Chapter 176
Chapter 176
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 176
Chapter Title: For Whom Does the Bag Open? (6)
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***
The South Palace Lord's palace was the oldest building in the city.
Before the Soviets seized this land, it had been a small castle used as a retreat for the emperor.
Around the castle, where the pride of its fallen glory was etched into the passage of time, there were almost no signs of battle, astonishingly enough.
It looked as if the undead had deliberately avoided this area alone. The one-armed elf, Pinel, narrowed his eyes sharply.
"Whether it's the east or the south... they don't even bother hiding that they're the culprits."
As he spoke, he raised his sword—the blade that had sliced through dozens of zombies on the way from the armed inn glowed menacingly.
He looked ready to charge straight at the castle.
Then, someone standing behind Pinel cleared their throat and grabbed his shoulder.
"Pinel. From here on, let's follow my plan."
The one holding him was Ballagu, the orc disguised with illusion magic to look like the South Palace Lord.
"If things go as I expect and the South Palace Lord has vacated the castle... we can enter without bloodshed."
"..."
Persuaded by Ballagu, Pinel glared at the castle for a moment before lowering his sword and stepping back.
It was an attitude of, *Go ahead, give it a try.*
"Thank you for trusting me."
With that, Ballagu led the group—Joseph and his armed subordinates, along with dozens of women and children—toward the castle.
"Hey! Halt!"
As the crowd of dozens approached all at once, a guard on the small castle wall shouted.
"Haven't you heard the South Palace Lord's proclamation? The area around the palace is off-limits for the time being! Get lost and stop loitering!"
He must have said those words countless times, as his threatening posture looked all too familiar.
But no one in Ballagu's group backed down. In fact, some of the children even giggled while looking at the guard.
The guard's face twisted in confusion.
"Have these idiots all gone mad? I'll turn you into beehives right—"
Just as he was about to order the crossbowmen on the wall,
Ballagu stepped forward and raised his head.
"You idiots!!"
His voice boomed, echoing off the walls. The guard's bewildered expression hardened.
"What? Idiot? You dare—"
"Shut your mouth!"
"..."
"Even a mongrel dog recognizes its master! To think a mutt that can't even identify its lord's face is guarding my gates!!"
Only then did the other guards poke their heads over the wall. One of them recognized the South Palace Lord's face and swallowed hard.
"...S-South Palace Lord?"
The guards' faces, especially the one who had first shouted, contorted.
Of course, not everyone believed it without doubt. Even amid the chaos, some muttered things like, *But he was in his office...* or *The voice sounds different...*
*As expected, it won't be easy.*
Pinel, overhearing the murmurs, placed his hand on his sword hilt, ready to leap onto the wall if needed.
But Ballagu bellowed once more.
"Who the hell put trash like you on guard duty?! Dovan? No, it must be Dovan!!"
He didn't stop there, pulling a coin from his pocket and hurling it at the wall.
"Fetch him right now! This ungrateful wretch I took in and raised dares repay me like this? Bring him here NOW!! I'll punish him myself!!!"
The audacity to casually invoke the knight's name and the habit of hurling objects.
It was behavior more befitting the South Palace Lord than anyone, so the guards could no longer doubt and hurriedly began opening the gate.
"...Wow, you're a natural actor."
Joseph smirked as he watched the gate creak open. He had been gripping a grenade, ready to assault the wall if things went south.
Ballagu replied with a nonchalant expression.
"They say those who've been beaten know it best, don't they? This is nothing."
"..."
"And until we fully seize the castle, it's not over yet. Joseph, Pinel? Pretend to be the South Palace Lord's guests. I'll handle the rest."
No sooner had the two nodded than the gate ground open with a heavy rumble.
Soon after, a knight rushed out from the gate, his armor clanking as if he'd hastily thrown it on. He confirmed Ballagu's face and bowed deeply.
"S-South Palace Lord. Weren't you in your office...?"
The knight's name was Dovan—Ballagu's friend, and the very knight whose forehead Yeomyeong had split open not long ago.
"The situation turned dire, so I came back with some citizens... no, vermin."
"Pardon?"
Was the idea of saving vermin such a shock? Dovan furrowed his brow as if he'd heard something outrageous.
Regardless, Ballagu continued smoothly—or brazenly.
"Do you not know how to speak plainly? Do I have to spell out that there's a problem?!"
"...N-No, sir!"
"The plan's gone awry. Completely sideways! So I had no choice but to bring these vermin here myself... along with these two. Got it now?"
It was a sentence without a clear subject or context. But seeing the stone in Ballagu's hand, Dovan simply nodded.
Of course, to sell the act, Ballagu promptly chucked the stone at him.
"If you get it, then guide us in already! How long are you going to keep my guests standing?!"
As the stone rolled across the ground, Dovan sprang up and hurriedly led the group into the castle.
***
The Saintess's anger, revolver in hand as she chased Yeomyeong, didn't last long.
Part of it was exhaustion from using the miracle of healing, but the decisive factor was the relief of having saved millions of lives and Seti, which loosened her tension.
So, not long after pursuing Yeomyeong, the Saintess collapsed spread-eagled on the control room floor.
Yeomyeong, who had been fleeing, looked down at her and asked,
"Done with your tantrum?"
