TSMMT Ch 176

That Monster

It was an absurd deduction, perhaps completely wrong. Yet something remained fundamentally strange.

When Fafnir first appeared, she had tried to draw Dianna in, never to harm her. A dragon powerful enough to overwhelm even Tarascus could have captured or killed Dianna with ease.

Instead, Fafnir had never inflicted the slightest injury upon her. As though reluctant to lay a hand on her directly, she had merely commanded the undead to restrain her.

Even when Dianna threw herself in front of Tarascus, Fafnir had simply clicked her tongue and vanished. She clearly possessed the power to crush everyone present, yet she had retreated.

Tarascus had claimed that understanding why Fafnir came here was the key, but Dianna could never figure it out. She had no prior connection to Fafnir.

It was the same now. Fafnir used her undead army to slaughter the soldiers, yet the moment Dianna appeared, she merely held her captive without doing anything further.

Fafnir had raised a hand to strike Dianna's cheek, only to freeze mid-swing, settling for watching the battle unfold from afar.

And then there were the undead knights—the dead bodies of the current, living Vargrhati. Where had they come from?

Naturally, they were from her past life, the timeline she had once lived through. If Fafnir originated from that timeline, it meant she had transported a massive number of corpses from that tragic era into this world.

But another question lingered.

Why did Fafnir hate Guiscard? Why did she hate Lodbrog?

Dianna didn't know the answer, save for one certainty.

The entity wearing Fafnir's skin would never harm Dianna. And though Guiscard Lodbrog of the past life was the king who commanded those knights, he was nowhere among those undead ranks.

Moreover, this being was clashing swords equally with Guiscard. Fafnir fought on par with a master who had reached the absolute pinnacle of swordsmanship.

Dianna could arrive at only one conclusion.

Mistaking this creature for Fafnir was a fundamental flaw from the beginning. Fafnir had died by Guiscard's hand and never resurrected. A dead dragon couldn't return to life.

Please, no. Please let me be wrong.

She prayed with every breath.

Please... please don't let it be true.

---

The draconic silhouette glowed with blinding light, morphing into human form.

Dianna stared blankly at Guiscard and this entity—the monster who had tormented her in her past life, plunging her into a living hell.

The moment familiar features emerged, despair shook Dianna to her core. The monster opened his eyes, staring at her with slitted purple pupils.

A raspy voice pierced her mind.

[Monster] "Dianna."

He took a ragged breath.

[Monster] "Dianna Brienne."

Nothing could defy his oppressive aura.

The metallic stench of blood seemed to coat her throat. Merely facing him made her stomach churn with nausea. She parted her lips, but no sound escaped. She stood frozen with a deathly pale face.

Was the man standing before her really Guiscard?

Unlike the current Guiscard, his hair reached long past his shoulders. Slitted like a reptile's, his pupils were bisected by a jagged scar over one eye. He looked entirely different from when she had last seen him. Instead of a sharp, razor-like gaze, his eyes were hollow and unfocused as they reflected her image.

[Monster] "Dianna."

Dianna bit her lip until it bled. She had believed they would never meet again. Death had severed their fate forever. Yet here he stood.

She choked out the words with immense effort.

[Dianna] "Why... why are you here?"

[Monster] "Why?"

Agony seared her chest. Dianna stared at the cruel destroyer of her life, at the monster. He was clearly unhinged. His cloudy, vacant eyes fixed solely on her, sending a chill down her spine.

A sudden, hollow smirk broke across his face, goosebumps rising on her skin.

[Monster] "Because I have to kill."

[Dianna] "Kill what?"

[Monster] "Because happiness isn't allowed."

With those words, the monster—Guiscard's past self—brought his sword down upon the present Guiscard. Blade clashed against blade with terrifying force. Simultaneously, the undead surged back into motion, drowning the field in chaotic shouts. Shockwaves rippled through the air from the sheer impact.

Looking at the face of the man matching his sword, the present Guiscard's eyes widened in shock.

[Monster] "Because 'I' am not allowed to be happy!"

The monster roared, unleashing a lethal strike. Guiscard barely parried in time. The weapon possessed crushing power, each swing whipping through the air with a deafening crack.

Guiscard's blade slashed across the monster's torso, drawing dark blood, but the wound knit itself closed instantaneously.

Both men fought with terrifying ferocity, every strike infused with a devastating aura. Dark purple sword light crackled fiercely around their clashing steel.

As Guiscard glared at his counterpart, the monster sneered.

