Overgeared

“...!?” Agnus was startled as he faced Fenrir. He sensed Fenrir’s strength and thought it would be dangerous if even a bit of Fenrir’s blood and vital breath wrapped around his body.

‘Vampire?’

A death knight appeared and confronted Fenrir. Agnus’ death knights were those who dominated their respective eras. They suppressed the high-ranked players and played a sufficient role against a number of boss monsters. Yet this death knight was helpless in front of Fenrir.

Fenrir caught the death knight’s skull and cracked it with just his grip. The sword wielded by the death knight slashed at Fenrir’s chest, but Fenrir’s attack pierced the death knight's ribs one step ahead. The death knight lost its power and did little harm to Fenrir.

A pillar of blood surged and completely destroyed the death knight’s skull. The death knight resisted Fenrir despite losing its head, but Fenrir wasn’t someone who could be hit by a blindly wielded sword. Fenrir destroyed the death knight easily and leaped at Agnus once again. Then a new death knight appeared and blocked Fenrir’s path.

“Resistance is meaningless so don’t bother,” Fenrir stated.

Agnus ignored him and looked at the notification window.

[You have encountered Vampire Duke Marie Rose.]

[You have encountered Vampire Marquis Fenrir.]

....

...

“...”

Agnus now realized the frog’s foresight. He never dreamed that he would meet the descendants of the exile so soon.

‘Damn, why now…’ 

Agnus glared at Marie Rose like he was going to kill her. “Has the black thing already been hunted by you?”

The black thing—the dark elf Beniyaru—was very strong. She was close to level 500 and had mastered all types of archery, elementalism, and black magic. In particular, she showed a much greater attack power than a typical elf. There was a reason why Agnus had lost to her seven times. Yet even she couldn’t handle these people.

Fenrir alone felt similar to her, and Marie Rose was several times stronger than Fenrir. Additionally, the person called ‘Zikfrector’ seemed unusual.

“Answer me. I asked if you have killed the black thing.” Agnus’ eyes were filled with confusion and anger. This was the final piece of the puzzle to revive his lover. He struggled to maintain his sense of reason when he thought it might be gone. His eyes filled with tears. He wanted to smash the entire world to pieces and scream until his throat was torn apart.

“Why...! Why...! Kuaaaaaah!!!” Agnus lost his temper and summoned all his death knights before rushing at Marie Rose. He wasn’t afraid despite knowing there was no chance of success at all. He wasn’t brave. He just had nothing to lose.

“Die! Die! Die!!”

He didn’t arrange his power. Agnus used all his skills to launch a barrage of attacks at Marie Rose. However, his body didn’t listen to him.

“...?” Agnus suddenly realized that his limbs were bound. Thorns spread through Agnus’ blood like a spiderweb and also bound his death knights.

“This is the full extent of Baal’s Contractor...? By the way, the current pope is also at this low level.”

Marie Rose, the one who caused the bloody thorns, stared at Agnus with an expressionless face. Would she get revenge on Baal if she tried to hurt such a trivial guy? It felt like Baal wouldn’t blink at all. The question arose, but Marie Rose still glanced at Fenrir. “Finish it. This will be a slight blow to Baal.”

She didn’t have a tremendously big desire to destroy the Yatan Church and the great demons, but by doing so, she would at least be loyal to her mother. Marie Rose had no intention of seeking revenge by searching for those who expelled her mother from hell, but she had no reason to resist the opportunity for revenge.

At Marie Rose’s command, Fenrir shoved his hand into Agnus’ chest.

“Cough!” Agnus bent over as he coughed up black-red blood. As he felt the pain of his flesh being dug into and his intestines and bones being pulled out, he looked back on himself.

In the past, he had just cried while being unable to help his lover who was being abused by the powerful. He was now unable to resist the violence that was being ruthlessly wielded by the powerful. It was the same. Agnus was terribly helpless. He had vowed to change, but he hadn’t changed.

“K... Kukuk! Kik! Kikikik!” He learned how to resurrect his lover. Now, he only needed to hunt one elf. Agnus regained the madness that he had recently lost. “Kahahat! Kek!”

“...!?” Fenrir flinched with surprise while pulling out Agnus’ heart. It was because Agnus seemed like he was going crazy as he bit his tongue, seemingly to commit suicide. Simultaneously, Agnus’ body quickly weathered. His blood evaporated, and his skin and flesh rotted and disappeared into dust. It was the same for his heart. Only a bit of flesh and bones remained as his body rattled due to the thorns in his bloodstream.

“A foolish move!”

