(TL Note: Warning, this chapter is gruesome)
“Please, spare me! I beg you, please!”
Ever since being tied to a small boat and hearing Principal Dwener’s punishment through the rat…
Count Zachary struggled desperately to survive, and the small boat nearly capsized several times.
But that was the extent of his efforts.
“Go on, keep trying. It’ll only attract more bugs if you start sweating.”
Roy, who maintained the boat’s balance flawlessly, made Count Zachary’s struggles utterly futile.
Thus, the curtain rose on the torture that Dwener had devised.
The honey smeared on his body attracted the bugs, while the laxatives caused excrement to flow, which became the breeding ground for countless insect eggs.
His once thick flesh became his curse.
“The bugs must be happy. Plenty to feast on.”
The insides of his flesh became a natural shelter, where the insects could hide from predators.
Tiny bugs that neither Roy nor Bernstein could catch crawled into his body, and once inside, they began to breed.
The bugs had divided the enormous mountain-like body into five territories, each species claiming its own section.
All over his body, Zachary could feel the bugs moving.
There were even parts bulging out like blood vessels.
Seeing the insects crawl within him in real-time, Count Zachary finally lost consciousness.
This was the first time Count Zachary had fainted.
And so it continued—he passed out and awoke, hundreds of times over.
Rustle— Rustle.
Scratch— Scratch.
Had a bug taken residence inside his ear? All he could hear was the constant sound of something moving.
How much time had passed?
Three days? A week? No, maybe it had been a month.
The sun still rose and set in the swamp, but it was impossible to tell the exact passage of time due to his frequent fainting spells.
‘Judging by the chill, it must be night. Just once… I’d like to see the moon one last time.’
But that was impossible.
His eyes had been devoured by insects long ago.
While he could manage to remove the bugs crawling on his skin, there was no way to stop the ones eating his eyes from within.
The experience of watching his own eyes being devoured, live, was a terrifying and horrific ordeal.
How could it not be, when you could see the bugs feasting on your own eyes?
‘My thigh… No, it’s moved to my knee now.’
The only thing that brought him any small measure of solace was tracking the movements of the largest bug living in his body.
An aching pain throbbed in his knee. It seemed the creature had decided to feast on the remaining flesh there today.
‘I’m sorry… To everyone I’ve hurt, I am truly sorry.’
Count Zachary, in a desperate attempt to endure the unbearable pain, chose to repent.
The endless torment, the unmeasurable passage of time.
The fear of not knowing when the suffering would finally end was enough to bring about repentance in Count Zachary.
Scratch— Scratch.
Rustle— Squelch.
But no matter how much he repented or begged for forgiveness, the pain did not stop.
In the end, Count Zachary…
‘Please, someone… kill me. End this sinner’s life, I beg you.’
He began to yearn for death.
The administrator, Rieur, was no different.
He too muttered endlessly, confessing and begging for forgiveness for all his wrongdoings.
“Rieur… Are you still there?”
No answer. Not even a groan.
It seemed he had finally met his end.
For his entire life, Zachary had never once envied Rieur. But now, he found himself envious of him.
“Please… kill me…”
“Shut up! You’ll let more bugs in!”
Shhhh!
Zachary pleaded with the rat, but instead of receiving death, all he got was a spray of insect repellent.
From that moment on, Count Zachary never opened his mouth again.
The agony of the bugs rampaging throughout his body whenever they felt threatened was far too excruciating.
‘Wrong… forgive… death…’
And so, days passed with his soul halfway in the afterlife.
Finally, the moment Count Zachary had longed for arrived.
“Will you… be the one… to finish it…?”
He couldn’t hear properly due to the bugs crawling in his ears, but one thing was clear.
Someone had arrived who could end his suffering, even just a little faster.
I have sinned. I regret everything I’ve done.
I will keep repenting in hell. So, please.
Have mercy.
Count Zachary’s half-devoured lips were tightly sealed.
Upon seeing that, Dwener knew.
He knew that Count Zachary had finally realized the weight of his sins.
That he had repented.
That he now longed for death.
“…Too late.”
