Chapter 52: Beast

[Do not spread it, do not know it, otherwise disaster is destined to descend.]

[Do not understand it, and even less borrow its power, unless you yearn to become it.]

[Pray, if you should truly happen to encounter it, pray that its massive footsteps do not happen to trample upon you. Pray that its horde of beasts does not pass by your homeland. If you are truly forced into a narrow confrontation—the fool takes up a sword and fights to the very last moment, the brave one simply grants themselves a swift and clean end, and the latter is far better for you and your kin.]

Among the materials Rein obtained were the admonitions left behind by the earliest researchers.

It was said that these were rules they had heard from the Ancient Ones, ironclad regulations that anyone studying the beasts had to master.

Yet clearly, the researchers who came after did not take them seriously.

[It is our source, our ancestor. If it were truly that dangerous, what does that make us?]

[It can bestow lifespan and grant power. Can you truly resist it? What reason do we have not to become more extraordinary?]

[It is so benevolent, so generous. Ah, becoming a part of it might perhaps be a fine choice as well.]

Even that ancient research journal ultimately drifted toward madness, accompanied by self-contradictory murmurs.

As for the other few records, they showed not a shred of hesitation, simply pressing the accelerator all the way to the floorboard.

Perhaps, in their view, since this thing had not caused a single problem in hundreds of years, it was merely an "open-pit oil field" that could be freely exploited, and naturally could be developed and used at will.

"Our predecessors played it this way, and they didn't cause any major disasters. What harm is there in us just using it casually?"

It felt roughly akin to concepts like "climate crisis" or "industrial pollution."

Everyone knew that such reckless messing around would sooner or later lead to a massive catastrophe, but since the bomb didn't look like it would detonate in their own era, they might as well just play around with it.

Time was limited, so Rein only looked at the summaries written in delicate handwriting and the key points marked with underlines, yet he already felt an extreme sense of ominousness.

"After all, I know that it really is going to blow, and it's going to blow very soon..."

The Evil God Elsena—Rein had genuinely heard this name.

If his Heroic Spirit Codex was not deceiving him, two years from now, this super bomb would detonate right on schedule.

Judging from the information, the absolute bare minimum outcome of that bomb would be to directly wipe out Glow City, turning the kingdom into a primeval wasteland.

Then it would evolve into a secondary disaster, beginning to engulf other regions. If handled poorly, well, let's just prepare for the dawn of the next civilizational epoch.

"Why is it a world-ending crisis at every turn?!"

Rein truly had not expected that he had merely set out to solve a casual case of eliminating a serial killer, only for it to ultimately pivot back to the main storyline involving "Elsena."

"Is this the consequence of borrowing the power of the 'Beast'?" Even without the repeated emphasis of the underlined phrases in the documents, Heike's madness and Dina's despair had left far too deep an impression on Rein.

Just like those ancient maxims, borrowing the power of the beast was a one-way street with no turning back.

Horned Disciples were companions walking alongside the beasts. Within individuals assimilated by the beast, their humanity and bestiality were in a constant state of struggle and fusion.

With a little more here, a little less there. Yet how could mortals ever conquer the infinite "source," an ocean that a small flame could never burn dry?

No matter how one struggled, no matter how one added firewood to the blaze, the ultimate, destined outcome was to be assimilated by the "ocean."

Or perhaps, choosing death before falling completely into madness was the only method of liberation, much like "Hiya."

What happens after assimilation?

A beast possesses only instinct, and an individual driven solely by instinct—

"A monster without a heart, without emotions."

Stepping into the cave, Rein caught sight of Maria smiling.

How could she possibly still disguise herself as an ordinary human?

In the notes, Rein had seen that the modifications she endured as Experimental Subject No. 113 were many times greater than those of ordinary Horned Disciples.

She had even performed outrageous operations based on those modifications that left the experimenters dumbfounded, which was why she had been listed as a primary research target.

No matter how one looked at it, she should have lost every shred of humanity long ago.

"It has been a long time, Lord Knight."

The intact head of the third-in-command of the slave market had already been discarded on the ground.

Half of it had been scorched into withered bone, while the other half had been squeezed into a bloody pulp, yet no one present cared.

Reconnected once more to the female head atop the nun's body, distinct suture lines were visible.

Her regenerative ability had always seemed rather subtle... or rather, completely under her control.

Yet looking at the nun now, palms pressed together in prayer and bowing to him, Rein recalled their first meeting.

That woman who always watched the children play with a gentle expression at the orphanage had welcomed him and Larry in the exact same manner every time.

"You—" Rein felt a complex mixture of emotions, his mouth opening as if to speak.

"You—you actually dared to deceive me!!"

A hoarse roar rang out from the side.

