“Those Demonic Swords I forged, pouring every ounce of my resentment and fury into them... they were failures. Back then, I actually thought there was no point to any of it. I wondered if I was just wasting my time.”
Anhel couldn't hide her shock at Neid’s confession. To think that even he had once doubted the path he was on.
But that was a story from the past. Now, he radiated a terrifying certainty that his actions were righteous.
How had his mind become so warped? To the bewildered Anhel, Neid began to explain the catalyst for his descent.
“I used to think forging Demonic Swords was a waste of time. I told myself I should ignore the honeyed words of the freak who gave me this hammer and focus on making legitimate magic items. I believed that if I honed my craft—if I became a technician no Magic Knight could afford to ignore—it would elevate the status of every magic item engineer in the field. But I was quickly disabused of that naive notion.”
“...What happened?”
“I told you, didn’t I? I’m the one who was betrayed! That bastard Isaac... he stabbed me in the back! After everything I did for him, he tried to toss me aside like trash the moment you came along!”
An expression of pure humiliation and agony twisted Neid’s face as he let out a scream of tragic rage.
Because she remembered the exact moment he was referring to, Anhel’s expression grew grim.
“...You were watching us. You were nearby when he and I were talking.”
“Yeah, I was! Do you have any idea how miserable I felt in that moment?! You must have known, too, right? The reason Isaac tried to choose you wasn't because you’re more skilled than me. It’s because you’re a woman! Because you’re a pretty girl with big tits and a big ass! He was ready to discard me just to get his hands on you. No, Isaac never gave a damn about me from the start. I was just a placeholder until he could have you!”
As he finished his outburst, Neid collapsed to his knees.
To Anhel, whose heart ached at the sight of his pathetic state, he began to plead his case.
“I actually respected him. He gathered materials, he dealt with the people I hated... he did whatever I needed. And this is how he repaid me. When he turned his back on me, it finally clicked: every Magic Knight is exactly the same. Why should I slave away making tools for them? It’s ridiculous... No, from now on, I’m the one using them.”
Neid clenched his left fist, his arm trembling violently as he forced himself back to his feet.
When he looked up at Anhel, his face was that of a sinner who had hardened his heart with a resolution born of pure spite.
“I swung this hammer! Using the materials that bastard Isaac brought me, I forged Demonic Swords with every scrap of hatred, anger, and sorrow I could muster! I could feel my skills improving with every strike, and that sense of fulfillment drove me to forge even more. If I master this technique, I can... I can create the ultimate magic items that allow anyone to become the strongest human alive! When that happens, we won’t even need Magic Knights! Once I release the Demonic Swords I create, an era will come where anyone can reach the top without a single day of training!”
“That’s insane! If you do that, you’ll create a nightmare world where people driven mad by those swords slaughter each other! Is that really your ideal world, Neid?!”
“It’s not a problem. I’ll just rig the swords so the wielders move exactly as I command. We’ll turn every person alive into a marionette for us magic item engineers. That way, order is maintained, and our status becomes absolute. Isn’t it perfect?”
“Neid, you’re—!!”
You’re insane, Anhel wanted to scream.
But saying it would have been meaningless. The madness Neid wore now was far too deep to be described by such a cliché.
Demonic Swords that could manipulate the human heart and bring them under his control... Neid’s goal was to create a world where engineers ruled over humanity by perfecting those blades.
The despair of betrayal and the explosion of long-harbored resentment had given birth to a madness that sought to punish the entire world. He continued to scream as his delusions swelled.
“Yes, that’s right! I will become the Savior of Magic Item Engineers! I’ll use those pathetic Magic Knights to become the ruler of this world! Guha! Guhaha! Gugyagyagyagyagya!!”
“Nei... d...?”
As Neid laughed hysterically, his body was suddenly enveloped in the dark magic power radiating from the hammer in his hand.
Anhel stood speechless as she watched reason drain from his eyes and his voice warp into something monstrous. From within the shroud of mana, a transformed Neid stepped forward.
“Gihyahahahahah! I feel... incredible! I can do anything! I’m invincible!!”
It was the same reddish-black magic power Anhel had seen far too often lately.
Neid had become a massive, muscular ogre with skin the color of dried blood. A single, giant eye twitched in the center of his face as he let out a guttural roar. Even the hammer had grown in tandem with his frame. Now a Cyclops—a one-eyed giant ogre—he stood there, intoxicated by the sheer euphoria of his new power.
If Isaac had been awake to witness this, he likely would have felt a specific message echo directly into his mind.
Following Rush, a cruel notification announcing that another human had fallen and become a monster resonated through the void before vanishing.
The Destiny of Neid Gahn has vanished. He has left your party and can never be made an ally again.