“Hang on a second, will you?” said the adventurer, casually approaching the reception counter that Vandalieu had frozen stiff in front of. “It’s the first time I’ve heard of this rule change. Can you explain what you mean?”
“Y-you’re troubling me. I’m currently dealing with this child –” the receptionist began.
“I have something I want to say about how you’re dealing with him. Can you call the Guild Master for me?” said the adventurer.
“You’re troubling me,” the receptionist repeated. “If you want to make an appeal to the Guild, then, when it is your turn, please tell one of us staff members at the reception counters first.”
“I am the A-class adventurer Heinz. I’d like to request a face-to-face meeting with the Guild Master once more, under the authority of an A-class adventurer.”
Heinz. It was Heinz.
Vandalieu turned his head as if it was on a creaking hinge, looking at the adventurer standing next to him.
He was a well-featured, strong-willed young man with blonde hair and blue eyes. He was in his early-to-mid-twenties. It was clear from one look at his appearance and equipment that he wasn’t an ordinary person.
Though it had changed a little, he had the same voice that Vandalieu had heard in Evbejia, and he matched the physical description given by Riley.
Mom’s enemy, the Blue-flamed Sword Heinz!
He was one of the people whom Vandalieu absolutely needed to kill. Vandalieu had heard that Heinz had crossed over to the Orbaume Kingdom, but he hadn’t imagined that Heinz would be staying in the Hartner Duchy, nor had he imagined that he would encounter him at this moment.
The resurrection of Darcia was something that was absolutely needed for Vandalieu’s “pursuit of happiness.” And those who interfered with that needed to be eliminated. That was why he would kill Heinz.
Selling his mother to a fanatic worshipper of Alda had simply been another request for Heinz. It didn’t matter if his actions were completely normal and legal in that nation.
It didn’t matter what Heinz was thinking and doing now.
The problem was the future, what lay ahead. He had sold Darcia to a religious fanatic once. What reason did Vandalieu have to believe that he wouldn’t do the same again? If he had already changed his viewpoint once, who was to say that he wouldn’t change it again?
In order to reduce those possibilities to zero, Heinz needed to be killed and destroyed.
Now was a good opportunity to do that.
Of course, Vandalieu couldn’t do anything flashy in a place like this where people were watching. He knew that. He could simply poison him or infect him with a disease.
Should he turn his breath, a small amount of his saliva or the substances secreted by his skin into poison? Should he ‘accidentally’ touch Heinz and infect him with pathogens?
Vandalieu started coming up with these plans, but every time he thought about them, he heard the warnings of Danger Sense: Death in his head.
If he tried to poison Heinz, he would be killed. If he tried to infect Heinz with pathogens, he would be killed.
Either way, the one who would die was not Heinz, but Vandalieu.
Impossible, is this guy invincible or immortal or something?!
He was far too different compared to when he had worked for High Priest Gordan. Vandalieu was astonished at this change, but he couldn’t deny the reality in front of him or the death-attribute magic spell that had saved him up until now.
I see; this is an A-class adventurer worthy of becoming S-class like Mikhail, the one who was powerful enough to slay Borkus and the others in an instant.
Someone who would defeat A-class adventurers, who were supposed to be superhumans, with ease. A superhuman that transcended superhumans.
Heinz was far too different from Riley, whose soul had been broken by Vandalieu after his defeat at Borkus’s hands. And it was even said that Heinz was far more blessed when it came to allies than Riley had ever been.
Vandalieu moved his eyes and looked far past Heinz to see that there were five more people standing there. Two of them matched the descriptions that he had heard from Riley.
The female Dwarf Shield-bearer with blue hair, Delizah. The male Scout with black hair and black eyes, Edgar. The other two were perhaps new party members, a female Elf with a mace and priest’s garb, and a young woman who appeared to be an unarmed fighter.
Heinz wouldn’t have chosen them just for their looks, so they were probably A-class and B-class as well, C-class at worst.
This must be the new ‘Five Colored Blades’ with two new members taking the place of Riley and the female Elf Spiritual Mage who apparently perished in a Dungeon.
The fifth additional member, a girl of Vandalieu’s age or even younger who was half-hiding behind Delizah, was probably not a party member. Was she someone’s younger sister?
Ah, how troublesome. They’re the worst kinds of enemies for me.
Even excluding the girl, he could tell by looking at the other four. It was because of these people that Vandalieu didn’t even have a fraction of a percent of a chance of killing Heinz.
They were watching Heinz with wry smiles and exasperated expressions, muttering words like, “Good grief,” and “Here we go again.” But if anything were to happen to Heinz, they would back him up with swift speed and precision.
If Heinz were to fight Vandalieu with these party members with him, there was no doubt that he would utilize his ability to coordinate with them and deliver a blow capable of piercing Vandalieu’s barriers.
Poisoning them or infecting them with pathogens would be futile. Unlike the soldiers of the Mirg shield-nation’s expedition army, they were equipped to deal with high-Rank monsters that inflicted status effects with their attacks. They were different even from the self-conceited Riley.
They were ridiculously strong. Their Mana pools were irrelevant. If Vandalieu was an enormous elephant, they were ants capable of killing such an elephant.
I have no choice. I have to endure this humiliation for now. I mustn’t die; there are things I need to do. I’ll be satisfied with being able to see these guys’ faces directly. I’ll regroup with Eleanora and the others, and… Huh? What are these guys… What is Heinz doing?
Vandalieu, who had even been using his High-speed Thought Processing skill to immerse himself in his thoughts in an attempt to endure the feeling of powerlessness and humiliation that tormented his entire body, was suddenly startled as he began processing the information from his ears.
“Please wait, the Guild Master is currently out of his office –”
“Then a Sub-Master should be here. The rules state that when the Guild Master is absent, one of the two Sub-Masters will always remain inside the Guild. Or was that rule changed as well?”
Heinz was currently arguing not with the receptionist, but a male staff member who appeared to be her senior. But the situation was looking worse for the staff member.
“That is…”
“I know that there’s no point in saying this to you,” said Heinz. “The same goes for the Guild Master of the Guild’s Niarki branch. But there’s something I want the Guild Master to write. I want him to write a letter of introduction to meet the Guild Master of the Adventurers’ Guild headquarters of the Hartner Duchy.”
