Chapter 43
Chapter 43
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Translator: Ruby
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: I Don't Have the Hobby of Raising Chicks
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When the golden spear pierced through Horacidon 's skull.
"Kie, kieeeeeeeek!"
He collapsed while screaming a blood-curdling scream.
And.
Hudududuk, theoelssuk.
All the skeletons that had been his vassals also began to return to remains.
Starting with those who had been far away from Horacidon , sequentially.
"What's happening..."
"What's going on?"
The knights who were briefly assessing the situation.
They looked around bewildered.
Then someone who saw me shouted first.
"W-we won! We won! Sir Rohan has brought down the Lich!"
That became the starting point.
And cheers erupted one after another.
"Waaaaaaaa!"
"You damn bone bastards! Serves you right! Kuhahahaha!"
"Filthy demon bastards! There's no way you could win! Ptui!"
Amid the knights' cheers.
I looked down at Horacidon , whose eyes had lost their light.
As expected, demons tasted best when beaten up.
A feeling of refreshment wrapped around me.
Additionally, there was a desired outcome.
My mood was relieved, and the Great Invasion was delayed.
How rewarding this was.
'Phew. Now if I just handle that, is it finished?'
Three people approached behind me.
They were Diaz, Jephron, and Knight Commander Vincent.
"Sir Rohan. Is it over now?"
I shook my head.
The complete end was not yet.
Because I had to handle 'that'.
"It's not over."
"What? The Lich clearly seems dead though..."
At my answer, Diaz and Knight Commander Vincent tilted their heads.
Only Jephron seemed to understand the meaning of my words.
"That's not so, Sir Diaz. Even if you kill a Lich's body, it can always revive again through other remains. Unless you tear apart the Lich's heart."
'That' which I mentioned was precisely the Lich's heart.
"That can't be...!"
"Then if we can't find the heart... does that mean we have to fight like this again?..."
Diaz and Knight Commander Vincent spoke in despairing voices.
Knight Commander Vincent's words were accurate.
If we couldn't find and eliminate the heart, we'd have to do it again.
This tiresome battle.
However, I had not even a speck of intention to do this annoying thing again.
In the original work, you fight Horacidon twice.
Once you win and pass by like now.
And only on the second time do you finally find his heart and completely extinguish him.
If I hadn't known that strategy, Horacidon would have revived this time too, but...
'I know too well where it is.'
I already knew where Horacidon had hidden his heart.
There was no need to go far.
This Lich's lair was originally the battlefield where I had fought him the second time.
His heart was hidden right here.
"There's no need to worry."
I said those words and walked out to find Horacidon 's heart.
"Uwoop!"
The central part of the Lich's lair.
In that room, disgusting corpses that made one want to vomit were lined up.
To the degree that even the knights who followed me dry-heaved.
They were probably the victims from whom Horacidon had forcibly extracted souls.
Although knights had often seen harsh sights, nevertheless the scene here was brutal.
I was also quite unpleasant, but I walked toward Horacidon 's heart without giving my attention to other places as much as possible.
And.
"It's here."
I could recognize it immediately.
It was exactly the same as what I had seen in the original work.
Numerous coffins.
Horacidon 's heart was hidden in one of them.
Naturally, I found which one was real at a glance.
If it had been my first visit here, I would have suffered quite a bit finding it, but for me who had played through it more than once or twice, it was meaningless.
Leaping up, stepping on the fake coffins.
Kiiik.
I found the real one without a moment's hesitation.
"There really... is one!"
"To find it in one try. What kind of sorcery is this..."
"Ha, haha. Only unbelievable things happen. When I'm next to Sir Rohan. Every single moment is like a miracle."
However, I was not in the mood to respond to their words.
'What's this again?'
In the original work, I think only his heart was just sitting there...
'An egg?'
Right now his heart was clinging to some egg, looking as if it was parasitizing it.
What is this?
I didn't really know, but... if I cut it, wouldn't it die anyway?
I gripped my sword in reverse and was about to stab the heart to finally finish this situation.
That was when it happened.
Revarsen's voice was heard.
"Wait a moment."
I turned my head.
She had disappeared without a sound, and now she suddenly appeared again.
Just like a thief would.
In her hand was held a small bottle.
She threw it to me without warning.
I caught it.
Teok.
"What is this?"
"That egg in front of you. That's a Phoenix egg."
"..."
What did she say?
This is a Phoenix egg?
Why is this coming out here?
My head filled with question marks.
Revarsen pointed at the Phoenix egg with her chin and continued speaking.
"Horacidon 's immortality wasn't completed yet. It's completed by gnawing away life force from the Phoenix egg. If we had been just a bit later, he probably would have made a truly immortal heart."
To think he was stealing power from a Phoenix to make it.
That was a fact even I didn't know.
"You have to sprinkle that holy water to separate it so the Phoenix egg can hatch again. If you forcibly separate it... the life force inside the egg will disappear forever. Even if a Phoenix dies, it returns to an egg, but if you kill it while it's an egg, it truly gets extinguished."
I recalled League of Legends' Anivia.
