PMEVBO 51

Lucariel jumped high and landed on the windowsill of the floor where Iser was.

At that moment, a sickening, blood-curdling stench that felt like it would turn his stomach inside out filled the air.

“What is this…”

Hell itself unfolded before his eyes.

The hallway, littered with servants lying everywhere, was a sea of blood. Bright red blood pooled on the pure white marble floor, and the walls and ceiling were also stained with the same crimson hue.

No one alive remained here.

Lucariel could no longer deny it.

He was now at the very center of the Hayut Massacre.

Then, he sensed the countless auras he had felt earlier in Iser’s room converging into one.

Lucariel gritted his teeth and ran toward Iser, ignoring the nameless deaths around him. When he reached the door, he kicked it open and rushed inside.

The first thing he saw in the dark room was a black spear tip. As the three-pronged spear tip withdrew, a small body collapsed backward, limp.

“Iser…!”

Lucariel reflexively lunged forward, catching the falling Iser. Holding Iser from behind, he knelt down, bracing himself with his hands on the floor. The child suddenly coughed up blood.

Soon, Iser’s body went limp.

Iser’s eyes closed, devoid of strength.

“Iser! Iser! Wake up…!”

Seeing Iser struggling to open his eyes, his vision blurred red.

“What are you doing, you bastard…… shit, what the hell are you thinking, doing something like this…….”

Lucariel spoke through clenched teeth, his gaze fixed on Iser.

It was then that the black figure aimed its spear tip at Iser once more.

Lucariel reflexively shifted his weight onto his left knee, lowering his stance. He twisted his body to the left and kicked the spear shaft with his right leg.

Crack─!

Red sparks flew from his toes where they struck the solid spear shaft. Just like when he faced Atsula last time, he had unconsciously used his divine power. But this time, thanks to Iser in his arms, he quickly regained his senses.

‘Did he get hurt because of me…’

That was when it happened. The spear twisted and writhed, then transformed into a massive serpent. Its crimson fangs sank into Lucariel’s ankle in an instant.

“Ugh…!”

The pain felt like his ankle was melting away.

Beep—!

Beep—!

Beep—!

────【 Emergency Situation!  】────

The player has been infected with a virus. The system is initiating automatic recovery procedures.

──────────────────────────

‘Infected with a virus…?’

Beyond the crimson-red status window, he saw the snake that had bitten him transform into the shape of a hand.

Only then could Lucariel clearly examine the dark figure before him. It was a being formed from countless snakes intertwined. The sight of the snakes flickering their tongues in the darkness looked like living sin itself.

Having read the original work, he knew what the entity before him was.

“Why is the demon…?”

In the original story, the demon only appeared by borrowing Lucariel’s dead body near the end.

And the Hayut Massacre was a tragedy that occurred before the events of the original story even unfolded.

‘Why is the demon showing up at this point…?’

…Lucariel’s body was right here, perfectly alive. Whose body had it possessed?

His mind was a complete jumble.

‘…Demon or not, I have to deal with this bastard.’

Only then could he save Iser.

But he couldn’t fight here while he couldn’t even properly control his divine power. There was a risk of dragging Iser into it. Ever since entering this room, his divine power had been boiling. It felt like it would erupt at the slightest lapse in concentration.

‘Right, if I can’t control it and it’s going to run wild anyway…’

Lucariel carefully laid Iser, whom he had been holding, down on the floor and stood up. After a brief gasp for breath, he shifted his weight onto his left ankle and charged toward the demon.

Clang!

The balcony window shattered, and wind and rain poured in.

Lucariel, gripping the black form tightly, threw himself over the railing.

As the ground approached, Lucariel seized the demon’s neck and hooked it with his left leg, instantly gaining the upper hand.

Thud─!

His body slammed into the rain-soaked, muddy ground.

Without pausing to catch his breath, Lucariel mercilessly pounded fists into the demon’s face.

Thwack─!

Thud─!

Thud─!

With each punch imbued with divine power driving into its serpentine head, the demon’s body sank deeper into the earth. The divine power channeled through Lucariel’s fists dyed the darkness crimson.

A pit had formed, large enough to bury all the servants of the annex and still have room to spare.

Suddenly, the demon smiled.

A terror gripping his entire body overwhelmed Lucariel.

Keeek─!

The demon, which had made no sound until now, began to swell its body while letting out a scream. At that horrifying sight, Lucariel dodged to the side.

Boom—!

In an instant, the thing, swollen like a giant balloon, burst with an explosive sound. The serpents’ flesh, torn into thousands of pieces, scattered into the pit, then soon turned to ash and vanished.

