Chapter 18: The Barrier of Sloth and the Past

In reality, I couldn’t be certain if the opponent had an item related to “Sloth.” However, I could make a reasonable guess.

After all, if they didn’t possess an item related to sin, they wouldn’t mention “Sloth.”

‘This is going to be troublesome.’

I delved into my memories, recalling the items associated with sin, specifically those related to Sloth.

There weren’t many items related to sin, so I was able to think of one item.

‘Codex Apocalypse.’

It was an item that, when fully assembled, would summon the final boss of the game.

Comprised of seven pages, both the main body and the scattered pieces, each page possessed tremendous power.

Most likely, the item the opponent possessed was one of the pages of Codex Apocalypse, specifically the page related to Sloth.

Thud, thud.

I retraced my steps, avoiding the rushing people, to join up with my team.

Determining the location of the opponent would have to wait until we regrouped.

Fortunately, thanks to the stamina I had steadily built up and my athletic abilities, I easily evaded the people rushing towards me and managed to find Hazel and Vivian.

Phuhaak!

“Ah.”

Bright crimson streaks spread in all directions.

There, Vivian, like a madman covered in blood, slashed through the surroundings with her swordsmanship and mercilessly slew the surrounding villagers.

Meanwhile, Hazel, with an expressionless face, just stood there, watching as Christopher was tossed aside.

Even in such a crisis, it was too quick for their true natures to reveal themselves.

“Adrias?”

Only now did Hazel notice me and glanced at me with surprise.

Then, he quickly resumed his act, pretending to examine Christopher.

I followed suit and feigned ignorance.

“What’s going on…?”

Pretending to be confused, I questioned Hazel.

“Vivian seems to have lost her mind. I’ve never seen her like this before.”

Hajal’s earlier cold expression was nowhere to be found, replaced by his sudden fluster.

“But where did Ivy go?”

“She fell into a trap and is trapped in a barrier.”

“And where is our opponent?”

“I’ll check again.”

Even though Vivian, who mercilessly slaughtered the rushing people, was frightening, I was more wary of Hazel, who, like me, hid his true thoughts.

In a situation where your ally is scarier than your enemy… was that the case?

For now, I used Mana Detect.

It’s a pity, it’s a pity, it’s a pity.

Do you know that the people you’re killing are innocent villagers?

“This voice…”

Hazel, seemingly hearing it for the first time, looked around in confusion.

And I seized this opportunity to concentrate as much as possible, trying to locate the source of the sound.

Ta-da-da-dak.

Once again, I provoked him by speaking.

“So what? Is killing by your hand the will of the gods, while killing by our hand is a sinful act deserving punishment?”

What a pity, what a pity, what a pity.

Will you, an ignorant mortal, comprehend the deep intentions of the gods, comprehend, comprehend?

‘I found it.’

Although I wasn’t sure if it was a trap this time, I at least pinpointed the location.

Coincidentally, it was the same place Ivy and I had visited earlier.

That worked out well.

“Hazel.”

“Yes. Did you find it?”

“I’ve located it, and unfortunately, it’s the same place where Ivy, the assistant, fell into a trap.”

“Hmm.”

Hazel paused for a moment, seemingly contemplating, then nodded his head.

“I’ll go alone. Vivian is wreaking havoc here, so it shouldn’t be too dangerous.”

“But Hazel, you could be in danger too.”

“Yes, I understand. But if there’s no one else who can go, I have no choice. Take care of Christopher for me.”

With those words, he left, heading towards the location I had provided.

Left alone, I watched Vivian’s frenzied movements from behind. I quickly took out recovery potions and regeneration potions from my backpack and gave them to Christopher.

Bang! Plop!

The people exploded once again.

Feeling anxious, I looked towards Vivian. She was running around, covered in an unknown liquid, not knowing if it was her own blood or the villagers’.

Apart from her madness, Vivian was quite a formidable character.

The reason she could have become a villainous character was due to her immense combat power.

If she had just been a character who went mad without any fighting abilities, I wouldn’t have bothered remembering her.

“It’s a shame. Those materials weren’t meant to be consumed like this.”

“Are you out?”

Checking Christopher’s condition, I naturally responded to the voice that spoke.

“You’re not surprised?”

“I had a rough idea.”

After leaving Christopher behind and standing up, I noticed that the sorcerer, who had been wearing a mask to cover his face, was now sitting on the opposite roof.

“You knew?”

“I had a hunch.”

Despite knowing, I sent Hazel.

To be honest, Hazel wasn’t helpful and was actually more of a liability.

If he made a mistake, he would use us as hostages and escape alone.

“A while ago, your companion fled.”

It seems things didn’t go as expected.

“Oh?”

“I see you’re not surprised.”

“He wasn’t much use anyway.”

“Why are you so confident? Have you accepted death?”

“Die? Me?”

I raised my head and looked directly at the opponent.

“I will never die. At least, not here.”

“You are quite resolute. I’ll give you a trial, considering your courage.”

Trial?

Before I could continue my thoughts, the same barrier that had trapped Ivy earlier surged up from the ground and engulfed me.

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“Kim Jin-hwan.”

“Confirmed.”

What was that?

It felt like I had a dream or something.

But now was not the time to dreams.

I cautiously moved my body according to the signal from our team leader, Kim Hyun-woo.

At the front, our point man, Jeong Yong-ho, was already waiting.

I followed behind Yong-ho, sticking to the building wall, and our youngest member, Park Sung-bo, attached himself to the opposite pillar.

