TSMFTDG 49

Episode 49

Everyone knows that all the souls of the undead are sealed in *Debias*.

Anyone who wishes to completely annihilate the undead must have dreamed at least once of going to Debias.

But that land is one where the living cannot go.

Even if the dead were to reach Debias, the moment they set foot on the ground, they would turn into an undead, have their soul sealed, and lose all memories and sense of self.

That is why the method to destroy all undead is simple in theory, but impossible in reality.

“It’s easier to kill them than I expected.”

Ever since entering the castle, I lost count of how many undead I’ve killed. I gave up counting after ten.

I smashed the skull knight charging at me and clicked my tongue quietly.

Is it because this place is Debias…?

Normally, cutting an undead doesn’t make it disappear. Unless purified with holy power, the soul remains and the body moves again.

But now, a simple slash from my sword was enough to kill them.

“At this rate, there will be no end.”

Dodging traps scattered everywhere and dealing with the unending wave of undead left me overwhelmed. Had I not played the game, I might have stepped into every trap I came across.

After much struggle, I reached the inner area—and burst into hollow laughter at the massive wall of undead in my path.

“…Ha.”

The way they stood, as if guarding something, made it obvious that what I wanted was behind them.

Reinfried’s soul. Once I destroy that, my job here is done.

“Seems like Rian is keeping him busy.”

He must already know I’m here. If Reinfried isn’t appearing, it means Rian has him occupied.

Let’s finish this quickly. With that single thought, I gripped my sword and charged into the undead horde.

And as I cut down the nearest monster—

—*Have I truly committed such a terrible sin?*

For a split second, a hallucination flashed before my eyes, and a strange voice echoed inside my head.

“What was that just now…?”

Before I could even recognize whose voice it was, the hallucination faded.

Swoosh—!

Because I hesitated, I failed to fully evade the monster’s attack.

“…!”

I twisted my body too late; its attack grazed my shoulder. Heat bloomed from the wound, and soon blood seeped through my clothes and dripped onto the floor.

Rian is going to be furious.

Wincing, I raised my sword again—only for another hallucination to flash.

—*Did you know from the beginning that this would happen?*

A voice filled with resentment. Emotions—rage and despair—poured into me.

Each time I cut the monsters down, hallucinations appeared, and the emotions felt as if they were my own.

…Are these Reinfried’s memories?

It was the only conclusion. Since he made these undead, fragments of his memories must be embedded in them.

“You really set this up to be annoying, didn’t you?”

The constant memories made it impossible to focus on the fight.

I steeled myself, doing my best not to be swayed, and kept cutting them down one by one.

—*A traitor to the clan!*

—*Punish the traitor!*

Even without wanting to, I began to understand Reinfried’s past.

Before becoming undead, he had been one of the many ordinary monsters. His strength was not exceptional, but he was always diligent—that diligence eventually became poison.

—*You promised to give the position to me!*

—*It’s already decided. We can’t take it back now.*

—*Elder!*

It seemed Reinfried had once been chosen as the next head of his clan. But the world seldom goes as planned.

With nothing but diligence to his name, losing his opportunity to someone more capable was, in a sense, inevitable.

—*Why… why is it always like this for me?*

There was no helping it. No matter how hard he worked, he couldn’t defeat someone with talent. His helplessness was natural.

“How foolish.”

Instead of using that helplessness as fuel to move forward…

Reinfried let jealousy fester. In the end, he drove himself to death.

And even in the moment he died, he never repented—eventually becoming a demon lord.

“I don’t care about your past.”

Only when I defeated the last monster did the voices finally go silent.

Suppressing the strange surge of emotion, I closed and opened my eyes slowly. I refused to be dragged into someone else’s tragedy without even knowing the full story.

…I hate this.

Unwanted guilt simmered unpleasantly in my chest.

With no monsters remaining, I dismissed my sword and stepped deeper inside.

“That must be it.”

A gray light shimmered ahead, wrapped tightly in chains anchored into the ground.

Once I break that seal, I can finally get out of this miserable place. With that thought, I reached out toward the light—

The chains rattled as if frightened, and a voice I could never forget echoed behind me.

