Kaeld stroked his chin.
“Do you believe in destiny?”
“Huh?”
“Everything in the world is predetermined from birth. Heroes, warriors, emperors, nobles, even commoners. Everyone is destined to live as they do.”
“……”
“And I was destined to become a Hero. It’s a fate no one can change.”
“……”
“Haha. I’m not very good with words. I can’t explain it in a fancy way. Just take it as it is.”
Neril opened and closed her mouth in disbelief.
For a moment, the mood became subdued.Adwin, sensing the atmosphere, cautiously spoke to Lisel.
“Um, excuse me. Pretty lady.”
“……! M-Me?”
“Yes, you. Could you show us a spirit? They’re such mysterious beings, and I’m really curious.”
“U-Um. No, they don’t like showing themselves to humans.”
“Really? That’s a shame.”
“If I ever manage to convince the children later, I’ll show you.”
“Really? Thank you! And feel free to speak comfortably with me.”
“Oh, no. I’m fine like this……”
A rather heart warming exchange, wasn’t it?
Kaeld, however, frowned as if something displeased him.
I glanced at Offense, sitting across from me.
“With the way the mood is going, shouldn’t we be talking too?”
“No.”
‘I think I do.’
[Then why’d you ask?]
‘The Hero’s path.’
Kaeld apparently sees a path to becoming a Hero.
I still don’t know what that means exactly—what he sees or how.
But one thing’s clear: that’s how he noticed.
That another earthquake is coming.
And maybe, that it’ll be even worse than the first.
‘A Hero’s path, huh… Not exactly straightforward.’
In any case, things had come to this. All that was left now was force.
I said,
“You predicted the second earthquake—so why come along so obediently?”
“When you said you’d escort us on Agril, I got a good idea.”
“……”
“I thought, how about we dump you all here and hijack Agril?”
Serein gasped and shouted.
“W-Wait! Agril can’t be operated by anyone except those it accepts as masters!”
“Exactly. That’s why you need to get its approval now.”
“What?”
“Agril feeds on holy power, according to records. And in terms of pure divine power, you surpass even that Holy Knight over there. I’m sure you can handle it.”
Xenia’s face twisted.
Serein shouted, flustered.
“W-Wait a second! Miss Xenia, please don’t misunderstand! I had no idea about this!”
Kaeld replied indifferently.
“I’m telling you now.”
“No, why are you bringing up something like this now? Why are you always like this…!”
“Serein.”
Kaeld looked at her calmly.
That cold, sharp gaze made Serein fall silent immediately.
“In this situation, you really want to nitpick like that? I’ve felt this for a while now—you lack the awareness of being part of the Hero’s party.”
“Ugh…”
That’s when it happened.
[Can everyone hear me?]
It was Adwin’s voice.
[Huh? Adwin?]
[I can hear you. How are you speaking to us?]
[Through your souls. I succeeded with the spell a while ago.]
I couldn’t help but click my tongue in amazement.
‘He’s already mastered this technique to such a degree?!’
Secret party communication via the soul was something only achievable just before the Demon King quest.
But he’s already capable of multiple-person simultaneous telepathy?
[Truly impressive.]
[T-Thank you. Anyway, what should we do now?]
I thought for a moment, then answered.
[We’ve got no choice but to go all out.]
[……]
[Neril, you take Offense. Restrain him and make it look like he couldn’t join the fight due to superior force.]
Neril gave a small nod.
I continued.
[Xenia, take on Serein. She’s not good at offense, so she’ll try to overpower you with divine strength. It won’t be easy, but I’m counting on you.]
Xenia nodded as well.
Adwin asked,
[Hyung, what about me?]
[Connect with Offense’s soul too.]
My companions’ expressions changed.
But with the urgency of the situation, Adwin followed through.
I spoke to Offense.
[Offense. Don’t react—just listen.]
[……]
[Come with us from now on.]
[What are you talking about?]
I swallowed hard.
[I don’t know exactly what this “Hero’s path” of Kaeld’s is, but he predicted a second earthquake. That means it’s probably legit.]
[Still, it didn’t seem too specific. Otherwise, my double-agent act would’ve been exposed long ago.]
I shook my head.
[No, you’re right—it would have been.]
[Then why—]
[Who knows. Maybe there was some penalty involved, or maybe he didn’t think your activities were threatening enough. But if we land a solid hit now, I think even Kaeld’s patience will run out.]
[Your evidence?]
[My intuition. And For your information—my intuition’s random, but it’s never wrong.]
Cold sweat ran down Offense’s face.
[I know that well. So?]
[The flashier the betrayal, the better, right?]
[Heh. So what do you want me to do?]
[Here’s the plan—]
I explained the operation briefly.
Offense gave a tiny nod of understanding.
With everything ready, I quickly popped the Gem of Desolation into my mouth.
That’s when Kaeld spoke.
“Done with your strategy meeting?”
“What strategy meeting?”
“There’s a record of a necromancer hero who could hold secret conversations via souls. Didn’t think that kid could pull it off already, though.”
“You knew and still waited?”
“Yeah. Consider it a parting gift.”
He slowly unfolded his arms.
“Mide Mohan. I’m going to kill you here.”
