Chapter 144

“On that fateful day, the count’s domain gained a Sword Master slave in the form of myself, and my uncle became the patriarch of the Kiadran family.”

“There’s no way a Steel Body user at the Master class would succumb to mere poison….”

At my words, she nodded.

“Yes. It was the core of that tentacle you just pulled out of me, benefactor. The moment it entered my body, it absorbed my mana to bloat its size, then encroached upon my brain. Even as it completely manipulated my mind, I couldn’t even summon the courage to resist.”

“So it really was related to an Outer God?”

“Yes.”

She nodded, then casually drove her blade straight into the skull of the Count’s second son.

Split!

Yet, instead of blood flowing out, tentacles erupted from both sides of the cloven skull, wriggling together to patch the split head back together.

As I stared at the sight with sheer disgust, she continued her explanation with an indifferent face.

“I found out later… but everything started when Diablo, the Count of Evas’s second son, entered the Kuscam Labyrinth and was captured by an Outer God, turning into a ‘monster.’”

“Wait, the Kuscam Labyrinth? The one in the Kesala Marquisate?”

“Yes. That exact labyrinth.”

“…Is there some kind of curse on the second sons of nobility and that labyrinth?”

“…Pardon?”

“Never mind. Keep going. More importantly, if that second son didn’t even know how to fight properly, why on earth did he crawl in there?”

“Well… he said someone called out to him.”

“…What?”

“Something appeared in his dreams every night, calling him to the Kuscam Labyrinth. This story came directly from ‘his own mouth’ through ‘his own memories,’ so there is no mistake.”

I recalled the Apostle of the Outer God I had encountered not long ago while accompanying Goldie’s party.

“…It was the Labyrinth Lord.”

“I believe that is most likely the case.”

“So? What did that Outer God bastard say to make him mindlessly wander into a labyrinth like a fool?”

“Apparently… it promised to grant him power and make him a ruler.”

“Good grief. What a stale, worn-out cliché… So? He actually believed those words and crawled into a labyrinth?”

“Yes. But for a wretch like him, it was somewhat understandable. Diablo was treated quite coldly even within the Count’s family. First of all, he was the son of a concubine, and since Bern, the legitimate eldest son, was reasonably competent, Diablo was constantly compared to him. As a result, his self-esteem was incredibly low, while his desire for recognition was monstrously strong. I don’t know how the entity managed it… but I suspect it deliberately targeted and summoned Diablo.”

“And then?”

“Of course, Diablo wasn’t entirely brainless, so at first, he just dismissed it as a wild dream. Then one night, wandering through the castle basement while half-asleep, he discovered it—the entrance leading directly into the labyrinth.”

“Mmm….”

For the record, the Kuscam Labyrinth was vast. Rumor had it that if you combined its entire area, it was roughly half the size of the Northern Continent.

So, it wasn’t strange for one of its edges to reach a count’s domain. Of course, they probably dug out the actual entrance later.

“So he went inside?”

“Yes. He hid the location and agonized over it for a few days before ultimately crawling in. At the very least, it proved that the entity interfering with his dreams was a transcendent being capable of opening a labyrinth beneath the castle basement without anyone knowing. I heard later that his mindset was that he had nothing to lose—completely unaware of the bottomless abyss waiting down below.”

“…….”

“And a few days later, the thing that crawled back out… only wore Diablo’s shell. It had become a completely different entity. A monster whose ‘insides’ had been entirely hollowed out and stuffed with tentacles.”

“The wretch referred to himself as the avatar of the Kuscam Labyrinth God.”

“…….”

“The avatar of the Outer God, which had consumed Diablo and absorbed his memories, acted like him for a few days before ultimately being caught by the Count. After all, possessing memories and having a clump of tentacles masquerade as a person using those foreign memories are two entirely different things.”

“And the moment its true identity was exposed… the avatar offered the Count a deal, almost as if it had been waiting for that exact situation.”

“A deal?”

“Yes.”

—I am the avatar of ᤟᤟᤟᤟, the God of the Kuscam Labyrinth.
—My true body’s objective is to obtain the right to reside in this world—a ‘true destiny.’
—To escape the labyrinth and become a Celestial God rather than a Labyrinth God.
—To achieve that, I must understand life outside the labyrinth—existence itself.
—For one cannot possess what one does not understand.
—Provide me with a place to stay, and a prosperous, stable life.
—In exchange, I shall become your god and make you prosper.

I cast a brief glance at the Count, who was writhing while bound tightly in the rose vines, and urged her to continue.

“And?”

