Chapter 4: Hidden Sorrow (III)

[Greed is the desire to acquire far more money, material wealth, or physical pleasures than one’s needs, and desire is the most primal instinct of intelligent beings in the world.]
Yes, it is an instinct. All development and progress—politics, war, commerce, culture, religion, art, education—all stem from desire, driven by it. Humans are products of desire, and life is its continuation.
Humans are like a stream of desire; what flows through it is not water, but various human desires—wealth, status, power, women. All sorts of desires control humans, who are nothing but slaves to desire, forever overly eager to surpass others.
This is the sin that humans bear since birth, and this sin is called greed!
“Hmph! Foolish creatures!”
Walking alone on the bustling streets of the Sasanian Imperial City, the surrounding prosperity could not stop him. Looking at these beings called humans, Argus’s gaze carried an icy chill, even though he himself was also a human—no, once was.
Through Heliorox and a series of subsequent events, this demonic man ultimately achieved victory—total victory. Heliorox was destroyed, the great mage Gret Kaines was killed, the Sasanian Imperial City fell, King Eager Yawood Sasan XII was assassinated, and rebellions erupted across the empire. Everything unfolded according to Argus’s plan.
All obstacles in his path had been cleared. All that remained was to spread the flames of war step by step along the trajectory set by these events, until he witnessed the downfall of this country. But…
“Why do I feel such an inexplicable emptiness? Tch! How boring!”
As the prince’s most loyal supporter, Argus now practically controlled the entire Sasanian Empire. This was not due to the prince’s trust in him, but rather Argus’s own immense power—so great that even the current ruler, the prince, treated him with utmost respect. His power was so great that Jerry Belford and even the entire Royal Mage Association became his subordinates.

Driven by self-interest, the high nobles of Sasan all uniformly sided with Agus’s camp, and even the few dissenting voices were silenced by his overwhelming power. Perhaps no one in Sasan, or even the entire empire, could possess such immense strength as he did. As mentioned before, this man stood at the top of the pyramid, moving toward an even more distant pedestal. Everyone in the world was his pawn; his will would determine the fate of the empire and even the entire world. Yet, even so, there was no trace of satisfaction in Agus’s eyes. “How boring! I really should keep a few guys around for entertainment.” Scratching his head, Agus glanced at the crowd on the streets. The commoners and nobles living in Sasan seemed unaware of the new era ahead; they continued their decadent lives. Watching those drunkards, those prostitutes luring men at street corners, and the candlelight shining through windows, Agus couldn’t help but feel amused. Hey! Dying without even realizing it—what could be more fitting for these guys? More than half of the empire’s thirty-six regions were already in chaos. Unwilling to acknowledge the new king? Unwilling to accept the new Sasan capital? It doesn’t matter. I don’t need your recognition at all. Hurry up and organize your armies, using all sorts of ridiculous excuses to reclaim your so-called capital. War is now an inevitable reality! However, the progress of the Dark Altar was still far from satisfactory. It had to be completed before the war reached here… Tch! Thinking of the altar, Agus’s expression changed slightly, as if filled with hesitation and confusion. Time was still a bit tight; he hadn’t had time to pull Altak in yet, but it probably wouldn’t hurt. Food was the most fatal weakness in that barren region. As long as the supply of rations was cut off… Altak’s army was said to be the strongest military force in the empire. He really wanted to see it. Hey! But nothing seemed to be happening in Galic. That man who took over the lordship—Duke Yvon OGill—was unexpectedly stubborn. Who would have thought he’d voluntarily acknowledge Sasan’s new regime? Such a surprise. That man probably didn’t know it was he who killed his father… But for now, it didn’t matter. Galic was reportedly in chaos due to vampires who had escaped from somewhere. Ah, what luck! Tch! Boring!

