Chapter 331

Lake Kingdom Dungeon, Zone 5, 'Fountain Square'.

After parting ways with Ash and his party, Nameless silently roamed the darkness of Lake Kingdom.

Except for the 'The Dried Sewer', the persistent darkness of nightmares still oozed and swirled everywhere else, showing no signs of retreat. 

Yet, Nameless's face was noticeably brighter.

Perhaps she had found a glimmer of hope within this endless darkness.

"You look happy, Nameless."

However, her once bright face instantly hardened at the sudden voice.

"Out of all the faces I've seen over the last five hundred years, yours is the brightest. Found something good?"

"..."

Nameless slowly turned her head toward the direction of the voice.

She didn't draw her sword. She knew who it was.

"It's been a long time since we met here."

Formal respect flowed from Nameless's mouth.

"Crown."

Emerging from the dark alley was a man in jester attire wearing a smiling mask—Crown.

After briefly staring at his masked face, Nameless slowly removed the hood of her robe and bowed respectfully.

The revised honorific flowed from her lips.

"No... 'Brother'."

"..."

Brother.

The resonance of that word was so unfamiliar and tender that Crown involuntarily shuddered.

- Brother!

Suddenly, Crown's eyes caught a glimpse of the scenery from five hundred years ago.

A huge pond from which splendid fountains spouted streams of water upwards. Above it lay a beautiful marble walkway.

When they met on this path, where the sunlight created small rainbows by striking water droplets, his younger sister greeted him with a respectful bow and then... smiled like a petal.

"..."

Closing his eyes briefly, the traces of that distant past had vanished.

Above the stinking dried pond were shattered, grotesque stones that remained as debris.

Instead of sunlight, compressed darkness was pouring down.

Above that, his younger sister stood with a sword on her back, wearing a tattered robe, her hair having turned white, and her body soiled with dirt, ash, and blood.

With an expressionless face.

Without a trace of that tender smile from those days.

"..."

It's a distant, really distant memory.

Now, it's so far away that he doubted whether it was a dream or a real memory.

The princess and prince of a kingdom that fell into hell stood far apart and stared at each other for a moment.

"Call me Crown."

Crown, readjusting his mask, whispered.

"Like you offered your name and soul to the Goddess to gain power, I too have given my name and soul to a demon for strength. There's no meaning in calling me by any other name."

Despite becoming 'Nameless' by burning her own existence for power and losing her name,

She had stubbornly held onto a few memories, one of which was the fact that Crown was her brother.

That fact painfully disturbed Crown.

This pathetic man... his younger sister still treated him as her brother.

"...Alright, Crown."

Nameless, adhering to Crown's request, looked around her surroundings.

"Were you wandering here today for some business? Or did you come to meet me?"

"No. It's just a coincidence that our paths crossed."

Crown shrugged.

"The King of Kings has convened a War Council. He assigned me the task of summoning the Nightmare Legion commanders. So I'm going around informing them about the meeting."

"Ho, a War Council..."

Nameless's eyes sharpened.

A regular meeting convened by the Demon King and his monstrous subordinates, summoning the Nightmare Legion commanders up to rank 10. The War Council.

In the past, Nameless had stormed into a meeting and disrupted it. Once again, her hand moved to the hilt of the sword on her back.

Crown waved his hand in disapproval.

"Planning to cause another ruckus? Just stop. Last time, you laid waste to the King's Castle, but they recovered overnight, didn't they?"

"..."

"No matter how many of them you kill, the King of Kings will revive them. Don't waste your energy for nothing."

Since Crown's words were true, Nameless reluctantly pulled her hand away from her sword hilt. Still, her face seemed dissatisfied.

Crown continued to speak.

"Why not stop your futile resistance?"

"..."

"If you and I combine our efforts, we might be able to improve the situation here. You've fought long enough, haven't you? Five hundred years is more than enough."

"Improve the situation... how so? By allowing our people to have slightly more comfortable nightmares?"

Although Nameless was mocking, Crown nodded earnestly.

"If they're going to rule this kingdom and all of its citizens are trapped in nightmares anyway, then yes. Perhaps it would be better to give them a more comfortable nightmare."

"..."

Glancing back briefly, Nameless looked toward Zone 1, where the 'The Dried Sewer' was located.

"Why did you look so pleased earlier, Crown?"

"...?"

"Today, for the first time in five hundred years, the Demon King's territory has diminished."

Inside his mask, Crown's face hardened. Nameless continued.

"It was Ash who accomplished this. He's driven out the darkness of the nightmare from this kingdom, if only just a little."

"...So?"

"Don't you see? The beacon for our counterattack has already been lit. Ash has 'proven his worth.' Who knows, this time we might finally be able to defeat the Demon King."

"So you speak of hope just because we reclaimed a tiny piece of land from them?"

Crown shook his head in disbelief.

"You've become weak. Have you too grown weary from fighting for five hundred years?"

