Chapter 243-244 – Final Farewell
[MC POV]
I hadn't expected it at all. A goddess appeared at the very moment I refused the throne.
Iril stared at the radiant shape of light floating in the air. Then she spoke as her voice was filled with confusion.
"G-Goddess?!"
"A goddess?"
"Is it really…?"
"Surely the princess just said she was a goddess…"
The elves exchanged bewildered glances, then belatedly realized the truth and fell to their knees.
"Th-The goddess has appeared!"
"Ah, it's an honor to see the goddess with my own eyes!"
Even Kiella and Agnes were stunned, and the knights and maids of the throne room were no less shaken.
The only two who did not bow before the divine presence were Iril and me, since we had already encountered her once before.
"Everyone, raise your heads."
At her calm and benevolent voice, the elves slowly stood again, one after another.
"Hero Alvin… no, Dayke . You have finally fulfilled your purpose."
"Ah… yes. Thank you."
"She called him a Hero."
"Could it be true…?"
The throne room buzzed with awe as the goddess spoke my name and revealed my past identity. Thanks to her, I no longer had to explain to everyone that I was the reincarnation of the warrior.
But still, I wondered—why now? Why had she stayed silent all this time, only to appear at this exact moment?
Before I could ask, her voice rang out again.
"Dayke. Why do you refuse the position of king?"
"It's just… I believe the elf kingdom should be ruled by elves, not by a human like me."
In truth, I wanted to live freely and comfortably by Iril's side rather than bear the heavy responsibility of ruling. However, I couldn't bring myself to admit that aloud.
"The worth of a king lies not in race, but in character. Whether elf or human, the one most suited should lead."
"Goddess… I have broken your prophecy. Please forgive me…"
Nermedia, standing nearby, lowered her head in shame, her voice heavy with remorse. But the goddess shook her head gently.
"I am not the one you must seek forgiveness from. Ask it of the elf sisters who placed their faith in you."
"…Yes."
"Dayke , you once defeated the Demon King in your past life, and even now, in this life, you protect this land from the monsters of another world. That alone makes you a worthy leader of this realm."
Her words were filled with recognition, yet they weighed on me.
Being called king didn't anger me, but it didn't make me happy either.
It felt like when a professor notices your hard work and keeps urging you to enter graduate school—while all you want is a quiet, carefree life without responsibilities.
"…No. I think Iril is more suited than I am. She may not be ready yet, but with our support and Nermedia by her side, she will grow into a great queen."
"As you say, the princess is indeed a worthy vessel. But she cannot compare to you, who sacrificed your very life for Elora."
"But she has received proper training, and she is an elf like her people, unlike me…"
"No, Dayke . You must be king."
The goddess's voice grew sharper, her insistence firmer.
Instead of inspiring me to accept the crown, her persistence only gave me an inexplicable sense of unease.
'Why is she so desperate to make me king? Is there some hidden reason behind this?'
Normally, it would have been unthinkable for me, a mere human, to doubt a goddess. Yet the unease I had always felt when facing her refused to fade.
The unnatural advice from the corruption guide, urging me to corrupt Iril… The truth behind the corruption's progress, never once explained…
Those unanswered riddles were enough to make me doubt whether this being truly was what she claimed.
'The last time she appeared, she told me to keep it a secret. Yet now she reveals herself openly, right after I reject the throne? Suspicious, to say the least…'
I clenched my jaw.
'I'll have to test her.'
"Goddess. May I ask you a question?"
"If it is one, I can answer."
I tapped the app, and in the air, a screen appeared that only I could see.
Corruption Progress: 98%
After Nermedia had knelt in prayer last night, the number had risen from 90 to 98. Yet it still wasn't 100%, even though she had completely surrendered herself.
"Tell me clearly. What is this corruption progress? And what happens when it reaches 100%? This time, no vagueness. If you explain honestly, I will consider becoming king."
"…The answer to that question will come naturally once you accept the throne."
She evaded again.
Even now, she hid the truth. Even now, she refused to speak.
The suspicion inside me only grew sharper, my resolve hardening.
"I will not accept. I am not fit to lead this kingdom."
"I understand your hesitation. But know this—status and power are the greatest of human desires. And this is your chance to have them all."
Her words slithered around me like bait. No matter how I pressed, she still withheld her true intentions.
My irritation boiled over.
"I won't do it."
"…You dare defy me."
"…What?"
Suddenly, her tone twisted. The softness vanished, replaced by cold fury.
"Do you not know who it is that carried you this far? When I speak kindly, you should obey!"
At the sharp change in her demeanor, the throne room fell into fearful silence. The elves trembled, believing the goddess to be wrathful.
Only I forced myself to remain calm, though my heart pounded.
"…Who are you, really? Are you truly a goddess? Or is this your true form?"
"You insolent human! Arrogant worm! If you value your life, hand me the prophecy at once, or—ugh!"
"What?"
"Ugh, what…! How dare you!"
The goddess clutched her head and staggered as if locked in a violent struggle with something inside her.
"Ugh! Be silent, you decrepit bastard! Kwaaaaah!"
Her scream split the air, and then her head suddenly dropped forward.
