Chapter 20: You Are My Faith (I)

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Chapter 20: You Are My Faith (I)

Shang Ke stood amid a field of corpses, dressed in a black robe and holding a longsword that was still dripping blood. Less than ten meters away, a little girl of six or seven sat collapsed on the ground. She was covered in blood, her expression bewildered as she stared blankly at him with a pair of innocent eyes.

Fuck! Don’t tell me I transmigrated into some murderous fiend this time? This bloody scene, this full-on villain getup—none of this is my style!

He immediately began receiving the information sent by the System, along with the original host’s memories.

This was a continent known as Turan. Several centuries ago, a bizarre tree had taken root in the Abyssal Marsh at the center of the continent. It produced demonic energy capable of corroding the soul, transforming living beings into its apostles and driving them to spread slaughter and disaster. In turn, it fed upon the darkness born within people’s hearts.

The people of Turan called it the Devil’s Tree.

The only force in this world capable of resisting demonic energy was the power of faith. Faith was not limited to religion or belief in a god. It could also be placed in love, family, friendship, wealth, power, or countless other things.

The power of faith primarily acted as an amplifier: the stronger a person’s faith, the greater the power it granted them. Its effects also differed depending on the nature of that faith. For example, two people might possess equally strong convictions, yet one who believed in battle and one who believed in power would inevitably walk completely different paths. The former might become a formidable warrior, while the latter might become a politician.

What remained the same was that sufficiently steadfast faith could resist the corrosion of demonic energy.

But the human heart was complicated, and everyone possessed a darker side. The moment darkness took root within someone, it would attract demonic energy. Small amounts could be expelled through willpower and faith alone, but those who lacked mental fortitude or harbored corrupt intentions would only become weaker and more depraved under its influence, eventually falling into servitude as apostles of the Devil’s Tree.

Once they became apostles, the Devil’s Tree itself became the object of their faith. They could then draw dark power from it and wreak havoc wherever they went.

The man Shang Ke had transmigrated into was one such apostle—and an exceptionally powerful one at that.

His name was Osari. He had entered Light Hymn Academy, the finest academy on the continent, with the highest entrance score and had quickly become recognized as one of the school’s most brilliant geniuses.

His faith was “Number One.”

Ever since childhood, Osari had competed relentlessly for first place. His ambition was to become the greatest warrior on the continent, never willing to stand beneath another.

But two years later, he suffered his first defeat as an adult.

He encountered another genius whose talent could rival his own—and who was two years younger. The moment the newcomer entered the academy, he stole Osari’s position as number one. In the battles that followed, Osari lost far more often than he won.

The greatest blow came during their graduation match, when his opponent defeated him with an overwhelming advantage.

Only then did Osari realize that the other man had been concealing his true strength all along.

The defeat was absolute.

Osari, whose entire faith rested on being “Number One,” could not accept the reality of defeat. Resentment took root in his heart, and he left for distant lands.

From that point onward, no one heard from him again.

What Osari did not know was that the man who had defeated him time and again was Prince Tylor of the imperial family. Tylor had undergone inhuman training since childhood, with both the intensity of his training and the resources available to him far surpassing anything Osari had received.

In terms of raw talent alone, Osari was unquestionably superior.

Unfortunately, his will was not strong enough. A handful of defeats had been sufficient to shatter his faith.

Being “Number One” did not mean never losing.

It meant continuing to strive toward the summit despite every defeat, until one forged a “number one” that belonged to oneself alone.

What no one knew was that after Osari left, the bitterness in his heart never faded. That resentment attracted demonic energy, which slowly corroded him until he finally threw himself into the embrace of the Devil’s Tree and became its apostle.

By the time Shang Ke arrived, Osari had already been an apostle for five years.

He had always been a combat genius, and after placing his faith in the Devil’s Tree, the amplification provided by demonic energy made him even more powerful. He rampaged unchecked across Turan, leaving slaughter wherever he went.

Everyone knew that such a terrifying fiend existed, but no one realized that he was the brilliant Osari who had vanished five years earlier.

His cruelty and overwhelming strength had made his name feared across the continent.

He was known as the Dreadfiend.

So I really am the big villain!

Shang Ke’s first impression had been completely correct.

And right now, he had arrived at the exact turning point in this great villain’s life.

Osari had just slaughtered a group of human traffickers. The little girl who remained was one of their “goods.”

Had Shang Ke not arrived, Osari’s next move would have been to raise his sword and mercilessly strike the girl down.

At that exact moment, he would have encountered Kaiser, the protagonist of this world, along with Kaiser’s companions, and the two sides would have erupted into a fierce battle.

Osari would go on a killing spree and slaughter every one of Kaiser’s companions, leaving only Kaiser and the little girl alive.

From that day onward, the Dreadfiend Osari and Kaiser would become locked in an endless struggle between good and evil, while the little girl would eventually become one of Kaiser’s allies.

Shang Ke looked at the little girl nearby and finally recalled her name—Pupu.

Pupu had an intellectual disability, but her heart was extraordinarily pure, giving her an exceptionally powerful capacity for faith.

【Main Mission: Seal the Devil’s Tree.】

Shang Ke was speechless.

