Ch.377Chapter 377 – Somnus

“Guh…!!”

Somnus groaned in pain as he retreated backward.

He had already been slashed several times by Sia, and was unable to use evasive techniques like transforming his body into sand due to Beatrice’s gravity field.

Silver divine power erupted along with blood from his wounds.

Somnus twisted his body and shouted.

“The, the divine power of that half-baked goddess…!”

With his mask of composure shattered, Somnus glared at Chris with hateful eyes.

Chris calmly pointed his stone staff toward Somnus.

“That bitch who’s nothing but a clone of Evgenia… That man who’s nothing but a mass-produced hero… My body…!”

Somnus glared at me with bulging eyes.

Then, as if making a last desperate attempt, he transformed one of his arms into a sword.

But it seemed his strength had run out before he could even charge at me.

Soon, he collapsed to the ground.

“Ugh…?”

“…Ah.”

As if synchronized with his fall, the two Valkyries collapsed to the ground with weak voices.

At the same time, the Cursed Knight also fell to his knees and froze in place.

Just like that, all of Somnus’s forces lost their power.

“…Kay.”

“Yeah.”

While supporting Sia who was clutching her side, I slowly headed toward where Somnus had fallen, along with Chris who had been waiting for us.

Meanwhile, Eve and Beatrice approached Somnus first, each holding their weapons.

Eve moved first, not even glancing at us as we were almost there.

“This is as far as you go, Somnus.”

Eve placed her sword against Somnus’s neck.

Somnus ignored the sword and looked at Eve.

“…This divine power… so that’s it.”

Somnus spoke to Eve with a hollow expression.

But soon he continued with a weakened face.

“If you’re going to suggest surrender, you surely know it would be pointless.”

“Of course. Too many people connected to us have bad blood with you.”

Eve spoke in a cold voice.

Everyone was involved—Beatrice who looked ready to pounce, myself, Chris, Sera, Kara, and even Sia who seemed to have many thoughts about Somnus.

In short, keeping him alive wasn’t an option for us.

“However, you can choose whether it will be less painful or more painful.”

Eve said coldly.

“If you answer our questions, I’d say you deserve a quick, painless death.”

“…And if I refuse?”

“Then I’ll leave you to Miss Beatrice.”

At Eve’s words, Beatrice nodded once.

Then, with a fierce smile, she said:

“You know my personality, right? Since we need information, I can roast you crispy everywhere except your head.”

“The fact that you’re waiting instead of doing that right away shows how much you’ve changed, Mad Dog.”

Somnus laughed mockingly at Beatrice.

“Is it because you found a handler?”

Somnus glanced at me briefly.

“I’m not interested in playing word games with you, Somnus.”

Without hesitation, Beatrice swung her hand toward Somnus’s leg.

The sound of breaking bones came from Somnus’s leg.

Somnus didn’t scream, but with a slightly strained expression, he said:

“…Your skill is… impressive. Using magic to create just the impact….”

“Want me to do it again?”

Beatrice said, raising her hand.

But Somnus chuckled and replied:

“…Well, I’m generous, so fine. What are these questions?… Ah, they were predetermined anyway.”

Somnus looked at Eve and smiled.

“Information about the experimental subject’s body. And the method to return the experimental subject to where they originally came from, across dimensions. That’s what you’re curious about, right?”

Eve didn’t answer.

Meanwhile, Sera, Kara, and the holy knights who had been further away also arrived, and everyone quietly listened to Somnus.

“Whether I hand over the information or the method. Well, they’re not particularly useful to me now anyway.”

“Stop stalling.”

Beatrice moved her hand again.

This time, the sound of bones breaking came from the other leg.

“…Now both my legs are useless.”

“If you keep your mouth shut until the end, I’ll make sure your neck bones become useless too.”

Beatrice spoke with undisguised killing intent.

Somnus laughed softly and opened his mouth again.

“You absolutely cannot do that. You need to extract information about your handler from me. You’ve been saying you can get information from a corpse, but you know very well that information obtained that way might not be complete.”

Somnus grinned at Beatrice.

Beatrice grinned back and said:

“We’ll see about that.”

“Let me tell you in advance, it would be a waste of effort. Because I haven’t left that memory in my head.”

Just as Beatrice was about to say something, Somnus smiled brightly and said:

“Unfortunately, it’s true! There’s nothing in this head. In a world where, as the Mad Dog says, information can be extracted from corpses, it would be ridiculous for me to leave any possibility of information leakage.”

Somnus looked at me.

“I’ve always told you. Unnecessary things must be discarded.”

Somnus said with a gentle smile.

“The memories in this body are unnecessary too. I discarded them. Long ago.”

Somnus smiled comfortably, as if provoking me.

I could see Eve’s expression growing colder and Beatrice’s face contorting.

I briefly considered hitting him out of anger.

‘…The more angry you get, the cooler your reason should become.’

Looking at Sia’s face, I suppressed my anger for a moment.

I carefully considered whether I had missed something in Somnus’s words.

‘It’s impossible for a person to completely discard all memories, to leave nothing in their brain.’

They wouldn’t even know who they were if that were the case.

But judging by Somnus’s confident expression, he clearly believed he had no information in his head.

‘It’s impossible for a human to do that…’

But for Somnus, with his moral compass so far removed from normal, it wasn’t strange.

He said he followed Emiris’s will.

So he might truly think it’s fine not to keep any memories in his brain.

Because all he needed to do was follow Emiris’s will.

‘…Emiris’s will?’

Something clicked.

‘Let’s assume Somnus’s words are true.’

