Chapter 199
Chapter 199
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 199
Chapter Title: Play - 2
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The people of Gavril Territory were witnessing the scene of Neril and Jenia confronting Sobiers with their own eyes.
Just moments ago, Idria had spoken within their view.
“Maide Mohan. I’ll take you on myself.”
“Of course. The only one who can kill the Demon King is the Hero.”
“Hmph. I’ll send your kids and your party members elsewhere.”
Idria snapped her fingers.
Space ripped open.
Their vision went dark for a moment, and when it cleared, the scene before them was this.
Neril and Jenia facing off against Sobiers.
Someone among the territory folk swallowed hard.
“Neril.”
“It’s been a while since we’ve teamed up like this. Let’s do our best.”
“Yeah. I feel secure with you by my side.”
“Same here. Can you start with the shield incantation?”
“Yes. May the will for humanity’s future manifest before our eyes.”
Jenia no longer prayed to the Heavenly God.
Even so, a golden shield incantation enveloped their bodies.
In truth, she could have just shouted “Shield!” like always, but that would look too frivolous for a Hero’s party member.
And calling upon the Heavenly God made no sense, so this was a new prayer they’d devised.
Maide and the others had put their heads together to create it, and it resonated deeply with the territory folk.
“The incantation works fine without the Heavenly God, doesn’t it?”
“The Hero was right after all.”
“Of course he was! He’s the one who exposed that Sobiers was Padania.”
“That bastard Padania nearly got us all killed.”
Back then, they’d almost been sucked into some bizarre black hole.
It hadn’t lasted long time-wise, but plenty of people still suffered trauma from it.
“Alright. Shall we go?”
“Yes. Leave the support to me.”
Neril glared at Sobiers.
“Sobiers, you’re that filthy scum who impersonated the Hero under the name Padania back in the day. Just like Kaild.”
“......”
“Got any last words before you die?”
“I......”
“I won’t listen anyway. Just die.”
Cool!
Someone among the territory folk shouted that.
“Art Flare!”
Countless magical arrows formed from Neril’s hand.
They blanketed the sky.
An enormous volley at the flick of Neril’s wrist!
Sobiers raised his sword to deflect each one.
“Kuh-gagagagang!”
Dust billowed, and Sobiers’ helmet cracked and shattered.
“To strip off this helmet... not bad.”
“Hmph.”
“Maide has caused Idria no end of trouble in all sorts of ways. You’ll pay for his sins with your necks.”
Padania charged at Neril and Jenia.
The heroes countered with magic and incantations in kind.
Their battle was as fierce as any Hero’s clash in history.
Of course, the territory folk had never seen a Hero’s battle from history.
Even so, they were certain.
This fight was far more intense than any in ages past.
How much time passed like that?
The final moment.
Whoosh.
Enormous magic circles etched themselves in midair.
Magical chains shot out from them, binding Sobiers’ arms.
“Guh. W-What is this?”
“Jenia! Now!”
“Haaah!”
Jenia swung the holy sword Kesar.
Thud.
Padania’s head soon hit the ground.
The territory folk cried out as one.
“They won! The heroes won!”
The people of Atrium Territory were already cheering wildly.
After Neril and Jenia’s fight ended, the face that appeared was Sabak’s.
These territory folk had a deep grudge against him.
They’d never seen Sabak’s face up close themselves.
But they had seen the green smoke rising after Neril’s magic obliterated a mountain take on human form.
“That’s the bastard, right?”
“We were too far away back then to see clearly... but it looks about right.”
“Ugh. Thinking about what we went through...”
“Offense will get revenge for us.”
In the view, Sabak began turning to smoke like before.
That’s when Adwin reached out, as if grasping something.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
“G-Guh. What... is this?”
“Your soul is in my hand right now. Don’t move.”
They’d heard rumors that the young boy was always polite and courteous.
But against the Demon King’s minions, he showed a completely different side.
The territory folk buzzed.
“He tried to turn to smoke but stopped?”
“It’s Adwin. The necromancer bound his soul.”
