episode_0098

Just moments ago, the pleasantly warm and bright summer of May had instantly transformed into a frigid, harsh winter like that of Eisenwald.

Changing the surrounding space itself into a completely different environment was a technique even Raymond, a seasoned fighter, had never seen before.

This felt different from Field magic, an environmental magic sometimes displayed by high-level mages.

It was an unfamiliar and alien space, as if the world itself had been reconstructed, rather than an artificial creation manifested by magic.

A vivid yet detached-from-reality, and at the same time, nauseatingly real, incomprehensible domain.

‘A hallucination…? No… whether it’s a hallucination or magic, I don’t care about such things. I don’t know what trick he pulled, but I’ll just break it with force.’

In any case, Raymond intended to tear the smirking, effeminate-looking brat before him to death, no matter what it took.

He was already infamous for his bad temper, but now, due to a rage that made his head spin, he was even further from his right mind.

This unheard-of nobody dared to interrupt his precious ‘education’ time.

Moreover…

‘Could she even make such a dazed… expression? It’s an expression she’s never shown to this brother, or even to her fiancé. Like the vulgar woman she is… did she make eyes at that bastard?’

Marisa’s current expression was so annoyingly bright, cute, pretty, and lovely.

It wasn’t the usual expressionless, lifeless look she wore to suppress her irritation, anger, and disgust… the kind that declared she wouldn’t even acknowledge the other person.

Raymond had never once in his life seen Marisa express such affectionate and soft emotions so openly and deeply, which made Marisa seem detestable, and at the same time, his anger towards the nameless man before him grew even stronger.

His anger was even greater because, watching his sister become unbelievably beautiful over the years, he had countless times wished she were an unrelated stranger.

Normally, extreme anger is poison to a fighter.

Whether the source of that anger is as base as Raymond’s, or the elegant and sophisticated rage of a noble warrior, if it is excessive, it is equally detrimental.

Anger often acts as a good stimulant and a catalyst for a rapid burst of power, but it is also an emotion with a strong rebound.

If one surrenders their entire body to the surging heat and unleashes adrenaline-fueled power, they cannot be free from the side effects after the so-called ‘rage buff’ ends.

However, Raymond was a direct descendant, inheriting the blood of Valencia very strongly.

Like a combat family that always fought in the severe cold of distant Eisenwald, the Valencias had inscribed in their genes the ability to convert anger into physical strength and mana, using it as their nourishment.

Indeed, in the frigid cold, dancing wildly with lava-like rage becomes a battering ram that smashes the skulls of ruthless strategists.

Therefore, for Raymond, fighting while rolling around in the harsh cold, fueled by anger, was an environment akin to his home ground.

Raymond confidently declared war, raising his tremendous fighting spirit, honed over 32 years, with the momentum of a northern berserker.

“I don’t know what petty trick you’re pulling, but it’s a shame your trick just had to be ice magic. I am Raymond of Valencia, the ruler of the harsh cold, of Eisenwald…!”

Yawn———–.

However, what Ras, standing before him, did upon seeing Raymond’s solemn yet confident declaration, was to squint his eyes and yawn.

Furthermore…

“Marisa, let’s have Irha buy us some Fire-Chicken Mustard Sausage Bread later. That looked spicy and delicious.”

“Ra…Ras…? Even so, we’re in the middle of a battle, aren’t we…? But I do want to try it myself?”

He nonchalantly talked about new bread to eat during snack time with Marisa, who was standing behind him, *with his back turned*.

“Ho…How dare you…!!! A dog-like brat like you..! Do you think this fight is a joke?”

But Ras snapped impatiently at the enraged Raymond.

“Hey, Mister, sorry, but if this were a real battlefield, you’d already be dead three times over. I’m just playing along because I’m fighting an idiot who introduces himself on the battlefield.”

From Ras’s perspective, what Raymond was doing was nothing more than child’s play.

The moment one speaks of killing or dying, a slaughter is bound to unfold, so where in the world is there time to leisurely introduce oneself?

The front lines where he fought Azuldah, the gladiator arena of Kashmir, and the assassination war against the King of Kashmir where he rampaged for Semere — those were true hells where no such entertainment was allowed for even a moment.

So, from Ras’s point of view, the real ‘strong ones’ were those like Lea Iorca, who would abandon honor, launch surprise attacks, talk a lot of trash, but never let their guard down and cling on relentlessly.

Someone like Raymond, who acts boastful simply because of his noble lineage, is nothing more than a brat with a silver spoon, no matter how old he gets.

And it was extremely displeasing to Ras that the unlucky bloodline dared to stare at Marisa’s face with eyes full of filthy desire.

