Thud.
Kyle, with his head hanging low, sprawls out on the ground.
As the commander of knights in a kingdom, he was among the strongest, but his opponent is Ertarn, known as a celestial being.
A being that reigns as a godly presence in a single world.
Even if he’s currently quite weak, there’s no way to stand up against a being as strong as the Kraken.
Creeeak…!
Ertarn casts a menacing aura and turns towards me.
‘Not strong yet.’
Calling him a person is a stretch, but he is in a furious state, furious enough to kill.
Anger grants momentary strength, but at the same time, it’s pulling him deeper into his dreams.
The deeper you immerse yourself, the more you’re limited to the strength level of that timeframe.
If it’s Ertarn just starting to mobilize, I can manage him to some extent.
I reach out and block her.
“Calm down. Are you planning to kill everyone?”
“Calm down? I’ve already killed. People.”
She glances at the sprawled-out Kyle.
Kyle, who died without putting up any proper resistance.
“You too. You’re in the same group, right?”
“Same group… It’s not entirely wrong, but it’s not entirely right either. My family situation is a bit complicated. As you heard, I didn’t even know what was being plotted.”
“…Liar.”
“If it was a lie, why would I be discussing this with you, the commander of knights, where you could hear it all?”
Ertarn knew that this conversation was audible to him.
He had given me several hints while talking, and I had mentioned it even before the knights arrived.
“……”
“I was shocked too. I know the Second Prince’s personality, but I didn’t expect him to be this irrational…”
“Really. You didn’t know?”
“That’s right. Had I known, I would have stepped in first without anyone having to intervene.”
“…I get it.”
Boom!
Ertarn turns on his heels.
Surprisingly, he’s trusting me without much resistance.
It seems like the trust from what I mentioned beforehand has somewhat built up.
[Oh]
[He does believe me, haha]
[Look at him going straight for the kill]
[Whoa whoa whoa]
[Kyle, nooooo~!!]
[Is this how it’s supposed to go?]
[This feels refreshing, haha]
[Is killing the right call?]
[Let’s kill more]
[I bet it was a bigger mess in reality, haha]
“That’s probably right. In reality.”
Originally, Kyle and the Silver Lion Knight Order would have come to lift the protection of the village and take Buabua through some means.
Also, to leave no future troubles, they would have dealt with all the villagers and erased their traces.
Ertarn would have later lost control and destroyed everything, including the knights.
Though Ertarn now mercilessly killed Kyle, the original Ertarn was probably much more innocent and soft-hearted.
He probably had a high chance of being naive and having a soft heart.
Even though there were probably multiple opportunities to kill, he likely let them go without shedding blood.
‘Just like the past me did.’
Kunggu!
The leg of the Celestial Being rises up.
Just as the stone foot was about to mercilessly stomp down on the knight sprawled out in front.
Sre.
“Wait a moment.”
“…Why?”
“That’s not right.”
I blocked her.
Ertarn’s face frowned at seeing the sword that stopped her.
“Why. Stop?”
“This matter involves Kyle and the Second Prince, and the identities of other individuals remain unverified. We need to prioritize investigating the events surrounding it.”
“But we’re. Knights. Right?”
“This is a plan that has been carried out meticulously over the years. While I can’t definitively say that everyone is involved since secrecy is crucial, there must be some innocents among them.”
There are certainly related individuals.
The Silver Lion Knight Order is also on the side of the Second Prince, and many knights likely share the Commander’s wishes.
In fact, there’s a higher chance of fewer individuals being uninvolved.
Excluding the peculiar case of my original self and the newcomer who just joined the knights—someone whose mouth runs too freely—everyone else would be somewhat aware of the situation.
Even if they learn the truth later, they would end up siding with the Second Prince for various reasons.
While, in hindsight, it wouldn’t be strange to kill them all…
“How. Do we. Verify?”
“First, let’s wake them up and compare their stories…”
“I can’t. Trust that.”
Kwa-jik!
Kkaaang!
The stone foot and the Silver Sword engage in a contest of strength.
The sword in hand trembles with enough force.
Even with Ertarn being still young, it’s quite a formidable power.
‘At this level, just messing around with Jeokhye would be easy.’
It’s impressive that such young state retains this much strength.
The title of Celestial Being, which governs a world, didn’t come without merit.
“Step aside. Or die.”
“…This is not something to be resolved this way. These individuals will face the Royal Family’s stern judgment!”
“Judgment?”
Kwa-dododod!!
The sword descends further.
It hovers low enough to behead the fallen knight.
“…!”
“I shall. Deliver. Judgment.”
“…How arrogant.”
“It’s not arrogance. It’s the truth.”
Because the Celestial Being genuinely possesses that kind of power.
[What the heck?]
[Reset?]
[Do I have to catch it once more?]
[Looks like the Celestial Being is indeed strong, lol]
[Can’t we just whack them with a hammer?]
