To You, Who Will Die Alone in Paradise Chapter 52

It is generally known that the intelligence of monsters is similar to that of beasts, but the reality is different. Among monsters, there were individuals with intelligence comparable to elves.

There were even terrifying monsters that stole the voices or appearances of elves and transformed themselves. There had been several instances where monsters disguised as elves invaded the forest and tried to harm Yggdrasil, and each time, the elves had paid great sacrifices to protect the guardian tree.

‘He looked exactly like a human on the outside, but you can’t tell by that alone….’

Because of this background, Elbadon accepted the idea that Prince Dandeleon might be a monster without surprise.

Other races, who had only ever dealt with low-level monsters, tended to think of giant lizards when they thought of monsters, but Elbadon, an elite of Tuella Deum who had faced countless monsters, knew. He knew how diverse their appearances were, and how cunning they were.

‘They said the prince is twenty. No, I heard he lived outside the palace until ten years ago. Living by the beach would have been an easy environment for a monster to invade. It could be a monster that stole the young prince’s form and infiltrated the palace.’

Elbadon couldn’t figure out why vomiting black blood was proof of being a monster, but he guessed Herma must have taken some measures. His young captain was more knowledgeable about monsters than anyone. As a subordinate, all he had to do was faithfully follow Herma’s instructions.

After the prince’s party took a room at the inn, Elbadon climbed a tall tree near the window and monitored them. He saw Dandeleon collapse while vomiting black blood and was impressed that Herma’s speculation had been correct.

After Zellos burst out of the room, Elbadon carefully entered the room through the open window. If the prince was a monster, he couldn’t be left like this. At the very least, an arm or a leg or two had to be cut off, and then the room needed to be sealed with magical power to be safe.

However, upon discovering Dandeleon lying on the bed, Elbadon was slightly taken aback.

‘His appearance is the same?’

No matter how perfectly a monster succeeded in mimicry, it was bound to reveal its true nature when its body weakened. Its hair would be dyed purple or scales would appear here and there on its body, making it impossible to hide its true monstrous form any longer.

However, there was no trace of a monster on Prince Dandeleon, who lay as if dead. His skin was pale but clean, and there was no sign of discoloration in his disheveled blond hair. His appearance, groaning in a fever, was that of a fragile human itself.

‘What in the world….’

As Elbadon was feeling confused, he heard Zellos’s voice. He was downstairs, asking the innkeeper if there was a doctor. Glancing back and forth between Dandeleon and the door, Elbadon quickly made up his mind.

‘I’ll eliminate Zellos and then come back for the prince.’

Whether the prince was a monster or not was not for him to judge. Since the situation had unfolded as Captain Herma had said, he had to follow the instructions he was given.

However, it didn’t seem necessary to cut off the prince’s limbs, so he just sealed the room by surrounding it with magical power. Then Elbadon followed Zellos and succeeded in killing him.

The next step was to hide the body. Elbadon infused magical power into the ground he was standing on. The blood-soaked ground squirmed like a living creature and then swallowed Zellos’s corpse into itself.

A moment later, not even a single drop of blood, let alone the corpse, remained on the ground. The body, buried deep in the earth, would become nourishment for the forest.

‘Once I take the prince and go back, everything will be over.’

Elbadon stretched his stiff neck and shoulders and walked toward the inn.

It was a truly tiring mission. He hoped the results would be as good as the effort he put in. Elbadon hoped that Prince Dandeleon would be able to change the High Elf’s mind.

When he had suddenly refused to return this dawn, everyone in Tuella Deum was greatly shocked. A High Elf refusing his duty—it was truly absurd.

Snap.

It was then. The sound of a branch breaking came from behind Elbadon. He turned around with a light heart. He had already checked several times with magic that there was no one around. The unexpected figure that caught the eye of Elbadon, who had expected to find a rabbit or something, was…

“Mr. High Elf…?”

Elbadon wondered if he was dreaming. The High Elf, who should have been in the Benoit royal palace, was standing just a few steps away.

The moon, which had been briefly hidden by clouds, revealed its face again, and moonlight fell upon the forest. The darkness covering Kellewen’s face thinned. His green eyes glinted.

“No….”

Elbadon’s face turned pale as he met those eyes.

‘Who is that?’

A High Elf doesn’t make that kind of expression. It was an expression mixed with anger and hatred, just like Captain Herma’s when he looked at a monster. The green eyes, which always held a gentle light, were now just cold.

His appearance was that of the High Elf, but what was inside seemed like a completely different creature.

‘…A monster!’

Elbadon’s mind snapped to attention.

A monster that steals others’ appearances had taken on the High Elf’s face and come to attack him. That was the only conclusion he could draw. Elbadon drew his dagger and infused magical power into the blade. With a movement like lightning, he kicked off the ground and rushed toward the monster.

“……!”

But the moment the monster in the form of the High Elf slightly lifted its head, something grabbed Elbadon’s limbs.

Elbadon was startled when he checked his arms and legs. Tree roots had shot up from beneath the ground and were coiling around him.

“This is… magic?!”

It was unbelievable. They weren’t a monster’s tentacles, nor were they plants contaminated with demonic energy. The ordinary trees that had taken root and lived in this forest were restraining him, even breaking the rules of nature. Only magic could give such a command to natural objects.

But Elbadon couldn’t accept that fact. Using magic meant that the one standing before him was not a monster.

Then is he really the High Elf?

