I Became a Ruined Character in a Dark Fantasy-Chapter 420

Lucia, Valten, and even Diana all turned to Ian.

They then heard Yog whisper.

—My friend, I think you just said something you shouldn't have.

Yeah. Looks like I poked the hornet's nest, Ian mused to himself, snapping out of his thoughts. He met their gazes without a hint of unease.

"There were scholars who held such views," Lucia hurriedly blurted out.

After sneaking a glance at Valten, she continued, "Some writings suggest that if the Empire had expanded its territory more gradually—while also pursuing a policy of peaceful assimilation—the war against the demons might not have been so vast or drawn out.

She exhaled before finishing, "Perhaps the so-called archdemons never would have come into existence at all."

"A scholar had the guts to put that in writing?" Diana asked, sounding as surprised as she had been by Ian's words.

Lucia nodded. "There were documents like that around the time the Black Wall first rose. They never became mainstream or lasted long, though."

Diana scoffed. "Yeah. I can guess what happened to those who made such claims."

Lucia glanced at Ian. "Like that, Sir Ian merely shared an uncommon perspective. He wasn't trying to criticize the Empire or the Order."

Ian shrugged. If anything, that's exactly what I was doing.

There was no need to dampen Lucia's attempt to shield him. Besides, he understood perfectly well why she was scrambling. Valten and Diana still considered themselves part of the Imperial army. The last thing she wanted was to stir up unnecessary conflict.

"So, sir, if you found his words offensive—"

"I took no offense, Priestess," Valten cut in.

Lucia blinked, then gave a relieved smile. "That's good to hear."

"On the contrary, I do not believe the Agent of the Saint was wrong."

"So you agree?" Lucia hesitantly asked. She seemed even more surprised by this response.

Ian also turned to Valten.

"War with the demons was unavoidable,” Valten answered. “The devils, ancient wraiths, worshippers of the void... there were far more creatures of darkness in that era than there are today."

From behind his visor, Valten's golden eyes dimmed. His voice lowered to match. "However, their unification—perhaps that could have been prevented. At the very least, the number of archdemons could have been less if only the Empire and the Order had not been so arrogant and short-sighted."

Lucia blinked blankly. Though her mask concealed her expression, her mouth was likely hanging open as well. Ian was just as surprised; he hadn't expected to hear such words from the Black Knight.

Or maybe, that's precisely why he can say them.

Unlike the others, Diana's gaze turned indifferent, seemingly losing interest altogether. She leaned against the back of Lucia's hood, clearly not wanting to hear more.

"But it seems they still haven't realized anything." Valten's gaze swept over the land, steeped in the stench of death and shrouded in dim shadow. "Even after paying such a heavy price. All they do is send anyone who disagrees or gets in their way beyond the Wall, all while twisting the goddesses' sacred will to suit their interpretations."

"Good heavens." Lucia sighed.

It was only now that she fully realized this knight held a perspective entirely different from those within the Empire beyond the Wall—and that he lived in an environment that made such a perspective inevitable. It was also clear there were layers to his words, meanings she had yet to grasp.

"That's why I never imagined the Agent of the Saint would say such things." Valten turned his golden gaze back to Ian, his eyes curving slightly. "You truly are an extraordinary man, Agent of the Saint."

Ah, so that's the reason he was surprised.

Ian's lips curled into a faint smirk. It all made sense. After all, he was the Agent of the Platinum Dragon, the Saint of the Order of Lu Solar, and the Great Warrior of Karha. It was only natural that Valten hadn't expected words bordering on blasphemy against the Empire to come from someone like him.

—It looks like you've got more to say, Lucy. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm

Yog’s whispers brimmed with amusement. It was enjoying the situation to the fullest.

—Why not just spit it all out? Feels good to let it out, you know.

This little bastard's at it again.

Ian scoffed internally and cast a glance at Lucia. She was staring at Valten, her eyes flickering with a swirl of thoughts. At the very least, she wasn't falling for Yog's whispers.

Well, that's not something I ever need to worry about. It's Lucy, after all.

Besides, Ian could already guess what was running through her mind—the things she wanted to say, the questions she longed to ask. But she kept silent, knowing that blurting them out now wouldn't do any good. There was someone else they needed to have that kind of conversation with.

"Come to think of it, you weren't surprised when you first saw me, Agent of the Saint. I realized then you were no ordinary man, even without considering your remarkable achievements or noble status." Valten seemed fully convinced that Ian shared his views.

