Ch.6969. Confessing Sins

The protests of the explorers at the Polaris building showed no signs of stopping.

I quietly observed the scene.

‘Is the guild master in there?’

I finished assessing the situation.

From what the knights were saying, it seemed the guild master was likely the mastermind behind this protest.

“Hmm.”

I slipped into an alley.

Someone like me shouldn’t be noticed, especially in the middle of something like this.

‘There’s a box.’

I continued watching while hiding behind a conveniently placed box.

“There are quite a lot of people around.”

More knights began joining the encirclement.

‘Were they spread out beyond the guild building?’

…This doesn’t feel good.

I kept myself hidden to avoid detection.

-Whoosh!

The area near the building soon filled with heat.

This wasn’t a metaphor—the knights had actually set fire to the building.

“This is your final warning! Drop your weapons and come out one by one to surrender!”

The knight commander shouted, but the explorers showed no intention of surrendering.

Instead, everything suddenly went quiet, as if nothing had happened until now.

“…Prepare the bombardment spell!”

At his command, the imperial mages began casting the same spell.

A massive fireball gradually rose into the sky.

-Boom!

The spell looked powerful enough to destroy the building immediately.

‘This is dangerous.’

Of course, I wasn’t worried about the people in the building.

They chose this path, so they must accept the consequences.

However.

“Arrest everyone in the vicinity! There’s a possibility they’ll rush out and ambush us!”

They began subduing all the onlookers who had been cautiously watching.

Are they trying to leave no witnesses?

‘Time to run.’

I didn’t care much about others, but my own safety was a major concern.

The knights didn’t seem to pay attention to people who were far enough away, so I should be safe—

“—Damn it, what’s this!”

Just then, an explorer who had been secretly watching the incident near me tried to escape first.

He hurriedly moved toward the empty street.

-Thwack!

“Gah, gack…!”

An arrow pierced through the back of his neck.

“…”

Now there was no one around me.

Ordinary citizens had evacuated long ago, and the remaining onlookers had just been subdued.

‘This is really dangerous.’

For now, hiding might keep me safe.

But once they finished dealing with the explorers in the guild building, they would search the surroundings.

“Everyone fall back! The spells are colliding!”

As I was thinking about how to survive this situation—

“Damn it! Were knights hiding somewhere?”

Several bodies fell as the outer wall of the building collapsed.

“Don’t panic! The bombardment is coming!”

“Let’s get out of the building and fight!”

The explorers inside escaped to avoid the bombardment spell.

However.

It was already too late for everyone to escape.

-BOOM!

A fireball over 10 meters in radius engulfed the building.

Those who couldn’t escape in time were incinerated without even a chance to scream.

‘…That’s horrific.’

However, even the explorers who managed to escape couldn’t feel safe.

“Kill all the explorers!”

The knights had already surrounded them.

“Fight! Even the ones in black robes are enemies!”

The battle began immediately.

Many people were injured and killed.

‘Shit.’

I was still hiding.

I stayed still, afraid that any careless movement would get me noticed.

-Clang! Clang!

Now the battle area was gradually expanding.

‘They might come this way soon.’

If it ended as a one-sided massacre, that wouldn’t happen, but the battle wasn’t going that way.

Of course, in terms of absolute combat power, the knights seemed poised to slaughter them, but—

Explorers were used to fighting at a disadvantage.

“They’ve created a wall! Attack the isolated ones!”

Numerous variables created by Source abilities.

It was admirable how they were using their wits and struggling to survive by any means, but—

‘Can’t you please fight inside?’

Thanks to this, knights had now taken positions right in front of me.

…Damn it.

The alley I’d entered had no exit.

There was no escape route at all.

‘What should I do?’

If I dash out now, the knights will immediately spot me.

It would be impossible to shake them off, and even if I somehow managed to escape, what comes after would be problematic.

Few people have such a distinctive appearance as mine.

Moreover, after the previous magical purification operation, my face became known not only to explorers but also to ordinary citizens.

‘I need to escape without showing my face.’

…Unfortunately, that was impossible.

“Everyone, draw upon your holy power. There might be someone coming our way soon.”

The knights were talking just a few meters away.

Fortunately, there was a box to hide behind—otherwise, I would have been discovered and beheaded long ago.

“Those guys are really struggling. We’ve already blocked all escape routes in this area anyway.”

My hands trembled as I continued thinking.

From the moment I witnessed this incident, there was no possibility of survival.

No matter how much I thought, I couldn’t come up with a solution.

However.

‘I’ve faced countless situations like this in the Labyrinth.’

The experience of overcoming challenges doesn’t just give you the power to make the impossible possible.

It gives you the courage to move forward even in the most unreasonable situations.

Even when failure seems certain. Even when you seem to be facing imminent death.

‘I can do this.’

That’s what I thought.

Because it’s better to think that way.

‘Still, this is better than what I’ve experienced so far.’

I hadn’t been discovered yet, and there wasn’t absolutely no way out.

The wall blocking the end of the alley.

Even though it would be difficult to break, and even though there’s a cliff over 100 meters high beyond it…

‘I have to do it.’

I can do it.

-Boom!

With that thought, I kicked off the ground and moved forward.

‘I need to use Instantaneous Hardening when I fall.’

With 80 percent damage absorption, I could survive.

The question was whether I could break the wall before the knights caught me…

“…Fugitive spotted! Running into the alley!”

I was discovered as soon as I started running.

