[It seems this human has completely lost his sense of self.]
[It seems this human has completely lost his sense of self.]
“What?”
Startled by Dolens’ words, I looked at Nathaniel again. There was nothing restraining him now. Dolens must have completely destroyed the things that firmly held his body in place, as well as the mental spell.
“Didn’t you remove all the spells?”
I asked, wondering if Dolens had made a mistake. Dolens reacted with a shudder, as if I had accused him of a great offense.
[I wouldn’t make such a foolish mistake!]
“Then he can’t come to his senses even after the spell is broken?”
[That seems to be the case. Perhaps he has lost all sense of self due to the long-standing spell and brainwashing…]
“Is there no way to restore him, then?”
[Hmm, I don’t know about that. That’s not my area.]
“Hmm.”
When I thought about it, Nathaniel was a child who had been forcibly injected with excessive divine power and brainwashed for a long time at the temple. Even if the spell was broken, it would be difficult for him to live as he did before. But I had expected him to at least regain some of his consciousness; I hadn’t anticipated that it would be this hard to even have a proper conversation with him.
“Whew, what should I do?”
“…”
I carefully examined Nathaniel, who had his eyes half-open. His eyes weren’t as white as his hair. They were a bit darker, a light gray color, unlike his hair. They looked even darker now because they were unfocused. I let out a sigh and stood up.
[Why don’t you try asking that guy?]
“Which guy?”
Dolens suggested, seeing me in a dilemma. But I just tilted my head, not understanding his words. Dolens continued in a casual tone.
[Ilness, I mean. Mental spells are his specialty.]
“Ilness?”
Then I suddenly remembered the jewel demon I had gotten from Marquis Blair before coming to the mansion. I quickly rummaged through my clothes and took out the radiant gem. It was the fourth jewel demon, the second black gem, an onyx. The demon’s name was Ilness.
“Okay.”
According to Dolens, Ilness might be able to heal Nathaniel. Having made up my mind, I carefully kissed the black gem.
“Ilness?”
But the gem was silent. I frowned and waited for a moment, remembering what had happened with Vivi, but there was still no reaction.
“What’s wrong with him?”
[Hmm, he seems to be in a very deep sleep. And he’s always been a slow one to react.]
“Oh.”
I suddenly recalled what Desmond and Vivi had said. They also didn’t have a good reaction to Ilness. Vivi had even said something like it was strange that Ilness even existed.
“But it’s a problem if he doesn’t wake up.”
I pondered for a moment and then squeezed the gem tightly. The demons that had been released from their seals were surprisingly weak to physical blows, as their main bodies were the gems themselves.
“He’s still not waking up…”
But Ilness was a truly stubborn one. No matter how tightly I squeezed the gem, he didn’t even respond. It was when I was struggling and tapping the gem that…
[Yawn, what is it? You’ve been bothering me since a moment ago…]
“…”
A lazy voice echoed in my head. His tone was very slow and annoyed. I frowned and asked, “Are you Ilness?”
[Hmm, yes…]
“Then let’s make a contract…”
[…]]
“Ilness?”
Is he falling asleep again? The response disappeared after just a few words. I was dumbfounded, and I looked down at Ilness and slammed the gem against the floor.
“Hey, are you going to wake up?!”
[Ow, that hurts.]
“You can feel pain?”
I got angry for a moment and my voice rose. Then, remembering that I had to be careful even in a deserted place, I managed to calm myself down.
“Whew, get a grip.”
[Alright, alright…]
Ilness grumbled in his reply. But at least now we could have a proper conversation.
‘All the demons have different personalities, but this is the first time I’ve met one like this.’
Desmond, Vivi, and even Dolens had unique personalities, but none of them were as strange as Ilness. I tried to hide my flustered feelings and continued.
“You’ll make a contract with me, won’t you?”
[Ah, that’s a bother…]
“…”
[Sigh, I guess I have no choice.]
