Chap 94-If It Can Be Saved

 

Kiiiiing—

A sharp, resonating sound that seemed to scrape at the brain swept across the land.

Isaac knew that sound.

The sound of the progenitor’s sword wailing, which he had witnessed only once in his youth.

That day, with just a light demonstration towards the empty sky, the heavens had split in two.

And now, that sword was aimed at the magical beasts.

A single step.

Richard’s figure seemed to blur and disappear, and in an instant, he was standing in the center of the magical beast horde.

And…

A single strike.

He didn’t even realize that he had swung his sword.

Only a silver line was drawn in the space following the sword’s trajectory.

Silence fell.

Soon after, centered on the line, the bodies of dozens of High-ranking Monsters silently split apart all at once.

A perfect death, without even a moment to feel pain.

Kwaaaaaaaang—!!!

A moment later, the aftermath became an explosive wave that swept through the entire forest.

The remaining magical beasts and trees around them were caught in the wave and torn apart like paper.

When everything was over, Richard was still standing in the same spot.

Not even a speck of dust rose from beneath his feet holding the sword, and his shadow was as straight as a blade.

The tenacious vitality, the powerful strength, unique to High-ranking Monsters, none of it mattered.

Richard slowly turned his head and glared at Isaac without any agitation.

His gaze was mixed with anger and disappointment.

“So. Isn’t it about time you told me?”

Richard, who had hurriedly left the lighthouse after receiving Dorothy’s call, could only be appalled.

When he first came outside and surveyed the state of the family, everything was a mess.

Bennett, once the most powerful of the five great ducal houses, had its prestige fallen to the bottom, its power had diminished, and the world was mocking and pointing fingers at the ducal family.

Moreover, ‘Yeon Bennet’.

If a new member joined the Bennett family, a report should have been sent to him.

When Serena Bennet was born, Richard was delighted to hear the news and gladly blessed them.

But he had never even heard the name ‘Yeon Bennet’.

Even if she was an adopted daughter, to bring her into the family without reporting to him, the progenitor.

He knew that Duke Bennett was struggling with the grief of losing his wife, but he didn’t realize he was this out of his mind.

If he had done this without a justifiable reason…

He was going to immediately remove Isaac and put Serena on the ducal seat.

Just as Richard’s patience was beginning to run out.

Isaac finally broke the long and heavy silence and opened his mouth.

“Progenitor… why do you think humanity hasn’t been destroyed yet?”

“…….”

“You know that, originally, humanity’s power would never be able to withstand the Evil God.”

“Yes.”

Richard replied curtly.

“I don’t know the details either, but I thought the transcendent had done something.”

“That’s right.”

Isaac’s voice gained strength.

“I thought there must be a reason why humanity could endure… and after a long investigation, I finally found it.”

“What?”

“A being who sealed the Evil God’s power.”

At those words, Richard’s face hardened.

“…What nonsense!”

He frowned.

“Are you saying that someone among the Six Heavens is sealing the Evil God’s power?”

“It’s not that. That child…”

Isaac shook his head at Richard’s question.

“Despite being only level 5, she controls the Evil God’s power…”

“Crazy talk!”

Richard shouted before Isaac could finish speaking.

“Level 5? Just touching the Evil God’s power would corrupt you on the spot and turn you into a magical beast!”

Richard couldn’t understand Isaac’s words at all.

A mere level 5 controlling the Evil God’s power?

No, was it even possible to seal the Evil God’s power in the first place?

Even the Six Heavens, who had reached the same level 11, would have to pay an unimaginable price to do such a crazy thing.

No matter how benevolent they were to humans, there was no way they would bear that kind of sacrifice.

“It’s true. Yeon, that child…”

“Yeon? Are you talking about that child you adopted, ‘Yeon Bennet’?”

Isaac nodded.

“That’s right. She can… wield Aether.”

Richard’s eyes widened.

“Aether… then could it be…”

He knew better than anyone how the Saintess of the Holy Kingdom obtained their power.

Richard immediately grasped the essence of the situation.

Yeon Bennet.

The bizarre rumors surrounding that child in the Bennett family.

All of that…

“It was a ploy to gather faith. That strange order from earlier, it was all for that, after all.”

“That’s right!”

Isaac’s face lit up with relief as Richard seemed to finally understand the truth.

‘If that’s the case… it can’t be helped.’

Richard thought to himself.

Aether.

Now all the pieces began to fit together.

He didn’t know how she got it, but if she could really wield Aether.

Stone of Faith.

