Chapter 153
Chapter 153
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 153
Chapter Title: Rampage (3)
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It seemed his little sister’s claim about preparing a variable to upend the entire game wasn’t just empty talk.
“Overturning the board entirely… That’s a pretty radical variable you’ve got there.”
Whether it was the shock of a game they’d practically won being flipped on its head,
or because he truly believed the situation just now had been orchestrated by Yulia—
Fritz said it in a hollow tone.
But even Yulia wasn’t all that different from him.
‘…What the hell is this idiot saying?’
No, if anything, she was the one more bewildered.
‘What the hell is going on here?’
A man and woman who had overturned the board and charged ahead.
Unless she’d seen it wrong, they were definitely Yuri and Teresa.
Yulia’s head was practically steaming as she racked her brain trying to figure out why those two had shown up here.
But….
‘I have no idea.’
No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t make sense of it.
Fine, let’s say Teresa coming back here made some kind of sense.
But Yuri Holland.
Why—and how—the hell had he shown up here?
And so Fritz was lost in his own thoughts, and Yulia in hers.
Then came an event that plunged the two young sages even deeper into confusion.
Uwaaaah—!
They’re over there!
Pick up the pace!
We’ll lose them!
Dozens of people came charging in like a herd.
Thud thud thud thud—.
Yulia’s pupils shook like there was an earthquake when she realized these were her own cohort members stampeding toward them like a herd of cattle.
‘Wh-why are these guys?!’
She’d finally gotten them all out of the way after wracking her brain, so why the hell were they coming back?
And not just one or two, but dozens of them.
Thud thud.
They barreled right past Yulia and Fritz without a second glance.
That was when it happened.
“Yulia! Hurry and catch up! Come on!”
Jerry, who had peeled away slightly from the pack, jumped in place while waving frantically at Yulia.
Fritz turned to her with a face full of shock.
“No way… those guys too?!”
It was the kind of look that screamed, ‘This is part of that variable you prepared too, isn’t it?!’
And mixed in with that expression was a thick sense of defeat.
Because he couldn’t read at all what this variable Yulia had prepared would lead to next.
And because he’d been outmaneuvered by his little sister in their game of numbers.
Sparks flew in Yulia’s mind as she saw Fritz make such a frustrated face for the first time in her life.
She flashed a meaningful smile and said,
“Why don’t you think about it real hard… what’s going to happen next.”
“……?!”
This wasn’t even something she’d orchestrated, and she had no clue how things were unfolding right now either.
But.
‘No need for me to spell it out for him, right?’
With that, Yulia amplified Fritz’s confusion even further and dashed off toward where her cohort had run.
A sly smile playing on her lips.
* * *
Teresa, who had no idea what was going on, found herself grabbed by Yuri and running along with him.
But strangely, once they actually started running, her shock quickly settled.
She furrowed her delicate brows and shouted.
“You… why are you here?!”
“Obviously, I escaped.”
His utterly nonchalant tone made Teresa’s lips part slightly.
“Didn’t you say you were wearing mana-dispersing handcuffs and shackles?”
“Oh, those? I unlocked them.”
“Unlocked? How?”
“There’s this trick where you can open any keyhole with just a single strand of hair.”
“…You’re joking.”
“Dead serious. My hair’s short, so it was a bit tricky, but I had mana, so I managed somehow.”
“…….”
At a complete loss for words, Teresa clicked her tongue inwardly.
‘Just what kind of life has this guy lived?’
She’d always known he was handy and versatile, but why the hell would a kid who was barely sixteen know how to pick locks?
She shoved that question aside for now.
With so many curiosities piling up, Teresa fired off questions one by one.
Starting with the most fundamental one.
“What did you do? What the hell did you pull to make them chase you like this?!”
He shrugged lightly.
“I didn’t do anything.”
“Liar.”
“You’re too quick to dismiss my sincerity as a lie, don’t you think?”
“You expect me to believe you? After all this?”
Yuri’s lips puffed out.
‘…This is kinda unfair.’
He really felt wronged.
‘Why are the 50th Cohort even there?’, ‘Hey, you, come here’—it was the 49th Cohort who’d picked fights with him for reasons like that.
He was already swamped, and these clueless idiots kept popping up to block his path and call him over.
How could he not get pissed?
‘Even when you’re busy, there are some things you can’t just let slide.’
So amid all that chaos, Yuri had taken the time to teach those troublemakers a lesson about knowing their place.
That was around when he’d parted ways with Jerry and run into the second group of troublemakers.
He was just about to leave after imparting a strong lesson to those idiots blocking his way again… when they showed up.
We got him!
He’s here!
Beat him down!
