Ch.84An Unbearable Future. (1)

When discussing the strongest swordsman, Sword Master Kiel is often mentioned.

This is because he has never been defeated by any of the continent’s renowned warriors for over a decade.

No one on the continent could defeat him with a sword, hence he is the Sword Master.

But when discussing the strongest warrior, the story changes slightly.

King of Martial Arts, Ashe Balthar.

All nations except the Empire would, without a moment’s hesitation, call Ashe Balthar the strongest warrior.

The reason for this was right before Kiel’s eyes.

“……”

In the middle of the steep mountain range stood the great city of Mikabel.

There, a man was pounding the mountains with his bare fists.

Swoosh.

A massive boulder turned to dust and vanished with a single strike.

A muscular man rose from the cloud of dust.

‘…He’s big.’

There were no adequate words to describe him. His muscles, height, build—one might mistake him for a descendant of the ancient giants.

His aura was violent yet refined.

He was truly worthy of being called the king of those who walk the path of martial arts.

The next moment, his eyes met with Ashe Balthar’s.

With a “hmph” and a sinister smile, he instantly moved in front of Kiel.

He laughed heartily and said:

“I knew someone like you would see through my thoughts and come here, Kiel. As expected of the wisest warrior I’ve acknowledged.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I came here on personal business.”

“……”

A brief silence fell between them.

“Did you come because you knew why I was being difficult during negotiations?”

“No.”

“Hmm……”

Ashe Balthar scratched the back of his head.

“…Then what is this personal business?”

“A question.”

“Do I look like someone who would answer your—”

“Ashe Balthar, are you a Regressor as I suspected?”

Silence fell again.

But it wasn’t the same kind as before.

A crushing aura rose between them.

The space began to distort as the auras of these apex warriors collided.

“You’ve made a mistake. You have ‘not yet’ acknowledged me.”

“……”

Shing.

Kiel raised his greatsword. A black aura as dark as his hair enveloped the blade.

“And who are you, a dull barbarian, to dare acknowledge anyone?”

At those words, Ashe Balthar laughed and said:

“Hahaha! The Empire’s watchdog has grown bold!”

A cracking sound came from Ashe Balthar’s neck. He took off his upper garment and threw it aside. The harsh cold of the high mountains was merely a means to awaken his senses.

Ashe Balthar extended his right fist forward. Then he wiggled two fingers.

“Come, I’ll fix that attitude of yours today.”

Before anyone could tell who moved first, they rushed at each other.

*****

Another day in the Repentance Chamber arrived as always.

Olivia was staring out the window with Livga in her arms.

-Tssssssss!

The sky was splitting in two in real time. At a glance, it looked like a dragon tearing through the firmament.

But if that were the case, the Holy Kingdom wouldn’t be this quiet. Dragons were beings capable of destroying entire nations.

Yet it couldn’t be called a natural phenomenon either.

Even the sharpest wind couldn’t split the sky in such a perfectly straight line.

‘…Kiel.’

It was a very familiar sword strike.

A sword that cuts through space.

The fact that Kiel was using that technique meant he had encountered an opponent too formidable to hold back against.

‘…Is there someone that strong?’

When Olivia last met Kiel, his level was only 83. At that level, he was inferior not only to Melina but also to the current Livga.

Even using [Regressor’s Special Privilege], he would only reach 93.

At first glance, Kiel might seem weak, but that would be a miscalculation.

Kiel is one of the few royal-class NPCs in Lactea.

Given enough time, he could easily surpass other Regressors.

The reason his level stagnated in the low 90s during the Annihilation Route was because Olivia had subtly hindered his growth.

If there had been no interference?

The Annihilation Route would certainly have failed.

Kiel, having evolved beyond ‘Sword Master,’ would be capable of going toe-to-toe with the Demon Lord.

‘That direction is… Mikabel.’

Olivia nodded in understanding after determining the direction of the sword strike.

If it was Mikabel, that sword strike made sense.

Because the King of Martial Arts was there.

Ashe Balthar.

Without a doubt, if asked to choose the simplest person among the Regressors, one hundred out of one hundred would choose Ashe Balthar.

Charitably put, he was a battle-loving alpha male; less charitably, he was an uncontrollable idiot who knew nothing but fighting.

And Olivia’s assessment usually leaned toward the latter.

Tssss…

The sky gradually returned to normal. It seemed their fight had concluded.

The winner was probably Ashe Balthar.

This was because while Kiel’s signature space-cutting sword strike was visible, Ashe Balthar’s signature fist technique was not.

Perhaps in a few years it might be different, but right now Ashe Balthar had the upper hand.

His years of experience and accumulated knowledge gave him an overwhelming advantage.

He probably didn’t kill Kiel. For Ashe Balthar, Kiel was the only warrior who could give him the thrill of battle. He wouldn’t kill someone so valuable.

‘…The future is changing faster and faster.’

