Chapter 401: 401

The battlefield was soaked in blood. Screams echoed in the distance, mixing with the clash of swords and the roar of beasts.

Kael stood on top of a mountain of corpses. His armor was broken in places,while his sword was covered in dark blood.

The wind blew across the wasteland, carrying the heavy smell of death. Around him, the world was silent except for the crackle of burning ground.

Below him, Martina and Roosevelt stood among the wounded soldiers. They looked up at Kael’s figure with wide, tired eyes.

He stood there like a statue of God of war as his body unmoving, his aura so strong that it almost crushed the air. The blood-red light reflected off his sword made him look more like a demon than a man.

After a moment Kael moved, shaking his sword and sheathed it while throwing a cigar to his lips.

"Somone bring me matchstick.."

"H..Hum..Yes..."

Following Kael calls,countless soldiers flicked to lit up his cigar.

"Ma... Martina," Roosevelt whispered, his voice hoarse. "What day is it today?"

Martina took a deep breath, her face pale and eyes weary. "I lost count after twenty," she said softly.

"That means..." Roosevelt’s lips trembled slightly. "We’ve been fighting for almost a month straight... and he..."

Their eyes focused again on Kael’s figure. He hadn’t stopped. Not once. He was still standing tall, still ready to fight.

The wind blew his torn cloak as he stared into the endless battlefield ahead. His expression was calm but his eyes burned with something dark determination mixed with fury.

From a distance, even the elves who watched him felt unsettled.

"He’s a monstrous brute," one of them muttered in disgust. "Truly, humans can be sickening."

Crebs turned his gaze toward the voice. His expression grew cold. "Do you have a problem with him?" he asked.

The elf who had spoken hesitated, his face stiff. "No," he said finally, "but I don’t like this kind of fighting and slaughtering. Being near him feels... unclean."

Crebs chuckled softly, though his eyes were sharp. "Unclean? Tell me, then. Isn’t this the very thing that pushes us forward?"

The elf frowned but stayed silent.

Crebs looked back at Kael, his expression unreadable. "While humans stand on the frontlines and stain their hands with blood," he said slowly, "we stand behind them and call ourselves pure. We let them do the dirty work while we talk of grace."

The elf standing beside Crebs gave a disdainful look.

"So what?" he said coldly. "They are just lesser species. Do they even have the right to stand near us?"

He turned his gaze toward the human soldiers far below, his expression full of disgust. "That’s what they should do. It’s already a blessing for them to even be graced by our presence. If not for those demons wreaking havoc, we would never have stepped out of the Great Forest."

Crebs stared at his subordinate for a few moments. His eyes grew darker, as if he was fighting back his own irritation.

He opened his mouth a few times, trying to say something, but then stopped. After a long silence, he finally said quietly, "You need to change your thinking."

The elf frowned but didn’t reply. His pride wouldn’t allow him to argue further, yet he clearly didn’t agree either.

........

"What’s wrong with that man?" Michelle muttered, her voice trembling.

The more she watched the battlefield, the more terrified she became. Her hands shook as she gripped her robe tightly. Even Richard, who had fought in countless wars, felt his breath grow heavy.

He had seen maniacs before. But this man...no this guy was just in an entirely different way.

As he stared at the distant figure, memories of the past few days started flashing in his mind.

It was like a nightmare where a lone warrior standing among corpses, smiling gently as he cut through enemies like a scythe through grass.

And amidst this,he enjoyed the slaughter and expression of pain as the enemies cried and begged.

The image in front of them was brutal. Kael moved through the battlefield like a shadow, his white hair stained with blood, his face calm and smiling. But that smile—it wasn’t human. It was too serene, too still, as if he was enjoying the massacre.

He swung his sword with elegance and precision. Each slash was clean and each strike perfect. He didn’t waste any movement. He sliced through demon after demon killing them and making their bodies fall apart like broken dolls.

