Chapter 440 - : Eren, the true villain?
Eren carefully placed the Two-Face Mask on the Left Guardian's face. The wooden mask began to seamlessly merge with the woman's skin before vanishing entirely.
The blood that had previously stained her face also disappeared, and her complexion was restored. Her chest started rising and falling as she began to breathe again.
Suddenly, the Left Guardian opened her eyes. The first person she saw was Eren. Her gaze no longer held the previous hostility. Instead, her expression seemed much stranger as she looked at Eren.
"Do you want to kill me?" Eren asked Kelia to test how well the two faced mask was actually working.
"How can I hurt you? You are... my master." The woman stated, her eyes being submissive when looking at Eren, as if she was an entirely different person now.
"It seems the mask is working well enough. The unique grade items are quite good," Eren mumbled to himself.
Even though the description had told him what the mask was supposed to do, he didn't expect it to work this well.
When he was first offered this reward without any description, he thought it was something he had to use on himself. Only when he actually received the reward and used Identification on it, he came to realize just how special this item actually was.
The Two Faced Mask wasn't for the owner to use on himself. Instead, it was to protect their mental realm.
The mask's true use came when someone invaded their mental realm. With the effect of the mask, the invader couldn't leave the mental realm until one of them was killed.
If the owner was killed, then the mask was going to become useless, shattering in the process. However, if the owner killed the invader, destroying their consciousness, the mask truly became useful.
The fragments of destroyed consciousness were gathered by the small wooden mask within itself, preventing the invader's death.
The fragments were gathered within the mask, recreating the consciousness, completely identical to how it used to be.
There was one small modification made to the consciousness, which was that an absolute loyalty towards the owner was inserted in the deepest depths of the consciousness.
Before receiving the mask, Eren thought that he might just kill the Left Guardian if his mind was invaded before finding the door to hell and using the Hell's Pass to disappear.
It was the appearance of this reward which made him change his plan. He didn't have to be hasty anymore. He could take his time, understanding the situation better.
At the same time, he had controlled the Left Guardian which granted him a certain level of authority in the Necromancer Tower. He had received another identity useful to him.
"Tell me everything you know about Hell. What kind of place is that, and why is the Necromancer Tower trying to open Hell?" Eren asked the Left Guardian.
As her consciousness was recovered completely, none of her memories were missing. It allowed Eren an opportunity to receive the answers that he had long wanted.
"Hell is a world beyond our world. No one knows when it actually came into existence. It is claimed that Hell existed long before our world came into existence. It is believed that we Necromancers receive our strength from Hell."
"It is a blessing, as well as a curse. With the blessing, we can rule over the dead. However, our souls are also marked by Hell in return."
"Once a Necromancer dies, there is no reincarnation for us. The soul ends up in Hell, said to be tormented for an eternity in the hellish place."
"If that place is so bad, why are you trying to open an entrance to that place?" Eren asked, slightly confused.
As per Kelia, Hell was like personal hell for Necromancers. So why were Necromancers trying to enter that place? Why were they so eager to go there?
"There are two reasons. First is because it grants us strength. When the door opens completely, the connection between the two places becomes stronger. That is also the time when the Necromancers will be at their strongest."
"So you are planning to use Hell's opening to wipe out your enemies? No wonder the Holy Church is so restless." Eren rubbed his chin, with everything starting to make sense now.
Hell to the Necromancers was like a full moon to werewolves in myths of earth. They were trying to forcefully bring the full moon to conquer everything.
"You said there are two reasons? What is the second reason?" he further asked, remembering the girl mentioning the presence of another important reason.
"The second reason is just as important, if not more. It is because 'he' is there. The Tower Master wants to find him and bring him back."
"Him? Who is that?" Eren asked, wondering if the person was supposed to be the main character of the Northern Continent. Or the appearance of the main character was an accident while the real target of the Necromancer Tower was someone else?
"Zephyr... Zephyr Necroline." The woman stated, making Eren go silent.
He was not shocked by the person's name. His real shock came from the person's last name. The person had the same last name as him. While he was Ren Necroline, the person that the Necromancer Tower wanted was Zephyr Necroline?
"What is his relationship with me?" he asked the woman who had already seen his real identity in the mind realm.
Even though his consciousness was destroyed and repaired, her memories were still intact.
She knew Eren's true identity. However, thanks to the mask, no one could see through the parts of her memories that had anything to do with him, even if they were to search her soul in the future.
"Zephyr Necroline, was the first person you killed," Kelia informed Eren.
Eren rubbed his forehead, hearing her answer. As if the enemies in this world weren't enemies, Ren had also made enemies in Hell?
At this point, he had a strong feeling that Zephyr Necroline was actually the main character of the Northern Continent.
Until now, Eren was a third party in the conflicts of the main characters. This time, he was directly involved.
If Zephyr Necroline was the main character, it meant he was the main villain in Zephyr's story.