“The Count, who didn’t hold much affection for his inadequate second son, found the avatar’s words intriguing. He spent a long time engaging in a more detailed discussion with the wretch, trying to learn what kind of prosperity it spoke of, and what he had to provide to secure that stable life.”

“So? What is it that I must do for you?”

—First. Do not seal the labyrinth entrance in the basement. Once a week, I must return to the labyrinth to transmit my memories to my true body.
—Second. Once a month, provide three intelligent beings as food for me to read memories. Long-lived species with vast amounts of storage will count as two, and humans will count as one.
—Third. Once every generation, sacrifice one direct descendant of your lineage to serve as my next vessel.

“…The first two aren’t difficult, but the last one gives me pause. Does it matter if it’s the child of a concubine?”

—It does not matter.

“…Very well. Then, what can you give me?”

—I am merely an avatar. Disconnected from my true body, there is not much I can do alone.

“If you have nothing to give, then this transaction is meaningless, isn’t it?”

—However, I can do something like this.

Splat!!

A single tentacle tore through Diablo’s finger and abruptly extended outward, burrowing straight into the earhole of one of the Count’s escort knights.

“Argh! Ugh… ugh…? Geh…!”

Immediately after, the knight’s eyes rolled back wildly as he drew his sword and brought it directly against the Count’s throat.

—This one is now my servant.

The Count, falling silent for a brief moment, let his eyes gleam.

“…Brainwashing?”

—Correct. Once a part of my body burrows inside a form, I can use it as a medium to dominate them.

“…Is it possible regardless of who the opponent is?”

—As long as they are not a transcendent being, it is possible against anyone.

“…Fascinating. Let us discuss this a bit further.”

“The Count thoroughly tested its brainwashing capabilities on the castle servants. Once he was fully convinced, he targeted me. Excluding the distance, there was no target with better conditions than myself. Above all, the existence of my uncle, who loathed me, played a massive role.”

“…….”

“And… after coordinating with my uncle in advance through an intermediary, those wretches came to find me. With my uncle’s help, they ultimately forced me to ingest a piece of the avatar. Choosing a dark-colored wine was specifically for that purpose.”

“And from that fateful day forward, I came to serve this damnable clump of tentacles lying beneath my feet as my lord.”

So that was it. The reason the Kiadran family had remained so quiet despite their secret techniques leaking like a sieve… was because the current Marquis Kiadran, her paternal uncle, was an accomplice of the Count of Evas.

“The Count’s domain grew monstrously after that day. Because I made it so.”

“I gathered talented individuals to expand the knight orders, and I released the secret techniques of the Kiadran school without restriction to make them grow. I taught the soldiers proper military tactics, and whenever military funds ran short, I descended into the labyrinth to hunt monsters and magical beasts.”

“It was a devotion that felt as if I had offered up my body, mind, and very soul… but to me back then, it was happiness and joy. Because I had been ‘remodeled’ to think that way.”

“…….”

“Yet those wretches demanded even more from me.”

“More than that? Was there even anything left to give?”

“I thought there wasn’t either… but it seems that wasn’t the case for these pieces of trash.”

Her expression distorted into one of sheer agony.

“The Count and Organt gathered the direct bloodline of the Evas family residing in this castle—the very ones I dragged out here with my own hands—and hosted a party once a week specifically to toy with me.”

“They put me on a stage under the pretext of checking the brainwashing, forcing me to wear scraps of cloth that even dancers in a brothel would turn away from for being too vulgar, and made me dance in front of them.”

“…They are genuinely out of their minds.”

Indeed. At this point, it was rather surprising that those bastards were still breathing.

“While subjected to such treatment, those wretches looked at me as I smiled with joy, soaking themselves in a twisted sense of omnipotence and ecstasy from being able to manipulate an existence as grand as a Master at their whim. And I, feeling even more delighted by the fact that I had brought them pleasure, shook my body with everything I had.”

“…….”

“The only saving grace in all of this… was that the avatar of the Outer God strictly forbade anyone from violating my body.”

“Naturally, it wasn’t out of any goodwill toward me. From what I gathered, that monster planned to transfer into my body if any issue arose with Diablo’s shell… and in that case, the presence or absence of purity would heavily affect the performance of the avatar vessel.”

“…….”

“If it weren’t for that, I would likely be in a far more wretched state by now.”

I waited for her trembling lips to regain their color before asking another question.

“What did the Count say he wanted to achieve by going that far anyway? Seeing how he’s been throwing himself recklessly into territorial wars the moment he gained some power, I can tell his greed for land is boundless, but….”

“He had two goals. And the first… was to become a ‘king.’”

