Ch-214. **True Despair**
—
I desire.
I am greedy.
Greed is a hunger that knows no end.
It is a power that smashes past the lines drawn before it—
that tramples over limits without hesitation.
Too powerful—so much so that even the gods once coveted this infinite authority.
Because it has no equal, and because nothing can ever compare,
it is, without question, the greatest of all sins.
Therefore, I desire.
I desire—and desire again—so that I may reach the ultimate, flawless purity.
Yet it is neither godhood nor evil.
It is something closer to a far more fundamental truth.
And I shall desire everything beyond the door of truth.
All gods!
Ancient ones of the distant past!
And destruction itself!
None of you can halt my greed.
—*The Book of Greed*
*
*
Thud.
King Friedrich.
Inside an extravagant carriage, he slowly closed the old book.
“Your Majesty. You don’t look well.”
The elderly knight seated opposite him spoke.
Friedrich let out a faint laugh.
“Are you talking about me?”
“Is something weighing on your mind?”
“…Weighing on my mind, you say.”
Friedrich silently looked out of the carriage window.
Reflected in his two eyes was the enormous castle of the Valan Kingdom.
Pride.
He is one who mocks and ridicules all existence, treating everything as dust.
A being who seeks *fun* above all among the seven sins—
and *something* is weighing on his mind?
Impossible.
It cannot happen.
And it should never happen.
*Yet…*
…there is indeed something that weighs on him.
To say nothing weighs on him would be a lie.
Of course, the Valan Kingdom itself was not even worthy of his attention.
What was endlessly churning inside his head—
*Greed. That bastard has definitely resurrected.*
The seven demons that exist in this world.
Jealousy was likely killed by the War God Karas,
and as though filling the vacancy, Greed returned.
Yet Greed’s resurrection was something even Pride himself could not understand.
If another demon had surfaced, he could have accepted it.
But Greed?
“Do you know of the Seven Deadly sins?”
“You mean the existences similar to Your Majesty?”
The old knight answered casually.
He knew very well that King Friedrich was the Devil of Pride—
the strongest knight of the Iron Kingdom,
the monster fed by the countless stars Pride had devoured.
Pride slowly nodded.
“Yes. How much do you know?”
“The seven sins that have existed since the beginning: Pride, Avarice, Jealousy, Wrath, Lust, Greed, Sloth.
The seven devils are the manifestations of those desires — that much, I know.”
That—more or less—was all humans typically knew.
Devils never acted openly.
Thus, the total amount of demonic knowledge that humans held was laughably insufficient.
The reason Devils moved behind the scenes was simple:
*If the gods noticed, things got troublesome.*
Natural enemies—
gods, whose nature is the polar opposite of Devils—always kept watch over demonic movements.
That is why Devils do not raise their eyes to the sky.
The moment they did, the gods would instantly locate them.
Now, nearly all gods have been annihilated or have lost their divinity due to *Destruction*,
so Devils freely gaze at the sky—
—but in the era before Destruction’s arrival,
it was the golden age of the gods.
They bestowed their techniques upon humans without restraint.
Humans flourished with divine swordsmanship and sorcery
and even touched countless forbidden arts.
While that exchange and growth bloomed, demons could only shrink back and hide.
Dwelling silently inside the bodies of weak beasts and humans, remaining unnoticed—
that was the only way they could survive.
As the divine knowledge filled humanity’s ultimate intellectual vanity,
demons—who fed on human desire—grew weaker than ever.
*And yet, when all demons hid… one was different.*
One alone.
There was a demon who did not fear the gods.
*…Greed.*
He did not hesitate to lift his head toward the sky.
Whenever he wished, he simply raised his gaze.
And if a god came running to punish him—
he laughed loudly and met them head-on.
A demon unlike any demon.
Perhaps because of that,
even the gods eventually could not lay a hand on him easily.
Later on, even if they stood face-to-face,
the gods pretended not to see him and simply walked past.
The strangest of the strange.
Even Pride could not comprehend that being.
Greed desired only one thing:
The ultimate peak of *martial power*.
*How could that be fun?*
It wasn’t.
He was a mind-numbingly dull bastard.
Frankly, Pride wanted nothing to do with him.
Most Devils likely felt the same.
*But after Destruction emerged, everything changed.*
To demons, the advent of Destruction was like a festival.
A god of annihilation who destroys everything—
nothing paired better with demons.
The demons regained the power they once lost
and no longer needed to hide.
Destruction was a good friend to demons.
But apparently, not to Greed.
*Greed was sealed by the two goddesses. And in that sealed state, he fought Destruction and disappeared.*
Pride did not know the detailed circumstances.
He only knew that Greed had appeared before Destruction
already sealed by the two goddesses, Leah and Pina.
Even after losing his power, he still challenged Destruction—
and afterward, vanished.
Destruction would never let one who challenged it live…
*So wasn’t he supposed to be completely erased?*
He should have been.
Yet Greed has resurrected.
And at the most unexpected moment.
*Whose body did he resurrect into?*
Pride rubbed his chin.
That part, he could not determine.
And that—too—bothered him.
Greed was like an immortal—one who would not die even when killed.
A mysterious existence that even the gods gave up on.
So Pride did consider, faintly, the possibility that Greed might still be alive.
