Eileen stood high in the air above Dolaichut’s Castle.
She was blocked by some sort of barrier.
Since she was currently unable to interfere with anything in this timeline, she could not destroy the barrier; she could only watch from the outside.
However, this was very strange.
Why was this barrier able to block her?
Logically, she should have been able to pass directly through it to observe the interior.
‘Could it be… this barrier is also related to the timeline?’
Atiste signaled the System and said, “Tongzi, move the display inside the barrier.”
[The System has switched to Free Observation Mode and will no longer follow the Retainer. Host, please observe on your own.]
Atiste manipulated the System Screen, zooming in on the image.
Passing through a window, he went directly into the interior of the castle.
He saw the Forge Hall shrouded in a dark red barrier, the light from outside the window twisting into a vortex.
An Obsidian Cross stood in the center of the hall.
The Noble Dolaichut was bound to it by chains, his arms spread wide and his chest exposed, covered in whip marks and bloodstains.
The unfinished Holy Sword stood upright behind him.
The blade had not yet been sharpened, but it emitted a cold silver glow within the light of the magic circle.
“Do it! Hahaha!”
Dolaichut’s voice was low and fanatical.
“Harder! Marishka! Make me bleed with every lash! Hahahahaha!”
Marishka, who held the Thorned Whip Artifact, felt only disgust.
However, she could only do as she was told, lashing out fiercely at Dolaichut’s chest.
His flesh was easily torn away by the strike.
The moment the blood flew into the air, it was absorbed by the cross behind him, transforming into energy that merged into the Holy Sword.
[Detected Mission Target: Dolaichut]
[Target Information: Demon Scientist. Using himself as research material, he is converting his body into a Magic Sword Body that can fuse with the Holy Sword. He is one of the core materials required to complete the Holy Sword.]
Atiste was stunned.
The mission target was not an object, but a living member of the Demon Race?
A slight smile played at the corners of Atiste’s mouth.
He found this mission rather interesting.
He used the System to send a Sound Transmission to Eileen:
[I didn’t expect our target to be this lunatic. Go back quickly and tell Lillian to speed up the progress!]
Eileen said with a hint of surprise, “I feel like this guy is just as crazy as Master… no, he’s even more insane than Master…”
Atiste was immediately displeased and retorted, ‘Someone like him isn’t an Artist; he’s a madman!
I am the true Artist!
There is a massive difference between the two!’
Eileen offered perfunctory comfort.
“Fine, fine — whatever Master says is right — Master is the greatest Artist of all —”
Eileen went to find Lillian.
Atiste, however, continued to manipulate the System camera to observe the Ritual.
Marishka was short and sturdy with brown braids and wrinkles on her face.
Those were not marks of aging, but brandings from the forge fire.
She had hair on her upper lip, which was considered a symbol of beauty among Dwarfs.
She stared at Dolaichut on the cross, her brow furrowed, her eyes shimmering with tears and hatred.
She gripped the whip so tightly her knuckles turned white.
She could only execute Dolaichut’s orders while simultaneously venting the hatred in her heart.
“Good! Good! Fantastic! I can feel my connection with the Holy Sword! Continue to strip away my flesh! Let me merge with the Holy Sword! Let me become the true Magic Sword!”
Atiste felt a wave of nausea watching this, but he also felt a sense of respect for this so-called Noble.
The man was actually sacrificing his own life for the sake of an Art Piece.
If this were recorded in the art history of the Abyssel Continent, it would certainly be a bold and heavy stroke.
Unfortunately, he would not live to see that day.
Dolaichut was bound to the Obsidian Cross by chains.
His magnificent black robes had been torn to shreds by the thorned whip, hanging from his body in tattered threads that revealed his pale torso covered in Demon Runes.
As the Ritual progressed, those runes pulsated slowly like the veins of a living creature.
The thorned whip left crisscrossing wounds on his body.
His dark bones were visible through the deepest gashes.
Yet he did not care at all.
Instead, he threw his head back, letting the blood flow down from his chest, abdomen, and cheeks.
A strange fanaticism burned in his sunken eyes, and his lips twisted into a smile from the intense pain.
He was not suffering; he was excited!
He was ecstatic that his experimental results were progressing!
That excitement outweighed the pain!
To the point where the agony from the Thorned Whip Artifact became an amplifier for his pleasure!
Blood dripped down along his hanging long hair, splashing onto the stone floor.
He looked down at his broken body as if inspecting an Art Piece nearing completion, then spoke in a raspy, obsessed voice.
“Again, Marishka. It’s not perfect yet. We need more merging!”
Marishka raised the whip and delivered ten consecutive strikes, which nearly left Dolaichut half-dead.
Rather than feeling any sense of release, Marishka felt more and more pain as Dolaichut gradually merged with the Holy Sword.
The Holy Sword was her creation, yet she could only watch as her greatest masterpiece was defiled by this beast before it was even finished!
And she had to do it.
If she resisted, this madman would harm her, forcing her to bear offspring who would inherit her forging talent to continue his insane research…
Three months ago, this man had appeared in Thor Village in Human form and kidnapped Marishka by force.
Now, three months later, Marishka was the only one who knew that this bastard was no Human Noble at all!
He was a Demon Scientist!
He had come specifically to seize the Holy Sword!
Thinking of this, the furious Marishka could no longer continue to swing the whip.
She knew all too well that every time she struck, the artifact would further facilitate the fusion between this demon and the Holy Sword…
“Enough… Dolaichut, stop defiling my work…”
Marishka sank to her knees, lowering her head as she wept feebly.
“Marishka! Meeting me is your honor! The world’s top scientist meeting the world’s top blacksmith! We should have worked together to create the most powerful weapon in this world! Move! I’m the one putting my life on the line; why are you hesitating? Where is your pride as a blacksmith!”
“Stop talking nonsense! The Holy Sword was my work from the beginning! You just want to turn it into a Magic Sword to present to the Demon King!”
“The Demon King is right. Once the Demon King obtains the Magic Sword, he will become the strongest in the world and unify it. From then on, there will be no more conflict!”
“Shut up! My Holy Sword was never meant to be born for slaughter! I… I can’t go on…”
Dolaichut’s eyes snapped open, glowing with a purple light.
Marishka’s body was instantly brought under his control.
“Move, Marishka. Only your forging can allow me to merge with the Holy Sword.”
Marishka resisted with all her might, but his magic was too powerful.
Her hands moved against her will.
Although her consciousness was perfectly clear, she could only mechanically continue to swing the Thorned Whip Artifact, continuing the Ritual that went against her soul.