This Hell of a Place (4)
Ludwig van Errolt was a rigid, close-minded man, but he knew honor. As a follower of Aris, as Aris's shield, as the mentor to the holy knights. The honor he possessed was acknowledged by all, and he took pride in it himself. So when that honor was tarnished—especially by dirty tricks—he had no choice but to get angry. But was the last time the point where things could still be salvaged? No matter how much he resisted, he was destined to enter the Four Seasons Forest. Now it just seemed like desperate thrashing at the edge of a cliff.
Even so, he stepped forward to protect his honor to the end. Not just his own, but the lives of others as well.
‘Everyone managed to escape well.’
Ludwig glanced around. The investigation team, including Asella, had already scattered. They would soon become the 'seeds' of the revolution. The reason all this had been possible was that sword. The one he'd received right before entering the Four Seasons Forest. Even Ludwig revered the power of that blade, shimmering like a green galaxy. He'd fought countless battles as Aris's sword, but this was the first weapon this terrifying.
‘Handle it wrong, and it could turn into a demon sword.’
Unlike the holy sword Revolution, it amplified the user's abilities. But it was so hard to control that it could even cut its wielder. He'd fought with maximum restraint, or it might have been dangerous.
‘What kind of being forged this sword?’
Its power was staggeringly superior. The problem was that it was too much. He couldn't focus solely on the fight. One slip, and the aura had run wild.
Ludwig panted, staring ahead. The surveillance team was still glaring at him. Their faces were hidden by helmets, but he could feel it clearly. They were afraid.
“What are you afraid of?”
“……”
“Come on. Your enemy is right here.”
Ludwig said in his gruff voice. If the hero was Aris's sword, then Ludwig was Aris's shield. Breaking through him was all but impossible for the surveillance team. Especially now that he held this fearsome named sword. With the entire investigation team having fled, they had no options. Charge in and die to Ludwig, or retreat and face the pope's purge.
Ludwig had the Four Seasons Forest at his back, so no escape there either. And he lacked the strength to break through the surveillance team. He'd pushed himself to scatter the seeds. He was barely holding on with that one sword. Both sides were trapped, no way forward or back. No path in sight.
‘What now?’
‘What do you mean? Charge him already!’
‘Didn't you see? That's how we ended up pushed toward the Four Seasons Forest!’
‘Damn it. If only it were a cliff.’
The surveillance team whispered among themselves. They weren't just afraid of Ludwig. The Four Seasons Forest behind him terrified them too. Step inside, and you'd never come out. They'd seen Archbishop Odon and several others forced in, vanishing without a trace. No wonder they hesitated.
‘They're wavering.’
Ludwig read their mood instantly, thanks to his years of experience. They were trapped just like him, frozen in indecision.
‘Doesn't make my situation any better.’
Ludwig's outlook was grim. Even if he broke through and survived, his honor would be in the dirt. With the pope gripping El Dorado tight, manipulating the press would be child's play. And as the hero's mentor, he'd be perfect for their narrative. "The hero fell because of Ludwig's corrupt ideology," or some such nonsense. He could see it coming, so he just let out a wry chuckle. Knowing honor made him all the more desperate to avoid its ruin.
‘Good thing I took out that pig first.’
Archbishop Odon was gone, so no one left to give orders. The veterans had all died by Ludwig's hand or been forced into the forest. No one knew whose lead to follow. Chaos was inevitable.
“You grasp the situation quickly. Go back now, and you'll be purged. Come at me, and you'll die.”
“……”
“Let me make one proposal.”
As Ludwig suggested, the surveillance team exchanged glances—an unspoken "Should we hear him out?" With no better ideas, they decided to listen.
“Go back now, and you'll die by the pope's hand. Even if you kill me, same result.”
“What? What are you talking about…….”
“The pope wants to tarnish my honor more than anyone. Do you know why he's trying to goad me into going missing?”
Ludwig was stubborn. But not stupid. His personality was much like the Gallery's head mod, Judaek, tempered by experience.
“To prevent me from becoming a martyr.”
“……”
“Even if you bring me my head, you'll all vanish by the pope's hand. Under some flimsy excuse. I'll be 'missing.' You'll be executed. Everyone who witnessed this will disappear.”
It wasn't nonsense. It was a plausible scenario. The pope had raised his own honor by purging the 'disloyal' for years. He'd sacrifice dozens, hundreds of innocents to protect it. The surveillance team was just part of that.
Dead either way.
“H-how can we believe that……!”
“He did the same to the Immortal King.”
“……”
“Ruining one man is easy when it topples a nation. Countless casualties along the way.”
Mentioning the Immortal King shut down their rebuttal. El Dorado had massacred to break even a small nation's king. No reason it wouldn't do the same to them. The logic was too perfect; they couldn't help but waver.
Sensing the crack in their resolve, Ludwig made his pitch.