His current identity was that of an apostle of the Devil’s Tree. If the tree were sealed, he would lose the demonic energy sustaining his power and become little more than an ordinary cripple.

That part didn’t particularly bother him.

The real problem was his identity as the Dreadfiend.

Not many people could recognize his true face, but as a notorious villain radiating demonic energy from head to toe, would he even survive long enough to reach the point where the Devil’s Tree could be sealed?

Worse still, now that Osari’s soul had been replaced, Shang Ke no longer believed in the Devil’s Tree. That meant he could no longer receive its demonic amplification.

On the contrary, because his new faith conflicted with the demonic energy already inside the body, that energy would inevitably turn against him.

He would have to rely on sheer willpower to suppress it, enduring the constant agony of demonic energy raging through his body.

This world had barely even begun, and Shang Ke could already foresee the misery awaiting him.

System, is it really okay to dump me—someone with practically no ability to protect himself—into a world this dangerous? Couldn’t you at least wait until I learn some martial arts or magic first?!

Shang Ke had no more time to waste.

Kaiser and his group were about to appear from around the rocky bend at any moment.

If they arrived to find corpses everywhere and Shang Ke standing there with a raised, bloodied sword, they would probably attack first and ask questions never.

It was too late to hide.

So Shang Ke simply threw away the sword, rushed over to Pupu, and pulled the little girl into his arms.

The moment he finished, seven people came rushing in from the other side.

They took one look at the corpses scattered across the ground and then at the large and small figures huddled together amid them.

Every one of them froze.

“What happened here?” asked a blond man of about forty, watching Shang Ke warily.

Shang Ke quietly countered, “And who are you?”

“My name is Gwyn. I’m a teacher at Light Hymn Academy, and I’ve brought several students out for field training.”

None of them approached recklessly. Instead, they carefully surveyed the scene around them.

More than twenty corpses lay on the ground, every one of them mutilated beyond recognition. Their gruesome deaths made it obvious that they had encountered an overwhelmingly powerful attacker.

Of the two survivors, the older wore a black cloak that concealed his appearance, though his voice suggested he was still quite young. The younger was only six or seven, delicate and adorable in appearance, though painfully thin and seemingly malnourished.

Both were covered in blood, sitting amid a heap of corpses in a bizarre and striking tableau.

When Shang Ke heard the name Light Hymn Academy, he thought, Isn’t that Osari’s old school?

Shang Ke explained, “These people were human traffickers. The two of us were abducted from elsewhere. While they were passing through this area, we encountered a terrifying man who killed everyone he saw. In the end, only the two of us were left.”

Pupu looked up at Shang Ke from within his arms, completely bewildered and clearly having no idea what he was talking about.

But his embrace made her feel safe.

It was completely different from the cold, sinister presence she had sensed from him only moments earlier.

She gently leaned against Shang Ke’s chest and tilted her head to look at Gwyn and the others.

Shang Ke himself didn’t notice the gesture, but Gwyn and the others did.

They still had their doubts about him, but seeing how naturally the little girl leaned against him eased their wariness somewhat.

Gwyn took one student with him to inspect the corpses while the others remained on guard.

They soon uncovered enough evidence to confirm that Shang Ke had not lied. The dead really were human traffickers, and several were even notorious wanted criminals.

While they searched the bodies, Shang Ke quietly studied them in return.

There were five men and two women altogether. Gwyn, the blond man, was the oldest. The others were all around twenty years old.

The first person Shang Ke focused on was the protagonist, Kaiser.

He stood around 180 centimeters tall, with short silver hair and strikingly handsome features. The corners of his mouth curved faintly upward, and he stood casually on a pair of long legs with two swords crossed over his back.

He looked almost lazy.

Yet his ice-blue eyes were extraordinarily bright and sharp, deep and unfathomable as the sea.

Shang Ke immediately decided that this man must be extremely popular with women.

Just look at the red-haired girl beside him—she had secretly glanced at Kaiser three times in less than a minute.

The red-haired girl had delicate features and a seductive air. Her fitted, cinched outfit perfectly outlined her impressive figure.

Besides her, there was a cold-looking brown-haired girl, a gloomy short and stocky young man, a slender boy with a cheerful smile, and a towering, muscular giant over two meters tall.

All of these people were originally supposed to die at Osari’s hands, so Shang Ke didn’t know any of their names.

“What’s your name?” Gwyn asked after finishing his inspection and slowly walking over.

“Shang Ke. And she’s Pupu.” Shang Ke gently stroked the girl in his arms.

Hearing him say her name, Pupu looked up and smiled.

Gwyn looked at her bloodstained smiling face and felt something vaguely unsettling about the sight, but he said nothing. Instead, he began introducing his students.

The red-haired girl was Vidora. The others were Amy, Doru, Youri, Fred, and, of course, the “protagonist,” Kaiser.

Gwyn then asked, “Where are you two from? If your home is somewhere within this kingdom, we can take you back.”

“There’s no need,” Shang Ke replied in a subdued voice. “We don’t have a home anymore.”

Gwyn paused before letting out a sigh. “Then come with us for now. We’re heading to Watchkeep next. Once we arrive, we can figure out what to do from there.”

“Thank you,” Shang Ke said sincerely.

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