Chapter 42

# Chapter 042

Creak, the door of the tavern opened, and two men, pleasantly drunk, walked out arm in arm.

"Just one more drink, I wanted to have."

"Come on. If you do, I'll get beaten to death by your wives. They already glare at me every time they see me."

"By now, they're probably sleeping with the kids. Don't you think?"

"Enough. We have the Grand Assembly tomorrow, so we need to get some sleep."

The two drunkards, Dawson and Tom, started walking.

Their steps were steady.

The citizens of Agelran didn't fear the night much.

Thanks to the good security and the regular extermination of monsters, the city was safe.

Tom exclaimed in response to Dawson's words.

"Right. It's tomorrow, isn't it? Why did I forget?"

"Exactly. You should think constructively like me instead of just thinking about drinking. When the gates open, let's stroll around the inner city. Maybe this time, Ana will give us some dried meat."

The Grand Assembly, which was held periodically, was a significant event not only for the nobles but also for the freemen.

This was because important decisions were often announced after the meetings.

Usually, after the announcements, they would distribute wheat, bread, or at least oats.

"Quite sudden. Could it be about that family again?"

"Probably. There are rumors that the new head of the Liurrel family has gone mad. A mad holy knight. I don't understand what His Majesty is thinking."

"He killed his corrupted brother with his own hands. I wouldn't be able to stay sane either."

"Still, a corrupted person in Agelran? That's absurd... huh?"

Dawson suddenly tilted his head.

He blinked, letting go of Tom's shoulder.

"Is something wrong with my eyes...? The moon..."

"The moon, what about it?"

Tom, who had tilted his head, looked up at the sky.

A bright crimson full moon hung in the sky, visible through the split gray clouds.

The surrounding clouds were tinged purple, and the moon was abnormally large.

Tom's pupils gradually relaxed as he gazed at the moon.

"I've never seen such a big moon... Don't you think, Dawson...?"

Tom's eyes, which had been muttering absentmindedly, suddenly snapped back to reality.

"Dawson...?"

Dawson's body was bending backward like a bow.

His mouth was opening abnormally wide.

His eyes, mixed with purple, were spinning.

"Dawson, are you okay? Your back..."

Tom's eyes, which had been fumbling, turned red.

Bones were cracking at Dawson's joints, and the skin on his cheeks was tearing as his jaw stretched.

His teeth were falling out, and large fangs were growing in their place.

Crunch, crunch—

Dawson's back bent completely backward.

His hands touched the ground, and his joints bent in the opposite direction, causing his muscles to swell.

The moment a black tentacle began to grow from his abdomen, Tom, his legs giving out, fell to his knees.

"What... is this...?"

His crotch, which had barely moved, was now soaked.

"Krrr..."

A beast-like breathing sound spread from Dawson's pitch-black mouth.

The purple eyes, which had been spinning at a position close to the ground, finally stopped on Tom.

Horizontally elongated pupils.

"Ah—!"

Tom, gasping for breath, began to roll on the ground and run.

The street, illuminated by the eerie moonlight.

'Don't look at the moon. Don't look at the moon. The moon...!'

Tom ran down the street, endlessly repeating it in his mind.

Behind him, the sound of four-legged running and heavy breathing grew louder.

The heavy breathing of a beast.

A black tentacle brushed against his cheek.

Just as the breath was about to catch up with him.

Crash!

Tom, grabbing the door handle, rolled inside.

Pushing the door with his back, he tightly closed his eyes.

Bang! Bang! Krrr...

The door, which had shaken several times as if it would break, finally became still.

The breathing sound slowly faded away.

Tom's body finally relaxed.

"What... is happening...?"

As he sighed, his gaze suddenly turned inward.

An open window.

Moonlight shining on an empty bed.

"!"

Squish, squish, crunch...

The faint sound finally reached his ears.

Tom's gaze slowly turned.

Torn and scattered pieces of clothing under the bed.

