Chapter 169

〈 Chapter 170 〉 Water Sage (2)

*

‘The High Priest betrayed me?’

A headache swept through my head from the shock.

But I couldn’t let my thoughts come to a halt.

Just like that, Luel stepped in to help me.

“You said earlier that you deceived the High Priest, but that was just to explain the current situation. I know you didn’t really deceive her.”

“You knew?”

But that wasn’t actually helping; it was just reinforcing Schurz’s claim.

“To be precise, I knew that the High Priest betrayed you.”

And Schurz said,

“It’s not the first time the High Priest has betrayed you.”

“What do you mean?”

So it wasn’t my first time being betrayed.

“Be thankful you’re still alive.”

His words were becoming harder to understand.

Or maybe my subconscious was refusing to comprehend.

From what they were saying, it seemed that the High Priest had a habit of betraying heroes, even to the point of taking their lives.

“But…”

If what she said was true, I should have noticed much earlier.

After all, I had already nurtured hundreds of characters through the Hundred Braves experience.

But throughout that process, I had never seen her act like this all of a sudden.

“Why did she suddenly target me?”

In response to my question, Luel answered.

“Did you not realize? You’ve already accumulated feats that were ‘impossible.’ It’s natural for the High Priest to be afraid.”

Feats that were close to impossible.

Blocking the destruction of the Leim Kingdom head-on with just three people.

Considering my past accomplishments as well, my current feats could be considered bug-level achievements even when compared to others.

“Besides, I told you, you’re not the first. This has happened to me and the previous generation as well.”

The two of them spoke to me, looking exasperated.

But I was at a point where I could admit reality.

“I understand.”

The High Priest betrayed me.

And it wasn’t the first time she betrayed heroes.

I decided to acknowledge it all for now.

That brought me to one remaining question.

“Why is the High Priest doing this?”

She’s fought against the Demon Kings for hundreds of years.

It didn’t make sense why she would secretly betray heroes.

There seemed to be no reason for it at all.

Schurz answered my question.

“Power.”

“Power?”

“Where do you think the High Priest’s power comes from?”

The power of the High Priest.

It referred to her authority over the deepest part of Hailen, commanding apostles and heroes.

If I were to think about the source of that power…

“Is it because she saved people during the destruction?”

But Schurz countered.

“She only saved those who followed her in Hailen. The ones who saved the Leim Kingdom or Sakh, or those who saved the Central Sea System were different people.”

That was true.

Simply saving Hailen wouldn’t grant her the power she held now.

“Then…”

It seemed that the heroes were the representatives of her power.

Apostles were special, but ultimately the strongest power came from the heroes themselves.

So why did those heroes gather under the High Priest?

‘Pieces of the Barrier?’

Most heroes obtained pieces of the barrier by defeating Chaos Beasts, then returned them.

However, just because they comprised the majority doesn’t mean they held much influence over the High Priest’s actual power.

One high-ranking hero could handle a hundred ordinary heroes.

In the first place, the organizations that exchanged pieces of the barrier for money were the respective government of each barrier, not the Church.

‘If not that…’

There was only one possibility.

A threat to humanity, a primary enemy mainly faced by high-ranking heroes.

That was…

“The Demon Kings.”

At that, Schurz nodded.

“Yes, the existence of the Demon Kings gives the Church a reason to exist. While the governments can manage to acquire a few pieces of the barrier, the group known as the Demon Kings is different.”

Now I understood.

Why the High Priest betrayed me.

No, why she sent heroes to the Central Sea System while being aware that I was headed to the Leim Kingdom.

“The High Priest knew that she was hostile to the Demon Kings and that her own power would vanish if they disappeared.”

That’s why she betrayed me.

And…

“You were also a victim of that control.”

“Exactly.”

“And that control…”

Schurz continued, affirming my deduction.

“I told you to be thankful you’re still alive.”

His expression had lost its usual bravado.

What remained was only despair and powerlessness.

“Beron, or should I say Rank 1? He’s currently reported as missing, but that’s not true.”

If it wasn’t missing in the current context, it meant only one thing.

“He’s dead.”

“Yes, the High Priest and the Apostles planned his murder.”

I had suspected that since I first heard his words.

His previous party consisted of Knight Beron, Spearman Duke, and Magician Stella.

The two missing were himself and Knight Beron.

“Since that incident, we had no choice but to stop adventuring.”

They were not satisfied with it.

They had been forced to stop by someone.

“Having stopped adventuring, we had no reason to stay together and decided to part ways.”

With a bitter expression, he continued.

“Stella said she would focus solely on research and entered the Magic Tower. Duke started asserting dominance over the new heroes since then. Whenever someone showed even a hint of talent, he’d always find a way to hold them back.”