Ian shrugged slightly. "There's no need to attach any grand meaning to it. Not back then, and not now. I tend not to concern myself with things that can't be changed."

He met Valten's gaze, the corner of his lips curling upward. "So let's move on to the main point. This hardly seems like the place for a long discussion."

"Yes. I've let my words stray too far. My apologies." Valten nodded coolly before adding, "So, do you have any more questions?"

"Actually, I do,” Lucia interjected.

As Ian glanced at her, Valten nodded for her to continue. "Please go ahead."

"I'd like to know which archdemon these monsters serve." Of course, Lucia's question had nothing to do with the conversation they'd just been having.

"Well, I know that the higher the servant, the more they reflect the nature of their master." Standing beside her warhorse, Lucia glanced down at a corpse, its body mangled and blackened with rot. "Still, I know little about the archdemons."

"You have a strong desire to learn. Very well, I'll tell you. The creatures around here mostly serve Dharmaraja." Valten looked around his horse. "Those who receive power from it mutate into forms more fitting for beings from the void, not this world."

He then extended his left hand, pointing to a piece of a corpse up ahead. A massive, slug-like tentacle was slowly decomposing atop a severed forearm.

"I see. That makes sense."

Lucia and Ian nodded. Ian recalled the monsters that had ambushed them the previous day. It hadn't been his imagination that they looked like void creatures. Most of them had traits similar to the abyssal beings of the violet depths.

After a moment of silence, Ian asked, "What about the other archdemons?"

"Akihatara's minions grow feathers or wings on various parts of their bodies,” Diana answered. She was still resting her head sideways on the back of Lucia's hood.

She explained lowly, "The low-level ones we saw before just get bigger and a little smarter. But once they establish a domain, they start sprouting razor-sharp feathers and wings at random. Of course, that doesn't make them any less disgusting. They also multiply like cockroaches."

Ian recalled the mutated ogres and trolls with feathers and wings. It was not something he wanted to encounter again. He felt sure he'd encountered similar beings in the North, including some of Dharmaraja's underlings.

"I haven't seen them myself, but I've heard that Bukikia's minions are deep-sea creatures," Valten added. "Monsters that devour ships whole or drag them under in an instant. And as for Yanar Tash..."

Valten glanced at Diana.

She shrugged. "We don’t know much about them. Supposedly, they swim through sand."

So, every region has its overlord, huh?

Ian clicked his tongue. Just then, Yog's whisper crept into his thoughts.

—Why don't you devour them all, Friend? If you use them to fuel your chaos...

Ian's eyes twitched slightly as he realized Yog had just whispered to him again—as his supposed ally.

—You could become something far greater. Something truly transcendent.

The bead of chaos essence inside him seemed to resonate faintly in response to the whisper. The meaning behind Yog's words was disturbingly clear.

Then is the chaos within me.

As Ian's gaze narrowed, Lucia suddenly asked, "And what about Inaskurgl?"

Valten, who had been watching Ian as if he had sensed something, turned his gaze back to her.

"It seemed like you left that name out," said Lucia.

"I didn't forget. I was saving it for last for a reason,” Valten answered as he lightly tugged on the reins of his horse.

His monstrous warhorse snorted and stepped back, revealing a massive corpse. Its upper torso had been torn cleanly in half.

Diana's eyes widened. She held her breath as she raised her head from Lucia's back, while Ian, snapping out of his thoughts, turned to look. Though the corpse had been partially visible from where he stood, he hadn't given it much attention—until now.

"Inaskurgl's underlings..." Valten lowered his voice as he looked down at the rotting corpse. "They take on forms twisted into something closer to a beast."

Though the corpse had already considerably decomposed, parts of its thick hide still kept traces of their original shape, particularly the patches covered in coarse, bristling fur. One exposed forelimb stretched unnaturally long, its claws jagged and exaggeratedly sharp.

"This can't be," Diana muttered in disbelief as she stared at the corpse. Behind her mask, her trembling eyes brimmed with disbelief, fear, and hatred. "How could one of its minions be here?"

Lucia turned halfway in her saddle, glancing back at her. "Why are you so shocked? Didn't you say two archdemons' territories overlap near here?"

"That was Akihatara and Dharmaraja." Diana muttered, unable to look away from the corpse. "Inaskurgl—that bastard beast's domain is on the opposite side."