◈ 331. [Side Story] Traitors
Lake Kingdom Dungeon Area 5 [Street of Fountains].
After parting with Ash’s party, Nameless was walking quietly in the darkness of the Lake Kingdom.
Except for the [Dry Drainage], the darkness of the nightmare was still sticky and overflowing everywhere, and it didn’t even show any signs of receding.
The nameless face was much brighter.
Is it because I found a ray of hope in this endless darkness?
“You look good, Musong.”
But even that bright face hardened at the sudden voice.
“It’s the brightest face I’ve seen in the past five hundred years. Is there anything good?”
“… .”
He slowly turned his head in the direction where the voice came from.
Black did not pull out. Because I knew who the opponent was.
“… It’s been a while since I’ve seen you here.”
The honor flowed from the mouth of the nameless.
“Crown.”
What appeared from the other side of the dark alley was a man dressed as a clown with a smiling mask. It was a crown.
After staring at his masked face for a while, Moo-myeong slowly took off the hood of his robe and bowed politely.
His corrected title flowed from her lips.
“no… ‘Brother’.”
“… .”
Brother.
The echo of the word was so unfamiliar and heartbreaking that Crown’s shoulders trembled.
– Brother!
Suddenly, in Crown’s eyes, the surrounding scenery was reflected as it was five hundred years ago.
A huge pond with colorful fountains gushing water over it. A beautiful marble walkway laid over it.
When they meet on this road where sunlight hits water droplets and creates a small rainbow, the younger sister pulls back her elegant dress and greets them… … I heard you laughed like petals
“… .”
When I closed and opened my eyes inside the mask, there was no trace of that distant past.
Only fragments of an ugly, carved stone path were left over a blackened, stinking pond.
In the midst of crushed darkness instead of sunlight.
On top of that, her sister, covered in dirt, ash, and blood, wearing a ragged robe and her hair bleached white, stands with a sword on her back.
with an expressionless face.
The affectionate smile of those days did not leave even a trace.
“… .”
It’s a distant, really distant memory.
Now I doubt whether it was just a dream or a real memory.
The princess and the prince of the kingdom that fell into hell stared at each other for a while while standing at a distance.
“… Call me Crown.”
Crown, who fixed the mask, repeated quietly.
“Just as you gained strength by offering your name and soul to the goddess, I also gave my name and soul to the devil to gain strength. It is meaningless to be called by any other title.”
Even though he gained power by burning his own existence and lost his name in return, becoming ‘nameless’.
She did not burn a few memories, but kept them in her hands, including the fact that Crown was her brother.
That fact bothered Crown.
Such an ugly man… … This younger sister is still treated as an older brother.
“… Yes Crown.”
Nameless, who corrected the name as requested by the Crown, looked around.
“Were you walking around here on fisherman business today? Are you here to meet me?”
“no. The roads just coincidentally overlapped.”
Crown shrugged.
“The King of Kings called a royal meeting. However, he entrusted me with the task of passing the convocation order to the commanders of the nightmare corps. So I’m going around and notifying them of the meeting.”
“Oh, it’s a meeting… … .”
The nameless eyes became savage.
A regular meeting between the Demon King and his subordinate monsters, where up to 10th place in the ranks of Nightmare Corps commanders is convened. fishery meeting.
Anonymous, who had a history of breaking into the meeting before, put his hand on the handle of the sword on his back to see if he would do the same this time.
Crown waved his hand in disapproval.
“Are you going to go on a rampage again? Just do that. You cut the capital last time, but they restored it in one morning.”
“… .”
“No matter how much you kill them, the King of Kings will bring them back to life. Do not waste your strength in vain.”
It was the right word, so Musyeong slowly removed his hand from the hilt of the sword. It was a somewhat dissatisfied expression.
Crown spoke.
“Why don’t you stop fighting in vain?”
“… .”
“If you and I work together, we can make things a little better here. Five hundred years is enough… … Didn’t you fight for a long time?”
“Make it better… how do you say So that the people can have a more comfortable nightmare?”
Nameless smirked, but Crown nodded sincerely.
“If the reality is that they rule this kingdom anyway, and if the reality is that all the people of this country are caught in nightmares. okay. It might be better to make you have a more comfortable nightmare.”
“… .”
Moomin shook his head slightly and glanced behind him. It was on the side with the [Dry Drainage] in District 1.
“I asked why you had such a good expression earlier, Crown?”
“… ?”
“Today, for the first time in five hundred years, the Demon King’s territory has shrunk.”
Crown’s face hardened inside the mask. Anonymous spoke.
“This is what Ash did. He has driven a little but surely the nightmarish darkness from this realm.”
“… so?”
“Don’t you know? The beacon of a counterattack has already been raised. Ash proved his ‘qualification’. Maybe this time, this time, I might be able to defeat the demon king without fail.”
“Did you talk about hope just because you took that dusty piece of land away from them? cotton?”
Crown shook his head.
“You have become very weak. Are you tired of waiting for five hundred years?”
