Is it wrong for me to like seeing the villain suffer [35]
His voice, even if it was a whisper, was so firm that it made me stop searching.
‘…I also want to see.’
But Arkell pulled me closer to his chest, so my face was buried in his solid chest, and I had no way to know what was going on except through his voice and the voices of the knights.
“Maintain the formation. The priority is to protect the lady-”
The ground shook with the knights' quick steps, then a heavy silence fell, as if they were in a cautious confrontation.
“…….”
“…….”
From under his chest pressed against my ear, I could clearly hear Arkell's thunderous heartbeat.
I don't know if it was because he was nervous about facing the undead, or for some other reason, but his pulse was faster than usual.
I heard one of the knights ask in a low voice:
“Sir, what are your directions?”
Arkell replied coldly:
“We wait.”
This means that the undead have not made any movement yet.
‘So… they have no intention of attacking us at the moment.’
It seems that Arkell thought the same thing, as he said calmly and in a steady voice:
“Do you understand my words?”
His voice was firm, testing the possibility of communicating with the undead.
“…….”
“…….”
Silence fell again.
Not a sound was heard, but the tension among the knights surrounding us was palpable.
Arkle said again:
“I asked you if you understood what I said.”
“…….”
Then, just when we thought there was no point, a slow but clear hoarse voice rang out:
“It seems... dialogue is not possible...”
“For a long time... I haven't seen a living being... human.”
I gasped in surprise, and my head turned on its own.
"H... Did you hear, sir? He... he's talking!"
"Oh, my God…!"
Shouts of astonishment rose around us, and there was even a muffled scream, but Arkell remained as calm as ever.
“Good then, if communication is possible that makes it easier.”
“You…a strange being…hahaha…”
A thick, intermittent laugh came from the mouth of the living dead man, as if he was surprised by Arkell's coldness.
But Arkle ignored him and replied in a voice devoid of any emotion:
“I'll be direct. Not long ago, a human infiltrated this place.”
“…….”
“We are looking for him. If you tell us where he is, we will not do you any harm, and we will leave quietly.”
“…….”
No response came.
Arkel added:
“Did you know there was a human hiding here?”
“...We can only... know. Of course we know.”
“And do you know where he is?”
“We know...yes.”
“Are you the one hiding him?”
“Hahaha…Hide it? Funny question. Why would we do that? Hahaha…”
It was a sarcastic laugh tinged with contempt.
But Arkell did not care and continued in his steady tone:
"It's better then. Tell us where he is right now."
“…….”
“If you are not hiding it, then it is none of your business.”
“…….”
There was a short silence, then the reply came in a low voice:
“As you say...it's none of our business.”
“…….”
“But… we have no reason to tell you.”
The knights all shook with dissatisfaction, and whispering began among them:
“What nonsense is this?! Sir, they are undoubtedly lying! They are the ones hiding that charlatan!”
“Right. Since things have come to this, we will use force—”
'This is not permissible.'
I quickly tried to turn around, and Erkel said calmly:
“Ma’am.”
When I moved my body, Erkel lowered his head to meet my eyes, but this time I did not avoid his gaze.
“We shouldn't fight, Arkell. They don't seem to intend to attack us, so why should we start shedding blood?”
“…….”
“I will try to talk to them.”
Arkle watched me silently, seeming to realize my resolve just as he had when he wanted to protect me.
“…….”
“Trust me, just as I trust you.”
His hand, which had been tightly holding my shoulder, relaxed, and I was finally able to break free from his embrace, but Erkel did not let me move freely. Rather, he remained close behind me, holding the hilt of his sword, as if there was a solid wall standing behind my back.
'That's okay.'
I finally turned my head to face the undead, and when my eyes fell on the creature across from the fountain, I felt as if my breath had froze.
‘……’
The man's face was pale and bloodless, and he no longer looked like a living being.
His eyes were so cloudy that their original color could not be distinguished, like the eyes of a decomposing corpse under water.
