Salvos (A Monster Evolution LitRPG)

Chapter 613: Perdition Part Four

It wasn’t the Devil’s fault.

Belphegor had said as much, and after hearing my dad’s version of events, I truly believed in that message. So I did as I was told. I was asked to pass that sentiment on— to convey a feeling that was lost to time.

I spoke it. I said it. I even believed it. But even as the words left my mouth, I could tell that Sal was in disbelief.

“Belphegor said that…?”

I watched as my dad shook his head. He grinned uncertainly at me— like he had caught me, and he knew I was playing a prank on him.

“Ah, that’s a good lie. But a lie nonetheless.”

“I’m not lying.”

I insisted, taking a step forward,

“I am telling you the truth. Why would I lie to you? I’m your daughter.”

“And that’s exactly why you would lie to me!”

Sal exclaimed as he backed away. He pointed accusingly at me.

“You’re just trying to make me feel better, and you’d say anything to do that!”

“That’s utterly ridiculous! You’re such an—”

I bit back my tongue, stopping myself from calling the Devil an idiot. Even if he was being one right now, insulting him would achieve nothing. But I was still getting frustrated. Nothing I was saying was getting through to him.

It was like he wanted me to be wrong. It was like he wanted to be right. It was like it helped him sleep better if he knew he was at fault.

I didn’t understand it. I wanted to understand it. But as I stared at the face the Devil wore— the playful, laughing expression that seemed to mock me for being wrong about him— I knew I wasn’t going to learn anything there.

He was wearing a mask. It was all a facade he had put up. And I had to break through.

I took a deep breath, recalling the guilt he felt in his memories. The sheer disdain he held against himself. My eyes flickered as I saw the Devil that was standing before me. He was nothing like the Devil King of old.

The man I had seen in those memories was stoic, steadfast, and courageous. He had ambition. He believed in justice— in doing what was right. He cared about his people. He cared about achieving his goals.

But when I saw my dad as he was right now, I saw an apathetic man. Sad and full of self-hatred. He was certainly playful, and in a sense, he was also carefree. But all he did to pass the time was play tricks on others. For his own entertainment. For his own enjoyment. For himself.

He was… just like the Trickster.

The way he acted— the way he spoke— it was all reminiscent of what Trico had been like. And I knew that back then, Samuel never behaved that way. So the Devil I knew today only came about after the world had already begun its end.

“Why?”

I asked as I stared at the Devil. He tilted his head at me.

“Why what?”

I gritted my teeth at his response. But he refused to be reasoned with.

“Why am I such a terrible father? Why am I such a horrible lover? Why am I such a poor king?”

“No.”

I answered his questions simply. I didn’t care to indulge in his self-pity— his self-hatred. My gaze darkened as I exhaled slowly.

“Samuel.”

Immediately, my dad’s brows snapped together. He glared at me, speaking simply but dangerously.

“Don’t call me that.”

“Why are you trying to make yourself the villain?”

I ignored him, instead walking forward, even as the Devil backed away. He frowned at me as he tried to laugh me off.

“Make myself the villain? My dear daughter, I don’t think you realize— I am the Devil!”

“And you were a righteous king. Until you decided to blame yourself for what happened.”

I replied instantly. I refused to even wait for a single moment before my response. I watched as Sal narrowed his eyes, before opening his mouth. But I continued, speaking over him.

“You want to blame yourself for what happened. You want to be at fault. You want to be wrong so you can justify running away from the end of the world.”

“I—”

He blinked a few times, and I shook my head. I raised a clawed finger, pointing at my dad.

“That is why you emulate the Trickster. So you can hate yourself. So you can convince yourself that you are to blame. But you’re not. Not to me. And not to Belphegor.”

Sal gritted his teeth. The smirk on his face was gone now. He averted his gaze, mustering up a reply.

“You talk about Belphegor, but you do not know him like I do.”

“I know him well enough.”

