Chapter 167
Chapter 167
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 167
Chapter Title: 14. Farther Than Love, Closer Than Friendship (15)
"Tastes awful."
Chen clicked his tongue in annoyance from his hideout near the Magic Tower. His very essence was that of an explorer. The power granted by the Demon God was the same, making it no challenge to pierce through the essence of life, the truth of humanity, and the nature of chimeras.
Thanks to that damn goddess, he'd failed to unearth the memories of that man-woman pair. But no mage, no matter how skilled, could possibly block a mental assault bolstered by the Demon God's power.
And the results were beyond his wildest imaginings.
To think he could be reborn here from some world unknown to Chen.
And as a sniveling loser masquerading as a professor, no less!
His hands trembled at the thought of dragging that vile, cowardly human—who hid his past while pretending to be polite and noble—out into the open.
"Hey. I've got your position locked. Come out. Before I blast your hiding spot to kingdom come."
But the infuriating one was that man.
Yulius, who supported and dragged out the professor even after learning her true face.
If it were purely him needing help, Chen would gladly take his hand. But seeing him help another woman with a smiling face rubbed him the wrong way.
"Hmph. Fine. I'm Chen, a demon bestowed the epithet 'Explorer' by the Demon God himself!"
"You came out surprisingly willingly."
"I already knew I'd been found out. No point in running, then."
"I see."
He drew his sword without hesitation. Chen had heard he'd acquired a holy sword, but he'd never realized it exuded such a ferocious aura. Had something happened to boost his power?
Come to think of it, during the fight where Yulius had slain Chen's gem dragon, he'd forcibly drawn out his strength despite being drained, and Chen had witnessed the stigmata appear on his arm.
Could it be because of those stigmata?
"Scary, scary. Humans who grow stronger under pressure are the ultimate terror in a way."
"I'm just afraid of your endless malice."
"What of it? If that holy sword slices me, this fragile body of mine will meet the Demon God in one stroke. If it doesn't touch me, that's that."
My epithet is Explorer.
I explore and analyze to produce results.
Once my analysis is complete, the modifications can proceed without end.
"Here we go again—a massive monster. Let's see how long you last!"
He absorbed the surrounding eyes. Nearby plants joined in. Even a portion of the Magic Tower's outer wall—already analyzed by her—became material.
Instant golems lacked intricate designs or flashy forms, which irked him, but quality materials guaranteed solid performance.
This golem's main weapon was simple.
"Yulius! The Magic Tower's magic barrier can activate!"
"Ah, for real. You. Shut your mouth already. Don't you know giant golem function explanations are for the developers?"
Chen whipped his blue hair as he drew a bow from his back, nocked an arrow, and loosed it. Barrier magic taught at the Magic Tower was all the same. He'd modified the arrow to pierce it without fail.
"I'll protect the rear! Professor, focus on offense!"
"...Thank you."
Aah, annoying.
They're coordinating their attacks like that, huh.
"Don't you have any pride? Doesn't that woman's ugly mug piss you off? She acts all high and mighty in front of you while hiding her filthy past!"
"At the very least, I..."
Yulius cleaved the rigid stone golem in a single stroke with his sword and spoke.
"...believe that true remorse takes courage. True apology takes courage. Even with past mistakes, everyone has the right to move forward. Whether that's accepted is up to individual judgment."
"Ah, seriously! You blabbering bastard! I hate perfect-on-the-outside, perfect-on-the-inside humans like you!"
"Funny. As if I'm perfect."
As if reflecting his mood, the flames from the holy sword shifted from golden to a mix of red.
No— the energy flowing from the stigmata on his arm began emitting a blood-like hue.
"How many failures lie behind perfect etiquette, one perfect step behind."
The golem's wooden shield splintered.
"How many botched swings precede one perfect sword stroke."
The metal forming the golem's body melted away.
"How much pathetic, cruel wretchedness lurks behind the human connections one desperately sought perfection in."
The magic defense system crafted from the Magic Tower's barrier crumbled.
