Winny-Kaisk’s Repayment 2

+++

After a considerable commotion, Winny tidied her clothes while sniffling. She seemed far more shaken than expected.

Doyun, who had deliberately refrained from mentioning the witnesses to surprise her, had to embrace her reassuringly for quite a while.

Eventually, Winny headed towards the storeroom with Doyun, her steps faltering.

Upon entering the storeroom, the pungent aroma of reagents assailed Doyun’s nose.

‘A familiar scent…’

Doyun closed his eyes momentarily, reminiscing about his alchemy studies and the days spent with a little friend long ago.

“I’ve sold or hidden away all the elixirs, so this is just a collection of miscellaneous items. Reagents, cosmetics, and… virility enhancers…”

While Winny spoke with a subtle blush, caressing her thighs, Doyun’s gaze fixed upon a black reagent displayed on a wall.

He picked it up.

“Ooh… an intriguing choice? Do you sense something from it?”

“…What is this, exactly?”

Winny grinned slyly.

“Black magic.”

“…”

Doyun looked at her with mild surprise.

Black magic wasn’t the magic used by demon races, but quite literally evil magic.

It had existed since ancient times but was forcibly eradicated ages ago due to its wickedness.

Even Enoch, who had traveled the continent for 200 years, had only encountered it a handful of times – it was exceedingly rare.

“Why is this here?”

After a brief ponder, Winny met Doyun’s gaze as she spoke.

“It was a commission from the Lion King.”

“Pardon?”

Doyun was taken aback by her wholly unexpected response.

The Lion King commissioning black magic?

“Surprised?”

“…Is this something you should be telling me?”

“It’s a closely guarded secret, but a well-known one among the few informed individuals, so it should be fine.”

The ‘few’ a Master Alchemist referred to were likely the continent’s absolute elite – the highest echelons like Eloah, royal families, Heroes, and so on.

“Do you think the Alliance’s technology could create something like the Celestial Terra Extremis Barrier? With black magic, it’s possible.”

The Celestial Terra Extremis Barrier – walls reaching the ends of the world and the heavens.

The Alliance’s final bulwark, the prime contributor that enabled them to endure the 70-year war without Enoch.

It referred to the ramparts stretching across Muspelheim’s frontlines from one continental end to the other.

“Surely not…”

“Walls built with black magic. Moreover, utilizing the most vile practice of human sacrifices from within black magic itself. The inner material of those walls contains whole human corpses, and the sacrifices offered during its construction… were 10,000 newborn infants, if I recall correctly?”

“…!”

Doyun’s eyes widened in shock, as if he had learned one of the world’s greatest secrets.

But before condemning the Lion King, he first asked a question.

“Are you certain you should be telling me this information?”

“Are you of the same ilk as the Lion King? No questions about why he committed such atrocities?”

“…”

“Don’t worry. To the Alliance, the Lion King is an absolute embodiment of justice.”

Doyun immediately understood the meaning behind Winny’s ‘same ilk as the Lion King’ remark.

“Good heavens, 10,000 newborns. Has there ever been a greater crime in history? The Lion King will surely never reach heaven after death.”

Yet Winny’s words showed no hint of contempt for the Lion King.

“But while he may be evil to the gods, he is justice to the Alliance. Were it not for him, not for his decision, the Alliance would have ceased to exist long ago. He is second only to Enoch Razvolnic as the greatest hero since the first era.”

Uncharacteristically solemn, Winny fell silent, and Doyun listened intently.

“The Lion King is an extremist like the Enoch Razvolnic of history, like you. One who readily abandons morality and justice to tread the path of tyranny for the Alliance’s sake.”

In the 12th regression, Enoch had assassinated a king of an allied nation who opposed his war thesis against the Demon Lord, prioritizing self-interest over the war effort. It had been a famous episode in that timeline.

Extremist – a fitting description for Enoch indeed.

‘So the Lion King was such a man as well.’

Winny continued speaking.

“While all Alliance citizens revere the Lion King, there is a stark divide among those who know this true face of his. Haineken respects him as a senior, but his master, the Vagabond Hero, abhors the Lion King.”

“And yet, that Master still runs day and night on the Lion King’s behalf. What could be the reason?”

“He too understands. While the debate rages on whether the Lion King is evil or just, one fact remains clear.”

“The Lion King is a man devoted to the Alliance above all else. He is the embodiment of the Alliance, and to aid him is to aid the Alliance itself.”

“…”

It had been the same 100 years ago, in other regressions.

The continent had no shortage of powerful individuals. But not all had joined Enoch’s guild while fighting the Demon Lord’s army.

There had been those who rejected Enoch’s tyrannical path.

Yet Enoch had never once believed himself to be wrong.

“The vial you’re holding is called ‘Hell Water.’ From the moment it’s consumed until its effects wear off, it blocks all pain and even a sense of crisis. Not only that, it dramatically enhances the ‘Endurance’ stat. Ah, but it’s not an invincibility potion – you simply won’t feel the damage as it accumulates.”

“I suppose it was meant for soldiers.”

“Correct. But it was decommissioned – not for ethical reasons, but due to impracticality. If you can’t feel damage or fear on the battlefield, your survival rate is obviously 0%. The Lion King judged that the losses from his ‘elite troops’ consuming it outweighed the benefits. Only minuscule quantities could be produced, so it couldn’t be distributed to regular soldiers either.”

Doyun nodded in understanding.

Watching him, Winny narrowed her eyes. His gaze fixed upon the vial betrayed clear interest.

“…Don’t tell me you intend to use that?”

“You did say I could take anything. Is it too precious?”

