Ch.83Episode from the Holy Kingdom (1)

# Chapter Translation

I originally rushed with everyone else to rescue Lite after she was kidnapped. Thanks to that, we were able to save her safely.

But whether it was a last desperate act before death or not, someone who appeared to be the mastermind behind this incident showed up at an event celebrating the newly born hero.

Then they started taking everyone there hostage. If anyone refused, everyone present would die.

Four reincarnators versus countless people. Which should be chosen?

In the original fate, the four reincarnators were chosen. And all those countless people got caught in the mastermind’s self-destruction and departed from this world.

“So you’re going to use Lite as bait to lure out the mastermind and subdue them?”

“Yes. There’s no other way to draw that person out.”

“…I get that, but why did you do this?”

Agath asked Rebecca with an expression of great shock.

“Someone with that much power will obviously become a major threat later. So I thought we should nip it in the bud now.”

“That’s not what I meant…”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“Why did you leave only me out when discussing this?”

When Agath asked with an aggrieved tone, Rebecca tilted her head and asked in return:

“And why is that a problem?”

“You said you all gathered this morning to plan the operation.”

“Yes.”

“So why wasn’t I invited?”

“…”

Rebecca paused for a moment, contemplating something, then spoke with an uneasy voice.

“Um… may I be honest with you?”

“Yes.”

“We didn’t invite you because we thought you might be a traitor who would leak information…”

“…Sigh.”

Agath exhaled in disgust and asked Rebecca again.

“Make jokes appropriate to the situation. So why didn’t you really invite me? Don’t tell me you actually thought I might be a traitor?”

Rebecca avoided Agath’s gaze. And when Agath looked at the others, every single one of them, just like Rebecca, avoided eye contact.

“…Guys?”

Agath pleaded her innocence, but still no one offered comfort or apology.

“…What did I ever do wrong?”

“You know that prophecy we heard before said one of us might become a traitor, right?”

“Even so, isn’t this too harsh? Who cares about Lite more than I do…?”

“We suspected you because you’d be most likely to become a traitor if it meant having Lite all to yourself. I’m really, truly sorry.”

“…”

Agath, radiating anger, spoke in a sarcastic tone:

“If I ever get an offer to become a traitor, I’ll accept it immediately.”

“Finally showing your true colors.”

“I was right not to tell Agath about the operation.”

“Senior, what kind of life do you live?”

“How did that person end up like this?”

“Honestly, you’re scarier than Ms. Lite.”

“Selene, read her mind and see if those words are true.”

“My lady, I never want to see that disgusting thing again.”

Immediately, all kinds of harsh criticism poured out against Agath. Then Agath spoke with a tearful voice:

“…What do you all think of me?”

“A crazy woman.”

“Someone who’s a bit too peculiar.”

“A strange person.”

“I think you’re mentally ill.”

“I think you’re an extremely frightening person.”

“A being more evil than a great demon who leaped out from the abyss!”

“I think you’re someone who lives for desire.”

Once again, harsh criticism poured out enough to make one’s head spin. Agath let out a bitter laugh, as if having reached enlightenment.

“So what am I supposed to do?”

“You don’t really have anything to do.”

“Then I’ll just stay here. Call me if you need me later.”

And Agath sat down on a nearby chair, slumping as if her soul had left her body.

“…Should I tell you what our plan is?”

“I don’t care. Do whatever you want.”

“First, we sent our doppelgangers to follow Lite as a decoy. We’ve hypnotized the traitors here to make it seem like we’re not really here.”

“How did you manage that?”

“These guys passed the hero’s trial, remember? Their supernatural powers got enhanced.”

“Oh. I see. That’s cool.”

Agath continued to respond lifelessly. Leo looked at her with pity as he continued:

“Anyway, when the new hero rescues Lite, the mastermind will come here. Then the blonde one will hypnotize and neutralize them.”

“Isn’t that hypnosis a bit too effective?”

“It consumes a lot of life force in exchange.”

“What if they run out of life force and can’t use hypnosis?”

“I’ll be beside them providing continuous healing, so that won’t be a problem.”

“Oh. I see. That’s cool.”

Agath was still answering mechanically with empty eyes.

“…Are you really okay?”

“Yeah. I think I’ll recover if I can torment Lite a little when I see her later.”

“What if you really break her mentally?”

“I’m already broken.”

“…Don’t torment her too much.”

It was karma coming back around. Thinking this, Leo turned away from Agath and said:

“Alright, we’ll go set up the ambush according to plan.”

And so the operation began.

***

I think I’ve been kidnapped. No, I definitely have been kidnapped.

“Deputy Commander. What should we do with this guy?”

“Tie him to that chair over there.”

“Is that all? Even though he’s a reincarnator, shouldn’t we take some additional measures?”

“He’s a weakling. Just tie him there and he won’t be able to escape.”

“Is he that weak?”

“He’d probably get thrashed even fighting a middle schooler.”

I’m still pretending to be unconscious. But aren’t they underestimating me too much?

No matter how weak I am, if I sacrifice my lifespan, I could wipe out all these people. Though I’d die too.