Rein glanced over and revealed a subtle smile.

At the side of the cave, the half-ruined "Howl of the Volcano" Kevilduv was panting heavily, looking quite wretched.

His right arm was gone, the boiling magma surrounding his body had cooled, one eye was blinded, and the remaining eye stared fixedly at Rein.

His entire body had also completely undergone draconian transformation. Lying there, he looked like a deformed little Tyrannosaurus rex with a bizarre human head, covered in wounds from head to toe.

That severed tail appeared particularly ironic at this moment.

The formidable grand leader glared at Rein, his mouth wide open as he struggled to stand, yet he seemed entirely devoid of strength.

And the opponent who had reduced him to this state was in a similarly wretched condition.

The last Horned Disciple lay there, the heads of a human and a beast drooping on either side of his shoulders, his entire body exuding the fragrant aroma of being roasted over an open fire.

He was Tian Ba (Eight), the leading Horned Disciple, and a member of the "Tian (Sky)" generation who had completely transformed from human into beast.

Elsena was known as the boundless giant beast that controlled the horizon where the sky met the sea. The Horned Disciples also used "Sky" and "Sea" to categorize the degree of their completion, and only the completed "Sky" generation were worthy of bearing a serial number.

This name also implied that the cult had cultivated at least seven such entities.

Unlike Heike, who had undergone forced evolution and actively attempted to bite off his secondary head, both of Tian Ba's heads were his own... the existence of beast heads growing once more from nothingness signified that the "evolution" from human to beast was entirely complete.

The documents mentioned that this kind of monster was not in the same league as newly-minted Horned Disciples.

Rein had no desire to know just how strong he was, but now, it seemed the strategy of using wolves to devour tigers had succeeded, and he no longer needed to know how formidable the opponent had been in their prime.

That unlucky bastard, who had also been thoroughly tricked by Rein, could now only glare hatefully at him.

He was left with only his upper body, his lower half still resting in the magma. His entire torso consisted of merely half a shoulder, two heads, and one hand, yet he still refused to die.

"Isn't this Master Carlo Hilda? Do you know that your family is gone?"

In response, Rein directly traded back with the intelligence he had just acquired.

"Roar roar roar (My family? What happened to my family?!)!" The beast seemed to still retain a shred of reason, growing anxious upon hearing this.

"How pitiful, can you not even speak words?" Rein, who clearly understood beast speech, feigned complete ignorance.

Ignoring him entirely, Rein shifted his gaze to his old acquaintance, Kevilduv, who had nearly driven him to a desperate end just two days prior.

"How could I deceive you? We are on the same side, after all. The Hilda family has already been branded as heretical rebels and subjugated by the Glow Guards. These heretics are the enemies of all Glow City. How could you believe what the enemy says?"

Rein walked over with a smile, seeming intent on pulling his ally out of the mud.

Kevilduv remained half-doubtful, vigilance still lingering in his solitary eye.

But the next moment, his eyes could no longer look away.

"This... a small gift."

A bottle of medium healing potion was perhaps what Kevilduv needed most at that moment.

And the other item made his eyes pop straight out of his head.

It was a red gemstone, glowing like blood and pulsing like a heart, emitting a brilliant radiance.

"Hero's Blood!"

With the treasure right before his eyes, the greed inherent to his draconic nature instantly blinded his vision, his gaze bobbing up and down following the tossed gemstone.

"With this, not only can I report back, but if I tear off a portion of it, I can evolve!" For a pseudo-dragon like Kevilduv who was unable to integrate his own abilities, the foundation-reinforcing Hero's Blood was simply too crucial.

In truth, had he not been in desperate need of it himself, and had he not intended to secretly retain a portion from the very outset, he would never have needed to personally step into the fray.

He didn't even care about the healing potion tossed alongside it; knowing that the other party was willing to cooperate with him was enough.

His single arm had already risen eagerly, poised to snatch the gemstone out of midair.

"Judgment of the Sinful Realm," a low whisper murmured.

"Detect Evil." A wave of crimson light washed over him.

"Smite Evil."

Yet accompanying the gemstone was also a placid declaration of "war" and the silver arc of a slash.

Heaven knew how much sin and evil Kevilduv had accumulated; the sheer magnitude of evil at this moment once again shattered the historical record Rein had ever witnessed.

And that armor-piercing, evil-destroying strike infused into the battle sword—Corrosion—naturally unleashed its maximum-level power.

"You—"

Even up to this moment, Kevilduv wore a look of utter astonishment, completely unable to comprehend what had happened.

Why cut me? Why didn't you cut the person on the other side?! Didn't you say we were on the same side? Don't holy knights never lie?

His eyes widened in sheer disbelief and incomprehension.

