In the beginning, there was light.
From that light, ‘Arus’ was conceived, and this is the beginning of the world. And as the light disappeared from the place where Arus was born, for the first time, darkness appeared.
What was born from that darkness is indeed ‘Omeros.’
When Heaven and Earth were created, Omeros wanted to create the world instead of Arus. However, all he could create was a lump of clay, and it was only when Arus breathed life into it that it finally became living.
Thus, Omeros began to envy and despise Arus.
With a false tongue, he deceived Arus, plucking out Eyes and Liver, which became the Moon and the Sun.
But darkness cannot overcome light. Arus noticed his malicious plot and expelled him from the heavens, at which point Omeros gnashed his teeth and shouted.
“The world began with light, so its end will be darkness!”
The Heaven and Earth that Omeros disappeared into were peaceful, as if they were paradise. There were no wars, diseases, or death, and all life frolicked according to Arus’s will.
But one day, the first person to question the paradise appeared, and his name was ‘Delphrium.’
The impious one thought.
“Is this truly paradise?”
He considered himself godlike and wished to become like a god. Thus, he dared to abandon the laws of Arus and sought to create the laws of man.
This became the first and foremost sin of humanity.
The ‘proud’ began to shout that they could live in the world alone without relying on anyone. Humanity, detached from God and the world, inevitably became lonely.
Then there came times when they could not bear their lives alone.
Thus was born the first death, ‘suicide.’
*
With a thud, a woman’s head rolls on the ground.
It was a hollow end, unworthy of her dignified appearance. The man who lowered his neck let out a heavy sigh and took a couple of steps back.
His Eyes still bore the marks of deep fatigue. He was about to turn around when he hesitated and cast his gaze down.
Inside the barrier where only darkness existed, even the ground could not be seen. Only the darkness, which obscured everything in front, served as a floor.
Thus, that pure white smile stood out even more.
A twisted horn mocking or pitying the man.
A faint displeasure flickered in his golden Eyes.
“Ha, ‘proud’…”
The man’s complexion distorted slightly as he recalled an unpleasant memory.
Compared to his usual demeanor, which showed no emotions whatsoever, it was clear how much he was upset. But that too was only for a moment.
He immediately wiped away the ripples of emotion that had surfaced on his face. There were still tasks that he had to accomplish, and only after completing every mission could he possibly gain any chance of success.
It was time to shake off lingering attachments and move forward.
If not for the hand that lightly gripped the edge of his garment.
The indifferent golden Eyes quickly scanned the source of that pull. In fact, there were very few beings capable of standing on the ground here, so her identity became clear.
The Great Witch.
At a glance, she appeared to be merely a small girl. The moment she sensed the man’s cold gaze upon her, she flinched as if the gaze were made of ice and quickly withdrew her hand.
Her expression was one of extreme confusion.
“Th-That, just now you said ‘proud’…”
The voice she managed to squeeze out was so cautious.
Sneaking a glance at the man’s mood, she looked like a frightened little creature. After all, a Great Witch would never fear anyone.
It was not the attitude of a weakling before a strong man.
Rather, it seemed like a woman dealing with a lover who was extremely angry.
The atmosphere felt overwhelming. The man, however, turned away without any particular reaction.
“You don’t need to worry about it.”
“But…”
“It’s not a position I desired anyway.”
His tone was firm, implying not to continue the conversation.
Then the Great Witch sank further into dejection. As she kept her melancholic face in silence for a while.
Finally, a long sigh escaped the man’s lips. As if the time spent turning his back without a word was a lie.
“…There was a circumstance. I never intended to betray humanity. Even before, and in the future, I will be humanity’s sword and shield.”
The Great Witch did not respond. She merely stared at the man with vacant eyes.
So his tongue could no longer stop its reckless movements.
“It’s understandable if you doubt me. But at least I hope that the ‘I-an’ of this timeframe is less affected…”
“Worrying about that.”
Had he been the man he once was, what would he have answered?
He would have scoffed and cut it off immediately, questioning when they had ever been close.
The past is the past, and the future is the future.
The man had never forgotten this distinction. Yet, why now?
Perhaps because this is a boundary.
The man’s silent gaze subtly adjusted its angle.
“You don’t need to worry. I’ll take care of that…”
Just then, a sudden snowstorm swept in. The whirlwind, spiraling around the corpse of the vampire, soon turned into a storm that overwhelmed the area with a fierce wail.
The sharp noise tore through the atmosphere, grating on the nerves. Within it, the screams of suffering souls mixed in as well.
