Chapter 155: The Dream of Ansgar Part 1

After a brief moment of joy, we hurried toward the castle. Draven stayed behind to calm the still-confused people, while the three lively hunting dogs and a few other beastmen accompanied us to the castle.

-Flap!

-Flap! Flap!

As we got closer to the castle, a strange sight caught my eye. Something was struggling desperately in a black puddle which was a remnant of the "black rain".

I stopped and approached the puddle to take a closer look.

It was a crow.

A crow with only two legs.

"So, it's come to this."

The crow didn't cry out; it was merely fluttering its wings weakly. I bent down and carefully picked it up. Black rain and blood trickled down its body.

"..."

I was partly to blame for what had happened to the crow. Instead of setting it free, I used it to send a message that would cause confusion among our enemies.

-Swoosh…

I placed my hand on the crow's body and used [Wound Healing]. Blue magical power spread throughout its body. The crow fluttered its wings as if in pain, and at some point, it closed its eyes.

Fortunately, it wasn't dead. It had only fainted from the pain of the healing process. Due to some force that had already invaded the crow's body, my skill seemed to cause it pain instead. This would get better as its body gradually recovered and purified itself. Though I couldn't restore its legs, I would care for it as much as I could. I tucked the crow gently into my arms and continued walking.

"..."

The castle was silent.

Perhaps all the troops had already withdrawn to the underground temple, as there were no soldiers to block our way; not even the servants who usually managed the castle were anywhere to be seen.

-Squeak! Squeak!

-Squeak squeak!

Instead, the castle was filled with rats. Every window was covered with curtains, and the shadows darting around the dim interior were all rats. The only consolation was that they were just "ordinary" rats.

-Thump. Thump. Thump.

-Squeak! Squeak!

-Scurry scurry!

With every step we took, we could hear the rats scurrying away from us.

"El, draw the curtains."

"Yes, Master."

-Swish!

El and a few others drew back the curtains. When the light poured in, the rats that had been scurrying across the floor of the castle began to flee into the shadows and dart into the rat holes.

We continued to pull back the curtains as we walked deeper into the castle and the interior was gradually brightening. In the center of the castle, where a moth-eaten red carpet was spread out in patches, sat an unexpected figure.

"Come closer…"

".….."

"Come closer…"

It was Heines, the Lord of Dihid.

According to the villagers, Heines was supposed to be quite young and healthy. However, the man before my eyes looked so old and withered that it wouldn't have been surprising if he died at any moment. His skin was shriveled and wrinkled, his white hair was thinning, his nails looked rusted, and his belly was grotesquely swollen.

He couldn't even lift his head properly.

"…Are you truly Heines, the Lord of Dihid?"

His cloudy gray eyes, as if covered by a veil, turned to look at me. There was something unsettling about his gaze. It was both vacant and filled with something indescribable.

-Cough, cough.

With every cough, a thick old blood-like substance splattered from Heines' mouth. Moreover, it seemed as if something was writhing beneath the fabric covering his swollen belly.

This is not normal.

I exchanged glances with Lloyd. He too appeared to have noticed the oddities of the Lord and he nodded his head slightly.

"Heines."

"...."

"Barbason is dead."

To be precise, that demon wasn't exactly "dead," but since he would be trapped in the underground temple for thousands, maybe even tens of thousands of years, he was practically the same as dead. It's easier to explain it that way to most people.

Heines remained silent. He merely coughed a few more times and seemed to struggle as if trying to lift himself up.

Did he not understand?

"Heines."

"…Yes, yes. So, it has come to this. It has come to this."

Heines muttered to himself while lowering his head as if he were talking to no one in particular. At that moment, his grotesquely swollen belly began to twitch again.

Sensing something was off, I signaled to the others with a glance. Immediately, everyone reached for their weapons and got ready for battle. But Heines didn't seem to notice our actions at all.

I slowly approached Heines.

As my footsteps echoed, he lifted his head and looked at me with his cloudy eyes. His expression was strange—somewhere between a smile and a grimace—while he stared at me before uttering a single word.

"A shame…"

At that moment, his body convulsed violently. It felt as if something was thrashing beneath his skin.

".....!"

I quickly retreated, just in time to avoid something lunging at the spot where I had been.

It was "rats".

However, these rats were different from the ordinary ones that roamed the castle. The rats that burst out of Heines' body were unlike regular sewer rats; they were as big as a forearm, their fur was black and soaked in what looked like wet blood, their eyes glowed red, and their tails were lined with sharp spikes.

