TSMFTDG 34

Chapter 34
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The sensation of cutting through a throat with a blade lingered at my fingertips. I readjusted my grip on the sword and cast my gaze toward those still alive.

“Why are you staring like that?”

The eyes of the battle priests were filled with all kinds of emotions—sorrow, anger, despair. For a moment, they looked at their fallen comrade, then straightened up and exuded a deadly aura.

…I just responded to your attack. You were the ones who charged first, after all.

“You were clearly ordered to wait,” Elder’s voice rumbled low. Yet, the battle priests seemed deaf to his words, consumed by the fact that their comrade had died.

Losing their reason, they ignored Elder and charged at me.

“Die!”

“Surround him and crush him!”

Watching them run toward me in blind fury almost made me laugh. It was only natural for them to throw themselves at me—handing me kills on a silver platter for the sake of clearing a quest.

As I lightly dodged their attacks with my sword, three battle priests holding staves stopped and recited a prayer. A massive golden magic circle formed on the ground around me.

“Now I see why battle priests are rare.”

Creating a magic circle of this size would consume a tremendous amount of holy power. Ordinary priests wouldn’t even come close.

“Descend your sacred power upon this land!”

As they finished the final line, pure white light radiated from the circle, enveloping my body. The unpleasant sensation it left on me confirmed it was holy power.

Is this how battle priests hunt monsters?

The power was indeed strong; if it had been a normal monster, it might have been annihilated instantly. Of course, it had no effect on me.

“Such a weak power…”

Thinking of the children still asleep in the annex twisted my stomach.

When the magic circle and light faded, the priests’ excited expressions hardened noticeably.

I hadn’t suffered a scratch.

“Why…?”

It seemed like their morale had been shattered by their failed decisive attack.

Well, of course it wouldn’t work. I now wield Shaila’s power as well.

Elder glanced at me, slightly surprised, as if he had just realized my current strength.

“Now you understand? It was wrong to think you could stop me from the start.”

For a hero to stand on equal footing with a demon lord, an essential ally was needed.

A saint, Esia—the divine proxy with the strongest holy power—had to support the hero for them to truly wield their strength.

But now, Esia was absent, and I had absorbed another demon lord’s power. There was nothing he could do.

“Ha…!”

Elder let out a bitter laugh and stepped back. He had realized that even he couldn’t stop me in this state.

“Rian knows, right? He knows what you’re doing.”

“Isn’t that why he’s by my side?”

The balance of power that had held until now was broken. That was why Elder reacted so tensely—this imbalance could lead straight to war.

“I’m not going to do what you’re thinking. I’m not that insane.”

I gathered my power to stop the war.

He looked at me half in disbelief. Well, it would be strange to fully trust what a demon lord says.

“…Die!”

While glancing at Elder, a priest with a sword attacked from behind, still intent on killing me.

Time to end this. Everyone must be waiting at the castle.

“Ugh…!”

I formed a sharp spear behind the priest and drove it straight through his heart.

Taking lives was difficult only the first time. From the second on, it felt as natural as breathing.

“This can’t be…”

Moments later, only one priest remained alive, the farthest away. Perhaps my control over my power wasn’t perfect yet, as the others seemed to have evaded.

The remaining priest’s eyes no longer held vengeance or killing intent—only sorrow and fear toward me.

“Enough. That’s enough now.”

As I moved to take the last priest’s life, Elder stepped in front of me.

“I told you, I only care about the six.”

One more kill, and the children in the annex would awaken.

Just as I prepared to use my power,

“Then I have no choice.”

“What…?”

As Elder spoke, my body began to feel numb from the tips of my fingers. By the time I realized something was wrong, he had completely taken control of me.

“I have no choice but to stop you like this.”

It was his main skill: the ability to control a poisoned person for a certain time.

Confirming that I couldn’t move, I gave him a look of disbelief.

…This guy’s insane.

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Rian realized, at the sight of the devastation, that this was the village where he had grown up. No matter how much time had passed, he had never forgotten this moment.

He passed through the corpses and instinctively headed to his old home. He stared at the completely collapsed house, unable to contain his anger.

‘Was the house always this destroyed?’

Though he remembered that this was his village, the details had eluded him—he had lost his memories for some reason.

Even in ruins, the house held significance. Perhaps some memories still lingered, and he began to sift through the debris carefully.

“Someone?”

He discovered someone trapped under the rubble. Forgetting why he was there, he frantically began clearing the debris.

As he removed burnt wooden planks one by one, he finally saw who lay beneath.

“…Mother.”

Though he had lost memories, he instinctively knew his family no longer existed. Unable to fully remember, he had merely buried it in his heart.

“Why… is Mother here…?”

She lay under the rubble, blood flowing from her head. As he cautiously reached for her,

-Run quickly, Rian!

-Mother!

-Before the monsters reach here, hurry!

She had pushed young Rian out just before the house collapsed, sacrificing herself to save him. In a split second, she had acted with all her wits to protect her child.

Suddenly, memories surged back, and Rian frowned.

“Why now? Why did it come back now?”

It was a memory he could never recall, no matter how hard he tried.

Lost in thought, he recalled his real body’s location—and the role of the door.

‘Showing humans what they fear the most… what they always avoided.’

Only now did he understand why Lehel had struggled whenever passing through here. No one could face deeply buried memories repeatedly without pain.

Rian looked at his deceased mother and, as if saying a final goodbye, held her hand before standing.

Now was not the time to dwell on hallucinations—he had to get to the surface and stop Lehel.

“Is there a way out?”

Emerging into the streets, he hurried to break free from the illusion. He feared that even now, Lehel was taking lives.

After wandering for a while, he found a familiar place and froze. The horrific scenery surrounding him had transformed.

‘The place I used to play as a child.’

Sunlight sparkling on flowing water, leafy green trees, and a patch of blue grass. A young girl stood there alone.

Her long black hair concealed her face as she turned away.

He was certain—though her name and face eluded him, she had been his closest friend in childhood.

“Wait…!”

As he called to the girl, his head throbbed, and memories he had forgotten returned.

-Forget everything. What happened here, who I am.

Her face still eluded him, but her voice sounded sorrowful, as if crying.

-Do not try to remember. Only think about the path you must walk.

‘Why are you telling me this?’

He wondered if the girl—though ordinary—had erased his memory herself. Only that made sense.

-Don’t die. Live, Rian.

Once her words ended, the hallucination shattered like broken glass.

Rian opened his eyes, looking around in bewilderment. He had returned to the surface.

“Definitely… I never want to experience that again.”

He wiped the tears streaming down his cheeks with the back of his hand. He marveled anew at Lehel, who must have endured these hallucinations countless times.

Regaining his composure, Rian hurried onward without wasting another moment.