Chapter 78: Sinner

Dante looked at Elizabeth’s image with many complex emotions.

’Eliza had survived for so long with me. I reduced my misfortune and our life together was peaceful. She is proof that my existence is not that dangerous if I control myself.’

As he thought about that, a glimpse of hope lit up in his heart. That centipede might be wrong.

’Oh, really?’ Greed chuckled: ’Maybe you’re right. After all, even if your misfortune caused her chance of death to become 99%, then she’d still have a 1% chance that she lives happily, right? It’s like a failed killing attempt.’

’It’s not—’

’Hehe, but when we speak about misfortune…’ Greed cut him off: ’There are results besides death. Didn’t you say that yourself? Living itself might be someone’s misfortune, either worse than or slightly better than death.’

Hearing that, Dante had the urge to sever his right arm and silence the Centipede. Sadly, he couldn’t do anything in the presence of the dark entity.

’Oh, that beautiful girl Elizabeth is indeed lucky, right? She was born blind, but she had two knights who were willing to sacrifice themselves for her. She couldn’t be more lucky to have such good friends.’

Dante immediately knew what Greed was trying to say, yet he didn’t want to hear it. He… didn’t want to think of that.

Unfortunately, Greed didn’t care as he continued:

’Sadly, she couldn’t live forever with her knights, because a few days after meeting you, she lost them both!’

Dante bit his lower lip until it started bleeding, forced to pay attention to the small details he had tried to ignore.

’Well, look at the bright side.’ Greed’s tone turned casual: ’Because of their death, Elizabeth had the chance to travel with a strong demonic dragon. With his help, she didn’t have to face any trouble while travelling to another town. There, they lived together in the same room and nothing went wrong, right?’

’The demonic dragon’s method of reducing his own misfortune by KILLING other beings worked.’

Greed fell silent, as if recalling something. After a moment, he continued:

’Wait, Dante, can you remind me of what you had read in the newspaper?’

BAM!

“Damn you!” Dante fell to his knees and turned the Centipede into a sword before smashing it into the ground.

’Right! It was a war! After spending a few days with you, her precious kingdom fell into a war. But she didn’t know anything about that, you know why?’

BAM!

“Just shut up!”

’Hmm… wasn’t it because the demonic dragon was hiding the truth? What a greedy bastard. How dare he hide something so important from the poor girl? For a girl so loyal to her kingdom, living happily with a cursed boy while her people are fighting for their lives might be a kind of misfortune, don’t you agree?’

BAM!BAM! BAM!

No matter how hard Dante hit the ground with the sword, the sword didn’t show even a crack.

’As if you know anything! So what if I didn’t tell her? It’s not my duty to tell the news, I’m not her babysitter or slave. And she was depressed—learning about the war would have only made her condition worse!’

’Yes, exactly!’ The image of two clapping hands appeared in Dante’s mind: ’Who cares about her freedom? If the mighty demonic dragon thinks he knows the best for her, then she has no other choice but to stay in the dark.’

Dante’s pupils shrank instantly: ’I-I didn’t mean it that way.’

’Well, the demonic dragon generously told her the truth later.’ Greed continued: ’But that was only after he knew that she was a hidden threat. After all, if she knew by herself about his Crown and found a way to inform her kingdom secretly, then the demonic dragon would be in trouble. He had to tell her himself and see whether she’d leave or stay.’

’Unfortunately for her, even while leaving, the demonic dragon ensured that he could observe her in her journey by sending his shadow after her.’

’That was also to protect her!’ Dante denied: ’Fafnir saved her and the convoy several times. When she saw him, she thanked him.’

’Then why didn’t you just tell her?’ Greed asked, his tone carrying a hint of curiosity: ’Hey Elizabeth, my shadow will be protecting you in your journey. It’s not hard to say. But telling her would have given her the option to refuse, which was something your selfish self didn’t want.’

’I…’ Dante’s thoughts suddenly froze, struggling to find a response to justify himself.

Because deep inside, he knew that Greed was saying the truth.

Dante had done everything by his own thoughts, ignoring Elizabeth’s freedom, consent, and opinion.

’Well, the demonic dragon can’t observe her anymore. She is now free to help her own kingdom, and she’s free from the source of her misfortune.’

