Episode 112. A traitor to humanity.
Blight Cradle.
It was a name Marcus could never forget.
He was his own brother, and although weak, he was intelligent, and his talent was recognized by the royal family, who even appointed him as his exclusive scholar.
He admired his intelligent older brother.
At one point, he even considered his older brother, who influenced the entire country with his intelligence, to be his savior.
But why… ….
“Why did you appear in front of me like that?”
What on earth happened to him in his home country while he was away?
What kind of end did he experience in his country, which had been ruined by a plague, that brought him back to life with the regrets of his life and made him appear before me as a traitor to humanity?
“… “To say something like this is saying too much.”
The voice that comes out from the neck that I beheaded because I couldn’t overcome that person.
What was leaking from the ugly head, which no longer had a human form, was that of my older brother, whom I had not forgotten even after half a century had passed.
“Marcus, although my path is different from yours, I still clearly remember that you are my brother… ….”
“Shut your mouth, you are just a monster who hogged my brother’s body. “Don’t insult my brother’s death any more!!”
It was obvious.
From Noble mtl dot com
Undead are simply ‘replicas’ built on the most intense lingering memories among the corpse’s memories.
Even records written by human hands are distorted, but what is different about my brother who was revived by the hand of the disaster called the Corpse Lord?
“…… This was supposed to be a touching brotherly reunion after a long time. “Is it too much to expect understanding from my beloved younger brother, as he is still alive?”
Suddenly, the tentacles protruding from the neck begin to merge with my fallen body.
A bizarre thing that you would never think an ordinary person would do.
Marcus, horrified that this was done through his brother’s body, quickly raised his sword and threatened him.
“Don’t move!!”
“Wow~ Calm down, little brother. “To begin with, this is nothing more than an alter ego, so if you get scared like that, your lifespan will shorten faster?”
As the provocative words continued, the sword pointed at him trembled.
An alter ego. Wasn’t the reason you came here to punish the leader who leads this place?
If the reason for sending the self-immolation is not to kill it, then for what purpose?
“…… Why.”
Despite being appointed head of the military responsible for the future of humanity.
To a being who has been elevated to the level of a disaster like this one, even that seems insignificant?
“What happened in the country that turned you into that kind of person? You used to be… ….”
“He was a weak, weak-willed man who knew nothing but books. At the same time, like you, he was also a loyal vassal who only knew his master.”
Even if he was an alter ego, the basis of it was my older brother.
Blight quietly gave an answer in a bitter voice to his younger brother, who was trying to find a way to understand the current situation from such a foundation.
“The reason I took a different path from you is simply because I realized one thing.”
“Enlightenment, what…?” ….”
“In the end, all living beings turn to dust… …. Nevertheless, all living things instinctively understand that this world will continue on even after they leave, so they feel fear and avoid danger, feel desire and want to grow, and ultimately leave behind descendants.”
It was a statement that made me feel nostalgic.
Even though his head was rotten, his foundation was clearly an intelligent older brother.
“But despite this natural law, this world is full of things that are too absurd for life. “No matter how hard you work, being wiped out by natural disasters is common. How can you be sure that your trace will be left on this world by being faithful to your instincts?”
“… Are you saying that you participated in this out of your own will?”
“Yes, I am also a loyal vassal who joined the second lord’s ideals of my own will.”
A smile drawn on a beak-like mouth.
Despite its appearance being grotesquely different from that of a human, I could immediately understand that what was drawn on its mouth was a confident smile.
“He said this. If we are all destined to disappear into destruction in the end, shouldn’t we make the tombstones that remain after destruction strong? “Isn’t it truly the calling of those facing destruction to enable more people to leave such traces?”
That was the ultimate future pursued by the dead.
If you cannot resist despair, try to hasten the time when you melt into it and leave at least a trace.
“Is that something that had to be accomplished even by trampling on the living?!”
Never, never.
A hopeless future that those still alive cannot participate in.
“If the ideals are the same, we can find a compromise without fighting, but Marcus, if you experienced the times of war, you would understand, right? “The way of the world is that if you can’t compromise, you have no choice but to fight.”
