Chapter 181
Chapter 181
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 181
Chapter Title: Spoiled Food - 2
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The true hero's sword still remains?
I pondered for a moment what kind of metaphor that could be.
But soon I realized it was literal and let out an exclamation.
"Ah!"
"Yes. Idria wants to kill Bellosian, so she's cooperating with you, right? In that case, wouldn't she order Sconbius to hand over the true hero's sword to you?"
I found myself nodding vigorously without realizing it.
It must have been a possibility no one else had even considered.
Risel chimed in in a bewildered tone.
"Why bring that up now? We already paid for it."
"Huh? I thought it was obvious that you and the others would know something this straightforward... so I figured there must be some other meaning."
"......"
"Kukuku. Did I overestimate you all? Come to think of it, judging you on the same level as this genius body of mine was my mistake."
Kwang.
As Jenia flicked Adwin on the forehead, Trail asked,
[Refunding something already bought could harm your reputation. Give it up.]
'I never intended to in the first place.'
[In any case, Adwin makes a fair point. How about contacting Idria and demanding she hand over the true hero's sword?]
'Yeah. Our big event is coming up soon anyway, so I can bring it up then.'
I spoke to the group.
"For now, let's put the sword on hold. There's something we need to do first."
Neril asked,
"Selecting the location, right?"
"Yeah. Even if it's a scripted play, it has to look like a life-or-death duel, so we can't half-ass it. I'll go all out, and I'll instruct Idria to do the same."
"We need to find a remote area where no one will get hurt."
That's right.
Both the fight with Idria in the Sacred Forest and the one with Kaild at the starting line had been so intense that they redrew the map.
Where would be the optimal spot for something on that scale?
"Actually, I already have a place in mind."
"Hmm? Where?"
"The Koskart Mountains."
And... the site of my final battle with Idria before regression.
Acteon arrived at the starting line.
He looked around lazily with a listless expression.
'It's impressive all over again.'
The reed fields that had stretched out blindingly were nowhere to be seen.
No, it wasn't just the reed fields.
The entire terrain of the starting line was gone.
"Alright then, first things first."
He headed toward the spatial rift where Kaild had been imprisoned.
From the outside, it looked like empty air with no distinguishing features.
Acteon silently rolled up his sleeve.
Then he thrust his finger into the empty space with all his might.
-Chijijik.
A hole formed in the space.
He shoved both hands into the hole and pulled with all his strength.
The space cracked open just a tiny bit.
Like the one Kaild had made last time, it was a narrow passage barely big enough to peek a face through.
Acteon stuck his face into the gap and said,
"Hey, you dead?"
"Kuaaaak!"
"You're alive. Tough bastard."
"Ah, it hurts. It hurts so much I'm gonna die!"
Kaild didn't realize who was speaking to him through the space Maide had created.
To be precise, he didn't have the luxury to care.
The aftermath of his soul being erased.
The pain ripping through every nerve was incomparable to the bugs Idria had implanted before.
Acteon clicked his tongue.
"Tsk tsk. Phirensha handled it with much more dignity. You look ridiculous."
"Ughhh. Who are you?"
"Did I say to erase 90% of Phirensha's soul back then? You spew such nonsense openly to others, but when it happens to you, you wail pathetically. How do you expect to get away with that?"
"Whoever you are, fine. Please, please save me."
"That's why I'm here... or so I'd like to say, but this size seems to be my limit for tearing it open. Maide really is something else."
Acteon continued.
"Come with me. Bellosian wants you."
"Be-Bellosian?"
"Yeah. But you'll have to get out of there first."
"Hurry and pull me out!"
"Hah. As if it's that easy."
He pointed to his so-called 'side door' and said,
"Hey. Grab this and pull too. Like I said, this is the limit with my strength alone."
"I can't even twitch right now! Do you have any idea what this pain is like?"
"......"
"I don't know who you are, but if you can't do it alone, call Bellosian! Tell him to combine forces and rip this damned space apart completely!"
Acteon considered just killing Kaild right there.
But no, that wouldn't do.
'To pin our hopes on a worm worse than trash. Both Bellosian and I have reached our limits.'
Still, saying that now was pointless.
He clicked his tongue in lament and pulled back.
"I really can't open it alone after all."
"Aaak. Don't go. Don't go!"
"Even Bellosian can't help. He still needs more recovery time."
"Don't go."
"So I'll call another helper. Stay put a bit longer."
Kaild thought amid the cold sweat pouring down.
Who else could be a helper at this point?
Soon, one person came to mind.
"No way?"
"Yeah. Dangerous jobs should go to the experts."
Acteon continued nonchalantly.
"Who's the best at handling space anyway?"
The Koskart Mountains were a massive range that divided the continent into south and north.
In the early days after regression, I focused on gaining support in the north using this range as a baseline.
Now that I've earned fame evenly from every territory on the continent, it's just a distant memory.
In any case, this particular spot in the Koskart Mountains where we stood now held deep sentimental value.
'Before regression, I lost to Idria here by the narrowest of margins.'
[You've gotten really shameless lately.]
'Take that back. I've always been shameless.'
[Yeah. Even saying that is shameless.]