“Everything starts with a very small fire. I will keep this fire burning until the end. Crown.”
Anonymous clenched his fists.
“This body is a heap of ashes with nothing more to burn, but even so… I will try walking him.”
“… .”
Crown kept his mouth shut.
Why is Ash the last player?
What kind of ending did this great nation always meet?
He knew, but didn’t say it.
I didn’t want to tarnish the noble will of my sister, who radiated light even in the midst of endless despair.
“You and I are on different paths.”
So he goes this way.
“You go the way you believe is right. I am… .”
With a traitor’s heart befitting filthy mud.
To the filthy slush that befits the heart of a traitor.
“I will continue my own atonement.”
“… Is that so.”
Moo-myeong, who started walking again, passed the crown and continued walking.
The prince and princess of the Lake Kingdom passed each other over the broken stone bridge.
“… .”
Passing by Crown, Moo-myeong tried to remember.
What was that man originally like?
What kind of face was underneath the mask, what kind of smile he had, and what kind of story he said.
But I only remember that that man is my brother.
Memories associated with him could not be recalled.
It has already been burned with firewood… … .
“… Then again next time.”
Moomin murmured softly and walked forward without looking back.
“… .”
Crown’s eyes widened as he glanced back at his sister, as if he had no regrets left.
A red hair tie tied behind her swayed in the middle of her nameless, gray hair.
Suddenly, the scene from five hundred years ago flashed before Crown’s eyes again.
A red hair tie was always tied at the back of her sister’s long, beautifully arranged hair.
“… haha.”
Crown laughed softly before raising his voice.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you tie your hair like that. I used to tie my hair like that often before the kingdom came to this point.”
“… ?”
“It’s nice to see you thinking about the old days. Keep it tied like that.”
And Crown also walked forward.
Anonymous groaned and rubbed the back of his head. I didn’t even realize it, but I caught a red string that someone had tied neatly.
“… When did you tie this?”
I don’t remember getting any hair care here in the past five hundred years.
Moo-myeong, who recalled her memories, eventually ah! It made a sound.
When Jormungandr invaded Inse, he briefly went out to the ground to help repel it.
After that, someone tied me up on the way home from a night’s stay at Ash’s mansion.
So that person… … .
– It was a pleasure for me.
… who was it
My memory is already hazy.
Moo-myeong, who tilted her head, eventually started moving again without hesitation. Where did you lose one or two memories?
The next monster flood is coming soon.
For the sake of Ash and the outside world, one more monster must be killed. She stepped forward to do her duty.
***
Walking down the street, Crown looked down at the list in his hand.
Nightmare Corps Leader.
Originally, it was a name for all monster corps commanders, but at some point the 10 monsters who rule the top 10 corps came to be called this way.
Crown raised his hand and scratched the list with his fingernails. The names of those he had to summon to the royal meeting were listed.
The 10th ranked Goblin God King.
The ninth rank slayer of Full Moonlight.
The eighth-ranked ghost privateer captain.
The 7th rank prostitute.
The 6th ranked Black Spider Queen.
The 5th ranked vampire king.
Rank 4 Lord of Plague.
The third-ranked magician.
The second rank leader of the Demon Guardian Corps.
Rank 1 Black Dragon.
‘Should I be thankful that I’ve already lost three of them?’
9th Lunared.
6th Orlop.
5th place Celendion.
Ash killed the three of them like this.
‘It’s definitely different, but different.’
Ash this time is exceptional. Perhaps it will achieve remarkable results.
But in the end… … Victory belongs to the devil.
Knowing this, Crown gave up resistance and chose to submit to his command.
‘A traitor should do what a traitor can do, younger brother.’
Crown smiled bitterly as he recalled the image of his younger sister, whom he had just broken up with.
‘Please stay virtuous until the very end.’
okay. even just before. Bloom so nobly
anyway in the end.
everyone will fall into darkness
***
same time.
Crossroad Central Prison.
Mason was trying to get an uncomfortable sleep by pushing his huge muscular body into the narrow prison cell.
that buck that buck
The sound of approaching footsteps opened Mason’s eyes slightly.
Before I knew it, a knight in black armor was standing outside the iron bars. A smile spread across Mason’s shaggy mouth.
“Good night, Master Lucas.”
“… Uncle Mason.”
Slowly-
Lucas dragged a chair in front of the iron bars and sat on it, his blue eyes flashing.
“I was thinking about the proposal you gave me… I thought it wasn’t bad.”
Suggestion delivered by Mason.
In other words, a message from Fernandez.
– If you keep the old oath, I will forgive the crimes left in the family, restore the honor, and restore the family’s old fiefdom and property.
The old oath is an oath of allegiance to Fernandez in the name of the family.
“… .”
Lucas, who closed his eyes and recalled his childhood memories for a moment, shot his blue gaze forward again.
It was a cold stare that seemed like it would freeze just by touching it.
“So what exactly do you want me to do?”
A hazy smile spread across Mason’s mouth as he faced such a young master.
