Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: Hero
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"But how did you figure out that the Minister of Finance was the assassin? I had no idea."
At those words, everyone turned to look at Heineken in surprise. One member of the inspection delegation asked him about it.
"Pardon? What do you mean by..."
"The reason I was nearby is because that bastard tipped me off. After that, he deliberately headed to a remote spot to lure the assassin."
Heineken pointed the tip of his spear at Do-yoon with an incredulous expression.
"Come to think of it, whose brilliant idea was it to induce an assassination just to catch the assassin? And from a mere cadet, no less."
"It's the easiest and most effective method."
"This lunatic learned something from history books and tried imitating Lord Enoch, only to flop. No one in the world uses a method like that except him. You almost died, you idiot."
"But I didn't die. Thanks to you, Hero."
"Hah..."
He was so flabbergasted that he just shut his mouth.
"Anyway, how did you know the Minister of Finance was the assassin?"
Do-yoon looked at the system messages blinking in front of him.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Skill ‘Seventh Sense’ has been created. ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Skill ‘Localized Acceleration Control’ has been created. ⚔ STATUS ⚔ Seventh Sense (Lv. - Rate. A)
Living beings perceive phenomena through six senses: sight, hearing, taste, touch, smell, and intuition. You have honed all these senses to their limits. As a result, you have reached the realm that opens the door to a new sense that integrates them all—the Seventh Sense. This is a mystical realm akin to precognition, beyond analysis or proof.
Do-yoon remembered his fifteenth death.
Enoch Războinic, the Hero who had already claimed the title of the strongest in the Alliance. His fifteenth death had been utterly pathetic.
He had been camping with his comrades. He closed his eyes, savoring the aroma of the appetizing mushroom soup in his wooden bowl.
And when he opened them, he had already regressed.
Even at the moment of death—and after—he hadn't realized he'd been killed. Enoch Războinic, the strongest Hero of the fifteenth cycle, had died so pointlessly.
Only after investing a long time did he learn that his death had been at the hands of a Demon King's Army legion commander. The world called that being the Death God.
The title "Death God" wasn't an official rank from the Demon King's Army; it was just what people called it.
The mysterious deaths of ancient powerhouses and rulers. People attributed these eerie, terrifying events to the Death God, trembling in fear.
The perpetrator behind the enigmatic deaths of mythic and historical figures dubbed the Death God—that was the Demon King's Army's legion commander, the Death God.
To survive that horrific entity, Do-yoon had spent the entire sixteenth cycle honing only his senses.
Growing stronger could wait. First, he needed to detect the bastard's approach. What use was power if he couldn't even sense the attack until he was dead?
The result was this Seventh Sense. The ultimate realm of perception.
"Instinct."
"What?"
"Instinct."
"...You're really talking to your senior like that?"
At his words, the inspection delegation's eyes lit up.
Heineken was famous for his strict adherence to seniority among Heroes. For him to refer to himself as Do-yoon's "senior" was telling of how he viewed the cadet.
Meanwhile, Do-yoon nearly burst out laughing at the reaction. It was amusing.
Senior? Who's whose senior? Even Heineken's title of Hero came from Do-yoon's own lineage.
"Assassination attempts are familiar to me. To survive, I honed my senses to the limit. I can usually detect anyone harboring killing intent toward me."
"..."
"..."
The room fell silent at his words. Elloa flinched, and Sophie's tears grew thicker.
Heineken's mouth hung open for a moment before he awkwardly looked away and scratched his neck.
"Ahem! ...Right. I see."
"?"
Do-yoon tilted his head at the reactions around him for a second before brushing it off and asking what had been on his mind.
"By the way... Villen's Minister of Finance was the assassin."
"...Indeed."
Heineken looked down at the Minister of Finance pinned beneath him with complicated eyes.
"Does your instinct tell you that?"
"Yeah. I have a rough idea of what happened. The entire royal family is probably demons."
Everyone gasped in shock, unable to close their mouths.
An entire nation handed over to the Demon King, maintaining its facade for twenty years. It was horrifying.
Villen was infamous for pouring an absurd amount of its national budget into intelligence gathering. Now, it all made sense.
"Everyone here needs to keep this quiet. It's a critical matter for the Alliance— I ask for your cooperation."
The inspection delegation and the Dean nodded. The delegation could be trusted, and the instructors here would be handled by the Dean.
"What will you do next?"
Elloa asked. Her eyes shone coldly and calmly, as befitting the Guild Master of the World Tree.
"The moment I return, I'll launch an investigation and begin an audit under Hero authority. Stay silent just until then."
"...An audit? Isn't that just covering your eyes and pretending?"
"..."
"The opponent is Villen itself. It can't be resolved within their legitimate systems."
"No."
Heineken lifted his head.
"The royal family isn't Villen."
Strength entered his slumped shoulders.
"The people are Villen."
His eyes, blazing with resolve as if lit from within, resembled those of a beast.
The air shifted. Some stroked their arms where their hairs stood on end.
They could sense it intuitively.
War is coming.
Villen's White Tiger, Heineken. For him, it would be a long and lonely battle.
"...Do you need reinforcements?"
