As the little beggar drew near, he discovered that his home had been destroyed. After all, how could one expect the dwelling of a beggar to withstand such a fierce blizzard since the life of a beggar is so fragile?
The tent he had made was torn and toppled by the violent storm. The storm had scattered everything inside, collected pots and pans were smashed or overturned.
The little beggar looked at the remains of his home without a hint of shock; he had anticipated this possibility.
The blizzard blew under the bridge where he was now. Wrapping the blanket tighter around himself, he pulled the baby girl into the warmest part of his embrace. Bending down, he took a piece of bread, now as hard as stone, from the remains, and then turned to leave.
…
For a beggar, a home is merely a place to sleep. This was not the first time the little beggar had to find a new 'home.'
He set out to find a place to spend the night where he wouldn't freeze to death. A dirty alleyway, offering some respite from the wind, was always a perfect refuge. The little beggar slipped quietly behind a restaurant, peering in through the back door where someone was washing dishes, and it looked like the restaurant was preparing to close.
Seizing the opportunity, he sneaked in, swiftly stole a cup, filled it with hot water, and then dashed out. Holding the small cup of hot water, he crouched inside a large trash bin, and turned his blanket inside out, draping it over his body.
In the darkness of the trash bin, The Blood Pupil shones.
"Kid, your will to survive has truly moved me. So I've decided, it's you. We'll spend the night here, and come tomorrow. Follow my commands from now on, and I'll let you obtain things you never even dared to dream of."
The little beggar huddled inside the small corner of the garbage bin, shielded from the wind and snow. He merely glanced at the dagger on his arm, then removed the cloth bag from his waist and took out a medicinal tablet.
The baby girl was asleep, wrapped and protected, likely not feeling the cold. The beggar tossed the tablet into the water, watching it dissolve with a shake. Then he brought the medicated water to the little girl's lips.
The warm liquid prompted the baby to open her mouth again. The powder that could heal her body mixed with the warmth, entering her system. The beggar sighed with relief and, while the water was still warm, gave her some more. When the water cooled down, he took the liquid, now as cold as snow, into his mouth and swallowed.
The cold in his stomach made him shudder. The Blood Pupil watched, seeming displeased.
"Boy, throw away this cursed but not dead girl. You've no obligation to care for her, no duty to spend nearly half your wealth on her."
The beggar leaned against the wall, silent. He stared at the sleeping baby's face and felt some annoyance.
He did have no obligation or responsibility to care for her. In this world, survival was supposed to be personal, that's the law of his life. Now, the girl's worth was gone, so why?
"…"
"Listen, human child. You have no idea how significant it is, how lucky you are to be chosen by me. You don't know the magnificent dark path that is going to lie ahead of you, where everyone will bow to you, no one daring to resist you. You will be the authority, able to have everything you want!"
"You will have endless wealth, countless women. And now, you can have it all immediately. There's just one thing you need to do—throw away this burden and leave!"
The mad voice shouted in the beggar's mind, his eyes, frozen, slowly began to to become chaotic and hard.
The demon was right; the baby girl was just a burden to him. Because of her, he lost his bread, his tent for shelter, and twenty-three gold coins for her sickness.
All that spending was just on the day!!!
One's life should only depend on oneself. That was always the beggar's creed. Living every day on the edge of starvation, beating, freezing to death, how could he have time to care for this baby girl?
"Right, why? Why would I do such an unrewarded, utterly foolish thing?" the beggar was asking himself.
In the pure darkness, the beggar's eyes began to freeze over again. His gaze turned to stone, looking at the baby girl in his arms. His grip loosened, and the swaddle began to slip away from his embrace, away from the blanket, away from the last warmth of his arms…
...
In the snow, the baby girl's swaddling clothes had completely left the embrace of the little beggar, facing the chill of the outside world. Her tiny body shrank in the cold, her little cheeks growing pale, and the faint white puffs of her breath becoming less visible.
She was going to die.
In such freezing conditions, if left alone for an hour or two, she would be frozen to death.
