༺ Flower of Evil (2) ༻
A firm stride that crushed the flames beneath.
Even with such strength, Roer noticed that his instinct was screaming danger at him.
“……”
He was certain that he didn’t feel any pain while advancing towards Ferzen.
Yet, the skin of his right hand that was holding the sword was neatly peeled off and was dangling in the air.
With a little bit of his strength, he pulled his right hand forward.
At that moment, his hideously exposed muscles and blood vessels were also pulled, clearly showing signs that they had been separated from his bones.
“It’s already too late to turn around.”
“……”
“Do you have any regrets? Roer.”
Rather than weaving its thread between two materials, the spider-like creature that lived on the Third Floor of The Underworld bound the heavens and the earth and used that as its nest, weaved its thread between spaces.
Because of that, when Roer forced himself to take a step toward Ferzen, it just wasn’t his muscles and blood vessels that were caught by the webs.
His internal organs were also pulled tight, bringing his condition closer to that of a slaughtered animal rather than a human.
On top of that, contrary to how grotesque the result it brought, the process didn’t involve any sort of pain.
That was why when a poor bird was caught in its webs, the skin and organs would already be removed, leaving only the bones pitifully trying to flap their wings.
“Regret, huh……”
“……”
“Ferzen. Even when I was still a child, I knew that the world was not as beautiful as what fairy tales depict it to be.”
In this world, human lives were far from equal. It was a place where even if the cause was identical, the outcome would differ drastically depending on who was responsible.
Roer Poliana Claudia couldn’t stand this irrationality, which disgusted him to the core.
It permeated every aspect of life, and people just accepted it and continued living.
Even though he wasn’t certain whether he was any different from those people…
“I… cannot tolerate the favoritism shown to you.”
What was the point of a life that trampled on the happiness of others?
Roer had once turned a blind eye when he knew that Ferzen had ruined someone else’s life.
However, after Ferzen had destroyed his family and his home, Roer slowly started to fight for his own happiness.
Perhaps the anger he felt was just selfish anger, but precisely because it was selfish, he believed that he should be the one to confront Ferzen.
So……
“I—!”
Snap–!
“I will be your reckoning!!!”
At that moment, all the connections binding Roer’s body seemed to snap.
It couldn’t be said that it was solely due to Roer resisting the power of the monsters inhabiting the Third Floor of The Underworld.
If Ferzen had to describe it, he’d say that it was an unexpected development.
‘This doesn’t seem like something an Auror Knight could pull off.’
Something that looked like a liquid had swallowed Roer’s body little by little, was without a doubt, a monster from The Underworld.
That meant that Roer had used his body to trade with that monster.
The fact that the monster from the Third Floor that he had summoned from The Underworld was unable to take Roer’s body was probably because the ownership of the man named Roer had already been passed on to that monster.
After all, regardless of how high-ranking these underworld creatures were, they remained inhabitants of The Underworld.
Thus, higher-level monsters couldn’t break deals already made by lower-level ones. It was a fundamental rule of The Underworld.
However, despite Roer’s desperate struggles, Ferzen remained eerily composed.
The tension that was lingering in the air since dawn dissipated entirely.
What surrounded Ferzen now was a calmness reminiscent of a child embraced by its mother.
‘Even though I gave everything to realize my hope, in the end, it was all for naught.’
With only his consciousness remaining after giving his body to the monster, Roer still attempted to reach his mortal enemy. Yet, Roer’s sword continued to miss Ferzen.
The thread of the monster Ferzen had summoned connected spaces, forcefully distorting it.
It was why Roer couldn’t harm him. The monster had shaped the space around Roer into an octahedron, trapping him within.
When Roer attacked, his sword unexpectedly changed its trajectory, often heading towards the ceiling.
In some instances, his sword cut through thin air, never reaching Ferzen. Despite Roer’s determined charge, he would suddenly veer off course, stumbling to the floor.
No matter how resolute his intentions or the price he had paid, an insurmountable chasm had already formed between them.
If there were spectators watching this fight, they would have found Roer’s actions comical, nothing more than a ridiculous farce.
