—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
‘Why in the world?’
The 31st Demon Lord was supposedly subjugated 52 years ago in the Ice Valley.
Of course, there was a slight chance that the 31st Demon Lord had survived that subjugation, but after witnessing the reappearance of Demon Lord Guineus, whom I had personally defeated, I had to consider other possibilities.
The possibility that the Demon Lords had found a way to revive dead Demon Lords.
‘Dangerous.’
If that was the case, there might be more Demon Lord forces remaining elsewhere, even if not here. And in the worst-case scenario, they might even revive Libero.
‘But that’s the worst-case scenario.’
While I should avoid being overly optimistic, being overly pessimistic wouldn’t accomplish anything. For now, it was best to focus on the immediate danger. The 31st Demon Lord.
‘It’s continuing to recover its strength.’
The Demon Lord had been swelling in size. It had survived Stella’s large-scale magic and had been recovering ever since. If left alone, it would become irreversibly powerful.
‘There’s a reason I avoided that one during the entrance exam.’
It was clearly an opponent I couldn’t handle with my current strength. Could the small trial barrier withstand it? I wasn’t sure, but I had a bad feeling.
‘The trial barrier isn’t far, so it’s best to get Stella’s advice first.’
Stella was one of the few remaining people with experience subjugating Demon Lords.
While she hadn’t directly subjugated the 31st Demon Lord, she definitely possessed more knowledge about it than I did.
From the perspective of Hundred Brave, the 31st Demon Lord had already been subjugated, so the available information was limited.
“Let’s hurry back to the barrier.”
The two people following me were in no condition to fight any further, both physically, due to their injuries, and mentally.
As I urged them, the two, who hadn’t been able to take their eyes off the 31st Demon Lord in the distance, finally came to their senses and started following me.
Even so, they were still trembling, overwhelmed by the pressure emanating from the 31st Demon Lord.
‘Even if we have to stop the 31st Demon Lord…’
These two wouldn’t be much help.
Then…
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“The 31st Demon Lord?”
We arrived at the trial barrier shortly after. Stella, upon hearing the news, made a bitter expression.
“I did hear reports of sightings before casting the spell, but I didn’t think they would actually be true.”
I wasn’t sure if she would believe the news delivered by me, someone who hadn’t even been born when the 31st Demon Lord was subjugated.
But there seemed to have been several sighting reports already.
“Will this barrier withstand the 31st Demon Lord?”
This was the crucial question. If she judged that it could withstand it, there would be no need to worry.
But her grim expression denied that possibility.
“Not a chance. That thing even destroyed the Ice Valley’s barrier. Once it fully recovers, this small barrier will be finished.”
Despair deepened among those who had been listening to our conversation. Stella’s words were practically a death sentence for them. Some even started suggesting leaving the barrier.
“Let’s leave this place.”
“What about the people inside the lake?”
“Shouldn’t we at least try to survive? And we can go and call for reinforcements.”
The argument sounded quite reasonable. If we stayed here, we would all die. So they wanted to leave and call for reinforcements. But that argument also had a flaw.
“But there are still two Demon Lords and chaos beasts outside…”
“We’ll die if we stay here anyway. But if the able-bodied heroes here band together, we might be able to escape Hailen.”
“Able-bodied heroes? Then what about the ordinary people and the injured?”
“If we take them with us, our chances of survival will drastically decrease.”
The slightly heated atmosphere cooled down instantly.
A wall had formed between the able-bodied heroes and the others, and in that cold atmosphere, even those who had suggested leaving couldn’t speak any further.
Naturally, their gazes turned towards Stella.
“Stella-nim, what do you think?”
Stella answered immediately, as if there was no need to even consider it.
“I agree with forming a team with only the able-bodied heroes and leaving this place. It’s definitely better than all of us dying here.”
The heroes who had suggested leaving smiled. On the other hand, those who would be left behind despaired. But she added,
“So, I’ll stay.”
The man who had been persuading them to leave asked in surprise,
“Stella-nim? What do you mean?”
“I have almost no mana left. I used my life force in place of mana, so I hardly have any of that left either. At this rate, I’ll die soon. Do you think I’m still an able-bodied hero in this state?”
“That’s…”
“Allen Blake, the 49th ranked hero. What do you think about the current situation?”
My rank had risen again. It seemed she had removed herself from the hero rankings. I felt like the rankings had truly become meaningless now.
‘Right, the hero rankings aren’t important.’
