Became a tyrant of defense games - Episode 756
756. [STAGE 45] Assuming awareness (7)
《uh?》
Cromwell sounded blank..
He was clearly fighting just a moment ago..
There was only one goal left - to conquer King Inse, and now I was in a life-threatening battle with enemies who I couldn't even tell who was who..
When I came to my senses, I found myself inside a familiar ship..
A dimensionally transported ship that set sail from its hometown.
This ship, which transports legions of demon species to another dimension far, far away, was Cromwell's old childhood home, his real home..
Cromwell's appearance also returned to that of a young girl..
There were no overgrown horns, no lumps of flesh covered in blood and mucus..
Cromwell blinked as he examined his small, intact body..
《This……?》
At that time, I heard footsteps.
When the surprised Cromwell turned around, he saw a familiar figure slowly approaching..
Cromwell smiled brightly and called out to the other person without realizing it..
《dad!》
Immediately after, the name was urgently changed..
《Oh no… … elder.》
《dismissal. You are here.》
The person who approached was an elder..
The elder, who somehow looked sadder than usual, approached with a smile on his face and slowly knelt down on one knee in front of Cromwell..
《I was worried because you didn't show up at the training ground..》
《Oh, I'm sorry. I'll go back quickly!》
The elder cautiously asked Cromwell, who was struggling,.
《You don't want to train today??》
《uh?》
Cromwell blinked widely and quickly shook his head..
《no. I like training!》
《…….》
《I enjoy the military techniques and politics taught by the elders, and I also like combat techniques and magic..》
《dismissal.》
《The elder always said that. I shouldn't lose. I am the hope of our corps. therefore…….》
《dismissal.》
The elder who interrupted Cromwell laughed softly..
《You can relax just for today..》
《huh?》
《It's okay if you don't study, train, or do anything. Today, Your Excellency, you can do whatever you really want to do..》
《…….》
《If you could be free today, what would you do??》
I have never felt anything like this in my life. Never once has a day like this existed..
So Cromwell stiffened for a moment with his eyes wide open, but then he smiled brightly with a blush on his face and grabbed the elder's hand..
《Well, then I… … ! Then, I'm going to play with my dad, no, with the elder.……!》
The elder gently stroked Cromwell's head as he hastily changed his title again..
《You can call me dad today..》
《uh… … ? Me, really? But in all this time, not even once…….》
《It's okay today. Just for today, it's okay to go to any lengths..》
The elder stood up, grabbed Cromwell's small hand and led him forward..
《Now then, what shall we do today, Your Excellency??》
Cromwell couldn't believe whether this was a dream or reality, so he followed his father with tears in his eyes..
The two spent a happy day inside the empty ship..
Cooking and eating together in the kitchen, lying down and reading storybooks together, playing hide and seek, and singing while touring the interior of the ship.…….
Like a weekend day spent by an ordinary father and daughter.
Cromwell experienced the happiness of everyday life that he had never experienced before in his life..
《Who are you?…….》
The happy day ended in an instant..
The elder picked up Cromwell, who was starting to doze off, and headed to the bed..
Place your head on the pillow and raise the blanket up to below your neck..
He sat next to the bed and stroked Cromwell's hair..
《Did you enjoy today, sir??》
《huh… … very. It was the most fun in the world…….》
Cromwell smiled with a sleepy face..
《Actually, I… … I didn't want to study things like military strategy or politics..》
《…….》
《I was always jealous of other children who played and sang songs. Instead of taking growth promoters, I wanted to eat sweets like other kids, and instead of holding a sword and training until my muscles burst, I wanted to read storybooks with my dad..》
《…….》
《I hated training, fighting, eating, growing up, everything..》
Cromwell's voice, which had been whining and confessing his true feelings, gradually quieted down..
《But since I am a corps commander... … Because I have to take responsibility for our corps. Because failure is not tolerated…….》
《…….》
《Gotta be perfect, so…….》
《it's okay.》
Cromwell's closed eyes were half-opened..
The elder smiled softly and stroked Cromwell's cheek..
《Because you worked really hard.》
《…….》
《It's okay to not be perfect. It's okay to fail. It's okay to lose. You did your best. So, please…….》
Don't be distressed, but look forward to what follows after failure... … I hope you can accept it.
The elder gently kissed Cromwell's forehead and whispered in his ear..
《Sleep well tonight, my daughter..》
Cromwell, smiling vaguely, answered in a dying voice..
《sleep well, dad…….》
***
“…….”
Cromwell is down..
Violet and Diarmudin are placing their hands on the monster commander's forehead. Violet is mediating the daydream, and Diarmudin is directly infiltrating his consciousness into it..
While Violet and Diarmudine subdued Cromwell with their daydreams, I neutralized Cromwell..
The countless horns that sprouted from Cromwell's head - no, all the magical parasites that looked like horns were separated and killed one by one..
These parasites were the source of the zombification crisis, and they were the ones who stole the magic and special abilities of each legion's monsters and supplied them to Cromwell..
I used my ‘will’ to extract and destroy these parasites one by one, as if performing a sophisticated surgical operation..
Originally, I was tangled up in a dizzying magic formula that I couldn't even guess what the principle was, but when I borrowed the real Ash's knowledge and experience, I was able to do it without much difficulty..
Saaaaa…….
Each time a horn was separated and turned into powder, the magical power of the other monsters that Cromwell had absorbed was also scattered and disappeared..
Kyaaaaa!
Ah ah ah ah ah-!
Also, every time I killed a parasite, the flesh monsters from afar fell down screaming in death. There seems to be some magical connection..
