“GUILTY!!!” [???]

A distorted voice that seemed both male and female yelled with rage. Inside a broken old courtroom, Ryner was kneeling before what would be the judges’ seats with his hands cuffed behind him. There were cracks on the walls and floors and dust had accumulated everywhere, leaving a thin film of grey on the surfaces.

The benches for the audience were floating around as if gravity didn’t exist and a sword was floating next to him, its tip pointing upward. When that loud voice boomed out, its words reverberated in the air and the sword swung down. He felt a burning sensation pass through his neck before losing strength in his body. His vision became blurry and wildly spun around. In his field of view, he could see his headless corpse powerlessly fall forward as blood gushed out from the hole in his neck.

“GUILTY!!!” [???]

The next moment, he found himself kneeling down with his head still attached as if he never got decapitated. But, when the voice declared his verdict, the sword swung down once more and his head flew through the air again.

On his left, dozens of his corpses from his previous executions were piled up like objects and the blood left a trail on the cracked, white floor. The red liquid all went to the front as if it were alive and formed the figure of a person.

“GUILTY!!!” [???]

The blood forming the face moved the mouth part and the voice boomed out once more. The sword swung down and then came the pain, the dizziness and the feeling of sinking in a dark well.

“GUILTY!!!” [???]

This time, the voice was different and when Ryner heard it, he instantly recognized it. It was the voice of an old but powerful man. As the sword swung down once more, he shattered his handcuffs that were made of steel and caught the blade with his fingers. Without wasting a second, he got up and ran towards the crimson figure in front of him. Gripping his weapon by the handle, he stabbed at the chest of his old enemy.

“Guaah…! Ack…!” [???]

The moment he did, the world around him shattered like glass and instead of a courtroom, he was inside a large and luxurious bedroom. There was a big bed with a canopy, a drawer with a golden chandelier on top, a closet containing various sets of expensive clothes and a red carpet covered the floor. Furthermore, there were five other men in the room. They were face-down on the ground in a puddle of their own blood which added a more vibrant red to the carpet.

It was night and the room wasn’t illuminated. The big window with the thick, black curtains let in the moonlight that was the only source of light. Standing in front of it, Ryner could see the face of the old man that he stabbed, twisted in agony and blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

He had black hair that had turned grey on the sides, wrinkles deeply carved his face and his red eyes were fiercely glaring at Ryner with a hint of fear in them. He gritted his teeth to endure the pain which showed his sharp fangs. He was a vampire.

“How dare you… *cough* A lowly dhampir… Attack me!? The Minister of the Right!!” [Minister of the Right]

Showing the tenacity of a pure-blooded vampire, the old man lifted his right hand to try and fight back, but Ryner caught it by the wrist and crushed it with inhuman strength.

“AARRGGH!!!” [Minister of the Right]

He screamed in pain as his hand was limply hanging down from the wrist. The bones had pierced his skin and blood flowed out. It looked like it was still attached by just a tendon. Not giving him the time to raise his left hand, Ryner twisted the blade to the side and cut from right to left, creating a big gap in his chest.

“Uargh!” [Minister of the Right]

The vampire could barely scream and his voice only leaked out weakly from the intense pain. His eyes opened wide as if he couldn’t believe what was happening. Blood uncontrollably flowed out like a waterfall. Knowing that he couldn’t escape death, Ryner watched him with excessively cold eyes.

“You… Deserved it…!” [Minister of the Right]

The old vampire said in a feeble voice. Life was quickly being drained out of him. He stared hard at the man that destroyed his ambitions. Although he was going to die soon, he took solace in the fact that he managed to ruin the life of this filthy dhampir that actually managed to become a noble.

“You… Reap… What… You… Sow…” [Minister of the Right]

Finally, he breathed his last breath and his knees buckled. The corpse began to fall like a puppet with its strings cut. Ryner pulled his sword out of his chest and the Minister of the Right fell on his back with his eyes blankly staring at the ceiling.

Ryner silently stood there, alone in the room filled with the stench of death, death that he brought himself. His clothes and sword were stained with the blood of his enemies. He didn’t want to admit it, but the minister was right in the end. It did come back to bite him.

All of a sudden, his surroundings turned dark as if someone turned off the lights inside a sealed room. Instantly understanding that this was no longer his nightmare, Ryner called out her name.

“Alice.” [Ryner]

“Huhu, to think you’d dreamed of this past. How many years has it been? A thousand? Two thousands?” [Alice]

Alice’s voice resounded all around him, clearly sounding amused. Ignoring her pleasant mood, Ryner went straight to the point.

