Chapter 56
Chapter 56
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: Boy King (2)
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The sun sets.
That sight always brought back special memories for the Boy King.
Even now, after countless eons of witnessing such scenes beyond the reach of his conscious memories, the phenomenon remained just as vivid.
Family, siblings, friends, acquaintances.
Memories surfaced of everyone gathered together, laughing boisterously. Images rose of raising toasts amid the setting sun and the rising moon.
The final day of the Kingdom of Armada.
The memory of everyone facing "ruin" head-on, yet accepting it with smiles.
Even across thousands of years, it remained deeply rooted in his mind.
It was the only thing standing between him and death, one could say.
“...”
He closed his eyes and let out a shallow sigh.
A virulent poison seeped from within the solidly constructed stone building, rotting even its sturdiest parts.
“Not much time left.”
The source of that poison was still something throbbing deep within his chest.
“Just a little longer.”
He clutched at it, murmuring to himself.
It truly wouldn't be much longer.
Until he fulfilled the "promise."
“...”
Suddenly, his gaze lingered far away.
A pair of man and woman came into view.
Valkasus's eyes fixed particularly on the man.
“...”
A smile crept across his face.
If the Foreteller's words were true, that man already knew why he was doing all this.
He knew what feats he was capable of. And what "thing" he was entangled with to reach this point.
And yet.
-I will save you, Valkasus. You and your kingdom both.
Such an absurd declaration.
So brazenly.
"...If you can really pull it off."
-Become my subordinate. For life.
Even such a strange request.
"There's no reason I couldn't."
Valkasus looked up at the sky as he spoke.
The sun's descent meant the "finale" was near.
"...Just don't take too long."
And then.
"I've already waited more than enough."
His murmur scattered lonely into the empty air.
●
"So, what's the plan?"
Elnor asked as she carried me over her shoulder like luggage, moving along.
It was a mode of transport that felt like it discarded any shred of human dignity, but whatever. As long as we could move fast, it was fine.
"The difficulty of dealing with them isn't ordinary. Especially those around the clock tower."
The interior of the barrier Valkasus had summoned was overflowing with all sorts of undead, but as Elnor said, the strongest ones were clustered near the clock tower where the main body resided.
It took 3-4 regular knights to fully subjugate even a single mid-tier beast.
With dozens of them surrounding that one spot, it was no wonder even someone like me would call it far from ordinary.
"We can't take them all on one by one right now."
We had maybe 30 minutes at best. Factoring in the fight with Valkasus and the boss battle, that left only about 5 to 10 minutes.
Breaking through in that time was impossible.
"We have to leave it to others."
"But looking at the situation, we don't seem to have the manpower for that."
As he said, most of the academy's resident regular knights were deployed elsewhere, blocking the undead attacking other areas.
We weren't in a position to ask for help piercing through that.
But.
"No, we do."
The Foreteller must have advanced the schedule by a day, thinking I'd have no contingencies prepared for a sudden outbreak.
Even so, I still had one card left to play.
People who were practically specialists against undead.
"Find some people for me, Elnor."
I gave the order amid the scenery rushing past at terrifying speed.
"We need to get to high ground first."
"Got it."
With that, Elnor kicked off the ground several times.
'Is this woman really a monster?'
The landscape's altitude shifted with each step, leaving me dumbfounded. The ground she kicked shattered into pieces every time, making it even more so.
I'd only collected one fragment so far—what would happen once I had all three?
"This high enough?"
As I mulled that over, Elnor, now at an altitude with a clear view of the surroundings, spoke.
"Yes. Perfect."
I replied, describing the people I needed, based on their appearances as I remembered them.
"Blue hair, taller than the average Imperial. Men in their twenties to mid-thirties. Groups of at least three. And their features... 'extremely' ordinary-looking."
"...What?"
Elnor questioned the bizarre description, but it was the best way to put it.
They were in a line of work that deliberately made them forgettable. Describing their looks was tricky.
"And this is the most important part."
This was something only Elnor could probably detect.
That's why I was asking her.
"The moment you see them, you'll feel intensely unpleasant—like seriously bad vibes."
They could hide their appearances.
