The Fall of the Warped Hero

The bats were unbound by any contract.

"Who the hell are you to judge people? By your own arbitrary standards, far more people have suffered. Can you even shoulder the weight of those sins, even after death?"

"Grk— I, I'm a hero...!"

Schlick—!

"Kyaaaaaaaack!!"

I severed every last one of his limbs, then poured healing potions directly onto the stumps. I even dripped several drops of Irmana's water into his mouth as he went into shock from massive blood loss.

The space... is coming undone.

The watercolor-like blur gradually sharpened until the dolls hanging on the wall appeared, still writhing in agony.

If I kill this bastard, will the curse break too...?

I felt a flicker of worry. Sometimes an ability remained active even after its user died.

A moment later, the man—who had grown deathly pale in that short time—barely regained consciousness. He looked at me and forced out a labored question.

"Just who... what the hell are you...? What's your identity?!"

His neck was wrapped in my tail, which had thinned to half the thickness it possessed in skeleton form, yet he still screamed furiously.

"Hmm. My identity... I'm still piecing it together myself, bit by bit."

"What...?"

"More importantly, answer one question. Those people trapped in your spell—is there a way to release them?"

I gently tightened my tail around his throat as I asked. Tears welled in his eyes and he answered between sobs.

"...If I tell you, you'll kill me anyway."

"Well. Why would I? I'm a hero who works from the shadows, just like you. I came here to free those people, not to kill you."

"...Is that really true?"

"Of course."

"Th-then let's start with an oath—"

"Ah, that oath nonsense again. You swear you'll release the spell cleanly, without any tricks. In exchange, you must free every single one within twenty-five minutes."

"Twenty-five minutes? O-okay. I understand. Let's make the oath ironclad!"

I promised not to kill him. Only then did he let out a sigh of genuine relief.

"Rings, come out."

I summoned my servant bat unit and had them carry the countless dolls from the wall, placing them one by one beside him. When he reached toward the piled dolls and chanted a short incantation, dozens of them slowly shrank until only scraps of cloth remained on the floor.

Simpler than I expected. The spell does seem to be breaking. Hmm...

Every time a doll was freed, Bin Chi-seung's magic power plummeted. That alone told me everything.

At one point my eyes met a woman whose doll was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠being released. Her face was filled with overwhelming emotion, liberated at last from endless torment.

......

"Hurry it up. It doesn't look like it's draining much magic power."

"B-but every time the link with a doll severs, my stats drop—!"

"For fuck's sake. Why should I care if your stats drop? Want me to bring someone else over to kill you instead?"

"S-sorry..."

When I glared at him with flames blazing in my eyes, he shut his mouth and devoted himself entirely to releasing the spells. He started with twenty at a time, but as he found his rhythm he steadily increased the pace. By the time only ten minutes remained on Mimicry, every doll had been freed and vanished from the space.

He really finished them all in under twenty minutes. What a freak.

Even to someone like me who knew little about curses, it was obvious this man possessed genuine genius.

"Hmm. It feels refreshing with all the dolls gone. How did you even create a space this vast?"

"Kuhuk... My collection..."

He was too busy sobbing miserably to answer properly.

A moment later the oath document that had fallen beside him dissolved into motes of light and disappeared. The contract had been completely fulfilled.

After confirming it, I immediately signaled the Rings.

The contract terms never included servants, after all.

After learning that Yeonhee's oath in the Dungeon of Nargul hadn't affected me, I'd taken the time to verify that servants were exempt as well.

Flap flap flap flap—

"Hik?! Uwaaaaaack! What the hell are these bat things?! H-hey! This violates the oath—kyaaaaack!"

Thirty hook bats landed directly on the ground, sank their claws into Bin Chi-seung's body, and greedily sucked out his blood and magic power. His body shriveled in an instant. A few minutes later, nothing remained but an elongated, withered husk that barely resembled anything human.

"Whoa—I finally got this. Spell resistance on top of the skill. Quite the haul. But why didn't my level rise? I killed a great villain, for crying out loud..."

Still, it was clear I'd gained a decent amount of experience. I first checked the updated achievement I'd earned after killing Nam Yong-seok.

It felt strange to possess my own personal space like Bin Chi-seung. Would I be able to set up various abilities inside it once I obtained Boundary Sanctuary? I hadn't seen the full extent of his power, but the way it had disrupted my senses and trapped me was impressive enough.

