Chapter 156
Chapter 156
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Reunion
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All eyes in the room focused on whatever Rishir had gripped in his hand.
Scars and mutilations.
Its appearance, stained with traces of agony, was truly ominous.
Added to that was an indescribable, profound, and immense aura.
Anyone could tell at a glance.
It was no ordinary being, something not to be approached lightly.
Rishir.
That had certainly been true until he grabbed it by the scruff of the neck and subdued it.
Perhaps it still was.
But its current state was so pathetic that it was hard to believe.
Looking as wretched as a cat caught stealing fish, it had no dignity whatsoever.
The awe it once inspired was on the verge of vanishing.
"No way that's..."
That was why they were confused.
Is that really it?
Nah, probably not.
No. But the circumstances fit too perfectly...
For the True Ones, it was outright mental paralysis.
In the end, it was the hero's party that spoke first.
Jane.
After exchanging glances with Dwyn and Felix, she cautiously spoke up.
"Rishir, that can't be..."
"Yes, that's right. The anomaly that just happened to this person? This guy's handiwork. Wellak said it uses pretty powerful mental interference. I warned it and said I'd subdue it, but in the end, it caused trouble again."
It was then.
"All trials take the form of pain. Therefore, nothing can subdue me...!"
It slipped from Rishir's grasp and floated into the air.
Mutilated. Dehydrated. Starved.
Its shrunken body seemed like the incarnation of pain itself, condensed from suffering.
A figure that evoked both dread and awe.
A tremendous aura emanated from it.
At the same time, it began to speak in a sinister tone, like mist spreading across the floor.
"Only pain guides me, and only pain moves me!!! The only thing I carry, follow, and obey is pain!!!"
Some of the True Ones' bodies arched backward like bows.
Their eyes rolled back, and from their wide-open mouths came choking gasps—gurgh—with saliva dripping out.
Soon, they began making sounds like they were scraping their vocal cords.
I shall bear it.
I shall bear it.
The influence of its overwhelming will.
It was affecting those around it, causing mental interference.
"Tch!"
"Everyone, battle stations!"
The hero's party rushed forward to restrain it.
Jane's party, Felix's party.
And Dwyn too.
They unleashed a coordinated assault on "it" with perfect synchronization.
An intense barrage that no one present could withstand focused on its pathetic form.
"Ah, aah!!!"
Its body took the attacks defenselessly—
No, welcomed them gladly.
Its flesh tore, shattered, and split.
"Everyone, stop!"
At that moment, Dwyn shouted urgently.
"Master!?"
"Something's... something's off...!"
The body accepting the attacks was clearly breaking down.
Yet why?
On the contrary.
Vitality seemed to be returning to its haggard form.
Its aura growing even stronger.
"This is it!!! This is what I've craved! Come on! Push me harder! Give me overflowing pain!!!"
I shall bear it!
All of it!!!
It spat blood in ecstasy.
I shall bear it.
I shall bear it.
The True Ones murmured in agreement.
"Ah, aah...!"
"Ugh—"
Hela and Gorad.
Even these two True Ones, resisting its will with their strong minds and power, began to show torment on their faces.
Veins bulged on their faces, cold sweat flowed.
They were resisting its will with all their might.
"Children of pain!!! Fear not! It is I! That feeling! That craving! What you've desperately sought is right before you! I extend my hand—entrust yourselves to it!"
The mad touch leading the zealots.
"No...!"
Hela struggled to resist it.
"No... this—this...!"
Mental interference that had existed in the zealots' foundation in the form of faith.
Freed from it, the zealot fell into confusion.
Bearing pain for others.
That act was undoubtedly noble.
The deeds urged by the "Saint" had not changed at all.
However.
The form of "it" now visible before her eyes.
Hela realized.
Its purpose was not sacrifice.
Nor devotion.
Therefore, it was no saint.
Merely a madman indulging in pain for pleasure.
Nothing but the culprit of ruin, drawing others in solely for its own ecstasy.
