Chapter 168: Resolve to Die, Reason to Live (5)
He had earned a lot of money, but his parents whom he had to pay a big debt back to were long dead and gone.
Then, why was he trying to live despite that? He should have just ended up dead fast like this to meet them.
“I dinna remember why.”
“Yeah, don’t bother to recall it. All is well if you are happy now. Father, let’s head on over there?”
“Sure, sure.”
Roxa was finally content. There has never been a more pleasant day in his sick and tired life. He started to walk slowly between mother and father.
And then.
“Roxa Tribolt.”
Roxa’s steps stopped at the familiar voice. And when he turned around there stood…
“Huh? Ye Grace?”
There stood Hades. He looked a little younger than now. Around the time he met Roxa for the first time, perhaps.
“…Wotcha doin’ here, Ye Grace?”
“Live.”
“Eh?”
He felt a tingle in his head. He was wondering what he was talking about so randomly, but it was something he had heard from Hades once.
He threw something before Roxa with his signature arrogant expression, his chin high up.
From a leather bag stained dark from dried blood rolled out something heavy. They were heads of some men he could not recognize.
Roxa was disgusted looking at the heads, then he exclaimed. Though he didn’t know because he didn’t bother to look thoroughly, looking at them again, he realized that they belonged to the ruffians from the past.
Oh, right. When he lived on with no purpose and finally met Hades…
His field of vision switched once again. He was in Hades’ study, which looked slightly different than how it is now. Roxa was facing Hades, the master of the room. He absentmindedly fiddled with his hair that reached down to his shoulder.
It was himself in the past. He was on the run from being a wanted man of the empire and barely managed to survive by meeting Hades.
‘What’s all dis, then?!’
It was that day when he could never understand why a finest blueblood house of the empire was trying to hide him, doing something that would paint themselves in bad light by the Imperial house.
“Your eyes look like those of a dead fish.”
“Ye see me eyes?”
“You open them sometimes.”
“Ye not wrong, but…”
“It’s truly a shame that someone like you does not have the will to live.”
“No will ter live? You’re da one who captured me an’ dragged me here when I was running fer me life…”
“Well, your eyes look as if you wouldn’t mind death when you love your purpose. I apologize if it was just my assumption.”
“It is.”
“Did you get your revenge?”
“…Eh?”
“About those who killed your parents.”
“Ye… investigated me?”
“Investigation of a person’s background before recruitment is most essential.”
“Hah…”
“So. Did you get your revenge?”
“I am not intending on listening ter ye if ye intend on saying da lame and obvious. I dinna even know them faces. Wot emotions are ye trying ter bring up when I have forgotten about all o’ it…?”
“Very well. I can’t throw a welcome celebration without preparing anything.”
The next day, four poles were put up in Louvremont castle. On them hung four dead bodies of fully grown men that no one knew. They all died in a horrible state and hung on the pole for three whole days.
Roxa, who was staying in the castle, freaked out and had to reconsider about this man called Hades Louvremont. Since he had become a renegade with nowhere to go, he had to rely on somewhere for sure.
But should he be staying by someone mad enough and may possibly chop his own men’s head off if things go sideways?
“Live.”
The dead bodies could not be in peace even after their deaths.
Hades chopped the heads off the dead bodies and said as he threw them at Roxa’s feet.
Live.
“Wha, I’m already living. What are ye Grace keep telling me to live for…?”
“If you are currently living because you want to earn a lot of money, then sure. Keep earning. Earn enough to burst to death even after spending it all. Until you question yourself.”
“…”
“But if that time comes and you think you may have lost your purpose, find another new reason to live on.”
“Wot…”
“No matter how I see it, your eyes are dead. You are the kind to die with no second thought if you lose your aim.”
“…”
“Live. No matter what,” Hades laughed as he said so. “It would be a waste for one like you to die.”
Why was he coercing Roxa to live on when he already was doing that, he did not know back then.
“Ah.”
Without even noticing, Roxa was once again put between his parents and his younger self.
Hades, who came out of the blue, had disappeared into thin air.
“Wot…”
“What’s the matter, son? We should get going.”
Although Roxa’s mother led him by the arm with a warm smile on her face, Roxa stopped his steps and moved no further.
-If the son they managed to keep alive through all the troubles rolled into the fiery pit of hell before he even reaches 30, their parents would shed tears of blood.
-No parent wishes for their child to die.
-Don’t do your parents wrong twice by dying, live.
-I’ll help you let your talent shine as you wish.
“Haa…!”
With Hades’ voice scattering in his clear memory, Roxa opened his eyes.
“W-wot’s going on here?!”
His parents were nowhere to be seen and his body was tightly tied in something.
In an instant, Roxa found 9 big black 9 eyes with his own face reflected on it.
‘A spider?’
It was an enormous monster spider about 3 meters in length.
And what was tightly wrapped around his body was white webbing from the spider’s mouth.
Roxa panicked and squealed.
“Ack! Wot’s all dis den?!”
[Wot’s da matter, son? We should be heading dat way.]
[Ye said ye want ter have a bet with ye dad, eh?]
The monster spider was gleaming its eyes as it mimicked his parent’s voice.
“Hey you dumb punk! So you finally woke up?!”