Now that he had realized his wrongdoings and repented, there was no point in prolonging his suffering any further.
Dwener decided to put an end to Count Zachary’s agony.
Shiver-
Just as Dwener’s trembling spear touched Count Zachary’s neck…
“Stop.”
Caron stepped in and halted him.
“That’s enough. If you cross that line, you’ll never be able to return.”
Executing a criminal. People call it a righteous act, but in truth, it’s not.
It’s a crime, plain and simple. No, by now, it’s already criminal.
They were kidnapping people, torturing them, driving them to death.
Murder is the worst of all crimes.
It’s crossing the line of what it means to be human.
Dwener knew that much.
He knew that once he crossed that line, he could never go back to how things used to be.
“I know that all too well.”
And, in truth…
Dwener glanced to the side. Rieur’s gruesome corpse stared back at him.
“I crossed that line long ago.”
Pierce-
The spearhead pierced Count Zachary’s throat.
Gurgle-
With a grotesque sound, bubbles of blood rose along the spearhead.
As Dwener pulled the spear out, crimson blood gushed out in spurts, and a few bugs flowed out with it. Finally, Count Zachary’s head tilted limply to one side.
His life ended as easily as that. As if his once-trembling body had never struggled at all.
Dwener collapsed to his knees.
Indeed, this is no act of justice.
It’s merely a small evil devouring a greater evil.
An act that can never be called righteous.
Yet, Dwener chose to walk this path.
For the children, and for this world.
“You’ve done well.”
“…Done well? Compared to what’s ahead, this is nothing.”
“Then I’ll handle the bodies.”
“Wait a moment.”
Dwener pulled out a small piece of paper from his pocket.
Perhaps from the countless times he had wavered and then steeled his resolve, the paper was crumpled and worn all over.
In the center of that piece of paper, a single word was written.
“Evil (惡).”
“They need to know this wasn’t by chance. That someone did this.”
If word spread that there was an organization hunting down evil, it would make others think twice before committing further crimes.
Yes, this was both a warning and a declaration to the wicked.
A message that they were being watched and to cease their wrongdoings.
“The bigger I grow, the fewer villains there will be.”
Everyone values their own life, but the wicked tend to value it the most.
Indeed, Dwener wasn’t wrong.
But…
“It will only be temporary.”
No matter how many villains Dwener killed… No, even if he wiped out every villain in the world…
New villains would emerge to fill the void.
History had proven that time and again.
“You’re right. It’s an impossible task. But then I thought… Maybe it’s because we’ve accepted that, that the world has ended up like this.”
Humans don’t tend to challenge what they believe is impossible.
It was one of the reasons why Caron had given up this path.
“Still, I’m going to see it through.”
“Why?”
Why, you ask?
Because I am…
“A bad adult.”
A bitter smile formed on Dwener’s lips. His eyes even began to mist slightly.
Was he feeling embarrassed? Dwener turned his back and pulled out a small notebook.
Then he began writing something down, his pen scratching across the pages.
“What’s that?”
“A record.”
“A record?”
“One day, I’ll have to take responsibility, won’t I? I have no intention of avoiding the consequences of my actions.”
For every death, I’ll not claim righteousness, but instead hammer down the iron fist of “Evil”.
“And I will bear responsibility for every one of those deaths. Anyone who chooses this path must do the same. I am, after all, no different from the villains I hunt.”
Feeling not joy, but pain as he kills evil.
Bearing the weight of death.
And taking full responsibility for his actions, with a spirit of sacrifice.
‘…Perfect.’
He perfectly embodied the conditions of someone who could walk this path, as Caron had envisioned.
“Count Zachary… and Administrator Rieur. Alright, I’ll make copies. No, maybe I should make two copies?”
One day, when Dwener is caught and that notebook is revealed, the world will remember Dwener as one of the greatest villains of all time.
But Caron knew the truth.
That in the hearts of the victims, and in the hearts of a select few, including himself…
Dwener would be remembered as a true hero.
“Such matters can be decided later. For now, let’s move. We still have a long way to go.”
“Hm?”