The throne room fell into a tense silence.
When she slowly raised her head again, her voice had changed—calm, composed, and entirely different from before.
"Dayke ."
Though her face was still hidden behind the blinding light, I could feel it instinctively.
This presence was no longer the same.
"…Who are you?"
"Nice to finally meet you, warrior. My name is Ruinua."
"Ruinua…? Then who was the one just now?"
Her reply chilled the entire hall.
"The Demon Lord you defeated five years ago."
The throne room erupted in chaos.
Even when I seized the royal castle, even when I defiled the queen and princess before their people, the uproar had never been this great.
"The Demon Lord is still alive?!"
"Then it wasn't the goddess—it was him, wearing her form!"
"What in the world is happening?!"
The elves were panicking and their voices were overlapping in sheer terror.
Even I, who had kept calm in the face of countless dangers, felt my throat tighten. My voice trembled.
"But… I killed the Demon King five years ago. I cut him down myself…"
"I am short on time, so I'll be brief," Ruinua said firmly. "Just as you remember, he was pierced by your sword and fell into the flames. His body was consumed, but his soul did not perish."
"That's impossible…"
"Somehow, in that final instant, before the Sword of Harmony could erase him completely, he slipped free from the prison of flesh. Unbound, he became a wandering soul, able to drift across the seams of time and space. And in that state, he ensnared me—me, the true goddess weakened after forging the Sword of Harmony—trapping me inside his soul."
My eyes widened. "The goddess…"
"Yes." She nodded faintly. "The one you spoke with until now was not me. It was him—using my divine form as a mask."
"And he wants to return??" I muttered.
"Exactly. Though free of the body, that freedom came at a price. He cannot touch the physical world as he is now. To resurrect, he requires a vessel."
Her glowing form leaned closer, voice heavy with gravity.
"That vessel… is you, Dayke."
"Me?"
"Dayke 's body…?" gasps echoed through the elves, their fear redoubling.
My blood ran cold.
Agnes whispered to herself in shock.
No one in the throne room was spared from the wave of disbelief—Kiella, Rize, Iril, and even Nermedia stood frozen. Yet of all, I was the one most shaken.
"…You mean he tried to steal my body?"
"That's correct," the goddess replied steadily. "The Demon King forged a vessel suitable for himself and placed your soul within it. You were betrayed by the elves, and he twisted that hatred into your rebirth."
My stomach churned. It was not the goddess who had reincarnated me. It had been the devil all along.
Her words pressed on relentlessly while my eyes trembled.
"He gave you the app as a gift of power. With it, you would enact revenge against the elves without ever needing to be ordered."
"Revenge… on his behalf?"
"…Yes. But that was not his true purpose in granting you the app."
"…What do you mean?"
"You were curious about the corruption gauge, were you not? That bar does not measure the elves' corruption. It measures your own, Dayke."
My breath caught. "W-what did you say?!"
While I stammered in horror, the goddess's tone remained calm. It was almost unnaturally calm.
"The Demon King was once born when humans drowned in lust and pleasure, tainting Elora with corruption. In the same way, he can claim your body only if you yourself are fully corrupted."
A cold silence clung to me.
"You gathered corruption by drowning the elves in desire. Yet, unlike the corruption you spread, your heart itself remained untainted. That is why the gauge froze at 98%."
Her words struck me harder than any blade. Yes, I had done vile things—cruel, violent, merciless acts—but even then, I had tried to protect the last fragments of my humanity. That small resistance was all that kept me from becoming the devil's vessel.
"The Demon King believed the final two percent would come from your thirst for power, not pleasure. His plan was simple: when you accepted the throne and embraced the lust for status, your corruption would be complete. In that instant, he would claim your body and rise again."
At last, every unanswered question fell into place. The push to fuck Iril as a so-called guide, the tempting offer of kingship—it was all a trap to push me into corruption.
If I had let my guard slip, everything would have unfolded as the Demon King wished. Even yielding just once would have been enough.
The goddess's light flickered faintly. "Dayke … you have already sacrificed once for Elora in your past life. I want you to live as you desire now. But I beg you—do not let the Demon King return to this land I cherish."
"…Yes. I swear it. Thank you, goddess."
Her radiance dimmed further. "I can restrain him no longer. Our meeting must end here. But before I go… my beloved elf daughters."
"Goddess…!"
"What I desire is your peace. Seek harmony among yourselves. Cast away the shadows in your hearts and stand together with the warrior to protect Elora."
Her gentle voice drew the elves to their knees once more. Her voice was reverent and sorrowful.
"Farewell. Even if my soul perishes with the Demon King, my love for Elora will remain eternal."
Her bowed head sank lower, her light weakening like a doll whose power had run dry.
And then, the brilliance shifted. The sacred glow rotted into crawling black fire, twisting the air with malice.
A voice, neither wholly male nor female but a dreadful fusion of both, rasped through the throne room.
"Ha… that wretch ruined everything. Damn her!!"
My chest tightened. That voice—I could never forget it.
"…Devil."
"Yes," the corrupted light sneered. "It's me. Good to see you again, hero. No… you're nothing but my shell."