Chapter 171…………………………………………..
The moment I recognized the person standing outside the door as Liena, my mind went into chaos.
“Liena?”
Liena, who should have been locked in the Grand Temple’s prison—how could she be here?
As the thought of impossibility flashed through my mind, I remembered Terence, who had left the room just a moment ago.
If something really had gone wrong at the Grand Temple, and that’s why he moved… could Liena be the cause?
I quickly looked out the window.
To check escape routes.
I didn’t know the exact process, but if Liena had somehow gained the power to break through the Grand Temple and palace’s strict security, avoiding her was the wisest first step.
“What… is that?”
Then, something black I had never seen before appeared in my vision.
The black band stretched along the edge of the star palace grounds.
It seemed the entire star palace was surrounded by this black band.
“This is already their territory.”
Lucy’s fur bristled as she growled.
“Their territory?”
“This is magic emitted by monsters. But not just any magic—it’s mixed with the power of a wicked god.”
A wicked god? So Liena escaped from the Grand Temple through the intervention of a wicked god?
“Could it be… Liena is an apostle of the wicked god?”
Just as the goddess Miela had chosen Liena and me, wicked gods also choose a representative on Earth.
But in Reincarnate and Walk Only the Flowery Path, the apostle of the wicked god was someone else.
Had the wicked god’s choice changed because I had interfered with the story’s progression?
“Idel.”
Meanwhile, Liena’s voice came again from beyond the door.
“I understand if you don’t want to see me. I’d feel the same. But now, I’ve realized my mistakes. So even at this late stage, I want to apologize to you.”
Apologize? That was not a word I expected Liena to say.
“Master, for now, guide that human inside while talking to them.”
Lucy whispered only for me to hear.
“Surely that person is the one commanding the monsters behind the black band.”
The divine beast began to glow with a blue light.
“I’ll handle it the moment they enter.”
Meaning, to get out of here, we’d have to take down Liena, the source of this chaos.
I nodded, then answered Liena.
“You want to apologize to me? Are you sincere?”
“Yes!”
“…Alright. I’ll listen. The door isn’t locked, so come in.”
Finally, the door opened.
As soon as Liena’s silver hair came into view, Lucy shot out like lightning.
“Ugh!”
But in the next instant, Lucy’s small body hit the floor.
A black figure appeared beside Liena and struck Lucy with its arm in a blur.
It had two arms and two legs like a human, but its surface was smooth, as if made from black dough.
When Lucy stood and glowed again, the black figure readied itself to attack once more.
“Lucy!”
“Stop, Shadow.”
Liena and I both called out at almost the same time.
‘Shadow…’
I knew the name from the novel.
Shadow was the ultimate monster in Reincarnate and Walk Only the Flowery Path, barely defeated by Liena’s party in their final battle against the apostle of the wicked god.
My body trembled, my heart pounded.
This was dangerous. There was no way for us to handle Shadow in our current state.
In the novel, Shadow was only defeated after specific conditions were met and Liena, Michael, Mathis, and the divine beast attacked together.
We didn’t meet those conditions, and Lucy couldn’t fully exert her power.
On top of that, we hadn’t yet fully recovered the power used during the saint verification.
I racked my brain, recalling the novel.
‘Shadow hated holy power more than any other monster…’
I could emit holy power to keep it at bay temporarily.
‘Then we run while it’s distracted? Is that black band Shadow’s ability too? If so, maybe we can break through it with holy power.’
But it would pursue us from afar. How far would we have to go?
‘Damn, the belt!’
If only I had the invisibility belt from my leather belt artifact, escape would have been easier—but it was in the wardrobe.
If I had known this would happen, I’d have worn it constantly.
“Um, Idel.”
Then Liena spoke to me.
“We don’t intend to fight you. Don’t be so guarded. Shadow only hurt your friend to protect me. We won’t attack first.”
“…Really?”
“I already told you. I came to apologize. Why would I attack?”
When I silently continued staring at Liena, her eyebrows lowered.
“Sorry. Did that friend get hurt badly?”
“….”
Seeing Liena sincerely apologize gave me goosebumps all over.
Still, since she didn’t seem to intend to harm us, I decided to talk with her first.
With so many uncertainties, using holy power to escape would be a last resort.