“Our objective is assassination, and any other individuals present must be eliminated on-site.”

Yong-ho started climbing the building wall, being cautious and keeping an eye on the front.

The special equipment attached to our hands allowed us to easily climb the building exterior like it was nothing.

As I guarded the rear, scanning the surroundings, I felt a strange sensation.

I felt like I had experienced this feeling somewhere before…

Yong-ho’s signal came from the direction he had climbed.

I focused on the mission and started climbing the building right after him.

That’s when it happened.

“Black!”

With the short and powerful command from our team leader, indicating the presence of enemies, gunshots rang out.

And then, there was an enormous explosion, and my body was thrown back uncontrollably.

My ears were ringing, and my vision turned white.

But through the repetition of training, my body instinctively reached for my gun.

It was difficult to distinguish anything through the blood spatter.

Due to the night operation, all I could see were the sparks from the muzzle flashes.

I touched my forehead, and there were no signs of my night vision equipment being damaged by the explosive shockwave.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Gunshots, shouts, screams.

I fired my weapon while in a prone position.

And then I moved, finding cover and engaging in a fierce gunfight with unseen enemies.

It was inconvenient to use my left hand, but I had no choice but to engage in one-handed shooting.

Amidst the chaotic gunfire and screams, the enemy finally fell silent.

I survived, and I attributed it to a stroke of luck.

I slowly surveyed my surroundings, using my eyes adapted to the darkness.

The designated mission area, which was supposed to be the building, was now just a collapsed structure due to the explosion.

As I walked forward slowly, I saw people lying all around.

Bang! Bang!

I systematically confirmed each kill and searched for my teammates.

“… …!”

One of my teammates, dressed the same as me, was lying there.

As much as I wanted to check on him, securing the area’s safety took priority.

Finally, after confirming the elimination of all enemy combatants, we returned.

I approached the first teammate I had discovered and checked his breathing and pulse.

‘… …’

It was still warm, but that was all.

I lifted the mask slightly to confirm the identity.

It was our youngest member, Sung-bo.

“Damn it, Sung-bo. How did you get ahead of me?”

I muttered, unable to speak loudly, and checked his night vision goggles.

As a highly classified unit, we couldn’t carry anything that could reveal our identities, not even dog tags.

I regretted not taking night vision goggles myself, but I set aside my emotions and searched for the other team members.

They were like family to me.

They were the only relationships I had, and individuals I couldn’t give up on.

And every time I discovered the bodies of my teammates, my heart shattered.

“Ugh.”

I forcefully held back the tears that welled up, and it felt agonizing to the bone.

Maybe I should just die too.

If I die here, won’t it be the end of me, killed in action?

My hand with the gun went into my mouth.

The distinct smell of gunpowder penetrated my senses.

“Who’s there?”

I heard faint Korean.

I took out the gun from my mouth and turned my head.

In the debris of the collapsed building, I saw Yong-ho without his mask.

I hurriedly ran over, cautiously clearing the rubble, and pulled Yong-ho out.

His condition wasn’t good.

He looked like he was about to die, and my hands trembled.

“Who are you, Jinhwan?”

“Uh…”

“This idiot. Don’t tremble. I can feel your trembling. I’m not dying, you punk.”

“Yeah.”

I let go of my left hand, which wasn’t moving, and barely lifted Yong-ho with my right hand, then escaped from the scene.

Can I survive? Won’t the enemies chase after us?

How do we escape?

“Jin-hwan.”

“Why?”

“You’re not someone like that.”

I stopped abruptly in my tracks.

“You haven’t done anything wrong.”

The suppressed feelings in my heart began to surface.

At the same time, I realized the true nature of the strange sensation I had felt earlier.

‘This is not reality.’

Why?

Because I had made a promise just a while ago.

‘Family.’

Even for the newly formed family.

I had vowed to break free from the burden of the past.

I had no reason to dwell on this issue anymore.

I wouldn’t reverse the decision I had made and the dilemma I had faced before.

That’s why this place was not reality.

Realizing that, I noticed that this was a barrier created by the Dark Mage.

“I, in fact, have regretted a lot.”

“Hmm?”

“I’ve had a lot of regrets and reflected a lot. That’s why even after you were discharged, I stayed in the unit and continued to carry out missions. But, you know…”

“…”

“I’ve already let go. Since I’ve become a new person, I want to start again.”

Trying hard to forget, but unable to forget the unforgettable past.

But as Adrias, I had made up my mind to live, already halfway through destroying my past.

Thanks to that self-awareness, I gently lowered Yong-ho.

“This time, I’ll live without regrets.”

“Is that so? According to whose will?”

“My own.”

The bird struggles to break out of the egg. The egg is the world.

Whoever is born must destroy their own world.

Recalling the passage left by Hesse, I aimed the gun at the figure resembling Yong-ho.

“I’ll move forward. I won’t sit idle in a place like this.”

“Why don’t you become complacent? Why?”

“If you thought I would feel despair, then you’ve succeeded half way. But I have truly become a new person.”

I, as Adrias, and I, as Kim Jin-hwan, don’t deny either.

Both are me.

Reminding myself of that fact, I spat out the final words as a pledge.

“I am Adrias Cromwell. I won’t deny myself anymore.”

Bang!

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[Kim Jin-hwan – Adrias Cromwell, synchronization 100% achieved.]

[Inheriting Kim Jin-hwan’s talent ‘Combat (Prodigy)’.]

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep