Volume 3 Chapter 219 Cruelty
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
As long as Kian Vahid remains a vengeful spirit, he can’t refuse Erynys’s proposal—.
It was a vague truth even Kian sensed himself.
Glasses—Erynys plans to destroy the world to restore Count Cain’s territory.
Kian, on the other hand, intends to ruin it to drown those who exiled him in despair, suffering, and regret.
In other words, their motives differ, but their goals are the same.
Moreover, unlike with Oswald, there’s no dispute over Maribel and Christy’s freedom this time. If Kian doesn’t want to kill the people of Izerland, he can let Ramsey be swallowed by the thorn demon, then move on to Azrael. If Erynys crushes Jibril along with Azrael, they become true allies—comrades sharing the same aspiration.
So, as long as Kian is a vengeful spirit, he can’t truly oppose Erynys.
Saying he should stop because many will die—that’s just empty words.
Just as the glasses said, by helping many afterward and advancing civilization, he could cleanse the stain of being a killer.
Historical heroes and great rulers often count as mass murderers, but later historians view their actions as “a necessary sacrifice.” Thinking like that, Kian’s sense of right and wrong began to unravel.
”──────”
Kian fixed his gaze on Erynys’s beautiful, pale right hand extended toward him.
Silence.
Tension.
The occasional chirp of birds in the temple square somehow marked the passage of time.
”…If I challenge you, will you kill me?” Kian finally asked, his voice drawn out.
Like with his relationships with women, he couldn’t escape the urge to delay facing problems.
”If you disobey, I may have no choice. In that case, I will absorb you into the thorns and ‘record’ you,” Erynys said, waving her left hand.
From the cracked cobblestones, thorny tendrils snaked out, grotesquely bulging with the face of the vampire boy she called Tao.
”I will make you a being I can summon when needed. But that’s only a last resort. I have use for you while you live. I’ll resort to this only if you become my enemy.”
”──────”
”Kian, you want slaughter for revenge. I want slaughter to restore Count Cain’s territory. Our goals are the same, aren’t they?” Erynys said.
”They’re no different,” Kian replied.
”Then we only need to agree on who to kill and who to spare. Our interests will align perfectly.”
Kian stared at the ground, eyes angled away.
”I can’t forgive a world that let me die. I want to drag those who cast me out down to despair and kill them cruelly, alone.”
”That’s your true desire,” she said.
”I hate this world’s people. They’re selfish, pushing others down while spouting nonsense about love and justice—sweeping all their filth under the rug. Ugly beasts, every one.”
Of course, Umar too.
He hated Sophie, the receptionist who worked with him.
He hated the adventurers who tried to kill him—faceless nobodies.
He hated Maribel, who only cared about using him.
He hated Eleonora, who repaid kindness with betrayal.
He hated those filthy, spineless beastmen.
He hated Sarah, crawling to him, thinking she was forgiven without knowing how he felt.
He hated Linca as much as Umar or Jibril for standing by and watching him get bullied in Azrael. He’d kill her if he could.
Everyone—everyone should just die.
Until now, he’d suppressed his malice, playing the warrior monk. Now it was rising.
Why should he accept a future where Sarah saves Umar?
Why forgive Maribel, who spouted only pretty words and refused to pay?
If you’re kind, they use you to the bone.
If you show mercy, they laugh, calling you a fool while baring their fangs.
Even if you help others, it almost never returns.
That was the bitter truth Kian learned after thirty years.
”So, you won’t walk with me?” Erynys asked.
”Wait. If we march into Azrael with the Thorn Demon, won’t Ms. Aliona stop us halfway?” Kian countered.
”That woman’s already been ordered by the Western Church to move because of her ties to demons,” Erynys explained.
”That’s right. Once Maribel gives her approval, Ramsey can start the investigation.”
”Then the chance of running into her is pretty high, huh?”
”…Are we going to kill her too?” Kian asked.
Erynys was silent a moment before answering honestly.