I looked at Somnus while thinking.

According to him, Somnus has no memories or anything in his brain.

He didn’t even blink when Beatrice threatened to extract information from his corpse, and instead countered by asking why one would keep unnecessary things in their body.

Instead, he only moves according to Emiris’s will.

Doesn’t that mean that what moves him is not himself but Emiris?

‘…Somnus has been suspicious for a while.’

He knew the content of prayers offered to the god without thinking.

According to Kara, when the god Emiris was displeased, Somnus was also greatly displeased.

And he spoke with certainty about the god’s will.

Plus, he just mentioned living for hundreds of years.

‘…And his attitude.’

Somnus showed emotional reactions particularly when Emiris was insulted or denied.

And Somnus showed an attitude of not wanting to engage in conversation unless it met “certain criteria.”

Similar to that god who called himself the God King, flaunting omnipotence and reacting violently when denied.

Similar to Emiris who ignored the voices of believers and tried to destroy everything in Florence and the royal palace.

“Not at all! I, who am no one, can guarantee for God Emiris!”

The discomfort I hadn’t noticed then due to excitement quietly raised its head.

It wasn’t just a casual statement.

“Somnus.”

“What is it?”

“What should I call you?”

At my cold voice, Somnus stared at me blankly for a moment.

And then.

He grinned.

“I am Somnus.”

“Don’t dodge the question. Answer with your real name.”

“Real name….”

“That’s not it, is it?”

At my words, Somnus briefly wore a blank expression.

And then.

Somnus smiled kindly.

“Well… that’s right. The name Somnus is more like an alias.”

Somnus smiled.

“According to some language, Somnus means ‘sleep.'”

Somnus looked at me.

“Humans dream while they sleep.”

“……”

“You figured it out well. I thought you’d never guess. Where did I make a mistake?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Kay?”

Kara and Eve looked at me with slight confusion.

But Sia, Chris, and I, who had already begun to guess his identity, had hardened expressions.

And Sera’s expression had also hardened, as if she had reached a conclusion before me.

She probably started reasoning and reached a conclusion before I did.

Somnus spoke with a smile.

“I should be going now.”

Somnus began to transform into silver powder.

Immediately, Sera shouted in confusion.

“Where do you think you’re escaping to…!”

“I need to start over. For that, I need to clear what’s here first.”

Somnus looked at me and smiled.

“Oh, right. Let me collect what I need to collect.”

As soon as Somnus finished speaking, suddenly eight pillars of silver light began to emerge from the ground.

And silver pillars rose from the fallen Valkyries, lifting them up.

Soon, breaking through the ground, eight more Valkyries with faces identical to Kara appeared.

A total of ten Valkyries looked down at us, each holding their sacred relics.

“…Desperate struggle!”

Sia raised her weapon in anger.

Somnus replied with a smile.

“I understand the atmosphere. But I’m reluctant to lose those here.”

With Somnus’s words, the ten Valkyries continued to fly up into the air and began to disappear.

Somnus watched them and smiled.

“They are slaves who must die and work for the god for life. I can’t easily waste them here.”

“You…!”

Beatrice looked at Somnus with rage.

But Somnus had already turned a significant portion of his body into powder.

Glaring at such a Somnus, he calmly smiled and said:

“Ah, don’t worry. I’m not dying. Though it’s as good as dying.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“Because I don’t want to hand them over. Neither the Valkyries nor my knowledge.”

Somnus said with a smile.

“In case you’re disappointed, let me say again, there’s nothing in my head anyway. So give up on any information from my head.”

“You damned bastard!”

Beatrice struck Somnus with her fist in rage.

But it was meaningless against Somnus who was already turning into silver powder.

“As you can see, it’s useless. You can hit me a few more times if you want… but let’s just wait for our reunion, everyone.”

“…Damn you.”

“Ah, but. You did defeat me, didn’t you? It would be unfair if you left with nothing.”

Somnus smiled.

“I am generous. Let me say a few words.”

Words began to echo from the silver powder.

“I may have been defeated this time… but soon the true hero will appear. Though still incomplete, even now no one can defeat that body. The moment you face him, I think you will taste despair.”

Somnus looked at me and smiled.

“The true hero will work for the god. The god will become omnipotent. It’s a flow that has been prepared for hundreds of years. It’s already too late for you to change the outcome.”

Somnus mocked us.

“And with the true hero’s power, the God King will achieve omnipotence and stand in heaven. Below that, everything will flow according to the god’s will, and paradise will come.”

“…Insane talk.”

I said, looking at Somnus.

Somnus replied with a smile.

“Say what you will. The flow has already been determined. While I’m at it, let me give you some advice. Forget everything and flee to some remote corner.”

Somnus smiled.

“If you’re lucky, the god might show mercy and at least give you time to finish your life. …Though it doesn’t matter for you since you won’t live long anyway.”

Somnus said, looking at me.

Feeling the gazes of Eve and others growing cold, I quietly said to Somnus:

“Are you done with your provocations?”

“Let’s say so. …Ah, right.”

Somnus smiled.

“You asked for my real name. Well, please call this form Somnus, I would sincerely appreciate it. Though it’s nothing more than a dream, nothing more than an avatar, I have some attachment to it.”

Somnus said, “Please continue to call me that in the future.”

As I coldly glared at him, he smiled and continued:

“I’ll tell you. My real name. The name of my true self is….”

Somnus’s form was no longer visible.

Only his voice could be heard.

“[Emiris].”

Emiris disappeared with a smile.

Silver powder scattered in the air.