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Chapter 248: ■■■■ ■■■ ■■■ (5)

Leaving the monster to fight against Gremory, Ferzen carefully picked up the fallen Prince Raymond in his arms.

On top of that, the deadly venom that had entered the back of the bronchi blocked his breathing and was on its way to sever the nerves that connected his brain to the rest of his body.

Soon, death, which could be considered eternal peace, would come to him.

However, if he were to summon a monster with the ability to restore and heal body defects as well as wounds with his unique ability, the war would not end there.

With her knee, Gremory destroyed her right eyeball, damaging the optic nerve, to channel an even greater amount of magic to keep the battle even with the Monster, which was gaining the upper hand.

In a word, if he could ignore Prince Raymond\'s death...…

That was probably the reason why the Prince had told him that it was okay for him to be shameless.

He wanted him to pursue his own happiness as a man called Ferzen rather than being tied down to Brutein.

"Your Highness.”

Realizing that, Ferzen hugged unconscious Prince Raymond who only trembled intermittently.

“My loyalty to the Imperial Family and my ability to be a dependable person for you…… Did you really think it was because of the Brutein blood that flows inside of me?”

Because he was suffering from severe obsessive-compulsive disorder, his thoughts about how good it would be if he lived alone changed after meeting Euphemia and Yuriel.

Now, he wanted to be a good husband to them and build a happy family with them.

His awkward relationship with his older brother, Jeremiah, which would make anyone who saw them think that they did not share any blood, also changed.

Now, he wanted to be a younger brother who would not put his older brother’s name to shame, and he wanted to give him a clear meaning of family.

During the process of his change, it was none other than the Imperial Family that steadfastly held onto the overbearing and proud noble called Ferzen.

Their expectations and reliance on him, who was nothing more than a stain on his family because of his severe obsessive-compulsive disorder, would have been unbearable and overwhelming under normal circumstances.

However, it had become Ferzen\'s only life goal for a long time.

Perhaps that was why his attachment to the Brutein became even stronger.

After all, it was a name that could make even someone as twisted as him receive someone’s expectations and reliance.

In the eyes of the Imperial Family, the man called ‘Ferzen von Schweig Brutein’ was flawless.

Ironically, that had become an object of admiration for Ferzen.

And that feeling and determination had not changed even now.

On top of the happiness from becoming the proud pillar of the Empire, he also pursued happiness as a human called Ferzen.

He didn’t participate in this war because he wanted to have something more.

Rather, it was the finale of a villain struggling not to lose.

So how could he ignore the death that was happening right in front of his eyes?

Ferzen picked up the dagger that was lying on the ground and stabbed it deep into the artery in his neck.

Gush-!

Then a large amount of blood flowed out along with a burning pain.

Rumble-!

Soon after, the gate of The Underworld opened behind him once again.

Now, he had exhausted all the uses of his unique ability, but he harbored no regrets in his heart.

Bang-!!

Drizzle-!

The rain suddenly poured heavily from the clear sky.

Then, the sunset appeared in the sky after a long time.

There was a rumor going around that dusk was a period where the world connected with The Underworld. Now that he saw what happened, he didn’t think it was false.

The cries of ghosts began to echo in the air at that moment, enveloping the surrounding area with an eerie atmosphere.

Just what were they sad about?

And, what are they afraid of?

Creak-!!

Eventually, a stuffed toy made of cloth sewn together walked out from beyond the gate of The Underworld and began to heal Prince Raymond\'s wounds.

In the same breath, it also restored Ferzen\'s hand which was damaged by Gremory.

However, even when Ferzen saw the sight of Prince Raymond coming back from his death, he could not fully focus his attention on him.

After all, as if a lock in his soul was slowly being unlocked, a huge presence suddenly appeared somewhere deep inside him.

It suppressed the ego of the human called Ferzen and assaulted him with a lot of their memories throughout eternity like an ocean.

And when those memories were stitched together, humanity and emotions began to disappear and dry up at a rapid rate from inside him.

Flinch-!

But the feeling of love that he had realized after meeting Yuriel and Euphemia.

The familial affection he had felt because of the improved relationship between him and Jeremiah.

And the times when he worked tirelessly to repay the expectations and reliance of the Imperial Family towards him.

Like stars shining in the vast universe, the human called Ferzen was clearly engraved in the eternity of time.

In the end, Ferzen shouted the word ‘Status Window’ in a low voice for the first time in a long while.

And when he lowered his gaze, his unique ability which had always been written as「 ??? 」was now replaced by「 ■■■■ ■■■■ ■■■ 」.

