Chapter 77
Chapter 77
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 77
Chapter Title: Final Atonement
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Was there a better option?
Had I permanently blocked the path to his atonement by taking matters into my own hands until the very end?
Wasn’t there a more fundamental solution than erasing his memories?
‘I could have used medicine to erase his emotions.’
Even now, I could revive his memories and give him the drugs.
But I didn’t want him to suffer any more than this.
If Genda Asman harbored resentment toward me and expressed his rage, I could accept it.
Setting aside the greater good, on a personal emotional level, I had committed a wrong, so I had no intention of dodging responsibility with excuses or justifications.
But what then?
Would letting him resent me be the end of it?
‘No way.’
When emotions fueled by malice turn toward me, I’m not the only one who gets hurt.
Anyone led by emotions of any kind inevitably suffers themselves.
Tormented day and night by an unresolved past, grinding their teeth in hatred, replaying even the first greeting of their first meeting—wondering if things would have turned out differently had they acted otherwise—imagining countless what-ifs, self-loathing, harboring hatred. That future was crystal clear to me.
‘…Of course, through that process, he might eventually find freedom.’
So, should I have watched Genda Asman writhe from the wounds I inflicted, growing over time until he could look back on the past with perspective?
A third party might call that the extent of my罪, but at the very least, I couldn’t do it.
Some wounds can be overcome through arduous processes, but others cannot.
There’s no guarantee that a wound leads to growth, nor that he wouldn’t live a life of distrust toward others until the day he closes his eyes.
Even if overcome, some things take deep root in one’s life.
I knew that even without dreaming of that day anymore, it seeps into one’s very existence.
‘Even if I can’t change the past, if I can prevent him from going through all this in the future…’
Naturally, I had no choice but to take this path.
“…Lucas, look at me.”
With no response as I stared into space, Leo sat down to meet my eye level and patted my shoulder.
“…!”
Only after confirming my expression did Leo finally step back.
I wrung out words from a voice that wouldn’t come.
“Got the antidote?”
“Brought it. How many stages?”
“Double the 10th stage. Can you make it now?”
Leo gaped in undisguised shock, looking back and forth between me and Genda.
“What happened?”
“…Um, what’s going on here exactly? Why are you here, and did we…?”
Genda trailed off, eyeing our disheveled states suspiciously.
At his words, Leo’s face hardened coldly.
From an outsider’s perspective, it might seem absurd for a criminal to say such things, but seeing Genda speak normally with no sign of hurt toward me made the end feel real.
“Nothing.”
I dragged out a faint sound from my raw throat still.
“I’m sorry for everything up until now.”
“Huh?”
This was the end with Asman.
Now, it was my turn to deal with the emotions.
I’d have to try not to recall everything that had happened so far.
I cleared my throat and called to Leo.
“Leo.”
“Say it.”
“Later, pass the divine power intel to the Investigation Bureau.”
Leo nodded silently, as if grasping the situation.
The investigation into Genda Asman would proceed based on the documents I’d obtained rather than his confession.
With his memories wiped, he couldn’t say much about what he’d done.
“What about the others? Did the plan go off without a hitch?”
“You’re asking about the plan in this situation?”
As Leo continued speaking, he cast a healing spell on me.
“Elias will be here soon. We tracked down the Pleromas in other regions and broke their brainwashing. Narke’s standing by with the other Papal mages. We handled everything you noted, so don’t worry.”
“Good, thanks. What time is it now in real time?”
Leo, already aware that time flowed differently between worlds, answered without question.
“I think it’s past 6 PM.”
I’d come here at dawn.
I’d been here a long time. Subjectively, it felt like over two days.
But that wasn’t important now.
“The news is probably out already. Can we head there now?”
“It’ll be tight.”
Yeah, figured. Then I’d have to do it myself.
I immediately turned to Genda.
“Mr. Asman. You still have a choice.”
“A choice?”
“You remember you’re a Pleroma, right?”
Genda’s face stiffened as before.
“I know the Pleroma made me, but I’m…”
I knew what would come next.
With the brainwashing fully removed, he wouldn’t have favorable thoughts toward Pleroma anymore.
“I know what you’re thinking, so don’t worry. More importantly, we’re short on time.”
“…Short on time?”
“You’re about to have your blessing revoked. So before that happens, let me ask again. Do you want to live?”
“Of course…! Yeah. Wait, can’t you explain at least a little?”
“Lucas.”
Leo touched the artifact in his ear, as if receiving a message, and called me.
