Thud.

Kaeld had climbed Mount Baharma.

He scratched his head as he looked at the system prompt floating before him.

<The mountain of Baharma itself is the Gem of the Demon King of Destruction. Do you wish to release the seal?>

Kaeld let out a hollow laugh.

He’d been wondering how exactly one was supposed to unseal it.

No—more than that, he didn’t even understand why this mountain was the Demon King’s seal in the first place.

‘Just nodding my head is enough to unseal it? That’s the “seal”?’

……

Was it really supposed to be this easy?

Then another message appeared before him.

<Release the seal of the Gem of Destruction.>

<Once released, select your target location and activate the Gem’s power.>

<The Gem’s power alone will not be enough to crush Mide’s party. Finish them off yourself while they’re weakened and unable to fight back.>

Up to now, Kaeld had dutifully followed the directives of the system messages.

But even after doing exactly as they said last time, he had been defeated by Mide. That’s when a thought had first occurred to him:

‘Who’s actually writing these messages?’

The messages had helped him track down his scattered former party members across the continent with strange precision—and had even offered tips on how to win them over.

They had handed over the sealed Gem of the original Demon Kings like it was nothing, and even laid out strategies tailored to him.

Most of all, the messages had clearly instructed him to kill the true Hero, Bion Kunze.

“There’s definitely something suspicious here.”

Maybe…

Just maybe…

He chuckled softly to himself and murmured:

“Not sure if you can hear me… Demon King.”

No reply came.

But Kaeld didn’t care and kept talking anyway.

“The fact that you used me to kill Bion Kunze is proof enough that you’re the Demon King. I still don’t know why you’re trying to crown me as the new Hero, but… I’m grateful for all the help so far.”

The Demon King remained silent.

“Let’s say we’re on the same boat until I become the Hero. And in that spirit, how about helping me out a little more?”

So—

“Answer my questions. Through the system prompts.”

He needed to be a bit more clever about this.

“I’ve collected some info along the way. I want to check if it’s true.”

If he was going to face Mide, he needed insurance.

“Is this really the hometown of the Sword master of No Killing?”

Crackle.

In the next moment, new text began appearing on the message window.

Kaeld grinned from ear to ear as he read it.

We had come up with a plan.

The Gem of Corruption—or should I say, the Corrupted Twig?

In any case, Xenia would use it to activate the Grand Purification Spell—a “miracle without a price.”

If the seal was broken, she would immediately attempt to reseal it.

“How long will it take to activate the purification spell?”

“About fifteen minutes. Sorry—it’s a bit long.”

“No, it’s fine. That should be enough time for the rest of us to endure the Gem’s power.”

I turned to the others.

“If the resealing succeeds, we move on to Kaeld. Xenia won’t be in any condition to fight after using the spell.” Googlᴇ search NoveI★Fire.net

“But if you break the twig, there’s no price to pay, right?”

“Sure, the Celestial God won’t take anything in exchange, but normally purification still leaves you bedridden with a high fever for a while.”

“You know way too much random stuff.”

I shrugged.

Neril kept pressing.

“And once we find Kaeld?”

“……”

“Kill him?”

“We’ll see.”

“You can’t go in half-hearted like that. You need to decide firmly. Mide.”

“……”

“You don’t have to do it yourself. If you just give the word, I’ll handle it.”

I scratched my head roughly.

Then I let out a deep sigh and said:

“No. I’ll kill him.”

“…!”

“It’s not like I ever had some noble belief in mercy. I just… wanted to atone, at least a little.”

“Atonement? Where’s this coming from all of a sudden?”

“It’s a long story. Anyway, I’ll deal with Kaeld. Everyone else, focus on supporting.”

Everyone nodded.

And just like that, our plan had taken shape.

Time passed.

By sunset—

Step, step.

I heard footsteps and stood up.

That relaxed, unhurried steps—no one else walked like that.

“It’s Kaeld.”

As I said that, I frowned in confusion.

Why had he come here?

There wasn’t the slightest trace of the Demon King of Destruction’s power.

If it were me, I would’ve unsealed the Gem first and then come for us when our abilities were weakened.

Xenia must’ve had the same thought, because she spoke with a tense voice:

“The seal… it doesn’t seem to be broken yet.”

Neril thought for a moment, then spoke.

“Should we preemptively activate the purification spell? That way we can respond immediately if he tries to break the seal.”

“Purification is a spell that temporarily houses the Celestial God’s power within me. I can’t exactly say, ‘Please wait a bit while I think about my wish, feel free to have some tea in the meantime.’”

“Judging by how you usually pray, I bet you could say worse.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

I waved my hand.

“Let’s just go out for now.”

We all nodded heavily and stepped outside.

It was the backyard where my father had once taught me how to split firewood.

Kaeld stood there, leisurely gazing up at the sky.

I spoke:

“We’re not accepting guests.”

“Not in the mood for jokes, Mide Mohan.”

“You just looked so serious. I’m a thoughtful guy, you know.”

“Thoughtful enough to shake Lisel’s heart, huh?”

I didn’t answer. Instead, I tested him:

“Are you alone?”

“Yes. Disappointed? I imagine you asked Lisel to persuade Serein, but it didn’t work, did it?”

That confirmed it for me.

‘So that’s what he meant by the “path to becoming a Hero.”’

More precisely—it must’ve been Idria who told him.

From this point on, fighting Kaeld meant fighting the Demon King of Lies.

[So your visit to your hometown was pointless, huh? Your real goal was to win over Serein too, and steal all of Kaeld’s party members.]