'There too, you had to make it into an egg and then kill it for it to truly die and the death to count.'
But.
As I listened to her words, I felt something strange.
"It seems you already knew, didn't you? About Horacidon ."
From the gravedigger onwards, she had been pretending not to know anything.
Had she been deceiving me?
She nodded her head.
"Actually, I knew back then that that gravedigger was connected to Horacidon . Also that he was trying to complete immortality using the Phoenix egg. But I couldn't spill everything. Because I didn't know at all what kind of person you were. We hadn't watched each other long enough to build that kind of trust yet, right? It seems you also didn't tell me everything truthfully. I'm quick to notice such things."
That... isn't wrong.
I can't deny it.
Right from the start, saying I was a member of the Noia Order was a lie.
"So I couldn't easily trust you. I was grateful you saved me, but there are people who stab you in the back while pretending to save you. The world is harsh, after all."
Well.
I also trusted Revarsen because I had seen her in the original work.
If she had been someone I was seeing for the first time, I would have been quite suspicious.
Perhaps I wouldn't have even approached her at all.
"Over the past few days. I've been watching you carefully. What kind of person this person is. Whether they're someone I can trust. And as I did so, I came to understand a bit. You're someone with clear hatred toward demons... and also, the way you saved the knights was surprisingly impressive."
Had the misunderstanding been somewhat cleared up?
Her eyes also felt somewhat different.
"But, separate from that, you have a talent for surprising people, don't you? It took me 5 years to figure out that Horacidon 's lair was here underground. You did it in just a few days."
That took a long time.
Of course, without knowledge of the original work, I would have struggled quite a bit too.
Revarsen smiled slightly.
"Your ability to find the secret passage in that gravedigger's dwelling at once too... as I see it, I think you're really better suited to being a thief, you know?"
I responded by shrugging my shoulders instead of answering.
"Anyway, I'm sorry for deceiving you. I'll formally apologize. I hope you'll understand. Still, we both weren't completely without secrets... so let's call this even. Ah, that holy water is repayment for saving my life."
Leaving those words.
Revarsen hid her body in the darkness again.
"See you again soon. Cutie."
Leaving only those words.
She truly was an elusive person.
But anyway.
To think this is a gift.
From the Phoenix's standpoint it would be a gift, but... do I really need this holy water?
Still, since I had received it anyway, I sprinkled the holy water over the Phoenix egg.
Then surprisingly, the blood vessels that had been extending from Horacidon 's heart slowly moved away from the egg.
As if fleeing.
Not long after, Horacidon 's heart finally completely separated from the Phoenix egg.
Puwook!
I stabbed my sword and killed Horacidon 's heart.
'It's... over. Really.'
Just as I was about to catch my breath.
Jjeojeok.
'Hm?'
Suddenly the Phoenix egg cracked.
"Piyak!"
Something like a bluish chick popped out.
As soon as it was born.
"Oh. Did you awaken me? Piyak? Nice to meet you, piyak."
It greeted me informally.
Then it swept its gaze around the surroundings and shouted at the others besides me.
"First time seeing a talking bird? Piyak. What are you staring at, asshole. Piyak."
Its mouth was a bit rough.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"Well now, what an interesting fellow."
Knight Commander Vincent found the Phoenix fascinating and extended his hand smoothly.
Then.
Ppyang! Ppyang!
It pecked at Knight Commander Vincent's hand with its beak.
"Ouch! Got some spirit! That fellow."
"How dare you lay hands on someone's body? Piyak. The only one who can touch this body is my master! Piyak!"
Master, it says.
Just who is it talking about...
The Phoenix pointed at me with its wing and spoke.
"Human who awakened me. What's your name? You are my new master, piyak. Raise this body well. Piyak!"
I snorted.
"Me?"
"That's right, piyak. I may look like this but I'm a divine beast of sorts. Even inside the egg, I knew everything that was happening, piyak."
To think it could know even from inside the egg.
How marvelous.
"And the glorious position of Phoenix master goes to the one who made the greatest contribution to my hatching. Piyak!"
"I refuse."
"Right. Of course you should... Huh? Did you just say you refuse? Piyak?"
"I don't have the hobby of raising chicks."
"Ch-chick! How am I a chick in any way? Piyak! This body is a noble Phoenix! Piyak!"
Going piyak piyak, it's unmistakably a chick.
"Whether you're a chick or a moth, I'm not interested."
"Such humiliation! Piyak! In thousands of years, there's never been a history of anyone who became my master refusing! Piyak!"
"Then I'll be the first. That's not bad either."
"Pi, piyak?"
I didn't have the capacity to raise a pet now.
How could I raise another life when I was already in deep trouble?
Just as I was about to turn away.
The chick, no, the Phoenix flapped its small wings and chased after me.
"N-no. Piyak! P-please raise me! Piyak! I finally hatched after a thousand years! A-and also! If you raise me, my immortality ability. It gets shared a bit! Piyak!"
Hm?
What is this about now?
I glanced back at the Phoenix.
It placed its wings on its sides with a snap and shouted proudly.
"You get tremendous healing ability. Piyak! That's amazing, right? Piyak!”