[Silver Ash] - Become The Strongest In Another World
CHAPTER 127: Past tragedies (1)

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—Big church ruins in the center of Eisen.

Debris of shapeless rock scattered on the streets, making the streets made of concrete was damaged quite badly. In fact, some debris also fell into the canal so that the water channel there became jammed.

Obviously it will take a long time to repair all that.

The Earl looked at the surrounding apparitions with his face that displayed a concerned expression. Of course, out of everyone, he was the one who would feel the most impact.

The city that was in its shade had been attacked several times without stopping. Every time one attack occurred, another attack would appear and destroy the entire city that was supposed to be in the process of rebuilding.

Right now, the Earl was in the ruins of the church, staring at the large female statue that was still intact without any scratches in the slightest.

The statue of the beautiful woman was carved manually by the expert sculptors in Eisen. The statue was created as a sign of honor and worship of a god who had given them life.

Goddess Anastasia.

In Eisen, and throughout the kingdom of Nothing, the existence of the goddess Anastasia became the most revered, revered figure here.

Of course, past history is the greatest contributor to that high level of respect.

The Earl initially only believed in the existence of the goddess Anastasia to some degree, but he became very sure of her existence after witnessing firsthand the 'miracle' handed down by her a few days ago.

Even so, the Earl was now staring at the statue of the goddess Anastasia with an expressionless face. Very unusual for a worshipper who is praying.

That was of course, after all he did not come to this place to pray to the goddess Anastasia.

Shortly after, the figure he had been waiting for finally came from behind him.

The Earl turned around, and looked at the man.

His sturdy figure wore a gray-colored magician robe that seemed to blend with the surrounding scenery. His right hand held a long wooden stick, while his left hand carried a thick book with a leather cover decorated with several gems.

"You're really coming, huh? Nether."

That person, Terneth looked at the Earl with cold eyes without any of the slightest warmth that he usually emitted.

The end of his wand shone, and it touched the ground. Instantly, a huge magic circle was created in the air, locking them both up like a cage.

Earl smiled wryly.

"You don't have to be so careful. I'm not inviting you to fight."

The two Terneth's eyebrows clutched together, clearly displeased with the Earl's statement.

"Then? Is that what I think it is? "

"You can guess? Thank goodness you quickly understood," replied the Earl.

"Yes. But, I'll never answer you unless you ask me directly."

"That's of course."

The Earl chuckled, while Terneth was still hardening his expression. Shortly afterwards, the Earl spoke, "As you've guessed, the account is curious. The reason you're doing all this."

"You still asking? "

Contrary to the earnest and serious question of the Earl, Terneth instead replied with a mocking smile while snorting in annoyance.

"You're supposed to be the one who knows best why I'm doing all this."

" ……… "

Of course Earl knows that. Even so, he at least wanted to hope that this was all just his misunderstanding.

The Earl had always regarded Terneth as a competent, kind-hearted guild leader. Terneth had never disappointed his conjecture.

"Hey, Terneth. Answer me seriously. Why ... You're doing all this? "

" … Stupid question."

Terneth snorted in annoyance and intended to go out of the magic cage, but no matter what he did, he could not control the magic cage he made himself.

"Did you forget that I was one of the best candidates for the royal witch? "

" … Of course not. Your abilities always exceed mine in terms of magic."

"Then, you should know that you won't be able to leave this place at will. Ahh, of course you have a way to get out of this place."

"And? How-to? "

Earl's expression changed. He raised one corner of his lips, and gave a defiant smile to Terneth.

"You only have two ways. First, you have to explain why you're doing all this. And second, you have to kill me."

Whatever the choice is, only one can be chosen.

Terneth himself hated to admit it, but with his current strength, he would never be able to defeat the Earl.

Naturally, Terneth would choose the first option.

The Earl seemed to understand what Terneth was thinking. He now smiled and looked at Terneth with narrowed eyes, giving off an aura of intimidation that would make inexperienced people instantly faint.

