บท 49: The Fourteenth Night - Part 8 - Real Courage

Sweat traversed onto Renir's forehead. Somehow, he was unable to take a step forward unless he knows of the truth.

His heart, clenching itself out of anxiety while waiting for the demon to reply.

"Renir Ennure, ", after staring at Renir that raised a question, the demon paused and replied, "The Door of Salvation is right before your eyes. The goal you sought for all the nights of suffering.", but then, he knitted his brows, "Why do you have to question?"

From the rune, the demon's history and age before becoming a marionette were incomparable to humans. It had experienced almost everything in life and thought these humans that desperately sought for salvation will snatch it without a second of thought.

'All they know is how to procreate and live in the present. What is all there is to this selfish beings?', the demon clearly looked down upon the humans.

Indeed, they are curious beings, but they have never bought the answer for pleasure or the release of pain.

That was why the demon asked unironically.

Renir didn't care about the time anymore. If the Wind Sentinel form before he knew it, he could just jump into the light.

"I just found it strange...", talking to a demon, intimidating as this one was pressuring Renir than he expected it would. But he didn't let it sound weird when he spoke.

The demon thought for a moment and decided it was better to be honest, "You are perceptive to sense this. I guess you are not sensible just because you have developed 'ensense' in your soul but also you are intellect in nature. You are right. Time is not on my side, right now. Sooner, the one that ensouled me into this doll will see my escape. I have less than half of my power. Even in my prime, I was still powerless against that principality.", the demon explained everything without a pause. His hurry seemed to be true.

There are so many things that Renir failed to understand in the demon's explanation, but he could remember that he read it in the rune once, where this demon was once a demon general but was defeated by a principality, a holy being higher than the archangel in the celestial hierarchy.

How large the power gap is between each step of the hierarchy is what Renir has no clue about. However, he knew if he was placed in that hierarchy, his power will put him at the very bottom.

"Renir Ennure, I thank you for freeing me. I forgot how many nights had I've been here, how many months, how many years, how many decades, how many centuries!", even if he knew he had no time, the demon became emotional from being imprisoned in a lowly wooden doll after death.

"However, I have settled my debts between us. Once you enter this door, you will return to your normal life, and I opened this door. If not, you will continue to suffer here and eventually perish, leaving your soul wandering for eternity unless there is a mercy from God you wouldn't hope, and I prevented that."

The demon was saying that what he did was equal to Renir freeing him, therefore, all debts are paid.

Renir tried to decrypt the meaning behind the demon's words. It meant that they are no more than strangers now. If the demon willed so, he could kill Renir.

"But...", Renir found a hole in it, "unless I go through that door, you are still in debt."

The demon furrowed his eyebrows. Renir's intention was getting vaguer by the minute, so he directly asked, "What do you want?", this was the first time he showed expression.

The demon questioned himself inwardly if he had gone senile or his mind degraded overtime because he could not see what are the intentions of Renir Ennure.

"My name is Renir Ennure.", Renir suddenly introduced himself as if he cleansed of all the negative emotions, then proceeded to ask, "What is yours?"

The demon's eyes widened, surprised for he did not expect any of this but, nonetheless, he introduced himself, "This doll is named Killburg, guardian of salvation."

After he introduced himself, he saw the change of this human's expression. It was nothing like before, which is filled with fear and anxiety, now, it was glaring at him, as if desperate...?

The demon saw it as Renir Ennure wanting more of the introduction. He had no much time and this human freed him so he yielded and continued his introduction, failing to predict what would happen next, "But my true name is Xenaphez Goldmor, Demon General of the Apniteon Kingdom, Ruler of Fire."

Renir's eyes shone, but still glaring. Strong in his position while limbs were unmoving. If only he was wearing a glory armor and cape with an arcane sword at his back, he will look like a charismatic hero.

"The truth is!", Renir shouted at the demon, changing all of his expression, "I am having cold feet, just thinking how my life will turn up after this... And, I would be lying if I did not have an enjoying time in Gantlet.", he blurted out that was seemingly random at first while never losing sight of the demon's purple eyes.

"Enjoying time?", Xenaphez asked in a deeper voice. He couldn't expect that he would hear the words enjoying and Gantlet together in the same sentence from a human.

"For the first time in my life, I retaliated. And when I won, I was filled with joy and excitement that was etched into my heart. However, when I think I will go back to my original life, how will it turn out? Will I really able to fight for myself? Did I really change? They are not monsters and beast but humans like me. What if it's not the same? What if I am still weak against them?", Renir said in an almost monotonic voice.

'His desperation turned into hesitation?', the demon observed Renir deeply and found the root of the unexpected. Something about Renir made the demon stay.

'He had an unbelievable affinity for water... Does he secretly have the bloodline from Daneals Undercities, Holder of Water? It could explain him being perceptive and also the cause of having unexpected behavior, but unlike from the Xataskai Clouds, he's not whimsical about it.'

