Chapter 133: The Grand Deception (7)

[133] 20. The Grand Deception (7)

To get straight to the point, the transfer was a success.

With just three jumps, I was able to teleport to the Demon King’s castle. And I didn’t draw any unnecessary attention in the process either.

Of course, the price was by no means small.

“Kuhek…!”

I learned what it meant to vomit blood. It feels as if someone grabbed my insides and shook them violently.

The penalty of the transfer,

This was the moment when those words, which I had taken too lightly, finally gained their true weight.

I desperately rummaged through my pockets, looking for a healing potion. However, blood-stained hands have a habit of betraying their owner.

“Fuck…!”

Along with a curse, the glass vial slipped from my grasp and fell to the ground.

It rolls across the smooth floor as if mocking me.

Feeling my consciousness fading, I crawled after it on all fours. But with each crawl, my mind drifted further away, and my strength continues to drain.

I couldn’t end like this.

I didn’t struggle so desperately just to meet this kind of end…

“Looking for this?”

Suddenly, a hand reached down and picked up the potion. Reflexively, I lift my head to follow it.

Pale skin and cold eyes.

And a worn robe that seemed lived in.

The man looked at my potion with a dubious expression.

“Given your injuries, this probably won’t be enough…”

Relief floods through me, and my body unconsciously goes limp. I collapse face-first onto the floor.

“…H-Hold on, you’re not dead, are you? You’re still alive, right?”

…I barely managed to nod.

***

When you hear the word ‘Demon King’s castle’, what kind of image comes to mind?

Purple stone walls and sharp, menacing interior design?

Dark corridors barely lit by torches?

Or perhaps, the screams of innocents and a pungent, acrid stench?

I don’t know for sure, but most would probably imagine something like hell on earth. Or like a dungeon from a game. I had also expected something similar.

But now, having entered the Demon King’s castle,

I realized that all my expectations were wrong.

The Demon King’s castle… if I had to describe it, it resembled more of a grandpa’s room.

“Have some tea, it’ll help you regain your strength.”

“Ah… Thank you.”

I accepted the tea the man handed me and looked around.

Bookshelves filled with old books,

A desk covered in knickknacks of unknown purpose,

An unnecessarily cozy-looking fireplace,

And the smell of a bachelor permeating the entire room.

“What, are you uneasy because the Demon King’s room is different from what you imagined”

Hitting the mark, my shoulders involuntarily trembled.

The man, no, the Demon King Genius, smirked at my reaction.

“Well, that’s how it is with life. Things don’t always flow the way you think or imagine they will.”

Muttering an old adage, Genius sipped his tea. He looked surprisingly at peace, which didn’t really suit the title of Demon King.

…Well, didn’t he say that the Demon King was just a gatekeeper. Maybe this is how he’s supposed to be.

“So, what brings you to my castle? And in such a half-dead state, no less? You seem to have quite a story…”

Only then did I remember my original purpose. The reason I risked that adventurous, no, that reckless teleportation magic.

To stop Irene.

“Mr. Sharik told me everything.”

The moment Genius’s expression hardened, I knew I had made the right move to start with. Observing his complexion, I slowly continued.

“About the hero Alain, the Goddess who tried to devour the world, even the sealing process. Everything.”

“And?”

By now, Genius’s peaceful demeanor had vanished. He glared at me with sharp eyes and asked,

“You didn’t come all the way here just for that reason, would you?”

“…You’re right. I…”

I closed my mouth briefly to choose my words. After taking a deep breath, I slowly began.

“I came here to stop the Goddess’s resurrection.”

I briefly summarized the events that had occurred up till now to Genius. Of course, leaving out a few sensitive details.

“…”

When I finished, Genius silently rested his chin on his hand. His furrowed brow seemed to emanate a headache.

After who knows how much time had passed.

Suddenly, Genius asked me with what sounded like a sigh.

“So, this Irene woman, who just happens to be from another world, also has magic that can be used to travel between worlds?”

“That’s correct.”

“Then, essentially, all she needs to do is kill me and the seal will be broken, and this woman is camping right in front of my doorstep?”

“…That’s correct.”

“Damn it, we went through all that trouble 200 years ago to create that seal, and it was all for naught.”