“Roer.”
Did you think this was some sort of a conclusion?
Ferzen, after surveying the warehouse on the verge of collapse, looked at him with a solemn expression as he howled like a beast.
“The final chapter of this story had happened a long time ago…”
What kind of a story was he trying to conclude?
Their current story was a broken one that would never be completed.
Furthermore, the story’s protagonist, the one who should have led it, was already dead.
The gears that were supposed to turn had come to a halt.
Like a world where the sun never set.
Like an endlessly looping movie.
‘The thing you wished for so much……’
The fate of this villain facing his own demise was a scenario long abandoned and discarded.
“HUAAAAAAHHHH!!”
His desperate screams mingled with faint cries that reverberated throughout the warehouse.
His earnest and unyielding steps circled a path with no way out.
In fact, wouldn’t it be absurd if he were to face punishment now?
After all, they had reached the point where Ciel Midford, the story’s protagonist, no longer existed.
This world was no longer a world confined within a novel.
He was no longer a character assigned the role of the villain.
He was merely a human, living the life of a villain by his own choice.
Even if the role belonged to someone else, and he couldn’t defy it.
Living meant forging one’s own path.
Like a story from a children’s book.
It would be impossible for a villain like him to be brought down by someone standing at the opposite end unless he made that choice himself.
“Let’s bring this short play to a close.”
Observing his futile struggles with a cold, unimpressed gaze, Ferzen gestured to Isabel, who was attending to her duties, to step forward.
Seemingly frustrated by his own incompetence, Roer hurled the sword he held in a straight line.
Kwang-!!
Naturally, the sword didn’t maintain a straight trajectory and instead plummeted toward the floor, seemingly out of nowhere.
However, at that very moment, Roer seized his sword sheath.
He called upon all the power he had gained in exchange for sacrificing everything in his body except his head.
The opportunity before him, though of low probability, appeared to be his last chance at success.
Soon, a surge of magical energy coursed through his entire body, enveloping him in a blue glow.
This wasn’t the feeble awakening light that tempered the body and elevated it to a higher level, as seen in individuals who stood on the brink of death.
It was the power of a monster summoned by another, who had struck a deal with him.
Although the monster had devoured his body, Roer was now squeezing every last bit of power left within him and unleashing it unilaterally.
In the end, the magic energy penetrated the distorted space, rendering certain aspects of the distortion obsolete.
Roer swiftly launched his sword sheath through the exposed gap…
Whooosh-!!
The sheath’s trajectory, originally headed for the floor, shifted in an instant.
Ferzen’s crimson eyes widened in response.
Unlike elemental wizards, warlocks had an additional step to casting magic. They needed to command their corpse to cast the spell.
Hence, reacting swiftly to an attack like this one was nearly impossible for them.
Thud-!!
However, the flying sheath just cut Ferzen’s neck lightly before lodging itself in the wall behind him and getting swallowed by the rising fire.
Trickle-!!
Blood quickly oozed out through the cut flesh.
Since the arteries in the neck were located within 5 to 7 centimeters of flesh and skin, Ferzen could escape without suffering any big wounds.1Because the depth of the carotid artery in a human neck varies significantly along the length of the neck (9), the corresponding SNR line plots from a single sagittal plane resulted in a depth ranging from 4.2 cm to 7.5 cm along an S/I length of 10 cm centered at the middle of the neck
If Roer’s calculations had been just a bit more accurate, Ferzen would have been fatally wounded.
Rustle-!!
Ferzen gingerly placed his palm on the wound and applied pressure. Before long, blood began to seep through, dampening his rolled-up sleeve.
What ensued was a searing pain and a sharp stinging sensation.
In response, Ferzen commanded Isabel to carefully freeze the area around the wound.
Her slightly furrowed eyebrows seemed to reprimand him for not being able to handle something as simple as this.
But even in a short play, isn’t a plot twist always a factor in the composition of the story?
Step-!!
Wobble-!!
Roer, his magical energy depleted, moved through the distorted space and approached Ferzen with a body that appeared to have withered.
With the source of his magic drained, he was no longer a threat, having sacrificed his body completely.
