Chapter 194

    194: The Ashen Wolf [3]

    — A full-bellied noble is one who always indulges in alcohol, gambling, and women. There are no exceptions.

    Over the past year, I came to truly understand what kind of creatures these so-called nobles are.

    They are worms. Corrupt, engage in filthy deeds, avoid responsibility for their own mistakes, and shift the blame onto others,

    They were the ones who brought about the era of chaos in the east and caused the downfall of the first and only human-unified kingdom, the Catalyu Kingdom. And who perishes because of their decisions?

    It’s always overwhelmingly the slaves and commoners.

    This time was no different.

    There is an object called the [Philosopher’s Stone]

    A tool said to grant everyone’s wishes in the world.

    But because of it, a civil war broke out in the Catalyu Kingdom, and as a result, the stone shattered into nine pieces that scattered across the world.

    Why do I know this?

    [How is it? The feeling of revenge?]

    It’s because I can hear the voice coming from the red gem embedded in the back of my hand.

    And because I’ve felt its power directly.

    He continued to speak to me

    [I am Baal. If you seek even greater power, gather all nine pieces of the stone and resurrect me completely.]

    The guy called Baal claimed himself to be a demon, one of the Grand Dukes

    The strongest among them, and his goal was to manifest the demon realm in this world.

    The moment I accidentally found the stone and picked it up, he embedded himself into the back of my hand and wouldn’t come off. I even tried to cut it out, but it only dug in deeper. Having no other choice, I decided to leave it alone.

    Anyway, since it was somewhat helpful, I decided to ignore it for the time being, planning to have a skilled priest remove it later.

    If they perform an exorcism, it’ll probably fall off on its own. It’s just a demon, after all. At the time, I didn’t think demons were particularly powerful beings.

    Isn’t that natural?

    The characteristics of demons in the old books from the orphanage were too similar to humans.

    They sow discord, make people fight, and ultimately drive them to kill each other.

    How is that any different from humans?

    Honestly, I don’t think it is.

    Of course, I might just be ignorant, but at least that’s how I see it.

    Demons and humans are not fundamentally different, and any human can become a demon if they desire it.

    ‘Well, that’s not important right now.’

    Shaking off those thoughts, I stepped over the split corpse of the platoon leader and moved forward. I grabbed the ornately decorated door and opened it, revealing the noble I had imagined. ra?o??E?S?

    Behind a transparent veil-like curtain, the man exposed his bloated belly while holding a woman in his arms.

    I could hear her coquettish voice.

    It struck me anew.

    That man and I lived in entirely different worlds.

    The reason?

    It’s a matter of birth.

    From the very beginning, he was born a noble, bestowed with land and slaves.

    I was born a commoner, no different from a slave, just one of the countless orphans born during the era of chaos.

    A faint smile crept onto my lips.

    “Hey, noble sir. Sorry to bother you while you’re busy, but I need a moment of your time.”

    “Wh,what! Who are you?! How dare you enter the count’s residence without permission! That’s a grave cri....”

    Splat!

    “Is there someone else here to enforce the laws?”

    I tore through the veil and faced his bloated, sweaty face.

    The naked woman beneath his sagging face screamed, but I paid her no mind. My focus was solely on him.

    I drew my blood-stained sword and pressed it against his chin.

    “Aeloi.”

    “W-what do you want from me?”

    “Aeloi.”

    “A-Aeloi...?”

    He furrowed his brow, trying to recall the name.

    But it seemed he couldn’t remember, as he tilted his head.

    His face looked at me, as if confused

    Why should I remember that name?

    In a literal sense, it was that kind of expression.

    “You killed her”

    Just moments ago, Farrell had told me. That I’m alone and weak, and that I can’t change anything.

    “I, I don’t know that name! It wasn’t me!”

    “Listen carefully.”

    The middle-aged man began to ramble on without even listening to me.

    “I have to kill you. The red stone in your grasp... the demon within it is the worst Archduke that will throw the world into chaos.”

    He added with a serious expression.

    “If he awakens, the continent will enter an age of chaos like the East. If all nine fragments of his soul are awakened, the problem will become even more severe.”

    “Is he really that powerful demon? This guy in my hand?”

    I spoke as if I truly didn’t know, but he nodded with a grim expression.

    “Yes. The First Archduke, Baal. He is the most formidable monster among the demons who lead the strongest armies in the demon realm. Even Agares or Belial would not be able to surpass him.”

    “I don’t believe in moral law, and I have no intention of dying because of that.”

    I said it honestly.

    No matter how the world ends, it’s not my business. Even if Baal is a great archduke, and even if the thing embedded in the back of my hand is the Philosopher’s Stone, it means nothing to me.

    There’s nothing left for me to protect.

    I only pursue my own interests, and I don’t have much attachment to living for that purpose either.

    That’s when it happened.

    The middle-aged man struck the back of my head and said.

    “Ah!”

    I let out a sound without realizing it. It seemed he had punched me with a clenched fist as the pain was quite severe.

    “Young brat, you’re already making a face like you’ve lived through everything in the world. How ridiculous... By the way, you need to fix that filthy mouth of yours. It’s utterly unacceptable.”

    “What?”

    “Don’t you want to live?”

    A sudden, piercing question. It was hard to answer, but why?

    His question had a certain force to it.

    “Not really.”

    “What do you want to have?”

    What do I want to have?

    Gold and treasures?

    I’ve never even dreamed of them.

    Women?

    Not particularly interested.

    Then what’s left for me.

    What is it that I pursue and desire to have?

    I....

    “Let me guess.”

    The middle-aged man said that and looked at me. His eyes were filled with a transparent clarity, free of any blemish. Is it because of his sincerity? something I couldn’t bring myself to possess?

    Could it be that something like a sacred power resides within him?

    The man continued indifferently.

    “It’s a sword. I watched you fight with another guy outside the door. And I realized. What it is that you truly desire and can’t bear to be without......”

    Yes, that’s right.

    Now I think I understand.

    When a terrible sense of loss filled one side of my chest.

    Even at that moment,

    What was it that I thought I had to possess?

    A sword.

    One that contains mana, sometimes dazzling,

    And at other times, stronger than anything else.

    Yes, I need a sword.

    “Will you become my disciple?”

    But.

    Even at that moment, there was one thing that still tormented me.

    “But even if I have that, what can I do with it?”

    Even if I have a strong sword, what can I possibly change?

    Didn’t Farrell already tell me?

    That I can’t do anything alone. But that’s when it happened.

    He gave me the answer I needed.

    “If you reach a level where no one can look down on you, you can achieve anything. Even if you’re alone, you won’t be alone anymore.”

    “...Who are you, really?”

    Unable to hold back the question, he simply smiled and said the following.

    “Celcus. In the world, they call me one of the Three Sword Emperors.”