Chapter 207: The Traitor... Krulu! Death! And the Honor Knight... Lin Wei!

Those who court death cannot be dissuaded.

And those desperate to die—no one can save.

A few simple words, and the flicker of doubt vanished from the eyes of the adventurers. Instinctively, they recoiled a half-step, shaken.

Lin Wei, cast as the villain by the so-called hero, found every action scrutinized with suspicion. But with Randy’s rousing words, the crowd’s hesitance dissolved. Now, they believed Lin Wei’s warnings were nothing but manipulative lies.

“Tch... Not a single one of you believes me, huh.”

Lin Wei hardly looked surprised. He hadn’t expected so many adventurers to have already thrown their lot in with the Hero’s Party. He’d anticipated a straightforward duel with Oshu, but the battlefield was now crowded with obstacles. Still, as the Holy See’s Honor Knight, he owed them one last chance.

“The woman at the back... You’re Kena, aren’t you?”

“Huh?”

She hadn’t expected to be singled out.

At the rear, a tall woman clad in dark leather armor glanced over, suspicion written plain on her face. She nodded, wary but unafraid.

“That’s right, I’m Kena. I don’t know how you know my name, but don’t think a few words will make me trust your bizarre stories. I stand with my team. I’d never believe a shady adventurer like you!”

Shady? Weird? Adventurer? Say that to my face if you dare!

Iresha, who had been biting her tongue this whole time, nearly lost her composure. She would have stormed over to give Kena a piece of her mind, if Lin Wei hadn’t stopped her at the last second. Instead, Lin Wei faced Kena, voice calm.

“I don’t need your trust. I’m just delivering a message from Captain Brody. He left you a few last words before he died.”

“He wanted me to apologize for the argument about whether to celebrate your birthday first or tackle the labyrinth. He said if you all get out alive, he’ll treat everyone to a feast and throw you a proper birthday party.”

“Oh, and he said, ‘Even at thirty-five, Kena’s still as impulsive as ever.’ That’s all.”

He knew the fight was your fault and still called you impulsive!? Brody, you bastard!

Kena, all suspicion and vigilance a moment before, bristled at the remark—her hand twitching toward her wand as if ready to smack Brody upside the head. But then, something didn’t add up.

“Wait—what are you talking about? Brody’s right here! Are you crazy? Did a monster scramble your brains?”

As far as she knew, Brody had narrowly escaped after covering the rear. They’d all spoken together while in hiding. How could she, his teammate, mistake a fake for the real thing?

“You’re just trying to sow discord!”

“Brody, let’s teach this guy a lesson before we leave the labyrinth! He’s spouting nonsense, and I’m not letting him off easy!”

But even this last attempt fell flat.

Lin Wei sighed, resigned. He gazed up, locking eyes with “Brody,” who lingered among the crowd.

The disguise was flawless—indistinguishable from a living human. It was a necromancer’s innate skill: after taking a victim’s head, they could assume their likeness, inheriting memories and personality. Not even the Demon Lord himself possessed such an ability; humans weren’t made to pop off their heads and put them back on. But honestly, before overwhelming power, such tricks were pointless. Real or fake, just crush them.

“Now you’re framing me out of nowhere?”

“Hero, can we kill this guy before we go in? He’s gone too far!”

Shock, disbelief, then fury. “Brody” looked genuinely incensed, eyes darting to Oshu, seeking his approval to finish Lin Wei off.

“With pleasure.”

Oshu had been restraining himself only for the sake of those around him. Now, even “Captain Brody” was furious. What was there left to hesitate about?

“Damn you, Lin Wei!!!”

A surge of holy light erupted from the Hero’s Party. All restraint vanished; the shadows in their hearts took form.

Here, surrounded by Oshu’s supporters—even if Lin Wei now bore the title of Honor Knight of the Holy See—none would object if he was cut down.

“We just need to silence the adventurers and pin everything on Lin Wei.”

“Even in death, let him be nailed to a pillar of shame.”

Such was the Hero’s murderous resolve.

Kill Lin Wei.

This was his chance. Lin Wei could not be allowed to escape. Even if it meant killing him before Iresha’s eyes, he would die here.

It was the perfect moment to erase old humiliations. If Lin Wei died here, the truth would never surface.

Kill Lin Wei!

“Tch... Oshu, you really are hopeless.”

“As a Hero, can’t you sense the Demon General hiding right behind you?”

Layer upon layer of energy shields blossomed before Lin Wei, a dozen forming in the blink of an eye. Flashes of holy light crashed down, shattering against shimmering elemental barriers. Unperturbed, Lin Wei fixed his gaze ahead, his words dropping like thunder.

“One of the Demon Generals—the Four Heavenly Kings—goes by the name ‘Headless Horseman.’ He can disguise himself as anyone by taking their head, inheriting their memories and personality.”

