"Your Majesty."
I flinched at the voice that came from beside me.
"What's wrong, Your Majesty? Are you already drunk?"
"Ah, huh? What?"
Turning to my side, I saw Jupiter sitting there.
The one-eyed veteran wore a familiar mischievous smile, a cup of strong liquor in one hand and a smoldering cigar in the other. She frowned beside me.
"This is troubling. Weren't you supposed to be my drinking partner all night today?"
"Uh...?"
"Anyway, so here's the thing, that tiny and sharp Junior, what she said to this old lady was..."
This was the mercenaries' guild's bar. I glanced over the empty bottles in front of me.
Huh?
When did I start drinking here?
I was certain that...
"Your Majesty?"
"Huh?"
"You seem really drunk, shall we call it a night?"
"No, no! I'm fine."
"Then please fill up this old woman's cup quickly. You haven't been pouring, and I've been babbling to myself with a dry throat."
I quickly picked up the bottle in front of me and filled Jupiter's cup.
At first, I was bewildered, but soon a slow smile spread across my lips.
How long has it been since I drank like this with Jupiter?
"Hey, Jupiter. I don't know if this sounds awkward all of a sudden, but I really enjoy having a drink and talking with you like this."
As I said this and poured the drink, when I turned to the side,
Suddenly, this wasn't the mercenaries' guild anymore. It was atop the southern wall.
The smell of blood, gunpowder... and this wall, filled with the corpses of warriors, where Jupiter lay dead.
Her chest was riddled with wounds from a magic bullet, and the veteran had long since breathed her last, her old black uniform drenched in blood.
"...?!"
What is this?
What's suddenly happening?
Panicked, I hastily backed away. Then the scenery changed again.
This was the annex next to the lord's mansion, where the Shadow Squad stayed.
"Prince!"
"Your Highness!"
Two young elves I hadn't seen in a while ran towards me.
Oldgirl, always grinning and waving at me, and Skull, her face covered in scars. The two elves stood on either side of me and whined.
"We want to drink fruit juice!"
"The nut-filled cookies you gave us last time were delicious!"
"Alright, kids. I'll take care of it. But wait a moment... Let me catch my breath..."
As I gasped for breath and looked down at them again,
Thud.
Crackle...
Oldgirl collapsed like a dried-up old tree, her body drained of blood, and Skull was shattered to pieces by a blood magic bombardment.
My whole body stiffened.
"Eh, ah...?!"
Turning around with a creak, I ran.
I ended up in front of the barracks. Kuilan's brother Kureha stood there, a red-haired beastman.
"Kureha! Call the people! Something's wrong..."
"Your Highness."
The next moment, Kureha had transformed into a giant wolf monster.
His deep, sad eyes looked at me.
"Give, the, order, please, your, Highness."
And then, he collapsed and died like an old tower crumbling.
I ran towards the inner city, holding back a scream.
In front of the alchemist's workshop, Godhand was peeking inside, holding a bouquet of tangled flowers in his hand.
Was he hiding here to surprise Lilly?
Seeing his shy smile made my eyes burn.
"Godhand! Thank goodness, you're here!"
As I ran and grabbed Godhand's shoulder,
Whoosh...
Flowers scattered on the ground.
Holding the bouquet, along with his prosthetic arm, leaving only the flowers scattered... Godhand disappeared without a trace.
"Ah..."
Breathing became difficult.
Staggering back, I entered the temple beside me.
But even here, in front of the statue of the goddess in the temple... Saintess Margarita lay fallen, an arrow pierced through her chest.
Quietly. As if asleep. Peacefully. Breathless.
"Uh, gah...!"
I clenched my teeth and suppressed a scream as I left the temple, running through Crossroad to escape anywhere.
But there was nowhere for me to escape in this city.
The whole city was filled with memories of people,
And thus, the whole city was death.
-A City atop a Grave.
The nickname of Crossroad slowly stirred my mind.
The bodies of my heroes, my soldiers, filled the city. Eventually, I couldn't bear it any longer and ran out of the city.
"Hah! Hah!"
As I opened the city gates and burst out, I saw Ken surrounded by a swarm of black spiders in the distance.
That shield knight who died in the tutorial stage looked at me, then muttered in a voice mixed with tears.
"Damn, I knew it would come to this..."
The spiders' claws swung, and Ken was butchered.
I numbly took in the scene.
The entire horizon... was filled with the deaths of my people.
Unable to bear it any longer, I fell to my knees.
That's when it happened. Someone approached me slowly, dragging their feet beside me as I gasped for breath.
Looking up, I saw a skinny old man with a beard.
It was a face I couldn't forget. I called his name.
"...Margrave."
"How was it?"
The former lord, Margrave Charles Cross, asked with a bitter smile.
"Was it worth it, protecting this city, sacrificing your most precious things?"
And before I could answer.
Crash...!
His body, eaten away by rats, collapsed next to me. His broken spear and shield followed, crashing to the ground with a thunderous noise.
I couldn't breathe.
I just couldn't breathe.