“I-if our Guild Master writes something like that, doesn’t that mean that he is endorsing you?!” said the staff member.
Heinz pressed the staff member further. “So, he can’t do it? Even though he can approve of such a meaningless rule change?”
“Th-this isn’t something that can be decided by a mere staff member!” the staff member protested.
“Any Guild employee would know that this meaningless rule change is a non-committal decision made by Lord Belton in order to gain the support of the churches, including the Church of Alda, because he can’t gain the support of the duchy’s army in his familial dispute,” said Heinz. “It’s something that even I could figure out right away, after all.”
Apparently, many of the current important figures in the Hartner Duchy’s Church of Alda were fundamentalists rather than members of the peaceful faction.
“Children with monster blood are dangerous, so they can’t be judged through a single examination. They could lose their self-control at any moment, so letting them into the adventurers’ school is also dangerous. Do you guys really believe these things?” Heinz asked.
The more Heinz spoke, the paler the male staff member’s face grew and the more he struggled to maintain eye contact. It was likely that he secretly agreed with Heinz’s words. It seemed that the same went for the other staff members and receptionists.
The other adventurers present voiced their agreement.
“What’s the problem? You just have to deliver a message!”
“That’s right, that’s right! The doors of the Adventurers’ Guild are wide open, aren’t they?!”
“You’re not planning to keep us Beast-people out soon, are you?”
And then the male staff member seemed to come to a decision. “I understand,” he said. “But the only thing I can do is pass the message onto the Guild Master.”
“I know,” said Heinz. “That’ll be enough.”
“I will warn you… As an A-class adventurer, you already possess more influence than a lower nobleman,” the staff member told him. “Your intentions will be known to the lords. But please do not forget that it is up to the lords as to how to interpret your intentions.”
“I know that, too,” said Heinz. “Not as a member of Alda’s peaceful faction, but as an adventurer, I believe that the Guild shouldn’t obey the will of politicians. That’s all I wanted to say. ‘The doors to adventure are open to members of all races’… We shouldn’t ignore the words of the founder, should we?”
“I like those words too,” said the staff member. “Now then, I will send a messenger the Guild Master, so excuse me. You’re lucky, aren’t you?” he said, smiling at Vandalieu.
With the staff member’s words, Vandalieu’s brain finally started functioning again.
Lucky? Why? Because he had been able to see how his enemy’s appearance and a part of his power? No, that wasn’t it…
Could it be… Heinz is helping me? Impossible!
As Vandalieu directed his gaze towards Heinz to see him giving Vandalieu a nod with a reassuring, reliable smile. As if to say, “Leave it to me.”
However, rather than being reassured, Vandalieu was going mad.
Why do I have to be helped?! Don’t mess with me!
Is it some kind of trap?! There’s another side to this, there’s another side to this, there has to be!
There’s something fishy about this, it’s strange, I’m not convinced!
Feeling an unpleasant sensation that felt like his brain, spirit and even his soul were turning into mush, Vandalieu was unable to gather his thoughts. The Parallel Thought Processing and High-speed Thought Processing skills served only to further increase his confusion; he couldn’t calm down.
“Good grief. Who was it that said he’s not interested in politics? The moment we finish our escort request and arrive in the city, this happens. And now you’re planning to complain to the next duke and the Guild Master of the duchy’s Guild headquarters,” said Heinz’s male party member.
“But Edgar, he’s been saying it all along, hasn’t he?” said another. “That Alda’s teachings should be changed to be more peaceful. And even going as far as to split up with Riley to come to this country was Heinz’s –”
“But I remember hearing that this party’s objective was to completely clear the wandering Dungeon, the Trial of Zakkart,” said a third party member, a woman.
“Please don’t say that,” said yet another party member. “Or do you mean to say that you think that Heinz’s words are mistaken, Jennifer?”
“… That’s not what I meant,” said the woman called Jennifer.
Vandalieu could hear Heinz’s companions conversing as if these things couldn’t be helped, though none of them showed any signs of opposing Heinz’s words.
“Hey, is Heinz the one who belongs to Alda’s peaceful faction?”
“That’s right. I heard that in the Mirg shield-nation, he witnessed the tragedy of a certain Dhampir and his mother, and that’s why he came to this country.”
“Huh. So that’s why he’s helping a Dhampir now. A-class adventurer-samas really are something else.”
Vandalieu could hear the voices of other adventurers.
In summary, Heinz and his companions changed their views when they saw Mom burned at the stake after they captured her and handed her over. Now they’re part of Alda’s peaceful faction and work in the Orbaume Kingdom. So that’s why they’re helping a Dhampir? Helping…
“It’s alright,” said the little girl who was with Heinz’s companions. She was right in front of Vandalieu, who, despite his inner thoughts, appeared to simply be standing there motionlessly.
She took his hand as she continued speaking.
“Heinz-oniichan is going to help you. Just like he helped me!” she said, laughing. One of her eyes was a blood-red color that didn’t match her other eye.
“Ah…”
Vandalieu’s hand trembled.
“Uu…”
Nausea, a headache and a sense of discomfort, the likes of which he had never experienced in his third lifetime, ran through his body.
“Kyah?!” the little girl cried in surprise.
Unable to stand it anymore, Vandalieu had shaken her hand off. In doing so, he had kept his claws withdrawn and controlled his strength so that he didn’t injure her.
That was the limit of how much he could hold back.
“Hey, you?!” Startled, Heinz reached out towards Vandalieu.
But Vandalieu put all of his effort into putting as much distance between himself and Heinz as possible. He used all four limbs to propel himself along the floor and used Flight in a way that excessive force was exerted on his internal organs.
“O-oi! Wait a second!”
“What’s wrong?!”
Ignoring the surprised voices of Heinz’s companions and other adventurers, Vandalieu used his shoulder to smash through the door to the Guild and fled!
Vandalieu was sitting on the ground, staring at his trembling hands.
He was already outside the city of Niarki; probably inside a nearby forest or thicket. It was unlikely that he had traveled very far.
He had no memory whatsoever of how he exited the city after leaving the Guild. It was possible that he had created a hole in the outer wall to escape.
