Resentment swept over me like a wave.
I felt nauseous, like the day after drinking far too much alcohol.
‘This is fake.’
It was nothing more than an illusion created by that wicked Arahel.
I knew that fact.
However, it wasn’t a problem I could simply dismiss as a falsehood.
“…This could very well be a situation that happens in reality.”
Unable to meet their eyes, I hung my head and muttered to myself.
When was it?
Right. It must have been when Mary and I were busy with our mission in Snowfall.
That day, Aaron, who had harbored an antipathy toward God, asked me a question.
He asked why God had made the world like this — why the world was so full of conflict and chaos.
With so many innocent victims suffering, he asked if the existence known as the Creation God was truly worthy of worship. I couldn’t say a single word in response.
It was from that moment on that this heavy, burning emotion carved itself deep into my chest.
‘You… are… a… hypocrite…’
The more I bonded with my comrades, and the more the influence of the Hor religion grew, the more I became afraid.
My insides slowly burned away with the anxiety that their reaction to the truth might one day mirror this very situation.
Of course, I didn’t think they were completely ignorant even now.
I had given them countless hints, and the men who had defended Riot Castle alongside me would have surely caught on to my true identity by now.
Did they know that their unchanging attitude was my only source of comfort?
I shook my head to clear my thoughts. I leveled my sword at the corpses that seethed with resentment.
“Don’t look at me with those eyes. It’s annoying.”
*Slash!*
The corpses of Riot Castle, whose necks I had once taken, lunged at me. I did not retreat; I swung my blade.
Though the sight unfolding before me was unpleasant, falling into Arahel’s illusion had been my intention.
Unlike the real world, time here could pass however long she willed it. To those who wanted to play with me a little longer, this place was like a playground where they could quench a centuries-old thirst to their heart’s content.
*Skreeech!*
My blade slid up the shaft of an undead’s lance. Afterward, it passed through a rotten forearm, a shoulder, and finally the neck.
A head soared into the air.
*Thud!* One frantic corpse swatted the head away with its hand as it rushed toward me. Black blood splattered in a messy spray.
“Grrr…”
Aaron gnashed his teeth and thrust his maw forward. Moritz tightened his grip around my waist from behind. Count Poiro’s fierce sword strikes pierced through my openings.
*Clang!*
My movements gradually grew sluggish. I was exhausted, but the corpses were tireless. I was alone, and there were so many of them. Naturally, the pool of red blood on the ground only continued to widen.
*Rattle!*
I released my chains and wrapped the ends around the battlements of Riot Castle. Pulling with all my strength, I kicked off the ground and leaped. I stood atop the wall, gasping for breath.
“There are a damn lot of them.”
The things below cranned their necks upward and shrieked as they clung to the wall. No matter how many heads I severed, the corpses were revived in an instant. It was a fight that was far too disadvantageous.
However, there was exactly one thing that remained fair.
‘They aren’t the only ones who won’t die.’
During the repeated cycles of combat, my vital points had been pierced by spears and swords dozens of times. I had been gnawed on by the teeth of those corpses countless times. Despite that, I remained alive and continued to fight.
“Graaaah!”
In the brief moment I took a breath, Count Poiro leaped over the wall in a single bound. Simultaneously, he unleashed a thunderous vertical strike.
*Clang!*
Sparks flew between the clashing blades. Soon, the fierce and rapid swordsmanship unique to the Poiro family swept over me. In the past, I would have been helpless against this sinister blade.
But what about now?
“Fireball.”
Three rings expanded above the Count’s head. Soon, white spheres of fire dropped from the gaps of the widening rings.
His black helmet was instantly heated to a glowing red. Seizing the moment his body stiffened, four strands of chain bound his limbs.
[Four Swords of the Sword Star — Activated]
The stars shot forward, trailing long tails behind them. Bound hand and foot, Count Poiro had no room to dodge, and the stars slammed into his body. I clenched my fist.
[Explosive Star — Activated]
*Crunch.*
Count Poiro’s form distorted as the stars swelled significantly before compressing in an instant. Soon after, the four stars detonated simultaneously.
A magnificent explosion.
Without a single shard of bone remaining, Count Poiro died just like that.
‘Will he still come back to life after this?’
There was no time to observe. The corpses were climbing over the debris of the wall that had collapsed from the aftermath of the Exploding Star.
Despite having moved to the narrow wall, the relentless battle resumed once more.
In the midst of the repeating cycle of killing and dying, a familiar Death Knight let out a roar from among the endless swarm.
Count Poiro had been resurrected.
It was truly a nightmare. I could see right through Arahel’s dark intentions in showing me such an illusion.
‘The fact that even I won’t die means… I should taste hell for a long time.’
I couldn’t tell how much time had passed since I had been trapped in this illusion. Was it a month, or a year? Or perhaps only an hour had gone by. Along with my wavering sense of time, I could feel my mind gradually eroding.
“Ah, ahhh…”
“Die, die!”
