Chapter 190
Chapter 190
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 190
Chapter Title: Question: Am I Brave?
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The protagonist of the hero tales Evan Helvin had read as a child, David, was his favorite hero.
This small but clever boy hero had a habit of always asking himself in moments of crisis, in the following form.
‘Question: How will I cross the hill?’
It was when the wicked giant named Goliath was blocking the hill path, napping away.
At the time, David desperately needed to reach the pharmacist in the neighboring village as quickly as possible to treat his ailing little sister.
After racking his brains, David finally came up with an answer.
On a day when thick clouds blanketed the sky, around sunset.
When the sky blazed an unusually vivid red, he shouted right into Goliath’s ear.
—Fire!
Startled awake, Goliath bolted up and thundered down the hill.
He had mistaken the crimson sky for a forest fire.
That was why Evan loved David so much.
David was small and scrawny for a hero tale protagonist, with no special powers to speak of……
But he knew how to muster courage for the sake of those he cherished.
So from a young age, Evan had thought:
Courage was the most important virtue for a hero.
—Question: Am I brave?
To such self-questioning, Evan Helvin’s answer was always the same.
‘Of course!’
He believed he possessed courage.
He had never known fear since childhood.
If he spotted an intriguing insect, he’d climb a tree over ten meters tall without hesitation……
And he was always the first to cross the stepping stones over a stream.
At seven years old, it was he who first suggested leading the group to the neighboring village.
Evan liked himself that way.
He thought not fearing challenges or the unknown was proof of a courageous person.
Even during the training camp, when he experienced the greatest迷失 of his life, that belief hadn’t changed.
So even now, with this arrogant Karon lying there like a corpse, mocking him.
But what about now?
Am I still brave?
‘…….’
Vice Cult Leader Evan often asked himself that, but he couldn’t answer as easily as before.
Because he knew better than anyone how cowardly he had been acting.
‘Why am I not fighting?’
He could answer that.
He didn’t want to reveal his demonic instrument.
‘Then you plan to just die like this?’
That might be the better option, he thought.
Evan was confused.
If only his personality had been completely overtaken by the ‘memory of evil,’ if his identity as Leader Evan had been fully swallowed by the darkness, he wouldn’t have to endure this turmoil.
His wavering eyes turned to those around him.
‘What kind of reaction would these people have if they knew I’m the vice cult leader?’
Karon Woodjack, gasping for breath like he was about to die any moment—rumor had it his personality had softened lately, but he wouldn’t take it lightly even from a cultist.
The same went for Seren Goodspring, who had shown unexpected sides from the shadowy world. The more prestigious the noble bloodline, the stronger the hostility and disgust toward the cult. It was an enmity etched into their very birth.
Even Perist, the imperial princess and the root cause of all this, wasn’t a cultist. Her sins were simply being hopelessly naive and foolish.
Not to mention Dean Alderson Marbuer, the grand archmage.
The empire’s representative violet mage would never tolerate the existence of a cultist—let alone a vice cult leader.
“…….”
Evan imagined them all glaring at him with faces twisted in disgust.
— …You were the vice cult leader?
— Hah. Just like the son of a knight who never won a single match.
— Could the entire Helvin family have been a den of evil?
Next came the image of his father.
His face suddenly lined with wrinkles, his kind smile—ever since laying down his sword, he’d taken a keen interest in cooking—and looking at Evan, he said:
— You’re my shame.
It might be a delusion.
But it was a delusion all too likely to become reality.
Evan Helvin.
Among everyone here, he probably had the most strength left.
Thanks to being knocked out cold by Desberry’s strike, he had conserved his stamina intact…… And he hadn’t even used his power as vice cult leader.
And yet he hadn’t stepped forward.
He couldn’t.
He acted like someone with no options left.
He thought that was enough.
Because if the delusions invading his mind became reality, dying right there seemed better.
But then.
“…That’s not….”
“Ah, a demonic instrument…….”
“…….”
Seren and the Perist princess’s voices brushed past like whispers in a dream.
Evan blankly stared at Ruan Bednicker.
