〈 Chapter 197 〉 Blooming (1）

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Swoosh

Swoosh…

The sound of waves could be heard.

‘Where am I…?’

The ground was continuously shaking.

That means I must be on a boat.

‘So, have I managed to retreat safely?’

Well, once Gwen got her hands on the Rose Sword, there wouldn’t have been anyone who could stand in her way.

By the way…

‘How much time has passed?’

If I had been unconscious for too long, it could have been problematic.

‘I still have a lot to do.’

Right now, I had shifted the barrier’s position, drawing it closer to the island where the Demon Kings were stationed.

I had to strike before they could escape the barrier.

Moreover, no matter how much Gwen was there, if elite forces arrived from Hailen, it would clearly be tough to handle them all.

Ugh…

I took a breath to raise my body.

Cough.

It hurts.

It hurts like crazy.

The pain, which had been faint in my hazy state, started to become clear.

‘Damn.’

It seemed that raising my body was going to be tough for now.

Instead, it seemed Gwen next to me realized that I had woken up.

“Allen? You’ve finally awakened.”

She looked at me with a worried gaze and called out for Luel.

“Luel! Allen is awake!”

Her worried expression was quite impressive.

It was certainly quite different from the one I remembered before I lost consciousness.

‘She’s grown up quite a bit.’

She had looked like a middle school student back then, but now she seemed to have grown to high school age.

But with that growth came a lot more concern.

“Gwen, how long was I out?”

She answered, “It’s now the second day.”

No, that’s not that long after all.

It seemed that Gwen’s growth was more remarkable than I had thought.

Of course, Luel’s treatment that had brought me back to consciousness in just two days was also impressive.

“Allen?”

At that moment, Luel barged into the cabin.

“How’s your body feeling?”

“Well, I can’t seem to lift it.”

“Then how about your arms and legs?”

I tried moving my limbs at her words.

They seemed to move pretty well.

“I can move them alright.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Are you okay?”

But Luel shook her head.

“No, there’s no way it’s okay. I was just confirming that you’re not completely crippled.”

“Then the treatment…”

“Do you think healing magic is infinite? I’ve poured all I could into you over the past couple of days.”

Yet, I still couldn’t walk.

I knew I had sustained serious injuries, but I didn’t expect it to be this bad.

Then…

“Where are Sara and Lucy?”

I needed to check if they were safe.

“They’re both on deck keeping watch.”

They seemed to be fine.

“Thank goodness. But in this state, I can’t deal with the Demon Kings…”

I needed to defeat them as soon as possible.

And return to Library Island to join Schurz.

However, in my current condition, that was impossible.

“No, it’s not a problem.”

But Luel denied my thoughts.

“You just need to watch. The Demon Kings can be handled by Miss Gwen, Sara, and my sister just fine.”

“Why do you think that?”

“Because I’ve been in contact with the Demon Kings until recently. I already have a complete understanding of their strength.”

That was definitely true.

And in fact, the strength of the Demon Kings that I had anticipated wasn’t much different from hers.

If they were weakened by the barrier, it would be possible to take them all down even without me.

Maybe my stubbornness to participate in that elimination was unnecessary.

‘Then let’s think about the problems that follow.’

After eliminating the Demon Kings and completely preventing the destruction of the Central Sea System.

The next issue would be how to stop the impending destruction afterward.

‘First, I should go find the place where the Divine Authority has been sealed.’

Going to see the High Priest directly was risky.

It would be best to persuade Schurz to check the sealing location first, and then approach the High Priest later.

‘But…’

There was something that was troubling me.

“Is it right to kill the Demon Kings now?”

At that, Luel and Gwen’s eyes widened.

“Allen, what do you mean by that?”

“What do you suddenly mean by that?”

I had somehow started thinking the worst again.

Of course, no matter how low the probability of the worst-case scenario, as long as it exists, I couldn’t help but consider it.

“What if the High Priest clearly becomes our enemy?”

“She framed you, who’s completely innocent. She’s already your enemy.”

No, that wasn’t what I was trying to say.

“No, she doesn’t see me as an enemy. She’s just obsessed with her own power.”

So I would eliminate the Demon Kings to significantly diminish the reason for the Hero’s existence, which is the foundation of her power.

That was the reason I aimed to clear the Demon Kings.

I thought that might lead the High Priest to relinquish some of her power.

But Schurz’s perspective was different.

He saw the High Priest as a clear enemy to be eliminated.

If the High Priest really was such an enemy…

I spoke along with that thought.

“Maybe it’s better to leave the High Priest’s enemies, the Demon Kings, alive?”

I looked at Luel.

For such a critical decision, I wanted to seek the Water Sage’s counsel.

Luel sighed and said, “I can roughly understand what you’re thinking. But I can assure you, it’s not the right thought.”

She cut down my idea decisively.

But her doing so somehow comforted me.

“Why?”

“The enemy’s enemy is not always an ally. And the Demon Kings, especially the Later Demon Kings gathered in the Central Sea System, can mostly be guaranteed to be enemies of humanity.”

“Only those guys?”

“Yes, it’s the difference in the motives that led them to become Demon Kings.”

The motives that led someone to become a Demon King.

That was a suddenly thrown word.

Thinking back, I had only regarded the Demon Kings as a villain group, but I didn’t know precisely how they came to be.

‘Up until now, there didn’t seem to be a way to find out.’

But if Luel knew, that was a different matter.

“So you know how a Demon King is born?”

“Yes, to some extent. By the way, I thought you would know, given that you have memories from another dimension. I’m surprised.”

