Chapter 16
Chapter 16
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Heaven Above Heaven
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That face was the protagonist I remembered, Cassius Lloyd. There was a slight difference from the illustration, but no doubt about it.
He was dressed in rags, heavy shackles weighing down his wrists.
‘This is weird. Why is Cassius a slave?’
Of course, I didn’t know much about the protagonist’s past either.
Like most games, protagonists were often set up as blank slates for easy player immersion.
In Athena War Tales, there wasn’t much publicly revealed about the protagonist beyond the polished illustrations.
‘Was the protagonist originally a slave?’
But that raised some issues.
In the game, the protagonist was a noble. The third son of the Lloyd Marquisate, no less.
And that Lloyd Marquisate was a prominent noble house in the southern powerhouse, the Burlang Union.
‘The pieces fit, at least.’
It wouldn’t be strange if a slave protagonist was soon sold to the Lloyd Marquisate in a form of adoption.
His hostility toward the Crossing Republic made sense too, given he’d been enslaved there.
‘But…’
There was one crucial part that didn’t add up.
The protagonist in the game didn’t know Juras Pamillion.
During their encounter event, he’d spoken as if it was their first meeting.
‘Maybe the story’s already diverged somewhere.’
Lost in that confusion, I’d slipped into a mild panic.
Meanwhile, Juras was savoring the Caliper nobles’ reactions as he introduced the slaves one by one.
They were top-quality goods, just as he’d claimed.
Renowned warriors, men and women of striking beauty. Even specialists in cooking or construction.
“For nobles of the Caliper Kingdom, where slavery is outlawed, this can be a salvation effort. Pay me, and you save these souls. Doesn’t that change your perspective?”
Juras flaunted his silver tongue. More than a few nobles were already swayed.
Framing a purchase as charity turned it into something honorable.
The nobles wavered. Taking that into account, Duke Regnat Helian stepped forward first.
“Indeed. If we view it as salvation, then yes.”
“A man who understands.”
Juras grinned.
But Helian responded to him with icy ruthlessness.
“Then I’ll save them all. Name your price—whatever you want. And once that’s done… get out of here, you scum.”
“…Oh ho.”
As expected of the top-tier domestic affairs master. He went straight for the throat.
He didn’t yield an inch to Juras in their battle of wills.
“What, you think I can’t pay?”
“Perish the thought. The Helian Ducal House of Caliper is renowned even among merchant clans. You can surely afford this. But some slaves here can’t be bought with money alone.”
“What?”
With that, Juras pointed to the protagonist, Cassius, and a woman whose burns covered her entire body, her face unrecognizable.
“These two are special, even among the rest. They require something beyond coin. Take this man first—he has deep ties to the fallen Pensilon Imperial Family. I can’t disclose details now, but I guarantee he’s a person of interest.”
That much was true. By the game’s lore, the protagonist was the last bloodline of the Pensilon Imperial Family.
“And this one—don’t be alarmed by her horrific state. She’s the final Valkyrie of the Kurabel Holy Kingdom: Eonia Mirabel.”
The banquet hall erupted in murmurs.
Cassius’s connection to the Pensilon Empire—extinct thirty years ago—didn’t carry much weight. But Kurabel was different.
The Kurabel Holy Kingdom had fallen to Crossing just a year prior, a nation defined by its unique faith.
Valkyrie referred to the captain of Kurabel’s royal guard, a title passed down to one successor at a time. Their elegant yet lethal spearmanship was legendary.
“That’s Eonia Mirabel…? You expect us to believe that?”
“Who would, looking at her? It’s a headache for us too. She threw herself into the flames to preserve her purity. But fear not—with steady treatment, she’ll regain her former splendor.”
“If she isn’t Eonia Mirabel, it’d be a real joke.”
“I swear it. On my name, Juras Pamillion, and the honor of the Crossing Republic—this is the last Valkyrie, Eonia.”
“…So? How do we save them?”
To Caliper, Eonia Mirabel was a valuable asset.
As royal guard captain, she lacked generalship but excelled in personal protection. Her suicidal hatred for Crossing made her an unlikely spy.
Several nobles now eyed Eonia greedily.
Juras grinned, relishing the mood.
“The method is simple.”
The protagonist and Eonia.
But contrary to his words, acquiring them wouldn’t be simple at all.
“Simply defeat me—Juras Pamillion—at anything you choose. Do that, and they’re yours, free of charge.”
*
*
*
Juras’s bold challenge.
“Martial arts, a debate on any topic—whatever you like. Make me concede. Then take them and go.”
Yet no one stepped up. The Ten Heroes’ reputation loomed too large.
Anyone who did would be some clueless fool ignorant of the world.
“I’ll do it.”
The bold challenger was Casper.
Juras eyed him with a creepy smile, lips curling to his ears.
“Milia’s prodigy… Caliper’s Kirin Child. How do you plan to make me concede?”
“Chess.”
“Chess, is it? Very well. Let’s prepare the board.”
The outcome was obvious, so I ignored Casper and focused on stopping my nearby master, Ilya.
“Calm down, Master!”
“Don’t stop me. This is something I have to do.”
