“The real Hero’s Sword still exists?”
For a mont, I wondered if that was supposed to be a taphor.
But soon I realized it was ant literally and I couldn’t help but be impressed.
“Ah!”
“Yes. Since Idria is trying to work with you to kill Velosian, wouldn’t she just ask Sobius to hand over the real Hero’s Sword to you?”
I found myself nodding without thinking.
Apparently, none of us had considered that possibility.
Lisel cut in,
“Why are you saying that now? We already paid for the swords.”
“Huh? I just thought it was obvious. I didn’t think you or the others wouldn’t know, so I figured there must have been so deeper reason.”
“……”
“Heh. Guess I overestimated you guys. My mistake for assuming you could think on the sa level as this genius.”
Whack.
When Xenia smacked Adwin on the head, Trail spoke up.
[If you try to refund sothing you have already bought, it could hurt your reputation. Let it go.]
‘I never planned on asking for a refund anyway.’
[Still, Adwin’s point is valid. Why not contact Idria and tell her to hand over the real Hero’s Sword?]
‘Yeah. The plan is happening soon anyway, so I will bring it up then.’
I turned to the others.
“For now, let’s set the sword aside. There is sothing else we need to do first.”
Neril asked, “You an picking the location?”
“Right. Even if it’s a staged fight, it has to look like a life or death duel. I can’t half-ass it. I’m going to fight seriously and I will tell Idria to do the sa.”
“So we will need a remote area where no one will get caught in the crossfire.”
Exactly.
When I fought Idria in the Sacred Forest or Kaeld at the Starting Point, both tis the terrain had been completely reshaped by the battle.
Where could we find a place suitable for that kind of destruction?
“I already have one in mind.”
“Oh? Where?”
“The Koscart Mountains.”
Ahh… that was where I had fought my final battle with Idria before the regression.
***
Aktion had arrived at the Starting Point.
He looked around lazily.
‘Still amazing, every ti.’
The vast field of reeds that once shimred under the light was gone, completely erased.
No, not just the reeds. The entire terrain of the Starting Point had vanished.
“Well, then.”
He walked toward the spot where Kaeld had once been imprisoned inside a dinsional rift.
From the outside, it looked like nothing but empty air.
Aktion quietly rolled up his sleeve.
Then he thrust his finger into the air with all his strength.
Crack.
A tear ford in space.
He pushed both hands into the crack and pulled with everything he had.
A small gap opened, just enough to fit a face through, like the one Kaeld had created before.
Aktion leaned in and called out,
“Hey, you still alive?”
“Gaaaahhh!”
“So you are alive. Tough bastard.”
“It hurts! It hurts so much I could die!”
Kaeld didn’t recognize who was talking through the breach Mide had created.
Not that he had the composure to think about it.
The backlash from having his soul erased was ripping through him, a pain far worse than the parasite Idria had once planted in him.
Aktion clicked his tongue.
“Tsk. Pirensha handled it way better. You’re pathetic.”
“Ugh… Who are you?”
“You’re the one who said we should erase ninety percent of Pirensha’s soul, right? You spewed that kind of cruelty so casually, and now you cry like this when it’s your turn?”
“Whoever you are, please… please save .”
“I would like to say that’s why I ca… but this is as wide as I can tear it. Mide’s work really is impressive.”
Aktion continued,
“Co with . Velosian wants you brought back.”
“Ve… Velosian?”
“Yeah. But for that, you will need to co out of there first.”
“Then hurry up and get out!”
“Hah. You’re talking like I owe you.”
He pointed toward the narrow “side door” he had made.
“Hey, grab that and pull with . Like I said, this is as far as I can open it alone.”
“I can’t even move! Do you have any idea what this pain feels like?!”
“……”
“Whoever you are, if you can’t do it yourself, then call Velosian! Have him help you rip this damned space apart!”
For a brief mont, Aktion considered killing Kaeld right then and there.
But no… that wouldn’t be wise.
‘To think we have to rely on a worm like this. Both Velosian and I have really hit rock bottom.’
Not that it mattered anymore.
He sighed and stepped back.
“There’s no way I can open this alone.”
“No! Don’t go! Please!”
“Velosian can’t help either. He is still recovering.”
“Don’t go…”
“That’s why I will bring in another helper. Stay buried in there a little longer.”
Cold sweat dripped down Kaeld’s face as he thought,
Another helper? Who could that even be…?
Then, suddenly, a na flashed in his mind.
“No way…”
“Yeah. So jobs are best left to specialists.”
Aktion said it casually, almost cheerfully.
“After all, who knows space better than her?”
The Koscart Mountains split the continent cleanly between north and south.
Early after my regression, I had focused on gaining influence north of those mountains.
Now that I had earned fa across every province of the continent, it was just a distant mory.
Still, standing here again filled with a strange sense of nostalgia.
‘Back before the regression, this was where I lost to Idria… by the width of a single sheet of paper.’
[You have gotten really shaless lately.]
‘Take that back. I have always been shaless.’
[Right. Even saying that is shaless.]
As we exchanged such shaless banter, Agril descended from the sky.
Thud.
Xenia landed beside us and reported,
“There’s no one within a twenty-kiloter radius.”
