Ch.12Chapter 12: A Temporary Conclusion (1)

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The immense pressure and the elation of securing a victory beyond mere combat against the opponent who sought to take Shizu’s life was short-lived.

*Thud, thud*

Having quickly regained my composure, I slowly moved my legs—heavy but still functioning smoothly—toward where Laplace had fallen after being struck by my ki-imbued sword.

My hyper-regeneration ability had completely healed my physical wounds without leaving a trace, but it couldn’t alleviate the mental fatigue that was overwhelming me. I felt like my eyes could close at any moment from exhaustion.

“A creature that should be more than gone still remains.”

Since he hadn’t completely died or returned to where he belonged…

My footsteps continued heavily, driven by the purpose of completely eliminating him in case he might recover his strength and awaken again.

As I walked, I thought slowly.

‘Judging by his words about interfering with the timeline to eliminate Shizu, perhaps this isn’t his true form.’

The being I just defeated in fierce battle is undoubtedly the Mein called Laplace.

But recalling the sensation transmitted through my fingertips via my ki-imbued sword…

I could easily realize that what I had cut with my ki-sword was merely an illusion of the being called Laplace.

When my ki-sword cut through his body and armor, what I felt at my fingertips wasn’t the sensation of slicing through skin and bone and severing internal organs—that uncomfortable feeling of slaughter.

Rather, it was similar to the faint sensation felt at the tip of a sword when swinging it alone in a fog so thick you can’t see an inch ahead of you.

That was it.

Though covered entirely in heavy armor…

Inside that armor wasn’t a flesh and blood body, but merely a vessel created from some of the magical power and intense will of the super-Mein called Laplace.

It’s a method I know well.

It was a technique frequently used by the overwhelming malice that dwelled in my body during my monster days.

So this is something all servants of the Demon God can do as a basic ability.

As I realized something I hadn’t known in the previous timeline, the emotion I felt wasn’t achievement but rather a kind of frustration.

“Tsk.”

I clicked my tongue lightly and cut off my brief train of thought.

My frustration stemmed from one thing.

The not-too-distant future is darkness itself.

The Second Demon God Advent—when the servants of the Demon God, who had been secretly plotting against our world from unseen places, rose up in unison as their master awakened from a long slumber, albeit in an incomplete form.

My satisfaction at defeating one of the mid-level commanders of the two Demon God armies had diminished.

But even if what lies fallen there is just a vessel and not his true form, my duty remains clear.

‘Even if weaker than the true form, a Mein is still a Mein! If it doesn’t disappear, I’ll just keep cutting it until it does!’

Ending my brief contemplation and recalling what needed to be done, my footsteps, though slow, continued without stopping toward where Laplace lay.

But since those steps looked clumsy and difficult to anyone watching…

“Kal! It might be dangerous to get too close, just in case!”

Shizu, who had been looking at me with a mixture of admiration and surprise, soon waved her hands to stop my movement and showed signs of approaching.

I almost unconsciously let a gentle curve form at the corners of my mouth at seeing so easily what I had longed to see in the previous timeline.

“Shizu. You might be in more danger than me, so retreat to somewhere safer. And prepare to deploy a Sealing Magic Formation just in case.”

I calmly asked Shizu, who was trying to approach me, to step back and prepare for any possible situation.

Sealing Magic Formation.

It’s a technique similar to an exorcism ritual that only heroes chosen by the holy sword Lumen can use—borrowing the power of Lumen to banish demons or Meins who have exhausted their strength after fierce battles back to their original world, seal their souls within the holy sword, or in some cases, annihilate them.

This is the representative technique that helped Shizu of the previous timeline establish her immortal reputation as a hero during the period known as the Second Demon God Advent, when the Demon God Desire was resurrected in an incomplete form.

Over the thousand years…

The number of heroes who awakened their heroic qualities and received the holy sword Lumen was not small.

But among them, only my ancestor Lumen Ranos, the first hero, and Lillian Shizu Proxian standing before me now could draw out the sword’s true power to seal or destroy evil.

That’s why the Sealing Magic Formation was the best card to use against a Mein lying exhausted on the ground, and I didn’t hesitate to recommend it to Shizu.

“Kal… How do you know about that?”

Looking at Shizu, who spoke in a very small voice that only I could hear while wearing a surprised expression…

I could easily realize that I had made an unexpected mistake.

I had carelessly mentioned the Sealing Magic Formation without considering the timeline.

Shizu expressed her surprise by opening her eyes wide and slightly parting her lips, as if a secret she hadn’t revealed even to her immediate family had been exposed.

It’s no wonder she’s surprised.

Shizu of this timeline can use the Sealing Magic Formation, but…

She only reveals that she can use it much later from this point in time.

Being a holy sword user already makes her a potential target for the Demon God’s servants, but if it became widely known that she could wield the power to seal evil—something no one except the first hero among all holy sword users had ever reproduced—it would do no good for her safety or those around her, especially since she hadn’t fully grown into a hero yet.

Realizing this, I recalled how I had learned about Shizu’s ability to use the Sealing Magic Formation in the previous timeline.

That moment when I watched from a distance as you, whom I thought was just someone I needed to protect, became a proper hero before me and displayed the qualities of a great hero who transcended a thousand years—during that time when I should have been building only affection, I instead accumulated inferiority and envy. That pathetic moment.

