Chapter 174
Chapter 174
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 174
Chapter Title: Honest Trap - 1
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Kaild's entire body was surging with a power unlike anything he had ever experienced before.
It was incomparable to the time when Phirensha had offered her soul as tribute.
After sharing his power, Velosian said to Kaild,
“Now I need to rest for a bit.”
“What? Why?”
“Giving a demon king's power to a human is no easy feat—it's far beyond mere interference. Let's see, I'll have to hole up in this special chamber for about a month.”
“......”
“You know what you need to do while I'm out of commission, right?”
Kaild replied confidently.
“Of course. Find Maide and kill him.”
“Hide.”
“......What?”
“You're definitely stronger now. Maybe even more than Maide, who earned 1.2 million fame.”
Kaild tilted his head.
“You couldn't beat Maide outside this chamber. And I gave you that power.”
“......”
“How could I possibly be stronger than the current Maide?”
“This special chamber is especially harsh on me. There's a limit to how far I can go while still being 'me' to escape this place. A much higher threshold than yours.”
Kaild didn't fully understand, but he decided to just accept it.
‘Anyway, if that's the case...’
Does that mean I'm stronger than Maide right now?
His whole body trembled.
Ever since the massive earthquake in Tetra Territory, he'd always lagged behind Maide.
There had been a brief moment when he'd overtaken him in fame temporarily, but it hadn't lasted.
“Finally, that bastard...”
“I'm telling you again: hide.”
“What? You said I'm stronger than him.”
“True. But the vessel holding that power is far more idiotic than Maide.”
Velosian pointed at Kaild.
“With an idiot like you, there's no telling how you'll screw things up in some creative way.”
“You little shit.”
“If you pull some moronic stunt and drop that 800,000 fame, it'll be a disaster. Or worse, Maide might kill you before then.”
“Shut up!”
“I'd love to chain you in this chamber for the full month to keep you from doing anything stupid.”
Velosian stretched as he spoke.
“But I'm about to fall asleep soon, and with your personality, you won't stick around here without a watchdog.”
“......”
“This place would drive even the most saintly person mad in a single day.”
He was right.
Kaild had no desire to spend even one more second in this special chamber.
Just being here made his head spin and his stomach churn.
“If you're leaving anyway, heed my advice.”
“......”
“If you do anything stupid while I'm asleep, the first thing I'll do when I wake up is kill you myself.”
“Hmph. Aren't I stronger than you outside the chamber now?”
“Did Adin bow to me outside because he was weaker?”
Kaild flinched.
From the starting line, Adin had been completely subservient to Velosian.
Even as his faith waned, he'd had to issue divine oracles on his command.
‘The power I received definitely came from Velosian. So he can take it back whenever he wants, huh.’
Kaild's face twisted.
Ignoring him, Velosian lay down and said,
“You can go now.”
“......See you later.”
Kaild left the special chamber.
After slipping out of the imperial palace, he gazed at the distant mountain ridge.
He wanted to go there.
He wanted to stand atop the peak.
With that thought, he took a step forward.
Whoosh. Scraaape!
And in the next instant,
He was overlooking the capital from the mountain summit.
“W-What? What just happened?”
Teleportation? Spatial authority?
No, nothing so crude.
He had simply 'run.'
From that far-off ground to the mountain peak—in the blink of an eye.
“Kekeke.”
Laughter escaped his lips.
Before long, it erupted into maniacal laughter.
Kaild thrust his hand toward the sky and laughed maniacally.
“I'm invincible. I'm invincible right now!”
He had finally become this strong.
Idria and Maide were no longer even worth his attention.
No one could look down on him anymore.
No one.
We first returned to the capital.
Night had fallen deep, so we stayed at an inn and requested an audience with the emperor the next day.
It was no surprise at this point, but the meeting with the empire's ruler was granted in a mere five minutes.
Despite the short wait, the emperor spoke as if he'd committed a grave sin.
“I deeply apologize for keeping you waiting so long.”
It was awkward.
I replied in a gentle tone.
“Not at all. It was rude of us to come so suddenly.”
“No, no such thing.”
The deathmatch with Idria.
The shocking truth that Velosian had devoured her to become the demon king.
And the plan to boost our fame using Idria.
It felt like ages had passed with all that had happened, but thanks to Agril and Mime's terrifying speed, it had all unfolded in less than a day.
In other words, our last face-to-face with the emperor had been just a day ago.
For that, he looked exceedingly pleased to see us.
“What brings you here today?”
“First... how are the evacuation preparations for the palace and the capital's citizens coming along? I hate to ask again after just one day, but...”
“We issued the imperial decree right after you, Hero, and the champions left yesterday. But honestly, there's been no progress yet.”
“How long until the evacuation is complete?”
“Generously estimating, it'd take two months... but from your expression, you want it done as soon as possible.”
I nodded silently.
The emperor stroked his beard and closed his eyes briefly.
“We'll complete it within a month.”
“Yes. Please ensure that their basic living needs are met at the evacuation sites.”
“Haha. A tall order, but we'll do our utmost.”
“Thank you.”
With that, I fell into thought.
‘Then it's settled for a month from now.’
[What is?]
