Ban’s body couldn’t even resist and collapsed limply backward, announcing his death. However, Ban’s consciousness was actually perfectly fine. Ah, he did curse inwardly, ‘Fuck, what a surprise……’ But wasn’t that justified? After all, a spear had suddenly come flying and pierced him to death—surely he was entitled to that much. Though Ban rarely cursed normally, this was in the realm of force majeure.
Ban lay sprawled out in his corpse state, staring blankly at the system message flashing as if in warning. It was strange that he could see something despite being dead, but anyway.
[You have died!]
Hmm, so even instant death comes with a bit of pain. He’d learned something new.
[The lingering traces of the world engraved upon you mourn your death. Would you like to revive now?]
Revival. It was a word that reminded him that this place was a world inside a game, and that he himself was the player character, the protagonist within that game. This was precisely the trump card Ban had hidden from the priests, and simultaneously a power he couldn’t wield recklessly.
If anyone saw this, at best he’d be called a ‘new god,’ and in the worst-case scenario, he’d be called an evil specter and get exorcised. When playing the game comfortably at home, he would click ‘yes’ without feeling and immediately revive to fight again, but being in an actual body felt completely different.
How should he put it—it was eerie…… strange…… anyway, it felt unsettling. He wanted to press ‘yes’ right away and jump up, but.
“Hm…… hmm……”
Was that humming or sobbing? From within that pitch-black darkness, someone was making strange sounds while walking slowly toward him.
Who else could it be but the Evil God—the very culprit who had suddenly hurled the spear, and who had eliminated the intruder who would have bothered him again this time if left alone. The faintly visible silhouette gradually drew closer, but judging from how it staggered like a zombie, it seemed his suspicion was correct—the thing wasn’t in its right mind.
The being that approached pulled at the spear embedded in Ban’s corpse but stopped and tilted its head. Then it bent down to stare intently at Ban’s face before roughly tapping Ban’s cheek, which had a single drop of blood splattered on it, with its coarse touch.
He didn’t know what the intention was, but like a small animal trying to dust something off, there seemed to be no particular malice.
Nietzsche said that if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you, didn’t he? While Orma observed Ban’s corpse, Ban observed Orma as well. He was certainly not for nothing the reason Ban had become absorbed in a game he hadn’t even been interested in.
It was a sight that reminded him of that first moment when he’d been overwhelmed by the intimidation of the game trailer in which he appeared.
The black that had completely filled Hell originated from Orma. Perhaps it would be more fitting to define the being called Orma as pure darkness itself. Yes, if darkness were to take form, it would surely look exactly like this.
Behind the worn and tattered black coat Orma wore, a long shadow stretched endlessly, extending so far that its end couldn’t be seen, connecting with this vast space.
Moreover, his jet-black hair—showing not a speck of anything else, pure and vivid—looked sacred and noble. Rather, his golden pupils, which had changed like a brand as evidence that he had coveted either God’s blessing or curse—anyway, that damned something—looked even more sinister.
The intense impression formed by his sharply upturned eye corners, thick eyebrows, and high, straight nose seemed to suggest that even before becoming an Evil God, his temperament had been far from ordinary.
Compared to how he’d appeared in the game as the Final Boss, he looked somewhat lighter, but whatever the case, the fact that he was fiercely handsome didn’t change even from this vertical angle looking up at him.
“Mm……”
Orma’s golden eyes, strangely out of focus, swept over Ban like a predator. A hint of disappointment crossed Orma’s face, and he slowly raised his body and pulled his spear from Ban’s corpse.
The moment Orma lost interest in him and turned away, Ban selected ‘yes’ and revived.
The process of life returning to the dead body and breathing again was bizarre and strange. ……Hmm, it wasn’t a particularly pleasant feeling.
Throughout his return from the free soul state, unconstrained by anything, to the confining body, such vivid and intense sensations rushed in that he shuddered involuntarily.
When he unconsciously coughed and exhaled, Orma, who had been walking away, hesitated and turned around.
He swept over the revived Ban with bewildered eyes, then, still struggling to understand the situation, suddenly rushed over and swung his spear.
