Chapter 67: Toward the End of the Nightmare (1)

“Ah, yes—”

Moritz gazed up at the two suns hanging high in the sky.

The light he had longed for was right there.

The solemn hymns echoing from the Bartenberg estate only lifted his spirits further.

Riot Castle was a complete wreck, as if a fierce battle had just taken place.

Bodies were piled up here and there, and the faces of knights still trembling with excitement remained visible.

Yet, for Moritz, who had just been in the depths of hell until recently, this place was paradise.

His exhausted face brightened up fully.

“Richard!”

Among the heaps of corpses, Richard stood quietly.

Moritz urged Narre forward, and Narre quickly folded the ground and appeared before Richard.

“Hey, man! Your big brother came back alive! Hahaha!”

It was a moving reunion.

Moritz, feeling that way himself, suddenly hugged Richard tightly and shouted.

Then, he shuddered with a deep sigh.

Only then did he realize the disgrace of his outburst.

Unfortunately, the relationship between the younger brother and the elder was not exactly warm.

“Good job. You really did something great, Moritz.”

But what could he do?

Richard patted his shoulder with a kind smile.

“Uh, uh…?”

Surprised by the unexpected response, Moritz showed a trembling expression.

That was when—

“Master Moritz Bartenberg has returned!”

“Respect to the honorable Bartenberg who accomplished such a great mission alone!”

“A model knight! Moritz is truly a proud Bartenberg!”

The knights’ voices burst out loudly, as if it were a victory celebration.

The men, still burning from battle, shook their weapons and cheered.

“Wha—? I’m a proud Bartenberg…?”

Moritz’s eyes widened as he looked around.

Only then did the warm gazes directed at him strike like a bolt.

“Moritz! Moritz!”

“Long live Bartenberg!”

“Waaaaah!”

Ah, how sweet those words sounded.

How much he had wanted to hear them.

Yes. I am a warrior who has done something worthy of such praise.

Knowing my hard work, they celebrate me like this.

With his eyes shimmering uncontrollably, Moritz raised both hands high.

Then he shouted,

“I am a Bartenberg! I am Moritz Bartenberg!”

“Waaaaah!”

Thud!

After saying that, he collapsed backward.

The long tension suddenly released, and his eyelids felt heavier than a thousand pounds.

“I am… Bartenberg…”

He lost consciousness while hearing everyone’s cheers.

Still, the knights’ cheers continued for a long time.

Seeing how happy Moritz was, they only cheered more enthusiastically.

“This is hard to keep up with. Hey! Enough, enough!”

Finally, Richard, who subtly suggested giving a grand welcome, had to calm them down.

***

“Umm…”

Moritz opened his eyes after everything had settled.

While feeling the soft warmth of the fire for the first time in a while, he sensed someone nearby.

Thinking it might be a nurse, Moritz turned his head and almost fainted.

“Richard…? What are you doing here?”

“Ah, you’re awake?”

Why was he here?

He showed an expression that clearly said he didn’t understand.

They weren’t close enough for Richard to be nursing him.

But in Richard’s hand was a journal.

A familiar size and cover.

“Ah! Give me that right now!”

It was Moritz’s own journal and a reconnaissance report.

He knew well how much rage was contained inside.

All the fear he had felt back then was written without any filtering.

Richard surprisingly handed over the journal without resistance.

Moritz quickly took it and examined Richard’s face.

“Did you read it?”

“The first day of reconnaissance, I only skimmed the first page. Reading someone else’s diary isn’t my style.”

That was a relief.

He was preparing to burn the journal without fail when Richard spoke.

“So, I need to hear what you saw there. Can you come to the meeting room right now? The timing is just right.”

“Sure. Thanks to the Seed, my body is still sore anyway.”

“Good.”

The two immediately left the room and headed to the meeting room.

Silence hung between them on the way.

It was an uncomfortable silence for Moritz, so he tried to break it.

“Did anything happen here while I was gone?”

“Quite a lot. Things have changed considerably.”

“Like what?”

“You’ll see when we get there.”

***

Eventually, Moritz had to keep silent and enter the meeting room.

Leon and the other commanders were already gathered.

“Oh! Master Moritz, you’re awake!”

“Is there any injury?”

The heads of each division stood up abruptly to welcome him.

Moritz’s lips stretched into a grin that reached his ears, as if he were being treated like a hero.

“Well, I’m a hero, right?”

After all the hardships endured in hell.

He was mumbling inside his head.

Suddenly, the commanders took their seats again, all eyes fixed on Moritz.

They were waiting for his report.

“Hmm. What I saw at the enemy’s main base was…”

A long, detailed account flowed from Moritz’s mouth.

He began with the state of the villages near Polin Castle and went on to describe the enemy’s activities there.

Half of it was praise for himself, and the other half an expression of horror toward the enemies.

“Ugh.”

As soon as Moritz’s report ended, the meeting room buzzed with excitement.

“So the marble was really controlling the Undead?”

“Just being near them is enough to break your mind from their demonic energy!”

“The monsters filling Polin Castle…”

Loud voices followed.

The commanders exchanged words seriously.

“If what Moritz says is true, the Undead attacking Riot Castle have broken free of control.”

“That means the real scum is gone, giving us a chance to reduce the enemy’s numbers.”

“But don’t forget that the real scum is all gathered at Polin Castle. It’s highly likely the Deputy Death Knights will be pulled there.”

Some spoke of opportunity, others expressed concern over the powerful monsters gathering.

