Chapter 119

Chapter 119
## Chapter 119: The Sentinel Knight Pamela

“One of the Four Calamities, Baal, has recently returned to the world, hasn’t he?”

“Indeed. The disintegration of the barriers holding the Four Calamities was inevitable. They were anchored at the world’s four distant corners, the cardinal points. It appears the Black King recently triggered an awakening in the southern regions.”

“Are you suggesting that specific event involved one of the Calamities?”

“It is difficult to say for certain. Regardless of the specifics, it is undeniable that a ‘fresh match’ commenced the moment ‘he’ passed away.”

The revival of the Four Calamities, the restless movements of the Black King, the surfacing of the long-lost ‘Abyssal Labyrinth’—the list went on.

The chessboard had been completely rearranged.

The current progression was entirely alienated from the past.

A fresh match.

Fundamental tremors were vibrating across the entire globe.

And every bit of it traced back to ‘his’ departure.

“‘He’… you are referring to?”

“The Sovereign of Knights.”

“Yes, I recall the name. Is it truly claimed that his passing is what is reshaping the world?”

As much as the truth stung his pride, every current catastrophe originated after that man’s life ended.

A warrior graced by the heavens, the peerless leader who spearheaded the Great Expedition.

The myths he carved into history were beyond counting.

They had kept a watchful eye on Wilhelm since his early days.

Yet, they remained observers only, never initiating contact.

They were bound by circumstance.

‘The crown’s hidden disgrace…’

Wilhelm.

In truth, ‘that individual’ was a scion of the imperial bloodline.

He was an existence treated like a stain, hidden away by the royal family.

One day, he supposedly succumbed to a ‘mysterious ailment’ and faded from view, only to re-emerge later as Wilhelm.

From there, he authored endless legends and ignited the fire of the Great Expedition.

Naturally, that crusade met a tragic end.

Wilhelm perished on that battlefield, and the imperial family’s embarrassment was seemingly extinguished for good.

No, that wasn’t quite the reality.

The Golden Mask shook his head in silent disagreement.

‘A transgressor. The person who relocated Wilhelm’s remains is still breathing.’

The one who had recently taken the throne under the title of Randolph.

The world viewed him as Wilhelm’s true heir.

As long as that individual lived, the ‘stain’ remained on the tapestry.

‘…Baal’s path of destruction will lead to Earth, the sanctuary of the transgressors. For us, this is a favorable turn of events.’

Earth, the gathering place of the outcasts.

They were fully aware that dismantling the syndicate would pave the way for Baal to strike Earth.

Yet, they chose non-interference.

Even though Lord Darkan had impulsively organized a hunting party on his own, his actions would likely serve only to nourish Baal’s power.

‘Let them be reduced to ash. Let them taste the bitter reality that we were forced to endure.’

—

I had finally assembled the full Baal Collection, often referred to as ‘Ba-Set.’

It was a legendary set of mythic proportions that few even knew existed, and virtually no one had ever successfully gathered in its entirety.

The set originally consisted of the Baal Plate, the Baal Greathelm, and the Baal Amulet, but I had integrated a final, crucial component.

The Journal of the Blade Master.

By deciphering the final entries within that journal, I had uncovered the secret to ‘commanding’ Baal.

-We delved into the nature of Baal and at last identified a technique to subjugate this titan.

-These armaments, forged from the very essence—the blood, flesh, bone, and core—of Baal. And through the ‘vitality’ I have infused into this Journal of the Blade Master.

-He who completes the set must sacrifice his own ‘vitality.’ Only then can Baal be mastered.

The requirement for subjugation.

It demanded the offering of my own life force.

However, I had no intention of ‘commanding’ the beast.

I possessed a different method to challenge Baal.

‘Evolved Baal.’

This was the latent property triggered by the hidden evolution, which had elevated all my equipment to the ‘Transcendent Mythic’ tier.

【Baal Plate (Transcendent Mythic)】

-Ancient protection containing the fundamental essence of ‘Baal,’ one of the ‘Four Calamities (四凶)’ that once paralyzed the world with dread.

-Enhanced upon the fulfillment of the ‘Baal Collection.’

-Latent Property: If the wearer’s characteristic values surpass ‘1,000,’ they achieve ‘Evolution.’

-Evolution (Evolved Baal) [1]: The efficiency of ‘Baal Equipment’ surges by 100% when engaged with the ‘Four Calamities (四凶).’

-Evolution (Evolved Baal) [2]: Senses the presence of Baal. Grants the ability to traverse to Baal’s coordinates.

-Physical Deflection: 30%

-Inherent Recovery: 100%

-Mana: 10

-Soulbound upon acquisition

-Unbreakable

-Equipping Requirement (1): Bearer of the ‘Mythic Architect’ distinction or higher

-Equipping Requirement (2): All attributes at 90 or higher

-Collection Status (3/3)

My primary vulnerability had always been my lack of physical deflection.

