‘Huh? Why did it suddenly stop?’

Siegfried found it strange that the Harvester of Death: Fiend, was standing motionless.

Its movement speed was so incredibly fast that it seemed comparable to the speed of light itself. In fact, it could run through every building in the city and reap the lives of every living creature inside in less than thirty minutes.

Why did the Harvester of Death capable of moving at extreme speeds suddenly come to a stop?

‘I guess there’s only one way to find out,’ Siegfried thought and quickly moved toward the spot where the demon was.

Soon, he arrived at the grand mansion of one of the city’s wealthy men. Nearby, people who had been ordered to sleep outdoors were lying under the tents and curled up in the sleeping bags provided by the empire.

“Keep your eyes open at all times.”

“Don’t slack off during patrol.”

“Yes, sir!”

The knights and soldiers of the Proatine Empire were even patrolling the area.

And yet, none of them seemed to have noticed the Harvester of Death’s presence.

The reason behind that was simple. Fiend’s body was semi-transparent, barely visible to an ordinary person’s eyes.

While Siegfried’s keen eyesight allowed him to make out the Harvester of Death’s form clearly, it was nearly impossible for ordinary soldiers to see Fiend, even if he was right in front of them.

The Harvester of Death was not completely invisible, but his faint translucent form blended with the darkness of night made him practically invisible.

[Harvester of Death: Fiend]

[A demonic entity that roamed the ancient world.]

[He is an evil spirit that wanders around at night, harvesting the life energy of all living creatures.]

[A reaper possessing extreme speed and stealth, yet with an intellect lower than that of an animal. He is a mindless wraith that only listens to his instincts.]

[Upon being defeated by the Chief Archangel, Michael, he was once sealed in the Celestial Prison, Purgatory.]

[Type: Demon]

[Race: Evil Spirit]

[Level: 750]

[Class: Death Taker]

[Note: One of the Ten Calamities. Extreme caution is advised.]

Siegfried hid and observed the Harvester of Death’s actions.

‘Eh? What the hell is that thing doing right now?’

The Harvester of Death was standing at the front door of the mansion, staring intently at something.

And that something he was so focused on was none other than...

‘Ehhh?! A sieve?!’

The Harvester of Death was fixated on a sieve that the people, following Siegfried’s command, had hung in front of the door.

He wasn't just staring at the sieve.

“One... two... three... four...”

The Harvester of Death was counting the number of holes punched into the sieve.

‘Why the hell is he counting the holes in the sieve...?’ Siegfried wondered, flabbergasted and unable to make sense of the situation. Why would the Harvester of Death waste its time counting the hundreds or perhaps even thousands of tiny holes in a sieve?

This creature was clearly dumber than the dumbest animal out there, which was truly surprising.

“Ninety-one... ninety-two... ninety-three... Erm... Where was I again...?”

While counting the holes, the Harvester of Death lost count and—

“One... two... three...”

—He started counting all over again. He was so obsessed with counting the holes that he seemed intent on counting every last hole in the sieve.

The problem was that even someone intelligent would eventually get confused trying to count so many tiny holes. In other words, it was practically impossible for a dim-witted creature like Fiend to count them all.

‘Is this why Michael said I should hang a sieve on every door?’ Siegfried thought, finally understanding the odd advice.

It turned out that the Harvester of Death would become so distracted by a sieve hung at the entrance that he would start counting all of the holes in it, making him drop his guard.

‘But how did Michael even figure something like this out?’ Siegfried suddenly wondered.

Then, he realized that it was probably not some sort of ingenious discovery.

A long time ago, Michael was probably chasing down Fiend when he stumbled upon the Harvester of Death counting the holes in a sieve hung by the door.

Michael most likely had the perfect chance to strike and subdue the distracted Fiend.

In other words, it was most likely a pure coincidence. There was no way anyone could have come up with such an absurd method otherwise.

‘Haha... He would probably spend the whole night counting if I left him alone,’ Siegfried thought.

With that in mind, Siegfried quietly crept up behind the Harvester of Death.

“Forty-two... forty-three... forty... three? Forty-three? Hmm... One, two, three...”

Once again, Fiend lost count halfway and started all over again.

