<552 - Relative Difficulty (4)>
Outside the Southern Sacred City-State Federation.
Thief Guild safehouse.
After the guild headquarters was burned down due to clashes with the Revolutionary Army and subsequent assaults by wraiths, the remnants of the Thief Guild focused on the recovery of the Destroyer.
“The restoration of forces can be done later, but the recovery of Lord Destroyer cannot be missed.”
“Those foolish fools… cough cough. Do you think the competitors will just sit idly by? The assets you haven’t secured and the wavering individuals will all end up with the Foundation.”
“It doesn’t matter. This guild was created to be useful to Lord Destroyer from the start. It’s only right for turncoats to leave if their hearts change when we’re together.”
“How foolishly honest… cough cough. You could learn a little bit of cunning from my junior disciple Oknodie.”
The branch manager of the Thief Guild, Shu Churros, shyly smiled as she gazed at the sunflower painting hanging on the wall of the safehouse.
“She was such a cute child. Just like a sunflower.”
“She was also a scary child.”
“But if it weren’t for her, Lord Destroyer would have succumbed to the Dark Mana of the Demon Minions. Even if he endured that far, a subsequent attack by the Revolutionaries…”
“Surely, he would have died. Defeated by the Revolutionaries whom I’ve hated the most, ending up as a tool for them with even my soul. Cough cough. If my soul were taken hostage, half of the Thief Guild would have sided with the Revolutionary Army.”
“How could such a child be scary? I heard she landed a hit even on the Emperor in the Empire.”
Following Shu Churros’ gaze to the sunflower picture frame, the Destroyer felt a sudden curiosity.
“Do you think Oknodie resembles a sunflower?”
“Of course.”
“How so?”
“That child has always strived for Lord Destroyer. If I recall all the opponents she has defeated until now, she is Lord Destroyer’s childhood friend…”
“It’s fine now. You can say that name.”
Surprised, Shu Churros’ eyes widened as she offered a softer smile.
“She’s been working hard to repel the forces responsible for Havi’s death. The Revolutionary Army and the Empire have definitely taken big hits, haven’t they?”
Honestly, it felt refreshing.
I couldn’t help but wonder if Oknodie had done all this for me.
She shared the burden of the Dark Mana to save her mentor.
And killed the Revolutionary, who was Havi’s enemy, by calling upon her mentor.
She had made the former emperor resign and even killed the next emperor to put Masugaki on the throne.
Recalling the tragic end of Havi’s father, Professor Harvest, who had to die under the Empire’s pressure, this made it all the more poignant.
“Cough cough… If there is a regret, it would be that I couldn’t take revenge on the Magic Tower and the Academy…”
“Lord Destroyer…..”
With worsening coughs and bright red blood staining his hands, Shu Churros shed tears for the state of the Destroyer, whose condition made it impossible for healing through sacred spells or recovery via potions and elixirs.
“Shu Churros. I express my gratitude for your dedication, which has long kept you by my side.”
“Please don’t give up. I will help, no matter what it takes. Even if it means forsaking the human way, if Lord Destroyer desires…!”
“Stop.”
Even in his dying body, the Destroyer raised his upper body and emitted a fierce aura from his eyes, warning sternly.
“There are paths in this world that one must not walk, even if one knows them. The path that forsakes humanity, and the path that turns into a Demon. Never mention Demonification again.”
Surviving the harm of Dark Mana would leave one with no real option but to become a Demon.
If one fully embraced Dark Mana and transformed it into power, it would yield a level of strength beyond comparison to his human days.
Moreover, for someone as strong as the Destroyer, he might even surpass the Demon King’s Four Kings.
Such overwhelming power.
The chance to exact revenge.
The guaranteed future of growth.
The Destroyer firmly rejected them all.
“…For today, let’s leave it at that.”
“I apologize… If you ever need assistance, please press the emergency buzzer. I will be waiting in the waiting room…”
It wasn’t that she was clueless about it.
She understood in which heart she kept vigil by his side.
But the Destroyer never responded to her feelings as he always did.
Those who possess a certain level of Dark Mana inevitably harbor harmful energies.
For someone who has hunted demons and demonic clans, being affected by Dark Mana was an unavoidable path.
When your vessel is overflowing and on the verge of breaking, sharing affection with another would only serve to inflict that pollution upon them.
If it’s someone dear to you.
If it’s someone who has followed you for a long time.
Naturally, such acts of affection must not be committed, and doing so would be unconscionable.
“A wind that cannot be caught, waves that cannot be stayed, a train that cannot stop. Love is truly a pitiful emotion. Professor Destroyer, I never expected you to have such human traits.”
“…Did the principal send you?”
“A Rogue does not work in response to someone’s call. They only go where their heart leads them and steal only what their own sense of justice allows.”
“Cough cough… Look at this. Does a dying man have anything left to steal?”
“Not for a man in his death throes. But for the continent’s number one thief? The Strongest Thief? There is.”
“The Strongest Thief…”
The Destroyer was lost in thought.
“The strongest of all beings. The only one who could snatch that name away for even a moment in nearly 300 years is you, isn’t it?”
“Are you planning to kill me and take my honor?”
From the shadows, Professor Bronze stepped into the light with a furrowed brow, extending his cane.
Tap.
Without blinking, the cane brushed alongside the Destroyer’s face as he lay in the hospital bed.
“Don’t spout words that lack sincerity. Didn’t I already tell you? I only take what my heart seeks and what my sense of justice approves of.”
“If you don’t want the title of the Strongest or the first position among the continent’s top ten thieves, then what summoned you?”
“Your child.”
The Destroyer was not easily shaken.
Having witnessed countless horrors during his hero’s journey.
