Chapter 66
Chapter 66
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 066
Chapter Title: Oath of the Masters
-----------------------------------------------------------------
It felt just like the day Dante's candidates had first come to Rasiel.
"Food's plentiful, so..."
He grinned.
"Eat and drink your fill."
No sooner had Master Alman's words ended than the candidates began digging in.
"This is it..."
"Ah, damn... I'm tearing up."
"Rasiel forever!"
The candidates shed tears while enjoying the feast.
Even though they'd managed decently stocked meals in the labyrinth, they paled in comparison to Rasiel's banquet.
And this time, their demeanor was unmistakably different from that first day.
"Gimo, pass me another beer."
"Got it."
"Ballack, you really can hold your liquor."
The candidates, who had been divided like water and oil, wary and checking each other.
Now they mingled together, sharing the meal.
Their faces and bodies were covered in wounds, despite having bathed thoroughly and donned fresh clothes.
Those scars made them feel like one.
"Rasiel's got it good. Eating like this every day."
"What're you talking about? We don't get this every day."
Now that they were bonding, they could open up about their true feelings.
"Master Alman's stingier than he lets on. That last banquet was just to psych you Dante folks out."
"What, really?"
In that moment, they looked like peers, just friends their age.
"But it's not combat rations, at least."
"......"
"Heh heh heh."
Escaping the fate of the underworld's bloodlines, coming together like this.
It was an experience they could never have in this brutal world.
Under normal circumstances, one side wouldn't even exist.
"Hey, I told you to stop gnawing on those bones."
At the center was that young man.
Something impossible without Sein.
"Who's that kid, anyway?"
"Don't even try to figure it out."
An overwhelming presence named Sein.
That alone had bound together these people who were destined to split and fight.
A power that could defy even their fated paths.
'Hero.'
Sis thought of that word as he watched Sein.
Heh.
But Sis soon let out a hollow chuckle and shook his head.
'An underworld heir, a hero?'
Even in these end times, that was impossible.
This was nothing more than a fleeting dream.
A brief respite from the cruel reality awaiting them once they woke.
"Lighten up and eat."
Then Sein's voice came toward Sis.
"Life's uncertain anyway—might die tomorrow. Enjoy it while you can."
Was he reading his mind?
Or speaking to his past self?
"Thanks."
Sis's single word sank the jovial banquet atmosphere.
"For real."
"That's why I told you to stuff your face."
As Sein shot back with a scowl.
"...Thanks to you too, Sein Demorus."
Ballack.
"...I'm grateful. Seriously."
Another of Rasiel's candidates.
"Life was nothing but anxiety, just like you said. I knew being Demorus blood didn't mean much."
Another candidate continued.
"The fear was unbearable. I even wanted to give up everything. But it's thanks to you."
Whether forced or not, they'd survived by following Sein.
They also knew what Sein had given them.
A strength that banished anxiety.
"Our Dante too."
Gimo and Vita.
"We thank you."
They spoke on Dante's behalf.
"We know the fate of the defeated was death."
Perhaps from their long time as candidates, or Dante's organizational traits.
Dante's words were all solemn and weighty.
"...Even if those moments were maddeningly painful, it was a life we could endure because of you."
They had already sworn loyalty in the labyrinth.
"Dante's candidates will support you."
Clink.
Sein set down his fork.
"This mood sucks."
"......"
"What am I, your squad leader?"
"Squad leader...?"
"Not like you're skipping out on a company dinner."
Creak.
Sein rose from his seat.
"You guys chow down. I'm out."
The candidates were briefly flustered as Sein left.
And then.
"He's just embarrassed."
"......?"
A clear voice rang in their ears, spreading out.
"He's kinder than he looks."
All eyes turned to the voice's owner.
"Cecil...?"
The golden-haired little one who'd stayed by Sein's side, Cecil.
*
*
*
"Damn."
Lying in Rasiel's garden, Sein gazed up at the sky.
"Fucking pitch black."
In his old Sanctuary days, Sein had lounged like this often.
The Sanctuary's sky, adorned with beautiful starlight, stirred strange emotions just by looking.
But that beautiful sky was gone now.
Just an endless black, like a future shrouded in uncertainty.
