Isaac's memories of subjugation were brief.
There hasn't been much research on it, nor has much been uncovered.
Only one thing was certain — it could be performed on ordinary humans.
Isaac, too, learned about it at the end of his previous life.
During the final battle.
The memory remained vivid.
Flames and smoke rose from all sides as the fortress called "Everholt," defended by the grand master and his disciples, crumbled.
What happened to Silverna, who guarded the fortress walls?
What about the other disciples of the grand master?
Was the grand master safe?
Burdened by countless questions, Isaac looked up at the sky with a heavy heart.
Fleeing with his cane in hand would be futile, as the presence of the transcendent beings was overwhelming.
Isaac simply stood there, quietly accepting his impending death.
That was when an old foe appeared.
[Brother-in-law! Khehehe! Long time no see!]
There weren't many who would call him "brother-in-law."
And none in Helmut who would address him so frivolously.
'Alois?'
[Wow, I really didn't expect you to be alive, brother-in-law!]
The once-glossy red hair had dulled, the whites of his eyes had turned black, and a glint of madness shone through.
Two horns protruding from his head symbolized the loss of his humanity.
[Hahaha! What a familiar face!]
"How did you…?"
[After being banished from Helmut, they picked me up! Haha! And how about you, brother-in-law? Still limping on that leg I ruined?]
"..."
Alois, who once lusted after his own sister and failed to conceal his vile desires, was ultimately banished from Helmut.
[Ah, what a relief. I'm really glad. I've been dreaming of killing you, brother-in-law. I could never forgive you for defiling my sister, even once.]
"You've become one of them, haven't you?"
[Of course. Luckily, being a child of the great Helmut worked in my favor. Even after being cast out, the name of Helmut allowed me to thrive like this.]
The transcendent beings must have sought strong humans to enslave.
Helmut was the perfect vessel.
[Subjugation suits me surprisingly well. Ah, Helmut! The great Helmut!]
The greatsword in Alois's hand twitched.
Isaac knew that sword would soon swing to sever his neck.
"So, in the end."
The one who ruined his life.
And the one to end it.
It was Alois.
Just as Isaac was arriving at this bitter conclusion-
[Where is my sister's body?]
Alois licked his protruding teeth with a twisted grin.
Even now, he hadn't given up his obsession with Liana.
Isaac was about to sigh when-
A crimson line appeared across Alois's neck.
Splat!
Unaware of his own death, Alois's head tumbled to the ground, black blood pouring from his throat.
Beyond him-
The grand master stood, gripping the greatsword.
[What a foul stench of filthy blood.]
With wolf-like ears twitching, the grand master smiled bitterly at Isaac.
***
"Gahh!"
Meladik let out a sharp scream as his back slammed into a tree.
The rustling in the forest suggested there were wild animals nearby.
Snow piled on the branches fell, covering Meladik, but it also prevented Polo from following up with another attack.
"Kuhahaha!"
Polo laughed maniacally, seeming thrilled.
He quickly turned his head, looking for his next target.
"Ah, I don't like you."
Wiggling his fingers, Polo set his sights on Isaac.
Polo's grotesque movements as he charged forward were suddenly blocked by Sharen.
Kaang!
"Guhhk!"
Her entire body exuded crimson energy. The distinctive aura of Helmut often served as a form of armor, and it was now blocking Polo's advance.
"Helmut already lost earlier! You lost earlier, so why are you coming at me again?!"
"Be quiet!"
The clash of swords continued as the two struggled for dominance. Sharen slightly bent her knees, driving her toes into the ground, and the trembling of her greatsword revealed her desperate efforts. Veins bulged visibly, showing the strain she was under.
"Move! Move out of my way! Get out of the way!!!"
Snowflakes swirled and scattered. The black aura radiating in all directions began to engulf Sharen's deep crimson light.
Sharen was momentarily gripped by fear, reminded of the time she had been consumed by the black liquid.
"Push it back!"
Hearing Isaac's shout from behind, she clenched her teeth and focused her strength.
In that moment, Sharen's crimson energy burst forth, surging ahead.
The Crimson Descent.
A signature technique of Helmut.