“Ah… Guh… oh…”
Vandalieu’s mind was in so much chaos that he didn’t have time to worry about such things. He felt as if his entire body would rot away with the anger, humiliation and powerlessness that he felt.
He had been completely unable to defeat his enemy. He knew without even challenging him that it would end in utter defeat. He had previously imagined that this would be the ultimate humiliation.
But an even greater humiliation existed. Being pitied by his enemy, by Heinz. Vandalieu was almost helped by him.
It was an action that trampled over Vandalieu’s pride.
But the thing that Vandalieu found most unforgivable was the reason that Heinz had tried to help him.
Heinz had tried to help him because he was a Dhampir.
Heinz had changed his way of thinking and become part of Alda’s peaceful faction after seeing Vandalieu’s mother, whom he had captured and handed over to a fanatic as part of a request, tortured and burned alive in public.
“Don’t… fuck… with me!”
Logically, it made sense why things had turned out like that. Heinz was probably unaware that Vandalieu had survived. He was under the assumption that Vandalieu had died long ago.
Vandalieu’s existence was known only to very few – some individuals in the Mirg shield-nation and Amid Empire, as well as the Pure-breed Vampires. It wasn’t strange to think that Heinz didn’t know that he was alive.
That was why he was atoning for his past deeds. It was a common story that could be found in both fiction and non-fiction books on Earth.
In order to apologize to the people they had killed, they would live on and atone for their sins.
They would save as many people as they had killed.
Feeling guilt over the innocent civilians of enemy nations they had killed in war, they would spend the rest of their days atoning.
It wasn’t unusual or anything.
The examples that Vandalieu remembered best were indeed from works of fiction.
Someone’s mistake would cause the death of another without it being punishable by law. Despite remaining free, the person would feel tormented over it, and then the protagonist of the drama or manga would tell that person, “Keep helping others until the day comes where you can forgive yourself.”
Protagonists would tell former villains, “Atone for your mistakes with your future deeds.”
Heinz was atoning for the wrongs he had done to Darcia and Vandalieu. He was putting the peaceful teachings he believed were correct into practice, and he had saved that little girl, the Dhampir.
Nobody had asked him to atone, and yet he was atoning in a way that was completely unrelated to Darcia and Vandalieu.
“Don’t mess with me…!”
So, was Vandalieu supposed to forgive him? Was he supposed to stop blaming him? Was he supposed to stop trying to kill him?
It was out of the question. There was no way that Vandalieu would even consider accepting something so unreasonable.
Imagine if there was a foreign serial killer who killed numerous people in a certain country and then saved a number of people in his own country equal to the number of people he had killed. If Vandalieu was supposed to forgive Heinz in this situation, then the bereaved families of the people killed by the serial killer would have to forgive him as well, wouldn’t they?
If Vandalieu saved as many people in the Orbaume Kingdom as people he had killed in the Mirg shield-nation, would the bereaved families in the Mirg shield-nation forgive him? Certainly not. There was no way that they would.
There wouldn’t be thousands of unusual people who would forgive him.
But if everything was made clear, every single person in the Orbaume Kingdom would tell Vandalieu that he should forgive Heinz.
They would tell him to forgive Heinz because he had saved many people, because he had achieved great things. Because he was a hero.
Because from now on, he would save many more people, ease the unhappiness of thousands, of tens of thousands. He would make the people happier.
Heinz’s existence was beneficial for the nation.
They would tell this single Dhampir who hated him for killing a single person, his mother, to forgive him.
This would be considered normal and undeniably correct in any world.
The fact that Darcia was killed, the hatred boiling up within Vandalieu, everything would become details in the moving tale of Heinz. Forgiving him was the correct thing to do.
Forgiving Heinz, who went around saving Dhampirs like that little girl without being asked, was for the sake of everyone’s happiness.
And even that would become another detail to be added to Heinz’s story.
… How could Vandalieu forgive him!
『The level of the Grotesque Mind skill has increased!』
『You have acquired the ■ab■■■st■■on】skill!』
But Vandalieu would endure for now.
Heinz believed that his deeds were done in atonement, but even those were achievements that he used to gather more popularity. However, Vandalieu was currently unable to defeat him.
Even if he used death-attribute magic and all kinds of skills, even if he asked Eleanora and the others to work with him, no matter what he did, he couldn’t win.
This was vengeance. For Vandalieu, this vengeance was a process necessary for accomplishing his own happiness. It wasn’t the result.
『The level of the Grotesque Mind skill has increased!』
『The level of the ■ab■th■str■on】skill has increased!』
But this hatred couldn’t be suppressed. The fire of hatred couldn’t be extinguished; Vandalieu felt as if his heart would freeze in place with the chill of fear!
“Oi, there! It’s this one!”
“Hurry up and capture it! That brat had silver coins; there should still be some left!”
“Leave it to me, Oba-san.”
That was why Vandalieu had run away from that place. That was why he had left the city and come out to a place like this.
He had made sure that nobody would get involved.
“To think we’d find it this quickly. We’ve finally run into some luck!”
“I’m sure it’s because we’ve been behaving well every day. Don’t think badly of us. Because of the economic slump, selling fruit isn’t enough to feed myself and get by. You don’t need to worry; with your looks, I’m sure whoever we sell you do will take good care of you.”
“Is this brat a boy or a girl? If it’s a girl, she’s not old enough to sell for much, you know?”
“No, she has odd-colored eyes. If we tell the buyer it’s a Dhampir, won’t we get paid more?”
“Don’t even bother. What are we going to do if that problematic A-class adventurer-sama gets involved?
“Now that you mention it, the Savior has come to this city. His name was ‘Heinz’ or something, was it?”
Heinz, the one Vandalieu hated so much was Heinz!
“Cut the chatter. Quick, tie the kid up and take him back to the city!”
The middle-aged woman who had been selling apples in the marketplace approached Vandalieu, who was kneeling in the dirt, completely motionless.
『You have acquired the Scream skill!』
“Ah…■■…■…”
Surprised by the unintelligible noise that Vandalieu was making and thinking that it was some kind of incantation, the woman and the men who were with her hastily tried to grab him.
At this moment, if they had done everything they possibly could to escape, they might have been able to survive.
“■■■■■■■■■■!”
A fearsome scream was released from Vandalieu’s mouth.