"If you're worthy of the name Explorer, you must know. Just as failure is inevitable in research and experimentation."
"You worked harder than me?"
"I don't care to rank efforts. What's important is doing your duty where you stand."
"Ha. Fine. So what if you're right? That woman!"
"Hey."
Yulius, wreathed in golden flames with blood-red energy lingering near his arm, closed in on Chen, grabbed his collar, and pressed his forehead to Chen's.
"Look closely. See what it means when I forgive."
Chen saw.
Yulius's previous life. His unfortunate existence. The one mistake amid it all, and the consequences that followed his cowardice.
And the life he'd lived after rebirth.
The resolve he'd carried to reach this point.
"This forgiveness—it's something only I can give. No one else."
"Ha, hahaha! Hahahahaha! Right! Yulius! Now I see why no one understood you. But the current me!"
Another section of the analyzed Magic Tower wall broke free. The wrecked golem's remains realigned.
It was crafting weapons solely to kill Yulius.
Resistances to his powers and weapons. And a blade that could shred Selene—who he secretly cherished—in an instant.
"You've shown it to me! Regret it in the afterlife!"
"Every bastard who says crap like that ends up wasting their time."
He brushed it off as a joke, but the rebuilt golem's traits proved burdensome. Even gripping the holy sword while blood poured from the stigmata, Yulius began to lose the head-on clash.
And the most troublesome were the pitch-black mana bolts that kept flying if attention wavered—ones neither Selene nor Ermina could easily block.
It was a stalemate. But Yulius was slowly being pushed back.
With both Selene and Ermina focused on defense, unable to assist, defeat loomed.
"You damn demon bitch. Do you know how much those outer walls you ripped off cost?"
The Magic Tower Master revealed herself.
She glared down at the Magic Tower's ravaged exterior, fury etched on her face, and swung her staff once.
Along its arc, a grand magic circle formed—one that would take ordinary mages hours just to construct.
A secret technique: unleashing over ten different grand spells in rapid succession.
Only possible in her home ground, the Magic Tower—but conversely, unbeatable around it.
"...Her magic defenses are weak."
True to her epithet of Explorer, she'd fixated so intensely on her target that the golem had no way to withstand those terrifying barrages.
"I said every bastard who talks big wastes their time, right?"
Yulius laughed, his forehead torn open, face splattered with blood from a golem block gone wrong.
Chen sensed doom and tried to flee, but this was the Magic Tower Master's turf. All teleportation—spatial jumps—jammed, she hammered him with lethal spells.
"Eek. Agh."
"That bitch is still alive, huh."
"...Tower Master. A moment, please."
"For your request, I can grant a brief stay of execution."
As the battered high demon—torn apart by attacks fit for the empire's strongest mage—lay there, Selene approached.
"...Honestly, having my memories rifled through without permission pissed me off. But learning that someone stays by my side even knowing it all? That's thanks to you."
"You... kuh. Yulius."
"So, to end this, thanks."
As Selene looked up, the Tower Master's magic roared anew. Yulius was awed by her ability to obliterate a being nearly impossible to kill without holy power using sheer magical firepower.
He too had strived for supremacy in many ways and neared it against demons, but her output against favorable matchups demanded respect.
"Tower Master. Well done."
"No. You three drew her out and bought me time to prepare fully."
"Maybe we can have tea sometime as thanks."
In the warm conclusion, only Ermina's expression stiffened slightly.
Selene spoke to her, face rigid, eyes downcast.
"What's wrong?"
"No, it's just... I didn't really do much again this time."
"You protected me at the start, Ermina."
"That was..."
"And you and Yulius gave me the courage to wake up."
"...Yes."
"So, as thanks, one piece of advice: tell Yulius everything later. Why you like him. What you like about him. Why you want to be together. How it hurts feeling useless. What you want to do going forward. All of it—discuss it together."
"And you, Professor...?"
"I left someone I loved behind in my past life."
I'll make room for you.
Selene's words lingered as Ermina quietly gazed at Yulius's profile, chatting and smiling with the Tower Master.