Never mind. The Dark Altar isn’t finished yet, and Clark’s Dark Knight Legion is still being assembled. Let’s keep these guys quiet for now until everything is ready… But it’s not enough—this world still isn’t chaotic enough! Just as Argus stood alone on the street, gazing at the sky, hurried footsteps came from behind him. Soon, a guard in a dark blue uniform rushed up to him. After saluting, he said in a grave voice, “My lord! LordClarfield! I have an urgent report!”
“What is it?” Argus asked indifferently, still looking up at the stars.
“Prince Theo… no, the former prince, Theo Bartz Yawood, has escaped from his prison. Those who helped him escape and fled with him are Bert Brackley, the former deputy commander of the Royal Knight Corps who was dismissed for disobeying orders, and Cliff Bealis, a former mage from the First Royal Mage Unit. They also received help from some rebel nobles. Last night… Huh? Are you listening?”
Glancing at the guard, Argus said calmly, “It’s just a few runaways. What’s there to make such a fuss about? How many escaped? Is there a record?”
“Yes, yes!” The guard nodded vigorously and replied solemnly, “According to reports, seven people in total, including Theo Bartz Yawood, have fled out of fear of punishment. The nobles who helped them were captured by guards before leaving Sassen—thirty-three in total!”
“Kill them!”
“Uh… yes!” Seeing Argus decide the fate of thirty-three people without the slightest emotion, the guard was shocked. Swallowing hard, he asked softly, “Should we send someone to chase after those who escaped?”
“What do you think?” Argus asked mockingly, a slight smile on his lips.
“I… I don’t know, my lord…”
“Hahaha,” Argus laughed heartily at the guard’s fearful expression, saying sarcastically, “No need to chase! Just a few runaways. What harm can they do? Where can they go? Altak? Galik? It’s just those places. It’s much later than I expected. It seems that prince’s will isn’t strong enough. Or perhaps the authority of the royal family was already gone when he killed his father? Oh, it was the former prince…” With a wave of his hand, he added impatiently, “If there’s nothing else, you may leave. Don’t disturb me!”

“Yes, my lord!” After saluting, the guard hurried away. After all, even just a few words of conversation placed an immense strain on him, as evident from the cold sweat that appeared on his forehead involuntarily. Watching the guard leave, Argus shook his head and murmured in a tone of mockery or self-mockery, “Power truly is a corrosive force… Wealth, status, vanity—humans live with endless desires, never stopping to seek more. How tragic…” As he spoke, his expression shifted slightly as he glanced toward the dark corners of the street, a faint, mysterious smile appearing on his lips as he headed toward an empty alley. On the night of the coup in this city, many people were inexplicably drawn into it. After some disobedient nobles were killed in public, few dared to stay out late, especially the commoners living in the outer districts—they didn’t want to get involved in strange incidents for no reason. “Tap, tap, tap!” Following the road, Argus reached the outskirts of the city. Unlike the bustling city center, those living here were people who couldn’t afford high taxes but didn’t want to leave the city. Though they also held the status of residents, their living conditions were extremely poor. Where there is a ruling class, there is a ruled class; where there is an exploiting class, there is an exploited class. This phenomenon is inevitable in any city. There is no city with only nobles—without commoners to be exploited, how could the nobles’ superiority be shown? The people living in such corners were those who did the hardest work for the lowest wages. Perhaps they even had to act as scavengers when they couldn’t afford enough money to buy food. Even guards wouldn’t want to pass through such corners of the city. “Hehehe,” standing at the end of the road, Argus laughed at the towering walls not far ahead. He turned around and said mockingly to the darkness behind him, “Hey, hey, I’ve already created the most favorable environment for you. Well? Aren’t you coming out yet, gentlemen?” “Tsk! Have we been discovered?” A faint voice came from the dark corner. Then, the moment Argus turned his head, a wind blade whizzed past his face. “Hey, hey, at least give a greeting first, gentlemen. Don’t black magicians always follow etiquette?”

