〈 Chapter 57 〉 Libero (3）

*

“Hey, what’s the date today?”

The guard sitting in the watchtower answered my question.

“If my memory is correct, it’s January 27th.”

January 27th, huh.

I left Libero around the end of November.

So, it has been about two months?

‘Not as much time has passed as I thought.’

Before jumping back into the 100th playthrough, when I simply calculated the outside time by year, it wouldn’t have been strange if over a year had passed.

However, it seemed that the time inside the trials didn’t exactly correspond to the outside world.

‘For now, let’s go back to Libero.’

Fortunately, the swordsmanship I had trained during the 100 playthroughs remained with me to some extent, even if it wasn’t perfect.

That alone could be considered a transformation compared to my swordsmanship before the trials.

However, I still felt a lingering regret. Since the trial ended faster than I thought, I wanted to use a few more months to learn swordsmanship from him.

‘I think I also had something important to tell him.’

In truth, I couldn’t remember that message clearly since my memories had faded.

But I remembered it was something significant to him.

Maybe if I talk to him again, the memory will return.

Thinking this, I stepped into Sakh and felt something was off.

The overall atmosphere in the city was quiet.

It felt as if everyone was frozen, holding their breath.

‘What’s going on?’

As I walked through the streets, I noticed destroyed buildings everywhere.

By the signs, it looked like they had been destroyed about a month ago.

‘What happened here?’

I hurriedly made my way to the basement where I had been with Libero.

And the moment I stepped onto the basement stairs…

I sensed a presence inside.

I probably wouldn’t have noticed it in the past.

But after training with Libero, my ability to sense an enemy’s presence had improved, allowing me to gauge their numbers.

Even so, I certainly couldn’t identify each of their positions like Libero could.

I quietly descended the stairs.

The last time I was discovered by them, it was because I couldn’t hide my footsteps.

But now, I too could silence my steps. Although I couldn’t completely hide my existence.

As I entered the basement, I spoke to the people lying on the floor.

“Hey.”

They jumped up in shock.

One of them, still unable to open his eyes properly, said to me, “We were working diligently in the room as you instructed! We haven’t done anything bad, I swear!”

Then, he opened his eyes.

“Wait, aren’t you that monster kid from before?”

“What? I thought you were that old dude from back then.”

It dawned on me that there was some connection between these guys and Libero.

“When you say ‘old dude,’ are you referring to Libero? What happened?”

“Oh, you don’t know? We were just trying to reclaim our hideout. But that old dude threatened us with a scary-looking sword.”

He pointed at the pizza boxes scattered around.

“He said to behave and work hard, and he would let us keep this place. If we didn’t work hard when he returned, he’d kill us all.”

“It was just talk, but it was pretty terrifying. I mean, who would dare do bad things after that?”

Honestly, if it were Demon King Libero, there would be no reason for him not to kill them.

Still, he had given them a hideout and ordered them to work hard.

That meant…

‘He’s a serious justice freak.’

He was just suppressed by his identity as a Demon King and the Demon King’s Meeting.

Ultimately, his core was rooted in justice.

‘He kept denying it, claiming it was just a hobby.’

It couldn’t just be a hobby.

If that were a hobby, all heroes in the world would be out of jobs.

But at that moment, a sinister thought crossed my mind.

‘But the situation outside seems…’

It looked like his existence had vanished.

A city destroyed indiscriminately.

Everyone was tense, holding their breath as if justice didn’t exist.

“Do you happen to know where he went?”

“Not a clue. He’d occasionally show up until two weeks ago, but we haven’t seen him lately either.”

It made sense they wouldn’t really know the whereabouts of the elusive Libero.

“Then why does it look like that outside?”

“Well… we only heard rumors, so it’s not precise, but apparently, it’s because of that masked figure.”

Masked figure?

If it’s the masked figure, it must refer to Libero.

If so, I might be able to find out his whereabouts.

“What did the masked figure do?”

But I was worried at the same time.

The odd atmosphere outside was due to that?

What could he have done?

“The Vermilion Bird Gang and Black Tortoise Gang disappeared in a single day. That was fine, but the guy people referred to as the Apostle of Justice turned out to be a Demon King.”

“What?!”

Of course, I knew he was a Demon King.

But why it was revealed he was a Demon King was significant.

“He killed all the heroes and then headed towards the Company. Now he’s killing every hero that comes looking for him from the top floor of the building. Eventually, even the government of Sakh acknowledged the seriousness of the situation and requested the Church to send heroes.”

Damn it.

I understood the situation in an instant.

The political scene in Sakh was already clear in my head.

A massive corporation, the Company, colluding with the government of Sakh.

And that Company controlled the illegal armed group known as the Reaper Gang.

The Reaper Gang was precisely what Libero was against.

But just keeping the Reaper Gang in check wouldn’t solve all of Sakh’s problems.

Ultimately, to address the core issue, I would have to deal with the Company, but the problem was that the head of the Company was Demon King Gineus.

Because Libero was a Demon King, he couldn’t touch Gineus.

That much was clear, but Gineus had undoubtedly crossed the line for some reason.

The devastated buildings outside were all her doing.

