A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

"I have a question for you first."

"Don't you hate the cursed ring?" Gurid showed off the ring he was wearing on his finger.

“I don’t have a ring,” Bray said, killing the conversation with a single sentence.

It's really frustrating. He doesn't actually have a ring, so he can't possibly empathize with you.

“…” Gurid remained silent for a few seconds.

“Those who uphold the precepts will not die easily, and if they encounter danger, someone will save them.”

“Of course, if someone else loses their life while trying to save you, there’s no way to blame the ring,” Gurid said.

"Don't tell me you've never encountered a situation like this before." The cold-blooded thief looked at Bray with chilling eyes.

"..." Gurid was right; he had indeed encountered such a situation before, and not just once or twice.

He even wondered if he was no different from the Grim Reaper who brought death.

“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I really hate this curse.”

"The tragedy of being born is because of the ring, and the pain of living is also because of the ring."

"Although I don't want to commit suicide, I hate that I don't even have the right to do so."

No one hates rings as much as Greed.

He spent his entire life rejecting rings and trying to break free from the constraints they imposed upon him.

He still appears to be living a normal life, seemingly able to do whatever he wants.

However, he understood that he was like a puppet on a play, actually being controlled by the will of the world.

The will of the world wants them to gradually embark on the path of saving the world, so those who uphold the precepts have no choice but to walk that path.

They thought they were living a carefree and unrestrained life, but little did they know it was all just a pipe dream.

"What does this have to do with the Aragami?"

“Of course there is. The completion of the black ring requires the ‘death’ of that Aragami.” Gurid looked at him meaningfully.

"Once the black ring is completed, the so-called 'destiny' on our rings will be divided equally."

"The final result is that the powerful 'destiny' is rendered ineffective."

"In the end, it becomes a blessing that can only bring 'luck' at best."

Marek's guidance throughout has certainly not been a random action.

To reiterate, he is not Jonathan; he won't do pointless things.

So far, all the instructions he has given to those five people have been to help them grow.

To be more precise, it's about letting the rings they wear grow.

The rings created by Marek were naturally not comparable to those of actual ring wearers at first glance.

However, if we keep filling in and enriching the content of the ring with concepts, one day we will be able to draw the true power from the ring.

Once a black ring is completed, the "destiny" effect of the corresponding ring will be severed.

Those who uphold the precepts and are unlikely to die easily will no longer have a "get-out-of-jail-free card".

Those who uphold the precepts and are constantly drawn into battle will also be freed from it.

At that moment, Gulid was truly free.

He was greedy and wanted everything in the world, but what he craved most was his own freedom.

For this purpose, Gullid was willing to cooperate with Marek.

Of course he knew about the "alliance of the gods," and of course he knew what those guys were after.

However, he was neither a philanthropist nor a hypocrite like Bray.

He wants to tell everyone that he is selfish, short-sighted, and greedy.

All actions, no matter how thorough, are ultimately for one's own benefit.

The safety of the world? Isn't this world already in chaos because of the Black Iron race's own desires?

The life and death of humankind? The darkness and war within the Black Iron race society have already killed enough people.

Therefore, he will ignore these "nice words".

He did everything for himself. After listening to Gureed's words, Bray could roughly understand why the other man was stopping him.

"Do you think those people can defeat the Aragami?" Bray asked the most pointed question.

Indeed, can those who wield the black rings truly defeat the Aragami?

The Aragami are not some Tom, Dick, or Harry that can be easily trampled upon.

"Who knows?"

"Anyway, all I know is that if you solve that problem, the ring can't be perfected."

Bray still didn't understand what this "killing the Aragami to complete the ring" mechanic meant.

But when Bray saw Gullid gradually go from calm to madness, he knew this was not going to end well.

“Sorry, 'Whirlwind'.” Tristie apologized to Bray first, then unleashed a spell without any hesitation.

A strong wind whipped up dust that tried to obstruct Bray's vision.

"Lauren Tina." In the instant the wind rose, at Gurid's command, Laurentina, who had been hiding, flipped down from behind the wall.

"Boom!!!" The little girl in the heavy military uniform didn't hesitate for a moment and threw a pink punch at Bree.

The small fist, with just a swing, made a sound as it cut through the air.

However, Bray effortlessly dodged all of these raging attacks.

"I'm sorry." After the attack, Laurentina grabbed her large hat and apologized to Bray in the same unchanging tone.