And a pitch-black figure, crouched in a corner with its head buried.

Crunch. Squish, squish...

A chilling sound, accompanied by the smell of blood, filled his nostrils.

"This is... absurd..."

Tom, muttering as if he had lost his mind, gasped for breath.

The monster was looking at him.

A face that seemed to be a mix of a human and a dog, upside down.

A mouth, dripping with blood and flesh, slowly opened.

Below it, distorted purple eyes met Tom's.

"Hey... you...?"

The light in the eyes extended toward him.

A deep, fang-filled abyss filled Tom's vision.

Crack!

***

"!"

Ian's eyes snapped open.

A sense of foreboding and unfamiliarity pierced his mind.

The air was filled with a foul smell.

It was the same smell he could detect from Regis' minions after absorbing his chaos power.

Looking out the window, Ian saw an unnaturally large red moon and sprang up.

A quest window appeared before his eyes.

The Night of Madness. It was the quest that marked the end of the first chapter in the game.

He had been mentally prepared after his conversation with Lucia, but it was still disconcerting to see it become reality.

Until now, the quests had changed when the situation changed.

'Is there such a thing as an event that happens no matter what? But even so, to do something this foolish...?'

While thinking, Ian quickly equipped his gear and opened the door.

Ding, ding—

An alarming bell rang throughout the city.

It was the evacuation signal, indicating that the city was under attack.

"Aah... cough..."

A faint scream from the lower floor quickly faded.

The sound of a beast's breathing and a chilling tearing sound.

Ian, leaping over the railing, kicked open the door to the lower floor.

The body of a Liurrel family woman, her neck deeply indented, lay sprawled on the floor.

Crunch, squish— squish

The creature devouring her was a monster covered in black fur, with long tentacles sprouting from its back.

A hunting dog.

Krrr...

The creature, sensing Ian's presence, turned its head, breathing heavily.

Swish— crunch!

Ian's sword, already at the creature's throat, fell with a sharp wind.

The upside-down head was severed.

The trembling body of the hunting dog collapsed.

Black blood spread everywhere.

The severed head, still somewhat recognizable as a human.

Ian knew the face.

A servant who managed the garden and stables.

Crash!

At that moment, a commotion erupted on the second floor.

"!"

Turning around, Ian saw Mab, in her nightgown, entangled with a hunting dog in the hallway.

Her gaze, blocking the dog's mouth with her sword, turned to Ian.

"You don't need my help."

Kicking the dog's body with her knee and pushing it away, she rolled backward and kicked the ground again.

She quickly caught up with the dog, which had been flung away.

A different, lightning-fast movement from when she was in armor.

Crunch

Her sword swept through the dog's gaping mouth.

The dog, its lower and upper jaws separated, fell to the ground, spraying blood.

Looking down at the corpse, Mab muttered.

"...Strange. When Vernon became like this, I felt so wronged."

She turned to Ian, who had leaped over the railing.

"Now, I don't feel that way. I just... want to take revenge on those who did this."

Looking into her dead-like eyes, Ian nodded.

"...That's what will happen."

"Ugh, aah—!"

At that moment, Miguel burst out from the other end of the hallway.

Krrr! Krrh!

Three hunting dogs were chasing him.

"!"

Seeing Lucia, who was in Miguel's arms, Ian and Mab, without a word, leaped forward.

Crack— thud!

As they engaged the dogs.

"What's all this commotion... Miguel?!"

Philip, who had belatedly armed himself and stepped outside, widened his eyes upon seeing Miguel running towards him.

Miguel fell at his feet.

He still held onto Lucia.

"I thought I was going to die... damn it..."

A long wound, extending to his shoulder, was visible on his back.

A mark left by the hunting dog's tentacle.

"..."

Philip looked down the hallway, but the situation was already over.

Among the headless hunting dogs, Mab, catching her breath, said,

"Lucia is alive. There might be more survivors."