”We have no choice. She’ll interfere with my plan. She’s lived long enough to have plenty of tricks. You never know what she’ll pull, combining all her cards.”
”No. Ms. Aliona is my benefactor. In a world where everyone treated me coldly, she was the only one who saw me as a person, not a tool. She sold me herbs at a ridiculously low price without ulterior motives. Without her, I’d have died long ago in the streets,” Kian said firmly.
”We can’t leave her alive. We can’t let her into this ‘restoration’ of the world. She’s a worm inside the lion. We don’t know what she’ll do from within.”
”Then you’re my enemy.”
”Choose carefully, Kian. If you fight me for Ms. Aliona’s sake, there’s no need for words… but have you truly thought about what happens if you lose?”
”That’s pointless. I will win.”
”Your master says that, but what do you think, Linca?” Erynys teased, glancing at the female warrior monk shrinking behind Kian. “Needless to say, your purpose is to bear Kian’s child. If he dies, you become unnecessary. Given your magic power, you’re a prime target to be absorbed. If Kian falls, don’t think you’ll be spared.”
”Sir Kian… do you truly believe you can defeat Ms. Erynys? If you say yes, I will believe in you, but…” Linca’s voice trembled.
She wanted to say, “We can win!” but instead sought a realistic answer—how much chance they actually had.
This isn’t the time for Kian to cling to stubborn pride and charge at Erynys.
Depending on his choice, Linca might die in vain.
”Glasses, you’re looking down on me. Are you weighing Linca and Ms. Aliona on a scale?” Kian snapped.
”That’s right. If Linca alone isn’t enough, I’ll add another. Natra, Rufna, Christina, and Serena might help too,” Erynys said coldly.
”────”
”But if you oppose me as planned, I will devour Izerland, not Azrael. Natra and Sarah will oppose me to halt the demons. Christina will fight desperately for Maribel. Guy, Priscilla, and Louis will fight to protect Châtillon. Robert, Esther, and Friedrich may stay in the East End, trusting the defense team to repel the demons. I will kill them all. I possess greater physical ability and am more skilled with the magic sword than you. Even if they all attack at once, I can wipe them out easily.”
”Sir Kian…” Linca tugged his arm desperately.
She doesn’t want to die.
Fortunately, she was chosen to bear Kian’s child and intends to watch from the sidelines as Izerland and Azrael fall. She clings to the selfish hope that Jibril will somehow fix things.
”If you truly want to save Aliona, return to the mortal world now and conspire with Linca. Manipulate Archbishop Homolka and Maribel. Make sure that woman can’t escape the Western Church’s facilities. You have about a week,” Erynys said sharply.
”────”
”But this will be the last time I listen to your selfishness. After capturing Aliona, you’ll follow my plan. If Châtillon or Maribel oppose me, I won’t hold back. I’ll crush them all—including the Holy Knights who protect Ramsey,” she warned.
Guy is a benefactor.
Louis treated him well, even if briefly.
Priscilla is an important lover—and a benefactor who has done much for him.
Maribel is the person Kian, Natra, Rufna, and Owl saved with desperate effort. If Maribel dies, everything Kian and the others worked for a month ago will be lost.
However, it’s likely they’ll ally with Azrael to suppress the Demon’s advance. If they enter the battlefield, they’ll be incinerated by the ultra-powerful magic sword wielded by Erynys…
”Glasses, this feels like you’re making me choose my fate—but really, you’re forcing it on me. What’s the difference between following you to minimize sacrifice and you threatening to kill everyone if I resist?” Kian challenged.
”Maybe none. Even so, what’s the problem?” Erynys replied coldly.
”It’s a big problem. I can’t accept this. I won’t follow you. It’s not fair.”
”Fairness doesn’t exist in this world. You—born with weaker abilities—should know that well.”
”────”
”Without power, opinions don’t matter. If you want yours to count, you must show strength. But if you fail, not only will you die, but so will Linca, Sarah, Rufna, Serena, Christina—everyone.”
