Seongguk – Counterattack

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“Now, I’ll explain the detailed plan—”

“Ian, I have one more question.” Can you answer it honestly?”

“What?”

The moment Lena cut him off, Ian felt an inexplicable sense of unease rather than annoyance. Her serious expression was ominous.

“…I don’t have time to waste on trivial matters. Speak quickly.”

“I’ll get straight to the point. Do we have any hope?”

“What is… Hah.”

To hear such words now. As his unease turned into reality, Ian massaged his forehead, feeling a headache coming on.

“Are you seriously asking that now?”

“I am serious. I hate to admit it, but the Pope is as meticulous as he is greedy. We’ve already failed once with just the two of us. Couldn’t we wait for proper support from the Magic Tower or help from elsewhere?”

“First, let’s make one thing clear. It wasn’t the Magic Tower that decided to help you, it was me. I suppose you had some vain hope after seeing the person from the Magic Tower earlier, but the Magic Tower is only providing humanitarian aid.”

Ian knew very well that the Magic Tower Lord would only observe the situation and would never directly intervene.

‘At least, my teacher won’t intervene in this situation.’

People who didn’t know the Magic Tower Lord well might see him as just a kind old man. But his hidden side possessed only cold rationality.

In matters concerning the Magic Tower, he only made rational and practical decisions. That was the secret to how the Magic Tower, led by the current Magic Tower Lord, remained one of the most powerful forces even after the Great War.

“It’s best to abandon any vain hope now. The Magic Tower Lord will absolutely not get deeply involved in this.”

“But the Magic Tower Lord is your teacher. If you ask him…”

“Don’t make me repeat myself.”

Lena’s complexion darkened even further as Ian cut her off firmly.

“St, stillㅡ”

-Thump.

Ian slammed his fist against the wall, forcibly cutting off her words.

“It’s truly disappointing to hear such weak words now.”

“…You’re not seeing the situation objectively. We’ve already failed once.”

“Failed, you say. So, should we give up? You seem to have forgotten your mistakes and failures. You would have been finished without my help.”

“….”

Lena bit her lip and fell silent at Ian’s sharp rebuke.

“Unlike you, I don’t believe I can’t handle even this much. Instead of helping, you’re just sapping my strength. I’m ashamed of my past self who was moved by your will earlier.”

Ian felt anger beyond disappointment at Lena’s wavering demeanor.

‘I guess my initial judgment was correct.’

Lena was just a woman who followed The Hero, blinded by love. She had a stronger mentality than others, but it was a mistake to expect more than that.

Ian calmed his momentarily agitated mind and began to explain calmly.

“Listen carefully. Annie, your precious comrade, is also my precious younger sister. It’s unlikely they’ll lay a hand on Annie. But I’m uneasy because of that small possibility.”

Ian had always strived to maintain composure in any situation. Even so, it wasn’t easy to endure the stress he was experiencing from this situation.

“If you’re going to give up, it would be easier for me. I could just take Annie and leave the Holy Kingdom right away. Is that what you want?”

“That’s… not it.”

Lena finally seemed to lose her words and hung her head at Ian’s scolding.

“…I’m sorry. I apologize for my reckless remarks earlier. I’m definitely not saying I’ll give up on this. But, but… I’m getting more and more scared….”

Lena began to reveal her inner thoughts in a trembling voice.

“I’ve been through so much in the Holy Kingdom. If I had avoided meeting the Pope, if I had handled things even a little better, this situation wouldn’t have happened. I regret every moment. Now, I even think that my very existence is hindering Jade’s path, just like the Pope said. And the scariest thing is… I have a feeling that if we fail this time, it’ll really be the end.”

“You….”

Lena’s eyes were already moist, as if she was overwhelmed with emotion after pouring out her feelings.

‘This again…. Haa….’

Ian’s mind was complicated by the unexpected turn of events.

Normally, he would have immediately spewed out harsh words, let alone offer sympathy. But strangely, the words wouldn’t come out.

“Ian. You might find it funny, but I couldn’t tell anyone how I felt, and there was no one to listen in the first place. I guess my emotions burst out without me realizing it, now that I’ve escaped from hell for a moment. I attacked you like I wanted to kill you a little while ago, and now I’m saying these things. I feel pathetic and ashamed.”

For a while, only the sound of Lena’s quiet sobbing echoed in the room.

‘I do need this woman’s help.’

It would be good to improve our relationship on this occasion.

Having made his decision, Ian stood up and approached Lena. He placed his hand on her shoulder.

“…Ian?”

“This situation was never something you could have handled in the first place. So, from now on, abandon any unnecessary thoughts and focus only on the task at hand. I’ll just let what happened earlier pass.”

“Oh…. Are you… comforting me now?”

Lena looked at Ian with wide eyes, greatly surprised by his gentle words instead of harsh ones.

“Hmph… It’s true that I despise fools like you. But I’m not the same as guys like the Pope. In this situation, you can clearly be called a ‘victim’.”

Honestly, he wanted to get rid of her from his sight right away. But he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

‘…Strange. It’s strangely difficult to control my emotions when it comes to this woman.’

I should get some kind of examination when I return to the Magic Tower.

In the end, Ian decided to show her a bit of mercy.

“Even I was tricked by the Pope’s scheme, so there’s nothing you could have done from the start.”