The mob that appeared howling like beasts.
Spotting Jerry at their front, Yuri realized they were the 49th Cohort he’d bumped into earlier.
And that’s why he felt so wronged.
“I didn’t even hit those guys!”
Why were they charging at him with bloodshot eyes when he hadn’t laid a hand on them!
If he’d at least smacked them around a few times, he wouldn’t feel so hard done by!
Teresa’s eyes narrowed at Yuri’s heartfelt protest.
“‘Those ones,’ you say… so you did beat up the others?”
“Sent ’em off nicely.”
She had no idea where he’d “sent” them, but at this point, Teresa just accepted it.
Yuri shrugged.
“Anyway, I didn’t do a thing to those guys.”
“Then why are they acting like that?”
“How should I know?”
“What the hell did you do?”
“…What have you been hearing from everything I’ve said so far?”
Her lack of faith in him was downright lamentable.
And that was when, spotting something clutched tightly in Yuri’s arms, Teresa lobbed her next question.
“What’s that?”
“Mine. Don’t worry about it.”
Yuri glanced at her warily and hugged the item in his arms even tighter.
That triggered a strong hunch in Teresa.
‘That’s it!’
That had to be the cause of all this mess.
She knew it.
“What is that?”
“It’s mine.”
“What is that?”
“Mine.”
“What is that?”
“My—”
“What is that?”
“…….”
Their exchange continued—Yuri desperately trying to keep it secret, Teresa relentlessly prying.
Unable to withstand the spear-and-shield standoff as Teresa’s piercing gaze intensified, Yuri finally confessed.
“…The Power Crystal.”
“Huh… what?”
For a moment, Teresa thought she’d misheard.
“Wh-what did you say?”
“The Power Crystal.”
Guess not.
Her hearing was fine.
She was so stunned she nearly skidded to a halt right there.
If Yuri hadn’t still been gripping her wrist and running, she probably would have stopped dead.
Teresa stammered as she asked again.
“P-Power Crystal?”
“Yeah, not just any—my Power Crystal.”
“You… where’d you get that?”
“It was sitting there all lonely and abandoned, so I took it out to share some warmth. It didn’t seem to mind—said it wanted to be mine.”
“…Don’t dress up stealing it like that!”
The princess who escaped the Demon King’s Castle hadn’t left empty-handed.
She’d grabbed her share good and proper, returning with both hands full.
Too proper, if anything….
Teresa sighed.
“What the hell are you planning to do now…?”
The princess escaping the Demon King’s Castle alone was already way off-script from the quest’s set path.
And now she’d stolen the Power Crystal on top of it—who knew how to even begin cleaning this up?
Yuri, meanwhile, was unfazed.
“Don’t worry, I’ve got a plan.”
“A plan?”
“Simple. You and I head back to the starting point together and clear the quest.”
“…You think that’ll fix this mess?”
“Why not?”
“What?”
“The quest rules don’t say the princess can’t escape the Demon King’s Castle. Or that it has to be the hero who rescues her.”
“……?”
“The Black Sword Corps only laid out two rules. To clear the quest, either rescue the princess and return to the starting point, or catch the Demon King. Stick to those two, and you can steer things however you want.”
“You make it sound so ea—! Ugh, fine, whatever, let’s say that works. But what about the Power Crystal?”
“The rules don’t say you have to beat the Demon King to get the Power Crystal. And spoils picked up during the quest… they belong to whoever snagged ’em, right?”
“…Is that even allowed?”
It wasn’t wrong, exactly, but it didn’t exactly inspire confidence either.
That was the reaction someone like Teresa—who’d always played quests strictly by the book—would have.
But Yuri was different.
When had he ever run a quest by the rules?
“Of course it is!”
He was absolutely convinced his logic was airtight.
Yuri’s rock-solid confidence convinced Teresa to trust him, at least for now.
‘The whole deal with Yulia’s proposal looks impossible anyway at this point.’
With everything already a total disaster, having the full 49th Cohort team up to take down the Demon King was a pipe dream now.
So she shifted goals.
Head to the quest starting point with Yuri.
End this quest that way.
With that, Teresa made her offer.
“7-3.”
“Huh?”
“I’ll give up my share of the Power Crystal. In exchange, quest points are 7 for me.”
“Share of the Power Crystal? This is mine already.”
“In return, I’ll do everything I can to make sure you keep the Power Crystal.”
“I’m telling you, it’s already mine.”
“If I stop here, you’ll be in a real bind too, no? Say one of us gets in serious trouble with that mob catching up? And we fail the quest because of it?”
“…Then you wouldn’t get the quest rewards either, not just me.”
