Only a handful of people could see in detail what was happening deep within the battlefield.
Among those who were close to the heart of the battle was Ludwig.
He slashed through monsters in the rain, cutting and cutting his way through them.
As he built a mountain of monster corpses while crossing the battlefield, Ludwig also witnessed the strange occurrences on the field.
The dragon that suddenly appeared seemed to contain the universe within its body.
The moment Ludwig saw the dragon destroy a Titan up close, he, like the others, felt despair.
However, before that monster could wipe out the entire allied forces with its overwhelming destruction, Ellen brought it down in a single blow.
And soon, Ludwig witnessed the beginning of the battle between the Demon King and the hero.
It was a series of incomprehensible events.
Although the battle between the Demon King and the hero was natural to the people, it was something that should not have happened from Ludwig's perspective.
The two fought.
Ludwig watched from afar, but even just felling the monsters pouring from all directions was challenging.
The fight between the Demon King and the hero.
However, what was even more unbearable was what happened next.
The Immortal suddenly began indiscriminately killing not only monsters but also the soldiers of the allied forces.
The screams and resentful cries from all over the battlefield told of this.
Ludwig knew exactly what this meant.
Either Christina, who should have controlled the Immortal, had gone mad, or she had died.
Ludwig did not know how the situation would unfold.
What was important was that the evil monster had appeared but then vanished.
With all the warp gates destroyed, all that remained was to deal with the remaining monsters, and humanity's last enemy had become the Immortal.
——
The Immortals left the battlefield.
And as it re-entered, everyone saw it trying to kill the Demon King who was fighting for humanity.
Ludwig saw that scene as well.
The Demon King lured the Immortals while turning Diane into a wasteland.
Ludwig saw the Demon King fighting for humanity more desperately and in a more dangerous place than anyone else.
Even when humanity's weapons tried to kill him, he continued to fight for them.
Could the Demon King be forgiven?
Could the Demon King avoid paying the price?
Such concerns were not possible.
From the moment the Immortals began slaughtering the allied forces, people would think that the Immortals' actions were the Emperor's orders.
All the causes were, in fact, Christina, but people didn't even know of Christina's existence.
Therefore, all the responsibility and arrows of sin would be directed at the Emperor.
The Empire was not in danger.
The Empire would not disappear when this war ended.
The Empire had already vanished.
When the Immortals disappeared irresponsibly, and now that their swords were aimed at the allied forces, the Empire ceased to exist.
Everyone in the allied forces had already seen the Demon King fighting for humanity, even if the rest of the world didn't know.
Everyone saw him trying to kill monsters by using the crisis of being hunted by the Immortals.
He couldn't even feel betrayed as he watched Scarlett appear all over the battlefield, neutralizing the Immortal.
Who knew what horrors would have happened if it weren't for that act of defiance?
To Ludwig, Scarlett's betrayal was actually a blessing.
The Empire was gone.
The war was over.
In this world, there was a need for someone to take up the next baton, and that person was the Demon King.
But if the Demon King were to die in this place.
In just one day, the Demon King had transformed from humanity's enemy to its savior. If he were to die here, humanity would once again be plunged into chaos.
It didn't matter if the being was good or evil.
Without someone to hold the baton, humanity would be torn apart.
If the Demon King were to die in this place.
To whom would the allied forces pledge their loyalty, and how would they proceed?
It wasn't a matter of whether the Empire or the Demon King was right.
The problem was the division between those who believed in the Empire and those who believed in the Demon King.
If the Demon King died, that rift would intensify.
Someone had to ensure everyone's safety, even in the name of oppression.
The price shouldn't be paid by the Demon King alone.
The responsibility of not stopping Christina.
The responsibility of not persuading her.
That's why Ludwig himself had to take responsibility for this moment when the Immortals were slaughtering the allied forces.
No.
In truth, it didn't matter.
Ludwig saw, as he cut through monsters and vaulted over them.
The Demon King's desperate struggle.
The sight of him, who was using some unknown power, trying to save Ellen.