“Is it dead…?”

Indeed, even here now, even in the room, the demon’s presence could no longer be felt.

But that cold smile he’d seen at the end lingered in his mind.

“But it’s gone for sure. I have to get back to Iser… Ugh.”

As he absentmindedly tried to stand, placing his right foot down, excruciating pain surged through his body. His right ankle bore two holes.

At that moment, a new status window appeared before Lucariel’s eyes.

────【 System Notification 】────

Activating virus treatment procedure.

During this procedure, the player will temporarily lose consciousness.

Progress: 0% (0/100)

This procedure may take several hours.

────────────────────────

Lucariel felt a strange déjà vu. But it was quickly drowned out by more pressing matters. Dizziness was surging in. Just like this morning.

“…Am I going to pass out again like this? Fuck, don’t make me laugh.”

Lucariel gritted his teeth. He couldn’t afford to pass out until he confirmed Iser was okay.

Lucariel fought desperately to stay conscious. Then, he spotted a button at the bottom of the status window.

[Cancel Process]

Without a single second of hesitation, he pressed the button.

────【 System Notification 】────

Virus treatment process deactivated.

This process will automatically restart later.

────────────────────────

The dizziness vanished as if it had been an illusion.

***

Iser was wandering through endless darkness. All sensation in his body had vanished.

Then, from very far away, a sound reached him.

“…er.”

What began as a whisper grew clearer. Soon, Iser realized it was someone’s voice. And it was someone he liked very much.

“Iser…!”

Iser struggled to open his eyes. Through blurry vision, someone’s face flickered before him.

“You… you’re awake…?”

He wanted to answer, but his voice wouldn’t come out properly. Iser opened his mouth with great effort, his voice barely audible.

“Haah… Lu…cariel…”

“Hmm, I’m here.”

Lucariel leaned closer to Iser’s face as he answered. Yet, as if sinking into an abyss, Iser could barely make out Lucariel’s features.

“Where… is the wound…?”

“Who’s worrying about whom?”

His usually soft voice was low and rough. But Iser knew he was forcing himself to keep his voice calm.

Then, blood gushed from his chest. Lucariel frantically pressed his gloved hand over the wound. Warm body heat was felt against skin colder than usual.

“You… why is your recovery so slow…?”

Iser blinked slowly, staring at the man before him. Lucariel knew Iser possessed the Power of Life. Yet, seeing him deliberately ruining his own hand to stop the bleeding felt strangely remarkable.

“…I don’t think it’ll work. Not this time.”

“What…?”

Iser had been pierced through the heart by ‘that thing’. Normally, such a wound would be nothing to Iser. After all, Iser was the kind of person who could recover instantly even if his throat was cut.

But for some reason, the injured area wasn’t regenerating now. He had lost too much blood, his entire body felt drained of strength, and his mind was hazy.

Iser knew. He knew he was about to die.

“What… what do you mean…?”

A trembling voice finally escaped Lucariel’s lips. His hands were also shaking.

Lucariel was someone who disliked showing weakness to others. Thinking that such a person had broken down because of him, he felt a strange joy in this moment. Disgusted with himself for feeling that way, Iser painfully raised his hand and covered Lucariel’s.

“The way I spoke to you informally… it kept bothering me…”

“Don’t say it. You said it wouldn’t heal…”

“From the very first time we met… I never wanted to use honorifics with you…”

“…Stop talking, please.”

Lucariel pleaded desperately. But Iser couldn’t grant his plea. Because this was truly the last time.

“It’s not that I didn’t respect you… It’s just… if I used formal speech, I felt like you’d see me as too much of a child…”

“I told you to stop talking…!”

This was the first time Lucariel had raised his voice at Iser. Yet even in that moment, he was endearing.

Iser struggled to steady his ragged breath before speaking.

“I’m sorry. …For liking you.”

For not being able to hold back and say it like this.

Iser strained to hold Lucariel in his sight. But his world was already turning pitch black. In his fading vision, even Lucariel’s form was disappearing.

Iser didn’t want to see Lucariel get hurt. He didn’t want to show him the sight of himself dying either. So when ‘it’ came, he thought it was fortunate he wasn’t with Lucariel.

But…

“…I missed you, Lucariel.”

Always.

Iser tried to smile. But his trembling lips couldn’t even manage a proper smile, so he couldn’t tell if he had smiled or not.

Finally, Iser raised his trembling hand and reached toward his face. But just before touching him, he stopped his hand. He feared it might hurt if he touched him.

Contrary to his thoughts of death just moments ago, Iser desperately wanted to live.