THE VILLAIN'S POV

Chapter 904: Fractured Bond (1)

"It’s time for us to head to Hellmond."

Frey made his decision at last, choosing their next destination without hesitation. The words alone caught Abraham off guard as he sat beside him.

"Didn’t you say you had no desire to kill the demons?"

"And I still don’t." Frey replied while staring ahead, his tone calm before he turned toward his father. "The First Writer is already far too powerful. The last thing we need is for her to grow even stronger."

Abraham listened in silence, leaning back slightly as he thought over those words before finally asking with caution:

"What exactly are you planning to do there... in Hellmond?"

Six months had passed since the catastrophic battle fought on Earth, and Hellmond had lost the greatest shield it had ever possessed... the Demon King, Agaroth, who had once been bound to that world.

The moment he was freed, he entered the mysterious continent. Crimson Moon followed soon after, alongside the strongest of the demons as well.

In other words, the Demon World no longer possessed anyone capable of defending it from a large-scale invasion, especially not from a monstrous force like the Shadow Sect, a faction overflowing with terrifying beings.

In response to his father’s question, Frey raised three fingers.

"There are three objectives we absolutely must accomplish in Hellmond, no matter the cost." Frey said with a faint smile as he revealed his plans.

"First... free Audrey from her prison within the Tower of End."

"Second... locate the corpse of the First Demon, Manus. The Great Ones most likely killed him."

"And third..."

Frey fell silent for a moment before revealing the final point, completely catching Abraham off guard.

"Bring the demons into the Shadow Sect."

The moment those words left his mouth, Abraham shot to his feet instinctively, staring at his son in utter disbelief.

"...Are you serious?"

Frey nodded calmly.

"Completely."

Abraham could not understand him. No... part of him did not even want to understand what his son was trying to do. Those goals sounded utterly insane.

"Why..." Abraham muttered. "Why would you do something like that?"

The demons were the enemy. The enemies of every living thing in the material world. So why would Frey want to recruit them? And more importantly... how could they ever agree to follow him in the first place?

Then there was that woman named Audrey. Was she not one of the First Writer’s followers? Why would Frey want to save her?

Abraham’s thoughts spiraled endlessly until Frey smiled faintly and gestured for him to stop overthinking.

"You’ll understand when the time comes, Father." he said softly. "So for now... I just need you to trust me."

Abraham’s fist tightened unconsciously at those words before he suddenly exploded.

"And why do you think I’ve followed you this far?!"

He grabbed Frey by the shoulders, his voice shaking violently.

"What do you think is the reason I’m still standing beside you after everything you’ve done with those souls?!"

The calm son and the deeply conflicted father locked eyes as the latter desperately searched for answers.

"I don’t agree with any of this!" Abraham shouted. "The path of sacrifice and slaughter you’ve chosen... I never accepted it. I never will."

"But I followed you anyway."

"Because I believe in you... because you’re my son!"

His grip tightened enough to crush stone.

"Because you told me that day... that you would create a world where Ada could finally live in peace. A world where nothing could steal her smile away. A world where she wouldn’t have to wake up every single day terrified for her own life and the lives of the people she loves!"

Even under that crushing grip, Frey did not resist. He simply looked at his father quietly.

"Father..." he asked softly. "Do you truly believe a goal like that can be achieved through kindness and reform alone?"

"Do you think we can win without sacrificing anyone? Without staining our hands with sin?"

A mocking smile slowly formed on Frey’s face.

"That’s impossible."

"If you want to fight evil... then you must become something even worse."

"You fight blood with blood. There is no other path."

His voice deepened heavily.

"That is what I learned the hard way... after trying hundreds of times and failing every single one of them."

For the first time since the conversation began, Frey’s composure cracked slightly.

Abraham’s eyes trembled.

"...Then what exactly makes you any different from them?" he asked quietly.

Frey’s bitter smile widened.

"Nothing."

"Nothing at all."

"We’re alike... Agaroth and I. After all, I’m the one who created him in the first place."

A dry laugh escaped his lips.

"In one way or another... I’m the cause behind every disaster that ever befell us."

There was no pride in those words. Only exhaustion.

"I stepped onto this road of blood a very long time ago." Frey continued firmly. "And I intend to keep walking it for as long as necessary."

He slowly removed Abraham’s hand from his shoulder.

"I won’t force you to walk this path beside me, Father."

"But understand this clearly... if you truly wish to reclaim your complete identity as a Writer, then staying beside me is your only option."

Abraham fell silent after hearing that.

His expression twisted slightly before he finally let out a crooked, almost helpless smile.

"...What choice did you leave me with?" he muttered. "I don’t see any road left for me besides this one."

Frey lowered his head slightly, his eyes fixed upon the ground beneath them.

"I think..." he began quietly, "that in the end... I still can’t do this alone."

"That’s why I’m trying so hard to keep you beside me."

A faint smile appeared on his lips, but his eyes told an entirely different story.

They looked exhausted.

Like someone desperately clinging to the final thing keeping him from sinking completely into darkness.

"The truth is..." Frey said softly, "I’d be very alone without you."

For a moment, Abraham felt something burn painfully inside his chest.

He looked at his son... at the boy who seemed stronger now than ever before, yet somehow just as fragile and wounded as he had always been.

Frey was complicated. Impossible to fully understand. His personality itself had become the accumulation of endless suffering, despair, and years spent drowning in darkness.

The being standing before him now was the culmination of all of it.

A monster capable of enduring anything.

...but never without pain.

And Abraham understood something clearly in that moment.

He was one of the few people Frey still clung to... terrified that if he let go completely, he would fall into an abyss he could never escape from again.

That realization tore Abraham apart internally.

Between his beliefs... and his family.

Yet despite everything, Abraham had always chosen family over all else.

"...Until we create the ending your sister deserves." Abraham finally said while turning his head away.

"I’ll stay beside you."

"I’ll endure whatever comes from this point onward... so do what you must."

Hearing that, Frey nodded slowly with a strained smile.

"...Thank you, Father."

Thus, Abraham and Frey chose to remain together, clinging tightly to the bond that still made them a family.

Yet Frey felt it clearly.

A crack had formed within that once-perfect relationship between them.

A fracture that had been inevitable from the very beginning.