Chapter 101
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 101
Chapter Title: The Answer to the Problem Isn't Always Good. (2)
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It's confusing.
According to Marco, the Mera Federation is tied to demons.
And they're targeting the Hero.
So, was bringing Miss Lin here to wipe out the crime syndicate a trap from the start?
To get rid of Miss Lin?
Why?
Demons see the Hero as an obstacle?
Or what are they scheming that has demons pulling strings from the shadows like this?
Some incredibly cunning and devious demon?
I'd figured there had to be some medium still spreading the Demon King's curse after all this time.
Is the demon behind it all... the Demon King himself?
No, hold on.
Then what was that?
The document I saw hypothesizing the Hero's short lifespan... the one on the Demon King's curse theory. It was written by a researcher affiliated with the Mera Federation.
Would the very ones spreading the curse circulate something like that?
"Kekekeke. Have fun playing around. I'll watch from hell."
Marco flashes a sinister grin.
...Don't overthink it.
Right now, capturing Marco is what matters.
If I catch him and kill him, this incident wraps up, more or less.
With the boss down, we'd have grounds to head back.
The remnants... let the adventurers operating in the Federation deal with them directly.
The Central Council will handle that much on their own.
The kill order was only for Marco anyway.
The problem is...
Can I take him down alone?
Our fight's dead even.
I could win if I play it smart.
But... can I actually kill someone?
There's a world of difference between your first real fight against another person and your first murder.
Fighting's something I've done plenty in spars, so my first real PvP feels like an extension of that.
But killing... I'm not sure.
Murder.
It's heavy, when you really think about it.
Of course it is.
It's ending another human being.
Should I just capture him and hand him over to the Adventurer's Guild?
No, there might even be collaborators with him inside the Shassen branch.
Our intel leaking pretty much confirms it.
Even without that, the local councilors.
Shassen's councilors are surely in on it with him.
Right now, I'm a total outsider.
Here on the request of 'terrified Shassen residents fearing this ruthless crime syndicate.'
We have to handle it ourselves.
Waiting for Miss Lin and Miss Soma to return would be wisest.
But who knows how long that could take.
...Buy time.
Perfect bait for a conversation just got tossed my way.
Honestly, I want to ask purely out of curiosity too.
"What the hell was that just now?"
"......"
I toss out the question, and Marco glances around furtively.
Checking if anyone's eavesdropping on us.
Yeah, definitely not something to blab about anywhere.
Given he's in bed with the local councilors, it's pointing straight at the Central Council.
Who knows where their agents might be watching.
And then, suddenly...
"Figure it out yourself, you little shit!"
Pababak!
He's charging again.
"?!"
Chaeng!
His sword clashes with my shortsword once more.
Marco had ways to survive.
First, siding with the Central Council.
No clue if they'd accept him, though.
If they did, he could gain demon power like that black-robed bastard hunting him and get stronger.
But he couldn't stand the Central Council bastards, so no.
They were the second type he despised.
The lucky sons of bitches born with everything.
Another option: side with Kane.
Offer intel on the Central Council in exchange for a temporary alliance.
With the Hero—their prime target—in Kane's camp, odds of acceptance were high.
But he wouldn't do that either.
Because Kane was the epitome of what he hated most.
A nothing who lucked into leeching off others.
So he came up with a way to screw them both.
Didn't matter if he died.
If he had to ally with one, he'd choose death.
He'd tell Kane.
Hand over every scrap of intel he'd gathered on the Central Council.
Seeing it would make everything crystal clear.
The Mera Federation consorts with demons.
And they're gunning for the Hero.
Naturally, word would reach Jenny Harkur or Lin in Kane's circle.
Then the Mera Federation becomes the world's public enemy.
The Heroes are the axis this world turns on, after all.
And Kane would be the one who made them enemy number one.
From the Federation's view, he'd top the hit list.
Kane gets assassinated by the Federation, or meets some even worse end.