Hela recalled the followers who had suffered and died under the name of sacrifice all this time.
There was no reason to grieve.
Thanks to the madman's scheme, they had felt pleasure even in that process.
And surely, some had been saved by their actions.
However, that was all.
Now that she knew its true nature, blind faith could no longer be tolerated.
"Please, stop...!"
Hela pleaded with it.
"This does not align with the form of our faith! So, please—"
"Fear not."
"Urgh...!"
An even stronger will bound Hela.
Her upper body jerked backward in spasms.
"True salvation... true joy... true happiness... all lie within pain... Blind child, entrust yourself to me. I shall lead you to the righteous path."
"Ah, no... no... our pain... was not for us...!"
"What makes you hesitate so? Are you afraid of pain?"
"..."
Hela hugged her own body.
Her body, filled with countless pains—
Traces of countless sacrifices.
True Ones.
They found ecstasy in pain.
But that was only possible because of the belief that their actions were noble.
All for the sake of other suffering souls.
That belief allowed them to find joy amid the pain.
But what if that belief no longer protected them?
No.
In truth, it had been the same even when it did.
"Of course... we fear it... We True Ones... steel ourselves each time we fill the core of pain... sacrificing and forsaking..."
"Weakness. Childish frailty."
Its voice and will coiled around Hela like a serpent.
"I shall awaken you. Save you from that ignorance and weakness fearing pain. So, accept me."
"Ah, aah..."
Its voice mocked and rebuked Hela for fearing pain.
Hela shuddered at that immense will.
Soon, her thoughts were consumed by emotion.
"Can we... become strong like you...?"
Hela said with vacant eyes.
"No."
Answering her was Rishir.
"Hela. There's no reason to follow that thing. Even less to serve it."
"..."
That voice.
Light slowly returned to Hela's eyes.
"I could tell just from a glance. You all are far greater than that friend of yours. They say hard workers can't beat players, but this time seems different."
"You bastard..."
Its fury reached its peak.
I shall bear it.
I shall bear it.
Power received from the True Ones.
Added to that, power absorbed from the hero party's attacks.
Its withered body filled with vitality.
Blood began to flow from wounds all over its body.
"Do you think your arrogance will last forever...? I've regained my power... Your shallow tricks won't work anymore..."
Squelch.
Squelch.
Its body swelled to its fullest.
As if denying the shameful memories of past days.
"Come. I'll show you how insignificant the pain you know is."
"..."
"Rishir...!"
Dwyn's group urgently called out to Rishir as they watched him.
He strode forward and swung his holy sword at it.
Without drawing it from the sheath, like a club.
To them, he looked utterly defenseless.
"Be careful! It seems to convert pain into its own power—"
Dwyn's warning couldn't continue.
"Ack!"
"?"
A sharp groan from its mouth interrupted her.
"Again, again!!! What the hell did you do!!!"
Rishir didn't answer.
He just silently continued the clubbing with his club (holy sword).
"Eek! Eek!!!"
"..."
Hela and Gorad, who had regained their senses thanks to Rishir's help.
They stared blankly at it.
From the mouth that had despised the True Ones' pain, the world's most pathetic groans leaked out.
From mere clubbing.
"S-Stop!!! "
It couldn't endure and cried out.
"Didn't you like pain? Weren't you going to save us from ignorance and weakness fearing pain?"
"Ah, no! This isn't the pain I know!!!"
"What. Pain's all the same."
Thwack. Thwack thwack. Thwack thwack thwack.
The merciless beating continued for a while.
A short while later.
"Huh...?"
All the True Ones dominated by its will regained their senses.
The coercive force controlling them had vanished.
However.
At their core, the misguided belief still lingered.
The false belief that made pain noble.
"The Bearer...?"
Someone murmured.
They had experienced the same as Gorad.
The One Who Bears.
They had heard its voice.
Heard its call.
They had to save him.
They looked around desperately.
There was the great saint they had desperately sought.
"Please... please stop... it hurts... it hurts so much... I'll do anything, just forgive me now..."
