Chapter 175
Chapter 175
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 175
Chapter Title: Forked Paths
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Crash!
I kicked over rickety drawers and tables, smashed suspicious walls, and stabbed the ceiling with my yin-yang saber.
On the first floor, stairs had appeared beyond a broken wall, and on the second, puppets had burst up from below.
There was no way to rule out another hidden space this time.
How many rooms had we passed through like that?
Just as the thumping sounds had faded into the distance, I spotted stairs behind a drawer.
“Ruan!”
At the same time, Evan’s voice rang out from not far away. Close. The moment I stepped into the hallway, we ran into each other. We’d emerged from facing doors.
“There are stairs here.”
“There too?”
“There too? Don’t tell me…”
We regrouped first, then hardened our expressions.
“There are two ways up?”
“What do we do?”
“…”
Naturally, all eyes turned to me, and I felt a faint pressure as I thought.
Being the leader isn’t easy, after all.
In a situation like this, where you can’t see an inch ahead, there’s no such thing as a perfect answer.
You just make the best call you can in the moment, and regrets are inevitable with those choices.
Take right now: Was it really the right move leaving Mir behind?
After a brief moment of hesitation, I said,
“Let’s split into two teams.”
The words had barely left my mouth when I turned to Caron.
“If you have something to say, spit it out. I’ll change the plan if your opinion convinces me.”
“…Hm.”
Caron made a slightly uncomfortable face as he replied.
“Among prey, there are some that turn the tables and toy with the hunter from above. Creatures so clever the word ‘smart’ doesn’t do them justice. They can’t speak, but sometimes they show cunning far beyond humans.”
“I see.”
“They lay false tracks to mislead, smear themselves with another beast’s blood and play injured, or set up multiple decoy traps…”
“…”
“This mansion reeks of it. The smell of traps. If they separated the Mir giant on purpose and made two staircases to the next floor, the princess’s goal is to divide our forces.”
I nodded at Caron’s words.
“You’re right. That’s why I want to split up.”
“Huh?”
“The princess has something beasts don’t. You already forgot? That woman’s a lunatic who thrives on crises.”
I glanced at the stairs and continued.
“She’s got a pretty accurate read on our level. The traps and enemies in this mansion won’t overwhelm us.”
“That means…”
“All that’s prepared here are trials we can overcome.”
“…”
I stopped there and shut my mouth.
This mansion is the princess’s domain.
It wouldn’t be strange if she were listening to us from somewhere.
All four of us here have hidden aces up our sleeves.
Me, Seren, of course, but also Evan the young cult leader, and probably Caron too—he’s bound to have some trump card for emergencies.
That was another reason I picked this group of five.
If I’d brought Barter Goodspring, would the princess have let her guard down? What if I’d dragged the Alderson principal along, stretching it a bit?
She’d have ramped up security to the max.
But our statuses? We’re just leads.
Unproven rookies, not even of age yet, hero wannabes.
Far from tense, she might even impose fake handicaps on herself to heighten the thrill.
“I’m the surest bet against that woman.”
“…”
“But let’s make a promise here. Whichever of us four runs into the princess, we land one solid hit.”
Even just one would do.
Any of these guys could pull it off against a complacent princess—they’ve got the chops.
“How’re you splitting the teams?”
Seren finally picked up on my intent and asked.
“Two teams.”
“Two each?”
“No. Me as one team, you three as the other.”
“…”
They fell silent for a beat, then nodded.
Seeing them go along without protest, I figured my bout with Barter had helped.
“Then… let’s meet alive.”
“Yeah.”
After watching the three vanish up the opposite stairs, I headed up mine.
The staircase had an odd shape.
It was an iron airborne spiral—the cursed circular design I hated.
Round and round. As I climbed, dizzying my head, designed purely to annoy humans, I reflected.
There were several reasons for splitting like this.
Beyond just me handling a team’s worth solo.
The biggest was that with the others around, I doubted I could go all out.
Because of the violet flame.
Now I knew for sure.
The moment it cloaked me, my attack power would surpass full bloom. A technique with truly ultimate destructive force…
That alone wouldn’t be an issue, but using this violet flame came with a problem.
Fwoosh—.
I snapped my fingers, igniting it like striking a match.
‘Hmmm…’
Just as expected.
This power could only manifest using the instrument within my body.
Naturally, the violet flame radiated a distinct instrument presence.
‘…Tricky.’
What to even call this.
Beyond the physical strain of using it, a massive risk had emerged. Even in a life-or-death pinch, could I risk deploying the violet flame?
Wrap in violet flame.
Instrument manifests.
Ruan Bednicker is a cultist.
‘Argh…’
Thinking about it pissed me off all over again.
High Priest, my ass.
Me, a High Priest.
Didn’t they say only the cult leader can appoint one?
I haven’t even met the cult leader—
“…”
I had to stop in my tracks. A sudden thought flashed through my mind.
What if I’d already met the cult leader?
‘No way, that couldn’t be…’
Even as my head denied it, my hand pulled a note from my pocket.
[See you in Setitus.]
[P.S. Sick of playing puppet.]
“…”
Leone had been a riddle from one to ten.
Yet I hadn’t thought deeply about him.
