HBRS 0

Prologue

Thud.

The world spun as a sharply honed blade pierced his throat.

“……!”

His eyes widened involuntarily from the unprecedented shock. Luke coughed, expelling a breath that might be his last, and collapsed forward.

Under a clear sky, the faces of those seated in the stands began to blur. Then, as if struck by a sudden wave of vertigo, his vision rapidly darkened.

He had never sustained a serious injury while hunting dragons. He never dreamed he would meet his end at the hands of an executioner with such clumsy swordsmanship.

What expression would the man who sentenced him to death be wearing now? He instinctively tried to turn his head to look, but his head and body were already separated.

Richard…. Why?

Naturally, he couldn’t speak. He couldn’t even move his fingers or blink.

His flickering vision finally succumbed to darkness, and the clamor around him gradually faded. His consciousness drifted away as if someone had gently draped a cloak of sleep over his shoulders.

…Is this really how I die, so pointlessly?

Please, tell me this isn’t real.

Luke’s soul resonated with grief. But there was only one place for a soul abandoned by God.

The moment he believed to be the end was but the beginning of a fall. His brightly shining soul plummeted into a bottomless abyss.

‘Aaah!’

As he fell through the void, Luke realized he was burning. Though he no longer had flesh, bone, or blood, the sensation he felt through his soul was pure “heat.”

‘Save me!’

No one heard his desperate plea. Countless other souls, like him, were falling like meteors, drawn by hell’s gravity.

‘Aaack!’

Memories of the past ignited, becoming fuel for the flames. The names of all those he loved were distorted by the heat, and his regrets turned to ash, scattering into the void of hell.

Even without bones, he felt them burning. Even without a heart, he felt it bursting. The pain was no longer a sensation, but the very essence of his burning soul.

‘Richard! Richard! Damn you!’

While the faces of those he had met in life faded one by one, the face of his betrayer remained, etched in his mind until the very end. Richard’s presence clung to him like a curse, branding itself onto his soul.

‘Please, stop…. It’s too hot, stop!’

Luke cursed, prayed, and pleaded amidst the flames. And even those prayers were consumed by the fire.

When the pitiful soul, now covered in ashes, finally reached the bottom of hell, he had become something else entirely.

『Ah… ah….』

Not only was his entire body charred black, but unquenchable black flames flickered across his form. With each step he took, a heavy, metallic clang echoed.

As if to prove he was once a knight, pauldrons and a helmet made of black bone clung tightly to his skin. A cloak of black flames draped over his back, flickering ominously, and the exposed flesh beneath was a writhing mass of black, worm-like creatures. Extending from beneath the cloak was unmistakably a tail. Serpent-like tentacles, intertwined and wriggling grotesquely, hung from his lower body.

He was no longer sacred or noble. The knight commander, having completely lost his humanity, let out a great, anguished cry.

『Raaagh, Richard!』

Even the voice that escaped his mouth was no longer human. Consumed by malice, Luke let out a bestial roar and pounded the ground with his fists.

『Graaaah!』

Thump!

The newborn demon, consumed by pure rage, destroyed everything in sight, whether it was a boulder rolling on the ground or the remains of something else.

『Richard Valerion! You traitor! I’ll never be satisfied until I’ve torn you to shreds!』

The blackened specter shed tears of blood, screaming the name etched into his burned soul. Even as he gasped for breath, he couldn’t stop his hateful cries.

『Haa… haa….』

Consumed by deep sorrow, Luke collapsed amidst the debris and swore a desperate oath of vengeance.

Richard, I will make you weep tears of blood.

I will make you as miserable as I am, so tormented that you will beg for death.

And I will laugh as I watch you suffer.

Just once, just one more time….

I want to see you.

The Uninvited Mourner

Twenty years later.

A tall man stood alone before a grave. Dressed entirely in black, without a single ornament, he couldn’t hide his innate dignity. His grief-stricken figure clearly belonged to a man of noble lineage.

“…….”

Even after the funeral ended and the coffin was placed in the sarcophagus, Duke Richard couldn’t bring himself to leave the grave. His deep blue eyes were as gloomy as the cloud-filled sky.

[Cassiel Valerion (218 – 233)]

[He was born under the stars, but faded before them.

He possessed wisdom sharper than a sword and bore a fate heavier than blood.]

The grieving father stood in the rain without an umbrella, gazing at the tombstone bearing his son’s name. His soaked hair plastered itself to his forehead, but he seemed oblivious.

His hardened face was devoid of expression, making it impossible to discern his thoughts.

“…….”

Just then, someone quietly held an umbrella over him. Instead of asking who it was, Richard raised his head, which had been bowed low.

“Forgive my intrusion. I called out to you several times, but you didn’t respond, Your Grace.”

The voice behind him was young and gentle. However, Richard responded coldly to the kind stranger.

“I specifically instructed that no one disturb me. I wish to be alone, so do not bother me.”

Despite the duke’s chilling command, the young man remained unfazed. He continued to speak in an even gentler tone.

“I cannot fathom your grief at the loss of your son, Your Grace. But I have something I must tell you.”

“I said I wish to be alone.”

Richard responded in a seething voice, and the stranger paused, taking a breath. Then, as if having made a difficult decision, he spoke cautiously,

“…It’s about your son.”

“…….”

“Don’t you want to know who killed Cassiel?”

Richard’s thick eyebrows twitched at the stranger’s mention of his son. It was a presumptuous and personal question, but he couldn’t entirely ignore it.

There were no witnesses to the carriage accident that led to his son’s death, and the investigation concluded that it was caused by the coachman’s negligence.

Yet, this unknown young man spoke as if there was another culprit. Richard couldn’t help but be on edge.

“If these are baseless rumors, I won’t…”

Richard turned around, growling at the man holding the umbrella over him. But the moment their eyes met, he couldn’t finish his sentence.

The man was taller than the duke, and his bright yellow eyes shone intensely, like molten gold. In contrast, his tanned skin was as alluring as sand, his nose was straight, and his lips curved softly. The young man, possessing the beauty of a finely crafted statue, wore an expression of genuine concern for the duke.

However, his eyes held no emotion. Only a persistent, intense gaze, like a predator eyeing its prey, creating a strange sense of unease.

“It’s true. You can have my head if these are rumors.”

The young man spoke with conviction. He stepped closer, gazing down at the duke from a distance close enough for their breaths to mingle.

“…….”

Richard wasn’t the only one shocked by the encounter. Luke inwardly sighed as he took in the duke’s face.

Richard Valerion.

You’re still beautiful,

still commanding,

and still cold.