Month: April 2023

---

146. Chapter 146

“Lilo, Haunzen, let’s go!!”

The figure of Fausto, extending his spear, disappeared.

Walm was on his guard, yet he couldn’t help but click his tongue at the extraordinary acceleration. The spearheads collided with each other and a contest ensued. Although Walm had strengthened his body with magic, he leaned back because of the lopsided difference in physical strength.

The movement of the two companions was also really sharp, though, not as sharp as Fausto’s. Constricting down the space with exquisite positioning and restricting Walm’s movement while narrowing down his options, they approached.

Walm continued to dance on the fragile scaffolding, taking advantage of the demon eyes, which were in good condition. He felt like he was facing a completely different person than the one he had fought in the Labyrinth.

“At that time, you went easy, huh?”

Fausto answered Walm’s question.

“Demon eyes that not everyone compatible, what a big deal. But, don’t think that you’re the only one, who incorporated demon at the end of the war.”

With the blow of the spear, the brick roof was blown away. And the roof made a noise as it couldn’t withstand Fausto’s steps.

Clearly, Fausto’s body protruded unnaturally around his left arm. Walm, now understanding his words, realized the true nature of his power.

“Did you incorporate a monster into your body?”

“During the Unification War, my unit was born with the help of Crimson Grass and necromancy magic. No more fear, no more limit. Come, show me what you got!”

Facing a formidable opponent, Walm prepared his trump card.

The air around Walm was filled with heat, blue flames overflowed from his body, and hot air blew through the surroundings.

“Uh, guh, uuuhhh!! That’s 《Demon Fire》 huh.”

Fausto and the others withstood the fire with the help of a non-average magical barrier. Walm knew that they weren’t the kinds who would surrender so easily.

Walm changed the way he gripped his halberd, raised it above his head, and threw it with hot air. The sharply extending flaming halberd approached the dull shield-wielder among the three. The shield-wielder, deciding that it was unavoidable, solidified his defense. The spearhead of the halberd bit into the great shield as it scraped the metal, and the blue flame spread on it.

“Haunzen, get back!!”

Fausto and the archer who had lost his bow tried to block Walm’s path, but were a little too slow.

Walm, who accelerated with the hot wind, pulled the longsword from his waist, cast blue flames on the blade made of Mithril. Flames were dancing along the blade.

With such a sword, Walm slashed the man named “Haunzen”, who held his large shield tight as he approached.

A single attack combined with 《Strike》 cut through his armor while burning and melting the iron on the surface.

As the gazes of Walm and Haunzen, who widened his eyes in astonishment, intersected, the blade that entered from the left hipbone exited again at the right shoulder. A man bisected by a diagonal slash, called “Gyaku-Kesa Giri” in Walm’s previous world, sank into a sea of ​​blue flames in his death throes.

Fausto, who had lost one of his companions, showed no sign of flinching.

They were people who had been preparing for war for a century and had hardened their hatred and determination. It was foolish to expect mental fluctuations.

Without waiting, a short sword and spear approached in the form of sandwiching the front and back. Walm knelt down and fended off the sharply extended spear with the blade of the longsword. While maintaining the momentum of his sword, he turned around and slashed at the archer named “Lilo”.

The longsword struck the archer in the temple, but as he had anticipated a counterattack, he changed course and leaped just in time while aiming to cut off the knees of Walm, who was kneeling and leaning backward.

Walm pushed his knee and thrust the short sword upward with his shin guard. A blue flame swirled on his back and the hot air pressed him against the archer’s shoulder. The center of gravity of the archer caught in the sky collapsed.

Walm stretched out his arm to burn the target at close range, but a spear separated them.

The nasty attacker immediately changed direction and swung the spear horizontally, as if going after Walm, who escaped the blow.

Walm bent his upper body backward and let the spear slide over his head. Although his body’s center of gravity lowered, he managed to dodge the attack.

Without giving Walm pause, the tip of the short sword aimed for his throat.

Walm squinted his eyes and imagined the trajectory of the short sword. He moved his body and was able to dodge the blade just in time. The thin skin on his cheek was torn, but the magical barrier quickly suppressed his dripping blood.

Immediately, Walm supported the pommel of his longsword with his hips and plunged the blade tip into the archer’s flank, the structural weak point of the armor.

“Ugh, guh, gi, iiickk!!”

The blue flames roasted the flesh and boiled the blood. There was a reaction similar to that of a shield-wielder. Whether it was because of where Walm had cut or the difference in the magical barrier: While half of the archer’s body was consumed by blue flames, he pulled a dagger from his waist, aiming to stab Walm.

Walm extended his hand protector and held down the wrist that had gripped the dagger, but his gaze hastily wandered from the dying archer to the troublesome Fausto.

Fausto was approaching Walm with his spear raised above his head.

With enough power, an iron spear would bend like bamboo. Even such an attack from a common soldier could break bones and damage the iron material of the armor. With Fausto’s ridiculous physical strength, his skull and cervical spine would be shattered even through his armor.

Walm burned the archer, who had been relentlessly trying to restrain him with 《Demon Fire》, to death. Then, he immediately parried Fausto’s spear and supported the blade of his sword with his free arm.

A dull, numbing pain runs through Walm’s entire body. He screamed as his arms and spine creaked. Endured, he endured, but suddenly a feeling of floating dominated his body.

The scaffolding reached its limits first.

Walm was slammed to the floor with the remains of the roofing material and the charred remains of the archer. His lungs were asking for air and his whole body ached, but he had no time to falter.

Fausto approached Walm from above while pressing down on the spear in his hand.

Walm, getting down on one knee, hit the ground with his elbow, caught the floor with the sole of his shoe, and rolled away.

The spear smashed the floor and dust scattered all over the room. The room where Walm fell was an enclosed space with a window and an entrance.

Considering the situation, Walm worked out his mana and fired 《Demon Fire》 with maximum firepower. Due to the large wave of blue flames that manifested in a short time, the flames that had nowhere to go in the room flooded the windows and doors as they wanted to dance free. This time, its power was to the point that even Walm, who had high fire resistance, started to feel the burn.

Walm hurriedly escaped through the window and stared at the burning building.