‘Why?’
Countless ‘whys’ filled with questions.
Why was he still able to fight?
Why could he wield a demonic instrument?
Why wasn’t he hiding it?
‘You…….’
He didn’t know the reason. Couldn’t even guess.
But it was clear that Ruan could wield the demonic instrument.
‘You’re… a Bednicker.’
A great house incomparable to the fallen Helvin family.
And the head of that house was the Iron-Blooded Duke.
The empire’s strongest devil hunter, the man who hated the cult and demons more than anyone.
Even though Evan wasn’t the one involved, just imagining it terrified him.
He knew how ruthless that legendary man appeared in everyday life.
And when he showed emotion.
When the cult or bloodline was involved.
Evan couldn’t even fathom it.
What the Iron-Blooded Duke would do when those two elements collided in the worst way—when a cultist emerged from his own bloodline.
‘You’re not scared? Or is getting exposed better than dying?’
He could tell from the expression alone that wasn’t it.
This madman was smiling.
Smiling back at the mad laughter of the moon floating in the sky, which could shatter a person’s mind.
Using the evil energy of the demonic instrument without hesitation.
Under the blood-red sky, the purple flames coiling around the blade looked like hellfire, eerie and unholy.
And Ruan, the master of those violet flames, appeared like a demon in human skin.
At a glance, it looked like two great demons locked in combat.
But to Evan Helvin.
“…….”
The boy who once admired heroes saw that figure—something he could never emulate—as more noble than any hero in a fairy tale.
* * *
Seren eyed the princess coolly and asked.
“It’s definitely a demonic instrument?”
The princess flinched at Seren’s blunt tone, then nodded slightly.
“Y-Yeah……. That’s… definitely a demonic instrument…….”
“…….”
It was the firm confirmation from the princess who had communed with the Demon King, no less.
Of course, she wasn’t a cultist… but having been exposed to demonic instruments for so long, her ability to sense them must have sharpened.
Honestly, Seren was baffled.
Thinking about it, that guy had always thrown her off, but this time it crossed the line.
‘He’s really a cultist?’
It didn’t make sense.
If so, there were far too many contradictions in Ruan’s reactions, attitude, and actions up to now.
Just looking at him now made it obvious, no deep thought needed.
Why would a cultist wielding a demonic instrument fight the Calamity God—the Demon King—they revered?
“Damn…….”
She couldn’t grasp his intentions.
Couldn’t understand the situation.
But what needed to be done was clear.
‘I have to help.’
She had to help Ruan right now. Otherwise, they’d all die.
The forgotten god’s power, the manifestation of frost, could be used one more time……
Seren had been waiting for the perfect moment.
To intervene at the most opportune instant and turn the tide.
But then.
“Uh…….”
The princess’s eyes widened huge.
The moment she saw the moon in the sky plummeting down.
“Crazy……!”
A meteor impact here?
No more room to time it perfectly.
Seren’s entire body turned white as snowflakes……
Followed by the Demon King pierced through, the raging violet blade flames, the blood-red moon sliced in half.
Crunch-.
The moon shattered, and this time, countless fragments rained down everywhere.
* * *
“Cough……!”
Perist coughed.
The thick dust stung her eyes and tickled her throat. Even repeated coughing, like she was choking, didn’t clear it easily.
‘How… am I still alive……?’
Unfortunately, the meteor’s landing wasn’t far from Building 6.
It meant they were in a position inevitably caught in the impact.
Perist felt death closing in.
The fragments now were on another level in size and number from before.
If the earlier ones were a drizzle, this was a monsoon downpour.
No way to stay dry in a deluge that could collapse buildings.
“Haa…….”
A sudden sigh escaped, frosting in the air.
Breath?
Perist looked up at the sky.
And realized why she was unharmed.
A massive wall of ice enclosed them on all sides. Of course, it wasn’t intact.
Cracked and shattered all over, it looked just like a glass window pummeled by stones.
“Ah…….”
That was when Perist realized who had saved her.
A groan came from behind.