『The levels of the Scream, Mental Encroachment and Labyrinth Construction skills have increased!』
The woman and the men screamed, as if in response to Vandalieu’s ‘Scream.’
The color drained from their hair and the light of consciousness faded from their eyes.
“■■■■■■■■■■■■■■!”
But the middle-aged woman and the thugs led by her nephew weren’t dead. They were moving vigorously. They were driving their fingers into their ears to try to escape the scream, biting their tongues into pieces and gouging their eyes out.
But as if still unsatisfied with this, they used their eyes that should have been unable to see to find and seize each other and begin killing each other.
“HATE! HATE! WHAT DO I HATE?!”
“KILL ME! KILL HIM! KILL WHO?! KILL EVERYONE AND HIM?!”
“MY EARS, MY EYES, MY TONGUE, MY HANDS, MY FLESH, MY ORGANS, THEY DISGUST ME!”
“■■■■■■■■■■■■■■!”
As Vandalieu felt a sense of liberation, as if the darkness gathered in his heart had been released into his surroundings, he lost consciousness.
Feeling good, Vandalieu opened his eyes.
He looked up at the sky to see that it was still the early afternoon. He had gone to the Adventurers’ Guild before noon, so only an hour or two should have passed, but he was in a bright mood, as if he had woken up in the morning after a sound sleep.
“But I feel really tired? A pleasant sense of fatigue?” Confused, Vandalieu checked his Status to find that he had almost zero Mana remaining. What had he done while he was asleep? Although there were bloodstains around him, there were no Undead.
“Vandalieu-sama, are you alright?!”
At that moment, Eleanora descended from the sky and forcefully lifted Vandalieu up into her arms.
“Ah, yes. I don’t have much Mana remaining, though. By the way, what exactly happened here?” Vandalieu asked.
“That is what I want to ask!” she told him. “You said that you would be finished quickly so we hid and waited only to see you rush out of the Guild, fly over the outer walls and disappear somewhere! We couldn’t even get in contact with you! Do you have any idea how worried we were?!”
“I’m sorry… for making you worry,” said Vandalieu, letting his body weight rest on Eleanora, who was holding onto him tightly.
After using the Goblin head communication device to contact Braga and the others who had been searching elsewhere, Vandalieu explained everything in chronological order.
“Vandalieu-sama, let us conquer and destroy this realm.” These were Eleanora’s first words when he finished. Her eyes had taken on a glassy appearance; she didn’t appear to be joking.
“No, we can’t win against Heinz right now,” said Vandalieu. “And even if we could, we can’t conquer and destroy the realm.”
Zran, as well as Nuaza and Borkus who were talking through the communication devices, were in agreement with Eleanora’s suggestion. It was unlikely that Sam or Zadiris would object, either.
“Why not?! Let’s slaughter them!” said Zran.
“Holy Son! They are not humans! They are mere piles of excrement in the shape of people! Living incarnations of evil!” Nuaza exclaimed.
Borkus roared. “Let’s butcher all of them, kid!”
Borkus and the other Undead Titans had learned of the Hartner Duchy’s betrayal of two hundred years ago. It would be an understatement to say that their previously favorable opinions of the duchy had plummeted into the ground. It seemed to have pierced the heavens* in the negative direction.
TLN*: This is “天元突破/tengen toppa” in the raw, which means “pierce the heavens.” It couldbe a Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann reference.
“I’m happy that you’re all willing to get angry on my behalf. But there are about as many good people as there are bad ones in the Hartner Duchy,” said Vandalieu. “Right, Braga?”
Taken aback, Eleanora and Zran looked at the Black Goblins and their partners that were with them.
“W-we have already abandoned our homeland,” said Marie.
“Please do not be concerned about it,” said another girl.
Vandalieu had explained to them that he would release them with enough money to live for several months as long as they kept his secrets, but they had decided to follow Braga and the other Black Goblins.
They felt grateful to Vandalieu from the bottom of their hearts, as he had cured them of their drug addiction and removed their slaves’ collars and tattoos with magic.
Of course, they had their own interests in mind, and perhaps they simply couldn’t believe that Vandalieu would really release them.
But they had chosen to come to Talosheim, and unlike those of the Mirg shield-nation’s expedition army, it was definitely possible to make peace with them.
As such, these girls who had been born in the Hartner Duchy were now citizens of Talosheim… Well, a third of the girls who had been working in the brothel were actually former refugees from the Sauron Duchy, but that wasn’t something to be concerned about.
Saying that everyone in the Hartner Duchy should be killed and that they were all incarnations of evil in front of these girls would cause them to feel uneasy.
“… My bad,” said Zran. “I lost my cool there.”
“Indeed, I’m sorry,” Eleanora said to the girls. “It is not like I was unaware that many of your circumstances are out of your control, either.”
“No, I couldn’t say anything, either. Thanks, King,” said Braga.
“It’s nothing,” said Vandalieu. “After all, I made a mistake after losing my cool just a short while earlier, too.” Seeing that everyone seemed to have cooled off for now, he stood up. “But if we simply keep allowing ourselves to be treated like this, we’ll be nothing more than prey to be eaten by beasts. We will have our flesh picked at, our organs gouged out and our bones sucked clean. We must take back what has been stolen from us and make them think it was an accident. As for Heinz…” He paused. “We’ll leave him be for now. We’ll gather strength and wait for an opportunity. Ah, and I’ll give up on the Hartner Duchy,” he added.
Everyone stared at Vandalieu blankly in response to his last sentence.
“I’ll give up on registering as an adventurer in the Hartner Duchy, working here and conducting trade with it in the future,” he said, elaborating.
That was how much the Hartner Duchy had rejected the Titans. If they were going to reject Vandalieu and Talosheim so strongly, then he would return the favor and abandon them.
“Ah, excluding the cultivation villages,” Vandalieu added.
Everyone other than the Goblins’ partners laughed, muttering, “I knew it.”
“By the way, Vandalieu-sama, what is this?” Eleanora asked. “Has this boulder always been here?”
“It’s… certain that this is no natural boulder,” said Zran.
They were looking at an enormous boulder that towered upwards behind Vandalieu. It was far larger than a tree in a forest.
But its shape was stranger than its size.