The outer wall was suddenly destroyed like an explosion. Out of the sea of dust and blue flames rose Fausto, whose body was so bloated that it was hard to believe he was human.

“Thiz bodyy, hazz begun to go beyond, the human realm. If you, wannaz, kill me, drop me neeeEEECCKK!!”

Not only Fausto’s appearance, but also his tone of voice and manner of speaking had changed. At that moment, the words “fear and limit” that he had said earlier popped into Walm’s head.

The man standing in front of Walm, wasn’t a hundred percent suitable for being a monster, just like him. Fausto’s body was eroding, while Walm’s eyes were rotting.

A man who now stood between the realm of humans and demons, a man who should now be called a demonic human, came roaring toward Walm.

“Really, giving up on being a human huh, FAUSTOOO?!!”

Dodging the protruding spear, Walm stepped to the side. Each blow was powerful enough to overwhelm the wind and cut the sky with a resounding blow. A single blow could have decided the situation. Of course, not in Walm’s favor.

There was no need to wait long, Walm rejoined the fight. He manipulated blue flames and hot air at irregular intervals, confusing Fausto about the sense of distance. His eardrums kept catching the roar of the expelled air, cutting sound, over and over.

Walm continued to scrape Fausto’s arms and cut the flesh from Fausto’s abdomen. But that wasn’t enough. To settle the matter, he had to hit the vital point precisely. Thus, he continued to close the gap.

The sound of doom shook Walm’s eardrums. An alarm bell rang in his brain to warn him of the danger. The demon mask, on the other hand, enjoyed the situation and trembled happily every time he hit Fausto.

Cutting off the viscera, and gouging out the huge arm with the tip of the longsword, Walm scraped Fausto’s life.

Fausto held his spear in an extremely forward-leaning posture against Walm, who raised the longsword above.

The stone pavement was torn apart, and Fausto’s figure disappeared.

Now, the two positions were exchanged and reversed.

Blood oozed out of Walm’s throat. A ferocious look leaked out on Fausto’s face, but soon the red lines carved into his neck spread out, and flowers of blood bloomed in the sky.

A very close call.

Walm learned the pattern from the blow that Fausto, confined in a human body, kept making. Walm wouldn’t have been able to dodge it at first glance. If this had been the first time Fausto let his limit off, the result might have been the opposite.

Even though Fausto’s throat and carotid arteries were cut and he was struggling to stand still, his eyes hadn’t lost fighting spirit.

“Thiz, thizz much, izzz, NOOOTTHIIIINNGG!!!”

Fausto rushed in with a wet scream, and Walm responded with a stance that in his previous world was called, “Jodan no Kamae”, or “The Stance of Fire”.

The blade, which was raised above the head, cut through Fausto’s torso. His wounds were immediately filled with blue flames. His chest was cut open horizontally. As the slash severed his chest along with his sternum, the blue flames burned him from the inside.

“It, iz, not, over, yet.”

Fausto propped his knees on the ground and uttered a voice, but he collapsed like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Walm simply stared at the man’s back smoldering with blue flames.

“……died already?”

Not even a glimpse of joy could be felt.

Just like that, Walm left the place with a bitter aftertaste. He had only cut one pest. The culprit was still out there.

---

TN: Join my discord channel if you want.

---

145. Chapter 145

The Labyrinth City, where usually teeming with people day and night, was now overflowed with death. Only a few people were prepared for the death that came without warning.

Walm, who slashed down the undead devouring the living from behind with his halberd and returned them back to the Netherworld, gazed at the crowd of the dead.

Citizen corpses and ghouls were mixed in a wave of death. Among them, the troublesome ones were those wearing old, moldy armor. And such a troublesome ghoul noticed Walm and approached him with a slow movement, at first. The ghoul, holding a sword, speeded up on the way.

Walm ducked the blade swung at his head, and as he shifted his stance, he slammed his halberd into the side of the ghoul’s head without hesitation. Obviously, the fragile skull was no match for the iron.

The undead that approached right afterward, tried to pierce Walm with an uneven cutting-edges weapon, but such an attack was no problem for him. The attack flew through the sky without touching him, and instead, he thrust the spearhead of his halberd from under the chin of the leaning ghoul. Once the attack reached the brain of the deceased, Walm twisted the handle of the halberd with his wrist and stirred the contents. Then, he pulled the halberd out and shook off the filth that clung to it.

Undead desiring the living were drawn to Walm like humans to a bonfire in the middle of a cold camping night, thirsting for his flesh. Each time he casually swung his halberd, another head and sometimes limbs too were scattered.

Walm continued to expose the hatred swirling within him to the undead. It just never calmed down.

The undead that had blocked the road were now pilled up on the roadside. With this, Walm had purified one street, but still, the sounds of battle didn’t stop. It was as if the city itself was violated and screaming in pain.

“You, are you… a human?”

In a city that had become the city of the dead, such words were thrown at Walm.

In this turmoil, anyone wearing a demon mask, would be suspected of not being human.

It was a man who spoke to Walm. Judging by the man’s dirty armor, he seemed to be a guard who kept order in the city.

“That’s right.”

Starting with the soldier who exchanged a few words, adventurers and citizens with weapons appeared before Walm’s eyes. A motley group of armed huddles tried to force helpless citizens into large taverns and protect them.

The vicinity of the entrance was colored by the traces of the attack and defense. The rubble of the shattered door was replaced by a makeshift wall of stacks of tables, chairs, and immobile corpses. Through the broken window, one could see the inside of the store. Everyone from elderly people to babies was gathered there.

“These guys suddenly overflowed from the city. The dead citizens turned into them, no matter how many times, there’s just no end.”

Said the soldier with shame.

Was the soldier ashamed of the fact that the soldiers, who were supposed to protect the people and property and eliminate foreign enemies, were gathering with some citizens?

In any case, Walm had also failed to save his benefactor. He had no right to blame the soldier.

Walm told the soldier whose face was pale with fatigue and tension.

“With this number. You must have fought well. The guild is gathering a large force. There, it’s safer than here.”

“I’m sorry, and thanks for everything. What about you?”