Livga and Esthie met in the clue, and in reality, Kiel and Ashe Balthar met. Moreover, Melina was staying in the north.

‘And Aria is suspiciously quiet.’

It’s becoming increasingly difficult to predict.

At this rate, the future will twist into completely unpredictable directions by the end of this year at the earliest, or early next year at the latest.

Before then, she needed to bring at least one more person to her side.

Olivia placed her hand on the head of the soundly sleeping Livga.

The familiar notification window appeared for the umpteenth time.

[Clue #3]

[Do you want to use the memory of July, Imperial Year 993?]

As always, her consciousness flickered.

*****

“Ugh.”

When Olivia opened her eyes on the coast, the first thing that greeted her was a stench that assaulted her nostrils. Countless fish carcasses created a horrible sensation whenever they were stepped on.

‘…Why is it raining so heavily?’

The ominously pouring rain and the stench.

It was a terrible environment, but if that was all, she could have just frowned and moved on.

“What is that…?”

The heavy rain made it difficult to see clearly, but human forms were visible among the fish carcasses. As Olivia approached these forms, she was left speechless.

Bodies so swollen they were barely recognizable. The only identifiable feature was the pattern on their clothes.

…They were people from Icail.

Olivia examined the bodies strewn about carelessly.

Hundreds of corpses. They were all in terrible condition, having been abandoned for who knows how long.

Even if masses of bodies had drifted in from the distant sea, if the city were functioning normally, there should at least be one cleaner visible.

But there wasn’t even a cleaner, nor any sign of human presence.

As if the entire city had died.

“…Wait.”

Suddenly, an ominous feeling came over her.

A very, very ominous feeling.

[Using skill, ‘Levitation’.]

Olivia immediately flew up into the sky. And she saw it.

Icail in ruins.

“…Why is this place…”

At that moment, a sentence came to mind.

⌜That day, half of the capital sank.⌟

It was a familiar sentence.

One that invariably appeared in Esthie’s backstory whenever her affection quest was pursued.

⌜The sunken half became a demon realm.⌟

⌜The remaining half came to be called Icail.⌟

The fall of a once-dominant eastern kingdom was recorded in history books in just two lines.

The sound of splashing was heard. That footstep was so familiar that she lacked the courage to turn around.

Slowly turning her head, she saw Esthie covered in blood.

In her hands was the swollen corpse of a man.

It was the King of Canis.

At that moment, Olivia sensed it.

‘Olivia’ had chosen the worst possible method.

-Crack.

Esthie, who had thrown the corpse to the ground, turned toward her. The face that had always maintained composure now bore a smile bordering on madness.

“Hee, ha, uhahah!”

[Esthie Aquar]

Level: 93

Affection: 80

Occupation: Wave Mage

Title: Wavemaster of Icail, Princess of the Fallen Nation.

In the storm, all that could be heard was maniacal laughter.

Olivia kept her mouth shut. Esthie seemed to be saying something to her, but she couldn’t hear it clearly.

She didn’t want to hear it.

‘…Why? Why did it turn out like this?’

The first step in Esthie’s affection quest was to eliminate the ‘voice’ ringing in her ears.

And the quickest way to eliminate the voice was to eliminate the very people Esthie needed to protect.

This was the result.

Yes, surely among countless iterations, this method had been attempted before.

But that was so long ago it was hard to remember.

Back in the days before even attempting the No-Kill Ending, let alone the Annihilation Ending.

“…What about Livga?”

“Hee, hee…”

“What about Livga!”

Only then did Esthie tilt her head.

“…The Saintess? Didn’t you banish her outside the barrier with teleportation magic?”

At those words, Olivia looked up.

As Esthie said, Icail was isolated under a translucent barrier.

Olivia immediately recognized who had created that barrier.

‘…Olivia.’

Olivia pushed past Esthie and headed toward the outskirts of the city.

The closer she got to the barrier, the more corpses there were. Their faces revealed what they felt in their final moments.

But ‘Olivia’ would have simply ignored them.

After all, they too were among those Esthie needed to protect as citizens of Icail.

Only when they were all dead could Esthie’s affection quest begin.

She didn’t kill anyone directly. She merely erected a barrier.

If there was any sin, it was not removing the barrier.

Olivia’s hands trembled.

Whatever ‘Olivia’ was thinking when she did this, one thing was certain.

What Livga must have thought when she saw this.

– Clank.

At that moment, Olivia sensed someone’s movement.

The familiar sound of armor clanking. Thousands of holy knights in pure white armor stood in formation.

Among them were familiar faces.

But their faces no longer held the smiles of old.

[Ancient magic, ‘Heavenly Prison Barrier’ is being dispelled.]

From among the holy knights, a girl in armor stepped forward.

In her hand was a holy spear that punishes evil.

“…Grand Magician Olivia.”

[‘Saintess Livga’ activates ‘Angelization’!]

“I shall pass judgment upon you.”