Chapter: 634
Adri had opened the way for us, but it wasn’t a smooth path by any means.
From the perspective of Duke of the Spirits, our presence was something to be kept at a distance.
He did everything he could to block us, twisting the royal palace in various ways.
So we smashed everything in our way.
“It’s going to take decades to restore the royal castle!?”
“It’d be a miracle if it doesn’t collapse!”
The spirits attacking us were subdued by the ancestral shout and Adri’s spirit magic, while the knights ensnared by dark magic were subdued by the clerics. And then—
“We can’t go any further!”
Just like in the game, the knight commander we captured with great effort couldn’t be saved even with the saint’s purification.
“Why can’t I go? This place is going to be my castle!”
“Your Highness the Second Prince, we’ve told you multiple times to act with decorum.”
The Second Prince and the Second Princess blocked our way.
“Ahem. I apologize, Mother. I’m just not used to it.”
“Not Mother but Your Highness the Second Princess. You’ll be the future king, so please.”
“Shut it! You old hag!”
“…This guy has always lacked decorum. Good, I wanted to smack him down anyway.”
“Mother?”
“Cecile, draw your weapon. I shall take him down Bedfer’s way.”
“That sounds like fun!”
As we cleared away obstacles and charged forward, I felt a chilling presence from afar.
Some might call it death, others despair, some might say it was the end of the world, while others would speak of a foe—I thought of it as a troublesome obstacle.
The idiot Agra.
The moment I sensed that presence, I summoned all my strength and charged through, smashing through the wall to send my enemy flying.
“The will of the God is truly damnable.”
But to think that scrawny figure was the king.
“Hey Apostle of the God, don’t you think so?”
That was speaking of the king who had already completed a contract with the evil god Agra.
“Are you scared? Where’s that loud mouth that used to chatter on happily?”
The fairy queen was sweating profusely. Clearly a sign that she bore the evil god’s power. Otherwise, that playful lady wouldn’t be looking so anxious.
“Ha. It’s such a pain to deal with you.”
He might be a withered figure, but his physical capabilities must be incredible. Probably outclassing the regular Rene in terms of power. I wouldn’t guarantee victory against him in my current state.
“Now I can pay you back.”
Moreover, as Duke Kurten had said, the king might be lacking in physical capabilities but his intellect was exceptional.
He probably mastered both magic and dark magic to offset his weaknesses, able to match up against any average strong opponent.
“You’re trembling. How amusing. Do you feel fear as well?”
So—
“Ha ha~♡ Oh, I can’t help but laugh~♡”
“…Huh?”
The opponent standing before me was one I had never faced before.
“Genetics really is a thing, huh?♡”
Not someone completely unreasonable, like a dark evil god would be.
“You must have had a hard time buttering up such a man, huh?♡ The delusional Queen♡”
A worthy opponent to strategize against.
“Ha! Right! You were originally this kind of creep!”
“Trying to act calm is just showing how unsettled you are♡ It’s a complex, isn’t it?♡ After all, if you hear laughter every night, you’d definitely have nightmares~♡”
“Fine. It looks like it’ll be rewarding to return the humiliation I suffered to the legendary knight.”
I gathered my strength into the hand gripping my mace as I raised my shield. Just as if waiting, fairies flew out from my hair, surrounding me.
– Did you keep it in your heart?
– You’re pitiful.
– You’re pathetic.
– Disqualified as a man.
“Ha! Shout all you want. Even your queen fears me, so what can you do?”
“If the queen can’t do it, then the king can just step up.”
Suddenly appearing in the air, Erginius naturally went over to the queen and grabbed her shoulder.
What’s with him being so casual!?
What the heck?!
You were never like this before!
You’re a fake! The real Erginius wouldn’t act like that!
[Yes! That doesn’t make any sense! How can that weirdo do that?!]
‘D… Don’t tell me!’
Erginius laughed, clearly visible, right in my face.
Couldn’t be—was that the smile of a victor?! It looked shaky, though!?
“O great Archmage and now a dark deity. Surely your involvement would solve this issue quickly. But will that still be fine? Our balance will be disrupted, you see?”
“Gained the knowledge of the evil god, have you?”
“That was the contract.”
As the king smiled smugly, Erginius also grinned.
“Balance can be adjusted by increasing or decreasing things.”
“Yes. That’s how it is in nature. So what will you add?”
“I took something away already; courtesy of the great god.”
God? Pathetic god? Why is that loser being mentioned?
*
“Caria. You know, right? The king is afraid of death.”
“Certainly. It’s a given. After all, he is a man who has narrowly escaped death countless times due to illness.”
The king was originally considered someone not destined to be king.
Since birth, his frail body attracted all sorts of diseases, and even with all the treatments he received because of royal blood, he had faced near-death experiences several times.
Outwardly, he was always smiling, but inside, he was haunted by the specter of death.
Caria knew this but didn’t take it seriously.
Fear of death is an intrinsic instinct of humanity, and fundamentally, the king was an excellent leader who led the country towards peace.