“And, why are you staring at Marisa’s face so unpleasantly, you trash. If you stare like that with sticky eyes, the kid will feel bad, won’t she? You look like crap, I’ll just poke your eyes out…”

And before he could finish the word ‘out’, Raymond charged forward, shutting his mouth.

‘I’ve tested the waters completely. It’s chilling, and mana circulation is slightly hindered… but this much power won’t affect me…?’

Raymond diligently converted his fiery rage into mana and physical strength, circulating mana throughout his entire body, and he clearly succeeded in achieving an explosive acceleration along with a sense of exhilaration.

But why…?

Ras’s lips curled into a smirk as he watched Raymond charge with bloodshot eyes. And the next moment…

Splat-

Raymond tripped over his own feet like a broken doll and just tumbled disgracefully in the snowfield.

Did he trip on a tree stump buried in the snow?

Or did he step on some mana trap that the insolent effeminate brat had set up in this environment beforehand?

“Ugh…What is this..! You… cowardly used a trap.”

But Ras merely stood still in his spot and scoffed.

“Why do guys like you always try to find the problem outside? I’ll give you a hint. Observe ‘inside yourself’ carefully. Think about why your body isn’t obeying you.”

‘Rage’ surged to the top of his head.

Mana ‘boiled’ again, ‘heating’ the surroundings.

“Aaaargh…!!!!!”

He hadn’t brought his specialized equipment, but he prided himself on being able to tear apart a mere academy brat a hundred times over.

Raymond was the kind of person who believed even Prince Leon, said to be strong enough to find no rival among his peers, would have to concede to him.

However… when he took a step forward with that surging ‘rage’…

Thud-

He tumbled disgracefully again, and even more wildly than before.

“Are you sick with a fever? Why are you acting so disgracefully? You’ll be there until dawn. Reflect and introspect, *calmly*, you idiot.”

Ras, meanwhile, wasn’t even moving, just snickering, which drove Raymond insane.

But… for some reason, the distance between them grew even wider than before, and a chilling white night filled the space between Ras and Raymond.

Ras’s new mental domain, White Night, appeared to be a tranquil, serene world of night, like a clear mirror-like water, but at the same time, it contained the diverse and cruel hidden moves characteristic of extreme Yin.

Just as moonlight and snow gently accumulate, white, on the other side of a comfortable and beautiful pitch-black night, the seemingly peaceful White Night is in fact no different from a gaping abyss.

White Night, Act 1 – A Smile Hiding a Dagger [literally, a sword hidden in laughter]

To properly engage in ‘combat’ within this artificial, theatrical world of gentle smiles, one must cool their head to perceive the dagger hidden within the laughter.

Maximum rationality and the calmest, most serene mindset.

Unless one adopts a mindset of moderation and harmony, the trapped victim will be tormented by the cruel white night again and again.

Those whose vision is obscured by rage will trip over invisible hands and feet repeatedly, becoming stuck in an inescapable pitfall.

“Look at him fall so disgracefully, like an idiot!”

“Hehehe, hehehe!! Is that why he can’t even get proper recognition from his family?”

“He’s stupid~ and has no dignity. He’s stupid, undignified, and even his face looks really fierce! See, he just doesn’t suit being a noble~”

When he tried to stand, his legs gave out and he fell. As he tumbled, cute yet chilling…ghostly whispers and jeers, full of malevolent energy, flew into his ears like daggers, piercing him.

Thus, like daggers hidden in laughter, despair and helplessness repeatedly and powerlessly stabbed Raymond’s fiercely heated heart.

The rebukes from the unknown voices, which initially held a playful tone, became increasingly cruel and merciless…true daggers, devoid of any laughter, as time went on.

Ice daggers thus, stabbed Raymond-!

“Aaaargh…!!!!!”

The voices’ mockery and abuse detached Raymond’s mind from reality, leaving him in a dazed state.

At the same time, ice daggers that sprang up from the ground mercilessly pierced through various parts of Raymond’s body.

The white forest was instantly stained with Raymond’s blood..

White Night, Act 2 – Night Parade of One Hundred Demons [literally, one hundred demons walking at night]

The laughter of the malevolent children and the blood Raymond shed awakened all sorts of ghosts and grotesque monsters that had been sleeping underground.

A fantastical time where one-eyed creatures, limping figures, muscular giants, blood-soaked faceless beauties, chilling multi-tailed foxes, horned goblins, and strangely shaped demonic beasts roamed.

Whether they were real or not didn’t really matter in a mental world based on imagination from the start.

The countless fictional beings that Ras himself had read about, and also heard about through his good reading companion Marisa, took on corporeal form in this mental world and crushed the villain.