It was shaped like a huge skull, and its gaping mouth was large enough to fit a carriage inside.
The inside of that mouth seemed to be connected to something. Warm air was flowing out from inside, as if the skull was breathing.
“… At the very least, it’s something that’s harmless to us,” said Vandalieu.
『The levels of the Labyrinth Construction, Scream, Automatic Mana Recovery, Death-Attribute Charm and Surpass Limits skills have increased!』
- Name: Vandalieu
- Race: Dhampir (Dark Elf)
- Age: 7 years old
- Title:【Ghoul King】,【Eclipse King】,【Taboo Name】
- Job: Venom Fist User
- Level: 20
- Job history: Death-Attribute Mage, Golem Transmuter, Undead Tamer, Soul Breaker
- Attributes:
- Vitality: 184
- Mana: 379,120,344
- Strength: 128
- Agility: 130
- Stamina: 119
- Intelligence: 761
- Passive skills:
- Superhuman Strength: Level 3
- Rapid Healing: Level 5
- Death-Attribute Magic: Level 6
- Status Effect Resistance: Level 7
- Magic Resistance: Level 3
- Dark Vision
- Death-Attribute Charm: Level 7 (LEVEL UP!)
- Chant Revocation: Level 4
- Strengthen Followers: Level 8
- Automatic Mana Recovery: Level 5 (LEVEL UP!)
- Strengthen Subordinates: Level 4
- Venom Secretion (Claws, Fangs, Tongue): Level 3
- Enhanced Agility: Level 1
- Body Expansion (Tongue): Level 3
- Active skills:
- Bloodsucking: Level 7
- Surpass Limits: Level 6 (LEVEL UP!)
- Golem Transmutation: Level 6
- No-Attribute Magic: Level 5
- Mana Control: Level 4
- Spirit Form: Level 7
- Carpentry: Level 4
- Engineering: Level 3
- Cooking: Level 4
- Alchemy: Level 4
- Unarmed Fighting Technique: Level 5
- Soul Break: Level 6
- Multi-Cast: Level 5
- Long-distance Control: Level 6
- Surgery: Level 3
- Parallel Thought Processing: Level 5
- Materialization: Level 4
- Coordination: Level 3
- High-speed Thought Processing: Level 3
- Commanding: Level 1
- Farming: Level 3
- Clothing: Level 2
- Throwing: Level 3
- Scream: Level 3 (NEW!)
- Unique skills:
- God Slayer: Level 3
- Grotesque Mind: Level 4 (LEVEL UP!)
- Mental Encroachment: Level 3 (LEVEL UP!)
- Labyrinth Construction: Level 4 (NEW!)
- Curses
- Experience gained in previous life not carried over
- Cannot learn existing jobs
- Unable to gain experience independently
Skill explanation:
【Scream】
A skill that produces effects through an emitted sound. Bats’ ability to see things through their cries and special sense of hearing (or at least, this is how it is commonly interpreted in Lambda, though it is actually sonar), the effects of Mandragoras’ cries and Banshees’ screams come from this skill.
Because Vandalieu uses this skill simultaneously alongside the Soul Break and Mental Encroachment skills, in addition to dealing damage to Mana and the sense of hearing in a wide radius, he is also able to perform an attack that causes its victims to die a most terrible death in insanity if they lose the mental battle with themselves.
It can also simply be used to make one’s voice travel further, without losing any clarity. This allows the user to perform a speech (without the need for a megaphone or microphone).
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NOVEL DISCUSSION
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RayneVilanore
My take its not atonement its nothing but self gratification. You can not make up for doing terrible things by also doing good things or doing good things later. The idea that Hienz should be forgive because he helped other people has to be the stupidest idea, yes you can make up for mistakes but things Alda believers try to justify just blows my mind. The amount of but the greater good, is sickening.
Korath
My theory adepted from probably 1000s of scifi and fantasy works. Dungeons are a connection to another dimension/world. E.g. the Demon King made monsters appear that didnt exist beforehand. He probably had the same technology, just leveled up/further advanced. I think it goes that far that Val can create own realms later on and also connect to the god realm and probably even Earth and Origin.
Obviously doesnt make sense now, because even said A rank adenvturerer can obliterate him, not even talking about gods like Alda.
About his reasoning to forgive, but in the end still wanting to take revenge: dunno if Ive decided so, but nontheless it makes it interesting and goes confirm that his mind got currupted.
Winter
I’m glad that this novel isn’t going the reconciliation route. It really doesn’t matter how much of a good guy you are in general, you shouldn’t be excused for horrid shit you do, even if you did it by accident or on someone else’s orders.
Naberisu
Reconciliation or not, Van is not justified to kill him.
Yes ir’s unfair being in Van’s position but was it really his fault? He was around 15-16 yo when that happened, he had no idea they would torture and kill her, he was born on the Amid empire and thus teached that the chuch of Alda was fair and right.
BreadOhger Ohger
The author made it pretty clear, you know? Even though it wasn’t intentional, he made Darcia suffer, and that was enough for Van. Go tell that to an orphan whose parent was indirectly killed by a 15-year-old and see his reaction. I bet he will choke you the moment you finish your sentence.
LoriStori
I’m, like, 90% sure that Schneider is meant to be Heinz’s foil.
Where Heinz left Amid and tried to “repent” by helping people in Orbaume, Schneider is there to show the difference between helping others who need it due to a true belief in their innocence, vs helping others who need it out of a sense of guilt. Schneider didn’t run from the Amid Empire after joining Vida’s faction, he recognized that the ones who needed help the most were those stuck in the Empire. Hell, he actually joined Vida’s faction and turned his back on Alda!
Something that Heinz, with all of his “guilt” and desire to “atone”, refuses to do. He’s not helping because he thinks they’re just as human as he is, he’s helping because he doesn’t like the idea of “hurting” people who aren’t hostile to him.
He just doesn’t want to feel like the bad guy, he doesn’t actually, truly care for the people who he’s helping. I bet that if he had to choose between one of his human party members or the dhampir he adopted, he’d choose his party member everytime.