Sorry, but even though I had information from the Hundred Braves, it was far too fragmentary.

All information could only be acquired through characters, meaning the time and place were limited, and every conversation was summarized, not presented in full.

Moreover, the graphics were not that fancy either.

“Anyway, if you didn’t know, I should probably explain that first. A Demon King is… essentially born from the power of beings from another dimension.”

“Another dimension?”

I understood why Luel thought I would know about it.

“Yes, in fact, it’s not that different from how Heroes come to be. If Heroes make a contract with the gods of this world through Stigma, Demon Kings make contracts directly with other-dimensional beings. That’s the difference.”

But that seemed a bit strange.

The existence of a Demon King was surely powerful.

After all, the 72nd Demon King alone could potentially destroy the world.

It was hard to understand how such entities were created in another dimension.

“Can beings from another dimension interfere so easily?”

Luel shook her head.

“Of course, it’s not easy. But it’s not impossible either. Just look at the Divine Seat system and you.”

“Oh.”

That was certainly true.

“Of course, several other conditions are required. It’s obvious that the god has to be powerful… and then the most important condition would probably be the will of the individual who is to become a Demon King.”

“Will?”

If we’re talking about will, there was someone who came to mind.

Libero.

In his case, his will was one of immense strength.

“But what’s the standard for that?”

But even amongst the Later Demon Kings I had defeated, there were some who didn’t seem to have such strong will.

Simply having strong will couldn’t be the criterion.

“The standard is simply that the will must appeal to the heart of the other-dimensional beings. Specifically, it means that the other-dimensional being has the desire to aid that individual, regardless of the cost.”

“What does that mean…”

“Of course, there’s no guarantee that all other-dimensional beings are benevolent. Sometimes, there may be evil gods who want to watch that individual crumble, using power as bait for contact.”

At that moment, the information connected with other information in my mind.

That was the information I had heard back at the library.

“So right now, the other-dimensional beings making contracts are those with the intent of causing destruction to the world?”

Luel nodded.

“Yes, indeed. That’s the only resistance they can pose.”

If the seal on the Divine Authority breaks and destruction occurs, other dimensions would also suffer the consequences.

Hence, the other-dimensional beings sought to use the Demon Kings to destroy this world in advance.

So now, what mattered was one thing.

“Do the Demon Kings know why they must destroy this world?”

Luel shook her head this time.

“No, most of them don’t know. The intention to destroy the world is solely their own will from the beginning. It’s driven by revenge for what they’ve experienced, despair, madness, and such.”

Hearing her words reminded me of the 72nd Demon King.

She had undoubtedly cursed the world beyond the Leim Kingdom.

And coincidentally gained strength by becoming a Demon King… or so I thought, but it seems that wasn’t merely coincidence after all.

“So in the end, the Later Demon Kings gathered in the Central Sea System have all originally thought of destroying the world from the start?”

Now I could sort it all out a little.

Including the 13th Demon King Libero and the early Demon Kings, some didn’t see the destruction of the world as their goal.

And most of the Later Demon Kings aimed for the destruction of the world.

“So the enemy’s enemy isn’t always an ally, huh?”

Luel nodded.

“In the end, it was a foolish concern.”

“No, I don’t like humans like Schurz who don’t even ponder such concerns…”

Gwen also nodded.

“I feel the same.”

I was glad to hear that.

“Then let’s put the High Priest aside for now and solve the Demon Kings in front of us first.”

“Yes!”

Finally, Luel answered with a smile.

Meanwhile, Gwen seemed to have something she wanted to say.

“What is it, Gwen?”

“Hm?”

“Do you have something to say?”

At that, Gwen’s face turned red.

­Master.

And suddenly popping out quietly was Albert.

It seemed that this clearly meant something.

“Luel, since it’s rare for just the three of us to be here, how about saying what you have to say now?”

Wait, but even Luel?

‘Albert, are you sure about that?’

­It’s somewhat similar…

It was not a good situation after all.

I definitely had to tell Gwen clearly.

I understood that it was urgent, but she needed to find a man who truly makes her happy.

After all, my desire was for her to be happy, even for a short time.

“Gwen, I…”

“Yes, then let’s talk about how to break Gwen’s curse…”

Luel tilted her head.

“Were you trying to say something?”

“No, what did you just say?”

“I was going to talk about how to break Gwen’s curse.”

The moment I heard that, about to rise, I let out a groan and lay back down.

“Can you really break Gwen’s curse? So what is that method?”

“No, to be precise, rather than breaking Gwen’s curse, it’s about ending the curse from her.”

“Oh.”

That was unfortunate.

I had briefly thought there was a way to extend Gwen’s lifespan, but that seemed not to be the case.

To that, Gwen said, “I’m okay. It’s a reality I’ve already accepted. I was just worried about my children in the next generation. If my curse doesn’t pass down to them, that would make me happy.”

There was no way that was okay.

But since she had no choice but to accept reality when things weren’t okay, she was just doing her best.

Even if she said she was fine, my heart was complicated every time I saw her, who had so little time left.

However, in front of her, who said she was okay, I couldn’t show those feelings.

“So what is that method?”

Then, Gwen answered with a more serious expression than ever.

“I need your help, Allen.”

“My help?”

“If I have your child, who is a hybrid of the First Humanity, the curse will be diluted and disappear in the next generation.”

I turned my gaze to Luel.

“Yes, until now, the only known First Humanity was the infertile High Priest, but it occurred to me that you exist.”

Only then did Albert speak up.

­I was going to mention that…

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