“Huiwon.”

A voice so gentle… a voice I was sure I would never hear again.

Slowly, I turned my head.

“Mom… Dad?”

The two people who lived only in my heart were standing there, exactly as I remembered them.

❖ ❖ ❖

*Epheron*, once called the paradise of angels. Long ago, monsters attacked, and the place was abandoned.

But Pamiel restored it, and recently it returned to its former glory.

“Ugh…!”

Teleporting everyone to Epheron drained Pamiel of her strength; she collapsed on the ground.

She had also used more power to return the kidnapped young monster to Rahel’s castle.

*Never again*, she thought. Her hands trembled from strain. She clenched her fists and lifted her head.

“Pamiel… why did you betray me?”

“……”

“So you won’t answer.”

Pamiel decided not to make excuses. Whether she loved him or not didn’t matter—she had betrayed him, and that was the truth.

Reinfried turned away first.

He looked at Rian and frowned deeply, offended that a *human* dared stand in his way.

“How unusual. Why would a human side with monsters?”

“Do I need to explain that to you?”

Rian never held Reinfried in high regard anyway. Aside from Rahel, he wasn’t interested in monsters at all.

“No matter. You’ll be dead soon.”

Reinfried only wanted to go to Debias. He could feel his undead disappearing one by one.

Once he reached the sealed location where Rahel was, everything would end.

Swish!

Smoke shaped like snakes erupted from the ground around Reinfried and lunged toward Rian. Rian cut through them and closed in.

A blaze of flames engulfed him instantly.

“…!”

Rian flinched from the searing heat, gripping his sword harder.

He could not use magic—but that didn’t mean he couldn’t counter it.

With a fierce swing of his sword, the flames split apart. Seizing the opening, he aimed for Reinfried’s throat.

*My body feels… lighter?*

Even Rian himself was surprised. His movements felt strangely different from when he first fought Rahel.

His eyes widened slightly.

*…His eyes changed.*

Reinfried noticed—Rian’s eyes were redder than before, and a faint red aura surrounded his blade.

“You’re not just an empty title of ‘Hero,’ are you?”

He had been serious from the start. But even with full force, he couldn’t land a fatal hit.

Frustration began boiling inside him.

Until—

Reinfried suddenly staggered, clutching his head.

Pamiel froze.

The hallucinations had returned—and of all times, now.

“How did you even wake up…?”

Before leaving the castle, Pamiel had cast a powerful hallucination spell on him, intending to keep him unconscious at least until tonight.

*It got worse… beyond what my magic can suppress.*

She laughed bitterly and clenched her hands so hard that her nails dug into her skin.

*He’s shaking.*

Rian immediately saw the opening. He thrust his sword toward Reinfried’s heart—

“NO!”

Pamiel threw herself in front of him. Rian barely stopped the blade before it pierced her.

“Why block me? Wasn’t death what you wanted?”

“No! What I wanted was—!”

Before she could finish, she turned toward Reinfried in alarm.

“Aah… urgh…!”

Even while suffering from the hallucination, Reinfried pushed Pamiel aside and stood before Rian again.

“Why do you insist on fighting like this?”

Rian couldn’t understand. Why cling so desperately to a cycle of violence and misery?

Revenge only creates more revenge.

Reinfried clenched his teeth against the pain and spoke.

“Why is killing humans wrong? You think we’re evil—but you’re wrong.”

“……”

“We never harm our own. But you humans… kill each other without hesitation.”

Monsters had a strong sense of communal loyalty. Killing a member of one’s own kind was unthinkable.

But humans?

For any reason imaginable, they take each other’s lives.

“Isn’t Rahel gathering strength just to kill humans?”

“You don’t know Rahel at all.”

“…….”

“Do you really think her efforts are for something so pathetic?”

Rian’s cold, killing gaze made Reinfried’s eyes widen.

*…So it’s not revenge?*

If not to kill humans, then what was her goal?

“To end the war?”

At that moment—as if waiting for that line—

Snow began to fall from the sky.

Everyone looked up as the cold flakes touched their skin.

“…Rahel?”

It looked like ordinary snow.

But Rian knew, instinctively.

This snow… was hers.