Genius grumbled while refilling his empty cup with tea. After muttering some curses, he suddenly glanced at me and asked.

“So how are you going to stop her?”

“What?”

“You must have some plan, since you came here all bloodied up? Tell me, I’ll help as much as I can.”

I just blinked in confusion for a moment. Finally gathering my wits, I asked back.

“You’re going to believe me so easily?”

“You said it yourself, that crazy Irene woman is right in my front door. Is this really the time for me to be picky?”

Well, when he puts it that way, it’s not entirely unreasonable…

But something still feels off in a corner of my mind.

It feels less like he decided to help after hearing my words, and more like he had already decided to help from the start…

“So, what’s your plan?”

The question cut through my doubts.

For now, I decided to put my suspicions aside and opened my mouth.

“I’m planning to move the Goddess’s body that’s sealed in subspace again.”

.

.

.

“What?”

Hearing my plan, Irene let out a laugh of disbelief. Glaring at her, I continued.

“I have a rough idea of what you’re planning. Kill the Demon King, or rather, the Gatekeeper, and then forcefully open a way into subspace to summon the Goddess’s body.”

It was a kind of shortcut.

Originally, breaking the Goddess’s seal required the consent of all seven heroes or their descendants. On top of that, you also needed the seals held by the fifty immortals.

To use an analogy, it was like a vault with triple locks.

However, instead of opening the vault’s door, Irene decided to break through the vault’s wall.

Using Parsley’s world-transfer magic,

She would bypass the seal and directly retrieve the Goddess’s body from subspace.

Then she would only need to deal with one gatekeeper, instead of going through a complicated process to get everyone’s approval.

And so, one simple shortcut

Had broken through the barriers created by the heroes 200 years ago.

However, if a shortcut is simple, then its countermeasure is also simple.

“But you’re not the only one who can use magic to travel between worlds.”

If someone tries to break through the vault’s wall to steal its contents, all you have to do is move the contents somewhere else.

My experience chasing Parsley to another world,

My experience being kidnapped to another world and returning,

And my experience teleporting to the Demon King’s castle.

Actually, when it came to this ‘transfer’ magic, my proficiency was higher than anyone else’s.

“Those relay towers you’ve built all over the continent, I can also use them. Plus, the Goddess’s body is already dismembered… So what do you think will happen if I scatter those body parts into different worlds?”

Finally, a crack appeared in Irene’s expression.

“…Why are you telling me this?”

“Because I’ve already done it.”

Blabbering about all my plans before putting them into action like some washed-up villain wasn’t my style. With Genius’ help, I had already scattered the Goddess’s body parts in different worlds.

“And I’ll tell you this upfront, even *I* don’t know which worlds I sent them to. I just randomly assigned coordinates and threw them.”

Even with Parsley’s help, it would probably take quite some time to find them all. At least a month, I’d guess.

“And? Is that all? Is that your grand plan, Oppa? To buy time?”

…And conversely, that meant that Irene could try the same thing again in a month. After all, all she had to do was reverse engineer the transfer magic I used.

Irene’s sharp eyes suddenly soften.

“Oppa, I don’t know who you’re being deceived by, but we have to resurrect the Goddess. I already explained everything.”

“What if your explanation was wrong?”

That was the first contradiction.

Irene, who claimed that the Goddess was the key to saving the world,

And the records that stated the Goddess was the one who tried to destroy it.

The conflicting statements confused me.

In truth, that was the reason I went to the World Tree. And I had gotten the answer I wanted.

I decided to believe Sharik, Shafiq’s father.

“What if that ‘original story knowledge’ of yours is wrong? What if the Goddess isn’t the being you think she is?”

“Oppa, didn’t you hear a word I said back then? This is just a world inside a game. If it weren’t, how could I…”

And it was time for the audience, who had been momentarily stunned by shock, to return.

“What, what exactly is going on here?”

Clara, who had been silent due to bewilderment, breaks into the conversation. With trembling eyes fixed on me, she continues.

“Why, why is Rem here? Surely Rem was left behind at the camp…”

“That’s, that’s right… I definitely tied him up with a restraint spell…”

Confused faces all around. They couldn’t grasp this impossible situation, that there were two of me.

However, there was someone among them with exceptional situational awareness.

