Ch.202202. Red Night (2)

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My body feels hot.

Faynol Leiphec hugged himself tightly as he gasped for breath.

The red energy inside his body was surging violently. It was beyond his control.

‘…What…’

What am I doing here?

Through his foggy mind, he could barely form this single thought.

His last memory was of putting a pill in his mouth, rolling it around, and then falling asleep.

And then, the memory of “demonic energy” overflowing from within his body.

As if he had “endured enough” already

As his consciousness faded and his vision darkened.

A familiar silhouette came into view.

It was the same figure he had seen when he first encountered the red night.

“…”

A woman surrounded by red energy. Two horns rising above her head.

If Faynol’s soul were to be transformed into red energy, it might look something like this.

“…You.”

Faynol muttered blankly.

His consciousness was dim.

He didn’t even know why he was in such a place.

Through this hazy state of mind.

A voice interjected.

-…The world.

The Red Demon.

-Will hurt you.

She spoke those words.

For someone who had killed so many people through her body, her voice was remarkably calm and even.

Almost like.

It conveyed a motherly affection.

As if she genuinely cared for Faynol.

-So, I will.

Without a doubt.

-Create everything anew for you.

These were words he had heard before.

●

Chaos surrounded the area.

The vast plain outside the Great Temple of the Holy Empire was filled with hastily constructed facilities.

This was the result of the Pope’s insistence that no one be allowed inside the Great Temple. Unlike others who at least utilized academy facilities or nearby grounds.

The Great Temple, the academy of the Holy Empire, was probably built near the country’s core “sacred place,” which explained this situation.

‘…It’s annoying, but…’

Honestly, I’m somewhat relieved by this terrain.

It’s almost as if someone chose this uninhabited area deliberately, as if they knew the second Crimson Night incident was coming.

“…”

Really annoying.

Most likely information from the Luminary.

[…By the way, is it okay to just leave that guy alone?]

Calivan Chrysanyx was asking about the Luminary who had been in my room until just now.

As soon as the red pillar of fire shot up, I left him behind and rushed outside.

“…He won’t try to harm me right now.”

So far, that guy has always been consistent in his behavior.

While he’s often amplified events that were already destined to happen, he’s never attempted to take my life.

This main quest will probably follow the same pattern.

As I mentioned earlier, there’s a high probability that he influenced the Pope to choose this sparsely populated location for the final trial.

That way, the difficulty would be reduced, giving me a chance to “survive” this trial.

“…”

The problem is.

The fact that this guy, who previously blatantly increased difficulty, is now “cooperating” to lower it suggests that this situation would be hellish enough even without his interference.

It would have been better if Elia Krisanax could control the Holy Sword, but we don’t even have that.

I stare at the massive pillar of fire rising before my eyes, reminiscent of a mushroom cloud from a nuclear explosion.

Despite being quite far away, I can feel heat so intense it seems like it could melt my skin.

And it’s not just the heat—the malicious demonic energy contained within makes all these physical phenomena seem trivial by comparison.

A heaviness fills the entire area, as if poisonous energy is permeating everything. The ancient gods I encountered in the Crucible of Struggle emitted similar energy, but this is on a different level.

“…”

Silently, I fiddle with the lion breastplate I’ve kept with me.

If I hadn’t stuffed Tatiana Grachelle in there as a “familiar” beforehand, I would have been crushed under that pressure.

What’s even more absurd is that this is merely the “precursor” announcing the beginning.

The Crimson Night incident.

The demonic rampage considered one of the worst calamities in the Empire’s long history.

This is just the “signal” marking its beginning.

[So, what’s the solution?]

“…I have plans for the early and middle stages.”

I answer while recalling the details of the event that will follow.

The first thing to do is, naturally, to reach where Faynol Leiphec is.

The specific strategy for defeating the boss starts from there.

I’ve already planned how to get there.

“…”

The problem is that I’m missing the decisive final blow.

That’s something I’ll have to figure out when the time comes.

It’s not like I don’t have any clues to work with.

“Oh, Mr. Darwood?!”

While I was lost in thought, a familiar voice called out from beside me.

Turning my head, I saw Lana Ray Delvium with her eyes wide open. We must have met by chance.

“What on earth is happening?! What is that pillar of fire?!”

“…”

I don’t feel like explaining that the Red Demon has begun her rampage.

She’ll hear the full story later anyway, and telling her now would only add to the surrounding chaos.

For now, it’s more important to find a way to use this chance encounter to my advantage.