“No, it’s incredibly precious, but useless – that’s why it’s stored here. You can take it if you want. But I’m not recommending it. Are you trying to kill yourself by ingesting it?”

However, Doyun swiftly pocketed the Hell Water, as if worried Winny might confiscate it.

“I’ll take this.”

“Heh… you truly are just like the Lion King, huh?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Can’t say. It’s top secret, but I’ll tell you later.”

“…?”

“Well, in any case… fine, take it. I just hope you won’t have any need to use it.”

Winny muttered wistfully, making an effort to conceal her troubled feelings.

Doyun regarded the Hell Water with a meaningful gaze.

+++

After the reports were processed and the after-action reviews completed, Muspelheim’s military was aghast. The Tsunami Tamer, a Demon Lord’s high-ranking officer who had plagued the Alliance since the Great Demon War 100 years ago, had been subjugated – by a mere supply unit, no less.

But the actual details were even more astounding. The supply unit hadn’t even taken action – a single Disciple had penetrated the demon beast horde and slain the Tsunami Tamer.

And that Disciple was only a 3-month rookie!

“Hold on. Han Doyun? Doesn’t that name sound familiar?”

“Hey, isn’t this the guy who excavated Razvolnic’s legacy and invited the Dragon Lord to the guild?”

“…So it wasn’t mere luck after all?”

“I heard Lord Haineken and the wandering Master held him in high regard.”

“That 3-month fledgling? Why would they?”

“Haineken called him a ‘junior.'”

“…Truly? That talent hunter?”

While Disciple Han Doyun’s specs were dazzling, it was another detail in the report that truly widened their eyes.

“Kicking down the gate with his feet? Hah.”

“Preposterous!”

Additional investigations were conducted, corroborated by numerous soldier testimonies, leaving the military no choice but to accept it as fact.

They also learned about the Amasbin estate’s gate collapse incident during the investigation.

The military continued their meeting with grave expressions.

“…An individual of immense value.”

“A Disciple who can demolish gates in a single strike… isn’t this essentially a one-man siege weapon?”

“With this Disciple… we could push back the stalled frontlines…!”

“Contact the World Tree.”

Disciple Han Doyun’s value on the battlefield had begun to garner widespread recognition.

+++

“Just what technique did you teach him?”

To Doyun’s incredulous words, the Vagabond Hero roared with laughter.

“To think I missed seeing your face when you first demolished that gate with the Emperor’s Divine Palm! Kehkehkeh!”

“Well, it seems my theory and my Master’s were correct after all. The Emperor’s Divine Palm has been completed! Thank you.”

“No, thank you, Master… I received a summons from Muspelheim. They want me to contribute to pushing back the frontlines. Perhaps because of that, the rewards for this war were quite generous too.”

“Muspelheim is surely regretting not inviting you directly. In normal circumstances, the Lion King would have personally called upon you to join his elite ‘Pride’ knight order – the continent’s finest. But he’s currently in seclusion, you see.”

“I have no interest in such matters.”

“I figured you’d say that. You’ve always been strangely uninterested in such things.”

The Vagabond Hero took a puff from his kiseru pipe.

“So, will you continue taking to the battlefield?”

“Of course.”

“Hmm… I see.”

Observing the Vagabond Hero’s reaction, Doyun tilted his head quizzically. He seemed somewhat unsatisfied with Doyun’s answer.

“Is there an issue?”

“…”

After inhaling smoke, the Vagabond Hero spoke with a solemn expression.

“Don’t take this as an old man’s nagging, but hear me out.”

“I will listen intently.”

“Don’t overexert yourself.”

“…”

Peering into Doyun’s unchanged, composed eyes, the Vagabond Hero continued.

“Why don’t you look after yourself?”

“…I’m not sure what you mean.”

“The assassin ambush at the Cradle. I heard you directly lured the assassin to where you mauled him. As a result, you ended up a bloody mess.”

“It was all calculated. After having Lord Haineken stand by…”

“What madman factors a death-risking situation into their calculations? Are you Enoch himself?”

“…”

Doyun silently listened to his words.

What the Vagabond Hero said was something he had heard ad nauseam during Enoch’s era.

Specifically, in the 10th to 13th regressions where he had abandoned his humanity, living like a doll solely for growth while accepting death as a prerequisite – he had heard such words innumerable times.

“This time too, I heard you pierced through the Tamer’s demon beast forces alone, reaching the brink of death. Were it not for Leah, you would have truly perished.”

“…Yes.”

“Han Doyun. Please, don’t do this.”

“…”

“In my advanced age, having witnessed the lamentable deaths of many unripened heroes throughout the wars, I can’t help but wonder – what if the two Boss Monster Killers and three of the Heroes, including Hecleus, the sole survivor of the Great Demon War, had lived to reach their full primes? What might the Alliance have become?”

The Vagabond Hero’s voice, laced with heartfelt regret and a hint of fear for Doyun’s future, trembled faintly as he exhaled wisps of smoke.

“But that’s not even the biggest issue… war drives people insane, you see.”

Doyun was well aware – more so than anyone, as Enoch himself had succumbed to madness by the 10th regression after enduring countless battlefields.

“You are more at risk than any talent I’ve witnessed thus far. You show no regard for your own wellbeing at all. Don’t do this, Han Doyun. Of what use is anything if you die…”

“Enoch’s life.”

Raising his head, Doyun met the Vagabond Hero’s gaze after listening silently.

“His life held meaning even in death. Through his death, he saved the world.”

“No.”

The Vagabond Hero firmly refuted him.

“His death was a mere dog’s death.”