“So, Captain Brody... is that really what I should call you?”

His black eyes bore into the man before him. Lin Wei raised a hand, halting Oshu even as the hero shattered the last of his shields. The dazzling holy light was crushed in Lin Wei’s grip, color draining away.

With a casual flick, Lin Wei sent Oshu tumbling back to his starting point. But his gaze never left “Brody.”

“The Demon Lord’s most loyal subordinate, a hero fallen after being framed, commander of the Black Helm Knights—a soul unbowed by death, striving to restore lost glory.”

“Headless Horseman. Morteir.”

“You’re still trying to deceive us, even now—huh?”

Oshu’s feet tensed, holy energy flaring as he prepared to lunge again. But just then, an icy, stabbing chill shot up his spine.

No warning. No magical detection. Only the hero’s instincts screamed at him. He spun, blade blazing gold as it cleaved a blinding arc behind him.

A torrent of black mist erupted from the stone gate, flooding the area with a suffocating chill. Spatial anomalies twisted the very air, drawing everyone inexorably toward a single point.

“What?!”

A dagger, wreathed in black energy, slashed at his throat without warning.

It was a stench every member of the Holy See loathed—a rotten, icy, soul-crushing miasma of negative energy.

“Evil God Cultist?!”

BOOM!

Holy energy clashed with the dagger, erupting in a blinding shockwave. White and black light collided, unleashing a hurricane that made even the spatial anomaly tremble.

“Impossible!”

The force nearly shattered his hands. Oshu stared in disbelief, hastily reforging his holy shields as the enemy pressed the attack. If not for his battle-hardened instincts, he would have been gravely wounded in that first strike.

“What the hell—where did these Evil God Cultists come from?”

“Are the demons nearby? Is their army in this area?”

If not for Lin Wei’s interference, Oshu might have walked straight into a deathtrap, thinking this a safe escape route.

Now, frantic, he barked orders to his teammates while parrying blow after blow.

“Eileen, cover me with your bow!”

“She’s too fast—Kokoxi, I need a buff, now!”

“Sure thing... but hang in there, Oshu.”

Eileen smiled sweetly, but didn’t move. She simply stood and watched, lips curved in a charming but strangely tense smile. She raised her bow, aiming lazily at the melee, but didn’t even bother conjuring an arrow.

“I’ll help, Oshu...”

Rein, ever the hot-blooded fool, braced his shield, ready to unleash his skill and break through to help.

“Easy there, my dear Rein.”

But even the only teammate eager to intervene was stopped by Eileen, who caught his arm with a sigh.

“Didn’t I promise you’d get your chance? Here it is—why help Oshu now?”

“Are you giving up your dream of replacing him as Hero? Will you let him keep stepping on your head?”

Her words were too blatant to ignore.

Of course, Rein had considered killing Oshu and becoming the next Hero. But this? This wasn’t how he’d imagined it.

“Eileen, what the hell are you saying?”

“This is the chance you meant? These people are Evil God Cultists!”

Demons were humanity’s enemies, sure. But the Cult of the Evil God? They were the enemy of all living things. Demonic soldiers might be imprisoned for ransom or exchange, but Evil God Cultists—especially core members—faced only execution. No exceptions. No redemption.

“I know exactly who they are.”

“But it’s complicated, so just trust me, all right? I’m on your side.”

The black energy soon transformed the area into a prison of gloom. In the darkness, only Eileen’s faint voice lingered.

“After all... we’re lovers, aren’t we?”

“No matter what happens, you’ll survive.”

Is that so?

Rein let his charge dissipate, glancing at Oshu locked in deadly battle with the cultist. If the Hero died at their hands, it would be easy to report back to the Holy See. Then, as one of the last surviving members of the Hero’s Party, the title of Hero would fall to him by default.

“So that’s your plan, Eileen.”

He stepped back, melting into the shadows at the edge of the blackened space. Rein drew a slow breath, a ruthless glint in his eyes.

“Good luck, Oshu.”

“I suppose... I really can’t interfere in this fight.”

Meanwhile, the rest of the labyrinth was thrown into chaos. Adventurers who had hesitated just moments before now panicked.

“What’s happening? Why are there Evil God Cultists here?!”

“Wasn’t this supposed to be a safe zone? What’s with this black mist—is that the energy of the Evil God?!”

“What’s happening to the Hero? Was your intel even reliable?!”

The “escape route” had become a deathtrap. No one could accept what they saw.

Especially since the Adventurers’ Guild’s intelligence had never mentioned the presence—let alone the strength—of the Cult of the Evil God.

Holy energy and evil god’s power clashed, the so-called invincible Hero forced back by the cultist’s relentless assault. There was no time for fear; the space itself trembled, the teleportation sequence coming to an end.

