The Protagonists Of The Novel Escaped – Chapter 73

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: TushChen
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Edanant’s presence could be felt.

Regnas, who instinctively sensed it, signaled to King Tarant.

A peaceful confrontation might be difficult.

That’s why he had the citizens of the city evacuated in advance to prevent any potential loss of life.

“We finally meet again.”

If Edanant were to face the truth, how would he react?

He would be angry.

He would spew out more intense rage than anyone else.

Although he had a blunt personality like Maximilian, he was also someone who cared for his comrades more than anyone else.

It’s just that fate is cursed.

The man with reddish-brown hair smiled bitterly as he gripped the hilt of his sword.

It was one of his habits that showed up whenever he hardened his resolve.

“The Warmonger has arrived. Everyone, withdraw.”

“A-Already… He’s here?”

“As I said before, never draw your sword. Under any circumstances.”

“…Of course.”

Regnas, who had given strict instructions to Tarant and the knights, moved his steps.

He left the royal castle.

Soon, he arrived at the ramparts lined with high towers.

The soldiers guarding the ramparts had withdrawn according to the king’s order.

Regnas alone faced the fierce wind on the ramparts, waiting for Edanant to come.

“…Regnas.”

How long had passed,

A man wearing a rusty iron mask suddenly appeared.

The Warmonger.

Finally, he was reunited with his long-time comrade.

Regnas lifted his head as he smelled the gunpowder carried by the wind.

Then he met the sharp gaze visible through the iron mask.

“It’s been a long time.”

“It’s not a situation to calmly exchange pleasantries, is it? After causing a mess in the Pug Kingdom.”

“I apologize. You must have been quite surprised.”

“This isn’t a laughing matter.”

With a thunderous gunshot, a bullet was fired.

As soon as he finished speaking, Edanant drew his gun and pulled the trigger at Regnas.

At that, Regnas reached out his hand and caught the bullet.

“…You’re still as blunt as ever.”

“What can I do? Old habits die hard.”

The distance between Regnas and Edanant was a mere 10 yards.

As soon as he drew the gun from the holster, he reached out his hand wrapped in mana.

Regnas’ reaction speed, responding immediately upon sensing danger, surpassed even that of a superhuman.

His skills had not rusted at all.

Despite 3 years passing since the end of the war, he was maintaining his prime.

The Seven Strongest in the Warring States.

Sword Saint Regnas.

Regnas, who had been in charge of the vanguard along with Maximilian in the Saintess Party, was a hero of reversal who never showed his back to any danger.

One should not overlook his usual gentle appearance.

The greatest calm comes right before a huge storm strikes.

Edanant knew Regnas’ strength better than anyone else.

That’s why he moved before the empire and the Holy Kingdom made the mistake of declaring the Sword Saint, who had fallen to become a king’s assassin, as a public enemy.

“To think it’s a vampire… Your taste is still unique.”

“It’s not like I’m keeping her around because I like it.”

Regnas spoke with a smile upon seeing the black-haired vampire.

She was guarding Edanant’s back like a bodyguard.

She was a vampire of the Fresh Blood clan.

Moreover, she was an apostle who served the Disaster God.

How did Edanant, who had always despised cult forces, come to accept her?

Regnas showed strong curiosity while expressing bewilderment.

“We’re going to have a private conversation, so wait far away for now.”

“Understood, Lord Pioneer.”

When Edanant gestured, Ariel nodded her head and scattered into mist.

“There will be no next time… What on earth does that mean? No, before that… Why did you all disappear?”

Hero.

Saintess.

Mercenary King.

Sage.

Sword Saint.

The peerless heroes who had subjugated the immortal Demon King had vanished overnight.

At first, he thought it was simply due to a love affair.

He thought the male protagonists with outstanding looks and exceptional abilities had eloped with the pitiful female protagonist to spend the rest of their lives together.

However-

As time passed, doubts began to arise.

He started to think that it might not be such a trivial reason.

“Where is Beatrice?”

No one was eavesdropping.

There was also no one to interrupt them.

Edanant stared at Regnas with sharp eyes and threw out the question he had harbored for a long time.

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The answer was before his eyes.

He had finally come face to face with the truth he had so desperately sought.