I could negate magical strikes with ‘Colossal Magic Deflection’ and shield my mind with the ‘Eternal Sovereign’s Core,’ but I lacked a hidden trait to mitigate raw physical force.

‘Thirty percent physical deflection coupled with that recovery rate. This is absurd.’

There wasn’t another piece of armor in existence that offered a flat 30% physical deflection.

Even top-tier unique gear usually capped at 25%.

While the secondary stats were a bit lower than some unique pieces, the 100% recovery boost and the mana increase were more than sufficient—they surpassed the utility of most mythic items.

Particularly because a recovery rate exceeding 1,000% was capable of regenerating lost limbs.

‘Furthermore, the properties of the greathelm and the amulet have been significantly boosted.’

With this, I had a genuine chance.

I immediately activated the evolution’s power to tear open a rift and traveled toward Baal’s location.

—

*Crunch!*

I crushed the monster’s skull with a practiced reflex.

At that precise moment:

《’Evolution’ is now active.》

《Entering the ‘Grave of the Risen,’ the territory of the Four Calamity Baal. Baal equipment efficiency is increased by 100%.》

《Blight Bypass increased by 30%, Blight Mirroring by 60%, and Blight Persistence by 60%.》

《Inherent Recovery boosted by 200%.》

《Sanctified Might increased by 40.》

《Sanctified Might has surpassed 120, unlocking ‘Absolute Bypass (12%)’ for all offensive actions.》

《Defeated a ‘Spawn of the Blight’ sired by Baal.》

《Contribution Points +15.》

《Substantial Experience acquired.》

The notifications flooded my vision.

I gave a curt nod of satisfaction.

The properties from evolution were doubled.

The Ba-Set was proving to be utterly game-breaking.

Most importantly:

‘Absolute Bypass…!’

Attributes exceeding 120 unlock secondary phenomena.

For instance, mana provides ‘Mana Bypass,’ and elemental power grants ‘Elemental Bypass.’

However, the ‘Sanctified Might’ I gained as the Astral Heir provided a universal bypass.

This meant a 12% bonus to penetration for both physical strikes and blight-based attacks.

…It explained why these kills felt so effortless.

“Heir!”

A recognizable voice called out from the vicinity.

Serengeti… no, it was Hudson.

“What brings you here? Where is Valt?”

“Well… we were stationed at the governor’s stronghold, but Lord Darkan dragged us here against our will. Valt sensed a foul presence and disappeared into the shadows.”

“A foul presence?”

“Yes. The moment we descended into this pit, everyone began to lose their grip on reality. They were consumed by madness. As if hollowed out by demons. Are you truly unaffected by this, Heir?”

Affected?

I shook my head.

Not in the slightest.

“I am fine. Are you holding up?”

“I am. I’m not sure why, but I feel perfectly stable.”

Hudson was the sole individual enduring the corruption within Baal’s reach.

Perhaps a blessing from the holy maiden?

It was hard to find any other explanation for why Hudson alone remained lucid.

I then lowered my gaze to the ground.

“But this ‘Gracia’ I see before me isn’t the man he used to be, is he?”

“…That is an understatement.”

At the focus of my attention:

“Spirit, you cannot leave me behind!”

“…Pay him no mind. He is speaking gibberish.”

There sat Gracia, drenched in gore and clearly disconnected from reality.

His hair had turned snowy white.

Deep lines were etched into his skin.

He was visibly aging and withering away in real-time.

For a warrior of his caliber to succumb to Baal’s blight, it must have been because his ‘vitality’ had been plundered.

As his life force ebbed away, he lacked the strength to resist Baal, a master over life and the mind.

I rubbed my chin thoughtfully before producing the ‘Cinders of the Outcast.’

“Ah… Aah… That… that belongs to my youth!”

The Cinders of the Outcast, which held Gracia’s likeness within its glow.

The moment he saw it, Gracia lunged forward in a desperate state.

“You wish to reclaim it?”

“I need it back. Golden Goat! That is mine!”

“Then stand on your own feet. Draw your blade and join the fray.”

“Fight Baal? That titan is invincible. It consumed the ‘Venom of Ouroboros’ and has reached a terrifying new level!”

He was quaking.

It was a pathetic display, unbefitting the Gracia I once knew.

Drowned in terror, his mind was still fractured.

“Gracia. Your purpose is to defend those who cannot defend themselves. If you claim the mantle of a ‘Hero,’ you know what is required of you.”

“I… I am no savior. I am… a criminal weighed down by my failures.”

“You have simply turned into the world’s most notable coward.”

“W-Will it even matter if I try? Why continue a struggle that has no hope of victory?”

Hmph.

Even accounting for a broken mind, this was a letdown.

It was hard to reconcile this man with the one who used to swagger about as the world’s greatest.

There was no satisfaction in fighting someone so defeated.

However, upon entering this abyss, I had realized something.

Not everyone had perished when the five settlements fell.

Survivors were scattered throughout this place.

I lacked the time to rescue them individually.

