Chapter 65 : Square

“Lady Ruina!”

A voice echoed from somewhere.

“Lady Ruina!”

What initially seemed like a distant sound grew sharper and more distinct.

“Lady Ruina!”

“Ugh… huh?”

The thunderous voice startled me awake. 

My eyes fluttered open, and I groggily scanned my surroundings with a hazy gaze.

“You’ve finally woken up.”

Turning to my right, I noticed someone looking down at me. 

As my blurred vision gradually cleared, her figure came into focus.

Blonde hair, emerald eyes, and a nun’s habit.

It was Bliss.

“I was really worried. No matter how much I called out, you wouldn’t wake up…”

As she spoke in a concerned tone, I propped myself up. While listening to her, I couldn’t focus and instead began searching for Reina.

Though I felt sorry for ignoring Bliss’s words, I didn’t have the mental capacity to process them. Reina’s safety was far more important than whatever she was saying.

But no matter how much I looked around, Reina was nowhere to be found.

“Reina…? Where is Reina?!”

When I asked Bliss, her expression darkened.

“I don’t know. When I found you, you were lying here alone. I searched the entire area as soon as I located you, but… Reina was nowhere to be found.”

Hearing that Reina wasn’t near me, I felt a wave of panic wash over me.

‘Where could she have gone?’

I felt dizzy, my chest tight with anxiety. My hands moved to my lips, biting my nails unconsciously.

“If you want to get her back, come to the plaza as soon as you wake up from this dream. I’ll wait for one day.”

The last words I had heard before losing consciousness echoed in my mind.

The plaza. I had to go to the plaza.

I didn’t know if those words were true, but Reina wasn’t here with me.

Right now, all I could do was trust in the cryptic message left behind and act on it.

“I have to go to the plaza!”

I grabbed Bliss by the shoulders and shouted. Her startled expression showed that she didn’t understand my sudden outburst. Her gaze seemed to question why I was acting this way, but all I could manage to say was the same thing repeatedly:

“I have to go to the plaza!”

Even though I wanted to say something more specific, my mind felt blank, as if I’d turned into an idiot.

“Why the plaza, Lady Ruina? Please calm down! You’re too agitated right now!”

Bliss removed my hands from her shoulders, locking eyes with me.

“Alright, now take deep breaths. Slowly—one, two, one, two.”

Looking into her emerald eyes and following her instructions, I gradually calmed down.

“Why do you need to go to the plaza?”

Once I appeared more composed, Bliss cautiously asked.

I explained everything that had happened, except for the dream.

“I see. Then we should head to the plaza as soon as possible. Can you stand?”

I staggered as I got to my feet. My body felt stiff from lying down for so long, but as I kept moving, the awkwardness gradually faded, replaced by a familiar ease.

Bliss asked, “Are you alright? Can you run?”

“Yes.”

“Do you remember the plaza’s location? If not, just follow me.”

I vaguely recalled where the plaza was but wasn’t entirely sure. I nodded at her, indicating that I would follow her lead.

“Alright, let’s go!”

And so, we began heading toward the plaza.

The quiet night streets of Viln.

Normally, the streets at night were dark and silent, with no one in sight.

Thud!

The silence was shattered by a strange, loud noise.

“Help me! My body’s on fire!”

“Get away from me!”

Bliss swung her morning star at a man rushing toward her.

Thud!

The heavy sound of impact rang out as her weapon met its target.

“It wasn’t meee!”

A woman now charged at her from behind, screaming incoherently.

“What do you mean, ‘it wasn’t you’!?”

Bliss spun and swung her weapon again.

Thud!

The morning star struck the woman’s torso, sending her flying with a scream.

Having dealt with both attackers in mere moments, Bliss quickly closed her eyes and recited a prayer.

“O Lord, please heal these lambs of their wounds.”

As she finished, a faint light began to emanate from the two fallen figures.

Bliss wiped her brow and turned to me.

“Phew… What in the world is happening tonight? Why are lunatics popping up everywhere we go?”

“It’s probably because of magic.”

“Magic? There’s magic that can do this? What a damnable spell!”

As she spoke, Bliss swung her morning star again, this time stopping another attacker in their tracks.

‘Damn it!’

While Bliss recited another prayer, I kept watch over our surroundings.

Bilne’s streets, which should have been deathly quiet at this hour, were filled with chaos.

People were shouting all around us:

“Save me! Please save me!”

“I’m sorry! I was wrong! Please forgive me!”

“Hehehehehehe!”

“I won’t starve alone! Everyone should die, damn it!”

“Please, just one! My children are starving at home. Please!”

“Aaaaaahhh!”

Their cries varied wildly.

Some were angry, some sad, some joyful, and others laughing.

It was as if the entire spectrum of human emotions could be heard just by standing here.

At first glance, it seemed harmless.

But among them, a few…

“S-Save me!”

…charged toward us, and that was the problem.

“Enough!”