‘Haha... What a hopeless idiot,’ Siegfried chuckled at the sight and drew out his +10 Sky Piercer.

“...!”

The Harvester of Death turned around after sensing Siegfried’s presence.

‘Oh? That’s quite the impressive reaction speed,’ Siegfried thought, surprised by the quick response.

Siegfried was so good at stealth that even those at the pinnacle of this craft would have trouble detecting him. Yet the Harvester of Death reacted instantly, proving that its senses were razor-sharp indeed.

Thud!

The Harvester of Death jumped onto a roof.

“...!”

Siegfried’s eyes widened the moment he saw Fiend jump onto the roof.

‘No!’

Fiend’s movement speed was so high that it would be impossible to catch him.

Then, what was he supposed to do to ensure that Fiend wouldn't be able to escape?

‘Here’s an invitation.’

Before the Harvester of Death could flee, Siegfried immediately activated World of Despair.

Rumble!

There was only one way to catch an enemy with lightning-fast movement speed—trap them within the World of Despair.

***

“...!”

Fiend flinched in shock, realizing that he had been transported into a completely different realm. He tried to flee by running away as fast as he could, but escaping from the Invincible Emperor was impossible within this realm.

The World of Despair was shrinking rapidly, leaving only a space no larger than thirty square meters.

While the Harvester of Death was still reeling in shock, Siegfried instantly readied Seven Steps to Invincibility.

He had to defeat Fiend before the World of Despair could end, as there would be no way to catch him if the latter managed to escape.

In other words, the battle had to be decided here, and using the Seven Steps to Invincibility was his best shot at ending the fight fast. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

‘I have to debuff this guy first.’

Siegfried activated Discharge and amplified the slowing effect of Embrace of Despair.

The Harvester of Death’s greatest weapon was his terrifying speed, so debuffing his movement speed first would be the most effective way to deal with him.

No matter how small the space was, an enemy as fast as Fiend could still endlessly dodge Siegfried's attack.

If Siegfried wanted to land all seven hits and trigger Seven Steps to Invincibility, he had to slow down Fiend first.

“M-My body... feels very... heavy...” Fiend murmured.

He could no longer display the same lightning-fast movement speed after getting debuffed.

Siegfried didn't miss the opening and attacked.

Shwiiiik!

He thrust his +10 Sky Piercer seven times in the blink of an eye, triggering Seven Steps to Invincibility.

Swoosh!

The Harvester of Death began to disintegrate.

After getting debuffed by Embrace of Despair and getting hit with Seven Steps to Invincibility, this was an inevitable outcome.

[Alert: You have killed the Death Harvester: Fiend!]

[Alert: You have gained Experience Points!]

[Alert: You have leveled up!]

[Alert: You have reached Level 562!]

[Alert: You have reached Level 563!]

[Alert: You have reached Level 564!]

[Alert: Your quest progress has increased!]

[Alert: The Ten Calamities progress has increased to 50%! (5/10)]

Thanks to Michael’s advice, Siegfried managed to easily kill the Death Harvester Fiend, who could have been the most difficult of the Ten Calamities to capture.

[The Ten Calamities]

[Hunt down and slay the ten most terrifying demonic entities that escaped from Purgatory.]

[Type: Special Quest]

[Progress: 50% (5/10)]

[Reward: +20 Levels]

[Targets:]

- Swarming Locusts ✓

- Bloodstained River ✓

- Destructive Hailstorm ✓

- Plague of Flies

- Endless Darkness

- Mass Extinction ✓

- Curse of Decay

- Bloodsucking Parasite

- Wailing Beasts

- Song of Death ✓

[Note 1: Each slain Calamity drops an item infused with its powers.]

[Note 2: Collect all 10 to gain authority over world-scale disasters for six months.]

[Note 3: This quest is exclusive to the main protagonist of BNW.]

Siegfried had now defeated five of the Ten Calamities.

“Good, good," said Siegfried, smiling.

Ding!

Just then, an unexpected notification popped up in front of his eyes.

[Achievement: Tradition]

[Your victory over the Harvester of Death: Fiend has become a monumental achievement, one that people will commemorate for years to come.]

