Ch.125What should I do and how should I do it

# 1.

A Long-Standing Grudge.

Finally facing the Black Wolf, Asha pointed her holy sword without hesitation and asked.

“Father… No, Ian Red’s corpse. Where did you put it after retrieving it?”

Though she had been desperately searching, she had no intention of prolonging this conversation.

Not being able to find Father’s body was heartbreaking enough to make her weep tears of blood, but she knew Father would surely smile and say it was alright.

No.

Rather, he wouldn’t want Asha herself, or the entire <Light>, to be consumed by the search for his remains.

Asha bit her lip and delivered her ultimatum with a sense of resignation.

“You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to. Either way, you, Black Wolf… will die here today.”

Despite her calm and dry tone, tears streamed down her face.

This was the heart of the Light.

‘Ian Red,’ who had worked so hard for them and for world peace, would have wanted the happiness of many over his own peace.

This was Asha’s heart as well.

Since she herself wouldn’t find a peaceful end, perhaps after death, she could meet Ian Red again.

Then, she vowed, even if it cost her soul, she would give him the peace she couldn’t provide now.

Grip tightening.

Clutching the holy sword, Asha stared at the back of his head and blurted out.

“You’re not going to answer, are you?”

Still maintaining silence.

Yes, that settled it.

【Activating <Holy Sword>.】

Just as brilliant light began to pour out, as if dispelling the darkness shrouding the forest.

Rustle.

The deepest darkness quietly turned around and spoke while looking at Asha.

“I need help.”

“…What?”

“I said… I need help.”

His eyes were different now.

They weren’t the ominous eyes the Black Wolf had shown before, eyes that seemed to have turned their back on everything, but rather eyes that gently embraced those they beheld.

Upon seeing them, a small gasp escaped Asha’s lips.

“…Huh?”

It was because she knew.

Among all the people she had met until now, only one person had such eyes.

“Ian Red is not dead.”

“…No.”

Sensing something ominous, Asha retreated hesitantly, but the monk didn’t give her space.

“Ian Red was just a fictional character, not a real person.”

“…Shut up.”

“Your strength was absolutely necessary to prevent the coming calamity. The free priest Ian Red was the link for that purpose.”

“I said shut up!!”

Asha shouted as she backed away.

But the monk, as if he had to convey this message, stepped closer to Asha and opened his mouth.

“The truth is, I—”

“No!!!”

In the blink of an eye, the holy sword was swung, cutting through the monk’s hair with a swish.

“Bullshit…!! It’s all bullshit!!”

It was a natural reaction.

Ian Red.

He was someone who had willingly thrown away his only life for the dull Light, for her who had always held him back.

He was a saint who tried to save everyone without being bound by status or power, the only saint left in this rotten world.

On the other hand, Black Wolf was a cruel criminal.

He moved only for his own gain and killed anything that got in his way.

Unlike ‘Ian Red’ who walked illuminating the path with brilliant light, the leader of the <Black Wolf>, ‘Heukrang’, walked staining everything visible with blood and darkness.

“You of all people…!!”

You who are so violent and selfish.

You who have only blocked the path of the Light.

“There’s no way you could be Father…!!”

Her hand holding the holy sword trembled.

Even amid her turbulent emotions, Asha thought and thought again to find the best course of action.

‘Selena is tracking him, so we won’t lose him. Marin is looking for other <Black Wolves>, and Balkan is also on standby nearby.’

Meanwhile, Black Wolf was alone.

‘I sense an ominous energy from the direction of their hideout, but Marin and Balkan are already moving to respond.’

So this was a golden opportunity.

If she fired a signal flare now to gather all members of the Light, they could kill Black Wolf.

But precisely because of that.

Because she could kill Black Wolf at any moment, she had to be all the more cautious.

So Asha barely opened her mouth to ask the silent man.

“…That’s not true, right?”

Her blue eyes wavered incessantly.

The holy sword rattled, and cold sweat ran down her exposed white neck.

Because Asha showed such anxious reactions, the monk could be certain.

“You already know the answer, don’t you?”

As he answered, he pulled out a red brooch.

【Activating artifact.】

【Converting to <Ian Red> form.】

The monk equipped the artifact and transformed into the appearance of ‘Ian Red.’

Red hair,

Red eyes,

The appearance she had longed to see.

“Ah, aah…!!”

As Asha froze, unsure what to do upon seeing ‘Ian Red’ again.

The monk, now transformed into Ian Red, strode toward her.

“I won’t ask for forgiveness. But you must help me. Right now, I need your… No. I need all of your strength.”

The monk asking for help in the form of Ian Red, not Black Wolf.

Asha’s wariness softened just from that, and she almost nodded unconsciously, but she ground her teeth and murmured.

