Chapter 33
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In terms of species, I belonged neither to humans nor to monsters. Yet my body resembled that of a monster more than a human, so normal human medicine had no effect.
The fact that the medicine Elder gave me worked meant it was made for monsters. He must have known my true identity from the beginning, which is why he gave me that medicine. Well, I guess I should be grateful since my wounds healed quickly.
“Why don’t you just come out already? You know ambushes are meaningless.”
At my words, six figures hiding behind Elder came into view.
They wore the common white priest robes seen in the capital’s main temple, but judging by the ornaments on their clothing, they weren’t ordinary priests. Each of them also held a weapon—mostly swords, or staffs and bows.
Weapons from the temple, imbued with holy power, meant to attack opponents.
“So they’re battle priests?”
I had seen a few during the game’s storyline. There were very few in the empire, I had heard.
That six of these rare battle priests were here meant just how desperate they were to kill me.
“Do not move until I give the order.”
Elder seemed unwilling for the battle priests to join the fight. They remained cautious, holding their weapons while stepping back.
What were they plotting? They were here with the intent to kill me anyway.
“Were you planning to kill me alone?”
“No. Lian asked me to buy some time in case something happened to him.”
“…What?”
Why was Lian being mentioned here?
Frowning, I let out a hollow laugh. He must have predicted this situation. Asking Elder to buy time meant he intended to come stop me himself, no matter what.
“Even if you wait, it won’t matter. I already sent him deep into the sea.”
“I was asked, but I can’t just watch without doing anything. Besides, I don’t want anyone dying on a festive day.”
“I’m not harming the villagers, am I? She only wants to receive the gift sent by the saint. I don’t understand why you’re stopping her.”
At that, a slight crack appeared in Elder’s usually cheerful expression, though it soon returned to normal.
“You never cared about humans anyway. Just return to your castle as you were.”
Even now, I didn’t really care about others. Perhaps because I’ve been involved with people more recently, he saw me differently.
“I wouldn’t have done anything if you hadn’t provoked me first.”
“….”
“So don’t blame me for today. Blame the saint lounging in the main temple.”
If Esia hadn’t provoked me from the start, I wouldn’t have received this ridiculous system quest.
I created a palm-sized ice crystal in midair. It floated upward and spread widely, surrounding the area.
I had erected a transparent barrier so ordinary humans wouldn’t get caught in this.
“This should let me move comfortably.”
“…You…”
Seeing me create the barrier, Elder showed, for the first time, a serious expression without a hint of a smile. He realized I was serious.
“If you want to stop me, do it sincerely.”
Whether that would actually work against me was another story.
I immediately moved, piercing inside Elder’s range, intending to strike his abdomen and send him flying.
Bang!
With a strong impact, Elder was thrown back, but he was unharmed—he had been pushed, not hit.
“Ugh…”
I had felt the strike, but he seemed to twist his body in that instant to avoid the attack.
Before he could regain posture, I threw dozens of sharp ice spears.
“Amazing.”
He dodged them all with ease, moving with the agility of a cat.
…He dodges better than I thought. That attack was meant to finish things.
But merely dodging wouldn’t stop me—and he knew it.
“You can’t block me half-heartedly.”
Elder straightened his posture, pulled something from his robes, and slammed it to the ground. The sound of breaking glass erupted, and a black mist quickly filled the surroundings.
“This is…”
Instinctively sensing danger, I retreated and blew the mist away with a gust of wind. Elder took advantage of the brief obscurity to lunge at me with a poisoned dagger.
“Gotcha…!”
Before the dagger could touch my arm, I formed a sword from ice to block the attack.
Clang!
For some reason, despite using Lehel’s body for combat for the first time, my movements felt natural—as if I had always fought with her body.
Elder, blocked, shifted direction with swift agility, aiming at my neck. He truly intended to stop me.
Just as I tried to retreat and defend, my foot caught on a rock, throwing off my balance. The battle priests seized the opportunity, ignoring Elder’s orders, and advanced toward me.
Unaware that I had been waiting for this moment.
“You were supposed to not move—!”
While Elder was surprised by the priests’ movement, I regained posture, blocked his attack, and approached the nearest priest to strike their neck.
“…Dangerous!”
Gurgle… Gag…!
I had been waiting for the priests to approach me first.
The priest I struck clutched their wound and soon died. Watching life fade, I realized something simple:
…It’s not so hard.
Taking a life wasn’t as difficult as I had imagined. I wondered why I had feared it so much.
At the same time, it felt as if the obstacle that had been blocking me disappeared.
SYSTEM: Main Quest – Take a human life. (1/6)
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While Lehel was asleep, recovering from poison and injuries, Lian was visited by the battle priests.
- “The saint and the people of the empire were concerned for your safety.”
- “I am fine… but why are you here?”
- “We heard that you and Lehel, the Greedy Demon King, are here. If you were captured, we were told to help and bring you to the main temple.”
Lian realized that the sender was the saint, Esia. He also realized that Lehel had deliberately lured the priests here.
‘So all this time, they were intentionally leaking information.’
- “No help is needed. Please return.”
- “The saint gave us another order.”
- “…?”
- “We were told to help the hero kill the Demon King.”
Lian couldn’t understand the temple’s actions. Killing the Demon King meant waging war against monsters.
War costs countless lives. Knowing this, everyone had desperately maintained order.
- “Return.”
- “…Sir Serius?”
- “Do not meddle. Return, and tell the saint that even the main temple has limits.”
Lehel, titled Demon King, sought peace, but the saint, revered by humans, desired war. She even attacked innocent young monsters. To him, the main temple was far from admirable.
He had vowed, the moment he stayed by Lehel’s side, to ensure she wouldn’t bear everything alone.
“Here.”
Following Shaila, he stopped before a massive, imposing door. Strange patterns covered its surface, and blue flames flickered around it.
“What is this place?”
“It’s a passage only humans can use. With it, you can reach the surface.”
As Lian reached toward the door, Shaila stopped him. She first touched the door lightly, and it seemed to reject her touch.
“See? This isn’t an ordinary door.”
“Didn’t you make it?”
“Yes. It appeared at some point.”
Her palm ached slightly from the earlier event, and she frowned.
“Only Lehel has used this passage before.”
“But Lehel isn’t human, right?”
“Not now. But since she used to be human, some traits remained. For instance, she couldn’t breathe underwater.”
Most monsters could breathe in water. Yet Lehel could never get close to it.
“I don’t know what’s inside. She never said a word. But I do know one thing.”
“….”
“Every time she used this door, it was painful for her.”
Shaila couldn’t forget that day. The first time Lehel opened and entered the door, she returned with reddened eyes.
After that, Shaila sometimes knew when it was difficult for her to use the passage.
“I won’t push you. If it’s too much, you can wait here for Lehel.”
Before Shaila finished speaking, Lian stepped boldly toward the door and pushed it open. She shook her head at his boldness.
‘Just like Lehel.’
Inside, the passage was pitch dark. Lian stepped in without hesitation.
“Don’t die. If you do, Lehel will hate me forever.”
As he fully entered, the door slowly closed. Guided only by touch in the darkness, he moved forward.
Drip… drip…
Water began to fall from the ceiling, and the dark space cleared, revealing a new scene.
“Here…”
A village torn by fire and rain. Streets once full of blooming flowers, now filled with bloodied, fallen people.
He was back, sixteen years ago, to the day that changed his life entirely.