"That's for later. Right now I'm more curious about this."

The skill ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I'd reclaimed from Nam Yong-seok after slaying a great villain.

I hummed in thought. It was indeed an excellent ability. But it seemed to operate separately from my servant-summoning powers. I'd expected them to merge.

The stat bonus per yin demon wasn't huge, but the ability to turn living people into loyal subordinates was absurdly powerful. The one-hour immobilization condition wasn't easy, but once successful, I'd gain servants I could command freely. It was on a completely different level from the Rings, who required detailed instructions.

"I'd like to test it once... Hmm. Maybe I should try it on Yeonhee?"

It probably wouldn't work, but if it did, every worry I had would vanish at once. The restriction that only let me move within my sensory range might even be lifted.

"If not Yeonhee, then Ham Eun-yeong or No Hayun? No... both of them definitely have some kind of protection on their bodies. Maybe I should just pick a complete stranger?"

But if the release didn't work properly, I'd waste the ten slots currently available for yin demons. There was no need to rush.

"No hurry. I'll think about targets slowly."

Feeling Bin Chi-seung's space disappear completely, I activated Stealth and sat on the living-room sofa. The house had no security devices, but I still needed to be careful not to create unnecessary trouble for later.

It's really inconvenient not being able to return immediately.

Until Mimicry wore off, I couldn't return to my original spot at will. It felt especially annoying now. Of course I'd managed to slip out of the space during the earlier fight without manifesting my will, but it was something I hoped would improve with my upcoming class change.

Wait... will a class change even improve this ability? It might be faster to ask Tiny...

But with no way to meet the golden mimic, it remained nothing but a thought.

I was replaying the battle in my head, wondering if there had been any better moves I could have made, when voices gradually grew louder inside my mind. They soon became impossible to ignore.

Thank you. I'm grateful. I'll never forget this. Most of them were messages of gratitude from the people freed from Bin Chi-seung. They weren't consciously addressing me, but they seemed to sense that someone had helped them.

I didn't know why I could hear them, but—

"...... Ahem. Well, it's somewhat rewarding, I suppose."

I sat there for a long while, letting their voices wash over me like background music. Before I knew it, Mimicry had ended and I was back in the front yard of our house.

Yeonhee rushed forward and threw her arms around me.

"Haa— I was so worried. You came back for a second earlier then disappeared right away. You scared me!"

After my first use of Mimicry, I'd met her eyes, waved briefly, then immediately left to attack Bin Chi-seung.

I pulled her head closer, hugged her gently, and stroked her hair. Behind her I could feel the summoned creatures staring at me with wide eyes.

Why are they staring so intently?

I couldn't read their thoughts, but they seemed a little envious.

"Ilwol! I—I can merge the werewolves now!"

"Clack clack."

No wonder the yard felt a bit chilly. Thirty-two werewolves had fused into a single creature that fully deserved to be called a monster. It was staring straight at me.

Whoa... that thing looks seriously strong.

"Grrrrr..."

"Clack..."

A strange tension hung in the air for a moment. Then it strode forward and gave Yeonhee a meaningful look.

"What? No! We have to enter the dungeon early tomorrow!"

"Puuurrr—"

Even after Yeonhee refused, it stubbornly shook her arm. At least it wasn't charging in recklessly; that was an improvement over when they were separate.

Merging this one seems better. Its size hasn't changed much from the individuals...

Compared to the four-meter-tall giant created when ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the orcs and lizardmen merged, Rakan's appearance had barely changed.

Its fur color has changed, though.

Silver strands were visible here and there, as if it were beginning to resemble the lunar race.

"Clack clack clack."

"Huh? Even you, Ilwol? You really want to fight?"

I nodded.

You can go sleep first.

When I conveyed that through Rakan, Yeonhee puffed her cheeks and declared she would watch until the very end.

......She's sulking. What should I have said?

I was still clumsy at communicating as a skeleton, so I could only hope she understood.

The merged werewolf that wanted to fight me had been born from Rakan's fusion, so I decided to call it Alpha Rakan.

"Sigh—fine. But don't be too violent, okay?"

"Fwoooosh—!"

Alpha Rakan bared its fangs—fangs that looked capable of tearing through anything—and expressed its satisfaction.

It's really excited. Is fighting me such a big deal?