Even in this moment, as I flipped my eyes in shock at the realization that the person before me was a looming disaster, I wished desperately that all of this was just my imagination.

But the divine powers didn’t grant my wish. Instead, as if to mock my desperation, they made me dream such a nightmare.

‘Save me, please save me!’

The entire scene was stained with blood. In the middle of that path, I was crawling on the ground without legs, later clutching at his feet, weeping and begging.

It was utterly pitiful.

But the Zachary in my dream didn’t pity me. He simply looked down at me quietly, as if he could never forgive me.

‘I’ll do anything you say! Please!’

My own desperate pleading seemed so alien to me. Despite my tear-stained face and groveling, Zachary showed no mercy.

As if he found it bothersome to even look at me, he drew a knife and ultimately…

“Huff!”

...he killed me.

I jolted upright. My whole body ached as if I had been pinned down.

“Ha, haa.”

My hands trembled uncontrollably.

The dream had been so vivid that the sensation of the sharp knife cutting into my throat felt like phantom pain scratching at my brain.

Although I knew everything I had just experienced was a dream, my hands shook uncontrollably and my face twisted involuntarily. As I pressed hard against my eyelids, trying to ground myself, a voice reached me.

“Are you alright, young master?”

It must have been a servant waiting in the room.

“Yes, I’m… fine…”

While I reflexively uttered that I was fine, my body and hands continued to tremble, and my mind was in disarray.

‘This is madness. Is that really my future?’

The thought that what I had just dreamed could actually happen to me made it impossible to dismiss as a mere nightmare.

‘Could I actually be insane? Reincarnation and all, maybe it’s just a delusion of a disturbed mind. So, all of this could just be my foolish imagination…’

As I tried to soothe myself, the distinctive serpentine emblem of the Serpentine family caught my eye. Seeing it, my spirits sank.

‘Do I really have the imagination to concoct something like this? Why this novel, of all things?’

As soon as I realized the book I had entered was “There is No Salvation,” the major plot points kept coming back to me. The problem was that these memories led me further into despair.

‘I’m doomed. Truly doomed.’

If it had been a more common story, I wouldn’t have been this tormented.

To summarize the plot briefly, the protagonist is horrifically brainwashed by the Serpentine family and, until his awakening, is treated as a slave with no human rights. After awakening, he not only destroys the Serpentine family but also the entire kingdom.

The protagonist, having turned dark, uses the powers bestowed by the gods to commit murders, becoming akin to a dark priest obsessed with killing. Of course, he eventually meets the female lead, undergoes redemption, and returns to a brighter path, but…

‘The excessive brutality is the problem.’

The overarching theme of overcoming adversity and reaching a happy ending is a familiar one.

However, the difference from typical clichés lies in the extremely cruel path of slaughter taken by the darkened male protagonist, which is contentious for its brutality, and this is precisely my concern.

In his process of leading the kingdom to ruin, he becomes so deranged that he not only murders innocent people but also indulges in unnecessary killings.

He doesn’t stop there; he threatens the Holy Empire’s emperor, his own sister who ascended to the throne during his disappearance, and eventually wreaks havoc on the empire of his birth, becoming increasingly cruel.

Hence the title of the book, “There Is No Salvation.”

Because the victims always cry out in front of Zachary, seeking God or pleading for salvation or help, but in front of them, Zachary…

“…There Is No Salvation.”

He uttered this phrase and mercilessly killed everyone, hence the title of the book.

If I remember correctly, the book was quite divisive in reception. Some criticized its excessive revenge, understanding the protagonist’s resentment towards the world that abandoned him, but arguing that his vengeance was too extreme. Others found it satisfyingly cathartic.

The book’s success, however, was largely due to the female protagonist. The nights she spent with Zachary were quite provocative, drawing significant popularity.

‘But it’s a long way until the female lead appears.’

