It couldn’t be more uncomfortable to have to interfere with the reunion of my beloved family.
A sticky feeling that couldn’t just be dismissed as uncomfortable spread from the tips of her shoulder where I had my hand, yet I had no choice but to stop her.
“Wait.”
“……!”
In Hayun’s expression as she turned around, I could feel a mix of sadness, regret, and blame. I knew all too well that seeing her beloved family, whom she thought was dead, alive in front of her would send her mind spinning.
“Calm down, let’s think this through coolly. You know better than anyone that it can’t be real.”
Hayun, with a shocked expression, looked like she might cry again at any moment, but she pushed my hand away and wiped her eyes with her sleeve, breathing steadily.
“Hayun!”
“Come here quickly!”
Those damned bastards!
Inadvertently, I tightened my grip on the sword. I didn’t know what they really were, but I thought that with their approach, Hayun would surely waver.
However, Hayun, trying her best to compose herself amid the confusion, bit her lip and drew the sword at her waist.
“Someone is making Nirva like this, even mimicking our parents?”
“……That’s right.”
“Hoo, I’ll kill them.”
Hayun’s eyes, still glistening with tears, radiated a sharp killing intent.
“Sorry, but could you deal with those things for me?”
The first to respond to Hayun’s request was Sen. As soon as Hayun turned her gaze, Sen threw a dagger, and the beings that resembled Hayun’s parents turned to dust and vanished.
The important part was what happened next.
“Gu, guhhk!”
“No, don’t! Our…… daughter.”
I wasn’t sure if they were real or fake, but they were clutching their chests and reaching out to Hayun while crying tears.
And it wasn’t because of Sen’s dagger.
It was as if they were poisoned, collapsing and disappearing while clutching their hearts, like when Helios was assassinated.
Hayun clenched her eyes shut, as if she had seen something she shouldn’t have.
I had tried to block her view, but the wounds were already deeply etched into her.
“Rin, can you still feel that energy from earlier?”
“Yeah, it’s inside the mansion.”
“Rin and Ares, sis is right behind me. Sen and the Eccentric are outside protecting Hayun.”
Upon Rin’s words, I charged ahead, with Diana and Ares following in a flustered manner, shimmering light from the backs of their hands.
Bang!
As I burst through the door, I was greeted by the gray-garbed maids and butlers of the mansion, identical to Hayun’s parents.
They startled at the sight of us and shouted.
“W-Who are you?”
“This is the Ren family mansion! You can’t just barge in!”
“But you said there are no guests today?”
Diana, unable to help herself, spat out some curses while looking at them. Ares flinched in surprise, but honestly, I felt the same way as my sister.
When I heard it at the Academy, they said that even the long-time employees of the Ren family had all been fired, leaving the mansion empty.
In other words, this was all fake.
I thought it would be hard to deal with the sheer number of them immediately, but my sword was much faster than any ordinary tricks.
“What a pathetic prank!”
It seemed the sight of Hayun being toyed with had stoked Diana’s anger to its peak; she revealed her horns, tail, and wings and summoned a fierce gust of wind.
The beings that had seemed made of dust scattered and disappeared, but more were still emerging from the doorway.
“Go ahead! I need to wipe out these damned things first!”
Taking advantage of the opening created by my sister, we pushed further in.
“That’s the room!”
The place Rin pointed to looked like a grand banquet hall, probably used for parties in the mansion.
At the end of that room sat something on a throne.
A skull mask, a gray staff, an antique robe, and crossed legs. The figure of a necromancer handling human corpses made it clear I had no choice but to be startled.
Because this was someone I recognized.
“Sharcarl?”
If you were to name the strongest being among the ancient beasts that live in the Forest of the Demon Realm, of course, it would be the Emperor Kurika.
His strength was something even I couldn’t overcome.
His power soared to the limits of the physical body, reaching a god-like might.
Seeing how the proud beasts in the Forest of the Demon Realm called him emperor and avoided confronting him, there was no doubt about his strength.
But it was different for me.
Kurika was strong, but if someone asked me to name the ancient beast I found most difficult to confront, I would undoubtedly choose the necromancer Sharcarl, wearing a skull mask.
When I actually met him, the only choice would be to flee.
He represented a terrifying challenge for me.
Questions about why he had attacked Nirva slowly formed a fog in my mind, but for now, that wasn’t important.
I hurriedly twisted my body and shouted.
“Run!”