The current situation was what mattered. Everyone’s attention was focused on me because of Stella’s words. As she said, I currently held the highest authority here.
‘What should I say?’
As Stella had said, in the current situation, the safest and most rational course of action was for the able-bodied heroes to leave.
But regardless of that, I didn’t like this situation. Especially how it kept dragging on.
So I asked Stella,
“How much has the 31st Demon Lord recovered?”
The longer we waited, the more the 31st Demon Lord would recover.
“It’s probably at about 30% of its full power now. But why…”
The more it recovered, the lower our chances would become.
“You… don’t tell me!”
My chances of defeating it, however slim.
“We can discuss escaping after I attempt to subjugate the 31st Demon Lord.”
The order was wrong. The discussion could come later. Subjugating the 31st Demon Lord was more important now. They seemed somewhat convinced by my words. However…
“Allen, just because I praised you, don’t mistake that for your actual strength.”
Only Stella, who could somewhat grasp my strength, looked at me disapprovingly.
“Even if it’s only at 30% of its power, that thing was the strongest enemy in human history. Countless high-ranking heroes sent to the Ice Valley lost their lives before they finally succeeded in subjugating it. Your chances of winning are, at best, only about 10%.”
“Yes, I’m aware of that.”
I already knew that much. 10% was probably a generous estimate.
“But that 10% can’t be ignored. If I succeed within that 10% and can save the people here…”
“Your life isn’t so insignificant that you can gamble it away. Think again, Allen Blake. Just as you value the lives of others, there are others who value your life as well.”
She was right. There must be such people.
The innkeeper waiting at the inn, Weiss. Libero, who, although now dead, had entrusted his will to me. And Elsie and Yuseora, who were inside the trial.
‘I think Gwen would be sad if I died too.’
But I feared the regret I would feel if they died more than their sadness if I died. Call it selfish. It was obvious that my current thoughts were selfish. So I should at least apologize.
“I’m sorry, Stella. If I don’t return, could you tell those who value my life that I’m sorry for being a coward and leaving alone again?”
Stella shook her head at my words. But it wasn’t a refusal; it was more like resignation.
“Well, if that’s what you want, I can’t stop you. I don’t have that kind of connection with you to value your life that much.”
With that, the preparations were complete. I looked around at the people one last time.
Perhaps because the Demon Lord we were facing was who it was, or perhaps because a new option of leaving this place had arisen, no one seemed to be following me this time.
It was fine. I had already witnessed the limitations of comrades without bonds or trust in the battle with Guineus.
Just as I stepped outside the trial barrier, I suddenly heard someone call my name.
I was in a hurry, and I wouldn’t have turned around even if someone called me, unless it was the voice of someone who shouldn’t be here.
“Elsie?”
I turned around and saw Elsie standing there, looking furious. And right behind her was Yuseora, looking slightly frightened. Yuseora also seemed angry, although intimidated by Elsie.
“If you take one more step from there, you won’t get away with it.”
Elsie declared and started marching towards me.
Feeling a sense of foreboding, I asked her about the current situation,
“Why are you two here? Weren’t you unable to leave the trial except for heroes?”
“After we discovered you were gone, we made a contract with that self-proclaimed god. We asked him to let us out of the trial.”
“A contract?”
Making a contract with a god wasn’t something to be taken lightly. Moreover, Elsie didn’t know it was a real god. She wouldn’t understand the significance of a contract with a god.
“…What were the conditions of the contract?”
“He said he would let us out in exchange for making you come to your senses.”
“What?”
At that moment, Elsie arrived right in front of me.
“Yes, I’ll listen to any excuses you have. Tell me. Why were you trying to go alone again?”
I was somewhat taken aback by the unexpected condition of the contract with the god. But right now, I needed to deal with Elsie first.
“Because it’s really dangerous this time.”
“It’s that dangerous, but you’re fine?”
“If I can protect the people here by doing so… I’m fine either way.”
“That’s the problem.”
I couldn’t help but frown at her words.
“What’s the problem? Is it wrong for me to try to protect the world, even at the cost of my own life?”
“That thought itself isn’t the problem. The problem is you think you’re the only one who thinks that way.”
She placed her left hand on her chest and pointed at Yuseora with her right.
“We’re human beings, just like you. The way you think about us and the way we think about you aren’t any different.”
Her eyes were red, and her voice was now raised.
