The screen appeared.

But it wasn’t the Eye of Omniscience that used to uncover secrets.

It was merely preparation for the combo move between me and Trail—Time-lock slash.

Time stopped.

Kaeld, with a horrified expression, had just dropped into a crouch, trying to put as much distance between us as possible.

‘Hoo… Alright, let’s do this.’

「In your current state, are you sure you can pull it off?」

‘If I grit my teeth, I’ll manage somehow.’

I slowly stepped toward Kaeld.

In this stopped time, even Idria couldn’t resist.

That’s why she had to offer me her wrist so obediently last time.

This half-baked fake hero who couldn’t even become a true one—Kaeld had nowhere to run.

“Ghhhaaa—!”

But in truth, I wasn’t in great shape either.

To move within absolute time was to pay its price.

It felt like every bone in my body was shattering.

Blood trickled from my eyes, and my insides stirred violently.

「Just a bit more. You are almost there.」

‘Cough… Yeah.’

And finally—

I stood before Kaeld.

“Kaeld Wake.”

You foolish, fake hero.

Why did you chase such a vain dream?

Why did you kill the real Hero and help that phony Demon King?

If not for you, I wouldn’t be suffering like this.

…But even so.

“There’s one thing I should thank you for.”

Because of your nonsense, I met Trail.

I returned to the past and came to understand the situations of my companions—things I never knew in my previous life.

I felt a bond with them.

I even got to spend some truly enjoyable times with them.

“As a token of thanks, I’ll let you be the first to break my vow of no-killing.”

Whoosh—

I swung my sword with all my strength.

Of course, time was frozen, so Kaeld didn’t move an inch.

But I could tell.

I had just “killed” Kaeld.

「Is it done?」

‘Yeah. You can cancel the Eye of Omniscience now.’

「Good. You are about to die too.」

Click.

The screen vanished, and time resumed.

Kaeld muttered right in front of me.

“…What… did you just do?”

“Farewell, fake hero.”

“You… you bastard—”

“You bastard.”

That was Kaeld’s final word.

Shlak!

His head dropped to the floor, and blood spurted from the stump like a fountain.

I stared at it, dazed, as if in a dream…

Thud.

…and collapsed backward.

「Hey! Don’t fall asleep. You’ll die if you sleep now.」

‘It’s fine. My companions will come save me soon…’

Just a short nap.

I’m so tired…

Trail looked down at the unconscious Mide with pity in his eyes.

「You really do go through a lot. Hopefully your party hurries up.」

It was then—

Riiip.

The sound of space tearing echoed.

Trail didn’t panic or seem startled, he simply frowned.

He had a feeling this might happen.

The tear in space widened, and Idria appeared with blank, empty eyes.

“……”

「……」

For a while, neither of them spoke.

Idria broke the silence first.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

「……」

“Oh come on, don’t pretend you can’t talk. I know I can communicate with you through your soul.”

Idria’s tone was completely different from how she spoke to other humans—even to other heroes like Lepia.

It was warm. As if talking to an old friend.

Trail sighed and finally replied.

「Yeah, it’s been a while. Not that I’m happy to see you.」

“Same here. Doesn’t take a genius to tell, right?”

Idria pointed to herself.

Crackle… Drip…

Cracks spread across her skin, and thick, dark fluid began to ooze out.

Her face, her neck, her arms and legs—

Eventually, blood was seeping from her entire body.

Trail spoke.

「You knew you would end up like that. So why show up?」

“I had to check. It’s been so long, I thought maybe I’d built up a tolerance.”

「You do have a point. If this were the old days, you would have turned to black ash the moment you faced me.」

“It’s still the same now. Just pointing a finger at Mide would probably turn him to dust. I was kind of hoping to try, but I guess I can’t kill him in front of you.”

Idria’s lips twitched.

“It’s so unfair. You are way too strong, Bion Kunze.”

「Maybe so.」

“All the other heroes struggle desperately against the Demon King to barely win… but me? I just meet you, and I end up like this.”

「I’m a very special kind of hero. Just as you’re a very special kind of Demon King.」

Idria gave a dry laugh.

