episode_0005

Aria reminisced about her past.

Her life was not particularly outstanding.

No, it was rather a life that wouldn’t be surprising to be scorned.

At the age of 10, she was kidnapped by a group of assassins and trained in the art of assassination.

Surprisingly, she had a talent for assassination.

The exact number of people she had killed was 132.

Among them, there were respected elders.

She learned the real secret of this world.

Fake heroes. Vanished gods. This world was full of sin and evil.

She hesitated when killing the elders, but in the end, she did.

But it was just a job. If she didn’t carry out the task, punishment followed.

She endured all kinds of torture in the punishment room for three days and nights.

Death would have been a better punishment.

She succumbed to power and defied the word of God.

If God saw her, he would cast her into the fiery pit of hell.

But there were humans who spat and cursed at her.

“But at least I’m better than that guy.”

But there was someone worse than her.

Reserved for a hotter place in hell.

The city’s mayor.

The respected mayor was her target.

“I didn’t know the mayor was such a lunatic.”

About a month ago.

She was assigned an assassination mission.

The target was the mayor of Lopenheim.

The order was to kill the mayor, who was respected by all.

When she found out that the mayor went underground every night, she followed him down one night.

And she witnessed a mountain of corpses.

People begging for mercy.

And a monster torturing people and reveling in it.

The mayor, known as an elder, was actually a sadistic psychopath dark wizard who enjoyed seeing people suffer.

He had sacrificed countless people, and his power far surpassed hers.

“You fool! That guy is not a man you can handle!”

She tried to shout, but no sound came out.

The mayor sealed her mouth.

“It’s over.”

She despaired.

She thought she had a chance to escape, but the mayor appeared before she could.

“Oh, a lost hero candidate?”

The mayor appeared.

He looked like an ordinary man on the outside.

But dozens of people had lost their lives because of that smiling face.

“It’s over now.”

She cried, giving up everything.

It was her turn next. She would undergo all kinds of torture under the guise of experiments and then be disposed of.

“Now, let’s go back to your quarters, shall we? Surely you didn’t see inside there? If you did, you’ll be in trouble.”

The mayor’s large hand grabbed the man’s head.

“God will be with you.”

But what she expected did not happen.

“Go to God’s side.”

As the man finished speaking,

Thud.

The mayor’s body fell backward.

His breath ceased.

Aria held her breath and watched the scene.

“The power to kill someone with sheer will.”

At first, she didn’t realize what the man had done.

As time passed, she understood how the mayor had died.

The legendary willful murder.

The man had killed the mayor with willful murder.

“Halo.”

Her astonishment did not end.

Above his head, a halo appeared.

The halo that appeared when the first hero who killed the demon king drew the holy sword.

But in the present era, there was no one who had formed a halo.

“The apostle of God, he was a true hero.”

A real hero who appeared in an era where fake heroes abound.

God sent his apostle to condemn the evildoers.

“Phew. It’s over.”

The man exhaled and turned around.

He walked out of the prison.

“Are you just going back?”

She grabbed the man, raising her voice.

“Why should I be like this? You’re just a criminal. Your misdeeds are vividly clear in my eyes.”

…

Aria bowed her head.

The Apostle of God had eyes of judgment.

He saw through her tainted soul that resided within her flesh.

“I will go back now.”

He finished speaking and turned his body.

He tried to escape from prison.

“Please, give me a chance.”

She knelt down.

She became a sinner standing in front of the gallows.

Even if he abandoned himself here, it didn’t matter.

He had already given up his life.

But she couldn’t just leave.

If she left here, she would be pursued.

The imperial investigation team would come directly and start the investigation.

They couldn’t just let the Apostle of God, the true hero, die in vain.

If the Emperor knew that a true hero had appeared, he would do whatever it took to kill him.

“I will be your hidden sword and protect you. If you tell me to die, I will die, and if you ask me to write a long letter, I will gladly comply.”

She vowed.

Even if she suffered eternal torment at the bottom of hell, she would fulfill the mission given to her by him.

She would purify this insane world.

She bit her lip until blood flowed.

She swore deeply in her heart.

“Is it true? Can you keep the promise you just made?”

The Apostle turned his body.

He succeeded in turning his heart away.

“Yes, I swear by God.”