I had to end this before Baal reached his next stage of evolution.

This was a task suited for Gracia.

So, you play the part of the savior. Be an actual hero.

“Stay calm. I will deal with Baal.”

……I will wipe Baal from existence.

Jeju Island.

The figure in the golden goat mask and the White Knight Serengeti.

With their departure, Gracia was left in the silence.

-Either perish like an insect, or fulfill your duty.

The words rang in his head.

Yet, what truly haunted him was the man’s stare.

He was a stranger, without a doubt.

But the moment their paths crossed, Gracia felt a chill.

He couldn’t find the words for the sensation, but if he had to name it, Gracia had been ‘crushed’ by that man’s presence.

Even standing before Riley hadn’t made him flinch like that.

‘I know that look from somewhere…’

It was foreign, yet hauntingly familiar.

Like a ghost from a past encounter.

Few possessed a gaze that overwhelming; if he had seen it before, he wouldn’t have forgotten… yet the memory eluded him.

He was certain he would recognize it if they met again.

‘Insect.’

A look that dismissed him as something not even worth the effort of killing.

It was a first for him.

He had never been so completely disregarded.

He had always been at the pinnacle, the one everyone envied.

And now?

He was the textbook definition of a failure.

It was only natural to be looked down upon.

‘…A string of disasters has broken me.’

Where did the spiral begin?

The loss to Baal?

Having his life force drained by the Reapers?

Retreating from the Abyssal Labyrinth?

Trapped and overwhelmed, Gracia had snapped.

He had lost his sanity and shown his weakest side.

‘I am no insect.’

He refused that label.

Gracia forced himself up.

He reached for the ‘Azure Glow’ resting in the dirt.

-Kyaargh!

*Slash!*

He took the head of a lunging beast in a single, fluid motion.

Then, Gracia began to navigate the depths of the abyss.

‘I am Gracia. The peak warrior known as the Sword Saint, a hero.’

He would do what was required.

—

The obsidian shroud.

The route to Baal was paved with a mountain of the fallen and a river of gore.

The bodies of Darkan’s legion and the ‘Spawns of the Blight’ were piled together in a grotesque heap.

The trail of carnage led directly to the shroud.

“…Pointless.”

The scene inside the shroud was even more grim.

To start, Lord Darkan was slumped over, his neck snapped at an impossible angle.

For a man who had entered with such arrogance, it was a humiliating conclusion.

The look on his dead face was gruesome.

A mask of pure shock and visceral terror.

As if his final sight was something that should not exist.

The surrounding fallen bore the same expressions.

‘Something is wrong.’

There was a glaring inconsistency.

Most of these people hadn’t been trying to escape the shroud; they had been fleeing from the outside into the center before meeting their end.

…Bizarre.

Typically, one runs away from the source of danger, not toward it.

What could they have seen on the outside that made the heart of the shroud seem like the safer option?

The mystery was solved quickly.

*Thud. Thud.*

Heavy, rhythmic footsteps approached.

Information manifested above the figure’s head.

【Baal’s Progeny – ‘Sentinel Knight Pamela’】

【Lv.13】

……It was Pamela, the chief protector of the Darkan lands.

The most powerful warrior among them had been corrupted into one of Baal’s offspring.

If Pamela had suddenly turned on his own people, the soldiers would have had no choice but to retreat further into the shroud.

He must have succumbed to Baal’s influence deep within the shroud and turned.

But even so, could a warrior of that level lose himself so abruptly?

‘That man was never truly human.’

Pamela hadn’t achieved his strength through the stars or evolution; he had traded his humanity for power.

In simpler terms:

He had been a ‘fiend’ from the start.

It stood to reason he would be the most susceptible to Baal’s shroud.

Looking at his current state, I could pinpoint exactly how he had discarded his human self.

“…A demon.”

His eyes were voids of ink, lacking any white.

His skin was stained the color of midnight, with two massive dark wings sprouted from his back, great horns crowning his head, a reptilian tail, a bestial lower half, and jagged talons.

He was the physical manifestation of a ‘demon.’

The zealots of the dark who turned their backs on the goddess.

The entity they served!

Maxime had merely utilized a demonic core to gain power, but Sentinel Knight Pamela was a ‘demon’ by nature.

Or he had achieved that state through another dark path.

‘Did the Sovereignty know and look the other way? Or?’

Why was a demon—the very soul of devil worship—positioned within an imperial territory?

And holding the rank of Sentinel Knight, no less.

The Sovereignty despised players, certainly, but forming an alliance with demon-worshippers who actively defied the goddess seemed out of character.

Perhaps he had masked his nature so perfectly that even I had failed to see it.

‘It doesn’t matter now.’

Neutralizing the monstrosity in front of me was the only thing that mattered.

Pamela, as a child of Baal, was further empowered by the surrounding blight.

A direct confrontation would be fatal.

He wasn’t a half-breed like Maxime.

He would undoubtedly possess powers that far exceeded anything I’d seen.

But.