[The citizens of the Proatine Kingdom and the Lambda Kingdom will hang sieves on their doors to ward off the evil spirit, and this will become an enduring tradition practiced on the 28th of the sixth month of each year.

[This tradition will be passed down and observed for generations.]

Siegfried’s achievement had created a new cultural tradition.

Just like how real-world people celebrated traditional rituals such as GanggangSullae.[1] or Jwibullori[2] On certain days, his achievement had created a unique tradition that would endure through time.

From now on, the NPCs of the Proatine Empire and the Lambda Kingdom would hold a festival on the 28th of the sixth month of each year. They would commemorate Siegfried’s victory over the Harvester of Death by hanging sieves on their doors before going to sleep.

After reading the notification, Siegfried couldn’t help but smile and feel proud that he had created a new tradition.

His achievement had taken root as a tradition that would be passed down for generations to come, and this filled him with immense pride.

However, the sense of achievement was brief.

“Ah, right...”

Siegfried bent down and picked up an item on the ground.

It was the artifact carrying the power of the calamity used by the Harvester of Death.

[Bell of Calamity: Mass Extinction]

[A bell containing the powers of Fiend, one of the Ten Calamities.]

[When this bell is rung, the Harvester of Death will manifest, roaming towns and cities to reap the lives of all living beings.]

[Type: Bell]

[Rating: Mythic]

[Durability: 1/1]

[Note: This is a single-use item. Once opened, the bell will break and cannot be used again.]

[Alert: You have obtained Bell of Calamity: Mass Extinction!]

With this, Siegfried had obtained a total of five calamity artifacts.

‘Five left. Just you wait. I’m going to throw you the best festival this world has ever seen,’ he thought with a grin.

He was grinning right now, but deep inside, his hatred for the Marchioni Empire burned brighter than ever.

***

After killing the Harvester of Death, Siegfried immediately returned to the Proatine Empire.

He wanted to log out and take a break, but he went to see Brunhilde first and read a story book to Verdandi before logging out.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t do that.

“Huh?”

Siegfried tilted his head in confusion when he saw someone familiar sitting alone in his office.

“Why is Your Highness here...?”

Even though he had turned her into an Irradiator, Siegfried wasn't talking down on her. Just like before, he respected her and treated her as a member of the imperial family.

Ninetail emerged and replied, “I rescued her. And I brought her Mother to safety as well.”

“What happened?” Siegfried asked.

“Emperor Stuttgart was plotting a despicable scheme involving Princess Irene, so I stepped in before they could set it in motion.”

“What kind of scheme?”

“Well, here is what happened...” Ninetail proceeded to explain everything that she had uncovered.

“So basically... They were planning to kill Princess Irene and frame me as a rapist?” Siegfried muttered, his face turning dark with anger.

“Yes, that was their plan.”

“Those bastards!” Siegfried roared, exploding in fury.

“Kyuuu! Calm down, owner punk! Calm down!” Hamchi exclaimed.

“Your Imperial Majesty! You must not lose your temper!” Ninetail quickly shouted.

If not for the both of them trying to restrain him, Siegfried would have marched straight into the Marchioni Empire and caused a scene.

He was so enraged by their vile scheme that he nearly lost his mind.

“This is actually an opportunity, sire,” Ninetail said, trying to appease him. Then, she continued, “I left them a doll that looks identical to Her Highness. They are fumbling around with a fake princess while we have the real one here. So, once they start spreading their lies, all we need to do is wait and expose them.”

“Hmm...”

“With that, the Marchioni Empire’s despicable scheme will be exposed for all to see. Emperor Stuttgart will be utterly humiliated, and the people’s opinion of him will plummet.”

“Well, that does sound like a great idea...” Siegfried said, slowly calming down.

“So please endure it for now. And...” Ninetail said, trailing the end of her words. Then, she glanced sideways and added, “Please look after Her Highness for today.”

1. A traditional Korean dance used to bring about a bountiful harvest. More info here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganggangsullae ☜

2. A traditional Korean game where each participant creates streaks of light by swinging cans filled with burning items. It’s much like the delayed picture light circle thingy that trended a few years ago. More info here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jwibullori ☜