The steel-like aura blazed fiercely like fire, forcing Polo back as he stumbled.
At that precise moment, Isaac darted past Sharen, gripping Pearlsun with both hands and thrusting it forward.
Crunch!
His target was Polo's chest—specifically the area where the "bone" was embedded.
"Arghhhh!"
Unlike before, Polo screamed in excruciating pain. Startled, he twisted his body to deflect the sword and scrambled away in a panic.
"Ugh! Owww! It hurts! It hurts so much!!!"
"Haah… haah… It seems effective, Isaac."
"…Yes."
Sharen, panting heavily, seemed drained. Her crimson energy, after the exertion of the Crimson Descent, had significantly weakened.
"What about Anna and Meladik?"
"They're fine. Don't worry."
Anna had rescued Meladik, who had been buried in a pile of snow. Meladik, having crashed into a tree, looked pained, possibly suffering a broken bone.
But before they could gather themselves—
"Youuu! I've always hated youuu!"
Polo pointed a trembling finger at Isaac.
"You hate me?"
Isaac raised his sword to chest level, ready to retaliate if necessary.
"You're just like me! You were cast aside by your family, weren't you?! Treated like garbage, right?!"
"Ahem!"
Sharen cleared her throat awkwardly.
"Why do you keep working so hard every day?! You make me feel so pathetic! It's because of you! Your efforts as a commoner, refusing to slack off, make me feel miserable!!!"
Polo's voice overflowed with resentment and bitterness.
Raw, unfiltered emotions spewed out like filth.
Isaac recognized this feeling—It reminded him of the twisted feelings he'd seen in Alois.
And now, Polo was once again reminding him of it.
Reason shaped by life values.
Common sense instilled through education.
When these were stripped away, what remained was raw jealousy and desire.
"I could've done it if I had worked with Silverna! I could've succeeded if I had Helmut's support! I know! I know! The truth is, I couldn't! That's right! I'm nothing! I hate holding a sword! Do you think it's just jealousy? You're right! It's pathetic, isn't it?!"
It was as If a hole had been punched through his tongue.
The analogy fit perfectly.
Words he should've held back spilled out uncontrollably. It wasn't his will but his brain forcing his tongue to speak.
Every unfiltered thought was laid bare, revealing even the instant his own thoughts changed upon hearing himself speak.
"Mother, I'm sorry! Father, I'm sorry! I'm a sinner! A sinner!!!"
"What's… this?"
Sharen frowned as she watched Polo pounding his chest.
"He looks… pitiful."
Isaac slowly raised his sword.
"A sinner?"
"Yes, I am a sinner!"
When asked a question, he answers.
This was Isaac's strategy — to exploit the spell of subjugation in reverse.
"Why? Why are you a sinner?"
"Because I'm ignorant! Stupid! Lazy! Unworthy! No, I shouldn't answer!"
Hearing the question, he comes up with an answer. Only after spilling his words does the thought that he shouldn't respond belatedly catch up.
"Your family conspired with the Transcendents to cast a spell on you."
"Transcendents? Spell? What is that? I don't know! Agh! I told you not to answer!"
"It's a spell called subjugation. Do you really not remember when it happened?"
"Subjugation? I don't know! I said I don't know! Oh, was it then?"
"Then?"
"That time! When I pretended to be asleep! My mother came to me and did something! There was someone I'd never seen before next to her!"
As Polo seemed to recall the moment, he clutched his head and screamed.
"It hurt! It hurt so much! Something was engraved on my chest! That person knew I wasn't asleep! They knew I was awake!"
"But I held on! I endured it! Because it was what my mother wanted! I hoped she would use me, even like that! Mother! Oh, my mother! No! Don't say it! It's a secret!"
Thud! Thud! Thud!
While demanding silence, Polo knelt and slammed his forehead into the ground repeatedly. Yet, the words continued to pour out.
"Because I'm a sinner! I'm a sinner! I just wanted to atone! Mother! Father! Aagh! I'm the sinner of Blackson!"
Shing.
Isaac slowly approached him. Polo flinched, trembling, and coughed violently.
"If you come closer, I'll kill you! The Yetis! The Yetis will be here any mo-!"
Thud!
The sound of something collapsing broke through the falling snow.
It was the sound of a Yeti, pierced through the heart by Silverna's spear, kneeling and falling.
"No! The Yeti! No! Silverna is so beautiful! Agh! Isaac! Am I dying?!"
"…I suppose so."
Isaac stood before him with a pained expression. Polo rose and clashed swords with him.
"Fine, kill me! Kill me! I'm a sinner! I couldn't even fulfill my parents' wishes! I couldn't do anything! Aagh! I' m a sinner! I deserve to die!"
At that moment.
"I'll attack!"
Polo's sword flashed, slashing in a desperate strike. The dark energy scattered violently, empowering his final blow.
"Urgh?!"
But it only sliced through air.
Isaac had already ducked and stabbed Polo's chest again with the Pearlsun.
The blade pierced through bone, digging into the wounded area.
"Aaaargh!"
As Polo tried to flee again, Isaac released the Pearlsun and grabbed the bone with both hands.
Rip!
When Polo yanked his body back to escape, the bone embedded in his heart was pulled out, draining his strength.
"Urgh! Ugh!"
Polo gasped for breath as the dark energy dissipated into the northern snow, purified as it faded away.
All that remained was Polo, left alone, staring up in shock.
"How… how… how did you?"
Responding to the unspoken question about how he knew it would be the final attack, Isaac, letting go of the bone, answered bitterly.
"Because you clung to the Blackson swordsmanship until the very end."
Wanting desperately to be acknowledged by his mother and father.
Wanting desperately to be praised as remarkable by his mother and father.
Wanting desperately to be loved by his mother and father.
Polo's desires weren't limited to his words.
"If you had simply wielded power recklessly, I wouldn't have been able to respond."
But his determination to use Blackson's swordsmanship, even in his pitiful state, ironically became the sword that pierced his own heart.
"Ha, haha… hahaha…"
Tears streaming down his face, Polo looked up at the white sky.
It seemed the lingering effects had not yet subsided.
He continued to pour out the words buried in his heart.
"I didn't want to swing a sword, to be honest."
"…"
"I'm scared. It's terrifying to have to summon courage."
"…"
"Cooking was fun. When I first learned to pack a lunchbox from the chef, oh, I was so excited."
"…"
"But I shouldn't have! I was supposed to wield a sword! I shouldn't have felt joy from something like cooking! Curse it! Curse myself!"
"I'm sorry, Mother, Father. I wasn't meant to be born into Blackson."
"It's all my fault. I'm the one who committed the sin."
Isaac approached Polo and knelt on one knee before him.
"To accept your differences… It took me many years to learn that lesson myself."
"I… am a sinner."
"Then I, too, am a sinner."
"You… too?"
Polo's voice faltered, breaking off intermittently.
On the verge of letting go of life.
"I want to live."
Polo shed tears.
"I'm sorry."
"I… I want to live."
"If there's any comfort I can offer you—."
"I… want… to… live."
"I will find whoever made you this way and make them pay for their crimes."
At those words, Polo's eyes widened.
The one who made him this way.
The Blackson family.
If it were the Polo of old, he would have shouted that he had to protect his parents.
He would have declared his intent to safeguard his family at all costs.
But.
The true thoughts of the Polo who had been enslaved revealed themselves.
"Thank you."
Smiling faintly, Polo gazed at the snowy northern sky, capturing its whiteness in his eyes as he passed away.
The words echoed once more in his mind.
[Are you kidding me? You can't even do this? Do you plan to live as a disgrace to the family?!]
The boy's fault was.
That he had no interest in swords.
[Why are you so weak-willed? Are you trying to tarnish the family name? How do you expect to serve those noble beings like this?!]
The boy's fault was also.
That he couldn't muster courage in the face of threats.
[You? Cooking? Praise? What kind of lunatic are you? Bring me the rod immediately!]
He liked cooking and wanted to show off his skills.
That, too, was a fault of his.
"Why would a child like you… Hah, someone like you should have been born in a slum, not from me—."
Perhaps the boy's greatest fault of all was.
That he was born here, in Blackson, without knowing his place.
In truth, though.
The boy had committed no sins at all.