Stopped Short

"Go with you?" Theodore's eyes were wide open, his expression showed genuine surprise as he stared blankly at Albatross. He could hardly believe what he was hearing. "Haven't you heard a word of what I said? I said that I am going to get rid of the Demon Lord. I can't go with you."

"What you're going to do is to die."

"So what? Since when were you afraid of death?"

"There's a difference between not being afraid and being stupid."

"Don't you get it? This might be my last chance. I might not get another."

"This is your one life as well. You're not going to get another if you lose it."

"What are you on about? You should know by now that the Demon Lord isn't limited to one life."

"Maybe the Demon Lord will just reincarnate one way or another, but that would be a different Demon Lord. It would not be you, they won't be the same Theodore standing right in front of me right now. The same stupid Theodore who worked so hard and went through all that trouble to create an opportunity to escape and won't take it."

"I-"

"You're 'Theodore.' You may have the memories of the Demon Lord, but you're still 'Theodore!'"

"But, the memories..."

"They don't control you. Otherwise, why would you care so much about this family of yours? Why would ten years' worth of memories outweigh memories of hundreds of years or however long a Demon Lord could live?"

Theodore frowned at those words. Albatross had a point. Why would a mere ten years be worth more than tens of thousands of years' worth of memories to him?

In truth, the memories of the Demon Lord worked in subtle ways, slowly entering the mind of its inheritor and would otherwise lay dormant in the depths of one's consciousness until they were required.

The reason for this was twofold. One was that a mind of a mortal would not be able to take in the large amount of information all at once, and thereby, the memories had to lay dormant in one's subconscious so as to not damage the mind. The other reason was so that the Larva would better be able to blend into their environment without being too heavily affected by past memories, at least while they were still developing.

Due to the reasons above, it could be argued that 'Theodore' and the 'Demon Lord' was not one and the same, at least for the moment, while the memories had not perfectly blended into one another.

Theodore wanted to separate himself from the Demon Lord before that happens, even at the cost of risking his life. Part of the reason was a desire for revenge against the Demon Lord for what happened in Eastcliff. Although, at the same time, it might also be because he did not want to see himself as the same person as the Demon Lord that had doomed his home and those he loved.

"All the more reason to go then," said Theodore, determined. "I need to get rid of the Demon Lord while I am still myself."

"But you'll die! Not just the Demon Lord, but you'll be gone as well!"

"It doesn't matter. There are fates worse than death. you should know that."

Albatross's hands were trembling. Theodore could feel it well as her finger had dug firmly into his skin.

"But... You said we'll be leaving together..." Albatross's voice trembled as she spoke. She was clearly at her wit's end. "You promised..."

Theodore was surprised by this display of weakness. The Albatross in his mind was a headstrong girl, difficult to deal with and defiant to the end. How could she appear so weak before him? Before the Demon Lord who was responsible for separating her from her family?

(Promises... Another promise...)

"Why do you care?"

"I don't know!" Albatross immediately replied.

"Are you stupid?"

"Shut up! I hate you!"

(She's so moody. Was she always such a brat?)

Theodore couldn't wrap his head around it. Though she was physically older, in this moment, she's so childish.

(This feels familiar...)

In Theodore's mind, memories of a little girl that would always come running after him, willfully asking him for this or that surfaced.

(Fio...)

Looking at Albatross again, Theodore saw that she was getting teary-eyed. It was a sight he was utterly not used to. So much so that it made him uncomfortable.

"It... It's because of you that I get to come this far. It's because you brought me to this point that I can finally leave. So don't leave me now."

(Was she always this childlike?)

In truth, despite the tough exterior she put up, Albatross never did grow up. Deep down, she was still that child that was brought into this city nine years ago, helpless and abandoned. Perhaps it was because it had been so long since that child had something to cling to, Albatross absolutely refused to let Theodore go, acting like the willful child she was deep down.

At the same time, Theodore was slowly feeling a sense of fear sinking in as he thought about what was to come. Even though he felt so numb when he heard the news about Eastcliff, when he had thought that he lost everything that mattered to him, even though he thought that he could keep pushing onward until he reaches the end, wherever that would be, Theodore suddenly felt afraid of the road that comes ahead.

Suddenly, he felt as if he had something to lose despite feeling that he had nothing left moments prior.

"Theodore... Please come with us. Please..." Albatross asked again. She was out of words, out of arguments, all that was left, all she could do, was beg and plea.

To Albatross's pleading, Theodore let out a heavy sigh. So heavy it was, he suddenly felt light upon releasing it.

"Fine," Theodore finally said. "Let's leave together."

He would deal with the Demon Lord some other day. Perhaps he might be consumed by the time his next opportunity rolls around, if it ever rolls around, but right at this moment, he wanted to forget about it all and leave this place.

***

End of Chapter 124

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