Fortunately or unfortunately, while my previous self harbored such inferiority and jealousy, I had managed to keep secret until the end that Shizu could use the Sealing Magic Formation.

Yet I, who had traveled back in time and held tenderness and regret toward her, had carelessly let it slip from my mouth.

‘…You stupid bastard.’

After thoroughly cursing myself, I turned my head to look at where Laplace had fallen.

I had a vague thought that since he was a being who had intervened in the timeline on the Demon God’s orders, he might know what Shizu was like at this time.

‘Even if he knows, I shouldn’t give them certainty…’

With such concerns, I carefully observed the fallen Laplace.

Thankfully…

The energy remaining in his body after my strike, though faint, was weakening like wind escaping through a window crack.

【….】

Moreover…

He wasn’t just silent as if he had completely lost consciousness—he wasn’t moving at all.

‘It seems he lacks the strength to focus on this vessel while his ability to interfere with the timeline weakens.’

Having reached that conclusion, I inwardly sighed with relief.

Then I quickly ran a hand over my face and tried to think of a suitable excuse to give Shizu.

I sensed it.

I just happened to know.

Nothing came to mind except pathetic excuses that might be acceptable after a drink or two.

‘…I should honestly confess what happened back then.’

Recalling that moment when I began to feel inferior to Shizu, whom I had only thought of as someone to protect…

“Well…”

After slowly composing my voice…

“I’ll tell you how I knew later this evening.”

I tried to brush it off with those words.

‘She probably won’t let it go that easily.’

I remembered that Shizu normally didn’t like it when people, regardless of who they were, tried to brush her off, so I didn’t have high expectations when I spoke.

“…Okay.”

Quickly realizing that discussing this here might not be good if Laplace, whose status was still uncertain, happened to overhear…

Shizu nodded slightly and accepted my vague excuse.

“Still, Kal. You don’t look well. Let me finish this, so please step back…”

She tried to stop me as I maintained my unsteady gait.

“We don’t know what might happen, and if something unfortunate occurs, it’s much better that I suffer it than you.”

I continued walking without stopping, conveying that if any unforeseen situation arose, it would be better for me—of lesser value—to experience the aftermath rather than Shizu.

It was a natural judgment.

Between a great hero who would soon perfectly awaken her heroic qualities and shine more brilliantly than anyone else…

And me, who had just barely shed the inferiority and jealousy deeply rooted in my heart and was only beginning to engrave something new there.

There was no comparison to be made.

If there was any dangerous situation, I had to be the one to face it first.

It was a statement that came naturally due to my lowered self-esteem, ingrained after writhing in bitter regret for a long time.

*Halt*

Upon hearing those words, Shizu stopped her approach toward me, looked at me with a strangely melancholic expression, and then…

“Do you have to… say things like that?”

Seeing her expression change to one that looked like she might burst into tears at any moment…

I realized that what I had just said was an even bigger mistake than my earlier slip of the tongue.

Her expression, which had only shown slight surprise at hearing her fiancé knew her secret, now changed uncontrollably to something much more blurred at my current mistake.

As I was about to express my confusion, unable to think of words to comfort her…

【Urrrgh….】

Fortunately(?), a strange groan flowed from the mouth of Laplace sprawled on the floor, and the awkward situation was naturally diverted elsewhere, allowing me to feel relieved.

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At the loud sound coming from Laplace’s mouth indicating he had regained consciousness, I prepared to wrap my ki around the practice sword I was still holding, ready to form a ki-sword again.

*Woong*

Thanks to my previous success, manifesting the ki-sword a second time was about to happen without much difficulty.

【That won’t be necessary. Even in spirit form, you have defeated me.】

Hearing the calm voice without any fighting spirit coming from Laplace who had just regained consciousness…

I withdrew my ki-sword, realizing that no fighting energy remained in his body to continue the battle.

【Kuhehehehe.】

Though resonating through his helmet, a strangely refreshing laughter came from Laplace’s mouth, who didn’t even try to get up.

【How absurd.】

Soon the laughter changed to a voice tinged with somewhat deflated sentiment.

“What do you mean?”

【I came here boasting to Lord Renium that despite the handicap of forcibly manipulating the timeline, I could break that girl of this era with one hand. Yet I find it absurd that I was defeated by you—someone who wasn’t even in Lord Renium’s observations, let alone the Invincible Radiance himself.】

Though each word was soaked with deep regret, surprisingly, no dark shadow was felt in the emotions revealed in those words.

Among all the Meins I had seen countless times in the previous timeline, the appearance of this Mein waiting for banishment to his original world before my eyes was quite alien to me.

*Swish swish*

As if it were true that his energy was weakening, the body of Laplace lying on the ground was gradually fading away along with the heavy armor covering him.

【Nothing to be done. I’ll have to go back and face Lord Renium’s scolding.】

…His presence was fading, but if one listened carefully, his unexpected lamentations were almost comically out of place.

Perhaps because his actual life wasn’t in danger, he was uttering such leisurely sentiments while enjoying the moment his body, which was no different from his avatar, disappeared.

While he was saying how absurd it was, I was the one about to find the situation absurd when…

【You. What is your name?】

A voice tinged with slight indignation came from his mouth.