episode_0031

As Kel’thasar silently raised his hand to his sword, Velin thought he might die if he continued like this. That’s why I looked at the man and desperately made an excuse.

“Ke…You know me, Kelthasar, right? They are always devoted to the empire. Why would I do something like betrayal? Please trust me.”

“Then why are you shaking so much? Why do you make people suspicious?”

If I said I was afraid, it was obvious that Kelthasar would ask me what I was afraid of even though I had not committed a crime, and I thought that if that happened, I would be in the same situation as the guy who was dragged away earlier.

‘No… absolutely not…’

Thinking so, Belin trembled and laughed. Concentrate your emotions in a short moment and prepare for your performance. As if he had fooled everyone to get Leos kicked out. Now I have started acting for only one person, Kelthasar.

“Are you happy, Kel’Thazar? How can you not be happy when someone who may have stolen information from the empire is being dragged away like an asshole? I’m so happy that my body starts shaking, but how can I control it?”

“You were shaking with joy? That said, your eyes were unusual.”

“I didn’t see you. I saw the trash guy being dragged away. I too have been suspicious of him for a long time. However, because there was no evidence, I could not report it separately. It was the way I was looking at him, and I guess I felt that way because we were in the same position as Kelthasar.”

Kel’Thazar still glared at Velin. Then Belin approached him and whispered.

“Kel’Thazar. This is Belin. It’s Belin, who turned Leos, who had been with the empire for years, into an asshole in an instant. All I have is an empire. Other than that, nothing else means anything.”

“Then kill that guy yourself.”

“…Yes?”

When Velin asked, Kelthasar handed him the sword without changing his expression. And he gestured to the surrounding knights. Not long after, Orotas, who had just been taken away on suspicion of being a spy, was forcibly taken by knights and returned here.

“ Now that I think about it, the fact that this guy didn’t run away even after stealing the information doesn’t mean he’s confident that he won’t reveal the secret no matter what? So it wouldn’t matter if I killed him. If you really doubt that guy, if you are ready to do anything for the Empire, then kill Orotas, your former comrade who is now suspected of being a spy, with your own hands.”

Kel’Thazar threw his sword at Velin as if he had planned to do this from the beginning. Then Belin immediately grabbed his sword and trudged forward.

‘You don’t believe me at all. You were planning on killing me from the beginning. I have to prove it. If you don’t prove it here…’

Velin slowly approached Orotas. A colleague from the Imperial Shadow Corps. I also had quite a few conversations with him. Belin knows. Orotas is a person who will not betray anything. He became a member of the shadow group when he was an orphan, and has been completely brainwashed ever since. Orotas simply acts like an imperial dog. So even though he knew the man was not the criminal, Belin slowly raised the knife.

“Any amount, you can prove it. If it’s for the empire.”

“Bel…Belin…you…you know, right? Me…how sincere I am to the Empire. I’m not…I’m really not!”

Orotas was scared and screamed, but Velin’s sword rushed straight at the man.

-Toouk…

-Toouk…

Just before Velin’s sword reached Orotas’ throat, Kel’thasar blocked it with his hand.

“The test passed. Belin, I will reserve judgment on you. Other guys, be careful what you do too. Because the ones I suspect the most are the guys inside.”

With those words, Kelthasar took Orotas outside without saying a word. I don’t know if they are trying to kill me or use me for something.

However, Orotas looked more resentful when looking at Velin than when looking at Kelthasar. Even as he was being dragged away, the man looked at Belin and shouted.

“What a trashy year. Even though you know that I am not the culprit…!”

-Pow!

Orotas faints immediately after Kel’thasar beats him. He glanced behind him and then walked out completely.

An inner space where only members of the Empire’s secret corps remain. Here, the other members of the secret group looked at Belin like he was trash.

“Belin, if you’re as quick-witted as you, you’d know that, right? There is no one within the Empire’s shadowy group who has the courage to betray. Even if he had betrayed him, he would have escaped beforehand. It looks like Kel’Thazar is having a hard time judging right from wrong after hearing harsh words from His Majesty. What if you get caught up in it too? Still, we are all colleagues.”