"Traff me, Terneth. Why are you doing all this? "

"Why? You really still say that?! You're really ridiculous! You should know why I did this, right?! Or have you forgotten everything?! All the sins you made 27 years ago! "

Terneth laughed, but his anger was evident through that strange laughter.

"You're a real asshole. How could you possibly so easily give up your responsibility for it?! The hundreds of people you killed with your own hands, have you forgotten them?! "

" … I'm not .. Forgetting them. That's one of my biggest regrets."

Terneth's laughter became increasingly violent. He looked at the Earl with a face full of anger and eyes full of contempt.

"If you're really sorry about that, why are you still wearing that ring? " terneth asked while pointing at the ring that was paired on the Earl's thumb.

The ring has a beautiful blue-purple gem and has a black pattern in some parts. It was really a beautiful ring, as well as a very bad ring.

The Earl erased all the expressions on his face, and looked at Terneth with empty eyes.

"That ring, you know that it's made of them, right? If you're really sorry, why are you still wearing it? You also did nothing to take away all the sins you had."

" ……… "

"Looking at you living a normal, happy life for 27 years really sickens me. How could you possibly live so easily after committing such a one-sided massacre?! "

The Earl took a deep breath, and looked at Terneth with a sad face. He then spoke.

" … I admit that it was all part of my sin. But, I can't deny the orders from the superior. It's also a necessary thing to prevent the spread of that 'disease."

That was true, but somehow Eark felt that he was just trying to stretch himself using that excuse.

At that time, he had a choice. He has a choice between doing what he is told, or refusing the order. And as a result, he chose to do it.

He chose to dirty his own hands to prevent the spread of the plague that once infected thousands of people in the past.

About 28 years ago, a strange, unknown plague broke out in a town.

The outbreak is cited as one of the dark histories of the kingdom that will never be revealed to the public.

Polyhedral Orphiment Virus, or Polyment Virus. It is not known where the virus first appeared. What is clear is that the place with the widest spread of this virus is in one of the small kingdoms located between the Kingdom of Nothing, and the Alacylia Empire.

The virus was originally referred to as Apocalypse Virus because of its malignancy in killing and spreading.

It appeared all of a sudden, and it was also extremely deadly. The virus can kill an infected person in as little as 48 hours regardless of race or endurance.

Once a person is infected, he or she will die within 48 hours with nothing to do for treatment. Which makes it more terrible, there are absolutely no symptoms or signs of someone contracting this virus.

The only traces left behind were the bodies of the victims who were slowly growing strange crystals when their lives were only 12 hours away.

People who died from the virus, their bodies have crystallized completely, leaving no organic matter that makes up the normal human body. Not only the outer body, but even the inner organs would also turn into crystals.

The internal organs in the human body are important parts that support life. If that part were to turn into a crystal, that part would naturally lose its function, and would only become an ordinary organ-shaped crystal.

The crystal had an amazing appearance. With a mixture of dark blue, with a beautiful blackish purple, making many people so tempted when they first saw it. Many think that it is very worthy of being used as jewelry.

However, that was the opinion of people who did not know the reality of how terrifying the crystal was.

Due to its rapid spread, the virus easily infected everyone in the small kingdom.

Terneth walked leisurely and sat on one of the large rocks around him.

"I recently got a report that you sent two guild members to investigate the ruins. Did you tell me the whole incident? "

—Of course not, is what Earl wants to say.

He did give Noelle and Cryll details regarding the mission they were running, but the details had him manipulated in such a way that the two of them would not be able to sniff out what was really going on.

Most of what Earl told the two of them was true. But, there was an important part that he cut from that story.

That is, the fact about the cult that actually most of its followers are people with Polyment Virus.

They did die from banging their heads, but it was actually in their 70% crystallized state.

"You sent them both to find my whereabouts, but you shouldn't bother with that."

With those words, a powerful killing intent began to radiate from Terneth's sharply narrowed eyes.