He has drawn forth and destroyed more hells than he could count hidden beneath the facade of everyday life.
Yet even he couldn’t help but feel flustered at this moment.
Beyond the white coat, with a hand on his rogue’s pocket, Professor Bronze boldly tempted him.
“It’s rare to find a man who satisfies oneself. If that man is someone about to leave this world, the opportunity becomes even fewer.”
“Have you lost your mind?”
“Why do you think so? Stealing the feelings of a once-in-a-century genius who the world will mourn and giving birth to a child—what glory could surpass this for a thief?”
This woman was serious.
As she undid the buttons of her dress shirt after taking off her coat, the Destroyer was genuinely horrified.
Seeing his rejection, Professor Bronze feigned a wounded expression as she adjusted her collar.
“I had my own confidence in my charm, but perhaps it was lacking for the strongest thief of the age?”
“That’s not the issue. You should know well.”
“Do you mean the fact that you’re a coward?”
“The fact is that a victim of Dark Mana harbors the same Dark Mana in their affections.”
“It doesn’t matter. Unlike you, who has accomplished tasks as a hero, I never had to kill a demon. That’s precisely why I chose you.”
The world only refers to those who have been chosen by God as Apostles of God or chosen heroes.
However, the true masters of humanity do not fear being affected by Dark Mana and are called heroes for severing the lifelines of demons.
“For the future of humanity, a person who does not fear death and cuts down on their life span. Nothing would be a greater loss than to let such a one’s blood stop flowing.”
“You are one of the few capable professors who can teach and lead Oknodie even if I am gone. Don’t waste your lifespan needlessly like this.”
“A mentor can decide the future of an apprentice, but an apprentice cannot decide the future of a mentor.”
Click, as he unbuckled the metal belt, and swish, the clothes brushed against his skin and fell to the floor.
“Or… maybe you prefer this? Like an unfulfilled love etched in years gone by.”
As she glanced at Professor Bronze’s shrinking stature, the Destroyer felt like a panicked girl facing a threat to her chastity, quickly reaching for the alarm button.
“That’s enough. If you continue with this nonsense, I’ll press the buzzer.”
“Is it okay? What if your precious subordinate gets hurt?”
“Does your sense of justice allow the blood of the innocent to be spilled?”
“For the future of humanity, I can let one person’s blood flow. I initially thought that blood would only belong to me, but I would willingly endure a bit more. If it’s blood of the same meaning as mine, I would be willing to allow it for the future of humanity.”
“…”
“Whether it be a young disciple, a departed disciple, or a loyal subordinate who stands by, I wouldn’t care to target any of them. I am as generous in spirit as I am in my rogue’s pocket. The more seeds of heroes spread, the more righteous.”
At that moment, the Destroyer sighed deeply as Professor Bronze was inching toward more intimate areas.
“Bronze de Estrada. You are making people angry in a way different from the Revolutionaries.”
“Are you finally willing to respond?”
“If a hero plants his seed after embarking on a hero’s journey, the likelihood of a Demon being born rather than a hero is greatly increased. Do you really want to risk that?”
“If it’s a mistake, just kill it.”
“Why not set conditions for the exchange?”
Professor Bronze’s eyes turned chillingly cold.
“I have no habit of leaving before a feast. With just an arm’s reach, I could have the most delicious delicacies in the world. Why should I withdraw?”
“The energy implanted in Oknodie is moving from the palace to another realm in the Empire. If that child is in danger… then I will send every last bit of my remaining pure energy to her, even if it means invoking Demonification.”
“!!”
“Do you understand? I can send my remaining lifespan and energy for my apprentice whenever I wish. Even if I have to be forcefully held onto my life, the child I can produce from me will inevitably be a Demon. That would go against your righteousness and sense of justice.”
Indeed, as they say, “Even a rotten horse can run.”
Even in this dying state, he was able to manipulate his actions as he pleased.
He truly was a hero who had long suppressed the Revolutionary Army as the arch-nemesis of that revolutionary.
“I’ve been had.”
That was the trigger for Professor Bronze’s ultimate, The Shadow of the Thief, to stealthily follow Oknodie using Maid Reap without anyone noticing.
Of course, it wasn’t like she followed Oknodie without a fight.
“You must hurry. The only one who can take Oknodie away from the Empire’s restrictions is the former Emperor who has stepped down…?!”
Like a cat burglar, a head that approached swiftly stole a kiss.
Just as the mana within the Destroyer was about to react bizarrely against his resisting body, the hyacinth fragrance that was once enveloping the Destroyer faded away.
Wiping off the sticky silver drool, Professor Bronze provocatively grinned.
“I’ve received my advance payment. The teasing happens only once. No matter how good a man he is, I won’t forgive him twice.”
*
“I came to help you as Lord Destroyer requested.”
With Professor Bronze’s candid story finished, she felt a twinge of curiosity.
Oknodie was a special child.
The Destroyer’s apprentice.
Also, my apprentice.
What kind of reaction would Oknodie show?
Would she feel embarrassed about the union of her mentor and his partner?
Or would she harbor curiosity towards the adult woman’s appearance?
It wouldn’t be surprising if she felt jealous of herself, who posed a threat to the mentor’s purity.
Anything would be fine.
This chaos was worth enjoying.
Show me your reaction.
In front of Professor Bronze, whose mind was swirling with curiosity, Oknodie displayed a reaction beyond expectations.
“How can a woman visit while he’s just lying in a sickbed?? What a despicable alpha male he is!!”
The answer was jealousy.
Jealousy not directed at herself, but towards Professor Destroyer.
Unbeknownst to Professor Bronze, who failed in the final attack on the character of a 230cm muscle-bound one-hit wonder, it was a bit of a surprise.
