Chapter 599: Bound to Darkness (1)

Thanks to Liora, the Saint of Dawn, a long-buried fragment of the past was finally revealed—truths that had been hidden from the present.

The reality was nothing like what Snow and Uriel had believed their whole lives, raised on tales of heroes such as Kazis Valerion and his glorious sacrifice.

But in the end, even that sacrifice was revealed to have been instigated by someone else... the Engineer, who had walked the earth since hundreds of years ago.

The heroes of mankind had tried to fight the demons, yet all that awaited them on the other side—in Helmund—was death, defeat, and utter despair.

A defeat so absolute it drove the remaining champions of Earth to follow the strange vision shown to them by the Engineer, convincing themselves that their only chance at victory lay far in the distant future.

"Once Kazis sacrificed himself, each of us who had stood beside him went our own way ..be it the clan leaders, or the Readers. I do not know their fates, but I am certain some of them are still out there, somewhere in this world."

With those words, Liora released Frey and the others from the thread of her memories.

Silence hung between them for a long while.

Snow was the first to break it, forcing out a dry laugh as he pressed a hand against his forehead.

"Ah... this is truly... truly disappointing."

All eyes turned to him—Frey’s, Uriel’s, and even Liora’s—wondering what exactly he meant.

Snow spoke his thoughts aloud, giving them his honest judgment after everything he had heard.

"I don’t know whether I should feel glad to learn that humanity still has all those mighty warriors... or despair at realizing that the very heroes I looked up to were nothing but cowards—defeated and manipulated by beings who weren’t even human."

His last words were aimed squarely at the saint, though she said nothing. Instead, Uriel spoke in her defense.

"Snow... how can you say that?!" she asked, genuine respect in her voice for the saint who had saved their lives.

Frey remained neutral, but Snow’s disappointment was raw and unmasked.

"Saint Liora, I don’t know much about you, and I am not one to judge others. But let me ask you this—do you really believe this generation will bring you the victory you’ve been waiting for?"

Taking a step closer, Snow’s tone grew harsher.

"I, along with the one standing there—" he pointed at Frey, "—we are the strongest this generation has to offer."

And his statement wasn’t wrong.

"Yet even so, we lost. We died against Blattier. The same man you defeated with ease, without so much as a scratch. Tell me, Saint of Dawn—what do you see in us? What do you think we can possibly achieve when we couldn’t even overcome a single man who is nothing compared to the enemies you once faced?"

Snow’s point was clear.

He couldn’t stomach how Liora and the others had chosen to retreat, leaving everything to the future. What enraged him most was how blindly they had trusted a non-human entity they knew nothing about.

"While you were hiding all these years, this world suffered war after war, with millions dying. Wars that could have ended instantly had you shown yourselves instead of hiding! We die every single day. And this current war we’re fighting is proof of that!"

In just a single day, Blattier alone had killed thirty-five million people—and the war was far from over.

"You said you broke the vow when you revealed yourself earlier. From that, I gather your return wasn’t meant to happen yet. So tell me—had you chosen to keep hiding, leaving us all to die... what would have happened then?"

The saint faltered, unable to answer.

"This..." she began, but Snow cut her off.

"I’ll tell you what would have happened. You, and all your companions—you would have emerged only to find ashes. Nothing but the ashes of human corpses, the very people you claimed to be fighting for."

"What good would that vow be then? What use would victory hold at that point?"

"This was the only way, Snow Lionheart."

"No, damn it, it wasn’t!!" Snow’s voice grew sharp, anger spilling from him.

Unlike Frey, who could somewhat understand Liora and the others because he knew the strength of the demons and the existence of the Engineer—Snow could not.

He had just tasted death at Blattier’s hands, leaving a deep scar upon his soul.

All his life, he had believed the legendary SSS rank to be the peak. He had believed the heroes of the past to be true champions, capable of standing against the mightiest demons.

But reality crushed that belief. Even at SSS rank, the gulf was monstrous. The First Seat, Crimson, had slain them with a single strike, as if they were nothing more than flies.

And the Engineer? With just a few words, he had manipulated them like livestock being herded toward the easiest escape.

"You were all just cowards. You chose to run instead of fight. That is the mindset of failures. You lived through centuries, witnessing all the horrors that ravaged this world—horrors you could have ended with ease. And what did you do instead? Nothing!!"

Snow’s body trembled as he uttered his final words—then he began to laugh.

"Ha... ha... hahahaha... this is pathetic."

Pointing at himself, Snow showed Liora a broken smile.

"Look at me! I’m nothing but a weakling you could kill with a single strike. Tell me—what do you see in me? What do you think I have, compared to you, the so-called heroes of old? What greatness do you see in me, and in my companions, that made you sacrifice all those countless lives just to wait for us? What exactly do you see?!" he roared, before laughing again.

"Ah... you’re blind. So I suppose you don’t see anything at all. My apologies."

Snow Lionheart was a simple, straightforward man.

He simply couldn’t comprehend what his predecessors had done—no matter how hard he tried.

To him, they were nothing but a band of cowards—men and women who chose to run, closing their eyes to the countless humans who perished throughout those long centuries.

All for the sake of a vow, for the words of a strange, non-human entity—words that carried no proof of truth or falsehood.

"You should have all gone into the demons’ realm that day. Dying on the battlefield would have been an honor—a far greater end than hiding like cowards and placing your hopes on a generation not yet born."

Snow spilled everything that weighed on his heart—his thoughts, his disappointment, his grief.

He was about to say more.

But a familiar hand gripped his shoulder, halting him.

"Snow... that’s enough, my friend. You’ve said all that needed saying."

It was Frey.

The latter smiled faintly at him, then turned his gaze toward the saint.

"Forgive my friend. This war, and our last battle, cast deep shadows over him." His smile was strained, but Liora shook her head.

"No... there is no need to apologize. For in his words lies a measure of truth."

Even if their intentions had been noble, even if their cause had been just—that did not change the fact that Liora had lived all these years knowing what transpired in the world, while possessing power enough to halt countless disasters.

And yet, because of one vow—and the fear of an enemy that might come knocking if she revealed herself—she chose to hide, leaving humanity to die.