‘There’s still a chance.’

[Huh?]

‘If the party leader dies, Serein will come to me on her own.’

Trail fell silent.

I brought my hand to my sword.

Then Kaeld opened his mouth.

“Did you know that Mount Baharma itself is the Gem of the Demon King of Destruction?”

Why was he being so upfront all of a sudden?

We didn’t answer, but Kaeld nodded as if that silence was enough.

“Knew it,” he said.

Offense was the one to respond.

“To be honest, I was wondering if you were planning something dirty with that Gem.”

“Ah, I should’ve said this from the beginning. Hey, Offense.”

“Huh?”

“Don’t say a single word in front of me. You traitor.”

Offense growled.

“You think I’m still taking orders from you?”

Kaeld chuckled and turned his gaze back to me.

“Let’s skip the crap and get to the point.”

“Go ahead.”

“Just like Offense said—I’m going to unseal the Gem of Destruction.”

We didn’t even flinch.

We’d already expected that much.

Until he said what came next.

“And I’m going to use that power to erase this domain from the map.”

“…!”

Neril’s jaw dropped.

“Did I just mishear that?”

“You heard right. I said I’ll erase this place with the Gem. This is the hometown of the Sword master of No Killing, isn’t it?”

“……”

“I don’t know how attached you, the wandering mercenary Mide, are to your hometown, but surely enough to at least hear me out.”

The party quickly glanced at me.

Fortunately, my face didn’t so much as twitch—thanks to years of experience.

I spoke slowly.

“So… you’re taking hostages and threatening me. That it?”

“Exactly.”

“Weren’t you trying to become a Hero?”

“I was.”

“Jesus. And now you’re threatening to kill civilians? That’ll destroy your reputation. You’ll never rise as a Hero again.”

( TL : Wait, Jesus? Is Jesus the Celestial God? )

Kaeld grinned slyly.

“It was already over the moment you showed up.”

“What?”

“You’ve already surpassed my reputation. Considering your actions and skills, it’s hard to imagine overtaking you by conventional means.”

“……”

“In duels or games, people on the brink always gamble. Life is the same.”

Neril sneered.

“Didn’t you say it was your destiny to be a Hero? Gonna take that back now?”

“It’s not time to take it back just yet. You don’t have to win every gamble—just the one that matters most.”

“……”

“And this is that one moment.”

Kaeld held out his hand to me.

“So, Mide. If you don’t want your hometown to be wiped off the map, join me.”

Join him?

I let out a scoffing laugh.

“You might as well just kill me.”

“The message said the same.”

“The what?”

“But I think differently. If I kill you, your glaring companions over there will throw themselves at me. Dealing with four hero-class opponents all at once is a pain.”

“You mean ‘too much to handle.’”

“Maybe… In any case, I don’t want to fight. But if I get you on my side, the rest will naturally follow.”

I couldn’t begin to understand his way of thinking.

“You’re just gathering people like tools. That’s not a party. That’s not what comrades of a Hero should be. You won’t win them over that way.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“What do you mean it doesn’t—”

“Sure, it won’t look pretty. But the continent won’t know how broken our party is. My reputation will remain untouched.”

It was then that I finally admitted it:

Kaeld and I were seeing completely different things.

All he cared about was reputation.

He didn’t care how much of it was built on lies and deception.

So long as it was fame worthy of being called a Hero, that was enough.

‘Same as before.’

Just like when he tried to steal the Demon King’s Core in the previous timeline.

The one who almost plunged the continent into crisis was about to be glorified as a Hero.

He had truly desired that lie.

I let out a sigh.

“No deal.”

“Hmm. So you don’t care if the people of this domain are crushed and torn apart?”

“No. I’m saying I’ll stop you from doing something that twisted.”

“So the holy knight is planning to use the Grand Purification Spell, huh?”

It was supposed to be a highly classified spell, yet Kaeld spoke of it as if it were nothing.

We all stiffened.

“The Purification Spell takes time to activate, doesn’t it? How long do you think it’ll take for the power of destruction to level this domain?”

“……”

“Seven minutes is all I need.”       (TL : Peak reference. Idk, if its intentional, but anyway. )

Adwin’s face went pale.

Just earlier, Xenia had said the spell required fifteen minutes to cast.

“You guys might be able to endure the power of destruction. But what about the people living here?”

“……”

“You want to stop me with the purification spell? Be my guest. But by then, there’ll be no one left to protect.”

Sigh.

Looks like there’s no choice.

Shhhk.

I drew my sword.

That single act completely changed the air in the room.

Kaeld stared at my blade and spoke.

“So, you want to settle this here?”

“That’s right.”

“You realize it’s dangerous for you, too.”

“I’ve developed a new technique recently.”

At that, the others in the party seemed to light up.

Yeah. The technique I used to cut off Idria’s wrist last time.

A joint technique with Trail, and to date, the strongest move I’ve created—

[You mean Absolute Sword, right?]

‘Time-lock slash.’

[Seriously?]

‘What? It fits. I stop time, and cut them while they can’t resist.’.’

[……]

But there was a problem with this new technique.

I could only move about ten steps within the frozen time.

No matter how many times I tested it, ten steps was the limit.

Almost like the Celestial God was saying, “This is all I’ll allow you.”

‘Right now… the distance between me and Kaeld is about fifteen steps.’

Just five more steps.

Step.

Acting calm, I approached him.

Step… step.

Step.

Two more.

One more.

TL : Thanks to Songokusu for the review.

And starting tomorrow, we will switch to one chapter a day, instead of two that we currently do.

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep