〈 Chapter 229 〉 Showdown (4)
*
“Freira?”
The figure dressed in a white robe, symbolizing an Apostle, faced away from me.
I couldn’t see her face, but I could recognize her silhouette.
‘Why?’
Of course, I was prepared.
She might have become an Apostle since she had died at the hands of the High Priest.
But I never expected her to be here.
Or perhaps,
I didn’t want to think that she could be here.
And that was a clear mistake.
Thanks to that, I hesitated.
Originally, I was supposed to attack the High Priest right here, but Freira was in the way.
In that moment, the High Priest turned to face me.
Thanks to the veil they always wore, I couldn’t see their gaze or expression.
Still, a surge of anger welled up inside me.
“High Priest!”
I shouted at her.
In response, she answered in her characteristic bland tone.
“Why are you calling? Do you have something to say?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Then speak.”
“Not only did you kill Freira, but you turned her into a puppet…”
I drew my sword.
“I will kill you.”
After all, Freira was already dead.
The Freira standing there was just a puppet.
Killing her would actually be doing her a favor.
Just as I was about to swing my sword with that thought in mind.
“Well, did I really kill her?”
“What do you mean…”
Suddenly, Freira turned around.
“Freira?”
She looked just like the Freira I knew.
Moreover, her expression mirrored a hint of sadness.
‘Still…’
I won’t be deceived.
That level of imitation could be easily replicated.
Yet still…
‘Why?’
My arm wouldn’t move.
For some reason, I was hesitating.
Perhaps I was waiting for something.
“Allen.”
For her to speak.
“Freira?”
It was her voice, which I hadn’t heard in a long time.
And this time, it felt different.
The last time I heard her voice, I didn’t know she was my mother.
But that was all.
“I’m sorry.”
Yes, hearing her voice was enough.
So this time, really…
“Allen, please stop for a moment.”
Damn it.
There was no way I could keep going after hearing her say that with that face.
“I have something important to tell you.”
She was gradually getting closer to me even in this situation.
I instinctively asked while keeping my guard up.
“What is it?”
“I understand you might not believe me, even if I say I’m not the High Priest’s puppet. But…”
Tears flowed from her eyes.
“Please. Stop here.”
“You want me to stop?”
I had been running without rest up to this point.
Moreover, I had just passed the trial of will.
Yet… in front of her tears, I found myself faltering.
“Why?”
“Because she is the only one who can save this world.”
“What do you mean…”
“She plans to reincarnate the Creator God within herself.”
Reincarnating the Creator God into her own body?
It sounded plausible, but in reality, it was a mad plan.
Luel had said she had thought about it before.
“That’s a suicidal act. The divine authority of the Creator God is not something a single human can bear.”
Wait, a single human?
Suddenly, something flashed through my mind.
‘Is that why the High Priest gathered elite troops called Apostles using the Hero system…’
No way…
“Are you trying to distribute the divine authority’s workload among the Apostles?”
Freira nodded.
This wasn’t my area of expertise.
But it seemed plausible enough.
Of course, whether it would succeed was another matter.
I shouted.
“But you’ll fail anyway!”
That was how it always had been.
Her attempts would always end in failure.
Yet Freira shook her head.
“No, remember what you said? You won’t know until you try.”
“How do you know that…”
Did the High Priest know that?
Or…
“Freira? You can’t mean…”
No, I didn’t know.
If it was Elsie, maybe, but deducing something from a conversation wasn’t my strong suit.
‘As expected…’
That had to be it.
Clang.
I pulled my sword back and rushed at her.
The barrier made my body feel heavy, but I didn’t care.
I had to verify something.
“Allen?”
Freira, looking flustered, drew her sword as well.
And she parried my strike.
The sound of steel clashing echoed.
She had indeed picked up a bit of Libero’s swordsmanship.
But knowing Libero’s swordsmanship didn’t prove she was alive.
‘Still insufficient.’
I sheathed my sword and attacked again.
