Chapter 177

〈 Chapter 178 〉 Twins (5)

*

“So the High Priest is the First Humanity?”

It’s confusing.

“If the High Priest is the First Humanity…”

It certainly explains a lot.

Like how she has managed to survive in a human body instead of as a Demon King all this time.

But…

“Does that mean she could be my mother?”

At that, Luel nodded.

“Maybe? I can’t be certain, and there might still be remnants of the Last Humanity.”

If that’s true, it’s not a good situation at all.

It would mean my mother, whom I’ve never seen, turns out to be someone who is against me.

‘Feels like something is off.’

Just as I was trying to settle my complicated thoughts, I heard it.

­The Water Sage.

It was a voice coming from Albert.

The voice, slightly calmer and clearer than usual, felt closer to the God of Connection than Albert himself.

“The God of Connection, huh?”

Her voice was low, much unlike her usual self.

It must be her as the Water Sage.

­Long time no see. We shared so many stories by the fountain 500 years ago.

“Yeah, back then we both knew almost nothing.”

­You say you knew nothing? You had the title of Water Sage even back then!

They sounded like two old friends.

“Sorry, I was being humble. But honestly, compared to back then, I feel like I’ve learned a lot. Even if I’m trapped in this sword for some reason.”

­This was the only way to escape the Trial. Plus, through my Master, my concepts have developed tremendously too.

“Do you understand your Master’s feelings? No, of course, you would. Anyway, I’m glad to see you happy.”

I was thinking how relieved I was that the atmosphere between the two seemed pleasant.

Suddenly, Luel’s expression turned serious.

“So, what’s sudden about calling me?”

She was speaking to Albert, who had called her.

Albert then replied, vibrating the sword’s aura.

­I’ve heard your conversation so far. However, I feel like we’re missing a few details.

“Missing details?”

­Yeah, especially the part about how you two killed the Creator God.

At that moment, I felt it.

His divine power inside the sword was being noticeably consumed.

‘Albert?’

He answered my concerns.

­It’s fine. There’s something you absolutely need to know to save this world.

Therefore, he turned to the Water Sage once again.

­You know that our knowledge has limitations since the Destruction, right?

“That’s true. But how can you be so sure that the one who learns it will make the right choice?”

She looked somewhat angry for some reason.

“Look at me. I realized the truth and ultimately decided to bring about destruction.”

She wasn’t crying, but she looked like she could burst into tears.

“Not all truths are good. Sometimes just knowing them can lead to terrible truths. It’s enough for just me to bear those awful truths.”

She spoke as if she was throwing it up.

Her appearance looked profoundly pitiful.

By this point, I didn’t want to leave it all to Albert.

And…

‘That was Luel just now.’

It wasn’t the voice of the Water Sage.

It sounded like the girl named Luel crying for help.

So, I spoke to her.

“Tell me.”

“Pardon?”

“I’m asking you to tell me what that truth is that forces you to destroy the world.”

I already knew she wanted to destroy the world.

But I didn’t know why she felt that way, and I wanted to know.

“I’ll help you. If you really must destroy the world, I’ll make sure it goes down with you. But…”

If it’s not that.

“If you’re just worrying about something that can’t be solved, if you think you should destroy the world without even trying…”

I aimed Albert at her.

“I’ll make you snap back to reality.”

*

Creak.

Clang.

The elevator doors opened upon arriving in the basement.

‘So this is it.’

Out of the elevator stepped Lucy, the blue-haired Hero.

She looked tense, her pupils darting around in anxiety.

Her limbs seemed stiff, as if she hesitated still.

‘It’s pretty humid down here.’

Maybe it’s because this is the island’s basement, but it was quite damp.

The lights hanging around showed that practicality was considered, making it bright for an underground place, but it seemed the cold and humidity hadn’t been resolved.

‘How could someone spend a few years holed up in a place like this?’

She often came down naturally, expecting it to be a cozier and more comfortable space.

But that wasn’t the case.

‘I need to talk about this later.’

There must be plenty of tools that could easily fix the cold and humidity.

With her wealth as a high-ranking Hero, she could probably buy them without a problem.

‘Coming down here was the right decision.’

Although she had been battling Chaos Beasts and Demon Kings desperately, her younger sibling didn’t need to struggle so much.

Thank goodness she found her just in time.

A bit late, but still.

‘But…’

What is that?

Her gaze fixed on a strange device in the middle of the basement.

It was a complicated contraption with levers everywhere.

‘It looks like I shouldn’t touch it.’

If I mess with it even a bit, Luel would definitely be unhappy.

But aside from the levers, something else caught her eye, a handset hanging nearby.

‘This is…’

A handset.