Ilness, who had no intention of hiding his true feelings, let out a long sigh. He seemed genuinely bothered. I also didn’t want to cling to someone who disliked it this much, but the situation was urgent. I pointed my finger forward and said to Ilness, “Let’s make a contract later, and please fix him first.”
[Hmm?]
A faint gray smoke wafted in the direction of my pointed finger. Other demons also moved like that when they left their main body or their bodies, but Ilness’s movements were especially slow.
[What is this guy? He’s not normal, is he?]
“That’s right. He lost his sense of self after being under a brainwashing spell for a long time.”
[Hmm.]
“Dolens said you could fix him, is that true?”
Ilness floated around Nathaniel, deep in thought. After a moment, Ilness, who had been observing Nathaniel, spoke again.
[Well, I can get him to regain consciousness.]
“Is that really true?”
[Yeah.]
“How?”
[By eating it.]
“…What?”
Eating it? Eating him?
I looked at Ilness with a flustered expression. But Ilness, who had answered nonchalantly, didn’t seem to want to give me any more details. Is he talking about eating Nathaniel’s body or something? What kind of demon is this?
Dolens, seeing my confusion, reprimanded him.
[Ilness, if you talk like that, our master will misunderstand you.]
[Oh, is that so?]
[You always leave out the subject and talk only for your own convenience, tsk tsk.]
Dolens, clicking his tongue, spoke to me instead of Ilness this time.
[Ilness’s ability is, to put it simply, absorption. And he can also spread what he’s absorbed.]
“Absorption?”
[Especially things like this spell, and in this human’s case, he was injected with an excessive amount of divine power, so it would be effective to eat that too.]
“Huh? You guys can eat divine power?”
I was surprised and asked, knowing how much Desmond and Vivi had struggled inside the temple. But then I remembered that Dolens had been moving around just fine inside the temple.
As expected, Dolens replied with a tone full of pride.
[Hmph, weak red gem fellows might have a problem, but we don’t.]
“Oh, I see.”
[Especially this fellow, Ilness, has a hobby of eating strange things, so he loves to absorb divine power and make it his own.]
“I-I see. That’s good.”
To be able to deliciously eat divine power, which was their opposite, Ilness was indeed not an ordinary being. When I nodded with a slightly disgusted look on my face, Ilness asked in an excited tone.
[So I can eat it?]
“Um, yes.”
Ilness seemed to have more energy than before. He had been so bothered when I woke him up, but eating spells and divine power seemed to excite him.
[Hmm, it tastes like I’d die if I ate too much. It’s delicious.]
“…”
He was even giving a detailed taste review while eating the divine power. Knowing how much Desmond and Vivi had suffered from the divine power, it felt even more bizarre.
Is he really okay? I became anxious as I saw the white haze slowly leaving Nathaniel’s body.
[Burp, that was a good meal after a long time.]
“Did you eat it all?”
[No, I’d die if I ate it all.]
“I-I see.”
It seemed divine power was indeed their opposite. So, is he like a person who enjoys eating poison?
“…”
I was speechless for a moment, looking at the satisfied Ilness, then shook my head. In any case, it was more important for Nathaniel to regain consciousness right now.
“So, is he going to wake up now?”
[I don’t know that either.]
“…”
[This guy, his way of speaking to his master is terrible. Just wait a little while. He’ll wake up soon.]
Frustrated with Ilness’s gruff reply, Dolens scolded him and spoke to me instead. I nodded at his words and waited. It would be a problem if it took too long and Veronica found out.
As I waited anxiously, Nathaniel’s half-closed eyes opened.
“Huh?”
“…”
Had he finally come to his senses? I watched him with expectant eyes, and finally, Nathaniel’s lips slowly moved.
“…ma’am.”
“Hmm?”
“…ma’am?”
“What did you say?”
But I couldn’t hear his voice well. When I frowned and bent down, I could finally hear Nathaniel’s voice.
“…Angel?”
“Huh?”
What is he saying now?
I looked at Nathaniel with a flustered expression.
