Predetermined Destination

Miracle.

That’s right. There was no other way to express it except with the word miracle.

Persis, who had finally broken free from his long-time curse and gained freedom, summoned all his guests, including his son Vermillion, to one place the next morning.

“I really don’t know how to express my gratitude. I will never forget this grace until the moment I die.”

Then, while sitting, he bowed, his forehead touching the table in a respectful manner.

“No, Drake-kyoung. If you want to express your gratitude, please do so only to this friend.”

“What are you talking about…! It would have been impossible without Kyle.”

“That’s right. Kyle. Besides, Drake-gongja, it was possible because the three of us worked together. Rather, I was the one who did the least.”

“What are you saying, Gongnyeo-nim? Who made the biggest contribution to defeating Erze yesterday?”

That one word caused unexpected confusion.

Some said so-and-so did well, some said so-and-so did well, and such a meaningless cycle was repeated, causing a bitter smile to form on Persis’s lips as he watched.

That’s right.

From the beginning, this miracle did not happen due to the efforts of one person.

It’s a miracle created by these four friends in this place.

“How can I pick just one person’s merit? I’m just grateful to everyone. I’m so sad that there’s no way to repay you.”

Even if he brought all the wealth of the Drake family, the repayment for this would not be fully achieved.

That’s why Persis was so disappointed.

There’s no way to express this overflowing gratitude.

At this rate, he would remain an ignorant fool who doesn’t know grace forever, and it felt like it would torment his heart.

“I heard that the wicked woman who has been tormenting our family was Erze?”

“That’s right.”

“…When I first heard it, I doubted my ears. To think that the villain who left such a curse on me and my father was none other than the Goddess of the Sun.”

Persis bit his lip, recalling the news he had heard while talking intimately with Vermillion last night.

He would have understood if some crazy black magician had done such a thing.

But to think that the identity of that woman was none other than the Goddess of the Sun, Erze.

Perhaps no one would have predicted this truth.

No, even if someone had predicted it, it would have been useless.

Because they would have already met their death at the hands of that cunning goddess.

“Then are you guys going to leave for the Order of the Sun?”

“That was the original plan. However, my thoughts have changed a bit now.”

“Changed?”

“It’s because of the treatment of these two friends.”

Kyle said, pointing to Vermillion and Anise, who were sitting side by side.

The people involved just blinked their eyes as if they didn’t know what he was talking about, but Sylvia nodded as if she understood, listening carefully.

For some reason, she thought that Kyle might have come to the Drake family with this intention from the beginning.

“Vermillion wanted to unravel the truth surrounding Drake-kyoung and the family. As a result, it led to the most satisfactory result. In Anise’s case, she’s Vermillion’s lover, so she just followed along to help him.”

“…I think I know what you’re trying to say.”

“Kyle, could it be…”

It was a somewhat fragmentary explanation, but because they were such intelligent father and son, they were able to roughly guess what Kyle was about to say as soon as they heard it.

“Yes. I think it would be better to leave the two of them in a safe place. Sylvia is…”

“Of course I’m going with you.”

“…I guess so.”

When Kyle carefully looked at Sylvia, who was sitting next to him, while expressing his opinion, she glared at him without any hesitation.

With a fierce look in her eyes as if she would commit suicide if he left her behind, Kyle had to give up even his last bit of attachment.

From the beginning, there was no guarantee that he would be able to win even if he fought Erze alone, so it was realistically right to receive Sylvia’s help.

Still, as a man, he had a sense of duty to protect a woman, so he was just being unnecessarily worried.

“Kyle, what are you talking about! Of course we’ll follow you to the end!”

“That’s right. To abandon us now, does that make sense? Kyle, are you a playboy or something?”

On the other hand, Vermillion and Anise, who heard Kyle’s words, immediately became furious.

Anise even used somewhat frivolous vocabulary to openly criticize Kyle.

When did we decide to bravely defeat Erze together, and now you’re going to abandon your comrades?

Of course, I know that’s not your intention, but isn’t that too much?

“That’s right, Kyle. Besides, we don’t even know Erze’s location right now. In the end, to find her, we need even more comrades…”

“…I found it.”