Even if someone searched all the civilizations that had been established all around this world, they would not find the character anywhere.

However, Ferzen could read it.

「Berthem Elqua Erue. 」

To put it in the language of this world, it meant the king who would not have eternal sleep.

That’s right...… It was the true name which was engraved on his soul.

* * * * *“……”

As time passed little by little, the eternity which was imprinted in Ferzen’s mind rapidly became assimilated with his ego.

In other words, it meant that his presence was growing.

As it contained a status that the human body could not handle, it was natural for the vessel to collapse.

Crisp-!

As he realized that he was aging rapidly from the fact that the skins on the tips of his fingers were crumbling like an old mummy, Ferzen turned his neck to the side.

Even though the monster which had the ability to repair and heal the body\'s defects as well as the wounds tried its best, it seemed to be something that its ability could not solve.

However, since Ferzen had read all the information that had piled up in his mind, he did not question this result.

In the first place, the unique ability that he had did not allow him to avoid the death he faced but rather sealed away the memories of having lived through eternity.

To be exact, it was a protective device that prevented the person that had the ability to recognize their true name engraved in their soul–Berthem Elqua Erue.

That was the identity of the unique ability that had not been revealed until now.

Perhaps that was why Ferzen felt much more at ease at this moment.

After all, he knew exactly what he had to do.

On top of that, he knew that this was not a farewell.

Therefore, Ferzen held his altar with his remaining hand which had not yet crumbled.

At the same time, Prince Raymond, whose wounds were completely healed, came to his senses and shakily stood up.

“Co……unt!”

He had no doubt that the appearance of Ferzen that his eyes captured was the sight of a warlock trying to sacrifice their life through the altar.

“Count–!”

He wanted nothing but to run towards him right now, and if he couldn\'t run, he would even crawl to prevent that sacrifice.

Unfortunately for him, his body, which had just returned from death, did not have that much energy.

“Your Highness.”

"Don’t do that, Count!”

“I am not leaving.”

Even though Ferzen said that with a clear reasoning.

From Prince Raymond\'s point of view, he had no choice but to think that his words were nothing but words of comfort.

That\'s because human beings who were mere mortals had never returned to this world after facing complete death.

“It won’t be a long trip.”

"Count…… ! Please……”

“I will be on my way.”

After this short trip was over.

“Please welcome me with a smile.”

And in the following night,

“Let’s have a heart-to-heart talk and have a drink.”

As he listened to Ferzen\'s words to him, Prince Raymond felt resentment towards him for the first time.

Because he knew that all of those were promises that he could never keep.

Isn\'t the best he could do was sit in front of his grave, force himself to smile, and have a drink without talking to him?

"Count……”

Therefore, Prince Raymond called out to Ferzen as if to beg him not to do such a harsh thing to him, but……

Creak-!

The gate of The Underworld opened before he knew it and forced a cold resignation upon him.

Since it was already the domain of the law of The Underworld once a deal was concluded,

There was nothing he could do.

Soon, a strange monster with a head tilted like a crescent moon that moved using rotten tree roots as legs approached Ferzen and carefully embraced him with its four arms.

Even though Prince Raymond looked at it with a forlorn expression on his face...…

"Ah……”

He felt a sense of blind worship, absolute submission, and agape loyalty from the monster, making him harbor a faint hope.

Ah.

Ah……

Wooong-!

However, when Prince Raymond saw Ferzen completely absorbed into its arms as if he were melting into his arms, he grimaced to the point his face became ugly and let out a cry full of anger.

That’s right, the Ernes Empire had once again stood on top of their bloody sacrifice.

It was so embarrassing.

Shameful.

Humiliating.

And deplorable.

……It was a repetition of such history.

* * * * *“Your Highness!”

The retainers who approached Prince Raymond, who was sitting down, hastily raised his body up.

“You must order a retreat!”

Even though the monster that had just descended because of Ferzen\'s sacrifice also participated in the battlefield, the monster that was first summoned was already on the verge of losing its fighting ability.

However, it was questionable whether the monster that had descended through Ferzen\'s sacrifice would be able to put an end to Gremory\'s life.

It would be perfectly fine if it really could do so, but if that didn\'t happen, the Ernes Imperial Army which was here would be annihilated.

Fortunately, the water level that was blocking their retreat had dropped significantly, so retreating was no longer something impossible.

Therefore, the loyal vassals forced Prince Raymond to snap back to reality by shouting at him.