“Oh, was that self-praise? So we are both special, but you are just a bit more special?”

「You will lose. That’s already been decided.」

“……”

「It’s been decided.」

Zzap.

Idria’s hair rose like static.

Trail chuckled.

「Bit of static buildup there.」

“Don’t insult me any further.”

「Honestly, you should be enduring worse. You pulled a cheap move.」

“You mean using that one to try and kill you?”

Idria nudged Kaeld’s headless corpse with the tip of her toe.

She looked at it like it was a filthy bug.

“I didn’t have a choice. Like you said, you are too special. I had to try another way. And that one was pretty special too.”

「Well, he did kill me, so he’s clearly not ordinary. You had a good card.」

“That’s what I was about to say. And you got Mide.”

「Mide isn’t a card. He’s more like…」

Trail swallowed the word companion.

Idria didn’t press her for the rest and just continued talking.

“Mide’s strong, yeah, but it also feels like he’s always one step ahead. How is that even possible?”

Trail didn’t answer: Because I gave him the power to travel back through time.

The power to control time. And the Eye of Omniscience.

Those were Bion Kunze’s secret weapons against Idria.

There was no reason to reveal them to an arch-nemesis.

‘Though, knowing Idria, she might figure it out eventually.’

No need to go far—Mide’s “Time-lock slash” was already using time-based abilities.

If he used it enough, Idria would realize eventually.

Until then, best to stay quiet.

Trail shrugged.

「Who knows? Maybe he’s just that special.」

“That doesn’t explain it. Want to hear my guess?”

「……?」

“He’s probably not even human.”

Trail burst out laughing.

「Maybe not.」

“‘Maybe not’…? And you’re okay with lending power to some unknown being?”

「If it means I get to kill you, I’d join forces with something even worse.」

“You really do hate me.”

「After all the centuries of suffering you caused, how could I not? You feel the same, don’t you?」

“Half and half. But the other half… still hopes you might understand me.”

Even with black blood leaking from her, Idria managed to make a sorrowful expression.

“I didn’t choose to be born this way. I was just born a Demon King. So why do I have to die by your hand, over and over again?”

「Because that’s how it was meant to be.」

“I want to live.”

「No.」

“You are so cold.”

She chuckled and snapped her fingers.

Fwoosh—

Kaeld’s head and body floated gently into the air.

Trail spoke sharply, almost shouting.

「What are you trying to do?」

“Don’t stop me. Not that you could.”

「……」

“You have got no way to interfere with the world now that you have lost your body. All you can do is glare at me and make me spill a bit of blood.”

「You…」

“You should’ve just returned quietly to the Underworld. Instead of possessing Mide for nothing.”

Riiip.

Idria tore open space again.

Trail shouted in hurry.

「Don’t waste your time! He’s already dead!」

“His soul hasn’t crossed into the Underworld yet. And even if it had, I could still retrieve it.”

「Stop.」

“This one’s still usable. I’m planning a second round. I’ll be getting more involved myself this time.”

「How unlike you, doing something so foolish. Kaeld’s reputation will be in shambles after this. Mide will spread the truth of what he did far and wide!」

Idria smiled sweetly.

“I figured as much. Don’t worry, I’ve got plans.”

「I wasn’t saying it out of concern.」

“Bion, I will win. I’ll fill the world to the brim with lies.”

「It’s already overflowing.」

“You knew that.”

Her voice turned cold.

“I’ll create a perfect lie, one without a single shred of truth.”

「……」

“Take care, oldest hero.”

Trail took a slow breath.

He had no physical body. There was no way for him to stop Idria.

He gritted his teeth and spoke.

「Mide will come for you soon. Oldest Demon King.」

Idria didn’t reply and vanished through the tear in space.

Left alone, Trail fell into silent thought.

The Demon King of Lies and Deception. The oldest Demon King.

When the world overflows with negative energy, a certain Demon King descends:

Destruction. Greed. Corruption. Desolation.

But what about Lies? What about Deceit?

Heh…

They have existed since the beginning.

Humans lie without being taught.

