〈 Chapter 110 〉 The Third Trial (5）

*

‘What the heck is going on?’

The 31st Demon King was clearly said to have been defeated in Ice Valley 52 years ago.

Of course, while it’s not impossible that the 31st Demon King survived that defeat, considering I had just seen Gineus—another Demon King I took down—return, I had to consider other possibilities as well.

Perhaps the Demon Kings had found a way to resurrect fallen Demon Kings.

‘This is dangerous.’

If that’s the case, then there might be even more Demon King forces lurking elsewhere, not just here.

And in the worst-case scenario, they might even have the ability to resurrect Libero.

‘But that’s the absolute worst case.’

While it’s wise to avoid excessive optimism, too much pessimism won’t help either.

First and foremost, I should focus on the imminent danger right in front of me.

That is, the 31st Demon King.

‘He’s continuously regaining strength.’

He had been puffing himself up since earlier.

Although he survived Stella’s large-scale magic attack, it seemed he had been recovering his energy ever since.

If left unchecked, he would likely reach an irrevocable state.

‘I didn’t fail to take him down during the entrance exam for no reason.’

Clearly, he was an opponent far beyond my capabilities.

Could a small Trial Barrier really hold him?

I wasn’t certain, but my instincts weren’t very reassuring.

‘For now, I should seek advice from Stella since the Trial Barrier isn’t too far away.’

Stella was one of the few remaining experts in subduing Demon Kings.

While she hadn’t personally tackled the 31st Demon King, she surely had more knowledge about him than I did.

Due to the perspective of the Hundred Braves, the 31st Demon King was already considered a defeated foe, limiting the available information.

“Let’s hurry back to the barrier.”

The two people following me were not in a condition, physically or mentally, to fight, especially after suffering injuries.

My urging finally snapped them out of their fixation on the distant 31st Demon King, and they began to follow me.

Yet, they trembled as they remained under the pressure radiating from the 31st Demon King.

‘Even if we end up in a situation where we have to confront the 31st Demon King…’

These two wouldn’t be much of a help.

If that happens…

*

“Did you say the 31st Demon King?”

Soon enough, we arrived at the Trial Barrier.

Hearing that news, Stella wore a bitter expression.

“Sure, I had heard some sightings before the casting of magic, but I didn’t think it would actually be true.”

I didn’t know if she would believe me since the information I relayed was from before she was even born, at the time of the Demon King’s defeat.

But it seemed there had been several sightings already.

“Do you think this barrier can hold against the 31st Demon King?”

In the end, that was the crucial question.

If she deemed it capable of withstanding, there really wouldn’t be a need to worry.

However, her dark complexion denied that possibility at once.

“No chance. He’s the one who even broke the barrier in Ice Valley. Once he completes his recovery, this little barrier here will be gone in no time.”

Hearing Stella’s words, despair washed over those around us.

It was only natural, as her statement for them felt like a death sentence.

Some even began discussing the option of leaving this place.

“Let’s get out of here.”

“What about the people in the lake?”

“Well, we need to survive first, don’t we? We can go out and call for reinforcements.”

That argument sounded quite reasonable.

If we stayed here, we would all surely die.

So calling for reinforcements seemed the obvious plan.

However, this argument wasn’t without flaws.

“But there are still two Demon Kings and Chaos Beasts outside…”

“Staying here seems like a death sentence too. But if the capable heroes here unite, we might stand a chance of escaping Hailen.”

“Capable heroes? What about the civilians and the injured?”

“If we take them with us, the survival rate will plummet.”

At that moment, the previously heated atmosphere chilled again.

A wall had formed between the capable heroes and those who weren’t, and in that cold tension, even those who had suggested leaving became mute.

Naturally, their gazes turned to Stella.

“Stella, what do you think?”

In response to the question, Stella answered promptly, as if there was no need for deliberation.

“I vote for gathering only the capable heroes to leave this place first. It’s definitely better than all of us dying here.”

At her answer, the heroes in favor of leaving smiled.

Meanwhile, those who would remain here were filled with despair.

But she added a remark to them.

“That said, I’m opting to stay.”

Hearing this, the man who had been persuading them to leave looked stunned.

“Stella? What do you mean by that?”

“I’m almost out of mana now. I have nearly used up all my life force to make up for the mana, and at this rate, I’ll be dead soon. Am I really still a capable hero right now?”

“That’s…”

“Allen Pleuk, the 49th-ranked hero. What do you think about the current situation?”

Her rank had somehow increased by one.