If this was compared to a story, not life…
Roer’s role might have been that of a supporting character.
No, even that role was too important for someone like him.
Even if he attempted to move from his position, the stalled story would not resume.
Just as the hour hand on a clock only moves after the second and minute hands have turned,
When the seconds hand, the most crucial cornerstone, was shattered,
The clock would forever point to the time it had stopped.
“Keu…… Keheuk……”
Roer coughed as he extended his hand, but he couldn’t even reach himself. Eventually, he collapsed helplessly to the floor.
Soon after, the gateway to The Underworld swung open, and the strange creature that had been clinging to his body began to writhe.
Its intent was clear: it sought to claim the price offered to it—Roer’s entire body except for his head—before departing to the other side.
Ferzen couldn’t help but speculate that the reason Roer had offered all parts of his body except his head, was to avoid the disgrace of being hanged for treason.
Although he had pursued the path of an Aura Knight, his body was now so broken that the Imperial Family would likely have no interest in keeping it.
“Roer Poliana Claudia. You are indeed wicked… and cowardly.”
Ferzen uttered, venting his bitterness and vengeance concealed behind a pretense.
In truth, he was turning a blind eye to the retribution that would befall Roer’s family in the aftermath.
However, sensing a strange motion that threatened to detach his head from his body, Roer raised his head and glared at Ferzen.
“You can’t carve rotten wood… You can’t paint mud walls……”
It was a curse-like insinuation that one day his dark side would be exposed to the world.
Yet, when Ferzen heard these words, he chuckled.
“Seems like you are quite the aristocrat yourself. You know your way around sophistry.”
If that was Roer’s final message, Ferzen would bury it deep in his heart.
Rumble-!!
With a brutal tearing sound, Roer’s head rolled away from his body.
Beyond the open gateway to The Underworld, the monster that had clung to him crawled out.
Why does the scenery on that side feel so familiar and nostalgic?
Ferzen, who unconsciously took small steps and tried to head inside, quickly came to his senses and approached Princess Elizabeth.
She had bled quite a lot, but Ferzen could feel that she was still breathing. Albeit weakly.
But can the doctor even save her?
The words of Princess Elizabeth, who had told him that the affairs in the Roverium Kingdom would be concluded on an ill note, flashed through his mind. Ferzen could not help but hesitate for a moment.
Before long, he put his thoughts aside and took her into his arms.
In the meantime, Isabel, who was being commanded by Ferzen’s will, grabbed Roer’s head and used it as a lantern to spread her beautiful ice to overcome the terrible fire.
“Elizabeth!”
“He-Her Highness the Princess……!”
“Count!”
“Ferzen!”
It was bustling outside. Yuriel, Prince Raymond, and the other aristocrats who were waiting for him while calming the flames quickly ran towards them as soon as they saw him.
After grasping the situation, they quickly called a doctor and started wrapping Roer’s head in a cloth.
At the same time, Ferzen could hear the voices of those who praised him, along with blatant criticism towards the Claudia family.
Listening to that, Ferzen slowly closed his eyes.
‘Roer, are you watching?’
Here, there were exquisite statues carved from decaying wood and mud walls painted so vividly that they wouldn’t be washed away in the rain.
Like poisonous mushrooms, the more dangerous the poison, the more beautiful the appearance.
Those who followed paid their respects and held reverence.
The recipients of loyalty felt trust and security.
The flower of evil was in full bloom, stained by the world’s most radiant sense of justice.
TL Note:
*Because the depth of the carotid artery in a human neck varies significantly along the length of the neck (9), the corresponding SNR line plots from a single sagittal plane resulted in a depth ranging from 4.2 cm to 7.5 cm along an S/I length of 10 cm centered at the middle of the neck*
I had to research this cause I fr didn’t knew our neck was soooooo~~~~Deep
Footnotes:
1Because the depth of the carotid artery in a human neck varies significantly along the length of the neck (9), the corresponding SNR line plots from a single sagittal plane resulted in a depth ranging from 4.2 cm to 7.5 cm along an S/I length of 10 cm centered at the middle of the neck
