episode_0066

“Isn’t that enough already!”

“Do you know the biggest difference between commoners and the ignorant Fallen?”

Wiping his blood-stained hands with a handkerchief, he spoke.

“The former are well-trained livestock, so they listen. But the ignorant Fallen are untrained wild beasts, so reasoning with them is impossible. They are rude, violent, and won’t stop barking like animals until they get what they want.”

The face behind the pure white mask turned towards Roland.

“That’s why our family, for generations, has used this method to discipline beasts that are worse than livestock. Why? Because it’s the most effective, and most of these arrogant little beasts will just tuck their tails on their own.”

“He would have listened if you had just spoken to him.”

“Yes, isn’t that why you struggled so hard to persuade him before I intervened? But here’s the thing-”

Roughly grabbing Kara by her hair and meeting her eyes, the Prophet of Light spoke to the glaring Kara.

“If you intended to persuade him with words, you should have considered using more coercive methods.”

Crunch!

He stomped hard on Agapé’s back.

So hard that his bones seemed to crush.

“What are you doing!”

As soon as Kara saw it, she swung her fist and struggled, but he casually restrained her and stomped even harder on Agapé.

Crack- crackle!

“Stop it! I said stop!”

“Whether it’s a Prophet or an Impurity, there’s one common method used to collar beasts that bare their fangs. Do you know what it is?”

“I don’t know! I don’t care, just release Agapé!”

“Exactly like this-”

Crunch-

Agapé’s leg bone snapped.

“Aaaaargh──! Agapé──!”

“We slowly and very painfully destroy the precious things of these savage beasts, one by one, and then collar them. For parents, it’s their children. For children, it’s their parents. And for lovers, we seize their beloved’s leash.”

Snap-!

“Agapé─! Stop, please… stop it!”

He broke his other leg too, then lifted the hand still gripping her hair and met Kara’s eyes.

“Yes, now that’s a face I find rather pleasing.”

“Stop it… stop it, you demon…”

“From now on, I won’t lay a single hand on you.”

When he released her hair, Kara’s legs gave out, and she collapsed on the spot.

Then, a knight, responding to the Prophet of Light’s gesture, drew his sword and pointed it at Agapé’s fallen arm.

As if he would mercilessly sever the arm at any moment.

“Instead, if you don’t listen to me, I will sever this man’s body parts one by one. If I cut off all his arms and legs, I will then cut off his ears, then his tongue, and finally gouge out his eyeballs. If you still don’t listen then…”

Swish-

Crouching in front of Kara, he grabbed Agapé by the hair and shoved his blood-soaked face in front of Kara’s.

“I’ll extract his brain, modify it into an artifact, and then use him as a bioweapon for combat.”

“Sob…hiccup…sob…”

“A hero, and she’s weeping like a child.”

Tsk.

He clicked his tongue in disdain.

“…I will personally show mercy and propose a deal to you.”

“What…?”

“Didn’t I say it? A deal.”

More accurately, it should be called a ‘promise’.

‘A promise?’

A promise.

Unable to understand why he was talking about a promise, the kind that involves intertwining fingers and swearing an oath, he must have thought I wouldn’t grasp its meaning, so he began to explain what a ‘promise’ entailed.

“It’s simple. It’s like an absolute contract where both parties stake what they desire from each other, and if one fails, significant restrictions follow.”

“An absolute contract?”

“Yes. It’s a special type of contract only made by Prophets, so if I fail to keep the promise, I’ll lose my divinity, which is more precious than life itself, and with it, my precognitive abilities. Conversely, if you fail, you’ll have to pay the price I demand.”

The ‘promise’ he offered me was remarkably simple.

“You will fully carry out your duty as a hero by dealing with the calamitous Army of the Dead. If you accept this promise, Agapé’s life will be guaranteed.”

However.

“If, after becoming a hero, you show even the slightest deviation in your conduct…”

He turned his head to the knight holding the sword.

“You should know that the black-haired beast named Agapé will lose his life.”

The sharply honed blade was now pointed at Agapé’s neck.