A High Elf must not use magic unless his life is in danger. There was definitely such a principle. That’s why he knew Kellewen hadn’t even received proper magic education, yet he was using such strong and sophisticated magic. Magic strong enough to overwhelm him, a member of Tuella Deum.

“Ugh!”

Because of his confusion, Elbadon missed his chance to counterattack. By the time he came to his senses, it was already too late. The tree roots had moved past his limbs and were now tightening around his neck and face.

Elbadon struggled with all his might and tried to use magic, but his opponent never relinquished control of the magical power.

‘Is he really the High Elf?’

Elbadon was confused. Even as his body was being crushed, he was more confused than anything else.

The tree roots slowly buried him beneath the ground. Facing the same end as the one he had killed, Elbadon wondered until the very end.

‘If he is the High Elf, then why….’

Silence returned to the night forest.

A few minutes later, Kellewen opened the magically sealed door and entered the room.

In the middle of the room, there was a pool of black blood. Dandeleon was lying on the bed, gasping for breath.

Kellewen hesitated for a moment near him. He then sank to his knees beside the bed. Tears fell onto Dandeleon’s sleeping face.

“Leon….”

Kellewen caressed Dandeleon’s face with a trembling hand. The fever was so high it felt like his hand would burn, but even that he welcomed. It was better than the cold, hard, and creepy texture of an object. As long as he was still breathing, that was enough. He didn’t wish for anything more.

“I’m sorry, I took too long….”

Kellewen sobbed. An inexpressible anguish boiled up from deep within his chest. Kellewen, while shedding tears, clenched his teeth and held back his cries. He wished for the sleeping Dandeleon not to wake.

There was a time he had wanted him to remember, but not anymore. He wanted him to remember nothing. He didn’t want to cause any more pain in his life.

It had been an unhappy life enough as it was. Was it such an unreasonable wish to hope for him to be happy for the last few years of his life?

“Please, just this once, please….”

Kellewen clung to Dandeleon, crying and praying. To a god he had never once believed in his entire life.

Dandeleon had a dream.

In the dream, Dandeleon was lying in a pitch-black, damp puddle. On the old floor, the puddle just kept getting wider. Zellos was shaking Dandeleon and calling his name.

“Mr. Leon! Leon! Wake up! Leon!”

A burning pain enveloped his entire body. Dandeleon thought he had swallowed a ball of fire. It was burning him alive from the inside out.

There wasn’t a single place that didn’t hurt, from his fingertips to his toes. His body convulsed, and a pitch-black liquid spurted from his mouth again. Even after seeing with his own eyes that it was blood he had spat out, he couldn’t believe it.

“This isn’t right, why on earth… why…!”

Zellos cried out, shaking his body, then ran outside.

Dandeleon wanted to hold onto him. He could feel his life fading away. He knew the end would come soon, but he hadn’t known it would be so sudden. The death that had come upon him so unexpectedly was painful and, at the same time, terribly lonely.

His vision blurred. His senses were leaving his body. Dandeleon thought of Kellewen. He just thought. There was no time to feel regret or longing.

In the final moment, he felt nothing.

Dandeleon had a dream.

His vision was pitch black. He had no strength in his entire body, making it difficult to lift even a single finger. Everything was hazy. There was a sensation of something constantly bumping against his lower body, but even that was faint and felt like it was happening to someone else.

“Leon, my prince….”

Zellos’s voice was heard. Dandeleon wanted to turn his head toward the sound, but something was pressing down on his head. His mouth and nose were crushed, making it hard to breathe. The sound of gasping continued, but the air entering him was endlessly insufficient.

Zellos, I can’t breathe.

Dandeleon wanted to say that. But his body wouldn’t listen at all. Zellos, too, seemed uninterested in his condition.

Dandeleon squeezed out all his strength and opened his mouth. Instead of a voice, a warm liquid gushed out of his open mouth. Yet the pressure on his head didn’t stop, and all the liquid Dandeleon had vomited flowed back into his nose and mouth. Breathing became even more difficult.

Save me.

Dandeleon thought he had shouted. But in reality, he couldn’t even let out a small groan. Until the end, he couldn’t move or make a sound. The pain was, at least, less severe.

Dandeleon had a dream.

It was a dark room. The faint light barely revealed stone walls, allowing him to only just guess that he was not outside.

Dandeleon grimaced and was startled as he tried to sit up. His wrists and ankles were firmly held by something, and he couldn’t move at all. Come to think of it, he could also feel something cold like metal around his neck.

“Awake?”

Goosebumps ran all over Dandeleon’s body. It was a voice he knew well. At the same time, he could immediately understand the situation he was in.

“I thought so from the first time I saw you.”

Herma smiled at him. The apron, stained with purplish-black splotches, was the same as that day. The only difference was that Herma was holding a large knife in his hand.

“Your eyes, I couldn’t not know seeing them.”

The moment he saw the knife, Dandeleon screamed and struggled. But because of the shackles restraining his hands and feet, he couldn’t do anything. Herma listened to Dandeleon’s desperate voice for a moment, then suddenly stabbed the knife deep into his stomach.

“You filthy monster.”

In the midst of the mind-numbing pain, Dandeleon looked at Herma’s eyes. The blue eyes blazed with hatred. He genuinely hated Dandeleon. Hated him and enjoyed his pain.

‘But I don’t understand….’

The fleeting question was torn to shreds by the subsequent pain. Proper thought was impossible. In just a few minutes, Dandeleon came to wish that Herma would just kill him quickly.

His wish was not granted. It took a very long time for death to come.

Dandeleon had a dream.

“—ra!”