"Well, you don't need to apologize." Anyway, it's like the villain, that's Greed.

“I bet you were only after that tower in the first place,” Bray asked Gureed as he dodged the attack.

"You guessed right, the situation with the black ring was a complete surprise."

"An unexpected surprise? I don't think it's a surprise at all," Bray said helplessly, then slashed his sword to the side.

"Clang!" The blood-red dagger clashed with the sword blade.

But the dagger shattered instantly, while Bray's sword continued its relentless attack on Gurid.

"..." But for some reason, the longsword's attack suddenly stopped, and Bray bent down and moved to the other side.

"Boom!!!" An arrow pierced the bricks where Bray had been standing.

"Headache." Bray dislikes gang fights, he really dislikes them.

He stopped his attack because he was forced to by that arrow.

"You've gotten stronger again. How can you keep getting stronger?" Gurid laughed wildly, pulling a worn-out gun from his waist.

The previous Bray wasn't strong enough to easily shatter the Blood Dagger of Gurid with a single sword strike.

From the sword strike that shattered the dagger, Gurid could tell that his opponent hadn't used much of their strength at all.

It's really interesting that the growth of a person who observes the precepts is indeed limitless.

Just like him.

"I really can't understand what motivates you to keep getting stronger." Gurid was completely caught up in a frenzy, his pistol reloading so fast it was almost invisible.

"Why!!!!!"

"Don't suddenly go berserk." Bray couldn't stand Gurid's mood swings.

One second he might be incredibly calm, and the next he could go completely berserk.

"Do you have a problem with that, Blakelas!" With a contorted expression, Gureed pulled the trigger, and the bullet shot out.

"Why do you rebel?! Why are you willing to be imprisoned by fate?!"

"Why are you still getting stronger!"

"What are you doing protecting the world? You think you can protect the world?!"

Gurid couldn't understand why Bray, as a monastic, could treat his own situation so calmly.

Like a ridiculous toy, manipulated by fate, living a life where everything moves according to the will of the world.

Whether it's one's own life or death, or the life or death of those around them, everything can be predetermined.

Why is this guy still so calm?

Is this guy really trying to be some kind of comical savior?

However, Goodrid was wrong, completely wrong.

He should understand perfectly well that Bray never considered such an "arrogant" idea as saving the world.

Gullid should know very well that Bray has many similarities to him.

Similar, yet different.

“I already said—” Bray opened his right eye with dissatisfaction, trying to make his dead fish eye look full of anger.

“I don’t have a ring.” The civilized Bray finally couldn’t help but resort to vulgarity.

"Wind God Style" "Stopping the Wind"

With a single slash, all obstacles in front of him were cut through.

The whirlwind stirred up by Tristia's spell also came to an abrupt halt.

As a result, the magic circle that Gurid had previously set up to disperse bystanders also became ineffective.

"Greed, the magic circle has failed," Tristia reminded Greed.

Without that magic circle, fighting like this would attract too much attention.

"It doesn't matter anymore." Gurid calmed his frantic emotions and regained his composure.

However, Gulid's words didn't sound very calm either.

“But if you attract the attention of this country, your actions will be restricted,” Tristie reminded her again.

“I already said, it doesn’t matter,” Gureed said in a cold tone.

"Let's just fight here." With the ring, Bray probably won't be killed by him.

However, for some reason, he now has an intense urge to fight Bray.

Of course, preventing Bray from going to the Wild God was one aspect.

The most important aspect is his dissatisfaction; it seems he and Bray are simply incompatible.

Before meeting Bray, he didn't have any particularly strong emotions, but after interacting with Bray, everything was different.

It's like... Gureed is rejecting Blakeras.

Laurentina, Tristina, and Gureed formed a pincer movement, surrounding Bray.

But even when surrounded, Bray didn't panic. His expression was as calm as still water.

There was no use in worrying about the Aragami, because Gurid was determined to stop him.

So he only had one choice at that moment, which was to fight until the very end and no one could stop him.

Only then can we start thinking about the Aragami.

That's right, it's that simple. Just have a fight, no need to overthink it.

Anyway, he's not some guy with an IQ of 600.

However, there was one thing Bray really wanted to know.

"Thief, is the gun in your hand also stolen?" Bray stared with his right eye at the old, badly damaged magic gun in Gurid's hand.

“You’re wrong about that.” Gurid gripped the gun, continuously channeling magic into it.

"I found this at a street stall."

"Is that so? That's not bad." Bray nodded.