[This situation is seriously ambiguous;;]
“……”
Even if the Celestial Being kills them, it won’t be a problem in the dream.
After all, these people are destined to die by Ertarn’s hand, and whether they die a little early or not, it wouldn’t create significant discomfort.
But this cannot be allowed.
That can’t happen.
“The goal is the liberation of rest.”
If Ertarn kills everyone and succumbs to complete darkness, there’s a high chance I’ll wake up in that dream also consumed by darkness.
If I don’t want to witness the birth of another disaster, I need to at least ensure that those who have sinned enough to deserve death are killed, while saving everyone else.
But using my power to stop the Celestial Being feels unsettling, causing the dream to collapse, and without using it, I have no way to completely subdue the Celestial Being.
In the current state, I can deal with the immediate Celestial Being, but not the ‘whole’ Celestial Being.
“If only it were a spear or a hammer, it might have been possible.”
The sword makes things ambiguous for me.
“Ugh… this is troublesome.”
Above all, among the fallen people is the Newcomer, ‘Jeokhye’.
If Jeokhye in the dream dies, it would complicate things externally… It feels like my hands and feet are tied, truly troublesome—
“…Oh. Isn’t it a bit early?”
[?]
[What is?]
There’s no helping it.
Though I didn’t want it, this seems to be the only way.
Ertarn seems to press on for a quick decision.
It’s a moment fraught with tension.
I finally lifted my head and waved my hand.
The best way to resolve this troublesome situation is…
Kyaaaah—!
“…Child?”
“It has begun.”
It’s to create a situation where there’s nothing to resolve.
The protection magic that was cast has partly, completely been released.
■
The Commander of Knights, who plotted to throw the villagers to the monsters and ultimately kill them all.
When I grabbed his neck, I briefly doubted my choice, but I have no regrets.
He was a bad human who deserved to die.
I can understand eating and being eaten to survive.
The world is survival of the fittest, and even the villagers eat animals.
But could one kill their own kind, not out of necessity but merely for profit, killing so many people?
Even those who didn’t need to die?
Ertarn, born from a rock, couldn’t grasp that.
After killing the Commander of Knights, who spoke words not even worthy of a human, I attempted to kill all the other knights that I had fainted, but the knight, Lady Lily, who arrived first, blocked me.
I trusted her a bit because she was the first to tell me the truth.
But in the end, she is the same.
Even though she is vastly stronger than the other knights, she chooses to protect them while ignoring the truth.
“In the end, another knight. They’re all the same.”
Ultimately, this woman valued her position over justice or truth.
As Ertarn bore disappointment, attempting to press the sword down with an even stronger power unbeknownst to either of us.
Kyaaaah—!
A scream was heard.
The scream of the young child who had given me a flower crown.
Rushing out, I discovered that the outside was utter chaos.
When I rushed outside, it was utter chaos.
The land of the village seemed cracked as if it had suffered from a terrible drought, and from the pits emerged heaps of rotting flora and fauna that unleashed strange spores.
People who inhaled the spores released into the air were gagging and rolling on the ground.
“What the hell… how…”
“God…!”
“Run away! Guh-urk…”
“Help me! Uuugh!”
I don’t know what it is, but that something revealed by the splitting ground is definitely the problem!
Kugugung!
As Ertarn’s hand touched the ground, the cracks quickly faded, and all the holes were filled.
I raced over to lift the first child who had collapsed screaming.
The child was gasping for air, looking pale as if suffering from severe ragged breathing.
They seemed to be poisoned by some terrible substance.
Looking at everyone else, they all had similar symptoms.
If they had inhaled those spores for another five minutes, they would all be dead.
Why is something like that underneath the ground?
‘…Why didn’t I know?’
Even though I’ve been raised from the ground, I thought I knew what was down there, yet how could I be unaware of such bizarre things?
It’s confusing.
Why is this happening?
Is this truly reality?
‘If it’s not reality…!’
“Si… God…”
“! Ah, child. Hey.”
“It hurts… it hurts so much…”
“How. Practitioner.”
Practitioner. We need a practitioner.
There’s none in this village, but I’ve definitely heard there are practitioners in the big city who can cure ailments.
If I take them to a practitioner, they will surely survive…
“Cough! Cough cough!”
“Save me. I… save me.”
“I’m sorry…”
“No, no, no.”
Thud.
The child’s arm fell limp.
The child lay still, not moving at all.
In that moment, I felt something within me snap.
Just before the maddening rage and killing intent consumed my mind completely.
“Healing.”
“Cough?!”
With a burst of white light, the child was revived.
When I turned my head at the sudden miracle, I saw Lady Lily with a rather pouty expression, hands together, looking down at me.
“You…”
“I’m using some magic.”
“You weren’t a knight.”
“I’m also a mage. I’ve got plenty of mana, you know. You saw me earlier, right? Should I not save them?”
“…?”
She seems to have changed personality a bit…
Definitely strange, but somehow I feel like asking more might lead to her really not saving them.
“…No.”
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