The magical lamps illuminating the night streets flowed like waves and disappeared behind. The light was so intense it left afterimages. The sound of the wind rang in his ears like the sharpening of a blade. Yet, amidst the chaos, there was one sound that stood out clearly—
[Come.]
A single sentence. A chilling, sticky sound, like the flapping of dozens of flies, buzzed in his ears. It grew louder and stronger.
[Come, Inquisition Officer. Come to your death. If you wish to call your death a martyrdom, so be it. If all you desire is your own death, how noble and humble a stance that is.]
The auditory hallucinations overlapped, forming a sound. The sound, with its incantation-like rhythm, gradually intertwined with noise. The flickering magical lamps, the rough flapping of insect wings, the pale mist, and the tightening grip of the enemy……
A spell. A vile, sticky spell. His senses tangled, the ground twisted, and his sense of direction slowly faded.
But the one running through that place was Diemonica.
-Wham!
Fernandez slashed through the air while running. Beyond the pale mist where nothing seemed to exist, he felt the blade cutting through flesh.
The sound of tearing skin and crushing bones echoed. Soon, the hidden figure in the air was torn into pieces and scattered. The creature would revive soon, but it didn’t matter. By then, Fernandez had already covered over five meters.
His breath grew heavy. It wasn’t a matter of lung capacity. The poison mist and the spell were stealing his breath. But his body was not that of an ordinary human.
No, it was human. It was the pinnacle of humanity. A being infinitely close to the limits of what humans could achieve.
Perhaps, one day, a species that had endured without extinction might reach it. The essence of ‘possibility.’ The pinnacle of chance, miracles, and evolution. Diemonica, forged over eons, was the blessing of the gods—
-Crunch, crunch, crunch!
Diemonica, even in the deepest abyss of despair, stood firm on the ground, gazing at the sky, trudging through the mire. A symbol of human will.
-Wham!
Flesh rained down. Fernandez, expressionless, swung his blade relentlessly. Sometimes from above, sometimes from the side, sometimes from the shadows beneath his feet, demons sprang forth.
Had he looked back, he would have seen a path paved with flesh and demons. A road of blood and death. A cruel, sticky path, as if a slice of hell had been manifested into the material world.
‘Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the world. Not peace, but a sword.’
He whispered the scripture of the Inquisition Office. It is not you, but my flock. You shall be the shepherd who wields the sword at the forefront……
“A torch that lights the dark night, a sentinel against evil, a cross that illuminates the rough seas!”
Shaking off his heavy breath, tearing through his lungs!
“Fear me. I am the sheep of the righteous, the dragon to the wicked.”
His steps did not stop. One more step forward. Forward. Toward the depths of hell that had descended upon Paltennoia.
“As the night deepens, the lamp burns brighter. We have not come for peace, but with a sword. Fear me.”
As more demons surged, the movements of his blade became more intricate. At some point, his sword strikes were no longer just about taking lives. Each strike carved patterns in the air.
One stroke, and then another over it. The trajectory of his blade, swung while running, resembled that of a beastman.
“Our name is flame!”
With the final stroke, Fernandez roared. The three elements of divine incantation are origin, prayer, and miracle. Fernandez spun his greatsword and sheathed it, almost simultaneously drawing another sword from his back.
A pure white light ignited along the blade. A divine radiance so intense it could burn souls.
The demon’s poison running through his veins burned away in an instant. A terrible pain wracked his body, and his eyes filled with blood, tears of blood streaming down.
-Slash!
He slashed down. A heavy recoil, as if tearing the world apart, shook his grip, nearly causing him to drop the sword. But through that gap, he pressed forward—
[Impressive.]
A whisper reached him. Fernandez, with bloodshot eyes, looked ahead. Before him, hell unfolded.
Hot air rushed in. Fernandez knew his reddened vision wasn’t just from the blood streaking across his cheek.
The emperor’s forbidden zone, hidden by barriers and illusion spells. This place was……
-Ugh……
-Gasp……
A laboratory. A laboratory directly operated by Nehalipixi. A massive incubator cultivating only pain and despair.
Horrifying bodies, so ghastly they might as well be corpses, were scattered everywhere. Those walking among them, jotting something on charts and occasionally stimulating the test subjects, all turned their heads toward Fernandez at the same time.
Pale, wax-like humans in white coats stained with blood and pus. They stared at Fernandez with glassy, emotionless eyes.
“You’re the first to tear through the barrier and enter.”
Their mouths opened, and the same voice echoed simultaneously. Fernandez caught his breath.
