Chapter 1233: 220. Wrath (VI)

A sea of blood, with countless corpses floating upon it.

That fiery-red figure seemed about to merge into this desperate, blood-soaked world. Her crimson hair drifted with the waves, no longer possessing the brilliant beauty that had once seemed capable of burning everything away.

Her thorn-covered dress spread open like a withered flower. Around that lonely figure, densely packed, mutilated corpses surrounded her, dragging her toward the depths of darkness.

“...Why?”

“...Why?”

“...Why?”

One questioning voice followed another, each filled with endless resentment and malice.

“Sorry...”

Falling.

Falling.

She was only falling.

Those hands, pale and smooth as jade, hung powerlessly at her sides. They clearly possessed the mighty strength to destroy cities and crush mountains, yet at this moment, they could not even break free from a few mutilated corpses.

And upon that face still shrouded in mist, her eyes were half-open, staring at some unknown place. Her unfocused golden pupils no longer possessed their former majesty and blazing brilliance. Only dimness remained.

Soon...

At the very bottom of the sea of blood, the hideous eye opened upon the statue of the Goddess stared at the figure drawing ever closer, becoming increasingly excited.

Soon...

Soon...

Her heart was about to be broken through.

After waiting for so long, this greatest fruit had finally reached the time of harvest...

[Hm?]

The hideous eye suddenly turned and looked in another direction.

[Him... again?]

The pupil contracted. Countless blood vessels appeared, throbbing inside the statue of the Goddess like living creatures.

[Use...less, Pris...cilla. As expected... useless.]

She had actually failed to delay him even for this little amount of time, allowing that brat to escape once again.

The hideous eye was incomparably furious. It did not understand why every time it took action, it would always run into him.

Running into him would have been one thing. This time, in order to prevent any accidents, it had not even shown itself throughout the entire process, nor had it revealed even the slightest trace. It had merely pushed those foolish humans to the front, yet that human brat still chased after it like a mangy dog...

He had already obstructed so many of its plans. It had even forgiven that human brat already. What more did he want?

[No...]

Hamreign’s figure was reflected in the hideous pupil. Although she was indeed falling continuously, her speed was not particularly fast, and even now, there was still some distance between them.

This meant that in the deepest part of her heart, there was still a trace of resistance. This dragon, who had struggled in pain for a full eight hundred years, had still not been completely defeated even now.

Normally, it would naturally enjoy watching her suffer incomparably and gradually fall into corruption. To it, that was the most delicious meal.

But now...

[Cannot wait...]

[Must make... this heart poison...]

[Completely destroy her...]

[Must be faster...]

It could not allow that human brat... to interfere with its plans again!

Crack, crack.

The statue of the Goddess suddenly shattered, and a drop of pitch-black, blood-like substance floated out from within it.

In an instant, the sea of blood began to boil, countless corpses twisted, and this entire crimson world began to change under some terrifying power.

A bell rang out, and the surroundings became as noisy as a surging tide.

“Hm?”

Hamreign opened her eyes.

The scene before her had undergone an enormous change.

The sea of blood disappeared. The corpses vanished. The blood-red world was replaced by the bright light of magic stones. Ancient patterns were carved into the incomparably beautiful stone dome. Flowers drifted down, and elegant music echoed through this magnificent hall.

“This place is...”

She was still confused.

However, as one familiar figure after another appeared before her, sitting in the audience seats in front of the stage, the confusion in her eyes was quickly replaced by unimaginable pain.

Darkness, cold, loneliness... and terror.

“You... all of you?”

Several hundred years had passed, yet those faces were still so clear, as clear as marks carved by a knife into the deepest part of her heart.

She should have been fearless even when facing an Evil God, yet at this moment, she instinctively wanted to hide from the gazes of those figures... but there was nowhere for her to hide. A beam of light descended, exposing her at the very center of the stage.

The play began.

“Once upon a time, there was the most beautiful city in the world...”

The backdrop of the city slowly rose, and she also heard that familiar opening line...

...

...

Darkness.

Cold.

Loneliness.

The pain of walking through this black mist was difficult to describe with words.

It was like walking through a boundless desert. The true torment was not the pain itself, but the despair of seeing no end in sight, of never obtaining salvation or release.

But the more it was like this, the more Muen forced himself to walk faster.

Because he knew that this feeling of despair did not belong to him... it belonged to a certain fool who had been suffering for several hundred years.

He had to be faster. Even faster...

“Big Brother, stop...”

A familiar voice suddenly rang out. Muen raised his eyes.

A lovely figure stood gracefully before him. Aside from her slightly faded form, her bright, smiling expression was no different from what he remembered.

“Avni?” Muen let out a long breath.

“It’s me.”

Avni tilted her little head and examined Muen. “Big Brother, you look like you’re in so much pain. You should stop going forward. If this continues, you won’t be able to endure it.”

“I can endure it.”

Muen forced out a faint smile. “What kind of suffering hasn’t your Big Brother endured? This little bit of torment is nothing.”

“But is it worth it?”

Avni pursed her small lips. “Big Brother clearly didn’t need to come. You don’t need to feel guilty toward anyone, and you haven’t committed any sins. Big Brother is so kind... I don’t want you to die here.”

“Thank you.”

