141

Hamel advanced slowly, sword drawn. The interior of the room was dark, making it difficult to discern Ashitaka Saburo’s face. He sat with his head bowed low, kneeling. The moment Hamel stopped before him—

Thud.

His head slid off and fell to the floor.

“…….”

It was a clean cut. Saburo’s eyes were wide open in death, as if harboring a deep grievance. It appeared he hadn’t been dead for long. Hamel winced and stepped back. This man was supposed to be the mastermind behind everything.

‘So why is he here, like this…?’

Just as Hamel’s confusion deepened, a voice suddenly drifted from a corner of the room.

“Didn’t I tell you to be careful? I told you not to trust Ashitaka Saburo.”

The owner of the voice stepped out of the shadows, wearing a smirk.

“Of course, I didn’t tell you to trust me either.”

“Leo Benedictus.”

Hamel muttered the name under his breath, staring at him.

The party leveled their weapons at Leo Benedictus the moment they spotted him. He gave a short, cynical laugh.

“Why so hostile? You’re acting as if I’ve betrayed you.”

“…….”

“It’s not as if you ever considered me an ally to begin with.”

At those words, the party remained silent. Hamel asked calmly:

“We certainly didn’t, but weren’t you and him at least on the same side?”

“……?”

“Turning Ashitaka’s god into Azidahaka was your handiwork, wasn’t it?”

Leo Benedictus’s eyes widened slightly. Then, he nodded.

“Mmm. You’ve reached that conclusion. Just as I’ve heard.”

Leo Benedictus picked up Ashitaka Saburo’s severed head. He dangled it, swaying it back and forth as he continued.

“I wondered why you returned so early, but to think you grasped the entire situation in that short time. My subordinates stood no chance against you in a battle of wits.”

“Why did you betray Ashitaka?” Hamel asked, ignoring Leo’s chatter.

Leo answered surprisingly candidly.

“Because they didn’t move according to plan.”

“……Plan?”

“Killing the Inquisitors who came to investigate was an independent move by the Ashitaka family. Perhaps they felt they no longer needed our assistance?”

Hamel’s brow furrowed slightly at the answer.

“You mean to say it was based on mere speculation?”

“Who knows? Maybe they were afraid the Inquisitors would discover Azidahaka’s identity. But does that really matter?”

Leo Benedictus shrugged. He held up Saburo’s head and continued.

“What matters is that they broke our pact and acted on their own.”

“…….”

“It’s troublesome when a chess piece moves of its own accord. I had to take back the reins.”

A chess piece. Hamel asked after a brief silence.

“Did you drag me into this for that purpose?”

“It was a bit of both. You were also a chess piece running wild as you pleased.”

“……”

Leo Benedictus let out a sigh of mock frustration.

“From the affairs in the North to the East, you moved differently from our plans several times… Or rather, should I say you exceeded expectations?”

The Glenval family. Luna Cornus. David Gilmore. The Rengbaster and Solmer estates. Even the Garden of Purification. Leo Benedictus had tried to orchestrate all these situations to suit his taste. To him, everyone was a pawn moving within his predicted scope—even his enemies.

But there was one exception. Only Hamel constantly deviated from his calculations, producing entirely different results.

“You were a variable in yourself. The moment you became involved, the plan warped in unpredictable ways.”

“…….”

Hamel had never intended for that. He had simply dealt with the problems right in front of him. When Hamel didn’t respond, Leo Benedictus finished with a grin.

“So, I intended to use you to drain Ashitaka Saburo’s strength and dispose of both of you. Though, contrary to expectations, it ended in your overwhelming victory.”

Hamel remained silent. A strange sense of dissonance bothered him. Why was Leo answering so freely? He didn’t have to think long for the answer.

‘He’s confident he can kill us all right here.’

What hidden card allowed him to be so relaxed? As Hamel pondered, a forgotten fact flashed through his mind. What had happened to Ashitaka’s god? The head of the family and the chief priest, Ashitaka Saburo, was dead. Then next would be…

“……Could it be?”

The moment Hamel’s eyes widened, Leo Benedictus grinned.

“Exactly.”

Snap.

He flicked his fingers. Behind the party, a child appeared. His eyes were empty and grey, his expression mechanical. The youthful face bore the distinct features of the Ashitaka bloodline.

‘Ashitaka Ren.’

He was Saburo’s son and heir, whom Hamel had been briefly introduced to earlier. Even seeing his father’s severed head, the boy didn’t blink. He seemed devoid of emotion—no, he seemed devoid of will.

‘Has he become a puppet?’

Hamel didn’t know the exact method, but Leo had turned the child into a puppet. He wanted a pawn he could control. Hamel grit his teeth. No matter how deep the Ashitaka family’s sins were, this was too cruel for a child.

As if surrounding the boy, a mysterious group cloaked in black robes appeared.

‘The Crow Worshippers….’

Hamel had seen them before. The dungeon he had entered while chasing Marvas’s followers. They were the ones he had encountered where Ono obtained the ‘Root of All Wisdom.’

“Allow me to introduce the new Priest of Azidahaka: Ashitaka Ren.”

“…….”

“Unlike his arrogant father, he is a good child who listens to us well.”

Leo Benedictus beamed. It was then that Hamel took a step forward.

“Do as you please.”

“……?”