Raising his head from the echoes of desolation, emptiness, sorrow, and anger that permeated him, Prince Raymond chewed on his trembling lip.

“……Retreat.”

He wanted to get out of their shadow.

He wanted to get out of their shadow and become their equals.

He wanted to have a close lord-servant relationship that would make him able to provide help, not just receive help.

But was he too greedy?

Even as he ordered his army to retreat, Prince Raymond could not easily shake off his frustration.

But what drove him forward was the fact that the happiness that Ferzen sought remained in this world.

He had to protect Jeremiah.

He had to protect Lady Louerg and Ferzen’s child that she carried.

He had to protect the Lady of Alfred family.

On top of it, in this frustratingly repeating history.

In order to be at least somewhat proud, he needed to prevent the Ernes Empire from falling.

If it’s Ferzen, Prince Raymond was sure that he didn’t want the Imperial Descendants to be buried next to his grave.

“…… Send someone to my brother and Elizabeth. Tell them to quickly return to our Empire.”

“Should we also send someone to the elder of the Alfred family?”

“No, don’t tell him about this.”

Prince Raymond lowered his head as he held the horse\'s reins tightly,

He knew better than anyone about where Alfred’s loyalty lay.

Now that Ferzen had died,

And the odds were stacked against them.

If that old monster–Corleone Wayne Barretta Alfred–got this information, he would immediately revolt.

No one would remain loyal to a crumbling Empire.

Even the Brutein, on the verge of shattering all preconceived notions, would follow.

So, to do their best on the last front,

They would be better off without the army that he led.

But as if that order wasn\'t enough, a few of the leaders used their own family soldiers to make their families sneak away from the front lines.

……Only heaven knew who would be laughing at the end of this war.

* * * * *Thud-!!

In the middle of the battlefield, Gremory fell backward and let out a sharp breath.

The sun had set completely.

And now, a dark night enveloped the sky.

In the end, it was her who had grabbed the victory.

The sacrifices she had made for this moment included her two arms, her right foot, her hearing, and one eye.

Even though there’s nothing more foolish than this, the pleasure of finally standing at the top of something she had always wanted to climb was satisfying in its own way.

“Your Majesty...…!”

Leaving behind the cheering soldiers, her vassals approached Gremory and called her with a pale complexion.

However, since Gremory was unable to hear their voices due to the fact that she had lost her hearing, she just raised her upper body and looked at her lower body.

A limb that is clearly torn from side to side.

It was probably the reason why there was quite a bit of bleeding from there.

Since her body was ragged and her spleen was pierced, it was surprising that she was still alive despite losing so much blood.

“It’s not even my period but a lot of blood is flowing from my crotch.”

“Keu, keuhum! Everyone, bring Her Majesty to the medic right now! And bring all the soldiers with the right blood type!”

“Ye-yes!”

While the vassals were confused about how they should react to the joke that Gremory threw at them, Gremory was able to relax her body in her own way. After all, it was a signal indicating that the destination had been reached.

Now all that remained was something she always did.

It was a time of destruction and enjoying the joy that could only be enjoyed by the winner.

The only thing that she found pitiful was the fact that there was no Ferzen in this world to watch the entire process.

Until the end……

He kept being a boring man.

Gremory clicked her tongue while surrendering herself to the approaching medics before quietly closing her eyes.

* * * * *As if to prove that there could be darkness without light,

In the depths of The Underworld which was painted by pitch black darkness, the highest level monsters of The Underworld were bowing their heads in front of a pantheon while trembling.

Their trembling did not subside even as time passed, but rather became more and more intense, showing that they were really terrified.

They were monsters who had lived comfortably for a long time as they put their names on the ledger of The Underworld.

So, just who could terrify them this much?

They were truly incomprehensible to other beings, and thus, they were the ones who bestowed a sense of terror upon others.

Step-!!

But as if the answer to that question would soon be revealed,

The sound of footsteps echoed from beyond the pantheon which was enveloped by impenetrable pitch-black darkness. At the same time, an overwhelming presence spread throughout the depths of The Underworld and pressed even harder on the bodies of the monsters who dared not raise their heads.

That’s right, one man was standing proudly in front of the Pantheon.

Without uttering a single thing and without moving.

He was informing the monsters which were gathering in front of him.

「You dregs. 」

「 Your King has returned. 」

The monsters that gathered knew him as:

Bertem Elqua Erue

Their King who never dies.

In the meantime, the mortals knew him as:

Ferzen von Schweig Brutein.

Or, Ferzen von Schweig Louerg.