Chapter 41
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: Glorious Farewell (3)
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Before heading to the regular assembly, Ard received word that Garon was dead.
Garon was the name of a Probe Rank Transcendent who had been assigned to eliminate the mysterious Transcendent targeting Philip.
No one had expected him to die, so it was only natural that Ard's thoughts grew complicated.
They were already short on time to resolve their headaches and push forward with the plan.
They had even postponed the execution date once already.
His lordship wouldn't reprimand him over something like this, but it still weighed on his mind.
Ard entered the assembly hall with a heavy heart.
All the Transcendents were already gathered there. Even Philip.
He sat there, enduring the piercing glares from the others.
Did he really look that brazen, or was it just Ard's imagination?
Especially the Transcendent from Evanveil, who was berating him in an angry voice.
It was understandable.
Evanveil was the most likely next destination for the Transcendent who had taken down Garon.
"What the hell were you doing while Garon was getting killed!"
"Obviously... I was... hiding..."
"You little shi... "
Such an argument had been ongoing by the time Ard arrived, but as soon as he entered, all eyes turned to him.
Ard kept his gaze fixed on Philip and spoke in a subdued voice.
"Garon is dead. Probably taken out by that Transcendent you mentioned."
He calmly laid out the facts and questioned Philip Deran.
"They say his corpse was left out in the open, utterly crushed. A being who could overwhelm and kill even a Probe Rank let you slip away. How do you explain that?"
It didn't add up.
Of course, with the castle in ruins and Philip himself appearing in tatters, there was no reason for him to fabricate a lie.
Even so, an inexplicable gap had formed that was hard to accept.
Philip might have his grievances, but the line of suspicion had already been irrevocably crossed.
Philip suddenly seemed confused himself as he groped his own skull with one hand.
"Me too... I'm... just as confused. I thought... Garon would... definitely handle him..."
"What?"
He clutched his skull for a while, lost in thought, then muttered in a low voice.
"He knew... all about our plan."
His gaze flicked toward the Pale Water Tribe's Transcendent sitting nearby.
It had already come to light that they had met Philip in Palewood.
His eyes seemed to blame them for it.
The Pale Water Tribe's Transcendent flinched, on the verge of exploding, but swallowed it down upon sensing Ard's cold stare.
Philip continued in his slurring voice.
"What if he knew... the plan... and deliberately... orchestrated this situation?"
"Orchestrated it deliberately?"
"To make us... turn on each other... sow division and chaos... maybe he let me live on purpose..."
Ard cut him off for a moment.
"But why are you still in that state? Your body should have recovered by now."
"Because... I'm scared. Garon dead... it's traumatic."
"Trau... what?"
Philip shuddered as if the mere thought terrified him.
"...He'll... definitely find me... and kill me. Ah... I'm scared. So scared. Hiding won't... save me. But... at least it's a relief. It's not my turn this time. Evanveil... first..."
Philip muttered to himself like a madman, his speech slurred.
He choked and gasped midway, as if even his own words overwhelmed him.
"..."
He truly looked like he'd lost his mind.
Even Ard, who had intended to extract all usable information and then kill him regardless of guilt or innocence, was at a loss for words.
The Evanveil Transcendent interrupted his mumbling.
"Cut the bullshit and answer straight! Did you explain everything properly to Garon?"
"Shut up... My power may be... weaker than yours... but my brain... is better."
"Smartass let Garon die just like that?"
The Pale Water Tribe's Transcendent sneered; he'd been annoyed with Philip from the start.
Philip whipped his head around to glare at him.
"You... you should be... grateful to me. I took your place... like this. Otherwise... you'd be the one... in this mess. If not for that... pathetic sense of... belonging... to help you... ngh."
"Wh-what the fuck are you saying?"
At that moment, Philip jerked his head up, panting as if seized by madness.
"R-right... dragging this out... will be dangerous. Before that bastard... causes more havoc... right now..."
Ard's head began to throb even harder at those words.
The other Transcendents seemed to share the sentiment, ignoring Philip's ramblings and starting to talk among themselves.
"Why would someone that strong interfere with our goals?"
"The heroes' lackeys?"
