“Rain!! Get a hold of yourself!”
Rain collapsed, overwhelmed by excruciating burning pain.
“Uaaagh… No…!”
The viscount, having lost the source of his power, began to disintegrate.
“Please!! Just one more chance…!”
But it was already too late—half of his torso had been obliterated.
His body rapidly crumbled into dust, scattering into the air.
Before long—
“This… This can’t be the end….”
With a final, despair-filled scream, the viscount’s existence was completely erased.
“What a persistent bastard.”
“Is it over?”
And at the same time, the white spikes that had erupted around him crumbled away into nothingness.
“The, the Apostle…!”
“Damn it! Fall back!”
“Everyone, retreat!”
With the fall of the Viscount, an Apostle of the Devils, the once-frenzied devil worshippers abruptly abandoned their assault and retreated.
“Hey, newbie, you still alive?”
Now that the threat had passed, the knights gathered around Rain.
“What about the wounded?”
“Four in total, including the newbie.”
The battle against the Viscount, along with the clash against the enhanced devil worshippers, had taken its toll.
The knights had suffered injuries, though none were life-threatening.
“Everyone else has minor wounds.”
“But this guy… just looking at him, he’s in bad shape.”
Of all those present, Rain had taken the heaviest hit.
But that wasn’t surprising—he had been half-dead even before this battle began.
“This crazy bastard….”
And even after all that, he had pushed himself beyond his limits.
Then, at the very end, that bizarre phenomenon….
“How is he?”
“Uh… it’s serious….”
Sienna stepped forward, carefully examining Rain’s condition.
His wounds had reopened, soaking his bandages until they were completely useless.
Bruises covered his body, and there wasn’t a single unscathed spot left.
“…We need to get him in the carriage.”
“Yeah, that’s our best option.”
And so, with Rain unconscious, they loaded him onto the carriage.
Leaving behind the massive, tree-like form of the fallen devil, the knights hurriedly withdrew from the Viscount’s territory.
*
After escaping the Viscount’s lands—
“…That’s what happened. I’ll call for a healer immediately.”
The Black Wing Knights wasted no time traveling to a nearby count’s territory, where they reported the situation and received medical treatment.
“A devil appeared?! Send word immediately!”
Upon hearing the report, the count swiftly dispatched messages to the surrounding territories and the capital.
“A devil? What nonsense…?”
“Sir Barts himself testified!”
“What?! Sir Barts?!”
The witness was none other than the war hero, Sir Barts.
There was no room for doubt—the news of the devil spread beyond the count’s domain and across the entire kingdom.
“A devil…?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. It appeared in Viscount Bynella’s territory….”
A being thought to exist only in myths.
And now, such a creature had actually appeared—with undeniable proof.
“Summon the ministers and contact the Pope immediately.”
“Yes, Your Majesty…!”
Naturally, the Adel Kingdom found itself in a state of crisis.
The capital, Kaine, was not far from Viscount Bynella’s lands.
A carriage at full speed could cover the distance in just two days.
Thus, with urgency driving them, the kingdom’s high-ranking nobles and key ministers convened at the royal palace, holding discussions deep into the night.
Meanwhile—
At Count Reichen’s estate, the treatment of those wounded in the devil incident continued.
“When… when will he wake up?”
“I… I don’t know either….”
The Black Wing Knights had sustained several injuries in the battle.
Margrave Boyd, upon hearing of the situation, had ordered healers from the capital to be sent to the count’s estate.
“The wounds are fully healed… he should wake up soon….”
While the others were steadily recovering after their treatment, Rain alone remained motionless in his bed.
“He really needs to wake up soon….”
“Yeah… he does….”
Though his injuries had been treated for some time now, Rain had yet to open his eyes.
Sienna and the healer stood over him, their faces filled with concern.
“The newbie still isn’t awake?”
At that moment—
The door to the infirmary opened, and Deline entered, his body still wrapped in bandages.
“No, his condition is good, but…”
“Well, I guess it’s a good time to get some rest.”
Deline, who had been unable to regain his senses after being ambushed by the Viscount, finally came to just before arriving at the Count’s territory.
Fortunately, he had fully recovered without any lasting aftereffects.
“When the newbie wakes up, please pass on my message to him, Healer.”
“What kind of message…?”
“It’s an order from the Lord. Once his treatment is complete, he is to come and receive his reward.”
“Ah, understood.”
“Then we’ll be taking our leave.”
With a devil now standing ominously in the Viscount’s territory, the Black Wing Knights couldn’t afford to rest for long.
After all, now that word had spread, worshippers would likely gather to seek out the devil. To prevent that, they needed to rally all available forces in advance.
“But shouldn’t you be resting longer…?”
“The situation doesn’t allow for it.”
And so, after receiving treatment, the Black Wing Knights departed from the Count’s lands.
Only the healer and Sienna remained in the infirmary, watching over Rain’s condition.