The little beggar's hands still cradled the swaddling clothes, but in his mind, the cruel voice from the devil emperor's sword excitedly urged him to continue. At this moment, the beggar's actions froze. Like a statue made of ice, he fell silent amidst the trash bins.
"Human child, you should let go," the voice said.
A flicker of hesitation crossed the beggar's icy eyes. He continued to look at the baby girl's red, frozen face, her tiny form. Finally…His hand slowly reached out to the girl again.
"Human—! You!.." The sword's words were cut off by the beggar.
"I… will go with you."
He opened the blanket, and the little beggar took the baby girl back into his arms and covered her with the blanket.
"I will find a family willing to take her in. Even with the worst luck, she could become a servant, at least she can… survive."
The pupil of the Devil Emperor's Sword, Hallelujah, widened in anger, the chains wrapped around the beggar's arm seemed ready to move again to slice open his frail body to express its discontent.
But the beggar stared back at the blood-red eye without a hint of fear or retreat, filled with determination. At this time, the blood-red eye slowly calmed down, and the chains ready to saw stopped.
"Hmph, your last act of mercy? Just like Laurence, the chief of the eighty thousand demons in the 'Sacred Covenant' described by the church."
"…I don't understand."
"Of course, you don't understand. Boy, you probably haven't even heard of the church's bible. Let me tell you. Before Laurence received the baptism of the demon race and became a powerful demon, he made a wish to exhaust all the goodness in his heart to do one last good deed in his life. For this, he paid the price of an eye and an arm to slay a dragon that had destroyed ninety-nine cities for the humans. After that, his goodness was used up completely, leaving nothing, and he successfully became one of the most muscular demons, replacing his own with the dragon's eye and right arm."
"…So, the intention of his last good deed was actually just to become stronger, and to gain fame among demons."
"Ha, kid, interesting. You are indeed the one I should choose, your understanding of the story is to my liking. Although in the church's translation, this story is explained as the temptation of the devil is very strong, able to lure the most honest people to abandon all goodness, and without regret fall into corruption, even if it means becoming disgusting and weird… "
The baby girl felt warm again and slowly stretched her body under the blanket. Beneath the blanket, her little mouth stuck out her tongue, looking utterly content.
The little beggar bit off pieces of bread, tucked the last small piece into his chest, covered up with the blanket, and closed his eyes. Between two dumpsters, the little beggar and the baby girl fell into a deep sleep.
The red pupil of the Demonic Emperor's Sword flickered, observing its chosen one and the sweetly sleeping baby girl in his arms.
"Interesting. The final act of grace?.. Well, rather than let him use that goodness on some unpredictable future event, better to let him use it on this little girl. Kid, just go ahead. Once your goodness is exhausted with this girl's departure, your coldness and cruelty will fully belong to me. Then… ha, a very interesting world will just begin!"
…
The next day, the blizzard continued.
As if the trembling snowflakes never ceased, they fell from the sky, layering the city of Senag with a white shroud. How many people had the storm frozen to death in two days? How many would face another cruel dawn with their nearly exhausted lives?
The snow watched the world's silence and then danced cheerfully in the air, landing on a frozen corpse.
The little beggar walked past the body, his small figure not pausing. He only wanted to finish this task quickly and avoid spending more energy in the snowy wilderness.
The little beggar's life was full of pain; his existence didn't seem to have any significant meaning. But he just didn't want to die. His living was just for the sake of ... maybe, just the instinct or... just a little hope.
However, Living in such conditions required more courage, determination, and wisdom, and was much harder than death, right?
Even if he was reeked, starved, cursed, chased away, or even beaten bloodily, he didn't want to die; he just wanted to live.
It was this simple faith that helped him survive another cold night.
The little beggar walked slowly through the alley. Occasionally, in the corners of the alley, one could find more frozen bodies. In such cold winters, the guards wouldn't send anyone to clean up.
Only in spring, when these bodies started to stink, when cockroaches and flies began to circle the rotten flesh when rats and crows dangled their entrails and ran through the streets, would someone come to clear this trash.
All just seemed like just the way it should be. It was so reasonable that the little beggar had no complaints at all.