I knew that from experience.

Duke, the Spearman ranked 3rd among heroes.

He was a considerable hindrance throughout the nurturing process in the Hundred Braves.

But back then, I didn’t know.

That his suppressive tactics were designed to prevent the High Priest’s control from activating.

“It was to prevent a second Beron. Whether that was right or wrong, I didn’t even have the courage to think about it. I just didn’t want to stay in Hailen anymore. So, in the end, I chose to hide.”

He hid in the fog-shrouded Library Island.

Moreover, as far as I knew, he never revealed himself, even if a playable character visited the library.

The fact that he showed himself now meant…

“That you revealed yourself means you had something to say to me?”

I hoped that it would be helpful.

But his powerless gaze didn’t change.

“Yes, I had something to tell you.”

In a dry voice, he warned me.

“You should stop now.”

Not a helpful suggestion, but a warning.

However, I had no intention of accepting that warning.

“What if I refuse?”

I couldn’t care less about the High Priest’s control.

If I couldn’t prevent destruction, everything would end anyway.

Even if I ended up dying after stopping the destruction due to the High Priest, preventing the destruction was my top priority.

“I must stop the destruction.”

“Destruction? What are you talking about?”

He wouldn’t know.

That the end of this world was always destruction.

But I had no grounds to persuade him.

He only spoke of the cold, harsh realities that could emerge, even if I stopped the destruction.

“Destruction isn’t just about you being okay.”

“What do you mean…”

“What about your comrades who could die or get hurt because of you?”

Suddenly, images of my comrades flashed through my mind.

Elsie.

Yusera.

Gwen.

They were all precious allies to me.

But…

“They should be fine. After all, they’re prepared for this much.”

I confirmed that through the third trial.

Of course, given the current situation, I would ask them again, but I could worry about that when the time came.

It seemed he noticed the look in my eye.

“Are they truly your allies?”

But he spoke again.

“However, do you think you can handle the sadness you’ll feel when you lose them, just because you’ve resolved yourself?”

He spoke with a sneer.

“You’ve never lost anyone yet.”

“No, I have lost someone.”

I had definitely experienced losing someone precious.

Libero might not have been my comrade, but he was undoubtedly an important person.

“But even then, I didn’t give in to despair.”

Of course, I was sad.

Even while shedding tears, I had to keep moving forward.

The dead were dead, no matter what.

“It won’t matter who dies. Even if I die, surely other comrades will continue moving forward.”

Just as I inherited Libero’s will along with the sword.

We were all holding on to one sword together now.

“You, of all people, sitting around and moping after losing just one comrade. Isn’t that pathetic?”

“Did you just say just one?”

The atmosphere had become charged.

“Hey, Schurz, Allen.”

Just as Luel couldn’t stand it anymore and tried to intervene between us.

“Yeah, if you’re going to do it, you should at least have this level of determination…”

Having said that, he turned his back to me, as if resigning himself.

Then he said,

“Your comrade, Gwen Reedval, is currently captured on Central Island.”

“Gwen…?”

When I widened my eyes in surprise and looked at Luel, she nodded in response.

“If your resolve is truly as you say, why not try to save her?”

I asked him,

“Don’t you plan on helping?”

“Not at all. I’m already a has-been. Plus, I left my weapon somewhere else. There’s a reason why the Church has stopped pursuing me.”

Convincing someone who spoke like that seemed tough.

However, as he was leaving Luel’s study, I called out to him.

“By the way, I wanted to say this.”

In fact, I owed him a debt.

To be exact, it wasn’t a debt I had directly incurred.

“Thank you for not killing Freira.”

To my words, he turned his head.

I couldn’t help but be surprised.

For a moment, the eyes that had been filled with powerlessness flickered with the wildness he once had.

“It wasn’t fun to kill a Demon King begging for her life. That was all.”

He glared at me with sharp eyes.

“Did you kill her?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“That’s good. I definitely wanted to kill her. If she ever gets to a point where she begs not to die.”

Then he turned again and left the room.

It was a glimpse of why the Demon Kings feared him so.

Despite his character, he was a unique specimen who took pleasure in killing them.

“I can’t understand how someone like that is just sitting back now.”

Luel also said while looking at the doorway he exited.

“But even though people don’t change easily, they can surprisingly change based on their environment.”

Her eyes seemed to hold a hint of sadness for some reason.

“Luel.”

I called her name.

It was the reason I came here, and before going to save Gwen, there was something I had to do.

“In fact, there’s something I want your help with.”

It was related to the fourth Stigma.

“I want to learn how to use Blood Magic.”

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