"Why did you become like that? Brother, what happened to you?"

Lasser showed a somewhat stunned expression, and then sneered as if he found it ridiculous:

"Do you still believe in me? No, you just can't accept reality..."

What a sad and pitiful child—Larsel looked at him disdainfully and told him:

"Ben, that's all fantasy."

"..."

"I should have told you on the day of the enthronement ceremony. Your incredibly gentle brother never existed from the beginning. Who on earth would consider a mere experimental animal family?"

A half-blood brother who loves his brother... I see, he still has feelings for him as a pet, eh? He scoffed.

"Everything you believed in has always been an illusion."

Whether it is the peaceful time for the mother and the experimental subjects (siblings), or the bond between brothers.

And the future.

"How could such a thing happen?"

Rasl's words shook Bandu's heart, as if challenging him to not escape this cold reality. In order to regain the gentle and noble brother he once was, Bandu laid out his arguments.

"Brother, why are you still braiding your hair?"

"……What?"

This sentence seemed to be beyond Lasser's expectation. At first, he kept looking around in confusion, and his hand unconsciously, really unconsciously reached for the only place where his hair was tied.

"If I only tie it up halfway...wouldn't that be considered unfitting for a demon king?"

"..."

A braid, nearly untied, dangled from Bandu's shoulder as he spoke. Rasl's gaze seemed drawn to the braid, which he considered troublesome and unsuitable for him, yet still meticulously tied every day.

"My brother once helped me tie it up. Even though he's the crown prince, he loves to play pranks and is quick to tease people. He loves to make everyone laugh."

Bandu's braids were a prank that Rasl had done to him while he was asleep, and he had carefully fixed them with wire and oil that would stick once it dried.

Because they couldn't untie it for a while, Bandu was really angry and didn't want to talk, so Lasser also tied part of his hair into a braid and said, "Bandu, look, you're doing the same as your brother. This is ahead of the times. It won't be embarrassing this way, right?"

Since then, the brothers accidentally missed the moment to stop this action and have continued the habit of "tying part of the hair into a braid".

At that time, Bandhu was too embarrassed to say it out loud.

"I believe this is part of the bond between me and my brother. Tell me, brother, why do you still wear your hair in braids?"

"……I see."

Ra'l smiled faintly... and cut off his braid with his hand knife.

It was as if he wanted to sever the bond between brothers.

Facing Bandu, whose eyes were wide open, Rasl chuckled softly and said:

"It's just a habit. Could it be that you find hope in this kind of thing?"

"elder brother……"

Bandu gritted his teeth and lowered his head. Rasl looked at him with amusement, then, as if remembering something, said:

"The Princess of Raisen will probably come here again."

"!"

The image of the girl who was like the incarnation of the sun appeared in Bandu's mind, the girl who asserted that she would definitely come to save him.

For some reason, he believed her without any reason. Was that also an illusion...

"Don't you think it's very exciting?"

"What do you mean?"

"That's how harsh the world is for the eldest daughter of the Church of the Righteous Demon."

"what you up to!"

"Haha, Ben, your reaction is quite good. You have something else to believe in, and I have something else to teach you about the joy of fantasy."

"I'm asking you what you want to do!"

"Well... let me give you a special tip."

What expression would that righteous girl have if she knew she had become the fuse of war? Seeing the sneer on Rasl's face, Bandu clearly understood it.

It was truly too ugly. The gentle, smiling face of my brother in my memory was almost wiped out by it.

Somewhere in his heart he had always believed that there must be a reason, a reason why Lasser had to change.

He draws courage from the way Meredith and the others never give up, persisting in saving someone until the very end. This inspires him, and he thinks that this time he must grasp his brother's true feelings and reclaim his old brother...

But seeing this ugly face now...

He was convinced.

"You're not my brother."

"That's right. Ben, you finally saw the light of day. Congratulations."

Perhaps having had enough fun, Rasl turned around. Without looking back, he said this in a voice that seemed to echo in the dungeon:

"We'll have to work starting tomorrow. Please assemble a monster army. We need to wage war on the Kingdom of Dustia before the Church does."

"W-Are you going to bring the vampire clan—"

"The Southern Continent doesn't need other races, and I also want Chimera materials. This is a good opportunity... Ben, be strong. Your obedience concerns the lives of those you care about."

"Larsl, just how far are you going to go—"

Although Bandu's roars echoed in the cell, Rasl did not answer him.