The Federation—specifically the Central Council's Seven Councilors—gets crushed by the world.
A perfect double fuck-you.
"Figure it out yourself, you little shit!"
Pababak!
Marco charges, clashes swords, and whispers to Kane one more time.
"Head to Agru's 'March of Dawn.' I've stashed the intel there."
Like some helpful ally.
Tossing Kane the info.
Kane wouldn't suspect it leads him to a horrific fate.
He'd go hunting for it.
Maybe not.
Didn't matter.
Even if he didn't, as long as the black-robe heard that 'Marco told Kane something,' it'd be enough.
They'd grow suspicious of Kane and keep tabs on him.
That'd lead to a decent outcome too.
'Alright then.'
His work was done.
Just die now.
How?
'Don't wanna die to that prick. Or the Council bastards.'
Born lucky bastards.
Lucky leeches.
Hated both.
So...
"Fucking disgusting."
Marco raises his sword to slit his own throat.
"Huh?!"
Kane's panicked voice rings out.
Marco squeezes his eyes shut to slice his neck...
"Kuh... guk..."
His body trembles...
But he couldn't put strength into his arm.
His hand shook uncontrollably.
Taking his own life was far harder than he'd imagined.
Marco lacked the courage.
'F-Fuck... maybe hitch up with one side now...?'
Faced with death, people grow frail.
Alliance with the humans he despised most.
Something he'd sworn was worse than death.
But with real death looming, it felt different.
Better than dying, right?
Yeah, beg for life now, betray and kill later?
Side with one, get revenge on the other.
Backstab 'em.
A torrent of thoughts floods Marco's mind.
Yeah, this is for perfect revenge.
Not really allying with the bastards.
After endless self-justification...
Marco concludes siding with Kane gives the immediate edge.
'Lin the Hero's about to show up there too. With her around, the black-robe won't act rashly.'
He hated Kane's guts.
But if he could backstab him later and watch him die miserably... he could endure.
More rationalizing.
"Hey..."
The moment he faces Kane to signal his intent...
A boiling emotion surges in his heart.
'...What the hell am I doing?'
These hated bastards right in front of me.
Can't even die screwing them over.
Just self-justifying to cling to life.
Yeah, that boiling feeling in his heart...
It was familiar to Marco.
Inferiority.
Self-loathing.
'If I were stronger. Had more power.'
Then the Central Council wouldn't have used him like a pawn.
He'd have crushed Kane in an instant.
Hell, he wouldn't have even noticed a nobody like Kane.
Why am I so weak?
He'd lived his whole life chasing strength, money, power.
But in this crucial moment, it all meant nothing.
Because he still had too little?
Still lacking?
Marco's filthy emotions swell.
His darkness... grows.
[Do you desire power?]
[Do you desire wealth?]
[Do you desire authority?]
[You can have it all. I'll make sure you do.]
Smele—
A pitch-black aura becomes visible, crawling out from Marco's body.
"Wait, no way..."
Kane panics at the sight.
This was clear demon possession.
The demon trying to worm in through Marco's inner darkness.
"...This is unexpected."
Someone in a black robe, hidden and watching, starts panicking too.
Marco seemed to tell Kane something.
Then tried to kill himself, so he'd let him die, report up, and keep eyes on Kane.
But suddenly, demon possession hits Marco.
The Mera Federation has pacts with demons.
No, more than that—the nation is led by those pledging loyalty to the Curse Demon King Kraksus, half-human half-demon immortals.
Demons were effectively under control in the Federation.
Even if Kraksus hadn't revived yet, with one of the Demon Realm's sole six absolutes backing them...
What demon would defy the Seven Councilors and rampage freely?
Which meant that demon...
'A demon outside Lord Kraksus's control...'
One strong enough—or backed by someone strong enough—to fear even the soon-to-revive Demon King.
Only one possibility.
"Another Demon King's involvement."
Sudden as it was...
Nothing else made sense.
The black-robed man hurriedly contacts the Central Councilors while keeping watch.