In a pathetic form, stripped of all will by simple beating and broken.
"..."
True Ones.
A great change occurred within them.
"What the hell is that...?"
Someone's murmur full of contempt spoke for their feelings.
The Bearer.
No.
The Loser.
Rishir, who had witnessed what it did to the True Ones right before his eyes, withdrew even the last shred of pity he had for it.
He completely erased the assumption of "It looks like this, but just in case—."
What followed was pure, merciless beating.
It no longer had the leeway to pretend submission and scheme as before.
"Yes...! Without that power, I'm nothing...!"
Following Rishir's orders, it obediently spilled everything about itself.
All the sacrifices and devotions it could perform as the Bearer.
They were possible only thanks to its special ability to turn pain into ecstasy.
Self-satisfaction through that special ability.
That was the true nature of all its acts as the Bearer, as a saint.
True Ones.
Hearing the full story, they were naturally shocked.
The foundation of the firm faith supporting the zealots had been shaken.
"I'm sorry. I wonder if I did something unnecessary."
Rishir approached Hela and cautiously offered comfort.
To that.
Hela formed her characteristic gentle smile.
Was it his imagination?
Rishir felt her expression was markedly different from before.
The indescribable dissonance mixed in her gentleness had vanished.
"No, Rishir. There's no reason for you to apologize. All you did was awaken us from blind faith. If there's fault, it's ours for holding that form of belief—the misguided faith."
She gazed at it, still sprawled on the floor tending to its pain.
Complex emotions were plain on her face.
"What do you plan to do from now on?"
Then, Dwyn approached and asked Hela.
"..."
After a moment's thought, she said.
"There are still many in this world who need help. Countless souls bearing unbearable sins and pains beyond their will."
"Then—"
"Yes. I have no intention of stopping."
However.
Hela added in a resolute tone.
She glanced at it once more.
Then, hugging herself, she formed a bittersweet yet relieved smile.
"I suppose we need to devise a new way."
"..."
A faint smile of relief appeared on Dwyn's stern face.
"Iron Sword. This misguided faith has caused you trouble. I sincerely apologize."
Hela bowed deeply.
Following her, the other True Ones also bowed to the Iron Sword.
Afterward.
Centered on Hela and Gorad, discussion continued among the True Ones for a while.
True Ones.
The zealot group was officially disbanded.
However, no one left.
Though their misguided belief in pain had collapsed, their noble hearts to help others remained.
Healers.
It was the moment countless zealots, bearing wounds and scars, were reborn.
They gazed intently at Rishir.
"...?"
Rishir felt an itch on his back for some reason.
"Oh, by the way. What do you plan to do with 'that'?"
Hela referred to the former Bearer that way.
Rishir answered, relieved by her reaction.
"Ah, if it's alright, would you leave it to me?"
"Are you sure? Taking on such a heavy burden..."
Eyes focused back on Rishir amid the chaos.
How would he handle this powerful yet tricky being?
Immense interest poured into his method.
"What do you plan to do with it?"
Hela's question.
The gazes surrounding Rishir sparkled with curiosity.
"I'm thinking about it now. Whether to store it away or eat it."
"..."
The flames of curiosity in their eyes extinguished.
That night.
A small banquet was held at the hero's mansion.
Celebrating the official resolution of the incident surrounding Dwyn.
"Rishir, thanks. If it weren't for you, my master would have...!"
"Man, it feels like I'm always getting help from you. What kind of face does that leave for us heroes?"
Throughout the banquet.
Affection dripped from the eyes of the two heroes looking at Rishir.
To the point where their party members and lovers eyed Rishir with jealousy.
While Rishir was somehow digesting those burdensome gazes.
"Master."
"..."
Jane and Felix exchanged glances with Dwyn.
Soon, Jane spoke to Rishir on their behalf.
"Rishir, it's not much repayment, but I'll make you one promise."
"A promise?"
"The 7th Circle. I know you're facing that distant wall."
"..."