“What happened here? Who turned my fortress into a planet?” [Ryner]

“The gods, obviously. Who else? But, does it matter? It doesn’t break any of the rules of our game and this world suits your needs. You have some worthless people you can waste your time with and plenty of life force to consume.” [Alice]

When he asked her in a cold tone of voice, she answered casually. It didn’t matter to her what the origins of the world was. She would destroy it.

“It’s a matter of taking responsibility.” [Ryner]

“Responsibility? Why do you keep hold of that weird sense of responsibility?” [Alice]

“People are being killed by my weapons.” [Ryner]

“So what? You’ve killed countless already. What does it matter if you’ve had a hand in their deaths? Besides, people always kill each other. If it’s not with your swords, then they’ll use their own.” [Alice]

“This is different. If I want someone to die, then I’ll pull the trigger myself. I kill by my own will… I’m not a tool anymore.” [Ryner]

“…” [Alice]

Alice went silent when she heard the last words he whispered. The two were simultaneously flooded with memories of the past as they remembered their childhood.

“… The weapons I made to fight you are being used by others for their own gains. They’re being misused and I can’t stop it. Artifacts have become part of this world. In that case, I want to know why.” [Ryner]

Ryner broke the silence and said in a quiet but firm voice.

“…Why what?” [Alice]

“Why the hell did the gods built their world on top of my fortress? They hate us, but they won’t lay a finger on us because of our deal. So, why the hell did they mess with my stuff?” [Ryner]

“I don’t make it a hobby to keep an eye on the gods. If you want to know, go ask them yourself when you can. Maybe they’ll even tell you the truth.” [Alice]

Alice answered his question calmly, but there was a silent rage boiling in her voice. Normal people would instinctively feel their life in danger and take a step back if they heard her. Ryner didn’t. He understood her wrath. He was the same after all. He didn’t hold the gods in high regards.

“Speaking of telling the truth, shouldn’t you do the same with that fake slave of yours?” [Alice]

Alice suddenly changed the subject. She spoke pleasantly, but there were thorns in her words.

“It’s none of your business.” [Ryner]

“It IS my business. So long as you exist, you are my business. Now, go on. Tell her the truth. But, I guess you don’t want to bring it up since it’ll reveal your true feelings.” [Alice]

From her voice, Alice seemed completely happy. Ryner was full of contradictions, mainly because he kept forcing himself. She knew better than him. Even if he continued to deny it, his actions showed his feelings.

“Huhu, after all, if your promise really was the right thing to do, then you wouldn’t have made yourself sterile to begin with.” [Alice]

“…” [Ryner]

Ryner didn’t say anything.

He could perfectly recreate his body. Although there were limits, he could create any vessel he wanted. His attachment, his obsession with his human life was why he preferred his original body. However, that didn’t mean that he didn’t make some convenient changes.

“If your promise was right, then you would have started a family. It would be the best thing to do.” [Alice]

He perfectly recreated his appearance, his scars and his strength. He even remade his immunity to most poisons and his iron stomach that could eat anything. He perfectly recreated his body at its peak condition when it was twenty years old for the sake of keeping his sanity and for the sake of fighting.

“We are at war. There is no way I could start a family… And the child would inherit a part of my powers. It’s too dangerous.” [Ryner]

But, when he was a kid, before he became a monster, his health was deteriorating because of all the training and fighting. If he had still been human, once he turned twenty, he would have been stuck in a hospital bed. That was something he made sure to fix when he remade himself every time. It was more convenient that way.

“It’s useless to hide the truth, Ryner. That’s not the main reason.” [Alice]

“…” [Ryner]

As such, besides fixing his body’s condition, he made himself unable to have any children as well.

“You don’t want to say that you’re afraid. You don’t want to get close to someone too much. Huhu, I can’t blame you though.” [Alice]

Because it was more convenient that way.

“All the women you fell for ended up killing you and the last one not only took your life, she actually died with your unborn child. No, you killed her.” [Alice]

“That’s enough.” [Ryner]

Clenching his fists until his fingers tore through his skin, Ryner finally spoke with a cold and murderous voice. If the heroes could see him now, they would be trembling in fright. Some would most likely fall to the ground and wet their pants. But, far from getting scared, Alice was delighted to see his reaction.

“Face it, Ryner. We’re the same. I am you and you are me. No one understands you better than me. Deep down, you already know. Your path is wrong.” [Alice]

Like a devil whispering to his victim, she told him what she saw whenever she observed his multiple lives.

