I feel incredibly bored—so bored that if I could scream this feeling into the world, the entire world would hear it loud and clear.

  Being a Marshal means dealing with ungrateful, incompetent soldiers every day, constantly licking the boots of nobles who secretly wish for your death. Over time, it numbs your mind and leaves a ringing in your ears. There’s no excitement anymore, no sense of immortality, no feeling at all.

  I feel trapped. With all the power I possess, why am I here? Is it because of my friend, Kleon? Or is it because, after crossing the Great Wall, there was simply nothing left for me to chase in this world?

  Every night, these questions haunt me. I wake up in bed, staring at the empty ceiling, wishing I could see the starry night sky. But even with all my strength, I cannot break through this roof to reveal the heavens above. I glance at my wife—the woman Kleon introduced to me. She sleeps soundly, as if she has no burdens in this world.

  Does she not have dreams to chase? Does she not carry regrets that gnaw at her heart? She has lived her entire life in a house like this, surrounded by servants and blinding luxury—like a canary locked in a golden cage. At least, that is how I see her.

  Sometimes, I get out of bed and head to the training hall, swinging my sword for a while just to feel something. I have spent half my life on the battlefield, where the stench of sweat, blood, and death was my daily bread. Every day, the possibility of death loomed over me, and so every day, I fought as if it would be my last.

  And in those moments, I felt so... alive. So full of passion, so exhilarated.

  Perhaps it sounds insane, but I fell in love with war.

  Sometimes, I would find flowers blooming amidst the battlefield, and to me, they were the most beautiful things in the world. Their scent soothed the fire that burned within me. But over time, their fragrance became something else—no longer a comfort, but a reminder of battle, of war.

  It doesn’t help that my wife is a noble who adores perfumes. No matter where I step in this house, all I can smell is flowers, incense, and fragrance.

  It carries me back to the battlefield, to the days when I truly felt alive.

  Perhaps it was a blessing. The day that changed everything—when the Stampede struck the city of Isildus, throwing the entire city into panic.

  I immediately ordered my troops to handle the situation.

  After rotting in my office for so long, I was finally back on the battlefield. It wasn’t as exhilarating as the wars of my past, but it was something.

  For the first time in years, I felt the rush of adrenaline flooding my body.

  I felt alive again.

  The Great Simian had unknowingly revived the Ipsilas that had long been dead—a walking corpse trapped in the city of Isildus. And for that, I was deeply grateful to the monster.

  But all good things must come to an end.

  The so-called "King of the Jungle" had reached its limit. And with ease, I severed its head clean from its body.

  The ecstasy I had felt—the battle high that had made my heart pound like war drums—was already fading.

  It left me empty.

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  I wanted to feel it again. I wanted to return to battle.

  I wasn't satisfied.

  I begged the heavens to bring me back.

  And then, as if answering my prayers, a soldier approached me, reporting that they had found something unusual inside the Great Simian's remains.

  Intrigued, I followed him to the carcass.

  There, inside the monster’s stomach, lay a black crystal. Its glow was both blinding and hypnotic.

  I knew immediately what it was.

  The Heart of Fear.

  A relic from the age of mythology, long thought to be lost, destroyed, or nothing more than a mere legend.

  How do I know its name?

  Because once, I was part of an expedition to find it.

  My team and I searched every mountain, river, and valley where the relic was rumored to have last been seen. But the expedition bore no fruit.

  The General and the King of Corsica desperately wanted this relic, believing it would grant them an easy victory in war. Of course, they craved it because of its terrifying power—one I was already well aware of.

  The Heart of Fear has the ability to control monsters and create Stampedes.

  A Stampede naturally occurs when a rare, exceptionally powerful monster is born among normal ones. By the laws of nature, this rare monster will grow stronger than the rest, triggering chaos.

  With the Heart of Fear, one can inject normal monsters with a shard of the relic, transforming them into rare variants that can be controlled.

  However, the relic comes with its own curse.

  Each shard a user extracts to control a monster is paid for in their own flesh and blood.

  And once the relic attaches to a host, it can never be removed—not unless their body is completely drained or they die.

  A sudden idea flashed in my mind.

  That wretched old fox, Valentinus—the corrupt Cardinal of the damned diocese.

  His body, bloated with fat from his greed, swollen from the wealth he stole from the church’s coffers... Wouldn’t he make the perfect vessel?

  I approached that old fox with a proposal on hand.

  At first he was very skeptical.

  With my reputation around the church it’s no wonder he’s very suspicious of me.

  However, I know exactly what he wanted.

  I start feeding his ego and doubt.

  I put whisper in his ear about how fragile his power.

  How he was thrown away to this land to rot, never amount to anything.

  And slowly I can feel he started to cave in.

  I can see the desperation in his eyes shone brighter every time we met.

  And finally like a true fool, he took the bait.

  "I am doing this for the church’s benefit."

  Bah! The words alone made me want to vomit.

  At least give me a more believable lie.

  The deal was simple.

  Destroy Isildus and most of the Corsican Kingdom.

  Slaughter the nobles, except for Duke Kleon.

  Then, once the chaos subsides, let the diocese take credit for stopping the Stampede, making them appear as holy saviors.

  Finally he’ll get the pope throne like he deserve.

  A dream come true.

  Also, I would supposedly "remove" the cursed relic from him using my Essence.

  That last part?

  A complete lie.

  Anyone with a functioning brain would see how suspicious this deal was—how it benefited me in no way, while giving Valentinus everything he wanted.

  But the old fox was too blinded by his delusions of becoming Pope, too consumed by his ambition to expand the church’s rule over Corsica.

  He failed to see the trap gaping wide before him.

  With Stampedes happening every month, my life would never again fall into monotony.

  By destroying this cursed city and butchering its noble elite, I could spit on their corpses and watch their faces contort in terror as monsters ripped them apart.

  Such a magnificent sight.

  And when the dust settles—when Isildus is nothing but ruins—there will be only one entity left to blame.

  The Diocese of Latinum.

  Two birds with one stone.

  In one brilliant move, I have solved all of my problems.

  And when the world realizes that the diocese is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands, that they have, in effect, invaded the Corsican Kingdom despite their peace treaty…

  Can you imagine the scale of the war that will follow?

  Saying it’ll be a greatest war in this land history would be an understatement.

  At last, I will return to where I truly belong.

  My lost world will rise again.

  THIS WORLD WILL NEVER BE BORING AGAIN!

  AND AS LONG AS I LIVE, I WILL ENSURE THAT THIS WAR NEVER ENDS!

  Thank you, God, for this beautiful blessing.

  Though I despise your followers in Latinum… I love you.

  And I vow to serve you.

  This is no mere stroke of luck.

  God must have heard my prayers.

  Yes—He must favor me above all others.

  If not, surely He would have granted this gift to His followers in the diocese.

  But instead… He chose me.

  And so, I swear—

  I will not waste His blessing.

  And in the end…

  I will eradicate every last pest defiling His house.

  For the glory of God.

  GOD WILLS IT.