Thwack-! Thwack-! Thwack-!

Raymond’s body was burst apart by the punches of a large goblin with bulging muscles.

Before Raymond’s unrecognizable pulpy remains, a blood-soaked, faceless beauty, who couldn’t make sounds from her mouth, formed simple magical hand signs with a chilling cackle resembling a wail.

With a pure white halo of light, Raymond, who had been reduced to pulp, was resurrected from death.

“Stop…I…I was wrong…!”

However, Raymond’s screams did not reach the master of the mental world.

Raymond desperately searched for Ras, clearing his blood-red vision, but where he came to his senses was a pure white hellscape, entirely different from the tranquil forest of before.

“Oppa, Oppa, Oppa. Was this what you wanted to hear so badly? Damn you, Oppa, Oppa I want to kill. My life was truly miserable thanks to you. Hehehe… look at this face. Do you remember the day you hit me so hard my teeth fell out?”

“Raymond, you who could have everything you wanted, why did you torment a lowly person like me so much? There were countless times I wanted to die because of you. You might not have known what happened to me, but even in death, I came back to kill you.”

“I thought I’d sell my soul to a demon if I could just land one punch on your face, but to think such an opportunity would come. Now that the opportunity has come, just one punch won’t be enough. I, you see, brought a knife.”

“The Duke’s young master came to the back alley and mercilessly beat me to death, didn’t he? I was just selling you a good aphrodisiac, just as you wanted. This time, I’ll make you drink a poison that melts your insides.”

Countless people, including Marisa, whom he had tormented and caused pain, or cruelly killed, appeared as translucent ‘ghosts’ and swirled bewilderingly around Raymond.

Some held knives, others bamboo spears, still others bottles of bubbling poison and torches… The ‘ghosts’ flickered with their harsh stories, illuminating the forest as they burned.

Of course, as can be inferred from the appearance of the perfectly alive Marisa as a ‘ghost’, this scene does not strictly align with reality.

Rather, it was merely the vague fear deep within Raymond’s heart — ‘What if I face retribution someday?’ — manifested through the mental domain.

To be clear, the people Raymond bullied during his school days are living well after graduation, their wounds healed, so there’s no need to worry about them.

Anyway…!

“Cough…I…I was wrong…wrong…!!!”

Raymond, who had long since lost the reason to distinguish between reality and illusion, desperately writhed, clinging to his victims in an attempt to beg for belated forgiveness.

But within this boundary of reality and illusion, there was no chance whatsoever for Raymond to receive forgiveness from his victims.

He was cruel, merciless, and sadistic, so deep within his heart, there was an underlying consciousness that he could never be forgiven.

The cave of deepest intimacy only echoes with the utmost sincerity, and that echo reverberates through the forest of the White Night, creating a ‘truth’ for a brief moment.

Thus, the truth within the White Night is simple.

Raymond Sylvester von Valentia was an unforgivable being, and he had truly been miserably defeated.

‘I was wrong. I repent. Please, just stop this pain.’

The power of this bizarre and cruel world was so harsh and strong that it made him feel remorse and repentance, emotions he had never experienced in his life.

The most heinous pain, flaying his flesh, shattering his bones, and melting his skin, surged over Raymond all at once.

In his vision, dyed red with blood and blurred with tears, the long night of the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons ended.

“Cough!”

Raymond came to his senses, spitting out a mouthful of blood. This was once again the tranquil forest under the familiar White Night.

“If you just lie there like that, you’ll freeze to death, you know?”

When he heard Ras’s voice playfully teasing him with snickers, Raymond realized he was still alive.

The mental damage was immense, and he couldn’t even properly control his body.

Continuously coughing up blood, Raymond knelt, something he hadn’t done in a very long time.

“A northern man, you know… if he’s raised his momentum, shouldn’t he at least cut a radish? Come on, come at me. I called you to fight, so why are you rolling around on the floor like an idiot? Isn’t it funny, Marisa?”

“Indeed. For someone like him, to say, ‘I was wrong, I repent, stop it.’ If it were me, I would have elegantly said, ‘Kuh… kill me…!’ Such people are the very disgrace of the ducal family.”

“Hey! I told you not to say, ‘Kuh… kill me…!’? If something dangerous happens, just hide right behind me. Like now. I’ll just beat everyone up for you, alright?”

“Again…! That’s your problem…! You’re not even my husband…!”

Before his miserable and weak self, happiness and warmth permeated the spot just a few steps away.

This harsh and cold white night, and the ceaseless heavy snowfall, were merely a beautiful and cozy scene for Ras and Marisa.

Ras and Marisa had simply been enjoying the cruel revenge drama created by the White Night from the audience seats, so there was no way the harshness or coldness on the stage could intrude upon them in the audience.

