To You, Who Will Die Alone in Paradise Chapter 63

Dandeleon recognized a familiar sadism in his eyes. He had always cut and broken him with that kind of joyful expression. He would whisper that he was a filthy demonic beast, his blue eyes shining.

Even though it was a memory that shouldn’t exist, he didn’t have the luxury to question it. Crushed by fear and confusion, Dandeleon couldn’t so much as lift a finger, let alone answer Herma’s greeting.

Herma carefully observed Dandeleon, who had frozen like a stone. His gaze, which had been scanning various parts of his body, finally landed on his eyes.

Herma’s finger slowly descended from Dandeleon’s forehead to his eyebrow, and from his eyebrow to his eyelid. He placed his finger on the violet eyeball, applied a slight pressure, and then released it.

“Maybe I should take him after all.”

Herma muttered as if to himself.

The fear those casual words instilled in Dandeleon was beyond imagination. As if released from a spell, Dandeleon’s mind snapped back to clarity, and he shook his head and struggled. He pushed Herma away with all his might. He hit and kicked him with his hands and feet. Even as he was struck several times, Herma just chuckled as if it were amusing. It seemed he didn’t even feel a tickle.

He knew he couldn’t beat Herma with strength. But Dandeleon was desperate. Dandeleon already knew where he would take him. In that place where only darkness and pain existed, Dandeleon would die again. He would end up begging to be killed instead.

‘Anything but that.’

Dandeleon squeezed out his last bit of strength and grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground. As he swung his arm and threw the dirt, Herma grimaced and turned his head.

For a brief moment, the grip on his hair loosened. Dandeleon pried Herma’s hand from his head and ran in a random direction.

“Stay still!”

But before he could go more than a few steps, Dandeleon was caught again. An unknown elf subdued the fleeing Dandeleon and brought him before Herma.

“Hoo.”

Herma brushed the dirt off his face and looked at Dandeleon. He spoke in an irritated tone.

“That’s it, let’s just kill him.”

Herma wouldn’t have known, but that was exactly what Dandeleon wanted. Dandeleon watched until the very end as Herma took out a dagger, and as that dagger deeply slit his throat.

An eerie pain was felt in his neck, and then his body dropped limply onto the grass. A hot liquid flowed from his neck, soaking the ground. Dandeleon watched the sight and slowly raised the corners of his mouth. Slitting his throat—it was a faster and cleaner death than he had expected.

“…Why is he smiling?”

Hearing Herma’s voice sound smaller than before, it seemed he really was dying. Now, he didn’t feel much pain in his neck or shoulder blade. He just felt cold. He thought that too would get better soon.

“Apsara?”

Was it because death was near? It felt like he was hearing a voice he had only heard in dreams. That voice that called his mother’s name every night was as close as if it were real. Dandeleon tried to open his eyes, but his eyelids were too heavy. So he just gave up.

“Apsara!”

“Gack!”

“Wh—! Everyone…!”

When he closed his eyes, it seemed he could hear the sounds a little better. But it was much noisier around him than before. The sound of something crashing, screams, a voice shouting in an unknown language, and the sound of night insects all tangled together indiscriminately.

The loudest sound of all was his own breathing. It was louder than all the other sounds of the world combined.

Dandeleon breathed in and out. He tried to inhale again, but no air came in.

It was quiet. He liked that, at least.

Dandeleon opened his eyes.

“Uh…?”

The night sky filled his vision. Countless stars sparkled, and the round moon hanging in the western sky was slightly chipped on one side.

A gentle breeze blew, rustling his hair. Only then did Dandeleon realize his forehead was damp. His body felt as heavy as waterlogged cotton. His back and legs were especially stiff.

Well, of course. I just kept walking through that narrow, suffocating underground passage….

Dandeleon abruptly sat up and looked behind him. He saw the massive wall of the royal palace that had imprisoned him for nearly ten years.

Lowering his gaze slightly, there was a shabby-looking hole in the weed-covered ground, as if a wild dog had dug it carelessly. The secret passage connected to the Celeste Domain. Dandeleon had barely escaped using this place.

‘After I escaped, then what?’

An alarm bell rang in Dandeleon’s head. His heart raced and he became short of breath, as if facing a threat.

He had the illusion that everything before his eyes was moving very slowly.

Dandeleon placed his right hand on his left shoulder. And then he lay back down.

Slowly, very slowly, his upper body fell toward the ground.

Just before Dandeleon’s head hit the ground, something grazed past his face at incredible speed.