Roxa was locked up inside a tight hard silk cocoon and barely managed to turn his head at the familiar voice. It was Azar. He was slaying down numerous baby spiders creeping out of the forest as he approached little by little.
There were already numerous spider corpses around him, and he had also managed to chop off the sturdy spider web that suspended Roxa in midair.
“Wot in da world…”
“Snap out of it! It’s a magical beast that seems to put you in a hypnosis! Stop being fooled into it like an idiot! The more you assimilate, the harder these damn webs get!”
Come to think of it, he had entered Orcus and entered a suspicious looking forest being dragged by Azar’s hands.
A spider monster living there that hypnotizes people?
Of course that was it. There was no way he would see such a sweet imagination of his deceased parents appearing in front of him to tell him that they should live happily together, for real.
“Gahhhh! Spiders, gross!”
“What, you idiot! This is no time to be saying such a thing! Do something if you are awake!”
Azar was also panicking at the thick webs slowly tightening around Roxa’s body.
Apart from making weak baby spiders constantly, it wasn’t a very strong magical beast.
But the reason why he was hesitant even when he could slay the beast easily was because of Roxa.
[This child is currently connected to my mind. The moment you kill me, this child’s soul will also be shattered to nothingness. He will be neither dead nor alive.]
Having noticed Azar’s might, the magical beast threatened him, and it worked.
Though he couldn’t tell whether its words are true or not, he couldn’t slay the beast recklessly. So Azar was holding on until Roxa came to his senses as he dealt with the baby spiders.
“Are you fully awake now?”
“Ahhhgh! Spider! Gross! Grooooss!”
“You nut job.”
It seemed no conversation could be shared with that out-of-his-mind bunting.
At that instant, Azar saw the spider monster’s nine eyes gleaming.
[I have no choice then.]
The spider beast opened its jaws wide, where the silk used to shoot out, attempting to swallow Roxa.
It seemed almost certain that its connection with Roxa’s mind had been cut off. If not so, it wouldn’t open its mouth wide to kill Roxa, when it was going as far as putting him in hypnosis to keep him alive.
Azar had a quick understanding of the situation and moved forward before the spider’s jaw in an instant.
‘Shoot, I’m late.’
Though he had moved as fast as he could, Azar could instinctively sense that he was late.
Should he pull his body out right away?
Then Roxa would die.
Then should he stand his ground and drive the sword into the beast’s mouth to deal with it?
That would mean sacrificing one of his arms. Though it wasn’t a beast with strong fangs, it was poisonous. The green poison dripping from the mouth was powerful enough to melt the ground the moment it hit the floor.
‘Shoot, why should I go as far just for this punk when I don’t even think good of him?!’
There was no time to think any longer. Azar stood before Roxa and drove his arm into the spider monster’s mouth.
“Kagh…!”
At the same time, the sword in his hand dug into the spider’s mouth and pierced through its head.
[Kaaaaagh!]
Letting out a painful scream, the spider beast struggled.
The beast was in pain with its teeth driven into Azar’s forearm, then at last it fell on its back. Roxa, who was suspended in the air, fell limply.
“You idiot!”
Azar snatched the falling Roxa’s body and laid it on the ground and cut away the spiderweb around his body with the tip of the sword.
“Ack! Watch it! Imma kill ye if ye cut me body too.”
“Shut your mouth, you punk.”
Though his reply was aggressive, Azar listened to Roxa’s words and cut at the silk cocoon more carefully.
Finally free, Roxa shot up and fussed.
“Ack! Jus’ wot kind o’ troubles are all these?! I knew it, Hades Louvremont. There isn’t a day in me life dat goes without some trouble since I have been tied with dat Hades Louvremont…”
Slash-!
Roxa’s eyes widened in surprise and he stopped chatting.
Because it happened in an instant, he didn’t have any time to stop Azar.
After chopping off the silk cocoon, Azar held his sword with his left arm and chopped off his right hand in an instant.
“Wha, wot…”
“Put something on it so to stop the bleeding.” Azar spoke to Roxa through his teeth, gnashing in pain.
“Wot are ye…”
“Hurry.”
Though he said it casually, Azar was lost in thoughts.
The poison spreading would mean death. It wasn’t a bad decision to chop off his arm.
However, as an archer, losing his arm was no different from a death sentence.
He obviously wouldn’t be able to shoot, and though holding the sword with his left hand would be all that’s left but even that won’t be easy.
‘Shoot.’
He couldn’t imagine that he would be facing a situation like this the moment he set foot into Orcus.
But who could he blame?
It would have all been fine if he didn’t drag Roxa so rashly.
Acting nonchalant, Azar was biting on his lips to hold back the pain. Roxa stared at him dumbfounded, then slowly approached him.
“What kind o’ fool are ye? Why would ye go dat far, when I dinna even matter much.”
“What? This punk still hasn’t come to his senses…”
Snap-!
Roxa snapped his finger once in the air.
Strong mana gathered around Azar’s arm. and the pain from the cut off area disappeared in an instant.
He couldn’t even recall when it got chopped off now. He had a whole new arm with not even a single scratch on it.
Azar looked at the new arm with a dazed look and turned his gaze at Roxa.
With his oddly annoying signature smile where he bends his narrow eyes, Roxa spoke.
“Tis me, Roxa Tribolt.”