Only the heavy sound of the door closing echoed here, and it felt like the door to the future was also closed.

How long did he remain in the darkness after this?

In a space where he couldn't even discern the passage of time, Bandu naturally thought of his mother. How much love had she poured into a son who wasn't born as she expected? In Bandu's memories, Saslika always gazed at him with a steady, clear gaze like pure ice.

Born and raised in a dungeon, Bandu once asked his mother about the unusual situation and the meaning of his birth after realizing it.

──Mother, don’t you hate it?

Hate everything - whether it's the previous demon king, this situation, or Bandhu.

It's no surprise that Sasilika's situation should have made her hate and curse everything around her.

However, Sasilica's answer was—

—Dragon Fang exists to crush one's own weakness.

The dragon's eyes see through truth, its claws tear through malice. Never lose your sense of justice, and weaponize reason in battle.

This is the teaching of the Dragon People.

Even in the dungeon, the look on my mother's face as she narrated these things with a solemn expression was as beautiful as a painting.

At this time, the young Bandhu understood the meaning of "nobility".

But it is easier said than done. Witnessing the cruelty of the previous demon king, Bandu lost his mind and then lost his mother.

Until now, the wound of regret engraved in my heart is still bleeding bit by bit.

──Live for someone, to the point that the other person is willing to live for you.

These are the words my mother left on her deathbed.

"...Mother, I was resurrected according to your instructions."

A soft murmur came out naturally. His voice was weak, like a lost child who was at a loss.

"But, I'm also wondering."

Because of his existence, he created an army of monsters and started a war.

Because of his existence, victims like Chimera were created.

Because of my existence, the war is about to start again.

"Should I... survive?"

As long as I disappear, my tribe members may give up.

Human experiments may continue, but after a while, they will probably be abandoned because "it is ultimately impossible to get any results."

"Mother……"

As if trying to force these words that absolutely could not be spoken out from his weak heart... he blurted out:

"I shouldn't have been born..."

In that moment.

──Are you stupid?

At the same time as a certain voice rang out, light burst forth in the cell. It was an extremely bright ray of sunlight.

He couldn't even utter a sound of surprise. A light that seemed to burn his eyes, yet made him unable to look away, shone in from the wall where Bandu was locked.

With the flash of an explosion, a hole opened in the wall, and suddenly from there appeared—

"Glasses brother!"

"What's up, scarf man?"

It was the guy with glasses—Oscar. He pushed his glasses up and muttered unhappily, "Tsk, my scarf's already been taken."

Even though he was a little stunned and his face changed drastically, Bandu still said excitedly:

"Leave me alone! More importantly, protect your compatriots! And run!"

"Is it a trap? But it doesn't matter."

"Listen carefully!"

"You're the one listening to me!"

Oscar reached out and grabbed Bandu's chest.

"I heard you! What do you mean you shouldn't have been born? Don't you dare say that again! Or I'll strangle you with my scarf!"

Oscar's words were a jumbled mess, but the anger burning in his eyes was genuine. Thinking that his words had angered the man so much, Bandu felt like crying for some reason.

But in front of this particularly annoying guy, he insisted on holding back his tears.

"But even if they rescue me, they'll just capture more subjects for experimentation... The Demon King won't let me go, and the same thing will happen again—"

"You're so long-winded. Actually, it's too late now."

"What?"

The next second, a violent tremor erupted. It was a shock so strong it would have made one think the entire Demon King's Castle was shaking.

“Could it be!”

"Remember this well, our leader is the type who is very particular about his appearance."

She must be making a "Hello, little secret!" gesture up there, right in front of the Demon King.

Bandu seemed to want to say something further, but a wave of fierce murderous intent hit him first.

"—Ten Styles of 'Holy Shot'."

After deploying the black umbrella, the flame spear instantly melted through the fence and struck directly. Although the target was Oscar, the aftermath was enough to cause Bandu severe burns.

The heat distorted the air, and someone could be seen on the other side.

"The mongrel's distant howl seems quite loud."

The one who laughed at Bandu for calling Oscar, the wild dog, was the female general Lesqina, who was wearing two swords.

She snapped her fingers, and a group of gray-clothed men appeared in the cell.

A rough estimate put the number at around 50. Then, another 50 or so elite-looking demon soldiers appeared, half-surrounding the cell where Oscar and the others were.

There seemed to be no men in black inside, but the situation was still one hundred to one, and even one of the three strongest men was there.

"Oscar!"

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