Previously...
"Yes, something fun with those people down there."
The butterflies fluttered their wings in what seemed to be excitement after hearing Deon's response.
***
"You must be hungry right? You can have some food down there but leave one or two alive."
Deon pointed to the revolutionary army members who were below his balcony; in the garden. Of course, none of the members knew of the hungry butterflies who were craving for vitality were going to appear, who would assume a 'demonic beast' would appear in the Hart estate?
Of course, these weren't demonic beasts at all, these were divine beasts created by the God of Death. Of course, since it's the God of Death these butterflies naturally will have something to do with death in this case is a human's vitality.
"So hungry!"
"Thank you silly saint!"
The butterflies flew around Deon excitedly before heading down, the scene would have been mesmerizing if it weren't for the fact that those butterflies were about to massacre a whole army of revolutionary knights.
Deon obviously didn't care for the enemies that were invading his house. One thing he definitely knew was to never let your enemies go, no matter how hard they begged. Unless they were willing to join his side then he'd consider it.
Looking at the garden where he and his family used to play under made him feel nostalgic and guilty. It was his fault that both his and Cruel's parents were dead, it would have been nice to have gained his memories prior to that incident.
'No it's not all of my fault, I'll just blame it all on Illuster since he was the one who sent me.'
For now, the least he could do was get revenge and get back at Duke Illuster for his parents. Even if his parents wouldn't like that idea, Deon wasn't the type to let grudges go so easily, He was never that type of person.
The moment he catches on or finds out is the moment he'll start forming plans to get back ten times at the person who messed with him and his family.
'But what about the other two, Eduardo and Caver? The two people who want to take advantage of me.'
Technically he could kill the Demon King right there and then whenever he gets back but something was telling him to not kill the Demon King. Deon could trust his gut feeling very much, it was one of the only things that helped him survive throughout all of his lives.
'I guess I'll put that off for now.'
Deon opened the balcony door and was able to see blotches of red in his garden. One thing for sure is that this will take a long time to finish for sure.
"Do I want to jump down or not?"
Deon looked down from the balcony. He wasn't scared of heights but the thought of an error happening that could lead to his death is very much scary, he completely ignored the fact that he could use the Sound of Wind to get down.
Fuck it, he's just gonna go downstairs like a normal person.
***
Deon walked around the garden of dead Revolutionary troops. many either had their vitality sucked dry and looked like a rotting corpse or they had nothing left of them, only the splatter of blood onto the grass was the only visible sign of them being here.
"Well if it isn't the revolutionary troops."
"Uhh..."
The remaining knight stood frozen as they watched Deon get closer.
"D-die, you dog of the Emperor!"
"Dog?"
Deon was genuinely pissed. He knew that this was his nickname but that just made him even angrier.
He was not a loyal dog, everything he's done was for survival. Nothing more, surviving is the best after all. It didn't matter if he was writhing in pain or rolling through a piece of dog shit, the most important thing was to live.
Summoning a decently sized rock with his ancient powers, Deon whacked the revolutionary knight in the head.
"You."
Whack!
"Really."
Slap!
"Think."
Whack!
"That I am merely doing this because I'm loyal?!"
Thwack!
"Everything I do is to survive. Even if it meant sucking up and licking someone's shoes I'd do it if I could live! I don't give a fuck about what happens to this damn Empire."
Whack!
"Huff..."
Deon panted in exhaustion as he dealt the last finishing blow on the knight which caused them to pass out almost immediately.
"Cough!"
Blood trickled down from both Deon's nose and lips. This time he's really overdone it.
'Even if I'm tired now it was nice taking my anger and stress out on that person.'
However, the real question now was, what does he do with the knight now? He could give it to the butterflies to eat but he also needs to get more information on the Revolutionary Army and Duke Illuster.
"Maybe I can help?"
"What can you specifically do?" Does he have some sort of lie detector skill or what.
"Well I do have this one skill called Confession of the Dead, it is a skill that'll allow you to see right through the person's motives and check their memories, this can also force them to say the truth kind of like a Vow of Death."
(A/N): I made this up LMFAO but it's also a bit inspired by the return of the frozen player only with more stuff added instead of just checking memories. I made it one of GoD's personal skills because I think it fits him a lot
"That does sound definitely useful to have. But there's definitely a downside to it right?" After all such a skill cannot have its bad sides as well.
"That's right, the target must be dead hence why the name Confession of the Dead."