“Yes, yes…?”

“I found it, Erze’s location.”

Sylvia also tried to support the two, but when Kyle’s firm answer followed, her eyes widened.

You found it, Erze’s location?

How on earth?

“Kyle. Is that really true? You found Erze’s location, how on earth…”

“Yeah, how did you find it? Goddess Lethe said she didn’t know Erze’s location either.”

In fact, Kyle had said so himself until just before entering the Drake family.

That’s why he was racking his brains to find a way to find Erze.

But suddenly changing his words in just one day.

What kind of trick did he use to be able to find her?

“I tried to track that bastard right before she disappeared yesterday. Thanks to Sylvia’s interference, she must have been out of her mind, so she was late to notice. Thanks to that, I was able to find her location.”

“I’ve heard of tracking magic power, but to think that divine power can also be tracked…”

“Well, it was a dangerous thing to do. But thanks to that, there were results.”

From the beginning, divine power and magic power are mutually exclusive.

In other words, it can be seen as a power that cannot coexist.

If Kyle had committed even a slightly wrong action there, Erze might have taken the lead and damaged Kyle’s magic circuit.

That’s why Kyle gave credit to Sylvia.

If it weren’t for her, Erze wouldn’t have been embarrassed by not being able to return to her main body, and if that were the case, it would have been impossible to track her return to her main body, and at the same time, she wouldn’t have let Kyle track her properly.

“But can you really say that the location is accurate? If that person is really the Goddess Erze, it wouldn’t be difficult to move her hiding place.”

“That’s right. If she’s a god anyway, can’t she just appear and disappear as she pleases?”

“That would normally be the case.”

However, Persis and Anise, who found the loophole, expressed their concerns.

In response, Kyle nodded, saying that it was a possible thought, but also put his own speculation into words.

“But my thoughts are a little different. Goddess Lethe also said something like that. ‘A god cannot oversee everything, nor can they exist everywhere.’ Maybe that bastard also has a hard time appearing as she pleases unless it’s a place full of divine objects like a temple.”

“In other words, even if she’s a goddess, she wouldn’t leave her base recklessly.”

“Yes, at least that’s what I think. Moreover, to exert that much power, she would need even more assistance.”

It only seemed not surprising because the opponent was a god.

Even if she only used a part of her power, summoning and manipulating an identical clone of herself is a high-level magic that even the most amazing magician would have a hard time attempting.

Considering that there are no particular risks, the prerequisites for exercising that power would be quite burdensome.

That’s why Kyle guessed that Erze must have set up something like an altar or temple and was exercising her power inside.

Since she wouldn’t even think that she would be in danger, she wouldn’t find the need to change her base.

“In the end, it’s a gamble. Whether Erze is really there, everything depends on that.”

“That’s right. It might be a trap. The reason I want to leave you guys and Sylvia here if possible is because of that.”

Kyle was also a little uneasy because things were going too well than expected.

Whether Erze really allowed him an opening, or whether she set a trap to catch him, who was like a thorn in her side.

In the end, you won’t know until you open the lid.

So, because it could be an act of crawling into the grave with his own feet, he was trying to leave his comrades in a safe place and come alone.

But are his comrades the kind of people who would just stand by and watch?

“Then we should be together even more. I owe Kyle an debt that I can never repay. I won’t be satisfied unless I give up even this insignificant life.”

“I think so too. It’s a dangerous place, so we should go together even more. Isn’t that what comrades are for?”

When Vermillion and Anise’s thoughts coincided exactly, Kyle gave a bitter smile as if he knew it would happen.

Honestly, he was secretly happy, but on the other hand, he was also sad that he couldn’t stop them.

As if she understood his inner thoughts, Sylvia warmly grabbed Kyle’s hand.

“Kyle, I told you before, right? I decided that this life is yours from the moment I met you.”

“…You did.”

“So, stop trying to stop me with threats like it’s a dangerous place or I’ll never be able to come back.”

A glow fell on Sylvia’s red eyes.

It shone brilliantly, as if representing her firm heart.

Having seen those eyes, Kyle couldn’t say anything more.

In that way, the final destination of the four people was determined at this very moment.