Muen rubbed her little head. “But I still have to go.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Because... how could I ignore a beautiful girl crying in front of me? Although this particular beautiful girl is slightly large... large in every possible way.”

“Oh, I understand!”

“Good that you understand...”

“Big Brother desires her body!”

Avni clapped her hands. “Big Brother is a pervert!”

“...”

Muen stumbled and nearly fell.

What pervert? He, Muen Campbell, was a famously upright gentleman. Who in Belrand did not know that?

Spreading rumors about me again!

Muen angrily flicked a finger toward Avni’s forehead... but struck nothing.

Because the little girl suddenly dispersed...

“Big Brother...”

Avni looked at Muen with pity one last time. “It really will be very painful.”

“...”

Seriously, minding other people’s business.

Muen shook his head and continued forward.

“You are not allowed to pass!”

Another figure blocked Muen’s path.

The face of the woman who had once lost her child was twisted. Even though her child was currently crawling at her feet, the hatred on her face had not diminished in the slightest.

“That evil dragon must die. I will not allow you to pass...”

Muen said nothing and walked directly through her.

“You are not allowed...”

“You are not allowed...”

“You are not allowed!”

Countless roars and curses surged toward Muen. One resentful remnant soul after another appeared before him, attempting to stop him from moving forward.

They were all faces Muen recognized. When he had followed Miss Dragon during their investigation, every single face had been clearly engraved in his mind.

Now, these faces surged toward Muen like a tide, carrying anger and resentment, making the chill corroding his soul increasingly terrifying.

“Hiss...”

Muen’s entire body trembled. The pain caused him to hunch over, yet he could not help revealing a smile.

“Good... this is good... Come on... all of you, come stop me... That way, the pressure on Miss Dragon... should become a little lighter.”

The remnant souls suddenly vanished completely, as though everything that had just happened had merely been Muen’s hallucination.

“...”

Muen looked left and right, the corner of his mouth twitching.

If he had known, he would not have said it aloud.

“So you still came here after all?”

A long sigh rang out, completely different from those resentful roars.

Muen glanced sideways. A refined, gentle old man with graying hair walked out of the black mist and moved alongside him.

It was Morton.

“I’m sorry, Lord Muen.”

Morton’s voice was filled with self-reproach. “I gave you incorrect information and caused you to encounter such danger.”

“That wasn’t your fault.”

Muen continued walking and merely shook his head. “Rather, you already did very well, whether as the Proxy of this city... or as the ‘lackey’ of an evil villain like me.”

“Is that so?”

Morton smiled. “That truly makes me happy.”

“So? What are you here for? Are you also here to tell me not to go?”

“No, I’m not that tactless. On the contrary, I’m merely curious about one thing.”

“What...”

“Lord Muen... you are finding it so difficult to move forward right now. Why not eliminate this black mist and these remnant souls before continuing?”

Morton looked at Muen in confusion. “You possess that ability, don’t you?”

“...”

Muen froze.

That was right... Why did he not eliminate this black mist and these remnant souls?

Although these things were terrifying, were they truly anything remarkable to him?

He possessed black flames capable of devouring everything. He had even been able to burn the million souls in the Lost Land before. Why would he be unable to burn this small amount of black mist and remnant souls?

As long as he eliminated all of these things, he would be able to reach Miss Dragon’s side with complete ease.

Once he decided, he acted. Muen raised a hand, and black flames appeared in his palm. Then...

He suddenly reached back and grabbed Morton by the throat.

Whoosh.

The black flames spread along that already illusory figure, quickly devouring more than half of it.

“Ah!”

Morton screamed in terror. “Lord Muen... what are you doing? Do you truly hate me this much? Unlike the others, I clearly came here to help you...”

“If you really were Morton, then of course I wouldn’t hate you. Unfortunately...”

Muen examined that face and sighed. “You’re not.”

“...”

The screaming abruptly vanished. The pained expression on Morton’s face also returned to calmness. Although black flames were burning him, he seemed not to feel them in the slightest. He lowered his head and stared coldly at Muen.

“How... did you notice?”

It was still Morton’s voice, but the tone carried an indescribably strange feeling.

Like some kind of... clumsy imitation.

“Is it really that difficult? You told me to eliminate this black mist and these remnant souls. It seemed as though you were helping me, but... this black mist is protecting Miss Dragon, isn’t it? It is similar to an instinctive self-protection mechanism released after she was hurt. As for those remnant souls... with so many of them, how long would I have to keep burning?”

This time seemed somewhat similar to what had happened with Liya, but in reality, it was completely different.

In Liya’s case, once all the sinful souls were set alight, everything could reach a successful conclusion. There was not even any need to feel the slightest psychological burden.

But this time, there was only one important point.

Miss Dragon’s heart.

If something could not help eliminate the poison within Miss Dragon’s heart, then every other action would merely be a waste of time. It might even allow that heart poison to corrode her more rapidly instead.

“That is only... your guess.”

“It isn’t a guess. I’ve been with Miss Dragon for so long. At the very least, I understand this much about her.”

Muen tilted his head and gave a half-smile.

“But you... Love God, when did your disguise become so laughable? You could not even obtain a physical body and could only pretend to be a remnant soul to deceive people?”

“Tsk, tsk. A mighty Evil God personally entering the field in disguise... that really is something rare.”