Baldwyn’s lifeless body began to change.
At first, there was a slight tremor in his fingers.
A small movement that broke the stillness of death. Then, his pale hand gripped the floor, and his entire arm stiffened and began to shake.
Finally, his upper body slowly rose.
A hole had been pierced through his chest by the Knight of Despair’s sword.
Around the wound, his skin cracked open, spreading black fissures like a spiderweb, and a lifeless, dark red blood slowly dripped from the gaps.
Baldwyn staggered to his feet.
As he slowly lifted his head, only a lifeless, hollow gaze remained in his eyes.
His face retained most of its original appearance.
Pale, bloodless skin. It was still fresh as he hadn’t been dead long.
Baldwyn, resurrected from the boundary between life and death.
Pierced by the Knight of Despair’s sword and dead, he did not end as a mere ghoul.
His resentment and despair were so deep and intense that he was reborn not as a simple ghoul, but as a higher being, an independent entity: the ‘Knight of Despair’.
“Where… am I…?”
His voice was no longer human.
It was cold and hollow, like an echo reverberating from the depths of a cave.
Baldwyn raised his hand and looked at it.
Black veins were clearly visible beneath his skin.
“Who… am I?”
There was no memory. Who he was, why he was here, how he became like this.
Everything was empty. But within that emptiness, one thing was clear.
Hatred.
And suddenly, a sweet whisper echoed from behind him.
“Mr. Baldwyn.”
It was a woman’s voice. A soft, sweet whisper.
He turned his head and saw a beautiful woman standing there.
A being wearing a red dress.
She looked noble just by looking at her.
“Baldwyn?”
“Yes, your name is Baldwyn.”
“Baldwyn….”
Soon, he realized his name was Baldwyn.
But knowing his name was not helpful.
It was the only thing he knew. Everything else he couldn’t remember.
“Do you see that woman lying on the floor?”
Where she pointed, a dead woman lay.
Her limbs were severed, and her entire body had been stripped, suggesting she had been defiled until just before her death.
But what did that woman have to do with him?
Baldwyn couldn’t tell.
No matter how hard he tried to remember, he couldn’t.
His mind was as blank as white paper now.
However, the woman’s voice continued to be heard.
“That woman was your lover.”
“Lover….”
“Yes, but unfortunately, she met this end.”
“What… was the reason?”
Why did his lover die?
He felt no sadness, but he wanted to know the reason.
For some reason, he felt he absolutely had to know.
“The White Church and the Free City Alliance declared your lover a heretic. That’s why she died like that.”
The woman said it casually.
Hearing those words, something seemed to ignite in his chest. His lifeless eyes began to flicker.
Yes. This feeling was anger.
Anger towards the Free City Alliance and the White Church who killed his lover.
“Take revenge on them. Share the despair you are feeling with them in the same way.”
“Despair.”
Baldwyn muttered.
He didn’t know who the woman speaking to him was.
No, he didn’t need to know.
He only needed to take revenge.
He had to share the despair he held, the despair and pain of the woman who was his lover, with others in the same way.
Baldwyn slowly looked around.
The city was burning everywhere.
Red flames blazed as if to consume the blue sky, and black smoke obscured the sunlight.
The remnants of collapsed buildings were scattered throughout the streets.
The once vibrant square was now filled with screams and cries.
A child was screaming, calling for their parents in front of a collapsed house.
Next to it, an old man was reaching out a faint hand, waiting for rescue from under a pile of stones.
People were clinging to each other in fear. Their eyes were filled only with terror and despair.
There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.
A woman was kneeling by the roadside.
In her arms, she held the blood-soaked body of a child.
The woman’s cries contained an unspeakable sorrow.
“Despair….”
Amidst the flames, building debris and abandoned belongings were scattered.
Traces of a peaceful past life had now turned into ruins.
In all this chaos and pain, people clung to each other, struggling just to survive.
But Baldwyn’s eyes were cold as he watched the scene.
He picked up a sword that had fallen on the ground.
“I will… share my despair… with everyone.”
“A good thought, Mr. Baldwyn.”
His hollow voice echoed softly.
He felt that everything in this world was filled with lies and betrayal. And an absolute conviction that all those false things must be destroyed ignited in his dead heart.
Neither the White Church nor the Free City Alliance was an exception.
Everyone had to share his despair.
That was the only justice left in this world.
Baldwyn walked out, holding his sword.
Wherever his footsteps touched, life seemed to drain away.
It was the embodiment of death itself.
Just then, a fleeing citizen bumped into him. The terrified man stopped for a moment and looked at Baldwyn.
Even looking at that being made it difficult to breathe.
Like a rabbit facing death.
“S-spare me…!”
The man’s voice trembled.
But Baldwyn slowly raised his sword as if performing a ritual.
There was no emotion on his face. No anger, no hatred, not even satisfaction.
Only coldness.
The sword’s edge flashed, cleaving the air. Soon, the citizen’s body was slowly split in two and fell to the ground.
Blood flowed from the severed corpse, soaking the ground.
“Not… enough yet.”
He raised his head and looked at the burning city.
