Dark Fantasy Normalized-Chapter 77: Verdandes

One must not pass down the unquenchable embers of catastrophe to future generations.

For Sahila.

For Kehlin.

For the Dark Elves.

The hero Sahila devoted everything to utterly annihilate the existence of the demon Verdandes.

A devotion that embraced even the sacrifice of her own life.

And so, the final method she reached was to seal the existence of the demon Verdandes within her own body.

The will of the great hero would surely suppress the demon's existence.

No one doubted it.

***

"..."

The demon's whisper echoed.

A faint sound, like the breath slipping from a dying elder’s lungs.

Sahila ignored it without a second thought.

***

"You're noisy."

The demon's whisper echoed.

Sahila muttered with a weary expression.

***

"Stop. Stop. Stop."

The demon's whisper echoed.

Sahila murmured, eyes shut tight.

***

"Uaaaaaah!!!"

The demon's whisper echoed.

Sahila screamed, clutching her ears in a fit.

***

"SHUT UP!!!"

The demon's whisper echoed.

Sahila hurled her fist at the mirror.

***

"...My lord! Master!!!"

"...!"

Sahila barely regained her senses.

"Ah... Father..."

What she saw first was the small boy pinned beneath her.

None other than her son.

One hand was at his throat.

The other—grasping that hand, holding it back.

Armed retainers stood encircling them, unable to move.

"What... happened...?"

"During the meal, you suddenly rose and approached the young master. And then..."

The retainer couldn’t bring himself to continue, but it was already enough.

Sahila had been overcome by the demon’s power and lost herself for a moment.

And in that moment of loss, nearly caused an irreparable tragedy.

"Father, a-are you... okay...?"

And yet the child still worried for his father.

Not out of maturity, but because he didn’t understand what had happened.

How could he?

How could he possibly imagine that his father had just tried to kill him?

Sahila clutched her son tightly in her arms.

"Master..."

A single word from a retainer.

But it carried so many meanings.

It was time to face humiliation.

"Prepare the seal transfer."

In the end, the great hero had to accept it—

that bearing Verdandes’ existence was too much for her.

That to completely destroy the power and existence of Verdandes...

was something close to impossible.

─────

Verdandes’ power had vanished.

That was the conclusion Kella reached once she finally grasped her own state.

The immense demonic power that had been part of her just moments ago—

she couldn’t feel even a trace of it now.

"This... can’t be..."

That power was on a different plane altogether than the pitiful scraps handed down to other demon worshipers.

It had been the result of absorbing the sealed power from Verdandes’ Eye, a part of the demon’s true self.

Destroying Verdandes’ existence?

Not even Sahila—who had stood on the brink of the 8th tier, on the verge of claiming the stars by name—had succeeded.

And yet... who, or what, could possibly destroy Verdandes’ power?

So Kella denied it.

She retraced her senses and tried to summon that power again.

And then—her face lit up with ecstasy.

Something stirred in response to her touch.

It was unmistakable.

That power, vast and vile, had to be Verdandes’—the demon of the desert.

Kella summoned all the might of the being she worshipped.

A pure, untainted desert energy gathered at her fingertips.

"?"

What?

Kella stared dumbly at her own hand.

Whack!

Right as she regained herself, Kairen struck her with the hilt of his sword, breaking through the mental influence.

"..."

Kairen looked baffled.

He stared down at his sword’s handle—the one he had just used to knock Kella out.

Was it really okay for it to end this easily?

He had felt Kella’s strength. He’d been pushed to the brink.

He couldn’t help but feel guilty.

Could this be part of her scheme?

He kept his eyes on her fallen form, warily.

And then—

Khkh! Koff!

Kella’s body twitched violently.

***

Where is this place?

In a world where nothing existed, it asked itself the question.

...

It tried to # Nоvеlight # remember—

but eventually gave up.

There was another, more important question.

Who... am I?

It asked again.

...

Just like before, no matter how hard it tried, nothing came back.

And just as it was about to give up—

No...

An overwhelming sense of self-awareness pulled it upright.

I am... the sand dune that veils the sun...

Who dares define me... bind me...

The empty void suddenly swelled—

filled with a violent sandstorm.

***

It was a grotesque sight.

Kella, the demon worshiper, writhed on the ground, eyes rolled back—

crawling over the dark blood she had vomited out earlier.

Scooping it back into her mouth like a miser gathering spilled gold coins.

