Chapter 282: Signal (10)
Chapter 282: Signal (10)
Translation: Godtl
A massive sword energy, taking the form of a blade, shot forth.
It was too late to dodge, and blocking it was literally impossible with the crossfire closing in from all directions.
Belphegor had only one choice.
"Huuuup!"
He wrapped his entire body in aura, arming himself like a suit of armor.
The aura-armor forged by a devil of the Seven Deadly Sins. Its strength far surpassed mere steel, but—
Kwaaaaah—!!
"Ghk, ugh, aaaaah!!"
What he faced was the hammer of a god and the sword of legend.
Even if wielded by human hands, they were not to be compared to steel.
Yet Belphegor endured. Gritting his teeth, he burned his aura, layering it over himself.
The devil of Sloth, the antithesis of endurance—while the other Deadly Sins rampaged about, each inflicting their own sins, he simply remained in place.
Because that was Sloth.
A sloth comparable to death meant sinking into oneself until the very moment of death.
'......In the end.'
While Belphegor endured the sword energy pressing in from all sides—
Frondier's hand dropped heavily.
The weapons embroidered in the air vanished, and the Menosorpo's magic circle gradually faded.
'Exhausted, I see.'
Excalibur's true worth lies in amplifying the user's mana.
Even such a simple ability, when its effects reach an overwhelming scale, makes the title of "legend" well-deserved.
Frondier had used Excalibur to defeat formidable foes until now—Heldre, Cora in his berserk state, even the Fragment of Helheim.
The stronger his opponent, the more mana he consumed.
Excalibur-Alpha was a monster that devoured its user's mana.
It repaid the mana given to it in equal measure, but that very reason meant there was no need to hold back against Belphegor this time.
......And so.
If Belphegor endured this strike—
"Ghk, ugh....... Grrr......."
If the crossfire of sword energy, 'Jeong,' failed to tarnish the name of the Seven Deadly Sins—
"Frondier......."
"......."
All the power of the sword energy spent, smoke rising from Belphegor's entire body, his wounds, his clothes stained with blood.
Yet Belphegor did not fall.
"I have no choice but to admit it."
"......."
"You are the strongest human I have ever seen."
As if annoyed by the flowing blood, Belphegor shook his arm.
"And the most irritating one."
At those words, Frondier smiled.
Unlike usual, that smile was half-bluff.
'Thanks for the acknowledgment, but...'
What now?
Frondier was neither like Aziena or Elin, who had reached the pinnacle of technique, nor like Elodie, whose mastery of magic was profound.
He was the type who racked his brains to wield weapons beyond his level and ensure they struck true.
So most of his battles came down to whether his attacks landed or not.
But if the fight didn't end even after they did—
"......Hoh."
Belphegor's eyes gleamed.
"You're empty, aren't you?"
"......!"
Belphegor saw through it immediately. It wasn't hard to notice—the weapons and magic circles that had been flying around had all vanished, and Frondier himself could barely keep his dying eyes open. Once noticed, even the slight trembling of Frondier's fingertips became visible.
"Frondier. Killing you now would be child's play for me."
"......."
Frondier gave no reply.
"But before that—"
Instead, Belphegor's killing intent gradually subsided.
"To you, who still hasn't realized what you truly are, I'll ask once more."
"What is it?"
"Why do you side with the Empire?"
As he asked, Belphegor stretched out his hand. His staff, no longer restrained by Black Heaven, returned to his grasp.
"Why ask the obvious? Manggot is my enemy, and the Empire is my home. Anyone would stand against them."
"That's no answer. Frondier, if you were merely a human clinging to survival, you wouldn't be asking such questions."
Belphegor's staff was extended toward Frondier.
"You came to this land alone. You walked into the most dangerous place of your own will, toward the extremities. For the Empire's sake. That's something only someone who doesn't value their own life would do. You conserved your strength against me to buy time, waiting for all the Shepherds of Manggot to be confirmed within the Empire's sight."
What Frondier had endured the Sin of Sloth to wait for.
It was to confirm the locations of all the Shepherds of Manggot. And above all, it was best for a human sharing vision with Malia to verify it.
That was why Frondier waited. For Zodiac, Aster and Sybil, Selena and May, the Roah Knights, and the moment of collision between Manggot and Constelle.
"In chess, the loneliest piece isn't the pawn—it's the player controlling them."
Belphegor spoke as if piercing through Frondier's inner thoughts.
"You acted for the Empire's victory. To minimize the damage, you took a dangerous gamble. But why?"
"......?"
Frondier's eyes flickered momentarily.
The question was difficult to comprehend. Frondier stood with the Empire. For the Empire's sake, he moved for victory. Sometimes, that required taking dangerous gambles.