So when I separated most of the horns, most of the parasites.
“Eastern wall, monsters suppressed!”
“A completion report also came in from the north a while ago.!”
“The west side is almost done too! Now, we will enter the castle and subdue the remaining monsters.!”
The tide of the war suddenly turned, and the battle was already in a state of victory..
It was then.
“Whoa whoa…….”
Diarmudin let out a long sigh and opened his eyes. At the same time, Violet, covered in sweat, also gasped for breath..
And Cromwell, who was subdued by the two people's daydreams,…….
《…….》
Dying with a faint smile on his face, he was still deep in a dream..
After lightly patting Violet on the back, thanking her for her hard work, I looked at Diarmudine and asked.
“……What dream did you show Cromwell??”
The reason I asked this question was simple.
Because Cromwell had such a peaceful face..
It was not an expression that could be made by a monster, or even someone who had been turned into a zombie and ran wild like a demon. He was so gentle that it was a little embarrassing..
Then Diarmudin muttered bitterly:.
“The dream this child wanted to see the most. and… … The elder who was the father of this child wanted to see, and she showed him the same dream..”
***
It is said that Diermudin stayed with the elder at the abandoned cathedral and listened to his stories..
“The elder looked upon Cromwell like his own daughter. And Cromwell also regarded the elder as her father..”
But it was never expressed.
Cromwell was a corps commander from birth, and the elders were just training books..
“As time passed and Cromwell was killed by the Night Bringer, the elder regretted it later..”
“I regret it?”
“I regretted training my daughter to function only for the Legion. And he also regretted not having played a bigger role..”
“…….”
“Don't treat me functionally, but treat me more warmly. It will make you live more ‘like a human’… … That kind of belated regret.”
We quietly looked down at the enemy general dying in a peaceful dream..
All parasites were removed and Cromwell, free from zombification, died quietly..
Diarmudin let out a faint sigh..
“I understood the regret..”
“I said you understood.?”
“I too have raised many students who were like my children. I've seen so many young people leave before me, an old man..”
Diarmudin turned his beady eyes toward me..
“Of course, Prince Ash, I don't regret putting my students in danger..”
“…….”
“The history of humans and the history of magic is built with blood and lives. My disciples who went first played their roles heroically. Even if you're sad, it's not something you'll regret.”
Diarmudin repeated:.
“I have never had the same regrets as the elder. However, I understood his feelings..”
heart, is it.
“so… … I wanted to give this child a peaceful end. I wanted to achieve the happiness that that father and daughter couldn't achieve, even if it was just a daydream..”
It's not because this is the only strategy..
To grant the last wish of someone who was an enemy, a monster, but with whom I sympathized and understood..
Diarmudin had proposed this operation..
“…….”
Actually, I had a different strategy. A method that may have been safer and more certain. Because now I have many powers and powers..
However, there was no need to follow Diarmudin’s suggestion.…….
It was because this ‘heart’ that Diarmudin possessed was necessary for my future attack..
“What I thought about while staying with them at the abandoned cathedral... … It was about the difference between humans and monsters..”
Diarmudin tried to sound dry..
“You said it before, Prince Ash? It is said that what separates a person from a monster is the heart. If we can join hands and look in the same direction, I will treat you as the same person no matter what your race is..”
In reality, the World Defense Front is an alliance of people who were originally divided into various races and countries..
We are now standing shoulder to shoulder with the enemies of a thousand years ago, the enemies of a hundred years ago, and the enemies of ten years ago..
“I thought the demonic servants in the abandoned cathedral could be like that too..”
In the abandoned cathedral in District 10 of the Lake Kingdom, we attempted to build an advance base fortress..
Because the demon species survivors survive the zombies, we needed a bait to attract the zombies' attention and reduce the number of zombies..
Their interests aligned, and the abandoned cathedral was able to function as a forward base, even if only for a short time..
For a moment we were allies.
“Becoming allies with monsters is a ridiculous idea, but... … Perhaps it is no different from the history we have experienced so far. While thinking like that.”
Diarmudin clicked his tongue bitterly..
“We thought they could become people like us. Because they also had a human nature..”
“assumption…….”
“exactly. Those who treated the elderly carelessly and tried to burn this world also had a heart that connected with us. Even though the cultures are different and we point weapons at each other, I thought there was a point of agreement and understanding. Just like people in our world do to each other.”
Diarmydin thought for a moment about the days at the abandoned cathedral, then shook his head..
“But I know, Prince Ash. This is the result.”
“…….”
“Everyone in the abandoned cathedral died, and this demon, who ate all of his people, turned into a zombie and invaded our people. Perhaps it would be absurd to give this monster, who caused great damage to royalties, such a peaceful end..”
Diarmudin's voice trembled..
“But, I… … Even though it was like a vague spark that disappeared before my eyes, I definitely saw the potential. The moment yesterday's enemy almost became today's compatriot…….”
“…….”
“Haha. How could Diarmudin of the world speak such weak words?.”
Diarmudin pressed his hand to his chest..
“Maybe this assumption is our biggest weakness..”
“And it might be its biggest strength..”
It is the human heart that has put the battle line here so many times in crisis..
And it is the human heart that has brought us here..
‘And, the cognitive assumption is…….’
The heart of a weak person who can understand and sympathize with even the enemy.
Because I need it for the path I plan to take in the future..
Diarmyuddin exhaled bitterly and slowly stretched out his hand forward..
“sleep well.”
Diarmudin whispered as he closed the blurry eyes of the monster breathing its last breath..
“sleep well…….”
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