“You shouldn’t have made that promise.” [Alice]

Waking up in bed, Ryner stared at the ceiling and contemplated Alice’s words that had stabbed him in the chest. Noticing that his cheeks were wet, he slowly wiped away his tears so as to not disturb the person sleeping next to him. Using his right arm as a pillow, Maya was blissfully asleep with a flushed face. Unlike Ryner whose clothes were in disarray, Maya was completely naked except for a black collar around her neck. Her dark blue hair was undone and her ears sometimes twitched.

Ryner pulled the blanket over her shoulders so that she wouldn’t get cold and looked at her face for a while. After thinking for a bit, he came to a conclusion.

Just because he had his own issues, he shouldn’t keep it from her who was in her mating season. It was like a betrayal and he hated that. Dragging it around for no reason would only cause more problems down the road if she stayed with him.

So, he put his hand on her shoulder and gently shook her awake.

“Maya, wake up.” [Ryner]

Maya stirred a bit and answered him sleepily without opening her eyes.

“… Hmm?” [Maya]

“There’s something I need to tell you.” [Ryner]

“DAAAAMMN!!!” [???]

A dark green-haired man in his thirties shouted as he angrily kicked the ground. Wearing a metal chest plate, greaves and armguards on top of his clothes, he kicked the ground a few more times to vent his anger. The bloody sword on his waist and the bloodstains on his armor were proof of the fierce fight he’d been through.

He stood in the grass-filled plain and with a grey building in front of him. The walls were covered with green moss and plants like vines. It was completely windowless and the only entrance was continuously spitting people out. Men and women with armors and weapons walked out of there with a tired look on their faces. Some were bleeding and others needed their friends to lend them their shoulders.

“Boss, you should calm down a bit. You’ll go bald if you get too worked up.” [???]

Standing next to the one he called boss and watching their team leave the ruin, a blue-eyed man in his twenties warned him of possible hair loss with a serious expression. It was ironic, considering the fact that he himself was bald. Similar to the other man, he had a chest plate and armguards along with a sword on his waist.

“Yeah, I know, Auric! Just…! Things went to hell, damn it!” [Boss]

He cursed once more. He looked at his allies with his grey eyes from the side as they grouped up with their usual teams and proceeded to treat their injuries. They plopped down on the ground while groaning and drank a red liquid contained in a round bottle. Those who couldn’t afford these expensive healing potions or used theirs already either bandaged their wounds or rested. Some passed them to the ones that were more seriously injured.

“That is true. So far, among the sixty-two individuals that went in the ruin, a dozen are dead and more than half are injured. I guess it was too early to take the new recruits here for their final test.” [Auric]

Auric answered calmly and nodded to a comrade who he crossed eyes with. His white shirt that he wore under a metal chest plate was ripped and a large bloodstain went from his shoulder to his forearm. The wound, however, was gone after he drank a healing potion a few minutes ago.

“They’re all promising assets that I tested myself! *Breathe in* With some help from the other members, they should have been able to handle the welcoming room.” [Boss]

The man with dark green hair put a hand on his forehead and breathed deeply to calm down. Among the injured, corpses were laid down with a few people crying on top of their chests or biting their lips with a mortified expression.

“Don’t beat yourself up over it. Sparring is a whole lot different from live combat. I’m pretty sure I pissed my pants when I had to go through this initiation. It’s not like fighting goblins, that’s for sure.” [Auric]

“Ahhh damn it… Yeah, yeah, I know. We’re adventurers, it comes with the job. Still, what a waste of talents. Some were quite young too… Hard to believe that those heroes cleared ten floors.” [Boss]

The boss looked at the surviving members that were part of his group and lamented the death of the young ones before switching gear. He would drink to the departed once they returned to the city. He remembered about the people summoned from another world and muttered his thoughts out loud.

“If the stories about them are true, they’re all S ranks and cleared ten floors like it was a walk in the part. The eleventh floor has some humanoid monsters that are too strong for just their talents alone apparently, so we should stay away from there. Well, I never saw them fight before, but people witnessed the hero called Ryan Wayer throw a grown man around like he weighted nothing.” [Auric]

“Yeah, I heard it too. It made a huge uproar. The poor guy was walking around with his slave and he got beaten up for it. Same thing happened to any slave owners later on and Elura was abandoned by all slave traders.” [Boss]

“He’s also the one that’s got the sacred sword that was found here. I heard the blade can extend up to ten meters and cut through even the hardest armor. Maybe it can even cut through a dragoon’s scales, or even a dragon’s.” [Auric]

Auric pointed at the ruin. As they talked, more adventurers continued to slowly come out of there. Looking carefully, he saw a crying, young man carrying on his back a woman that had countless yellow spikes stabbed in her back. It was another casualty to be added to the list. He closed his eyes for a second because of the sudden grief that attacked him and, just like his boss, switched gear.