"Well, it's a power of the God of Death for a reason I guess." It's slightly disappointing but that's to be expected since he's the God of Death (and uselessness?)
"I'll just hand this over to Remember. He scares the living daylight out of me now but that's fine I guess, better than Ron that's for sure."
Deon still couldn't forget the cold look he had gotten from Ron when he begged him to get out of his own house. At that time he was gullible and naive, thinking that his "family" would surely eventually let him go.
'I'm seriously trash.'
He put his trust into the wrong put yet took away his trust from the right people who harbored no ill intentions. If that wasn't trash then what is it?
He now recalled the exact expressions of his mother and father as he ruthlessly murdered them. It was a gaze of guilt, sorrow, and relief in their eyes.
"...I'll just go to sleep." But that's gonna be one hell of a walk so I'll just use my ancient powers.
Deon might be the only person ever to use his ancient powers in his everyday life but it made his life easier, so why not?
Crawling back into his bed, Deon thought about his current life. It was useless to think what was going to happen in the future, 'what ifs' were useless and did not help a lot.
'At this rate, I might even develop eye bags even with the Vitality of the Heart...'
"Please sleep, my child."
An unknown voice talked into his head before a wave of drowsiness hit him, rendering him unconscious.
***
"Look who's finally jumping in. If it isn't the God of Hope."
Death smiled mischievously, his white hair which looked similar to Deon's glistened in the light.
"Death... you seem to be aware of what is happening with Cale's soul now right?"
"First off, it's not Cale, it's Deon. Second yes, his karmic debt is gone but the fragment on him is still tied to the Demon King."
"That's right..."
"But I wonder who's fault was that? It surely couldn't be me since I am a being of neutrality in this world, I can take either the demon's side or the human's side. So I wonder who did it?"
The God of Death questioned, his eyes curving up into crescent moons. However, they were not curving up in happiness rather they were curving in anger and amusement.
This was the same god who wanted 'Cale' to be his saint or rather a Seed of Hope. How ironic was it that the same hero fragment that was derived from the God of Hope's powers were the same powers that would eventually kill the one whom he had chosen as a Seed of Hope?
"... There's two ways. If we get the God of Despair it's possible."
"That's hilarious but we worked forever to seal him off with the help of Cale Henituse."
"Well, one other way I thought of was you give him a blessing. Make him your blessed child."
"...He won't like that."
"That's the only way. In order to get rid of something from a God you need another God's power which is the opposite force of it. In this case, only death and despair are the opposite of hope."
"Haah... I'll talk to him about it. But if he curses me out it's your fault."
"He's always cussed you out anyways."
"Ouch, that hurts!"
The God of Death returned back to his playful self again. Hope was used to this demeanor yet he sometimes wondered why the variable who used to be Cale was the only one who was able to retort back to the God of Death. One thing he noticed was that 'Cale Henituse' was definitely the God of Death's weak point.
***
"My Lord you're finally awake."
"...Remember?"
"Yes, my Lord."
"Let me go back to sleep."
"I'm afraid not, you must meet his majesty today."
Remember pulled Deon out of the bed as always and proceeded to dress him up. This was a daily routine that had formed throughout time, his master was very lazy to get up in the mornings and detested meeting the Imperial family.
"Can I not go?"
"..."
"His Majesty summoned you."
"Fuck."
'Damn it, why did he call me?'
There wasn't a particular reason as to why the Emperor had called him since in the original timeline he never called him. Was it because he didn't go to the banquet for Cruel?
"We're finished! This is my best work yet!"
Sheri wiped the sweat off of her forehead and looked at Deon who was now dressed in a white suit which was decorated with gold accents and lining and a black cape.
"...It's so extravagant."
"Please bear with it my lord."
Remember commented on Deon's distasteful comments on the outfit that was chosen for him to wear to meet the Emperor.
Deon said nothing as he left the estate and boarded the carriage and departed to the palace shortly after.
***
'I seriously don't want to be here.'
Deon walked through the palace hallways leading up to the Emperor's office. The servants all looked at Deon with strange looks that he could not comprehend. Of course, they looked at him because he grew his hair and looked more fair now.
"Your Majesty, it's me..." I hate every single royal, why do they always boss me around...
"Oh, Count Hardt. Do come in."
"Yes..."
Deon walked into Eduardo's office. It was messy to an extent, at least on the Emperor's desk. He seemed to be tired as usual. Deon wondered if the Emperor started hallucinating yet or not but he should have already started to do so if he was right.
