—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
‘My body feels so light.’
Hertlocker cut down the charging cultists, a strange sensation washing over him. He felt stronger than ever before.
Mana gathered in his hand, coalescing into a black spear that pierced through the enemy ranks. The Blacksteel then dissolved back into mana, returning to his hand.
The perfect manifestation of his Mana Decomposition spell, the spell he’d always dreamed of.
‘Why today?’
It was an ordinary day. Fighting overwhelming odds in unfavorable conditions, watching his comrades die…
Why had he awakened on such an ordinary day?
After much deliberation, Hertlocker concluded,
‘I don’t know.’
Whether it was coincidence or fate, one thing was certain. He felt a sense of urgency.
“How are you doing over there? Need some help?”
“I’m fine!”
Every flash of blue light cleared a swathe of cultists behind him. Even suicide bombers were cut down before they could get close.
Schlus Hainkel was a reliable ally, yet Hertlocker felt a growing sense of unease. It wasn’t fear of betrayal. If Schlus intended to betray him, he would have done so already.
It was impatience. He had to keep up with Schlus Hainkel. He felt like he’d be left behind forever if he allowed Schlus to continue his rapid ascent.
‘But why do I feel this way?’
It was strange. Schlus Hainkel was destined for greatness, but Hertlocker was just a spy from a small country.
Why was he so obsessed with keeping up?
If anyone was going to stop Schlus Hainkel, it should be the Empire’s strongest swordsman, or a Majin. He was like a sparrow trying to keep up with a crane.
He knew he should leave the monsters to their own world, but he couldn’t. Schlus Hainkel was a monster, yet he felt strangely close, within reach.
He felt like Schlus’s power was a momentary burst, a facade, and that he could surpass him with just a little more strength.
‘Damn it. Am I going crazy?’
Had developing a useless, forgotten spell inflated his ego?
His inability to grasp the vast difference between himself and a monster acknowledged even by the Imperial family suggested a form of delusion.
Lost in thought, he continued to wield his Blacksteel blade, until—
“Haa… Gasp… Gasp…”
A mountain of corpses lay before him, blocking the alleyway. There were no more attackers. It was over, for now.
Hertlocker slumped against the wall, breathless.
“Huu…”
Schlus Hainkel walked over and sat down beside him. He extended his hand.
Hertlocker flinched back, unsure what he was doing, and Schlus clicked his tongue, retracting his hand. Schlus Hainkel was acting strangely today.
“You bastard… Why did you lie about the spell on Emilia’s heart?”
“Are you seriously asking? To manipulate you, of course.”
“What?!”
Hertlocker’s fist clenched. But looking at Schlus, sitting there so calmly, his anger dissipated.
Schlus showed no signs of fighting spirit. It wasn’t the usual confidence of someone who believed they could win any fight. He seemed genuinely indifferent to Hertlocker’s actions.
Annoyed, Hertlocker lowered his fist. He still wanted to beat Schlus to a pulp, but there was no satisfaction in hitting someone who wouldn’t fight back.
“I want to borrow the agency’s power, Hertlocker. With Eric Faust dead, no one will object to you leading the agency. And even if they do, you can deal with them.”
“…”
He knew the agency’s structure surprisingly well. He must have memorized the list of agents in the sewers.
He’d known everything all along, pretending to be ignorant, letting Emilia observe him, using the agency for his own gain.
“You want to borrow our power? I’ll tell you a better way. Report us and hand us over to the Emperor. You’ll regain his trust and gain immense power. Far more than the entire agency combined.”
“Do I look like a fool? You think I haven’t considered such a simple solution?”
Yes, he did look like a fool.
Why would he choose the difficult path? Why risk being branded a traitor?
“I have no need for the Empire’s power. Most of it will be mine soon enough.”
“Ha!”
Hertlocker laughed in disbelief. But he decided not to interrupt.
He wanted to hear what Schlus had to say. This was his chance to understand Schlus’s motives.
“To be precise, I don’t need the agency’s power. I need your power, Hertlocker.”
“My power? Then you should have maintained the status quo. Why reveal everything to Emilia?”
It didn’t make sense.
Schlus had been using him like a slave, threatening to detonate the spell on Emilia’s heart… Why would he willingly give up that leverage?
“Because I need your willing cooperation. There’s a limit to how much I can manipulate you with hatred.”
“What is your goal?”
“Me? Peace on the continent.”
“…”
Hertlocker was speechless.
That sounded like something a third-rate villain would say. He’d never met anyone who spouted such nonsense and wasn’t completely insane. Perhaps Schlus genuinely believed he was working for peace.
A delusional madman.
“Ha! Are you going to stop all wars? Solve world hunger? Eliminate poverty?!”
“No. Am I a god?”
“Then what…?”
“I’m talking about preventing the physical destruction of the continent.”
“What…!”
“I can’t elaborate now, but the continent is about to be destroyed. By a power this world cannot contain. I need your help to stop it, Hertlocker.”
“Is it really the world, or just the Empire?”
“Do you still think I’m fighting for the Empire? I’ll kill your king or the Emperor without hesitation if it means saving the continent.”
“…”
Schlus Hainkel extended his hand. It was an offer of trust, yet he’d revealed nothing concrete.
How could he expect Hertlocker to trust him blindly?