The sound of his blade cutting through flesh echoed in the air following a sharp, wet sound that mixed with the demons’ screams. He looked almost graceful as he moved, his every motion smooth and practiced, his smile unwavering.

It was like watching a devil dressed as a gentleman.

"Butcher..." Richard whispered, his throat dry.

"He’s simply a gifted butcher. An inhuman butcher."

No wonder the demons had started to run whenever they saw him. The soldiers called him the Demon Butcher, the man with white hair and a smiling face who brought death wherever he went.

..........

"Hiss..."

Emilia, watching from the side, gasped. Her eyes widened in disbelief as she clutched her chest. "Just what did you two teach my child?" she said, turning to Ruth and Ramos. "How did he turn into this?"

Her voice trembled with both fear and sadness.

Though she had gone crazy, unable to retain any memories, her eyes now showed only confusion and pain.

She had kept old letters about Kael’s progress, though her memory had been foggy for years. But after taking the cure recently, her mind had cleared, and she could remember everything again.

She remembered how frail and fearful Kael used to be,the one who was scared of stronger people.

He didn’t like fighting and war as he spent most of his days reading quietly in the library, studying books instead of swords.

But now... this man on the battlefield couldn’t be the same Kael.

Emilia looked at Ruth and Ramos, but both of them avoided her gaze.

Ramos coughed awkwardly. "Don’t ask me. Who knows where he learned all this?" he said, scratching his neck.

Ruth sighed, not meeting her eyes.

Emilia frowned deeply. "I’m sure he was influenced by you two somehow," she muttered. "Blood runs deep in your veins."

The two stayed silent.

.......

Meanwhile, in another room far away, the people of the Church were gathered around a glowing screen, watching the same battle unfold.

A deep frown covered Saintess Seraphina’s face. Her knuckles turned white as she clenched her fists. "Horrendous..." she muttered under her breath. "This is absolutely horrendous."

What appeared on the screen shook her to the core. It wasn’t just the war or the killing. It was the behavior of the Holy Order and that so-called Saintess that disgusted her.

She turned toward the guard standing beside her. "Morse, what is this?" she demanded. "Is this another ploy by the Empire to defile our reputation?"

Her eyes burned with anger. "Why are the members of the Church behaving like this? They look more like hooligans and bandits than people who are supposed to guide others toward salvation!"

Morse’s old, wrinkled face grew tense. He looked at Seraphina and sighed softly.

"My Lady," he said quietly, "this is not propaganda. These events are recorded in the ancient texts. During those times, the Church was sovereign. All the land belonged to them. Even kings bowed before priests."

Seraphina’s eyes widened in shock. "Is that real?"

"Hundred percent," Morse said firmly. "Those were different times, my Lady. The Church held absolute authority. But when the Heretics appeared, everything began to change. The balance of power shifted. The strength of our gods started to fade because of the arrival of the Other Gods."

"I know that much," Seraphina replied, her voice low.

She stared at the screen again, watching the chaos unfold. The Paladins’ arrogance, the Saintess’s pride,and the blood ravaging on the ground,it all made her stomach turn.

"The current peace exists only because our gods keep the Outer Gods in check," she said slowly. "If they ever lose focus, this world will fall to ruin. That’s why those other forces are rising now."

She shook her head, her voice trembling slightly. "I understand that history changes. But I don’t understand what gives them the right to behave like this."

Her anger finally burst out. "This arrogance accompanied their cruelty. It’s disgusting and sickening!" she shouted.

Her words echoed through the chamber.

The others in the room stayed silent. Even Morse lowered his head, unable to answer.

The glow of the screen reflected on Seraphina’s face, making her look pale and cold. Her eyes stayed fixed on Kael’s figure,the man who fought like a beast and the holy knights who acted like tyrants.

At that moment, the truth felt bitter. The line between saint and sinner, light and darkness, had never seemed so blurred.

The air inside the hall grew heavy and still. No one dared to speak.