Just like the Apniteon Kingdom being the Ruler of Fire, Daneals Undercities are the Holder of Water, and Xataskai Clouds are the Rider of Wind.

"But I understand that you have no time left so I will make this simple.", Renir looked at the demon in the eyes. Unknown to the demon, he was wrong. Renir's behavior wasn't changing, it was just revealing itself.

Renir wanted to escape the world of Gantlet so badly, he risked more than he could have, even the underlying emotion he had. However, in dilemma, he was also scared of returning to his depreciating life.

When this fear was known to him, it spread like wildfire and made him thought, 'Am I still not ready?'

Renir was between a hard place and a wall.

But when he sensed something was wrong, he was still desperate. Is there more to it? Something to change my mind?

So when he was left behind, he was stuck, not knowing what to do under the pressure of the demon's presence. However, when the demon became honest, something clicked to Renir.

If he could surmount to this insufferable pressure. If he could somehow turn it into something he wanted, just like how fighting the Giganslik and the Water Sentinel became fun in the end That feeling of accomplishment may boost his confidence one last time...

Renir was conscious of himself.

This was not the battle of power but a battle of true courage. Not because he was forced to do it, not because he couldn't do more, and not because there was no more way than just to face the challenge, but just because he wanted to!

It was akin to staying in isolation in prison. Solitary was great at first but isolation will eventually drive you crazy but you can't do anything about the locked doors. You can only endure until the door is open. But now, the door is opened, would you still endure the isolation?

'When I felt fear before stepping into the light, I knew the courage I experienced all this time was fleeting like the adrenaline through my veins. This time, I want to make sure I achieve true courage!', Renir determinedly thought!

So he continued, "Now that you and I know each other's name, we are no longer strangers."

"I would guess we are acquaintances.", Xenaphez no longer stayed just because he needed to make sure Renir stepped into the light to repay the debt but also because of curiosity.

When Renir heard this reply, a slight smile appeared in his face as he brimmed with, "I am now acquainted with a demon general from a world of magic. I think even without courage, I have the confidence to... believe in myself? Hahaha.", Renir heartily chuckled.

It was unexpected. Renir didn't even see the goal, yet, unknowingly, he achieved it.

As if a dam that held all the negativities was destroyed inside of him, releasing them. A weight was lifted from Renir's shoulder.

At that point, Xenaphez changed his view, 'His behavior is not influenced by the water affinity?', he was wrong and he will remember this. A human surpassing his expectations.

"Renir Ennure, you are worthy of being my friend, in the future that is. If we ever meet again, seeing each other as a friend is not a bad thing for me.", Xenaphez was indifferent but somehow, Renir could feel he was being honest.

'I guess demons are not so different from humans. I couldn't deny I became lonely after being isolated for countless years. Me, the great demon general that was once one of the Arcane Eneths that opened the Celestial Gates, which doomed the world and created Gantlet. I still couldn't believe that as great as I am was easily defeated by what was considered a peasant from the heavens. Too much pride had taken me nowhere.', in a brief second, Xenaphez realized he had changed over the time he was locked inside a doll.

Once, he was haughty and prideful, merciless and emotionless, seeing humans as insignificant, killing them was like stepping on ants.

But now, his state was akin to human appreciating nature. Xenaphez felt it was not bad having a connection to a human.

By then, Xenaphez felt something approaching.

"That's conflicting, I want to be friends but I don't want to come back here too.", Renir still joyed but then saw the change of Xenaphez's complexion.

Even this demon who was stronger than all the sentinels combined could still know and expressed fear.

"Renir,", Xenaphez called by his name for the first time, "The principality in charge of me is on its way. The impact of its arrival is enough to kill you once if near enough. Enter the door now... Tsk, it looks like even if I had a headstart with a whole night, I couldn't escape it.", he calmly said even when clicking his tongue.

Renir nodded and before he turned his back, he caught a glimpse of showered light outside the cave.

His ears relentlessly twitched as he sensed the greatest danger he had ever been. He was losing strength in an incredible speed. Just a split second of detecting what was approaching made Renir debilitated.

Whatever it was, Renir had no hope against it. If the Giganslik or the Water Sentinel before was like an insurmountable mountain, this one was the unreachable sun.

The door was so close yet so near. Renir ran as fast as he could but everything felt it was in slow-motion. The distance between him and the light became a kilometer in an instant.

However, he felt pain on his back, that kilometer suddenly became an inch where he met the light. It seemed like Xenaphez pushed him.

Outside the first port, the wind that was howling and devastating the flood dispersed in an instant. Something that only gave its presence once in the creation of Gantlet returned.

This precedent was so massive the Wind Sentinel that was about to form when the moon was sinking stopped. Even with low intelligence, it found the plan not to let itself be seen.

It was like the moon itself fell into Gantlet, covering it with light and power even to the far edge.

When near enough, inside the light behind the door, Renir felt the energy he forgot he encountered in these past nights. That was the few times when the moon was surrounded by bright orbiting objects like the stars.