Thud.

Dandeleon fell to the ground, gasping for breath. His heart was pounding as if he had run a full sprint. There was a dull sound from behind him. It was the sound of the thing that had flown past his face hitting something.

‘An arrow….’

Dandeleon recalled an arrow thicker and larger than a decent spear. The moment it had lodged in his shoulder, and the one who had walked toward him holding a giant bow.

No one had told him, but Dandeleon knew. That was an arrow shot at him just now, and that this time, it had missed.

‘Herma is coming.’

Without realizing it, Dandeleon was trembling. Just the thought of Herma approaching him made fear well up. He wanted to run away immediately, but a remaining shred of reason scolded him to think calmly.

‘If I get up, I’ll become a target. That’s why I was hit by the arrow last time.’

Dandeleon pressed his left shoulder firmly. The fact that there was no pain gave him a little hope.

‘I have to stay as close to the ground as possible and go back into the underground passage….’

“I thought it missed.”

“He must have fallen because he was hit, right?”

Dandeleon covered his mouth with both hands. He felt like he would let out a scream otherwise.

Several tall shadows were approaching. He could barely hear their footsteps. If they hadn’t been conversing, he wouldn’t have noticed until they were right in front of him.

“The timing of when he fell was a bit strange….”

Even if he couldn’t hear the others, Herma’s voice came through distinctly. It was closer than he’d thought. Dandeleon’s heart raced. He turned his body with the smallest movements possible and lay flat on his stomach.

“Wait, something moved.”

But Herma keenly noticed even that movement. Dandeleon froze. He couldn’t decide whether to move now or stay still as if dead.

Everything became quiet. Dandeleon heard a clattering sound from the direction where Herma stood. He heard Herma take a breath, and then a soft sound like something bending.

Dandeleon knew intuitively. Right now, Herma was holding his bow and aiming at him. If he moved even a little, an arrow would fly. Last time it was his shoulder, but if that thick arrow were aimed at his head or neck, Dandeleon would surely die.

How long did the breathless standoff last? After a period of time that felt like hours to Dandeleon but was probably only a few seconds.

“Captain!”

A scream was heard from a distance.

“Lovarhen?!”

Herma whipped his body around and shot an arrow toward where the scream had come from.

Dandeleon did not miss that moment. He didn’t know the situation, but now was his chance, while Herma’s and Tuella Deum’s attention was directed elsewhere. Dandeleon desperately crawled on the ground and threw himself into the Celeste Domain’s secret passage.

“Kuhk…!”

His upper body fell in first, and pain shot through his arms, shoulders, and even his face. But there was no time to cry out. Dandeleon quickly got up and pressed the switch on the ceiling. The stone door moved slowly and finally clicked shut without a gap.

“Hah… hah….”

Dandeleon was left in complete darkness. Meanwhile, some sort of commotion was happening above his head.

“Crazy…! This…!”

“Anarel! Magic! Use magic!”

“Captain!”

It seemed no one had noticed that Dandeleon had disappeared. Or rather, it was more like they weren’t in a situation to care about such things. Dandeleon leaned against the wall and looked up at the darkness above his head with a confused expression.

‘What is happening?’

“Leon?”

Dandeleon felt his heart drop. He was so startled that he jumped and ended up hitting his head on the ceiling.

“Ugh….”

“Leon!”

When Dandeleon let out a groan, the voice of someone calling him grew louder, and then urgent footsteps approached. The footsteps were coming not from above his head, but from the far end of the secret passage.

Dandeleon rubbed the throbbing back of his head and looked toward the end of the passage. Something hazy and white was flickering.

“Leon…! You’re safe!”

The one who appeared from the end of the corridor was Kellewen. Two hazy spheres of light were floating around him. They looked like fireflies, but they were bigger and fainter.

“…Is that magic?”

Dandeleon asked in a stupid voice. Even he knew there were other things he should have asked first, but he was so flabbergasted that he just blurted out what he saw.

Instead of answering, Kellewen suddenly pulled him into a fierce hug.

“Leon….”

Kellewen called his name like a man possessed, feeling Dandeleon’s head, shoulders, back, and chest. It was as if he was trying to confirm that the person in his arms was really Dandeleon.

“You’re not hurt, are you? You’re safe, right? Please, answer me, Leon.”

“I’m safe.”

Only after Dandeleon said that did Kellewen’s face finally brighten. With a trembling hand, he lifted Dandeleon’s hand and kissed it.