CHAPTER 176

Offense asked in surprise.

“What? You calculated that in an instant?”

“In business, you have to be quick with numbers. You should learn fast too, Offense, so I can trust you with the money later.”

“I told you, I never said I would do that.”

Swoosh.

At that moment, Neril lowered her hand. Her face was slightly flushed.

I teased her.

“So you were calculating too, but Serein beat you to it, huh?”

“Nope. I was just doing finger exercises.”

“Sure you were.”

“Anyway, to think it adds up to over 5.4 million. That’s insane.”

Then the sound of the trumpet stopped.

Lisel put her trumpet away and said,

“No one is listening anyway.”

“No, really, that was an excellent march.”

“What march… Anyway, 5.4 million is far beyond Adin’s 1.2 million fame. Even that absolute Celestial God couldn’t compare.”

“……”

“It would be great if we could just transfer all our fame to you, Mide.”

“Unfortunately we can’t transfer fame.”

Still, she had a point.

If I could convert 5.4 million fame into power, even that Velosian in the special room wouldn’t be much of a threat.

No, I shouldn’t get greedy.

“Even 1.2 million was enough to devastate a five-kilometer radius of the Sacred Forest. That’s why we chose the starting point in the first place.”

“Right, to avoid unnecessary casualties.”

“Exactly. The starting point is completely deserted.”

I clasped my hands together.

“I already said this before, but let’s go over it again. Kaeld will be my opponent, mine and Neril’s, since she broke the branch.”

“……”

“Impelium said Kaeld might already be stronger than me. So for now, you all stay hidden since you can’t turn your fame into power yet.”

Everyone’s expression darkened.

Xenia spoke carefully.

“If we break ours now…”

“We agreed to save that for when we face Velosian.”

“Yes, we did, but still…”

“If you use it now, it only lasts a month.”

“If things go well, won’t we deal with Velosian within that month?”

“That’s if things go well.”

There could always be unforeseen variables.

So yes, it would be best to use it right before the final battle with Velosian.

The mood was starting to grow somber.

I quickly added,

“If you’re feeling down because you think you will be useless, drop that thought, okay?”

“But…”

Then Neril interrupted.

“I think it’s a good thing you even care about things like that.”

“Huh?”

“Our fight was really supposed to end with Kaeld and Idria. Back when we started, none of us imagined it would become something this huge.”

“……”

“And yet, not one of you complained or gave up along the way. Now you’re even upset that you might not be helping enough.”

Swoosh.

Neril looked at me.

“Pretty good comrades, aren’t they?”

“Yeah. Couldn’t ask for better. I’m one lucky guy.”

“So are we. Because we got to meet a leader like you.”

“Neril.”

“Mide.”

Serein lifted her gaze toward the sky.

“The moon’s bright tonight…”

“Ahem. Anyway, my point is this: everyone has done an amazing job so far, and I’m sure there will be more chances to step up again soon.”

“……”

“So don’t feel bad about sitting this one out. Got it? Let’s stop with the gloomy talk.”

Neril had grown enough to read each of our hearts now.

Thinking back to how cold she used to be before the regression, it was remarkable progress.

Honestly, I was prouder of that than of any magical growth.

A faint smile returned to everyone’s faces.

I said,

“Xenia, once you confirm through Agril’s shared vision that Kaeld enters the starting zone, get out of this area immediately with the others. Serein, prep some potions.” ṛ𝓪ŊƟВÈṡ

“Got it.”

“Of course.”

I turned my head.

“Adwin, boost our focus as much as you can. Offense, lend me some poison.”

“Yes, hyung.”

“Mm.”

“Lisel, leave some spirits at the starting point to observe the fight with Kaeld. Report anything unusual so we can respond.”

“Yes!”

With that, everyone had their assignments.

Now all that was left was for Neril and me to fight with everything we had.

I looked up at the sky.

Serein hadn’t exaggerated earlier.

The moon really was bright.

[Are you nervous?]

‘Nervous? Not at all.’

[Why not? Kaeld is supposedly stronger than you now.]

‘To tell you the truth, even before the regression, Kaeld was already far stronger than me.’

Back then, Kaeld had possessed Bion’s body…

The one Adin had painstakingly crafted to face Idria.

Objectively, the me who couldn’t even harness fame as power back then would never have been able to win.

‘But not once did I think I would lose to him. It was just a gut feeling.’

[And your gut feelings are as good as fact.]

‘Exactly. And now? There’s no way I’m losing. This battle doesn’t worry me.’

The only thing that did worry me was…

No.

It wasn’t important.

That night.

Ah. I knew he would show up.

“Ah. I knew you would show up.”

“Shouldn’t you keep thoughts like that in your head?”

“It just slipped out.”

“……”

“What’s this? You called only me tonight?”

Impelium stood before me.

No feast this time, not even a cup of tea.

In that same room as before, he stood with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing out the window.

I scratched my head and asked,

“Where is Serad?”

“Asleep. With the children.”

“Oh, uh. It’s really late to say this, but congratulations on your marriage.”

“Ha. About ten thousand years too late.”

Ten… thousand years?

I must have misheard.

I leaned back in my chair.

“So, why did you call me? You seem a lot more serious than usual.”

“Yes. Because this time, it’s a serious matter.”

“Let’s hear it.”

