Chapter 194: Even Better
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 194: Even Better
Kim Min-su was taken aback by how quickly the rejection came.
Moreover, the look on the other man's face was one of utter contempt.
‘Hey, I’m still the Hero. Isn’t this treatment a bit much?’
Was he looking down on him just because he’d seen him struggling lately?
Ha, seriously. Should he show him his true power or not?
Though a surge of irritation rose within him, Min-su quickly calmed himself.
As a Hero, he welcomed these kinds of trials and tribulations.
‘He’s just one of those obstacles that get in the way of the Holy Sword, that’s all.’
Besides, such things were nothing to someone like him, who had realized the Truth and Reason of the Universe.
With that thought, Min-su spoke up.
"Why not?"
"Because you won't be able to handle it."
"What does that—"
Min-su cut himself off mid-sentence.
‘Wait... he said "handle it"?’
What else came along with pulling the Holy Sword?
Min-su racked his brain, a rare occurrence for him.
The effort made his head throb, but he could still endure it.
‘Something else to shoulder besides just owning the Holy Sword...’
There was only one thing he could think of.
‘The Saintess!’
To think he could get the Saintess just by pulling the sword.
Even supermarket sales weren't this generous.
This was an absolute steal.
"Baelson, I’m the one Rubenia designated as the Hero. Does it make sense to stop me from pulling the Holy Sword? Especially when you’re still a nobody?"
As soon as his thoughts were organized, Min-su spoke out.
The fact that Baelson had been attached to him as a watcher was now working in Min-su's favor.
Maybe not in Victory, but in the Holy Kingdom, Min-su was treated as more than a VIP.
The Saintess, the Pope, and Baek Tae-yang might be able to ignore him completely, but the rest of them couldn't.
‘I didn't expect him to push back like this.’
He was more reckless and rude than expected.
Baelson clenched his fists, trying to think of a way to break the deadlock.
However, he realized there was nothing he could resolve on his own right now.
‘If I cause a scene here, things will get annoying.’
The first solution that came to mind was taking him to the Pope.
He knew from a previous encounter that Kim Min-su found the Pope difficult to deal with.
Furthermore, when dealing with someone so thoughtless, it was ideal to suppress them with authority.
Since Min-su was the textbook definition of someone who was weak against the strong and strong against the weak, it would likely be effective.
"Then, I will first escort you to His Holiness."
"Right! You should've said that from the start!"
But.
"By the way, why have you been speaking informally to me? I don't recall us being on such terms."
"Huh? Oh, that... that was just to give off a VIP vibe."
"There won't be a next time. If you're a Hero, show some manners."
"..."
He couldn't let the informal speech slide.
+++++++++
‘Did he drag it out this long just to say that one thing?’
That was my first thought upon hearing the question of whether I could "handle it."
I thought there would be something massive, but "handling it" just meant taking responsibility for the Saintess.
There was no curse, nor were there any particular penalties.
"Yes, of course."
I already had several women I had to handle; one more wasn't going to change anything.
‘Actually, it’s even better.’
From stealing the Protagonist Share to screwing over Kim Min-su.
An increase in the number of women I had to take responsibility for was an absolute win for me.
Someone might ask how I planned to deal with the aftermath.
That was my problem to solve, not something for others to stick their noses into.
"I'm all ready."
So stop stalling.
I swallowed the rest of my words and looked at Perkus.
I couldn't stand listening to any more talk about the greed of holy men or whatever.
The urge to pull the Holy Sword as soon as possible filled my mind.
"I understand. Actually, since Lady Rubenia mentioned it herself, it is rather ridiculous for me to be acting like this."
Who am I to block the path?
‘You’ve been blocking it this whole time, though.’
With those words, Perkus rose from his seat.
"Follow me. We can discuss the rest on the way."
"Yes, sir."
He walked straight out of the VIP room and headed toward the statue at the very front of Akabellum.
Behind the massive figure of the praying person, there was a space, almost as if it were meant to be there.
‘There’s a space behind the pillar.’
Just as I was about to follow Perkus with that thought in mind—
SLAM!
The main gates of Akabellum swung wide open.
"Baek Tae-yang! I won't tolerate any cuttin' in line!"
"It's 'cutting' in line."
"Whatever!"
It was Kim Min-su’s sudden appearance.
But this was an all-too-predictable development.
‘I was wondering when he’d show up.’
As long as Chubby Ahn was by Kim Min-su’s side, he would have found a way to let him know about the Holy Sword.
Besides, Perkus had dragged the conversation out so long that there was plenty of time for him to arrive.
Perhaps the reason he stalled was due to some unavoidable causality.
It was likely a preliminary setup to create the result where 'Kim Min-su must pull the Holy Sword.'
"Your Holiness! I want to pull the Holy Sword! Please let me!"
"Hmm... Well, follow us for now."
Perkus openly displayed a look of pure distaste as he beckoned Kim Min-su over.
Even after seeing that expression, Kim Min-su didn't even flinch; I supposed he really was the Indomitable Hero.
Normally, it wouldn't be easy to approach someone smiling when they had such a rotten look on their face.
‘Is he just good-natured, or is he completely oblivious?’
It was probably the latter.
"If something like this was happening, you should've called me immediately! Baek Tae-yang, were you trying to pull the Holy Sword all by yourself while leaving me, the Hero, behind?"
"Don't talk to me. You're annoying."
At least he seemed to have some sense of the atmosphere; seeing me with the Pope, he seemed to have grasped the situation.
Judging by his behavior and excited face, he had likely deduced the part about the Saintess as well.
"To continue what I was saying earlier, the Holy Sword being connected to the Saintess does not refer to her physical or mental state."
"Oh..."