'Our meeting is now different since I wasn't covered in blood and met him a day late. But we might discuss the same things.'
"So has anything happened recently?"
"No, but I was ambushed by the revolutionary army in my estate. Though that's already been handled." Did he seriously just ask me about my day?
Deon answered back immediately in a monotone voice. He really wanted to make this quick and get back home, being alone with the Emperor is appalling.
"An ambush... those sick bastards.. So, are you alright? Should I call in a doctor?"
"I'm fine." I don't even need a doctor anymore so stop making me go into debt for you!
"Alright."
Eduardo looked at Deon Hart who was fixing his cuffs. He knew that Deon Hardt was seen negatively by the whole Empire.
What fools, what other talent has achieved as much as Deon Hart? As the vanguard of the eight-year war, Deon achieved a grander feat than any other. When he left as the Hero's comrade he was able to retrieve the Hero's corpse back.
Which no one has ever done, usually the Hero's body who was defeated by the Demon King would be tossed to the demonic monsters as fodder since he no longer has a use.
And yet, Deon was able to bring his body back in one piece. Had he not done so the Hero would suffer the same fate. This was an incredible feat itself especially while facing off the Demon King.
(A/N): Bro acts like he didn't put him there
However, there was always a price to pay for such achievements.
"Have you figured out a way to get rid of the curse yet?"
"...No I haven't yet."
Deon shamelessly lied to the Emperor who had no clue about the lies Deon had just spouted. The Demon King hasn't put a tracking spell on him but it would be better to lie right? Besides the Emperor already knows most things about him.
"I guess you'll need to go back to the Demonic Realm. It pains me to send such a rare talent to a horrendous place."
'You're literally using me as a spy but go off...'
Deon looked at Eduardo with an emotionless face, giving the Emperor a hard time to determine what it is that Deon wants, he only knew that Deon originally wanted Cruel dead.
"So, what's been happening over there at the Demon King's castle?"
"There is nothing new."
Deon said, leaving out the information about the assassin who infiltrated trying to kill him. He needs to attain more information from the assassins. Besides even if he didn't say anything the Emperor would assume that the assassin died before reaching the castle.
"Alright, I see you can go then."
"Before that If I may..."
"Oh? Something that our dear hero needs now this is rare, go ahead I'll allow it."
"Can I go to the Imperial Library?" It's over if he says no because where else am I gonna get information on the God of Death?
After noticing the Demon King's wary expression when he brought up the God of Death, Deon could only come up with one thesis. It was either the God of Death is an ally of the demons in this world or he could be neutral and very useful for the demons or humans.
"Of course, you can go, after all, I gave you special access to visit me or the palace anytime."
"Thank you."
Deon took a swift bow and excused himself from the Emperor's office and immediately headed towards the library.
'Can you hear me?'
"Hi, silly saint!"
'Is it just you?'
"Yes it's just me, the others couldn't come since there are too many eyes here."
Deon let the butterfly rest on his finger as he looked outside the window of the hallway. The servants walking by watched this with sparkling eyes however Deon was too absorbed into his conversation and was unaware of the people staring at him.
'Go to Duke Illuster's estate and spy on him for me, if you can't then at least look through his paperwork. There's bound to be something useful. Don't get caught.'
"Okay! But even if he tries to kill me I'll revive so don't worry, you can't kill us divine beings that easily."
'I'll leave it to you then.'
Deon let the butterfly fly out through the window he had just opened and continued walking to the library as if nothing had ever happened.
***
I cant believe this has 2k views now tysm!!! 😭
EXTRA :
"C-Count Hart!"
"Hmmm?"
Deon turned around to meet with a boy similar to his age. He had dark navy blue hair and blue eyes. If Deon didn't know about the original timeline and novel he would have assumed this guy was a male lead straight out of a romance novel.
"This is for you! Please accept them."
The man handed over a huge bouquet of flowers. The flowers were fresh and were a mix of white and red roses.
"...T-thank you...?" What is up with this obnoxiously huge bouquet?
Deon who had no idea that the man had basically confessed to him, accepted the flowers.
Cruel looked at the scene unfolding in front of him horrified.
This was definitely Cruel's worst day ever.
Of course while everyone saw an adult just receiving flowers from another man, all Cruel could see was an innocent eight year old looking around the banquet trying to understand what was going on.