“I’ve something to do. Do you know the exact path to the slums?”

“If it’s that much, it’s a cheap order.”

After getting detailed directions from the soldier, Walm ran again. The monsters that stood in his way were buried by his halberd. To reach the slums outside the city walls, he had to pass through the gate, which also served as a checkpoint.

Slowly, Walm’s nostrils caught a thick smell of death, thicker than ever. As for the mask, it started to make a fuss, swaying with excitement.

“It’s close.”

The gate beyond the street was shrouded in death. The scars of fierce battles remained in the area, but the victors weren’t human.

The undead wandered around, blocking the entrance. Although they were in a large number, there was a sense of incongruity. Those who still had some of their pre-war abilities were certainly a threat, but the defenses near the city gates shouldn’t be so weak. A garrison of adequate size should have been placed at the entrance to the city, which also served as a checkpoint.

Yet, it fell in a short period of time.

Looking closely, in addition to the traces of the explosion of the human bomb, there were traces of killing marks that in no way came from an undead.

Walm had a grin smile on his face. He remembered a messenger who rushed into the hall and reported about an armed force of unknown affiliation.

The role of the undead was to increase the military strength of this unknown power and to increase chaos by feeding on ordinary citizens. Armed forces in small numbers were common in irregular warfare, and the checkpoints that controlled the entrance and exit of the city had to be important targets for them.

At this point, Walm had several options, but the method he chose was extremely simple.

A brute force from the front. To crush the surging undead from the front.

Walm stopped counting after several dozen. He scorched decaying ghouls with his blue flames and shook off his halberd to clean it of brain fluid.

Today, Walm was in the best physical condition. It had been a long time since he had felt this way. The only possible reason was when he put the crimson grass into his mouth, he must have swallowed a small amount. His eyes were far from healed, but for the time being, they were good enough for him to go all out.

More undead came at Walm. He took a large step to bring the halberd around his back. An attack infused with mana cut through three approaching undead at once. He trampled the undead, still trying to get to living flesh after having only the torso, with the sole of his shoe.

A battle axe approached from the front. A sharp attack that no one would expect from a rotten body.

Walm clenched his elbows, thrust his halberd into the ground, and caught the battle axe with the axe blade of his halberd. He then leaped to the ghoul trying to remove the axe blade that had bitten into the handle of the battle axe, grabbed the ghoul by the throat, and prepared his mana. Soon enough, blue flames leaked from the ghoul’s mouth and esophagus. The undead, who should feel no pain, tried to break free, but immediately returned to the Netherworld.

Slashing, striking, tearing, and crushing. Walm repeated this over and over until there were only a few undead left in the way.

The moment the spearhead of the halberd plunged into the eyehole of an undead, Walm heard the sound of strings spanning. Quickly, he tilted his body, leaning forward, to the side and jumped away.

The arrow pierced the stone pavement. Walm recognized it. No way he could forget it.

Walm shouted at the arrow feathers and arrow shafts he tasted in the Labyrinth.

“Fausto, is it you guys?!!”

Walm, who had determined the firing point, speeded up with wind magic and leaped onto the roof of a private house where the archer was hiding. As he whirled up the roofing material and approached, a second arrow came flying toward him. The aim was very precise. Quickly he lowered his head and parried the arrow aimed at his throat with his helmet. With a high-pitched sound, the arrow deviated in a direction where there was nothing.

Getting close, Walm thrust his halberd. The spearhead didn’t catch the archer’s body, but only broke the thrown bow. The archer jumped back and drew a short sword.

Walm tried to pursue the archer immediately, but he felt a faint presence from the side and slowed his speed by stepping on the roof with the whole sole of his shoe.

It was a spear approaching from the side. Walm’s muddy eyes were indeed in good condition today. He intercepted the spear with the lower end of his halberd and changed direction over his head.

Walm wanted to land an attack, but in the failed surprise attack, the archer quickly made a gap, and now there was a distance between them. It seemed the archer wanted to play a wait-and-see game.

In the stalemate, more people came.

No need to confirm who they all were. For Walm once had a deadly battle with them.

Right, Fausto and his friends reappeared in front of Walm.

“It would be a problem if the number of ghouls is reduced further.”

Said Fausto with a flat tone of voice.

When Walm heard this, his emotions exploded.

“So, it’s you, FAUSTOOOO!!”

“Walm, what’s wrong with you wearing such a strange mask? Did the Trimagitack die at the ceremony?”

“Shut up, what do you all want, hah?!!”

“Everything is for revenge. It’s a rematch for us, who lost everything in the Unification War.”

The astonishing statement caused Walm’s passion to flare up.

A deliberate conversation. Even in the midst of the exchange of words, Fausto’s entourage waited for an opportunity to attack and showed movements to the side.

“Are you trying to call this a war?! Getting unrelated people involved like this…”

“Is there anyone who has nothing to do with war in a war? This is our homeland. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers and people mourned, suffered, screamed, and died in despair during the Unification War. Our people, land… their gravestones are carelessly trampled as if it never happened. Who can stand it?!!”

Fausto, with his canine teeth exposed, changed his facial expression for the first time.

Walm had lost his country. He lost his comrades with his unit at the frontline and killed many when he got swallowed in his emotions. He understood that some of his actions could be considered senseless and meaningless. Still, a hundred years from now. Involving people who weren’t among those involved to satisfy anger was simply incomprehensible to him.

“Sure there may be circumstances that can’t be compromised, but this kind of act is worse than shit. You guys are 100 years too late!”

“Yeah, it’s too late. Still, the peaceful Archipelago and the opportunistic Forest Alliance will tremble in fear. They will be blown away. Our allies, haven’t forgotten the old pact of a century ago.”

“The Republic, huh?”

Walm heard about the bloody history of the city from Roggo, a guild employee. Speaking of the alliance of the country that once ruled the Labyrinth City, there was only one, the Republic of Maylis, one of the three big countries.

“Well, in any case, if Belgana falls, the times, our times will move again.”

“Ridiculous. Do you really think the city will fall with that number?”

Although the number might be different for a while, in the end, they would be suppressed by the rebuilt garrison. Even Walm could easily imagine this.

