Chapter 76
Chapter 76
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 76
Chapter Title: Home - 4
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Jaw.
Kaild climbed Baharma Mountain.
He scratched his head as he looked at the public notice floating before his eyes.
[Baharma Mountain itself is the relic of the Destruction Demon King. Will you unseal it?]
Kaild let out a hollow laugh.
He had been agonizing over how exactly to unseal it.
No, to begin with, he had no idea why this mountain was the seal of the Destruction Demon King.
'Just nod, and it unseals? The seal?'
......
Is it supposed to be this easy?
At that moment, another line appeared on the public notice.
[Unseal the relic of Destruction.]
[After unsealing, designate the desired location and wield the relic's power.]
[The power alone will not crush Maide's party. Directly eliminate them while their bodies are weighed down and unable to perform.]
Until now, Kaild had happily followed the public notice's quests to the letter.
But when he lost to Maide despite doing exactly as the last notice instructed, a sudden thought struck him.
'Who is the one sending these notices?'
The notices had precisely pinpointed his scattered party members across the continent and even kindly explained how to win their hearts.
They generously offered the seal of the first Demon King's core and devised strategies for him.
Above all, the notices told him to kill the true hero, Bion Kunze.
"I have a hunch."
Maybe.
Perhaps.
He smirked.
And murmured to himself.
"I wonder if you can hear me. Demon King."
There was no reply.
But Kaild continued undeterred.
"Using me to kill Bion Kunze is proof that you're the Demon King. I don't get why you'd try to make me the new hero after that, but thanks anyway for the help so far."
The Demon King remained silent.
"I'll consider us allies until I become the hero. And in that spirit, how about helping me a bit more?"
In other words.
"Answer my questions from now on. Through the notices."
Time to think a little harder.
"There's one piece of info I gathered on the way here. Confirm if it's true."
To deal with Maide, he needed insurance.
"Is this the hometown of the Unyielding Sword Emperor?"
Crackle.
The next moment.
New words began to appear on the notice.
Kaild grinned ear to ear at the sight.
We devised a plan.
The relic of Corruption. No, should we call it the branch of Corruption now?
Anyway, through it, Jenia would activate the 'miracle without cost'—the Great Purification Ritual.
If the seal breaks, we'd immediately attempt to reseal it.
"How long until the Great Purification Ritual activates?"
"It'll take 15 minutes. Sorry it's so long."
"No. That's fine. We can endure the relic's power that long."
I turned to the others.
"If the reseal succeeds, we hunt Kaild down. Jenia won't be conscious after the ritual's backlash."
"But if we snap off the branch, there won't be any cost, right?"
"The Celestial God won't take anything, but generally, after purification, you lie bedridden with fever for a while."
"You really know everything."
I shrugged.
Neril pressed on.
"What next after finding Kaild?"
"......"
"Kill him?"
"Well, we'll see."
"That's too half-hearted. Give us a clear policy, Maide."
"......"
"You don't have to do it yourself. Just give the word, and I'll handle it."
I scratched my head vigorously.
Then, with a deep sigh, I said.
"No. I'll kill him."
"......!"
"I never had some grand conviction about not killing. I just wanted to lighten the weight of my sins a little."
"Sins? What's that out of nowhere?"
"It's a thing. Anyway, I'll handle Kaild, so everyone focus on support."
Everyone nodded.
And so, the plan took rough shape.
Time passed.
As evening dusk fell.
Step.
I rose at the sound of footsteps.
No one else could mimic that calm, leisurely gait.
"It's Kaild."
I said, puzzled.
Why come here?
I felt no power from the Destruction Demon King.
If I were him, I'd unseal first and come finish us off while our strength plummeted.
Jenia, thinking the same, asked tensely.
"The seal's still intact, right?"
Neril pondered before speaking.
"What if we cast the Great Purification Ritual preemptively? So we're ready whenever he unseals."
"Purification borrows the Celestial God's power into my body temporarily. Can't just summon it and say, 'I'll make my wish later, so have some tea in the meantime.'"
"Given your usual prayer posture, you could say worse."
"What's wrong with my usual posture?"
I waved it off.
"Let's go out first."
We nodded gravely and stepped outside.
It was the backyard where Father once taught me to chop firewood.
Kaild stood there, gazing leisurely at the sky.
I said.
"No room."
"Not in the mood for jokes, Maide Mohan."
"You looked too serious. I'm considerate like that."
"Was that consideration what shook Risel's heart?"
Instead of answering, I tested him.
"Alone?"
"Yeah. Disappointed? You asked Risel to convince Serein, but it didn't work."
That confirmed it.
'As expected, it was the path to becoming a hero that told him.'
More bluntly, Idria did.