Rishir's expression turned awkward.
Misinterpreting it somehow, Jane continued with a more serious face.
Her expression carried considerable joy.
Finally, we can help this guy!
It was like a voice saying that.
"Normally, it would take years... decades... no, a lifetime to surpass that wall. But we know. You'll cross it somehow. At a speed we can't even imagine."
"We'll help."
Felix continued with a resolute expression.
"We've already discussed it. Not just us two, but Master too."
"Ms. Dwyn too...?"
Dwyn, sitting as far from Rishir as possible in the corner.
As Rishir turned his gaze, after much deliberation—
She bowed her head.
Apparently, the prior abnormal(?) state hadn't fully ended.
"Our disciples will pool our strength to support you materially and morally. So you can surpass the 7th Circle somehow. As soon as possible."
Swordmaster mentor and two hero disciples.
They looked at Rishir with determination.
"Wait, Jane. Why'd you leave us out?"
Then, Jane's comrades Camilla and Bellota cut in.
"Rishir helped us too, so—"
Felix's comrade Tilla also directed a resolute gaze at Rishir.
—What's this atmosphere? Can't be helped if it's like this. I'll lend a hand too.
—Not being honest, Elisicia.
—Shut up.
—I'll gladly help you too, Rishir. Like Elisicia.
—She said shut up?
Finally, the two holy swords too.
"..."
Rishir, feeling their goodwill all at once.
A mix of joy and complexity formed on his face.
"Of course, with your personality, you'd decline first. But Rishir, know this? This time, we're not backing down."
"Don't dodge. Say you get it. Nice to work with."
Misinterpreting his expression, the two heroes pressed him.
Rishir forced his mouth open.
"Everyone. I truly appreciate the sentiment, but—"
"Rishir!"
"Ah, really—"
"I've already reached it. The 7th Circle."
"?"
During the past few days.
While Rishir spent time filling the core of pain, Jane's group had been preparing the groundwork for his 7th Circle attainment.
Clatter.
A sound came from the pile of luggage prepared as a surprise gift in the corner of the room.
Items they had prepared for Rishir's 7th Circle—
Now reduced to junk, all sorts of valuables.
"My god, Rishir! Where's the justice in this!"
"This ain't right, man!"
—You, is that even plausible!?
—I'm shocked, Rishir. We worked so hard preparing.
"...Sorry?"
Rishir had to endure their scoldings—not scoldings—for a while.
—Argh! What's this! Ah, whatever! Rishir!
Soon, the holy sword Elisicia shouted irritably.
—If you have any other requests, spit 'em out!
"Pardon?"
—Anything's fine, just say whatever comes to mind right now!
"..."
Rishir, pushed into it, began pondering.
Then, his gaze turned to Felix's comrade Tilla.
He recalled what Felix had mentioned before.
"By the way, didn't you say you know astrology, Ms. Tilla?"
"Huh? Oh. A little...?"
"That astrology, it can divine the future and such, right?"
"Well... it's not that simple... but go ahead. What's on your mind?"
The meeting with his mentor in the memory world.
That encounter had given Rishir various thoughts.
This was one of them.
"I have two precious people, and I'm curious how they're doing."
"Precious people!?"
For some reason, Tilla and the women reacted especially strongly.
"Who, what kind of people!?"
They asked with sparkling eyes.
"One's my mentor, the other's my little sister."
"Ah."
Their interest deflated instantly.
"Mentor!? Rishir's!?"
But only for a moment.
Their curiosity reignited.
"Tilla! Hurry and prepare!"
"Got it!"
They rushed into preparations for astrology.
In the dark room, the crystal ball emitted a mystical light.
A blue glow like a cluster of stars filled the room.
Tilla conducting the astrology ritual.
Near her were two personal items Rishir had handed over.
Items he had received from his little sister and mentor, respectively.
Soon, Tilla, staring into the crystal ball, exclaimed in surprise.
"Rishir?"
"Yes, Tilla."
"Right now, your little sister—she seems to be looking at you too."