CHAPTER 171

A cave in the Sacred Forest.

We were standing in front of the entrance to that cave.

Suddenly, memories from before my regression came to mind.

Me and my companions, erased in a single gesture from the overwhelmingly powerful Idria.

Now, everything is different from then, at least that’s what I tell myself. But even so, my body stiffened against my will.

Offense spoke.

“Should we go in, or call her out? Which would be more advantageous in battle?”

“Better to call her out. Like I said, Idria is for me and Trail to handle.”

“So you mean a wider space is better if we don’t want to get dragged into the fight.”

“Yeah.”

“I get that, but how exactly are you planning to call her out?”

Like this.

I drew a deep breath into my lungs.

And then, loud enough to startle birds into flight, I shouted:

“Idria! I know you are in there. Come out, now!”

Serein pressed her forehead.

“She won’t just come out because you call her. You of all people should know that…”

“At least your lungs are hero-class.”

“She came out? Why?”

“I quite enjoyed watching that muddy brawl with Kaeld the other day. Mide Mohan.”

Step. Step.

Idria emerged, not using her spatial authority, but walking out on her own feet.

Her steps were unhurried.

And then.

Step.

The moment she fully revealed herself, I couldn’t help but be horrified.

‘Trail! Stop time!’

[What?]

‘Quick!’

[Ah, fine. Just a second.]

The Eye of Omniscience has been activated.

The current level of the Eye of Omniscience is 5. Viewable secret grade: S-grade.

Selection criteria: “Secret between Arald Mohan and Dianne Mohan.”

That secret is D-grade. Accessing.

Clack.

The screen rose up, and as always, time stopped.

At least that’s a relief.

Trail, confused, asked:

[Why did you suddenly stop time?]

‘What do you mean why? Just look at that Idria.’

[Huh?]

‘She is perfectly fine.’

That’s right.

Every time Idria met Trail, no, Bion, she was always injured.

Her skin cracked, blood flowing.

But now?

Trail finally realized too and let out a gasp.

[Th-that’s true. She is facing me, and yet there’s no damage at all.]

‘……’

[Could it be because Adin died? After all, the reason Idria was my opposite was because Adin adjusted me when he created me.]

‘A blacksmith’s death doesn’t change the properties of a weapon already forged. This has nothing to do with Adin.’

Idria had simply grown stronger.

But why?

She should have grown weaker.

Her greatest lies had already been shattered by me.

Not long ago, I had even told the Emperor that “Kaeld is a hero raised by Idria.”

It hadn’t spread widely yet, but it was certainly a minus for Idria, not a plus.

‘What happened?’

And then.

“Using that power again? Bion.”

My heart nearly burst.

Ssshh.

Idria was speaking to us even in this frozen world.

She was even walking toward me.

Clang.

I drew my sword and said:

“Stay there. Hearing distance is close enough.”

“Your companions still can’t move in this frozen world. All but one.”

“One?”

I reflexively looked back.

Neril was tilting her head.

“Neril?”

“What, you didn’t know?”

“No. I never imagined it.”

“I can use all my Fame as power, remember? Anyway, so this is the stopped world, huh. Interesting.”

She glanced around curiously, utterly unfazed.

Seeing her act so casually made my own tension feel ridiculous.

I relaxed a little and said to Idria:

“Where are the rest of your lackeys?”

“I evacuated them beforehand.”

“……”

“My spatial authority sent them briefly to the far side of the continent. Sorry to disappoint you, who came hoping for a decisive battle.”

“……”

“Does that Eye of Omniscience of yours tell you what happened at the starting point?”

My eyes narrowed.

Idria knew that Trail had the “ability to see secrets.”

But she shouldn’t have known its name was the Eye of Omniscience.

“Where did you hear that name? Velosian?”

“No. Adin.”

“I already know the Celestial god and the Demon King are in league, but you two exchange information quite freely, don’t you.”