Wooooooooooooo-!
At last, a guffaw that resonated through the heavens and the earth rang out.
“Ah hahahahaha! You say you don’t have to worry? Puhaha, ah hahahahaha!”
The moment the man heard that laughter, he pulled the Great Witch to his side. The petite form of the Great Witch was helplessly detained in his arms in the blink of an eye.
And they dashed away.
She made no attempt to struggle. The man spoke just a single line to the dazed Great Witch.
“The Seven Deadly Sins do not die.”
“But the vampire’s essence should be in the Great Forest?!”
To part the howling wind, the Great Witch had to squeeze her lungs. No matter what, the snowstorm began to follow the man and the Great Witch, raining blood droplets like a heavy downpour.
Curiously, it took on a shape resembling a vampire.
It was as if the storm had become an entity. Even the laughter echoing high was similar to the sound of the wind.
“You know, ‘proud’… you understand how your end will look, right? An insignificant ‘Master’ who cannot hold his own mind and is patched together with others will not last long! The end of one who covets the seat of a god is always the same!”
Along with that, blades of blood flew through the air.
The blood, propelled by the wind, compressed so much that it was indistinguishable from solid. In fact, one could say that if we only consider cutting power, it was even superior.
With dozens or even hundreds of blades pouring down in an instant.
No matter how skilled one is, it was difficult to fend off that many blades each time.
It was merely that the man’s strength far exceeded that range.
It seemed the man had anticipated this and quickly drew a sword with one hand.
Then, starlight scattered in the sky.
The Milky Way poured down, cutting through the crimson storm.
“The essence would be so. However, that monster’s body is hardly more than scraps of soul used to create it. Though only 30% remains, now that I’ve regained my strength, I suppose I’ve secured a degree of immortality.”
“Then we must destroy the barrier!”
Understanding the man’s explanation, the Great Witch asked again.
Instead of answering, the man swung the sword once more. At that, the form of the snowstorm that was about to attack him shattered and dispersed.
A pitiful scream broke free.
Kyaaaaaaaaaa-!
“But the core of the barrier remains outside! Are you really trying to escape this barrier? That woman will not stand by!”
“She will act as if she doesn’t. When that woman fully recovers, it will be a very troublesome matter.”
The conversation between the man and the Great Witch was not long. Before they could delve deeper into the topic, the vampire’s laughter rained down upon their eardrums like a downpour.
“Fake, fake, fake… Let me end your destiny! The end that the sin of ‘proud’ is fated to meet, the fall…!”
The swirling snowstorm began to rush forward like a mighty river before dousing the ground. The amorphous monster, with its sticky mouth wide open, resembled a truly disheveled fiend.
It was then that the man suddenly stopped walking.
“I’ll give you one piece of advice…”
With mumbling words, the man turned his body. The transition was as smooth as flowing water, and the posture of taking a step was so clean it could be illustrated in a swordsmanship textbook.
With both hands grasping the sword, he aimed the blade at the peak of the figure whose size exceeded comprehension. Toward the woman who was laughing from there.
Then, he drew a single sword.
It was a simple action of raising and slashing the sword down. However, the wave it invoked was too intense to be merely the result of a mere cutting motion.
Pak!
No more sound was needed. The blood-red monster that upturned the earth was completely crushed, letting out a sound like a fountain of blood bursting from its body. The pressure was indeed akin to that of a mountain.
The vampire could not even scream properly.
“G-Ga… zz… Gah, ugh…!”
“If only you had enough probability, you would have already died in my hands. There was no need for such a bothersome act.”
Even against the man’s cold warning, the vampire could not react recklessly. No matter how immortal a monster might be, with its body crushed, it required time to regenerate.
Rather, the one who jumped in surprise was the Great Witch.
“You can’t kill it?!”
“Yes, I can’t. That’s my limit.”
With each pitch of the man’s monotone voice, the Great Witch’s expression changed from hope to despair, and she even shook her head with a sigh.
It seemed she realized how much she had relied on him.
This was partly because the man displayed overwhelming power.
In a more listless tone, the Great Witch asked.
“What will we do then?”
“Others besides me must act.”
As he spoke, the man’s eyes drifted far away, to a place far removed. At its end, a girl wearing a pointed hat lay sleeping peacefully.
“…The people living in this age.”
The look in the man’s eyes, as he said that, seemed somewhat wistful.
The Great Witch turned away without a word.
It was a statement that truly left no room for rebuttal.
