Chapter 189: A Monstrous Brother, And The Danger Of An L-Rank

-----

"It’s more complicated. I ran away because Mordred... He was eating people," Vladimir muttered, his voice low and heavy with lingering disgust.

"..."

Riven had also eaten former humans who had already turned into monsters. Vladimir himself was one of them, funnily enough. However, Riven had never seriously considered eating people while they were still recognizably human. He only allowed himself to do such a thing once they had transformed into monsters, becoming something unrecognizable from ordinary humans.

This was the strict rule he had set for himself. And somehow, Gluttony itself did not respond to normal humans, even if they were extremely strong Hunters. It only reacted to "Monsters." So if the Authority catalogued these transformed humans as Monsters, then in its eyes there was nothing truly human left about them anymore.

Nevertheless, what Mordred was doing was sick and went far beyond simple madness. He was capturing innocent people, mostly powerless ones who could not fight back, and eating them alive. He feasted on their flesh and blood together with his pack of crazed werewolves, treating it like some twisted ritual of power and dominance.

Riven felt a deep frustration settle in his chest. If it weren’t for the fact that Mordred was L Rank and the Apostles under him were beyond S Rank, he would have already gone there to destroy them all without hesitation.

But he still needed to grow stronger, and he needed to do it faster than ever before.

He sighed quietly, thinking about this revelation and how in the future he had once lived through, this terrible truth had never been revealed. Mordred had likely kept it all a carefully guarded secret even after the world came to an end. The more Riven thought about it, the more completely insane that level of secrecy seemed.

He looked back at Vladimir with narrowed eyes. "So you felt disgust? But everyone else was happy about it?"

"He likely holds control over them through the Fenrir Crest...!" Vladimir said, his voice tightening. "He forcefully triggered the Sacrificial Werewolf Transformation on everyone without any requirements or costs... I believe that because I am under your Authority, I wasn’t affected by his brainwashing."

"So you’re saying the Fenrir Cult is even more dangerous now?!" Riven clicked his tongue in irritation. "We might really have to move out of here... With you coming back, they will track your scent eventually."

"We don’t move during the day..." Vladimir sighed, looking down at the ground. "I... deeply apologize. I should’ve died instead but... it’s because of you! You gave me the order to survive and live! So it’s your fault too!"

"..." Riven did not hit him or raise his voice. He simply nodded. "You’re right. It was my mistake. I didn’t think that far into this possibility... I mean, who would’ve thought Mordred was... ugh."

He felt a heavy disappointment settle over him. Disappointment toward his family, toward his siblings, toward everyone connected to that bloodline...

But also toward himself.

He hated this annoyance, this sharp feeling of betrayal that twisted in his chest whenever he thought about Mordred.

The man he had believed, at least for a faint moment, shared his hatred against their brother. He had even briefly entertained the idea that they could join hands to destroy him together.

But in the end, Mordred was never that type of person. There was perhaps not a single person like that left in his family.

"I have to grow stronger..." he thought, the words pressing heavily against his mind.

"Stronger? Just yesterday you already grew so much...!" Vladimir said, staring at him in disbelief. "And you still want more...?!"

"I will stop my brother before he carries out that massacre, and I will dismantle my family as well," Riven said firmly. "Those are my goals... but there are many more. And for all of them, there is one common requirement. Strength. Immense strength. And I must seize it all as soon as possible. I cannot... I cannot stop."

"..."

Vladimir noticed the conflicted look in Riven’s eyes and the massive weight he seemed to carry on his shoulders. For a brief moment the former cultist felt somewhat... inspired by that unyielding resolve.

"Well, I have nowhere else to go anymore," Vladimir sighed at last. "I guess I’ll stick with you... until I die again."

"Of course. You’re my slave after all," Riven smiled faintly. "I mean, subordinate. We don’t support slavery here."

"..."

Vladimir glared at him with clear intent to rip his head off, but unfortunately he could not actually do anything like that.

Riven turned and began walking back home, his mind still turning over everything he had just heard.

"Mordred... What could have prompted him to reveal his identity to his followers now?" he thought carefully. "Or did this also happen in the original timeline, but his plan to fully lead the Fenrir Cult never came to fruition? No... there’s something wrong. It seems I’ve already caused some kind of butterfly effect. Maybe... taking that dungeon did it? Did that make him desperate? Annoyed? All because of that one pitiful dungeon?"

Riven clenched his teeth and tightened his grip until his knuckles turned white, feeling completely frustrated with himself and with the consequences of what he had already done, even though he had acted with the best intentions in the world.

What Mordred was planning now was also something he had to stop. It had become his responsibility. And no, it was not because he cared for his father or wanted to protect him. The sheer amount of destruction an enormous pack of thousands of crazed werewolves could cause would be catastrophic for the ordinary population.

And yet he still lacked the strength to stop him. He needed to grow stronger, and he needed to do it faster. He looked into the distance, sensing the faint dimensional essence of the Gates scattered around the city.

Before leaving Central City, perhaps he should seize as many of them as he could, as a last "goodbye" for the time being.

"But Elisa... I can’t— Wait."

His eyes widened and sparkled with sudden realization. His shadows stirred slowly, and from them a perfect copy of himself, only darker and more refined, emerged.

"Main body, leave it to me. I will clear the dungeons. I share part of your power, and it will help me level up quickly too."

"Huh... I guess you’ve gotten smarter, twin."

"Naturally."

"But do you share the power as a Lord?"

"I don’t think I do."

"I guess I’ll still have to go there personally to seize the Dungeon Cores at the end..."

"Unfortunately..."

Riven thought for a moment longer, then slowly shook his head.

"No... there must be more to it. Maybe... if I combine my Spiritual Realm with the Dungeon, new functions could be unlocked... After all, the Yokai Guild cut down spiritual realms and lent them to others."

"You mean...? Hm. Perhaps it’s possible."

The two versions of him stood in silence for a while, both already turning over the dangerous but promising possibilities that idea opened up.

Vladimir, meanwhile, stared at Riven talking to himself, it was a really weird experience.

-----