“……”
“I don’t particularly want to kill the others, but if I kill you, they’ll probably throw themselves at me, even if it means death. If that happens, it’ll be unfortunate, but I’ll kill them too.”
“Stop provoking me already.”
“My original plan was for my Hero’s party to have eight members, including me. I’ll look for other talents to fill the spots you three leave behind.”
Chaang.
He drew his sword.
The moonlight gleamed menacingly on the blade.
“So rest easy and die. I’ll be the one to defeat the Demon King.”
“Hey. Let me say just one thing before we start.”
“What is it?”
I smirked and continued.
“You couldn’t beat the Demon King even if the sky split in two.”
I know—because I’ve seen it.
Taat.
I kicked off Agril’s back and lunged forward.
‘Quick Step!’
It was a charge similar to our duel at the training ground not long ago.
But this time, I was going all out from the start.
With my muscles swollen to the limit thanks to the Gem of Desolation, I moved at a speed that surprised even me.
“So this is your true strength!”
Kaaang.
Kaeld swung his sword violently.
Since I couldn’t fully stabilize my posture, a hairline cut appeared on his neck.
“Why didn’t you start like this last time?”
“I thought I could still win without it.”
“Looks like you really underestimated me.”
“You did the same to me, so let’s call it even.”
He grinned.
“Heh. Yeah. But this time, I won’t make that mistake.”
Thud.
“Guh!”
The next moment, his kick landed squarely in my abdomen.
When did he—? I was sure I had my guard up.
I staggered back ten steps, suppressing the nausea rising in my throat.
[That’s not nausea! You’re coughing up blood. Your internal organs are damaged.]
‘Shut up. It’s embarrassing.’
In the meantime, Kaeld had sheathed his previous sword and drawn the fake Hero’s sword.
That’s bad.
“Hm. First time using this in combat.”
“Hey, that’s cheating.”
“I happen to like cheating!”
This time, Kaeld charged in.
Whether it was due to the Hero’s sword or his original skill, his movements were on a completely different level than when I’d seen him before.
Whoosh. Whooosh.
The trajectory of his sword was strange.
Sometimes it was textbook knight-like precision, and at other times it was bizarre—more cunning than a battle-hardened mercenary.
What all those strikes had in common was that they were nearly impossible to block or dodge.
“Kh!”
Clang! Kaang!
I twisted my body like a contortionist and darted around on Agril’s back.
I need to create more distance.
I jumped back and landed on Agril’s wing.
“Mr. Mide! Ngh!”
“Sorry. But it’s a bad idea to let your guard down against me!”
With a brief opening, I glanced around—Xenia and Serein were locked in a power struggle with pure divine power.
She’s not even giving her time to activate the magic in the holy sword. Serein’s sharp.
‘How’s Neril doing?’
[I’ll keep an eye on the others. You focus on Kaeld.]
‘Right. Thanks.’
Kaeld was swinging his sword up and down in a loose, casual motion.
“Not coming?”
“Just taking a breather.”
“I don’t have time to wait. Actually, there’s something I’ve been meaning to test.”
He placed his index and middle finger against the fake Hero’s sword.
What’s he doing?
Huh?
Slowly, very slowly, Kaeld drew the sword downward from above.
In that instant, I felt the hair on my entire body stand on end and quickly leapt back.
Shhhraaak!
But I was a little too late—his slash traced a clean line across my chest.
Blood sprayed into the air.
“Mide!”
“I’m fine! It’s shallow. Focus on your fight.”
“Guh…”
I hurriedly rummaged through my bag and pulled out a potion.
As I slathered it roughly on the wound, I thought:
‘What the hell was that move?’
I’d never seen anything like it, even before my regression.
It was like he cut through space with his sword…
Cut through space?
A chill ran down my spine.
Space manipulation—that was the domain of Idria’s authority.
And Kaeld’s weapon was the fake Hero’s sword.
‘So that’s it. That fake Hero’s sword was prepared by Idria.’
As if reading my thoughts, Kaeld spoke up.
“This Hero’s sword contains a number of very useful techniques.”
Right.
He slashed barely a foot in front of himself, yet I, standing dozens of meters away, was wounded. That must be a technique based on spatial cutting.
‘It’s similar to my own “Spatial Rend,” but…’
Unlike my version, which requires massive preparation and mental power, his technique seems to be freely usable without any cost.
“With this, I don’t even have to run around like an idiot. Like this.”
Kaeld lightly slashed downward again.
Ankle!
I jumped.
I caught a faint shimmer passing through where I’d just been standing.
“How are you dodging this? You really are something.”
He raised his sword and went for a simple thrust.
It felt like his sword was right in front of my nose.
‘Tch. Quick Step!’
Using my sheath as a springboard, I twisted my body and tried to land back on the wing.
But Kaeld’s space-cutting sword came again, as if he had been waiting.
‘Damn it. I can’t rely on instinct alone forever.’
[Hey, do something. Got any cool new techniques?]
‘I do, but I can’t get into the right stance for them!’
And then—
[It’s been a while. You seem busy.]
A familiar voice.
The second Hero. Known as the Incarnation of the Sword.
‘Lady Lepia?’
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