#230
The Cleanup (2)
When the first attack failed and the Undead King counterattacked, Geos thought he was surely dead.
The piercing thorns that invaded his body, destroying his heart and organs, and the terrible energy that spread like poison through him were no longer something a living being could withstand.
However, the vibrant life force that had already transitioned into a crimson aura kept him from dying, even though his physical vessel was broken.
The holy power of the saint that followed shortly was enough to hold his life momentarily.
Saint Liesta was fully committed to stopping the relentless assault of the Bone Dragon and the Undead King while maintaining the blessings bestowed upon her party members and squeezing out what little energy she had left to restore Geos.
‘If I waste my strength here, others will be in danger too.’
However, knowing it was like pouring water into a bottomless pit, he shook off the saint’s pleas and forced his body to rise…
He suddenly exclaimed in awe as he took in the sight of Heinrich battling valiantly against the Undead King.
‘Ahh.’
Despite being quite distant, he could clearly feel the reckless challenge and the iron will to see it through.
Heinrich stood firm, even as his body was torn, broken, and bursting apart.
With all his resolve, he reached out for a seemingly impossible goal.
Geos watched him for a moment, raised his spear, and reverently prayed.
‘Oh Holy God, I know I cannot be the protagonist…’
Burning away the remaining moments of his fleeting life to contribute to the hero’s next step would be a magnificent finale for a man named Geos Kalkin.
‘Please allow this meager life to aid his path, even if just a little.’
He gathered every last shred of energy holding his life together and delivered his final blow.
At the moment it was effortlessly deflected by the Undead King, despair washed over him.
Just then, as if answering his prayer, a dawn brightening the darkness descended upon Heinrich’s body, sending chills down Geos’s spine.
And the instant the Holy Sword of the hero lodged into the Heart of the Undead King, absolute evil, which he thought would never be touched, he suddenly realized something.
‘Ah, I see.’
That was the very destiny set for this world.
Even if he couldn’t defeat the Undead King at this moment, the final outcome wouldn’t differ much from that point.
In a strangely distant feeling, he was able to affirm that inevitable end.
“Sir Geos! Stay awake!”
“Geos!”
“Saint, hurry this way…!”
In that moment when he was lost in thought.
He sensed the commotion up close, realizing he had fainted and fallen unconscious.
Was what he realized just a dream?
He couldn’t tell now.
“Sir Geos.”
He opened his eyes with great effort at the gentle voice calling him, meeting the concerned gaze of the hero, the savior bringing hope to this world, Saint Heinrich.
“Cough, brother. I brought a gift.”
Immediately, Harley appeared, dragging a lump in his hand,looking more ragged than ever, as his barely-clothed gear was now even more revealing.
“Oh! This guy is some sort of…”
With no strength left to speak, Geos merely stared quietly as Harley proudly boasted about the monster being the leader of the group that led the breach into the Abyss.
It was indeed a gift that could make anyone’s eyes widen with satisfaction.
But now, unable to move a finger, he could only watch as the creature was dealt with right in front of him.
…No, to be honest.
He was only thinking that revenge didn’t matter anymore.
Whether it was because he had grown tired of hunting black wizards all over the continent or something he’d just felt was unclear.
‘I can leave the aftermath to these people. They’re far more amazing than I am.’
For now, he only wanted to rest.
Somehow, the voices of Liesta, Isea, and Lydia echoed faintly from afar.
As his consciousness faded and the endless depths swallowed him anew.
“Goodnight, Sir Geos. May you have sweet dreams.”
With that strangely clear and warm voice.
He faded into a deep slumber, a small smile on his lips.
As he thought to himself, wishing to dream of his long-lost family.
*
Clang—
As I opened the window, a refreshing breeze brushed against my face.
Feeling the sensation for a moment, I leaned against the window frame, blankly staring outside.
As winter approached, the cool air filled with life harmonized beautifully with the courtyard, which seemed to flourish.
The garden was enhanced by the High Elf Harris’s powers summoned through Entity Projection.
Thanks to that, the front yard boasted a natural beauty that exceeded that of a professional gardener’s handiwork.
“Ha!”
While savoring the scene, a chuckle slipped out unexpectedly.
Here I was, thinking about such things when just moments earlier, my comrade had died because of me.
What kind of ridiculous behavior was that?
‘Really, things have gotten pretty messed up.’
With the wave of self-loathing, I quietly closed my eyes.
‘Geos…’
Honestly, I had known from the beginning.
That he had desired revenge, perhaps even more than that, he might have wished for his own death.
For someone like him, the notorious Hero Party with an exceedingly low survival rate was perhaps the best fit.
Of course, I had never intended for anyone to die, so I had hoped to indirectly help him seek revenge while slowly helping him heal…
‘Who would have thought it would come to this?’
A bitter smile escaped my lips.
Back then, Hans had genuinely wanted to kill all his comrades.
Had it not been for Geos’s efforts, Heinrich might not have reached transcendence in time, and the awakening of the main body would have been delayed, leading to what could have been the actual slaughter of everyone in the party.
Heinrich hadn’t even imagined Hans would go that far until he showed murder intent toward Geos.
‘…Should I call it fortunate, then?’
Grateful for a result brought about by a comrade sacrificing his life?
I was aware that such thoughts were unworthy, but the fact remained that it was better than facing the worst possible scenario.