“Where’s Emilia?”
“She’s safe at the Imperial University. Don’t worry.”
But who else could he trust? Schlus’s choice of this difficult, dangerous path couldn’t be attributed to mere foolishness.
Emilia, who’d spent almost every waking moment with him, couldn’t have been completely wrong about his character. There were only two possibilities.
Either Schlus was a good, powerful, but insane madman, or everything he’d said was true.
‘I have no way of knowing which is true. I’ll choose the one I want to be true.’
His choice was clear. Hertlocker’s eyes narrowed as he reached out and grasped Schlus’s hand.
Schlus smiled, satisfied.
“Damn it. I’ll play along.”
The one he wanted to be true. A sane person would have chosen the former. If the latter was true, a world-destroying threat was imminent.
Such a thing couldn’t be allowed to happen. But Hertlocker’s instincts led him towards the latter. The reason was clear. Someone needed him.
For the first time in his life, filled with manipulation and exploitation, he’d received an offer of equalship. He’d take the gamble. If it was all a lie, he’d be a fool.
But if it was true, he could save the continent. He’d play along as many times as necessary if it meant protecting Emilia’s world.
“Welcome back, Hertlocker.”
“Welcome back? What are you talking about?”
“Welcome back to the story.”
“What are you—”
He clicked his tongue, thinking Schlus was spouting nonsense again, when he saw a hand and a head emerge from the pile of corpses behind Schlus.
The face flushed crimson, the eyes rolled back, blood trickled from the nose and ears.
“Damn it!”
A suicide bomber.
Hertlocker and Schlus reacted instantly, their magic obliterating the head. But the heart, buried within the pile of corpses, remained intact.
BOOM!
The body swelled, then exploded.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“Haa…”
A scorched circle on the ground. Everything except where Hertlocker and I stood was blackened and covered in white ash.
A barrier. But neither of us had cast it. I looked up and saw a young man crouching on the rooftop, looking down at us.
It was Jin.
“Jin…”
“How do you always recognize me?”
“Your barrier gave you away this time, you damn brat.”
“Ahaha! Still mad? Don’t be so harsh. I didn’t have a choice back then. That girl didn’t die, and I gave up a kidney! And I just saved your life, so let’s call it even—”
“Do you have a death wish?”
“Oh, right… Probably not a good idea…”
Jin ran her hand over her face, reverting to her true form: a woman with fiery red hair. She cowered under my glare.
Was she genuinely afraid, or was it another act? Regardless, I still wanted to strangle her.
But I had to restrain myself. She’d saved my life. And she’d indirectly saved Emilia’s life as well. I couldn’t let my emotions turn all the Crows into enemies.
“Oh my. You’re with King Heart? That’s strange. He didn’t respond to the summons. Why would he ignore the Empire’s summons if he was in the capital, Hertlocker?”
“W-Well…”
“I’ll explain. King Heart was under my employ, carrying out a confidential mission. He is exempt from questioning.”
“Oh? By whose authority?”
“By the authority of a knight directly under His Majesty’s command.”
“Tch. Fine. I suppose there can’t be any spies among the Crows. It was nice seeing you, Schlus Hainkel. Next time we meet, I’m collecting on that debt.”
“…”
Jin gave me a suspicious look before leaving.
Hertlocker stared at me, bewildered. He hadn’t expected me to defend him.
“What? Do you want to see your sibling? I can bring her here.”
“No! I don’t want to be anywhere near you!”
Hertlocker snapped, then turned and knelt beside Eric’s body, closing his eyes. He wouldn’t be able to retrieve the body.
He was under the protection of a knight directly under the Emperor’s command now. He couldn’t risk doing anything suspicious.
“I’ll be waiting for your contact.”
With those words, Hertlocker walked away, disappearing around the corner. Silence returned.
The Crows’ rampage seemed to be over.
This had been surprisingly easy. I hadn’t completely won Hertlocker over, but I’d secured his willing cooperation. And I’d survived.
This quest’s difficulty rating was clearly wrong.
The time limit had been reduced from one hour to five minutes, and there were no more threats. I stepped out of the alleyway, carefully watching the pile of corpses for any signs of movement.
I was on the outskirts of the capital, a quiet residential area overlooking a green plain.
The explosions and screams seemed like a distant dream. I wished it could always be this peaceful…
Rumble…!
“Ugh?!”
A sudden force slammed me into the ground.
Damn it. Gravity magic.
My body felt incredibly heavy. I could barely stand, even with my internal circuits activated. If I moved, I’d lose my balance and fall.
‘Where’s the spell?’
But I couldn’t detect any spells. Not within a 100-meter radius. It was impossible to cast a spell of this magnitude from that far away.
Even a Majin, or even me with Selection and Concentration on Magic Power, couldn’t do it.
Only a specially designed, large-scale artifact could…
‘Oh.’
A chill ran down my spine. I turned towards the source of the magical wavelength. A massive shape in the sky.
An airship bearing the Imperial Army’s flag. The airship was the source of the gravity magic.
“You’ve got to be kidding me…!”
The airship’s cannon slowly opened, glowing ominously. I recognized that light. The most powerful weapon on the planet, capable of destroying anything.
The Annihilation Cannon was aimed at me.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
If this bitch Jin doesn’t die so help me