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Chapter 110: First Generation Demon Lord Asmodeus
"Miss Serie..." Norn's gaze dimmed. "She's been looking for you like she's lost her mind, and last I heard, she was in the Southern Labyrinth where she found a teleportation array leading to Godfall Land."
There was a massive magic teleportation array in Godfall Land that formed naturally when divine power overflowed after the Goddess died.
That's how their group survived the first wave of black mud and escaped Godfall Land, which is why Serie searched the world for Kurtz's traces, hoping he'd been teleported somewhere by the same array and was waiting for her to find him.
"Miss Serie always carried Athos, and that seemed to be her only thought." Norn paused. "She looks pitiful."
If Kurtz wasn't here, Norn wouldn't dare say that.
Kurtz listened quietly while tapping his arm, the rhythm uneven and nervous.
Something deep in his eyes shifted violently before being buried under deeper weariness, and he didn't speak, only nodded slightly.
Norn noticed his empty waist and asked, "Where is your Orger?"
The three Holy Swords that once slew gods.
El''s light had become a Holy Sword worshipped by human nations, receiving endless faith, while Athos had always traveled with Serie. The Elf Kingdom sent people requesting this Holy Sword, but Serie rejected them all, and there were several conflicts until the Elf King intervened, claiming Athos belonged with the Saint.
As for Orger, Sword of Divine Authority, it vanished with Kurtz and was once again lost.
"I didn't bring it out of Godfall Land," he said flatly, as if losing a god-slaying blade meant nothing.
"I see." Norn didn't ask why since he'd learned when not to press. "What about the others?"
"Miss Olivia..." Norn's voice carried helplessness. "She kept her vow. She locked herself in the Divine Kingdom, never to set foot on the ground again. We tried to change her mind, but she wouldn't listen. I'm sorry."
Kurtz looked out the window as if he could see the Divine Kingdom suspended in the sky, where Olivia kept her lonely watch.
This was what Olivia called atonement, and even though she didn't need to do this, Kurtz was swallowed by black mud before he could persuade her, so all his words were drowned beneath the tide.
His lips moved silently before turning into a sigh.
"That fellow Somo," Norn's tone lightened, "is now the next Dwarf King and has even grown a beard. And..." Norn smiled, "He pretends fruit juice is alcohol when he toasts because he's afraid they'll discover he can't drink."
A smile appeared on Kurtz's face as if he could see the Dwarf's act, but one person was still missing.
Kurtz looked at Norn again, and the smile died.
"What about Eric? That kid should be here too, right? Or is he adventuring alone?"
The smile faded from Norn's face. He was silent for several seconds, as if gathering courage.
The air in the room seemed to thicken.
"Eric..." Every word seemed squeezed from Norn's throat. "I'm sorry, Kurtz."
Kurtz's gaze turned solemn. Dread surged in his heart.
"What happened to him?"
"When the Goddess fell, black mud erupted. Serie deployed a barrier with Athos in time, but Eric was closest, or rather, that power sought him out..."
Norn's voice trembled: "His body was corrupted by the Goddess's divine power before she died. None of us noticed, including himself."
Kurtz's pupils contracted!
The Goddess's divine power corrupting him before her death! The Fertility Goddess's most dangerous power!
He knew what that meant. His original body was completely corrupted by this power, forcing him to use the Authority of Life to reshape himself. But even so, his soul still carried corruption into this new body.
The black patterns on his hand proved it.
"I didn't notice at all. After the war ended, Eric and I resumed our adventures, teaching your magic to every human village we found.
But twenty years ago, Eric's body began showing problems."
Norn closed his eyes in pain, remembering.
"At first, he was just occasionally dazed, talking to himself. He said he was fine, just tired. Then his personality changed, more extreme, more angry."
"The Goddess's corruption had begun." Kurtz's voice was barely a whisper.
He knew exactly how powerful that force was. It was slow corruption from body to soul. Not instant, but quiet, corroding you during daily life, during peaceful sleep.
That's how the Life Goddess fell into the trap, only discovering it after the Fertility Goddess had completely corrupted her body.
"Yes, by the time I discovered it, it was too late. Eric also noticed something was wrong. We tried to find a solution using the magic in the holy scripture."
Before the battle, Kurtz had compiled magic from the original text into a book and given it to Norn. This would help create professions like Holy Order among humans in the future.
"It's useless." Kurtz shook his head. "The magic in the holy scripture can't solve this corruption, unless you use the same divine power to fight it. But that's impossible."
"Yes! Too late!" Norn's voice began to break. "Fifteen years ago, Eric disappeared. Vanished completely."
"He held on for five years? Eric was remarkable."
"Yes." Norn regretted not discovering it sooner, but even if he had, what could he have done? Nothing.
"Then, ten years ago, a powerful, ruthless Demon appeared among the Demons. He united the remaining Demons and called himself..."
Norn looked up, meeting Kurtz's eyes.
Slowly, word by word:
"Demon Lord, Asmodeus."
"First Generation Demon Lord Asmodeus..."
Kurtz softly repeated the title. Each word made his heart grow colder.
The corruption had not simply claimed Eric's life, it had twisted him into the very thing they had once fought against, transforming their golden-haired companion into a force of darkness that now threatened everything they had worked to build.
Their friend, who had once carried hope to human villages across the continent, had become the embodiment of their greatest fears.
[End of Chapter]