Grasping and Shaking Weaknesses (1)

"You useless fool!"

With a sharp slap, my vision spun. My cheek burned hot.

'What, what’s going on? Why did I get hit?'

I was reading a book in the room when suddenly...

I cradled my cheek and turned my head.

"How long do you plan to live like this?"

A man, appearing to be in his mid-forties, glared at me.

'Who is he?'

I had never seen this person before.

His features were unfamiliar. Especially his eyes, the color of a tropical sea.

'Where am I?'

I subtly rolled my eyes to look around.

A thick carpet on the floor, a massive curtain covering one wall entirely, and a desk piled high with documents in front of it.

'An office?'

It felt like a room that overwhelmed people, just like the man standing in front of me.

Blue hair and a solemn expression. A tall figure that seemed always ready to look down on others, with a physique that belied his age.

The aura emanating from him pressed down on me.

"If you have something to say, then say it."

A cold voice fell into my ear.

"......"

Naturally, I had nothing to say.

I didn’t even know who he was or why I was here.

"Abel."

I flinched at the man's call.

'Abel?'

That wasn’t me. My name is definitely,

"Abel, hurry up!"

He didn’t even give me time to gather my thoughts.

Reluctantly, I opened my mouth.

"I don’t understand what you’re saying."

"You brat!"

A thunderous voice poured out.

"Are you still not aware? Do you really not know what you did wrong?"

The man pounded his chest in frustration.

"How can you be so short-sighted...!"

It was I who felt frustrated.

Having been slapped out of nowhere and now receiving a scolding meant for someone else.

"Um..."

"Please, have some awareness. Do you still want to carry the name Kindrial?"

"No..."

"Not a single day goes by quietly. Do you really want to see your father dying?"

No, he wouldn’t let me speak.

I grumbled inwardly and flinched.

'Wait a minute. Abel Kindrial?'

That name was definitely familiar.

'Where have I seen it?'

Just as I was trying to recall,

"Lord!"

The office door burst open, and a knight rushed in. He bowed his head with a frantic expression.

"I’m sorry, my lord. It’s urgent."

"......Understood."

The man nodded silently. After gesturing for the knight to leave, he turned to me.

"Stay in your room for now."

"What?"

"Did you not understand? I said to stay in your room."

No, stay in my room? What era do you think this is...

The man brushed past me.

"Go."

He had already donned the helmet that was on the desk in the office. An item that a medieval knight would wear.

As the man opened the door, the knight standing outside bowed his head.

"My lord."

"What type?"

He asked in a tone that suggested he didn’t need to hear the details. The knight immediately understood the abbreviated question and answered.

"There are twenty trolls."

"What about the damage?"

"They have already breached the walls. There are quite a few soldiers underneath. The survivors are doing their best to hold them off."

A deep groan escaped the man’s lips. He fluttered his cloak and disappeared from view.

"No, wait."

I stood blankly in front of the door. Two armed men approached me.

"Young master."

They spoke with expressionless faces.

"It is the lord's command. Please go to your room."

...Where is my room? No, more importantly, I’m not Abel.

But there was no time to say anything.

Step, step.

The men approached me with hardened expressions.

"Hey, wait—"

"Let’s go."

They firmly grabbed my arms. Before I knew it, I was being dragged away.

"No, I’m Abel—"

"Be quiet."

The two men shoved me into the room without mercy.

"Ugh!"

I was thrown onto the plush carpet. By the time I got up, the door was already closing.

Thud!

"…Huh?"

What was that? Was that the sound of the door locking?

"Hey!"

I twisted the doorknob, but it wouldn’t budge.

"No, what’s going on?"

Is the door really locked from the outside?

I sat down on the floor, bewildered.

‘What is happening?’

The situation unfolded without giving me a chance to react.

‘Abel Kindrial, lord, trolls, medieval times.’

Strange words swirled in my head. I stood up and looked around the room.

There was a massive bed that could easily fit three people and luxurious wooden furniture.

"…This isn’t my room."

There were no life-support devices or complex machines, nor any IV drips.

What kind of interior would a castle built hundreds of years ago have? The room was filled with a heavy atmosphere.

Then, at the edge of my dazed gaze, I spotted a mirror.

"-!"

I was horrified when I saw my reflection in the mirror.

Blue hair just like the man who slapped me earlier, and eyes that were a lilac color, as if stained with flower petals.

My slightly pale face was strikingly handsome, and my sharply upturned eyes glimmered.

"What the…?"

Staring blankly at my reflection, I reached out with trembling fingers. The cold, smooth surface felt real.

It was an incredibly lifelike, almost surreal sensation.

"My body…"

I shuddered as I looked at the hand resting on the mirror. My long fingers looked strong, and my skin was flawless and elastic.

"…My body is fine."

After standing frozen for a moment, I finally stepped back from the mirror.

‘Abel Kindrial.’

With this appearance and this name...

"Could it be?"

Drawn by something, I crossed the room. The room was so large that it took a while to reach the balcony.