“Did I misjudge him?”
“Yes.”
“Impossible. I’m sure I collected every thought of the opponent.”
“When one emotion is strong, can you read all the branches that come with it?”
“Of course.”
“Even if it’s an intense love?”
Caria nearly nodded but paused, frowning for a moment.
Sure, if you focus closely enough, you can differentiate them.
But to me, the king and queen were not mere subjects to be monitored. There was no need to observe more closely than that.
“Isn’t that right?”
“I’ll admit it. I was wrong. So that means the king always had this plan from the start.”
“Think about it. Could someone like me, who was crushed and buried long ago, find you by mere coincidence?”
“…Was it part of a desperate act to escape death?”
“That’s right. His Majesty has always sought to escape death. By any means necessary.”
His efforts blossomed after he climbed to the throne and grasped the legacy left by Erginius. By acquiring methods to reach the evil god.
The power to handle endings. The ability to end someone or to endlessly defer someone’s end.
The king had approached that power. He had crafted all sorts of plans to manage it.
“…Wait a minute. Hey, you crazy lady. If that’s true, then the king is entirely unsuited for the country, isn’t he?”
“Yes, he is. Frankly, I think he’s a piece of trash that should be killed for the sake of the Partran Kingdom.”
“But why do you follow that guy? You’re a lunatic obsessed with the kingdom!”
“Caria, I am a doll made without a human heart. I was designed only to follow the rules given to me. I am different from you, who was born with emotions and dulled over time.”
Humans are born with emotions.
That’s why they grow numb. Even the feelings of dislike and like. They dull in comparison to their original state. Without realizing, they forget that initial feeling.
However, the First Queen, the watcher, was not a doll. She still remembered the moment she became aware of her heart’s beat.
“The human heart is indeed troublesome, and it’s because it’s troublesome that it’s beautiful. It’s impossible to ignore or gloss over it.”
Knowing it was wrong, she still could not stop the king.
Moreover, knowing it was wrong, understanding that his actions harmed the country, she felt she had to stop him.
“That’s why I willingly threw myself away, hoping that fate would determine everything.”
“You’re such a wacko. You trashy woman.”
“It’s not entirely so bad, right? Even at worst, the leaders to guide the kingdom are right here.”
Only then did the dukes understand that the reason they were trapped here was due to both the interruption of power and preparations for the future.
“In the end, all we can do is pray.”
The Duke of Partran laughed lightly and prayed into the darkness. To the greatest god he knew.
*
Having never spoken a word until now, the pathetic god was suddenly mentioned, causing everyone to tilt their heads when friends arrived from the back.
Phoebe, who had been on Frey’s back, carefully landed on the ground, her face slightly flushed as she stepped forward.
“Honestly, I thought the warmth of the god had weakened at some point. Was that part of your preparations?”
“Aha! Is that it!?”
It made sense for that noisy, meddling, attention-seeking nasty god to have a reason for being quiet!
I thought they had taken a beating from that idiot Agra and were left crumpled!
“Yes, indeed. Oh, saint of the god. But I’m still not at a level to take him down. If I were, I would have already taken his head off.”
Erginius’s words held no embellishment. A magician who defied a god’s might had now acquired divine power.
If he chose to exert his full strength, even a mob like the king would disappear in an instant.
“Even so, do not let your guard down. Oh king. That balance is for the gods. Your fate is as good as a mere trinket.”
“…What are you trying to say?”
“To put it bluntly, if you do not comply with my proposal, you will die. Even if you try to play around, you will die. Even if you attempt to escape this situation relying on the evil god, you will die.
I swear by the magic I’ve built all this while. No matter what happens, I’ll kill you. Even if it means passing you off to Agra.”
The king’s withered body was shaking. He understood now, relying on divine power. He could not escape the fate of death.
“However, that’s unfair. So I shall take on the role of an overseer.”
An overseer? What’s that about all of a sudden?
“Society-deficient geek, could you kindly explain it in a way we can understand?”
“Erginius! The first letter vanished!”
“…Do you really have to mention that?”
“Of course! It’s our fruit of labor!”
“No. That… ahem! To put it simply, those here will become representatives of the gods! A showdown between the representatives of the evil god and the holy god!”
The champions of evil god Agra and god Armadi. A duel between those representing each god.
“Hero! Defeat the demon king to save the world! Demon king! Defeat the hero to survive!”
At the moment Erginius, wielding the powers of darkness, stood between, neither Agra nor Armadi could move.
With a slight lean towards Armadi, Erginius would finish the match, while a lean towards Agra would reset the duel back to one.
“I won’t allow anyone to escape from this match. Garbage.”
“A match, huh? Very well. I’ll gladly participate, but there is one omitted detail. What are the terms of the game?”
“If it’s a match between the hero and the demon king, then there’s but one, isn’t there?”
The dungeon.
“Make the battlefield wherever suits you best, oh demon king.”
Erginius smiled at me as if he had been waiting for this moment.
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