I Became a Ruined Character in a Dark Fantasy-Chapter 369

"Sorry? Oh, yes," Lucia replied, blinking in confusion before nodding.

"At least, that's what I know," she added as Ian adjusted his posture, setting the liquor bottle down and placing the cigarette between his lips.

Lucia straightened her posture as well and continued.

"I read the records from the first erosion. It said the Black Wall didn’t stabilize again for nearly three years. And it was that same year that another martyrdom expedition was organized."

"Nearly three years?"

"There weren’t exact dates recorded, though."

So, over two years at least, Ian thought, exhaling a plume of smoke as he finally regained his composure.

Even in the game, he had only crossed the Black Wall well after an erosion occurred. At the time, he had been traveling to the capital when the North fell. He then survived the chaos on the front lines, completing several quests along the way. After briefly venturing into the western part of the Empire, he returned to the front lines—where he eventually fought the Apostle of the Heaven Defier.

Using the talisman key he had obtained from that fight, he discovered the entrance to the tomb where the Heaven Defier was sealed.

Come to think of it, that seal looked nothing like Archeas’s Mantra.

It seemed likely that the Heaven Defier had created it as the cracks in its seal expanded, a mechanism designed to allow its Apostles to move freely.

It was a reasonable guess. It served as a suitable obstacle to prevent players from encountering the Heaven Defier too early. At the same time, it meant Archeas’s prediction had been spot-on.

Not that it matters right now.

Ian picked up the liquor bottle again.

Even so, he hadn’t expected the timeline to stretch beyond a year at most. This far exceeded his assumptions.

“Is this good news?” Lucia's voice continued, her expression blank with confusion as she blinked slowly. She had completely stopped eating her jerky.

“At the very least, it’s not the worst-case scenario,” Ian replied, taking another sip of his drink before leaning slightly toward Lucia. “I’ve never told anyone this, but—”

He gently placed the jerky back in her mouth and continued in a low whisper. “The Platinum Dragon is preparing to bring down the Black Wall, Lucy.”

Lucia’s eyes widened in an instant. “There’s a way to destroy the Wall? You know how, Sir Ian?”

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"No. But I know it's found some sort of solution. Besides, the Platinum Dragon was also worried that I might cross the Black Wall."

A memory of Ian's last encounter with Archeas flashed through his mind, along with snippets of their conversation.

"If I crossed the Black Wall, it said it would hasten its preparations. Of course, even then, it won’t be finished in a short time. It’ll take a while. Probably a few years."

"A few years!" As if instantly grasping the underlying meaning of Ian's words, Lucia let out a soft gasp.

Faintly smiling, Ian flicked the ash from his cigarette. "That’s why, perhaps, the Wall collapsing might happen sooner than someone crossing it to look for us. Even if it takes longer, the difference wouldn’t be all that significant."

"So if we can just survive until then..." Lucia’s voice regained some warmth. "...we might actually make it back safely, right?"

It must have been a glimmer of hope. Perhaps she had resigned herself to the thought of spending the rest of her life in this Land of Death, even if they managed to endure.

But Ian continued. “Yes. Though whether it’ll truly be safe is another question.”

“What?” Lucia froze, her words caught in her throat.

Ian placed the cigarette back in his mouth and spoke again."Chances are, its way of doing things will cause some pretty big side effects."

“Side... effects?”

"Breaking the boundary of the continent’s largest demonic realm from the outside by force—that’s bound to have consequences. It had originally intended to take the time to figure out how to minimize those effects...."

Ian exhaled a long puff of smoke, flicking ash from his cigarette.

"But now that I’m gone, it won’t bother caring about things like that anymore."

Lucia’s lips parted slightly as Ian took a swig from the bottle. Even now, his modern instincts urged him to focus only on survival. Yet, from experience, he knew the Platinum Dragon’s methods would inevitably have severe repercussions. In the end, it would be nothing more than a temporary reprieve from death.

If he hadn’t gotten involved, it might have been different. But now that the situation had spiraled out of control, he had no choice but to resolve it on his own—both to ensure his survival and to see the damn ending of this accursed mess.

"Are you certain there will be side effects?" As Ian set the bottle down and brought the cigarette back to his lips, Lucia finally asked.

Ian nodded. "Yeah. I can’t say what exactly will happen, but it’s certain."

Lucia was silent for a moment. She was likely imagining something similar to Ian—terrible monstrosities like the one they had encountered earlier roaming the continent, the chaos and madness within the Wall spilling over and enveloping the land.

"So, if we want to return without side effects... that means we’ll have to...."

Unable to finish, Lucia’s lips quivered as if forming the words. Ian, deeply inhaling smoke from his cigarette, sighed and completed the thought for her.

"Yeah. We’ll have to find a way to seal the demonic realm."

“You’re serious.” Lucia let out a resigned sigh. It must have felt like being thrown back and forth between hope and despair.

“Still, it’s not the worst-case scenario. Thanks to you, we know we have a few years to work with. And even if we ultimately fail—”

Ian forced a faint smile. "As long as we survive, we’ll still be able to return eventually."

Ian was certain that the scenario of the Platinum Dragon destroying the Wall had existed in the game as well. It was likely an event that ramped up the difficulty afterward—perhaps the monsters became far stronger, or something similar.

After all, the game had been meticulous when it came to making things hell for the player.

Regardless, Ian’s attempt to provide comfort didn’t seem to have much effect.

Lucia’s expression had returned to its usual blankness as she asked, "Do you have any ideas for how to do that?"

“No. Not yet, not at all,” Ian replied bluntly, tearing off a piece of jerky from the stash in the box and offering it to her.

