1.
“Death to those who turn their backs on the Captain.”
After a brief moment of confusion—
—I will atone for the sin of disobeying the Captain’s order with death.
Recalling the past, Nahan realized what the members were hoping for.
‘They’re saying to kill Peter.’
At the moment when Peter and Kassler tried to kill Reina, Nahan had clearly issued an order.
—All of you, return. Find a new hideout before midnight.
It was unmistakably a command from the <Black Wolf>.
A command from <Black Wolf> to the members was absolute—so much so that even the slightest deviation would drive them to take their own life.
But Peter refused.
—…Why?
Unable to contain the flooding sorrow,
—Because of that monster, Ria…!!
He had always worshipped his god, and now even his once-smiling face was contorted.
Faced with the enemy right in front of him, blinded by rage, he bowed his head with a sorrowful smile.
—I’m sorry, my God.
And so the members were enraged.
‘Because he dared to defy the command of <Black Wolf>.’
It might seem excessive, but to the members, it was a grave sin. And since Nahan was playing the role of <Black Wolf>, he had to think of the best course of action.
‘I must not kill him.’
The Main Scenario – Conditions for the Unredeemed required the salvation of all members.
Unless one equated death with salvation, no member was allowed to die before completing the Main Scenario.
‘But I can’t protect him outright either.’
He was still in the midst of portraying the gradually changing <Black Wolf>, but not to the extent of openly defending a member who had disobeyed orders.
Then, the best possible option I can choose here──
“…Captain.”
As the silence stretched on, Lactea pressed.
Nahan replied calmly.
“Do not touch him under any circumstances.”
【Skill No. 1 – <Veil of Shadows> activates at 15% output.】
The members’ bloodlust was instantly overwhelmed.
…!!
As most of the members accepted it, only Lactea resisted and asked again.
“…Have you forgotten our promise?”
Her golden eyes gleamed with a chilling light.
“No answer? Then I’ll ask again.”
She rose from her kneeling position, now standing equal to <Black Wolf>.
Recalling the blood of emperors that ran through her veins, she asked again.
“Nahan, have you… forgotten the promise you made with me five years ago?”
An overwhelming clash of power.
【Warning.】
【<Lactea Babylonia (S+)> is beginning to doubt your identity as <Savior>.】
【<Black Wolf>’s Restrictions are wavering.】
“I know you are particularly lenient toward us, but punishment must still be dealt when needed.”
Just as something of similar magnitude to Nahan was about to crack open its shell and emerge—
Sllk.
Nahan raised his right hand, lifted Lactea’s chin, and whispered by her ear.
“I meant that I will punish Peter myself. So don’t touch him.”
【Skill No. 1 – <Veil of Shadows> activates at 20% output.】
Immediately after the declaration, filled with immense force—
【<Lactea Babylonia (S+)> withdraws her suspicion toward you – <Savior>.】
【<Black Wolf>’s Restrictions stabilize.】
The nearly severed contract with Lactea was instantly restored to full strength.
Lactea’s eyes narrowed into crescents.
Those chillingly seductive eyes scanned Nahan like they would devour him.
Then she slightly lifted her red lips and bowed her head to <Black Wolf>.
“I will follow the Captain’s command.”
As if nothing had happened, she returned to her usual self and gestured toward Kassler.
“We leave the Imperial Capital.”
“Yes, Vice-Captain.”
Kassler’s blue eyes turned crimson, and the surrounding shadows wrapped around the members.
Snap.
The members disappeared in an instant.
As the clash of bloodlust and power faded, leaving only the calm night air, Reina—who had been crushed under the pressure—let out a gasping breath.
“Huff… What… What was that…”
She looked to Nahan for an explanation of the current situation, but—
“Phew… My thoughts exactly…”
Nahan, too, collapsed onto Reina’s bed and wiped away his cold sweat.
Peace had returned once more.
But Nahan didn’t stop at just sitting—he flopped down entirely.
“I really wanna go home…”
“…Uh, sorry to say this in such a situation, but isn’t that your outdoor outfit? I’m the kind who can’t get on the bed unless I change into indoor clothes──”
【Skill No. 1 – <Veil of Shadows> activates at 1% output.】
“Rest comfortably.”
“Thank you.”
“…?”
“What.”
“…Oh, never mind.”
Silencing Reina’s rambling, Nahan started sorting out the current situation.
‘Right now, the most important things are the Main Quest and Main Scenario.’
The Main Quest.
─『Main Quest』─
◆ Simply Survive.
: Prevent all Bad Endings and save the <Hero> and the <Empress>.
◆ Number of Bad Endings Prevented:
: So far… [10 / 15]
◆ Reward:
: Return to your original world.
Only five Bad Endings and the salvation of the <Hero> and the <Empress> remained.
【Bad Ending 11 – <The Hidden Mastermind – Duke Halorand> is accelerating.】
【Bad Ending 12 – <The Rise of Eclipse> is accelerating.】
If Duke Halorand and the emergence of <Eclipse>—which had already begun—were resolved, only three would remain.
‘I was planning to track the movements of the Church of Light and then go deal with it personally.’
But now that he’d lost the main base, he had to postpone until a new one was found.
‘Actually, maybe this turned out for the better.’
