Chapter 250
Chapter 250
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 250
Chapter Title: A Futile Ideal
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***
A space far removed from the Empire's front lines.
In this place filled with deep darkness, a strange ripple was constantly spreading.
"...A failure, I see."
And from within the darkness, a young girl's voice echoed.
It was Yusillia, the one among the Nine Apostles who possessed the power of foresight. As her voice rang out, the Nine Apostles, scattered throughout the darkness, each revealed their presence, causing the ripples to grow larger.
"Did the sealing of Anastasia fail?"
"Unwelcome news, just as the grand plan begins..."
As the strange thoughts of several apostles echoed, Yusillia let out a faint sigh.
"Yes, it is unwelcome."
An even colder voice cut through the darkness, and the other apostles fell silent for a moment.
Yusillia's emotions were laid bare in her tone. And amid that silence, Yusillia narrowed her eyes slightly.
‘My foresight is being skewed.’
Foresight doesn't show a determined future. She knew it could be wrong. Nevertheless, it was foresight's role to show a high-probability, plausible reality.
A deviation that might happen once a century at most...
...was now occurring with far too much frequency.
She had been especially careful with this particular prophecy, thinking it would show a more certain reality, but even that result had been thrown off course.
The ‘sealing of Anastasia,’ one of the pillars of the Empire, was a much greater failure than any other.
And she had a suspicion as to why.
The existence of the human named Han Cheon-seong, a potential pillar they had failed to eliminate last time.
There was a connection between Anastasia and that human, who had not existed in her prophecies. Azazel had clearly stated that Anastasia had prevented him from finishing off the seed that would become a pillar.
‘Even that feels alien.’
A human who didn't exist in her foresight was distorting her prophecies.
Her mind was leaning toward the absurd idea that Anastasia's escape from being sealed might also be related to that human.
After some thought, a decision was made.
"We must delay the grand plan for a while. It seems we need to eliminate this uncertain variable before proceeding."
Firm in her decision, she slowly looked at the other apostles.
"An uncertain variable...?"
"Delay the grand plan? Is it really necessary?"
As Sekhmet and Azazel were the first to respond, she slowly nodded.
"He will be worth the trouble."
Information about the human named Han Cheon-seong naturally came to mind.
-Common Spearmanship.
-A human who awakened a skill at a very early age.
-A name, Han Cheon-seong, detached from the world.
-And an alien presence compared to other humans.
Putting the information together, the conclusion was that he was an ember that must be extinguished. The most crucial point was that his growth rate was different from that of other humans.
"Azazel."
It was Azazel who had suggested advancing the grand plan, and it was Azazel who had pointed out the human who would become a pillar.
Therefore, she looked at Azazel and steeled her resolve.
"......Yeah."
Azazel's form, emitting a strange light amidst the various shadows, was bizarre.
Nevertheless, among the apostles present, he was the one who hated humans the most, so he could be trusted. Azazel's unique power was something no other apostle could replace.
"This time, I will act with Azazel and erase the human."
Even if he was to be erased, she felt she needed to confirm it herself to be at ease.
A human not in her prophecies, yet shining brightly enough to distort her foresight.
He was worth that much.
***
The Tuesday of the ninth week at the academy dawned.
As the morning sun cast its warm glow, Cheon-seong, preparing to leave his dormitory, was pondering the third episode.
"...Bloodstained Despair."
*Thump.* Just murmuring the name of the third episode sent a wave of foreboding through him.
It wasn't simply a matter of the apostle being strong and dangerous.
—Extreme.
This episode was different from anything that had happened so far.
It would push the situation to its absolute limit. If the previous episodes had been crises that served as a warning or to highlight Leonhardt, the third episode was of a completely different nature.
"Until now, miraculously, there have been no other casualties..."
In the first episode, he had erased the potential damage by saving Karite, and in the second, he and Glacia had found the apostle first, preventing the deaths of students who would have otherwise perished.
So, the biggest victim so far could be considered himself.
"...This time is different."
His heart sank as he spoke blankly.
In the third episode, casualties are unavoidable. It was beyond what he could do, a matter of inevitability.
"Even if the instructors heighten their alert... and the Imperial Palace sends more knights."
Because it would happen like a sudden 'accident.'
The monsters in the entire forest would change in an instant. An apostle's howl would cause them to go berserk, and danger would erupt simultaneously everywhere.
An apostle that injects its power into other monsters, raising the danger level to the extreme...
*Rustle.*
As he put on his student uniform, he wished they wouldn't go to the forest where the accident would occur, but that was realistically impossible.
"It doesn't even properly explain when or where the accident happens."
In the story, the situation after the accident was portrayed as sudden. Perhaps to maximize the sense of crisis, it showed no signs of the event beforehand.
It happens too suddenly, too unexpectedly.
The instructors on the scene act, unleashing their power to subdue the instantly frenzied monsters, but by then, it's described as being after several students have already been sacrificed.
"......"
Considering most future classes would be practical, it meant he had to be on edge every single moment.
And I... was no idealist. I just try to face the reality before me and move forward.
"Because I can't... protect everyone."
Even knowing what was to come, the actions he could take were not much different.
