〈 Chapter 190: Central Island Infiltration (2)）
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Kki-gi-gi-gik
A huge groan echoed through a section of the rotating island.
Luel was using the island’s devices to their fullest.
She was straightening the path to where they needed to go and creating new routes.
At the same time, she was making it difficult for the pursuers to navigate.
“Where did they go?”
“Damn it, where is this place?”
“That way! Get them!”
However, with so many heroes converging, it was impossible to completely shake them off.
Moreover…
‘They must have started to catch on by now.’
Even though I was twisting paths using the devices of the Central Island, my destination was clear.
The Center of the Central Island.
Eventually, the heroes would start to gather there.
But I wasn’t worried.
I had measures in place for this.
“As the Water Sage, I command you. Activate.”
Luel was again rotating a section.
Most of it was to shake off the chasing enemies or to create a new route.
Yet sometimes, it seemed like she was rotating just for the sake of it.
That was precisely to enact those ‘measures.’
‘This island can be seen as one large cube.’
At that moment, she was turning the cube to create the desired shape.
And that desired shape was…
Creeeek, creak.
“What the! The entrance is moving!”
“Why is that turning!”
At the last moment, she shifted the entrance to a completely different direction.
Right in front of us.
‘We’ve arrived.’
Finally, the entrance to the center appeared before our eyes.
“Allen, let me down!”
Luel hopped off me and headed for the entrance.
The entrance was tightly locked by a locking mechanism.
There were only two ways to open such an entrance.
One was to smash it rather than open it.
Usually, that was the method if Gwen were to come straight for the Rose Sword.
After all, it was impossible to unlock the mechanism without the Water Sage.
However, considering the dangers inside, I didn’t want to smash it for later.
Ultimately, the remaining method was for Luel to use the knowledge of the Water Sage to unlock it.
It was the most proper way, and it sounded fine, but… it would take some time.
“Just as I expected. Quite a complex puzzle.”
It was different from the devices she had easily manipulated until now.
The locking mechanism here was made to take her time to unlock.
“How long do you think…”
I was about to ask her for an estimated time when I closed my mouth.
Her expression was serious, as if she had already begun to concentrate.
“Then let’s start our standoff.”
While Luel was unlocking the mechanism, we had something to do as well.
“I found them!”
“Why is the entrance to the center here?”
“Damn it! Stop them!”
Finally, the heroes began to catch up to us.
It was time to properly prepare our standoff with them.
At the same time, I needed to convey my purpose.
“Everyone, hold up for a moment.”
I stepped in front of Yusera and said.
“A brief chat before fighting is okay, right?”
However, it seemed some didn’t think it was.
“While you talk, the Water Sage will unlock everything!”
That wasn’t entirely incorrect, but it wasn’t completely right either.
“Well, we could kill all of you with just the three of us, so why go through that hassle?”
That was the truth.
The humans following us were only about 30.
I could easily kill all of them before unlocking the mechanism.
But the only reason I didn’t was one.
“We don’t want to kill fellow heroes.”
At that point, the heroes began to stir.
Of course, it wasn’t a good stir.
“Is that all? Just don’t kill us?”
“In the end, you blinded by the prospect of the prize deceived us!”
“If it weren’t for you, we would have…”
It seemed they were no longer inclined to listen to my words.
It was clearly the public sentiment.
To them, I was already a confirmed traitor.
So a different approach was needed.
“That’s right. I betrayed the High Priest.”
I had no intention of escaping the frame of the traitor.
I knew it wasn’t going to be that simple from the beginning.
But so what?
“Do you really think you can stop us?”
At that, some of the heroes charged in, filled with rage.
“You bastard!”
“How arrogant!”
But of course, none of them were my match.
I didn’t even need the Wind’s Power or Albert’s barrier.
Just Libero’s swordsmanship was enough to knock down their incoming attacks and kick them aside.
“Gah!”
The heroes fell helplessly.
At the same time, arrows flying toward me were detected by the Wind’s Power and curved harmlessly to the ground.
“I’ll say it again. You cannot stop us with your current strength.”
Immediately, the fallen heroes lay before me.
And the powerlessly dropped arrows on the ground supported my words.
And that led to the desired outcome.
Feeling powerless.
The heroes confronting us fell into a sense of helplessness.
No matter what they did, the outcome was already decided.
I continued speaking to them.
“Of course, it wouldn’t be possible to stop all of you without shedding blood, but if you’re going to bleed, then I can’t help it.”
Now, what remained was to continue instilling that sense of powerlessness while…
“Because we have something we must do. And it might even be a good thing for you.”