God-stealth0
This were… AMAZING I LOVED THIS CHAPTER WAS BEUTYFULL Not the impotence of Vandalieu but the development of character taht together with the events with Heiz and the little Damphir i’m pretty sure that gonna be important in the futere the thing that not make sense for me is why the spirits from the people that he killed are not there for tell him what happen at least taht the soul breaker of his scream destroyed them
Alke
Everybody is talking in the comments about the insanity of Vandalieu, the author stated that he became insane too, when his mother was murdered. I don’t understand why he could stay sane before that! How can a person stay sane in the conditions that he was in in Origin?!?! 💔💔💔💔💔 And is it so bad to be insane just to this extent?! Is he a Monster because all the trauma in his life made him wanna have revenge, be overly cautious and create luxury for his friends and family and be happy?!?! I guess I’m crazier than him! And why in the world somebody could say that he doesn’t have ethics?! 😡😡Don’t mess with me, people! It’s clearly the judgement of somebody who was never hurt by life and never felt the injustice of being treated like sh*t before! It’s already a miracle that he wants to help people despite all of what he lived before! Personally, I would have done a good killing spree
Alke
Did he create a dungeon out of pain and powerlessness? 🤔Is that the power of the evil god that he absorbed? Is that the power of the Demon king? 🤔I’m really sorry for him💔💔💔(not for the dungeon creation though). To feel powerless is the worst curse ever💔💔😖😖😭
Zenden1st
piss scum heinz
SmerchOleg
The more I read the more I think Van is Demon King who will somehow travel to the past. Like Level
1 skeleton
JKingSniper
yes time for revenge
good that apple bitch getting suffer
Aathma
This hypocrite heinz didn’t do anything like Alda peaceful faction or some shot in amid empire where it really needed or atleast helping the Vida races from shadows like thunderclap Schneider.
But he escaped from the empire because of guilt and doing some shit in orubume kingdom because it’s relatively easy compared to doing that amid empire like a coward without even clearing the misunderstandings because they are added to his heroic tales.
The personification of Hypocrite. F*ck you heinz.
Kingjellybean
Time for a crusade in the name of our lord van
Hu-Tao
Jesus christ I created account just to comment my disgust for this scum Heinz.
DarkCarnage
Heinz doing the normal protag things, repenting and all that, however, i do agree with van. so what you are sorry, does not bring the dead back to life (that is vans job) and does not change what you have done. i always believe in the old “if you kill, prepared to be killed” mindset.
Rasho
He didn’t even tell the truth about how he was the main reason for Darcia’s death and the one to give Darcia to that old fck Gordan, and let the people assume he “witnessed how a mother and child Dhampir were tortured and killed” just to gather fame and not be hated by the people around him, and those fckers around him that didn’t even try to atone
Hu-Tao
I find it easier to like Kanata than this motherfucking cunt. Atleast Kanata can admit to his crimes. This one just washes his hands clean because of his guilt thinking that he could atone by saving dhampirs. I really wish Schneider would lecture this guy about how hypocrite he was trying to cover up his past crimes. The reason he can’t move on from the past of his involvement in the murder of Darcia is because he actually never acknowledged what wrongs he did never telling the people the truth but in the end the winner are truthful(for now), but his time will come.
Boa-Noah
So it’s pretty obvious to me right now bit isn’t it likely that Van is actually the reincarnation of the Demon King? Soul destruction isn’t something the Gods of Lambda can do (Rod wouldn’t allow that) and they did kill him, so isn’t it likely that the Demon King reincarnated on earth and was punished with an awful life because of his deeds? Memories are erased and removed but it seems like certain things stick because when he’s reincarnated in Origin he regains access to the Death mana and now he’s not only gained soul destruction but he can also make dungeons (which is what the Demon King did).
hidefreek
He isn’t the reincatnated of the demon King of old but the combine Souls fragments of champions who soul destroy by him.
(Read extra episode Vida)
Rodcorte forced combine the soul to prevent Vida side to save their champion (This selfish jerks wanted to teach Lamda God a reason, Even It was him who had clearly intention to abandon Lamda)
Alke
Yeah but I’m pretty much sure that some of the Demon king’s soul or simply powers were retained in this strange mix of souls. But he’s not his Reincarnation.
Illuvatar
I really didn’t like this chapter
Wsteven7o7
I grinded my teeth and wanted to scream along side Van.
But i had already scream and i couldn’t risk breaking jaw but i felt that to the core.
My stepfather and my mom have driven me crazy and everyday i appear normal like nothing has ever happen to me but inside i hate them so much so much that i would drive them insane before killing them.
Even after my stepfather separate him and has become “a better person” i cannot for give him and im reminded of how close i was about to kill him that time he started choking me and i did it bag to him. My mom stop me the bich that had been use as a rug went an console him.
I left the room and punched a hole trough a wall
I regret not killing that bastard and now if i did or try i would get send to jail when at that time i could have kill him with no consequences.
Ps: Van is my favorite character that has all the things i have suffer and that’s why i wishing the best and the best revenges. Believe me without Revenge your body can only produce hate and more hate. I slowly loose my sanity but the same way Van now has people he can trust i have my brother that i have protected and he has protect me from my self.
To anybody reading this. Im not making a fantasy story on my head this is my life. I hope you have a happy life and appreciate what you have and love.
FunniFear
People write about insanity, but is it necessary to be insane to experience the shock of such a meeting with the mother’s killer?
It is also very disappointing that he did not say anything to Heinz.
Wsteven7o7
No is not but now imagined being insane trying to control your sanity and trying not to kill the bastard that kill your mother and feeling desperation that you cannot do it.
I can tell you this Van mental heath is bad bad
And is actually a good thing he exploted and ran away otherwise right now we will be reading the desperation and satisfaction of a monster.
Forever Alone C
This chapter made me feel hatred and disgust, I think I felt the same thing as Van (of course, on a smaller scale), I followed Van’s feelings together with him, by far this was one of the best chapters, he showed us more of the protagonist and it was very well written.
Wsteven7o7
Yes very well i would not be surprised if author actually went trough this.
I can say that Van and I are almost equal brothers of pain and suffering.
The only thing that separate us is that he is overpowered.
Baldingere
I’m angry that so many selfish and stupid people hurt these kind kind persons. Vandalieu and his friends like Borkus and Zadiris. I mean, they’re victims but it hasn’t twisted them to become perpetrators. They continue being good people, they’re really nice!
stealthyravager
So Van can make labyrinths now?