“How can you be so shameless…”

How desperately had she searched?

Even in this situation, rather than feeling angry about being deceived, she felt relieved that he wasn’t dead.

“Using those feelings…!! After gaining our hearts with lies, how could you…!!”

Slam!

No sooner had she thrust down the holy sword than she reached out with her empty hand and grabbed the monk’s collar.

With reddened eyes, she barely held back her tears as she asked the monk.

“Do you… feel no guilt toward us…?”

Tears flowed down again.

Facing her fierce resentment and sorrowful love-hate, the monk didn’t avoid it but looked directly at it and spoke as calmly as possible.

“Lady Hestia is in danger.”

“Shut up!! No more…!! I won’t be deceived by you anymore!!”

“There’s no time.”

Saying so, the monk turned his gaze.

A dark red system window emitted a faint warning in the darkness.

【Character – <Hestia Gardner(F)> is being manipulated by <Abyss(Ex+)>.】

【<The Last Key> has been created.】

【Bad Ending 13 – <Seed of Destruction – Germination> is accelerating.】

Hestia manipulated by the Abyss.

While explaining to the <Light> was important, the immediate situation required saving her.

He could use ‘Word Command’ to escape, but the presence of the <Abyss> meant he needed to conserve his strength.

So the monk grabbed Asha’s trembling hand and slowly pushed it away.

“If you won’t help, I’ll go alone.”

Though he felt uncomfortable due to his guilt, he had no time to dwell on it now.

“Whoever harmed Lady Hestia is clearly as strong as me or stronger, so I must conserve my strength as much as possible. Right now. You need to help me move to Gardner territory.”

Words solely for conveying the situation.

Turning his back on his guilty feelings, he poured out the truth, to which Asha cried out with a sob.

“I…!”

What more should she say?

Why did you deceive us?

I can’t trust you anymore?

I’ll kill you and go check myself?

“I…!!”

A meaningless response uttered twice.

At that, the monk’s patience ended, and he bowed his head to Asha.

“I won’t make excuses. I’m sorry for deceiving you until now. But… it was my own way of trying to save everyone.”

“Wait, where are you—?!”

“There’s a member of Eclipse left at the hideout. She will explain everything.”

That ended their face-to-face conversation.

Having finally pushed away Asha’s hand, the monk removed the brooch, handed it to her, and turned around.

“I’ll use the Blue Tower’s gate to move to Gardner territory. If you still hate me after hearing the whole truth, I’ll accept any punishment.”

Though it was a problem that needed to be resolved someday, with more urgent issues at hand, the monk left for Gardner territory.

And so Asha was left behind.

Holding the brooch the monk had given her, she reached out toward his retreating figure, but soon lowered her hand and muttered.

“…I.”

Wondering what she should do.

# 2.

The Golden Dragon arrived at the Blue Tower gate.

“Who comes at this late hour—”

“To Baron Gardner’s territory.”

Instead of a detailed explanation, he presented the imperial guard token that Reina had given him.

“A-Activate the gate!!”

And so the gate was activated.

After paying with gold coins, Nahan moved toward the mansion as soon as he arrived in the territory.

Hestia’s name appeared on his status window.

A window showing that she was being manipulated by the Abyss and that the last key had been created.

-Please tell the Lord. This is what I happened to hear about the Abyss’s plan.

It matched exactly with the situation described in the blood letter Garendal had given him.

According to Garendal, the Abyss’s plan was to recover the sealed Elder Dragon’s body.

Originally, the <Celestial Shield> was needed for this, but because of Nahan, the story had changed, and a substitute was required.

And that substitute was ‘Hestia’, who was protecting the barrier with the power received from the progenitor – Balak.

Nahan thought.

‘Since only her power is needed for the key, she shouldn’t be in immediate danger.’

But what if, by some chance, the conditions changed and Hestia’s death became necessary?

“…Please. Please…!”

Naturally, the death of one close person feels more significant than the deaths of a hundred strangers.

Nahan was human too and felt the same as others, and having lost many people in both his previous life and current one, he prayed all the more desperately.

“I won’t lose anyone else…!!”

And so he arrived at Gardner’s territory.

“Aaaagh…!! My, my leg!!”

“Damn it, here!! Help here first!!”

“Lady…!!!”

The mansion had vanished without a trace, and people who barely survived were wailing.

And,

“…Cough.”

Reina, sprawled at the top of a collapsed tower, with a wooden stake piercing her abdomen.

“…Huh?”

Approaching her with a dumbfounded sound, Reina opened her hazy eyes and smiled.

“Ah, you… came…”

Before her labored words could finish.

Reina’s hand fell with a thud.