Chapter 291
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[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]
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▼
Recorded Character: “Iira Aklin” has been replicated.
▼
Recorded Character: “Taylor” has been replicated.
▲
The hero ran towards the knot hole of the World Tree visible in the distance.
Iira and Taylor were collapsed on the outskirts of the Immortals Realm.
The center was quite a distance away. In the center, Larze was confronting Theo, and a fierce lightning storm was raging.
Crash-
The sound belatedly hit his ears.
The situation seemed evenly matched at a glance.
‘…But reality must be different.’
No matter how much Larze was an unrivaled archmage among humans, the opponent was Theo.
Originally, magicians are exceedingly weak against superior magicians.
They are entirely different from martial artists, who have a chance of winning even if their skills are slightly lacking.
No matter how much Nyhill helped, Larze was already at her limit.
That was why the hero had to suppress the anger that felt like it was burning his chest whole.
The enemy wasn’t someone to face recklessly in a fit of rage.
‘I am the only one who can resolve this situation. I must stay calm.’
The hero, as always, suppressed his emotions—anger, sorrow, and even the self-reproach for not having foreseen and prepared for this disaster.
Crack-!
He returned to his calm demeanor and cut down the undead that rushed at him to stop him.
They were guardians resurrected by Theo’s power.
…It was at that moment that a voice echoed in his mind.
[Quite easy]
The hero didn’t immediately grasp the context of the words.
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
[Forgiveness]
‘…They must have realized Ted’s intentions at the last moment, and the misunderstanding about me was cleared up.’
??? sneered.
[How naive. Do you think I was talking about that woman?]
‘What?’
[I’m talking about you, fool. Even a sucker has limits.]
Crack-!
The hero rolled and dodged the falling fragments of the World Tree.
[For the past three years, they didn’t issue a single statement affirming you. They pretended not to know what you had been doing all this time, even though they vaguely realized it.]
[And then, they throw a simple apology before dying? That apology is ultimately to relieve their own guilt.]
??? mocked.
[Let’s talk about something a bit older.]
[If you had been caught on that hill in Rosenstark, what do you think would have happened?]
[They would have undoubtedly captured you and tortured you. They would have tried to extract everything from your identity to the whereabouts of Ted Redymer, without any hesitation, tearing your flesh and breaking your bones.]
As the hero who had read Iira and Taylor’s essence, he couldn’t outright deny it.
Indeed, they harbored such dark impulses.
At the time, the members were out of their minds with grief and anger over Ted’s death, and they were half-crazed with suspicion and fear of the unknown entity, the doppelg?nger.
As ??? said, if things had gone a bit wrong, such an outcome would have occurred.
The hero nodded.
‘Yes, that’s true.’
[…]
??? was briefly silent, perhaps surprised by the easy agreement, then asked again, seemingly in disbelief.
[You can now read all the essence. Why on earth do you forgive? How can you not be filled with hatred?]
The hero sighed briefly.
‘This reaction was exactly as I expected.’
The hero already knew that ??? reacted violently in such situations.
This was ???’s deficiency and trauma.
‘Ah.’
In that moment, the hero instinctively realized that this dialogue would determine whether he would gain ???’s sincere assistance or completely sever ties with him.
…The hero stopped as if making a resolution.
‘Promise me one thing.’
[What?]
Crash-
By now, Theo and Larze were close enough to be seen with the naked eye.
They were hurling magical projectiles at each other in the air, with nearly half of Larze’s projectiles dissipating in the air.
‘Swear to help me with all your might in this fight if I provide a satisfactory answer. Swear it with your name and existence.’
[I swear. But…]
??? growled fiercely.
[If you spout nonsense about seeing light in some humans, I swear I’ll kill you.]
It wasn’t just an empty threat from a mere thoughtform.
??? had a clear way to do it.
For instance, if he dragged the hero into the mental world during the battle with Theo, the hero would die helplessly.
…In the urgent situation, the hero carefully chose his words while recalling the dialogues he had shared with ??? in the past mental worlds.
‘Why do you hate humans so much?’
[Because they possess an inherently evil nature. Therefore, I have hated them intensely, continue to hate them, and will always hate them.]
In fact, from that time, the hero had been preparing an answer for him.
??? was right; the essence of humanity is evil.
The hero also despised the evil inherent in human nature.
He despised the manifestation of evil that caused Ted’s death and brought countless innocent people to suffer, more than anyone else.
“I too loathe the evil within humans.”
??? asked in a doubtful voice.
[…Suddenly?]
“I hate humans who live their entire lives without ever relinquishing or eradicating that evil.”
[Yes, but…]
“But some are different.”
??? shouted in anger.