“You’re in no position to laugh at me. You who have lost your country, Highserk, aren’t much different. Show your true feelings, Walm! Don’t you have any hatred for those who burned your country and buried your people?!”

As the same defeated soldier, Fausto threw such words at Walm.

Had it not been for the encounter and the battle in the Labyrinth City, there might have been some sympathy. But Fausto wounded the comrade-in-arms he had made in the Labyrinth, and killed his benefactor. It was already an irreconcilable relationship.

“Are you kidding me? A hundred years have passed, you think that still stands as a reason to involve unrelated people?”

“Even though it’s been a hundred years, we’re still alive. We’re alive. The war isn’t over yet. Until one of us dies, it’s not over!!”

“You guys are ghosts trapped in the war. You lost the people and the country you were supposed to protect, yet you still think you’re soldiers? You’re all just a bunch of crazy slaughterers.”

“Yeah, that’s right. A century, waiting for revenge that long can drive you crazy. Walm, have you ever had the desire to burn the enemies who killed your friends and family? When you know that your enemies are in the city and you can kill them all, can you stay back quietly?”

“You’re talking about something wild. What, trying to show how good an instructor you are or something, hah?!”

Fausto scoffed at the enraged Walm.

“No room for words, huh? What’s the difference? Aren’t we the same? Just defeated soldiers.”

“I don’t have noble ideals, but at least, I’m not as negative as you guys are. I did what I could… Enough, don’t think that you’ll die in peace!!“

“If that’s what you want. Come! I’ll send you to DEATH!!”

The clash of words was over. And this, was the signal for the beginning of a real battle of iron and blood.

---

TN: Join my discord channel if you want.

---

144. Chapter 144

Roggo, an employee of the Adventurer’s Guild Belgana Branch, was an excellent scout who specialized in Labyrinth. His natural sense of smell hadn’t changed after his employment as a guild employee, and he had an excellent sense of politics within the guild and was skilled at sniffing out danger. For this reason, he joined the faction of the Vice-Guild Leader, whom he knew had a twisted character, and acted obediently.

Now the intuition of sensing danger rang the alarm bell in his head louder than ever. And at the sight of the exploding Vice-Guild Leader, it was clear what had happened.

“Are you kidding me? Why are the ghosts, now of all times…?”

On “that night”, Vice-Guild Leader Raffaele was implanted with a bomb, which was frequently used during the Unification War. Not long ago, the bomb exploded, leaving him with only a few organs to survive for a very short period of time. The materials were fire-breathing lizard organs, black water, and some poison or metal shards, depending on the preference of the maker. And this time, the venomous fangs of the Hydra buried by the Republic were used for the bombs.

Roggo, who knew the history of the Labyrinth City, realized that this method corresponded to the tactics used at the end of the Unification War.

In the first place, the Labyrinth City was on a loathsome land where a mighty dragon vein flowed. If negative factors overlapped, it could easily become a Demon Territory.

What was happening right now, must be a conspiracy between the ghosts of the Gundor family, a prestigious family of necromancers that once ruled the Labyrinth City, and the Republic. And considering the monsters that swarmed within the castle walls, the plan must have taken more than a few years to complete. It must have been built several decades, or worse, since the end of the Unification War. The families of those who were involved, whether intentionally or not, would definitely not be forgiven. These were what Roggo speculated.

So, Roggo thought that he should leave the country as soon as possible. After all, there was no way the Republic, which inherited the blood of the vindictive giants, could be satisfied with only this much.

Running with a rough breath, Roggo felt a dull pain in his chest and looked down at his chest.

“What, is this?”

There was a mark on Roggo’s body. It was a pattern he had never seen before, but it couldn’t be unrelated to this turmoil.

Roggo tried to figure out what the effect was, but it was no longer necessary. The ghouls that were devouring the citizens around him moved their glare at him. It wasn’t one or two. Now, he realized why he wasn’t chosen as a human bomb. He had been chosen as an attractor for the monsters, whether he liked it or not.

“Piece of sh*t, you made me a live bait for the dead, huh?”

Quite a few former adventurers were involved in running the guild. Roggo also acted as a scout inside and outside the Labyrinth. A monster of this level? He had encountered it many times.

Roggo drew a machete that hung on his waist and accelerated.

The thick blade decapitated the undead’s head along with its neck. Then Roggo slashed his machete from above, crushing the skulls of the ghouls that approached in rapid succession.

“Sh*t, are the dead citizens turning into undead? There’s just no end!!”

Thinking not to get surrounded, Roggo slashed the undead that wanted to hug him on the knees with his machete and slipped past. Taking a lower stance, he slammed his shoulder into the chest of a ghoul that stood in his way. The pushed ghoul reluctantly reached for his clothes, but he shook his machete vertically. The ghoul’s thumb was severed and he was free.

Quickly, Roggo jumped into the alley at full speed, avoiding a large number of confrontations from many directions.

It didn’t take long for the narrow alley to be filled with blood.

The blood pooling on the ground worsened Roggo’s footwork like a curse. But as long as the enemy was within reach, he could survive. His judgment wasn’t wrong. Supposedly. But there were more than ten undead approaching from both sides of the narrow alley, and that changed the story.

Even if Roggo cut off a hand, shattered a knee, or blinded an eye, the hordes of the dead didn’t stop running. Cold sweat poured incessantly from his forehead, and his breathing was disrupted. It was too much for a body that had grown accustomed to calculations and schemes and not a battle since he had left the line of the Labyrinth. Had he been continuing further in diving the Labyrinth, he would have remained calm, but that wasn’t the case. His mind and body clearly couldn’t bear it any longer.

Being driven into a corner with no place or space to escape, Roggo screamed.

“Damn, it, don’t, come, no, nooOOOOOO!!!”

In a frenzied state, Roggo threw his stance and battle experience away and swung his machete recklessly. Trying to survive, he scraped off the fingers, skin, and some of the flesh of the undead, but the hordes of the dead didn’t stop. The blade dulled by fat and blood dug into the muscles and flesh and couldn’t be pulled back.

Countless arms and teeth approached.

“Let me goooOOOO!!! ah, aaaAAAHHH!!!”