He’s slowly treading the road to becoming a Demon King.
Renrobt
For those who didn’t read or just glossed over the Character explanation at the end of Vol 2, the author actually noted that Van has actually went insane when he learned about how Darcia ended up. And here we clearly see this in action. He only processed what Heinz was saying and doing after he has already exhausted all his methods for attacking, he was so focused on revenge.
Gotta say I’m impressed how otherwise his insanity mostly manifests as his obsessions. Like in the invasion of Talosheim, his Preparedness to the level that a Beholder from DnD would comment that he is paranoid. His obsession of luxury that he never got and spreading that to those he loves. His complete lack of moral and ethical concerns over what he does.
If not of Darcia being there for him he could have easily turned into a full on villain with no regard for others.
Wsteven7o7
Can confirm that without someone’s your madness cannot be control.
Tsukuyomi
Not gonna lie. I was expecting van to get the dungeon skill sooner or later. But damn boi…
yvesdakempo
Having one normal brain with conflicted mind is stressful enough, let alone MC’s whose minds accelerated and conflicted all over…
Ryan96
How would he be killed? Even if he failed to poison or infect him he has the negation shields and could easily escape with flight, I’m pretty sure only a god would have any were near enough mana to chase him others would run out when he was still almost full. It would make sense if he didn’t want to be labeled a criminal for attacking out in the open but the feeling he will die is bs.
Alter
Aaaaa–. It would help if you don’t skim thru the chapters.
He compared Heinz to Mikhail. Yes, the MC has huge Mana and the barrier. BUT that doesn’t mean Heinz AND his companions are sitting ducks.
He can fly? So what? They are a coordinated group of highly skilled adventurers with 2 or 3 A-class ones. NOT ones like Riley as mentioned in the chapter.
Plus it has already been mentioned that MC is not very compatible against a powerful enemy who can muster one powerful focused hit on MC’s near invincible shield. So it is not bs
Silwith
Well, he probably would be able to flee by flying I think, but yeah, Heinzs strength is a different level, so if he fought and let himself hit with a focused attack thats a different matter.
The Sense Death doesnt tell him if he is fast enough to flee after all, it only tells him that attacking Heinz is dangerous, that doesnt mean that Heinz could catch him if he flees.
TruePath111
The MC is very hypocritical here. In the Manga, he actually knows Heinz doubt and guilt in the beginning. So here, it’s just exaggerated. Passed out seriously?
Kionzel
Yeah, if you remember in the light novel Heinz is also shown to be somewhat remorseful. It’s quite similar in depiction. Vand even takes the time to go over why it rationally makes sense for him to “forgive” Heinz. But its been made abundantly clear that dhamphirs and others of Vida’s race are considered “nonhuman”. Its the equivalent to some dude sparing and saving goblins after killing a pregnant goblin, and expecting the child of that goblin to forgive him because he’s been “atoning”. Because society still views Vida’s race as lesser, so crimes done to them aren’t real crimes. The fact is, Heinz actions still led to the killing of a mother and presumed murder of a less than one-year-old child. But he’s still considered a hero, and the harm he did is “forgiven”, cause he’s useful. You’re he hypocrite when you can’t even grasp that.
Kahandran
What does the manga have to do with anything?
Wsteven7o7
Saint My ASS
You are Saint but from Alda’s 🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡 clown faction.
The clown face is you right now i hope you sleep well knowing you are a prick that should not be here commenting.
Chiu ChunLing
I guess nobody’s ever killed anyone you really loved.
polynesianvibez
ah, i can’t wait until he skins heinz and tears his soul apart
thanks for the chapter
TruePath111
His mom wouldn’t want that
Tejing
The only reason Darcia is against going after Heinz is because Van might get hurt.
Bokworm
No, Darcia probably wouldn’t want her son to murder Heinz out of vengeance. Even he recognizes that forgiveness is the right thing to do.
That doesn’t mean that Van will do it. His emotiins are raw and strong, his desire for vengeance wiuld take lots of self control and a strong moral code to curb, it’s far more easier to give in anf be consumed by rage, and it would feel better to kill him, so I think he will.
Unless time calms him down and softens his resolve.
Warlono
To be fair, he only recognizes that everyone else in the Orbaume kingdom would tell him it’s the right thing to do. He also recognizes that this doesn’t make it right for him personally to forgive Heinz, since he’s not in the same position that everyone else is in, in relation to Heinz.
XPotato
Darcia is a lot more sane and soft than van. If even after going insane, van is having so much trouble to pass the verdict of guilty on Heinz, then darcia might actually ask him to be more forgiving ( hoping she can say ” I’m alive now aren’t I? So its okay” by then cuz can resurrects her)
Khulmach
『The level of the Grotesque Mind skill has increased!』
So, he would have evolved it to Grotesque Mind even if he never ate the weak Evil God.
『You have acquired the ■ab■■■st■■on】skill!』
Nice.
Bubu
That is the Labyrinth Construction skill right?
Sailon
Is a combination of factors anger and desire of destruction together with 300M combined with the fact he absorbe a evil god, devil nest and dungeos are created by apoluitin of mana manly of evil gods or monster dungeos can also be created by some evik gods that specialized in created and controling dungeos but with enought caotic mana is possible to created a dungeon in resuume his mana getting caotic because of anger and energy of evik god make the lbarith possible, the fact that he alredy created new species of monster could have influenced too
XPotato
How did being in intense inner conflict result in gaining labyrinth construction.
Grotesque mind is understandable but labyrinth construction doesn’t make sense here. Somebody explain
Chiu ChunLing
It’s probably because he met the conditions for a mental state of wanting to spawn a limitless number of monsters along with the MP to actually do it. Recently absorbing an Evil God might have helped.
Erelorial
Thanks for the chapter! Is it me, or do the skills he gained from Soul Break ’till now have a Demon King vibe?
Yoki
I was hoping that Van would have screamed “MURDERER!” or “HYPOCRITE!” to Heinz. That, or whispered it quietly enough for just Heinz to hear before running off.
That would’ve made it for me
Hobbes
Heya Yoshi typo here in this chapter:
I’m sure whoever we sell you do will take good care of you.”