His windpipe and half his chin had already been cleaved open, held together only by the back of his neck and periosteum.

Rein's sword was thoroughly stained red, and he felt a mild perplexity... You, Kevilduv, don't even possess a demon's regenerative ability; how are you still not completely severed and dead from this?

"Smite Evil!" Then he would simply deliver a few more cuts.

"Stop! I—" The formidable slave-market chieftain actually tried to reason!

Yet at this moment, the noble holy knight behaved under the watchful eyes of all like an aged, hardened bandit.

Slash after slash, like a joyful lumberman, the cheerful holy knight grew increasingly fierce with every stroke.

"Crack." Accompanied by the snapping sound, the final periosteum and bone were severed.

The iron-hard skull of the "Volcano Dragon" was finally lopped off. Even now, his dead, unblinking face remained frozen in utter shock and incomprehension.

"Why did you kill me?"

"Weren't we partners? Didn't we have no grudges?"

"Why!!!"

Yet no one would answer him.

Even at the moment of his death, his sole hand remained tightly clenched around the red gemstone.

The powerful, evil dragons in fairy tales often met their ends due to greed, arrogance, and underestimating their foes.

Perhaps this pseudo-dragon's demise was quite fitting.

Rein did not spare the corpse another glance, turning instead to face the remaining two "beasts."

As for Kevilduv? Much like Eugene, he had been important while alive, but in death, no one would care about him.

And after losing the third-in-command who managed equipment and sales, the fourth-in-command who handled accounts, and now the grand leader who commanded everything, the slave market—predictably—would lack a leader capable of controlling the situation, plunging into a prolonged period of chaos and turmoil.

During this process, simply maintaining their business and trading networks would prove immensely difficult for the remaining second-in-command... and as for the changes in the docklands or the rising factions there, they naturally would have neither the time nor the mood to care.

As long as he lived, he would always remain a major trouble; his death, however, was a blessing for both Rein and the entire dockland district.

Therefore, he had to die.

"With him dead, Demon and I will find things much more convenient. Taking advantage of the internal chaos within the slave market, we'll do some honest business in the docklands. Life for the people there will improve significantly, especially the children—they'll have an honest livelihood when they grow up..."

Rein calmly articulated his criminal motive, yet in the eyes of onlookers, the scene was utterly farcical.

A holy knight passing judgment was detailing his reasons for murder to a criminal serial killer.

Meanwhile, Maria, who had been watching silently all along, merely continued to smile.

"I knew it, you don't care at all..."

Rein sighed. He had never intended to persuade his opponent; that was an impossibility.

Perhaps he was simply speaking his own mind.

Perhaps he was speaking to the nun Maria, who had once been a "Madonna."

And now? Before him stood merely a false human whose vessel had been usurped by a demon.

The person who once existed was long gone.

Yet perhaps, this could be viewed as a tombstone—a cenotaph?

Rein, at this moment, was essentially sweeping a grave.

"Ahahaha!! (Damn you!)"

At that very moment, Tian Ba, whose attention had been drawn away, was pierced through by a wooden short sword emitting a faint, flickering flame.

Originating from the wound, his flesh rapidly underwent woodenization. The formidable demon was already on the verge of death, and struck by this ability that countered him, he quickly transformed into an ugly, struggling wooden sculpture.

This was frankincense—literally, calming incense.

It was said that during the Age of Beasts, Elsena loved to lie near the edges of pine forests scorched by wildfires, sniffing the pine fragrance to fall into a peaceful slumber.

And precisely because of this habit, whenever its beastly factor came into contact with frankincense, it would enter an extreme state of lethargy, falling into a deep sleep.

Those unfortunate souls who had grafted the beast factor would likewise be dragged down into an eternal slumber of wooden flesh.

To a beast, this was an aid to hibernation; but to mortals who accepted the beast factor, it was destined to be an eternal sleep.

The powerful Sky Beast was thus struck down and killed amidst its struggles.

Even Taliya, who had driven the piercing blade home, was filled with sheer shock.

This was the advantage of intelligence; he owed thanks to Salima for sending this wooden sword via her familiar, which had proved to be an immense help.

Rein had no desire to witness whatever other tricks the Sky Beast might pull out.

"Do you... not care about anything at all?"

In response to Rein, there remained only the smiling visage of the false human.

She had watched from beginning to end. Even as the pseudo-dragon perished, even as the great Horned Disciple was assassinated, she simply watched with a smile.

Rein sighed and drew his sword once more.

At that moment, the silent Heroic Spirit Codex suddenly took the initiative to prompt him.

[Evolutionary material detected: Fragmented Pseudo-Dragon Soul (Gold). Do you wish to absorb it?]