”So, if I defeat you, everything will settle?” Kian asked.
”Sir Kian, please stop! This is madness!” Linca cried out.
”Ho ho ho ho. That’s where the difference lies between your female pig and Kian Vahid. Your fighting spirit is admirable. Even after tracing Erynys’ memories, I’ve never seen anyone as pure and straightforward in their murderous intent as you. No evil thoughts—just beautiful ferocity,” Erynys laughed coolly and leapt back.
She still had the seven magic swords deployed around her body and met Kian’s gaze with composed calm.
The stance between them, Erynys’ height, the firm cobblestones beneath their feet—it all reminded Kian of dueling Sarah in Azrael.
”It seems you don’t understand the difference in strength when handling magic swords like I do, so I’ll give you a lesson. This is part of your education, so I’ll settle for half-killing you… but don’t blame me if I kill you by accident. And if you die in an accident, I’ll kill Linca too. Got it?” Erynys warned.
”…………”
”Sir Kian, no! Please stop!” Linca pleaded.
”Linca, step back. Watch quietly,” Kian ordered.
”Ugh!?” Linca obeyed but couldn’t resist. She was pushed away and fixed in a sitting position on the plaza ground before the temple.
”S-Sir Kian…!” she gasped.
”I’m sorry. I didn’t want to use the absolute command,” Kian muttered, turning toward Erynys with his hand on the hilt of his Windsong Blade.
”Nice. You’re still the best, Kian,” Erynys said, twisting her ethereal beauty into a wild, animalistic grin.
”Talia also know the way of the warrior. As a fellow warrior, I’ve watched your sword for a long time—your form, your breathing, your footwork—everything. Secretly, I thought to myself…” she trailed off.
Erynys drew one of the seven magic swords, Water Moon, which reflects enemy magic.
The red blade slid from its ornate golden and black scabbard.
Like Kian, she took the “Leap” stance.
”I’ve always wanted a real fight with you! Ahhh!!” she shouted.
* * *
A dark night.
In a swamp where no beast’s shadow stirred, a figure clad in Owl armor staggered through the muck.
It was Owl.
He’d lost his prized hat, and the feathers on his armor’s front were burnt to a crisp, leaving him battered. Owl’s jet-black eyes bulged as he climbed a small hill.
”I understand why they attacked me… I was humanity’s enemy here. But Kian shouldn’t be the same. Were they planning to erase him too? Why? Are heroes unnecessary? Are they taking all the credit for themselves?” Owl wondered aloud.
At his core, Owl was a monster.
Long ago, he’d lived alongside humans, learning to read their movements and emotions. Though he guessed their feelings, human wickedness often baffled him.
”Eleonora. She led the assassination of Kian. That much is certain. The target was probably the Defense Minister’s position. But if she blew up a whole mountain, she’d get caught. The truth would surface eventually. Humans aren’t so foolish they can’t predict something so simple,” Owl muttered.
He extended his claws and crawled on all fours up the hill.
Organs still unhealed from lost blood and magic screamed in pain, and dark blood dripped from his sharp fangs.
”…Maribel. She’s involved too. No wonder Eleonora wasn’t afraid of exposure. What happened? Why? She was so pure—then stained by human filth…” Owl growled.
Maribel could nullify her contract with the castle lord and avoid paying her reward if Kian died. Since Kian was exiled from the Vahid household, inheritance was impossible under Izerland’s laws.
If they take care of Kian, who removed the northern calamity, Maribel wins all by herself.
Judging the situation, there was no doubt Maribel was behind Eleonora.
”Tobalcain, are you frustrated?” a voice asked.
”Oh, my goddess!” Owl gasped.
The scar on his shoulder throbbed painfully. Ahead, atop the slope he was climbing, stood a divine girl with blonde hair and red eyes.
Awaken the demon. Reduce everything to ashes, she commanded.
