Chapter 1029 Crucified

The lines expanded in his eyes and wavered as Arthur found it harder to stand. As for the masked man in front of him, he seemed to be dissociating from reality as blood poured on the ground. It was cruel to witness his death, but Arthur had to push forward.

"Tell me how to prevent this disaster," implored Arthur, his voice a little desperate. The Masked Arthur raised his eyes toward him as he seemed to let out one final laugh. Then, he raised his finger and pointed at him.

"You are the disaster, Arthur Silvera," said the dying man as he laughed in self-ridicule. "We have been given so much power without the proper guidance. Seref believed that he raised his child well, making the same mistake every parent does."

"I am not one to talk nonsense," said Arthur with a frown as he stepped forward. "Tell me how to prevent this disaster before you die."

"You led a different life than mine, but if it turns out the same…" paused the Masked Arthur for a second before he turned his eyes toward him, sharpening. "Be the savior that Seref wanted you to be."

"I would rather die."

"I would, too," said the Masked Arthur with a chuckle. "If we were the savior that Seref wanted, we would have chosen the world over Diana. However, we both are not, so we would always choose, presented with a choice."

"Is that how the world got destroyed?"

"Let me start from the beginning," said the Masked Arthur with a grin. "We won the battle against Runera, and I once again became its lord. Then, I entered the ruins where Diana should have been waiting for me…"

***

The entire city shook by whatever was destroying it. Joey looked at the corpse in front of him before leaving the garden of ashes. He made his way toward the center of chaos, where Alexie went. As he limped through the streets with a bleeding leg, he wondered what the demon said about him.

"I am a soldier," muttered Joey as he dragged himself through the streets. "For that reason, I have to lie and betray. I have to kill my emotions to serve my lady."

The demon he fought was not any different than he was. However, the demon told the truth about him. It reflected his naked self, no matter how ugly and twisted.

His leg could no longer move, and Joey suspected the earlier blow broke the open. That would explain why he was bleeding from underneath the giant swelling on his shin. As he was about to pa.s.s out, Joey saw a figure in the middle of the road.

Fae was standing motionless in front of a building. Her face was blank as she stared inside while streams ran down her face. Joey did not want to guess, so he advanced without a word and looked at the building.

It looked like a temple lined with numerous graphic pictures and strange words. On the highest wall of the temple, a woman was crucified with blood leaking from her entire body. It took a moment for him to realize that this was Nixie.

"I dreaded this day for my entire life," said Fae, tears streaming down her face. "Now that it is finally here… I feel relieved. The demon was right about me. I am a selfish woman wishing her twisted sister would die."

"Don"t let this place deceive you," said Joey as he held her shoulder, trying to make her look away from the corpse. However, Fae was unmoving as she turned toward him. Joey was surprised to see her carrying a thin smile.

"Then tell me why am I smiling while looking at her?" asked Fae with sorrowful tears and an unusual smile. "I knew about what she offered you, and I was disgusted by it. I knew what she did with the other soldiers and even how she killed some of our comrades for stats. I wished she would change, but she never did, no matter how much I fought with her."

"Turn away, Fae," said Joey as he pulled her aside, but she slapped his hand away. As he was taken aback, the woman brought a small knife to her neck. Joey instantly reached out and stopped her from slitting her throat open. "Don"t be an idiot!"

"A lot better than being myself," said Fae as she used her entire force to force the blade into her neck. Joey had to use his full strength to stop her. "Let me die, please."

"You would revive, idiot," said a voice behind the two, making the woman stop her suicide attempt. Turning toward the newcomer, they saw Koby missing an arm. His face was cold and fierce, unlike his usual timid nature. "If she wants to lose her levels, then let her be. We have no use for a weak warrior."

"She lost her sister," said Joey with a frown, unable to believe that the usually gentle Koby would say things like this. The mage dragged himself while holding down his hand, preventing it from bleeding. "What happened to you?"

"I conquered my fears," said Koby with a smile as he reached the two, his blood still spilling on the ground. "And I stopped caring about others."

"That is not courage," said Joey with a frown as he removed the short knife from Fae"s hand. "Courage is to care about others and help them in times of need."

"Courage is to be your true self, which I see you failed to do," said Koby before turning toward the crucified Nixie. "We all entered the demonic palace knowing that we would die. Nixie had the same resolve. You can kill yourself to escape your demons or embrace them and let them birth you anew."

Fae looked at his ragged appearance, her face still a mixture of craziness and grief. Then, she fell to cry out, weeping for either her lost sister or sanity. Joey stared at the two as if he had never seen them.

The ninth room would not break their bones but their spirits. It revealed their darkest nature and flaws to them, making them unable to move forward without either accepting them or ending their lives.

This left one more person for the team to be completed, other than the Dullahan. Half of the city must have been destroyed by his clash against himself, which would explain the earliest shaking.

Fae fell to the ground, fainting as the pain became too hard to bear. Joey sighed and carried her over his shoulder, which made the pain in his leg more crippling. Koby glanced at it before turning away, not even offering to help.

The mage could not help either because one of his arms was missing. After the two gave one final look at the deceased Nixie, they started advancing through the city. It took them a while of limping around before they managed to find someone else: Dal.

"I see that three of you survived while one lost her life," said Dal, glancing at their injuries. "These wounds might hurt now but are the greatest scars you can keep. Even if the battle did not change you, it was the first step."

"For an ex-demon, you sure are smug," said Koby with a smirk. "You seem unscathed yourself, Dal. Does the dungeon still consider you a demon?"

"I fought my battles and won," said Dal without looking away. "Alongside my weaknesses, the last of my attachment toward my old life has faded. I serve him now."

Dal turned toward the destruction in the distance, which used to be buildings before they were flattened. Among the destruction stood a single figure with his black dagger in hand. A man in black and golden robes was sprawled on the ground in front of him.

"Are they still conversing?" asked Joey with a frown. "Wait a second… is that the demon Alexie fought against? Why does it look like a human?"

"Mine looked like a demon from h.e.l.l, too," said Koby with a frown. Then, realization dawned on him. "Those clothes… they are the same as those Alexie wore when he took down the Ballistae. He is fighting… against his self."

Joey stepped forward, wanting to hear what the two were saying. However, Dal raised his spear to stop him. Looking at the giant Dullahan, Joey knew he could not force his way through.

This was the greatest chance to understand the most powerful man Joey had ever met, but he could not hear a thing. After a while, something changed. The man on the ground began to turn into a giant creature shaped like a wolf, which stared down at Alexie with its red eyes.

"This is the creature we saw in the fifth room!" muttered Joey with fear as the world began to shake again while the man stared at the wolf. "Is he about to fight his demons too?"