“I told you. No one is deceived by you. We aren’t being used by you. We just want to help you ourselves.”
Yuseora, who had been watching from behind, nodded and said,
“It doesn’t matter if I revive the merchant guild if the world is destroyed. I would have dismissed it as nonsense if anyone else had said it.”
If you want to revive the merchant guild, you must first save the world.
Those were the words I had used to persuade her. I had always thought she was following me because of those words. But she denied it.
“No, honestly, it’s on such a large scale that even though you said it, I couldn’t quite believe it. But I wasn’t believing in that story; I was believing in you, the person.”
That wasn’t the end of her true feelings.
“And about the merchant guild. You said strong people gather under strong people, right? Then I won’t be satisfied with just those gathered under me. So, if I establish a merchant guild later, I’m going to use your name as co-representative.”
To be honest, I hadn’t expected her to have such a plan.
The back of my head felt a little numb, but being a co-representative was something I could certainly do. I didn’t know the details, but it didn’t seem that difficult.
“Come to think of it, Elsie also…”
Just as Yuseora was about to reveal Elsie’s plan as well, Elsie interrupted.
“You heard them, right? We’re going to use you too. In the end, whatever it is, your strength alone isn’t enough.”
“Wait, I get it, but what was Yuseora about to say about you?”
“That’s…”
Elsie hesitated for a moment, then finally spoke.
“Since she’s demanding honesty from you, I guess it can’t be helped. I heard everything you muttered in that cowardly little voice when I was sleeping last time. You said your next destination is the Lodreim Kingdom.”
I felt a pang of regret. Of course, I had planned to tell them eventually, but I hadn’t expected her to overhear it. But Elsie’s next words were even more unexpected.
“But you know what? I’ve suspected it since you left me that letter two years ago, saying we would meet again. I wasn’t a naive fool like you. From that moment on, I’ve been planning to use you.”
I thought it wasn’t entirely impossible. Elsie had always been quick-witted, and I had never successfully deceived her.
Then I heard Yuseora mutter,
“Wait… when she was sleeping?”
“Let’s talk about that later.”
“Later when?”
While Elsie was momentarily distracted by Yuseora, I reproached myself. I had made a mistake.
Even though I wasn’t Seo Yoo Rang, I still hadn’t broken free from the habit of thinking of this place as a game. I thought I had come to cherish them and think in terms of reality, not a game.
But that wasn’t the reality. I had never properly considered what they were thinking. Even when I did, I only thought in terms of Elsie, the character, and rarely as a fellow human being, like myself.
‘So that’s why.’
That sense of dissonance I had always felt, despite considering them comrades. We were already comrades.
They called it “using,” but a relationship where we used each other… that wasn’t using; it was helping, and when that was bound by bonds and trust, it became comradeship.
No one was being deceived by me. I was only deceiving myself. We were already comrades, but I had been forcing a false image of comradeship onto myself.
“Elsie.”
It was time to apologize. Not through someone else, not in a letter…
But directly.
“Yuseora.”
I called their names, and the two, who had been bickering, looked at me.
“I’m sorry for everything up until now. For acting like a fool.”
I now knew it was wrong. I wouldn’t do it again.
“You finally look like you’ve come back to your senses.” Elsie said.
Yuseora also smiled and nodded.
With that, the apology was accepted, for now. Of course, I would have to continue atoning for this mistake as their leader.
“There’s something we need to prioritize right now.”
The 31st Demon Lord wouldn’t have neglected its recovery while I was talking with them.
“Defeating that thing is our priority.”
I pointed to the 31st Demon Lord, which was starting to become faintly visible in the distance.
It hadn’t been visible from here originally, but its growing size was making it visible. The unease in the barrier was intensifying because of it.
“Let’s put the rest of the conversation on hold and figure out what to do about that first.”
Honestly, I wasn’t sure if we could defeat it. But I didn’t regret talking with them.
Even if the 31st Demon Lord had recovered its strength, our chances of winning were higher together than if I went alone.
‘Some of us might die.’
Perhaps we would all die and fail. But they had volunteered to be my comrades, knowing that.
Being responsible for the lives of your comrades didn’t mean simply preserving those lives at all costs.
‘I need to respect their will.’
They were individuals with their own wills, just like me. So there was no reason to hesitate anymore.
“Let’s go.”
I saw Stella smiling warmly in the corner of my vision. As my gaze met hers, she waved as if saying goodbye… and then slowly lowered her head.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