“He didn’t spill it willingly. I just absorbed his memories.”

At that instant, I understood everything.

The third Finger of Lies, Batore.

Of course. Batore must have devoured Adin’s corpse.

And then passed all his memories to Idria.

Adin was once a member of Impelium’s party in the Forgotten Era.

If she had absorbed his memories…

‘For this moment, Idria might actually know more than I do.’

[Huh?]

‘I have been piecing things together bit by bit with the Eye of Omniscience, but she just swallowed the complete memories of someone who lived through that age.’ 𝘙À₦ò𐌱Ě𐌔

I took a deep breath and said:

“Pirensha must have offered Adin’s soul to you. That’s why you have gotten this strong.”

“Quick on the uptake. You’re right.”

“……”

“In all the long years I have lived, I have never grown this powerful.”

I tensed but kept my face calm.

“Good for you.”

“Let’s fight.”

“What?”

“Undo the stopped time first. Then send your companions away.”

“……”

“I mean you and me, one on one. Mide.”

For a moment, I almost agreed.

But instead I asked:

“Do you think devouring Adin’s pitiful soul makes you stronger than me? I have made tremendous progress lately.”

“Adin was a wretched man, much like the Kaeld he created, but the capacity of a soul doesn’t necessarily match its character.”

“……”

“Since the Forgotten Era, he lived countless ages as a god. That soul, grown vast over eons, has granted me infinite power.”

“……”

“Weren’t you here to fight anyway? Then fight me. Don’t overthink it.”

I said to Trail:

‘Cancel the Eye of Omniscience.’

[Are you really sure?]

‘Yes. No matter how strong she has gotten, as long as she hasn’t surpassed me, there’s no problem.’

[That’s true, but…]

‘Besides, I want to see for myself.’

[See what?]

‘How strong I have really become now that I can wield 1.2 million Fame as power.’

Trail fell silent for a moment, then canceled the Eye of Omniscience.

Time resumed its flow.

My companions hastily readied themselves.

Xenia said:

“Huh? Weren’t you a little farther away just a second ago?”

At that, Neril spoke up.

“So your time really was stopped. Well, of course.”

“You say that like you weren’t.”

“Because I wasn’t.”

Serein clapped her hands lightly.

“Ah. That…”

“Yeah. That. And Idria was also moving around just fine in the stopped time.”

“……!”

“She devoured Adin’s soul through Pirensha, and that made her stronger.”

Offense clicked his tongue.

“We should have predicted this possibility the moment we heard Adin was dead.”

I chuckled faintly and cut in.

“No need to blame yourself. This one’s on me.”

“Mide.”

“With the Eye of Omniscience I confirmed that the one who killed Adin was Velosian. I thought I knew everything with just that.”

But I hadn’t considered what would happen to Adin’s soul and body afterward.

“I will pay for that mistake by dealing with Idria.”

“What about her other underlings?”

“She said she sent them far away.”

“……”

“At least this time, you won’t have a chance to shine. So stand down. This fight is between me and Idria.”

Neril looked like she was about to say something.

Certainly, if it were anyone else I wouldn’t have considered it, but right now Neril alone could be a real help in battle.

But I shook my head.

“I want to know too. Just how strong I am now.”

“…Fine.”

Neril gave a signal with her eyes.

Soon Xenia called for Agril.

They mounted Agril and flew off into the distance.

I watched them go, then turned back to Idria.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“I’m good at waiting.”

“Sure, your whole life must have been repetition of waiting until the lies you wanted finally ripened enough to harvest.”

Swish.

Idria lowered her arm.

“And you’re the one who shattered most of that womb.”

“……”

“Thanks to that mud fight last time, Kaeld was abandoned by humanity. Even if he became a hero and killed me, how much lie could really be harvested from that?”

“Am I supposed to apologize for that?”

“No. It’s fine. I have become far stronger than the power I lost, thanks to the soul of the gracious Celestial God.”