“Did I miss? No, it was dodged… Damn it!” With a few curses, a figure wrapped in a black cloak stepped out of the darkness in the distance. The eyes visible beneath the cloak stared hatefully at Argus, as if trying to kill him with mere glances.

“Hey, hey, isn’t this normal? You can’t think I’m that easy to deal with, right?” With a slight smile, Argus raised his right hand, flicked his fingers, and said mockingly, “When I’m in a bad mood lately, there always seem to be a few guys who come to keep me entertained! — Do you know why I’m walking around at this time and place? It’s to give you guys a chance. If I had guards with me, you wouldn’t be able to strike, would you? Come on, don’t be shy!”

“Damn it! How dare you underestimate us!” The mage in the cloak gritted his teeth in anger, reciting a few spells. Immediately, a violent wind blew up nearby, with several invisible wind blades spinning toward Argus.

“Tch! Boring tricks! — What a waste of my anticipation!” With a cold snort, Argus, with his hands in his pockets, didn’t even need to use magic to defend himself. He simply dodged the wind blades by moving his body. Yet the mage showed no sign of frustration. On the contrary, a smirk of triumph appeared on his lips.

“Swish!” Suddenly, a sharp dagger appeared out of the darkness and was aimed at Argus’s neck.

“Die, you damned bastard!” the mage sneered softly. But the next second, he stopped smiling because he saw Argus had somehow reached out with his right hand and crushed the blade of the dagger.

The shadow that had withdrawn—no, the thief—spoke softly to the mage, “Is this guy a monster?! You didn’t mention that when you assigned the task! How does this guy even resemble a mage?”

“Ah, ah, internal strife isn’t acceptable at a time like this,” said Argus, one hand in his belt, slowly walking toward the two of them. He raised his right hand, flicking his fingers, and said with a smile, “To kill me, that’s far from enough! — Hurry up! Is that your only tactic?”
“Tch, there’s no other way!” The thief hidden in the darkness drew two daggers from his waist and said in a low voice to the mage beside him, “Remember, double the payment later!”
“Anything will do, as long as we can get rid of this guy!”
With the employer’s promise, the thief immediately launched a fierce attack on Argus. The two sharp daggers sliced through the air, creating streaks of cold light. His ability to hide in the darkness and strike suddenly was that of an experienced thief who had taken on many assassination missions.
Yet despite the combined attack from such a thief and the mage, Argus seemed even more at ease. With nothing but dodging, he managed to avoid all their attacks, relying solely on his agility—no magic needed.
What was even more astonishing was the casual, almost playful expression in Argus’s eyes.
“Damn it!”
“What the hell is going on with this guy?”
Failing to inflict any damage on Argus for so long, the two assassins grew impatient.
This disappointed Argus greatly. With a single snap, he crushed the thief’s daggers in his hand. Then, without even looking, he reached out with his right hand, pulled the thief out of the darkness, and grabbed his throat.
“It seems you’ve run out of tricks. Though I’m a bit disappointed, this farce should be over now!”
“Stop joking!” The thief swung his right hand, and the sharp dagger flashed across Argus’s chest. Unexpectedly, aside from cutting his black coat, it didn’t leave even a scratch. The thief attacked again in disbelief, but with a clink, the dagger failed to pierce Argus’s skin.
“You… you bastard…” Fear finally showed in the thief’s eyes.
Glancing at the cut on his body, Argus shook his head and said indifferently, “Weakness is a tragedy. Boring!” As soon as he finished speaking, he grabbed the thief’s hands and pulled. With a scream, the thief’s hands were torn off, and his daggers fell to the ground.

In an instant, Argus grabbed the falling dagger and thrust it back into the thief’s heart—fast and decisive. It was a battle between beings on completely different levels.
“How is this possible…?” Staring at the thief who had been killed in such a short time, the mage instinctively stepped back. Suddenly, he realized Argus had disappeared from his sight. Then, he felt a sharp pain in his back. When he looked down, he saw a bloody hand protruding from his chest, with crimson blood flowing down his clothes.
It all took just one blink—this bastard…
“Thud!” The heavy corpse fell to the ground, slowly staining the surrounding area red.
Looking at the two corpses, Argus shook off the blood from his right hand and then took out a white handkerchief from his pocket to wipe it clean.
“Isn’t there anyone on Heliorox’s level?” Shaking his head, Argus put the handkerchief back in his pocket and glanced up at the bright starry sky. “It’s just for passing time, but it’s boring when such guys keep showing up. It seems there’s nothing else to gain today. —I’d better go back!” With that, he started walking away.
As he walked, Argus suddenly turned around, frowning at a corner filled with clutter. Inside an old cardboard box, a dirty little girl with short hair, seemingly only four or five years old, was crouched there, hiding.
Tch, just a kid!
Shaking his head, Argus was about to leave when the little girl spoke in a slightly hoarse voice, “Fighting is bad.”
“Hm?” Argus found it amusing. He knelt down in front of her and was about to say something when he noticed her gray eyes lacked any vitality—just blank and unfocused.
Argus waved his hand in front of her eyes, but she didn’t react. Just as he was about to speak, the little girl spoke first.
“I can’t see them at all…”
“Hm?” Argus was puzzled. “Then how do you know?”
“I can feel it…” She pointed toward the two corpses on the ground and said softly, “Sleeping there will make you sick!”
Glancing at the corpses, Argus smirked and whispered, “They won’t get sick because they’re already dead—killed by me!”
“Dead? Killed? What’s that?” the little girl asked, tilting her head.

“…” Argus opened his mouth but found no words to explain. What else could death be? After thinking for a while, he frowned and explained, “Death means disappearing—vanishing from this world and going to another!”
“Oh,” the little girl nodded half-understandingly and said, “Then I don’t want to die!”
Hearing her childlike words, Argus smiled irritably and asked in surprise, “Where are your parents?”
“I don’t know,” the little girl shook her head sadly. “The adults’ voices were scary. Mom and Dad told me to run, so I ran, but they didn’t come to get me. Before, when I went out to play, they would always come to pick me up…”
“Oh, I see. Then how long have you been here?”
“Hmm,” the little girl thought carefully before saying, “Mom used to say it’s warm during the day and cold at night. So whenever it gets cold, I draw lines on the ground with stones…”
Looking down at the scratches on the ground, Argus counted roughly—about forty or fifty. After a brief thought, he roughly guessed the little girl’s identity. She was probably from some “disobedient” noble family. Since those ignorant people didn’t know when to quit, there was no need to keep her.
“Uncle, why haven’t they come to get me?”
“Hmph!” Argus said indifferently, “They’re dead. Your parents were killed!”
“Dead…” The little girl was stunned. Thinking of what Argus had just explained about death, she bit her lip sadly and said, “Did they disappear? Do they no longer want me?”
“Who knows!” Argus curled his lips before lowering his head and saying playfully, “Not only can’t you see, but you’ve also lost your father. Living alone in a place like this must be hard. Do you want me to help you?”
“Help me?” The little girl raised her head in confusion.
“Yes. If you’re dead, you won’t have to suffer like this. There’s no hunger, no cold in that world—no feelings at all…”
“Are Mom and Dad in that world too?”
“Oh, yes!” A strange smile appeared on Argus’s lips.
“Mm!” The little girl nodded vigorously, unaware that Argus slowly raised his right hand.
“Thank you, Uncle!”
“…” Looking at the smile on the little girl’s face, Argus hesitated for a moment. Eventually, he lowered his hand and sat down beside her, saying in an indescribable tone, “Hey, do you hate this country? This world?”