“Well, it’s a harsh place to begin with.”
The Koscart range wasn’t just rugged, it had no resources whatsoever.
Truly a forsaken land.
Offense rubbed his palms together.
“The stage is set.”
“Yeah.”
“It ended sooner than I expected. In that case, do we really need to drag things out any longer?”
A fair question.
It had already been a week since Neril broke the first Branch of Corruption.
Since its effect only lasted a month, it made sense to move as quickly as possible.
“But wasn’t the evacuation of the capital supposed to take a month?”
“That evacuation was for the battle against Velosian. It has nothing to do with dealing with Idria.”
“That’s true.”
“Besides, as you all know, I’m not planning to build my fa through combat alone.”
At that, the group’s expressions turned curious.
The deal or rather, the threat, I made with Idria last ti ca to mind.
If we were to face Velosian, an unprecedentedly powerful enemy, simply earning fa as the ‘Hero who killed the Demon King’ might not be enough.
We would need sothing far more decisive.
So after much thought, I had proposed a plan to gain additional fa. Whether by choice or force, Idria had agreed.
That decisive blow, however, required ti to prepare.
aning, the sooner the fight with Idria happened, the better.
Neril said, “Seriously, no one else would ever co up with sothing like that.”
“Well, I am a bit extraordinary.”
“Yeah. That part’s true.”
“……”
Trail chuckled.
[Neril just agrees with all your self-praise now, huh?]
‘…….’
[Go on, act shaless again like earlier.]
‘Shut it.’
I changed the subject.
“Alright. No more delays. Let’s finish this.”
I picked up the communication orb and contacted Idria.
“Idria.”
–Yes.
“I have chosen the location.”
–Where?
“It’s complicated to explain. Just see for yourself, you’re good at that, aren’t you?”
The mont I finished speaking, a red window appeared before us.
Idria was using her authority to look through us directly.
–The Koscart Mountains, huh.
“That’s right.”
–How interesting. This was actually the place I had planned to make our final battleground.
That caught off guard for a mont, but I forced myself to stay composed.
“Annoying how we think alike.”
–Agreed. Anyway, when do we begin?
“Now’s fine. Co here. But this ti, all your underlings have to co too.”
–……
“This will be our final battle. Whether Demon King or Hero, we both need to throw in everything we have got or at least make it look that way.”
Idria sneered.
–You’re awfully skilled at deceit. Maybe you should be the Demon King of Lies.
“Don’t talk nonsense.”
–Fine. But give a mont.
“Hm?”
–My children seem to have disappeared. I will call them back… give ten minutes at most.
“Alright, fine.”
Flick.
The orb dimd as the connection cut off.
I stretched and glanced around at everyone.
They were chatting idly among themselves.
“So, what do we do for ten minutes?”
“Obviously, we eat. How are we supposed to fight on an empty stomach?”
“I’m not even hungry…”
“Why are you hungry in the first place?”
I couldn’t help but laugh at their casual banter.
Even though this was technically a staged battle, their carefree attitude was almost impressive.
I joined in.
“In ten minutes you can’t make anything fancy. Give it up.”
Aside from Xenia pouting deeply, everyone else accepted it easily.
But in the end, my judgnt turned out to be wrong.
We could have eaten just fine…
Because even after thirty minutes, Idria still hadn’t appeared.
Flick.
Idria deactivated the communication orb, just as Neril once taught her.
‘I need to hurry.’
Whatever others might say, at least in this mont Idria genuinely intended to cooperate with Mide.
After all, both Mide and Velosian were unfathomable monsters.
But there was one crucial difference between them.
‘Even if I devour Mide, it won’t help at all.’
But if she could devour Velosian?
Just as Velosian had planned to devour her to gain power, she could do the sa.
That was Idria’s goal: to seize the opportunity in the final battle between Mide and Velosian, and claim victory from the sidelines.
She couldn’t handle Velosian at full strength, but if he was weakened after fighting Mide… perhaps there would be a chance.
It was a reckless plan, unlike her usual precision, but in the current situation, it was the best she had.
‘Besides…’
If she were to die to soone, she would rather it be Bion, not that deranged monster who called himself her father.
Whish.
Idria shook her head, clearing her thoughts, then reached out with her mind to summon her followers.
–Children, it’s ti to move.
No response.
She frowned and tried again.
–Kids?
“They won’t be coming.”
“Who is there?!”
Idria spun around and her eyes went wide.
“Adin?”
Before her stood an old man nad Adin Press.
But almost imdiately, she realized.
“No, you’re not. You are Batore.”
“……”
“Sorry. That strange speech pattern threw off.”
Of course, Adin couldn’t possibly be here.
The man before her had devoured Adin and taken his face, Batore.
But Idria was wrong.
The man before her was neither Adin nor Batore.
Aktion picked at his ear and said lazily,
“I have always talked like this.”
“…Batore?”
“Well, I suppose I never spoke this way in front of you before.”
Idria’s mind raced.
The aura, the power, everything about him felt like Batore’s.
And yet, the presence inside was soone entirely different.
She narrowed her eyes.
“Who are you?”
“Shouldn’t you be asking sothing else first?”
“What?”
Aktion smiled faintly.
“Aren’t you going to ask where the others are?”
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