The Hero's Old Enemy
I saw my old mortal enemy for the first time in a while. Yulis.
The first thing I did when I saw her was… ignore her completely.
“Are you okay? Gold.”
“Yeah… I’m fine, brother. But…”
Gold glanced at Yulis, then back at me. It was rare to see such an anxious look on his face.
Yulis, who had met my eyes the moment she first saw me, couldn’t even look in my direction anymore. She was trembling like a leaf in the wind.
Well, I have no intention of doing anything to her now.
My revenge ended a long time ago.
I have no desire to keep chewing on something that’s already over.
That’s my personal opinion, and it’s also out of consideration for my friendship with Gold.
Maybe it was because I hadn’t seen her in so long, but the usual surge of irritation didn’t rise up.
It certainly didn’t come across as friendly, but her gaunt, emaciated face somehow stirred a bit of pity.
Still, since she used to be a beauty, she didn’t look pathetic—just mysteriously ethereal.
Alright. Let’s be tactful about this.
“I’ll come back later.”
“Thank you, brother. Um… if there’s anything you’re curious about…”
Curious about?
Gold probably thought I’d ask why Yulis was here or how she’d been living all this time.
But the only thing that came to mind when I looked at her was that her silver hair was supposed to change when she used her Privilege item. So why was it silver right now?
She was ultimately just someone from my past with a bad history.
I didn’t even want to bother thinking about her.
“Nothing. See you later.”
“Your body…”
This was going to drag on forever at this rate. I waved my hand to cut the conversation short, stepped out of the room, and left one last remark.
“Sorry about your hand. And thanks.”
Clunk.
I closed the door.
I let out a long sigh.
I wasn’t as angry as I’d expected.
To be honest, my emotions had been pitch black because of the Leor situation, but it seemed like a good portion of that had been washed away thanks to Asita and Laiet earlier.
I really am a simple bastard.
From what the nurses told me earlier, Rena and Almiraj only had minor injuries so they weren’t hospitalized, but they should still be somewhere in the hospital.
…For some reason, meeting Rena feels awkward.
What about the others who helped me? Emily, Mullin, the preliminary match participants—were they admitted to this hospital?
At the very least, I doubt they’d put the preliminary participants in a hospital reserved exclusively for the Ten Great Families…
Whatever. I’ll just wander around.
I set off with no particular destination in mind.
Maybe it was because I’d been sleeping like the dead for three days, but I just felt like moving my body.
Earlier even the slightest movement had caused excruciating pain, but now it was bearable.
The hospital was huge.
Of course it would be, since it was exclusively for the Ten Great Families.
As I walked in silence, all sorts of thoughts flooded in.
For example, Gold’s wrist that I’d seen earlier.
I hadn’t shown it on my face, but below his right wrist was empty.
There was no way he’d deliberately stopped the regeneration halfway, so it wasn’t that he wouldn’t—it was that he couldn’t.
The important question was whether it would stay impossible in the future.
Nanar had said that wounds inflicted by him couldn’t be regenerated by any being of lower rank than himself.
Then…
“Hey. Mangshin.”
[I can’t.]
“Fuck.”
What a firm no.
[Kid, even that was only possible because I took over your body. It’d be more realistic to ask Gaia.]
That damn Gaia again.
I don’t even know her that well.
I kept chatting with him while wandering aimlessly, and before I knew it I’d arrived at a rest area.
There were drinks and snacks for people to help themselves to, and even a private room so they could rest without worrying about others watching.
Since only people connected to the Ten Great Families were hospitalized here, there weren’t many people around. It was quiet.
I might as well sit down for a bit and organize my thoughts.
First, there was something I wanted to ask Mangshin about.
[What is it?]
You bastard. What the hell are you trying to make me do?
[I told you I’d explain later… didn’t I?]
This guy is extremely suspicious.
[What? It won’t be anything bad for you.]
Not “it won’t be bad,” but “it probably won’t be bad”?
[Ah… now that I think about it, there’s one more thing I should tell you.]
Changing the subject, this bastard. So what is it?
[Malakia’s consciousness has awakened. He’ll wake up soon.]
Ah… right. He did pop out in the middle of the fight with Nanar because he got pissed.
[And the Water Dragon said it would come find you later.]
Two things, not one.
[So what?]
……
This guy is getting more and more shameless lately.
Creak.
The door opened.
When I looked up, I saw a beautiful blonde woman wearing comfortable casual clothes instead of her usual nun habit. It was Mullin.
We stared at each other for a moment.
I looked away first and sank deep into the chair.
Wow. As expected of a Ten Great Family hospital. Even the furniture is luxurious.
Mullin snorted.
“As expected of a piece of human trash with a broken personality. You don’t even greet your lifesaver?”
“Nope~ I never asked you to save me~”
“This is exactly why people say you shouldn’t be uneducated. I understand now.”
“Yeah, I saved your ass twice. If anything, I’m the lifesaver here.”
“Twice…?”
“Didn’t I gently carry you to a safe place and then stop Nanar from chasing after you? That’s two times.”
