In the underground prison of the castle, where not a single ray of light shone, Arios was in the dungeon.
　Arios had been put in prison before, but the situation was completely different from that time.

　One by one, the prison was assigned to him, and he was completely separated from his friends.
　Three more magical locks were placed on him, completely sealing his power.
　In that state, he was chained and his physical freedom was also sealed.

''d*mn it, d*mn it, d*mn it...!　What the hell is this?　Why should I, being a brave man, have to go through this!

　Despite being deprived of his freedom, Arios still continued to spew his resentment.

　How had he ended up in this situation?
　Why are we being treated this way?

　All of those things are self-inflicted, but........
　There is no understanding of this and, of course, no remorse.
　He just barked that it was unreasonable.

　He was like a child.

　He was scolded for being naughty...
　But he is indulged without remorse.
　That's exactly what Arios looks like now, and nothing has changed.

'Aggus!　Lean!　Mina!

　I call out the names of my friends, but there is no response.
　And so it should be.
　Just in case, Arios and his companions are being held in separate locations.

'Can't you hear me?　Agus!　Lean!　Mina!　Can you guys manage to break the lock?　Can you hear me?!

　Arios relies on the strength of his friends, but there is no response to that.

　In the first place....

　Even if his friends had been here, they would not have been able to meet his demands.
　Or they might not have responded.

　Although his companions also obeyed Arios and acted in an augmented manner....
　When you consider the basics, the source of all this is Arios.
　Arios's hindsight is what brought his friends together.......and he fell as a result.

　Would he lend his strength to Arios as such?
　Will they still turn to the same trust?

　It's something that even a child could understand with a little thought, but Arios never notices it.
　All he can do is conveniently call out the names of his friends.

''Well that's pathetic, Arios.
You're...!

　The next thing I knew, Argus was in front of the prison.
　It wasn't so much that he came to talk to me as that he came to check on me.

'Is your head cold?'
'Get me out of here now!　I'm a hero!　I don't remember being treated like this!
'Huh ... apparently you haven't learned any of this after all you've been through.
I didn't do anything wrong!
'You think it was the right thing to do to try to bring down an innocent man and kill multiple adventurers for it?
That's not...
'That's not all. I've heard that he had one adventurer on his hands during the demon case on the southern continent as well, although I don't have clear proof. It sounds like he did a lot of other things as well, right?
Ggh.....

　The intimidation radiating from Argus was too much for Arios to say anything.

'Is there one thing you need to tell me today?'
...What...?
The day is set for your repentance. The day after tomorrow.
What...?

　Arios was shocked.
　He didn't believe the words of death penalty that Argus had uttered.

　This was because he had often received similar warnings in the past.
　But Argus never really gave out punishment...
　All of them had ended in attempts or greatly reduced sentences.

　Hence the thought that there would be no death penalty this time, either.
　It would just be a threat.
　He was relieved to be so hawkish.

　But now........Argus had serious eyes.

''Ho, are you serious!　I am a brave man...!
I'm not done. I have revoked your bravery. Now you're nothing but a fool.
I'll be d*mned...
You have until the day after tomorrow. You have until the day after tomorrow to face your sins and reflect on them, if at all.

　Argus turned his back and walked away.
　Arios was stunned as he didn't even try to hold him back.



----------



How did you... how did you...

　Arios cowered with his head in his hands.

　He couldn't stop thinking about the word death penalty that Argus had told him.

　I'm a brave man.
　I am a brave man and yet I am worshipped by all people.
　And yet, why is it that.....

Yeah, it's Rayne. It's his fault, it's crazy, it's his fault, it's Rain...!　Of course it is!

　No matter how you think about it, it's nothing but recrimination, but no decent words can reach Arios right now.
　His hatred for Rain grows as he spits out resentment as if he were spitting a curse.

　He turns someone else into his enemy, distracting him from the crime he has committed.
　It was a way of escaping reality that Arios had been doing until now.

'd*mn it, d*mn it!　d*mn, d*mn, d*mn, d*mn!　Me, me, me, me in this place!　It can't be over, not here!

　Twice he was defeated by Rain.
　She shattered my pride and locked me in a miserable cell.

　It's all Rain's fault.

　I can't die before I can avenge this.
　I must strike back.

Yes, I'm right I am the one. That's why Rain has to cry and beg for forgiveness...!

　When the flames of hatred were kindled to their fullest extent.

What...?

　With a thud, the knight on guard collapsed.
　As I wondered, a familiar figure appeared.

''Monica........!
Shh ... you mustn't scream so loud, Lord Arios.

　Monica said this in a hushed voice, then rummaged through the fallen knight's body and took the key to the prison.
　She used it to open Arios' prison.

'I am sorry for the delay. I've come to help you.
You're going to help me...?
Yes, of course. We've already rescued the others.
Well you've done a great job. That's Monica, you can count on her.
No. I only work for you, Arios.
But the king says I'm a traitor and I don't know what to do after this.
'Don't worry about that. I have someone who is very dependable. Now, Arios-sama you will go with me to your people?

　Monica laughed as she said this.
　She had a terribly distorted smile on her face.