What was wrong with this logic? Why did Belphegor question it?
"If you can't understand this question, I'll ask again."
Belphegor shook his head once.
"Why do you refuse to choose the side where 'the most humans survive'?"
"......What?"
"Why do you insist on perpetuating humanity's tragedy?"
At those words, Frondier's eyes slowly widened.
Seeing this, Belphegor's brow twisted instead.
"Frondier, with the intellect you possess, standing in a position where even Gods must be wary of you—"
Belphegor's gaze turned cold.
"Playing dumb won't save you. Avoiding my gaze won't make this go away."
"......!"
"I am Sloth. A Devil of the Seven Deadly Sins, one who stands opposite the Gods."
Belphegor is the Devil of Sloth.
Naturally, Devils oppose the Gods.
Thus, Devils do not act as the Gods desire.
"You may not know precisely, but you must have guessed. No matter what path you've walked, at your level, you'd inevitably learn."
"What are you saying?"
"Playing ignorant grows tiresome at this point, Frondier."
Belphegor sighed, briefly closing and reopening his eyes.
"The truth of this world."
"......!"
"I am a Devil. As a Devil, I harbor only malice. Bringing ruin to humanity is merely wickedness to me. I will feed on the souls piled high from countless corpses. I have no intention of denying that."
Though Belphegor spoke of being a soul-devouring Devil, his eyes showed no particular interest in it.
"But for you, could it not be 'benevolence'? Frondier—yes, whether you're the real Frondier or not, I won't ask. But you should know. You must have seen how this world operates. You must have observed what the Gods have done to humanity."
Belphegor's words were so fragmented and abrupt that they were hard to follow.
......They should have been.
Yet for some reason, Frondier had already begun to understand them, his pupils trembling endlessly as if proving it.
"Frondier, do you wish for humanity to keep living?"
This moment, as Belphegor posed this question to Frondier,
was far harder to endure than when he had inflicted the Sin of Sloth.
"Do you truly believe that is humanity's happiness?"
Aster Evans beheaded the last ox.
Thud!
Standing atop the headless ox's body, he took a deep breath, steadying his ragged breathing.
"......Right! The Barrier—!"
In his near-trance-like state while fighting the minotaurs, he hadn't had the chance to check on the Barrier.
Since all the minotaurs had focused their attention on him, he hadn't thought the Barrier would have already been breached, but...
"Huh?"
Beyond that, the Barrier was excessively intact.
The number of monsters from The Outside had significantly decreased, and even those remaining couldn't so much as lay a finger on the Barrier, dying from arrows or stones instead.
"With the minotaur dead, do you think the monsters would still want to attack the Barrier?"
Meanwhile, Nimue had approached him.
"How's the sword?"
"Ah, thank you. It was truly an excellent famous sword. I'll return it."
"Huh? No, wait!"
Aster raised Excalibur with both hands and politely offered it to Nimue.
As soon as Nimue reflexively took it, Aster's legs gave way, and he collapsed.
"Huh? What the—?"
"You fool! This is what happens when you recklessly let go of the sword!"
Nimue quickly handed the sword back to Aster.
"Excalibur grants its wielder near-infinite mana, but it doesn't replenish stamina or mental energy. Because of the inexhaustible mana, it's easy to mistake your condition for being at its peak, but your body has already been pushed to its limits. If you let go of Excalibur now, the backlash from your exhausted body will hit you all at once."
Only then did Aster realize his hands—no, his entire body—was trembling.
"I-I see."
"And since I gave Excalibur to you, don't even think about returning it."
"......"
At those words, Aster stared for a moment at Excalibur, which had been handed back to him.
"......This was Excalibur?"
"You really didn't know until now?!"
Finally, Aster examined Excalibur with wonder, his eyes wide like a child's.
Sigh. Nimue exhaled and lightly waved her hand.
"Whoa—?"
Still seated, Aster felt his body gently lift.
Looking down, he saw a mass of water had risen beneath him, guiding him like a wave in a certain direction.
Without thinking, he touched his clothes where they met the water, but they weren't wet. It was strange.
"Stay like that for a while. Excalibur also aids in the user's mana recovery. Soon, your mana will return to normal, and your body will recover too."
"Th-thank you."
"Save your thanks for the person you're about to meet. I'm just doing what they asked."
"Someone I'm about to meet?"
As Nimue guided Aster with the wave, she turned her gaze toward the forest ahead.
"Yes. The Archmage also has something to say to you."
Since Aster hadn't recognized Excalibur, it was only natural he didn't recognize Merlin either.