"Everything starts with a tiny spark. I will protect this spark until the very end, Crown."

Nameless clenched her fist tightly.

"I may be nothing but ashes now, but even so... I'm willing to stake it on him."

"..."

Crown tightly closed his lips.

Why Ash was the final player.

What outcomes this grand game had led to in the past.

He knew, but chose not to say. He didn't want to tarnish his sister's noble will, which shone even in the endless despair.

"You and I are on different paths."

So, he would go this way.

"Go down the path you believe is right. I will..."

With the heart of a betrayer fitting for the foul quagmire.

With a quagmire fitting for the heart of a betrayer.

"I'll continue to atone in my own way."

"...I see."

Starting to walk again, Nameless passed by Crown and continued on her way.

Crossing over the broken stone bridge, the prince and princess of the Lake Kingdom brushed past each other.

"..."

As she walked past Crown, Nameless tried hard to remember.

What he originally looked like.

What face lay beneath that mask, what smile he had, what stories he told.

But all she could remember was that he was her older brother.

The memories tied to him were utterly elusive, as if she had already burned them all to ash.

"...Until next time, then."

Muttering softly, Nameless walked forward without looking back.

"..."

Whether it was residual affection or something else, Crown's eyes widened as he glanced back at his sister.

Amid Nameless's unkempt white hair, a red hair tie that bound her hair from behind fluttered in the wind.

Suddenly, the image from five hundred years ago flitted through Crown's mind.

His younger sister's long, neatly tied hair was always adorned with that same red ribbon.

"...Ha-ha."

Crown chuckled softly before raising his voice.

"It's been a while since I've seen you tie your hair like that. Before the kingdom fell into this state, you used to tie your hair that way quite often."

"...?"

"It's nice to see it, reminds me of old times. Keep tying it that way."

With that, Crown walked away.

Nameless looked puzzled as she touched the back of her head. Unbeknownst to her, her hand grasped a neatly tied red ribbon.

"...When did I tie this?"

She had no memories of grooming her hair during her five hundred years here.

Then it dawned on Nameless.

Ah!

When Jormungandr invaded the realm, she had briefly left to help repel the invasion.

Someone had tied her hair while she had spent a day at Ash's mansion on her way back.

So, that person was...

- It was my pleasure.

...Who was it?

Her memory was already hazy.

Nameless shrugged and resumed walking. One lost memory among many.

The next monster onslaught was coming soon.

For Ash and the outside world, she needed to kill as many monsters as possible. She moved forward to fulfill her duty.

***

Walking along the road, Crown looked down at the list in his hand.

Nightmare Legion.

Originally a term for all monster commanders, but it eventually became a designation for the top ten monsters commanding the ten highest-ranking legions.

Crown raised his hand and scratched off several names on the list with his nail. Names of those he would need to summon for the war council.

Rank 10: Goblin God-King.

Rank 9: Slayer of the Full Moon.

Rank 8: Ghost Strategist.

Rank 7: Succubus.

Rank 6: Black Spider Queen.

Rank 5: Vampire King.

Rank 4: Lord of Plague.

Rank 3: Grand Sorcerer.

Rank 2: Demon Guardian Commander.

Rank 1: Black Dragon.

'Maybe I should be grateful that three are already dead.'

9th Lunared.

6th Orlop.

5th Celendion.

Ash had already killed these three.

'Indeed, this Ash is different.'

This Ash was exceptional. Perhaps he would achieve something remarkable.

But in the end... victory would belong to the Demon King.

Knowing this, Crown chose the path of submission under his rule.

'Traitors do what traitors can, dear sister.'

Recalling his sister's face, Crown smiled bitterly.

'May you remain noble till the very end.'

Yes, noble, even if just until the very end.

Because ultimately, everyone would fall into darkness.

***

At the same time.

Central Jail of Crossroad.

Mason was squeezing his massive, muscular frame into a narrow cell and was in the midst of a restless sleep.

Thud. Thud.

The approaching footsteps awoke Mason, who discreetly opened his eyes.

A knight in black armor stood outside the iron bars. A smile crept over Mason's bearded lips.

"Good evening, Sir Lucas."

"...Mason."

Creak-

Lucas dragged a chair in front of the bars and sat down, his bright blue eyes twinkling.

"I've considered the proposal you passed along... and I don't think it's a bad idea."

The proposal Mason had relayed.

In other words, the message from Fernandez.

- If you uphold the ancient vow, all crimes committed by your family will be absolved, your honor restored, and your family's old fiefdom and wealth returned.

The ancient vow meant— the vow of loyalty toward Fernandez, staked on the family's name.

"..."

Lucas closed his eyes, momentarily recalling the days of his youth. He then shot his blue gaze forward once again.

It was a cold, icy stare, the kind that seemed like it could freeze you with a mere glance.

"So, what exactly do you want me to do?"

Facing such a lord, a faint smile appeared on Mason's lips.