Ch.28Complex Number Battle

# 1.

The battlefield was crumbling silently from the collision between heroes.

Black Wolf, who had been watching them with a sunken gaze, finally spoke.

“Balkan Gardner. Asha Mirabel. If you don’t stop fighting right now, I’ll kill Hestia.”

This was a statement made under Nahan’s meticulous calculation.

‘While there are many variables in a real situation compared to the planning stage, there are also facts that remain unchanged.’

The most certain fact was just one.

‘Those two people have accepted the information that Hestia is alive as truth.’

That’s why this conflict had erupted.

Balkan stood guard over Black Wolf to obtain information related to Hestia. Meanwhile, Asha rushed in to annihilate the Black Wolf as quickly as possible to save Hestia.

In other words,

‘Both of them prioritize Hestia’s safety above all else.’

As if Nahan’s prediction had been spot on, both individuals stopped moving.

“……”

Fear like thin ice settled on Balkan’s face, which had been turning red like a berserker’s, while the still expressionless Asha spoke.

“So she was alive after all.”

As soon as she opened her mouth, Balkan’s head whipped around.

“Asha, did you know about this?”

“…To some extent.”

Just as the suspicion toward Ian Red was completely clearing, Balkan shouted angrily.

“Even though you knew…!! Why did you attack first when Hestia could be in danger?!”

“Since there was a high probability she was alive, I planned to kill them first and retrieve her safely.”

“You call that an explanation?!”

Just as Balkan was about to raise his voice again, Nahan sighed and grasped at the empty air.

“I’ll say it once more, if the battle resumes, I will kill Lady Hestia.”

Click.

As he grabbed the empty air and turned it like a doorknob, space split open and a crack appeared.

【Legendary Artifact – <Robin Hood’s Subspace (A-)> is activated.】

【”This is a space just for you.”】

In Nahan’s hand, which had been waving through the air, there was now an old doorknob, and through the opened door appeared the interior of an old cabin.

Inside, in front of the fireplace, was a girl sleeping with her limbs restrained.

“Hestia!!!”

Just as Balkan, his eyes wild, tried to rush into the cabin.

Whack!

Asha, who had been standing still, reached out and grabbed Balkan’s shoulder.

“Let go, Asha!!! Hestia is in there!!!”

“Calm down and look at the bigger picture.”

Following her cold voice, Balkan’s eyes, which had been fixed only on Hestia, scanned the surroundings.

And then he saw it.

“……”

Another “Black Wolf” who was tending to the blazing fireplace with a poker.

Nahan commanded Dalan, who had returned with perfect timing, in a calm voice.

“Old General. Kill the woman when I give the signal.”

“Yes, Commander.”

…Crackle, crackle.

A small and subtle answer, like the sound of a burning fireplace, yet filled with heat. With just that, Balkan and Asha realized.

‘This is a powerful one.’

He wasn’t just something around A-rank, but something beyond human, of the same caliber as themselves.

‘If Black Wolf so much as twitches a finger, Hestia will immediately lose her life.’

The two heroes, who had quickly reached similar conclusions based on their experiences, stopped in their tracks.

The first to speak again was Balkan, whose family member was being held hostage.

With a face full of worry and caution rather than despair and anger, he said to Nahan.

“Tell us what you want.”

“What I want?”

“Yes…! You took a hostage because you want something…! …You took a hostage because there’s something you want from us, right?”

Balkan seemed to be controlling his emotions, perhaps remembering Dalan sitting there.

Watching this, Nahan thought.

‘This brings us back to a stalemate. But how do I separate the two of them? I need to find the best solution to keep both myself and Luna safe.’

As he was tapping his thigh, following Black Wolf’s habit and continuing his thoughts.

‘Balkan is stupid. If Asha hadn’t been here, he would have already lost his composure and attacked the Black Wolf. So what I need to do now is…’

…Remove Asha from the battlefield.

He stopped abruptly and said.