Need to replace ‘do’ with ‘to’ like so:
I’m sure whoever we sell you to will take good care of you.”
Nobody2
I really love this chapter. It really shows that despite how rational he usually is and how much he wants a good life and cares for others Van is still absolutely insane to an insane degree (pardon the double use) his rationality and sanity is only able to exist because of how sure he is of his insanity and hatred. He’s Focused and crystallized it so much he seems normal in everyday situations but when the situation does land on one of his focused points it shows
Hobbes
I like your take, but I think it’s not only about Van’s sanity (and personality), but also asks some key questions about the nature of forgiveness and letting go. Van clearly acknowledges forgiveness as a virtue, but denies it as a responsibility/obligation. He sees it as a choice of the victim; as an unalienable right to either pursue vengeance or let go of past resentment in order to solely look ahead to the future.
It’s an interesting topic to ponder to be sure.
Chiu ChunLing
Maybe Van isn’t being systematic about it, but Heinz isn’t seeking forgiveness. He is hiding what he did and pretending it had nothing to do with him.
If Heinz actually wanted to be forgiven, he would have no problem making it very clear to everyone that he personally was deeply affected because he personally captured Darcia and handed her over, watched her tortured to death, and did nothing to help her or her child.
Instead he’s making a pretense of special virtue, as if he were even more guiltless than the general citizenry of the town where Darcia was killed whom Van let off with losing their town and having to move somewhere else.
If Heinz were just somebody who had nothing to do with Darcia being murdered other than having been shocked by the cruelty of Alda’s doctrine and then left the Amid Empire, Van wouldn’t have any grudge against him. He might even think him as virtuous as he’s pretending to be.
He might not even have a problem with the fact that Heinz is using another Dhampir kid as a mascot to spread his own fame.
But given the fact that Heinz is still promoting a version of events in which he was blameless, forgiving him is fatuous. How would you feel if I decided to make a big deal about how I was ‘forgiving’ you for having murdered my mother?
It would be slander, unless it were true. But as long as you’re going to assert that you had nothing to do with my mother’s death, you cannot possibly seek or even accept my forgiveness of you murdering her. It’s nonsense on the face of it.
And Heinz is still seeking to promote the worship of Alda. Rather than doing anything about the Amid Empire, he’s trying to improve the image of Alda in the Orbaume Kingdom. That might be excusable if he were from the Orbaume Kingdom and had been raised with the view that the radical doctrine taught in the Amid Empire was just an aberration, and was an avowed enemy of the Amid Empire and racked up a reasonable number of kills in war against them.
But has he? With his martial abilities that are categorically superior to Van’s, how many thousands of soldiers and nobles of the Empire has he killed for their senseless oppression of Vida’s races? Or has he even considered that as a proper reaction to what they’re doing?
Could it be that, not only is he trying to avoid admitting that he’s done anything wrong, but is even opposed to actually punishing anyone for that sort of thing?
MidMist
You have by far made the best response to this chapter that could be made and have thrown out the most reasonable questions that can easily be answered with simple logic.
This is one of the most emotionally charged chapters that really hits home and the way it was written really captures how incredibly intense it was for Van, my heart breaks for him and what he has had to endure.
I look forward to Van and his allies destroying all of his enemies.
Disappointed
Van needs to cool off
WholesomeAF
He did. And a dungeon appeared for it.
Brandragoon
How would you feel if your mother’s murder is praised as a great and compassionate hero by society.
I guarantee you wouldn’t act much different from Van.
Wsteven7o7
No worse than Van normal people that cannot handle mental strength go crazy and would destroy themselves.
Van is a special case that he has kept it in check because of his mother and friends.
WolfLord_Jordon
It is a conundrum is in it is virtue in forgiveness but at the same time he did deliver his Mum to get tortured and burnt to death.Thanks for the chapter on a good story
NaeNaeGabi
It will be really interesting to see vans character development from here on! It will be interesting if he does forgive heinz
Moridin
ah, yes. When you go so insane as to flip back into ‘sanity’, your fake sanity gets built on some somewhat shaky pillars. Vengeance & hatred of Heinz is one of Van’s pillars. Maybe… maybe if Darcia asks Van, if/after he resurrects her, he’ll not Soul Break Heinz after killing him. But not killing him… maybe if the lives of his friends & family depends on Heinz’s immediate help or something, he’ll agree to put it off for a decade or two as ‘thanks’.
Wsteven7o7
What happen to Van is what happen to me this night. I have not sleep since after and im scared that the author is explaining the emotions i have very accurately. I feel watched.
Anyway i cried and hold my screams for and hour while contemplating why did i deserve all these and them jump back to reality once i found myself in that madness.
My jaw bones almost dislocated.
Khairul
Okay what kind skill that he get not just scream but something that skill being consered
Nari
its easy to figure out, compare the skills at the end of the chapter to the uncensored letters… the censored skill was Labrinth Construction
iunno
Yeah it almost sounds like bs at first but it make sense if you consider that the original is in Japanese
kumari
I don’t know how this chapter throws it into doubt. Seems pretty clear he’d never let go of this grudge with how extreme Vandalieu’s emotions were. The irony of Heinz’ kind actions is what drives him insane.
SuicidalSkeletin
Not only that, to someone as Vandalieu Heinz is one of the things he bases his current mental being off of. Heinz becoming his ally sent a major shock into Van’s mind, shaking the foundations of his controlled insanity.
Chiu ChunLing
The problem is that Heinz isn’t seeking atonement. He refuses to confess that he has done anything wrong. His story is that, “in the Mirg shield-nation, he witnessed the tragedy of a certain Dhampir and his mother, and that’s why he came to this country.”
If he actually were seeking to atone, he’d at the very minimum acknowledge that he personally captured the mother and handed her over to be tortured to death.
He’s not trying to atone, merely to evade the truth about who he is and what he did.
When someone won’t even admit what they did wrong, there is absolutely no reason to even consider forgiving them.
Peerman04
The only thing I desperately hope for is that Vandalieu won’t forgive him completely and get all buddy-buddy with him. Heinz turning into an undead would be more acceptable than that I suppose but if the author isn’t going for revenge I would like that Van would just leave him alone and the only time you’ll see Heinz is through side stories and random occurences.