I Reject the villain’s ending.

Episode 91.

‘Well, yeah. Well, a second home. You know what they say, the Cyanid Empire is home to Iros, so let’s get past that.’
‘Oh, right.’
Jozef agreed, nodding his head so hard that Diane dislocated it.
‘The Duchy of Halt is so off the beaten track that it’s hard to recognize it right away, so we’ll have to do a bit of research, but in the meantime, the Saint should be able to hold her own.’
‘Sierra…….’
‘Don’t worry, Mei. I thought you said you had plenty of food and supplies in your subspace pouch?’
‘That’s true, but…….’
‘If you’d fallen into a lava field, you’d have died instantly, but since you’ve fallen into the cold, there’s a chance you’ll survive, so trust me. The life of a tenacious saint.’
‘Yes. She’s survived many times before, so I’m sure she’ll make it through this one. Be strong.’
‘Come on, Guardian, we’ll find her soon enough.’
Iros nodded weakly, feeling everyone’s support and comfort.
‘Hopefully, we won’t be too late.’

* * *

A dimly lit underground common room.
The creaking of cuffs and chains echoed through the space.
Red eyes blurred through a mass of grey hair. Into that vision was Diego, a terrified expression on his face.
A rough, gravelly voice asked.
‘Moringa, why did you change the coordinates?’
‘You have no talent for magic, and when did you learn that?’
‘Answer the question. I will consider your treatment according to your answer.’
At first glance, the words sounded merciful, but Moringa, who knew Diego well, coughed up blood and smirked.
‘I guess you still haven’t decided whether you want to kill him by chopping him up, burying him, or burning him.’
‘…….’
‘You’re going to kill it one way or another, me.’
‘You don’t want to make her death more painful, so tell me, why did you twist your plan to drop her on the lava and change the coordinates to somewhere else?’
Diego’s jaw tightened at Moringa’s refusal to offer any excuses.
A low growl rumbled menacingly in his voice.
‘I didn’t give you a precious, superlative magic stone to send the Saint elsewhere. If she didn’t find out at the last minute, neither would I. Why did you betray me?’
Jess stared at Moringa for a moment, then looked at her angrily and whispered in a low voice.
‘…I’m sorry. I didn’t realize the Chief would be so angry.’
Looking at Jess, who had a few tears pooling in her large eyes, Moringa sighed softly, curled the corners of her mouth, and turned to Diego.
‘Betrayal. I was never on your side to begin with.’
‘Did you do this for your son?’
‘Shut up, he’s your son, too. I’ve always been on the side of the half-humans, not you.’
Diego’s eyes twitched uncomfortably at Moringa’s words as he smirked and crossed his legs.
‘So where did you send the holy woman.’
‘I’m not going to tell you.’
‘Moringa!’
‘Oh, you’re out of earshot. But don’t worry, I sent her to a place where she will surely die in time.’
‘Where is that?’
‘You’re not going to tell me?’
‘You……! Whoa-’
Diego slumped back in his chair, running a hand through his throbbing hair.
Just when he thought he had the perfect saint kill, Moringa had ruined it.
Even that stubborn Simbo has been triggered and refuses to tell him where she is.
Diego knew that once Moringa got her mind set on something, she wouldn’t be broken, no matter what, so he gave up trying to find out where she was.
‘When do you think she’s going to die?’ he asked, rubbing his tired face.
‘When do you think she’ll die, I suppose you’ll answer this.’
‘Two weeks. I’ll be dead in a week at the earliest.’
‘I can wait that long. You’re sure you’re going to die, right?’
‘Of course, I chose this place with great care and deliberation.’
Glaring at Moringa, who smirked savagely, Diego called for Jess and Raki.
At his call, the two half-man-half-horse came running like the wind, ears perking.
‘Jess, Raki.’
‘Yes, Chief, you wanted me?’
‘Yes, Chief…….’
‘You will stay with Moringa around the clock and keep watch. He will not be able to escape now that he is restrained, but I will not tolerate even the slightest possibility of escape.’
‘Yes-’
‘Understood, Chief.’
They narrowed their eyes and began to watch Moringa.
Diego tore his gaze away from Moringa and opened the worn book he always carried with him.
When Moringa saw it, he asked out of pure curiosity.
‘It’s one of those books you always read, isn’t it? The one with the red and green covers? Why do you always read the same one over and over again? It’s worn out and the title has faded.’
‘I don’t know.’
Diego replied nonchalantly, flipping through the crumbling pages.
It had been read and re-read in the hundred years since Oksana’s death, worn beyond any preservation spell.
She couldn’t tell how many thousands of times she’d read it, tens of thousands of times. He had already read and reread everything in it, but he kept going.
‘Hmmm. I can’t see it, but I like it. Throw that shit away.’
On the subject of being imprisoned and handcuffed, Moringa rambled on as usual, as if he had forgotten his situation.