“Lana. I have a favor to ask.”

“Yes?”

“Could you gather as many people as possible nearby and help them evacuate?”

Hearing my words, she blinked and looked at me.

Even though this is a sparsely populated area, there are certainly people who haven’t managed to escape yet.

If I leave it to her, she should be able to lead that many people to safety.

Meanwhile, what I need to do is…

“Mr. Darwood.”

“…”

“Mr. Darwood. Listen.”

Wondering what she wanted in this urgent situation, I looked at her as she tilted her head and spoke.

“Your expression is very frightening right now.”

“…”

I stared blankly at her, confused by her sudden remark, and she continued looking straight at me.

“Are you okay? Compared to when you used to use me inhumanly without any hesitation… now seems, now seems much scarier.”

“…”

“…Back then it felt like you were walking a tightrope, but now you don’t even seem human, you know?”

[…She has quite the intuition.]

I heard Calivan agreeing with Lana’s words, but.

“…Let’s worry about that later.”

I sigh and deflect the conversation.

There’s neither reason nor luxury to worry about such things now.

“Can you do what I asked?”

“…It’s not difficult. It’s something that needs to be done anyway.”

“Then please take care of it!”

With just those words, I start running again.

If she can handle evacuating the other humans, my job becomes much easier.

My destination is the makeshift campsite far from my quarters.

The path is mostly open plains with vegetation, almost like a wilderness.

All I need to do is cross straight through to reach the campsite where Faynol is.

At least, that was the original plan.

As the red flames rise high enough to touch the sky.

“Rifts” begin to appear in the surrounding space.

“…”

Of course, this was expected.

It’s similar to what happened in Chapter 1 when I faced Marquis Riverback who had become a Mine. Creatures from Pandemonium being summoned to the material world.

It’s a fixed pattern for this boss fight, so there’s nothing particularly new—

[…Are you sure?]

“…”

[You’re saying this isn’t new…?]

Seeing “dozens” of gates opening around us, I can fully understand Calivan’s trembling voice.

It’s obvious when you think about it—the creatures of Pandemonium are monsters on par with the beings from the Otherworld where angels resided.

One or two might be manageable, but this many could actually kill me…?

“…Hey.”

Cold sweat trickled down my forehead.

At the same time, a bewildered murmur escaped my lips.

“Isn’t this going a bit too far…?”

From the gates that opened, releasing sticky black demonic energy across the ground, several viscous creatures began to rise.

Cleaners of Pandemonium. The lowest creatures in the food chain.

It seems like the most basic ones are emerging first, before the more complex creatures that will pour out later.

Of course, with dozens of gates, the number of these basic creatures slowly rising from the ground must be in the hundreds.

“…Haah…”

I wipe away my cold sweat and look around.

Honestly, I could fight if needed. At this point, my specs should be enough to engage in a full-on battle with these things.

But.

‘…I should conserve my strength as much as possible.’

The boss fight with Faynol hasn’t even begun yet.

I can’t waste my energy here—

“You always.”

A familiar voice suddenly came from nearby.

“Try to do everything alone, and that’s the problem.”

With those words.

-!

-!!!

Dozens of Sweepers were shattered in an instant.

An impressive sword strike. A familiar swing, too.

“…Elnore?”

As I muttered that name in bewilderment, Elnore Erinarise la Tristan, whom I felt like I hadn’t seen in ages, stepped in front of me with a grin.

And that’s not all.

Behind her were Serath Evatrice, Riru Garda, Yuria Greyhaunter, and finally Elia Krisanax, who followed with an exasperated expression.

None of them showed any fear or intention to retreat despite the Pandemonium creatures swarming nearby.

Except for Elia, that is.

She seems a bit out of place.

How should I put it.

Despite facing such a calamity, they’re not scared or concerned about it, but rather burning with rivalry toward each other.

As if there’s something much more important at stake.

“…”

Old man.

What the hell did you bet on to make such people this motivated?

[Your virginity.]

“…”

[I offered it as a prize to everyone except Elia.]

“…”

[Come on, isn’t it about time you gave up your virgin status to someone?]

“…”

[Honestly, I don’t care who it is as long as it’s not Elia.]

You bastard.

What did you just say?

“Well then, everyone.”

While I was thinking this.

“Let’s not get in each other’s way.”

Elnore’s words dropped casually.

Simultaneously.

-!!!

-!!!!!!!

A massacre unfolded in all directions.

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