“First, we need to make sure people know these men deserved to die. We also need to erase our traces and remove any signs they were tied up.”
“…Are you offering more help?”
“Only until we’re fully established. Reducing the number of evildoers is something His Majesty desires, so I’ll assist a little.”
“C-Caron!”
Dwener tried to pull Caron into an embrace, but Caron swiftly pushed him away.
At that moment, his eyes caught sight of the crumpled note with the word Evil written on it.
“We’ll need to spread the information slowly. Have you thought of a name for your organization?”
“Huh? Do I need to think of something like that too?”
“…Of course. If you want to strike fear into people, you need a symbol they’ll remember!”
“Ah, right. That makes sense. Caron, I’m truly glad to have you by my side!”
Caron scowled.
Is he incompetent or competent? This man is impossible to figure out.
Irritated, Caron strode away from the swamp with long strides.
Dwener, still laughing heartily, followed after him. He glanced back briefly.
The bodies of Count Zachary and Administrator Rieur lay neatly arranged on the boat.
Ah, Zero…
One day, when you find out about all of this, you’ll be shocked.
But it’s okay. Even if you hate me, even if you’re disappointed in me, that’s fine.
As long as you all…
“Can live in a world that’s a little bit better.”
Behind Dwener’s departing figure, the crumpled piece of paper floated up into the swampy air.
The flower of Evil slowly bloomed.
Whisper-whisper.
Glance-glance.
“Someone’s trying to hunt me downnnnn!”
The moment Rezé entered the cafeteria to get breakfast, she let out a shriek. All the eyes around them were glued to her.
“Looks like we’ll have to eat outside today. I’ll be out there, so grab the food and come.”
“Keke, but I only have two hands, you know?”
“You’ve got two feet too, don’t you?”
Ah, that’s true. I could carry a tray in each hand, and then use my feet to grab another one?
Luna really is a genius…
‘Yeah, right.’
Using feet like hands wasn’t an option. Maybe if I were a circus performer, but not now.
Still, Luna must have thought I could pull it off with ease.
With Rezé supported in her arms, Luna led the way out of the cafeteria.
I guess if I pile enough food onto one tray, we’ll make it work.
“Keke, I really am a genius…”
“…No, you’re just a troublemaker.”
Someone standing behind me cut into the conversation.
It was a student dressed in the academy’s uniform. Though I didn’t recognize him by face, his voice gave him away.
It was Scarlet, the manager of the Academy’s Rat branch and my personal rat.
He was in disguise as a student today.
“Care to have a quick chat, Mr. Trouble?”
“Keke, looks like there’s some misunderstanding. I suppose we’ll need a deep conversation to clear things up?”
After taking a seat in a corner of the cafeteria, Scarlet brought over two glasses of juice.
He sat across from me and flashed a sly smile.
“Heard you caused quite a scene, huh? Picking a fight with a high-level demon, no less?”
As expected, even the lowest rungs of the rat organization are quick with information.
“How much do you know about what happened?”
“I heard you almost died after messing with a high-level demon. That’s why kids like you are hopeless, you know? You get too cocky. One of these days, you’ll actually get yourself killed, you know that?”
The story going around painted us as reckless kids who dared to challenge a high-level demon, not as people who had stood our ground with confidence.
It also seemed that no one knew I had actually taken down four low-level demons.
‘Caron’s been controlling the flow of information about me.’
He’d made sure that the attention of outsiders wouldn’t fall on me.
Handling everything without me needing to ask. As expected, my right-hand man is very capable. I’ll have to pat him on the head when I see him next time.
“You’ve got a talent for pulling off unbelievable feats, I’ll give you that… At this point, nothing surprises me anymore.”
Scarlet chuckled as he sipped his juice.
Watching his ridiculous expression reminded me of something important I needed to tell him.
“Soon, a black mage will be looking for you.”
Spurt-
Juice spilled from Scarlet’s mouth.
–TL Notes–
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you want to support me or give me feedback, you can do it at patreon.com/MattReading
Join my Discord! https://discord.gg/BWaP3AHHpt
Thanks for the chapter!
That was horror movie stuff during Dwener’s part.