Yes, in the end, if we can’t be together, we have to fight.
That was the reason why I went out of my way to recognize my old brother and come to see him in a place where I could just sweep away.
“So I don’t blame you. So don’t blame me either. Even if the future that unfolds before you is not what you want, that is the way the world is…….”
One of the lingering regrets of the dead man named Blight Cradle.
Because of my ‘last worry as a brother’ that I hope that my younger brother’s end may be a little less unfair, which may come true here.
“Captain, are you okay!?”
“There is a white knight over there! Holy Knights! “Punish that guy with divine power!!”
Following this, soldiers storm into the scene. They were priests who possessed the divine power to resist the plague, as they came to kill the infected people around them.
But Blight’s alter ego has already lost consciousness after saying its last words.
Marcus, who felt helpless as he looked down at him, gritted his teeth and quickly turned his attention to his subordinates who had come to see him.
“Captain, I’m glad you’re safe, but there’s no time to delay here.”
“Soon, infected people will come here too. First, take refuge in the west, where the priests are gathered, and then reorganize… ….”
“Send the warriors guarding the northern wall to the deepest part of the excavation site immediately!”
Marcus shouts urgently at the soldiers who are trying to protect him.
The soldiers hesitated at his roar and began to quickly turn to look at him.
“Bringing the heroes to the deepest depths…… ? “Aren’t you saying this isn’t a settlement here?”
“There is nothing we can do about those who have already been infected and died, but we alone will be able to prevent the damage that is happening here right now!”
Even though I was facing my brother, it was a decision I made while maintaining my cool in the end.
In fact, Blight only has a small number of his troops that he has ambushed for his secret raid, and even if that small number spreads the infected people, if they keep their distance and receive help from the priests, the secondary spread can be prevented.
Nevertheless, the reason why Blight stopped by sweeping the garrison area without mobilizing additional troops was likely to be for ‘disturbance’, which was one of the initially anticipated purposes.
‘It is not simply waiting for the enemy knight to enter. Aside from that, the troops mobilized by both sides to attack this place were very small…… !’
If no additional troops are mobilized, this means that the opponent’s goal is not to annihilate this place, but to invade the inside and quickly approach the target.
And there is only one place in this country that can be such a target.
“The White Knight’s goal must be the dragon’s heart! “We must send warriors there immediately to stop it!”
Heart of the dragon. Among the remains of dragons that have withstood the passage of time, this is a place that still contains enormous energy.
After the Empire recognized its existence, it was excavated as a top priority and prepared to be transported to the Empire in the near future.
As the roads leading there are all open, it would not be difficult to break inside if there is a disturbance like now.
‘Currently, the three warriors are somehow blocking the Red Knights. Even if it is fatal to a large army, if it is a white knight whose combat power is relatively weak compared to other knights, a small number of elite troops can be enough to deal with it… !’
Among the warriors, there are priests who can fight against the plague.
So, if they enter the deepest part and take care of business while risking their lives to resolve the problem at the garrison, they will be able to somehow block their purpose.
“Well, that…” ….”
However, only confusion appeared on the faces of the soldiers who heard the instructions.
Afterwards, they looked at each other carefully and reluctantly delivered undesirable news to Marcus.
“Not a single warrior responded to the call to head to the northern defense line, which was the initial order.”
“… What?”
“It is literally so. “It was late to report because there was a sudden surprise attack, but the identities of the warriors who were supposed to head north are currently unclear.”
“What on earth does that mean! How can you be so late in this situation…….”
“Captain! “It’s an emergency!”
A soldier quickly runs toward Marcus, who is furious.
He quickly crossed through the undead and tried to deliver a report to the corps commander even though his life was in danger.
“Currently, to the deepest part of the excavation site… …. “The guards guarding the path to the Dragon’s Heart have been found murdered!”
“Murder, what on earth…?” ….”
Murder. This is an expression that should not be used if the opponent is undead.
The beings killed by them come back to life as dead and turn into enemies.
In a situation where an ally turns into an enemy, it would be absurd to use the expression murder.
“Betrayal… ….”
