Ch.227Report on the Collapse of Patience (20)

“That’s a human? Look with your eyes! Does that look human to you? That black, impure, cursed thing—does that leader of beasts look human to your eyes?”

Günther shouts vehemently, conscious of the knights’ gazes, but he keeps flinching as if afraid of being struck by the staff again.

Laios’s expression is hidden behind his helmet, but judging by his raised head, he seems quite surprised.

But Kain remains cold.

“Then what are you? What exactly are you, who turned an utterly ordinary person into that state?

You who whispered false salvation in their ears, who tried to enslave them to the world under the pretext of being a hero.

What exactly are you, who created that ‘leader of beasts’?”

“I am one who purifies the world!”

Günther stands up. The blood vessels in his eyes have burst, making them gleam white. It’s the desperate struggle of a cornered man.

“I could have created a world of eternal promise. I could have driven out darkness and created a world of light.

I could have brought a thousand-year promise without hatred, resentment, conflict, or anger—the peace that God promised to mankind!

The world God created is beautiful and perfect. It’s only defiled by unworthy, base creatures, humans worse than worms who don’t even understand the preciousness of life!

Just as maggots settle in rotten meat, what crime is there in driving out the impure and leaving only the good?

You’re the one who ruined everything. You killed our future, and now you want to pass on sin to future generations!

You’ve rendered all those sacrifices meaningless!”

White foam has dried at the corners of Günther’s mouth. Blood drips from his clenched fists. Somehow, he seems to have grown slightly larger.

“You’re a deceiver,” Kain points the Imperial Sword at Günther.

“Is beauty found in removing unsightly things to the wasteland and ignoring them? In seeing only what you want to see and hearing only what you want to hear? In finding comfort in your self-created illusions and stubbornness?

People know how to distinguish between good and evil, between right and wrong.

Even if they stray down the wrong path, they can repent, and even the most virtuous person can fall with a single mistake.

That’s what being human means! Being human isn’t about settling into self-created fantasies, but walking toward the light and finding answers!

Yet you tried to take away the process of improvement. You tried to take away the future where people might fail. You presented your singular answer, your fantasy, claiming everything else was evil.

You are the arrogant hypocrite who tried to steal humanity’s future! You’re the one who made all those sacrifices worthless!”

“I am a hero and God’s agent!” Günther shouts, veins bulging. But Kain denies it.

“If God truly wanted that, He would have done it Himself, not through you. If He truly wanted humans to be perfect and beautiful, He would have created beings incapable of sin or mistakes!

Even God didn’t make humans that way, so by what authority do you speak of ‘future’ and being an ‘agent’? Is your god different from everyone else’s?”

“Those creatures are evil! I am the hero who punishes evil!”

“You’re a fraud who has deceived even yourself.”

Günther looks up at Kain. His eyes are hollow.

“Falling to the temptation of purifying the world as quickly as possible, you ignored, neglected, and even encouraged those around you to sin. And yet you insisted you were right. Günther, you were deceived.”

“I…!”

“Your own arrogance deceived you. Your pride blinded you. All you have left is greed. You’re not a follower of God.

A false prophet who covers delusions with God’s name, a fraud who speaks with borrowed authority, a ‘hero’ who has deceived people around the world for more than a decade—that’s who you are!”

“No!”

Günther throws back his head.

“No!”

Light bursts from his eyes, nose, and mouth.

“I wasn’t wrong. You all are wrong. How could you understand God’s will? How could you comprehend His profound intentions!

God spoke to me. He told only me! His plan, His deep, profound purpose!”

His muscles writhe and swell.

Kain recalls what Günther himself had said.

The Demon King’s fragment doesn’t corrupt a person’s mind. It merely opens a door.

It helps you do things you want to do but shouldn’t, things that would otherwise be impossible.

Even becoming a hero doesn’t let you escape who you truly are.

Günther’s body grows as large as the statue in the Veneration of the Sword memorial park. About the height of a three-story watchtower.

His face shines brilliantly as if returned to youth, and a glowing crown sits on his head. Six pairs of brilliant wings of light sprout from his back.

People recognize this form. It’s the image of an angel depicted in church murals.

Not the divine representative who punishes evil and protects the weak. This was the form of a purifier, descended to punish human folly that had exhausted even God’s patience, to burn the earth.

When Günther spreads his wings, light pours forth.

All the knights roll on the ground from the light and heat that penetrates even tightly closed eyes. As he swings his arm wide, a wave of fanatical heat surges forward.

As he wails mournfully toward the sky, a blazing spear forms in his hand.

“Those who side with evil are evil!”