[If you start talking nonsense about some being different, I’ll kill you right here…]
“I’ll explain, so shut up and listen.”
[…What?]
Of course, there have been times when the vast majority of humans were evil.
But even in the repeating history of evil, a few humans evolved.
Through the painstaking education they accumulated.
By upholding morals and ethics.
They grew.
“They gradually established the intelligence and standards to define, reject, and judge ‘evil.'”
Those who learned from Ted did so.
The disciples who learned from him did so.
And others who learned from those disciples will do the same.
“They will walk the right path, make difficult choices, and prove that the values I believe in are not wrong.”
[Nonsense!]
“…You don’t have to look far. Look at Iira.”
[Are you using that woman as proof? You must have seen the foolishness and dark impulses in a corner of her heart too!]
“I saw them.”
[Then!]
“So what.”
But was she truly evil?
The woman who spent her entire life on the battlefield for the salvation of others?
“You must know better than anyone how easily someone with power can live. Then why did she choose this life, whom you claim to be evil?”
[……]
“Yes, it’s because she saw and followed the predecessor, Ted Redymer. She replicated him.”
[Replicated…?]
Humans live by imitating others, just like us.
“So we, who can embody the most, are paradoxically the ones who can show humans what to imitate and where to head.”
Just as the light that started with Ted shone on him and all his connections.
“That must be why you appeared in the first age, where evildoers prevailed. It would have been better if you had realized it sooner.”
??? murmured in a subdued voice.
[I…]
The hero realized why the conversations he had with his disciples earlier overlapped with the dialogue with ???.
Dreamscape.
An artifact that shows the illusion desired by the viewer.
The hero, who holds and practices good.
Being acknowledged by humans despite being a doppelganger, was like a dreamscape illusion to ???.
??? was looking at him with such a perspective.
“So, you.”
Srrrng—
The hero raised the black hope.
“Do you wish for me to fail as well?”
[……]
As the hero asked this, he turned towards the approaching storm of demonic energy that had come right in front of him. Rumble—!
There was no more time to continue talking.
He had said everything he wanted to say to ???.
Now it was time to fight, regardless of whether he would help or not.
“…If I’ve said this much, at least you won’t interfere.”
The hero gathered his resolve and drew upon his magic power.
Whoosh—
Flames wrapped around his sword.
The flames that turned his vision white gradually descended onto the sword like starlight.
The white flames burned even fiercer within the black storm of demonic energy.
Like the master who shone in a hopeless era.
“…”
At that moment, as Theo and the hero’s gazes met in midair,
…The awaited answer returned.
[I will help]
* * *
A moment later, there was a brief additional comment.
[Not because I was convinced, but because I also hate those bastards]
…Of course, he ignored it lightly.
With ???’s full cooperation,
The hero felt like he had gained an army of a thousand and immediately leapt towards Theo.
He had already assessed the situation as he approached the vicinity of the Knot Hole.
Nyhill seemed to have fled as she wasn’t a match, and there was a presence inside the Knot Hole, with Larze struggling.
It seemed tough for now, but with his assistance, the tide of the battle would soon turn.
[Wait, there’s something you need to know before you fight]
???’s voice stopped him.
“Something I need to know?”
——————
[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]
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[The one before you is not the main body, but an ‘incarnation’]
“…What?”
The hero’s expression hardened at ???’s words.
He instinctively scanned the surrounding devastation.
He instinctively scanned the surrounding devastation.
“An incarnation this strong? That can’t be.”
He had encountered Theo’s incarnation before.
In the past, right here in the Great Forest, he had been cursed by it.
Back then, it felt quite powerful, but now it was at a level he could tear apart in an instant.
“No matter how powerful it became by absorbing Yol, this doesn’t make sense.”
Maybe if it were the Demon King.
But an incarnation creating a barrier encompassing the entire Great Forest, corrupting the World Tree, facing Laplace and the Dawn Knights, and overpowering Nyhill and Larze? Impossible.
But before the hero could question it, ??? provided the answer.
[He absorbed Yol. And Yol had a special ability related to incarnations. Remember? The incarnation that killed Rosalyn.]
Yol could create an incarnation on the spot and imbue it with as much power as he wanted.
The hero’s brow furrowed.
“So how much of the main body’s power is this incarnation using now?”
[It seems to exceed half. It appears he adjusts it as needed. When he launched a full-scale attack on the Great Forest, he must have used 80 to 90 percent… but now, it seems to be around 60 percent. He seems to not want it revealed that it’s an incarnation.]
The hero was shocked by two facts.
One was that 60 percent of Theo’s power was still overwhelmingly strong.
The other was…
“So even if I defeat him here, it won’t matter?”
Killing an incarnation did deal a significant blow to the main body.
They were closely connected.