As I continued pretending to be unconscious, they really did tie me to the chair.

“Deputy Commander. Shouldn’t we crush his limbs just to be safe?”

“You know that’s a special rope that most people can’t untie.”

“Still, there’s always a possibility. Didn’t even Master Bastia fall victim to this guy last time?”

“That idiot died because he was stupidly going on about chivalry and other nonsense.”

“What if you end up making the same mistake by underestimating him? Let’s be thorough this time.”

“Well, that’s not a bad idea.”

Suddenly I heard footsteps approaching me. Maybe I should try to escape now…

CRACK!

“AAAAGH!”

I felt a heavy weight on my right wrist, followed by the sound of bones breaking.

Unable to bear the pain, I opened my eyes to see a woman stomping on my wrist.

“What? You were awake?”

CRACK!

“AAAAAAAGH!”

This time my left wrist went. I need to shoot this person with my gun…

…But both my wrists are already gone. I’ve lost my ability to fire a gun.

And so I could only watch as she proceeded to break my ankles after my wrists.

“You handled the pain better than expected. Not bad for a worm.”

“You… crazy… KUHAK!”

A heavy kick landed on my abdomen. Then that damned woman spoke with disgust:

“I’m going easy on you because you’re a hostage. Be grateful. Boys, tie him up now.”

With that, the woman left, and I was tied to the chair without being able to offer any resistance. That was truly the worst move.

I should have gotten up quickly and put a bullet hole in her head…

Now I’m really in trouble. My already weak body is now completely immobilized, and even if I could move, it wouldn’t be much use.

I need to get back and deliver this emblem… but am I just publicly embarrassing Ju-an?

It should be fine, I was kidnapped after all, what could he say? Let’s focus on finding a way out of this situation.

But there doesn’t seem to be any way out. Even if I summon my gun, it won’t help me untie these ropes.

And even if I untie the ropes, there’s nothing I can do. Even if I use my lifespan, I could only subdue the people here, not find a way out.

This damned helplessness is driving me crazy. Did I come all this way just to be a hindrance?

If this was going to happen, why did I participate in that trial? Why didn’t they enhance someone else’s powers instead?

…Wait?

Creating bullets with the same effect as someone else’s supernatural power. This might be a possibility.

First, my body… Divine power! I can somehow solve this with that.

Fortunately, my body is so weak that just one divine power bullet would heal it completely.

But do I have any supernatural powers to copy? Among the ones I know that might be useful… Should I try to hypnotize these people?

The lifespan needed to create that bullet is… it’s not working.

I could easily create bullets for stopping time and such, but why isn’t this working?

…Maybe I need to have experienced the supernatural power myself before I can create a bullet for it?

As an experiment, I tried to create bullets for mind interference or memory reading, and I got a rough estimate.

I don’t think I’ve been hypnotized by Taeyoung. I should check like this from time to time.

…This isn’t the time for such thoughts. I need to focus on finding a way out of this situation.

As I was thinking about all the supernatural powers I knew, I suddenly remembered one that might be useful.

Leo’s power, those wings I saw in my precognition before. If I could just imitate that, I might be able to do something.

The estimate is… 24 hours for 1 second of use.

If I maintain that state for 1 minute, it would cost 2 months… and to maintain it for 1 hour would require about 10 years.

Fortunately, I can somehow use that power, but it’s definitely not efficient.

Should I just wait here? Even if I sacrifice my lifespan, it’s uncertain whether I can escape from here.

As I was trying to think of another solution, I overheard a conversation in front of me.

“But is he really useful as a hostage? If it were me, I’d just abandon such a weakling.”

“They say the new hero likes this guy. So he’s more useful than anyone else.”

“So he was walking around alone and defenseless despite knowing this?”

“Just a brainless idiot, I guess.”

After hearing that damned conversation, I let out a small sigh.

“Huff…”

Then I immediately took out my gun and aimed it at myself.

Bang. Bang!

I fired a divine power bullet and a second bullet made with my second ability.

I felt wings forming on my back. And I felt power overflowing through my body.

At the same time, I felt immense pain throughout my body. But I can somehow endure this much.

Even if I can’t endure it, I must. I absolutely cannot be a mere burden.

Enduring the pain, I applied force to both arms, and the ropes broke easily. Then I immediately stood up and rushed forward.

“…!”

One person noticed I had escaped, but my approach was faster than their reaction. I threw my fist as hard as I could.

CRACK!

There was a loud sound of bones shattering. And that guy flew all the way to the wall…

BOOM!

The moment he hit the wall, it shattered in multiple layers with a thunderous sound. But there’s no time to admire my strength. I must not stop moving.

I kicked another enemy nearby.

BOOM!

Just like before, a huge hole appeared in the wall.

“AAAAAAAAAAGH!”

And I screamed in truly excruciating pain.

My entire body feels like it’s burning. I guess such power comes with an equally great price?

Never mind, I just need to keep moving. I absolutely cannot be a mere burden.

And so I desperately endured the pain as I ran outside.