Outstretched arms tore his clothes, and claws dug into his skin. Followed by a stench of rot and saliva dripping from the undead’s open jaws.

Roggo shook the undead limbs violently, but that only prolonged his life briefly.

Death was waving at him ―― nothing but a string of nonsensical words spilling from his throat in reply.

Roggo was chaotically grabbed all over his body.

At that hopeless moment, a hot wind blew down the alley just before his limbs were torn apart. The heat hit the undead’s whole body.

“……uh, hah, ah, what, happened?”

An overwhelming amount of heat burned death, sending it back to hell. The aftermath caused Roggo to sob and had his exposed skin burned.

Amidst the hordes of dead sinking into a blue sea of flame, a lone man stood as if taking a cold bath.

“Y-you are…”

Roggo knew the man. He was a mercenary who served as a porter for the Conqueror’s party, and his name was Walm. Immediately after this mercenary joined, the stagnant Trimagitack conquered the Labyrinth. Besides the suspicion of his origin, there were also voices that doubted his abilities due to the lack of information, but who would dare to raise a critical voice after seeing the same scene in front of Roggo?

“Thanks. You save―― “

Roggo held his breath and stopped his words of gratitude halfway.

The man’s passionate eyes shifted from the monster to Roggo. His muddy golden eyes narrowed vertically. Not very human eyes indeed.

A hot wind rushed through the alley.

Roggo instinctively sensed danger and began to run.

The man burned everything in his path and caught up with Roggo in no time.

Just like that, Roggo was slammed against a wall and was forced to expel the air from his lungs. The hands grabbed him so tightly by the throat that he was suffocating.

“Stop moving.”

Roggo felt the intent of the heat emanating from the man’s fingers and shut down all resistance.

“Answer me. Who did this? You were the only one who was frightened while everyone else was confused. And the one who exploded was your beloved Vice-Guild Leader. And what is that mark on your chest? The undead seem to like it a lot. It can’t be irrelevant.”

“Ah, I…”

“Tell me what I want. Then, I’ll help you. If you refuse, I’ll burn your limbs and let the monsters eat you. Your life is until the fire in the alley goes out. Choose.”

The muddy golden eyes swayed irregularly, staring at Roggo.

Direct. Not even a threat. Surely this type of person would do more than just spatting words. That was what Roggo thought.

Roggo threw away his dignity and spat out all the information he had. Who had invited him “that night” and where the enemy’s base might be? Everything he knew, including the guesses he made.

When the fire went out, the mercenary, finally satisfied, released his grip.

“So, what are you going to do?”

Asked Roggo, but the reply came quickly. A fire was lit on his chest, instantly burning his skin. He curled up like a baby and cried out in the face of the pain that throbbed directly into his nerves.

“Ah, aaah, aaAAAAHH!!! Damn it, why? I, answered…”

“I burned the mark.”

Shaking with severe pain, Roggo lowered his gaze to his chest, while the stench that burned his skin lingered in his nostrils. From his eroded skin, the mark was burned out. He couldn’t even protest against the rough treatment.

“Get out of the alley. After that, do as you please.”

“Wha-What are you going to do?”

Suppressing the pain, Roggo asked the mercenary.

“I’m going to cut them down.”

The mercenary spat it out so naturally. Not even pretending to be haughty or that it was a joke. Indeed, he was serious. And Roggo thought that the unfathomable mercenary could really do it.

Although Roggo had escaped death, he was so exhausted that he couldn’t move his body.

In his vision, a horde of undead was surging again, but was flung away like dust by the mercenary’s halberd and blue flame.

Getting free from being a target for extermination, Roggo thanked the mercenary from the bottom of his heart.

---

TN: Join my discord channel if you want.

---

143. Chapter 143 – Heartbeat

The torrential rain hitting the armor was pouring down without knowing when it would stop. The rainwater seeping through the cracks stung the man’s skin, robbing him of his thoughts and senses. Still, the dyed blood wasn’t washed away.

Around the man, the soldiers of the Archipelago who had just been buried sank to the ground. It wasn’t known how many people he had killed since the war began.

“The, the main castle, has fallen.”

“The main army has already……”

Said a subordinate of the man with a trembling voice.

All that could be heard was a tragedy. A decisive defeat in a battle. The defense of the Labyrinth City with the remaining forces would never come true. After all, the long-awaited Republic reinforcements were prevented from arriving in time by the Forest Alliance and the Archipelago, leaving them stranded.

Even a toddler could understand the situation. The man, the country had lost the war. His heartbeat felt like it was about to burst, so he suppressed his rough breathing to calm it down. He couldn’t collapse. At least, not yet.

“Huuu, uh, huh, our, city…”

A subordinate, lying on the ground with his armor off, stretched out his trembling hand. The wound was pressed with a cloth and a bandage, but the bleeding didn’t stop. While the blood entered the ground, life was leaving the body.

The man, willing to get dirty, went down on his knees and pushed back the fingers of the dying subordinate.

“We’re still holding out. Republic reinforcements are coming soon.”

With a smug look on his face, the man lied to his men. Destruction of the main army, fall of the Labyrinth City. The truth was too cruel.

“Fuh, ha, hah, you’re, still bad, at lying, aren’t you?”

The man was naive and stupid. He couldn’t even let his dying subordinates go in peace.

“Stop, don’t talk anymore. It will hurt your wounds.”

Don’t let the dying subordinate talk. The man tried to reassure him in this way, but he shook his head in denial and continued.

“I’m, gonna die. That, much, I know…… a, aah, f*ck, I couldn’t, do anything, in the end. Definitely, definitely, they, will…”

Before the subordinate could say his last words, life finally left his body. The man closed his eyelids.

Then the man raised his voice and stood up. The market price, the fate of the soldiers who couldn’t protect their country and compatriots, was decided.

The man pulled out the spear that was still in the corpse and brushed off the blood clung to it.

“Well, then, let’s go!! That’s―― all we can do after all.”

At the man’s word, the soldiers under his command raised their weapons and responded. A collection of exhausted, wounded soldiers. Compared to the soldiers of the Archipelago attacking the city, they were really small in numbers.