Her sudden resolve was simple.
“Als, I told you once. About what happened a year ago.”
“The mercenary contract with the Kurabel Holy Kingdom, when you went to the battlefield.”
“Yes. I once fought back-to-back with Eonia then. It wasn’t a deep bond, but I can’t abandon her to this humiliation.”
Eonia Mirabel was an SSR character in the game.
Her personal combat prowess was 93—a solid top tier—but as royal guard, her war skills were irredeemably poor.
She was an extra character, uninvolved in the main story.
Midway through, she appeared as a monstrous, burned warrior in Crossing’s army. Without the hidden capture event, she died quietly and vanished.
Even recruited, her bond event only recalled her days as guard captain—no ties to the main plot.
Later updates might’ve featured her, but I didn’t know those anyway.
‘Come to think of it, there was a bond event with Master Ilya.’
A simple spar with spears, since they knew each other. Afterward, Ilya gained +2 strength from Valkyrie spearmanship insights.
The spear art passed solely to Valkyries. It intrigued me too, but…
“How do you plan to beat him?”
“There’s only one way. Spears or swords—we can prepare in moments. Even if I lose, I don’t care. This is about my pride as a warrior.”
“Calm down…!”
My anxiety stemmed from the game.
She’d lost her left arm to one of the Ten Heroes.
‘What if it happens now?’
I couldn’t shake the thought.
Juras Pamillion’s personal combat stat was a whopping 98 in the game.
Tenth highest overall—he was a monster as both strategist and warrior.
Master might hold her own, but winning? Unlikely.
I tried stopping her, but she wouldn’t listen, so I resorted to my last card.
“Argh…! Fine. Then I’ll do it instead.”
“Instead? Als, I hate to say it, but you have no chance.”
“It’s fine. I’m not competing in martial arts anyway. More importantly, Master—do you have any mercenary clothes? And a helmet?”
“You don’t mean…”
To protect my master, I had no choice.
Mercenary Wade would make his appearance.
While Casper drew attention, I slipped out, donned the mercenary garb Master provided, and a gray helmet concealing my face.
Hiding one’s face at a royal ball was beyond rude—it was absurd. But desperation might push it through.
Disguised, I returned as the chess match concluded.
“Well played. Worthy of Milia’s prodigy—Kirin Child, though that title feels a bit much. Heh.”
“Urk!”
The board was clear: Juras toyed with him before crushing Casper.
Casper paled, trembling—he’d hit a wall.
“I’ll step out for a bit!”
He fled before total defeat, salvaging some face.
“Pity, but no Eonia Mirabel for you. Next—who challenges me?”
The hall fell silent.
Just as Juras seemed ready to withdraw, I rasped my voice, modulating it deeply.
“I’ll take you on.”
All eyes turned to me.
Many scowled at the face-hiding helmet, but not Juras.
“Oh ho… that gray helm. You’re the mercenary who beat Gillas Melbern—Wade.”
Master stood behind me, vouching silently.
She glared at Juras murderously.
“Hah! Ilya Anpei… First time since that battlefield a year ago. Grown fiercer?”
Crunch! Master answered with killing intent.
Juras’s retainers matched it, thickening the tension.
Juras checked them immediately.
“Enough. This isn’t the place.”
“Ilya, stand back.”
When I called her by name firmly, she blinked in surprise, then nodded.
“So? Mercenary Wade—what’ll it be against me?”
“Chess.”
“Hmm, chess. Sorry, but something else? Another boring win would tire me and the audience.”
“Boring win…? You’ve never seen heaven above heaven.”
In chess’s highest realm, no victory was trivial.
Even at the pinnacle, wins weren’t easy.
Heaven above heaven. Thanks to AI.
AI’s calculation depth was otherworldly. Juras surely hadn’t touched that wall.
“I’ll let you glimpse it indirectly.”
“Heaven above heaven from a mere mercenary? Bold words. Fine—I’ll bite.”
“Start the moment pieces are set.”
“First… terms?”
“Terms? That’s new. No one mentioned that. Not in the last game either.”
Indeed, no terms with Casper.
“The last game gave me plenty: fame from crushing Milia’s prodigy, Caliper’s Kirin Child. But you? What do I gain? I didn’t say terms were required—or not. Am I wrong?”
“Tch.”
The mood shifted, but it didn’t matter.
“What do you want?”
“Indeed—what’s a mercenary worth? Shall we bet your left arm? Lose, and hand it over.”
“What…! You bastard…!”
I imagined Master, defeated, offering her left arm.
Was this how she lost it in the real story?
“…Do as you like. I’ll win anyway.”
“Fine confidence. Though blood at such a venue isn’t ideal for me either. My terms are simple: if I win, remove the helmet. Reveal Mercenary Wade’s identity to the world.”
A big risk for me, but I accepted.
“Enough talk—let’s begin.”
“Eager, aren’t you? White?”
“You take it. Wouldn’t want excuses about black.”
“I’ll see where that confidence comes from. My move first.”
I cooled my boiling blood and eyed the board.
My focus peaked.
I resolved to smash him thoroughly.