This so-called despair is just like this—only when you're at the peak of hope do you realize the end of hope is nothing but a dead end.
"Haha..."
Laurent laughed, on the verge of collapse.
"Hahahahaha!"
His laughter grew louder and louder.
"There's nothing, nothing at all! What is this supposed to be? Are you playing with me?"
He curled up painfully on the ground.
"Has everything just been a joke...?"
His voice trembled.
"If there wasn't any hope to begin with, why bother telling me about it? Why even mention it at all..."
"What kind of legend is this? Where's the lake? The red lake?"
He'd lost so much, put in so much effort, and in the end, it was all empty.
He doubled over in agony.
"This is the so-called 'change'? This is the reason you sent me here? Unable to do a single damn thing, forced to choose some ridiculous 'Path of Heroism' just to watch Jeanne die? Don't fuck with me!"
Suddenly, the girl's face appeared in his mind, and helplessly, all he could do was apologize.
"I'm sorry, Jeanne... I couldn't accomplish anything."
Then, at that moment, a sudden voice echoed clearly in his mind.
[Host has reached the location of the Lake of Legends.]
Laurent froze, blank-faced as he staggered back to his feet. He turned to look at the cliff in front of him, impossibly deep, pitch-black.
He couldn't see anything below.
Something's wrong. Normally, even if a cliff were extremely high, I'd still be able to make out something below. But this cliff is... special.
Thinking this, Laurent nervously swallowed.
Stumbling forward two steps, he approached the cliff's edge.
His body trembled slightly, afraid of the height.
He wasn't normally afraid of heights, but anyone standing at the edge of a cliff like this would lose their composure, wouldn't they?
No… there's nothing left to fear.
Right now, he truly had nothing left. Even if he died, what difference would it make?
It was simply making the same choice as he had before.
Right now was when he should truly act like a man.
Thinking this, Laurent straightened his back.
Slowly, he unwrapped the cloth binding his right arm, revealing charred black skin still oozing blood.
The freezing wind blew through his body.
Laurent felt utterly numb, only a faint smile hanging at the corner of his lips.
If all this was truly a trial, then had he passed yet?
He stepped to the very edge. Staring down into the endless abyss below, he took a deep breath.
I'll trust you one last time. No matter what, I must succeed in this trial!
Relaxing his body, Laurent leaned forward and let himself fall straight off the edge.
At that instant, he closed his eyes and felt no immediate change in the surroundings.
Then—
...
BOOM!
The moment he fell, the entire world around him transformed.
Everything became a blood-red ocean.
In the middle of this sea, Laurent fell as if from thousands of meters high.
His eyes snapped open in shock, staring incredulously at the surroundings.
The sky itself had turned crimson.
The sea of blood beneath looked thick and sticky even at a glance.
Dark-red liquid.
"What the hell is this...?"
[Ding—The essence of the Lake of Legends has been identified.]
[Absolute Evil]: A conceptual existence composed of all evils in the world, capable of devouring everything.
But before Laurent could even react, the lake seemed to sense the intruder.
In mere seconds, the blood sea below began to boil violently.
Countless thick, viscous streams of blood shot upward like drills toward the sky.
Laurent was still falling, unable to react in the slightest.
At this moment, the entire world was in upheaval, the blood sea churning madly, forming tens of thousands of drills and shooting straight at the heavens.
All of them aimed uniformly at one target—Laurent.
Wasn't this supposed to be a trial? Then why is this sea of blood acting like a living being, looking as if it wants to kill me?!
Panic overwhelmed him. The first wave of blood drills had already surged upward, and Laurent desperately wanted to dodge, but there was no way to move.
SHINK!
The first spike of blood pierced through his chest like a needle, followed by all the rest crashing toward him simultaneously.
"Aaaaaahhhh!!!"
Laurent screamed uncontrollably in agony.
Compared to this torment, losing his arm was nothing but a drizzle.
Tens of thousands? He'd lost count already.
He only knew that innumerable spikes of blood continuously pierced through his body, passing through, then returning again and again.
The agony was so intense he couldn't even hear the system's voice clearly in his mind.
[Ding—The Path of Evil's assistance ends here.]
[Host's body is currently under extreme burden. The system will now expend all remaining power to assist host in surviving this. The rest depends solely on the host's own will.]
[However, please always remember: Host belongs solely to us, unrelated to any person in this world. Even if the host becomes part of this world, we still retain the absolute right to forcibly retrieve host. If this world attempts to forcefully retain host through Heroic Spirit status, we will intervene at that time.]
[Lastly—we wish you success, host.]
Unfortunately, Laurent could no longer pay attention to this voice.
Rather, both his ears had already been pierced through countless times.
Pain?
No. Those two words couldn't possibly describe what he was experiencing now.
His entire body was being stabbed through repeatedly, and yet—miraculously—his consciousness remained intact, clearly feeling every bit of agony. Even surpassing the limits of human tolerance, where normally he'd have passed out, it had no effect here.
He felt every inch of his skin, every drop of blood, even every single cell, repeatedly exploding, reforming, then exploding again.
With each penetration, these spikes of blood became fewer, but increasingly concentrated, relentlessly seeking a host to merge with.
Or rather, that was exactly what they were doing.
Again and again, repeatedly strengthening his body through excruciating pain.
In medical terms Laurent knew, it felt as though every tissue in his body—blood vessels, cells, everything—was breaking down and merging with the blood.
He couldn't even scream anymore.
And at some point, Laurent felt the blood begin devouring his very consciousness.
The sea of blood had vanished, replaced by a massive, dense, living orb of blood surrounding him, determined to consume him entirely.
He tried reaching out for help, but his body no longer belonged to him.
It's no use… I should just give up…
This thought appeared in his mind suddenly. If he gave in now, everything would end.
No more worries, no more pain.
Perhaps sinking into sleep… would be the best choice…
LIKE HELL IT IS!!!
Suddenly, his entire being burst forth with unparalleled spirit.
Until I've married Jeanne, until I've protected her properly, nothing in this world can stop me from moving forward!