“Would losing 500,000 points sting more, or losing the Power Crystal you already have in hand?”
So, a cute little threat: agree to adjust the split, or risk losing the Power Crystal.
But with Yuri having way more to lose in this situation, it wasn’t entirely cute.
“…My Tessha’s changed. You weren’t such a shrewd merchant before.”
“8-2. 8 for me.”
“…….”
Yuri sighed and nodded after needlessly opening his mouth and losing another point in the split.
“Fine, 8-2! But you better help properly!”
“Of course!”
Teresa nodded brightly, pulled her wrist free from Yuri’s grip, and got into a proper running stance.
Their speed picked up noticeably.
Yuri flashed a satisfied smile at the improved pace.
“Where’s the quest starting point? Far from the fork?”
“Not too far. From the fork where we split, take the 49th Cohort path and it’s about 50 minutes on foot.”
At this speed, less than 5 minutes.
And no sooner had she said it than the fork they’d parted at came into view.
Yuri’s face lit up instantly.
‘Nice, almost there!’
With that, Yuri and Teresa veered off at the fork and plunged into the 49th Cohort path.
* * *
Yulia, running alongside Jerry and hearing the rundown, made a dumbfounded face.
“So, you’re saying Yuri Holland… is the Demon King?”
Jerry nodded with utter conviction at her skeptical reaction.
“Yeah, for sure!”
“…No way.”
“I’m telling you, it’s certain! Yuri Holland has the Power Crystal!”
Yulia’s pupils shook.
Yuri Holland being the Demon King made zero sense.
If he was, why take Teresa with him?
But that didn’t explain how Yuri was here, or how he had the Power Crystal.
‘No way the Yuri Holland who joined as the princess stole the Power Crystal and escaped the Demon King’s Castle.’
What the hell was this?
How was this quest even playing out?
Even Yulia Sing, of the Sage lineage, couldn’t predict its course.
Meanwhile, the 49th Cohort mob chasing Yuri rounded the fork and entered the [49th Cohort path] they’d come from.
Right then, a howl erupted.
Uwaaaaaah—.
Up till then, they’d assumed it came from one of their own.
But none of them had shouted.
The howl was coming straight at them from the front.
And the moment they realized it was Yuri Holland—running alongside Teresa, of all people—belting it out, the entire 49th Cohort froze in their tracks.
Uwaaaaaah!
People blinked at the sight of Yuri barreling toward them, panting heavily.
‘What the—?!’
‘What’s this guy doing all of a sudden?!’
‘Why’s he running this way?’
They’d been chasing his back this whole time, so his sudden about-face threw them into such confusion they nearly forgot their original goal of catching the Demon King Yuri.
And even more bewildering: Yuri and Teresa dove right into the dead center of the 49th Cohort mob of their own accord.
“…….”
No running away—Yuri and Teresa just stood there in the middle of the 49th Cohort, blinking blankly.
The 49th Cohort stared at them in stunned silence.
“…….”
But that silence soon ignited into blazing heat.
“Hah? Walking right into our trap?”
“What, is this a reward for making us sweat our asses off chasing you? Thanks a ton.”
“You’ve lost it good, huh? Well, if the prey goes crazy like this, we’re just grateful.”
“You look down on us?”
“Hah! We’ll make you regret waltzing in here!”
The 49th Cohort’s eyes gleamed as they surrounded the self-delivered Yuri.
Eyes burning with the promise they wouldn’t let this slide easily.
The tension crackled, one spark from explosion.
Step—.
As the 49th Cohort closed in, radiating heavy pressure.
A chill ran down their spines.
Ooooh—.
The entire 49th Cohort whipped their heads around at the ominous chill.
That was when they saw it.
Haaa—.
A red-haired, red-eyed monster approaching, white breath puffing out,
eyes brimming with murderous intent.
“Out of my way. Move.”
He emerged from the direction Yuri and Teresa had come, muttering lowly as he swung his massive sword.
Boom—!
“Gaaah!”
One 49th Cohort member on the outermost edge took the hit and went flying like a pebble.
The 49th Cohort could only gulp dryly at that insane power.
Yulia said in a trembling voice,
“Jerry, I’ve got a feeling… that guy might be the real Demon King?”
As expected from someone who used her head, she zeroed in on the truth right away.
And quickly uncovered another one.
“Looks like… we’ve been tossed out as meat shields.”
No sooner had she said it than a second sacrificial lamb soared into the sky from the Demon King’s strike.
Right then, as if on cue, came a cheerful voice.
“Go for it, heroes! That’s your role, isn’t it!”
The loathsome princess’s cheer drained all color from the faces of the meat shields—no, heroes—facing the Demon King.