“Amazing.”
Then Offense flung open his coat with a flourish.
‘Honestly, any dark spell would do.’
But Maide had said to handle it as spectacularly as possible.
He manipulated every Little Star he had, scattering hidden weapons everywhere.
“This is revenge for the people of Atrium in particular! Take it!”
“Kaaaaah!”
Hearing Offense’s shout, the territory folk couldn’t help but shed tears.
He’d already saved us once before.
The poison in the vial he’d thrown.
Hadn’t it dispersed that green smoke back then?
He’d saved us then, and now he was avenging us too.
“Ugh. Kek.”
Sabak finally collapsed to the ground, convulsing.
The convulsions soon stopped.
All that remained was a cold corpse and Offense and Adwin, smiling in victory.
The territory folk shouted at the top of their lungs.
“Woooaaah!”
The Emperor sat leisurely in his customary garden.
‘It was right here that I once directly faced the Hero’s might.’
He’d once strutted around claiming he’d become the Hero.
Looking back now, how pathetic it must have seemed.
He’d never felt shame as the Empire’s ruler.
Maybe he’d saved it all up to feel it at once toward Maide.
‘And the one I tried to use back then was......’
Serein Magnus in this view.
The Emperor could only chuckle lightly.
‘Even so, with everyone watching, she’s minding her manners.’
Serein had her hands clasped like a saint.
“Risel. Let’s begin.”
“Yes. Spirits, reveal yourselves.”
Spirits normally remained invisible to people.
But this battle had to showcase their full glory to the world. For fame’s sake.
Soon, the Emperor beheld an overwhelming number of spirits.
‘T-Those are spirits?’
Even if Magna Neros returned, could he command that many?
No way.
This wasn’t disparaging the first Hero’s party, but Magna Neros couldn’t rival Risel.
No. No Hero or legend from the past could match these figures of the present age.
Firensha outwardly kept a grave expression as promised.
But inwardly, he grumbled nonstop.
‘No, this is overkill. Honestly, I don’t even know how I’m supposed to fight.’
Of course, he didn’t need to worry.
Risel said,
“Firensha, Second Finger of Lies. I know I can’t give you time.”
He had to concentrate, or his habitual deference would slip out.
Risel glared.
“So I’ll end it in one go! Serein.”
“Yes!”
Serein had nothing particular to do, but she placed her hand on Risel’s back anyway.
She closed her eyes and murmured something.
Her mouth was artfully obscured by her shoulder, so all anyone could tell was that she was murmuring— no lip-reader could make out the words.
Neril had adjusted the angle just so.
‘One gold coin, two gold coins, three gold coins......’
And Serein counting gold coins looked like she was empowering Risel with some arcane incantation.
Tap tap.
Serein tapped Risel’s back as if to say that was enough.
Risel shouted.
“Everyone. Unite as one and take down this minion!”
Whoosh.
The thousands of “Mimes” that had split apart merged into one.
Mime spoke in spirit tongue, audible only to Risel.
“Did we really have to do it this way, my king?”
Risel replied in spirit tongue.
“Shut up and hurry.”
“You’re starting to take after Serein.”
“That’s too much.”
The Emperor marveled as he listened to their spirit tongue.
‘That’s spirit tongue...... Far more fluent than Magna Neros. History books only had scattered words and phrases.’
Naturally.
The spirits under Risel in Magna Neros’s time hadn’t talked back.
Soon, the massive Mime engulfed Firensha.
Firensha felt a moment of despair but faithfully fulfilled his role.
“Guh. Ah, not enough time yet...... Aaaah!”
Firensha vanished into Mime’s colossal gale.
When the storm died down, no trace of Firensha remained.
Serein cried out.
“Did we get him?”
The Emperor unwittingly replied.
“No, you shouldn’t say that, Lady Serein.”
But fortunately, this time it seemed they really had.
Risel wiped sweat from his brow and answered.
“Yes. Definitely.”
The Emperor leaned back in his chair with a sigh of relief.