Imperial Shadow Corps. A group of people who become the shadow of the empire and work for the empire. They fanatically worshiped the emperor, but at the same time, they had a deep respect for each other. That’s because in order to be selected as a member of the shadow group, one had to go through a hellish process, but since they were selected through that long process, they often stayed together for a long time without dying.

“Then…then I should have been taken there and died along with you? You…you couldn’t do anything either, right? Why are you doing this to me? I…I have to live.”

Chesiren, a member of the Imperial Secret Service, looked at Belin with bug-like eyes and spoke.

“Hey, you’ve lived that way your whole life, so what’s the difference just because you’re a colleague? Belin. You have betrayed countless people. At first, I thought you were forcing yourself to act for the sake of the empire. But then I realized that you’re just that kind of person. You are that kind of person by nature. A piece of trash that you can do anything to survive, and that can even push your colleagues to death if it’s for your own gain.”

As Chesiren turned his back and left, the remaining members of the shadow team also began to walk away one by one. Chesiren added as he headed outside.

“I won’t say your actions are wrong. But keep one thing in mind. No one here would treat you like that.”

Belin sat down and muttered.

“Why…Why is everyone telling me…”

She was abandoned even by the members of the secret army and became completely alone. Darkness was falling over Belin’s future.

*

Leos entered the shelter and visually checked to see if Hericia and Bendict were okay. Bendict was exercising in the corner, and Hericia was fiddling with artifacts.

“Both of you, come here for a moment.”

Leos slowly explained to the two what had happened so far. From facing the Empire’s extermination squad to deciding to join hands with them for a while.

“Wouldn’t it be dangerous?”

“So we didn’t reveal our location to them. Only we know the location of the inside of the bomb shelter, and they only operate in the corners of the safe zone, so they won’t have to face you in the center. Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on you.”

“No. It’s not because of us, it’s because Leos isn’t in danger…”

Leos looked at Hericia blankly for a moment in response to an unexpected answer.

“Are you worried about me?”

“Of course! If they were an assassination corps, they wouldn’t be scary people!”

Then Bendict laughed and shouted.

“Hericia! You fool! There is no human who can pose a threat to Leos!”

“Still, just in case, be careful, Leos.”

Hericia spoke to Leos, ignoring Bendict’s words, and he nodded and answered.

“I don’t think it’s particularly dangerous, but let’s do it.”

Soon after, Leos began teaching Hericia how to use the Spirel. In case Leos urgently needs to go somewhere else, they can respond to external enemies with Spiral even from inside the bomb shelter.

“You need to react faster. Because it is controlled with mana, Spirel moves according to your will even if it moves one beat faster than you expected.”

“It’s not easy…”

Leos’ lecture continued for several hours, and Hericia learned how to use the Spirel, even sweating profusely. Now I can fly to some extent and move around in the air.

‘For the time being, learn how to use Spiral. Because that’s the only way these guys can protect themselves.’

Unless you open the door yourself, the bomb shelter will not open in most cases. However, the story is different when using artifacts or other tools.

If you had Spirel, you could intercept someone from a distance even if they tried to open the bomb shelter door, so it was possible to extremely increase your chances of survival. Leos pushed Hericia hard with the sole intention of teaching her.

“can be done. Concentrate more!”

A few days passed, and Hericia reached a game where she could handle Spirel quite comfortably.

“Now…I think I’ve gotten the hang of it! Thank you, Leos!”

“Brother Leos! Am I learning now too?”

Bendict asked with excited eyes, but Leos simply answered quietly.

“Bendict, you can’t learn because you’re stupid.”

“No…how could you say such harsh words…!”

“I’ll get you another artifact later. Right for you.”

“Oooh! great! I don’t need anything like Spiral!”

Leaving behind Bendict, who was running around excitedly, Leos went out the door of the shelter. Leos walked slowly and spoke in a whisper only after reaching the outer edge of the safe zone.

“Are you ready?”

Then Rakarte walked out from the bushes and answered.

“Preparations are all complete. The location of the guys sent by the empire has also been figured out. I thought they would keep an eye on me for a while, but they are blatantly sending in troops. They’ve even already sneaked in around here. What are you going to do?”

Leos answered as he wrapped the chain sword around his hand, as if it were natural.

“They must have come looking for us, so we have to kill them all.”