“My lady! Stay back!”

Kairen threw himself in front of Katria.

Even setting aside the ominous horror of the scene,

Kella’s power was rapidly restoring itself.

But it was no longer stable.

Crack

Crunch

Movements that defied the structure of a human body.

She was no longer a wielder of demonic power.

She was now being wielded by it.

The Verdandes power Kella had absorbed—

within it had lain the faint remnants of the demon’s consciousness.

And when the core, the original mind of Verdandes, erupted in chaos somewhere far off—

those fragments responded,

devouring and overtaking Kella’s sense of self.

"Rrraaaagh—"

What was once Kella drooled bloody spit as she lashed out toward Katria and Kairen.

A tide of darkness rose—sand-like waves crashing toward them.

Kairen hoisted Katria and leapt away.

He set her down in a safe place—then immediately returned to engage.

***

Even at her peak, Kella had been wary of facing Kairen head-on.

And now, with her identity broken, flailing in unrestrained chaos—

there was no way it could be a fair fight.

The battle ended in an instant.

The storm of cursed sand swirling in the room came to a stop.

Thud.

Kella’s head, severed from her body, hit the floor.

It was over.

At last, it was over.

Kairen turned to Katria, ready to savor their victory together.

“Kairen, we need to get to the Tower. Now.”

But instead, what he saw was his lady—anxious and agitated.

“What’s wrong?”

The bizarre phenomenon Kella had displayed—

Katria understood what it was right away.

Verdandes.

He was rampaging.

Why?

She didn’t know.

But what was clear—

was the scale of it.

Even Kella, who only held unanchored power without a mind, had lost herself completely.

Then what about Lisir—

who housed the demon’s entire self within his body?

“Lisir. He’s in danger...! We have to help him now!”

***

“Oh, Katria. You’re just in time. This—

I think you can take it back now.”

Lisir.

He was still in Meltas’ lab.

With Master Meltas—

and something else.

He gestured to something sitting on the desk for Katria to see.

Verdandes.

His final desperate struggle came to nothing.

He writhed until the end within the prison that was Lisir—

and in the end, lost himself completely.

The immense sandstorm of wicked will was no more.

"Hey kid. What was your name again?"

—I’m Verban-de-chu! The Sandshyde who hides the sun!

"No, no—it's Verdandes~"

—Veru... Veru... That name’s weird!!! I want a different one!

What remained was a sand spirit in the form of a little girl.

"..."

***

Lord Borad Sahila.

Took up the task of annihilating Verdandes as a lifelong mission to honor his father's will—

but in the end, failed.

Even so, the vast achievements he left behind were passed down as a legacy to future generations.

─────

Duhon Sahila.

Inherited the same mission—destroying Verdandes—but also failed.

However, he discovered flaws in the seal while secretly monitoring Verdandes, who had been building power within it, and managed to reinforce it.

─────

Yona Sahila.

Gave up on destroying Verdandes and instead focused on sealing.

Realized that no seal could stop Verdandes’ power from growing, and sought out a new sealing method.

In time, developed a contract seal—a binding pact that restricted the entity and drained its power to halt further growth.

─────

Lophis Sahila.

Recognized the limits of the contract seal and tried to find a new method—but failed.

Came to understand that there was no more efficient sealing technique, and once again shifted focus to annihilation.

Failed again.

But this time, uncovered something new.

Warned future generations that Verdandes’ return was near.

─────

The current head of the Sahila family: Reshana Sahila.

She had little interest in sealing or destroying Verdandes.

But her mother—the previous family head—had left her a warning.

Reshana knew the return of Verdandes could not be stopped.

She knew it was already upon them.

Perhaps, she thought, she would become the first Sahila to stand against Verdandes since the original family head.

What greater honor could there be?

...What heavier burden could there be?

Resignation. And resolve.

Reshana Sahila began laying the groundwork.

To prepare for the coming return of Verdandes—

to protect her people and the legacy of her ancestors from a force that could neither be sealed nor destroyed.

The weight choked her.

Though it was a great honor to inherit her forebears’ glory, it was also a crushing burden.

She constantly asked herself:

Can I truly do this?

But the answer didn’t matter.

It had to be done—regardless of possibility.

And so, Reshana Sahila lived each day in anxiety and quiet resolve.

Preparing to accept the day of reckoning, whenever it came.

***

Her son’s sudden disappearance, coupled with growing signs of unrest inside and outside Kehlin.