‘Killing Velosian.’
[......]
‘I’ll win against Idria and gain massive fame. Then, a month later... once the citizens are safe, I’ll convert that fame into power and kill Velosian.’
It wouldn't be long now.
I gathered my thoughts and spoke.
“For now, I’ll deal with the Demon King of Lies, Idria.”
“......!”
“Then, once the citizens' safety is secured, I’ll kill Velosian right after. As I told you, the Heavenly God... no, Adin, has already fallen to Velosian, correct?”
“Y-Yes.”
“In short, no later than a month from now, all threats to humanity will be eliminated.”
Jenia interjected.
“Isn't there one more?”
“Who? Ah, Kaild.”
“Yes. That cockroach seems like he'd wriggle out of any adversity alive. We won't truly be safe from humanity's threats until we deal with him too.”
The emperor let out a hollow laugh.
“Even having heard everything, that makes me flinch.”
“Your Majesty.”
“Kaild was once hailed as humanity's hope, after all. Though after learning the Heavenly God was human, what more is there to be shocked about?”
“Calling that guy our hope was a disgrace to all humanity.”
“Indeed. I now wholeheartedly agree.”
Opense steered the topic back.
“Anyway, the young lady's right. We can't sleep soundly until Kaild's dealt with too.”
“He's probably in the special chamber with Velosian. We can just take him out when we get Velosian.”
“And he was there to receive power from Velosian.”
“......”
“No telling how strong he's gotten, but it'd be wise to eliminate him before the final battle to avoid any loose ends.”
Valid point, though.
Risel chimed in.
“But how? You just said he's in the special chamber.”
“......”
“He'll be hiding behind Velosian. How do we take him out first?”
“Urgh.”
Opense groaned.
But I felt the need to confirm this.
Kaild's final destination was indeed the special chamber.
But who could guarantee he was still there now?
Maybe the process of granting him demon king power had finished faster than expected, freeing him.
[Want to check?]
‘No way we can.’
[What? Why not? Hold on.]
Trail confidently activated the Eye of Omniscience.
[Error. The secret 'Between Velosian and Kaild Wake' is ??? rank.]
[Requires Eye of Omniscience level ??? to view.]
Trail fell silent.
‘It's fine. I even appreciate your recklessness.’
[Just curse me out.]
‘Remember what Impellium said at the banquet? He couldn't peer into the special chamber with the current Eye.’
Whatever secrets had formed between Velosian and Kaild, they were born inside that chamber.
The Eye couldn't tell if Kaild was still inside or out.
......
??? rank and ??? level, huh.
A notation completely different from before.
My guess might be right.
Maybe raising the Eye's level solely through fame won't cut it anymore.
Then Trail asked,
[What now? Ignore Kaild?]
‘No. Opense made a damn good point. It left a bad taste in my mouth too.’
Slap.
I smacked my knee.
Everyone jumped and looked at me.
“What's wrong?”
“Opense, shockingly, made a great point.”
“Why is my great point so shocking...”
“We need to deal with Kaild before Idria or Velosian.”
Serein said,
“Risel just pointed that out. He's in the special chamber.”
“All we know for sure is 'Kaild will receive power from Velosian in the special chamber.' No one knows if it's done or ongoing.”
I continued.
“If he's still inside, we're helpless. But if he's out—even by a slim chance—that changes everything. It means he's no longer under Velosian's protection.”
“......”
“Depending on how you look at it, this could be our golden opportunity.”
“True.”
“Nothing to lose anyway. Let's try luring him out.”
Neril tilted her head.
“Lure him? How?”
“......”
“With his life on the line, no ordinary bait will work if the bastard has a brain.”
Exactly.
But Neril was overlooking one thing.
There was something Kaild valued more than his own life.
“Don't worry. It'll work.”
If it's that idiot I know.
Kaild was simply racing across the continent.
The reason for this pointless sprint was singular.
He was too fast.
More precisely, this speed filled Kaild with joy.
The bizarre run that started from the capital had soon reached the continent's center.
He'd crossed a third of the continent in less than a full day.
Slower than Agril with Mime's support.
But far faster than Agril alone.
“Keke.”
He savored the overflowing power surging through his body—something he'd never experienced or even imagined.
“This is no joke.”
......
A sudden thought struck him.
I'm this strong now—why do I have to cower and hide on Velosian's orders?
With this much power, couldn't he just kill Maide and his crew outright without any dirty schemes?
“......No. No need for that.”
Kaild barely restrained his surging desires.
The guy he'd switched to from Idria, Velosian, was an unfathomable existence.
Maide wasn't the issue; Velosian was the demon king who'd even killed Impellium, who secretly aided him.
Not some play-family type like Idria.
At least, following Velosian's advice wouldn't hurt him.
With his resolve firm, hunger set in.
“Come to think of it, it's been ages since I had real food.”
An estate's entrance appeared in the distance.
He decided to grab lunch there and headed over.
He didn't forget to pull his hood over his head before entering.
‘Why am I suffering this humiliation... Damn it.’
That's when it happened.
From somewhere in the estate's bustling food district, a cursed voice he loathed even in his dreams pierced his ears.
-Everyone, hello. This is Maide Mohan.