I Want To Die One Day Before You - Chapter 81
07_The story of Rufus, a human, and Iruel, a demon
He lost consciousness.
Darkness descended. So thick, he couldn’t see even an inch ahead.
From within the tiresome darkness, he heard a low voice speaking.
“Odr, are you alright?”
“I am, Your Majesty the Demon King.”
“What a mess, this body.”
“As you can see. Your Majesty, if it’s not too much trouble, could you pick up my arm for me?”
“Here it is.”
“Thank you. Ah, it’s fortunate I’m a witch. As long as Your Majesty lives, I won’t die, even if my body is torn apart…”
“That goes without saying. Odr, you serve me as a witch. As long as I am well, so shall you be.”
“Yes, I understand. However… Lord Rufus seems to be in a bit of a pinch right now.”
“What has become of Rufus, that human?”
“Well, as you can see… he’s sustained a fatal wound. To be precise, his heart has been pierced.”
“Poor thing. A sword has pierced his left heart. Is the other heart alright?”
“Humans only have one heart, Your Majesty.”
“Is that so? Truly a primitive species.”
“Yes, and a pitiful species that lives for only about 80 years at best.”
“So what happens to the human Rufus now?”
“If we leave him be, he will die. If Your Majesty would enslave him as a witch, perhaps he could live.”
What on earth.
What on earth are they talking about?
Rufus couldn’t understand any of this bizarre conversation surrounding him.
Dying, who is to die? Surely, not myself?
That can’t be.
Sarubia said so. She prophesied that when Rufus was to die, she would surely be by his side. The prophecy of a saintess couldn’t be wrong. Therefore, these voices must be mistaken about something.
As his thoughts reached this point, Rufus wanted to laugh at the two conversing. But that was merely wishful thinking. Rufus no longer had the energy to even lift one corner of his lips.
“I have no intention of taking in a human without any unique magic as a witch.”
A low and rough voice scoffed. Then, from the opposite side, a voice full of regret responded.
“Then what should we do? If Rufus dies, we won’t be able to take the human kingdom.”
“Is the human Rufus truly to die like this? For the loss of merely one heart?”
“Yes.”
“How amusing. The human who had once beheaded me, to die so futilely, so clumsily…”
“Beheaded, what do you mean by that?”
“…”
“Your Majesty?”
“…Odr, give human Rufus one of my hearts, the right one.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“I have two hearts. Wouldn’t I be able to live with just one? Therefore, I shall give one of my hearts to the human Rufus.”
“But…!”
“It is my command.”
“Your Majesty…”
An utterly incomprehensible, baffling conversation. It’s absurdly odd. He wanted to ask what nonsense they were spouting. Give his heart, what does that mean?
Rufus tried to open his mouth to question the owners of the voices. But, as if broken, his lips didn’t move an inch.
It wasn’t just that. Rufus couldn’t twitch even a finger. His eyelids, too, were sealed shut as if calcified, refusing to open.
Screaming at himself, who lay motionless as if dead, he desperately tried to rise. But no matter how hard he tried, his body wouldn’t move.
What’s happening?
Why has it come to this?
Even amidst this, the voices continued.
“Your Majesty, it is presumptuous of me to say, but there is no record of a human surviving after receiving a demon’s heart. It’s dangerous.”
“Then what do you suggest, Odr? Should we just let the human Rufus die?”
“In my opinion, it would be better to take Rufus as Your Majesty’s witch…”
“Not just anyone can become my witch. Odr, you were chosen as my witch because you possess unique magic. You know this, don’t you?”
“But… I’m not sure if Rufus can survive after receiving Your Majesty’s heart.”
“If the human Rufus dies, then he follows the course of nature.”
A voice as if swallowing fire echoed in Rufus’s mind.
“But if he survives after receiving my heart…”
The sound of something burning resounded in Rufus’s ears.
“If he survives… then he becomes a being born against fate.”
Suddenly, a sensation as hot as fire pressed down on Rufus’s chest.
I can’t breathe.
An indescribable pain struck. It was like being seared with a branding iron. He couldn’t even scream because, in the next moment, he lost consciousness.
A sensation as if burning.
That was the last memory of the human, Rufus.
***
Rufus always wondered.
Why her, of all people?
Among so many beings, why was it specifically her?
Why was she in front of the princess’s palace?
Why did she speak to him first?
Why did she approach him so kindly without any reservation?
He didn’t fall in love at first sight. Not with that feeble, unimpressive, tiny woman.
And so, three years passed.
The woman who had arbitrarily taken up space in his heart was like a severe flu. No matter how much time passed, there was no sign of her leaving.
What phenomenon was this? Could it actually be a curse?
Wasn’t it strange that she came to mind every time he closed his eyes?
Perhaps he was going mad. That she was the first thing he thought of at the moment he killed the Demon King, wasn’t that odd?
She was like a witch.
Like a witch playing with people’s hearts, she freely stirred his.
A curse, or perhaps madness.
But to push aside her presence as merely a curse or madness seemed too dismissive, for she was too refreshing and clear.
Like spring that drives away the General Frost, like a warm wind that melts ice.
With her existence, Rufus changed.
The emotion that could not quite find its name in Rufus’s heart took deep root.
And then, before he knew it.
He found himself harboring the futile wish to keep her by his side forever.
Sarubia.
My foolish mind.
My turbulent eyes.
My parched heart.
My empty soul.
Even my vain obsession.
All of it is yours.
So please.
Continue to exist for me.
Don’t leave me behind.
Don’t leave me to live in a world without you.
I beg of you.
Please, please…