It seemed she had omitted herself from the hero ranking too.

At this point, it began to feel like any ranking was meaningless.

‘Right, what matters isn’t the hero ranking.’

What mattered was the situation at hand.

Thanks to Stella’s words, everyone’s gaze turned to me.

According to her, in this situation, I held the most authority here.

‘What should I say?’

As Stella said, the safest and most rational choice at this moment was to let only the capable heroes leave.

But separate from that, I wasn’t quite pleased with the situation.

Especially not with how prolonged it was.

That’s why I asked Stella.

“How much has the 31st Demon King recovered by now?”

The longer we delay, the more strength the 31st Demon King will regain.

“He’s at about 30% of his strength now. But why…”

The more he recovers, the lower my chances of winning.

“You… Don’t tell me!”

The odds of me actually winning against him.

“Discussing escape can wait until after I attempt to take down the 31st Demon King.”

My order was out of place.

Discussion could wait. Taking down the Demon King was the priority.

Upon hearing this, they seemed to somewhat understand.

However…

“Allen, don’t mistake my compliment for your strength.”

Stella, who had a grasp of my powers, was looking at me with discontent.

“Even if he’s at just 30% strength, he was the strongest foe in human history. The countless high-ranking heroes dispatched to Ice Valley only succeeded in defeating him after losing their lives. Your chances of winning now are barely 10%.”

“Yeah, I’m aware of that level of probability.”

I had grasped that figure already.

In fact, a 10% chance would be pretty generous.

“But that 10% should not be underestimated. If I could save the people here with that 10%…”

“Your life isn’t worthless enough to gamble with. Think again, Allen Pleuk. There are others who value their life just as much as you value the lives of others.”

She was right.

There were definitely people who fit that description.

The innkeeper waiting for me back at the inn, Weiss.

Libero, who had passed away but entrusted me with his will.

And even Elsie and Yusera, who remained within the trial.

‘I feel like Miss Gwen would be sad if I died too.’

However, my real fear was about the regret I’d feel if they died.

Call it selfish if you want. What I was feeling in this moment was undeniably selfish.

So at the very least, I should apologize.

“I’m sorry. Stella, if I don’t come back, could you tell those who valued my life that I’m sorry for being a coward and leaving alone?”

Stella shook her head.

But it wasn’t a refusal; it was more like an acceptance of inevitability.

“Well, if that’s what you want, I won’t stop you. I don’t hold the kind of relationship that values your life to that extent.”

With that, I was ready to go.

I took a final glance around, scanning the faces of the people.

Was it because I was dealing with a Demon King, or was it because a new method of leaving had appeared, but this time there seemed to be no one willing to follow me.

But that was alright. I had already confirmed the lack of bonds and trust among my so-called companions during the battle with Gineus.

And then, just as I stepped out towards the Trial Barrier…

“Allen.”

Suddenly, I heard someone call me.

In my urgent situation, I normally wouldn’t have turned around even if someone called my name.

Unless it was a voice that didn’t belong there.

“Elsie?”

As I turned around, there stood Elsie, looking very angry.

Behind her was Yusera, looking a bit frightened.

Even Yusera seemed somewhat intimidated by Elsie, appearing more annoyed than anything.

“If you take even a single step from there, you’d better be prepared for the consequences.”

With that declaration, Elsie began to stride toward me.

Feeling an unsettling intuition, I inquired about the current situation.

“What are you doing here? Didn’t you say heroes couldn’t leave the trial?”

“We noticed you were gone and made a contract with the self-proclaimed god to be let out, asking him to send us to find you.”

“A contract?”

Making a contract with a god shouldn’t be done so casually.

Moreover, Elsie didn’t even realize it was a genuine god.

That meant she wouldn’t understand the significance of what such a contract entailed.

“…What were the terms of the contract?”

“They said they would let us out on the condition that we could wake you up.”

“What?”

In that moment, Elsie stood right in front of me.

“Sure, I’m open to hearing your excuses. So go ahead, tell me: why did you plan to go alone again?”

I was caught off guard by this unexpected term of the god’s contract.

But right now, I had to address Elsie in front of me first.

“Well, it’s because it’s really dangerous this time.”

“If it’s that dangerous, why are you okay with it?”

“I’d be fine with it if it meant that I could protect the people here…”

“And that’s precisely the problem.”

At her words, I couldn’t help but frown.

“What’s the problem? Is it wrong for me to sacrifice my life to protect the world?”

“Your thoughts are fine. But believing you alone have those thoughts is the problem.”