However, this time Ban blocked that attack with his sword and opened his mouth.
“Orma-nim, please listen to what I have to say for a moment……”
When Ban even addressed him, Orma’s golden eyes widened greatly. But that was all—Orma attacked deeply, aiming for Ban’s weak points with irregular speed and direction clearly different from before.
“Ah!”
Dead again. Though Orma had killed him without even giving him a chance to speak, Ban didn’t particularly resent him. After all, the guy wasn’t in his right mind anyway…… and what he did was closer to the movements of a startled beast. Besides, even if Ban were in his position, if a human he’d killed suddenly came back to life and tried to talk to him, he wouldn’t particularly want to listen either.
This time, even though Ban was dead, Orma looked down at his corpse and didn’t easily let down his guard. Then Ban felt strangely amused and, thinking he wanted to live up to expectations, once again accepted the flashing system message’s revival offer.
“……Keh, khm…… Breathing is the strangest part……”
“……”
Orma, startled, re-gripped his spear and aimed it at Ban. The revived Ban looked down at his clothes soaked with his own blood and fiddled with them before deflecting the spear that came flying fiercely once again. Orma narrowed his eyes and once more began to press Ban with an unbelievable trajectory.
‘Oh, this pattern……’
However, the fact that he’d died countless times in the game learning the patterns wasn’t entirely in vain—Ban’s body moved on its own, blocking the familiar attacks. After lightly dodging the following attack, Ban also swung his sword for the first time, aiming for Orma’s side. As if he hadn’t thought Ban could dodge, Orma’s face showed he couldn’t hide his confusion in time.
Still, though Ban had thought it was his best attack, he actually cut nothing. To think someone with that height and build could be so agile…….
But Orma seemed more flustered by Ban’s attack than expected—he stepped back two paces, touched his side with a clearly distorted face, then glared at Ban. How unfair. Making such a fuss over just a graze. He’s the one who killed me twice, yet anyone watching would think I was the assailant.
“I have something to say…… Mm, but it seems you still have no intention of listening nicely.”
“……”
Then should he change direction and lightly subdue him for now? Earlier he’d thrust in a straight line then immediately swung horizontally and struck upward, so next would be…….
‘Jump up, then bring the spear down with weight, and kick?’
Orma moved as Ban predicted. Though it was a movement so fast that ordinary eyes could hardly perceive it, Ban was quick to learn anything, so he already saw through Orma’s attack patterns that he’d watched ad nauseam.
For example, that ‘counter’ move that deflects the spear with the sword in an instant to induce momentary neutralization. Right at…… this moment when he jumps up with a sharp sound of cutting through air and tries to strike down!
“……Kugh!”
“Oh, I succeeded.”
In the game, besides this, there were various other methods like parrying to block Orma’s attacks, but all of them required appropriate timing on par with rhythm game experts. Whatever the case, Ban, pleased to have succeeded on his first try in reality, smiled brightly and approached Orma, who had lost his balance, fallen, and dropped his spear.
“Let’s talk, shall we?”
Thanks to that, Orma, who had rolled on the ground, looked at Ban as if he were insane. Staring at Ban intently with wide-open golden eyes, he fumbled with his throat, which had been unnecessary to use for a very long time being trapped in Hell, and finally opened his mouth.
“You…… wh, uh…… what…… are you?”
Hearing his voice growling like a beast, his clumsy pronunciation, and awkward speech, Ban could vividly feel how eons had passed since Orma had set foot in this place. How long had he spent in a space where there was no need to communicate with anyone, where the value of language was less than garbage? Ban smiled slightly, trying his best not to show outwardly the sympathy that rushed in instantly.
“Um, I am your……”
“……”
“I mean…… a Holy Knight who will serve you as a god?”
Whether he didn’t like Ban’s answer, Orma’s handsome face crumpled severely.
……Do you dislike it that much?
Ban hesitated, then scratched his cheek and spoke carefully with an awkward expression.
“If you don’t like Holy Knight, should I say Apostle……?”