As we exchanged such shameless banter, Agril descended from the sky.
Tak.
Jenia, landing on the ground, said,
"There's no one within about a 20-kilometer radius."
"Well, it's a notoriously rugged place."
The Koskart Mountains weren't just rugged—they produced no resources at all.
Truly abandoned land.
Offense rubbed his palms together.
"Now the stage is set."
"Mm."
"It finished faster than expected. Do we really need to drag it out further?"
His question was valid.
Above all, a week had passed since Neril first broke off the branch of corruption.
With an expiration of one month, it might be best to proceed as quickly as possible.
"But doesn't evacuating the capital take a full month anyway?"
"Evacuating the citizens was for the fight with Bellosian. It has nothing to do with dealing with Idria."
"True."
"Besides, as you all know, I'm not just building fame through battles alone."
The group's expressions turned subtly odd.
The deal... or threat... we made when we last met Idria.
To face the unprecedented powerhouse Bellosian, fame from 'The hero killed the demon king' might not be enough.
We needed a more decisive blow.
So after much deliberation, I proposed an additional way to boost fame, and whether willingly or not, Idria agreed.
That decisive blow would take some time.
The sooner the fight with Idria, the better.
Neril said,
"No one else could come up with an idea like yours."
"I'm a bit extraordinary, after all."
"Yeah. That's true."
"......"
Trail snickered.
[Neril now chimes in to agree with your self-praise no matter what.]
'......'
[Doesn't that seem shameless, like before?]
'Shut up.'
I changed the subject.
"Alright. Let's wrap this up without dragging it out."
I picked up the communication orb.
And connected to Idria.
"Idria."
-Yes.
"I've decided on the location."
-Where?
"Too complicated to explain. Check it out yourself. It's what you always do."
As soon as I said that, a screen window popped up with a tak.
A red screen window.
Idria was examining us with her authority.
-The Koskart Mountains, huh.
"Correct."
-Fascinating. This was originally the final battlefield in my plan.
Her words made me flinch inwardly, but I kept my composure.
"Our tastes align, annoyingly enough."
-I agree. Anyway, when?
"Right now works. Come over. But this time, bring all your limbs."
-......
"This battle will be the final showdown, so whether demon king or hero, we have to pour out everything we have. At least, it has to look that way."
Idria sneered.
-You're quite adept at lies. Why not be the Demon King of Lies instead?
"Cut the crap."
-Got it. Just wait a bit.
"Hm?"
-My children are out of sight for the moment. I'll call them soon... won't be more than 10 minutes.
"Alright, sounds good."
Swipe.
The communication orb deactivated.
I stretched languidly and looked around at everyone.
They were chatting idly.
"What should we do for 10 minutes?"
"Obviously eat. How can we fight on an empty stomach?"
"I'm not hungry..."
"Why are you hungry in the first place?"
I couldn't help but laugh at my party's carefree voices.
Even if it was a pre-arranged play of a battle, their utter nonchalance was almost surreal.
I decided to join their conversation.
"You can't make anything impressive in 10 minutes anyway. Give up."
Everyone accepted it, except Jenia, who looked utterly dejected.
But in the end, my judgment was wrong.
We could have eaten after all.
Because Idria didn't show up even after 30 minutes, let alone 10.
Swipe.
Idria deactivated the communication orb just as Neril had taught her once.
'I need to hurry.'
No matter what others said, at this moment, Idria was sincerely intending to cooperate with Maide.
Maide or Bellosian—both were bottomless monsters.
But there was a crucial difference between them.
'Catching and devouring Maide won't help me at all.'
But what if she could devour Bellosian?
Just as Bellosian had tried to devour her to grow stronger, couldn't she do the same?
That was Idria's aim.
To reap the benefits in the final battle between Maide and Bellosian.
She had no confidence against a fully intact Bellosian, but a battered one defeated by Maide? There might be a chance.
It was a plan full of holes, uncharacteristic of her usual self, but nothing better came to mind in the current situation.
'And besides......'
If she had to die to someone, that someone would be Bion.
Not the mad monster claiming to be her father and trying to devour her.
Whish.
Idria shook her head to clear her thoughts.
Then she called out to her limbs in her mind.
-My children. It's time to head out.
But no response came.
Tilting her head, she called again.
-Kids?
"They can't come."
"Who's there!"
Idria whipped around.
Her eyes widened.
"Adin?"
The old man before her was Adin Press.
But soon Idria realized.
"No, you're not. Batore."
"......"
"Your strange speech threw me off. Sorry."
Right. Adin couldn't be here.
The man before her was Batore, who had devoured Adin and taken his face.
But Idria was wrong.
The one before her was neither Adin nor Batore.
Acteon scratched his ear and said,
"My speech has always been like this."
"......? Batore?"
"Well, I've never spoken like this in front of you."
Idria's mind raced.
The aura emanating from the body and the authority and power she had granted matched Batore's perfectly.
But the personality inhabiting that body was someone entirely different.
Idria narrowed her eyes.
"Who are you?"
"Shouldn't you ask something else first?"
"What?"
Acteon answered slowly.
"You should ask where the other children are."