And if he was—
*I was certain Wilhelm was Greed… yet…*
*
*
Beads of sweat gathered on Raiga’s forehead.
*He’s becoming more complete with every passing moment.*
He could no longer be dealt with half-heartedly.
This was no longer a duel of strength against strength.
This was a struggle of killing and being killed.
No room to breathe.
No mental space to think of anything else.
Perhaps it began from the moment the Goat completed *that*.
He could not spare attention for anything else.
*He compressed his sword energy once more. That must be a Sword Core…!*
A spherical cluster of energy formed at the tip of the sword.
The energy of sword intent—already highly condensed—compressed once more.
It resembled a radiant jewel, barely the size of a thumbnail,
yet the devastating force trapped inside could be felt without experiencing it.
The moment it detonated, dozens of meters would simply evaporate.
Evaporate—literally.
Anything within that radius would risk losing its life.
*According to the records left by the First of the Fang, the Sword Core is called the Jewel of the Gods — a power capable of killing even gods.*
Gulp.
For the first time, Raiga swallowed nervously.
But the Sword Core consumed tremendous mana.
The Goat could not be in a perfect state either.
*…So you want us to kill each other?*
The contest of strength was over.
To place that thing before him meant crossing a river that allowed no return.
If that detonated here, the Sacred Grove—and everything belonging to Fang—would vanish without question.
ZAAAAAAAAAAAA!
At the same time—
Raiga’s sword energy expanded massively.
Swelling like a giant’s weapon, tearing the world apart with its presence.
The sword of extermination that slaughters all.
Even the Lords of the Abyss feared Raiga’s secret technique.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
The moment they collided, the world roared like thunder.
*There’s damage.*
Even a user of the Sword Core could not block his true strike head-on.
As proof—the Goat’s right arm bent grotesquely under the impact.
But—
Raiga looked down at his own arm.
*Reflection…?*
Just like the Goat’s—
no, in an even more bizarre shape—his own arm was also twisted.
What?
This wasn’t mere reflection. The recoil was far too great.
*He reflects damage—multiplying it. Yet my strike should nullify reflection entirely.*
…It was absurd.
The attack clearly reflected damage,
yet Raiga himself possessed the power to *ignore* reflected damage.
Which meant—
this reflection effect was *stronger than his nullification*.
But how could such a thing exist?
*Not only that — the damage is less than expected. He has resistance to penetration effects.*
Penetration—
the highest-ranked ability that ignored all armor and shields.
Raiga’s penetration could bypass every defense known to the world.
Yet the Goat withstood it.
He clearly had resistance to penetration.
Whether such an ability should exist or not—Raiga trusted his senses.
*…Ridiculous.*
Reflecting damage,
and possessing resistance to penetration—an ability not even Baal possessed.
What the hell *was* this man?
*If I kill him, I die too.*
He nodded slightly.
It had been ages since he felt this kind of tension.
He could not remember the last time he felt it.
And because of that—it was fun.
It felt as if his long-thirsting hunger would finally be satisfied.
A man like an oasis in a barren desert.
How glorious.
“Oh, yes. I’ll kill you.”
Raiga grinned, baring his teeth.
*
*
Grip the sword.
Swing it.
Block, slash, thrust—
a sequence of movements.
Before, he only relied on Wilhelm’s memories.
But now—no.
He *became* Wilhelm.
He surpassed Wilhelm.
And he carved out a new path.
*Not enough.*
But he soon realized—
He had not surpassed Wilhelm.
He lacked far too much to claim that.
He had glimpsed beyond—
but could not contain it. Not yet.
< *Penetration Resistance from “Armor of the Ancient Era” has activated.* >
< *Damage Reflection 210% from “Armor of the Ancient Era” has been applied.* >
< *Bleeding status is ongoing.* >
< *Entering near-death state.* >
At this rate, he could not defeat the one standing before him.
He was lacking.
Naturally, there *was* a way to “win.”
Stop challenging.
Accept that this was his limit.
Receive the reward.
If he accepted the reward known as “Wilhelm,”
he could survive this situation—
his instincts told him so.
But—
*I refuse.*
It is not enough.
I desire.
More power.
More possibility.
Even if death waits at the end—
I will never regret it.
< *Insufficient mana to form Sword Core.* >
< *Health continues to deplete.* >
< *Warning! Continued bleeding will result in death.* >
< *Warning! If all mana is depleted, you will die.* >
The warnings didn’t even enter his mind.
If he stopped now, that would be no different from dying.
His consciousness blurred,
his legs trembled under him,
yet—
he did not stop.
Never.
No matter what.
I will—
I will advance.
CRAAAACK!!
It happened in that moment.
Raiga’s sword struck the goat mask.
The mask was a transformed part of the Armor of the Ancient Era.
Under normal circumstances—
it should be *utterly indestructible*.
CRA-CRACK!!
It split in two and began to shatter.
THUD!
The broken mask crashed to the floor—
“What in the… is this…?”
In his two eyes, I saw Raiga’s eyes—
opened in shock.
Eyes that trembled with astonishment—
and fear.
And I soon learned the reason.
< *The wearer’s state has reached its limit.* >
< *The second name engraved within the “Armor of the Ancient Era” — “Primordial Despair” — has activated!* >
—