“Kill yourself.”

As if it wasn’t a joke, his cold voice settled chillingly around them.

CRASH!!!

Without a moment’s hesitation, Balkan drove the broken shield blade into the ground and asked.

“Then will you release Hestia?”

“I promise.”

“Keep your word.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than his thick neck quickly tilted toward the shield blade. He intended to cut off his own neck with the shield blade he had driven into the ground.

‘I’m sorry, Hestia.’

He had wanted to properly apologize someday, but he was sorry he couldn’t.

With that final thought, just as his sharp, thick neck was about to touch the shield blade.

“What about her?”

Black Wolf’s mocking voice stopped Balkan’s action.

Scrape.

Balkan, not realizing his neck was being cut, raised his head and asked Black Wolf.

“…What about her? What do you mean?”

“What else?”

The cold gaze that had been looking at Balkan shifted slightly toward Asha.

“You both need to kill yourselves.”

This was also Nahan’s ploy.

‘I hope she reacts exactly as described in the original work.’

While trembling only inwardly, he continued to act as the intimidating Black Wolf outwardly.

The still expressionless Asha picked up the holy sword she had lowered and answered.

“The negotiation has failed.”

Her sky-blue hair, tied up, swayed with the movement of the wind.

As her killing intent instantly dominated the area, Nahan heightened the effect of <Black Curtain> a bit more and shrugged his shoulders toward Asha.

“Abandoning your comrade’s sister to save yourself. Commander Balkan must be disappointed.”

“This is your doing.”

“It’s your choice.”

“Shut up. Die and then talk.”

Crunch.

As strength entered her hand gripping the holy sword, energy gathered in her foot standing on the roof.

Like placing a finger on the trigger of a loaded gun, she was ready to leap forward.

Feeling the terror of death approaching close, Nahan thought.

‘It worked.’

Asha Mirabel from the original work.

A woman who cursed her given fate and mission, but nevertheless became a hero.

A woman who could feel emotions but couldn’t express them, and because she couldn’t express them, her emotions became dulled.

Always maintaining her composure, she derived the best results in any situation and moved forward without stopping.

But even she had moments when her emotions were clearly revealed and her judgment clouded,

-…No more should die.

It was when her life was in danger.

‘I don’t know the exact reason.’

But what was certain was that she was wary of death, and the plan designed to target that had worked perfectly.

‘Now only the final stage remains.’

Nahan, pretending to be relaxed, naturally raised his hand.

“You mean to send the signal?”

“You’ll die before that.”

“How frightening.”

While pretending to joke but genuinely afraid, Nahan stood behind as Asha Mirabel pondered.

She calculated the probability of killing him before he could send the signal, which she had just mentioned.

‘That eerie energy. Judging by his composure, even that doesn’t seem to be his full power. He’s on my level. Or slightly below or above. Given the abilities of the members, the probability of him being lower ranked than me is small.’

The “Goddess’s Restriction” had reacted to the pressure and the word ‘suicide’.

Moreover, having already used <Judgment>, which could only be activated once a day, upon her intrusion, both her aura and stamina were about half depleted.

‘One by Hestia, one with the mercenary, one behind the roof, and one I missed. And on our side? Just Balkan… No, merely Balkan.’

After calculating the current situation, including the number of enemies and the condition of allies.

‘The probability of subduing <Black Wolf> before he can send the signal is… less than 2%.’

A number far below her expectation.

A situation where not only Hestia but also her own life could be lost due to the stolen momentum.

【”The price of ■■ is ■■.”】

Pushed by a distant dizziness, Asha unconsciously considered a hypothetical situation.

What if,

What if I really…

‘…abandon Hestia?’

If she targeted only Black Wolf and made the annihilation of the <Black Wolf> her top priority?

The number rises instantly. Under the worst assumption that Black Wolf is slightly stronger than her, the probability of winning the battle against him is,

‘67%.’

