Dark Fantasy Normalized – Chapter 77

We must not pass on the unquenchable ember of disaster to future generations.

For Sahila, for Kehlin, for the Dark Elves.

The hero Sahila devoted immense efforts to completely eradicate the existence of the demon Verbandes.

It was a sacrifice he was willing to bear.

Thus, the ultimate measure he arrived at was to seal the existence of the demon Verbandes within his own body.

The will of a great hero is certainly capable of suppressing the existence of a demon.

No one questioned that fact.

*

…

The whispers of the demon echo.

It was a faint sound, like the breath seeping from the dying man’s lungs.

…

Sahila simply ignored it.

*

“How annoying.”

The whispers of the demon continued.

Sahila spat it out with a look of disgust.

*

“Stop. Stop. Stop.”

The whispers of the demon persisted.

Sahila murmured while closing his eyes.

*

“Aaaaargh!!!”

The whispers of the demon lingered.

Sahila covered his ears and shouted frantically.

*

“Shut up!!!”

The whispers of the demon echoed.

Sahila swung his fist toward the mirror.

*

“…Sir! Master!!!”

“…!”

…

Sahila, the treacherous one, regained his senses.

…

“Ah, Father…”

The first thing he saw was the boy lying under him.

It was none other than his son.

One hand was reaching for his neck.

And the other hand was stopping it.

Surrounded by armed retainers who could neither proceed nor retreat, Sahila was trapped.

“What… happened…?”

“You suddenly stood up during the meal and approached the young master. And then…”

The retainer couldn’t finish his words, but it was enough.

Sahila had momentarily lost himself, consumed by the power of the demon.

That fleeting loss could have resulted in an irreparable outcome.

“Father, are you okay…?”

In the midst of it all, the child was worried for his father.

This was possible not because of maturity, but because he didn’t know what had transpired.

How could he even imagine it?

The fact that his father had just tried to kill him.

Sahila embraced his son with all his strength.

“Master…”

It was a short word from the retainer.

So much meaning was packed into it.

It was time to endure humiliation.

“Prepare for the transfer of the seal.”

In the end, the great hero had to accept it.

An embarrassing truth that he could not handle the existence of Verbandes.

That eradicating the existence and power of Verbandes was a task close to impossible.

─────

The power of Verbandes had been extinguished.

Kella, realizing her state, concluded this only after the fact.

The formidable demonic power that had been a part of her until just moments before was now nowhere to be felt.

“This can’t be…”

That power differed from the trivial forces that other demon followers received from their masters.

It was the essence of the power sealed within ‘Verbandes’ Eye,’ which was undeniably a part of her true self.

Eradicate the existence of Verbandes?

Even the great hero, Sahila, who had grasped the name of the stars on the brink of the eighth tier, could not accomplish this.

So who, or what, could dare to extinguish the power of Verbandes?

Thus, Kella denied it.

Retracing her previous sensations, she awakened the power of Verbandes once more.

Then, joy lit up her face.

A certain power responded to that sensation.

It was clear.

That power certainly belonged to the mighty and malevolent desert demon, Verbandes.

With all her might, Kella drew forth the power of her master.

Pure desert energy, free of impurities, gathered at her fingertips.

“?”

What?

Kella, in a daze, stared at her hand.

-Whack!

The moment she regained her sanity from the mental interference, Keiren’s strike made her lose consciousness.

“…”

Keiren was flabbergasted.

He looked down at the hilt of his sword, which he had used to knock Kella out.

“Is it really okay to solve it this easily?”

Having felt all of Kella’s power and almost been cornered, he couldn’t shake off a sudden pang of guilt.

He wondered if this was all part of some devious plan concocted by Kella, so he remained wary of her unconscious form.

Then it happened.

-Cough! Cough!

Kella’s fallen body began to twitch and convulse.

*

-Where am I?

In an empty world where nothing existed, it pondered.

-…

It struggled to remember, but ultimately gave up.

It seemed there was a more important question.

-Who am I?

It asked itself.

-…

It was the same as before.

No matter how hard it tried to recall, nothing came to mind.

So just when it was about to give up –

-No…

An incredibly clear consciousness arose within it.

-I am… the sand mountain that blocks the sun…

-Who dares to judge me… to confine me…

The empty world filled with a raging sandstorm.

*

It was a bizarre sight.

Kella, the demon follower, was rolling on the floor, her eyes rolled back in her head.

Just moments ago, she had been tasting the dark red blood she had coughed up.

Like greedily picking up gold coins spilled from a pocket.

“Lady! Step back!”

Keiren hastily stepped in front of the lady.

Setting aside the shuddering and strange feeling the scene produced, Kella’s power was quickly regenerating.

However, it was no longer stable like before.

-Crunch

-Crunch

With movements that denied the structure of her body.

It was no longer a being wielding demonic power.

It was a being being tossed about by the power of a demon.

The power that Kella had accepted from Verbandes.