”Understood. No more mercy is needed. Those ugly humans will learn firsthand how their deeds return to them,” Owl said grimly.
He reached the hilltop.
From there, he gazed down at the refugee camp where nearly ten thousand Beastmen—abandoned, not sold to slave traders—huddled. Enough sacrifices to summon the thorny demon.
Since the goddess appeared, Owl had been preparing for the demon’s resurrection by her revelations. He’d once destroyed the magic circle in Ramsey’s underground lair, but in recent days, using a vampire’s transformation ability, he had infiltrated the camp and resumed preparations.
The day has changed. The Beastmen are deep asleep. Resistance will be minimal. Proceed, the goddess instructed.
”Yes, right now!” Owl replied, struggling to his feet. He spread his arms wide, bared sharp fangs, and began chanting an ancient spell at a frequency only the gifted could hear.
Below, a massive red magic circle ignited in the Beastmen camp.
Though the light wasn’t intense, from Owl’s vantage point the intricate patterns bloomed like a bloodstained painting from bleeding bony hands. Success.
A fierce wind whipped around Owl. Small animals scattered in panic.
The ground trembled faintly. Screams rose from the camp.
The Beastmen sensed the anomaly too late.
From the red circle, countless thorny vines shot skyward, merging into the lower half of a towering giant.
The earth withered. Life drained away.
”…Kian, my friend, I will avenge your grievances. The demon will become your wail, swallowing the mountains and rivers of Izerland,” Owl vowed.
Having finished the spell, he deformed his sternum; burnt wings unfurled from his back.
You’ve done well, Tobalcain. Now, take your time to heal, the goddess said.
”Yes, my goddess,” Owl answered.
The blonde figure dissolved into particles of light.
Left alone, Owl beamed with joy as the living disaster grew, feeding on the Beastmen’s flesh.
”The end begins here. No one can stop it. Wise humans are to blame. Once civilization crumbles, evil wisdom will end, and humans will learn unity.”
”Wooooo…” a giant roar echoed.
A colossal body thundered through clouds, reaching toward the moon.
So massive its mouth was indistinguishable, yet the roar confirmed vocal cords.
A giant.
A thorn-covered giant.
Under moonlight, its toxic red-and-dark-green body moved like a mountain. Each ground-shaking step drained life, turning the earth to death. Needlesharp thorns writhed like snakes, crawling outward.
A violent mass trampling the world.
An apocalyptic beast, absorbing magic and regenerating endlessly unless its life force was exhausted.
The colossal infant, sated on Beastmen flesh, slowly turned toward its next source of nourishment—
Ramsey.
”Oswald, please don’t hold a grudge,” Owl called after the demon as he soared upward and vanished.
* * *
About twenty meters separated Kian and Erynys.
With Kian’s speed and strength, that was negligible.
They were already in lethal range.
Yet Erynys didn’t move, simply readying “Water Moon” to block the Windsong Blade’s magic attack.
The obvious move was to unleash “Shadow Pierce” swiftly and decapitate Kian, but she held back.
She seemed to underestimate him. Kian, unfazed, calmly visualized the counterattack after dodging the first strike.
(The first strike will be dodged. That’s certain.)
He knew the enemy’s seven magic swords intimately.
The sixth, “Mistcloud,” was the defensive counterpart to the seventh, “Water Moon.”
Simply put, “Mistcloud” creates clones.
It sounded weak, but its terror lay in clones that were simultaneously real and fake.
If six clones were made, all were real and fake.
Even if five were slain, the last surviving one was the true Erynys.
Unless all six were destroyed, she couldn’t be defeated.
A magic sword far stronger than “Shadow” in close combat—virtually invincible.
To break it, one needed overwhelming numbers from the third sword, “Heavenbreaker,” or the massive, high-temperature magic attacks of the second sword, “Rend Tear.”
—“Water Moon” (水月, Mizuki) and “Mistcloud” (霧雲, Kasumigumo) refer to these magical swords.
