop!"
Nismei grabs my arms, but I break free without hurting her and step away.
"Stop, please!"
"Don't come near me! I'm a murderer!"
I-I screwed up. I screwed up. I screwed up, screwed up, screwed up, screwed up! I screwed up!
Damn it… Damn it! I'm a complete idiot!
"T-Those people had families. Elderly, women, children, even babies might've been in their families… And now they might be dead because of me… M-My fault…"
I-I'm responsible for their deaths. I chose to sleep instead of investigating. If I'd just investigated a little.
If only… I-If only…
My hands are stained with innocent blood.
P-People died because of me.
"Huh?"
"Daniel, your eye is…"
Innocents died.
"I-I… I'm a murderer…"
People with so much life ahead of them…
"I…"
And because one damn bastard thinks he owns this country.
"I must…"
"D-Daniel, y-your eye…"
Nismei and Bravo look scared and back away from me. Yes, I know, I'm a monster.
"I must…"
If that bastard dies, everything will be better.
"I must…"
His death will only bring happiness. He must disappear. He must die!
"I must kill Froulen!"
Maybe I'm to blame, but the one who's 100% guilty is that son of a bitch! His death will bring peace to this country!
I'll kill him, I swear I will!
"Is everything ready?! I want to kill him now! Let's go!"
… They're still looking at me with fear.
Ah… Well, well.
I take a deep breath.
Yes, I know. Sorry, it's just… Well… I lost control of my emotions.
The guilt is still killing me; I can't shake this feeling from my chest…! But I know perfectly well it'll distract me in the fight. I can't afford to be distracted!
"D-Daniel, what happened to you?" said Nismei.
"W-Why did your eye turn red?" said Bravo.
Hmm?
I'm a bit confused by the question. What does he mean by that?
Red? Oh, probably red from the tears. Don't their eyes get red when they cry in this world? Another difference to add to the list.
"Don't worry, tears make my eyes like this. Doesn't that happen to humans in this world?"
"But… Is this really normal for you?"
Bravo runs and searches for something in a drawer.
I wonder if our insides are different. Are our organs different? Hehe. I'll find out after killing that damn dictator… Huh? D-Did I really just think something so… disgusting?
What's happening to me?
"L-Look in the mirror," he said, handing me a hand mirror.
"Well, well."
I take the mirror and look at myself. The face of a murderer; I can even see myself as a monster. I'm so… Huh? W-Wait, t-this doesn't seem like a trick of my mind. Is this what he meant by red?! Literally red?!
My right eye is red!
It's completely red! Red, red, like an apple! Not a soft red, not a dull red, but red, literally red, like someone painted my eye with red paint. What the hell happened to me?! Is this a side effect of my demonic magic? Does using those little demons have these consequences?
Hmm? What? Suddenly, a black dot appeared on my right cheek, and it's growing slowly, or rather, lengthening, keeping its small width, like someone's drawing a line with a marker.
"W-What's happening?"
I don't understand anything!
It grows in a line and connects to my right eye. It circles the outer part of my eye, and the skin around my right eye turns black. Three other small lines sprout from my eye but don't grow; they stay small, about 2 or 3 centimeters. Above, left, and right.
… Okay, it stopped… Ah… I think now I can panic.
"What is this?!"
What happened to me?! Why did my eye change?!
"What the hell happened to me?!"
"You don't know? This isn't normal?" said Bravo.
"Of course not!"
God, give me a sign that this is normal…! Hmm?
An angel feather falls in front of me and slips into my clothes, against my chest. Well, well. It brushed my nipple. The sign! Thank you, God! Though the nipple part was unnecessary.
"Alright, doesn't matter. Is everything ready?! Let's go kill that bastard!"
"I wonder how used you are to weird stuff to stop worrying in seconds," said Bravo.
Chicken men, dog men, I revived the dead, I see ghosts, demi-humans, fairies, creepy bodyguards, and who knows what else I'll see. Yeah, I'm definitely getting used to this.
•
•
Did God send Daniel that sign? No, because He's not allowed to interfere that much anymore. The one responsible for that feather is a certain winged girl, hiding in the cleaning closet. She's masturbating among the brooms, recalling the sensation of Daniel's nipple, unaware that her action could harm him in the future.
Meanwhile, God watches Daniel through a magic mirror. He's sitting under a tree in a green valley. A peaceful place, because the situation demands he stay calm. He knows that demonic eye all too well, and its owner is hardly civilized.
Irritated, he let out a long sigh and rubbed his eyes, trying not to lose his composure.
"The 'Desmolfer' mark? Why does he have it? This doesn't make sen…"
His eyes slowly widened as he realized what happened.
"Did he…? No… It's not possible… Did he lose his pure heart…? Why?"
•
•
World 1.
Daniela was meditating on the ground until, suddenly, an electric current ran through her body, and her eyes shot open.
She quickly stood and exchanged glances with Daniel's grandma.
"Daniel… I sense something changed in him."
"Changed?"
"What do you mean?" said Rem.
"I don't know…"
Daniela sat back down and closed her eyes.
"Hey, don't leave us worried!" Rem shouted, annoyed.
"Daniel changed. It's a drastic change. What's happening?" Daniela thought.
Officially, Daniel is no longer the same.
•
•
(Pov – Daniel)
I'm too confused and scared, but if God sent me that sign, it means I shouldn't worry.
Ah. Why have so many weird things happened to me in such a short time?
I'm supposed to have filler adventures before major events happen!
My adventure in the other world just started, and I've already met my mom, revived my grandma, got engaged, met kings, and traveled to another world! All in such a short time!
Why is this happening to me?! Arghhh! The stress will kill me!
"Calm down, don't get worked up. Everything will be fine," said Nismei, caressing my cheek.
If only you knew what I'm going through right now.
The elevator opens, and Bravo's four companions approach us.
"Everything's ready!"
Finally! But first…
I close my eyes and sigh. God can answer my doubts.
God, what exactly happened to me?
"I'm sorry…"
God speaks in my mind.
"I can't help you anymore."
Damn it, I knew you'd say that.
Please, just tell me what happened to me.
"I'm sorry, I can't help you anymore."
Fine. Thanks. Bye.
I open my eyes, and the four of them flinch. Well, well. I guess my eye is a bit scary… Okay, very scary. It's a demonic eye, after all.
"What happened to your eye?" said the two girls, getting way too close to me.
Well, well… Ah… Nothing.
"Wow… You look more… hot?"
"And cool…"
"And handsome…"
"And…"
"No time for explanations. Besides, I can't explain because I don't even know what happened to me. Let's go; explain the plan on the way."
I wanted to eat first, but I lost my appetite.
I walk past them and head to the elevator.
…
I stop and turn to look at them.
"By the way, I don't know your names. Could you tell me your names?"
"I'm Milfa!" said the blonde girl with long hair.
"I'm Tilfa!" said the girl with short black hair.
"I'm Salmes," said the thin, bald man.
"I'm Diepo," said the strong man.
Short names again… Ah.
"Alright… Let's go, we don't have much time."
I head to the elevator… I can see fine, I feel fine… What really happened to me?
"I don't feel any change, I can see normally… Why do I have this eye?"
It's weird.
Ah… So many strange things in such a short time.
I've been lucky to not die.
… Grandma, I want to see you soon. You're the only person who gives me the strength to keep going. With you by my side, I know I can overcome any adversity.