Planting hope.
“What do you mean by that?”
With their curiosity piqued, they were already half convinced.
Then I would get straight to the point.
“We plan to strike the Demon King as soon as we retrieve one of our comrades.”
Attacking the Demon King.
They would have never thought of that.
After all, I was a high-ranking hero expelled after deceiving the High Priest.
I had no real reason to confront the Demon King now.
Of course, while they questioned my motives, it was ultimately their own interests that mattered.
So I began to explain.
“If you have even the slightest bit of reasoning, you would have noticed. Staying here won’t greatly help your hero ranking.”
It was quite obvious in hindsight.
“There are too many heroes here. So even if you survive this battle, how much will your ‘ranking’ actually increase?”
“But if we don’t come here, our ranking might drop to the bottom…”
“Yes, so most heroes came to the Central Sea System begrudgingly. Thanks to that, even surviving won’t elevate your ranks much. Meanwhile, what about the danger of facing the Demon King?”
I declared to them.
“I can guarantee that more than half of the people here will die. Even high-ranking heroes won’t completely avoid it.”
Of course, I couldn’t completely avoid it myself.
I was merely prepared to fight with that level of risk in mind.
Now I needed to incite their underlying dissatisfaction.
“You’ve been stuck here for months for such a high-risk battle with such meager rewards.”
Dissatisfaction was followed by anxiety.
“How long do you think this standoff will last? As you all know, the lifespans of the Demon Kings are infinite.”
It was likely all grievances and anxieties they had harbored from the start.
They had endured it all because there was no other option.
But I would provide a solution.
“We will take the initiative to strike the Demon Kings. If we fail, you won’t suffer any loss.”
By doing so, my image or public opinion wouldn’t flip.
Only the atmosphere and situation at hand would change.
But that was actually a good thing.
Although their feelings toward me hadn’t changed, they would think they had made a logical decision…
“Well, we have no choice.”
“We can only hope that it’s not a lie.”
“Yeah, it’s not like we can stop that guy anyway.”
The atmosphere had completely shifted from a moment ago.
This was a success, I’d say.
Now if only Luel could unlock the mechanism…
“Allen, I’m done.”
It seemed she had finished.
Now it was really time to enter the center.
But before that…
“Sara.”
There was one decision to be made.
Whether she would stay behind or come with us into the inner area.
The original plan had been for her to stay behind to keep the outside heroes from breaking in.
“The atmosphere seems good.”
My coaxing had been even more effective than planned.
It looked like this mood could last until the operation was over.
So there was no reason for Sara to stay behind and take risks alone.
“Then you…”
“I’ll stay.”
She said while overloading her sword.
“The ones who come later won’t know. That they can’t defeat us.”
“But…”
At that moment.
“If you’re that worried, I can stay too.”
It was Lucy.
She spoke as she rested a greatsword on her shoulder.
“We don’t have time, so just quickly head out with Luel.”
Yet according to the plan, she was supposed to enter the center with us.
So I looked at Luel, who had formulated the detailed plans.
I needed her approval.
“Sis…”
Worry was evident on her face.
To Luel, Lucy said.
“Whatever happens, I don’t mind staying here or following along.”
Surely, that was true when thinking back on the strategy meeting.
In the center, apart from the autonomously moving Guard Dolls, there wouldn’t be any enemies, and those could be handled by just me.
However, considering that it was determined that Yusera alone would be enough to handle the outside, Luel was only deciding between the two.
If Lucy stood by Yusera, while it wouldn’t change the mission drastically, it would provide more peace of mind.
“Don’t worry. You’re really strong.”
With a smile just like always, she gave a thumbs up.
At that, Luel nodded.
“I understand.”
When I reached her side, she said.
“I’m sorry, Allen.”
It seemed she felt guilty.
It was because of her concern for her sister that Sara almost stayed behind alone.
She lowered her head.
I placed my hand on top of her head and said.
“It’s alright.”
Everyone has emotions, and sometimes they get swept up and make mistakes.
For instance, I had just tried to persuade Sara to come inside with me.
However, our two mistakes were corrected by our comrades.
“In the end, our comrades fixed it, right? That’s what teams are for.”
Anyone can slip up.
That’s natural, and that’s why we need teams.
“Teams… You’re right.”
She returned to a serious expression and said.
“Then we should hurry for our roles.”
She spread her arms forward.
I picked her up, familiar with the routine.
Just like she said, it was urgent for us to fulfill our roles.
‘We need to move the island as quickly as possible for the sake of the two waiting outside.’
I began to dash down the corridor heading towards the Center of the Central Island while carrying Luel.
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