If she abandons Hestia, she could somehow defeat Black Wolf…

Snap!

As if being chased by something, she pulled herself together from thoughts that were pursuing only results, excluding the process.

‘Get a grip.’

Abandoning Hestia.

Regardless of being a hero or whatever, a person shouldn’t do that.

Intense self-loathing ate away at Asha.

But perhaps because of that, her narrowing vision expanded widely again.

The subspace that came into view.

Asha’s thoughts rotated quickly.

‘…Wait. Do I really need to kill Black Wolf first?’

Rather than Black Wolf, who was her equal or perhaps even above her,

‘Couldn’t I just rush into the subspace and protect Hestia from the person called <Old General>?’

There’s a high probability that conditions are set for entry into the subspace, but it’s still just a legendary item.

‘I can definitely break in.’

Asha, having regained her composure, lowered her stance while looking at Black Wolf.

‘I’ll pretend to charge at Black Wolf, then change direction and rush into the subspace.’

The moment Asha finished her thought.

Crunch.

The energy that had been radiating in all directions gathered and compressed at a single point beneath her feet.

Flinch.

‘Now.’

Following that sound, Black Wolf’s hand twitched, and Asha didn’t miss the opportunity.

Bang!

Asha disappeared in an instant.

Pretending to attack Black Wolf, she slipped her body into the slightly open entrance of the subspace.

‘Done.’

With this, Hestia’s life was secured, and she had won the numbers game against Black Wolf.

Nevertheless, Asha didn’t let her guard down and raised her head to observe Black Wolf’s reaction.

While she couldn’t express emotions, she could feel them to some extent.

‘Got him.’

With that thought, she turned her head, but,

“Done.”

“…?”

What she faced was not confusion, but a dark smile curving behind the mask.

‘…What?’

She was about to rescue Hestia, the hostage, so why was he smiling?

Noticing Asha’s confusion, Black Wolf smiled slightly and waved his hand.

“Let’s not see each other too often, shall we?”

As the confused Asha went in, and Dalan quickly slipped out, the next moment.

…Click.

The door closed, and the space was segmented.

Thud!!

Asha, who had thrown herself in, landed with a roll.

A disconnected space,

A vanished old general,

A space with only Hestia and herself.

“…!!”

The startled Asha hurriedly opened the cabin door, but all she could see was a blue-green forest.

In the middle of that dark forest, the expressionless empress muttered as if lamenting.

“So he never intended to kill her from the beginning…?”

…Then why?

…What was the purpose?

…What is it? What is it really?

As confusion only grew the more she thought about it,

“…Mmm. Cold. Someone close the door…”

A brown-haired woman pulled up her knee blanket, on a late night story.

# 2.

Meanwhile, on the roof of Gardner Mansion where Asha had disappeared.

Nahan muttered with joy.

“Hero cut.”

What remained was,

“…Give Asha back too.”

Just this idiot.

Nahan began to ponder again.

‘How do I deceive him? What words, what should I use to make Luna and him fight? Think. Think deeper.’

To find a suitable reason to make Balkan and Luna fight.

“I’ll kill myself twice… Oh, but I only have one life. Is there a way to divide it into two? Then I’d kill myself twice to save two people. Wait a minute. If I divide it into three, I could save two people and still survive! This is truly infinite gain!!”

“Could you please be quiet for a bit?”

“Sure.”

The moment he inadvertently scolded Balkan, a question arose in his mind.

“But you know. Until when, how long should I stay quiet? Am I allowed to breathe? More importantly, what about Hestia… Oh, you told me to be quiet.”

It seems like there’s no need to deceive this one so deeply? Having finished his thought, Nahan opened his mouth without hesitation.

“If you fight for me, I’ll release her.”

Immediately after,

Pop.

Balkan, who had pulled the shield from the ground, put it on like a buckle and his eyes gleamed.

“Against whom?”

“…I’ll decide that for you.”

Nahan felt a bit wronged.