Dante stared blankly at the ground. Fafnir had killed himself, which meant that he’d soon revive away from Elizabeth.

’I wonder…’ Greed continued: ’What will happen to her in this war? A war filled with men isn’t safe for a blind woman, you know.’

Dante’s eyes suddenly widened: “Don’t continue—”

’She might just stay as a healer until the end of the war, but after receiving some misfortune from you, even though it’s a very small amount, we should consider the worst.’

Several horrifying images forced themselves into Dante’s mind. He tried to make them disappear, but he couldn’t do anything to them.

’In fact, when we consider that they’re fighting the giants, then Elizabeth would be lucky if she died. After all, even a boy like you hated it when it happened to him by a beautiful woman, so imagine how bad it would be in her case.’

“You are disgusting…” Dante muttered, sitting on the cold ground and staring at the amused dark entity.

“I agree, he’s truly disgusting.” The dark entity nodded: “There were rumours that he had spent not just a night, but a month with Sin of Lust and her clones before the war that ended his life. From what I ’see’ now, the rumours seem to be true, hehe.”

’You remember your uncle and your lovely teacher, right?’Greed laughed: ’If you don’t, then at least I remember that he had sold you to her. You were surprised, seeing her giving money to your uncle instead of the other way around. But eventually, you understood the reason when you were alone in one room.’

The dark memories Dante tried to bury flashed in his mind, apparently caused by Greed himself.

’Day after day, night after night, you hated every moment. But you couldn’t simply run from your house when you didn’t even have money. That was why, one night, you killed her while she was overwhelmed by her disgusting pleasure. All it had taken was a sharp piece of glass that you hid in your mouth.’

The memory of Dante’s first kill appeared in his mind. The blood, the screams, the ambulance, the police — all of them struck his mind altogether.

’There, you had the choice, as the humans in your world were too fragile. But what about that beautiful girl Elizabeth? If she was captured, would a simple glass shard be enough to kill a giant?’

’She might be able to use magic without chanting, but what would be the point if she was against a Rank 2 giant? Or worse… more than one giant. Because of the small amount of misfortune she received from you, everything bad might be possible.’

“….”

Dante’s stomach twitched, getting the urge to vomit. It was a mix of the terrifying possibility that Dante didn’t want to imagine, and his trauma that worsened anything related to sex to him.

He hated everything Greed had said. He hated the fact that they all might be true. He hated that he couldn’t defend himself against Greed’s claims.

’Is this guilt I sense from you? You know what is the funniest part of all that, Dante?’ Greed paused, letting Dante think for a moment: ’It’s the fact that the demonic dragon knew deep inside that he was causing harm to her and everyone else around him.’

’He knew that, but he lied to himself and ignored that. He convinced himself that a small amount of misfortune wasn’t a big deal.’

’You know why? It’s because that demonic dragon was greedy and selfish, even though he didn’t want to admit that.’

’He wanted the treasures of the baron, which caused the death of the villagers and the holy knights. That was understandable, as expected from my descendant.’

“….”

’Then came that girl Elizabeth. Surprisingly, that demonic dragon loved her, even though he didn’t want to show that. He cared about her, he didn’t want to leave her, he didn’t want to worry about her.’

’He stayed with her under the pretense that he only wanted to use her abilities, that’s a lie. He slept next to her under the pretense that he only wanted to share the room rent, that’s a lie. He sent his shadow to protect her under the pretense that he only wanted to observe her, that’s a lie.’

’He was simply greedy for love. He wanted a family, he hated loneliness, he wanted someone to care about. She was the only woman who was able to make him resist his trauma and let her hug him. He saw her as a sister, someone that almost bypassed all his mental defenses.’

’But because of his greed, even though he didn’t want to harm her, he ignored the effect of his own misfortune, he ignored her right to know about her kingdom, he ignored her freedom while travelling, and he ignored her trust for him.’

Greed paused, letting Dante absorb everything that was said. Then Greed’s tone turned into amusement.

’Such greedy acts could only be described as sins, no matter the intentions behind them. Dante, don’t you agree that the demonic dragon is a selfish, greedy sinner?’

“….”

Dante opened his mouth, but no words came out. Unfortunately, his internal voice betrayed him.

’I agree…’

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