Provocative nights or not, I was on the verge of madness. The female protagonist was an inherently good character, the only one capable of suppressing Zachary’s brutality akin to madness, but she appeared much later in the story.

By the time she enters the scene, it’s already too late.

By then, the kingdom’s land would be left barren, as if reverted to the beginning of time. And I wouldn’t be here with my head still attached.

Suddenly!

Lost in my thoughts, I was startled by the door bursting open. I looked up to see my mother’s worried eyes.

“Oscar! Oh, my son!!”

Behind her, a line of servants entered the room. They must have informed her that I had woken up.

My mother, seeing that I had woken up, embraced my face with joy and relief.

“My child, your face has gone so pale. You should have told us if you were feeling unwell. Oh, seeing you suffer from high fever for days tore my heart apart.”

“Have I been… ill for several days?”

As my mother rubbed her face against my cheek, I turned my eyes wide in surprise at her mention of ‘several days’.

She gently held my cheeks with both hands, remarking, “It seems the fever has gone now,” and looked at me warmly before kissing my forehead.

“Three days. You’ve been asleep for quite a while.”

…Three days have passed?

Her face did look a bit more haggard than usual. Probably because of the rule that servants couldn’t touch my body, my mother and the doctor must have taken turns caring for me.

“I’m sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing? If there’s anyone to blame, it’s me for bringing you into this world like this. If I could, I’d put you back in my womb and give birth to you all over again.”

My mother often expressed a wish to have me born again whenever my health severely deteriorated. She wanted to take better care of herself during pregnancy and ensure I was born healthier. It seemed she regretted not being able to properly care for herself during her pregnancy, possibly because she was preparing for a divorce at the time.

Every time my mother expressed such a wish, I felt touched and grateful for her love, even though it made me feel sorry.

“…What about father, the duke?”

But at the moment, something more important was on my mind.

When I asked about the duke, my mother, who was gently brushing my forehead, looked at me curiously for a few seconds, wondering why I would inquire about him first, and then calmly answered.

“He’s obviously attending to his duties.”

The duke had many responsibilities. He often buried himself in a myriad of documents in his study and sometimes hurried to catch the royal carriage for some consultation.

But the work he was doing now felt different, so I cautiously asked.

“Is he in the —workshop?”

“Yes, in that dreadful place,” my mother replied with an irritated tone.

Normally, she would have respected the duke’s privacy, but this time it seemed she couldn’t, and didn’t want to, understand his actions.

However, I couldn’t comfort her as usual. I just clutched my hands, my face turning pale.

“What’s wrong, Oscar? You look upset.”

“…No, it’s just that I’m not feeling well.”

Three days were more than enough time to have applied brainwashing sorcery to the prince.

Moreover, from the duke’s perspective, there could be nothing more pressing than dealing with the prince of the Tethedeus Holy Empire.

If, by any chance, the sorcery was improperly applied and the prince found an opportunity to escape, it would be a disaster. So, it was likely that the duke was proceeding with the process more swiftly and meticulously than ever.

‘I should have woken up earlier.’

I cradled my head in self-reproach and bowed it low.

My mother, by my bedside, repeatedly asked, “Does your head hurt? Is it very painful? Shall I call the doctor?” But I was too distraught to respond to each question.

‘It’s a disaster.’

I resented my frail body.

Had I woken up earlier, before the ‘education’ began, I might have persuaded my mother to send the prince back. She was reluctant about the whole situation and tended to listen more attentively to me. Maybe I could have managed it somehow.

Perhaps by damaging his memory before he knew too much about our family and then abandoning him in the desert, or sending him somewhere far away.

‘That might have prevented the annihilation of our family.’

But the fact that three days had already passed almost certainly meant the ‘education’ had begun. By now, the prince would have suffered some degree of mental or physical damage.

‘But since he’s the protagonist, unlike ordinary people… it might not be too late yet.’

The unique power of the Serpentine family, the coercive sorcery known as ‘education,’ consists of six stages.