A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

He felt that if these pointers were distributed to every adventurer, no amount of money from the organizers would be enough.

Unfortunately, Bray was not a craftsman, so he had no way of knowing the secret of the object.

He could only sigh a few times and move forward in the direction of the pointer.

“No wonder it wasn’t called a ‘monster’ but a ‘demon’.” As Bray got closer to the destination indicated by the pointer, he understood more and more what the maid meant.

A huge figure appeared on this road that all the participants had to take.

At first glance, you can't tell anything from a distance, but once you get closer, you'll see just how twisted this thing really is.

The enormous Iron Maiden split open, revealing hollow spaces filled with plant roots and stems.

These roots pierced directly through part of the Iron Maiden's outer shell, extending outwards.

If that's all there is to it, it's at best just a plant that looks a bit strange.

However, in the middle of the Iron Maiden, there are not only plants, but also a human face outlined by plant fibers.

If you look at it yourself, you'll be able to tell it's a woman's face.

"Levy, here you go." Bray handed the pointer to Levy, who had a large backpack.

"Oh!" Levy skillfully put away the pointer and followed behind Bray.

With his hands free, Bray silently drew his sword from its scabbard.

The blade rubbed against the scabbard, making a "clang" sound.

Bray not only heard the sound of his sword being drawn, but also heard the painful groans of women echoing in his mind.

"Ah...why is this happening..."

"It hurts, it hurts, it hurts..."

"I can't see anything. What is it that's stabbing me?"

"I've only ever wished I could be like a tree, free from worries, but that's just a thought..."

"I don't want to become a tree, I don't want to become a tree..."

Along with these sounds, countless distorted, blood-red characters surged into Bray's mind.

These words are the sentences above.

"Ugh..." Not only Bray heard it, but Levy also heard these sounds of pain and instinctively covered her ears.

But no matter how much Levy covered her ears, the sounds could still enter her mind.

“…” Bray glanced at Levy.

He really wanted to know what was going on with this monster, and he seemed to have sensed something was wrong.

however--

These can all be ignored.

“It’s very noisy.” Bray raised his right eye, which was stained red with blood.

The color of those pupils was even deeper than the blood-red words engraved with the word "pain".

This red surpasses "blood".

The sword blade swept across the sky, and the red line perfectly divided the Iron Maiden in the middle.

He swung his sword once, and only once.

This guy bothered Levy, so he has to die, regardless of whether he has anything important to do.

"Thump—" The monster was cut in two and fell to either side.

All the sounds faded away, and Levy released her hands from covering her ears.

"Alright, no one's making a fuss anymore," Bray said, ruffling Levy's hair. Where in the world could such a bizarre monster come from?

There isn't even a monster like this.

The Iron Maiden monster from before seemed to exist solely for the sake of being twisted, with no rationality whatsoever.

Bray's intuition told him that he had probably stepped into a trap.

Just as he had predicted, all the monsters on the track that the pointer pointed to were distorted in this way.

He saw a ball of flesh stuffed into a jar.

He saw the mummified corpse inside the armor.

He also saw an insect that was made up of countless wings pieced together.

Despite their varied forms, all the monsters were disgusting.

Moreover, when you see them, you will hear the sound of people struggling in pain in your mind, and blood-red lines will appear before your eyes.

They are polluting this land simply by existing.

"Thud!!!!!" A wooden puppet, pierced by countless spears, was swinging its hands and smashing them towards Bray.

Just like before, lines of dialogue rolled past Bray's eyes.

"Why do I have to do everything, think about everything..."

"What's wrong with these people...?"

"Are all people so disgusting, always taking advantage of others..."

"I'm so tired. I don't want to think about anything. It would be so nice to be a puppet..."

"Ugh, so tired, so annoying, all these people should just die..."

"No, ahhh, they're the ones who should die, not me, not me..."

Two streams of bloody tears flowed from the puppet's eyes, continuously spreading downwards.

Its mouth was opening and closing, but it didn't make any sound.

Those painful sounds and words all flooded directly into the minds of those around them.

"Boom! Boom!" The attacks were completely haphazard, simply destroying the track without causing any damage to Bray.

Of course, Bray would prefer his car to be more accurate so he could recover from an injury, but if the track is destroyed, he'll probably get penalized.