Creak.

With a small sound, the transparent glass door opened.

"…!"

My eyes trembled as I looked down from the balcony.

Far below, I could see a village with houses and shops clustered together. In the distance, a massive mountain loomed beyond my line of sight.

"…This is the Ovest territory."

And I must be in the castle at the center of the village, which is why it’s so high up.

A group of soldiers ran across the drawbridge connecting the castle and the village. The man at the front, riding a black horse, wore a familiar helmet.

"My father…"

If what I heard earlier is true, he was definitely heading out to confront the trolls.

"No, this isn’t some fantasy novel."

A hollow laugh faded from my lips.

‘A fantasy novel?’

My heart sank. As I casually shifted my gaze, I spotted a massive lake.

In the center of the lake was an island. On that island stood a solemn building meant for funerals.

I knew the name of that building.

‘Magna Mortem.’

A place to honor the soldiers who died protecting this territory. And a place where countless deaths and grievances gathered to summon the root of destruction for this land.

‘Requiem…’

As several facts came together, a certain word rose from my memory.

< The Ruler of the Red Flame >

It was a famous fantasy novel that I had read multiple times. In it, Abel Kindrial was...

"The worst, the strongest final boss."

A figure that would become an unprecedented disaster, causing the highest number of casualties in the history of the empire.

And that was me now.

"Shit."

Curses slipped out involuntarily.

"I’m Abel Kindrial?"

Even when I clenched my fist, the trembling wouldn’t stop.

It was no wonder. I knew the fate of Abel in the novel.

In < The Ruler of the Red Flame >, there were four legendary swords.

Collectively known as the Swords of the Four Seasons.

Renowned swordsmen sought these swords with great desire, and scholars debated their existence.

This was confirmed when a pitch-black sword descended in the middle of the Ovest territory.

The Sword of Autumn, Requiem.

This sword was associated with terrifying nicknames such as the Whirlwind of Void, the Seed of Calamity, and the Life Thief.

Among them, the most famous and well-known was...

"The Sword of Death…"

The term that most definitively referred to Requiem.

And a word that hinted at the fate of the one who wielded Requiem.

The one who held Requiem would indiscriminately kill others. Due to Requiem's nature of craving the life force of others.

And Abel...

"Is the one who is dominated by Requiem and destroys the Ovest territory."

Afterward, he slaughters the imperial army blocking his path and heads east.

And the one who stands against such Abel is...

"The protagonist, Cain."

Abel struggles desperately until the very end, only to die a miserable death at Cain's hands.

That was the fate that lay before me.

"Shit!"

It was infuriating to suddenly live in someone else's body, and to make matters worse, I was the greatest villain in the world. Moreover, according to the original story, I was destined to die.

"%&$#@!!"

I unleashed all sorts of curses and insults at this absurd fate. I sat on the floor, pouring out my frustrations for a while.

"…Ha, shit."

Finally, I made a resolution.

"I can’t die like this."

—If I had read multiple times. If I had thoroughly studied the maps and settings included as appendices.

‘I can do it.’

I could escape from a future foretold with death and catastrophe.

‘No, I must do it.’

I looked at the back of my hand, where blue veins were bulging. As I clenched my fist, I felt the muscles tightening and the veins pulsating.

‘Having gained such a healthy body, I can’t just die.’

I was tired of the frail body filled with needle holes and the emaciated arms.

‘I will definitely survive.’

After rising to my feet, I plopped down onto the chair in the center of the room. I tapped my chin and began to think carefully.

‘How did Abel die?’

I recalled the history of chaos he had caused. I retraced where Abel's misfortune began.

"If that’s the case…"

I gazed out the window at the distant Magna Mortem. The terrifying image of Requiem descending there was vivid in my mind.

"I need to get stronger."

I must become the firm and perfect master of Requiem after obtaining it. Since I knew when, where, and how Requiem would appear, it was entirely possible.

"I can’t let anyone else wield it."

Requiem would elevate the user’s abilities to the extreme, optimizing them for slaughter.

So it would be easier for me to take Requiem from that guy than to let someone else wield it from the start.

"Wait, what day is it today?"

I needed to know how much time was left until Requiem descended.

"The incident where Abel got slapped by his father…"

As I rummaged through my memories, I was horrified.

"No, today is ‘that day’?"

I felt a rush of urgency. I had to act immediately.

Turning my head, I saw the door firmly locked from the outside.

"In this situation, I’m to stay confined?"

Does that mean I have to be stuck here until Diego returns?

"…No."

My anxious muttering stopped abruptly. A glimmer of realization sparked in my eyes.

"If I’m ‘Abel’…"

I leaned back in the chair. Crossing one leg over the other, I listened intently to the sounds outside the room.

How long had I waited? The hurried footsteps of several people grew closer.

Knock, knock.

A voice of an older man came through with the sound of knocking.

"Young master, may I come in?"

Just as I expected.

I smiled slyly.

"Come in."