Chapter 76 - The Count’s Domain (6)

Deathshadow spiraled around the city of Veldana and continued underground. Each successive level was narrower than the last, so the third level was necessarily somewhat cramped. Compared to the others, at least. In its own right, it still covered an immense area.

A vast enclosed chamber stretched before Maphel’tan. There were no pillars, doors, or structures of any kind. Only an ashen-gray ceiling and floor extended endlessly into the distance.

An inexplicable emptiness washed over him, as though he were gazing out at a boundless ocean. The sheer vacancy left anyone looking upon it feeling adrift.

Maphel’tan spoke.

“The Heavenly Womb is here?”

One of the believers guiding them answered.

“Yes. The Heavenly Womb lies somewhere in here.”

Ilea looked at him.

“Then please hurry and show us the way.”

The believer watched Maphel’tan warily.

“Someone as lowly as I would never dare set foot on the third level. The moment I touch the floor, Belzarak will take my life.”

The ancient Demon Belzarak. A high-ranking Demon who mocked and debased humans.

Belzarak burrowed into the emotions and memories of others, piecing together what lay deep within to bring his targets to ruin. Any human he targeted would slowly lose their mind and inevitably die.

The moment they entered this chamber, every intelligent being except the Count would become Belzarak’s prey. The Fell God Society’s believers were no exception. No one here could escape his gaze.

At the believer’s reluctance to enter the third level, the corners of Maphel’tan’s mouth lifted.

“Take your life, will he? I am most curious to see how.”

He seized the back of the believer’s head.

“W-wait! O End!”

“Let us have a look.”

Maphel’tan hurled him into the chamber. The remaining believers recoiled in alarm.

Now on the third level’s floor, the believer cried out in terror.

“I-I have to get out! Now!”

He began scrambling back toward Maphel’tan.

“Help me! Please...”

At that moment, he stopped dead. His terror-filled eyes began turning pitch-black. Maphel’tan watched with interest.

Ilea murmured,

“Belzarak has possessed him already.”

The believer sprang to his feet and began muttering to himself in a strange tongue. Maphel’tan spoke.

“Watch closely. That is how he controls humans.”

Ilea’s eyes turned blue. She was studying Belzarak’s power in detail. Since they were about to face him, she needed to find a weakness beforehand.

She nodded.

“He tampers with their minds until they go mad.”

Just as she said, the believer was running about like a madman, screaming and clawing at his own neck. Even when the skin peeled away and red blood seeped out, he did not stop.

Maphel’tan said,

“Precisely. Belzarak will piece together our memories to show us the worst future we could possibly face.”

Mental powers of this kind tended to lose much of their effectiveness when the target understood them. That was why he had thrown a believer in for them to observe. By now, Ilea would have a general grasp of Belzarak’s abilities.

She spoke.

“If we cannot escape the hallucinations, we will end up taking our own lives. Like that man.”

The believer continued running through the chamber, injuring himself. A long trail of red blood marked his path. By now, he was out of sight. Somewhere in that vast chamber, he would have collapsed and be dying.

Maphel’tan said,

“Our turn now. Before we go, would you like another demonstration?”

As he spoke, he looked at the remaining believers. They backed away, then fled to a man.

Only then did Ilea lower her hood and remove her mask, revealing her doll-like face.

“I would have liked to see it once more, but they have all run away.”

“I can fetch one if you need.”

Ilea studied Maphel’tan quietly before speaking.

“Maphel’tan, you are enjoying this, aren’t you?”

He had already taken dozens of lives in Deathshadow. Just now, he had sent another human to his death without a second thought. The man who had once struggled with guilt was nowhere to be found.

Maphel’tan shrugged.

“Well, I will not deny it.”

He was certainly taking pleasure in murder. Since those who died were evil, he felt not the slightest guilt.

Ilea said,

“A little amusement is fine, but do not get too caught up in it. One day, you might cross a line.”

Maphel’tan nodded.

“I am aware. Do not worry.”

Ilea smiled gently.

“Good. Shall we get going, then?”

By now, the Count would have learned what had happened in Deathshadow. He was probably rushing straight here. Maphel’tan had no more time to waste. He had to seize the Heavenly Womb as quickly as possible.

He stepped forward, into the ashen-gray chamber.

* * *

Kim Yohan, thirty-one years old. He had lived through the most turbulent age in Earth’s long history.

In the year of his birth, a sinkhole called the Labyrinth appeared on Earth. It teemed with mysteries and resources that had never existed on the planet before. Those new discoveries allowed Earth’s civilization to take a leap forward.

Science and magical engineering came together. Life became far more prosperous, and human lifespans increased exponentially. With every level of the Labyrinth conquered, humanity made another enormous advance. Everything in plain sight took on a brilliant sheen.

It was a different story where no one looked. The brighter the world shone, the longer the shadows stretched in its dark corners.