"But those stiff-necked fools wouldn't get involved first. Do they even have anyone with power like that?"
"There's one. Problem is, he uses a sword."
"Not him."
The more they talked, the deeper they sank into uncertainty.
Ard had no choice but to step in.
"I'll handle it myself."
Ard questioned Philip again.
"Tell me everything you know."
As he gathered his energy and applied pressure, even the other Transcendents held their breath.
But Philip just let out a sinister chuckle.
Was the pressure not working? Or had this guy truly gone mad?
"Heh... hehehe... Tell you everything... and you'll kill me?"
Exactly.
Even in his unraveling state, his mind was still sharp.
There was no reason to keep the now-useless Philip alive.
Ard replied calmly, his gaze unwavering.
"I'll kill you whether you talk or not."
"Even if you kill me here... as long as my Life Vessel exists... it's pointless."
"Obviously you'd hide it somewhere around that precious castle of yours."
"Think I... wouldn't plan for that? The castle you know... collapsed long ago."
For a moment, a thought flashed through Ard's mind.
'Come to think of it... where was Philip after the last assembly ended?'
The original castle had been in ruins for ages.
Philip, who used Fortress Magic, must have built another somewhere.
But its location was unknown.
Philip's movements had been untrackable from the start.
'He prepared more thoroughly than I thought.'
Ard clicked his tongue briefly.
What a pain in the ass.
Ard revised his view of Philip.
He might be useless in a fight, but at least he knew how to look out for himself.
The problem was that his scheming always tripped Ard up.
Cunning, to an infuriating degree.
"Fine, even if it's well hidden, you won't be able to show your face in the North anymore. You'll spend your life on the run."
"If I can live... I don't care."
Threats didn't work on this madman.
Ard decided to mix in some persuasion.
"Talk, and I'll let you live."
"Fine... I'll talk."
"..."
So he was scared after all, despite the tough talk?
Ard judged inwardly.
No matter how cleverly he'd planned, no Transcendent wanted to live as a fugitive forever.
"Anyway... even without you... that monster would hunt me down... and kill me."
"If you talk, he'll die by my hand, so no need to worry."
But Philip scoffed, as if dismissing Ard's words.
He clearly didn't believe him.
'How dare he...'
Ard suppressed his rising anger at the sight and waited as Philip slowly spoke.
"His next stop... definitely Evanveil. He... let me live on purpose."
There was logic to that.
It made no sense that Philip survived when even Garon died.
That's what had sparked the suspicion in the first place, but if he'd been spared deliberately, it fit.
Philip's body still held essence, as Ard had confirmed upon arrival.
At least it wasn't betrayal.
That meant the Transcendents from various factions had been played by one man.
The plan hadn't even properly begun, and now this unforeseen variable.
After pondering for a long while, Ard looked up when Philip fell silent.
"I'll tell you the rest... on the way."
"...You're joking."
His slightly eased mind twisted again.
"If you're really going to let me live... what's wrong with telling you on the way? Only you... can take him down."
Did Philip think spilling the info there would save him?
Either way, he was dead.
Maybe he was plotting to craft a new body en route to Evanveil.
'I'll find it and kill him for sure.'
Hiding his intentions, Ard nodded.
"We leave now."
"What about the assembly?"
Another Transcendent asked, but Ard ignored it.
"If we don't deal with him, the assembly and the plan are meaningless."
"If Ard's stepping up, then... sure."
The other Transcendents, well aware of Ard's power, nodded in agreement.
Soon, Ard left with Philip Deran and the anxious Evanveil Transcendent.
Ard's body slowly rose into the air, while the Evanveil Transcendent sank into the ground like melting away.
He'd head to his homeland on his own.
The issue was Philip. He didn't budge from the spot.
"Didn't you say to come along?"
"Can't fly."
"What?"
"Exhausted all my mana... overdoing Fortress Magic lately."
"...You've got issues."
Ard didn't buy it.
Probably scheming to conserve mana for some trick later.
It was almost laughable how transparent it was.
A Dragon Rank was still just a Dragon Rank, no matter how it struggled.
Even if Philip pretended not to notice.