Startled, Perist whipped around and saw Seren pinned under a boulder.
“S-Seren…….”
“Hoo…….”
Seren was sighing in self-loathing.
Once again, it was a matter of proficiency.
Blessings weren’t suited for training to begin with, and the forgotten god’s blessing even less so.
You couldn’t just spam a power that burdened the body every use during practice.
“Why only you…….”
“…The dean’s safety is the top priority.”
“Ah…….”
Perist clamped her mouth shut.
Only then did she notice Dean Alderson still focused on his incantation.
In that moment, the imperial princess felt awe.
Even in such urgency, he didn’t forget to pursue victory, judging with the cool rationality to put even himself on the scale.
Was this the vessel of one who would become a hero?
‘A person like this… I…….’
Suddenly, Perist tried to lift the boulder crushing Seren.
Impossible.
Even a giant wouldn’t budge it easily. Dozens of her slender hands wouldn’t make it twitch.
Seren asked in an incredulous voice.
“What are you doing?”
“I’ll clear it……!”
“It’s too much for you.”
Seren already felt no sensation in her right foot. Probably crushed horribly below the ankle.
“Still……!”
“I said it’s fine. More importantly, why are you suddenly……?”
“It’s not sudden…….”
It truly wasn’t sudden.
Perist couldn’t fully bare her heart. She knew she’d be embarrassed.
But calling her a friend was sincere.
The girl who approached first when everyone shunned her. The girl who seemed like winter at first glance turned out to have a warmth matching her family name.
“…….”
And Dean Alderson, a short distance away, was aware of everything even while chanting.
Unlike the confused young heroes, this elderly mage didn’t dwell deeply on Ruan.
So what if he used a demonic instrument?
What mattered was that Ruan was desperately carrying out the plan they’d discussed just before.
Questions could wait until later.
In the current situation, Alderson and Ruan had divided roles, and they had to stick to them.
Ruan: buying time.
Alderson: accumulating power for the finishing blow.
The demonic instrument hadn’t vanished.
The Demon King was still alive.
Where was it?
In what form would it reappear?
Could they counter it?
…Could they hold out until then?
“…….”
He suppressed the rising anxiety with his chant.
Dean Alderson’s mana was gradually purifying.
* * *
No sensation left in my body.
The result of fatigue and pain layering upon each other. I could clearly feel it was impossible to move anymore……
But I had to move.
When I cleaved the blood moon in half, I realized.
What I’d cut was just the surface.
More precisely, it felt like slicing through the thick armor protecting its wearer.
Of course, the opponent wasn’t a living being, and it was a sensory realm, so explaining the reason was hard.
But I was certain.
Even as the halved blood moon shattered into fragments raining down like a meteor shower……
My gaze remained fixed on the sky.
And then, beneath the blood moon, it revealed itself.
A pitch-black sphere swallowing everything around it.
But the aura rising like haze from its center was unmistakably blood-red.
‘…….’
The moment I saw it, I knew.
That was its true form.
My skull throbbed.
Like when I first faced those nine Tangtata monsters.
Time seemed to slow, compressed, and strangely, Seren’s words came to mind.
— Splitting, regenerating enemies. It’s just frustrating, no sincerity, no thrill……. There are already so many points to get off the ride.
Now I vaguely got what she meant.
Get off the ride.
Literally, wanting to jump off the carriage.
So, if you’re riding a carriage and look out to see thin ice everywhere and sheer cliffs at the end……
Anyone would want to bail midway.
That was my mood right now.
“…I really wanna get off.”
Just words.
Jumping from a moving carriage usually means death or serious injury.
Better to make it run even harder then.
With enough momentum to leap the cliff ahead, as hard as possible.
I regulated my breathing and tossed the Yin-Yang Blade and Seven Sins Sword to the ground. To lighten my body even a little.
Standing on both feet on the earth.
Aiming both fists at the enemy.
I tilted my head at the monster and asked.
“Round two?”
[…….]
Now floating in midair, not the sky.
The ominous sphere, without even facial features, seemed to stare down silently.
Naturally, no answer came.