Chapter 284 |
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[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]
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The hero headed towards a park with few people.
‘What do you want to ask?’
Immediately after asking the question.
After blinking his eyes a few times, the hero realized that he had entered a mental world in an instant.
However…
‘…This isn’t my mental world, is it?’
The surroundings were covered in hazy fog.
Under his feet, there were only endless black waves.
Voices of men, women, children, and the elderly surged together and then faded away again.
Thud-
A faint reverberation pierced through the chaos, that was when it echoed.
Thud-
The hero opened his eyes narrowly and looked at the figure in front of him.
For some reason, that figure looked exactly like the hero.
‘You look upset.’
[…What’s different?]
He had a bewildered expression.
At first glance, it seemed like his pride was hurt.
‘What don’t you understand?’
[Why do the people around you continue to show unwavering affection even though your true identity has been revealed?]
He had cloned countless humans and meticulously grasped the essence of humanity.
They are exclusive beings.
They deeply protect themselves, seek stability, and cling to the familiar.
Their exclusivity is most intense when their ‘self-esteem’ is threatened.
Therefore, naturally, he thought that the hero’s old comrades would change their attitudes like flipping over a palm.
However, what appeared before the hero’s eyes was a completely different situation, so he felt one of the most significant confusions in his long life.
The hero calmly asked,
‘You’ve roughly scanned through my memories, so don’t you think you know the reason?’
[Are you saying it’s because I showed kindness during the period of imitation?]
He growled fiercely.
[I did plenty of that too! No, I was much more proficient than you.]
‘Is that what you think?’
[Of course. Unlike you, who superficially pretended to understand others, I could literally ‘read’ the people around me! I fulfilled all their wishes. But…]
His face twisted.
Towards the end, there was only betrayal and rejection left.
[Why were you able to achieve different results? Why is it that human nature… escapes you?]
For a moment, the hero pondered where to start explaining.
He had also looked at Zero’s memories and accepted some parts of the first era’s essence.
From the beginning, ??? hadn’t just hated humans.
No, he too was someone who wanted to blend in among humans and had put in a lot of effort.
‘It’s because things went awry.’
They had gone through similar processes.
But there was a decisive reason why the results were different, not just the performance difference of the polymorph.
[It’s better to answer carefully.]
‘…I suddenly thought that maybe you had higher expectations than me.’
[I said answer carefully.]
Looking at ??? with ambiguous eyes, the hero muttered.
‘I’m not saying I was great and you were incompetent, resulting in different outcomes.’
He felt the need to ‘show’ rather than explain.
‘You’ll realize it sooner than you think, so watch.’
[…Watch?]
Since it was a mental world, ???’s emotions were vividly felt by the hero.
Jealousy, envy, regret, sadness, anger… lingering attachments.
The hero’s mouth opened slowly.
‘Yes. Hold on a bit and watch. After all, there’s not much of the journey left.’
* * *
After finishing all his errands, the hero suddenly turned back and looked at the palace.
‘Has time already passed like this?’
The sun was slowly tilting below the horizon, coloring the sky golden.
Under the sunset, the magnificent golden dome and splendid, majestic decorations sparkled dazzlingly.
The hero stood still and gazed at the palace bathed in the sunset.
“What is my purpose? Why am I still playing the role of a double?”
“I have no intention of quitting my role as a double.”
“…What?”
“Because humans still need the Hero. That’s the reason.”
The place where their grand lies were about to be exposed.
If things went according to plan, he wouldn’t set foot in this place again.
The reason the hero visited the palace after a long time was to utilize the ‘perfect polymorph.’
“Tell the ministers to gather at the palace.”
Euphemia had already summoned all her subjects, and the hero secretly cloned them one by one.
Since there was no emotional exchange anyway, there was no burden.
It was just a bit annoying to categorize useful information from the cloned entities.
That way, he could obtain a lot of information, and among them, there was quite a bit about their main goal, ‘identifying collaborators.’
‘These are genuine pieces of information without a hint of falsehood.’
Even though they were not directly related to the demons, selfish nobles who were corrupt and only looked out for their own interests were exposed without exception.
“You just prevented a catastrophe in my jurisdiction. Dozens of operatives’ catastrophes as well.”
The Mother Ghost was truly moved.
Due to pouring numerous resources into the sealing sites and the information network near the front lines, the authorities were struggling to maintain control.
By now, behind that magnificent palace, in the emperor’s torture chamber, the screams of collaborators and corrupt individuals must be echoing.
While punishing the villains, he also relieved his comrades’ burdens, making his heart feel very light.
After that, the hero briefly discussed matters related to the seal with the emperor.
Although he was worried about ??? wanting to clone her as well, he agreed to watch quietly after being told to do so, and remained silent throughout.
“I’ve assigned Leciel to oversee the seal in the Fainel region. Soon, the Lotus Knights and the power of Arpheus will join as well.”
“Good. I should start moving too.”
Euphemia hesitated uncommonly as she addressed the hero.
“Are you really planning to go to Fainel as well?”
“…I have to.”
