THE VILLAIN'S POV

Chapter 571: The Curse of Choice (3)

Frey stood too, inclining his head in agreement, hiding his face behind the mask once more.

“Ending the Church’s tyranny. Finding a way to deal with the shadow inside me. Discovering the path that will make you stronger. Rescuing the saint. All of it will follow, once we win this war.”

“They’ve existed for centuries—they’re bound to have countless tricks hidden up their sleeves. Prepare yourself. This will be no easy battle,” Frey warned.

Snow chuckled. “It was never a fair fight from the start. What difference does it make now?” With a grin, he surged ahead, Frey close behind.

“I’ll take the lead, since I’m the only one who can cross that labyrinth.”

He glanced back. “But tell me—should we leave the prince behind?”

“Let him be. He’ll find his own way. Dragging him with us would be pointless.”

Whatever the prince was planning, he’d appear when the time was right. Frey doubted that labyrinth would hold him for long.

“So it’s just the two of us against the whole Church, huh?” Snow said, wearing a grim expression.

“Are you afraid?” Frey asked with a mocking smile.

“Not at all,” Snow exhaled, shaking his head. “Since the moment I started walking beside you, I’ve had to carry the weight of this war on my shoulders. As if we were the only ones fighting it. Maybe that’s just one more curse laid upon you…”

And as Snow thought back, he realized: from the very start of this war, that’s how it had always been.

Frey fought one battle after another, bearing most of the war on his own.

He had been the first to fight at Shizclar Bay, the first to lead the vanguard on the Ultras continent.

He faced Dragoth, the human-demon, and defeated him; then fought every Ultras commander alone and survived—

and now he stood on the verge of confronting the Church in its entirety.

Snow had only recently begun to accompany him, yet he already found himself carrying the same heavy burden—coming to understand what Frey had lived through all this time.

“This isn’t a curse,” Frey said. “It’s simply the natural consequence of my own choices. I chose to fight this war, and what’s happening now is the inevitable result of that choice. That’s all.”

“I think your concept of fighting a war is very different from everyone else’s,” Snow said.

There is a vast difference between taking part in a war, and shouldering the whole of it alone—that was what Snow wanted to say. But he had begun to understand Frey’s way of thinking more and more, and realized such words would mean nothing to him. Frey had chosen this himself.

“Well then… at the very least, I can share this curse with you from now on.”

Activating the War King Form, Snow readied himself to breach the labyrinth.

“We’ve already reached it. Stay close to me from here on,” Snow said, and Frey nodded.

Following the golden trails of the World Tree, Snow pierced the labyrinth with Frey at his side.

The maze was strange—shifting ceaselessly by some sorcery.

An alien aura flooded the place, numbing the senses of all who entered.

Under normal circumstances, it would have been impossible to pass without possessing whatever the labyrinth demanded for entry. Even if one tried to fly over it, they would lose themselves all the same.

It was a truly bizarre maze—but Snow crossed it with ease.

“We’re almost there,” Snow said after they advanced for a while, prompting Frey to prepare; the battle would likely begin the moment they arrived.

“Frey… I know the timing is terrible, but I need to tell you this before we fight.” He spoke without looking back, and Frey watched his friend’s back.

“Don’t try to shoulder this alone. You’re not fighting this war by yourself. My words may sound strange or hollow, but I truly intend to fight beside you to the very end—no matter what we face, no matter how heavy the burden becomes. Be certain that I’ll be there.”

“There’s no need to say another word, Snow. I understand what you’re trying to tell me,” Frey said with a faint smile.

“To be honest, I had intended to carry this war to the end alone. My strength was the only thing I’ve trusted until now. But in the end, I’m only one man. No matter how strong I am, and no matter how much I try to deny it, I have limits I cannot surpass. I’m more fragile than I seem, and I could collapse at any moment.” Frey chuckled softly, remembering what happened to him in his fight against Dragoth—how life had driven him to the edge of madness.

“I could break at any moment. If that happens… I’ll rely on you to save the day, my dear friend.” He smiled—a rare, genuine smile—turning Snow’s head in surprise; he had not expected to hear those words from him.

Silence hung between them for a moment, then Snow returned the smile.

“Count on me, my friend.”

In that instant, a notification flashed from nowhere—something Frey hadn’t seen in a long time, a ping from the system he’d barely used of late.

Ding!

Snow Lionheart

Current Affection Points: 99

– Snow Lionheart trusts you completely and sees you as an irreplaceable ally, to the point he is prepared to die for you if necessary.

Maximum reached. Affection will not increase further unless certain conditions are met.

…

Staring at the notification, Frey understood he had gained an indispensable ally. Snow’s points had reached 99, and Frey would be unable to raise them to 100 except under conditions he knew little about.

Even so, the current level of his bond with his hero left him more than satisfied.

Snow was a friend and a brother Frey could not do without. There was still much between them that needed to be said—he still hadn’t told Snow what happened to Danzo, and many secrets remained hidden.

And yet Frey wished to treasure this bond with his friend, vowing that one day he would tell him everything. Perhaps then the condition would be met—and Snow Lionheart would become the second person to reach 100 points after Sansa.

“Thank you… my friend.”

Watching Snow’s back, Frey smiled as the two of them continued through the labyrinth.

Silence settled; neither spoke.

Snow remained focused—while Frey…

From beneath his skin, the crawling shadows stirred, making his power and aura surge and falter. He did not notice, but filaments of violet lightning skittered around him as a strange echo rang out—glimpses of a distant future.

An echo of clashing blades, of blood spilling without end, as two warriors fought upon a battlefield ..

fighting to the death, each intent on killing the other.

One was a radiant hero, shining with golden sigils that covered his body.

The other was a figure of darkness, a man wearing a baleful black mask.

“This is the kind of world we live in… the kind of hell we are forced to walk.”

As their swords collided and disasters bloomed in their wake, thoughts and feelings surfaced—fragments from someone who had abandoned everything and hidden his face behind a cold, lightless mask.

“In the end, Snow… my dear brother… everything was a lie.”

“A sweet lie we chose to believe. But in the end… we are forced to face the truth.”

“I’m truly sorry… my brother. Truly… sorry.”

Amid the ruin—after a battle on another level entirely—

a man sat, his face hidden to the very end behind that mask.

In his arms lay another young man—a youth who had once been his brother.

And in a few seconds, one candle of life went out, while the other remained seated, staring at his friend’s corpse.

“I’m truly… sorry.”