A rare substance from mythology, known to gather faith and allow one to become a god.

But that power is not given without a price.

As much as it contains the power of a god, it eats away at the life force of an unqualified user.

The situation that child was in was unfortunate, but it was unavoidable for the sake of all humanity.

Yeon Bennet, he didn’t know what kind of person that child was, but if she had chosen to gather faith by using herself as bait.

She must have been a child with a strong and righteous heart.

If so, the current Bennett ducal family was not in decline.

Rather, they were choosing a noble sacrifice, willingly bearing the burden for everyone.

As he thought that, the seething anger slowly subsided.

But…

There was still one unresolved question.

The Power of Benevolent used by the Holy Kingdom was from a dead god, so it was possible to use it through Aether, but…

Was it possible to steal the power of a god who was still alive, like the Evil God, even with Aether called the Stone of Faith?

Just as Richard was about to delve deeper into that question, he sensed a familiar presence.

Turning his head, two women were slowly revealing themselves from the darkness of the forest.

“I never dreamed I would see you here, Richard. Duke Bennett.”

The red-haired woman bowed gracefully.

Behind her was a girl who looked just like her, carrying someone who had lost consciousness on her back.

“It’s been a while, Duchess Medici.”

“This is my daughter, Camilla.”

Cassandra pointed to the girl standing next to her and introduced her.

“I am Camilla Medici.”

Camilla bowed her head.

“I apologize for not being able to show proper courtesy as I am carrying an injured person.”

“We should take this injured person to the camp…”

Cassandra asked with a gentle smile.

“Would you like to come with us?”

…

‘What should I do?’

They were aiming for something other than me.

And that meant…

Someone other than me could die.

I hadn’t become close to anyone, but they were still the academy students and professors I had spent almost a year with.

Not me… maybe it was them…

Above all, I was worried about Bella, who had been left alone outside.

I believed that she would be fine, but if… if something happened.

I bit my nails anxiously.

I couldn’t just stand still.

Beside me, Anaide was waving her fingers in the empty air, drawing a complex magic circle.

Golden letters appeared and disappeared repeatedly in the remnants of chaos that had been extinguished.

She was preparing Dimensional Teleportation Magic to return to Terra.

“Um… how long will it take?”

When I asked anxiously, Anaide replied without taking her eyes off the magic circle.

“Well… moving through dimensions isn’t that easy…”

She trailed off ambiguously.

That answer made me even more uneasy.

My chest felt tight, and my palms were sweating.

I couldn’t calm down, pacing around aimlessly.

“Haa… it’s distracting, just stay still.”

Anaide said with a mixed voice of annoyance.

“But! While we’re trapped here, what if someone gets hurt…!”

“Haa…”

Anaide let out a deep sigh as if she was annoyed.

“It’ll take 30 minutes at the earliest, an hour at the latest.”

“Huh? That fast?”

Judging by the way she was talking, I thought it would take much longer.

But that didn’t mean I could still rest assured.

No one knew what terrible things could happen in that short but long time.

“Anyway, aren’t those guys outside just bullying you? Why are you so worried about them?”

Anaide asked as if she couldn’t understand.

“Yes, of course!”

I answered without hesitation.

Wasn’t it obvious?

In the first place, the reason I was being bullied was because I had deceived them.

Ahem, well, I kind of… induced it too.

And…

I didn’t want to see anyone die because of me anymore.

“Sigh.”

At my resolute answer, Anaide sighed deeply, holding her head.

She slowly approached me, who was feeling uneasy.

And she floated her body in the air to match my eye level.

“In the first place, they didn’t attack this place aiming for you.”

Her small hand gently stroked my cheek.

“Yeon. Do you know why the Evil God gave up his own domain and went out of his way to trap you here?”

“…?”

“He was afraid of you.”

Her blue eyes pierced straight through me.

“You were the biggest obstacle to achieving his goals.”

“…Me?”

“So… even if someone dies in this attack…”

Her voice was endlessly gentle.

“It’s not your fault.”

Kind words for me.

It was always awkward and uncomfortable to have someone comfort and worry about me, but… it felt strangely good.

An unfamiliar sensation tickled in a corner of my heart.

I lowered my head and said to Anaide.

“…Thank you. For saying those words for me.”

I raised my head again and looked straight into her eyes.

“Still…”

“If I can save them, I want to save them.”

At those words, a bright smile appeared on Anaide’s face.

As if she had been waiting for that answer.

“Okay. I’ll do my best.”

Author’s Note

I think I messed up the exam, should I just continue writing?