But not the traces of their rigorously honed "exorcism rites." As vessels for demons, they'd react hypersensitively.
Especially since these were elites in their field.
"Look for them. They should be nearby."
Given their mission, they probably wouldn't stray far from me.
Sure enough, Elnor scanned the surroundings skeptically at my direction, then quickly frowned.
"...An absurdly accurate description. They're not far. Matches every condition perfectly."
As expected.
"Could you take us closer?"
"Sure."
The scenery rushed past again like an arrow.
Thud, thud—Elnor leaped, smashing through several building floors before landing in front of a few men.
"Eek-!"
"W-What?!"
The men recoiled in panic at the sight, but knowing who they were, I couldn't help but scoff.
"Drop the act. No time—straight to business."
"W-What are you...!"
"It's an order from the Pontifex of the Holy Kingdom. Probably just to help subtly if I seem in real danger without getting caught."
The men's movements froze in unison.
"Let's make a deal. Situation's urgent."
“...”
These people here shouldn't have been here originally.
They were top-secret assets from the Holy Kingdom. No reason for them to come all the way to a distant academy.
But rewind a bit.
I'd clashed with the Pontifex before, and he'd turned the situation in my favor.
Considering his personality and the current setup, the odds were high he'd stationed personnel nearby to ensure I didn't "die."
Because.
"If I die, it falls on you guys. Right?"
The men's faces stiffened.
"I'm really in deep shit if you don't help now?"
“...”
"I could die?"
They realized their "acting" was pointless as I laid it out.
Good. That was basically an OK sign.
We could count on their cooperation.
‘...Perfect.’
If anything, this was butterfly effect.
People who shouldn't exist here, present because of my actions.
“...”
But.
They say light and shadow go hand in hand.
If my existence scrambled the entire scenario, that meant there were positive elements I could definitely "use."
So.
This time, let's suck some honey.
●
The deal was simple.
Help me here and now, and I'd give them one piece of info they wanted.
"Doesn't balance out."
The leader-looking man spoke in disbelief.
Alias or not, his name was Vizla, I think.
"You expect just us four to break through that many undead?"
I smirked and cut in.
"No, three of you."
“...”
"One has to go fetch some people."
Eliya, Yuria, and Lucien.
No matter what, I needed those three for the boss fight.
Had to get them to the clock tower's top somehow—that was the bare minimum clear condition.
"And tell the orange-haired girl specifically: she's experienced, so lead properly."
Of course, I'd prepared a way.
Somehow.
As quickly as possible.
“...”
I continued with a chuckle as he frowned, unsure how to respond.
"You're exorcists, right? Should be a breeze."
Exorcists were among ability users, specialized in repelling "blasphemous entities."
Demons, undead, vampires... against all sorts of "foreign" beings, they were one-man armies.
“...”
The man's face twitched at that.
His mind was probably racing: how do I know this classified info?
‘There was no one else for it.’
A sly fox like the Pontifex would only deploy "that woman's" faction for this.
The only ones he truly trusted in his den of schemers.
"...At least tell us the info first. For something this risky, we need that guarantee."
He'd given up guessing the leak. That came out.
Cry me a river. This was zero risk for you.
But playing along was fine.
"Tell Seras."
The info I had was something they couldn't ignore.
"I know where the item she's looking for is."
Seras Drimur. Position-wise, closest to the Pontifex's right hand.
She oversaw these three "shadow groups" alone—a top assassin in the world's lore.
Few in the world knew her true identity, despite the flashy title.
"...You just...?"
Vizla, who'd shown no strong emotions until now, uttered that in shock at the name.
Instead of answering, I just shrugged. No need to reveal my hand.
And as I thought that.
"...If you're invoking the Liege's name, we can't back out."
Vizla, face rigid for a moment, spoke.
"I'll hear how you know all this later. For now..."
As he continued, several barriers formed around them.
"...Back to work."
Soon, multiple abilities surged from Vizla's body simultaneously.
-!
-!!
Mid-tier beasts swarmed, eyes turning hostile upon sensing the threat.
This many would require a full knight company for smooth suppression—a war-scale force.