—“Shadow Pierce” (抜影, Kagezuki) and “Heavenbreaker” (覇天, Tenkaibaraki) are unique weapons.
—“Windsong Blade” (風鳴きの剣, Kaze-naki no Ken) is a prominent magical sword.
—“Rend Tear” (裂界, Hizakari) is a destructive magical force tied to these swords.
Kian could pull all of Erynys’s clones with Windsong Blade, but “Water Moon” complicated that.
It was a super-powered sword capable of reflecting even the Sun’s magic sword—twice its strength.
Even if Windsong Blade’s power was reduced, Kian and Linca behind him would be incinerated.
In other words, a wide-area attack with Windsong Blade was impossible.
(The only option is to charge, assuming Mistcloud will dodge.)
Kian gathered ki in his legs, spiraling it with resolve.
A warrior monk’s technique—an ultimate “Leap” series art—Chasing Shadow.
A secret technique moving tens of times faster than normal.
The moment Erynys blinked, Kian lunged.
Twenty meters vanished in an instant.
He appeared before her and swung the Windsong Blade diagonally.
”…!” Erynys gasped.
As predicted, her body dissolved into black smoke.
Kian spun and froze at the sight of twenty Erynys clones behind him.
His hard-earned fighting spirit steadied him as he dodged an attack from one clone wielding Water Moon.
”Gah…!” he grunted.
But no human could outpace Erynys, faster than even Arminus.
He dodged the strike before him but couldn’t avoid a slash from another behind, slashing deeply into his back.
”Sir Kian!” Linca screamed.
”Ugh, ahh…!” he groaned.
He swung backward, but surrounded by twenty clones, no matter where he faced, his back was always exposed.
Kian channeled magic into Silver Ice, unleashing a wide-area cold shockwave.
But—
(The Seventh Magic Sword, Water Moon! It can reflect even cold air!)
His eyes widened in alarm.
Several nearby Erynys clones casually swung the cursed blades in their right hands.
The cold attribute shifted, transforming into red laser beams that shredded Kian’s entire body from every angle.
”──────…” Kian could only choke on the pain, unable to scream as he dropped to his knees.
Through his blurred vision, a pure white foot snapped toward him.
”Buh!?” he gasped.
He was kicked away like a ball, bouncing on the cobblestones despite his towering two-meter frame.
When he tried to break his fall and stand, Silver Ice—his magic sword—shaved off a chunk of his shoulder muscle.
Erynys, having dispelled her clones, tormented him now with nothing but kicks.
A dull crack echoed. “Bogo, bagyo──” Silver Ice shattered.
Blood poured from Kian’s wounds, quickly absorbed as his magic armor regenerated. But before it could fully restore, Talia’s legs—her right and left—turned the thick armor to tatters like paper.
”Ugh── Aaaaaah!” Kian groaned.
”Sixth magic sword ‘Mistcloud,’” Erynys announced deliberately.
The windsong blade sliced sharply through the air.
”Humans can only wield two magic swords, right?” a golden-haired girl called out from behind, her hair writhing like tentacles.
Erynys twisted the magic swords—from the first to the seventh—coiling them around her hair tips.
”I can handle seven at once, you know.”
”────! Oooooooh!” Kian gasped.
”Fourth magic sword ‘Thundercleave.’”
The fourth magic sword was the embodiment of the secret technique ‘Thunder,’ used by Natra and Sarah.
It turned the body into mist, vanishing before unleashing a storm of slashes within range.
Kian’s attack missed. Immediately, countless searing strikes battered his body.
His pride shattered.
He didn’t know how many years he’d wielded a sword, but it all felt meaningless against magic swords.
Like a mere human crushed by a meteor magic, Kian felt his beliefs and soul as a warrior monk sliced apart even more than his flesh.
”Ugh…” he groaned.
The ‘Silver Ice’ armor that had sustained him finally shattered into steel shards in the sky. The regeneration failed.