"You're right about that, Terneth. But, doing something crazy like destroying this place, won't change anything. Everything that has happened in the past can never be changed."

"Of course I know that. But ... If I really can't change anything, at least I'll continue fighting the innocent people who were killed at the time! "

Due to its rapid spread, both the Kingdom and the Empire immediately took emergency action to overcome it.

Hundreds of researchers from various groups were deployed to investigate the virus, but all of that never came to fruition.

The futile research was continued for a year.

The number of people who have died from the virus has increased drastically in recent times, and it causes panic and fear among the surrounding population.

Genocide.

That was exactly 27 years ago. Back then, Earl Eisen still did not serve as an Earl, but rather one of the candidates for the royal magician. He received orders from the royal authorities to take part in the mission to exterminate those infected with the virus.

Not that he has to do it. At that time, he had the opportunity to refuse, but he had already made the decision to dirty his hands to prevent the further spread of the plague.

The process of genocide is proceeding in a horrible way. The country is drowning in chaos. Crystallized corpses littered the streets, and scavenger animals also sprang up.

He could not count how many people he had killed. In fact, among all the victims of the massacre, there were some people who were supposed to be his own relatives.

However, that is no reason to doubt. He still finished them off without any hesitation in his actions.

The genocide was indeed a terrible act, but it was also the only path they had to stop the spread of the virus.

But, that's not the most horrible part Terneth discusses.

In the process of genocide, not only the infected victims were killed, but almost all people who were not even infected were also killed indiscriminately.

Infants, children, adults, the elderly, men, and women. The process of genocide was carried out regardless of differences.

Perhaps, the only thing they thought of was a way to deal with the outbreak no matter how bloody it was.

"Terneth .. Is that really why you attacked the city? "

"About? How many more times do I have to answer that? "

"Then let me change my question. Are you ... Really doing this all of your own free will? "

This time Terneth narrowed his eyes, and smiled at the Earl.

"Do you think I'm being manipulated by someone? "

" ……… "

The Earl did not answer, but Terneth's guess was correct. The Earl already had several theories that could lead him to one big conclusion, and he was quite confident with that.

He looked as if he had seen the contents of his mind as the smile on his face grew deeper and deeper.

"Do you associate this with the Voyagers? "

The Earl's expression barely changed, but Terneth could clearly see the small movements his facial muscles were making.

Clearly he was surprised by Terneth's guess.

"It looks like I'm right, huh? Then, I must apologize for letting you down."

" … What do you mean? "

Terneth stood up and stared at the moon in the sky through the gap of the magic cage that locked him up.

"Nuko did a good job, huh … "

Nuko, it was the name of the strange person who had previously suddenly appeared in the Earl's office, and gave a threatening message.

"You must have thought that I was being controlled by the Voyagers, but the truth is not so."

Terneth then extended his arms, each holding a curved blade that looked very sharp.

"Antara Voyager, as well as the people who attacked here, are currently .. I have absolutely nothing to do with them. I ... Just make use of their existence."

With that, Terneth's figure suddenly disappeared and re-appeared right before the Earl, while swinging his knife right towards the neck.

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In the middle of a lush forest far from civilization, a man with light armour walked leisurely past the rocks and tree roots that filled his path.

Shortly after he passed through the road full of obstacles, he finally arrived at the place where his destination was.

"You've been a long time, Olpus."

There, he saw his comrades who were already waiting with impatient faces.

Olpus smiled wryly and walked up to them.

"There's a little bit of trouble in Rondo, I have to take care of it for a while."

"Rondo? What could happen in that place? "

"Yahh .. Not so important … "

Even Olpus also felt hesitant when it came to telling about Lucia's 'betrayal.

Therefore, he decided not to tell it to his comrades.

"Rather than that, what about Eisen? "

As soon as Olpus asked that, his comrades immediately smiled and laughed.

"You'd be surprised at how smooth it all is, Olpus. You should have come with us."