She placed her left hand on her chest and pointed to Yusera with her right.

“We’re human beings just like you. There’s no difference between how you think of us and how we think of you.”

Tears welled in her eyes, and her voice was rising in intensity.

“I told you, no one feels deceived by you. We’re not being used by you. We just genuinely want to help you.”

Yusera, who had been quietly observing, nodded in agreement.

“Well, raising an issue is meaningless if the world ends. I’d have brushed it aside as nonsense if someone else had said it.”

If you want to raise a concern, you first need to save the world.

That’s what I said to persuade her.

Until now, I thought she was following me because of what I said. But she denied that idea.

“No, honestly I found your idea a bit too grand to believe. But I was trusting in you as a person.”

What lay behind her true intention was not over.

“And about that joint endeavor. It’s said strong people are drawn to strong leaders, right? I can’t just be satisfied with those gathering below me. So if we ever form a partnership, I’d want you beside me as a co-leader.”

Honestly, I had never expected she’d had such plans in mind.

It stung a little, but being a co-leader felt very manageable.

I couldn’t see it being too difficult, regardless.

“Speaking of which, about Elsie…”

Before she could reveal her own plan, Elsie jumped in.

“You heard that, right? We’re going to use you too. In the end, no matter what, reliance solely on individual strength isn’t enough.”

“Wait, I get it, but what was Yusera about to say about you?”

“That’s…”

After a brief hesitation, Elsie finally spoke.

“It’s because I was going to ask you to at least treat me with honesty. I heard everything you said in that small voice while I was asleep. You’re saying our next destination is Leim Kingdom, right?”

I realized a bit too late.

Of course, I had planned to tell her at one point, but I hadn’t expected she’d overheard it.

However, what Elsie said next was even more unexpected.

“Did you know? Ever since you left me a letter to meet again two years ago, I had already guessed it. I wasn’t naïve like you, you know. Ever since then, I’ve been figuring out ways to use you.”

I realized it wasn’t impossible for her to figure that out.

Elsie was pretty sharp, and I had never succeeded in tricking her before.

Then Yusera muttered something under her breath.

“Wait… you’re saying while you were asleep?”

“We’ll talk about that later.”

“When is later?”

While Elsie got momentarily distracted with Yusera, I suddenly felt remorse.

I had made a mistake.

I still hadn’t broken free from the habit of treating this world like a game, despite not being Sung Yoo-rang.

I had thought I cherished them, and that I was capable of thinking like it was reality.

But reality was different. I hadn’t genuinely considered their thoughts.

Even when I did, I merely viewed them based on their characters, not as individuals like myself.

‘So that’s why.’

The dissonance I always felt from considering them as comrades.

In truth, we had already become comrades.

They might call it using, but we were helping each other.

And that wasn’t using anymore; if strengthened by bonds and trust, it was comradeship.

No one had deceived me.

It had been only me deceiving myself.

We were already comrades, but I was forcing a false notion of comradeship onto myself.

“Elsie.”

That meant the time had come for me to apologize.

Not through someone else, not written in a letter…

But directly.

“Yusera.”

As I called the names of those two, they stopped their bickering and looked at me.

“I’m sorry for everything. I was foolish.”

I now understood how wrong that had been.

So I wouldn’t do that anymore.

“Now you’re finally back to being normal.”

Yusera smiled and nodded.

At least this was one step toward making amends.

Of course, I’d have to repay this misdeed in the future, as a leader.

“What’s important now is something else.”

While I spoke with them, the 31st Demon King hadn’t been lazing around recovering.

“First, we need to take down that guy.”

I pointed toward the distant 31st Demon King, who was starting to become visible.

Originally, he wouldn’t have been visible from here, but his growing size meant he was now in view.

Thanks to this, the anxiety in the atmosphere thickened.

“We’ll leave the rest of our conversation for later; for now, let’s deal with that.”

Honestly, I wasn’t sure if I could take him down.

But I had no regrets about speaking with them.

Even though the 31st Demon King had regained strength all this time, joining forces with her was far more advantageous than going alone.

‘One of us might die.’

Maybe we’d all die and fail.

But they made the choice to stand by me knowing that risk.

Taking responsibility for my comrades’ lives doesn’t mean I just have to protect them.

‘I must respect their will too.’

They are all individuals with their own intentions, just like me.

So now, I had no reason to hesitate.

“Let’s go.”

In my peripheral vision, I saw Stella smiling warmly.

When our gazes met, she waved farewell and… gradually lowered her head.

*