I took a deep breath.

My body, which had felt like soaked cotton just moments ago, was suddenly filled with strength as if by magic.

Right now, I felt like I could do anything.

Gathering all my power, I charged at Muriel. My scythe’s blade nearly grazed the shield of divine energy she raised.

“This is quite inconvenient,” Muriel said, her voice almost singing.

“His regression is for the sake of the world. And the Librilli you possess is like a tightrope that only allows extremely strict absolute good. Beneath it lies an abyss. The moment you become hostile to god, good, or the world, you lose your right as the wielder of the Sacred Scythe.”

“Is there value in a world where a human must be pushed to the extreme?”

“It is a utilitarian calculation. Are you unfamiliar with the concept of a greater cause? You just want to side with the author.”

“.......”

“See? You have no rebuttal.”

Yes, I couldn’t.

No, I wouldn’t.

Humans are multifaceted. They are neither all black nor all white. Depending on the choices made in specific situations, black and white diverge at that moment.

If one kills everyone to survive in an extreme situation, they become a villain. Yet if they sacrifice themselves to save the weak, they become a hero.

True colors emerge only when tested.

And now, I am...

“You’re right, Muriel.”

Dark.

“I just want to side with him.”

I spat out the last words.

“So rather than this kind of world...”

“.......”

“I want to stand by Reid’s side.”

“......!”

I stood at a crossroads.

A narrow path leading to good, and a wide path leading to evil. I took a step toward the wider one.

[ Warning. You are corrupting.]

[ Warning. You are corrupting.]

[ Warning. You are corrupting.]

“Ai......?”

His sea-colored eyes shook not with fear but shock. I was a bit worried about how I looked reflected in those eyes. I hoped I wouldn’t corrupt into something as grotesque as Illeon Odrek.

[ The Sacred Scythe Librilli has changed into the Demonic Scythe Librilli.]

[ Hidden ability, ‘Magic ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ Conversion’ unlocked.]

[ Due to demonization, ‘Temptation of the Seven Deadly Sins,’ ‘Praise of Chaos,’ and ‘Seal of Divine Power’ traits have been applied.]

System messages kept streaming wildly.

[ Your demonic realm rank has drastically changed.]

[Current demonic realm rank: 49th (▲8,842)]

It’s a pity I can’t use Divine Descent.

Still, since Reid tampered with Librilli, it was convenient that 9th level divine power converted into demonic power.

[ You have corrupted.]

“......Hoo.”

My body felt refreshed. The energy that was sapping my stamina was gone.

The nightmare could no longer control the disrupted 17th cycle as it wished. Muriel and the heretic inquisitors were all defenseless.

“Yo, you......!”

“It’s time to leave, Muriel.”

I didn’t refuse the good opportunity and resumed the fight.

The horizontal blade clawed the air like the cruel talons of a giant beast, while the vertical hidden sword swept mercilessly like the black tail of a demonic dragon.

I tore the dream apart without restraint.

✠

Rustle......

Muriel’s body, cut by Librilli, charred black. The wind that blew soon scattered the ashes into nothingness.

The hair of the one who severed the breath of despair also fluttered with the wind. Her long hair, flowing softly in one direction, was black as night.

She planted her pitch-black battle scythe in the middle of the battlefield like a conqueror’s banner and slowly turned her head.

Backlit by the full moon, her graceful profile was revealed, and finally our eyes met.

Her pupils were a luscious crimson, like garnets set deep in her eyes.

“......Ah.”

I unintentionally let out a gasp, and something inside Tesilid changed.

As proof, the black haze that had bound his body quickly withdrew to the ground.

She crushed the despair writhing like worms on the floor and approached him.

When she stood three steps away, Tesilid’s expression, now calmly composed, was no longer that of the 17th cycle.

He spoke.

“That’s strange. I clearly don’t remember doing anything... Why are you like this?”

As he murmured in a daze, his appearance changed.

Like color seeping into Ayleth, his silver hair, like a pale moon, darkened to nightfall, and his sea-blue eyes flushed red.

His voice, like wandering a dream, continued.

“This can’t be reality. It must be a dream, since it’s so sweet.” 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

“Yeah, your nightmare.”

Only then did Reid seem to clear the haze from his eyes. His functioning mind immediately grasped the situation.

“Ah, yes. Nightmare Catcher. You’ve come to take me from this dream.”

“Yeah.”

“So this place is a dream, but your corruption is real.”

“That’s right. As you said, corruption isn’t a big deal. It’s easy.”

“.......”

Reid said nothing for a while, trembling as he watched Ayleth. She read his mind at once.

“Why? Are you surprised to be talking to me and looking fine?”

“......Yeah. You still have will.”

“Maybe because you corrupted yourself willingly.”

Ayleth glanced at the Librilli, which had changed from Sacred to Demonic Scythe, and recalled it.

Brushing back her black hair lightly, she shared her thoughts.

“Now I get it. Humans are inconsistent; they aren’t clearly divided into good or evil. Sometimes they’re good, sometimes evil.”

Listening to Ayleth, Reid remembered the execution ground of the narrow absolute good.

Those dragged there and struggling for survival weren’t all villains. They were ordinary people simply being tested.

If one isn’t called a villain, they should be grateful for not being tested. If one believes oneself good, the moment of trial demands the hardest choice.

“Librilli, fortunately, narrows the criteria for good so tightly that if you are hostile to god, good, or the world, it corrupts you. And as you guessed, what I fought earlier was...”

“.......”

“The world.”

“.......”

“The world hated you, so I ended up hating you too.”

Maybe because of her beautiful voice, those words sounded like the sweetest and most beautiful poetry.

I could listen to them a thousand or ten thousand times without getting tired.

Of course, since I couldn’t make her lose her voice, I savored the words in my mind. But something cruel happened to him.

Ayleth changed. The blackness at the tips of her hair vanished, revealing the original pink.

Reid’s eyes darkened as he followed.

“......Back to normal.”

“I thought I could do it after seeing what you did. I can.”

Somehow, he climbed back onto the narrow tightrope of good.

“I don’t think experiences like this 17th cycle will happen often, but if needed, I’ll corrupt sometimes. I’m on your side.”

“.......”

“Of course, one day the whole world will love you, so just until then.”

“.......”

She finished with a playful smile.

“I have to make the whole world love you soon.”

“The whole world......”

The tone of those words was unusually deep. Reid closed and opened his eyes slowly, murmuring as if to himself.

“Yeah, the whole world. The whole world’s love.”

The dream world, where despair had no place to intrude, began collapsing on its own. It was time to leave.

Reid reached out toward Ayleth.

“Let’s go back, Ai.”

“Yeah, Reid.”

The two walked into the light like morning sunshine.

✠

I used to think the whole world’s love was unnecessary.

The category called the whole world was just an excuse to bind her inside it.

But now I felt truly filled as if the whole world loved her.

Perhaps his world was Ayleth Rodeline. Reid recalled a recent memory.

It was when he had secretly written the “Q&A of Truth” in the Library of All Things, avoiding her gaze.

—Qualification check. Authorization granted for the use of the Q&A of Truth... Welcome, seeker of answers unattainable from the gods. What do you wish to know?

—How to corrupt Ayleth Rodeline?

—That is...

The perfect and ecstatic answer the Bible gave then was this:

—To transform compassion into love.

In other words, to make her love him.