WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B
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◈ Whispers of a Scheming Demon ◈
Chapter 178: Justice
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Gawain lay in the lord’s castle corridor with only his upper body left.
Shaperia’s Holy Flame had destroyed nearly half his body.
Flames still clung to him, burning away even what remained.
Before long, Gawain would vanish completely.
Johan could not afford to lose him. He needed Gawain’s strength.
Johan looked at Shaperia.
“Shaperia, withdraw all the Holy Flame.”
Shaperia was flustered.
Gawain had broken free and was on the loose, yet Johan remained perfectly calm.
Even though the lord’s castle had been reduced to ruins, Johan showed no emotional disturbance.
“M-My lord. If we don’t purify His Highness now, a true disaster may occur.”
Gawain, transformed into a demon, possessed overwhelming power.
Even Shaperia had not found it easy to subdue him.
She had already spent far too much strength.
She had nothing left.
If Gawain recovered, there would be no way to stop the disaster.
He could never be allowed to rise again.
Johan spoke.
“Don’t worry. Gawain has no choice but to obey me now. No disaster will happen.”
Shaperia struggled to understand.
“Obey you? What do you mean?”
“I made a wager with him. If I had the ability to defeat Apostle Mapheltan, Gawain would become my subordinate.”
A wager? A subordinate?
Even after hearing the explanation, she could not grasp the situation.
“M-My lord, I truly...”
Johan turned his gaze to Gawain.
“Gawain, tell her yourself. What do you intend to do from now on?”
Gawain, still sprawled on the floor, gave a sly smile.
“I have but one lifelong wish: the destruction of Apostle Mapheltan. Watcher of Narak, you have proven your strength. I will gladly board your ship.”
Johan looked back at Shaperia.
“Gawain is a demon, but he does not follow the Apostles. Rather, he hates the Thirteenth End. Mapheltan is the reason Gawain fell.”
Shaperia was greatly shaken.
“D-Do you mean the demon who placed that curse on His Highness was White Horn?”
She roughly knew what had happened to Gawain.
In the past, a demon had attacked Myatro Lord’s Castle. Gawain, who had been a guest there, fought alongside Johan against the demon.
The demon escaped, but Gawain suffered greatly.
He had been afflicted by a Curse of Corruption.
Mapheltan had been the cause of that curse.
Johan nodded.
“That is correct. Our interests align. I intend to slaughter every Apostle in this world, and Gawain will become one of the blades I wield.”
The situation gradually began to make sense in Shaperia’s mind.
Johan Myatro, her lord, would stop at nothing to achieve his goal.
He had joined hands with evil to eradicate evil.
In Shaperia’s mind, that was not like Johan.
She spoke with a face full of despair.
“...My lord, was it because of me? Have you lost your devotion because of my unilateral actions?!”
To save Johan, Shaperia had once compromised with evil.
She had taken White Horn’s hand and defeated Apostle Beris alongside him.
She had compromised with evil.
Now Johan was doing the same.
He had abandoned his convictions and accepted evil.
Perhaps Shaperia was the reason for his change.
Her unilateral actions might have influenced Johan for the worse.
Once that thought reached her, Shaperia could only despair.
‘Because of me, my lord...!’
Johan spoke.
“Do not misunderstand, Shaperia. I am stubborn and self-righteous. I am not so weak that your petty actions could influence me. My sense of justice will not waver because of you. What happened with Gawain is not a compromise with evil.”
Shaperia’s expression remained dark.
“B-But did you not take the hand of the fallen prince?”
Johan answered at once.
“Gawain is not evil. Therefore, I have not compromised with evil.”
“What do you mean...?”
“Shaperia, what exactly do you think evil is?”
Shaperia looked down at Gawain.
By anyone’s standards, Gawain looked vicious. Black Demonic Energy surrounded him, and his dark purple eyes rolled wildly.
He was undoubtedly a demon.
And demons were naturally evil.
According to the teachings of the Great Saint and the Great Saint Church, that was the truth.
No other justification was needed.
Shaperia could declare Gawain evil.
She had been able to in the past.
Now, things were slightly different.
Shaperia could not speak.
In Narak’s Second Zone, she had glimpsed the Moon’s contradictions. Through the Moon’s memoir yesterday, she had vaguely accepted that even Marziel was merely a saint, in other words, a human.
The Moon’s words were not always correct.
Even Marziel himself had acknowledged that in his memoir.
He was only a human being who struggled to determine what was right.
Having seen that fragment of him, no one could regard the Great Saint’s words as absolute truth.
There was always room for interpretation.
Look at the current situation.
Gawain had been cursed while fighting evil.
By the Inviolable Law, he had become a demon.
Was he truly evil?
Shaperia found it difficult to answer.
No matter how long she thought, no answer came.
Silence fell.
Gawain spoke.
“I am evil. By the Great Saint Church’s definition, I am a vile existence beyond salvation.”
A self-mocking laugh escaped his lips.
Shaperia bit down on her lip.
Johan spoke.
“I do not consider the Great Saint Church’s teachings to be truth. I have my own sense of justice. By my standards, Gawain, you are not evil.”
Gawain gave a hollow laugh.
“Watcher of Narak, can you still say that after seeing this ugly form? I hate what I have become. Once my revenge against White Horn is complete, I will burn this spirit and body away with my own hands.”
