The Artist Who Paints Dungeon-Chapter 124

"......"

"...Hmm..."

Gio nodded.

"Can I leave now that it's over?"

"Why not listen a bit more?"

"It's heavy enough already. I’m suffocating."

"Goodness, what a drama."

"My limits on violence only extend to fights over friendship and love."

"The main topic isn't over, so wait."

"I’m good at waiting."

"Quite the diligent listener."

Delighted by the attentive listener, Arzio continued explaining things related to himself.

"This is how the evil god ‘Arzio’ was born, and the world started to quickly approach its demise. So many countless souls of saints gained divinity... and can you imagine how docile that would be?"

Humans said that the evil god used wicked monsters to torment them, and in reality, that was exactly what happened.

"If I had to make an analogy for you to understand, would you call him something like the Demon King?"

"I’ll understand him as the Demon King from the fairy tales where kidnapped princesses and brave warriors appear."

"Not much different, I suppose. I simplified it that way."

A peaceful world, with a single ominous area existing. There, the Demon King began scheming, spreading plague and using monsters to torment humans.

It was something that lasted for a long time, enough to be recorded in history books. Humans began living ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) in fear of the Demon King’s tyranny, and the world came under the rule of horrific monsters.

"Since the Demon King’s tyranny reached its peak, what should appear next?"

"A hero?"

"As time passed after the evil god appeared, those who would seal this wicked beast began to emerge."

"Quite the typical response..."

"They eventually succeeded in sealing ‘Arzio’."

During that process, the heroes learned the truth of the Black Forest, but well...

"That’s not really an important part."

In the end, they hid the story of the evil god's birth.

"Perhaps they couldn’t accept the foolish mistakes made by my ancestors, whom they believed to be virtuous. The being they thought was the world’s evil was actually created by humans, so imagine how shocking that must have been?"

"Do you resent them?"

"No, they were never the madmen who burned my house and family. They are not who I should be angry with. More than anything, living under the weight of countless vengeful spirits, carrying anger I didn’t even want to feel, isn’t something I would welcome either..."

Arzio spoke calmly.

"I am thankful."

Anger should be fully one’s own.

"Do you know how terrible it is to express anger that isn’t even mine? Do you know how foolish it feels to throw out pointless rage? I understand why the evil god is called the evil god—having to enjoy massacres I never asked for."

It was absurd.

"I know I haven’t lived in a way to earn divine mercy and grace, but isn’t this a bit much? To massacre innocent people with no will or guilt isn’t my joy. What’s the point in killing a terrified child who knows nothing?"

"Unexpectedly normal words..."

"Anger must be proportional if it is to have value and pleasure. But I alone could not stop it; the saints’ pain and despair were far too great. The anger of those who had to die horribly in the dark without knowing why was overwhelming."

But to him, anger was not something cheap.

"I affirm myself. I affirm everything about me, so life is joyful and without regret. So, the anger I feel should be proportional to that... and I’m thankful for it."

In that sense, he was grateful.

"They were called heroes, but they were nothing more than sacrifices. They were dragged into a battlefield they had no responsibility for, just because they were strong and talented, and had to endure great pain and sorrow while sealing the Demon King."

"..."

"They didn’t want to fight. They were just humans, not warriors—someone’s family, someone’s friend. And to get their happy daily lives back, to fix mistakes they didn’t even make, they had to suffer so much."

How illogical it all was.

"But in the end, the world perished. Isn’t that inevitable? After all, this evil god was created by humans, and would sealing him remove the anger of the remaining beasts?"

"Then how did Arzio’s world perish?"

"It perished in a miserable and vulgar fight, so much so that the distinction between humans and beasts no longer mattered. It was a very childish fight. Those who remained have long since transformed into monsters..."

Cluck, Arzio clicked his tongue.

"Humans blamed me for everything and did countless wicked deeds. Even if their lover cheated, they blamed the evil god for tempting them, and if I killed someone, they said the evil god led me down that wicked path. Every fight with neighbors and every war with neighboring villages was blamed on this cruel beast?"

In the end, their evasion of responsibility created the evil god and made him even stronger.

"They didn’t even realize that such laziness would only encourage the evil god’s ferocity. Thanks to that, ‘Arzio’s’ story was recorded in history in a much more horrific form, and with that record and memory, ‘Arzio’ became a very cruel monster."

"You got what you deserved."

"That’s why I say stop blaming me. They’re the ones who inflated our bodies and made us grow, and even made us uncomfortable. If I had been ashamed of the beasts I gave birth to and revealed the secrets of the saints, maybe it would have been okay."

Thus Arzio asked.