Richard, who had been listening quietly, spoke up.

“Moritz, was there really a flesh-eating monster?”

“Yes. It looked absolutely disgusting… Ugh, I don’t even want to think about it.”

Richard’s face darkened.

A flesh-eating monster.

That was something he had never seen in the future.

‘That was another variable, huh?’

Of course, he knew of the creature’s existence.

Although repulsive, it was called the Flower Bud.

A monster’s womb that spawned horrific beasts, the lowest of the demonic ranks.

“Well done. Destroying that was truly commendable.”

Richard applauded Moritz with praise.

Everyone in the meeting room followed with clapping.

“Alright, enough praise. Let’s get to the main topic.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Okay.”

***

The meeting ended with meaningful progress.

The information Moritz brought paved the way forward.

Most of it was just as expected, but there was one remaining variable.

“The magic beasts are swarming Polin Castle. It would have been a disaster if we just rushed in.”

Tapping, tapping—

Alone in the meeting room, I drummed my fingers on the table.

Recalling the opinions voiced during the meeting, I searched for the best option.

“Alright. It’s time to finally end this.”

In the end, the decision was to wrap up the war soon.

After all, everything I had hoped for from the alliance was already achieved.

The alliance had become a force to be reckoned with, made up of Temple Knights no longer strangers to demonic energy.

We had practiced enough for the future.

The current knights could annihilate the enemies besieging Polin Castle.

That was my judgment.

Especially since the undead, who relied solely on their numbers, were gradually being wiped out.

The real threats to deal with were the magic beasts at Polin Castle and the Death Knights.

There might even be stronger monsters among the liches.

“Well, the variables aren’t only on that side.”

There was a terrifying variable on our side, too.

Though they probably wouldn’t act unless necessary.

I organized my thoughts and headed back to the meeting room.

I was about to go to the Mind Practice when I heard a commotion outside the fortress.

I turned back and headed toward the source of the noise.

“At that moment, I thought, there was no turning back! Who do I think I am!”

“Oh! The third bloodline of Bartenberg, Moritz Bartenberg!”

What followed was a ridiculous scene.

Moritz had gathered all the knights and was boasting endlessly.

A foolish fool.

His face was flushed red, and whenever the knights cheered, he grinned wildly.

That guy was my blood brother.

The heavens must be merciless.

“Yeah! I am Bartenberg. Moritz Bartenberg, no less!”

He probably had no idea why the knights were cheering so enthusiastically for his childish antics.

Moritz was still only about 18 years old.

Of course, he was older than me, but let that be.

Such a young boy boasting so proudly—how could he not be full of spirit?

Moreover, he was in a mentally abundant state now.

As proof, the faces of the gathered knights were filled with expressions showing how adorable they found Moritz.

Ugh.

I sighed and approached my foolish brother.

It was true he had done a great thing, but wouldn’t it be better if he were a little more composed?

“Saint! May the blessings of God be upon you, Hor—!”

The knights who saw me crossed themselves and greeted me.

It was the greeting style of the Hor Church, spread throughout the alliance.

“Right. May God’s blessing be upon you all, Hor—.”

I roughly returned the greeting and glanced at Moritz, who was standing there blankly.

I just happened to have something for him.

“Moritz, give me your sword.”

“What? Why?”

“The God wishes to grant you a gift…”

Before I finished speaking, Moritz thrust the sword forward as if to stab me.

Surprising.

“What kind of gift? Hurry!”

“Wait.”

I pushed him aside as he urged me, then examined the sword.

It was a fine sword worthy of a noble family.

Quality was definitely acceptable.

I poured faith into his sword.

Not the usual way, but through the method of blessing.

Ten thousand, fifty thousand, a hundred thousand…

The sword, which greedily absorbed light like a bottomless vessel, suddenly gleamed brightly.

[Lowest-grade Sacred Sword (B+) has been produced.]

“Take it. This is a Sacred Sword imbued with the Blessing of Hor.”

“Uh—”

I handed the sword back to the stunned Moritz.

A lowest-grade Sacred Sword that had absorbed about half a million faith points.

It had cost a significant amount, but it was worth it.

“Listen well! Moritz is now a Knight of Hor, a Sacred Knight! And this Sacred Sword is his.”

The heat stirred in the knights’ eyes as they looked at the gleaming sword.

Knights never liked to be outdone by a good weapon, but a blessed weapon like this was death to their pride.

Faith was never wasted when it came to motivating them.

“Ha, hahaha! A Sacred Sword…”

Moritz hugged the sword and jumped up and down.

The knights spoke to him with obvious affection.

“Congratulations, Master Moritz.”

“Well, you’ve even become a Sacred Knight. Truly, the second hero of Riot Castle without question.”

At that, Moritz’s ear twitched.

What was the matter?

The boy who had been bouncing suddenly opened his mouth with a suspicious look.

“Second? Then who’s the first?”

“Well…”

“That’s…”

“The Saint. The Light-bearer, the Hero!”

Why did I suddenly feel the gaze directed at me?

I stood quietly, a smirk curling at my lips.

That was true.

I hadn’t done just a few things here.

While Moritz had been on reconnaissance, I hadn’t just been idle.

In the past few days, Riot Castle had changed beyond recognition.

“By the way, I don’t need a Sacred Sword. I’m favored by God.”

With that, I lit up the faith in my palm and smiled at my foolish brother.

His overwhelming joy was a bit hard to watch.