“Alright. Let’s talk.”
“Really?”
“First, we need to check if others are safe. If you didn’t mean to fight me, then surely you didn’t harm those guarding this place?”
“Of course not. I just temporarily subdued them. I won’t do anything to make you hate me anymore.”
Liena said this and stepped aside.
I maintained some distance as I exited the room, heading to the next room where Vineta lay.
She was unconscious, sword in hand, on the floor.
“Thank goodness.”
Seeing her breathing steady, I let out a sigh of relief.
Several members of the royal knights were also lying in the corridor; like Vineta, they were unconscious but not fatally injured.
Earlier, I had feared my actions had killed them all.
“Uh, but there’s something you need to know.”
When I returned, Liena hesitantly spoke.
“What is it?”
“The Empress is dead.”
“What?!”
“It wasn’t me! Believe me!”
I raised my voice, and Liena nervously tried to explain.
“Shadow caused it while taking me out of the Grand Temple. I told it firmly not to kill anyone recklessly, so it won’t happen again.”
“….”
“And the Emperor is alive. Thankfully, I stopped Shadow before it could kill him. But he’s badly injured, so governing might be difficult…”
What on earth was happening?
My head couldn’t keep up with Liena’s explanations.
‘So that’s why Terence went to the Grand Temple.’
Now I understood why he didn’t immediately believe Jack’s report.
If someone suddenly claimed a monster appeared in the Grand Temple and killed the Empress, even I would hesitate to believe it.
A monster invading a temple supposedly protected by the goddess? It sounded like a bolt from the blue.
“Idel! I’m sorry!”
Suddenly, Liena fell to her knees.
“It’s all my fault. You treated me so precious, but I let inferiority and greed take over. I betrayed you and took what was yours.”
Tears welled in her eyes.
“I know. No words can repay my wrongdoing. I won’t ask for forgiveness—I know I don’t deserve it.”
“Liena…”
I never expected to hear an apology from her, so it felt strange.
Honestly, I first doubted whether this was sincere.
But if it wasn’t, why would proud Liena kneel before me?
‘For what purpose?’
If Liena decided, with Shadow at her command, I’d likely be dead right here.
In other words, I was in a disadvantaged position.
Yet Liena spoke unexpectedly.
“Still, I found a way to atone that helps others more than just dying.”
A way to atone?
“I’ll stop the monster wave.”
“…What does that mean?”
“As you might guess, the wicked god chose me. As its apostle, I gained the ability to control monsters like Shadow.”
It certainly looked that way.
“To trigger a monster wave, the apostle must lead it. But I don’t want to. So I can stop the monster wave.”
The apostle of a wicked god going against its will to stop a monster wave?
It was a possibility I’d never considered. I paused, then spoke.
“Is that really possible?”
“Hm?”
“You mean the monster wave can be decided by your will? Will the wicked god just stand by?”
“Don’t worry. Idel, are you being controlled by the goddess Miela now? Is that why you’re stopping the wicked god from destroying the world?”
“…No.”
“Gods cannot directly intervene in the lives or will of their creations. Think carefully. Miela has always intervened indirectly.”
That was true.
Until now, the goddess granted blessings or let us meet the divine beast, but nothing beyond that.
“Miela and the wicked god can only do so much. The rest is up to us.”
Being chosen by the wicked god, Liena had gained knowledge I didn’t know.
“…Then why did the wicked god choose you? Did it not foresee you turning out like this?”
“Gods don’t know the future precisely. It’s we, the creations, who weave the threads of possibility.”
I wasn’t sure if it was true, but I decided to be honest.
“Liena, you really have no intention of triggering a monster wave?”
“Of course not. Why? Do you think I’d resent the world?”
“To be honest… yes.”
“You’re right. I do hate this world. But you like it, right?”
“I dislike some things, but I don’t wish it destroyed.”
“Then I’ll stop the monster wave. I hate this world, but I don’t want to be hated by you anymore.”
Liena stood up.
“But I know. This is just my thought. Maybe what you truly want isn’t for me to live and stop the wave, but for me to die and atone.”
“That’s…”
“So, Idel, you decide. If you tell me to die, I’ll go quietly and accept execution. I swear.”
A pair of red eyes fixed on me.
