The firewood in the campfire had burned down to embers, emitting crackling sounds, sending up sparks that scattered across the night sky.
Nidhogg handed a bowl of hot soup to the uninvited guest, Vargas. He ladled another bowl for himself and leaned against Torrent's warm belly as the spirit steed lay down. He sipped his soup and ate his meat while listening to Vargas's story.
The corners of Vargas's mouth had been torn during torture, making drinking hot soup quite troublesome. He was a bit like the Skull Knight swallowing a Beherit—gulping down the soup while plenty of broth leaked from his mouth.
After finishing the hot soup, now thoroughly warmed, Vargas set down his crutches and revealed two prosthetic limbs attached to his broken legs beneath his cloak. He continued telling Nidhogg his story.
"Where was I... Ah yes, the tragedy at the castle. The Count's wife was sacrificed by the cultists. Though the Count avenged her, he seemed to change after that."
"To prevent his wife's tragedy from repeating, the Count protected his daughter, Delicia, almost obsessively. He even locked her in her room like a caged bird, refusing to let her leave."
"Under the banner of completely eradicating cults and paganism, the Count constantly conducted heresy trials. He arrested and executed a significant number of innocent civilians within his domain... But that's not the worst part."
"The worst part is that some people deemed heretics would be thrown into the torture chamber in the dungeon and subjected to unimaginable cruel punishments. These included, but were not limited to, flaying, dismemberment, bloodletting, and amputation."
"He would even cut flesh and skin from the tortured victim while they could still clearly feel pain, and then eat it piece by piece right before their eyes."
"This is no longer something a human could do... I know this well, because I was his accomplice—his physician. I dissected the bodies of these heretics for him."
"But I truly couldn't bear it any longer. I believed many of the so-called heretics were completely innocent. Not only that, but the Count's horrific cannibalism and brutal torture also terrified me."
"Especially when he swallowed the severed limbs—the changes that came over his whole body, the swelling, the writhing form, those tendrils, the terrifying black shadows swaying on the walls..."
"So I took my wife and children and tried to flee. But we didn't get far. The Count and his troops captured us and threw us into that same torture chamber. We suffered the same terrible pain."
"I had to watch as my wife and children were slowly defiled and devoured by that beast. My own broken body was also fed to him."
"Fortunately, even that monster needed to rest sometimes. I took a hidden medicine, feigned death, and seized the opportunity to escape. I also stole one of his possessions."
"Because, in my view, this object is very important to him. He also changed after obtaining it and after his wife's tragic death. I believe this object may be the key to avenging him."
"I escaped and hid in a cellar near the castle—a secret place known only to me. There, I fitted myself with prosthetics and secretly investigated while struggling to survive."
"I searched through ancient and modern texts, all kinds of orthodox, pagan, and cult legends. But I couldn't identify what it was. So I decided to travel and try to find clues elsewhere."
"I never expected that on the very first night of my journey, I would witness your strange battle in this wilderness. It can only be described as a pagan miracle or sorcery. There's no other explanation."
"I was captivated by your battle. I came to the conclusion that if anyone might know what this object is, if anyone could avenge the Count for me, it would be you."
Vargas's expression was as frantic and desperate as a drowning man grasping at a rope or a piece of wood. He rummaged under his cloak and quickly produced an egg-shaped object with a contorted face on it.
A Beherit. This was the Count's Beherit.
The reason the lord was called the Count was partly because his title was Count, and partly because Guts, upon seeing his true form, contemptuously called him a "slug."
This was yet another Apostle who would appear on the eve of the Eclipse.
Along with the Queen Bee, the Mantis Knight, the Stag Beetle Knight, and the Flesh Sphere, he would attack Rickert and the troops left behind. In the end, only Rickert would survive.
The next day, during the Eclipse, the Count would have a close-up shot in his human form before transforming into the Slug Apostle and participating in the demonic feast upon the Hawk Company members.
Interestingly, the Slug Count actually had much in common with the current King of Midland.
Both loved to lead their armies into battle, leaving their countesses and the princesses behind in their castles. And both the Countess and the Queen had betrayed them.
It turned out the Countess hadn't died at the hands of cultists. She had willingly thrown herself into the cult's embrace and held a group orgy in the castle.
As you can imagine, when the Count returned from his campaign and witnessed this scene, in a fit of rage he killed everyone present—except the Countess, whom he couldn't bring himself to kill. She even tried to commit suicide in despair.
It was at this moment that he resonated with the Beherit and summoned the four "angels." To escape and be free from this endless pain, he completed the demon-subduing ritual, sacrificed the Countess, and became a demon.
Outwardly, he claimed the Countess had been sacrificed by cultists. But that was a lie.
As for the King's Queen, her secret lover was the King's own younger brother, General Julius. That needed no further elaboration.
Their lovers had also died—one the Countess, the other the Queen—and both women had borne them daughters: Delicia and Princess Charlotte.
Their daughters closely resembled their biological mothers. So after their mothers' deaths, both fathers became overly protective of their daughters. This caused both Delicia and Princess Charlotte to develop somewhat timid personalities.
But one father acted to satisfy his desire to protect and possess his daughter, while the other added a twisted sexual desire for his own daughter to the mix.
Moreover, after Delicia and Princess Charlotte learned of their fathers' true natures, they no longer wanted them to touch them ever again.
It could be said that the Slug Count and the King of Midland were opposites. The King would also receive a Beherit at his most desperate moment.
Nidhogg looked at the Beherit in Vargas's hand, then at Vargas himself—a man who seemed like a walking corpse yet still stirred a faint emotion in his heart.
After enduring all this horror, Vargas had secretly observed his enemy and still couldn't take revenge.
He had held onto this Beherit for several years without being reincarnated as an Apostle. Either this Beherit could only be used for the Slug Count's reincarnation, or he had always adhered to some principle or faith.
"Give it to me." Whatever the reason, Nidhogg still reached out his hand. "It's better not to hold onto that thing. It attracts demons—or might turn you into one."
Vargas was momentarily stunned upon hearing this. Then, trembling, he involuntarily let go, allowing the Beherit to fall into Nidhogg's hand.
Nidhogg took the Beherit and said calmly, "In return, I'll deal with this Count."
Vargas's fearful trembling ceased. Then he began to shake from a different mix of emotions, repeating in a voice that was almost sobbing, "Thank you... thank you..."