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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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‘So many deaths.’
The miasma spread by the Demon Lord had turned those who couldn’t resist it into corpses, scattered across the streets. Their bodies had exploded from the inside.
“It’s best to cover your eyes. Cover your eyes with your hands.”
“…”
“…”
The children silently raised their hands to their eyes. Luna’s hands were trembling, despite her earlier confidence. She hadn’t anticipated this level of carnage.
‘…This is heartbreaking.’
But they had to overcome this. If they hesitated after seeing this tragedy, they would never grow stronger.
I walked through the corpses, heading towards the area with the densest miasma. Two unexpected figures followed me.
“Hare, Saten? Why aren’t you covering your eyes?”
“I-If I cover my eyes… my hearing becomes too sensitive… s-so I’ll just keep them open…”
It was true that closing your eyes amplified other senses. Hare looked shaken, but less so than Luna and Estia. And Saten…
“Saten, you seem unfazed.”
“Yes, I’m fine. It’s my first time seeing so many corpses, so I’m… curious.”
“Curious?”
“Yes, the bodies exploded. What was their exact magic power level? Blackie didn’t explode. What’s the criteria for explosion? I’m curious about that.”
“…”
Saten, showing no emotion, saw the corpses as experimental subjects.
‘She sees them as experimental subjects because they’re dead, not as people…’
A chilling thought process. But I couldn’t say anything. Saten genuinely didn’t see them as people.
‘There’s no time to correct her…’
I looked back at Estia.
She was walking with her eyes covered, but she was lagging far behind Luna.
“U-Ugh… S-Scary… I-I don’t want to go…”
Estia trembled, consumed by fear. I placed a hand on her shoulder. She seemed to be reliving some past trauma.
“…I’ll be with you, so don’t be afraid.”
“B-But I’m scared, Brother… I-I want to go home… I don’t want to go…”
“…If we don’t go, there will be more victims, and the Demon Lord will eventually find us.”
To prevent that…
We had to go to the Demon Lord who summoned us. He was practically holding the citizens of Henesys hostage. So…
“…Follow me. We’re going to the plaza.”
To solve the problem, we had to confront it. Minerva would provide the solution; I just had to find the problem.
I led the Hero’s party through the streets littered with corpses. Estia was still trembling.
“I-I want to go back… let’s go back… I’m scared…”
She couldn’t overcome her fear. Looking at Estia, I couldn’t be sure if this was the right approach.
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Scared.
Scared…
So scared…
“Ugh…”
“Estia! Do something! Don’t just sit there!”
“I-I don’t know… u-ugh…”
Estia huddled in a corner, covering her ears.
She couldn’t overcome her fear, and a familiar scent assaulted her nostrils.
“That… smell…”
“What?!”
“That… smell… it’s… the same smell as back then…”
Tremble-
The unforgettable smell of blood that permeated the prison every day. The smell of blood in the streets transported Estia back to her traumatic past.
She felt like a helpless child again. Even though her comrades were fighting the Grimoire remnants, Estia couldn’t offer any help.
“Luna, stay with Estia. I’ll take care of the rest.”
“Okay, Mister! Estia! Stay here! We’ll help you!”
Get out of my way you black things!
“Haaa!”
Luna protected Estia from the approaching Grimoire remnants.
She could handle them one-on-one, and with the help of the others, they were easily defeated.
“Watch your back, Luna.”
“Oh, thanks! Saten!”
“…I wasn’t trying to get your praise.”
Chuckle~
Luna had been just as scared as Estia at first. But she had overcome her fear and pushed forward.
‘I can’t let anyone else get hurt! And! I’ll be helpful to Mister! Die, Demon Lord!’
Her grueling training had given her the confidence to fight. She coordinated her attacks with her party members, their teamwork solidifying with each battle. However…
“I have to run… everyone who left after smelling that smell… died…”
Estia, remembering her past, backed away, retreating further into the corner. She knew she had to help, but she couldn’t move forward.
Lee Jun-woo, glancing at Estia during the fight, thought,
‘As expected, she’s become a burden.’
He had anticipated this, but not to this extent. Estia, paralyzed by trauma, couldn’t do anything.
She was a Saintess who couldn’t even use divine power, completely useless. But he couldn’t leave her behind, for safety reasons and because she was part of the Hero’s party.
‘…This is going to be more difficult than I thought. I might have to rely on Luna.’
As if reading his grim thoughts, Minerva provided a hint.
Hmm.
She had told me to conserve my answers, but I had to use one this time. After careful consideration, Lee Jun-woo chose an option.
‘Check the answer for option 1.’
An answer to see if Estia could seize the opportunity. A book detailing the future unfolded before him.
‘…Too bad.’
Option 1 was the answer for Estia, even if it wasn’t the answer for the others. Only Estia could gain something from this opportunity.
‘If this is the unavoidable answer, I have to accept it.’
After defeating the remaining Grimoire remnants, before heading to the central plaza, Lee Jun-woo whispered in Luna’s ear,
“…Luna.”
“Eek! W-What?! You surprised me…!”
“Hold Estia’s hand at the end.”
“Huh? What do you-“
“Just do it.”
Lee Jun-woo left Luna with those words.
Luna tried to understand what he meant, but…
“…Is Mister scared too?”
…she couldn’t figure it out.
She took Estia’s trembling hand.
“Come on! Let’s go! Follow Mister!”
“…”
“You’re usually so noisy! Why are you so quiet, Estia! This isn’t like you! Come on, Mister! Let’s go!”
Luna pulled Estia along, following Lee Jun-woo. If she had known what Mister meant, she would have desperately tried to stop him.
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Sloth, the Demon Lord of Sloth, was lying in the plaza fountain, enjoying the cool water.
“This is so boring… when is the Hero’s party coming…?”
“Judging by the lack of communication from some of our followers, they should be on their way.”
“Really…? But it’ll still take a while… when can I go home… sigh…”
Sloth sighed.
If you didn’t know he was a Demon Lord, he would look pathetic. But his follower, a Grimoire devotee, remained respectful.
“Your prophecy, the Grimoire of Sloth… what does it say?”
“…So bothersome.”
But his life was on the line, so Sloth reluctantly read his Grimoire.
“What? Nothing’s changed… all the Demon Lords die…? Oh, but there’s one addition…”
“May I ask what was added?”
“Ah… that guardian…? It says he’ll die by my hand…”
Sloth muttered, seemingly uninterested. But his Apostle was concerned.
‘He can’t avoid death, but will killing the Hero’s party’s guardian be enough?’
No.
It won’t be.
To create the world that the Demon Lord desires…
This won’t do.
The Apostle of Sloth whispered to him,
“Demon Lord Sloth.”
“…Yeah.”
“You lured the Hero’s party out with your power. But if they come too easily, our chances of winning will decrease.”
“So…?”
“Do it properly.”
To avoid work, you have to work hard. A paradoxical existence.
“To live, you have to work. To stop working, you have to work hard. So unleash your power properly.”
Sloth, the Demon Lord of Sloth, born into a paradoxical existence, sat up. He raised his hand towards the sky.
“Why…”
“Huh?”
“Why should I…?”
“W-What…! Ugh…!”
The Apostle vanished from Sloth’s sight in an instant.
Sloth looked down at the ground, checking if his power had been properly unleashed.
“He… hehe… hehe…”
The Apostle, devoid of his usual enthusiasm, lay on the ground like a worm. Seeing his blissful state, Sloth lay back down in the fountain.
‘So bothersome…’
The Apostle had been following him for 20 years, offering helpful advice, but Sloth just found him annoying.
“I want to go home…”
It was all so bothersome.
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