episode_0014

“Today is a tragic day for all of us.

A reckless individual who defied fate attacked the Papal Palace and took the lives of many people.”

Bishop Romulus, newly appointed as the Pope, spoke from the podium.

The atmosphere grew somber.

I silently gazed up at the sky.

I looked at the bright sun shining down.

The sun shone brightly as usual.

I lowered my head.

The black shadow cast by the sunlight loomed.

Above the shadow, apparitions appeared.

Aeris, Mayor, Pope, Professor Eric.

They were all respected individuals. They were also those who fought in the face of destruction.

Except for the Hero.

He was a figure who received fortunes and went around killing people.

He was a person who paid the price in death.

“Ah… I succeeded by using their sacrifices as stepping stones.”

Tears streamed down my face.

They were the ones sacrificed to reach this position.

Without them, if I hadn’t ascended to divinity through their deaths, I wouldn’t be here.

“Mom, why is that guy suddenly crying?”

“The Hero seems very sad.”

People murmured as they looked at me.

But I paid them no mind.

While shedding tears, I honored the spirits of those who died before me.

“Why are you crying on such a good day? Come on, let’s smile.”

Daphne approached.

She lifted the corners of my mouth.

“Sigh. I’m just so sad for those who passed away first…”

I swallowed my sobs.

I wondered if I deserved this treatment for killing those people.

Of course, I wanted this and killed those people.

I killed the elders to succeed.

I intended and acted, but still, I had to feel sorrow.

But if I didn’t feel sorrow here, I would be less than human.

“I… I didn’t want to kill them either.”

I didn’t want to kill those people.

But I had no choice.

If God wanted them dead, was there any other way for me to refuse?

If I refused, divine punishment would come down.

At first, it was lightning, but later, even harsher divine punishment could come down.

My life was like a pawn.

“Ah, ugh! There’s too much filth! I need purification, I need to cleanse the filth!”

“Why am I losing my mind? I wanted to be a hero too.”

Seeing the insane god screaming made me even more miserable.

For some reason, with the title of god, madness took over.

It seemed that even divine power and authority couldn’t be used against time.

Feeling desolate, tears streamed down my face.

“Let us mourn for all those who died in the attack by the Lich.”

The newly appointed Pope held his hands together.

It was a time for prayer.

I clasped my hands together and had a moment of apology.

“Next, we will hold a ceremony to award medals to those who played a significant role in repelling the Lich.”

My turn was approaching. I held the prepared speech in my arms and went up to the podium.

“Emil Brown, for directly thwarting the Lich, we award you a medal.”

The medal for killing the Lich went to Decard.

The Pope used his self-sacrifice spell to strengthen Decard.

Empowered, Decard killed the Lich and the Death Knight.

Thanks to everyone else losing consciousness except for Decard, the lie was easily believed.

Although the gods regretted that no one saw this spectacle, it was a blessing in disguise for me.

If the fact that I killed the Lich spread, I couldn’t bear it.

Even now, I was receiving too much attention.

Excessive attention to a villain is poison.

“To block the Lich at the age of 15, a promising hero whose future is bright.”

But even just stalling against the Lich was a remarkable achievement.

Others were hit by magic and lost consciousness.

Even the professor couldn’t withstand the magic.

“Next, we will have the reading of the speeches.”

A medal was pinned to my chest.

The medal I had longed for so much after my return.

But the medal was stained with the blood of the saints.

The magician cast a loud magic spell.

Once the magic preparation was complete, I opened my mouth.

“Nice to meet you. Citizens, I am Emil Brown.”

I briefly introduced myself.

The name of the Brown family echoed in the papal palace.

“Today is a significant day in my life.”

I will succeed. After returning, I only ran towards one goal.

In a doomed world. I moved forward only focusing on success.

The medal on my chest was nothing but the first step towards success.

I should be happy.

But I couldn’t bring myself to be happy.

“First, let us take a moment to mourn Professor Emil and the Pope.

They helped us deal with the Lich and Death Knights.

Without them, we would have been as good as dead.”

I placed my hand on my chest.

I shed tears sincerely.

If someone who knew the situation saw it, they might have thought it was hypocritical.

I have no intention of denying it. I was a selfish person.

But the tears shed for them were genuine.

In a world where destruction loomed before the return, one could not survive without conscience.

To eat bread today, I killed and robbed those weaker than me of their food.

I, too, stained my hands with blood. I consoled myself that it was inevitable.

Others also live by shedding blood.

In the sparse moral concept, humanity walked the path of corruption.

I was no exception.

But deep in my heart, conscience and humanity remained.

“Let us mourn for them once again, everyone.”

And I deeply mourned for those who would be sacrificed in the future.