"Don't I tell you I have another job? Wellh, I heard there was another attack that happened during the day, is that disturbing? "

Olpus talked about rag-attacking by a figure called Nix Regina.

The attack carried out by Nix Regina herself had already inflicted terrible damage on Eisen. Olpus was worried that it would disrupt the plans they had been putting together for several years.

"To be honest, Nix Regina's whereabouts were not that disturbing. It's just .. Thanks to him, we have to launch the attack sooner than scheduled."

Olpus had indeed heard the news about it from his colleagues who were in Eisen, but still, he inevitably became curious about the figure called Nix Regina.

"Archon, yes .. Do you know which country he came from? "

They all shook their heads. However, there was one of his colleagues who made a small estimate about it.

"I don't know if this is true or not, but .. I think he's from Luveilia."

Olpus's eyes narrowed immediately. "Do you think that the dogs from Luveilia have reached this place? "

Under pressure from Olpus' gaze, the person giving the estimate became panicked for a moment, but he still tried to find an excuse to cover up the stupid conclusion he had made.

"That could happen, okay?! Even we can reach this place thanks to His Majesty who opened the way. It could be that the mutt took advantage of this opportunity and followed us! "

Even though he had obtained such a logical rebuttal, Olpus still did not believe it. More precisely, he did not want to believe it.

"If they're really following us, why don't we realize that at all? "

"That … "

There was no way they would want to say that they were all in such a careless state that they were unable to detect the group that was following them.

"Oh, you two. We still have a job after this."

"Ivan ... Do you think ... Will the presence of the enemy interfere? "

Olpus asked one of his colleagues who stopped his previous debate. Ivan, however, only snorted in annoyance upon hearing the question.

"If they interfere or not, we still have to carry out this task perfectly. We cannot tarnish His Majesty's good name with failure, and you understand that. We'd rather die than have to contribute failure to His Majesty."

He turned around, then touched his palm to the ground.

"All honor to Your Majesty."

Instantly, a huge crack formed in the space right before him. It features a scene that contrasts sharply with where it currently is.

The place behind the crack, Olpus thought it was terrible.

With a red sky filled with miasmas that resembled strange black clouds, and filled with disgusting muddy black rocks.

"As usual, this is disgusting."

The person who had argued with Olpus earlier was now frowning and showing a face of disdain as he stared at the space within the crack.

A few seconds later, a huge black shadow began to emerge from the crack, standing full of killing intent before Olpus and the others.

His figure was similar to that of a dog, but his size was completely unreasonable. The hairless black skin seemed to be covered by a disgusting black mud, while its wide mouth contained countless rows of sharp teeth.

There was something else that made Olpus more surprised when he saw the monster.

"Ivan, are you really .. Injecting the virus into the monster's body? "

The monster's body was overgrown by a blackish-purple crystal that made the monster's appearance become even more terrifying.

Olpus and the others naturally understood what Ivan had done to the monster.

Apocalypse Viruses.

Ivan smiled proudly at Olpus and the others. He looked at the experimental dog with a satisfied look.

"It takes thousands of experiments to get the perfect result I want. But, I finally achieved what was previously my goal."

"Haha .. No wonder they call you crazy, Ivan."

The one who had previously argued with Olpus, Ronandt was only able to laugh dryly while looking at Ivan with a stunned look.

Ivan, however, just kept putting on his smile and staring back at everyone.

"It was not in vain that I spread the Apocalypse Virus to the Gardiant settlement. Look at the results, I managed to perfect this! "

Everyone who is infected by the virus will die within 48 hours, it also applies to animals and monsters.

But, what would happen if one living entity managed to survive the virus? The answer is only one.

They will gain new abilities, according to the genetic code they have.

The person who created the heretical sect that was previously discussed by the Earl, was one of the entities that managed to survive the virus.

Ivan's eyes narrowed while a wide smile was still plastered on his face. Made him display a cruel expression.

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