Johan shrugged.
“If you wish to kill yourself, I will not stop you. But you must fulfill all your obligations first.”
Gawain had to help Johan.
The Contract he had made with Mapheltan was bound by the Inviolable Law.
Gawain spoke.
“Will your knight truly accept this?”
Johan looked at Shaperia.
She had lowered her head deeply and was staring only at the floor.
Johan opened his mouth.
“Shaperia, I would like to hear your thoughts. Is Gawain still evil? Am I an Apostate who has compromised with evil?”
Shaperia clenched both fists.
Her body trembled.
“...I do not know anymore.”
“What do you not know?”
Shaperia abruptly raised her head.
Her eyes churned with anguish.
“What are right and wrong, exactly?!”
Johan gave a faint laugh.
“You are asking me to define justice? What even the Great Saint could not do?”
Gawain chuckled.
“Shaperia, your lord is not a god. Do not put too much faith in him.”
All manner of doubts filled Shaperia’s mind.
She felt as if her brain would burst.
In her frustration, a curse slipped from her mouth.
“Damn it!”
Johan quietly watched her.
The amusement slowly vanished from his expression.
“No one can define justice. We merely act according to the good we believe in.”
Shaperia murmured softly.
“...The good I believe in.”
Johan nodded.
“Set your own standard and act by it. I will leave Gawain to you. The choice is entirely yours.”
Johan had given Shaperia the power to decide whether Gawain lived or died.
Its weight pressed down on her.
The choice she made now would define her values.
Johan turned away.
Shaperia cried out in a trembling voice.
“My lord! Please wait a moment!”
Johan began walking.
“Act first, report afterward. Whatever choice you make, I will respect it.”
He grew more distant.
“My lord!”
No matter how desperately she called, Johan did not turn back.
Before long, he vanished from sight completely.
Gawain giggled.
“Shaperia, could you decide whether to kill me or spare me already? To be honest, it is rather hot.”
Bright red flames were burning Gawain’s body in real time.
Shaperia looked at him and bit her lip.
The choice was far too difficult.
Time passed in torment.
* * *
“...I feel sorry for Shaperia. Johan is a bad person.”
Within the World Within the Mirror, Serin glared outside.
Archmage Lumina nodded.
“I agree. That man was born to be a demon. Look at him kneading people’s hearts like clay.”
Johan had subtly combined lies with truth to brainwash Shaperia.
Knowing the entire truth, Lumina had no choice but to raise her guard against Johan once more.
To her, Johan was the person she most wanted to avoid.
The moment their one-year Contract ended, Lumina intended to flee from him.
Serin’s expression hardened.
“As his friend, I will seriously fix Johan’s bad habits.”
Lumina spoke.
“Serin, humans cannot be fixed. In the end, they return to their true nature. That is the truth.”
It was persuasive coming from an Archmage who had lived for more than one hundred sixty years.
Serin drooped.
“People cannot change their personalities?”
“A demon is a demon. Do not grow attached for no reason.”
Serena, who had been listening to them, spoke.
“More precisely, he is a Half-Demon, not a demon.”
Serin and Lumina looked at Serena.
Lumina snorted.
“Do not tell me you are defending him because he is your fiancé.”
Serena shook her head.
“No. I have read Johan’s inner thoughts. I cannot help knowing his true nature.”
She possessed the Mind-Piercing Eye.
Once, with Johan’s permission, she had used the Mind-Piercing Eye on him.
That day, Serena had read Johan’s true feelings.
Johan was someone who pursued ideals more than anyone else.
That was Serena’s assessment of Johan.
Lumina slightly furrowed her brow.
“Johan’s true nature? What is it?”
“Someone with his own sense of justice. A self-righteous but necessary evil who strives toward good. That is Johan, the Half-Demon.”
Lumina scoffed.
“It seems you have been brainwashed too. You have it bad. Very bad.”
Serena did not react at all to Lumina’s blunt mockery.
Serena had standards of her own.
People with their own standards were not easily provoked by others’ words.
They trusted their own judgment.
To Serena, Johan was absolutely not an evil man.
Serena spoke.
“I would like to persuade you, but I will stop for now. Sir Johan is coming.”
Outside the mirror, Johan was quietly staring at a full-length mirror.
Lumina clicked her tongue and snapped her fingers.
Johan’s body was absorbed into the mirror.
He entered the World Within the Mirror.
“My ears were itching.”
Lumina smirked.
“We were insulting you.”
Johan nodded.
“I had it coming. Fair enough.”
Serena spoke firmly.
“No. At least I know your true feelings.”
Johan shrugged.
“I do not even know my own true feelings.”
“Johan.”
Serena wore a somewhat stern expression.
Johan avoided her gaze.
“Well, if you understand me, that is fortunate. More importantly, Lumina, there is something I need you to do.”
“What is it?”
“I am going to have an audience with the Emperor.”
A shadow crossed Lumina’s face.
“The Emperor of the Empire?”
“Yes. I will need your help.”
Johan intended to get every last bit of use out of the Archmage.
Lumina let out a long sigh.
Footnotes:
The Korean words for “justice” and “definition” are homophones, forming the wordplay in Johan’s line about defining justice.
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