Dealing with Kaild from now on meant facing the Demon King of Lies.
[Coming to your hometown was pointless. You planned to recruit Serein too and steal all of Kaild's party.]
'Opportunity's still there.'
[Huh?]
'If the party leader dies, Serein comes to me naturally, right?'
Trail fell silent.
I placed my hand on my sword.
Then Kaild spoke.
"By any chance, do you know that Baharma Mountain is the Destruction Demon King's relic?"
Why's he suddenly so honest?
We didn't answer, but Kaild nodded at our silence.
"As expected, you knew."
Offense replied.
"To be more honest, we've been worrying you'd pull some dirty trick with that relic."
"Ah. Should've said from the start. Hey, Offense."
"Yeah?"
"Don't say a word in front of me. Traitor."
Offense growled.
"Am I still under your orders?"
Kaild chuckled and turned to me.
"Enough chatter. To the point."
"Shoot."
"As Offense said, I'm going to unseal the Destruction relic."
We'd expected that, so no one blinked.
Until his next words.
"And with its power, I'll wipe this territory off the map."
"......!"
Neril gaped and shouted.
"Did I hear wrong?"
"You heard right. Wipe the territory with the relic. This is the Unyielding Sword Emperor's hometown, right?"
"......"
"I don't know how attached a wandering mercenary like you is to home, but you'd at least hear my offer."
My companions quickly glanced at my face.
Luckily, my well-trained facial muscles didn't twitch.
I slowly opened my mouth.
"So...... you're saying you'll take hostages and threaten me."
"Yeah."
"Weren't you trying to be a hero?"
"Right."
"Crazy. Threaten with the territory's people as hostages? Your reputation tanks. You won't rise as a hero again."
Kaild grinned.
"With you around, it's the same either way."
"What?"
"You've already surpassed my fame, and given your feats and skills, normal methods won't cut it for a comeback."
"......"
"When cornered in a duel or game, people always gamble. Life's the same."
Neril sneered.
"Didn't you say you were fated to be the hero? Take it back."
"Not time to take it back yet. Gambling doesn't need multiple wins. Just one decisive moment."
"......"
"And this is that moment."
Kaild extended his hand to me.
"Come on, Maide. Join me if you don't want your hometown gone."
Join him?
In disbelief, I said.
"Wouldn't killing me be better?"
"The notice said that too."
"Notice?"
"But I think different. Kill you, and those axe-eyed comrades rush me. Dealing with four heroes at once is a hassle."
"You mean 'overwhelming.'"
"Whatever...... Anyway, I don't want to fight. But if you join hands, the other four follow naturally."
I couldn't grasp his thinking, even on my deathbed.
"That's just gathering people in one place. What party is that? What companions for a hero? You can't buy their hearts that way."
"It's fine."
"Fine......"
"I admit it looks sloppy, but continentals won't know about our hero party's friction. No hit to fame."
Only then did I admit how mismatched our views were.
He prioritized fame above all.
No matter how built on lies and deception.
As long as it's hero-level fame.
'Same as before.'
Just like trying to steal the Demon King's core in the previous loop.
Turning the one bringing crisis to the continent into a worshipped hero—a ridiculous lie.
He'd truly desired that lie.
I sighed.
"Pass."
"Hmm. You don't care if the territory's people have their bones crushed and guts pulverized?"
"No. I'll stop you from doing that crap."
"Looks like that knight's spreading the Great Purification Ritual."
A top-secret ritual, yet Kaild said it casually.
We hardened our faces.
"Great Purification takes time to activate. How long do you think Destruction's power needs to flip this territory?"
"......"
"Seven minutes is plenty."
Adwin's face went pale.
Jenia had said 15 minutes earlier.
"You lot can endure Destruction's power somewhat. But the territory folk?"
"......"
"Try blocking me with Purification. Go ahead. By then, no one left to protect."
Whew.
No choice.
Shing.
I drew my sword.
Just that changed the air.
Kaild eyed my sword intently and said.
"Fight here and now?"
"Yeah."
"You're at risk too."
"Got a new technique lately."
At my words, my party members' eyes lit up.
Yeah. The new technique used to sever Idria's wrist last time.
My linked technique with Trail, my strongest yet......
[Absolute Sword, right?]
'Tie 'em up and slice.'
[Hey.]
'What? It's accurate. Stop time, slice a foe who can't resist.'
[......]
But this new technique has an issue.
In stopped time, I can only move ten steps max.
Tested many times, couldn't go further.
As if the Celestial God said, this is your limit.
'Distance to Kaild now is about fifteen steps.'
Just five more.
Step.
I approached him, feigning calm.
Step step.
Step.
Now two steps.
One more step ahead.