Of course, after hearing Nimue's explanation and realizing it was Merlin, his eyes widened again—though, oddly, he seemed even more surprised than when he'd learned about Excalibur, which made Nimue feel a little smug.
"Then what about these people?"
Aster looked around.
The members of Manggot, bound by tree roots. Among them was Notker, whom Aster had fought before the minotaur.
"They're restrained. It's not my place to decide their fate."
"I see."
"Right now, there's a more pressing matter than what to do with them."
Merlin's aged eyes turned toward Aster.
Somehow, they held neither warmth nor coldness, sending a slight shiver down Aster's spine.
"Aster Evans, the one who will become humanity's Hero. You must have known your role for a long time now."
"......That was arrogance. Right now, my friend Frondier would be far more—"
"No."
Merlin shook his head.
"Frondier is not the Hero. He cannot become the Hero."
"......Why? If this war is won, no one will have played a greater role than Frondier."
"Of course. I'm not speaking from observing his strength or character. Frondier de Roah is strong. And just. I'm not denying that."
However, Merlin paused and spread his hands. Mana gathered above his palms, swelling like mist before floating upward like a balloon.
"A hero is one who leads the greatest number of people."
The figure drawn on the balloon Merlin created was a golden-haired man standing valiantly and righteously with a sword in hand. He bore some resemblance to Aster Evans.
"Remember. This is King Arthur."
"......!"
"King Arthur advanced to walk the most righteous path, but more important than that was how countless people followed him. For a hero, the influence to gain support from the overwhelming majority matters more than individual ability. Only by leading the great current that can alter humanity's fate can one be called a hero."
The term 'hero' that Aster had heard since childhood.
Many praised him as having the qualities to become a hero.
But in truth, being a hero is a torment.
A destiny of carrying countless people on one's back and walking a path where no one can provide the right answers.
So while most people praised Aster, egged him on, and sang as if he were already a hero, most of it was closer to pushing responsibility onto him and evading it themselves.
In this continent riddled with elements of ruin, the existence of a 'hero' is absolutely necessary—yet no one truly wishes to take on that role.
The belief that Aster would become a hero was less 'faith' and more 'hope.'
Yet in that space, only Frondier—
Only Frondier was more certain than anyone else that Aster Evans had what it took to be a hero.
"Frondier helped you become capable of being a hero."
"......!"
Creating distance to allow Aster to grow, using himself as a catalyst for growth without interference.
Facing Excalibur before Aster and arranging things with Merlin.
Aster now understood every step of that process.
"Do you know chess?"
"Ch-chess?"
"In chess, there is a piece called a 'pawn.'"
"Y-yes."
"And when a pawn reaches the enemy's end, something interesting happens."
Aster's eyes widened at those words.
Promotion.
Upon reaching the enemy's back rank, a pawn can be promoted to any piece except a king or another pawn.
"He is not a hero—he is closer to the pawn that nurtures the hero. Merely the most powerful pawn in the world."
Frondier had literally reached the enemy's end.
The time had come for someone to become the hero.
"Now it is your turn to help Frondier."
"......Me? Right now?"
"Right now, Frondier is fighting a Devil. He will face a great crisis. He will be thrown into a question he must overcome alone, without anyone's help. A battle against a Devil is not a contest of strength. It is a confrontation of existence itself."
"......If it's a question he must overcome alone, how can I help Frondier?"
"Unfortunately, I cannot tell you the method."
In a way, Merlin's words were irresponsible.
Yet Aster did not challenge him, instead sinking deep into thought.
Merlin had already conveyed everything he could. Aster knew that.
——All the hints were already within him......
—Aster, I have a request.
—You're the only one who can lead those guys.
—I couldn't be there for them when it mattered. When Constelle was raided, during the school trip—it was the same. I was too blinded by my own desires to look around.
—It's impossible for me.
"......!"
Aster raised his head.
When he'd heard those words from Frondier and arrived at the Barrier, he'd been confused.
With everyone fallen now, who was there left to lead?
What meaning did the title of leader hold when everyone was scattered?
Now, Aster understood why Frondier had said those words.
"......I can't do it alone."
Hearing that murmur and seeing the conviction in Aster's eyes,
Merlin smiled faintly.
"Head north of the Barrier. It's not far from here."
"You said you couldn't tell me how!"
"My, so I did. Please forget that."
Merlin's shameless words.
Aster laughed, then bowed to him and Nimue before breaking into a run.
Though the battle had only just ended, he ran at an astonishing speed. Even with Excalibur, his recovery was remarkable.
Watching his retreating figure, Merlin wore an expression of relief, as if everything had been accomplished.
"Worry not."
He sent a quiet cheer to Aster, whose body was still that of a boy.
"Frondier is already calling for you."