A reason that prevented Gehrman from attacking.
The reason was simple .. rooted in a passing conversation he had once shared with a certain man.
In the distant past... during the era of conflict, when Nameless was still alive.
Gehrman had once sat alongside a peculiar individual .. a strange man whose entire body was forged from black metal, as though he himself were a living weapon.
A unique vessel, one of Nameless’s most deranged creations... the most durable vessel of all.
His features were rough and unrefined, yet the one who inhabited it was mad ... utterly unhinged.
On one occasion, he and Gehrman exchanged stories about a curious subject...
The way they had died.
It was an intriguing discussion, one that brought together the Number One of the Shadow Sect .. Gehrman,
and Number Two, the Master of Martial Arts, Alexander Rybak.
"You’re incredible, Gehrman," Alexander said, leaning against the table they were seated around.
"Your final opponent was the Demon King himself .. no one else."
The place bore no resemblance to Earth in any way.
Its sky was a deep, crimson red.
Alexander Rybak swayed slightly as he drank greedily from an unfamiliar beverage, complaining each time that he no longer enjoyed it the way he once had with his original body .. which had already died.
"Oh... you want to know how I lost my life?" Alexander said as he took another drink.
"It’s not an exciting story. Not a grand ending either.
My opponent wasn’t the Demon King, nor the Ten Seats... not even the Dukes of Hell."
"Pathetic, isn’t it?"
Alexander hadn’t looked pleased speaking about it—not in the slightest.
"I lost my life defending the land where I was born from a demonic invasion," he continued.
"I was holding my own .. I’m not weak, as you know. Everything was going well... until he appeared."
Alexander frowned, his expression turning grave.
"He was a masked demon. I’d never heard of him before. I knew nothing about him.
He fought me on equal footing, and I had to draw out everything I had just to gain the upper hand."
"But it all ended the moment he used his ability."
"It was cursed... a stain upon my history."
Alexander Rybak hated talking about it.
That battle was the greatest blemish of his life .. because he had lost without even understanding how.
After his death, Alexander forgot everything that happened from the moment his opponent activated that power.
In other words ..
Alexander Rybak, the great warrior capable of overpowering several of the Seven Great Powers,
had died without ever knowing how he was killed.
And that shame followed him forever.
"He looks unassuming... but he’s extremely dangerous," Alexander warned.
"He wears a smiling mask and black clothes. His aura is average at best—but a monster lurks behind that mask."
"I’ve never seen you speak so highly of someone before," Gehrman replied, surprised.
Alexander’s tone hardened.
"Gehrman... be careful if you ever face him.
My instincts tell me that demon is hiding something truly horrifying."
Those words lingered in Gehrman’s memory for a very long time.
Eventually, the Great War erupted—and ended—without that demon ever appearing again.
So thoroughly, in fact, that Gehrman eventually forgot him entirely.
But now ..
Back in the present, Gehrman remained on high alert.
No matter how long he stared at Amon, he couldn’t help but recall Alexander Rybak’s warning.
Amon remained silent, analyzing Gehrman just as closely as Gehrman analyzed him.
The silence didn’t last long.
"Did one of your comrades tell you about me?"
Gehrman’s eyes narrowed instantly upon hearing that .. confirming Amon’s suspicions.
"That explains your excessive caution," Amon said calmly.
"A pity... it would have been wonderful if you’d attacked recklessly so we could end this immediately."
Casually, Amon raised both hands and began clapping .. without any warning.
"You made the correct decision, Saint. My name is Amon .. Host of Nightmares, and Eleventh-Rank High Demon."
"Everyone I’ve faced so far underestimated me the moment they learned my rank."
"They all died by my hand .. without being able to do anything at all."
"Tell me, Saint..."
Suddenly, Gehrman’s body shuddered violently as Amon’s voice whispered beside his ear.
"...will you be the exception?"
Before he even realized it ..
Amon was already standing behind him.
Gehrman moved instantly, retreating at maximum speed.
"...!"
In that moment, Gehrman lost his composure .. and completely lost the initiative.
’How did he slip behind me?!’
Gehrman hadn’t seen him. Hadn’t felt him.
Amon had possessed the perfect opportunity to strike a fatal blow—but deliberately chose not to.
This was a disaster.
"Since the dawn of time, I’ve refused to ascend in rank," Amon said indifferently as Gehrman distanced himself, shaken.
"I chose to remain at Rank Eleven—because it is the gate to the Top Ten High Demons."
"This way, no weak demon could ever enter the upper ranks.
Anyone who wished to pass had to go through me."
"That is how the Top Ten remained a true measure of power .. free of mediocrity."
"But today..."
"The Tenth is dead. The Fourth has fallen."
"Which makes me wonder... did any of it matter at all?"
"Our father—the Demon King—divided us, his sons, into two missions."
"My elder brother was tasked with dealing with the Great Ones and that strange continent that appeared from nowhere—because they are the greatest threat."
"As for me, I was ordered to handle the remnants of the Shadow Sect and Nameless .. the second priority."
"I believed Wesker would be enough."
"But he disappointed me."
Amon delivered this information to Gehrman as though it were meaningless.
Yet with every word, Gehrman’s expression darkened further .. because he had realized something crucial.
"You’re telling me... the brother you mentioned is—"
"My name is Amon," he said calmly.
"The younger brother of the Red Moon, Crimson—the one you call the First of the High-Ranking Demons."
Amon revealed his true identity.
The situation worsened instantly.
The brother of a monster... would naturally be a monster himself.
"Forgive me, Saint," Amon said coldly.
"I’m in a poor mood today .. so let’s finish this quickly."
The moment he finished speaking ..
Amon vanished again, reappearing behind Gehrman with the same terrifying speed.