“An explanation seems to be in order, Irene.”

The Captain’s sharp eyes turned to Irene. Gripping the pommel of her sword, she spoke in a low voice.

“We followed you here, believing your words about Rem being kidnapped by the Demon King. But now there’s one Rem in our camp, and another one right here.”

Humans are fundamentally herd animals, so when one person raises a flag, others tend to follow.

It didn’t take long for the Captain’s suspicious gaze to become everyone’s suspicious gaze.

“Ha…!”

A hollow laugh escapes Irene’s lips.

“I thought I’d taken all the necessary precautions for a situation like this…”

Certainly, her precautions were thorough.

From imprisoning me,

To creating a replica of me.

And after I escaped, using the cultists to track me and keep me on the run.

But what she didn’t anticipate was the possibility that I would be waiting for them at the Demon King’s castle.

Her blue eyes turn to me. They were eyes filled with deep irritation, a look I wasn’t very familiar with.

“So, this was also part of Oppa’s plan?”

“No, it ends here.”

I shift my gaze towards the door and whistled loudly. Then, from beyond the door, the grinning face of Big Nose suddenly appears.

“Sorry for the wait! Whew, this is heavy…!”

The reason I had been talking so much until now, and the evidence that would confirm their suspicions.

Big Nose dragged the broken body of ‘me’ to the center of the corridor.

“Whew~ Just as you said, when I smashed it up, it turned out to be a magic tool. I felt a bit bad about punching your face, but when gears came out instead of blood, I felt relieved.”

Shock, suspicion, and finally, clear rage flashed through their eyes as they saw ‘my’ broken body. I looked down at Irene, who was now the target of their anger, and said.

“Now, there’s no need for me to convince anyone here that you’re a liar, is there?”

The tables have turned.

The individual becomes the majority,

And the former majority reverts to an individual.

Finally having the upper hand, I declared in a cold voice.

“Surrender, Irene. If you do, I’ll at least give you a painless death.”

At those words, Irene’s shoulders tremble. Then she looked up at me with empty eyes.

“Why don’t you understand?”

I couldn’t answer to this unexpected reaction.

But as if she hadn’t expected an answer in the first place, Irene continues.

“I’m… I’m doing this for this world… I’m doing this for Oppa and for them… I, I already explained everything… but why… why…!!”

As her words continue, anger wells up in her eyes. Before I knew it, she was glaring at me as if she wanted to kill me.

“Do you know how much I’ve worked for this?! How much blood I’ve stained my hands with! How many things I’ve slaughtered to prepare for all this!! It’s been 25 years!! For 25 damn years, to save this fucking world, to create a world where my siblings can live, I sacrificed my everything!! My everything!! But why…!!”

“Shut up.”

Irene’s figure is reflected in the cold axe blade. It looked ugly with tears streaking down.

Feya pressed the axe against Irene’s throat and added coldly.

“Say one more word, and I’ll cut your throat.”

At that moment, Irene’s anger transformed into something else. A strange smile appeared on her lips.

“Feya Unnie, you’re going to cut my throat? Don’t you remember I was the one who taught you how to apply makeup? I…”

*Shuk-!*

Drops of blood fly through the air, silencing her.

Irene let out a hollow laugh in front of the falling droplets of blood.

“Haha…”

The only reason Feya’s axe hadn’t completely severed Irene’s throat was because Irene had grabbed it with her hand at the last minute.

“Hahaha…!”

Irene laughed maniacally as she looked at her mangled fingers. Then, when her laughter finally subsided, she looked down at her shredded fingers and muttered weakly.

“Yeah, I guess I shouldn’t have hoped for a happy ending after killing people.”

At that moment, I felt a strange premonition creeping up my spine. An unease that stemmed from instinct, not logic or reason.

“But even if it’s just for Betty’s sake, I have to save this world.”

Wait? Betty?

Betty Ailleyde,

The woman who everyone had seen, talked to, and even become friendly with,

Yet, who had somehow vanished from everyone’s memory like a mirage.

She was already standing there.

Holding a snow-white sword,

Looking at the woman who had been standing still until now.

“So, I’m giving up on you now, Oppa.”

Along with Irene’s smile.

Betty Ailleyde plunged the holy sword into Amy’s heart.