But.
"Ascend."
Mana, magic, divinity blended, rising from Vizla's body in rosary form.
Then, flames erupted.
Flames of "reincarnation" targeted solely at undead.
System-wise, they ignored undead defense for pure true damage—insane matchup.
And the power was terrifying.
---!!!!
------!!!!!
The acrid smell of burning flesh, horrific screams, roars, agonized wails filled the space.
Despite the numbers charging, with two more exorcists like Vizla, they couldn't even approach properly.
True to their forgotten sorcery origins, they pressed on stubbornly, burning but unrelenting—like using their own incineration as fuel. Their malice showed no sign of fading.
But.
The distance didn't close.
Their death rate outpaced regeneration.
Game terms: HP hits 0, full regen in 10 seconds—monstrous.
But burning it all took 3 seconds.
Per lore, meeting conditions could "erase" even high Pandeonium entities. No mid-tier alchemy-born beast could stand against it.
‘As expected.’
This was the scary part of Seras's shadow org members.
Average elsewhere, but in their "specialty," overwhelmingly strong.
They'd trained from childhood, precisely metering just the mana/magic/divinity needed. Obsessive.
‘...If only they weren't neutral NPCs.’
Seras debuted bound to the Pontifex, so recruiting them wasn't in the original.
Would've been great if we could ally friendly-like. Shame.
As I thought that.
[Checking current conditions for target 'Seras.']
[Your overall vibe hits Seras's tastes dead-on!]
[Direct meeting has extremely high chance of love at first sight!]
['Skill: Fatal Charm' activates preemptively!]
“...”
What the hell.
This skill now procs preemptively on people I haven't even met?
Staring dumbfounded at the window, more lines popped up.
[Opening new branch!]
[Chance of gaining target 'Seras Evatriche's interest skyrockets!]
[Successful relationship unlocks special quest conditions!]
[Special Quest: The Ultimate Mastermind!]
['Seras Drimur' related quests unlocked!]
[Clear: Target submits to you!]
[Clear: Massive main scenario benefits!]
[Clear: Become owner of 'Crescent Oath'!]
“...”
I couldn't help but chuckle dryly.
Sure, the item I mentioned was precious to Seras.
But "submit," and hand over "Crescent Oath" too?
‘...Is this insane?’
Crescent Oath was the collective name for her shadow groups.
In other words.
Clearing this special quest meant...
She'd bring herself and her entire org to me on a platter.
Even these exorcists as my "subordinates."
“...”
What.
What is this.
I'm scared.
Why go that far...?
"...This power is absurd."
As my sanity blurred, Elnor beside me muttered in disbelief.
"Just three of them pushing back that many mid-tiers. I'd believe it if you said we'd summoned legendary guardians from history."
“...”
Yeah. And right now, I had a quest to swallow them whole.
It felt too generous—dizzying, even.
"...Then we'll...!"
But now wasn't the time to dwell.
[ Danger detected.]
[Judged direct threat to life.]
['Skill: Desperate Situation' applied at EX rank.]
A massive flesh-club smashed down before my eyes.
-!
-!!
As Elnor and I rolled apart, a grotesque giant of stitched flesh and tendons roared.
‘It’s here.’
Deep breath. Face the foe.
Mini-boss from the original: Flash Tearer's fight.
"...Looks tough."
Elnor slowly drew her sword.
"Special-type beast... Even full power might not be enough. Dawood, plan?"
Deep breath at Elnor's words, brain spinning.
5 minutes elapsed. 25 left. Factoring boss time, we could spend...
"Take it down in 1 minute."
Break through this thing within that.
A monster with city-destroying power, that revives no matter how many times you kill it.
“...”
On paper, insane.
Elnor's side-eye screamed "you're crazy," proving it.
"1 minute's generous, actually."
“...”
Well.
Turns out, not that big a deal.
My worry was others piling on while handling it—but the exorcists blocked that.
"...Dawood."
"Yes?"
"I think crazy people are fine in their way."
“...”
"Won't scold you for being a madman, so relax."
Thanks.
Softest roast lately on my rep.
As I thought that.
-!
The flesh giant charged.
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