"Geographically close, I'll request some cooperation from Skeletoia. But you'll step in to help actively, senior."
"Ah..."
Elloa nodded with a low hum.
The army of immortals. They could provide Heineken with significant aid.
"I can help."
All eyes turned to Do-yoon at his quiet voice.
An audacious statement from a mere cadet. Yet, strangely, it didn't sound absurd.
There was no guarantee Demon King's spies lurked only in the palace. His guild might have them too—likely with high probability.
The one who spotted a Demon King's assassin at a glance could surely offer substantial help.
But Heineken shook his head.
"No need."
"...This isn't just Villen's problem. For the Alliance..."
"You're unbelievable. Hey, are you really a cadet?"
Heineken snorted, but he couldn't hide the faint smile tugging at his lips.
Do-yoon's attitude, already invoking the greater good of the Alliance, and his senior-junior helpfulness—it was too likable. He had to recruit this guy no matter what.
With a chuckle, Heineken rose, using his knee for leverage while still sitting on the assassin.
"You're a cadet. Cadets have their role."
"...And what's that?"
"Grow."
Slinging his spear over his shoulder and standing on his own two feet, his sturdy build struck Do-yoon anew.
"Survive with all your might. And get stronger. Your role is to thrust a blade into the Demon King's heart one day."
"..."
"I'm Villen's Războinic. Resolving this is my role."
Do-yoon said no more. Neither did the inspection delegation or instructors.
Do-yoon simply gazed into his eyes, brimming with determination.
If they're all like this...
The custom of granting his own Războinic title to each nation's strongest. As the source, Do-yoon had always found it embarrassing.
But if every Războinic was like him—if such men claimed to uphold his legacy.
This would truly be the greatest honor for him. So thought Enoch Războinic.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"Now we just need to drain the stale blood from your lungs."
"Patient, blood will rise in your throat. Don't swallow it—spit it all out."
As Do-yoon's emergency treatment neared completion, Heineken and the inspection delegation gathered before the assassin Minister of Finance, discussing his fate.
"Negotiating with the Demon King's Army is pointless."
"No value as a prisoner, so interrogation it is. Though... that probably won't yield much either. Tch."
"Why not just behead him and use it for PR?"
Do-yoon, listening in, blinked his now-healed eyes.
"We have to try. I'll summon the best interrogators."
Milaine gently wiped around his eyes with her finger.
"Patient, any discomfort?"
"..."
Having heard everything, Do-yoon sat up.
The healers jumped in alarm as he moved abruptly, trying to stop him.
"Ah, you can't move yet!"
"I'm fine."
"Pardon?"
"I'm fine."
Milaine, meeting his eyes, fell silent. Strangely... his presence overwhelmed her, sealing her lips.
What kind of cadet...
Do-yoon limped toward the Minister of Finance.
If this guy's really from the Demon King's direct assassination unit...
They couldn't let them interrogate him.
If Do-yoon's hunch was right and he was hiding it too—if Heineken or another key figure fell to it. That would be disastrous.
It would be better for Do-yoon—who had stashed a top-grade antidote item in a continental vault—to retrieve it now
Do-yoon taunted the Minister via telepathy.
[Hey. You, you saw me 100 years ago, right?] "...!"
The Minister, who had been limp until then, snapped his head up.
"Wh-what? What's wrong with this bastard?"
"Cadet Han Do-yoon! Step back!"
The Minister's eyes widened to the tearing point, his pupils shaking like in an earthquake.
As I thought... you are...!
Did the gods meddle? Didn't that guy perish creating the System? When did he pull this trick?
He was terrified. Of the massacre from a century ago repeating. Of that hand reaching the Demon King's throat again.
No...!
He had to kill him. Prevent him from reaching Her Majesty, from harming her sacred form. No matter what, right here.
Blood began boiling in the Minister's body. The blood in his veins turned gaseous, reverting to its primal form: mana.
"Wh-what's happening?!"
"Why's he suddenly like this?!"
As the Minister suddenly rolled his eyes back and convulsed, people recoiled in horror. Veins bulged grotesquely across his skin.
Heineken, noticing from afar, rushed over—but it was too late.
Die, Războinic!!
The moment his head flew from his flesh-colored spear, the curse completed.
"No!!"
With Heineken's scream reaching out to Do-yoon, the blood-red curse stabbed into his heart.
And at that instant.
Pzzt—
...Huh?
The curse vanished.
...What?
Do-yoon, bewildered by the curse's sudden disappearance contrary to his expectations, touched his chest.
Heineken, charging at him, grabbed his shoulders.
"You son of a—!"
"Wh-what happened?!"
"A curse! Healers! Mages! Everyone, over here—now!"
The once-quiet scene erupted into chaos again.
...Why did it vanish?
Amid the commotion, Do-yoon tilted his head at the inexplicable phenomenon.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Two weeks after the Boss Monster Killer assassination attempt.
The Cradle's eighth week came to a close.
Opulent carriages, clutching contracts tightly, waited for the Cradle's gates to open.
Today marked the Cradle's end—and the day the battle to recruit the Boss Monster Killer would unfold.