[Monster] "What? You were enjoying your sweet little dream, weren't you?"

Guiscard paused, his eyes narrowing.

[Monster] "Yes, that's right."

His vacant expression vanished in an instant, replaced by thick, suffocating malice. Grinning twistedly, the monster laughed.

[Monster] "It really happened."

Guiscard's face contorted in bewilderment. He couldn't comprehend this madness or why another version of himself stood here. He glanced instinctively toward Dianna, only to realize her eyes were not fixed on him, but locked intently on the monster—on his past self.

They spoke as if they shared a dark, familiar history.

Ah... what is this?

The monster's blade impaled his abdomen. Before Guiscard could brace himself, the monster kicked him violently to the ground.

[Monster] "Die, die, die, die, die!"

He plunged his sword repeatedly into Guiscard without mercy. Blood splattered, bone fragments flew, and flesh tore open.

[Monster] "Die, die, die, die, Guiscard Lodbrog!"

The monster looked down at the bleeding man beneath him, pure euphoria gleaming in his vacant eyes.

Why does a man killing himself look so blissfully happy?

Why? Did I hate myself this deeply?

Yet Guiscard already knew the answer.

As blood pooled beneath him and his vision blurred, dark blood dripped from the monster's self-inflicted wounds directly onto him.

Drenched in that blood, his eyes flew wide open. Agonized screams tore from his throat.

[Guiscard] "Aaargh!"

[Dianna] "Guiscard!"

Dianna gritted her teeth, helpless. She was a mere spectator to this nightmare.

No! This can't end like this!

She raised her dagger high into the air.

[Dianna] "Guiscard, look at me!"

The blade gleamed with a cold, sharp light. As the monster turned around, she pressed the point directly against her own throat.

[Monster] "No..."

Her hand trembled violently as the tip stung her skin. Dianna locked eyes with the monster.

[Dianna] "Vanish this instant!"

[Monster] "Ah... ah... don't do that..."

[Dianna] "I will kill myself again! Get away from him right now!"

[Monster] "N-No... no, no..."

Pulling his blade from Guiscard, the monster stumbled toward Dianna. She watched his eerie, erratic movement.

[Monster] "Di... an... na... n-no..."

He shook his head frantically.

[Monster] "No... I... I can't bring you back this time..."

[Dianna] "Begone!"

[Monster] "Please... put it down..."

His slurred words were barely intelligible. Was this broken creature really her cold, ruthless husband from her past life? Her gaze wavered.

[Monster] "Don't die. You must not die."

He took a shuddering step closer.

[Monster] "I... I'll leave. I won't scare you anymore. Just please... don't die."

Trembling violently, the insane man pleaded with her. Dianna stared at him in stunned silence.

The monster darted his eyes toward the fallen Guiscard, a brief flash of twisted malice crossing his face before he clicked his tongue.

Then, as if suddenly terrified of upsetting Dianna, he glanced meekly at her and dissolved into nothingness.

Simultaneously, the undead knights and monsters rampaging across the battlefield vanished without a trace.

---

Dianna rushed to Guiscard's side. As he lay gasping for air, his grievous wounds were already regenerating. She exhaled a breath of relief.

[Bill] "Protect His Majesty!"

Bill's loud command echoed as knights rushed forward. Dianna tried to follow, but Inez stepped into her path, stopping her.

[Inez] "Too many eyes are watching right now. Please visit later, my lady."

She nodded.

Triumphant cheers erupted across the battlefield. The soldiers had no idea what had just transpired; to them, only the retreat of the undead mattered.

Amidst their jubilation, Dianna stood rooted to the spot, lost in thought.

[Dianna] "Tarascus."

She turned toward Tarascus, who had barely managed to stand. Clutching his wounded shoulder, he limped over with a pained grimace, clearly battered by the dragon's power.

[Dianna] "Are you alright?"

[Taras] "I'll heal shortly."

He searched her face. Dianna stared dazedly at the spot where the monster had disappeared.

[Dianna] "The rift... was Guiscard."

She took a shuddering breath.

[Dianna] "More precisely... Guiscard from my past life."

She recalled the tragic, broken man.

What had happened to him? What had he sought?

Why had he crossed timelines to attack Lodbrog and his present self?

Sinking to her knees, Dianna buried her face in her hands.

It was a hollow conclusion for having saved the world from the undead.

She gasped for air under the crushing weight of reality.

Her husband had returned. The nightmare that had ruined her past life—the monster—had returned to her, twisted into something terrifyingly unnatural.

---

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