episode_0194

The Dawn Breaker Suppression.

As dawn approached, we laid out our plan.

It wasn’t grand enough to be called a proper plan, but…

To quickly resolve the situation, we distributed roles according to each person’s strengths.

The Lord and I would go to the central plaza to hunt the ‘Seed’.

Neria, the remaining one, would deal with the specters on the outskirts.

It was a classic diversionary tactic.

‘Though the power difference is overwhelming… it’s still best not to let my guard down.’

The situation favored the enemy.

Thanks to the geographical features of the underground city, the Dawn Breaker’s weaknesses were perfectly compensated for.

Not only that, but it was accumulating energy from the citizens trapped in nightmares.

The Seed was charging itself based on countless living batteries.

The Dawn Breaker was approaching Phase 3.

‘Annoying.’

Originally, this would have taken at least a month.

However, the stage of the kingdom created a perfect synergy with the Dawn Breaker.

The nightmares intertwined with the city were ready to fully bloom in just one day.

As mentioned in the original work, the Phase 3 Dawn Breaker receives near-invincibility status.

This meant that unless specific conditions were met, its suppression would become impossible.

Even for the Lord, it would be a formidable opponent.

‘They prepared quite diligently.’

Perhaps the kingdom was destined to collapse today. In battle, the Lord would undoubtedly dominate, but in war, the cultists would have won.

It seemed the Baob cult had truly gritted their teeth.

‘Well… it doesn’t matter anymore now.’

I mumbled, adjusting my sleeves.

In front of me, the remains of miserably torn specters were scattering.

We walked on, dealing with the swarming specters one by one.

Shapes burst apart with an indifferent flick of my fingertips.

“Hmm.”

Had those cultists been conducting research all this time?

The Chimeras, in their specter forms, felt much more troublesome than before.

To put it another way, they were strong enough to easily overwhelm most academy students.

Of course, even so, they were nothing more than a mouthful.

I lightly twitched my fingers.

“The cultists’ level seems to have risen considerably.”

Whoosh-!

Following that, a specter hovering nearby was erased.

Not even a trace of dark energy remained there.

Only the faint scent of blood lingered.

“Heh heh… quite gruesome, aren’t they?”

“That doesn’t sound like something you should say.”

I glanced behind the Lord.

Behind his relaxed tone, a blazing light was hidden.

Every single specter looked completely incinerated.

The old man spoke with a slight hum.

“Chimeras… these seem quite useful in their own way.”

“It seems the Baob side wasn’t just playing around.”

“After we resolve this situation, perhaps we should try making things like these in the kingdom.”

“You’re speaking insincerely. You, who scatter killing intent at the mere sight of dark energy, let alone Chimeras.”

“Isn’t your phrasing too violent? I am a man open to everyone.”

“Shall we talk after you put down the head in your hand first?”

“Oh, my.”

The old man casually put down the head.

The sizzling flesh in his hand burst like a balloon as it touched the floor. Internal organs and brains that had flowed out were piled up on the floor.

Every one of them had been a dark mage, rushing at us.

A broad smile never left the Lord’s lips.

I couldn’t help but let contempt enter my calm eyes.

“……You have truly extraordinary tastes.”

“Why don’t you try it too?”

“I politely decline.”

“It’s fine to decline rudely, you know. More than that, it’s a shame you don’t know this true hand-feel.”

“I’m glad your terrible taste only activates for cultists.”

“Isn’t this also love? A heart solely for them.”

“A story that would make the church clutch their necks if they heard it.”

Trivial banter going back and forth.

Even so, their steps busily crossed the city.

Perhaps it was thanks to Neria distracting the specters?

We were able to proceed without any significant obstruction.

“By the way, I’m disappointed.”

“Hmm?”

As I tore apart yet another specter, the old man running beside me suddenly parted his lips.

His unsettling smile from just before had somewhat subsided.

“I wanted to have a conversation with that child after so long, you see.”

“……Surely you’re not talking about the Vice-Captain, are you?”

“Who else would it be?”

“Ha.”

“Oh dear, your gaze is frightening.”

“It seems you’re a bit lacking in shame.”

“Shame, conscience… those are merely empty formalities for the weak.”

“Even after committing such acts against young Neria, you show not even a speck of guilt.”

I furrowed my brow.

During the time Neria was called by the alias ‘the Disloyal’.

The Lord inflicted harsh torture and brainwashing upon the girl, who was merely 11 years old at the time.

Solely for the purpose of controlling her and making her his subordinate.

He was clearly a villain.

“Is it really necessary?”

However, the old man did not hesitate in his reply.

“Sometimes, you expect too much from villains. I wonder if you’re mistaking me for an ally or something.”

“……”

He wasn’t wrong.

The Lord was not an ally, nor a comrade, not even a friend.

The role given to the old man by this world was solely that of a villain.

He was simply faithful to himself.

“Let me offer one piece of advice.”

“……”

“Don’t trust anything too much. You will surely be betrayed.”

“If it’s anything… that would include you, wouldn’t it?”

“Of course. How would you know when I might stab you in the back?”

“When that time comes, I will personally kill you.”

“That’s good news to hear.”

The Lord laughed with a sly expression.

His golden eyes, like a snake’s, still revealed nothing of his true intentions.

We simply continued to run through the specters.

“Well, it might have sounded like a joke… but at least my words about not trusting are sincere.”

