Declared Dead, Exiled, and Betrayed— Now I Walk Away, but I'll Save One Who Cared - Chapter 77

Before heading to the royal capital, we made a stop at the Demon Forest.

The reason?

I’ll get to that later.

First, I had to wake the Guardian Spirit.

As usual, that required a magic stone from the dungeon.

Which meant we couldn’t just teleport straight to the deep layers—we had to go down to the lower floors first to collect one.

While we were at it, I grabbed the Dungeon Administrator by the scruff of the neck and dragged them along, despite their protests.

“Noooo! You’ll ruin the lower floors! Please, noooooo!”

They wailed dramatically as I pulled them along.

…Why do they look excited even while begging me to stop?

The real reason we had come here was to make the Dungeon Administrator, the Guardian Spirit, and Claire talk.

By making them compare their knowledge, I was hoping to piece together more information about Disemna.

Claire hadn’t said much so far, but she definitely knew something.

From what little I already knew—

Disemna was a demon that had originated in some dungeon.

It had left on its own during a Stampede.

Wait…

Was that all I knew?

“So, tell us everything you know. And add any details you can.”

“Hmph…”

The Administrator frowned.

Oh, come on.

They knew what would happen if they refused.

The dungeon’s upper floors could be blasted apart even from outside—

“NOOO! FINE! I’LL TALK! PLEASE STOP!!”

Good.

That’s all they had to say from the start.

“Thank you in advance.”

“If the daughter of Riofendarl asks, then I will speak.”

“Thank you.”

Shifa’s presence made the Guardian Spirit much more cooperative.

“I might be able to add something…”

Claire sounded hesitant.

By this point, I was starting to suspect she couldn’t talk freely.

Maybe there was some sort of restriction placed on her.

By whom?

Why?

I didn’t know.

And I had no way of breaking it.

If she could speak, even just a little, that would be enough.

Surprisingly, things went better than expected.

For the first time, we got a coherent explanation of Disemna’s history.

And when I heard it…

Some of it sounded familiar.

Like I’d heard bits and pieces before but never put them together.

Disemna—

Or rather, he—

Had once been devoted to a former Dungeon Administrator.

But that Administrator had left.

So Disemna left the dungeon to search for them.

But he never found them.

Instead, humans discovered him.

They cut him down.

And in the process, he lost something precious.

Ever since, he had been searching for what he lost.

Trying to retrace the past.

Hoping that, one day, he would reach his former master.

But in his search, he deceived people, manipulated them, stole their magic, and spread conflict.

His actions became a threat to all of humanity.

So the kind Minerva sealed him away.

She had hoped that, given enough time, his obsession would fade—

That he would return to being the harmless demon he once was.

Minerva had once been an adventurer.

She had encountered Disemna inside a dungeon.

Back then, he was mischievous—

Appearing at random, playing pranks, or tossing valuable items at people for no reason.

Once, one of those items had saved her life.

That’s why she had wanted to save him.

“I don’t know what happened after that,” the Dungeon Administrator admitted.

“I left that dungeon and built a new one elsewhere.”

“Minerva and I spoke often, but I never met Disemna myself.”

The Guardian Spirit added.

“After being sealed in the Demon Forest, he raged and scattered his magic everywhere. It was a nightmare to deal with. By the time I realized what was happening, he had already escaped.”

“The Ruin Demons were always here. They must have followed him afterward, hoping to use him.”

“When Minerva found me, the Warrior and Guardian were already with her. I was…”

Claire hesitated.

“If it’s too hard to say, we can stop.”

Hearing the others speak seemed to be pushing her forward—

But then, she stopped again.

“No…”

“I want you to know my sins.”

“I think I can finally say it now.”

“I need to apologize… to Shifa. To the Riofendarl family.”

Her voice wavered.

“I was the one who gave everyone their skills.”

“I granted the Warrior ‘Demon God Strike.’”

“I granted the Guardian ‘Key of the Magic Watcher.’”

“I granted the Riofendarl sisters ‘Advanced Demon Search,’ ‘Demon Search,’ and ‘Self-Suggestion.’”

“I granted the Dancer ‘Fixation of Interest.’”

“Each one was based on their wishes and willpower.”

“The conditions for obtaining them were chosen based on the skill’s difficulty… and the individual’s circumstances at the time.”

“Of course, I discussed it with them before deciding.”

“But… the condition I set for the Riofendarl bloodline…”

Her voice faltered.

“…It must have been painful for Shifa.”

“And for all the descendants who came after.”

…Wait.

What?

“That’s not something I would call a sin.”

Shifa’s voice was steady.

“Our ancestors made that choice themselves. Of course, losing my father was painful… But that wasn’t your fault, Claire.”

Claire stood frozen for a moment, staring at Shifa as if caught off guard.

Then, she lowered her gaze to the floor.

When she looked up again, the frail, hesitant air around her was gone.

Her eyes burned with new resolve.

It shouldn’t have been possible.

I was sure it was just a fleeting moment—

A brief trick of the light.

But for the first time, she looked dignified.

And then she said something unbelievable.

“I am the ‘Dream-Seer Mage’—”

“A sinner who has committed countless wrongs.”

“Because of that, my powers are now sealed under strict restraints.”

“And yet—”

“I was once the one who brought magic into this world.”

“…Excuse me?”

I blinked.

…What?

Was that supposed to be some grand revelation?

Because all I could think was—

Did she really just say that with a straight face?

I mean, fine, whatever—

She clearly had a thing for dramatic speeches.

But was there really any reason to end every sentence with “no” like that?

It wasn’t even cute.

She could drop the whole mystical mage act any time now.

And yet—

I couldn’t deny it.

Somewhere deep inside, something told me she wasn’t lying.