"But one thing's for sure—you need to finish your meal and get some rest afterward."

Lucia remained silent for a moment, her lips brushing against the jerky in her mouth before she finally took it into her hand.

A quiet meal ensued. But the silence was only external—neither of their minds were truly at rest. Ian, alternating between his drink and cigarette, was no exception.

So, does that mean Paladins and Acolytes have to progress through Chapter Four with no holy skills? Like how Mages fall into magic addiction? No, that’s way too restrictive.

Of course, the thoughts racing through his head were things Lucia couldn’t even imagine.

I really should’ve read through those guides all the way.

But unlike usual, he wasn’t arriving at any clear conclusions this time. No matter how much he tried to recall, he had little knowledge of what happened beyond Chapter Four, including its quests.

That was only natural. The only reason he had ever looked up guides was because he had reached a point where he could no longer progress in the game. His focus had been entirely on identifying where he had gone wrong in building his character or making previous decisions.

Moreover, he had intentionally avoided spoiling himself on the story’s later developments. Knowing too much ahead of time would’ve taken the fun out of it, and back then, he could always refer to the guide whenever necessary. He’d never considered the possibility that he might lose access to it forever.

It’d be nice to have a quest or two right about now.

He checked again just in case, but as expected, there were no new quests. It wasn’t something to be particularly disappointed about—after all, Aquilonia had always been a game that prided itself on being a semi-open world.

As one explored, quests would inevitably appear in some form, and resolving them naturally progressed the main storyline. While it gave the illusion of freedom, the story was actually quite linear, offering only a handful of choices that ultimately funneled back into the main plot.

Even now, with a different starting point and timeline, this seemed to hold true. To uncover a lead, there was no choice but to press forward—into the heart of this vast demonic realm, overflowing with demons and monsters either consumed by madness or slowly being devoured.

Damn it.

Ian exhaled the last of his cigarette and opened his eyes. That was when he noticed Lucia was still looking at him. She had already finished the jerky without him realizing.

"If you’re done eating, go to sleep. Your body still needs to recover."

“You still have something left to explain.”

“Does it have to be now?”

"I have something I need to confirm."

Ian sighed quietly before finally speaking. “There’s a presence that visits me in dreams sometimes. I saw it again when I crossed the Wall.”

“Is it related to the chaos within you?” Lucia asked cautiously.

She’s already come to terms with me being a fusion, hasn’t she?

Ian thought wryly and shook his head.

“No. It’s entirely unrelated. Like I said, I don’t even know its name.”

Ian briefly explained how the fragment had merged with Swamp’s Resentment.

Despite the truncated explanation, Lucia seemed satisfied. "I knew it. I thought it was all too much of a coincidence. If they've been keeping an eye on you, Ian, everything makes sense. There couldn't be a better opportunity to corrupt you than now."

“Perhaps,” replied Ian. Though he knew its true intentions were something else entirely,

Lucia's voice followed. “If what the fragment said is true, wouldn’t it help us find a solution? It might know things we don’t.”

So this was her main point, Ian thought, letting out a faint, involuntary laugh.

"That’s not exactly the kind of thing I’d expect an Apostle of the Blazing Goddess to say. Are you serious?"

"This isn’t the time to play polite. Besides, no matter how much that fragment tries to tempt you, I can’t imagine you falling for it. Even after merging with chaos, you didn’t let it taint you, Sir Ian."

"Thanks for saying that, but don’t get your hopes up. It’s just a fragment, after all. It’s unlikely to offer much real help."

Ian already knew the creature in his dreams wasn’t appearing in its true form. If it had, his mind wouldn’t have been able to withstand it. That meant this thing was nothing more than a crumb of its avatar.

"Don’t worry, I won’t be disappointed. Even the smallest help—or just a clue—would be enough," Lucia replied.

Well, if that’s the case.

Ian’s lips curled into a faint smile as he reached into his pocket dimension.

He had no intention of keeping the fragment locked away forever, either. And since Lucia had brought it up first, there was no reason to refuse.

Pulling his hand back out, he opened his palm to reveal a glossy black snake. Its obsidian-like eyes reflected the light from his cigarette, glimmering faintly.

“So, did you enjoy the view?” Ian asked.

—Honestly, not at all. It was like a small abyss, endlessly repeating itself.

A languid whisper slithered into Ian’s mind.

—Worse yet, there were revolting things floating around. You hid them well, but the stench remains unavoidable.

It must have been referring to the dark relic. Ian's smirk deepened slightly. Now that he knew what it hated, manipulating it would become much easier.

—Still, I must say, it’s remarkable... owning a space this isolated. Such a thing shouldn’t be within the power of a mere mortal.

Of course not—it’s the authority of the status window.

Internally muttering to himself, Ian’s smile grew sharper. "Looks like you really know nothing. You didn’t even receive proper memories of me."

The fragment hesitated, albeit for only a moment.

—Well, you’ve caught me. I didn’t expect you to figure it out so quickly.

The whisper carried a nonchalant chuckle, oblivious to the fact that Ian’s comment had only been a confirmation of what he already suspected.

Ian snorted softly and glanced at Lucia before turning his attention back to the fragment.

"Can you make your whispers audible to her?"

—Of course, I can.

It replied eagerly, flicking its tongue.

—All it takes is your permission. My vessel is bound to you, after all. You’re the center of the connection, which means I would need to establish a new...

"Skip the theory and just explain the method. Keep it simple." Ian cut it off, his brow furrowing slightly.

—... I’d need a sip of your blood imbued with magic. Then, I need to mark a blood sigil on the little lady.