What greeted them next was a vision of hell itself.

A blistering platform hovered above a sea of magma, like an island adrift on a burning ocean, radiating a menacing aura. The air was thick with elemental energy; grotesque creatures writhed in the lava below—this was no seventh-floor “easy mode.”

Most chilling of all were the bodies sprawled at the platform’s center—dozens of hostages, weak and half-conscious, their eyes hollow and dry. Demons and cultists circled, their shrieks driving the adventurers back.

In that instant, the world seemed branded with the mark of the hells.

“Lin... Lin Wei!”

Even Iresha hadn’t anticipated this. The searing heat, the suffocating threat of molten rock—there was no escape, no way out.

“Do you have any way to get us out of here?”

She raised her staff, tense, eyes wide with terror. Mana crackled in the air—she stood ready to unleash everything she had, her trust placed wholly in Lin Wei.

He had dared call out the Demon Generals by name, had stood calmly as the teleportation swept them away. She still remembered how he’d sent Saintess Yalis away not long ago. If he didn’t have a plan, why would he stay and let himself be trapped?

At times like this... she could only trust him.

“There’s a way out,” Lin Wei replied, as she’d hoped. “But first, we need to deal with those in front of us.”

He poked Iresha’s cheek, then strode calmly toward the platform’s center.

With a snap of his fingers, blades of light—manifestations of holy power—appeared, filling the sky and casting a sacred glow over the crimson flames below. Lin Wei leapt high, alighting in midair, looking down like a god surveying his domain.

“Morteir, are you still going to keep up the pretense?”

“This is your ambush, isn’t it? There’s a portal at the end of the road behind the stone gate—meant to gather all your targets here?”

“You... what nonsense are you spouting?”

The sounds of battle between Hero and cultist echoed below. Even now, “Captain Brody” maintained his act, glancing around in feigned panic. But when he looked up at Lin Wei, his expression twisted, finally revealing a monstrous ferocity.

“I’m the captain of the Stonewall Squad! How could I be a Demon General?”

“And you—ever since you showed up, we’ve been attacked by demons and cultists, and now we’re trapped here! This whole trap was your doing, wasn’t it? You’re colluding with the demons and the Cult of the Evil God!”

“Damn you! The Hero will grind you to dust—everyone, attack—bang!”

A silver blur flashed from behind.

A claw, impossibly swift, slashed across his neck. The twisted, furious face froze mid-scream as the head was sent flying.

“Captain!!!”

“Was that a demi-human from the Hero’s Party?!”

“What are you doing to Captain Brody?!”

The Stonewall Squad was stunned. They screamed, watching as true horror unfolded.

Brody’s headless body did not collapse. The head struck the ground and instantly turned to bloody pulp. The standing corpse, however, did not bleed—it radiated a void, cold and chilling.

“Krulu... traitor...”

Before all eyes, the headless body took a step forward—its frail frame swelling into a hulking, armored giant. The friendly, honest face was gone, replaced by a stone-like, soulless shell that swept its gaze over the crowd.

It had no expression, but somehow its gaze pierced every lie.

A voice, cold as the grave, resounded:

“How did you see through me?”

“I am, after all, the Honor Knight of the Holy See,” Lin Wei answered solemnly. “Sworn to serve Her Holiness Selena, her most trusted aide. How could I not recognize a Demon General?”

He swept his gaze across the battlefield, confirming the setup. A note of genuine admiration crept into his voice.

“Quite the spectacle you’ve arranged.”

“Four legacy-level Evil God Cultists. Two legacy-level demon commanders—wait, liches?”

“Six legacy-level foes, plus Morteir the Demon General. Seven top-class Transcendents in all.”

“Even the Demon Lord himself would struggle against this. So who were you really after—Saintess Yalis? The Griffin Duke and the Empire’s elites who might come to her rescue? Or the Hero now fighting the cultist?”

“Too bad for you, Saintess Yalis is already gone. The rest of you can keep the Hero company.”

His words were pure modesty.

Except for Morteir, none of these so-called elites could last three seconds against Lin Wei’s full Demon Lord form. But with so many from the human camp present, he would have to make do with the powers of the Honor Knight for now—just in case.

And besides, he needed to buy time for Yalis to summon Lady Meilin and the Griffin Duke.

“My, my, you do sell yourself short,” purred a familiar, ambiguous voice.

Rein, who had been content to watch Oshu die and see how things played out, was dumbstruck. He had suspected Eileen of colluding with the cult, but to see her walk openly to the enemy, eyes full of deference—

“And of course, Lord Krulu of the Demon Generals.”

“Who would have thought... Lord Krulu, you’ve really betrayed the demons? Are you working with the Honor Knight of the Holy See now?”