“What a miraculous way of counting. Then how many times did I, who fought desperately against that damned god while you were pathetically sprawled on the ground, save you, brother?”
She’s the one with the miraculous counting ability.
“If you weren’t there, I would’ve used my trump card and fucked Nanar up a long time ago, you bitch.”
“For someone who says that, you were lying there pretty miserably, weren’t you?”
Mullin sat down in the seat right across from me. I don’t want to look at you either, you bitch.
Instead of sinking deep into the chair like me, she just flopped down and lay across it. Then why did she bother sitting next to me in the first place?
But thanks to that, her enormous breasts jiggled, and I almost couldn’t help but stare.
“Perverted bastard.”
“I didn’t look at your filthy body, you ugly hag.”
“……”
“……”
Why is she suddenly silent?
…Did I go too far?
I was sweating internally when Mullin finally spoke.
“Did you defeat the Mad God?”
The question that came out in a low voice was that.
I blinked a few times… then shook my head.
“No. I wouldn’t say I defeated him.”
“Then how are you still alive?”
“Well…”
I didn’t think I should talk about Mangshin, so I just brushed it off vaguely.
Actually, there were things I wanted to ask her too.
The way Nanar had spoken about Mullin. What kind of relationship they had. I was curious about all of it.
But that wasn’t something other people should casually ask about.
“…Cardinal Rafnir is probably going to try to devour you.”
“Is that so?”
I had expected that.
There was no way a fanatic like her would leave me alone after I defied Nanar.
“And Alfred seems like he wants to devour you too.”
“Because of the god stuff?”
“Yes.”
Alfred had shown interest in gods toward me from before.
I didn’t know what his goal was, but I’d felt something eerie about it.
“Why don’t you just tell me instead?”
“That’s impossible. If I told you… it would cause problems for Alfred, not me.”
What the hell does that mean? Are the gods putting restrictions on him or something?
From this incident, I learned that gods usually try not to intervene in the mortal realm because of causality.
Alfred might be outstanding, but what could one Elyunar person do even if they learned about the existence of gods?
When I was about to ask, Mullin beat me to it.
“So, how does it feel to be called a hero again?”
“Hero…?”
“Oh dear. You didn’t know?”
Mullin made a mischievous face.
“There are rumors going around that you participated in the preliminaries and subjugated the hidden monster in the Sea God’s Cave.”
“Uh…”
“That you saved people from death. If last time you were the hero of the Floating Island, this time you’re the hero of the Sea God or something. It’s the talk of several countries.”
There were rumors like that?
“However, the Holy Kingdom probably doesn’t look at you favorably.”
“Add the Graise Family to that list too.”
“Hmm. The fact that they’ve stayed quiet so far makes me think they’ve given up on their schemes… Did you do something to the Graise family?”
“What would I have done?”
Sharp-eyed bitch.
“More importantly, the Holy Kingdom with the Holy God Selection…”
At that moment, a sharp throb shot through my arm.
I frowned, and Mullin noticed immediately and snorted.
“Oh dear. Does it hurt a lot?”
“What kind of nun enjoys watching someone else’s pain?”
“Oh dear. I was making a face full of worry, but it seems your eyes hurt too?”
If only this bitch would shut her mouth.
But then Mullin moved closer.
She didn’t seem to be wearing perfume, but a fragrant scent suddenly washed over me.
She grabbed my wrist and began pouring holy power into it with a low hum.
Is this bitch actually healing me? What kind of wind blew this way?
I stared hard at Mullin’s face.
…Up close, she really is pretty.
If only her personality wasn’t quite so shitty, she’d be perfect.
Mullin didn’t react at all to my gaze. It must really be pure intentions.
Even so, I didn’t look away.
Her personality might be shit, but her face is disgustingly beautiful, so I might as well enjoy the view.
Still, I was grateful for the treatment, but…
“Isn’t holy power Nanar’s power? It feels dirty.”
“Ordinary believers of the Mad Faith only borrow power from him. Holy power is mixed with their personal Runar, so it’s difficult for him to tamper with it. Besides, in my case, unlike others, I don’t even use the power the Mad God lends.”
“……”
“Rather than that, I’d like to hear why the Mad God wants you and what he said to you.”
She’s being surprisingly direct for once.
“…In exchange, I’ll answer a few things you’re curious about too.”
“Uh… then…”
“By the way, where have you been looking this whole time?”
Mullin grinned.
Fuck. She caught me staring at her face.
What do I do in this situation? Just go on the offensive.
“Your eyelashes.”
“Pardon?”
“Your personality is shit, but your face is pretty. I was enjoying the view. Your eyelashes are really long.”
“……”
Ooh. Is she getting embarrassed?
I was grinning and savoring my victory when Mullin suddenly shoved her face right up to mine.
So close our noses were almost touching.
Her fragrant scent, the sound of my heart pounding wildly on its own, and Mullin’s voice mixed with laughter overlapped.
“Brother, if you ignore the eyes, you’re actually quite handsome. Just a tiny bit.”
“……”
“What? Are you embarrassed?”
Clunk.