The deceased will ascend to heaven and await the day they will reappear in the new era after destruction.

I opened my eyes after justifying myself.

The crowd seemed to agree with my words.

A solemn atmosphere settled.

The brief eulogy reading came to an end.

“Ahem, next is the medal ceremony for Deikard Kyung.”

Afterwards, there was a medal ceremony for Deikard Kyung, known for directly killing the Lich.

The ceremony ended quickly.

“Laira requests your presence.”

As I was returning to the dormitory, a maid approached.

It was the testimony of the royal family. Ignoring it would lead to trouble.

It was the summons of Laira, who ranked first in the succession order.

I reluctantly followed the maid.

The place we arrived at was the reception room for the royal family inside the dormitory.

It was a special reception room prepared for the royal family to receive guests.

“Phew, this outfit doesn’t fit. Don’t you think so too?”

Deikard was sitting on the sofa.

He grumbled as he took off his formal attire.

“No. It’s tolerable.”

I thought it was tolerable since it was the beginning of success.

“Hehehe, I don’t know if I deserve to receive this.”

Deikard said as he touched the medal.

The Golden Wool Medal.

It was the highest grade medal bestowed directly by the Emperor.

And it was the medal I had wanted to obtain.

‘I want it.’

My mouth watered.

Receiving the medal meant that the Emperor personally bestowed it.

The fact that the Emperor took notice meant that the path to success was guaranteed.

Although the Silver Cross Medal I received was not lacking, it was not as good as the guaranteed path to success with the Golden Wool Medal.

“If it’s Emil, you can get that medal anytime, right?”

Laira said as she sipped her tea.

“Since you killed Lich alone.”

“Isn’t the promise different?”

I whispered to Deikard.

He had received the Golden Wool Medal but did not keep his promise.

“Don’t worry. Laira is a strong ally for us.”

I have no allies. If it is revealed that I am the hero of destruction, I will soon become the enemy of the whole world.

“I see you don’t believe me.”

Decard said, looking at my rotten expression.

Perhaps it was because I had lived in the Apocalypse for a long time that I couldn’t manage my expression well.

“I won’t say much. Please come under my wing. I promise you the best treatment.”

Laira set down the teacup.

She had a serious expression on her face.

“I cannot go under someone else’s wing when I have dedicated myself to serving the gods.”

I placed my hand on my chest.

I may have become a hero of destruction, but my faith remained unshaken.

Without faith, one would face divine punishment.

No matter how much I wanted to get rid of it, it wouldn’t disappear.

“You can stop pretending now. There is no one within the Papal Court who truly believes in the gods.”

Pretending?

I raised an eyebrow.

Boldly stating that one would face divine punishment.

And this was within the Papal Court.

‘…’

‘God?’

But there was no response from the gods.

The gods maintained their silence.

“It’s not pretending. My devotion to the gods is sincere. I always speak the truth.”

Even if the gods remained silent, I had to speak.

With a serious expression, I said, “You seem to be a little moved.”

The gods were touched.

My words were the right ones.

“Hah, what an amusing joke. Surely you don’t mean that your condolences for the Pope and Emil were sincere?”

“That too is sincere. Do you think of me as a liar?”

I was angered by Decard’s words.

My condolences for them were genuine.

“Ha… do you even know what they did?”

“Enough, please do not insult them any further.”

I glared at Decard.

I hoped he wouldn’t test me any further.

If he continued to insult those who had sacrificed themselves, I might lose my temper.

‘I gave the Pope a reprimand, so he should cover for me at least once… right?’

There was a part of me that believed that.

The Pope held a higher rank than the Royal Knight Commander.

“We are alive thanks to their sacrifices. Once this task is complete, I will dedicate this medal to their graves and return.”

I removed the Silver Cross Medal.

I threw it on the ground.

“Does it really matter? Medals are a form of proof. If you have a medal, your social credit score goes up, and banks are more likely to lend you money easily.”

I discreetly picked up the medal I had thrown on the ground.

If that’s the case, you should have told me sooner.

I’ll have to use up all the money I can get my hands on in this world that’s bound to perish.

“And I did not kill the enemies solely with my own strength. The Death Knight was defeated thanks to Professor Eric’s sacrifice and the Pope’s sacrifice.”

Decard only knew that I had killed the Lich.

He wasn’t sure if that power was entirely mine.

“Are you still telling obvious lies? Do you think they would act for the sake of others?”

His voice rose. His emotions intensified.

He momentarily forgot the difference in status and power.

“Fine. I understand your will well.

If you won’t come under my wing, there’s nothing I can do.”

Laira mediated between the two.

“Just know this. My offer is always open to you.”

The meeting with Laira ended there.

I felt worse. I immediately left the reception room.