I curled up and lay down. The whole world was darkness, death, blood, and screams.
It was the world I had created.
There was nowhere to escape.
...That's when it happened.
"Ash!"
From a distance, someone faintly called my name,
"Snap out of it, Ash!"
A reaching hand snagged the back of my neck.
***
"Ash!"
"...!"
I suddenly opened my eyes.
I was sitting on the ground, with Salome in front of me.
Her hands were on my shoulders. Had she been shaking me awake?
Gasping for breath, I ran my hand over my face. It was drenched in cold sweat.
"What just happened was..."
"That bastard's doing."
Salome glared at the empty space behind me. I awkwardly turned to look in that direction.
...There, something black and hideous writhed and hovered.
A swarm of insects? No, fog? Rats? Crows? Or...
Its form was indistinct, a mass of monstrosities pulsating as they entangled with each other. And then, that dreadful something spoke.
"Ah, awake, are you, Ash?"
His voice was unmistakably that of the Plague Legion Commander... Raven, torn and mashed as it was.
"To regain consciousness even after being infected by my new plague. Indeed, your spirit is steadfast."
"A plague, you say...?"
I stood up with Salome's support, my legs still shaky.
"That thing I just experienced, that was a plague...?"
"Yes. A new realm I've reached. A plague that not only devours flesh and mind but also rots the soul- the ultimate plague."
Raven, chuckling lowly, 'gazed' at Salome. He no longer had eyes or anything else, but his evil intent was clearly felt.
"Salome. I've always been curious, what kind of plague would be born if I used you as its source."
"Aaaaaah...!"
Salome quickly hid behind me. Raven continued, seemingly amused.
"If the psychical body, which is more mentally significant than the physical one, is entirely consumed as fodder - what form would that plague take? Would my plague, which stops at the destruction of the physical body, not evolve into a new form?"
Raven, if that mass of monstrosity could be called a body, flung it back theatrically.
"But then, I realized that I was the same. I had long transcended the limits of the physical body."
"..."
"So, I used my own mind and soul as a mold. Breaking and crushing my soul, using it as rot and material - and then, oh! I have finally reached it! Beyond the immunity of the body! Beyond the mental barriers! Into a new realm where even the soul rots!"
Even in that state, his theatrical and over-the-top way of speaking hadn't changed. I clicked my tongue.
Anyway, his words were long-winded, but the summary is simple.
'It's an attack directly on the mind.'
The [Phantom Pain] used by Raven's avatar - the illusory pain was nothing but a fake.
It was just an illusion of being infected with a plague in the body.
But this was different.
Raven's original plague was 'real', eating away at the mind and swallowing the soul... a plague of mental contamination, concept contamination.
'Damn, that's really messed up...'
I clicked my tongue.
A plague that acts on the mind.
My passive skill, [Unyielding Commander], is immune to all mental status abnormalities. The issue lies in the judgment of this immune state.
Each status abnormality's defense score is considered immune from 100 points.
For example, if the ice attribute defense score exceeds 100 points, one would not take any damage from any ice attribute attack.
This is why I have been immune to any mental attacks until now.
But the plague status abnormality continuously erodes this defense score.
And if even 1 point is deducted, it's no longer considered 'immune'. Damage starts to seep in, little by little.
Raven has become a bizarre existence called a mental plague, and it has succeeded in slightly eroding my mental defense score.
Like Achilles, who was invincible except for his heel, was killed by an arrow there.
His plague eroded my mental barrier, creating a gap and infiltrating my mind, showing me the terrible illusion earlier.
'If it happens again, can I escape it?'
Until now, I was immune to mental status abnormalities. Therefore, I didn't need to think of a defense.
But Raven has overturned that premise.
I recalled the terrible nightmare I just saw - the death of my comrades. I bit my lip until it bled and clenched my fist.
Facing that wave of guilt,
Could I withstand it if I faced it again?
I steadied my breath and racked my brain for a countermeasure. Even in this situation, Raven kept babbling on.
"The current me, rotting body, mind, and even soul, is truly the ultimate form of the plague! Even that arrogant King of Kings will not stand a chance against me!"
Whoosh!
Darkness glared at me.
"But my target is, first and foremost, you, Ash."
"..."
"I will melt and kill you first. And then, the now useless Salome too! I'll eradicate you together. And after that! All other Nightmare Legion commanders! Even the King of Kings! I'll rot them all!"
Swoosh!
Raven, with the sound of thousands of insect wings, flew towards me.
"I will cover this Lake Kingdom! And the entire world! Entirely with my plague-!"
Raven's black mist surged like a tidal wave. That's when it happened.
Whir!
Someone's strong arm grabbed my waist. That same arm then grabbed Salome and sprinted backwards with us.
Turning around, it was Mason.
Mason, with us on his back, dashed towards the sewer.
In front of the black water-filled area, Sword Demon and Spear Demon waited in a boat, oars in hand.
"Hurry up on the boat!"
In an unprecedentedly urgent tone, the two robbers shouted.
"Hurry-!"