She swore by her soul and by the name of God.

“Good. Just follow me.”

He took out the key from his waist.

The tightly closed prison door opened.

“You are free. Please come out.”

The Apostle gestured.

“Thank you. I am truly grateful.”

She expressed infinite gratitude to God and the Apostle.

Another chance was given. This time, she wouldn’t miss it.

She knelt down and prayed to God and the Apostle.

“I hope that the words you just spoke will be kept. God is watching over you.”

The Apostle pointed to the sky.

The words that God always watches over her.

She engraved those words in her heart. If she accumulated good deeds, she could rid herself of the sins engraved on her soul.

If it didn’t happen in this life, it would happen in the next life. If it didn’t happen in the next life, it would happen in the life after that.

“Please wait a moment. I need to erase the traces.”

She stopped the Apostle who was trying to leave the prison.

The traces needed to be erased.

The Apostle, who didn’t know the affairs of the world, didn’t know this fact.

“If the traces are not erased, the Emperor’s investigation team will relentlessly pursue you. You won’t be able to eat or sleep properly.”

The Apostle’s face twisted strangely.

It seemed he didn’t know this fact.

“If you are returning to your lodging, I will take care of the traces.”

“Please.”

The Apostle disappeared.

Alone, Aria erased all the traces left by the Apostle.

After finishing the task, Aria suddenly disappeared from the prison.

The next morning.

The body of the mayor and his secretary were found.

The cause of death was a pierced heart.

His deputy was caught having an affair with the mayor’s wife.

They fought and accidentally stabbed each other’s hearts with their swords.

The case was closed like that.

****

“What? What happened?”

“The mayor is dead.”

“Really? For what reason?”

Clatter, clatter.

The sound of running footsteps could be heard.

It was noisy outside.

In this state, I couldn’t go back to sleep.

I got up from bed.

“Ugh, tired.”

I yawned.

Killing two innocent people had disturbed my sleep.

My body felt heavy from fatigue.

“Oh, right. Breakfast.”

I was running out of time.

I heard that we would leave right after breakfast today.

If I don’t eat breakfast now, I won’t be able to dream of a proper meal for a while.

I hurriedly ran to the restaurant.

Fortunately, I arrived on time.

I hastily devoured the cold steak and stew.

“Phew, all done.”

Patting my full stomach, I fell into satisfaction.

“Attention, hero candidates, departure in 10 minutes. Gather now.”

‘Oh no.’

I couldn’t get ready and leave in just 10 minutes.

While I was still half asleep, others were already prepared.

If I stayed like this, I would be laughed at.

As I was biting my nails, a packed bag dropped down next to me.

“Emil Gongja-nim, your luggage is all packed. Just change your clothes.”

I looked towards the voice.

There was the crazy woman I briefly met yesterday.

Her smiling face was chillingly terrifying.

“W-who are you?”

Startled, I asked her.

To see her, I needed to prepare my heart.

“Huh? You hired me yesterday. You’re not saying you don’t remember, right?”

She leaned in closer.

Stop with the face, it’s scary.

“I-I remember. Please don’t come any closer.”

‘How do I reject when I’m biting my lips so hard it’s bleeding.’

If I rejected her there, she seemed like she would follow me to the ends of hell for revenge.

Remembering the shock I received from her before regression, just seeing her face made my heart race.

“Hurry up and leave. Others are waiting.”

I changed my clothes.

I rushed outside.

My classmates were already prepared and waiting for me.

The gathering gazes were awkward.

“Oh…but there seems to be one seat short? Sorry, would you mind waiting for a day?”

A problem arose.

There’s not enough seats.

“Hey, there’s that carriage over there. Can’t we ride that?”

I saw a broken carriage by the creative hero.

If there’s not enough carriages, I’d like to ride that one for transportation.

“As a hero candidate, you can’t ride an unrepaired carriage.”

The captain of the guard shook his head.

I didn’t care.

“That person will ride with us.”

The carriage door opened.

Marzita and Freya were inside the carriage.

“Um…the rule is to only take two people per carriage for hero candidates…”

I don’t know where such a rule came from.

“As long as the parties involved don’t mind, it should be fine.”

With the captain’s words, I casually got on the carriage.

I wanted to leave this city as soon as possible.

The carriage departed.