NOVEL WEB Chapter 1
In the dead of night, a man lay awake while the rest of the world slept.
Damien sat at the edge of his bed with a vacant expression, a faint smile playing on his face as he stared into empty space, muttering curses under his breath.
“Damn it.”
His words carried more weight than they seemed.
“Huh.”
With a troubled look, Damien sighed and winced from a pounding headache.
Surely, it was from drinking himself into a stupor.
The smell of alcohol was strong about him, causing him to grimace as he slapped his cheeks to clear his thoughts.
Snap. The sharp sound of his hand meeting his cheek and the subsequent stinging sensation barely woke him from his haze when…
“Mmm.”
A pleasant voice reached his ears.
“…!”
Damien froze with the guilt of a thief caught in the act.
Creak.
He turned his head stiffly, like an old, creaky robot, to the corner where a bed was situated.
“Haaam~”
On the bed slept a striking, ash-haired woman in a semi-nude state, her deep slumber accompanied by a strong scent of alcohol.
A rare beauty.
A woman of remarkable and uncommon grace.
Yet, despite her allure and partially-exposed form, Damien’s gaze remained composed.
“Nothing to be shocked about at this point. We’ve already seen it all.”
He appraised her form with a dispassionate eye, momentarily admiring her beauty before shaking his head and smirking slightly.
Just a simple toss and turn, perhaps.
It didn’t seem like the worst-case scenario.
The woman shivered, letting out a slight groan before settling back into a peaceful sleep. Watching this, Damien released a sigh of relief and silently approached the bed, careful not to wake her as he gently pulled the blanket up to her shoulders.
Confirming that she was comfortably bundled up and sporting a content smile, Damien finally relaxed and muttered to himself.
“Sleep talking, huh?”
His gaze now carried an uncharacteristic tenderness as he looked down at the sleeping figure.
“…I never expected things to turn out this way, that I ended up doing this terrible thing to you.”
He scratched his head sheepishly and offered an apologetic smile.
“Sorry, truly.”
An apology without clear meaning.
With an expression of guilt, Damien stared at the woman whose peaceful sleep seemed interrupted by a faint frown.
Sweat beaded on her forehead as she slept uneasily. Damien gently wiped the sweat and tenderly caressed her cheek.
As if handling delicate porcelain, Damien acted with utmost care.
“If I had known it would come to this, I wouldn’t have embraced you even when drunk.”
All I’ve done is given you unnecessary heartache. Really, I’m no better than trash.
With a despondent expression, Damien muttered to himself. He took out a letter he had written earlier, a phial of holy water made from unicorn tears, and a potion that erased memories of specific individuals, placing them on the nearby desk before dragging a chair over and sitting down.
Silently, he took in her appearance: her delicate face, pale and fine skin, curvaceous figure that stirred the heart, narrow waist, her signature ash-colored hair flowing down her back, and the closed lids hiding her violet eyes.
A face that one couldn’t help but be captivated by.
This woman.
Damien had truly fallen in love with her, the exception to his usual aloofness.
“Letica.”
Leticia Riciancia.
Her name.
The eldest daughter of the North Grand Duke, a renowned warrior wielding magic, and the pride of the snowy plains, hailed as a great mage.
“Isn’t that right, Lady of Ashes?”
Whenever you drank, you would always grin foolishly out of place and demanded to be praised.
With a faint smile reminiscent of old memories, Damien chuckled slightly.
Despite the discomfort, Leticia’s every movement elicited a warmth in Damien’s eyes.
“Unfortunately, I won’t get to see that smile anymore.”
Alas, Damien sighed softly.
“If I had met you sooner, in my ‘original’ world, I wouldn’t have hesitated to log out of this place and return to Earth.”
But, Damien continued, gently stroking Leticia’s hair.
“Since finding myself entangled with you, knowing how deeply our lives have intertwined, this forced logout feels like the cruellest irony.”
With bottled-up frustration, Damien let out the words he had been suppressing.
His tear-filled face appeared deeply sorrowful.
A tear traced down his cheek, landing on Leticia’s and dampening the bed. He wiped it away with his hand.
“I’m sorry – such a pathetic man as me. So, please, erase all memories of me.”
Forget about Damian Redius, this character I’ve created within the game, from your mind.
I wish you would forget about me forever.
Former member of the Hero Party, Damian Redius the Demonic Ghost, never existed for you.
“Only then can I leave without any lingering attachments.”
My selfishness until the end, I apologize, sincerely.
Damien removed his hand that had been caressing the woman’s cheek, a look of reluctance and nostalgia evident in his actions.
