I Became a Ruined Character in a Dark Fantasy-Chapter 468

"If that's what this voice is called, yes, I can hear it," Seren answered dazedly, then slowly turned her head to Lucia. "It's a bit unclear, like a sound echoing in a cave, but I can hear it."

"How in the world..." Lucia let out a quiet, astonished gasp.

At that moment, a soft laugh echoed in their minds.

—It seems she's picking up the reverberation reflected by your chaos, my friend. Like an echo, you could say.

As the whisper continued, Lucia and Seren both turned their eyes back to Ian—more precisely, to Yog perched on his shoulder.

—Fascinating. I didn't expect this myself.

So now I'm a transmitter, huh?

Ian gave a short, dry laugh. Whatever it was, it was clearly a side effect of his chaos seeping into Seren's stigmata.

"That snake—Yog, was it? What exactly is it?" Seren's hesitant voice trembled slightly.

Meeting her wide, unblinking gaze—almost like a monster's—Ian shrugged slightly. "My familiar. As you can see."

"A familiar?"

Ian had assumed that would be enough explanation, but Seren's eyes only narrowed in confusion. With eyes that large, every shift in her expression felt all the more pronounced.

"I thought taming a magical creature with the intelligence to speak was impossible... In fact, I didn't even know such a creature existed until now."

Was that part of the setting?

Ian nodded faintly. Now that he thought about it, both Moro and the original Swamp's Resentment had also been intelligent to a degree. Beings beyond that level were more accurately termed vassals or servants, not familiars.

—If you look at it broadly, you're technically the Crown Prince's familiar too, halfwit.

Yog's sneering whisper slithered just then. Its obsidian eyes locked onto Seren as its purple tongue flicked the air.

—But you're right. I'm not a normal creature. I am something beyond what your kind could even dream of naming.

"Hey," Ian cut it off flatly, turning his gaze to his right shoulder. "Shut it."

—If you insist.

Still chuckling to itself, Yog fell silent, only its forked tongue flicking lazily.

Great. Now I have to babysit this snake's mouth too.

Clicking his tongue internally, Ian turned back to Seren, his brow faintly furrowed. "Do you still have questions?"

She met his hollow gaze for a moment before lowering her eyes. "Forgive me. That was out of line."

At last, Seren bowed her head. "I have no right to demand an explanation, nor is the Agent of the Saint obliged to give one."

Her overly respectful tone felt strangely at odds with her towering presence.

Ian gave a slight shrug. "No need to apologize. Curiosity isn't a crime."

"Honestly, given the circumstances, I can't blame her," Lucia added gently.

Much like Ian, she seemed to like the Black Lion's attitude. Of course, that they'd risked their lives fighting side by side was likely one of the reasons she'd grown fond of Seren.

"Thank you for understanding. Thanks to this, I've once again broadened my perspective," Seren added with a slightly sheepish smile. It resembled a human's but still carried a faint, eerie undertone.

—You're alive thanks to my advice, so you'd better treat me with the respect I deserve, halfwit.

Yog added smugly.

Seren blinked in surprise, then hesitantly moved her lips. "I see... In that case... I offer you my thanks, Yog."

It was clear the act of conversing with a familiar was foreign to her.

Unlike her, Ian wore a faint smirk at the edge of his mouth.

Its wordplay never ends.

It had been Yog, after all, who first whispered for him to taint Seren's stigmata with chaos. Ian had no intention of voicing that now, but the irony still made his head ache.

—Very polite. I like that. In that spirit, let me give you a heads-up. You'd best be careful from now on.

At Yog's lazy drawl, Seren's brow tensed slightly. "What do you mean?"

—If you can hear me, that means you're more closely attuned to Ian now than your original master. Right now, you can't even resonate with the Crown Prince anymore, can you?

Seren's eyes widened until they nearly tore at the edges, her pupils sharpening to dagger points.

—Who knows? Maybe you'll never be able to return to him again even if you want to.

Yog gave a soft, mocking chuckle as if hoping that would happen.

Seren froze, her entire body stiffening. Ian's brow furrowed deeper. For a moment, a strange silence fell over the group.

"So in the end." Diana's voice broke the quiet.

She had completely turned around by now, slowly backing away with narrowed eyes. "I'm the only one who can't hear that snake's voice."

Yog's laughter grew a little louder.

—Say the word, pointy ears. Anytime you want.

Lucia translated the whisper with a deadpan expression. To everyone's surprise, Diana actually paused, conflicted—then shook her head, as if tossing the thought aside.

"That's not what matters right now. We've waited long enough." Her gaze returned to Lucia. "So tell me, Lucifer. No matter where we go—what does that mean, exactly?"

"Ah, right. Umm..." Lucia hesitated, glancing at Ian.

Seren, still frozen in place, finally blinked as if just remembering what Yog had said. So shaken by the fact that the serpent could speak, she'd overlooked the content of its words entirely.

"You heard it right," Ian said, his face returned to its usual expressionless calm. "The chaos I carry is too large. It's going to be hard to avoid drawing its attention."

"Even if we don't enter Yanar Tash's domain directly," Lucia added in a quiet tone.

Diana finally stopped walking then. Ian and Moro halted a few steps behind her.

With a deep scowl, she muttered, "I was hoping I misheard. So there's no such thing as a safe path."

Ian nodded simply. "Right. If this thing is right."