She blocked it once more.
In truth, she displayed many openings.
However, I wasn’t trying to exploit those openings.
After all, I didn’t want to kill her.
I wanted to know.
Even if it was a futile hope.
Whether she might really be alive.
‘I’ve dreamed of it countless times.’
Dreams where she was alive, laughing with me, having meals together.
‘In the end, it was all a dream.’
Upon waking from those dreams, an awful emptiness washed over me.
Then came the guilt for not being able to protect her.
Finally, rage towards the High Priest for having killed her.
‘But if this isn’t a dream…’
I would be happy.
I would surely be happy.
“Allen, let’s leave everything to her and go home.”
Freira smiled as she spoke.
Seeing that smile, memories of the happy dream came flooding back.
Yet…
“I’m sorry.”
That was just a dream.
“Allen?”
As we exchanged blows, I realized something.
There was no will behind her strikes.
She was indeed dead.
Thud.
My sword pierced her heart.
It couldn’t be helped.
Reality was painfully cold and bitter.
‘Damn it.’
Hot tears streamed down my cheeks.
I had been holding back since learning she was my mother in the Demon King’s castle.
It seemed like they had finally broken free.
‘I can’t do this.’
Not in front of the High Priest.
I had no time to mourn foolishly.
Yet…
“Mother.”
The word tumbled from my lips, swirling in my mouth.
Of course, Freira wouldn’t hear it anymore.
In the end, I never once called her mother.
Regret.
That regret overcame me.
But I didn’t let it bring me down.
Instead, it pushed me forward.
“High Priest…”
I drew my sword from Freira’s body and glared at her.
Yet she merely muttered in her characteristic bland tone.
“Hm, I guess persuasion was impossible. Regrettable, but I’ll have to move on to my next plan.”
Next plan?
Suddenly, she raised her hand toward the sky.
Light began to gather in her hand.
‘No matter what it is, I have to stop it.’
Just as I realized this and was about to strike her with my sword.
‘Huh?’
Freira’s corpse began to disintegrate into particles.
And those particles flowed into the High Priest.
‘Is she starting to absorb the Apostles!’
I had to stop this.
“That bastard…!”
I swung my sword right away.
But my remote strike went astray.
“Ugh!”
Her power had become even stronger than before.
It was now hard to even maintain my balance.
As a result, I knelt on one knee, my strength giving way.
‘Damn.’
At least it was fortunate that the High Priest had started absorbing the Apostles, which meant the Demon Kings would soon arrive.
However…
“If that happens, it might be too late.”
I had to find a way to thwart the High Priest here.
Moreover…
‘This resembles the future I glimpsed during the trial of will.’
In that place, I was killed by the High Priest.
If I kept going like this, I’d be dead meat.
So I was left with no choice but to employ a method I didn’t want to use.
‘Sung Yoo-rang.’
I called for him in my heart.
He was the only variable that could change the future.
And honestly, I really didn’t want to use this method, but I felt it was something I had to do.
‘He should be doing okay, right?’
I’ll put my trust in you.
Inventory.
I took out a flask from within it.
Inside was something dark red, sloshing around.
“That’s…”
The High Priest tilted her head.
“Chaos?”
Yes, she recognized it well.
What was inside was a small quantity of chaos.
Though even a small amount could have dire effects on the human body.
Yet the High Priest remained indifferent.
“Do you really think that could threaten me?”
“No, not at all.”
Of course not.
I knew the First Humanity had resistance against chaos.
So this was…
“I’m going to use it.”
I uncapped the flask and drank its contents.
Seeing this, the High Priest finally showed a look of surprise.
“What are you doing…!”
“What else? I have no choice but to do it to defeat you.”
In truth, I said it calmly, but I was anything but at ease.
I was just a hybrid, not the First Humanity.
The chaos was rapidly transforming my body.
It was painful.
It was hard to keep my mind in check.
But I had to endure.
Until I heard the voice.
“I have no choice but to become the Demon King.”
*
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