A communication device that was supposedly starting to be developed during the chaotic era along with Sakh.

‘Does that mean this is connected to Sakh?’

It was just pure curiosity.

She picked up the handset and held it up to her ear without thinking.

Suddenly, a voice came through.

­Violet, how much longer are we supposed to wait?

It was the voice of a mature woman.

­She said to wait two weeks, so it’s about one week left now.

Then, the voice of another woman, probably her age, chimed in.

‘Violet? Who is that?’

She was wondering about this when suddenly the conversation continued.

­Damn it, can’t that guy just take over Central Island and wait?

­He might encounter Schurz.

­That guy hasn’t shown up since that one time, you know?

Only then did Lucy realize their identities.

‘A Demon King?’

Why is Luel’s device connected to the Demon Kings’ communication network?

No, it was too early to panic.

It could just be a means to detect the movements of the Demon Kings.

‘But…’

Why did she feel so uneasy?

­What’s that crackling noise?

Lucy instinctively felt that it was probably due to her presence.

So she hastily tried to put the handset down.

­Ah, looks like she was listening in.

It was a strange sound.

‘Were they aware I was listening?’

They seemed completely unfazed.

­Hey, Water Sage.

Until she figured out Luel’s identity.

And judging by the tone, it wouldn’t have been weird to assume they were allies.

‘What the hell is going on?’

And in the next moment, the voice of a woman solved Lucy’s doubts.

­Are you still not ready?

They were indeed genuine allies.

Her twin sister, Luel, was allied with the Demon Kings.

­Since you’re eavesdropping on us, answer up.

Lucy finally put the handset down.

Then her legs gave way, and she sank down on the floor.

Hah, hah…

Breathing heavily after eavesdropping on the conversation, she began to catch her breath.

Her expression had turned pale, beyond pale.

‘Luel is with the Demon Kings? Why?’

It felt terrible.

She was a Hero meant to defeat the Demon Kings.

The thought that she might have to kill Luel with her own hands was something she didn’t want to accept.

‘No. It can’t be true.’

I recalled the innocent image of Luel when I suggested we should go on an adventure together.

I didn’t want to believe that her sister had become comrades with the Demon Kings.

‘Perhaps she’s being threatened.’

Maybe she’s forced into doing something unwanted because of threats.

‘She mentioned preparation.’

If so, knowing what she was preparing for would suffice.

Surely there would be some clues around here.

‘Luel…’

She began searching the area.

‘What on earth are you thinking?’

The area was cluttered with junk.

Amidst it, there were also the relics she had retrieved for her.

‘Were these also used for her preparations?’

Luel had asked her to retrieve them, but it dawned on her she had never asked what purpose they served.

‘But what are those talismans?’

There were talismans stuck all over a sword-shaped relic.

The symbols on those talismans seemed to be drawn in red markings she couldn’t decipher.

Probably written in Luel’s own blood.

‘I can’t make heads or tails of this.’

She needed something more concrete to understand Luel’s plan.

As she scanned the area again, something caught her eye.

‘What’s this?’

She finally found it.

It seemed to be a plan that Luel had probably spent considerable time drafting.

‘She prepared to this extent?’

It detailed procedures from the plan, alternatives for failures in respective procedures, and drawings of the Central Sea System and Saint City Hailen.

No matter how she looked at it, it was a plan that could only have been orchestrated by Luel herself.

‘Unsealing the control room of Central Island to lift the island into the air… and crashing the barrier of the Central Sea System against Hailen’s barrier…’

What on earth did this mean?

Her gaze ended up on the title at the top of the plan she had been trying to ignore.

In large letters, the name of the plan was written.

[World Destruction Plan]

*

‘You want to know why the world must be destroyed?’

I can’t let him know.

I don’t want to break him with just one truth after all the brilliant achievements he’s made.

But…

‘Those eyes.’

They were so steadfast.

It was hard to refuse those eyes.

‘Perhaps it was set in stone from the moment I decided to save him.’

When I resolved to save him.

I can’t deny that I had a sliver of hope.

Maybe Allen Pleuk could save me from this hell.

‘Perhaps I’m unqualified to be the Water Sage.’

That was a hasty judgment.

The man I rescued turned out weaker than I expected.

I couldn’t possibly think he could find a way out other than the world’s destruction.

Even if he did, could he even pull it off?

Everything is uncertain, every thought negative.

‘But…’

For some reason, I want to confide in him.

This might be my true feelings as Luel.

So let’s confide.

If revealing it breaks his spirit, he’ll probably help with my plan instead.

Of course, if that happens, I might feel sorrow as Luel, but maybe that was the karma that began the moment I decided to save him.

So…

“I understand. I’ll let you know.”

*