“What?”
“Uh?”
Rin and Ares, following behind me, froze in surprise at my sudden shout. In that moment, an unexpected person charged toward us.
Swish!
I quickly raised my sword against the flying needle. Its power was on a whole different level compared to the dust-like beings. Before I knew it, I was floating in the air of the banquet hall.
But my eyes were fixated on the woman standing in front of Sharcarl.
“The Priestess of Time?”
I couldn’t continue my thought that she should have been dead. Ignoring me, she rushed straight for Ares and Rin.
“Ugh!”
“Eek!”
Even the two, adorned with the marks of gods, could not withstand the Priestess of Time’s strike. She didn’t even give them a chance to utilize the power of the marks before continuing her assault.
Landing on the ground, I dashed toward the priestess to protect the two.
She remained expressionless yet calm, grasping the hour and minute hands with both hands and swinging them with considerable force.
Gash!
As I beheaded the priestess, she dissolved into dust, and Sharcarl’s form came into view.
A silver light emanated from his skull mask. He crossed his legs and locked eyes with me, asking,
“How do you know my name?”
The fact that Sharcarl attempted to converse meant he recognized me as a worthy foe.
It seemed my swift defeat of the fake Priestess had piqued his interest.
“The Lord of Twisting, Sharcarl. Answer my question, and I might answer yours.”
“Do you demand a dialogue? Very well.”
As expected, he complied.
Sharcarl was a wizard who enjoyed conversation. Yet he wouldn’t speak to just anyone.
One had to earn his acknowledgment to be allowed to speak before him.
“Uh, D-Diana……”
Ares struggled as dust filled his mouth. I was shocked and went to use Helios’ powers, but my hand was suddenly restrained by shackles that had appeared out of nowhere.
“Those without permission, do not speak carelessly.”
I shot a quick glare at the fallen Ares, signaling Rin with my eyes, warning her that any rash movements could be dangerous, before turning my gaze back to Sharcarl.
“Why are you here?”
Why had he come to the city of Nirva? As far as I knew, he was not the type to casually venture out of the Forest of the Demon Realm; in fact, he seemed to loathe it.
The reason was simple.
‘A relentless disdain for the weak.’
He despised the weak.
He showed no mercy to the powerless. If Kurika was the emperor of the Forest of the Demon Realm, Sharcarl was truly a tyrant.
While he showed some leniency to the strong, he would ruthlessly trample the weak as if they were mere insects.
The only reason he hadn’t killed Ares was that I had earned his acknowledgment; otherwise, Ares would have died long ago.
However, my question seemed to provoke a bemused smirk from Sharcarl.
“What has gone wrong with my presence in my land?”
“……”
“Now it is your turn to answer, intruder. How did you know I am known as the Lord of Twisting?”
I had no answer.
He wasn’t a legendary figure found in any literature, nor merely a rumor disseminated among people.
He lurked in the darkness of the Forest of the Demon Realm, living only within his domain.
“Kurika told me.”
That wasn’t a lie.
In my past life, Kurika had indeed informed me of Sharcarl’s identity.
Lying would only provoke his ire.
As I provided an honest answer, Sharcarl studied me for a moment before bursting out with laughter.
“So you were also a servant of Kurika? How amusing! To think you serve nothing more than a wolf cub!”
“What are you talking about?”
Why was he suddenly regarding me as a servant of his? Moreover, “also”? As far as I knew, Kurika did not have any subordinates or lackies.
Sharcarl pointed at Rin and Ares behind him.
“Are you not going to offer them as offerings to him? How impressive to see someone abandon their friends in blind worship of his strength.”
“……I really can’t understand what the wizard is saying at all.”
Honestly, I didn’t want to fight him, but to uncover Sharcarl’s secrets surrounding Nirva, I had no choice but to engage.
Originally, my odds would have been extremely low, but now I wasn’t alone.
He didn’t know who I was.
This would be a significant advantage in battle.
“Rin, please try to support with magic without using your powers as much as possible.”
“……Got it.”
Rin responded, swallowing her saliva in anxiety.
Being a wizard herself, she likely sensed Sharcarl’s formidable presence, and I could hear a rare tremor in her voice.
“Has the exchange already concluded? Very well, foolish life, like flames clinging to paper, will eventually crumble.”
Slowly rising from his seat, Sharcarl’s presence signified that the brief conversation had come to an end.
This meant the battle was about to begin.