There was already no chance of victory. Even after the soldiers realized that, they were about to throw themselves to their deaths.

The man gave up everything he needed except the fight and was about to give the order to attack, but was stopped by his subordinate who was guarding him.

“Wait a minute, a messenger…”

“Messenger? Now that the main castle has fallen, who…?”

It had been a long time since the army hadn’t received proper orders. From where and who sent the messenger at this kind of time?

Panting and breathing on his shoulders, the messenger began to convey information to the man.

“It seems that Gundor-sama has successfully escaped. The surviving units, are, to leave the city, through the Suderin Forest.”

“No way, are you telling me to live in shame? Look, people are being trampled in front of me!!”

The man’s nails dug into his flesh, and his clenched fists bled.

Through the wind and rain, the soldiers’ cries reached the man.

“The continuation… it’s not over yet. Definitely, a rematch…”

The temptation of destruction invited the man over and over.

What would the man do?

The soldiers who had shared the battlefield so far were behind him. Whatever decision he would make, they would follow him without question. In fact, they waited silently for the next order, without a word.

Staring at his immobile men, the hesitant man made a choice.

“I… We, will come back. To this city, definitely. No matter how many years it takes!!”

Vengeance, the man wailed so resolutely in his heart. The next moment his vision was distorted, and then rapidly brightened.

“Fausto-sama”

“……Ah, my bad. Did I fall asleep…? It’s about time.”

Too much time had passed for Fausto. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Fausto’s career since his appearance on the bloody stage was the history of the Adventurer’s Guild Belgana Branch. The guild was made up of various individuals. A swordsman trained to the extreme, an armed monk with a bad drinking habit, a sarcastic scout, an up-and-coming group that would be responsible for the next generation, and many more―― they were no longer there. Fausto killed them all.

Anger, frustration, confusion, their faces at the last moment, were still stuck deep in Fausto’s heart. They studied together, encouraged each other, taught each other, and laughed together.

Really, foolish.

Of course, it was unnecessary. For such an act was too much to call it a deception. Each time he killed someone, the number of acquaintances and friends he could interact with decreased, and each time, his humanity was scrapped.

“I’m really, foolish.”

A mass of self-contradictions.

Selfish and shallow. Perhaps too much of it.

Fausto despised himself for being in contact more than necessary with people who were in contradictory positions, and for pretending that he was repentant.

On “that day” when Fausto cried, his mind was full of anger, shame, and regret. Only a century had passed since then, but he couldn’t always remain faithful to these feelings.

Sweet and weak. And that was the reason Fausto lost everything. That should be.

Fausto felt that he had to let go of his emotions. Otherwise, for what purpose did his comrades-in-arms who had died earlier and those who had been buried until now die? He had to go crazy for them, in the right way. Yes, in the right way.

Fausto, who had regained his usual expressionless face, slowly opened his eyes.

Everything would begin and end in less than half an hour.

Before Fausto lined up his compatriots who had lived together for a century, the descendants of the people whose future had collapsed and perished. Thousands, tens of thousands of compatriots from the time of the Unification War had become fewer.

“The time for staying in hiding is over. You’ve endured well until now.”

Only silence answered Fausto eloquently.

The slums, though dirty as sludge, were really comfortable. Compared to the previous dormant time, it could be said that half an hour, felt like an instant.

A low, muffled sound echoed through the city. Slowly it spread out like a chain. It was a curse and a blessing. The start and the end.

Screams and cries echoed off the walls. To Fausto’s ears, it sounded like a hymn. The die was cast. No stepping back.

“Rematch, it’s a rematch!! Raise the battle flag in our city!! The old man――Gundor-sama, is concentrating on the operation and preparation of the legion. We will continue to attack the key points!! Don’t stop walking even if you lose your eyes!! This is the final war we’ve been longing for. Let’s remind them, whose land this is, and whose tombstone we paid for this false peace. One last time, Prove your loyalty to King Eisenbagh van Gundor!!!”

Fausto’s command, which had never been given before, echoed through the room. The soldiers shouted, raised their swords, stamped their feet, and answered his cry.

A hundred years of silence had finally been broken, and Fausto’s heart, which had stopped since the Unification War, began to beat again.

---

TN: Join my discord channel if you want.

---

142. Chapter 142 – Balance

Hot air and shock hit Walm’s skin. Reflexively, he curled up to cover his vital points. The sight that met his eyes as he peered through the gap between his folded arms was completely different than it had been a moment before. The remains of the scattered people turned to blood and flesh and covered the great hall.

The sense of reality had still not reached Walm.

Those present, who until just now had believed in the glory of Belgana, simply lay down on the floor and groaned. The path of light shining through the stained glass was tinged with dark, visceral colors.

“Ex-explosion…? What’s going on?”

Walm made his addled brain work hard. The people in front and behind him became exquisite shields, leaving his body remained unharmed. The guests, on the other hand, caught in the explosion flames, confided helplessly to him.

“Oi, hang in there!”

Shouted Walm to the drooping man, but received no response. The glittering clothes were dirty, and the boundary with the skin was ambiguous, somehow stuck. Still, he was far from instant death.

To check the condition of the injured man, Walm grabbed the man’s shoulder and turned the man’s face upward, but he noticed something unusual.

“uh, aahh, a, uh, haagh…”

The face was purple overall, and convulsions with vomiting occurred repeatedly. For Walm, who was used to seeing injured people and even burned people, this was the first time he had seen the symptoms. Looking closely at the skin, he could see a white foreign substance stuck in the metal pieces. It wasn’t just an explosion. The explosive that must have been planted on the vice-guild leader and the other people was laced with metal shards and deadly poison to increase its lethality.

The man being held by Walm arched his back as if to mimic a bow and stopped breathing. He was beyond help.

Walm laid the body down and let his gaze wander to gather information. As the view cleared, the full extent of the damage became clearer. Half of the guests and the guards were still lying on the ground.

“CALL A HEALING MAGICIAN!! The Marquis is injured!”

“This is bad. The breathing is…… Damn it, what’s this? Deadly poison? Where is the guild leader!?”

“The guild leader was caught in the explosion of the vice-guild leader, and died instantly.”