“Huh?” The little girl was stunned and said softly, “Aren’t you taking me to that world without hunger or cold?”
Faced with the girl’s question, Argus showed rare signs of irritation and roared, “Damn it, brat!—Answer me!”
His thunderous voice filled the girl with terror; she curled up and said cautiously, “What is hatred?”
“…Tch!” Argus grew frustrated. Leaning against the pile of clutter, he gazed at the starry sky and murmured, “You should hate!—You once had a harmonious and warm family, but because of certain people, it was mercilessly destroyed. Those who loved you were killed, screaming your name in their final moments…” As he spoke, Argus suddenly heard faint sobs beside him. Surprised, he asked, “Do you understand?”
The little girl shook her head, wiping away her tears and saying carefully, “I don’t quite understand, but it sounds painful…”
“Tch! As expected, just a clueless brat!” Argus leaned back on his hands, staring at the bright stars, and murmured, “But carrying hatred is extremely painful. Things you want to forget can never be forgotten, or maybe you don’t want to forget them. This burden… Ah, you clueless brat, just live happily…” He glanced at the girl and said in an indescribable tone, “When the time comes, you can come to me!—But I probably won’t be around that long!”
The little girl didn’t grasp the deeper meaning in Argus’s words and asked naively, “Find uncle? Can you stop feeling hungry and cold?”
“Uh…” Looking into the girl’s dim, gray eyes, Argus froze.
Unnoticed by himself, at some point, everything he did for his own purposes had begun to resemble those he hated…
But it was too late; nothing could be stopped now…
At least…
Patting the girl’s head, Argus said expressionlessly, “Hey, brat, let’s go!”
“Huh?”
“Don’t you understand? Your parents are dead. Waiting here is useless. If you don’t want to keep starving and freezing, come with me!”
“No…” The little girl shook her head vigorously.
“Huh?” Argus looked surprised and frowned, asking, “Why?”
“Because you were scary just now, uncle… Just like those adults…”

“Is that so…” Argus let out a long sigh, stroking the little girl’s head and speaking softly, “Then I promise you I won’t scare you anymore, okay? — You can continue living in a bright and warm house like the other kids, without feeling cold or hungry anymore…”
The little girl thought carefully. After a full minute, she whispered, “Really?”
“Of course! — Ugh, you little brat!”
“Ugh…”
“Damn it! — That was the last time!”
“…Mm!”
Was that it for today? Looking at the dirty little girl, Argus shook his head helplessly.
As they passed by the two corpses, the little girl holding onto the edge of Argus’s coat whispered, “Don’t we need to wake them up? Sleeping here will make you sick, and it’s really uncomfortable to be sick…”
Hearing those innocent words, Argus snorted coldly and said indifferently, “Ignore them! — Hey, what’s your name, little brat?”
“Lily…”
“Oh! — Hey, little brat!”
“Mm?”
“Don’t hate the world!”
“Huh?”
“Don’t you understand? What a troublesome little brat!” Argus scratched his head helplessly, shoved his hands in his pockets, and walked on the dark road, saying casually, “Be careful. I won’t help you up if you fall!”
“I’m already used to it…” said Lily, the little girl holding onto Argus’s coat, innocently.
“Is that so…” Argus smiled slightly.
Everything was already destined, but at least…
Let me make amends, even if it’s just a little…
A faint smile appeared on Argus’s face—unlike before, it carried no mockery or pretense, but was sincere and genuine.
Just then, a “crack” sound came from the road in the distance, as if stones were being stepped on.
Seeming to sense something, Argus stopped in his tracks, causing the little girl Lily to bump into his leg. Rubbing her sore forehead, she complained, “Why did you stop?”
Ignoring her, Argus stared solemnly at the figure standing in the darkness in the distance, then smirked mockingly and said, “What’s going on today? Troubles keep coming one after another! I was just complaining earlier that the guy who came to assassinate me was completely beneath me. Who would’ve thought… It seems the god of luck still favors me, though it’s just a bit late! — Hord Kandy, former professor of Riox!”
“Hmph!”