“…A king?”

“Yes. The Count wanted to create a principality that belonged to the Baran Empire but possessed autonomous governance, much like the Kesala Marquisate. In fact, it was a dream that was fully achievable. If only you hadn’t intervened, my benefactor.”

“I see. So I ended up trampling over that precious little dream of his. I must say, that brings me an immense amount of joy.”

At that, a thin smile finally graced Carmen’s rigidly frozen face.

“The same goes for me.”

“And the second goal?”

“‘Eternal life.’”

“Eternal life?”

“Yes. He intended to enjoy his glory as a king for as long as possible, and then, right before his death, borrow the power of the Outer God to reclaim his youth.”

“Is that even possible?”

“According to the avatar, it is entirely possible if one receives the blessing of the Outer God at the temple deep within the labyrinth and becomes an Apostle. Of course, he would become a slave incapable of disobeying a single word from the Outer God… but he seemed to think it was a worthy sacrifice if it meant trading it for eternal life.”

With the tale completely finished, I questioned her once more.

“So? What do you plan to do with those guys now?”

She replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“I will kill them all. Not just these ones, but also all of the Count’s close confidants who participated in those parties and enjoyed my public disgrace.”

“Killing them, huh… aren’t you letting them off a bit too easily?”

“…Pardon?”

“Don’t kill them straight away. Enjoy yourself a bit first before you let them die. You have to make them pay the proper price.”

“…Are you perhaps speaking of torture?”

“Yeah. And you don’t even need to dirty your own hands. Hire professionals. This is a matter entangled with an Outer God, after all.”

“Ah… the Inquisitors.”

“Exactly. These guys didn’t just place some holy relic of an Outer God in their home to pray to it; they literally brought the avatar into their house and got cozy with it. If you inform them, those Inquisitors will foam at the mouth from sheer happiness.”

“I-I see….”

“I had a reason to look into them a bit in the past, and those guys are absolutely wild. They heal, torture, heal, torture…. Watching it in person will instantly clear up your frustration.”

“……!”

“If that still doesn’t satisfy you, offer a hefty donation and ask them to make it even more painful, tormenting them for as long as possible. You can even record it as an artifact replay while you’re at it. After about a year of that, wouldn’t most of your rage be vented?”

Faced with my advice, a bright smile bloomed across her face for the very first time.

“Thank you, my benefactor. To think such a method existed.”

“If you need help, I can even introduce you to some. I am technically a priest myself, so it’s not like I’m entirely without connections.”

“Benefactor… are you truly fine with me handling them as I please? You must have come here with a purpose of your own….”

“Ah, I’ve already achieved my goal. My goal was to take the Count’s head and dismantle the Count’s family. But now the entire domain is effectively ruined anyway, isn’t it? From my perspective, this couldn’t possibly be any better. Do whatever you want with the rest.”

At that, she dropped to one knee once more and placed a hand over her heart.

“You have my sincerest gratitude.”

“By the way… what do you plan to do after you clear all this up? Will you return to the Kiadran territory, kill your uncle, and become the patriarch again?”

She shook her head.

“No. Regardless of the reasons… I have committed an indelible sin against my family. I plunged the family into chaos and leaked our secret techniques to the outside world. While my uncle must naturally be torn to pieces, a sinner like myself cannot possibly become the patriarch. I will leave the family to my younger brother.”

“Then what about you?”

At my question, a look of awkward bitterness crossed her features.

“…Well, now that you mention it, what should I do? Are you perhaps… willing to take responsibility for me?”

“Responsibility? What kind of responsibility?”

“…Please allow me to serve you as my lord.”

“…Wait, that sounds an awful lot like you’re trying to move into my house.”

“Your house…? Well, I suppose it would amount to that.”

“Mm, well, it’s not like adding one more person to the headcount at this stage changes much… so it’s fine, but….”

“Are you granting me permission?”

“More importantly, I happen to have a much better idea. What do you think? Care to hear it?”

“A better idea… sir?”

“This Count of Evas’s domain right here—there’s no one left now, right? It’s completely empty.”

“Well… I suppose that’s true.”

“What do you think will happen if you just leave it alone?”

“The branch family member with the thickest bloodline will likely inherit the domain.”

“Instead of doing that, why don’t you just take it for yourself?”

“…Pardon?”

“Technically speaking, as the wife of the successor, your right of succession is far higher than any random branch family, isn’t it? Just take the whole thing. Become the lord of the domain yourself. Wouldn’t that also count as the finest revenge?”

“Ah…!”

At my words, her eyes sparkled like stars.