The puppet is preparing to launch another reckless attack on Bray.

But its raised hand did not fall.

The red light swiftly and cleanly split the puppet in two.

By the time the Bray sword was sheathed, it had already turned into a pile of wood chips.

Bray slowly opened his right eye, which he had just closed.

"Something's not right here," he muttered to himself.

At first, he didn't realize it, but later, after using his mind's eye, he saw clearly what these monsters were.

If you look closely enough to see through their true nature, you'll find that they're all people, what's known as the Black Iron race.

But these people are beyond saving; their bodies and minds have been tortured beyond recognition, turning them into these twisted monsters.

All Bray could do with these poor fellows was to swing his sword without hesitation.

The more confused you are, the greater the pain you will cause the other person after the sword strikes; it's better to just strike without saying a word.

“Brave, look.” Levy tugged at Bray’s sleeve and pointed to the surrounding scenery.

"What's wrong?" Bray was initially puzzled as to why Levy had grabbed him, but when he looked up, he was surprised to find that his surroundings had changed drastically.

He should have been on a racetrack in the suburbs of the city, but now he was in a space that looked like an underground one.

The surrounding area was paved with yellowish bricks, and there were countless instruments of torture around it.

Each instrument of torture was stained with blood, which was not yet dry, as if the instruments had been used not long ago.

"Levy, stay close." Bray's face darkened, and he shielded Levy beside him.

From the series of monsters he encountered, he realized he had been tricked.

"Ding—" The pointer that had been guiding him in Bray's hand shattered into pieces like glass, making a crisp sound.

The exquisitely crafted hands, like works of art, simply destroyed themselves.

Bray frowned and casually flicked the crumbs from his hand.

Then he slowly raised his right eyelid and looked at the child sitting in a chair.

The child was about five or six years old.

Bray will never forget that face, nor those lotus-like purple eyes.

"Mr. Bray, do you know just how big the difference is between gods, demigods, and mortals?" Sack asked with a smile as he flipped through the book.

In this underground space that resembled an interrogation room, Sack's tone was remarkably relaxed.

His smile was the adorable smile a child should have.

His voice was just a very ordinary child's voice.

But beneath his outward appearance, he is definitely not a child.

“I don’t know, and I don’t intend to investigate further,” Bray said.

“Really? But I know the gap is huge, so huge that it’s practically insurmountable,” Sack said, shrugging.

"What do you want to do?" Bray had no intention of continuing the discussion with Sark and asked directly.

“It seems Mr. Bray isn’t interested in these things,” Sack said, pursing his lips.

"But that's alright, let's talk about something else."

"You know, when people are powerless and extremely angry, they can easily be driven insane," he said slowly, his words the language of the devil.

“Mr. Bray, won’t you take a look back?” he said with a smile.

However, Bray did not turn around, because he realized that Levy had disappeared when Sark said those words.

"No need to look back, I already know."

Bray's pupils were terrifying, as if filled with blood, and his magic power ravaged the underground space, which resembled a torture chamber.

Throughout the entire process, Bray didn't even move an inch.

Several maids had appeared around Sack at some point, shielding him from the dust that was blowing in his face.

If it were Sark's previous reincarnation, he probably wouldn't have done something as pointless as kidnapping hostages.

But this time, he seems to have brought back a childlike heart.

It must be said that Sack never had any memory of "childlike innocence".

He didn't know how much this would change him.

After all, his awakening this time was unusually early, occurring in infancy.

A child's heart is pure.

Note that it is pure, not innocent.

"Where did Levy go?" Bray drew his sword and pointed it at Sark.

"Bang—" The maids' bullets shot towards Bray, sealing off all his escape routes.

However, there are still so-called gaps.

Because of this gap, Bray dodged all the bullets, his sword tip grazing past the maids and stabbing towards Sack.

The crimson magic seemed to be telling of Bray's overwhelming killing intent.

"Whoosh—" The spot where Sack had been standing was shattered by a single sword strike.

The instruments of torture around them shattered into pieces, their blood scattering to every corner.

However, Sark and his maids had already gone to another place.

“Don’t worry, Mr. Bray,” Sack sighed.

This seems a bit troublesome. Bray is too strong. If I hadn't been careful, I could have been killed instantly with a single sword strike.

Although the concept missile is powerful, it's all for nothing if it misses.