Marisa’s feelings as she gazed at Ras from that warm and comfortable place, smiling brightly, blushing, and hesitating, were undoubtedly ‘love’.

In the sense of ‘reaping what you sow’, Raymond, who had never once received proper love from anyone, found that feeling of happiness incredibly painful and infuriating.

It was a pain of severed intestines… a heartbreaking pain, no less terrible than the agony he suffered during the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons.

“Hey. Then don’t hold back and unleash it. Haven’t you already figured it out? Although it seems impressive at first glance, this forest is ultimately nothing more than a complex illusion whose operating principles you don’t understand. Just put all your effort into it, gather overwhelming power, and attack. A powerful punch always erases illusions.”

At that moment, the thoughtful, gentle, and truly trustworthy voice of an unknown young boy, imbued with the seasoned wisdom of a veteran, awakened Raymond’s mind.

A seasoned fighter like Raymond usually wouldn’t have trusted anyone in this world dominated by Ras.

However, Raymond, worn out by experiencing too much in a short time, had lost all mental energy and the leisure to consider whose voice it was.

Watching Raymond escape one trap and then willingly walk into a new one, the boy, ‘Nameless’, merely snickered to himself.

‘Yes…. Don’t get buried in this forest… Don’t be swayed by trivialities…. Was he an illusionist…?’

To repay humiliation, sometimes one needs to gain momentum by placing their head at their feet and kneeling in submission.

Raymond surrendered himself to Nameless’s gentle voice and loaded his momentum while kneeling.

“Unleash the heat to its maximum, pushing yourself too hard, with the mindset of self-destruction, that with this one attack, I’ll become a cripple who can’t even control his own bowels… I don’t care if I die..! Go with that single-minded determination.”

Even before this white forest first began, a subtle chill had been binding his entire body and heart like iron chains.

To burn away that unpleasant sensation, he needed to use all his strength, just as Nameless had said.

Nameless, to aid Raymond’s self-destruction, added propulsion to Raymond’s reckless mana exertion with his benevolent heat.

Finally, at the point where his momentum was at its peak, Raymond felt that the greatest moment of his life had arrived.

“Just die…!!!!”

With his eyes fixed on Ras, who was still snickering carelessly, and Marisa, who was still acting like a dazed girl, Raymond unleashed a single strike to repay the oppression(?!) and humiliation.

A truly well-aimed, full-force blow containing all the mana of a direct descendant of the Ducal House of Valencia…!

‘It’s done. With this one blow… I will at least touch that demon once…!’

Raymond, a disgusting, morally bankrupt criminal, was in many ways a remarkable human, harboring thoughts typically found in ‘allies’ from novels who exhaust a powerful enemy’s stamina before dying.

Thus, an immense, scorching power capable of melting the white night and the snowy forest surged towards Ras and…..

Boom-!!!!

“Did I finish him off?”

In the scene filled with thick smoke and deafening explosions, the beautiful White Night crumbled like an illusion.

The voice of Nameless, which had seemingly been trustworthy and thoughtful, encouraging his self-destruction in his head, scurried away!

Simultaneously, his intestines, mana heart, and all the muscles and nerves in his body, which had been under the control of the cold, began to necrotize one by one as a result of being pushed to their absolute limits.

Raymond, dulled by the pervasive chill that had restrained his entire body, still couldn’t properly feel the abnormalities in his body.

However, at this very moment, his body had crossed the river of no return, unable to live a proper life as a single individual again.

Though he was definitively destined to live the life of a cripple, perhaps… if he had landed even one proper attack on Ras, he might have been able to smile just once before he left this world.

However… unfortunately, a puppet on a theatrical stage can generally never obtain anything it desires, and this applied equally to Raymond.

Moreover, this foolish puppet had even uttered the most powerful resurrection spell in the world, making it truly hopeless.

If most of the pain he had experienced so far was within the illusion on the stage, the pain from now on would be the pain experienced in the returned reality.

Indeed, for the wicked, suffering comes twice [a proverb about retribution].

“Who is who, exactly? With that filthy face, how dare you… threaten my students… especially my small, precious ‘favorite student’?”

Standing at the very edge of the crumbling illusion was the woman who disciplined mischievous students skipping class and going to watch plays during the day.

“Isera…Bernstein…?”

A peer whom even Raymond, the greatest hooligan in his school days, could never touch and thus cautiously avoided, and a legendary figure of Leone Academy.

Isera Bernstein had arrived to stop the school violence and defeat the terrorist.

That’s right… it wasn’t the criminals’ night now, but midday, the time when professors usually worked…!