The glorious voices of praise and the melodies of instruments were replaced by screams and groans. The attendants and soldiers tried desperately to save the injured, but to no avail.

Soldiers scurrying around the room, guests calling for help, and guild employees disappearing into the exit, pale with fear. These were the scenes Walm’s eyes saw.

In the midst of this commotion, Walm’s gaze lingered on one particular person. One particular person…

Walm felt thirsty and forgot to breathe, as if time had stopped. He gasped for air and ran through the hall, only for his feet to get stuck on the wet floor. His heart was pounding fast. The more he told himself that he shouldn’t be like this, couldn’t be like this, the more his breathing was disturbed.

Walm, who reached the wall, put his knees on the ground as if he were repentant and called out.

“Li, Lisi! Oi, LISIII!!!”

“u… ah, uuuh… a…..”

Walm’s vision wavered as he carefully lifted Lisi’s weak body. Fist-sized shards of metal pierced her throat and chest, and she spat copious amounts of blood from her lips. Her eyes were blurry. And her eyelids were closing, as if she couldn’t bear her fatigue. Faced with such a serious injury, she didn’t, she couldn’t respond to Walm’s call, but moved her fingers and lightly shook the silver bracelet on her wrist. She felt as cold as a corpse when Walm clasped her hand.

“Healing magician, is there a healing magician out here!!?”

With over a hundred people writhing in agony from the poison, there was no one but Walm who would prioritize saving Lisi, the guild employee.

Removing the poisoned metal pieces should have been the top priority, but Walm’s experience as a soldier set alarm bells ringing. If the metal pieces were pulled out of Lisi, who couldn’t put up a magical barrier, the equilibrium would be lost and she would definitely bleed to death. Even if he tried to cauterize the bleeding, could she endure the pain of having her throat and chest burned? No way a normal person could.

“Don’t sleep, stay conscious!”

It’s not a time to grieve, don’t panic, think, think of a way…!!

Walm continued to try hard to control the thoughts that were being dragged by his emotions, which tried to deviate from the logical path and jumped into the sorrowful past.

Even if Walm removed the metal pieces, Lisi would still bleed to death. Besides, he had no way to remove the poison at all. Even healing magicians would have a hard time curing it, indeed, some wouldn’t be able to demonstrate their abilities in the face of a deadly poison.

While swimming in the sea of thought, the existence of “it” passed by. It was one of the Three Hidden Treasures of Healing, the crimson grass that was said could heal all kinds of diseases and even prolong life. Walm had risked his life at the bottom of the Labyrinth to obtain it. Now, a dying benefactor needed it. Immediately.

The calculating mind rose and cried out, but immediately its lip was shut and it was buried to death.

Even if Walm pretended not to see all this, blaming his muddy eyes, it would only add a new curse of regret.

“Wait, I’ll help you now―― “

Walm grabbed the bottle he took out from the magic bag and popped the cork. The unchanging flower remained in its form, just as when he had retrieved it from the bottom of the Labyrinth.

Walm threw words of encouragement to Lisi, while his mind was hesitating about how to get her to ingest it, but then the voice he heard made him freeze.

Even at the bottom of the Labyrinth, Yuna’s unsettled voice shook Walm’s eardrums. Even more so now.

Awkwardly, Walm bent his heavy, rusty neck. Familiar faces gathered at the end of his line of sight. The only difference was that Merrill, the party leader, lay on the ground. She was bathed in poisonous shards that made her body shake uncontrollably. To the side, the corpses of the prominent figures of the Labyrinth City were tragically lined up. Unlike them, Merrill had escaped instant death, perhaps because of the difference in how direct the hit was or the difference in the defense provided by the magical barrier.

“Merrill, don’t give up!!”

“Yuna, stuff her mouth with cloth and makes her bite it… Aaahh, even though I’ve used my bestowing magic, why the detoxifying doesn’t work!?”

“Ah, aaaahh, this is, Hydra’s poison!! It’s so poisonous, enough to knock down the descendants of the giants of the Republic. And that amount, is enough to kill an ordinary person five times over.”

Which one should be saved? The comrade-in-arms with whom he shared joys and sorrows in the Labyrinth, Merrill. Or, the benefactor who had shown and helped him many things since he arrived in the Labyrinth City, Lisi.

While weighing the two, the reason Walm cultivated as a soldier called out to him.

“Ah, huu, AHH, HAAAHHH!!”

Dizziness attacked Walm, making his vision even blurrier. A sour taste rose in his throat as he suppressed his sobs.

What to do…? What should I do…?!!

Walm’s emotions were on the verge of bursting. On the contrary, his reason as a soldier ruthlessly perceived the facts. Lisi’s wounds were too deep. Would the crimson grass be enough to save her? His emotions denied the truth.

Who should be saved?

In front of the two people caught in a balance, time passed without giving Walm an answer.

The screams in the noisy hall had decreased one by one. In such a hall, Walm was forced to make a decision, but he couldn’t choose.

Meanwhile, in Walm’s indecision, Lisi’s mouth moved slightly as she was suffering in his arm.

“What is it?! What do you want to say?!”

Lisi’s mouth moved slightly, but no sound came out. Walm tried hard to figure out what she was going to say from her mouth movements so as not to miss a single word, but he failed.

No more chances. Lisi’s body stiffened for a moment before her relaxed arm fell to the floor.

The silver bracelet made a sound. The high-pitched reverberation of the metal lingered in Walm’s ears. He felt as if he had heard it continuously for hours.

“O-oi! Lisi? LISI!!?”

Walm understood. Meaningless and unproductive. That was what he was doing. Nevertheless, he continued to throw words around.

“It’s, a lie. It’s not supposed to be, like this.”

Words would never come out from Lisi again, for life had slipped away from her cold body.

Walm couldn’t choose between the two on the balance. The result was Lisi’s death. The process wasn’t important. The results spoke louder in the end.

“…forgive, me.”

How could he be forgiven? No sane person would. Walm didn’t choose her after all. Still, he couldn’t help but sob in an apology.

Walm closed her eyelids with his trembling fingers, placed Lisi on the floor, and walked forward as if crawling. His distorted vision reflected many tragedies.