The door opened again.
This time four people came in at once.
Kaits, along with Raeband, Scholar, Mari… it was the hero party.
“Huh? Dre…”
Raeband started to speak but then made an awkward sound and looked everywhere but at us. Scholar cleared his throat, and Mari went “Um…” before her face turned bright red.
Kaits spoke.
“I told you to rest, but getting frisky with a woman while injured is…”
““The fuck are you saying.””
Mullin and I said it in perfect unison.
We shoved each other away like we were trying to push the other into another dimension. Mullin pulled out a liquor bottle from who-knows-where, took a huge swig, and walked out.
“We’ll talk later. Goodbye.”
Mullin disappeared like the wind.
In the awkward silence that remained, I looked at the hero party and patted the empty seat beside me for no reason.
“Come on. Sit, sit.”
“…Dre.”
Scholar didn’t sit. He looked at me with serious eyes.
“Thank you.”
“Huh?”
“Thanks to your spirit of sacrifice, we survived. I will definitely repay this debt.”
“…No, um…”
I don’t remember showing any spirit of sacrifice.
Being thanked so seriously is actually pretty embarrassing.
Raeband looked like she wanted to say something to me but stopped. She seemed deeply troubled.
Mari… she looks the same. It must be about Nanar.
“Could everyone leave us for a moment?”
At Kaits’s words, the three of them looked at him at the same time.
“I can’t tell you right now. I’m sorry.”
The three nodded without any sign of displeasure and left the room.
About ten seconds later, Kaits cast a barrier.
“This is something no one else should hear.”
He’s making excuses even though I didn’t say anything.
“You said you’d tell me later.”
“Looking at you now, you seem full of energy. I think it’s fine to talk now.”
“Fuck…”
Kaits, who sat across from me, clasped his hands together, closed his eyes, and fell into deep thought.
Wow. He really looks like a painting, this handsome bastard.
He’s just thinking, but he looks so damn good it pisses me off.
Should I slap him…?
[What kind of bullshit are you thinking about doing to your lifesaver?]
Fuck off.
That’s that and this is this.
This guy needs to get hit to feel right.
The moment I couldn’t hold back the impulse and slightly raised my hand…
“…You’re amazing.”
“Huh?”
“I was planning to tell you later, but my perception was lacking. If it’s you… if it’s you who overcame the Mad God, then you can fulfill my long-cherished wish.”
“I didn’t overcome him.”
I thought I could win, but I didn’t actually win.
And what? Fulfill your wish? Why the hell would I do that for you?
But Kaits ignored my sullen expression and asked.
“Then why was Nanar sent back to the divine realm?”
“He retreated on his own.”
Like I thought earlier, I probably shouldn’t explain about Mangshin.
Yet Kaits nodded as if he understood.
“So you inflicted that much damage on him.”
“……”
Did this guy even listen to what I said??
Why is he so blinded by me all of a sudden?
To be honest, I’m the one who’s surprised.
I knew he was strong, but I didn’t expect him to be on the same level as Nanar.
I had the massive Runar from the power of the gods and the Water Dragon’s monument, plus the powerful artifacts of the Ten Heroes that I normally didn’t have.
On top of that, that Nanar bastard had literally said “I know you’re going to attack, so show me what you’ve got lol” and waited, so I barely managed to push him back with limited strength.
Then after getting hit by my attack, he went “Hmm, this is a bit…” but still tried to fight back, only to get toyed with by Mangshin.
Honestly, when Nanar got cut by me, it was right before his power was fully restored, so it was hard to call that Nanar at full strength.
Kaits probably wouldn’t have been pushed back even by that Nanar.
But the most surprising thing was Mangshin.
After getting beaten by me, Nanar had gathered up all sorts of power and become much stronger.
Yet Mangshin crushed him like he was swatting a fly.
I had no idea this bastard was that powerful.
[Hehehe]
Why does he sound like a pervert who just got laid?
Anyway, he’s an idiot.
[……]
As if to snap me out of my thoughts, Kaits clapped his hands sharply.
“What the fuck do you want?”
“My goal… it is…”
“World peace, right?”
“Yes. That’s correct. But do you know what I’m trying to do to achieve world peace?”
“……”
I don’t know.
I had seen Kaits’s memories before.
This guy was always fighting, but he never showed who he was fighting against.
“I don’t know much, but I do know that he’s participating in the users’ race. Is that what you’re trying to win?”
Kaits closed his eyes and spoke.
“It seems you’re under a misconception, so I think I need to correct one thing. It’s not the users’ race. It’s everyone’s race.”
“Huh?”
“There is no such thing as qualification to participate in that competition. The one who first accomplishes ‘a certain act’ simply wins the race.”
Kaits clenched his fist tightly.
“My mortal enemy is… the True Demon King, and my ultimate goal is his death. If I can kill him, I will win the race and achieve true peace.”
“What the hell are you talking about…”
What does true peace even mean? Is the current peace incomplete or something?
But the next words forced my eyes wide open.
“Because if anyone other than me wins, every single life in Elyunar will be completely erased.”