Just like how children naturally learn to lie, even in the earliest days of human civilization, lies overflowed.

And so, naturally, in some ancient time unrecorded by history, the Demon King Idria descended.

And just as naturally…

The Hero Bion Kunze appeared.

But their struggle was never recorded in any history.

Bion didn’t gather party members or complete quests. He silently eradicated Idria in the shadows.

He didn’t need to make a show of anything.

He didn’t seek fame.

That was the divine plan to defeat the unprecedented Demon King Idria.

「The hero who didn’t need fame.」

Bion was born a hero.

And ironically, that’s exactly why his name appears in no historical records.

Because he was a hero acknowledged not by man, but by the gods.

「But even after killing Idria, the world quickly drowned in lies again.」

And so, when Idria resurrected, Bion Kunze returned and killed her again.

The world overflowed with lies once more, and Idria returned.

Bion returned. Killed her.

Lies returned. Idria descended. Bion Kunze came. Killed her.

How many times have we repeated this…?

Trying to count it made Trail feel dizzy. He gave up.

Then—

“There he is!”

Mide’s party members’ voices rang out. Updates are released by N()velFire.net

“Hyung!”

“He’s alive. He’s breathing.”

“O Heavenly One, in your name—”

“Hey! You pray too if you don’t want to die!”

“Wha— no need to kick my butt about it…”

…Good companions.

Trail gave a faint smile.

And whispered to the unconscious Mide:

「Watching you lately makes me think… maybe I should have gathered companions too.」

And then Mide responded:

‘You already did, dumbass.’

I was dreaming.

In the dream, I was out on a village outing with my parents.

My father held my right hand, my mother my left.

I consciously tried not to look to the left.

“Dad, why are we out today?”

“Haha, what do you mean? It’s your mom’s birthday.”

“……”

“Let’s go eat something nice. Sounds good, right?”

It didn’t.

I didn’t think she deserved that kind of treatment.

I desperately wanted to tell my father that.

“Dad, Mom is—”

“Hm?”

“Mom is. Huh?”

At that moment.

I saw blood script above my father’s head.

I’d started seeing blood letters when I was seven.

My father had died before then.

So why was there one above his head now?

It read:

—Sinned against Dianne Mohan and five others.

Dianne Mohan.

That’s my mom’s name!

Why? What is this?

Don’t show me this. I don’t want this.

That’s when it happened.

「You need to know more sins.」

Who’s there?

「You may think it ended by defeating Kaeld, but all you did was provoke Idria further. Prepare for a second round.」

Trail? No… You’re not him. Who are you?

「Right. I am not Trail. In other words, I’m not Bion Kunze.」

The voice continued:

「Would you like to hear their conversation?」

I didn’t answer, but soon my hearing opened.

Voices—Trail’s and Idria’s—came one after the other.

I came to understand what kind of relationship they had, how long they’d been fighting.

The oldest Demon King. The oldest Hero.

Suddenly, my body trembled.

I clenched my teeth.

Then the voice spoke again.

「Killing Kaeld may have been inevitable, but it was reckless.」

What do you mean?

「You mustn’t break your vow of no-killing. Luckily, Kaeld’s soul hasn’t crossed the Redby River. Idria intends to bring him back. Since his soul hasn’t entered the Underworld, there’s no problem.」

……

「Hold onto your no-killing vow. It’s best for all of us.」

The voice kept talking.

「And as you’d say… I have enhanced your ‘blood-script’ ability a bit.」

Hey! What even are you? Aren’t you hearing me?!

「Dig deeper into the world’s secrets. Perhaps then, you will reach me one day.」

I was unconscious, yet I felt like I was falling deeper into darkness.

No, maybe not falling. Maybe rising.

Starting from my fingertips, control over my body slowly returned.

By the time I opened my eyes, Idria was already gone.

I heard the sound of my party rushing toward me in the distance.

Then Trail said:

「Watching you lately makes me think… maybe I should’ve gathered companions too.」

I replied:

‘You already did, dumbass.’

「Wh-what? Did you Listen?!」

I chuckled.

‘Every word.’

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep