Chapter 95 – Truth (3)

The stone door opens, and a heavy vibration echoes through the tomb. Amidst the falling stone fragments and dust from the ceiling, a familiar-faced man walks in. That guy is definitely… Al… Al… what was it?

“Alberto?”
“Alberda! …Hmm? Come to think of it, that face… it’s not unfamiliar. I’ve definitely seen it somewhere… Ah, there was a woman who called me by that nickname. You look strangely similar to her…?”

Is he out of his mind? There’s a limit to distorting your own memories, calling me by a nickname. I can say with certainty that I’d rather sew my mouth shut than call some guy by a nickname. Maybe if he was pretty like a girl, I might consider it. But this guy, who’s quite handsome but has a masculine look, a nickname? Am I crazy?

“Nickname? Are you out of your mind? Enough with the nonsense, okay?”

That greasy mage who ran away quickly after being counterattacked when he chased after me and Diana before. Alber Hamatan. That was definitely his name.

“How dare you…”

Wrinkles form around Alber Hamatan’s eyes. He scans me with narrowed eyes, and just when I think he’s about to say something, he closes his mouth and tilts his head. Could it be that he’s finally realized who I am?

“Alright. I am―”
“Ah! I see. Are you that woman’s brother? You look exactly alike, are you twins? Yes, you must be twins.”
“Twins…”
“Indeed! Where is your sister?”
“……”

I’m so dumbfounded that I can’t even speak properly. The way he’s looking around, he genuinely seems to believe we’re twins.
I see. This guy’s eyes were just for show.

“That, that’s him! The one who controls the monsters… a demon in human skin!”

The faces of the mercenaries and city guards, who had been bewildered by the situation, hardened. The parish leader, supported by Diana and Irian, approached with difficulty. His trembling finger pointed directly at Alber Hamatan. At that moment, the man’s gaze shifted from the parish leader pointing at him to the shattered monster.

“Noisy old man, you’re still alive? I threw you to my little darling to play with and eat, but you’re still alive. The old geezer has a long life. My pet… you’ve completely destroyed it.”

As if proving the parish leader’s claim that he’s a demon, he naturally approaches the shattered corpse of the monster and examines it. He remains completely unperturbed despite the hostile gazes of the people.

What is his true identity?
Last time, he was clearly chasing after Karsilla. Why would a guy like that suddenly appear here?

“Hmm. Quite a crowd has gathered. So there was another entrance.”
“Another entrance? Was there another entrance to get in here?”
“I left some pretty skilled subordinates at the entrance I came through, so I guess so. Surely you guys didn’t beat my subordinates.”

He ran away from me and Diana, yet he’s acting so high and mighty. But an enemy’s arrogance isn’t a bad thing. Arrogance prevents them from making rational judgments. Let’s see… it’s worth a shot to try and use it.

“Hey.”
“…Are you calling me now? This body is Alber Hamatan. Since you’re that woman’s twin, I’ll let it slide this time. This is the last time I’ll be so lenient with your mistakes.”

That name again. It’s enough to understand roughly, so why does he make such a fuss every time I get it wrong?

I gestured to stop Cha Hyewon and Irian, who looked like they were about to pounce, and asked the annoying guy. I don’t have high expectations, but you never know. These arrogant fools tend to blab easily.

“Alright, Alber Hamatan. Thanks for being so lenient. Since it’s come to this, can I ask you a few questions?”

He nods as if to allow it. Okay, go ahead and act arrogant now. Let’s see if you’ll be like that when your jaw gets knocked off.

“What’s your purpose here? And what is that monster?”
“You have many questions. Fine. How about we make a deal? We can take turns asking and answering questions.”
“I’ll ask first.”

He shrugs as if agreeing, looking as relaxed as can be. Even though the mercenaries, who have stealthily formed a perimeter, are glaring at him with angry eyes, I don’t know what he’s so confident about. Does he believe in his own magical abilities?

Certainly, his magic is not to be underestimated. My current abilities are comparable to a mid-to-late game protagonist’s stats. He was driven away by the combined attacks of me and Diana, so I understand that he has the magical skills to be arrogant… but if he knew how many people here have similar abilities to me, he wouldn’t be so relaxed.

Ignorance is bliss, so it’s better to dig into his secrets now and then crush him. Fortunately, Irian and Cha Hyewon were stopping the mercenaries from moving at my signal.

“Your identity and the identity of this monster. And what is your purpose here?”
“Oh, you’re breaking the rules from the start. Didn’t we agree to take turns asking questions?”
“…I’ll tell my sister about this.”

Diana, who was supporting the parish leader, turned her head sharply towards me. I could feel the stinging gaze, but all of this was just to extract information from him. I endured the stinging sensation, forcing myself to stay strong.

In emergencies, unconventional measures are necessary. So, stop looking at me like I’m some kind of pervert. I feel like a real pervert when Diana looks at me like that.

“Fine! I’ll tell you, trusting that you’ll give your twin sister to me.”

Wow. I’m so dumbfounded that I can’t help but laugh. This is the first time I’ve met someone who hears what they want to hear like this. There’s a limit to distortion, how can he distort what I just said right in front of him like that?

I definitely didn’t say it with that intention.
……So, Diana, it’s not like that, so please don’t look at me like that.

“I am a servant of the great one. A mad worshiper who reveres the unknown terror. The eldest son who will inherit the legacy of the Hamatan family. The direct descendant of the Blood-Mad Archduke, Alber Hamatan.”

It was a grandiose introduction that sounded like a case of middle school syndrome, but I couldn’t laugh.