The Sahila family had already apprehended several demon worshipers.

Reshana Sahila felt it in her bones.

Then, one day—

"My lady!!!"

The moment had come.

The head of the Sahila family closed her eyes.

After a long silence, she finally spoke with firm resolve.

"Speak."

"Verdandes’ curse...!"

Verdandes had cursed the Sahila family.

The act of sealing him had set that curse in motion,

and it was foretold that with his return, the curse would consume the Sahila bloodline.

Its first target would undoubtedly be the current head.

But Reshana simply smiled. A calm, seasoned smile that quieted those around her.

"Relax. I’m fine."

"Verdandes’ curse... has been lifted!"

Reshana Sahila.

By overseeing the destruction of Verdandes in her time,

she had finally fulfilled the Sahila family’s long-standing mission.

"Why?"

It didn’t matter.

It was done.

***

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[Title: Bro, this game’s late-game is so brutal I can’t play more than an hour a day]

Post: What kind of fate quest has a recommended minimum level in the 70s lmao

: Bro I’m struggling with level 50 mobs right now and it’s saying 70 minimum? Yeah I’m out

: Tbf that’s a late-late game zone lol

: If it’s min level 70 that’s gotta be post-Kardum

[OP] : DarkkanfpTown

: Ah, Kehlin lmao

: That place really is a wall of despair

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***

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[Title: Wow but Kehlin’s timeline is BS wtf lol]

Post: Honestly if that bitch Kella hadn’t taken the last hit on Katria back then,

none of this would’ve happened

: Fr, Kella unseals Verdandes, comes back to Kehlin, and just starts free-farming

Her growth rate's busted af

Looking at the in-game timeline she’s literally progressing faster than the player lmao

: So you’re saying Kehlin got destroyed because of us?

: At least it’s DarkkanfpTown so I don’t feel that guilty

: Today, I’m grateful for the blade of the dead

: Verdandes couldn’t even keep up with these people lmao

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***

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▷Region: Kehlin – Deactivated

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▷Fate Entity: Verdandes, of All Sand and Wind [Lv. 78] – Deactivated

▷Fate Entity: Kella the Sandbearer [Lv. 73] – Deactivated

▷Fate Entity: Devotees of the Sandstorm [Lv. 71] – Deactivated

▷Fate Entity: She Who Shall Swallow Sand Eternal (Reshana Sahila) [Lv. 71] – Deactivated

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Bonus rewards have been granted.

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New system unlocked: [Faction Enhancement]

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▷Faction Enhancement: You may allocate EXP to grant beneficial effects to your allies.

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Select where to allocate experience:

[Self], [Faction]

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If no selection is made within the time limit, a default target will be chosen automatically.

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***

—Please let me keep serving as your maid, just until I’ve repaid your kindness!

That was the first thing Katria said to me once the whole incident wrapped up.

Living together had shown me just how much a maid—one who handled chores and everyday comforts—could warm a man’s heart in more ways than one.

—No.

But I declined.

I’d leeched off the Tower for long enough under the excuse of mediating between the mages and their sponsors.

But all things had to end.

The negotiations were mostly done.

And I’d gotten everything I could from staying here.

What was left—

delving deeper into magic theory, or taking specialized combat lessons from Meltas and the other masters—

those weren’t things you could just dabble in for free lodging.

Once I touched that, I’d become a true hybrid: a full-fledged honorary mage.

It would be greed. A distraction from the real point.

If I wanted to maintain positive relations with the Tower, it was time I established my own base.

In short, I’d be leaving the Tower soon.

Losing my lodging again.

I couldn’t afford a maid—nor did I need one.

Especially not when that maid wasn’t some stray slave, but the daughter of a grand southern noble house.

Even Katria couldn’t argue with such reason.

—Got it! Then I’ll come visit soon! Properly, with full formality, as my true self! Not in disguise!

And so the Dark Elves returned home with energy in their step.

With a promise to repay their debt in full—

—‘That one’ is something our people treasure deeply. We entrust it to you, master.

Please consider it a symbol of our sincerity and trust.

Leaving behind a mischievous spirit on a tiny hill—

a scrap demon of the desert named something-like-Verban... something.

I was in the middle of slowly packing up my belongings from the Tower dorm I’d been staying in—

“...Huh?”

Something strange entered the corner of my vision.

If I wasn’t seeing things, it said:

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A new system has been unlocked.

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