"Ha... Fuck..." Diana sighed, tipping her head back slightly, eyes shut tight.

Her shoulders sagged so heavily it was like her whole body had surrendered to resignation. "I knew it. Had a bad feeling from the start."

"Well, look on the bright side," Ian said dryly. "Now we don't have to waste time weighing options. We just go straight through the desert."

Diana's shoulders rose and fell once. Her eyes stayed closed.

"I felt it when we faced Inaskurgl as well." Seren's voice came next, calm and clear. "Now I understand why you're called a Superhuman, Agent of the Saint. That composure, that boldness reminds me of His Highness."

She seemed genuinely moved. Looking at Ian with quiet awe, she added, "I may be in disgraceful shape now, but I'll still give everything to help. Even if it costs my life, I won't feel ashamed."

"I hope that's not your way of saying you'd rather die than become one of my vassals," Ian responded, a faint smirk hinted.

Seren bowed her head respectfully. "Of course not. My loyalty belongs wholly to His Highness. I only hope to repay even a fraction of your grace, Agent of the Saint."

"And besides, maybe that's the safest approach anyway," Lucia interjected softly. "Even if that thing senses Sir Ian's presence, there's still a chance it won't leave its territory, right? That's what you said about Bukikia."

—Hmm. I don't know. Hard to imagine it ignoring a juicy meal like this. Especially in a place that doesn't exactly look rich in prey.

No one responded to Yog's whisper this time.

A heavy silence followed until Diana let out a sigh so deep it might have sunk into the ground beneath her. "Right. If we're going to die anyway..."

Her head turned slowly. The red-stained sky, the black wasteland stretching beneath it.

"We may as well go down swinging. Just like always." She turned to face the heart of that wasteland. Despite her words, her steps carried the weight of someone walking into a slaughter.

As Ian gave a dry chuckle and glanced toward Moro, tilting his head, Seren's quiet voice followed. "In that case, I have a small request."

Catching Ian's gaze, she gave a slightly sheepish smile and shifted her posture. "Would you mind letting me down now?"

She was still bound at the front of Moro's saddle.

Ian looked her over and replied dryly, "You don't look like you're in any condition to walk."

"I believe I'll manage. My neck's just a bit stiff, that's all."

"Hmm." Ian scratched his chin, then gave Moro a subtle signal.

The beast huffed and began turning its body.

Ian walked up alongside it and added, "Before that, there's something I want to ask you."

Seren blinked, confused.

Ian met her gaze and shrugged slightly. "What do you know about the archdemon, Yanar Tash?"

***

Shrrk, shrrk—

Moro stepped onto the black slope, each step scattering dry sand down its surface. The whole hill was a vast dune.

"I'll go with her," Seren spoke quietly, then moved to catch up with Diana striding ahead.

From the saddle, Ian watched Seren's back disappear up the incline. She looked anything but well. Her deep-blue hair was a mess and her full plate armor torn in multiple places. Even intact parts were so dented and warped they rattled when she walked.

She didn't even have her sword—just a short blade borrowed from Diana, barely a dagger in her oversized hands. Yet her steps up the dune seemed light. Only a day ago she had limped, but after just one night's rest, even that had vanished.

No wonder she'd volunteered to help scout. Definitely not human recovery speed. And she ate barely more than I did.

The thought made Ian let out a dry chuckle. It wasn't just Seren who was abnormal. Diana also survived on astonishingly little food and water—only slightly more than Ian, who subsisted on one jerky piece and a sip of water.

Lucia, since taking the sacred blood, had regained most of her Apostle-level endurance. Even Moro hadn't eaten for days, sustained only by Ian's occasional chaos energy infusion. Yet the beast showed no fatigue as it trudged up the dune.

If nothing gets in our way, we really might cross the desert before our supplies run out.

However, that was only if the rest of the journey went without incident. Ian wasn't naïve enough to expect that.

Ever since escaping the rift, he'd felt a strange, persistent unease. At first, he thought it was a lingering dread from being buried underground, but even now, it hadn't left. Chances were, it wouldn't fade until they were far, far beyond this desert.

"This time, I don't think we need to change direction again."

"I agree, Sir Diana."

The fairy and the half-demon stood close together at the top of the dune, deep in discussion as they surveyed their surroundings. Their eyes scanned the sky that was streaked with rust-red like scattered clay dust as they earnestly debated the next route forward.

—Look at them go. All that effort for nothing.

Coiled atop Moro's head, Yog whispered flatly.

Every now and then, the Moro shook its mane in irritation, but Yog never wobbled—clearly treating this as amusement during a dull travel stretch.

I still need to dig around in that thing's head.

Ian smacked his lips, staring at the snake's small, smooth skull. There were several conversations he'd been forced to postpone since Seren started hearing Yog's whispers.

After all, she was Hyked's knight. They had fought together, staked their lives—but Ian still couldn't be certain that Hyked wouldn't eventually become an enemy. He still had no idea of Hyked's ultimate goal.

Just then, the saddle beneath him shifted slightly upright.

"Wow." Lucia's voice came from the front. She sat with Ian's cloak pulled over her head, leaning lightly against his chest.

Snapping from his thoughts, Ian finally turned his gaze forward. Beneath the rust-colored sky, a vast sea of dark dunes rolled outward like waves—a black desert stretching endlessly before them.

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