Walm took several shallow breaths and sorted his messy consciousness. He realized he couldn’t stay still and drowned in grief. So he made a decision.

“Walm!? Merrill is…!”

Hari, who was concentrating on Merrill’s treatment, tried to explain her condition, while being surprised by Walm, who jumped in without considering whether he would fall.

“At this rate, she will die. Right?”

What an open-minded way of speaking. Even so, knowing the appearance of Walm and the weight of the thing he held in his hands, no one dared to criticize him.

“Walm, what about your eyes?!”

“I know. But it’s just eyes, life is more important.”

“Is it really okay?”

At Hari’s insistence, Walm turned his bloodshot eyes.

“……I, can’t go back anymore… Can you hear me, Merrill? Swallow the crimson grass.”

Walm opened Merrill’s tightly closed mouth with his fingers and pushed in some crimson grass, but she just coughed and couldn’t swallow it at all.

“She doesn’t even have the strength to swallow…”

Marianthe was at a loss for words at Merrill’s deteriorating condition.

No more lament. Walm took out the rum from his magic bag, poured it into his mouth, and immediately stuffed his mouth with the crimson grass. He continued to chew, leaving his stunned companion aside. The rusty bitterness of the crimson grass and the sweet taste of the rum mingled in his mouth.

Then Walm put one arm around Merrill’s nape, and with the other hand, he put a finger on her chin and poured the crimson grass into her mouth. The liquid flowed through the overlapping lips without a gap. Merrill coughed. He pressed his lips further, tightly to keep the liquid from leaking out. Her throat rumbled, saying that the crimson grass had passed.

The effect was dramatic. The convulsing body slowly calmed. The drowning breathing came to rest again.

The exhausted Walm sat down on the floor. It had a bitter aftertaste. Feelings that couldn’t be explained swirled deep inside.

At that moment, a person grabbed Walm by the shoulder. He looked back with a dumbfounded face.

The guild employee Lavinia, who normally worked next to Lisi at the reception desk, was about to contort her face and scream.

“Why, why didn’t you help her? Why did you abandon her!!! If you had used crimson grass, Lisi…… might still be alive. That girl, held a feeling for you, so why, WHY!?”

Walm listened in silence.

It was a very good point indeed. Lavinia, who was close to Lisi, couldn’t accept Walm’s choice.

“In this situation, no one can stay calm. And you bastard, should better watch your mou――”

“Hari, stop. I didn’t choose, I couldn’t choose, I killed her. Nothing’s wrong.”

Hari, his face colored by anger, shouted at Lavinia, but Walm stopped him. Lavinia, whose eyes crossed with Walm, lowered her face and simply hit the ground with her gaze.

“The one to blame, shouldn’t be Walm! He, even disregards his rotting eyes just to――”

Marianthe was about to continue, but was interrupted by soldiers rushing into the Great Hall. The soldier, who must have been a messenger, reported to the surviving general.

“1000-man Commander Edoardo, a message was sent using communication magic tool!! Similar necromancy magic-style human bombs exploded at the labyrinth-related facilities, the staff room, and the main castle. And the damage is enormous. In addition, in the old castle, the city area, the castle gate, and many more, a large number of undead and armed forces of unknown affiliation have been confirmed.”

“What’s the total number!?”

“It’s unknown, but the number of undead alone exceeds several thousand, and a lot of the equipment clad in their rotting body seems to be from the era of the Unification War.”

The general, whose name was Edoardo, gritted his teeth and let out a yell.

“This kind of tactic, is from the era of the Unification War. Did the dead, really crawl out of their grave!!?”

“Ma-Marquis-sama, and the eldest son have passed away. Even the guild’s high-ranking officers and also the soldiers at the command post―― what should we do?”

Edoardo looked at the messenger soldier and raised his voice.

“Don’t panic!! First of all, mobilize all the soldiers and adventurers who can move in the vicinity and assemble the numbers. Regardless of affiliations or units. We don’t know the exact casualties of the higher-ranking people in the chain of command… Gather those who can take control, the first priority is to remove the threat!!!”

The soldiers who had received the scolding scattered outside the room. There were no lives left to save.

Walm heaved a small sigh. He thought Edoardo’s voice was really good. One of the exemplary voices of those who could move people.

Ironically, Walm’s spirit returned to reality at the command of a general from another country.

What should be the priority was the elimination of the worst, the fatal, the one who had caused the situation that made the heart vomit pain.

Walm wholeheartedly agreed with the command.

“… I’ll leave Merrill in your care. I’ve something to do.”

“What are you saying?”

“Where are you going?! Walm!!”

Walm ignored the voices of his companions trying to stop him. He dodged the frantic guild staff and guests and walked down the hall. Not necessarily, but Walm had an expression on his face that he didn’t want to show them, the proper adventurers, if he could.

Fortunately, Walm had an idea. While the victims fell into confusion and grief after being struck by tragedy, he didn’t overlook one person whose face turned pale with fear. It couldn’t be unrelated at all. After all, this was a man who also served as Raffaele’s escort.

When Walm was under house arrest in the guild, the man was always with the Vice-Guild Leader. And when he saw his precious owner burst, he just trembled with fear without being sad or confused. So the answer was obvious. Walm was convinced that he was in a position to know the culprit.

“Yeah, sure. If that’s what you want…… I’m quite good at both, killing… and war.”

For the community to which he belonged…

For himself in the name of self-defense…

Walm had killed countless people with such justifications.

“I won’t blame anyone. I won’t make excuses. It’s me, all with my own will, the one who will kill you all. Every single one.”

With these words, Walm put on the demon mask.

The emotions that had been so turbulent now blended with the mask. As if to confirm and show the murderous intent of its owner, the mask trembled greatly. And to such an excited mask Walm gave a confirmation.

“Yeah, I know. Don’t make such a fuss. I can’t wait either.”

---

Author’s Note :
The Crimson Grass, in the language of flowers, means Sacrifice, Compensation, and Balance.

TN: It seems the Author was inspired by Poppy Flower. Since it has those kinds of meanings.

TN: Join my discord channel if you want.