At this hour, I knew there was only one possible contact.
The moment I looked back at Genda, his face contorted severely.
“Aaaagh!”
Genda clutched his heart and collapsed to the floor. His fingertips began blackening and burning.
This was a new sight.
Of course, I’d never heard that divine power could sustain a Pleroma either.
‘Not sure if it’ll work, but…’
If Narke was executing my plan as is, it wasn’t impossible.
When I’d stopped by the academy, I’d left notes on how to handle cases like Asman if other Pleromas existed.
We had to consider innocents who’d been citizens until a month ago being killed by Pleromas again.
‘Actually, I figured they’d revoke blessings after Koffman was left comatose, but they didn’t.’
Considering Genda Asman had lived nearly four days here since then, the leadership and the rank-and-file weren’t tightly connected.
So the most likely revocation window was when the newspaper report hit. Even if disconnected, they’d see the news.
I grabbed the screaming, convulsing Genda and pressed hard on his heart.
—But I tell you again: Ask, and it will be given to you….
“No, no… Aaaaaaagh!”
It seemed to improve briefly, but Genda screamed again.
Feeling Leo’s healing magic seep into my body, I continued.
—…Everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask!
This divine spell ended here. But the situation wasn’t over.
No choice but to keep going. I immediately pulled out another incantation.
—Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
At that moment, the tension drained from Genda’s body.
He looked dead, prompting Leo to urgently check his pulse.
But I knew right away he wasn’t.
‘The divine power has taken hold.’
He could last at least half a day now.
I slowly removed my hand from Genda’s heart.
This was the last of my responsibilities.
Ridiculously, the past flashed before me like a montage.
‘…At first, I thought securing the orphanage list would end it.’
I’d thought it’d be simple. Now, it just made me laugh.
“Lucas?”
Leo lifted his head sharply, asking in a panicked voice.
This long plan was truly over.
With that thought, drowsiness flooded in.
* * *
“You awake?”
I turned my head at the voice beside me.
Leo was looking down at me. Elias sat in front of him, both in unfamiliar uniforms.
It was the same room I’d seen before in Bayern.
“Why so late rising~? Isn’t this too much?”
Before I could speak, Elias grinned and teased. Leo shot him a look like, *Is that what you say now?*
I just smiled, then noticed the blood pack connected to my arm.
“Transfusion?”
“Yeah. You lost a lot of blood; no choice.”
I hadn’t realized it was that bad, but given the time, it made sense.
As I sank into thought, Elias thumped my shoulder to change the subject.
“Look, Luka. No more crutches for me.”
“Congrats.”
Guess the time had come.
December already; yeah, time to ditch them.
Elias had been pretty subdued during treatment, but I looked forward to whatever antics he’d get up to now.
“Don’t go running just ‘cause of that.”
“Psh, I won’t~”
Elias replied in a tone that inspired zero confidence.
Seeing them act like usual made it feel like I’d returned to normal life after so long.
“Oh yeah, where’s Narke?”
“He popped back to the Papal States while the portal was open.”
We’d needed divine power for the blessing issue, so I’d asked for Papal mages.
But hearing the portal had actually opened made me worry about my brother there for no reason.
That guy might find some pretext to come here.
“Yeah, when’s the portal closing?”
Catching my intent, Elias said in a playful voice.
“Good question, Luka. Leo’s got a gift for you.”
“What?”
Leo let out a hollow laugh.
Elias tore out a newspaper page and thrust it at me.
*Papal States No Safe Haven Either… Pleroma Influence in 12 Papal Regions*
Below it, the article noted that like the Empire’s 48 regions, the Papal States had selected areas for manpower supply, planning to benchmark the Empire’s cases starting end of the month.
What was this?
I’d never found anything like it.
“This is…”
“After you sent the docs, we went up through Eric Asman. I hadn’t even thought of it, but he blackmailed it out of them.”
I hadn’t expected them to go that high. Though, they weren’t the type to sit still.
More than that…
Who was blackmailing who?
That fact made me laugh more than anything. I looked at Leo, who met my gaze with a *what?* expression.
With the Bayern mage attack putting things on high alert, there’d been a chance to pull external forces domestic, but Pleroma traces in the Papal States made that unlikely now.
Especially since it was treaty-bound movement between nations.
So… as long as Pleromas ran rampant anywhere, my brother—tasked with Papal security—couldn’t return to the Empire.
This worked out; I could expand my range a bit.
‘Properly tripped up big bro.’
I read the article word by word, smiling.