Libero must have lost it and charged at Gineus.

‘That’s an irrational decision.’

If he just charged at Gineus, that would be one thing, but during that process, he must have taken out quite a few heroes.

That was nearly a suicidal act.

‘Why did he make such a decision?’

Perhaps if I had the memories from the trials, I could understand him better.

But now that the memories from the trials had all faded, I couldn’t grasp it.

One thing was certain: his current situation was still grim.

‘If he succeeded in taking out Gineus, he would have left Sakh immediately and gone into hiding.’

But he wasn’t doing that.

Which meant one thing.

‘Could it be that he fell victim to Gineus’s abilities?’

Gineus’s abilities typically don’t work on fellow Demon Kings.

However, given that Libero might be in an irrational state now, it was possible they took effect.

‘If that’s the case…’

What should I do?

The Sakh government had requested the Church to send heroes.

Once they recognized that the other party was a Demon King, the Church would likely dispatch an expeditionary force that included Saint-level heroes.

Once that happened, it would only be a matter of time before they arrived and defeated Gineus and Libero.

‘But the fact that Gineus hasn’t left either…’

The odds had significantly narrowed.

There was a high likelihood that Gineus was also in a poor state due to Libero.

She might also be focusing on recovery while sending out a request for help to the Demon King’s Meeting.

If Gineus were genuinely in bad shape, there could be a chance of victory.

But just one thing remained.

‘If only I could heal Libero’s mind…’

There was no time to hesitate.

If things continued this way, whether the Demon Kings or the heroes arrived first,

Libero would ultimately die.

I had to save him.

I still had things to tell him, and more swordsmanship to learn.

*

Swoosh.

Libero’s sword withdrew after decapitating a hero.

It had already been a week since he held out on the top floor.

In the beginning, the heroes rushed in trying to capture the Demon King, but now their numbers had clearly dwindled.

No one went in, and no one came out, so they must have figured out the situation by now.

Watching Libero, who stood blankly with his sword in hand, she thought.

‘Poor guy.’

Of course, she was the one who made him like that, but frankly, her situation wasn’t great either.

Somehow, she had succeeded in using her mind control powers to dominate Libero. It was lucky that his mind had been broken.

However, her own condition was also serious.

‘Damn, being inside the barrier makes recovery slower.’

She had entrusted defense to Libero for a week while concentrating on healing.

Yet, even so, she could only regenerate to her knees.

All thanks to Libero’s relentless attacks.

It was impossible to escape Sakh in this state.

Controlling Libero was also out of the question due to the restrictions of her mind control.

Her mind control principle was more about persuasion.

‘I convinced him that staying here would allow him to fight stronger opponents.’

Libero’s pursuit of the end of swordsmanship was already famous among the Demon Kings.

He was well-known even before he became a Demon King.

That’s why he was taking on strong heroes without hesitation.

‘He has already burned his ships by coming here.’

He was already prepared to die.

Attempting to persuade him to flee again would not work.

“Violet! Have you asked again?”

(Gineus. No matter how many times you ask, what’s done is done.)

“It’s not too late. Tell them that if they come to rescue me now, I can be saved. The heroes sent by the Church haven’t arrived yet.”

In truth, it wouldn’t be strange for them to arrive at any moment.

After all, the Saint City Hailen and this place weren’t too far apart.

They were probably just taking their time selecting the heroes to deploy.

“Didn’t you say you were hesitating last time? Ask them to reconsider just one more time. I’ll give them as much of the Company’s assets as they want.”

That wasn’t a lie.

If she could just stay alive, she would offer as much of the Company’s assets as necessary.

It was questionable if the Company’s worth would remain the same, though.

But Violet’s response was unexpected.

(No, it wasn’t because of you that the Demon King’s Meeting hesitated. It was because of Libero.)

“What?”

(We would be too concerned about you to risk exposing several Demon Kings. But not Libero. He is one of the original Demon Kings and an irreplaceable force.)

That made it even less understandable.

“Then why haven’t they come to rescue me?”

(Initially, we were going to come to your aid. Regardless of the fact that Libero attacked you, it’s clear you must have provoked him first. But after carefully examining the situation, we reached a conclusion.)

The voice of Violet announcing that conclusion was colder than ever, which was unusual for her.

(Libero has reached the end. He has been broken.)

Ginevia stared at the back of the man standing there blankly.

Twisted like a spring in contradiction, and ultimately broken.

‘Everyone here is the same. Without anyone to save us, we will just remain here…’

At that moment.

Someone appeared at the stairs.

I couldn’t even feel a presence or footsteps.

With somewhat dull-colored blonde hair,

Yet a young man with an air of nobility about him.

He had not shed his boyishness entirely, but his frame was beginning to take shape.

‘Who is that guy?’

The energy he exuded felt insignificant.

At best, he seemed like a hero candidate.

Still, he walked toward Libero with confidence.

‘Another mayfly? Did he come here to commit suicide?’

Whether he realized her thoughts or not, the boy continued to advance.

And exactly at the edge of the range where Libero’s sword would reach him,

He stopped without paying her any mind and said to Libero,

“I’ve come to save you, Master.”

*