Chapter 131: Ruler of Death (4)

Chapter 131: Ruler of Death (4)

Inside the carriage heading to the capital.

There was a wounded investigator, gasping for breath.

He was the only one left of the eight who had gone to the north of the empire.

His name was Van Krite, who had lost the fight and survived alone.

“Ugh, hah...”

In the moving carriage, Van looked at his shoulder, trying to catch his breath.

A viscous liquid was dripping from his shoulder, where red blood had flowed.

Cold blood ran through his veins instead of hot blood.

His hand, which had touched his cold shoulder, moved to check his pulse.

“Ha, ah...”

Nothing.

His finger, which had penetrated his skin, felt no heartbeat.

His heart had stopped since the day of the battle.

It didn’t move anymore, nor did it feel warm.

His hand lost its strength as he felt his still pulse.

‘Did I make it out alive?’

Van had faced a wall in the fight with the king of the dead.

It was the first wall he had ever encountered as a genius.

An insurmountable wall.

It was a wall that was too distant and thick.

‘I couldn’t win.’

But he tried to resist.

And he failed.

At the moment he failed and prepared for death, the king of the dead took his heart away.

He gave him one condition in exchange for his heart.

‘Don’t say anything...’

His heart stopped.

But Van was still alive and moving.

In front of the ruler of death, life and death were nothing but simple concepts.

He had to accept death in exchange for life, and restriction in exchange for freedom.

Van Krite.

He had lost.

He had fallen to the ground in a powerless defeat.

“Hah, huh...”

A bitter smile appeared on his lips as he gasped for air.

Thud.

A tear rolled down his cheek and fell on his hand.

The tear that fell on his hand was not black.

“...”

The investigator who had lost his faith looked out the window with wet eyes.

It was a pathetic life.

But he didn’t have the courage to end it easily.

He was still alive.

“Me too...”

A voice full of lumps came out.

He had wielded a sword for 15 years.

A long time had passed.

He had pursued justice.

He had pursued heroism.

He had pursued the sword.

And again, he had pursued justice.

“Is this... the end?”

The window that let in the sunlight closed with a hollow sigh.

Van Krite.

He had failed.

***

I got up with a gloomy feeling and looked out the window.

Today, the sunlight coming in from outside was unusually bright.

I stared at the scenery bathed in sunlight with dull eyes.

Chirp chirp-.

The sound of birds chirping reached my ears.

“How peaceful.”

The world reflected in the window was peaceful.

Children riding bicycles.

A father playing with his child.

Students exercising alone.

And even ladies chatting on a bench.

It was a peaceful scene like any other weekend.

“Peace is good, I like it.”

The weather was good and the world was peaceful.

Seeing the world soaked in peace, I felt like I should do some gacha.

Come to think of it, it had been quite a long time since I last did gacha.

The last time I did gacha was definitely when I did 210 draws while sleeping, as far as I remember.

“Heh. Just thinking about it gives me goosebumps.”

I got chills all over my body when I thought of the 210 draws.

I had clung to my account because I couldn’t give it up, but it was not a small expense by any means.

But thanks to the lottery, my nightmare also subsided somewhat.

Now it was time to overcome the wounds of the past and do some gacha again.

I launched the game without hesitation and leaned against the window.

“But today will be different... I got 10 magic books with only 10 draws. Is this good?”

I muttered nonsense while waiting for the game to load, and soon the game’s main screen appeared.

As always, a poor karma.

“It seems like a headache to raise it recklessly.”

If I used the 2x coupon, I would get a similar efficiency to the apostles who were starving even if I hunted myself.

But if I raised my karma carelessly, I had a high chance of getting the backlash of causality adjustment.

It was a dilemma whether to use it or not.

I had to think carefully about how to use the coupon.

As I looked at the [Karma 2x Coupon (1 day)], another item caught my eye.

“What is this?”

[Demon Doll].

It was the item that came out the most in this gacha.

Thud.

I moved my finger to see the details, and a large image of the doll appeared.

It looked like a big rice cake that resembled Cuebaerg’s main body.

From the description, it was a similar item to other normal items that only had a name value.

It meant that it couldn’t do anything other than being a doll.

“Where am I supposed to use this?”

Hmm.

I looked at the [Demon Doll] with a serious eye.

How long had I been looking at the doll?

A brilliant idea came to my mind as I glared at the screen.

When I didn’t know what it was, it was best to give it to ‘that guy’.

“I have to go there.”

Swoosh.

I quickly made a decision and moved the screen to find ‘that guy’ and started moving.

He would take care of the doll he received himself.

If he threw it away, I would just have to punish him somehow.

***

The Keterunt branch of the sect in the west of the empire.

There, a solemn worship was held in the chapel as usual today.

Of course, Estasia, the symbol of the Keterunt branch, was not free from worship either.

Estasia, who had a crown on her halo, prayed with the believers in the chapel as usual.

The only difference from usual was that there was one more angel next to her.

“Strawberries... please give me a lot.”

The halo flickered and bright lights spread around.

Tears flowed from the eyes of the believers who worshiped with Estasia’s sincere prayer.

How could there be such a pure angel?

Even though they closed their eyes tightly, some believers confessed their faith out loud.

To them, Estasia was a proof of faith and a bridge that connected them with God.

“Aronia... please give me a little.”

“Estasia...?”

“Shh. I’m praying.”

Estasia did not yield to the interference of the fallen angel who tried to disturb her prayer from beside her.

Rather, she calmed Aronia down and led her to worship.

The believers’ cheeks were wet with hot liquid at the sight of Estasia, who was an angel in the scriptures itself.

It was evidence that they had hot faith.

As the sacred worship proceeded, Estasia, who had closed her eyes, felt something and lifted her head up.

“...?”

She felt a huge presence from the sky.

Her master was surely looking at this place.

But she also felt uneasy, so Estasia quietly created a barrier.

An invisible secret barrier spread over Estasia’s head.

And soon something fell from the sky.

“Huh...?”

Thud.

The white thing that collided with Estasia’s barrier bounced off to Aronia.

Aronia screamed and looked for the culprit who hit her with something.

She turned her head and saw a white doll in front of her eyes.

It was a soft white lump doll that looked like a rice cake.

“Eh, Estasia. What is this?”

Aronia lifted up the doll that fell in front of her eyes and asked Estasia.

Estasia also looked at the doll for a moment.

But soon she lowered her head and closed her eyes again.

She did not forget to scold Aronia softly.

“Shh. You have to focus on your prayer.”

“No, a doll fell from the sky... Ack! Ugh!”

Thud. Thud. Thud.

More dolls fell from the sky and collided with the barrier several times.

The dolls that hit the barrier all slapped Aronia’s cheek.

Aronia couldn’t regain her senses and screamed from the continuous bombing of the dolls.

Maybe it was because of the noise that continued.

The eyes of the people who were praying all turned to Aronia.

“Tsk tsk tsk tsk... How impious that angel is. How can she play pranks during worship time?”

“That’s right. She must be a fallen angel after all.”

“By the way, isn’t our angel amazing? She’s still focused on her prayer even though there’s a commotion!”

The believers poured out harsh words at Aronia.

But they also didn’t forget to praise Estasia.

They still had the lumps from the attack that happened in the past.

Aronia hugged the doll with a sad face at the sight of the believers.

A spitball popped out of Aronia’s mouth that was hidden by the doll.

“...It’s not my fault that a doll fell from the sky.”

Aronia muttered quietly behind the doll.

But none of the believers believed her story.

Thud.

Another doll fell from the sky and hit Aronia’s head and passed by.

She had to bury her face in the doll with tears in her eyes.