Episode 275
As Zeke hesitated, Simon shouted again, his voice booming.
“Shoot! Now!”
Zeke’s hand, gripping the crossbow, trembled violently.
Simon kicked Zeke’s leg, sending him sprawling to the ground with a thud.
Simon picked up the fallen crossbow and aimed it at Zeke.
“If you don’t shoot, you’re the one who dies.”
Slowly, Zeke got to his feet and took the crossbow back from Simon. He turned and aimed it at the man shielding the child.
He fired.
Thwack!
The bolt missed its mark, embedding itself in the ground beside the man. His shaking hands had thrown off his aim.
Zeke reloaded the crossbow, his hands still trembling.
He tried to steady himself, aiming once more for the man’s head.
Then he heard it.
“P-please, spare us…”
The child, clinging to the man, pleaded with Zeke, their voice quivering with fear.
The child was innocent.
It was only because the soma production plant was in this village.
Zeke fired the crossbow again.
Thwack!
The bolt struck deep into the man’s shoulder, the one protecting the child.
The child cried out, wrapping their arms around the man.
“Please, don’t shoot! Spare us!”
Tears streamed down Zeke’s face.
A scene he never wanted to witness again.
He felt his sense of self crumbling, his mind unraveling.
Simon shouted once more.
“If you don’t kill him, you’ll die! Do it now!”
Zeke aimed at the crying child, his hands shaking.
This scene haunted his nightmares.
In that place, Zeke had killed everyone to survive, burning the village to erase the evidence.
He had faithfully followed Don Juan’s orders, becoming his hound, staining his hands with the blood of countless innocents.
He bit down hard, tasting blood in his mouth.
Looking at the trembling child, Zeke spoke slowly.
”…I can change it.”
Simon yelled from behind.
“What are you babbling about? Shoot!”
In a flash, Zeke turned, aiming the crossbow at Simon.
“I can change it back!”
Zeke fired at Simon.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
The bolts struck Simon, making him stagger backward.
Zeke dropped the crossbow and drew a dagger from his belt.
He approached the crying child, dagger in hand.
“This time, I won’t let such a tragedy happen.”
Simon, hit by the arrows, shouted to his men.
“Kill him!”
The soldiers surrounded Zeke.
Each one was a key member of the McCain cartel’s forces.
Zeke spoke to the child, holding the dagger.
“Stay close to me.”
The child clung to Zeke, sobbing.
“I-I want to live… I want to live.”
Zeke embraced the child.
“Don’t worry. I’ll protect you.”
The soldiers closed in on Zeke, raising their crossbows. They began firing from all directions.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Zeke shielded the child with his body, taking the arrows in his back.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
He grunted in pain, holding the child tighter.
The child cried out, tears streaming down their face.
“No, no, please!”
Zeke looked at the child, a faint smile on his lips.
“I’m… I’m okay.”
He rolled to the side, clutching the child, and began to run toward the forest, away from the soldiers.
In reality, he would never have escaped, but because he acted differently than in his past life, he managed to flee.
“Huff, huff!”
Zeke, carrying the child, tried to escape through the forest.
With each step, the arrows in his back pierced deeper into his lungs.
Cough!
He spat blood but kept running.
After running for a while, when the soldiers were no longer in sight, Zeke set the child down and collapsed to his knees.
”…Go.”
The child clung to Zeke’s arm, crying.
“Come, come with me!”
“It’s too late for me. Go, quickly.”
Zeke patted the child’s head with his bloodied hand.
The child looked at Zeke with tear-filled eyes.
Zeke coughed up more blood.
The child cried harder, hugging Zeke tightly.
Zeke moved slowly to embrace the child one last time.
But then—
Thud!
A sharp pain erupted in Zeke’s stomach.
“Ugh…”
The child had taken the dagger from Zeke’s belt and stabbed him.
Zeke looked at the child in disbelief.
“Wh-why…”
The child, who had been sobbing, glared at him with hatred.
“Why did you kill my dad? Why! Why!”
The child’s sharp voice pierced Zeke’s ears. He reached out to the child, trembling.
“I-I wanted to change… to change it…”
The child slowly drove the dagger into Zeke’s heart.
“You can’t change anything.”
The child’s expression shifted completely.
Zeke’s eyes fluttered, then went slack, losing focus.
The child, confirming Zeke’s end, wiped their bloody hands and stood up.
“Persistent fool. I’ve never seen a human with such strong willpower.”
Usually, when humans were drawn into his illusions, they quickly forgot who they were, lost in the reality-like dream.
But this Zeke, his mental defenses were so strong that no matter how intense the illusion, he resisted fiercely.
Because of that, the child had to hastily amplify the trauma to ensure the illusion wouldn’t break.
The demon, in the guise of a child, grinned at the fallen Zeke.
“Well, this worked out. With someone this strong, I can use his body for something useful. To manifest my true form in the physical world… The apostles have found something quite interesting…”
Thud!
“Ugh!”
At that moment, Anexi’s dagger pierced the demon’s back.
Chains connected to the dagger wrapped around the demon’s body.
Clang!
Black smoke rose where the chains touched.
Sizzle!
“Aaaargh!”
The demon, caught by the soul-binding spell, reverted to its true form, no longer a child.
Its appearance was androgynous, possessing a beautiful, genderless face.
“Aaaargh!”
The demon looked up in agony, seeing Zeke, who it thought was dead, slowly rising with a dagger in his heart.
The demon stared at Zeke in disbelief.
“H-how?”
Zeke casually pulled the dagger from his heart.