“It seems you have lured Kaeld into a trap.”

“Did you see it again through your perfect Eye of Omniscience?”

I gave a faint laugh.

“You think he will come?”

“One hundred percent. That’s the problem.”

“What’s the problem? Taking out the small fry before dealing with monsters like Idria and Velosian sounds like a solid strategy to me.”

“……”

“Or do you think I can’t handle Kaeld?”

He unclasped his hands behind his back and turned around, a gentle smile on his face.

“No. You’re not the type to lose to an idiot like Kaeld.”

“Then what’s the issue?”

“You said it yourself just now, you’re going to kill him. Kill him.”

“……”

“I have told you before. Don’t break your vow of no-killing.”

That again.

I straightened up.

“That’s impossible.”

“……”

“I never kept that vow out of some noble conviction anyway. You should know that better than anyone.”

“The blood script.”

“Yeah. I can’t see my own blood script, so I have never been fully aware of just how many sins I have committed. I just didn’t want to add murder to that list.”

In short, it wasn’t out of saintly virtue, it was just insurance.

I continued.

“If we keep fighting like this, the vow is bound to break eventually. Idria and Velosian both have to die in the end.”

“That’s different.”

“What?”

“Idria, her underlings, Velosian, they aren’t human. My warning only applies to humans.”

Swoosh.

He sat down across from me.

“You couldn’t possibly have gone your whole life without harming a living being. If stepping on an ant broke the vow, you would have shattered it a century ago.”

“I’m not even thirty.”

“As long as you don’t kill a human, it’s fine. But Kaeld is a human.”

“Hah. So what are you getting at? No, wait… let me ask you something first.”

I leaned toward Impelium.

“Why can’t I break the vow?”

“……”

“Give me a reason I can accept. If I can’t, I will kill Kaeld. My grudge against him runs deep.”

“Phew… Mide.”

Impelium rubbed the corner of his eye.

“This is something your current Eye of Omniscience isn’t allowed to see. I shouldn’t tell you, but… since you insist, I will bear the penalty and explain.”

“……?”

“Do you know how Velosian and Adin managed to kill me?”

I felt my face stiffen.

That was something I had been wondering for a long time.

In our first battle with Velosian, he had said it himself, that calling it a ‘fight’ against Impelium was an insult to the word.

Impelium was far above even Adin, the Celestial God, and Velosian, the Demon King of Lies.

So how could someone like him have died?

“Don’t tell me… you broke the vow of no-killing?”

“I did.”

“W-What are you talking about? That makes no sense.”

“A hero must never kill a human. That is one of the laws of the world.”

I shot to my feet. A chill ran down my neck by pure instinct.

“You are lying.”

“What? Why would you think that?”

“Because I don’t believe the laws of the world are such childish fairy tales.”

My voice dropped lower.

“We already know heroes are chosen by humans, not by gods or the world itself.”

“……”

“If I kill Kaeld, do you really think people will stop calling me a hero? Not a chance. Maybe in the past, but now Kaeld is nothing but a traitor to humanity. They will still see me as a hero.”

“……”

“If recognition by humanity is what makes one a hero, then what right does the world have to impose conditions like ‘thou shalt not kill’?”

I continued in a low voice.

“And besides, if I let Kaeld live, knowing full well the disaster he will cause, can that really be called protecting humanity?”

Impelium’s lips pressed together.

Realizing I had gotten a bit worked up, I sat back down.

“If that really is one of the world’s laws, then it’s no different from Adin.”

“……”

“A law claiming to exist for humanity’s sake wouldn’t judge everything by its own standard like Adin did. That’s why I think you’re lying.”

Silence filled the room.

Then Impelium burst out laughing.

“Hahaha. You really are impossible to deal with.”

“…Don’t tell me you were testing me again?”

“Sorry about that. But I wasn’t lying.”

“What?”

“The world’s law truly is ‘A hero must not kill a human.’ At least… as it stands now.”

As it stands now?

Ah.

Lightning struck in my mind.

Seeing my expression, Impelium nodded.

“The original law was this: if a person’s continued existence would bring great harm to humanity, then a hero was allowed to break the vow of no-killing. But…”

“Velosian rewrote it.”

“Exactly. He changed it to an unconditional law: ‘A hero must never kill a human,’ no exceptions, no context. And that’s… heh, that’s how I fell.”

He looked up at the ceiling.

“I once broke the vow. So I became guilty of violating that law.”

“…Who did you kill? Don’t tell me… Adin?”

“If I had, do you think he would still be the Celestial God in this era?”

“Velosian could have revived him from the underworld.”

“With his authority, maybe. But only if Velosian kept his word, and that’s a big ‘if.’”

“……”

“Adin is suspicious by nature. He would never trust Velosian enough to risk his life for him.”

Then who was it?

Impelium met my questioning gaze.

“There was someone. One of the biggest pieces of filth I have ever known.”

“Worse than Kaeld or Adin?”

“Don’t even compare them.”

“Worse than Velosian?”

“Velosian is nasty, sure, but he was born a Demon King. You can’t really compare the two.”

Then…

A name surfaced in my mind, one I had once heard at the banquet, one that had made Impelium’s expression freeze with barely contained rage.

His former party member.

“That person… it was Aktion, wasn’t it? The one you killed.”

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