He eagerly waited for the answer that would come from Regnas’ mouth, trying hard to suppress his trembling.

“Edan, I’m sorry, but before I answer… Can I ask you one thing?”

“……”

He frowned at Regnas’ action of bringing up a new question in a situation where he was waiting for an answer.

However, there was no need to hastily urge him, so he briefly suppressed his impatient heart.

There’s no need to rush.

Today, the inside story of the Saintess Party will finally be revealed.

Regnas was not a man who would utter falsehoods.

That’s why, despite feeling the impatience pressing on his mind, he allowed Regnas to ask the question.

“Are we really just beings from a novel?”

“What?”

What did he just say?

What did he just say…?

At the Sword Saint’s question, which seemed to contain deep lamentation, his mind turned blank.

His whole body trembled reflexively at the completely unexpected question.

He fell into such deep panic that his desperate determination to uncover the truth momentarily lost its way.

How did he find out?

Since…when did he find out?

That they were artificial beings created by someone.

That the vast world they had desperately protected was a space created by someone.

Even though he clearly heard it with his own ears, it was unbelievable.

It couldn’t be true.

It shouldn’t be true.

He swallowed his saliva as he felt the change in his fiercely beating heart.

“Since meeting Edan, I occasionally felt doubts. Even though it was supposed to be the beginning of our journey… Whenever we got involved in incidents, Edan skillfully handled them like a prophet who foresaw the future.”

“……”

“At the time, I just thought he had excellent intuition. But now that I see the truth, I understand. Edan already knew the ending of our journey from the beginning.”

“…How on earth did you find out?”

He had no intention of making excuses.

Regnas’ voice was more resolute than ever.

He didn’t know the exact process.

But it was clear that the Saintess Party had reached ‘knowledge they should never have known.’

“So the Saintess Party ran away without any notice? Because you found out that the world you had protected with all your might was actually an artificially created vanity.”

All the actions they had determined until now were nothing more than a process on the monorail created by the author.

For the Saintess Party, who had reached the grand finale after twists and turns, it was natural to feel remorse and futility more terrible than death.

Was that why they had disappeared?

Recalling the image of Beatrice, who must have spewed out disillusionment and despair, he asked Regnas.

“At times, we expressed perplexity, and at times, we poured out frustration… but the journey we had gone through for several years was undoubtedly the most beautiful memory of all. Even if it was a story created by someone, I believe our actions in desperately trying to save the world were by no means in vain.”

We protected the world.

We saved countless people.

That’s why we never regret it.

Even after facing the truth they shouldn’t have known, the Sword Saint’s chivalry still shone resolutely.

It was no different from before.

Despite the many events that had unfolded, he was still the Saint of the Sword.

“Then why did you disappear?”

The prediction was wrong.

The Saintess Party had never disappeared for personal reasons.

There was a reason they had to leave.

There was a new inside story that they had to disappear without a word.

As the truth was gradually revealed like a puzzle, his heart began to beat faster.

He waited for Regnas’ answer with an anxious heart.

“Do you remember the words I left behind… There will be no next time.”

“Yeah.”

He had massacred the king and nobles and left a message to Crown Prince Erik.

While nodding his head at Regnas’ words, a deep question passed through his mind like a quagmire.

‘He had thoroughly hidden his whereabouts with Beatrice all this time… So why on earth did he suddenly appear in the world and massacre the king and nobles of the Pug Kingdom? Regnas is absolutely not the type to wield murderous intent for the sake of past revenge.’

The reason why the Saintess Party had suddenly disappeared must have been related to the brutal massacre that took place in the Pug Kingdom.

And the message Regnas had left behind was likely a clue to unravel that connection.

The time spent waiting for the answer felt like an eternity.

It felt even more so because it was the moment he had anxiously hoped for all this time.

“It’s exactly as I said. There is… no next for us.”

“What do you mean?”

“The world is slowly dying. Because the evil that had been preventing the end of the world disappeared after we subjugated the immortal Demon King.”

“……”

The demise of the final villain, who had endlessly provided trials, signifies the completion of the story.

Completion.

Regnas called it the ‘end of the world.’

For the characters in the story, completion may be no different from the death of the world.

Because the world of a completed story will be frozen forever.

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Now that’s an INSANE development that just took place and I’m still wrapping my head around it.