Countless lives, countless souls, were waiting for his despair.
Just then, a loud noise came from a certain direction.
“……”
The sound of a considerable number of horses could be heard.
“It seems there are still many living humans.”
At those words, Baldwyn turned his body.
Now, Baldwyn stepped towards the burning city with firm steps, to spread his own despair throughout the world.
Only destruction and pain awaited him.
The city was now ready to welcome the Knight of Despair.
***
On the wide avenue that cut through the city center, a group was walking.
A procession of Crusaders, led by Priest Clayton, was on the march. Behind him, Inquisitors, urgently summoned from various regions, joined them.
Although they were summoned urgently, their numbers were small, but Inquisitors could be considered the elite of the Church.
The Inquisitors with fierce gazes walked with confidence, observing everything around them.
“Kyaak!”
A goblin suddenly sprang out of an alley and leaped towards Marcel, the youngest of the Inquisitors. Marcel instantly drew his sword and severed the goblin’s head.
“Priest!”
He called out, maintaining a vigilant stance.
“It’s monsters!”
The entire city was already overrun by monsters.
Various species of monsters roamed the streets amidst the burning buildings.
Priest Clayton also drew his sword.
“Goddess! Grant strength to your humble soul!”
His sword emitted a bright light as he slashed at the goblin that rushed forward. The Inquisitors also drew their weapons in unison.
“Behold this sight! This is the evidence that the Free City Alliance are heretics!”
Clayton’s fierce shouting even revealed a hint of madness.
However, there was one point that was hard to understand.
Inquisitor Marcel carefully voiced a suddenly occurring doubt.
“Priest, isn’t something strange?”
Marcel continued speaking as he looked at the city landscape.
“I heard the Free City Alliance colluded with monsters, so why is their city being attacked by monsters?”
His question was sharp.
According to Priest Clayton, if the Free City Alliance had colluded with Warlocks and monsters, this situation should not have occurred.
But all that was visible now was monsters attacking the city and massacring people.
Perhaps they hadn’t colluded with monsters?
Marcel wanted to confirm that.
But Priest Clayton shook his head.
“No, Warlocks and monsters are wicked beings who know no justice. If they had joined hands with them, they should have been prepared for such a result.”
In other words, the Free City Alliance had been severely betrayed.
Since it was a reasonable statement, Marcel and the other Inquisitors and Crusader soldiers nodded.
Clayton looked around.
There were too many monsters. No matter how elite the Inquisitors were, their numbers were insufficient.
“We must reach the Grand Garden first. Until then, please avoid direct confrontation with monsters as much as possible.”
Their goal was to capture the Mayor, Vice Mayor, and Councilors of the Free City Alliance.
If they captured them, the credit for this operation would be even greater for the Crusaders.
What would that mean?
It meant that the Sail Kingdom, which had not yet arrived, could be prevented from completely taking over the Free City Alliance.
Even if Queen Irena was called the second Saintess, she was born as royalty of a mere kingdom.
The White Church, or at least Priest Clayton, planned to occupy at least a part of the Free City Alliance to increase the Church’s influence.
As the Priest and the Inquisitors slowly proceeded through the streets.
“Priest, look over there!”
A woman was walking from the opposite direction.
“Oh, what good luck to meet members of the Church here?”
Dressed in a red dress, she looked remarkably calm even in the midst of the chaotic city.
“…A monster.”
Clayton whispered softly.
That was because there were horns above the head of the woman in the red dress.
Not only that.
Behind her, there was a giant Knight in black armor and a familiar-looking figure.
“…Baldwyn?”
Although his face lacked vitality, it was undoubtedly Baldwyn.
He was a Gold Badge Adventurer who participated in the Crusade and performed greatly.
That man was already.
“You’re mistaken. Judging by his condition, he seems to have become an Undead.”
Clayton, being a priest, quickly grasped the situation.
“Then these are the ringleaders of this incident.”
Clayton immediately drew his sword and began to pray. Determination flickered in his eyes.
“Goddess, grant strength to your faithful servant!”
As his voice echoed, the sword’s blade began to shine with blinding light.
The light intensified, finally becoming as bright as the sun.
The surrounding Inquisitors also began to pray to their weapons, following him.
“Light of purification, burn the darkness that blocks your path!”
Intense beams of light were fired from the swords of Clayton and the Inquisitors, flying towards Celia and her companions.
The light was immense. Monsters that were touched along the path instantly turned to ashes.
However, Celia stood still. Instead, the giant Knight standing next to her, the Death Knight, stepped forward.
At the same moment, as the holy beams collided, a dazzling flash erupted.
The light scattered in all directions, burning the walls of surrounding buildings and scorching the ground.
Clayton smiled slightly at the sight.
“Good, let’s continue.”
With such an attack, the unknown monsters would be helpless. They would probably have turned to ashes.
However.
“……!”
Surprisingly, Celia was unharmed.
That was because the giant shield raised by the Death Knight blocked their attack.
“I-Is this possible….”
And only the Maid Outfit fluttered in front of the Death Knight’s shield.