Still, there is one reason for using that expression.
Because something happened that could not be compared to the invasion of the dead.
“Except for the three warriors guarding the east, the remaining warriors collectively betrayed us in order to recapture the dragon’s heart!”
A situation where the hopes of humanity join together and betray.
This is because it happened at a desperate moment.
****
At the same time, a passage leading to the deepest part of the excavation site.
While the garrison area was being overrun by infected people and joining the inside was delayed, two spores containing magical power flew towards Blight who was wandering the passage.
Both of them are vectors of the disease that was planted in their alter egos.
He accepted such a medium into his body and was able to indirectly experience the memories of what his alter egos experienced.
“Hmm, okay. “Is that what happened?”
The alter ego that was attached to the enemy knight, and the alter ego that was sent to the commander leading this garrison area for the purpose of provocation.
Of the two, the one that Blight cared more about was his younger sister, who ironically became one of the mainstays of humanity rather than the princess of the kingdom he served.
“If I had just gone somewhere and stayed as a guest, we wouldn’t have had to fight, but in the end, it ended up like this.”
It was unfortunate.
Their ideals must be pursued reluctantly in a fallen world, but the instincts of the living will never allow them to understand them.
“… Well, I’m sure Marcus will understand later. “Even in a world like this, everyone has no choice but to rely on Woohyo to leave something behind.”
Yeah, Blight at least didn’t think he was corrupted.
The royal family, which was so prosperous, collapsed overnight due to a plague, but wouldn’t it be meaningless for a mere human to fight against such a natural disaster?
So, in order to leave even a trace of his life, he will have no choice but to rely on the name engraved in his head.
By spreading the name of Woo Hyo-seong, a stone scholar whom I have never met in person…….
“… What? Wait for a sec. “I don’t think this is right?”
Blight, who sensed that the stream of consciousness had been derailed at some point, burst into laughter as his mind was soon corrected.
No matter how long it’s been since my brain rotted, I can’t believe that even my mission is being buried by a name that comes to mind more clearly than such lingering memories.
“Phew, it is an entity that is endlessly engraved in the memory of the dead… If it weren’t for something like this, I would have personally looked for it.”
It’s just a minor curiosity, but once this incident is over, I’d like to meet the person who is the origin of that name.
Putting those thoughts aside, Blight took the time to look around the center of the passage to focus on his calling.
“Well, he was ambitious and succeeded in getting into the deepest part… ….”
There were close to ten corpses covered in beautiful and expensive equipment scattered on the floor.
I could tell just by looking at their appearance that they were different from ordinary soldiers and adventurers.
These are the people called heroes who are the hope of humanity.
“Why are all the people here wiped out?”
The sight of such heroes lying dead all over this place was something that Blight found very surprising.
He made his own determination and entered the middle of enemy territory alone, but the heroes he thought would track him down were found dead before him.
‘It could not have been possible that a force different from us came in and made a surprise attack… …. No, that’s not it.’
Blight compares the weapons held in their corpses with the corpses.
Just by looking at the matching scars, it was not difficult to infer that it was none other than ‘each other’ who had caused this incident.
Not only did the warriors who thought they would pursue them come here before, but they also came to this place and even killed each other.
Could it be that those who wanted the dragon’s heart not only betrayed humanity, but also betrayed their comrades who participated in the betrayal in order to monopolize the heart?
-Pow!!!
As soon as you start to think about such a possibility, a lump of energy bursts out from a remote part of the cave.
Blight’s mask collided with him and was cruelly shattered, revealing a grotesquely distorted face in front of the opponent.
“… hehehe, would you like to see this?”
And Blight also recognized the other person.
Blight, who realized that the one who attacked him was the hero who created this situation, immediately revealed his displeasure towards the opponent with his eyes flashing.
“I thought what would happen here would be a fight between the living and the dead… ….”
“Why does a mosquito suddenly come in and hit the candle?”
Among the heroes who receive support from the leadership of humanity, there was a hero who had awakened as a ‘vampire’ hiding there.
Isn’t it obvious why all the warriors are foolish?
i don’t know which one is atacking and defending anymore