Agnus was so determined to protect his heart that he became an undead...? It was amazing that he could make such a judgment in the midst of the pain and fear of his heart being torn out when he was alive. Fenrir couldn’t handle the soaring anger, and his elbow knocked against Agnus’ skull, which only had half its skin remaining.

“...Kikik.” Agnus laughed. Lich Mumud floated above his head.

“Buy me some time,” Agnus commanded, and Mumud cast a spell again. What was the use of this lich? Fenrir ignored Mumud, but Marie Rose’s expression was firm.

The light of Mumud’s magic power exploded. For the first time, Fenrir was significantly wounded and coughed up blood, scattering the thorns in the bloodstream that bound Agnus and the death knights.

“Amazing magic power.” Grandmaster Zikfrector’s admiration permeated the chaos of the forest.

As Fenrir’s screams echoed, Marie Rose’s gaze was fixed on Mumud.

“What did you do in your lifetime?” Even Marie Rose was amazed by Mumud’s magic power.

It was said that he was the genius magician who transcended Braham in his life. The one who was already dead—he was helpless in front of Marie Rose. Marie Rose flicked her finger. A mass of blood flew and blew up Mumud and the death knights. It was the end.

“Zikfrector!” Zibal arrived inside the forest and found Zikfrector standing amidst the fire. He was agitated because he misunderstood that Zikfrector had angered Marie Rose. “Are you oka...?”

Zikfrector was about to reply to Zibal, only to suddenly become like a statue. His always expressionless face was filled with dismay and fatigue. Marie Rose and Fenrir, who was gritting his teeth in shame, showed similar reactions.

They were all staring at the book in Agnus’ hand. It was a book that described the original sin of a god. The book was written by the culprit who gave Shizo Beriache and Sixth Evil Zik the sin.

“Sloth...!”

Fenrir and Zikfrector hurriedly reached out, but they were too late. Agnus was already opening the book.

“Kihahahahat!”

Madness raged through the forest. Marie Rose, Fenrir, and Zikfrector—who barely turned away from the laziness due to his disciplined mentality—collapsed at the same time.

“Everything is annoying. Sleep... Snore.” Fenrir gave up and already started snoring.

“Baal’s readiness is great...” Zikfrector inserted a dagger into each of his thighs to prevent his eyes from closing.

Marie Rose shook her head and started casting a spell. “I will postpone the story for the next time.”

Marie Rose’s magic was cast, and she and Fenrir disappeared from the forest. It was a teleportation that was fast enough to violate common sense. Agnus’ blood-red eyes turned to the leftover Zikfrector. “Kik, kikik... I’ll tear off his limbs and kill him.”

“...”

It was a declaration that originally couldn’t be made. The Curse of Idleness was frightening. In the distant past, Zik committed the sin of neglecting his colleagues because he couldn’t overcome the Curse of Idleness. In the war against the gods, he had fallen asleep alone without helping his dying colleagues.

Step, step, step. Agnus stepped slowly toward Zikfrector who was falling asleep. The sight of Agnus holding a sword while only bones remained was reminiscent of a scene from a horror movie. In front of him...

“Stop.” The sweat-soaked Zibal blocked his way. Zibal, who had checked on Zikfrector the moment he fell asleep, said to Agnus, “This person shouldn’t die now. I don’t know what mistakes he made against you, but let it pass this once.” 

His eyes were full of compassion as he gazed at Agnus. He already knew about Agnus’ past and the wound that Agnus held.

“Kuk... Kukuk...” Agnus’ expression distorted. The gaze that Zibal sent him—Agnus hated that gaze the most in the world. “Go and die.”

Agnus’ sword and Zibal’s sword collided in the air. Agnus was tired, and Zibal had exhausted his magic machine summoning skill. Both were fighting in the serene forest with no witnesses.

“Agnus! What is the point of this fight? You know that we can’t compete in our current states!”

“Shut up! Shut up!”

“Shit! Calm down, you crazy asshole!”

“Kyaaaak!”

“Hiiik!”

To be honest, Zibal was scared of Agnus. The deranged person came at Zibal like a zombie, making him shudder with the creeps. He just hoped the Red Knights would come after cleaning up the situation outside. At this moment...

“Tornado.”

A powerful storm struck. It wasn’t intended to hurt Agnus or Zibal. The magic only made Agnus and Zibal separate.

“...?”

Agnus and Zibal’s eyes turned to the source of the magic. A blonde girl could be seen.

“Stop... Stop it.” It was a girl with a sad expression. Her name was Euphemina.

“You, why do you keep following me?” Agnus’ face twisted like a demon as he shouted, only to close his mouth. It was because an arrow was suddenly fired. The arrow pierced Euphemina’s heart.

“Ah...” 

Agnus felt something inside him snap.