Even in that state, the bitter resentment hounded me without rest. I wanted to block my ears. No, I wanted to rupture my eardrums entirely. But I knew they would only regenerate immediately anyway.
“In the middle of the dark night.”
And so, I sang a Holy Song alone.
“The Lord shall bring the joyful news.”
In this castle, fighting against the darkness. I sang the song alone, the one I had once sung with my comrades. As I recited the verses, my mind grew clearer.
“…They say the dawn will soon break.”
Only then did I notice it.
**[Five Swords of the Sword Star — Activated]**
The Stigmata on the back of my hand was shining brightly. Vitality surged into my exhausted body and mind.
The fifth star, which had appeared out of nowhere, began to radiate a sharp edge before me. Its light was brighter than ever before.
As a star like the Sun settled in a castle filled with hatred and Demonic Energy, a pungent smell of burning flesh wafted from the hideous bodies of the corpses.
The power of a Sword Saint advances layer by layer the more one is pushed into a crisis.
In other words.
This meant there was no place better than this hell to stimulate my growth.
“…Fine. There should be at least this much of a merit.”
It was just one step.
It was clear that this hell would be very long and arduous for me to be satisfied with only the fifth star.
***
The Legion Commanders surrounding Richard wore ecstatic smiles.
Richard, trapped in the illusion, was making an expression they had never seen before. It wasn’t the hostile look he usually directed at them, but a face that clearly revealed his deep, agonizing suffering.
Mamon, who was watching him intently, laughed brightly.
『 You must be having a good dream. 』
*Thump—*
Mamon’s bone sword pierced through the center of Richard’s abdomen. However, Richard simply stood there without the slightest movement. To see a father, who had been higher than the very heavens, completely submerged in an illusion…
『 Ah, Father. 』
『 Father, did you know? 』
『 Only five minutes have passed since you fell asleep. 』
Arahel, her face flushed red, stroked Richard’s hair.
Explosions thundered continuously outside. The shouts of humans rained down, and the shrieks of the corpses did not diminish in the slightest.
It was only natural. It hadn’t even been thirty minutes since Richard had faced Mamon and Arahel, so there was no way the battle could have concluded in that time.
Arahel laid Richard’s standing body down on the floor. Every single movement was filled with devotion.
『 These lovely children will dream the same dream as Father. 』
『 Please play with them for a very, very long time. 』
Arahel lay down, using his left arm as a pillow. Mamon took the right arm.
*Shhh—*
After the black parasites covered the two Legion Commanders, silence hung over the castle of bone. it was a scenery far too different from the thunderous explosions echoing from outside.
At that moment, two figures were reflected in the blade of the Bad Bond rolling on the floor.
[‘…Have those wicked bastards fallen asleep too?’]
The man reflected in the white blade asked. A storm-like murderous intent was swirling in his eyes as he looked at Arahel and Mamon.
How dare they.
How dare they bring Lord Hor to this state—
The anger he couldn’t suppress was on the verge of manifesting outside the white blade.
『 Restrain your energy. 』
『 Unless you want to make Father’s hard work go to waste. 』
『 Heh, I think that wouldn’t be so bad either. 』
The Red Giant on the black blade side spoke.
*Hummm—*
Soon, the blade of the Bad Bond rose into the air. It was an incredibly stealthy movement, as if afraid Arahel and Mamon might wake.
[‘Hor really does have a reckless side.’]
[‘If they had acted even slightly outside of expectations…’]
Albert shuddered. He had been so startled when Mamon stabbed Richard’s stomach earlier. He felt as though the heart, which had already stopped and died, might disappear entirely.
At his complaint, Kalgos twisted the corners of his mouth.
『 At least regarding Father, those two cannot deviate from expectations. 』
If you poke a beehive, the bees are bound to retaliate, and if you stand still before the undead, they are bound to bite you in an instant.
It was a natural logic. That logic applied to Mamon and Arahel as well, so everything was proceeding according to Richard’s plan.
Since it was a meeting they had yearned for for thousands of years, they must have wanted to enjoy this fleeting moment forever. This was the result.
It was when Kalgos was looking at his younger siblings with a strange gaze.
[‘Then, what about your case?’]
Albert suddenly asked in a subtle tone.
[‘Was you betraying your own kind also within the range of your own expectations?’]
Betrayal.
Kalgos’s twisted smile deepened. Soon, according to his will, the blade of the Bad Bond moved toward a certain spot.
『 I simply wanted to see. 』
『 What kind of ending Father has decided upon. 』
『 I do not want my curiosity to end in vanity. 』
The place where the Bad Bond stopped was in front of the Magic Array condensed to open a rift. Geometric shapes and rune characters embroidered on the floor and walls were leaking an ominous energy.
It was impossible to erase this now. Even if it were possible, it would inflict a fatal wound on the foundations of this world.
However, it was possible to ‘adjust’ it so that what was meant to open wide all at once would open gradually.
『 Heh! 』
『 I must apologize to the King for this. 』
The Bad Bond was thrust into the center of the Magic Array. Soon, the arrangement of the rune characters began to distort little by little.