Seeing that, I desperately suppressed the trembling in my hands from fear, then turned my head back and asked him what kind of conduct was expected of a hero.

He replied:

“Do not even think of meeting Agapé.”

Completely exclude him, and sever all ties with him.

If you maintain your connection, he will undoubtedly relentlessly seek you out and bother us. And when you become so strong that even we can’t stop you, you might change your mind then, protect Agapé, and not uphold your promise to me.

“Therefore, while you are a hero, completely sever all ties and give him no room for hope. My condition is that you become a hero who dedicates herself solely to the salvation of the continent, completely excluding any personal feelings.”

Then, Agapé’s life will be spared.

And in the distant future, if you defeat the Army of the Dead, I will make both you and Agapé free.

“If you don’t keep that promise-”

“I will lose my most precious divinity.”

“……”

After a long moment of contemplation, I asked him.

“Why are you making this offer to me? Someone like you could just threaten me and use me as you please.”

“Are you asking because you don’t know?”

He pointed at my chest with his index finger.

“The power of the stars you possess is the very spirit once held by the Verdant Hero. Your soul has a high synchronization rate with the Verdant Hero’s spirit, and you even possess unique talent for swordsmanship and aura. With luck, you might even reach a realm surpassing her power in life.”

“So that’s why you proposed a deal to me?”

“Yes. Even if you don’t reach her level, but just get close to it, I and the other Prophets won’t be able to withstand your vengeful wrath.”

Furthermore, by then you’ll likely be leading the heroes, which would make things even more difficult.

“So choose.”

Are you going to be dragged away after watching that man die here, or will you make a ‘promise’ with me and save his life?

“……”

Was there even a choice for me in the first place?

For me, who currently possessed no abilities, there was nothing I could do to protect him except accept the Prophet’s proposal.

So, while I felt I had no choice but to accept his offer, one fact still troubled me.

‘What if I make the promise and sever ties with Agapé?’

If I unilaterally cut him off, would Agapé truly comply and quietly wait for me here?

‘No.’

Having been together for so long, I knew him better than anyone.

Agapé would never give up easily.

If I ended our ties ambiguously, he would surely come looking for me, and if the Prophet of Light saw us together again, he would undoubtedly try to kill Agapé.

‘So.’

I had to sever our connection completely.

Without giving him any room for hope, so he wouldn’t even think of coming to find me.

I was worried about whether Agapé would be able to live safely while I was gone, but…

“……”

Trembling.

Still, there was no other choice.

I couldn’t let him die.

I couldn’t let him face a more miserable end than death.

The thought of having to sever my ties with him made my heart feel like it was collapsing, but…

Her resolve hardened.

It was something that absolutely had to be done.

I, who had always been protected, now had to protect Agapé.

Therefore.

Therefore…

“I’ll do it. That ‘promise’.”

“A wise decision.”

“How can this ‘promise’ be formed?”

“It’s already formed.”

As a Prophet, I declared the word ‘promise’ and its conditions, swearing an oath.

And you also accepted that promise and swore an oath.

“Therefore, I will recite the terms of the contract once more.”

Kara, the Verdant Hero, swears to perfectly carry out her duties as a hero and complete the subjugation of the Army of the Dead.

During that period, there shall be no contact whatsoever with Agapé, and she must also swear to completely sever her ties with him.

And Lucas Impurity, the Prophet of Light, promises maximum support for Hero Kara to be reborn as a true hero and subjugate the Army of the Dead.

In return for entrusting Hero Kara with the subjugation of the Army of the Dead and compelling her to perfectly fulfill her duties as a hero, he must guarantee that both Hero Kara and Agapé will be free once all duties are completed.

“That is all.”

“……”

I’m sorry, Agapé.

This might feel a bit cruel, and you might resent me for it, but…

Please bear with me for a little longer.

Just as you’ve protected me until now, from now on, I’ll protect you.

Taking off the pure white lilac ring on my ring finger, I wrote a letter to him, informing him of our farewell.

Then, I enclosed the lilac ring inside the letter and handed it to Roland.

After leaving the Fallen, I began training to become a hero.