But the battles weren’t over yet.
If anything, the real one was just beginning.
Shift.
The view changed.
There stood Maide and Idria.
‘The Hero and the Demon King......’
The Emperor’s hands grew slick with sweat.
Through the soul-link Adwin had set up beforehand, Neril’s voice reached him.
[Maide. Serein and Risel’s side is wrapping up too. You’re next.]
[Got it. Thanks. Give me a signal five seconds before we start.]
[Okay.]
That’s when Idria spoke.
“Looks like they’re finishing up?”
“Yeah. I’ll let you know five seconds before.”
“Sometimes I think that if I hadn’t been around, you’d have become the Demon King of Lies.”
“For someone saying that, you still look weak to me. In other words, the lies I create are fundamentally different from yours. I wouldn’t have become the Demon King without you.”
The lie I was creating right now.
It was as massive as the one I’d harvested from Kaild before regression. In sheer scale.
But the lie unfolding in real time wasn’t strengthening Idria.
She sighed.
“Any guesses?”
“You’ve come this far, so I suppose I can tell you. The world likes my lies.”
“......?”
“Ultimately, lies that benefit humanity.”
"Heh heh."
Idria burst into laughter.
“Well, of course. Considering the goal tied to the end of this plan.”
“......”
“Conversely, only lies harmful to humanity can fuel the Demon King’s power?”
“Seems like it.”
“Funny, isn’t it?”
I tilted my head.
“What’s funny?”
“The world’s set up that way by the system.”
“......”
“I can only grow strong on lies that harm humanity. But when did I ever ask for that?”
Idria’s voice grew stiff.
“I never begged to be born in the first place. I’m just a being spawned under the world’s law that ‘humanity’s feelings of wealth’ birth the Demon King.”
“......”
“I didn’t choose to be born. But since I am, I’m just struggling not to die.”
“So?”
“That’s all. Just venting about why this world favors humanity so much.”
I thought quietly before replying.
“The human whose heart became your core, ‘human’ Idria.”
“......?”
“Did she want to die?”
“What are you getting at?”
“The moment you, the Demon King, descended, human Idria died. And that’s not all.”
I recited Idria’s lies, all seen through the perfect Eye of Omniscience.
Countless bizarre incidents recorded in history books.
Even the Knights of Light couldn’t uncover the truths behind many.
Mysteries that lingered eternally—all orchestrated by Idria.
All part of her harvesting lies.
And naturally, that process spawned countless victims.
“In recent times, even guys like the Martial King and Patrick were victims. Not that I’m defending them.”
“......”
“Adwin’s father? Pure entertainment for you. Making Sabak poison him. The Black Sun over the capital—I stopped it, or everyone would’ve turned to monsters and died.”
“......”
“Jenia suffered through agonizing days after Ophelia vanished, and with Sobiers, the territory folk nearly got wiped out.”
She listened calmly to my words.
I spoke calmly too.
This wasn’t something to get heated over.
“You’re misunderstanding, Idria.”
“What?”
“It’s not that I can’t understand you. I get your struggling to survive.”
“......”
“Because humans do the exact same thing. This ridiculous play I’m putting on with you? It’s humanity’s struggle to survive manifesting.”
But.
I met her gaze squarely and continued.
“I understand. But I don’t sympathize.”
“......”
“You’ve probably understood humans too. But you didn’t sympathize with them.”
“......Right.”
“So I’m not going to lecture you with ‘How could you do such cruel things! Is that any way to act!’”
That’s when Neril’s voice came.
[Maide. It’s done. Counting down.]
Shing.
I drew the Hero’s sword.
“I’ll just defeat you matter-of-factly. You’re humanity’s enemy.”
“......I get it. I said something pointless.”
[5, 4......]
“Last fight, so let’s make it flashy.”
“I’ll match you.”
[3, 2, 1. Switching.]
I took my stance.
And in a cold tone, said,
“Demon King of Lies, Idria. Let’s end this.”
Idria said with a solemn expression too.
“Come at me. Hero.”