Departure Preparations
I wiped down the Cheonkwon and muttered without thinking, “I wonder how they clean a super robot.”
“Who knows? At least I doubt they’d use the person they love as a cleaning lady.”
“But you didn’t end up covered in rotting blood, did you?”
“Oh my, are you saying it feels like I’m covered in it right now?”
“If spraying water is too hard, just tell me anytime. I can substitute with Agatram.”
“…Hmm. Well, there’s no need to get rid of the time we spend together, is there?”
With those words, Diana went back to spraying water on the Cheonkwon. Her casual attitude made me chuckle, and I returned to my own work. It wasn’t particularly difficult anyway. Still, seeing that even a weapon that fit in both hands needed this much maintenance made me genuinely curious how much upkeep those apartment-sized robots required after every sortie.
And even that was almost finished.
‘Three days since the thief hunt… I guess that counts as resting well.’
Cleaning the Cheonkwon had just been a way to kill time. What I had really been waiting for was the report on how Vagrant had obtained the Evil God follower’s tool. It would have been nice if he had simply been one of the Evil God’s followers. Then it would have just meant Bikra failed to recognize him. The conclusion that he had retrieved it for revenge would have been fine too. It would simply mean his rage ran that deep, and I could focus on his obsession and the High Priest’s incompetence.
But what we were all worried about was something else.
What if Vagrant’s rage, his theft, and the item he obtained had all come from the Evil God slumbering at the bottom of the lake beyond? Then the story would change completely.
“Excuse me, Pilgrim? The High Priest is looking for you.”
“Yes, I understand.”
The expected summons weighed heavily on my heart. I already knew what he was going to say without hearing it.
“Shall we go?”
Diana stopped spraying water and casually held out her hand. For some reason, her nonchalant gesture annoyed me.
“I kind of want to smack you once.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
At Diana’s playful remark, I sighed and took her hand.
“The source of the berserk darkness has been identified. It flowed out from the Evil God’s sealing site.”
“As expected.”
A sigh escaped me at the words that matched my prediction perfectly. Bad expectations never missed the mark.
“Then has the seal been broken?”
“No, that is not the case. It merely forced its power through the seal.”
His explanation let me clearly picture the situation. The right hand beneath the academy had detonated its own body to create a shadow monster. This time would be the same. It must have exhausted most of its power just to extract a single item.
“Then we don’t have to worry about a second incident.”
The High Priest looked momentarily surprised at my words, then smiled kindly.
“I’m glad you understand so quickly. As you said, the sealing entity inside has also expended a great deal of power, so there will be no second occurrence. However—”
His expression grew serious as he continued.
“According to ancient records, the sealing entity does not merely grow stronger naturally. It also absorbs surrounding malice to gain power. The fact that it sent out the berserk darkness even at the cost of nearly all its strength suggests it believed it could recover more than it spent.”
“There’s no such thing as an investment that doesn’t even recover the principal.”
The motive seemed to fit. But then a question suddenly occurred to me. If it absorbed malice, wasn’t there one particularly dangerous place?
“Then what about the Academy? Isn’t that the very place where all kinds of emotions gather most densely?”
“That is precisely why both the temple and the empire manage it so strictly.”
“Ah, I see what you mean.”
Now I understood why pilgrimages always began in Solbera.
‘They deliberately open the arena to channel everything there, preventing the seals elsewhere from being affected. Placing every possible reason on a single academy—truly impressive.’
“I have no choice but to thank the pilgrims once again. If the Evil God’s scheme had succeeded, the High Priest would have vanished and the city would have suffered catastrophic damage.”
“In that case, it would have recovered at least as much as it expended.”
In that scenario, simply breaking even would have been a huge gain. Leaving itself unchanged while the opponent took all the losses—that in itself was profit.
“However, thanks to all of you, we were able to prevent such a situation. And because of that, an opportunity has come to us as well.”
The High Priest smiled joyfully and drew a holy sign.
“Since the enemy has not recovered, now is the perfect time.”
“I see. You’re not wrong.”
I nodded moderately at the High Priest’s pure delight. Objectively, his words were correct. With its power depleted, now was indeed the right moment. But…
“The reason you were broken—it’s because of that child.”
Having faced it directly, it felt like a temptation urging me not to miss this chance and to come quickly.
‘Can’t be helped.’
After all, the basis of any trap was always an irresistible bait.