“Hic… Thank you.”

-Thud.

Suddenly, Lena lowered her head and leaned it against Ian’s chest.

“What the….”

Ian was slightly flustered inside, but he didn’t bother pushing her away.

Any further conflict would disrupt the plan. If it was an opportunity to restore their relationship, it wasn’t bad.

‘What an incomprehensible woman.’

She was rampaging like she wanted to kill him, but now she was showing a fragile side and relying on him. Perhaps Lena had finally realized that she had no choice but to rely on Ian.

‘Has she finally realized her situation?’

She was a woman who had succeeded in shaking his heart as much as his body.

Not bad at all.

Ian didn’t realize it, but he was already smiling.

A little while later, Lena hurriedly lifted her forehead and moved away from Ian.

“Ahem…. Shall we get to what we need to do now…?”

Lena scratched her cheek, as if ashamed of the disgraceful behavior she had shown earlier.

Ian, unconcerned, stood next to the map on the wall again.

“Then I’ll explain the detailed plan right away. The situation has changed, but our goal hasn’t. So, what we need to do is the same.”

The help of The Saintess and The Hero. These two things were virtually essential for victory.

Ian pointed to the Vatican and the plaza in front of the Great Temple where the inauguration ceremony would be held, one after the other.

“The Pope will either keep the Artifact in the Vatican or carry it with him. I’ll aim for that, so you persuade The Hero in the meantime. If you free The Saintess from brainwashing and get The Hero’s cooperation, the situation will be completely reversed.”

No matter how powerful the Pope was, he couldn’t compare to the influence of The Saintess, the hero of the Great War. If The Hero and The Saintess stood against the Pope, public opinion would surely turn around in an instant.

“Don’t hesitate to use any means to persuade that foolish Hero. That’s the only thing you can do, and must do.”

“Leave the matter concerning Jade to me. I have to resolve the issue between us myself.”

Lena nodded vigorously. The usual passion had returned to her eyes.

-Tap. Tap. Tap.

A calm knocking sound and the door slowly opened, and someone entered the house.

“Has everyone calmed down a bit?”

Roana. She had quietly left the scene during Ian and Lena’s argument, and now she had returned.

“You ran away and came back at a good time.”

Ian looked at her with cold eyes, but even at that gaze, Roana only shrugged with a smile.

“There’s no need to look at me with such scary eyes, is there? I brought good news.”

Roana waved the letter in her hand.

“I finally succeeded in contacting Cardinal Antonio’s side.”

**

Swish— Clink.

The sword made a metallic sound as it was half-drawn from its scabbard, then returned.

Swish— Clink.

Again, the sword was half-drawn, then returned.

Jade was sitting in a chair, repeating this meaningless action.

-Thump.

Eventually, Jade placed the sword on the desk and ran his hand over his face.

“This is driving me crazy. This isn’t the time for this.”

Normally, he would already be in the training grounds, practicing swordsmanship. But today, he couldn’t muster any motivation.

‘Honestly… what’s the point of training now?’

The mission of The Hero that came one day. It was swordsmanship training that he had done every day without fail to live up to it. He believed that he had to become stronger as soon as possible in order to be reborn as a true Hero.

But he realized belatedly. It wasn’t just about strength.

Jade looked around.

A room that was excessively luxurious and large. But he was alone.

“…I’m a little lonely.”

The words of his heart slipped out of Jade’s mouth.

Annie, who had been a support, had been subjected to intense questioning related to Ian after the prison break.

‘Fortunately, it was concluded that there was no connection….’

The public opinion of the temple or the Magic Tower in the Holy Kingdom was already at an uncontrollable level. These suspicions of his comrades even led to doubts about Jade’s qualifications.

[The Hero, I’m afraid it’s difficult to see Annie right now.]

[Yes? What’s the problem?]

[Well… I’ll be honest. Public opinion of The Hero isn’t good. Of course, I don’t doubt The Hero’s qualifications or the Goddess’s choice at all, but it would be better to postpone the meeting after the inauguration ceremony.]

[… I understand.]

In the end, Jade had to give up meeting Annie as well.

In endless contemplation, Jade looked up at the ceiling and asked a question.

“Goddess… what should I do?”

Of course, there was no answer.

‘Why did you choose me as The Hero?’

Comrades, Priests, Cardinals, The Saintess. Everyone said that there must be a reason why he was chosen as The Hero, but he felt lost.

It was like being thrown alone in the middle of a forest.

What was the truth? Who should he trust? What should he do?

Jade couldn’t make any definite judgments.

‘It’s absurd to doubt The Saintess… but.’

Lena’s last words kept replaying in his head.

[Still… you have to, come to your senses. You can do it, right?]

“I can do it? What exactly can I do?”

Jade fell into deep thought.

Demon’s threat? This is too weird. Then there’s no way we would have almost died to Demons in the Dungeon.

Could it be that I was brainwashed? No. There’s no way I wouldn’t have noticed with The Hero’s abilities.

Another assumption came to his mind as he pondered.

‘All of this happened in the Holy Kingdom, after getting involved with His Holiness the Pope.’

A thought he didn’t want to face. A scary thing to even imagine.

‘If. If, but if I was deceived by His Holiness the Pope and The Saintess….’

Jade felt goosebumps all over his body.

“Then what did I… do to Lena?”