A spear as thick as a siege ram flies toward Kain. But Kain is already gone. He draws the Imperial Sword and rushes at Günther. He slashes at his ankle and stabs at his instep, but it doesn’t seem to inflict much damage.

“But behold, God has looked upon me! I shall purify you all. I shall purify this world. I shall stand here as a hero! I shall prove I was right by offering up all evil!”

Günther spreads his left hand and strikes down at Kain. But he raises his hand. The broken Imperial Sword is embedded in his palm, gleaming.

His hand glows, but his blood is as black as death, and when it falls to the ground, the soil melts with a hiss.

Unable to bear the pain, Günther thrusts his spear wildly. Kain twists his body to avoid the first and second strikes, but for the third, as the spear tip scrapes the ground and rushes forward, he blocks it with his staff.

From the strong impact, Kain loses his grip on the staff. It neither breaks nor bends, but the shock is transmitted directly. With bare hands and body, there’s no way to stand against that thing.

“The sword.”

A dull metallic voice is heard. Laios is speaking to him.

“Take up the sword.”

Not far from Kain lies a sword in its scabbard. The magic sword named “Hope.” A sword no one has ever been able to draw.

Dodging the thrusting spear, Kain finally grabs the scabbard.

It feels very light, about half the weight of a normal Imperial Sword. It emits neither light nor darkness. Just an ordinary, unremarkable scabbard and sword.

Kain grips the sword’s handle. With a familiar sensation, he tries to draw it as he always has.

But.

It doesn’t come out. There’s a stubbornness, as if the scabbard is gripping the blade and pulling it back. But Kain doesn’t mind much. He never intended to draw the sword anyway.

Instead, he strikes the incoming spear blade.

Incredibly, the massive spear blade is deflected. “You!”

The angel bleeding black blood strikes down in fury, again and again. Like a blacksmith hammering red-hot iron on an anvil, he pounds the ground.

But not one blow lands properly. Kain deflects, pushes away, and evades everything. He even rushes toward the angel again and strikes with the scabbard.

Like hitting a fence with a wooden club, a dull sensation fills his palm.

It didn’t feel like cutting or smashing. It was literally no different from striking with just the scabbard.

Günther doesn’t seem to have taken much damage. He tries to stomp on Kain, rolling his feet. But his movements are as slow as his large body.

Kain retreats behind Günther. Günther turns around to follow Kain. The frenzied light pouring from his wings changes direction.

“Now!”

Kain shouts.

Though it feels like the light might blind her, it’s not as bad as before when they could barely stand upright. Maria aims at Günther with her hand.

She flicks her finger and creates chains of light.

Soft chains of light wrap around the angel’s neck, wrists, and ankles.

The angel falls to the ground.

Though he still raises his head, a flashing halberd flies in a great arc.

With a single strike, the helmet shatters, and the axe blade digs in.

A terrible stench spreads, and Lily drops the halberd and retreats. The boiling blood melts the blade beyond recognition. A disgusting smell of sulfur flows from the split head.

“Filthy demons…!”

An ominous voice echoes. The angel rises, exposing his skull.

One side of his face is crushed and weeping tears. Saliva drips from his gaping mouth. But the other side of his face is smiling.

Though his neck is split and precarious, his eyes shine with madness and his mouth is full of smiles.

One side roaring with life, the other side sobbing in death. The manifestation of the two-headed eagle.

“Has evil taken such deep root…!”

“Prepare to fire!”

Günther turns his head in surprise. That was clearly the voice of Commander Allegieri.

The knights who had been rolling on the ground moments ago are loading steel darts into ballistas, shielding their eyes with their palms. Ropes are attached to the ends of the darts.

“Fire!”

Darts capable of piercing stone walls embed themselves in Günther’s body. Covered in steel barbs, Günther tries to fly up, but the knights who finished firing grab the ropes.

“Pull! Pull! Everyone grab on!”

Even troops waiting outside the fortress cling to the ropes.

“Pull them out!”

The knights pull the ropes. Some break from the tension, but most come out without issue.

The dart tips are wedge-shaped. They widen toward the end to embed firmly.

Originally designed to destroy gates or walls, they tear flesh if forcibly removed.

The giant angel’s body is torn to shreds.

“Traitors, demons, cursed heretics!”

The flesh covered in black blood bursts into flames. Covered in sizzling scabs, Günther flaps his broken wings. A hymn sung by a demon scratches at their ears.

“Reload! Reload and fire, quickly!”

Allegieri signals, but Günther doesn’t remain idle. Smoke pouring from his torn wings sweeps across the top of the wall. Knights scream and fall from the wall.

Günther extends his spear toward the wall. But again, he is blocked. The hateful presence. The one who incited others to brand him a demon. Kain was there.