Kian’s ‘Silver Ice’ was lost forever.
”Fifth magic sword ‘Rend Tear,’” Erynys declared.
”────! Linca, dodge!” Kian barked to the female warrior monk behind him.
Then, an enormous beam of light pierced through his right hand gripping the windsong blade.
”────”
Cold sweat broke out. A fever surged through his body. His eyes widened as hot wind lifted his bangs.
In an instant, Kian’s wrist and hand vanished without a trace.
The right third of his torso was burned and gouged out.
He collapsed, unconscious—until a sharp pain snapped him back.
”Ah…” Kian groaned.
Thanks to the vampire princess Talia’s blood, his super regeneration stirred. His heart and brain unharmed, his flesh swelled as his wounds began to close.
”Now you understand, right? You can never win against me—not even by chance,” Erynys sneered.
”……” Kian said nothing.
”For three months, I’ve watched your sword techniques up close, shared your battle mindset. I know you inside and out. There’s not a single thing you can surpass me at.”
”Gah!” Kian snapped.
Talking mid-fight was reckless. He lunged, mouth snapping at Erynys.
She punched his face, then struck his torso while he knelt.
With the magic sword ‘Water Moon,’ she slashed diagonally deep.
The wound pierced to his lungs. Pale blood splattered as Kian collapsed again.
This time, regeneration was slow.
Out of magic power.
He’d spent too much magic regenerating wounds burned by ‘Rend Tear.’ His body was falling apart.
”Why do you oppose me?” Erynys demanded.
(If I lose, everyone dies!) Kian thought.
”If that’s true, you should’ve obeyed me from the start. Then your precious people—all but Aliona—might have survived. It’s just foolishness.”
(No, that’s not it.)
I’m not fighting just for Aliona── Kian bared his fangs.
Erynys eyed him coldly, switching the first magic sword ‘Funeral’ to her right hand.
The rugged black greatsword stained the nearby ground with blood.
Using the flowing blood, she launched slashes.
This magic sword tore souls—if it cut you, you died without regeneration.
”Was I overestimating you? I didn’t expect you to be this crazy. It’s incomprehensible,” Erynys said.
”No! Please stop!” Linca’s voice cracked as she lay face down, barely raising her head.
In front of Erynys, who raised the instant-death sword over Kian, Linca spread her arms wide.
”What meaning does that act have, you lowly creature?” Erynys sneered.
”There’s no meaning at all,” Linca whispered, her voice trembling, teeth chattering.
Born strong, she was terrified by the inevitable presence of death looming before her.
”Please, save Sir Kian… I don’t care what happens to me,” Linca begged.
”Is that so? If you’re ready to die, I’ll kill you just like that. Then Kian might listen to me. The problem is who I give him next… maybe someone like Serena,” Erynys mocked.
”…Stop it, Erynys…”
”Kian, this is what happens when you oppose me without knowing your place. Learn from this and obey me,” Erynys said coldly.
From the top of Linca’s head to between her legs—
She swung the instant-death magic sword down in one brutal arc.
Notes:
• Count Cain – Talia’s father.
• Linca – Jibril’s favorite girl. High-ranking warrior monk woman from Shin, with strong abilities like ignoring attacks and poisons.
• Serena – Wolfmen Girl
• Louis – Trusted subordinates from the Châtillon family, part of Guy’s elite force.
• Arminus – Male. Leader of the Black Panther Tribe. Possesses extraordinary physical abilities, enhanced by the tribe’s unique technique that repels energy and magic attacks. His speed and strength surpass those of High Warlord Isthbaran. Wields the magic sword Balmung, capable of cleaving through an ice dragon with a single strike. His black fur provides camouflage in low visibility, making him nearly undetectable. Relationship: Leader of the Beastmen Alliance’s delegation.
• Mag – The wolfwoman under Yelmar—the one who was caught by Kian’s group earlier.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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