Yohan’s parents died during the Cataclysm. He had been an orphan from birth. The Labyrinth, hailed as a blessing from God, was nothing but a curse to him.

He received none of the benefits the Labyrinth offered. Even awakening, something most people in the modern age supposedly experienced, was a distant dream to him. Contempt and ridicule followed him everywhere.

An unawakened orphan. His life was an unhappy one, but Yohan did not let it bother him. He had one strength: unwavering perseverance and will.

He lived each day for the younger children at the orphanage, finding meaning in caring for them. Though circumstances were difficult, his heart was always full. Raising even one of them well was worth more than any fortune.

Every so often, one of them would awaken and repay his kindness. His life grew steadily more comfortable, until he found himself in the brilliant sunlight. In his own way, he had made a success of his life. Amid all the injustice, he had found his own path.

Yohan loved Earth. He wanted to go back. He missed the children he had raised. He believed those feelings were sincere.

The sight before him denied that belief.

Beneath a shadow hanging in the sky, the world howled. Skyscrapers burned, and people screamed. Rivers and seas turned red with blood. Entrails and chunks of flesh hung throughout the city.

Civilization was being destroyed. Wailing filled heaven and earth. Countless Demons ravaged the land.

At their center was Maphel’tan. High, high above, he burst into wild laughter.

“Weep more! Tell me with your tears how it feels to be trampled! Those mouths that once spat contempt and ridicule now beg for their lives!”

Terrible resentment and malice echoed across the Earth. Maphel’tan reveled in ecstasy. No one on the planet could stop the apocalypse.

As he basked in his overwhelming power, a streak of blue light raced toward him. He clicked his tongue.

“What a paltry effort.”

At a snap of his fingers, pitch-black chains descended from the sky and snatched up the approaching light. A man struggled, bound in midair.

“You filthy Demon bastard! Let me go! Now!”

He stared straight at Maphel’tan, defying the stature of a being who had transcended heaven. Maphel’tan found it displeasing.

He spoke in a chilling voice.

“Impudent mortal. I shall grant you suffering worse than death.”

Maphel’tan swept an arm through the air. The man’s clothes vanished like dust. Just as he was about to begin the torture, he froze.

He had seen the tattoo on the man’s body. Countless names were inscribed in crooked, uneven lettering.

───Green Sprout Home────

Kim Yohan, Kim Dawit, Kim Daon, Kim Samuel, Kim Enok, Kim Elijah... and so on. A long list of Christian-style names.

Old memories suddenly began creeping back.

[“Yosep, I told you not to get tattoos. You’ll regret it someday.”]

[“Why? They’re our family’s names. Yours is first, Yohan. When I make it big, you’re the first one I’ll look after. Just wait.”]

[“Ugh, you little knucklehead. When are you going to grow up?”]

[“Pfft. You say that, but I know you like it. I still need to get the other kids’ names done, so you’re on dish duty today.”]

The image of the boy walking off after those words flickered before his eyes. Looking slightly dazed, Maphel’tan stared at the man.

“Knucklehead? Is that you?”

The man struggling against his chains went a little still.

“... What did you say?”

There was only one person in the world who called him, an elite awakener, Knucklehead. Kim Yohan. His big brother, and no one else.

Maphel’tan suddenly clutched his head.

“W-why am I...”

All of this was a hallucination. Yes, he already knew that. Only one thing puzzled him.

Why was he seeing a future like this?

Belzarak’s hallucinations were created by combining an intelligent being’s memories and psyche. He dredged up only the ugliest parts from the deepest recesses of the heart and stitched the fragments together. In other words, the scene before the target bore some relation to their desires.

Yohan had secretly hated the world. He had found his own reasons to live, but there had always been an emptiness he could not fill. In the end, he was a useless human being. To keep himself from falling apart, he had needed something to immerse himself in.

His devotion to the younger children had ultimately been a means of protecting himself. Terrible self-loathing washed over him.

'In the end, I was nothing but vermin too.'

Humans often broke when confronted with their own ugliness. This situation had not affected Maphel’tan to that extent, but it would leave a scratch on his heart. If wounds like it kept piling up, one day they would fester and burst. For now, all he could do was resolve to stay vigilant.

Maphel’tan pulled himself together and spoke.

“It was good to see you again, Knucklehead. I must be going.”

To wake from the hallucination, he had to find Belzarak.

“Who are you? Who the hell are you to keep calling me that?”

As the man finished speaking, a familiar voice came from overhead.

“Maphel’tan, what is all this?”

Maphel’tan looked higher into the sky. Ilea was quietly staring down at the ground. Slightly flustered, he said,

“How are you here?”

“I do not know either. When I woke up, I was here. More importantly, where in the world are we?”

Everything below was alien to her. It would be a civilization unlike any she had seen in her life. Maphel’tan had no idea how to explain it.