Chapter 935

## Chapter 935

“Chaos… I didn’t expect you to pull something like this out of thin air,” Jin said.

He didn’t know the true nature of the marble.

But Jin understood better than anyone how chaos had wreaked havoc on people and the world so far. This marble would undoubtedly worsen the situation.

“I can’t die like this. I haven’t avenged Sakiel yet…”

“Enough, Paellito. Do you really think you can get revenge using that thing? Not in a million years. It’s much more likely if you overcome demonization and regain your original power.”

“Haha… you fear this power, don’t you?”

“I’m saying it for your sake, for the sake of your former self. This won’t be the end for you, Paellito. You still have a chance.”

“A chance?”

“I told you I can’t forgive you. Yes, you will undoubtedly die at my hands. But not today.”

“What are you talking about, Jin Runcandel?”

“I’m giving you a chance to pay for your sins a little. Free yourself from brainwashing, overcome your inner demon, and become the true Demon Sword again. And, help put an end to Zito with that power. I’ll keep you alive until then.”

Jin believed that Paellito could do it.

Even though he had become a monster, he was still a Genesis Knight. He could undoubtedly free himself from his inner demon and become a radiant giant again. It was definitely possible if given time and with Jin’s help.

Of course, even if Paellito did that, Jin would end his life once the battle against Zito was over. As he said before, his past wouldn’t excuse the present.

“Paellito, all the tragedies that are happening in the human world and the True Demon World right now are Zito’s doing. Your true enemy isn’t me, but Zito, who turned you and other demons into monsters. So, let go of that marble and accept the opportunity.”

“Nonsense!”

Paellito’s pupils trembled slightly as he shouted furiously. It seemed like he was remembering some buried memory at the last moment, just like Dylus had briefly recalled an old memory buried by brainwashing.

“You must also feel that what I’m saying is right. That’s why you don’t use the marble immediately after taking it out. Let go of it, and you can become what you were again. You can avenge Sakiel, pay for your sins, and then die.”

“Shut up! Shut up! It’s all because there’s no order in what has happened, that’s right. I can return to normal, Sakiel will return when order is restored. Come back to me!”

Jin slowly approached Paellito.

A righteous man who had committed sins that could never be erased, that was Paellito. He had succumbed to Zito’s inexorable force and become a monster without even knowing who he was or what he was doing, just like all the other demons in the True Demon World, except Visepps.

“Sakiel can be resurrected, just like you, when the time comes…!”

In the fleeting instant when there was barely a ten-step distance between them, a small ship suddenly appeared in the sky. It was the Red Owl, the Vamel Alliance’s space jump ship. The limitations of space jumping and communication were lifted when Jin had subdued Paellito.

“Jin.”

Valeria descended from the Red Owl. Paellito looked back and forth between her and Jin with anxious eyes.

Attacking Valeria or taking her hostage was out of the question. As soon as he acted recklessly, Jin would take the marble and subdue him.

“Valeria?”

Valeria had noticed a change in Jin, but for the moment, she didn’t mention it. It was evident that the fight had ended in Jin’s favor, and her concern was focused on the black marble that Paellito was holding.

Above all, the reason she had rushed to the battlefield had a close connection to Paellito.

“…While investigating Grosch Castle, I found some strange records. Records about Sakiel.”

“Records about Sakiel?”

“Yes. It’s about that horrifying monster who is turning the Holy Kingdom into ruins. I wondered if she could still obey Zito even after reading those records.”

Valeria didn’t elaborate further and instead raised her staff to open a record window for Paellito.

<Sakiel Grosch, the True Demon World’s Chief Strategist, heard Zito’s voice before facing death.>

<Puhuhuhu… Ah, I’m going crazy. Yes, this is, Sakiel. This is exactly what I wanted. So, you don’t have to pity me.>

<Gkahahahaha, anyway, you’ve been working hard all this time. Don’t worry about Paellito. I’ll have fun with that guy too.>

<You still speak to me with so much formality. Hey, Sakiel. Do you remember anything now? For example, a certain moment in the past when you and Paellito were very close?>

<Sakiel Grosch realized that she was Paellito’s lover before she screamed to death.>

Paellito’s eyes widened.

Jin was also in shock. He had long known of Paellito’s particular obsession with Sakiel. He had considered the possibility that they had been lovers, but he never imagined that Zito would mock them in such a way.

If the records discovered by Valeria were correct, then Zito had intentionally led Sakiel to death and reveled in her despair and pain. It was a moment that confirmed what Jin had vaguely anticipated.

“What is this… What… What record is this?”