The woman who was kind enough to reach out to a nameless killer known as the ‘Murder Demon.’
The woman who made me first accept this world as a reality, not just a game.
The mysterious woman who became dear to me without my realization, who I wanted by my side.
The woman who, though cold and silent, was endlessly kind and caring toward her friends and comrades.
That’s the kind of woman you were.
Ding!
Damien glanced at the system window that appeared with a bright sound, his face expressionless. It was time to return.
[Quest Clears]
[The lead character joins the Hero Party and raises the affinity with them over 80%, and banishes the Demon King seeking to destroy the world.]
[Reward: Escape from the game, return to reality.]
[Failure: Death, and the annihilation of the body in the real world.]
A quest window familiar to Damien, one he had already cleared.
[Affinity]
[Leticia Riciancia (female, Love & Affection): 100%]
[Leo Starfield (male, Friend&Comrade): 100%]
[Chloe Grace (female, Friend&Comrade): 100%]
[Irina Saintean (female, Comrade): 90%]
A familiar affinity window.
All of them exceeded the 80% required by the quest.
The only concern was Irina who had reached only 90%, but given her nature, this was already quite generous.
[Player ‘Damien Redius’ has successfully banished the Demon King, clearing all quests assigned in this world.]
A voice as devoid of life as inorganic matter.
Damien shrugged his shoulders slightly.
“I should have fled with Leticia instead of banishing the Demon King.”
No, escaping together wouldn’t have changed the fate of the world’s destruction anyway.
“The world would have met its end anyway.”
No matter what path he took, he was destined to part with her.
“The gods are truly heartless.”
Didn’t they reward me for defeating the Demon King? If they saw this moving love story, they very well could have let me stay in this gaming world.
Of course, no gods were listening.
[Forced Log-Out Timer: 00:30:00]
A mere 30 minutes remained; that was how much time was left in this world.
Damien couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.
“Log-out, log-out.”
Originally, Damien would have seen a ‘Cannot Log Out’ message and been duped, but now, without hesitation, they were outright kicking him out.
Are you just going to throw me away? That’s a foul tone indeed.
“Nameless brat who threw me into this place, may you step on dog poop every morning for the rest of your life and regret it eternally.”
May you lose all your fortune to gambling.
After cursing for a while, Damien made to rise, his expression showing that none of this mattered anyway.
If not for the hand holding onto his sleeve.
Surprised, Damien looked down to see Leticia gripping his sleeve in her sleep.
Attempting to carefully detach her hand without waking her, Damien’s efforts were met with an even tighter grip.
“I just want to take a little refreshing outdoor breeze.”
Damien murmured with a wry smile.
“…Damien, please don’t go. I implore you, don’t leave me alone. Don’t abandon me… I can’t… without you.”
As if caught in a nightmare, she whispered, drenched in cold sweat. Damien knew it was sleep-talk. Yet, for some reason, he couldn’t let it pass easily.
Damien’s face hardened as he heard her pleading. The ever-stoic façade disappeared.
Feeble and weak.
Whereas her grip on his sleeve was firm, the words she uttered were pitiful.
His fingertips trembled. Struggling to find his voice, Damien finally spoke.
“I’m sorry. Please forget every memory you have of me.”
Seemingly cold, but the time was running out.
This was right. Holding onto lingering attachments and regrets would only inflict pain on both her and himself.
It was better to part as mere acquaintances who crossed paths briefly.
Clutching her hand with a self-imposed restraint, Damien broke his gaze with the sleeping Leticia.
“Aaaah…!”
As Leticia sighed, Damien turned away and was greeted by an unexpected figure.
At the end of the corridor, the Hero, Leo Starfield leant against the wall, shaking several bottles of alcohol and called out to Damien.
“You got time?”
“…30 minutes.”
“Plenty. Perfect amount of time to have a final drink before you leave.”
The sole comrade who knew Damien’s secrets, even ones Leticia didn’t know.
The strongest Hero of this age approached Damien and peered closely into his face, muttering.
“Did you…?”
“…What?”
“Did you go all out in there? It was loud enough to be heard in the next room!”
Damien was caught off guard by the brash question, causing Leo’s expression to become serious.
“Did you? And you didn’t even bother with birth control in Leticia?”
“What the hell are you talking about, you bastard?!”
“Since you’re cussing, it means you did! Ow! Stop hitting me, it hurts, you idiot!”
“Deserve it, bastard! I shouldn’t have expected sympathy from the likes of you anyway!”
This idiot hero hasn’t changed since the old days, brash and crude. Maybe that’s why this goodbye feels even more painful, knowing I’ll never feel this camaraderie again.