Hamel’s voice was cold as frost. His eyes began to glow with a blue light.

“Whether it’s Ashitaka’s god, or you, or whatever else—I will crush everything.”

“…….”

Black armor began to cover Hamel, starting from the foot he stepped forward with. Leo Benedictus winced and took a step back instinctively. Hamel’s momentum was undeniably dangerous.

However, Leo soon recovered and said with a chuckle, “Ho. So that is the rumored power. But you see……”

At Leo’s nod, the boy, Ashitaka Ren, began to mutter something. Hamel easily recognized it as a sort of scripture or incantation.

“…….”

What was he doing? Just as Hamel grew wary—

Crumble.

“……!”

Suddenly, Hamel’s armor turned to dust and vanished. But that wasn’t all.

“This is….”

Hamel clenched and opened his hand. What should have been there was gone.

“My power… has vanished?”

He felt nothing. No Blue Flame. No Dragon Blood. No—wait. He could still feel the mana and aura remaining in his body. Hamel looked at Leo Benedictus, who nodded.

“Yes. This place is now a kind of ‘Domain.’ A land where no divinity, holiness, or supernatural ability can be used.”

“…….”

Hamel bit his lip. This was it. This was the reason the Inquisitors and the Ashitaka knights were so helplessly defeated. And now, Hamel’s most powerful strength was sealed just like theirs. Ono and Antonio spoke up in a panic.

“This is insane. It really doesn’t work.”

“……I cannot feel the presence of the Good Gods.”

Looking at them, Leo Benedictus grinned broadly.

“Right? However, there is one divinity that can use its power here.”

“…….”

Hamel didn’t need to hear it; he already knew the answer. It was—

“The God of Ashitaka.”

The ‘Nine-Headed Serpent.’ As the words were spoken, a massive presence loomed over the entire building, casting a shadow. Even though it hadn’t moved yet, the party’s faces turned pale. A pressure that made it hard to breathe weighed down from all sides.

Leo laughed with satisfaction. “At this rate, it won’t take long to swallow the entire West. Please, quietly become nourishment for the new divinity.”

What to do? Hamel actually had a method in mind. He wasn’t certain, but the possibility was high. However, against Leo Benedictus, whose full strength was unknown, it was a move close to a gamble. The problem was timing.

‘Is it now?’

Hamel’s dilemma deepened.

Caw!

Suddenly, a crow flew in and landed on Leo Benedictus’s shoulder. He looked at the crow with an inquisitive expression. The crow cawed as if answering, and Leo’s expression turned to one of shock.

“The Beast Dragon King… is here in the West…?”

The Dragon. An existence the Evil Gods always considered vital. Leo Benedictus looked back and forth between Hamel and the crow, appearing conflicted.

“But the matter here is also….”

“Caw! Caw!”

As the crow cried out again, Leo nodded as if he had no choice.

“Fine. I suppose the probability of them surviving is non-existent anyway.”

Leo Benedictus muttered this and immediately turned around. Just as it seemed he was leaving, he stopped as if remembering something.

“……Ah, I forgot to mention. Since you’re about to die, I should at least tell you this.”

“……?”

“Your estate. Haidern.”

“…….”

“Don’t worry too much about it.”

“What does that mean…?”

“It means that place has likely already suffered the same fate as the Rengbaster family. So, die in peace.”

Leo Benedictus laughed brightly, seemingly delighted. Then—

Swoosh.

Just like his entrance, he vanished without a sound. Only crow feathers fluttered where he had stood. All that remained were Hamel’s party, the Crow Worshippers, Ashitaka Ren, and Ashitaka’s god casting a shadow outside.

A brief silence followed.

“Kill them.”

The command came from the one who seemed highest-ranking among the Crow Worshippers. Ashitaka Ren nodded, and simultaneously—

KA-BOOM!

A powerful impact swept the area along with a thunderous roar.

“…….”

In the blink of an eye, the building where the party stood was blown away. What had swept through the building were nine massive tails. Antonio, Ono, and the Bremen Musicians couldn’t even react.

But—

Whoosh!

Fortunately, Lena, Daniel, and Hamel had grabbed everyone and soared into the air. They were the ones who could still use aura and mana. Having narrowly escaped the building, the party could see it: the ‘Nine-Headed Serpent’ revealed in the garden.

The giant snake, covered in black scales, flicked its tongue menacingly. Its body was larger than the temple itself, making it difficult to even fathom its scale. And strangely, the beast seemed agitated.

Hiss!

Its gaze focused on Hamel and Ono. Even though their powers were sealed, it seemed to recognize the divinity within them.

“What do we do now?” Ono asked, looking miserable. They had narrowly avoided the attack, but surviving this seemed impossible.

Hamel answered calmly, “There is a way.”

“What? A way?”

“It’s only a possibility, but give that rabbit to me.”

“What? If your ‘way’ is to offer the rabbit as bait…!”

As Ono hid the rabbit behind his back in horror, Hamel cut him off.

“It’s not like that, so just give it here.”

“Ugh….”

Ono handed over the rabbit reluctantly, and Hamel took it. He carefully lifted the rabbit and whispered into its ear:

“I command you as the proxy of Apophis.”

Twitch.

The rabbit’s ears flickered. Its breathing grew heavy, as if filled with anticipation.

“You may release the seal. Azidahaka.”