Chapter 99………………………………………….
Terence and Vineta listened to what I had to say. The essence of my plan was fairly simple.
“I’ll act as bait. While the Divine Beast’s attention is on me, the two of you attack it.”
They both immediately opposed the idea.
“That’s impossible!”
“It’s too dangerous!”
I raised my hand to calm them.
“Please, hear the full plan first before you judge.”
Both of them, especially Terence, looked dissatisfied but silently allowed me to continue.
“The key to this operation is to exploit the Divine Beast’s nature. In truth, the Divine Beast…”
I explained my plan as quietly and concisely as possible.
“……”
“……”
Even after I finished, they remained silent for a moment, seemingly calculating the feasibility and success rate of the plan.
“I still can’t approve it.”
But Terence shook his head after a moment.
“I’ll admit the idea is clever. But it’s far too dangerous. If even a single thing goes wrong…”
He hesitated, as if the thought itself was unbearable, before finally saying:
“You will lose your life.”
Death. Such a heavy, chilling word.
Yet sometimes, it was a burden one had to bear to move forward.
“Terence, I want to defeat the Divine Beast and for all of us to leave this place safely.”
“That’s reasonable. So another plan—”
“But if anyone has to die, I believe it should be me.”
“Idel!”
“After all, I was the one who brought both of you here. Do you think I’d just watch safely while you risk your lives in a dangerous battle?”
“……!”
“I can’t do that. Even if we somehow survive, I couldn’t forgive myself for standing aside.”
If my role were useless or if I were confident that Terence and Vineta could easily defeat the Divine Beast, I would gladly have stayed in the corner cheering them on.
“But I do have a role. I can help you with this.”
Vineta stepped in to support me as well.
“If Idel insists that much, I agree,” she said, scratching her cheek a little embarrassedly.
“Sorry. I had only thought of you as someone I had to protect, so I opposed the plan before even hearing it.”
“It’s fine. I’ve mostly been protected by you anyway.”
“From now on, let’s fight together.”
Seeing the situation unfold like this, Terence silently bit his lip. He had spent the past few months with me and knew exactly what kind of person I was.
“……No matter how much I try to stop you, it’s useless.”
After a brief moment, he sighed, full of resignation. I smiled faintly—like they say, you can’t spit on a smiling face.
“If Terence really thought my plan was absurd, he would’ve opposed it to the end.”
In the end, he had decided that my plan was the best course of action we could take in our current situation.
It was moments like these that made me appreciate how he respected my decisions.
“But Idel.”
Terence removed the plain bracelet from his wrist. It was the magical barrier artifact I had given them before entering the mine.
It created a temporary protective shield when the wearer was attacked.
“If I sense you facing a situation you cannot possibly evade…”
He lightly took my wrist and began fastening the bracelet. His hands were careful and a little awkward, as if it were his first time.
“I will run to you. Even if it means abandoning the role assigned to me.”
His gaze was polite, yet piercing.
Once the bracelet was secured, his hand lingered a moment before letting go. I touched my wrist, still feeling the residual heat.
“I have extras. I brought two identical bracelets. This one’s for you, Terence.”
“My cloak is enough. You, as the bait, need it more than I do.”
“Still…”
“If you keep refusing, I’ll keep opposing your plan,” he teased with a sweet smile. It felt like cheating, but I couldn’t insist on my opinion alone.
“I’ll give mine too,” Vineta offered her bracelet. Now I owned five identical bracelets.
“Then let’s go.”
We shouldn’t waste any more time. Vineta, standing at a fork in the path, asked:
“There are two paths. Which way should we go?”
I answered:
“It doesn’t matter which way we go.”
As we walked through the mine, we eventually reached a relatively wide area.
In the center floated a rock emitting a soft, ambient light.
“Foolish and pathetic human.”
The voice seemed to come from afar. The light of the floating rock grew brighter until it became a solid mass.
“You’ve made it here. Had you quietly succumbed to despair, your life might have been worth a little more.”
The light gradually expanded, forming the shape of a large four-legged beast with horns. It resembled a deer—but the size of a house.
“Why are you alone? Where’s the one who disturbed my slumber with corrupt magic?”
Indeed, I was alone, facing the Divine Beast. This was the first step of my plan.
I took a deep breath. The Divine Beast’s voice shook my mind, and my heart raced, but I could endure.
‘Compared to facing Miela in my dream, this is nothing.’