"Then do you mean their powers are linked?"
A disappointed Kim Min-su fell silent with a sigh, and I continued the questioning.
"And taking responsibility means using the Saintess's power?"
"You could say that."
I followed Perkus as we slowly moved into a narrow cave entrance.
I wondered how much space could possibly be behind a pillar, but it was quite substantial.
The damp cave atmosphere and pitch-black darkness were reminiscent of a dungeon.
If he hadn't been leading the way, I wouldn't have been able to tell front from back.
‘Is he walking without even lighting a torch to prevent us from memorizing the path?’
How thoroughly are they guarding this Holy Sword?
But then again, seeing him walk briskly without any other precautions, maybe that wasn't it.
‘Or maybe he’s deactivating security devices one by one as he walks... Ah, I see.’
Once my eyes had fully adjusted to the darkness and I could distinguish my surroundings.
I was able to observe Perkus's every move in detail.
His hands were moving busily with every step he took.
‘Heh, this is no joke.’
On the surface, it looked like anyone could just walk into the space behind the pillar.
In reality, it was a high-security area where even the Pope had to move busily just to advance a single step.
"But why does it feel like this is taking so long?"
Kim Min-su, failing to notice any of this, just trudged along and grumbled.
It’s not easy to become unlikeable in just a sentence or two.
Yet Kim Min-su was achieving that difficult feat with ease.
"By grasping the Holy Sword, one can wield immense power. Things like... well, I don't need to explain; they appear in various fantasy novels."
Borrowing the power of a god, or standing against destiny—that sort of thing.
Perkus slowly reduced his walking speed, as if we had almost arrived.
"But isn't it strange? To gain such power just by pulling a sword. And to be able to use it at will. All without any penalty."
Just hearing about it gave me a sense of how incredible it was.
Even if one didn't know how to use Divine Power, it was insane cost-efficiency to pull off Main Skill-level power with a single piece of equipment.
On top of that, the only penalty was taking responsibility for the Saintess—it was a level of irresponsible pleasure.
Calling it "broken" felt like an understatement.
"But where would such power come from? Naturally, there is a penalty. And the Holy Sword... imposed that penalty on the Saintess."
So that was it.
With every word Perkus spoke, I understood why he had stalled so much when talking about the Holy Sword.
If Divine Power was a car, the Holy Sword was the steering wheel, and the Saintess was the fuel itself.
The more one unleashed power that came without a price, the more the Saintess would weaken, and in severe cases, she could even die.
‘And right now, the Saintess has even lost her power.’
Therefore, using the Holy Sword now was equivalent to holding the Saintess's life in one's hands.
"There are a few more things... but I have told you the most important part for now."
The rest can be discussed after the sword is pulled.
As Perkus finished his sentence and stopped walking, the surroundings instantly brightened.
Warm sunlight shone from above, as if the ceiling were open, illuminating the area.
"That's the Holy Sword...!"
And in the center of that light.
A single sword, thrust into the ground, boasted its noble appearance.
About half of the blade was buried in the earth.
‘Looks like Excalibur.’
That was just Chubby Ahn’s taste.
While I was thinking that, Perkus got straight to the point.
"Then, who will try first?"
"Me, obviously!"
"I'll go first."
Leaving the loud-mouthed Kim Min-su behind, I walked straight forward.
It was based on the judgment that it would be best to prevent Kim Min-su from interfering with the story as much as possible.
Just by attempting it first, the chances of him playing a role would decrease.
Step, step.
Only three steps to the Holy Sword.
I didn't know why these three steps felt so heavy.
‘I have a feeling Kim Min-su will definitely pull it.’
The pressure that I had to pull it and the worry of what would happen if I couldn't.
These two things began to bind my entire body.
Grip.
I firmly grasped the hilt of the Holy Sword with both hands.
"Hup!"
Creeeeeak.
‘Dammit, it’s not even budging.’
The Holy Sword showed no sign of coming out.
I put all my strength into it, but the sword only made a loud noise without moving an inch.
"Move, Baek Tae-yang! Looks like you can't pull it!"
Seeing this, Kim Min-su started running his mouth excitedly.
‘I don't think so.’
[Tyrant activated! The Tyrant has descended. Lowly beings dare not look upon him.]
I immediately activated Tyrant to add more strength.
It was troublesome to be discriminated against just because my Protagonist Share was a bit low.
If I could just steal a little more, my ratio would be higher.
‘Who do you think you are to reject me?’
Creeak, creeak, creeak, creeak, creeak.
It didn't sound like the Holy Sword was coming out; it sounded like it was screaming in agony.
It was a stubborn attitude, as if it had no intention of leaving and had already decided on its master.
It was incredibly arrogant.
‘I wasn't going to use this.’
[Demonization activated! Demonization has been activated while Tyrant is active. The Lord of Greed has appeared in the mortal realm.]
The message was different than before.
However, I didn't have time to focus on that right now.
‘Please, just come out!’
Creeak, creeeeak, thud, thud, thud, rumble.
Snap, snap.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
I felt something snapping and rising bit by bit.
You really only listen when I use force.
"Huh? Huh? Huh?"
A flustered Kim Min-su.
"What in the...?"
And the horrified voice of Perkus reached my ears.
BOOM!
With a roar that sounded like it would collapse the cave, the Holy Sword was yanked out.
‘I did it!’
The Holy Sword was perfectly pulled.
It felt heavy, but that was probably just my imagination.
Without a shred of doubt, I opened my eyes immediately.
"...T-This is..."
Perkus stammered, unable to finish his sentence.
I could fully understand his state of mind.
"...Anyway, I pulled it, right?"
Because the Holy Sword had been ripped out along with the chunk of earth it was stuck in, and was now being held in the air.