What he had tried to protect, what he had tried to regain.
He saw how it had all been ultimately restored to him.
Ludwig could not protect her.
He couldn't persuade her either.
But the Demon King, in his desperate battle that could be seen even from a distance, succeeded in retrieving Ellen from something unknown.
That victory.
The Demon King who succeeded in protecting something after that desperate battle.
Reinhardt.
He couldn't leave the victory of the Demon King, who had reached something he himself couldn't do, to end in a futile death.
He had seen it already.
He had said that he must pay the price.
He had said that he must bear the responsibility, without knowing anything about Reinhardt.
He didn't understand what Reinhardt had been dealing with, as he watched him being chased by the Immortals from afar.
He still couldn't know everything.
He didn't know what had happened or what was going to happen.
But this victory.
Reinhardt's victory shouldn't be reduced to nothing in the midst of miserable futility.
Finding the right answer was impossible, and that thought hadn't changed.
He couldn't think that the arrival of the Demon King's world was truly the right thing.
However.
The Demon King dying in this place.
And Ellen, who the Demon King had somehow managed to protect, dying.
That was the wrong answer.
It was something that shouldn't happen.
Because the path he had intended to take was also one of the worst wrong answers, Ludwig no longer had the right to demand someone else to pay the price of the wrong answer.
Then, the minimum good.
In the end, he returned to his original mindset.
He had to fight for someone's life.
Not for the death of something.
Not for the price of sin.
In the end, he fought for life.
-Kkwa-Ga-Ga-Gang!
That's why Ludwig fought.
No one would remember it.
Even those who were saved wouldn't remember.
The final battle.
"What a strange power."
A strange gray light flickered in the eyes of the old mage, whose identity was unknown.
Ludwig could tell that the old mage had taken away something that had burst out of Ellen's body.
He had thought the old man might be Reinhardt's subordinate, but he actually intended to kill Reinhardt
With a mere outstretched hand, the old mage blocked the massive dark sword that Ludwig swung.
The black magic-infused sword, which had been tearing through monsters' flesh until now, was blocked all too easily.
"That right arm doesn't seem to be yours."
The old mage pointed at Ludwig's right arm, burning with darkness.
"I feel like I've heard your story somewhere before…"
The old mage tilted his head.
"Well, I can't remember it clearly. It's a common thing for an old man like me…"
Although he couldn't explain it properly, the old monster he faced was an unpleasant presence.
"But in the end, I was disappointed that no one was in my way. Perhaps it's for the best."
The old monster was satisfied with the fact that someone had eventually stood in his way, despite the emptiness he felt.
So, he had no intention of killing the Demon King before defeating Ludwig.
That was the story, after all.
He still didn't like ruining the story with petty tricks.
There was a final enemy.
Therefore, overcoming each other first was beautiful.
"Ugh… Ack…"
Although he tried to approach the two, Ludwig had already crossed the line several times.
Like Reinhardt, who reached his limit and collapsed, Ludwig was already at his limit as well.
Furthermore, Ludwig didn't gain his strength through normal means.
-Grrrr!
"Ugh… Argh!"
The torrent of black magic gushing from his right arm was not only uncontrollable, but the pain engulfing his whole body was also invading Ludwig's consciousness.
He had come this far after a fierce battle.
So, by the time he arrived here, Ludwig's stamina was nearly depleted.
The Demon King had a healing method called Tiamata, but Ludwig had nothing like that. Moreover, Ludwig's condition couldn't be healed with holy power.
He couldn't control the rampaging power of his right arm properly.
He didn't know who the enemy was, but the situation was at its worst, even though he had to face the most powerful enemy he had encountered so far.
The old mage, watching Ludwig's agony, quietly stretched out his right hand.
"Young man…"
-Zzzzzzz
"Great price follows easily acquired power."
He lightly swung his hand towards Ludwig, which he had lowered towards the soaked ground.
Despite being more than twenty meters apart, Ludwig saw a rift in space.
The blade of wind created by compressing the atmosphere was swung towards Ludwig.