“Yeah and they got a girl that has healing magic and can heal any wounds. Damn it, I’m jealous. What was her name again? Elena Cosomething.” [Boss]

“Elena Coleaf, Boss. A bunch of people come up to her whenever they see her in the streets to get her to treat their injuries for free. She’s known as a holy healer.” [Auric]

“Well, not everyone can pay for healing potions or the church’s service… And call me Evrart properly, damn it!” [Evrart]

“You’re the boss of our adventurer house, so Boss is fine, isn’t it?” [Auric]

The bald man said with a serious expression as his boss was glaring at him. After a few seconds, the two went back to watching over their fellow adventurers that were patching themselves up. They could see a man that was gently laid down by his two friends and then held down by said friends. A middle-aged woman with a rough look kneeled next to him and looked at the fifty centimeters long spike embedded in his right thigh.

“Alright, no more running away, time to get this out.” [Female adventurer]

“W-wait! Let’s take it-ugh! Let’s take it out once we reached the city!” [Male Adventurer]

“Stop being a wuss and clench your teeth!” [Female adventurer]

“AAAARRRGGGHHH!!! …God! Uggh!” [Male adventurer]

Seeing the man scream and struggle in pain when the spike was pulled out, Evrart sighed and violently ruffled his hair.

“Seriously, there were sixty of us and yet we couldn’t clear the first floor. The heroes are like, what, thirty, and they went all the way to the tenth floor. Moreover, expeditions organized to go deep in the ruin usually have at least a hundred men. They’re complete monsters.” [Evrart]

“Agreed, but that’s a group of S ranks for you. I mean, you’re A rank and you barely qualify as a human anymore.” [Auric]

“Huuuh? You calling me a monster too?” [Evrart]

“How else should I call someone that can bend steel with his bare hands?” [Auric]

“You’re a B rank. You can do something similar and if you reinforce your sword, I won’t be able to bend it.” [Evrart]

“Not as easily as you. Besides, swords can’t affect you at all and they just shatter in your hands. In fact, even if I reinforce my sword, you could still break it with enough hits.” [Auric]

“All swords break with enough hits.” [Evrart]

While they were having such a lighthearted conversation, they were waiting for the second group that didn’t go with them.

“You sure they’re coming?” [Evrart]

“I already contacted them. If you can’t wait, then we should have left your horse tied to the pole. It’s trained to not go wild even when the earth shake, isn’t it?” [Auric]

Auric answered as he looked at a round, red gem embedded in his left armguard. At the same time, he pointed at the black, metal poles with horizontal bars that were stabbed into the ground next to the grey building.

“Who knows if someone might try to steal it while you’re fighting for your life? Only leave your horse if you’re sure no one will steal it from you.” [Evrart]

Eventually, the group that was on standby arrived with horses and wagons and they quickly began to help the injured. They passed healing potions, bandages and cloths to wrap the corpses for transport. Some of them, when they learned that their friends were gone, silently shed tears, gritted their teeth or screamed out in grief.

Once everyone was aboard the wagon, the adventurers made their way back to the city for much needed rest. Along the way, the driver of the wagon that the boss was sitting in with a few other men suddenly turned around. He asked him a question with curious eyes.

“By the way, Boss, did you see a human male and a female beastman by any chance?” [Driver]

“What’s this about? No, I didn’t and stop calling me Boss.” [Evrart]

Ignoring Evrart’s complaint, the adventurer told him what happened to them while looking in front again.

“Well, you see, before we got here, we met them. They were on their way to the ruin when we asked them. Can you believe it? They wanted to go there with only two people.” [Driver]

“Only two of them? Were they strong? Some well-known S rank adventurers?” [Evrart]

He asked with disbelief and the driver scratched his head, but his helmet was in the way, so he scratched his bushy, black beard instead as he tried to find the right words.