He would likely lose as much power as was imbued in the incarnation for a while.
But that was ultimately a recoverable loss.
“…”
Even the hero couldn’t help but lose his composure at this fact.
They had already sacrificed so much.
Irreplaceable things.
And yet, they couldn’t deal a decisive blow to Theo.
Half of the 1st and 2nd divisions were annihilated, but as long as Theo was alive, it meant nothing.
…At that moment.
[There is a way]
“A way?”
[If you kill the incarnation in a place where its connection to the main body is completely severed, that power won’t return to the main body but will dissipate entirely.]
“…”
[You already know the way]
The hero, who had been staring intently at Theo, slowly nodded.
“…I see.”
.
.
.
Meanwhile, Theo was half-heartedly dealing with Larze, keeping all his senses focused on the “fake hero.”
‘Hmm, maybe it’s time to retreat.’
He had already achieved his goal by corrupting the World Tree.
He had also dealt with the annoying Laplace and the Dawn Knights, so there was nothing more to ask for.
He thought of breaking the seal and killing Larze as well, but the appearance of the fake hero made him hesitate.
‘…It’s hard to gauge how powerful that creature is exactly.’
Of course, it wouldn’t be as strong as when he fought their king hundreds of years ago, but he still couldn’t help but be cautious.
Even if it was just an incarnation, losing it would mean spending a whole year doing nothing but recovering his demonic energy.
All sorts of scum might attack him during that weakened state.
‘The resistance was stronger than expected, so I used more power too.’
Alright, let’s retreat.
With that decision, Theo drew upon 60 percent of the power from his main body and prepared the power of “Loss.”
Larze could barely resist at her level.
While she struggled to hold on, he planned to dismantle the barrier and use that demonic energy to teleport.
Woooo—
Larze’s face twisted with tension.
The hero was running towards them, but it was too late.
By the time his sword reached here, Theo would already be at the Demon King’s Castle.
Theo grinned wildly and sent his power toward Larze.
“Heh.”
At the same moment, Larze’s lips curved into a gentle smile.
Theo frowned, sensing something ominous.
“What?”
Woooo—
A barrier that interfered with teleportation suddenly unfolded nearby.
Larze had cast a spell, disregarding her defense.
Theo’s eyes widened.
Larze, who should have withered away immediately, was still standing.
Instead, the staff she extended, “White Despair,” was cracking and crumbling like a tree in a long drought.
“What the…”
What’s the point?
He couldn’t understand.
She could have just blocked it; why sacrifice such a powerful artifact…
“Is it to create an opening for the fake hero to attack?”
But even with 60 percent of the main body’s power, he was confident he could deflect an attack, even from the real Ted Redymer.
Woooo—
A pitch-black barrier tightly wrapped around the small body of the old man.
It was a defensive spell cast with the last of her remaining mana.
“!”
But there was no hesitation in the fake hero’s expression as he approached.
The peculiar unease that had been building up from earlier intensified.
“Wait… no way.”
It was the moment he recalled one of Ted Redymer’s special techniques.
“You cannot resist!”
The blessing of Zero, Paradox, ensnared him.
Following that, the greatsword enveloped in white flames shattered the barrier, stunning Theo.
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Salvation Style – “Fourth Form: Stellar Rift.”
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And finally, the technique Ted devised to protect his comrades by sending both the enemy and himself into a separate subspace.
“…This bastard!”
Theo, regaining his senses, hurriedly tried to gather his demonic energy.
However, even Theo couldn’t cast high-level magic to resist a technique the hero was executing with all his might, especially after deploying “Loss” and a barrier in quick succession.
Moreover, with Paradox hindering his demonic energy, he was astonishingly easily captured by the power of Stellar Rift.
“It worked!”
Woooo—
Larzé cheered as she saw the silhouettes of the hero and Theo wrapped in a blinding white light.
The hero felt a strange sensation of floating and recalled the explanations she had given him about Stellar Rift in the past.
“To put it simply, it’s a technique that creates a barrier unique to the user. It manifests the user’s mental world into a physical form, encroaching upon reality.”
“It generates a separate space where the force of the world’s logic doesn’t reach, coloring it with your essence. In other words, Stellar Rift…”
“Is a technique that invites the enemy into your personal battlefield.”
‘No, it’s not just my battlefield.’
The hero opened his eyes.
A space that was once empty was now filled with many things.
On the ground, scorching white flames.
In the sky, massive drawn bows.
Various swords, spears, axes, and hammers were orderly planted around him.
Whirr—!
Even mechanical artifacts hummed with energy.
“Now.”
The hero turned to Theo, whose face was filled with shock.
And with the combined voices of many, he spoke.
“Fight with us.”
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[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]
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