"…!"
-Kwakakang!
"Kuh!"
The mage, who sent Ludwig flying with just a swing of his hand, was already at Ludwig's nose in the next moment with a short-range spatial leap.
-Uwooooo!
From the mage's right hand, an eerie grayish storm, not made of mana, was raging.
-Kwarrrr!
The torrent of vengeful spirits engulfed Ludwig.
"Ugh… Uh… Huhuhuk!"
He was invaded by spiritual pain, not physical torment.
Ludwig, who had become accustomed to pain through the chimera procedure, couldn't help but scream at the unfamiliar pain.
Swallowed by the torrent and rolling across the ground, Ludwig couldn't even stand up properly as he trembled.
He didn't know what it was, but the Demon King had certainly fought something like this.
Thus, there was no way Ludwig could not realize that he was now feeling the pain that the Demon King had felt.
Beyond the pain, an innate fear surged forth.
It wasn't just the level of pain and suffering; it was a sensation as if his soul was becoming sick.
Despair filled his mind.
I can't do it.
How can someone like me?
This is not my place.
Such thoughts filled his brain.
The Demon King, lying there defeated.
Did Reinhardt fight something like this?
How could the Demon King fight something like that?
What was even stranger was the monster before him.
Why did it seem so happy, harboring such a thing inside its body?
For the first time in his life, he experienced an unfamiliar pain.
And fear.
The rising sense of despair.
The monster approached the trembling Ludwig with a sinister smile.
"Isn't it more beautiful, a power that cannot kill someone?"
"Ugh…"
"I enjoy the expressions made by broken-hearted humans."
He gritted his teeth, trying not to back away, but Ludwig unknowingly stepped back, afraid of the pain he had just felt.
-Splash
Trembling with fear, Ludwig soon stumbled and fell into a puddle, sitting in the water.
"Ugh… ugh…"
"Since I cannot witness the despair I truly wanted to see, how about you show me that expression instead?"
He couldn't make an expression while unconscious.
How much despair would he feel?
How much pain would he suffer?
It was impossible to know.
So the monster would extract that expression from the nameless someone who had appeared to protect him.
Fear crept over Ludwig's entire body.
The first time experiencing such pain.
The first time encountering such a being.
A creature worthy of being called a true monster approached, not to bring death, but to deliver pain and fear.
Yet, he could not back down.
He mustered strength he didn't have.
Supporting himself on his trembling legs.
He stood up.
"Ugh!"
Biting his lip until it bled, he offset the pain of his soul with physical pain.
Taking a step forward, Ludwig swung his sword of darkness.
-Clang!
The greatsword was blocked by the barrier the monster had spread.
If once wouldn't work, then twice.
-Clang! Clang!
And if that didn't work, then thrice.
-Screech!
The barrier shattered, but in that moment, the monster was already preparing its next barrier.
What on earth was this thing before him?
How could it possess such power?
Or had he become too weak?
The old mage waved his hand.
"How about this?"
-Rumble, rumble, rumble!
"…!"
The ground trembled as chunks of earth began clinging to Ludwig's body.
"…What!"
And then, they tightened around him as if to shatter his body.
-Rumble, rumble, rumble!
Pieces of the torn earth enveloped Ludwig's body, compressing him without end.
Soon, the rocks became transparent, gradually turning into crystal.
Trapped inside a prison of crystal, Ludwig's eyes bulged.
An ordinary human would have been crushed by the pressure.
However, Ludwig was far from ordinary.
Though he had no noteworthy title or reputation.
He didn't belong to the realm of the ordinary.
With a crack, fissures appeared in the crystalline prison that held Ludwig, soon causing a massive explosion.
"Kwakakang!"
Crystal shards scattered, and Ludwig, who had been trapped within, fell to the ground, gasping for breath.
"Ssaaaaaaaaa"
Drenched and stretched out like a wet rag in the rain, his appearance alone made him a defeated man.
"Hooo…"
However, as if admiring his effort to escape, the monster watched Ludwig, who lay collapsed and gasping for breath, as he somehow tried to stand up.