I expected Diego to say something, but on a rare occasion, he spoke up.
‘Oksana wrote this book.’
‘……!’
‘It’s the only thing of hers that didn’t burn in the house the humans set on fire.’
At the mention of Oksana’s belongings, Moringa stared at the mournful wall and fell silent.
Diego, finally regaining his quiet peace, carefully flipped through the pages and resumed his reading.
‘She was a mage of the highest order, but she was also a writer and prophetess, and she loved to write.’
He murmured, something resembling a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth in reminiscence.
After that, there was silence, as if he hadn’t said anything at all.
Moringa leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes.
‘I hope I was not wrong in my decision. Child, it’s all up to you now.’
‘If the Saint dies as she is, that is fate, and if Iros finds her, that is fate.
Moringa could not betray the half-man-half-horse, nor could she see Iros, who resembled her dead son, lose his imprint and go mad like Diego.
‘I suppose my best interests cannot be served by everyone, so I’ll leave it to fate. Oksana, am I doing a good job?
Moringa shook himself out of his torture, remembering the woman he hated but could not hate.
Diego slammed the book shut and stood up. Raki looked up at him and opened his mouth.
‘Chief, where are you going?’
‘I’m going to the temple to get some things. Keep an eye out for me.’
‘Okay. But if you go to the temple now, won’t you run into something troublesome?’
Diego replied to Raki’s question, his eyes still looking into the same dark depths.
‘I won’t.’
With that, Diego scattered into the shadows and disappeared.
When he reappeared, he found the office empty, cold, and inorganic, with no sign of human life.
The same office where he had lived and worked day and night for twenty years as a deputy.
‘I’ve only been gone two days, and this much dust.’
Diego ran a wrinkled hand across the desk, which was covered in a thin layer of dust, and felt a chill.
Just then, he heard a voice from the doorway.
‘Do you feel a strange sense of skepticism about what you’ve left behind?’
‘Who is it?’
Diego looked up, not surprised, and a figure stepped out of the shadows, leaning silently against the wall by the door, arms folded.
‘A shield.’
It was Diane.
Dian walked over and stopped, his face as grave as Diego’s.
They were both so tall and massive that Diego felt as if they were looking at each other in a mirror.
‘Are you going to get me?’ he asked, his voice not at all urgent.
‘Are you going to catch me?’
‘You’re not going to catch me.’
‘Why are you here?’
‘I figured you’d come back for something you left behind, and now that there’s trouble brewing between the temple and the imperial court, this place is going to be neglected.’
Diane closed and opened her green eyes, muttering the last word in a low voice.
‘Grandfather.’
‘…….’
Diego’s expression faltered at the unfamiliarity of Diane’s title.
‘What did you say, just now?’
‘I said grandfather. I swear, in the fifteen years we’ve lived together in the temple, you’ve never recognized me, even though my name is Diane Emore.’
At Dean’s words, Diego still looked puzzled.
Then Dean clenched his fists, as if he hadn’t expected it, but wanted Diego to recognize him so badly.
‘My mother told me. My grandfather had a son with my grandmother that he didn’t want, and he didn’t like my father because of it.’
‘You, you can’t be’
Diego’s eyes widened slightly and he muttered in a low voice, and Diane gritted her teeth.
‘He’s your only son, and you can’t even remember his name, and that’s why you let him go when my father died?’
‘Emore. Emore’s son was alive. I heard that Emore died and the blood baby and his wife ran away.’
‘You knew and you turned a blind eye? My mother and me. My father.’
‘…….’
Diego’s expression broke completely as he unleashed all the resentment he’d been hiding and keeping to himself.
Diego cleared his throat, his voice breaking for a moment.
‘Me, big. How did you find me? What happened to your mother?’
‘You’ve always turned your back on her, and now you’re worried about her.’
Diane sneered coldly at Diego, who stiffened.
‘My mother was human and died at the end of her life, and I have a faint trace of demon blood in me, which took a long time to develop, so I’m still alive today. I suppose I should be grateful.’
Diego’s mouth fell open as if he had glue on his lips for the first time.
‘I’ve been searching for you ever since all my family died, and I thought maybe you’d remember me a little bit, maybe you’d welcome me since we’re blood, but as it turns out, you don’t even remember your father’s name.’
Muttering, ‘What did I expect,’ Diane turned away with a self-help smile.
Diego watched her receding backside and raised his hand impatiently.
‘Where are you going?’
‘I didn’t see you, so forget what I just said. My family is all dead now.’
‘Di……!’
A bang.
‘…An.’
After the door slammed shut Diane disappeared completely. Diego stood dumbfounded for a long moment, alone in his dusty office.