After all, the Divine Beast was merely a servant of a god. I spoke with composure:
“My name is Idel, blessed by the goddess Miela. And I am the master of this mine—and of you.”
At that moment, nothing seemed to change, yet I sensed the Divine Beast was surprised.
“Messenger of the gods, act according to the will of the great deity.”
“……”
The Divine Beast shimmered briefly, then erupted into laughter.
“A masterpiece! You dare call yourself my master with such puny power! Did you think I would obey you?”
“What’s so funny?”
“Blessings? Don’t get cocky just because you caught the goddess’ attention for a moment. There are countless humans who could replace you!”
After laughing for a while, the Divine Beast suddenly grew serious.
“I can feel human greed. You pretend to be noble, yet your heart glistens with desire.”
“Greed?”
“You want these stones, don’t you? God or no god, you only think of filling your pockets with them.”
It hit me right in the heart. My original goal had been to make a fortune from the magic stones.
“I expected more from a blessed one. You disappoint me. Not worth speaking to further.”
The Divine Beast’s body glowed with a dangerous red light. My instincts warned me to flee.
“Begone.”
Rays of light shot toward me. Boom! The explosion echoed nearby, rattling my eardrums.
But I felt no pain.
“Not foolish enough to come without preparation, then.”
One of my bracelets vibrated dangerously. The tattered magical barrier surrounded me.
‘Much stronger than in the books!’
In the novel, Liena had a similar artifact, which withstood five or six attacks from the Divine Beast. Mine barely survived one. The Divine Beast had clearly grown stronger than in the story.
“……Damn Miela.”
I muttered my heartfelt resentment. The Divine Beast’s eyes sharpened.
“Now sacrilege too? I can’t understand why the gods chose you.”
I shouted desperately.
“That god, that ‘god’! What do I care? It’s just a nuisance to me!”
Another burst of light struck. This time the magical barrier shattered, and the bracelet broke.
The second bracelet activated, forming a new shield around me.
“I’ve barely suffered anything! Do you know how many have been hurt by the weird blessing given to Liena?!”
Images of the steward, Joshua, and Elliot flashed in my mind. I decided to speak my mind.
“I hate gods! Let humans handle human matters!”
Boom! Another attack followed. The second bracelet broke, the third activated.
“You dare be ungrateful…”
The Divine Beast was enraged. As the god’s messenger, it was reasonable to be angry at my defiance.
The sunlight-like glow made my flesh tremble, but this was intentional. I only needed to endure a little longer. Then—
“You were supposed to be my target first, but that won’t do.”
The light that I expected to hit me struck the opposite side. A large rock in its path shattered.
“……Huh?”
The Divine Beast laughed at me as I stared in confusion.
“You thought hiding your ally would work? Quite impressive, desperately trying to draw my attention so I wouldn’t notice.”
“……”
“Your ambush has failed. I’ll return you to your companion.”
Countless rays of light appeared behind the Divine Beast, overwhelmingly more than before. Perhaps ten times, or more.
“Begone.”
It planned to destroy all my remaining barriers at once. I sensed it. This attack would obliterate all shields and engulf me.
I removed all three remaining bracelets and dropped them to the ground, letting myself be enveloped by the oncoming light.
“You’ve abandoned everything at the brink of despair.”
The next instant, a horrific scream echoed through the mine—not mine, but the Divine Beast’s.
Watching it writhe in pain, I spat out the object in my mouth.
The tiny gemstone, once polygon-shaped and the size of a thumbnail, had been shattered.
‘Thank you, Elliot.’
I silently thanked its previous owner, Elliot. He had entrusted me with the artifact when he could no longer keep it due to his status as a criminal. It redirected damage taken by its owner back to the attacker.
Terence had delivered corn bread to the security force; now this was the return favor.
“Uuuuugh! How dare a human…!”
The Divine Beast rolled on the ground, its form distorted, receiving the full force of its own attack.
I seized the fallen bracelet and ran.
“I won’t miss you!”
I wasn’t afraid, even as I shouted. The Divine Beast had other priorities.
A crimson aura rose behind it.
Terence leaped into the air, swinging his sword at the Divine Beast, aiming precisely for the pattern on its head.
“……!”
The Divine Beast twisted desperately to evade, but in vain. Vineta appeared from the other side and struck it.
The Divine Beast’s movement halted momentarily as it defended itself.
Terence’s sword struck, slicing the Divine Beast cleanly from head to tail.