She cut herself off there, muttering quietly.

“Though I did get some information I would rather not have known.”

“What information?”

“I will tell you after I bring you down. Let’s begin.”

Suddenly the ground beneath me sank.

More precisely, the ground I stood on collapsed into a swamp from which there was no escape.

“Kh…!”

I pushed off hard with my calves and leapt upward.

Taat!

The slimy swamp bottom surged into the air with me.

I aimed my sword at Idria.

‘Light Attack!’

Kwaaang!

I unleashed light forged from more than 1.2 million Fame turned into raw power.

It was similar to the blast that spewed from Adin’s mouth when we escaped the starting point.

But instead of blocking, Idria opened space behind her.

Then she simply leapt backward.

“She vanished?”

[Behind you!]

I spun around in haste.

Idria had appeared right behind me in midair, stabbing her hand forward at terrifying speed.

“Not a chance!”

I twisted my body and activated a skill.

‘Cut What I Want to Cut!’

My sword bent like a serpent, moving for Idria’s hand.

Ka-kang!

Her hand clashed with my blade, sending out a metallic rupture.

Idria frowned.

“Making that fake hero’s sword so durable was a mistake.”

“Too late to regret it now!”

I spun completely, driving a kick into her abdomen.

She blocked with her arms crossed easily enough.

We clashed hundreds of times in just the few seconds it took to fall back down from midair.

Taat.

I landed lightly atop the still-sluggish swamp.

Idria too walked across it as though strolling over water.

We both instinctively widened the gap.

[Having traded those brief blows, what do you think? Is she stronger than you now?]

‘Hard to say from just that. I didn’t go all out.’

[You have that kind of leeway against a Demon King?]

‘Yeah. And it looks like she is holding back too.’

I steadied my breathing and spoke.

“From that little exchange, I have to ask, are you holding back against me?”

“Mide, aren’t you doing the same?”

“I have a reason to. If you die, Trail dies too.”

“……”

“But you have got no reason to hold back, do you? Or are you expecting something from me as well?”

Idria curled her lips.

“I have glimpsed all of Adin’s memories.”

“I heard that part already.”

“So I know exactly how strong Velosian’s true body is.”

“And?”

“And I know what he wants.”

I drew in a sharp breath.

What Velosian wants?

“…That bastard wants to help you, doesn’t he?”

“Right. But why does he want to help me?”

“Because he’s a Demon King of Lies too. Maybe he sees you like a child.”

“No. He has a definite reason. A very disgusting one.”

Her eyes blazed.

“That’s why I need to test you a bit.”

“Feels like you skipped a lot of explanation there.”

“I will explain the rest after the fight… after I capture you.”

Capture me?

That’s absurd.

‘That’s exactly what I was planning to do to her.’

[What?]

‘I was going to trap her in a space I created.’

[…]

‘The fact that we are thinking the same thing is… irritating.’

Chiiik.

A rift in space opened beside Idria.

I immediately slashed left with my sword.

‘Spatial Rend!’

A rift identical to hers opened up.

Both rifts seethed with dark energy inside, as if signalling the other to step in.

A strange light gleamed in Idria’s eyes.

“So you came with the same thought? That’s irritating.”

“Even the thought itself is identical. Truly unpleasant.”

“Heh… both of us came planning to trap the other. If it’s the same up to here, then the ‘how’ must be the same too.”

“Shall we see?”

We unleashed our powers at once.

Wiiing.

From inside Idria’s space, a black hole that devoured everything appeared.

The very power she had once granted to the First Finger, Sobius.

I had stolen Sobius’s ability, but never from Idria herself.

Naturally, she could wield her original authority.

“Tch.”

I clicked my tongue and used Sobius’s power inside the space I had created.

Soon an enormous black sphere formed within, no less than hers.

A technique of chaining powers together.

First rip open space, then plant a black hole inside to forcefully drag the target in.

Yes. If I had to name it…

– Drag into space!

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