"Thought I'd sneak out for a breather."
Sein said, still staring up with his hands behind his head.
"So, got something to say?"
Footsteps.
A shadow fell beside Sein.
"Already dark as hell, and you block what's left."
"Still, I'm the master. Might wanna watch your mouth."
Alman's voice.
Sein chuckled.
"Too late for that. Act like friends or something."
Even as he said it, Sein slowly sat up.
There stood Rasiel's master, Alman, and Dante's master, Rohan.
"Consistent friends, huh."
Rohan added.
"But that's Demorus blood for you."
"Didn't you warn me before?"
"That was when you lacked the qualifications."
Rohan continued.
"You've proven yourself. That the Demorus blood runs thick in you."
They'd already received full reports from the exchange match.
What happened, how it unfolded.
Even though he could've hidden the internal affairs.
-Tell them the truth.
Sein had ordered the candidates to speak facts.
"Your precious candidate—I blew him up."
"That's just Damos's fate."
Sein's face twisted slightly.
"We know about Damos and Sis."
"......"
"We knew his vessel was small."
The exchange match.
"This exchange wasn't just to check you or Rasiel."
Sein had thought it was only about restraining him and Rasiel.
"I thought he'd grow massively once he broke out of his shell. Hoped his encounter with Sis would teach him something."
Sein had envisioned only a slaughter of kill or be killed.
"Whether forgiven by Sis or forcing Sis to submit."
Rohan had seen something bigger, deeper.
"I heard Damos awakened his blessing. And then, he chose."
Rohan said.
"To shrink even smaller, trapped in that narrow vessel."
Incomprehensible words.
But Sein could guess the emotion.
"Didn't think the underworld was full of Almans, but there's some decent humans after all."
Rohan before him had truly cared for Damos.
Even if for Demorus's future, he'd hoped Damos would mature humanely, become resolute.
"So I get you're not here for Damos's life debt. What's your point?"
At Sein's words, Rohan placed a hand on his chest.
A light but clear sign of respect.
From a master of one of the three great organizations.
Thud.
To Sein, still just a candidate.
"Dante's master, Rohan Demorus, declares his support for Sein Demorus as Demorus's heir."
That.
Thud.
Alman beside him followed, slower and less sharply, but with hand to chest in salute.
"Rasiel's master, Alman Demorus, declares his support for candidate Sein Demorus as Demorus's rightful heir."
Heh.
A hollow laugh escaped.
"That's the promise we made."
Alman's voice.
It felt childish.
In reality, they might be mocked for indulging in their own world.
But this was Sanctuary.
"I'll accept your support."
Romance.
"As Sein Demorus, rightful heir of Demorus, I will..."
Uncomfortable things.
Childish things.
Finger-pointing from others.
But if it stirred hearts, conveyed emotions.
"I'll change this goddamn world."
That's what we call romance.
"I'll embed shining stars back into that pitch-black sky."
Sein said.
"I'll tear down the walls that have risen."
It was the first time.
"I'll cleanse the acrid air and filthy mana."
He'd voiced his true heart to someone.
In the final loop, his final life.
No option to return to reality.
"Until then, I'll be more ruthless than anyone, smashing anything in my way."
He'd bury his bones here.
'My sins.'
What he once loved.
To atone for destroying it so futilely.
"Will you follow?"
Rohan and Alman, who had only placed hands on chests.
Thud.
Rohan first, as expected.
"Rohan Demorus swears loyalty to Sein Demorus. This oath activates upon Sein Demorus becoming Demorus family head."
He dropped to one knee, head bowed.
A salute incomparable to hand on chest.
"From the moment the oath activates, my life is yours, my lord."
A traditional ancient knight's rite.
Thud.
A beat later, but with deeper resonance.
Alman too knelt on one knee.
"My fate, Rasiel's fate. Demorus's future."
Everything.
"I offer to you."
At this moment!!
"Rise."
Sein became their master.
"I declare the candidate competition concluded."
Unqualified as he was, the two masters nodded to their master's words.
"As soon as the memorial for the fallen ends, declare that Demorus's new heir candidate has been decided."
And.
"Yes, Master."
"Yes, Master."
The two vassals replied.