But…
“Why isn’t he waking up…?”
“I… I don’t know either….”
Weeks passed.
“I think it’s time for me to return to the estate.”
“Uh… what about Rain?”
“…Please keep a close eye on him.”
Even after months, Rain still did not wake.
**
When I opened my eyes, I found myself standing in a strange place.
“Where is this…?”
Towering trees, the likes of which I had never seen before, stood densely packed around me.
The dim light filtering through the gaps between the trees created an eerie atmosphere.
Chiiiik—!!
A shallow layer of acidity coated the ground, yet despite being barefoot, I felt no pain.
Was this a dream? No, it was far too vivid to be a dream.
I lifted my hands and examined my body.
The last thing I remembered, my entire body had been wrapped in bandages, but now, I was completely naked.
…Regardless of the situation, I needed to find some clothes.
Fwoosh—!
Suddenly, a dark crimson energy swirled around me, and the clothes I usually wore at the Boyd estate materialized over my body.
What is this…?
For a brief moment, I was caught off guard by the unexpected situation.
But then, I felt something familiar about the dark crimson energy I had just seen.
…Viscount?
Yes, this was the same power I had sensed from Viscount—that Devil’s power.
[Your aptitude is quite decent.]
A voice, soft and sweet, echoed inside my mind.
“Who… ah.”
It was a voice so beautiful it felt like a thousand women whispering in my ear.
Yet the first thing that came to mind was the horrifying voice of the devil I had heard before losing consciousness.
[“Horrifying”? How arrogant of you.]
“A devil?”
[Well, among you insects, that is what they call me.]
A devil? A devil, huh…
Then, is this a devil’s domain?
Now that I thought about it, the trees around me, the acidic ground beneath my feet—
Everything resembled the characteristics of that devil.
“What do you want from me?”
It was probably because of that last moment.
Yes, the red gemstone embedded in Viscount—
The power that had seeped out of it.
[Become my Apostle, beast. Serve me.]
That was likely the reason this was happening.
Nothing else seemed to make sense.
“Apostle…?”
[It means becoming my loyal servant. If you do, I shall grant you the power to wield both destruction and rebirth.]
“I need to know exactly what that means before I—”
[If you wish to know—]
Slash—!
My arm was severed.
“…Let’s just talk this out, okay?”
Even though this was a fabricated space, the searing pain was so intense that my mind nearly went blank.
But I gritted my teeth and endured it, refusing to lose the battle of wills against the devil that dominated this space.
[Destruction… and—]
The devil’s melodic voice echoed in my mind.
[Rebirth.]
Dark crimson energy swirled around the severed part of my arm, and in an instant, it regenerated as if it had never been cut off.
“I get it now….”
[Keeping it simple is best, isn’t it?]
…So, I just have to think about what happened with Viscount.
It seems that becoming an Apostle grants power and regenerative abilities.
On top of that, summoning spikes, exuding acid…
Basically, I’d become Viscount 2.0.
“That’s it?”
[What?]
“I mean, I saw Viscount get wrecked by an Aura Master.”
Now that I thought about it, this wasn’t that impressive.
That guy—he became an Apostle and still got absolutely destroyed by the Commander.
[That’s because that insect lacked the talent.]
“If I become an Apostle, will I be able to defeat multiple Aura Masters?”
[That depends on how you use it.]
“…Then I’ll pass.”
Anyone can say, “It depends on you.”
If I became an Apostle, the entire kingdom would be out for my head.
What if Lowell decided to ‘clean up the mess’ himself?
How the hell would I survive then?
[If you serve as my Apostle and consistently offer sacrifices, you will grow stronger.]
“And where exactly am I supposed to find these sacrifices? Do they fall from the sky?”
Even Viscount—who was a noble—got caught and ended up with his head chopped off.
And me?
Yeah, no way.
Besides, capturing random people and offering them as sacrifices?
That’s not something I could ever do.
[So, you refuse to become my Apostle?]
“Yep. Feel free to pass the offer to someone else.”
[Foolish beast.]
But…
It seemed this devil wasn’t planning to take no for an answer.
CRACK—!
The ground beneath me split apart as the familiar spikes and roots shot up toward me.
Thwack!
I swatted away a spike aimed directly at my chest with my bare hand.
BOOM!
Then, a massive root slammed into me, sending me flying.
THUD!
Since the area was dense with trees, I didn’t go far before crashing into one, stopping my momentum.
“Guh…”
Pain rippled through my body—but then, it quickly faded.
“Hah….”
I had definitely broken some bones when I hit the tree, but they healed almost immediately.
Looks like, in this space, no matter how much I get injured, I recover instantly.
[No matter. Training a beast can be quite enjoyable.]
“I don’t mind a bit of training myself.”
[Your spirit is commendable.]
More spikes and roots erupted from the ground.
[So don’t break too quickly.]
And in this dark, damp space, a relentless battle with no escape began.
