“…I’m dead?”
Then this place was the afterlife. This enormous procession meant they were all dead. Truthfully, Valen thought death was the happiest ending he could personally embrace. Perhaps dying naturally like this was the greatest fortune of his life. But—.
“…This is fucking pathetic.”
He’d never feared death. He gripped his sword knowing his breath could cease at any moment today. Yet he hadn’t envisioned such a disgraceful end. Dying while fulfilling a mission, being pierced by an enemy’s blade on the battlefield, or succumbing after resisting brutal torture to the very end…
Many possibilities existed, but dying from getting caught while trying to steal someone’s belongings? He’d never even considered it. Valen’s left cheek twitched.
“What’s dignity worth in the face of death? It’s all the same.” The girl who heard Valen’s mutter spoke like an eighty-year-old woman.
As Valentine clutched his face in agony with one hand, the girl walking ahead stopped. “Now, wait your turn here.”
Valen couldn’t die so pointlessly like this. It was embarrassing enough, but there were still matters he needed to resolve.
Above all, he couldn’t leave Leto alone. Even though Ben was by Leto’s side, as someone of the lowest social standing, he couldn’t protect either himself or Leto. He wanted to lay the groundwork for them to survive before leaving.And…
‘You mustn’t sleep too long.’
The voice that reached him just before his eyes closed. Argen’s voice was etched into his mind, refusing to fade.
Would she blame him? Would she curse him as a traitor, her eyes filled with hurt and rage?
After all, Argen and he were enemies. Even their time together had been largely forced, and their contract had been negotiated solely for mutual gain, hadn’t it?He didn’t need to care how she judged Valen. Hostility was the natural state of their relationship from the start. Things had gotten bizarrely tangled, leading to all sorts of unnecessary actions.
Now, they were simply returning to their rightful places.
Yet, it felt uncomfortable, like a sharp-edged stone rolling around in his chest. Valen decided not to try to understand this feeling, nor question it. He feared that the moment he became aware, it would become irreversible.
For now, he would think only of Leto.
Valen looked around. Upon closer inspection, it wasn’t just humans present. There were creatures with lizard heads, and dogs and cats scampered about, barking and meowing. Slow-moving chicks were carried away in fluffy flower baskets by children dressed in white robes. The cheerful chirping of birds mingled with the bustling noise.
“Hey, you.”
“Not you—‘Lester’. The chief guide of the Underworld. Ah. Don’t get nervous just because the top-level administrator is handling this. I absolutely hate all this formal nonsense.” The girl, who loved being treated better than anyone and was sensitive to formality, waved her hands dismissively.
“Lester. I heard souls must undergo judgment to enter the afterlife. Is this procession for judgment?”
“You know your facts. Ha… Honestly, this is a headache. Why does information from the Underworld keep leaking into the mortal realm?”
“So this place is between the afterlife and the mortal world. Then there must be a way back.”
The girl’s face twisted in frustration. She sighed repeatedly, then tapped Valen’s forearm sharply. “Let’s not waste our energy. It’s not like we haven’t seen scum like you before, you know?”
“I can’t just die like this…”
“I can’t just die like this!! You bastards!! Let go of me! Let go!!” A massive man, his body bulging with fat, threw a tantrum. He swung his heavy arms wildly, spitting as he screamed. Looking closely, his face seemed familiar.
He was the mercenary guild broker who had dragged the young Valen into demon hunting back then. Compared to his relentless greed for a life buried in gold, his death had come too soon.
The guide grabbed the broker by the hair. Then he hurled him with all his might.Whoosh—he sliced through the air like an arrow. A long tongue shot out from somewhere, wrapping tightly around the broker’s torso. At the end of the procession stood a giant green toad. It swallowed the broker whole in one gulp and began to chew.
Valen watched the entire horrifying spectacle of the broker being devoured with wide eyes.
As the toad defecated, green slime splattered out. A child wearing a crow mask came with a bucket and scooped it up.
“See? You think you’re the only one here who doesn’t want to die?”
Valen’s face turned ashen. Death was now a secondary concern. He couldn’t believe the scene he’d witnessed with his own eyes just moments ago.
“…Could that really be Judgment?”
“Yes. Those with great sin become excrement, collected for hell, while those with great virtue become light, awaiting rebirth. Your current flesh and memories will vanish entirely.”
Valen thought he should burn every book in the royal palace library. Who said it was a noble, sacred, holy ritual? That benevolent goddesses weighed souls on golden scales of judgment? Fuck that, it was all bullshit. To become toad shit!No matter how much Valen tried to strip away his conscience, he knew he was doomed to go to hell. There was no room for even a shred of hope; hell was his unconditional destination.
But! He refused to become that slimy green excrement like the broker he’d seen moments ago.
“I’m going back.”
“Oh ho. I said no. Stand still and wait your turn.”
Just as Valen turned to leave, a golden light shot toward him, wrapping around his body like shackles. Then, his feet floated up into the air.
Valen was taken away without needing to walk. The countless heads that had been before him vanished one by one, and finally, it was Valen’s turn.
“Let go! Untie me!” His shouts changed nothing.
Lester yawned lazily, then waved at Valen when their eyes met—perhaps a final gesture of courtesy.
Valen stood before the toad judge. When the toad opened its mouth wide, Valen saw teeth like sawblades packed tightly across its entire jaw. Holy crap… this thing was just a monster.
He knew there was nowhere left to retreat. As he glared, eyes narrowed, the toad suddenly snapped its jaws shut. Then, as if sulking, it whipped its head away.Even after waiting a long while, it showed no sign of eating Valen. Startled guides rushed forward.
“What is this? Where’s the hold-up? There’s no room behind! We need to move this along quickly!”
“Ah, no… It’s because Lord Chasguto refuses the judgment. This is the first time we’ve encountered such a situation…”
“What?!”
Quickly assessing the situation, a guide blew a massive golden horn this time.
Boo-woong-!
The entire wide field echoed with a thunderous roar, shaking even the leaves violently.
“Judgment is temporarily suspended! Spirits, move to the Resting Place and await further notice!”
The guides, who had been carrying out their duties like machines, were flustered for the first time, fumbling about. Refusing judgment was an uncommon occurrence.
Though there was a bit of commotion, the crowd surged out toward the Resting Place. Soon, only the toad, Chasguto and Valen, Lester, and two guides who appeared to be assistants remained on the vast field.
Lester traced her hand through the air. A flash of white light erupted, and a notebook shot out. She stared at the notebook she had summoned and gasped in shock.
“…Why does the Book of Life look like this?”
As she flipped through the pages rapidly, Lester’s face grew increasingly pale with horror. Finally, after checking every single page to the very last, she looked at Valen. Her eyes were filled with dread, as if she were staring at a monstrous beast. “He should have died a hundred times over by now… Yet somehow, he’s managed to survive this long.”
“Speak plainly.”
“The Book of Life is a document recording your life and death. Usually, it ends on a single page. But look at this.” Lester flipped through the notebook in front of Valen with a loud rustle. “You have recorded a hundred deaths here.”
“Bullshit. I didn’t eat the Elixir of Immortality. How could I have lived a hundred times?”
“Because you survived each time death came for you. It’s not the Underworld’s fault. This place governs life and death, but it does not plan your life. It means your wits were sharp enough to outrun death.” Lester snapped her fingers, and the notebook vanished in a flash of light.