It was a plan he had been half-hearted about until before coming to the capital, but meeting with Pia and Kasim gave him courage.
The hero had firmly made up his mind.
“Can I ask for one suitable disguise?”
“That’s fine, but…”
Euphemia started to say something but sighed instead.
‘…Is it okay?’
She was worried that going to Fainel, where there were piles of students he had taught, might be a concern, but she couldn’t stop the hero.
Soon, the sealing sites would become battlefields.
The hero hiding under disguise was a prudent choice on a national scale.
The emperor could only nod eventually.
“Through the Mother Ghost, I’ll pass on the personal details of your disguised identity. It might take a few days, so take a break in the meantime.”
“Thanks.”
The hero was about to leave when… he noticed something and paused.
“You don’t look very well. Is something wrong?”
Euphemia’s pale face showed signs of fatigue.
Possessing the ‘Ultimate Body,’ she had far superior stamina and resistance to various toxins than an ordinary person.
Seeing Euphemia looking so tired was unusual.
“You seem like you’re about to collapse from exhaustion.”
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[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]
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“…I’m a bit tired. But don’t worry about it. You go and do your task.”
If the emperor, who never showed signs of fatigue even in the face of difficulty, said that, it must be serious.
“If it’s okay, I can polymorph into you and take care of state affairs for a few days. Since it’ll take some time to prepare the disguise anyway.”
A friendly offer.
However, the emperor’s expression subtly changed as if she had misunderstood something. “…Polymorph into me?”
“Yes, I’ll hold the fort for you, so why don’t you take a vacation or something?”
The emperor rejected outright.
“I don’t want that.”
The hero chuckled.
“Why not?”
“What do you mean, why not?”
“Don’t tell me…”
“Yes, exactly that.”
Was she worried that the hero would seize power?
The hero felt a bit gloomy at her comrade’s mistrust.
Surprised by reading his expression, the emperor was taken aback.
“Not that worry, but… forget it.”
“Forget what?”
“Just sometimes, your understanding of humans seems seriously lacking in certain areas.”
Then, she threw a completely irrelevant question.
“There’s been one thing I’ve been curious about.”
“…What?”
“What’s your sexual identity?”
What kind of question is that?
This time, it was the hero’s turn to have a strange expression on his face.
“Are you male? You don’t seem female… are you entirely neuter?”
The hero was a bit flustered, but since it was the emperor’s question, he thought it must have significance and answered sincerely.
“Well… considering that the initial form and the majority of the clones I’ve created so far are male, I’d say it’s a male identity.”
The emperor then laughed incredulously.
It seemed like the hero’s suspicion of “daring to ask such a thing…” was just his imagination.
Soon, a twisted smile appeared on Euphemia’s lips.
“Leave.”
The hero was dismissed.
* * *
Two figures stood in front of a cliff that looked like it had been carved out.
Cliffs soaring into the sky.
The wind blowing over them was so fierce that they couldn’t hear each other’s voices.
The night-haired young man stood at the edge of the cliff, looking down at the deep and dark gorge, then turned around and shouted to his companion.
“This seems to be it! The seal of Fainel!”
The red-haired woman nodded in agreement.
She looked up at her hair flying like a mane, then gave up and stretched out her hand.
A breeze came rushing in and stood beside Leciel.
“…We can’t see anything below, is it an illusion barrier?”
“Probably? Anyway, it’s a terrain that’s very easy to defend.”
“Right. Even if a large army comes, we can easily block them.”
“That’s why we chose it as the seal site.”
They exchanged such sentiments as they headed towards the bottom of the gorge.
It was after receiving word that the knights of the Lotus Order and the aides of Arpheus would arrive soon.
In fact, information about the five seals in various locations was being handled strictly confidential.
After the hero’s party constructed them, no one could know who was guarding which seal, where they were located, the detailed structure, or the type of protective barrier unless they were appointed as guardians.
Even the guardians themselves knew nothing about the other seals.
“We even came without knowing what exactly is being sealed.”
Carefully, as they descended to the bottom of the gorge, Ban swallowed his saliva and gazed into the darkness within.
Even the Lotus Order, which had established a firm tradition of valor, was taking on the task of guarding the seals for the first time.
The same was true for Leciel.
She tried to hide her tense demeanor and muttered,
“By the way, I heard that when we arrive, a guide will come to meet us… Where are they? Are they not coming out because not everyone has arrived yet?”
“A guide?”
“Could it be one of the former guardians? I’m not sure.”
Before Leciel could finish her sentence.
Thump-
A faint sound of footsteps echoed from inside the gorge.
The two instinctively fell silent and looked at the approaching figure with curious eyes.
Eventually, the sunlight streaming through the gap in the cliff illuminated the unfamiliar individual.
“…Is that the guide?”
He had a rather ordinary appearance that seemed too common to be in this secretive seal.
Brown hair, a moderately square face, and an average height.
The only thing notable was his unusually deep gaze.
Ban and Leciel looked at him with a strange sense of anticipation.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Ignatius, the guide entrusted with leading the guardians.”
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[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]
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