I placed a hand on my chest, remembering the odd Primordial Demon I had met down beneath the surface of the Netherworld. Belphegor showed me his feelings. I heard his plight. And I was going to convey what he felt to the man he loved.

[Truth Divination].

Sal paused as I activated the Skill. He noticed the stillness in the air— he watched as soft glow came from my eyes. He wanted to look away from me, but his gaze was drawn to my own. It was just the both of us here, trapped by this magical aura.

But the feelings of a third individual seeped through.

“Belphegor does not blame you, Samuel.”

I repeated myself. And the Devil clenched a fist.

“Don’t use your Skills on—”

But I interrupted him once again, and he flinched at every word.

“Perhaps you hoped that he would, but he never did. Not once in the entirety of his damnation down in your fallen kingdom did he ever believe you were at fault for what happened.”

I shook my head, remembering the morose gaze of the Guardian of the Netherworld. His leathery face, drenched in tears, longed only for a single thing.

“I know you are afraid of confronting your failures. But Belphegor is still down there. He is still fighting. And he is doing it all for you.”

I saw the guilt in Sal’s eyes. I could feel it deep in his heart. He tried to repress his building anger— but he failed. I sensed it with [Truth Divination]. He lashed out, gesturing at himself.

“What do you want from me, Salvos?”josei

He spread his arms wide as he glared my way.

“I cannot save the world. I have failed once. I will fail again. There is nothing I can do. Not for this world.”

There was a long silence as I saw the Devil standing there, basking in his misery. He remembered his failures. He lived through his regrets again and again. I felt it all. It was almost painful.

I closed my eyes.

“Belphegor told me…”

Sal cursed.

“Why do you keep bringing him up? Stop that!”

I refused to accede. I opened my eyes, remembering that brief moment I shared with the Guardian of the Netherworld at the end of the world.

“He said that if he could do it all again, even knowing the outcome— he would not change a thing.”

“I… what?”

The Devil took a step back, almost refusing to believe what I said. I held his gaze, speaking slowly.

“Look into my eyes. Feel what I feel. Tell me if you think I’m still lying here.”

His silence was answer enough. He knew I could not trick him— not with my Skills. He was the Devil. A Primordial Demon who was tens of thousands of years old. I was a mere Primeval Demon who was a decade old at most.

There was no way I could fool him. I was telling the truth, and he knew it.

“You say you cannot save the world— you say that you are the one who caused its end. But you only say that because you’d much rather hide away in your little pocket space, sleeping for decades, in hopes that when you wake up, it would all just be a nightmare, and things would return to normal.”

My dad bit his lower lip as my gaze continued boring into him.

“And you vilify yourself so you can rationalize your inaction. Because you’d much rather bear the guilt of causing the end of the world, than bear the guilt of abandoning everything.”

Again, no response. The Devil just stood there in silence. I raised my head, looking at [The World Of My Mind] around us. And I saw flashes of my own memories reflecting on the fractal surface— the moments I had shared with my companions.

Haec. Daniel. Edithe. Saffron. Willy. Orgaf.

The moments I shared with each and every one of them. But it wasn’t just them. I remembered my children. I remembered my friends.

Novis. Bellum. Oriur. Rachel. Lily. Xidra. Hadrian… so many of them. So many people I cared about back in the Mortal Realm. They were all in this world. They were all still there for me.

But Sal didn’t have anything left. He had nothing other than regrets… except, that wasn’t true, was it?

I shook my head, looking back towards the Devil.

“Perhaps you are right. Perhaps you cannot save the world. Perhaps you are not capable of doing that. But you can still save the life of one person.”

His eyes went wide as I whispered.

“You can still save him.”

I stepped forward, letting my feelings pour out. My voice echoed around my pocket space as my eyes flashed. [Truth Divination] showed everything to my dad. And I finished as he could only stare at me in a somber silence.

“You can still save Belphegor.”