“…I was planning to head there soon anyway.”
I had no choice but to answer that way.
It hadn’t been long since I defeated Vagrant, but there were no physical issues. Those kinds of things healed completely after a good night’s sleep now. What I needed was weapon maintenance and mental condition. And today, both were at their peak.
“So today works great for me. How about you?”
“I wouldn’t say I’m at my absolute best, but I’m not in bad shape either, so it’s fine.”
“Okay. Then I’ll let them know we’re departing today.”
I asked the young priest waiting nearby to deliver the message, then sprawled out on the sofa.
“This could be the last time…”
Diana possessed a lot of information, but I had already learned through many experiences that it wasn’t one hundred percent accurate. There was a chance this Evil God sealing site would end in failure too.
‘If only there were more people, I’d feel a lot more at ease…’
Suddenly I thought of Air and Nephure. They had been incredibly helpful allies during the thief hunt and possessed combat ability that left nothing to be desired. Unfortunately, the two of them couldn’t assist this time. Only pilgrims were permitted to enter the Evil God’s sealing site.
“It won’t turn out that way. Not this time, and not next time either.”
“…Yeah, I’ll believe you.”
Diana’s words calmed my heart a little.
“But you seem more nervous than I expected. Is there a reason?”
“Hmm…”
I trailed off at Diana’s question. The thought swirling in my head was a bit too pathetic to say out loud.
“It’s just… this feels like a real battle for once.”
“Haven’t you fought quite a lot until now?”
“Well, if we’re talking about the literal definition, yes, but can I really call those fights?”
It was simple. None of the battles I’d had with the enemies so far could truly be called fights where we exchanged blows properly.
“I just used my overwhelming specs to shut down any chance of resistance and beat them senseless. It’s hard to call that a proper fight.”
“Hmm…”
“But real fights aren’t supposed to end so one-sidedly, right? I may have crushed them with ability and technique, but I think this will be my first true battle.”
“Even if I told you that’s not the case, you wouldn’t believe me, would you?”
Diana’s expression as she spoke looked relatively serious. But she was right.
“Yeah, I’d just think you’re saying it to comfort me.”
“That’s not it, but… still, something like this depends on your own perception, so there’s nothing I can do…”
After pondering for a moment, Diana sighed and nodded.
“This might actually be a good opportunity. Would you like to check your stats?”
“Suddenly?”
“Yes. It’s about time you can use the Answer Stone again, isn’t it?”
“That’s true, but…”
Somehow a whole month had passed since the last check. Considering everything that had happened, it was hard to tell whether it felt like only a month had gone by or like an entire month had passed. The Answer Stone was an extremely useful item, so I wanted to save it, but—
“It’s fine. Using it now to find some mental stability would be better.”
“Alright.”
Convinced by Diana’s assurance, I decided to use it. I took the Answer Stone out of my bag and said lightly, “Display my stats as numbers.”
Name: Helio Helisbort
Gender: Male
Age: 15
Title: Pilgrim
Level: 23
Job: Unemployed
Traits: Mana Saturation, Extreme Mana, Limit Reached
Strength: 230 → 521
Agility: 145 → 248
Stamina: 200 → 336
Mana: 999+++
“It really went up a lot.”
I had vaguely guessed the rough numbers, but seeing the actual figures was on another level. Especially the Strength stat. A stat over 500 meant there was no comparison possible among humans or beasts. It had reached the point where it could only be compared to machines or monsters specialized in specific stats. In other words, it had surpassed the limits of living beings.
‘The others are low compared to Strength, but in absolute terms, I’m at the pinnacle of humanity.’
“How is it? Does your mind feel a little more at ease?”
“Yeah. If anything, it feels almost surreal.”
Diana smiled softly and placed her hand on the back of mine. Her gentle touch slowly stroked it as if to comfort me.
“The time you spent in resentment and frustration has borne fruit by becoming this new strength. Don’t worry too much. You don’t possess the kind of power that would let you fall in a single blow.”
“…Yeah. I won’t collapse just because one attack fails.”
The anxiety was still there. But the stats that had already reached the peak of humanity eased that unease to some degree. It wasn’t as if I lacked combat techniques either, so excessive tension was unnecessary.
“Excuse me! The preparations are complete!”
Right on cue, the boy priest’s voice rang out.
“Shall we go?”
I took Diana’s offered hand and stood up.
Today, I would destroy one more remnant of the Evil God.