“I don’t think so. I don’t recognize them at all. The man didn’t look really strong either and the woman was his slave from the collar around her neck. Only, Fredric was drinking on the job and don’t glare at me like that! I wasn’t drinking! Anyway, he was a bit drunk and seeing that hot beastman, he went and hit on her. And you know how he is with women when he’s drunk. He’s as insensitive as an orc.” [Driver]

“Fredric’s a D rank and a seasoned adventurer. Don’t tell me he beat the guy to a bloody pulp and tried to take the woman by force?” [Evrart]

Evrart was already thinking about a suitable punishment for that drunken imbecile in his head. He believed that the man was attacked after their arguments escalated and the others had to step in to stop Fredric. As such, feeling frightened, the two quickly left and his group was now looking for them to apologize. However, he was completely wrong.

“No, he’s the one that got beaten to a bloody pulp. No, that’s wrong. He got knocked out in one hit and we stepped in to prevent him from getting beaten to a bloody pulp.” [Driver]

“… Huh? Fredric, that wall of muscle, lost to some weak guy?” [Evrart]

Evrart was wide-eyed. The other adventurers that were riding aboard and listening in on the conversation also looked surprise. Fredric couldn’t pass the test to become a C rank, but he was strong and experienced in combat. He fought against monsters countless times and survived his expeditions in the ruin. The fact that he lost to a weakling was hard to swallow. Seeing their expressions when he turned around, the bearded driver shook his head.

“Ah, that was the impression he gave off when I first saw him. He was scrawny, plain and looked like a sloth. But, when Fredric tried to punch him, he blocked his fist-no, he knocked it off course like it was nothing. Then, he hit him in both shoulders and Fredric’s arms just went numb or something. He couldn’t move them at all! And then, he grabbed him by the throat, lifted him off the ground and slammed him down hard! We stopped the fight there, but it was obvious who won!” [Driver]

During his explanations, the driver was becoming increasingly excited as he remembered the scene where the sleepy-looking man used one hand to effortlessly lift Fredric who was taller than him. If he and the others didn’t intervened, then their drunken companion would have probably lost his teeth.

Hearing this, Evrart became intrigued. If that man could beat an adventurer of Fredric’s caliber that easily, then he was more than likely a C rank or higher. He was strong. He could be a powerful adventurer.

“(Maybe I can recruit him. Our adventurer house could always use the manpower.)” [Evrart]

He contemplated in his head while supporting his chin with his hand, but he first had to take care of his fallen comrades as well as the injured. Then, he needed to apologize to that man and his slave for the trouble his subordinate caused. Finally, he needed to punch Fredric.

“Finally, they’re gone.” [Ryner]

Ryner watched the large group of adventurers leave from afar. He and Maya had gotten into a small fight and they left the premise right after winning. He thought that it was weird that so many people had gathered near the ruin and simply stayed put. The fact that the drunken man was being admonished by his comrades meant that he shouldn’t be drinking.

So, believing that the ones he met were there as a backup for their allies that probably went inside the ruin, the two of them changed course and made a detour to get to the grey building from behind instead of heading straight for it.

“Ok, let’s get this done.” [Ryner]

He and Maya made their horses run to the entrance of the ruin and tied them to the poles installed there.

“Well, this should be easy enough.” [Ryner]

“Slow down a bit, Master. My legs are still shaky~.” [Maya]

He casually entered the place with Maya following behind him, her face slightly red.

“We’re past noon. That was ages ago. You’re just using that as an excuse to cling to my arm.” [Ryner]

“I’ll fight better if you let me do it.” [Maya]

“I’m pretty sure I satisfied you enough last night.” [Ryner]

They talked to each other without any tension as they descended down the stairs. In the end, May locked her arm with his and playfully smiled. Her tail was happily wagging and Ryner, seeing her expression, decided to let her do as she pleased.

“By the way, Master, will you be alright? Your magic is limited after all.” [Maya]

“Aren’t you the one that wanted me to get in trouble every now and then?” [Ryner]

“This is a bit too soon since we had plenty of trouble last time. Besides, we should stay away from danger during mating season. I might be carrying you child~.” [Maya]

Her master couldn’t help but look away when she said that last part with a teasing smile.

“You sure are easygoing about it. I thought you’d get mad when I told you, but you went quiet for a bit and just accepted it.” [Ryner]

“Fufu, well, I did think that it might be impossible for me to give birth to Master’s child. Your legal wife wouldn’t allow it.” [Maya]

“I don’t have a legal wife.” [Ryner]

“That’s because Master is too shy~.” [Maya]

“Who are you calling shy? I’ll have you know that I shamelessly took a picture of two girls that were about to get it on.” [Ryner]

“?” [Maya]

Even when they were going in one of the most dangerous places in the world, it was their usual banter. The master and slave didn’t have any fear and continued to walk with light steps as if they were going on a picnic.