Blood-Mad Archduke.
An existence that holds the seat of the highest-ranking demon, an ‘Archduke,’ with no equal except for the Demon King.

Like the Undead Archduke from before, who was a demon one step below the Demon King, the Blood-Mad Archduke also has a title that represents him, just as the Undead Archduke had the title of ‘King of the Dead.’

‘The King of Madness Who Reveres the Unknown Terror.’
I heard that his followers, who worship the unknown terror, eventually become madmen.

‘The Blood-Mad Archduke… he never appeared in the game?’

Although I’ve never seen the ending and have only made it to the later parts a handful of times, I’ve still played the game dozens, even hundreds of times.

For me, the Blood-Mad Archduke was an unknown existence that I had only heard about through various quests and in-game information, but he had never actually appeared.

“Revere the unknown terror. I have come here for the revival of the Blood-Mad Archduke, the herald of madness. You, weak mortals, do not hinder the Archduke’s revival.”

With a low voice, the man looks around at the group surrounding him. All the mercenaries, who were just filled with anger, are now avoiding his gaze.

Only the parish leader, Diana who is supporting him, Irian, Cha Hyewon, and Sandra are able to meet Alber’s reddened eyes without flinching.

“You remember me too. The girl who was with that woman.”

Damn it. I can’t let him focus on Diana. While telling Diana and Cha Hyewon, who can hear my whispers, to prepare for an attack, I opened my mouth again to draw his attention back to me.

“What does the revival of the Blood-Mad Archduke have to do with chasing us, and why are you here?”
“You know nothing. You are ignorant. But, considering your twin, I will give you a chance. Become a disciple of madness and revere the unknown terror.”
“……If you tell me, I’ll do whatever you want, so just tell me the reason.”

As I stared into his strangely red eyes, a warning system message appeared.

【Status Ailment ‘Madness’ in Progress】

This is dangerous.
Even with my stats, which are low in physical abilities but unusually high in magic and mental abilities, a warning is appearing just from making eye contact for this short time. If a normal person were to make eye contact, they might go mad instantly.

I became certain that I had to kill him here and now. After getting the answer… I’ll signal Diana and Cha Hyewon, who are preparing for an attack through whispers, and kill him in one go.

To do that, I need to make sure he’s focused on me as much as possible. Reluctantly, I took a step closer while looking into his eyes.

“Alber Hamatan. Follower of the Blood-Mad Archduke. Alright, why did that great person chase us? And what’s the reason you came here? What’s the connection?”
“The Archduke is asleep.”
“Sealed?”

Just like the Undead Archduke was sealed, I know that the Blood-Mad Archduke is also sealed. After all, the game’s story is about the world facing a crisis as the sealed Demon King and Archdemons are released. Of course, it’s the ‘player’ who is the protagonist who saves the world from this crisis.

“That’s right. Sealed. That damn seal! The seal that shattered the Archduke and scattered him across the world! I will find the Archduke’s avatar and use the scattered seal stones to revive the Archduke.”
“Avatar…. Does that mean the Blood-Mad Archduke’s avatar is awake?”
“Of course. And the closer I get to absorbing this ‘seal stone’ into the avatar, the closer the revival gets.”

In his raised hand, he held a shining stone. A small, smooth pebble-like stone that emitted a strange light.

‘Seal stone? Ah… the junk item that comes out after defeating the boss monster here.’

I remember.
The reason I came to this dungeon in the first place was for the rewards that come after defeating the boss monster.
After clearing the ‘Tomb of the Ruler,’ you get quite a few rewards, and one of them is a priest-only magic called ‘Saint Cure.’

And since this magic is a divine magic that can remove the debuff that reduces physical abilities called the ‘Undead Archduke’s Mark,’ which is stuck to me like gum, I came all the way out here. Of course, I also wanted to give Karsilla some magic training from the magic tower.

‘Could it be that this seal stone was the Blood-Mad Archduke’s seal stone? I thought it was just a junk item.’

One of the many items that come as a reward, the ‘seal stone,’ had a name that started with ‘????’s seal stone’ and the description was full of question marks.

In the game, there was an episode where Lilis would attack you to get the seal stone if you chose a certain branch, so I thought it wasn’t just a simple junk item… I never imagined it would be the Blood-Mad Archduke’s seal stone.

“Is that the Blood-Mad Archduke’s seal stone? If you feed that to the avatar, the Blood-Mad Archduke will be revived?”
“Yes. The Archduke! The great ruler of madness who will spread the unknown terror will be revived. If only I could gather all these damn seal stones. It’s just annoying to gather the seal stones scattered in various places. If the Archduke were revived, he wouldn’t even care about the toys I made like my pet that you guys destroyed.”

He clicks his tongue as if disappointed and kicks the shattered pieces of the alien monster. All the monsters under the Blood-Mad Archduke are like that? I definitely can’t let him revive.

…Wait a minute.
I understand his identity, his purpose here, and the identity of that monster. Then… why did he chase me? Why did he chase after me? Surely… Karsilla…?

“Are your questions answered? Then… I can get rid of these annoying pests, right?”

A bright light pours out of his red eyes. The warning sound of the system message rings loudly in my ears, and a semi-transparent message window flashes in front of my eyes, warning of danger.

【Status Ailment ‘Madness’ in Progress】
【4%】

It increased by 3% in an instant? For a moment, I saw his eyes moving slowly.

“Everyone, close your eyes!!”
“Too late. Revere, the blessing of madness.”

Everything is dyed red. I closed my eyes unconsciously, but I could feel the world turning red beyond my eyelids.