-Sssssh!

When one of the spikes brushed against the back of my hand, the spot where it touched began to char and burn.

Poison.

But I had the [Benevolent Monster] totem. When equipped, it instantly neutralized any poison inside my body. The wound caused by the spike immediately healed, but it would be highly toxic to anyone else.

"Cut off their tails! They're poisonous!"

I shouted to my companions while drawing the dagger from my waist. We had to exterminate these rats first. I was fed up. We had just finished dealing with the Ratmen, and now more rats appeared?

…This has to be the last time.

We fought against the endless stream of rats crawling out of Heines' stomach.

-Thwack!

-Squeeeal!!

-Slash!

-Screech!

We kicked, slashed, stabbed, and crushed them. And as I suspected, these were no ordinary rats.

-Poooof!

-Whoooooosh…

The rat that El slashed spewed out black smoke before disintegrating into dust, and the same happened with the others. Each one vanished as soon as it was killed.

-Aaaah…!

What stood out was that inside the smoke, there was a strange whispering, or perhaps a cry, that could be heard.

-Ansgar…rr…

-Glory…to…

-Aaah…ah…!

-Heine…s…!

The eerie whispering or crying sounded like the voice of an old man, a sickly woman, or perhaps even a child.

-Thud!!!

When I stomped on the head of the last rat and crushed it, another sobbing sound mixed with the smoke.

-Glory…to…!

"..."

What on earth is this? Is this Barbason's sorcery? He's filthy to the end.

…But Ansgar's mention bothers me.

Why is the story of the long-destroyed Ansgar coming up? With a frown, I approached Heines again, who was slumped over like a deflated balloon. His body which was now rid of the rats had collapsed in on itself.

"Heines."

I grabbed his chin and lifted his face. Heines looked up at me with a weary expression on his face, but unlike before, his eyes were now clear and blue.

"You are…"

"Theodore. A druid."

It seemed pointless to tell someone who was on the verge of death my name, but I maintained the courtesy.

"Why… is a druid… here…?"

"Do you know what happened in Dihid?"

"..."

"Were you the one who summoned the demon?"

"...Barbason."

So, it was Heines who summoned Barbason.

"Barbason is dead."

"...!"

"He committed terrible deeds in an attempt to turn Dihid into his own kingdom."

"Barbason … That can't be. He was my friend. He promised me a new Ansgar…"

A new Ansgar.

So that was it.

Come to think of it, Heines had blonde hair and blue eyes; this was the typical appearance of an Ansgar descendant, much like the royal family of the Barak Empire.

Did he do all this with Barbason to reclaim Ansgar?

"I… for my mother… a new… Ansgar…"

"..."

"Kaark…!"

As he continued to speak, he coughed up black blood again. It seemed the demonic power that had been sustaining Heines was gradually leaving his body and causing him great pain.

"Everything Barbason said was a lie. There is no new Ansgar. The underground temple was merely a sanctuary for demons, and Dihid almost became a den of rats."

"..."

"Heines, you made a pact with a demon. Without a demon to care for you, all that remains for you now is not glory, but only pain."

If Barbason was truly dead, Heines would have perished as well. However, Barbason was sealed at the bottom of the underground temple, not fully dead. This meant that Heines too was doomed and was also destined to suffer endless pain without disappearing.

"If you wish."

"Kaark, ugh…"

"I will end your suffering."

-Thrust!

I plunged my hand deep into the cloak that covered Heines' body. His body was as empty as if it had never existed, and where his heart should have been, there was a single rat struggling in its final throes. I grasped the rat tightly as if to crush it. And then…

-Aah, save me. Save me, my son…

-Show this poor mother a new Ansgar, I beg you…!

-Heines…, Heines!

The rat that had taken over his heart spoke with a voice that was clearer and more distinct. A beautiful and fragile voice that rolled as clear as glass beads.

"Mo-Mother…"

"…This is not your mother, but merely the remnants of Barbason."

"Aah…"

"..."

"What have I done…?"

A hot tear fell from Heines' eye.

Human weakness is bound to attract evil. Barbason too must have caught the scent of Heines' weakness after he lost his mother and made his nest in Dehid.

"Theodore."

"…Yes."

"End this suffering for me…"

Heines spoke in a voice that sounded as if he could die at any moment.

Without hesitation, I grasped his "heart" and crushed the struggling rat.

The suffering was over.