Since I had already anticipated this, I didn’t panic and crashed into the wall.

-Boom!

The mana-coated wall cracked significantly.

It seemed like three more punches would do it.

‘They’re coming.’

I heard urgent footsteps behind me.

I gauged the distance while moving. About 20 meters.

If they were holy knights, they’d cover that in about 1 second; if regular knights, less than 2 seconds.

‘Instantaneous Hardening.’

-Crash!

I hardened my fist and struck the wall forcefully.

The wall crumbled easily.

“The fugitive is falling off the cliff!”

I surrendered myself to the sky.

-Scraaape!

I tried to slow my descent by scraping against the wall, but it was still too fast.

Without any equipment, I was bound to sustain critical injuries.

And then I would be captured.

“S-shit!”

The curse escaped like a scream.

The wall was infused with mana, making it impossible to dig my fingers in and hold on. Above my head—

-Boom!

A fire spell hit my shoulder, setting my body ablaze.

“What the…!”

I looked up at the collapsed wall.

An imperial mage was preparing a spell.

One much larger and heavier than the fireball that had just hit me.

If I took that head-on, I would surely die.

Even if the magic didn’t kill me directly, the impact would slam me into the ground, resulting in death from the fall.

‘I need to dodge.’

But if I tried to dodge by falling, I would definitely get injured.

That would also lead to death.

A situation where death was certain no matter what action I took.

The spell was ready, and the time for choice had come.

“…Da, mn.”

-Boom!

I heard the sound of the spell being fired.

‘Now.’

Simultaneously, I kicked off the wall.

My body separated from the wall and floated in the air.

The remaining distance to the ground was about several dozen meters.

I had a much stronger body than an ordinary person, but that also meant higher muscle and bone density.

‘Even if it’s not fatal, my movement will be slowed for a while.’

Then I would be captured.

No, even if I wasn’t captured, there was still a problem.

‘If people see me, there’s no turning back.’

I would become an explorer who participated in the protest and fought against the imperial knights.

The empire would hunt me down.

Death would be unavoidable.

“…”

Just a few meters until impact.

For some reason, time seemed to flow slowly.

Thanks to that, I was fully aware of the situation.

This was probably the end.

“…Huff.”

As I exhaled briefly—

-CRASH!

The ground shattered with a thunderous noise.

I had finally landed.

Though it was more like a crash than a landing.

Anyway.

“What was that sound?!”

“Sounds like an explosion, could it be a terrorist attack?”

There were no people where I landed.

I had adjusted my kick to land where there wouldn’t be people, and fortunately, I succeeded in controlling my strength.

At least no one would die from being crushed by me.

“Ugh, urgh…”

I somehow managed to get up.

The impact of the fall wasn’t as severe as I had expected.

It felt like being hit by a small car on a highway.

An ordinary person would have been dismembered beyond recognition, but I had almost completed my durability setup.

-Step, step.

I took one step forward at a time.

Knights would soon swarm this place. If I stayed still, I might get my head cut off immediately.

“A-Adel? Are you okay?!”

Some people around recognized me and came to help.

Probably because the previous incident was so massive.

If I asked for help now, I could avoid the immediate crisis, but…

“…”

I ignored them.

‘I can’t involve them.’

There was no point in telling them what happened above.

There were only a few dozen people around.

Even if these people believed me, the empire could easily deceive the entire Labyrinth City.

If I asked for help here, it would only increase the number of victims.

With that thought, I continued walking.

“Adel! Can you hear me?”

Upon reflection, the voice sounded familiar.

“It’s me, Sherry!”

Sherry, the receptionist at the Association.

She had been my creditor for a long time, the daughter of the Association branch manager.

“…Don’t come closer.”

“No, please tell me what happened. I can help you.”

You can’t help.

This is beyond what you can handle.

“If you come any closer, you’ll die.”

She is kind.

Such a kind person.

That’s why it hurt.

“Fugitive spotted! He’s holding a civilian hostage!”

A knight on standby nearby discovered us.

Did they anticipate that I would break the wall and escape?

“Please, leave.”

“No. I’ll help you no matter what happens. Because you did the same for me first.”

She grabbed my hand.

She tried to help me.

‘Please.’

But it still wasn’t too late.

If Sherry ignored me.

If she didn’t try to protect me.

If she left me coldly. If she easily believed that I was a criminal.

Then it would be fine.

“…Tch, so it’s Adel.”

Some knights surrounding me wore annoyed expressions.

“Traitor Adel! Release the civilian and surrender immediately!”

Hearing the knight’s shout, Sherry looked bewildered.

“What?!”

Imperial knights. Traitor. Fugitive.

She should naturally think of me as a criminal.

“T-there must be some misunderstanding! Adel isn’t that kind of person! He didn’t even take me hostage—”

But you are too kind.

-Grip!

I held her neck as gently as possible, then gathered my remaining strength and shouted.

“Don’t come any closer! Or I’ll kill this woman!”

“…”

I briefly looked into Sherry’s eyes.

She had been a long-time connection.

She was my benefactor and the only support in my life.

My life with her was gratefully more than I deserved.

But at that time, I didn’t even know myself, so I couldn’t express that gratitude.

“I’m sorry.”

I apologized for that.

And.

“I’m truly sorry.”

I apologized for the gratitude I would never be able to express in the future.

“I am truly remorseful.”

I felt guilty beyond expression.

“I killed a knight and escaped.”

All I could do now was tell you a lie.