“So run.”
“……”
“Flee the Holy Kingdom, or wait for me to recover. Your choice.”
“……If you recover, you'll kill us?”
A surveillance member with a deep voice spoke up, tension thick in his tone.
Ludwig stared at him steadily, then said something unexpected.
“No.”
“Then?”
“I'll enter the Four Seasons Forest.”
“What?”
The whole team reacted with confusion. Of course. They'd thought he was thrashing to avoid the forest. But Ludwig had long since resolved to enter it.
He explained to make them understand.
“If I sacrifice my honor, I can protect others'. Like how I corrupted them with false ideals, birthing traitors.”
“……”
The pope had used human shields to guard his honor. But Ludwig offered himself as the shield. Fitting for Aris's shield. Did his words stir something in them? The surveillance team began lowering their weapons, stepping back hesitantly.
Survival instinct. The sincerity in Ludwig's voice. It all aligned perfectly, shattering their will to fight.
“A wise choice.”
“……When will you go in?”
“In one hour.”
With that, Ludwig immediately sat cross-legged. The posture for the Mana Circulation Method. The team couldn't help but feel absurd. Meditating right in front of the man who'd just threatened their lives? It defied common sense, sparking murmurs.
‘Should we strike?’
‘You crazy? What if it's a trap?’
‘If he recovers fully, he might come for us.’
‘Ludwig wouldn't do that. Trust him.’
But they trusted Ludwig. They knew his upright character. Even without the earlier talk, his nature was pure, almost as bright as the hero's.
While he circulated his mana, they slipped away quietly. Eventually, leaving only a couple to watch, the rest withdrew.
“……”
An hour passed, and Ludwig finished his mana circulation. He slowly opened his eyes and looked ahead. Only two surveillance members remained in view.
‘Most of them left.’
Even checking his surroundings confirmed it. Ludwig rose slowly. The watchers flinched. They seemed preemptively scared.
He stared at them, then spoke in his usual gruff tone.
“You two.”
“Y-yes, sir?”
His tone was milder than before. They replied politely without thinking.
“The rookies?”
“Y-yes?”
“I asked if you're the rookies.”
At the somewhat out-of-left-field question, they glanced at each other, then answered in timid voices.
“Y-yes, sir! That's right! I just got off probation recently!”
“I joined a year before this guy!”
Military-style responses. Ludwig chuckled wryly, pitying them. Even green recruits dragged into this filth.
‘What future does the Holy Kingdom have?’
He'd fulfilled his duty as Aris's shield, but failed to protect the inside. To restore the Holy Kingdom, the rot had to be cut out. That role belonged not to the shield, but to the sword alone.
“……”
Ludwig turned toward the Four Seasons Forest entrance. The aurora-like shimmer. Beyond it, a kaleidoscope of environments. Fearless as he was, the terror of the 'unknown' lingered in him too, as a man.
‘What's on the other side…… really like?’
Fear of the unknown. And curiosity. He hesitated, then slowly reached out. His hand passed through the aurora unharmed. One step taken; now for the body. He closed his eyes slowly and murmured.
‘Aris, protect me.’
Thud. Thud.
Ludwig stepped into the Four Seasons Forest with both legs. A strange sensation settled over his body. He slowly opened his eyes.
“……”
The sight that greeted him was a vast plain. Filled entirely with green. Far from any forest. He stared blankly, then looked back. It should have shown where he'd been, but only endless green plain stretched there, like a lie.
‘Is this where YasaengGrill is?’
Ludwig immediately tried accessing the Gallery. Unfamiliar, but connecting wasn't hard.
Unable to access the Gallery in this region.
“……”
Separate from ease, access was blocked. He stared at the message, then closed it silently.
Gallery access impossible. That meant one thing.
‘Definitely the Four Seasons Forest.’
The Four Seasons Forest blocked Gallery use. Unchanged. So how did Grill manage it? Curiosity struck.
‘I'll ask him myself.’
Ludwig started walking slowly. Vast plain or not, he'd meet him eventually. Better than standing still, whenever it might be.
Ah. Of course.
“Munch. Munch. Munch.”
“……”
He tilted his head up at a certain animal. Yellowish body covered in brown spots. Legs far taller than Ludwig, thick with muscle. But the most striking part was bizarre, grotesque even.
‘The neck…….’
Too long. Absurdly so. Long enough to easily munch treetop leaves. Head, neck, and body seemed disconnected, eerie.
Even worldly Ludwig had never seen such a creature.
‘……What the hell kind of animal is that?’
Grill would have called it a 'giraffe.' Ludwig watched its eating show for a while, then shook his head.
‘This really is hell.’
Nothing else explained such a creature's existence. With that thought, he passed the giraffe.
“Nom nom nom. Nom nom.”
It just kept happily munching leaves, oblivious.