“It’s exactly as you see it, Paellito. Sakiel Grosch realized, right before she died, that Zito had completely used her. Zito isn’t just trying to torment the human world. He considers you and the others as mere toys.”

Valeria’s serene voice continued as black tears streamed down Paellito’s eyes.

“It’s a lie. It’s all a lie, this can’t be true. These records must be manipulated! Argh!”

He felt like his head was about to explode. If he did, he thought, his forgotten memories would return all at once.

Paellito decided to deny that feeling. He would rather fade away like this. He couldn’t face those memories. He couldn’t even tell anymore if it was his true self or his brainwashed self.

“If you want to believe that, go ahead. But the Histor clan never manipulates records unlike Zippel, and that’s why I exist, to prevent it.”

“Then, why does Lord Zito do this? We dedicated ourselves with loyalty to fulfill his wishes. What does he gain by betraying us?”

“Perhaps he gets pleasure. He’s a being who relentlessly pursues pleasure in the form of pain.”

As more mana gathered in Valeria’s staff, she gently struck the ground, and three record windows appeared in front of Paellito.

<Sakiel, this is the only way to save you.>

<Today I admit defeat and intend to become Zito’s hound… before I become the monster of the inner demon and can’t make any decisions.>

<Anyway, today we won’t even remember it. It’s over, like our other comrades captured by Zito. We can’t fight anymore.>

The record windows described the memories that Paellito desperately tried to block.

You don’t see record windows if you close your eyes.

But he couldn’t ignore the memories that were starting to resurface, even if he closed them.

Closing his eyes only made the memories more vivid.

“Ah, ahhh… ahhhh… ah, ah, ah, ahh, ah…”

The voices of the inner demon and Paellito were gradually blending together.

Jin glimpsed the possibility once again in that scene. The possibility that, after freeing himself from brainwashing and atoning for his sins, Paellito would finally face death.

“Paellito.”

Finally, Jin knelt down and stood in front of Paellito, who was crying and groaning inconsolably.

Jin leaned down and gently wrapped his hand around the black marble that Paellito held against his chest. Paellito didn’t resist and simply sobbed, continuing to hold the marble.

He cried like that for a while.

Jin could see that Paellito was freeing himself from the inner demon. The deep sadness that his brainwashing and demonic nature couldn’t hide was gradually returning Paellito to his normal state.

Jin didn’t forcefully take the marble from him, as it wasn’t the time to provoke him.

Finally, Paellito raised his head.

“The tragedies that have already happened to you and us can’t be undone. But we can stop this fall. Let’s destroy Zito together. When it’s all over, I’ll send you to Sakiel’s side. Even if you become a monster again in the process, I have the power to stop you at any time.”

“Kill… Zito… together.”

“Yes.”

“It’s good… to hear that… but, as you said. I committed unspeakable massacres, and you… killed Sakiel.”

“Do you still believe that I was the one who killed her, even after freeing myself from the inner demon?”

“Jin Runcandel, you still hate me, don’t you?”

Jin nodded. He had no intention of letting Paellito live.

“I feel the same. I followed orders under brainwashing, but I am undoubtedly responsible for killing humans. And it’s a fact that Zito caused Sakiel’s death, but you were the one who brought her down. So, even though I fundamentally understand that it’s not your fault, I can’t help but hate you. Destiny… is twisted and cruel.”

“…I see.”

“Then we can’t fight together, Jin Runcandel. You might be able to, but I… can’t fight alongside the one who killed Sakiel. Instead…”

Jin felt the strength in Paellito’s grip on the black marble in his hand. He tried to force his fingers open, but Paellito was in the process of freeing himself from the inner demon.

In an instant, he shattered the marble.

“I’ll go to Zito now. I heard that I’ll be transported to Zito’s location when I break this marble. If only I wished it.”

Since the marble had already been destroyed, Jin could no longer stop him. The chaos released by the marble was staining him.

“In any case, I haven’t completely overcome brainwashing and demonization. I’d rather fight Zito now, having regained the power and senses of the Supreme Demon for a while, and die inflicting some damage on him. That’s better than letting myself be used until the end.”

But Jin had a hunch that it wasn’t something like an object that teleported Paellito to Zito’s location, as he watched Paellito being stained by chaos.

Paellito also realized this as soon as he shattered the marble, but it was too late.

Swish….!

Suddenly, Paellito was enveloped in dark flames, and Jin sighed as he gripped his sword.

An energy similar to when the evil god was born in the Garden of Swords radiated from Paellito.

“You chose your end of being used by someone until the last minute, Paellito. You should never have shattered that marble.”