“It didn’t sound like a joke at all. More importantly, what exactly are you telling me to distrust so much?”

“There are many things, aren’t there? People, situations, beliefs… sometimes even trust itself.”

“That’s a truly healthy teaching, to distrust everything in the world.”

“It doesn’t mean to distrust. It means not to be certain.”

“That just sounds like wordplay to me.”

“Heh heh… perhaps so.”

Blast-!

The old man exploded the head of the specter he was holding.

The blazing flash incinerated even the dark energy.

The Lord calmly brushed off the scattered debris.

He continued speaking without tiring.

“For instance… yes, the academy.”

“You’re suddenly bringing the academy into this.”

“Just listen for a moment.”

Sharp sarcasm was returned.

However, the Lord showed not even a flicker of wavering.

“Have you never found it questionable?”

“Questionable what?”

“That child… Neria lived in a deep, remote northern frontier. Her village was located on the exact opposite side of the kingdom on the map. So how could the kingdom have found that child? A child who had been hiding for years, at that.”

“……”

“Who tipped them off about her existence?”

“……Surely not.”

“Gaston Gallimard.”

The name returned, as if affirming the suspicion.

It was a name all too familiar.

I was momentarily stunned.

“The Gallimard Academy. To be precise, its Dean.”

“You mean the Dean… leaked information about young Neria?”

“Didn’t I advise you? Not to be certain.”

Trust is futile, after all.

The Lord added softly.

On the other hand, there were unanswered questions on my end.

I was about to ask him, but the Lord, who had been running ahead, stopped.

We had already arrived at the central plaza.

“Let’s hear the detailed story from the person concerned… but isn’t the immediate situation before us the priority?”

“……Very well. The story won’t be too late after this is over.”

“That is, if we survive here.”

“What a trivial joke.”

Before us stood a purple structure.

A structure that took the form of a heart, grotesquely writhing.

It looked almost 30 meters tall.

A faint light enveloped its surroundings.

“It has an unpleasant appearance.”

“I agree.”

None other than the Seed.

Nightmares of people must have been fully accumulated inside it.

The structure was precarious, looking as if it could explode at any moment.

We each raised our output and emitted a flash.

Footsteps.

Steps approaching the Seed.

In front of the writhing heart, a shadow stood.

It was a woman neatly draped in a blood-red veil.

Her hands were clasped together as if in prayer.

“My young ones have found the darkness.”

An unsettling, reversed echo.

Through the fragmented words, I could barely make out the meaning.

The Dawn Breaker. It seemed to have been waiting for us to arrive.

The Lord sneered at her insolence.

“Hmph… what a bold woman.”

Despite the killing intent pressing down on the area, the woman continued to pray.

However, beyond the veil, her gaze could be felt.

Eyes steeped in blood and evil.

“And forgotten stars, ■■■■.”

Four letters boldly pronounced.

It was no longer surprising.

Just like the other Apostles, this one must know it too.

I don’t know how it knows that name, but…

I scoffed with a hint of emotion.

“It seems the Apostles know me. I never dreamed I’d be so popular with pests.”

“Because it could not simply become the primal darkness, it controls that vitality. How could the god forget you?”

“Good heavens… with her voice twisted like that, it’s even hard to understand.”

“Soon, the world that will collapse will be rearranged.”

A soft rustle.

Wind currents swirled around the woman.

I merely watched.

The atmosphere was ominous.

The pulsating Seed’s throbbing subsided, and cracks began to form on its surface.

From the spreading cracks, a jet-black void slowly leaked out.

The Dawn Breaker slowly rose from its knelt position.

“Ah… this is mine. This is everything.”

The noise subsided.

Silence settled.

The contemplation was like a lullaby.

Grotesque yet cozy, alive yet like death.

A purple light flickered beside the Dawn Breaker.

I knew about that omen.

“Your god is in a perilous world.”

The Seed germinating, the Dawn Breaker on the verge of awakening.

It seemed time was on their side.

A mad, joyous light shone.

“From the night of longing, please decorate purgatory.”

Thud-!

Sensing the anomaly, the Lord belatedly kicked off the ground.

A powerful flash tore through the darkness, piercing the woman’s heart.

But.

“Ah, how beautiful.”

The Dawn Breaker was perfectly alive.

The invincibility status had been applied.

That meant Phase 3 had begun for them.

The Lord, meeting the woman’s eyes, laughed as if in dismay.

“Oh, dear…”

“Come, primal night.”

A roar!

The heavily cracked Seed finally exploded.

Following that, a jet-black mist rushed in like a tidal wave.

It held a fleeting moment and brought forth darkness.

The only sound left was the woman’s lullaby.

“May the young ones fall asleep.”

The next moment.

The world covered in darkness simultaneously went black.

At the same time, consciousness rapidly faded.

The Lord collapsed on the spot.

Thud-.

I was no different.

My knees were already bent, and my mind was slipping away.

I did not resist my slowly shattering consciousness.

I merely mumbled as my eyelids slowly closed.

A phrase of triumph.

‘According to plan.’

A smile flickered on my lips.

It was the top priority goal I had set since coming to support the kingdom.

It was the moment my self-made plan was realized without a single hitch.

I closed my eyes.

‘Neria.’

Thinking of the girl who would be left alone.

I completely let go of my consciousness.