It was impossible to stop the classes scheduled in various forests, and realistically impossible to prepare for them.
Kalli might follow his words without question, but how would others accept a warning of a crisis without any reason?
The instructors would sense the danger even faster than he would. All he could do was protect the people around him.
And it was to do even that properly that he had gone through such a duel yesterday.
*Click.*
As he finished his preparations by slinging the spear over his back, he gently closed his eyes for a moment.
'...Something.'
There was no mention of where it would happen. The description only indicated that it occurred in a forest inhabited by monsters.
It was so frustrating, and he couldn't deny the strange stirring in his heart.
Someone would surely die. And for some reason, he found himself caring about that to an unusual degree.
‘Since when... did I start feeling this way?’
He didn't know exactly when it started, but he was trying to adopt the extreme goodness, the righteous mindset that Leonhardt had in the story.
He tries to protect whomever he can, to save everyone.
That's why in the first episode, he threw his own body on the line to save Karite, and in the second, he took the risk of facing an apostle by acting before any casualties occurred.
If I were a bit more rational.
If I had acted with my own safety in mind, I knew it would be safer to wait for victims to appear before acting, but at the time, I didn't think of that at all.
As if it were the most natural thing to do, I would just throw myself into the fray.
"......"
He knew... that it was the right mindset, that it aligned with the values he believed to be correct.
But.
He also had to acknowledge the reality that he couldn't.
"...I need to let go of this feeling a little."
He spoke calmly, gently emptying his mind.
The burden I can carry.
It is limited.
I had to abandon the greed... of hoping for and preparing for something so far beyond that.
He certainly wished no one would be sacrificed. But it was reckless for him to overdo things in preparation.
The thought that I must protect everyone.
The mindset that I must save everyone.
I shouldn't have it right now.
It was, in the end...
"A futile ideal."
As he spoke, he calmed his mind, smoothing it over.
As he slowly opened his eyes, it seemed to shimmer before him. It was just a scene from a novel. Yet, the image of Leonhardt's blood-curdling scream seemed to be vividly drawn right before his eyes.
—Why...! Just why!!
The moment Leonhardt, who had always faced crises with an upright heart, completely broke down. That scene, which depicted Leonhardt's shattered psyche in the story, remained so vividly with him.
He had embodied a genuine goodness, burning himself brightly to overcome crises. The moment Leonhardt, who had never lost his light through countless trials and adversities, had simply collapsed.
"......"
In the brief silence, his heart stirred faintly.
It was a future that had not yet happened. A future that, in the story, would only happen six months from now. And a future that might not happen at all.
Leonhardt, who had struggled after losing his trait, had been able to get back up on his own by sheer force of will.
Yet after this unexpected accident, even someone as strong-willed as him spent over a week like a broken man.
"Hah."
He let out a shallow breath and wiped a hand over his face.
Then he shook his head, a hollow laugh escaping him. He had felt he needed to take the man's place, and he had steeled his resolve.
He had certainly decided not to live just for himself and to face the crises to come.
And now, feeling that he had been unconsciously trying to follow the man's mindset.
"...."
He wasn't confident he could handle the despair that would come at the end of that path.
'So.'
I must protect my people, within the limits of what I can protect.
At least the people around me...
At least the people within my sight, so that I can protect them.
I had to try harder.
***
Rupleden Forest.
As the afternoon sun brightly illuminated the entire forest.
Vermian was strolling lightly through the woods.
"It will be a great catastrophe."
He realized it naturally.
Recalling Leteia's memories and seeking out the arrangements left by the Nine Apostles one by one, the vastness of their plans was beyond words.
Just from the arrangements they left behind, the Empire might be thrown into great chaos and self-destruct.
The arrangements left everywhere were endless, and the types of danger were varied.
[Why do you hesitate to eat?]
At Leteia's thought-voice, Vermian flinched, then twisted his lips into a smirk.
"It's my last line."
[A last line... You've made a full contract with me, yet you still have a line to keep?]
"...I do."
He muttered, narrowing his eyes.
He knew what Leteia meant.
—Cannibalism.
That by merging with an apostle, I could further amplify my power by consuming humans...
But he couldn't bring himself to do that.
"I know I'm no longer human."
He muttered, staring blankly at the bright, clear sky.
His trait was darkness, and combined with Leteia's power, this bright light was its opposite.
...But facing this light, he felt it was his last line to uphold.
He had made a pact with an apostle to live, however wretchedly, for Beatrice's sake.
Because he wanted his sister, whose entire life had been stained with pain, to see the light of the world.
Though he had already stepped onto an inhuman path... he couldn't bring himself to touch that.
"Because that would surely leave an undeniable trace."
[A trace, you say...]
At Leteia's thought, a hollow laugh escaped him. Perhaps he was already like that now.
He was avoiding meeting Beatrice, unconsciously evading her.
Because he was afraid of how he would look in Beatrice's eyes...
But if he were to covet even greater power... and start eating humans, he felt he would lose the courage to even approach Beatrice.
That's why he couldn't do it.
"...The Nine Apostles are said to be highly intelligent. I will prove myself as I am now."
Prove that I am a necessary existence to them.
So, things like cannibalism, he didn't want to even think about gaining power in such a vile way.