Salvos (A Monster Evolution LitRPG)

612. Perdition Part Three

The vision came to an end. I hadn’t seen all of it clearly— a lot of it was a blur, barely even comprehensible to me. But I felt the emotions my dad had felt back then. It was numbing. But my heart ached, and my mind spun in confusion.

It was almost too much for me.

And I knew… I just knew that the feelings the Devil had conveyed were muted. Diluted. It was not the raw sense of betrayal he had been overcome with at the time. He had purposefully filtered it through a lens for me. Perhaps it was even for himself.

I didn’t know whether that was true. I didn’t even know how to react. I stood there in stunned silence as the Devil’s memory came to an end. He raised his hand, continuing his soliloquy, his words echoing in my pocket space as the white flames of the Beast burned around us.

“I do not wish to relive these memories, my dear daughter. They are from a time long before now— when I was a different person. When I bore a different sin.”

I honestly wasn’t sure how much time had passed since we started our conversation. But the lake of fire beneath us no longer burned as brightly as before. Had it only been a day? A few hours? A few minutes? A few days?

When I was lost in my dad’s memories, I lost track of time. It could have happened all in an instant. Or time could have passed just as it did in reality. Or it might have been like when I was asleep— even if I didn’t sleep often— where it was hard to gauge how much time had passed.

Either way, living through the Devil’s history had exhausted me. It wasn’t just an emotional drain, but seeing that battle… it was even more intense that the duel between the Beast and [The Great Agarus].

Even though there were only a hundred Worldwalkers there, each one was probably as strong as the Beast— maybe even stronger!

With the combined effort of the Nexeus back then, perhaps they could have prevailed. Especially with all the Lesser Gods that had been around at the time. But right now? I wanted to laugh, knowing what I had seen.

Perhaps the Spirit Plane was different. I didn’t know much about the Spirit Lord, nor did I know anything about what he was doing. There was also the Fairy Queen, and supposedly, she was quite powerful. But both the Mortal Realm and the Netherworld were really lackluster compared to the Nexeus of old.

And the fact was— they were defeated by the end of the world. They couldn’t stop the corruption. The world was still ending, and now they were all gone. My dad’s kingdom. All the Dragons. Even the Centinels were forced to flee to Secely.

The world was going to end. And it was all—

“It was all my fault.”

Sal whispered as he raised his head. I blinked, hearing the thought finish not in my head, but from my dad’s words. I placed a hand on my chest, feeling this heavy weight pulling me down. It was… guilt.

A sense of guilt that I never felt before. One that belonged to the Devil— one that spurred me to blame him for the unending wall of corruption that was making its way through the Second Layer of the Netherworld.

I bit my lower lip as he shook his head.

“I caused the end of the world, my dear daughter. I understand that I am wrong for that. However, you cannot blame me for believing in a man I thought was my master.”

Sal raised his head, sighing melancholically.

“I trusted Trico with more than just my life. I trusted him with the entire world. Because he was the only reason I was alive. So I thought he cared for me. I thought he saw me as his own child.”

There was no vision here. Just the Devil’s wistful words. But when I heard it, I could feel the pain he felt. It rang— like echoes of the emotions he shared from his memories.

“Perhaps it was my fault that the world is ending. Maybe I should not have been so egotistical to believe that I was the one who killed Via— how could I possibly think that I was the one who slew a Worldwalker? I was a mere Lesser Demon. It was so foolish of me to have thought I was capable of anything at that moment other than acting as a distraction.”

Sal ground his teeth together. Another new emotion I had never seen him express. Frustration— not anger, but just sheer frustration.

His lips quivered, and he took a step back. He turned away from me as he placed a hand on his chest.

“But I cannot be blamed for failing to see through the lies of the Trickster’s thousand-year-plan. You can blame the Dragons. You can blame the Spirits. But you cannot blame me for that.”

The Devil finished as he closed his eyes. I stared at him— I peered into his back, before I looked back down at myself. The weight inside of me remained. It still compelled me to condemn my dad.

And yet, I didn’t remember this feeling when I approached him earlier. It only came to me progressively with each vision I was shown. I thought it was a result from seeing his memories— I thought that I was condemning him for knowing what he had done wrong.

But I realized now that was wrong. Slowly, I rose to my feet. My dad didn’t react. He didn’t even notice me as I walked up to him. He only realized I was there when I was standing right behind him.

He covered his face as he tried to turn away from me.

“Oh, I know how you feel. I know you think I’m in the wrong. But—”

And I poked the Devil on the side. He blinked, breaking out of his pit of self-pity for a moment to stare at me.

“I don’t actually think it’s your fault the world is ending.”

I spoke simply, before crossing my arms. My dad slowly looked me up and down as I continued.

“You’re the one who is blaming yourself— you’re the one who’s drowning yourself in your own guilt. I can literally feel it.”

I didn’t know if it was a byproduct of Sal’s magic that showed his memories, or if it was something else. Perhaps he might have had a Skill that was similar to [Truth Divination]. Whatever it was, it was bleeding into my emotions, and it was making me want to condemn him even though I knew I didn’t want to.

The Devil opened his mouth, then closed his mouth for a moment. He shook his head and turned around like a feisty child.

“You were the one who came out swinging, accusing me of causing the end of the world!”

“That’s true.”

I placed a hand on my chin as Sal harrumphed. I waved a hand dismissively, explaining my thought process.

“I only said it because that’s what I was told. Or that’s what I heard. Or something. I don’t exactly remember. But I asked you about it because I wanted to hear the truth from you.”

I watched as the Devil pursed his lips. He looked like he wanted to avert his gaze from me, but I stared deep into his eyes— not the eyes of Samuel the Devil KIng, but the black eyes of Sal, my father.

“And after hearing everything you’ve said, I don’t think it’s your fault.”

His eyes went wide, and I continued.

“You were tricked. You were manipulated since you were a Lesser Demon. So you can’t possibly be the one to blame for the end of the world. And neither are the Dragons or the Spirits or anyone. There is only one person at fault—”

I raised a finger, punctuating my point.

“—and it’s Trico’s fault.”

I finished as Sal stared at me. He paused for only a brief second, before pointing accusingly at me.

“You’re only saying that because you’re my daughter.”

I groaned, rolling my eyes.

“You’re not going to believe me no matter what I tell you, huh?”

“Well, of course. My daughter would be biased.”

The Devil snorted, crossing his arms. I turned around, facing the audience that had been there the entire time. Haec, Taburas, Bertrugil, and Aemula exchanged a glance.

“Well, what about you guys, then? Do you guys agree with my dad saying how he’s to blame here? Or do you agree with me when I say it’s not his fault?”

Haec hesitated. He scratched the back of his head, before answering.

“I believe it is a lot more nuanced than that, Salvos.”

Sal gestured emphatically at my companion.

“See! Even your brother agrees with you! Everyone thinks it’s my fault!”

I scowled, shooting Haec a glare. He gave me a helpless shrug. I turned back to the Devil with an exasperated sigh.

“Look, not everyone thinks it is your fault. I’m telling you, if you keep blaming yourself, all you’ll feel is pain and guilt.”

I spoke insistently as my dad raised a brow at me.

“Oh yeah? And who else knows the truth of what happened back then, but still doesn’t blame me now?”

It was a question that was meant to trap me— to stump me. He was grinning, not because he was proud of what he had done. He was grinning because he thought he had caught me and won the argument. But I was prepared for it.

I gave the Devil a quick response.

“Belphegor.”

And immediately, Sal froze. The grin on his face vanished as I held his gaze.

“Belphegor said it’s not your fault.”

“Oh.”

Was all the Devil could say.