He was a figure from the past, a puppet, or so I thought…
‘What if he wasn’t the puppet?’
Word was the Black Cult Leader was an unchanging old monster for centuries…
But maybe we just didn’t know—the succession might’ve already happened.
Meaning, if my guess was right, Leone was the second-generation leader.
And the Iron-Blooded Duke, learning that along with being betrayed by his friend Leone, came to hate demons and the cult…
‘…’
Evan and Leone.
Keeping their identities from each other felt like the right call.
Though separate from my secrecy, they might’ve guessed each other’s already…
But that spawned a new question.
How could mere puppet Leone act so freely?
Beyond the principal’s control—even Alderson seemed clueless Leone had been in the shadow world.
“…Shadow world?”
Evan’s term for this place suddenly resurfaced.
- Shadow world, the realm beyond the lake’s waters, or simply the dreamscape. Haden Ihar’s other name is the Demon King of the Backside.
It didn’t feel that way, but apparently this place was called a dream.
- You know about the Black Cult Leader?
- That guy… he controls dreams.
- To the dream-master Black Cult Leader, time and space mean nothing. Want to meet someone? Enter their dream.
- They say he can make one night’s dream feel like hundreds of days.
Junior’s words from the training camp followed.
“The Black Cult Leader contacts priest candidates through dreams…”
Realizing that, I burst out laughing. Not from joy, of course.
The absurdity brought on this laugh.
Standing on the airborne stairs, I laughed for a while…
“Phew…”
Exhaled roughly, gathering my scattered wits.
Darkness yawned between the steps. For a silly moment, it felt like my future…
But what could I do.
Even surrounded by darkness, with ground underfoot, I had to keep going.
I pressed on, and finally the stairs ended.
“…”
It’d been a long climb.
By feel, we’d passed the third floor ages ago—fourth, even rooftop wouldn’t be odd.
Of course, just my senses; no clue the actual height.
‘What now.’
Another pitch-black expanse.
Fire-eye or snake eyes wouldn’t help.
No point wasting mental energy; I trudged ahead.
The ground felt rough. Not hallway carpet, not paved road.
Like walking untouched nature?
As I went on like that.
Faint mist began creeping in from somewhere.
Jingle—.
Then, from beyond fog and dark, a bell tinkled.
I froze.
The bell evoked longing.
Followed by a snap… the distinct sound of unfolding an iron fan.
Hallucination?
Or had I lost my mind?
I knew my state wasn’t normal, but still, I couldn’t help murmuring.
“…Heavenly Master?”
As I blinked to check my vision.
[Con, con, con, con, condition.]
Condition?
[…has been, ful, fulfilled.]
That instant.
[Spirit Mountain’s Blessing, ac, activates.]
An absurd voice rang out.
* * *
After parting from Ruan…
Evan, Caron, and Seren climbed in silence.
“…”
“…”
“…”
Evan thought to himself.
What to do about this mood.
The two were quiet types anyway, and they weren’t close personally.
He’d barely spoken to Seren…
And with Caron, it was more bad blood.
Evan Helvin’s social skills weren’t lacking, but conversation was a two-way street.
No point talking if they weren’t ready to respond.
But then.
“Evan Helvin.”
“Yeah?”
Unexpectedly, Caron spoke first.
With a hesitant look.
“Why’d you call?”
“…Felt it while sprinting the hall earlier.”
“Felt what.”
“You haven’t slacked on training.”
“…”
What’s this guy getting at.
Evan narrowed his eyes at Caron, but the guy averted his gaze and added.
“…That’s all. What I had to say.”
“Ah, got it.”
Caron nodded, then realized belatedly.
Did this guy just… apologize?
For griping about my picks, saying Hector Bednicker would’ve been better.
A chuckle escaped.
Face like a wolf, but more sensitive than expected.
“Don’t sweat it.”
Evan scratched his cheek, and Caron nodded. A slight warmth bloomed between them…
Seren, beside them, thought: What a pair of saps.
“Ah.”
“End of the line.”
Finally, the stairs opened to a long hallway.
It too had carpet—purple this time. Much like the second-floor lobby overall…
“Hello.”
And at the end stood the princess.
“…”
All three realized at once.
This princess wasn’t an illusion.
The princess grinned.
“So you’re the ones who made it. Hm… Three together surviving—should I call that lucky? Shame for me, though. Personally, I hoped Ruan Bednicker would come.”
“What’re you talking about?”
“The obvious—paths of life and death.”
Life path and death path.
Evan furrowed his brow.
The two staircases on the second floor, the fork. One was a trap after all.
Caron stepped forward.
“Brother’ll be here soon. You’ll die by our hands before even glimpsing his shadow anyway.”
“I hope so. But…”
As the princess’s scarlet eyes stared into space, Caron’s narrowed.
She faced us, yet seemed to watch somewhere else.
Who was she looking at?
‘No way, brother…’
The princess’s eyes rolled. Anxious vibe.
Twitching lips, clenched fists—like quietly cheering someone on.
“Ah…!”
Then, deflation.
Like witnessing her favored racehorse spectacularly crash, she relaxed completely.
A dry voice leaked out.
“He’s dead.”