Instead of answering, she tossed the revolver at him, and he caught it lightly.
"...Wow, you jerk. How do you not take even one hit?"
"Well... I didn't do anything wrong?"
At Yeomyeong's innocent reply, the Saintess started to yell something but just shook her head.
"...Whatever, I'd rather die than deal with you."
She let out a deep sigh, then spread her arms toward Yeomyeong—a gesture asking for help to stand.
Instead of dutifully assisting as she wanted, Yeomyeong lightly used telekinesis.
It was impressive control of telekinesis, but the Saintess, suddenly floating in the air, crossed her arms with a pout.
"Not this magic—carry me on your back."
"...Hey, you're not a kid anymore."
Yeomyeong pulled her to his side with telekinesis and turned toward where the two sisters were.
Then, the Saintess whispered so Seti wouldn't hear.
"...I'll tell Seti about you smacking my butt last time."
"...Hey."
"I'll tell everyone else too. Korbus, Neti, and... Ack!"
Before the threat could drag on, Yeomyeong snapped his fingers, flicking her forehead.
Whether the Saintess clutched her forehead and teared up or not, Yeomyeong placed her on his back with telekinesis and released the spell.
"Huh?!"
Evidently not expecting him to actually piggyback her, she gasped in surprise.
A brief silence.
Yeomyeong ignored the heavy sensation on his back and hands as much as possible and said,
"What happened to Seti... wasn't your fault. So no need to torment yourself over it. Especially not by taking it out on me."
"..."
"I guarantee you, Seti won't blame you either."
"How... can you guarantee that? She got stabbed saving me, not you..."
"Just know."
A confident answer. Before the Saintess could say more, Yeomyeong added,
"If Seti won't accept your apology, I'll help you out."
Yeomyeong couldn't tell if his words comforted her or troubled her more.
She buried her face in the nape of his neck without a word.
For some reason, the tear-soaked eyepatch felt a little warmer.
***
Contrary to the Saintess's worries, Seti coolly accepted her apology.
"Seti... I'm sorry."
"Sorry? For what?"
"You getting stabbed with that spear instead of me... If I'd just been a little more careful..."
"Oh, that? It's fine, no need to apologize. Nothing to apologize for."
Seti didn't explain that she couldn't have dodged even on her knees anyway, or that saving her sister was the rational choice.
She merely gave Yeomyeong, carrying her sister on his back, a strange look.
As Neti quietly stepped back, sensing her older sister's displeasure, Seti pinched the teary-eyed Saintess's cheek and said,
"Aww, I'm really okay. I even got an Elixir out of it, and above all, I'm not dead, right?"
"Huh? How did you know it was an Elixir...?"
"Shh, it's a secret."
"..."
Seti patted the dazed Saintess's head for a moment, then poked Yeomyeong's side.
"Mr. Cheon Yeomyeong? Time for cleanup. What'll you start with?"
At her mention of cleanup, Yeomyeong surveyed the control room.
The main fight was over, but a few things remained unresolved.
Bikov, who had fled while he stored the nuclear warhead in his inventory, and the South Palace Lord, who had escaped much earlier.
And the remaining nuclear weapons.
The nukes came first, so Yeomyeong turned to find an intact monitor.
Fortunately, there was a relatively undamaged one in the corner of the control room.
Without explanation, he headed to it and addressed the three following him.
"...Keep what you see here a secret. Got it?"
Their reactions varied.
Seti smiled silently, Neti's eyes sparkled at the word "secret," and the Saintess eyed the monitor with a *No way?* expression.
The next moment, Yeomyeong activated the nuclear missile system on the monitor.
Designed assuming a nuclear war had already occurred, the program required no complex operations.
"Yeomyeong, you're really...?"
As soon as the screen showed 12 nuclear missiles remaining, the Saintess grabbed his clothes.
What he was doing was clearly the missile launch procedure.
"No need to worry—it'll never happen. Just trust me and wait a bit."
"..."
"I swear."
At his earnest words, the Saintess released his clothes and nodded.
Right after, an image of the underground missile silo appeared on the large wall monitor, where the dormant nukes slept.
Twelve missiles, fueled and ready to launch under preservation magic circles.
Yeomyeong took in the sight and thought,
*'I am death, the destroyer of worlds...'*
Recalling a line from the Hindu scripture *Bhagavad Gita*, he made one vow.
*If possible, don't use those nukes.*
Because he'd witnessed the East Palace Lord Bikov's madness here today?
Or remembering America's history of igniting the Second Western Pioneering Era and obliterating the World Tree?
No, neither. What made Yeomyeong hesitate was a sudden ominous premonition that flashed through his mind.
The moment he relied on nukes to kill millions, he could no longer remain the man he was now... an intuition close to certainty.
His thoughts reached that point, and he turned to look at his companions: Neti, Seti, and the Saintess.
Meeting the eyes of the three looking not at the nukes but at him, the ominous chill creeping up his spine faded.
"Need help?"
Seti asked, meeting his gaze. Seeing his reflection in her blue eyes, Yeomyeong slowly shook his head.
"...I'm good. I've already got all the help I need."
With that, he reached toward the monitor.
As Seti's eyes curved into crescents and the Saintess swallowed hard,
The 12 missiles on the screen vanished into subspace simultaneously.
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