The minute remnants of the demon’s consciousness, which were faintly mixed within, had begun to respond to the raging will of its true self, culminating in Kella’s consciousness being suppressed and dominated.

“Grrrgh-”

What once was Kella was now drooling blood as she swung her hands toward Katria and Keiren.

The dark, rising shadows were like waves of sand trying to engulf them.

Keiren immediately scooped up Katria and distanced himself.

Once he safely set Katria down, he sprang back into action.

*

Even in her prime, Kella had shown discomfort in engaging Keiren in a full-frontal battle.

Now, in such a state of losing her consciousness and randomly wielding her power, there was no way an equal battle could be realized.

The fight was settled in an instant.

The ominous sandstorm that filled the room ceased.

Thud.

Kella’s head, separated from her body, fell to the ground.

At last, everything had come to an end.

Keiren tried to relish the joy of victory alongside Katria.

“Keiren, we need to head to the Mage Tower immediately.”

However, what caught his eye was the lady’s fidgety form.

“What’s wrong?”

Katria immediately recognized the strange phenomena caused by Kella.

Verbandes.

He was rampaging.

Why?

It was unclear.

What was evident was the sheer power of its aftermath.

Even Kella, who had no self, was driven to lose her mind.

What then of Ricir, who had the entirety of that self sealed within him?

“Ricir. He’s in danger…! We must go help him now!”

*

“Oh, Katria. You came at the perfect time. I think you can just take this back with you.”

Ricir.

He was still in Master Meltas’ laboratory.

Alongside Master Meltas and something else.

He showed Katria something placed on the desk.

Verbandes.

His final struggle had been in vain.

He had flailed within the prison of Ricir until the very end, ultimately losing himself.

The grand sandstorm imbued with evil will was no more.

“Kid, what’s your name?”

-I am Berbandesu! The sand mountain that blocks the sun!

“It’s not Berbandesu, it’s Verbandes~”

-Beru… Beru… that name is weird!!! I want to choose another name!

What remained was a small sand spirit in the form of a little girl.

“…”

*

Master Borad Sahila.

He dedicated his life to the eradication of Verbandes with the intent of carrying on his father’s legacy but ultimately failed.

However, the vast achievements he left behind became a legacy passed down to future generations.

─────

Duhon Sahila.

He inherited his ancestor’s legacy, dedicating his life to the eradication of Verbandes, but likewise failed.

However, he captured the movements of Verbandes, secretly growing stronger within the seal and discovered and remedied its flaws.

─────

Yona Sahila.

He abandoned the goal of eradicating Verbandes and focused on sealing it.

Realizing that no seal could prevent the growth of Verbandes’ power, he sought a new sealing method.

After much effort, he established a contract seal that binds the target while consuming its power to inhibit its growth.

─────

Rophis Sahila.

He sought a new sealing technique after realizing the limits of the contract seal, but he failed.

Upon realizing that no further effective sealing method existed, he refocused on eradication.

And after another failure, he discovered a new fact.

The reincarnation of Verbandes was imminent, and he warned future generations.

─────

In the present day of Sahila’s lineage.

Rushanah Sahila.

Her interest was not in the sealing and eradication of Verbandes.

Mother’s warning from the previous master.

Rushanah knew that she could not prevent the reincarnation of Verbandes and that it would come soon.

Perhaps she would be the first Sahila to confront Verbandes since the founding master.

Could there be any greater glory than this?

…Could there be a greater burden than this?

Resignation. And determination.

Rushanah Sahila set out to solidify her foundation.

In preparation for the imminent reincarnation of Verbandes.

To protect her kin and the legacy of her ancestors from that immense being, which neither could be fully sealed nor eradicated.

The sense of burden tightened around her neck.

Though it was a great task of inheriting the glory of her ancestors, it was simultaneously an unbearably heavy burden.

She often asked herself.

Can I really accomplish this?

The answer was meaningless.

Regardless of the possibility, it was a task that must be achieved.

Thus, Rushanah Sahila spent her days in anxiety and resolve.

Preparing herself to accept the day of reckoning whenever it may come.

*

The sudden disappearance of her son, along with the unsettling movements detected within Kehlin, had already caught the attention of the Sahila family.

Numerous demon followers had already been captured by the Sahila family.

Rushanah had an instinctive sense of impending doom.

Then one day.

“Master!!!”

At last, it had come.

The head of Sahila closed his eyes firmly.

Some time passed, and Rushanah Sahila spoke her resolve.

“Speak.”

“The curse of Verbandes…!”

Verbandes cursed Sahila.

The curse, which had been trapped by sealing Verbandes, would engulf Sahila with his reincarnation.

The first target would be none other than the master of the Sahila family.

Rushanah smiled calmly. Her demeanor carried the weight of experience that had the power to soothe others.

“Calm down. I’m fine.”

“The curse of Verbandes has… been extinguished…!”

Rushanah Sahila.

By eradicating the existence of Verbandes in her reign, she finally completed the long-standing task of Sahila.

“Why?”

Regardless, it was accomplished.