Bliss struck another attacker with her morning star, and they crumpled to the ground.

I hoped they weren’t dead.

“We’re almost at the plaza now! Just a little further!”

Bliss shouted while swinging her weapon at yet another assailant. I nodded and raised my sword, striking down someone rushing toward her.

She cleared the path ahead, while I protected her from behind.

This was our strategy.

Thanks to it, we managed to reach the plaza.

***

What greeted us at the plaza wasn’t relief, but chaos.

“Alright, we’ve made it to the plaza—!”

Boom!

“…Have we?”

The deafening crash came from something slamming into a wall beside us.

I approached to see what it was.

“Agnes…?”

To my shock, it was Agnes, lying against the wall.

Her condition was dire, her body covered in wounds, and pained groans escaping her lips.

“Who… is it… Ruina?”

She asked in a strained voice, trying to endure her pain.

‘What’s going on?’

For someone as skilled as Agnes, a member of the Hero’s Party, to be in this state was beyond strange.

As I prepared to question her, Bliss’s shout interrupted me.

“Artorius, what’s happening here?!”

Turning toward the direction of her voice, I saw Artorius, spear in hand, looking worn out as he caught his breath.

He shouted back, “Bliss…? You’re finally here! Help me out, will you?!”

“What’s going on?”

Bliss muttered, clearly struggling to make sense of the situation.

I, too, was trying to process what was happening when another voice rang out from above.

“Finally, you’re here!”

Looking up, I saw her—Kairen, the one I’d been desperately searching for.

“I was starting to think you’d never show up! Huh? You look better than I expected. I guess you managed to overcome the dream?”

“She spoke in a tone laced with curiosity.”

Her words brought the vivid memory of my earlier dream rushing back, and I clenched my fists tightly.

‘How can she act so casual after causing this disaster…?’

Seeing her stand there, smiling as if nothing had happened, filled me with a boiling anger.

“Kairen!”

“Ah, now that the main character has arrived, shall we begin the main event? Return to me,” she commanded, looking downward.

At her direction, someone began walking toward her as if compelled by her orders.

When I realized who it was, I froze in shock, my eyes widening in disbelief.

Judging by her panicked tone, Bliss was just as astonished as I was.

“Artorius! What on earth is happening? Why is the hero acting like that?!”

Artorius, staring at the figure with a grim expression, replied heavily,

“It seems the hero has been… compromised.”

In the plaza of Bilne stood a massive statue, an imposing figure of a woman representing Naias, the patron deity of the Origin Church.

The rulers of Bilne, devout followers of the church, had erected this grand monument as a sign of their faith.

It was visible even from a great distance.

Now, standing atop that statue, Kairen began shouting to the gathered crowd.

“Ladies and gentlemen! Thank you for joining us on this dazzling night beneath the radiant full moon!”

“The moment you’ve all been waiting for is finally here!”

“Today, I present to you the challenger who dares to face our reigning champion!”

—Woooaaah!

At her gesture, the people surrounding the plaza erupted into applause and cheers.

But their movements were unnatural. Some staggered unsteadily, others moved rigidly like robots, and still others could barely rise from the ground.

They all moved like puppets under invisible strings, their lack of normalcy deeply unsettling.

Seemingly satisfied with their response, Kairen nodded with a smug smile and continued speaking.

“An extraordinary prophet! A filthy traitor with her pure white hair, saintly aura, and a vulgar body crafted to captivate men!”

She pointed at me and shouted,

“The saint herself! Ruina!”

—Woooaaah!

“And now, to face her, today’s champion!”

“The strongest of humanity! The detestable lackey of that damned goddess! The man who has slain more demons than any other and even killed their king, the Demon Lord! The bastard of bastards!”

“The hero, Dane Briar!”

—Woooaaah!

Kairen introduced the two of us as if announcing gladiators about to fight in an arena.

Though no arena announcer would ever introduce combatants in such a derisive manner.

Her voice brimmed with excitement as she continued,

“A battle between the hero and the saint! What an exhilarating sight!

Can the saint fend off the hero? Or will she fall to a hero lost in madness?

Who knows! If the saint discards her pride and uses her vulgar charms to seduce him, maybe she’ll survive!”

“Now, let the event you’ve all been waiting for… begin!”

—Woooaaah!

As her voice rang out, another wave of cheers erupted.

And as the noise began to subside, the hero moved.

He drew his holy sword.

But the direction he pointed it wasn’t toward Kairen.

It was toward me.

“Enemy of humanity, Demon Lord! I, Dane Briar, called by the goddess Naias, shall now vanquish you!”

With his holy sword drawn and pointed at me, the hero shouted with conviction.

But his eyes were unfocused.

This meant only one thing:

He was not in his right mind.

From his words, I understood one more thing—

He believed I was the Demon Lord.

Processing the situation, I reached for my sword’s hilt with trembling hands.

And one thought consumed me.

This is absolutely insane.