Though unintentional, in the process of fleeing to avoid conflict, he ended up visiting the Empress’s chambers.
Because of that—
─『Main Scenario』─
◆ The Unredeemed.
: Save the <Characters> who have fallen into despair and regret.
◆ Saved:
: So far… [5 / 10]
◆ Reward:
: One wish.
Peter, one of the targets of the Main Scenario – The Unredeemed, was in danger.
‘I get it.’
Though it was <Eclipse>’s doing, the only “evidence” was the current Empress’s crest.
‘Reina’s perception is a wreck, and I can’t exactly ask her directly…’
For Peter and all the <Black Wolf> members to believe that the current Empress—Reina—was the source of all their suffering was, frankly, unavoidable.
‘But she’s not.’
The real culprit is <Eclipse>, and Reina is a victim herself.
‘So I can’t let her die.’
Not for the sake of the Main Quest, and certainly not to add another unfairly wronged victim.
And so, Nahan asked.
“Where’s Eclipse?”
“Mmfh! Cough, cough-cough!”
“Told you to relax a little, didn’t I?”
Reina, who had been quietly watching Nahan the whole time he was thinking, finally took a sip of water.
“Hck—cough! When did you say that…!! Cough!!”
“Didn’t I? Well, start relaxing from now on, then.”
“Such insolence!! Cough! Inso—cough-cough!!”
She coughed for a while, choking on her drink, then wiped her mouth roughly and shouted:
“Insolent!!! How dare you speak to the Empress──!!”
【Skill No. 1 – <Veil of Shadows> activates at 1% output.】
“…Doesn’t matter if I say it or not. I’m already a top-tier criminal. It’s not like adding salt to the sea makes it any saltier. Even if I get charged with a bit more insult, I’m still a top-tier criminal.”
…Was she always like this?
As Reina kept babbling, Nahan tossed her a candy and firmly said:
“Stop muttering and just answer the question?”
“Oh, yes! That sounds like a splendid idea.”
Reina, who popped the candy into her mouth, relaxed a little more and answered.
“First off… I haven’t found out anything.”
“Ugh, you’re seriously useless.”
“…I’m the Empress.”
“But you’re still incompetent, aren’t you?”
“…”
As expected.
<Eclipse> was in a state of repeated failure thanks to <Black Wolf>, so they were likely hiding more deeply than ever now.
But they wouldn’t stop.
They’d continue trying to assassinate Reina, using the unpurged nobles just like before.
‘And now even Peter…’
The Bad Ending — Death of the Empress — had been prevented, but the situation was, in truth, even more dangerous.
‘If Eclipse were the only ones targeting Reina, I could just assign Kassler to guard her. But Peter outright declared he’d kill her…’
Given that, in order to ensure both Reina’s and Peter’s safety simultaneously—
‘At the very least, I have to stay by Reina’s side until I convince Peter.’
Reevaluating his priorities, Nahan turned to Reina with a sigh.
“I’ll stay by your side for a while and protect you.”
It wasn’t ideal—things were going to drag on more than he liked—but saving the Empress was just as important as reaching a happy ending.
“Did you hear that? I said I’ll protect you.”
Just as he said that and lightly tapped Reina’s shoulder, who had bowed her head in exhaustion—
“…Hrrrng.”
“Hrrng?”
“That’s too cruel of youuu…”
“…Eh?”
He was met with Reina in tears.
2.
In a back alley of the Imperial Capital.
A man staggered into a grim, ruined place—once the quarters of the <Black Fang> mercenary corps.
“…”
The man scanned the area with eyes darker than shadow. Only when he confirmed no one was truly there did he exhale a small breath.
“Phew…”
Relief washed over him, but so did pain.
Squish.
He brought a torn-off arm, which he had carried with him, back to its original position.
Crawl, squirm.
Shlk!
The arm reattached instantly.
Nerve recovery was slow, so his sensation remained dull, but even that would soon be healed.
The man’s identity—Peter.
He had finely tuned his mana to track the presence of those who had been with him, but they were merely wandering the Capital—not pursuing him.
“They must’ve sensed me…”
Thud.
Leaning his head against the wall, Peter muttered with a faint smile:
“Is this… the last bit of mercy granted by the Lord?”
As expected of <Black Wolf>.
The only savior who took him in without hesitation, when everyone else had abandoned him.
Peter, too, had received grace from him.
So great a grace, that he could spend a lifetime repaying it and still not return even a sliver of its worth.
Turning against such a figure wasn’t something Peter took lightly either—but just this once, it was unavoidable.
—Peter.
—What I believe in… is your kind heart.
The moment he faced his enemy, the anger he had suppressed with faith erupted in an instant.
And it wasn’t ordinary anger—it was primal evil, festering within Peter himself.
“…Forgive me. Forgive me, my God……”
Peter hugged his knees, murmuring with a vacant gaze.
“A child born of evil yearned for light, but no matter how it struggled, it was still evil.”
“Those born of light never longed for evil.”
“But in the descent of a single small light, the darkness… was no longer darkness…”
—Remember this, Peter.
—True peace begins with forgiving your enemy.
Ria,
I haven’t forgotten your words, but…
“I still… can’t forgive.”
Tears trickled down his face.
But ironically—
“I… can’t forgive.”
Peter’s expression was radiant with innocence.