As for his left forehead, the skin was falling off, and his brain was protruding outward. His body was rotting and decaying, but it was frighteningly alive.
“…Wow.”
He muttered as if talking to himself, and the dead man smiled distortedly and issued a harsh laugh:
“Kekeke, yes, just like that, the soul usually comes out like this. Rarely is someone as coherent as you, this is the first time—”
He was pointing at Arkell, but suddenly I shouted:
"So by now, all the zombie movies shouldn't have paid!! They're not even worth real zombie foot dust!"
Her voice filled with excitement rose, and the eyes of Arkle and the knights turned to me, but everything seemed to me as if nothing existed in front of me except the most amazing zombie I had ever seen in my life.
'I can't believe it, this is the reward. All the effort to convince Martha was worth it. Ah… I feel like I can die in peace now…’
I kept focusing on the dead man in amazement, until he seemed a little hesitant and said:
“It seems like you've lost your mind... You've gone crazy with fear. Kiki.”
“Don't move without thinking.”
Arkell gripped the sword tightly, and I quickly moved forward to stand between us.
"No! I'm fully conscious! I'm not afraid, I'm happy!"
“Happy?”
“Yes, I like you...”
Of course the living dead did not understand my words, so I carefully followed to choose the words that might reach them:
“I mean, I think you're… cool.”
She was honest.
His expression froze for a moment as if he couldn't believe it.
“Have you decided to use another trick?”
"No way! Do you think I'm lying?"
I focused my attention entirely on him to convey my sincerity.
His gaze wavered slightly.
"What?!"
“…Do you think this expression is fear?”
“…….”
“I'm being honest, really!”
I widened my eyes at him, and annoyance appeared on his features at my fixed gaze directly on him.
“That's enough, don't stare like that... You don't seem afraid. Are you being sarcastic then?”
One of the knights shouted:
"Be careful with your words! She's not like that! She always forgives my brother when he makes mistakes, she's an angel!"
The other knights began to echo their objections loudly.
'Haha, it's starting again.'
I looked at Arkle to ask him to calm them down, but he remained silent, looking at the dead man.
His face was expressionless, but the tightness of his mouth revealed some discomfort, while a strange feeling appeared in his eyes...
'Is it because I said it was great? No, I just mean it from the heart of a fan!'
I ignored these thoughts and refocused on the dead man.
“Anyway, trust me, I am not afraid of you, nor am I underestimating you. Believe me.”
“…….”
“And I am serious when I ask for your help.”
She stared at him with serious eyes, devoid of a smile:
“It is true that the matter has nothing to do with you, as I mentioned, but if you help me, I will reward you honestly. Within the limits of my ability, I will fulfill any request you desire.”
“…….”
The living dead man turned slowly and said:
“What are you going to fulfill, you said?... It would have been better not to take out of your mouth a promise that you cannot fulfill from the beginning...”
His face distorted, he became breathing hard, and he spoke quickly:
"The only thing we want here, is complete death. Nothing else... We've had nothing for over a hundred years. Our decaying bodies, our fading memories... We've lost everything, but we can't disappear completely."
“…….”
“Now, we don't even feel sadness. This is how it has been for a long time.”
I stared into his eyes, and what seemed to me was all too familiar: absolute desperation.
“I don't even have a reason to live... Is it possible that I have a reason to fulfill the demand of these intruders?”
His staccato words fell slowly, but somehow I understood them, and they seemed sad to me.
As I was the one who was lying in the hospital bed, I did not want treatment as much as I was looking for a reason to continue receiving it.
“Are you able to satisfy such desires as we have?”
“...It's impossible, but...”
I smiled slightly, took the magic recording device that I had transformed into my hand, and said firmly:
“Whatever you need, I will give you. The feeling of life...this is entertainment.”
“Entertainment...what?”
“Trust me, I will gather all the villagers here. I will make you feel alive.”
The living dead man looked at me in astonishment, and I held the device tightly and smiled confidently:
“I will make you experience the ultimate entertainment.”
****
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