"Hey, Gio. My friend who looks just like me."

"I’m listening."

"I just want to express my own anger."

That was what Arzio wanted.

"Anyone who wants to fight me can fight me. Anyone who has wronged me can pay with blood. I am an honorable warrior with my family, and a greedy one who feels fulfilled when I accomplish everything I want."

That was his wish.

"I’ll give myself to you, so take care of the descendants of my family."

"These 'Gios' keep talking about their families."

"Didn’t the Gio in front of me want to take care of his father? I’m similar."

"How should I take care of them?"

"Go to ‘The Kingdom of Animals’ you painted and show mercy to those poor beasts."

"I’m not really in a position to show mercy."

"No, you are more than qualified."

And.

"Above all... please stop this crazy evil god’s anger."

"Pardon? Me?"

"I believe you can handle it."

"Heavens."

"Is that what you call the origin? Very trustworthy."

"There’s a misunderstanding, I don’t know how to deal with dangerous beings like the evil god."

"I’ll let this clever joke pass."

"You only listen to what you want to hear. You really are a ‘Gio’ for sure."

"This narrow hearing of mine is one of the skills that helped me survive in the Black Forest." ƒrēenovelkiss.com

Arzio laughed as though it was all trivial.

"Don’t worry, your vessel is bigger than mine, so you won’t be unable to handle it. I’m the last personality to die and came to this spot, but if you want to become one with me, you’ll eventually become one with all those countless madmen."

"Should I not be stupid then? I’m not confident."

"I already think you’re plenty antisocial."

"Where would a model student like me get such remarks from?"

"There’s a saying on Earth, 'Delusion is a form of insanity.'"

"......"

The possessed portrait became subdued.

"Arzio’s words are right."

"I'm very glad I won."

"......"

Kingdom of Animals_Arzio

"I'm... not feeling great."

Arzio’s Quest

"Such a quiet world."

"Cluck?"

"Yeah, it’s awful."

Control of the Evil God (0/1)

Fresh rain in the dry forest (0/2)

"It feels like I just drank some horrible alcohol..."

Fairy tale compatibility 1%

"That’s right."

"Cluck."

"This might be fun."

"Cluck?"

"I have a cute son, after all."

Lying on the bed, Gio suddenly grabbed the small bird.

"Peace isn’t as bad as I thought."

Now, there were no more fools screaming in anger in his ears.

Control of the Evil God (1/1)

Fairy tale compatibility 21.1%

"......"

"......"

"Any places to fight?"

"Cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck!!!"

"Ouch..."

Gio got scolded by his son for not being aware.

While Gio was still wrapping up his mindset as Arzio.

"What are you doing?"

"Drawing."

"You can draw?"

"Wanna see?"

"Yeah."

The youngest of the Chara family, Chai Sol, was chatting with her partner.

"Tada."

"...Well, you said you draw, but I don’t think you ever said you were good at it."

"Don’t you think I drew this well for what it is?"

"So what’s supposed to be running, I don’t get it."

"Look, this is a cloak..."

"Ah."

Chai Sol’s partner, Iru Da, nodded.

"Did you draw the Black Cloak?"

"Yeah, looks pretty close, right?"

"It does look like it’s black."

"Ruda, at least say it looks good, even if it’s a lie."

"It’s well done."

"You’re the first friend who can’t even say a white lie."

Chai Sol laughed heartily.

"Now, look again."

"I don’t think I need to."

"This is the arm. This is the leg, and this is the torso..."

"Ah, yeah. I see."

"This is the eye."

"......"

Iru Da tilted his head.

"...An eye?"

"Yeah, an eye."

"...The eyeball of a person?"

"Couldn’t I draw it that way?"

"It’s not that... the eyes are just too big."

"......"

It was beyond the human face, drawn so far that it reached behind it.

"I thought it was supposed to be a halo."

"Huh? Does it look like that?"

"When you think of an eye, it’s supposed to be attached to a face, like ours."

"There are people like that, too."

"People who are... not like that?"

Iru Da looked again at the black-stained drawing.

"...It’s a person, right?"

"The Black Cloak is a person, too."

"Probably not."

Both the rumored Black Cloak and the one in this drawing.

"...Hmm."

Until just now, he had thought it was just a poorly drawn picture.

But seeing the many eyes, large and tangled together, it suddenly felt creepy.

"Chai Sol, you... said you don’t serve any gods right now?"

"Yeah, I don’t. I’m not sure what I should be doing, so I don’t have confidence."

"Really?"

For someone saying that.

"I see."

From the awful picture, Gio could feel a 'gaze.'

It was an ominous gaze, colder than the one she was receiving.