"I'll look for them."

Ian cut in.

Meeting Mab's gaze, he nodded.

"Arm yourself first."

Mab finally looked down at herself.

Her clothes, now tattered, were almost like being naked.

Blood trickled from the scratches on her exposed waist and shoulders.

She might become a burden again.

"...Right. I'll leave it to you."

Mab turned around.

As she walked, she glanced at Miguel.

"Thank you, Miguel."

"...It was my duty, my lord."

Mab nodded and walked away, while Ian passed by Philip.

"Follow me. Miguel, take care of Lucia. And don't look up at the moon."

"Aye, understood."

Miguel, nodding and hugging Lucia, was followed by Philip, who asked,

"What's happening?"

"Agelran has become a Mad Realm."

"Mad Realm...!"

Philip gasped, and Miguel added,

"The entire Agelran?"

"Yes."

"Such madness... I had a restless night."

"...That red moon is corrupting people."

Philip said with a grave expression.

Ian's brows furrowed.

"Did you see the moon?"

"Yes. I felt dizzy and turned away, but—"

"You weren't affected. Good. But don't keep looking at it."

While descending the stairs, Ian looked up at the red moon.

"That's not a real moon. It's just a mass of curses. If you keep looking, you'll eventually be corrupted."

To Ian, the Mad Realm was not yet perfect. The fact that it wasn't completely isolated from the outside world was evidence of this.

The red moon was smaller and the curse weaker than in his memory.

Back then, the light was so strong that it made the space ripple.

But even this was enough to corrupt those with weak willpower or unstable minds.

Like the people of the Liurrel family, who were immersed in sorrow and despair.

Ian searched the first floor, killing two more hunting dogs and rescuing a maid who was hiding in the storeroom.

She was the only survivor.

"..."

The atmosphere was heavy, and the sounds from outside echoed clearly.

Soldiers shouting not to look at the moon.

The urgent footsteps of people evacuating to the castle and the breathing of running hunting dogs.

Followed by screams and cries.

If this place, close to the castle, was in such a state, the area beyond the gates must be a living hell.

After completing all the searches.

"...What could the Duke be thinking to do something this crazy?"

Philip suddenly said.

Ian replied calmly.

"When cornered, sometimes it's a good strategy to break the board and start anew."

"Is that all? But this can't just be overlooked."

"There's already someone who can be blamed."

"...You mean the lord."

"Probably. There are rumors of his madness, and his blood relative has actually become corrupted. This might be the perfect opportunity to eliminate you."

"But the lord also revealed the existence of the corrupted."

"The truth doesn't matter. What people believe is the truth. Or what they want to believe."

"Such..."

Philip frowned but couldn't deny it.

He had experienced enough of the dark age's harsh reality.

"There will be plenty of time to frame you and incite the people. The Apostle of Judgment can't ignore injustice."

"Perhaps they hope the lord will die fighting those monsters."

Miguel, who had been listening, suddenly said.

Ian nodded.

"Even if you survive, public opinion will be on your side. By then, you won't be able to do anything. The Apostle of Judgment can't harm the innocent."

"The lord's constraints... are being used."

"Exactly. ...If you are, indeed, the Apostle of Judgment."

Ian's meaningful words made Philip's eyes narrow.

"Are you saying that the lord becoming the Apostle of Vengeance... is unknown?"

"If not, there would be no reason to make such a self-destructive move."

"Are they not thinking that I will immediately cut off their heads and those of their minions?"

A voice came from the stairs.

Mab, fully armored, was walking down.

"That's my thought."

"Then, I'll have to break that expectation."

"Add an unexpected crisis, and you'll reveal your true colors. So, I'd rather—"

Ian looked at her.

"I hope you really look like a mad avenger."

Looking into Mab's eyes, he added,

"Can you do it?"

Mab's eyes, beginning to glow with a sinister red light, finally curved.

"Of course."