The cheap dagger in his hand transformed into Bahamut.
He approached the chained demon slowly.
“You’ve made quite a mess in my head, haven’t you? High-ranking nightmare demon, Pan.”
Pan was shocked that Zeke knew his name.
“How do you know my name…!”
Zeke continued to approach Pan.
“That’s none of your concern. What’s important is…”
Zeke plunged the heated blade of Bahamut into Pan’s abdomen.
Sizzle!
“Aaaargh!”
Pan screamed in agony, looking at Zeke with disbelief.
“This… this is my illusion. You shouldn’t feel pain here…”
“You based it on my dreams. So technically, this is my domain.”
Pan’s eyes widened in shock at Zeke’s words.
Nightmare demons serve the fallen constellation known as ‘The Dreamer of Endless Dreams.’
Among the many nightmare demons, Pan was a direct subordinate of the constellation, holding a high-ranking position.
Even other high-ranking demons usually couldn’t escape Pan’s labyrinthine illusions, losing their sense of self.
Yet a mere human had broken through Pan’s illusion and subdued him within his own mind.
Zeke slowly infused Pan’s body with the flames of purification.
“What did they discover that allowed a high-ranking demon like you to manifest in the physical world?”
Pan sneered at Zeke.
“Do you think I’d tell you that? You insignificant human…”
Zeke nodded at Pan’s defiance.
“You’re right, it wouldn’t be fun if you gave up so easily. Especially after what you did to me.”
Suddenly, flames of purification flared around Pan.
Seeing the holy flames burn fiercely, Pan’s face turned pale.
“W-what are you going to do!”
Zeke set Bahamut aside and drew Anexi’s dagger.
He wrapped the chains around Pan’s mouth, silencing him.
“Mmmph!”
Pan struggled, trying to escape, but it was futile.
Zeke, holding the dagger heated by the holy flames, looked at Pan.
“Don’t worry, you won’t die. I’ll take my time making you suffer.”
“Mmmph!”
Hours passed as Zeke stood motionless before the altar.
Richmond paced anxiously, glancing at Zeke.
“Ugh, why is he just standing there without any reaction? Should I really take him out of here?”
Richmond found himself at a loss, unable to act without Zeke’s command.
Just then, a brilliant white light burst forth from Zeke’s body.
“What the—?”
Startled, Richmond stumbled backward, trying to avoid the light.
Zeke, who had been unresponsive until now, suddenly opened his eyes wide.
A crackling sound filled the air as black smoke began to pour from Zeke’s body.
At the same time, the ring of Solomon on Zeke’s finger started to glow with a golden light.
A message appeared before Zeke’s eyes as he regained his senses.
[You have sealed the high-ranking demon, Nightmare ‘Pan,’ within the Ring of Solomon.]
[You can use the unique ability ‘Illusion Realm’ of Nightmare ‘Pan’ once a day.]
Zeke had interrogated Pan in his mental realm before sealing him within the Ring of Solomon. It seemed the ring could only seal high-ranking demons.
Examining the ring on his finger, Zeke noticed unfamiliar symbols etched into its surface.
[That is the seal representing Pan,] Arataso informed Zeke.
‘Do all high-ranking demons have such seals?’ Zeke wondered.
[Yes, most high-ranking demons are avatars of the constellations. They are granted these individual seals because they can directly wield the power of the constellations.]
Zeke nodded at Arataso’s explanation.
At that moment, Richmond, who had been avoiding the light, rushed over to Zeke.
“Master!”
Richmond clung to Zeke, his face a picture of distress.
“What happened? You were just standing there for so long, I was worried!”
“The apostle managed to manifest a high-ranking demon in the physical realm,” Zeke explained.
Richmond’s eyes widened in shock.
“A high-ranking demon’s manifestation? Is that even possible?”
Zeke nodded in response to Richmond’s disbelief.
“Yes, it seems the abyssal ones have found a way.”
Through his interrogation of Pan, Zeke had uncovered quite a bit of information. He learned that such ritual sites existed across the continent and how they managed to manifest high-ranking demons into the physical realm.
“Richmond, have you ever heard of something called a Bloodstone?”
Richmond’s eyes widened further.
“A B-Bloodstone?”
“Yes. They claimed to have found a way to use Bloodstones to manifest high-ranking demons.”
Richmond’s eyes trembled as he muttered to himself.
“Did Bloodstones have such a function?”
Noticing Richmond’s reaction, Zeke asked, “Do you know something about Bloodstones?”
Richmond nodded slowly.
“Yes, I do… but Bloodstones occur naturally only under very specific conditions, making them nearly impossible to obtain.”
Richmond continued to explain.
“When the blood of those who died harboring deep grudges seeps into a Fairy Stone over a long period, it turns blood-red, and that’s what we call a Bloodstone.”
“A grudge embedded in a Fairy Stone, you say.”
“Yes, naturally occurring Bloodstones are usually formed when wounded monsters die near a Fairy Stone, and their blood seeps in, but the chances of this happening are extremely low.”
“Then there wouldn’t be enough to use for a summoning…”
Richmond hesitated before speaking quietly.
“Well, actually, Master… there is a way to artificially create Bloodstones.”
“You can make Bloodstones? Is this something all dark mages can do?”
Richmond shook his head vigorously.
“No, no! It’s such a complex process that hardly anyone can do it, and the method itself has never been publicly disclosed.”
Zeke tilted his head in curiosity.
“Then how do you know about it?”
Richmond scratched his cheek sheepishly.
“Well, you see, I actually developed the method myself. Hehe.”