‘…Yes, I must ensure the revenge is complete.’
In effect, after Balteon, most of those related to the incident had been dealt with.
There might still be remnants in the south, but those oppressed tribes would likely rise and clean up nicely.
‘Just in case, I’ll need to keep Harley around until everything is settled. The issue lies with the final mastermind, that revolutionary scum.’
I had tried to squeeze information out of Siana, one of the Oath of Reversal executives, about that fellow, but her secrecy was so thorough that I couldn’t find much useful information.
After gathering several leads, it seemed they were trying to bring something “sealed in the Abyss” back into the world.
‘What that is still remains unclear.’
It didn’t require much thought to determine that it would be something far more horrific than death or madness.
It could even be a demon trying to destroy the world.
‘Wait, I believe I heard that the demon is under the jurisdiction of the Demon Realm where Siana hails from, right?’
In any case, if I kept interfering with their plans like this, the guy would eventually have to show himself, and that moment would be the perfect opportunity to deal with him.
I opened my eyes, which had been shut, and stared blankly at the garden again.
Even after organizing my thoughts, my mind still felt crowded, making my chest tight.
…In truth, Hans’s sudden outburst during the final battle was largely due to mental contamination, but his previous extreme behavior wasn’t solely because of that.
‘After all, I had also been tempted by impulses all along.’
If one relaxed ethics and conscience just a little, they could gather karma much more comfortably and efficiently.
However, I had tried so hard to look away from crossing that final line, conditioned by my humanity…
But the Hans had messed it all up?
The ego, which had acted as a brake on such impulses, had ultimately caused trouble.
‘At least I did manage to halt the forces marching down from the Undying Castle before they left the mountains.’
Not just that, but the damage inflicted upon the continent by the Undead forces was nothing short of appalling.
Yet, even amid all this, I had been rationalizing to myself, ‘What’s done is done; I didn’t choose this’—
“Ha, haha…”
More self-deprecating laughter escaped me.
I might truly be an unavoidable human.
However, thanks to that selfish train of thought, my mind felt considerably clearer.
And with that clarity, my focus shifted to the achievements I had pursued even at the risk of crossing the line.
In fact, given that several significant events had occurred in such a short time, I was somewhat excited.
“Eh?”
Then that excitement was met with results beyond my expectations.
I had only been asleep for just two days in Earth time.
And in Auterica, it was only a little over 20 days.
『Karma Shop』
『Unique Skill Enhancement (1,200,000)』
『Status Enhancement – Detailed View』
『Karma Held – 9,999,627』
A point total I had never seen before was right there.
“…Wow.”
An involuntary exclamation escaped my lips at the absurd amount.
‘Almost hitting ten million.’
The total points I had poured into Unique Skill Enhancement were 6.3 million.
Adding the points used for status enhancement made it roughly similar, no?
In simple terms, it meant I had received an amount of karma equivalent to what I had used up until now.
‘How much did I have left before I fainted? I don’t think it was much.’
Moreover, karma tends to pour in abundantly right after a major event, but the amounts trickling in later due to the event’s effects weren’t negligible either.
This overwhelming figure must be a fortunate culmination of those factors aligning.
‘Still, ten million…’
The society that had barely maintained stability during the Monster Madness Incident finally crumbled with Hans’s widespread continental invasion.
The continent had to prepare against the undead army, regardless of the battlefield with the monsters, and most territories had entered a wartime state, launching Hans’s infamy to unprecedented heights.
‘Plus, stopping Riley’s assassination in Jeron must have played a big role too.’
Princess Riley, backed by the imperial family, had launched a large-scale purge operation.
After relentless investigation, she ultimately discovered that the mastermind behind the incident was the grand family, which was one of the current emperor’s maternal families, the Hermanhart Dukedom.
‘They haven’t made a major announcement yet, but a clash is only a matter of time.’
Considering the current state of affairs, which hinged on the survival of humanity, caution was paramount.
A huge scandal that could easily escalate into a civil war.
This was top-secret information I gathered thanks to Hesperon coming by daily for small talk.
‘The biggest incident must be my fight against the Lycanthropes on the Enamel Continent, protecting the World Tree.’
Right after that incident, Harris fell almost into a plant-like state, so I hadn’t been able to keep track of the situation.
However, protecting the World Tree, a divine avatar, and preventing the continent’s sinking was significant enough to count as an accomplishment in itself.
‘And then the recent incident of clearing out the unruly elements in the south and defeating the Undead King.’
As a bonus, during those various processes, Harley, Harris, and Heinrich had all reached transcendence.
When laying out the events, it was easy to see that this overwhelming karma was fully justified.
‘What in the world can I do with this karma?’
In the face of an immense reward suddenly becoming reality, all the earlier confusion evaporated cleanly.
What occupied my thoughts now was solely about how to utilize this!
Even amidst the high expectations, karma was rapidly increasing.
Thanks to time zone differences, that number, which had barely missed the ten million mark, quickly surged.
And finally— the front digit of the points changed.
And at that moment.
《Achievement unlocked! Unused karma points have exceeded ten million.》
《The trials and tribulations that could not kill you will make you stronger. As a reward, you receive the special benefit “Karma Shop Ver.2 Update.”》
《Achievements unlocked, karma increases further.》
An unexpected message flooded my vision.
‘…An update to the shop now?’
It seemed the Akasha system truly wanted me to use karma liberally.
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