Once again, Ludwig's hand held the great sword of darkness.
The fight continued.
Ludwig was undoubtedly strong.
The great sword of darkness was a powerful magical weapon in and of itself, threatening enough for the old mage, and could easily destroy any defensive barrier.
It was truly a monstrous power.
However, his opponent was an all too unfamiliar being.
The old monster, who had absorbed even strange powers, was too alien an enemy for Ludwig to face.
Magic that transcended space.
And Ludwig had neither a way to block nor dodge the torrent of vengeful spirits.
The monster did not have to face him.
Ludwig knew that he was merely being toyed with.
He could somehow dodge and shatter the incoming earth spears, explosions, and lightning strikes, but he could not block the torrent of vengeful spirits wielded by the old mage. Just touching them would erode his mind with fear and pain so intense that it felt like his sanity would collapse.
"Kuh…ugh!"
Antirianus delightedly watched Ludwig writhing in pain.
It was the power that the old monster had never desired.
A power that did not kill humans but could break them.
A power that could twist anyone's face in despair, fear, and pain.
Although he had never coveted it until the Demon King suggested it, once he grasped it, it was as if the very power he himself had always desired.
Only Antirianus, the sole being in the world, could use this power joyfully.
His opponent before his eyes was nothing.
The pupils of the trembling opponent were filled with fear from pain.
Antirianus did not know who was in front of him.
However, merely being here meant that he was not an ordinary human or a being with ordinary willpower.
Thus, the monster was curious.
How far could this power break a human?
"Show me, boy."
"Kurururung!"
The torrent of vengeful spirits emitted from Antirianus's grip engulfed Ludwig.
"Kuuuuuuuugh!"
Ludwig, who had collapsed, began to scream as his whole body trembled.
"I wonder what expression one who has been broken and bent, with no will left to stand, would wear… I am curious."
Although it did not kill humans, it could break them to their limits.
Antirianus intended to test the extent of this power.
What a splendid toy to verify the power he possessed.
It would provide good entertainment until the real toy awoke.
"Kurururururung!"
"Kuheuaaaaaaaaaak!"
Like tearing off the legs of an ant before crushing it, Antirianus looked down at Ludwig, who was slumped and convulsing.
And he watched.
To see if he would stand.
If there was any strength left to stand, any mental fortitude.
After one storm had passed, Antirianus saw Ludwig, still on bended knee, struggling to stand on trembling legs.
The dark greatsword still remained in his right hand.
"You're getting up."
"Ugh…ugh…"
Ludwig knew that his opponent was merely toying with him. He also knew that he couldn't win. Nevertheless, he tried to buy time. If the unconscious Demon King were to awaken, the situation might change. He himself might not be capable, but Reinhardt might be. He had always failed, but Reinhardt had always succeeded.
He had to hold on.
Until Reinhardt rose.
It's not that he agreed with the Demon King, but there had to be someone who could find a new answer. And it wasn't him. It was the Demon King. Just like Christina. It was wrong to kill and destroy things solely with malice. In the end, everyone dies, and someone gets sacrificed against their intentions. If such incidents occur regardless of who is in front, if anyone only brings about sacrifices, if there's no right answer for anyone, then at least a being without malice should exist.
He had seen with his own eyes that Reinhardt had no malice. He had to protect him. Running away, fighting, and in the desperate moments of battle, he had seen him fighting to protect even the malice directed at himself.
He had to endure.
Until Reinhardt rose.
He also knew that the monster in front of him was interested in him for the time being. He didn't know what kind of monster it was, or what kind of pain he was going through, but all he had to do was not fall. If he could just get up, if that could change the situation even a little, he had to get up.
Antirianus smiled as he saw the life still remaining in Ludwig's eyes.
That was, perhaps, what the monster loved most in the world.
It didn't matter if his will was extinguished or not. He enjoyed the process.
-Kurururung!
Once again, a torrent of vengeful spirits formed in the monster's right hand.