TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 162
The rain that seemed like it would pour all night is letting up.
The lightning that questioned Mikhail’s nightmares disappeared, and the rain that screamed at the awakening of past nightmares fell silent.
The tide turned with the appearance of The Man.
The lips of The Man, who mocked Mikhail with words as sharp as an awl, and the priests of the heretics who obstructed Hanna’s steps, all froze in place with the arrival of The Man wearing a black mask.
“Hmm.”
I looked at The Man before me and asked in a low voice.
“Aren’t you leaving?”
The voice carried by the subsiding rain wasn’t directed solely at The Man.
The heretics’ Believers confronting Hanna. Mikhail, standing with his sword. And Yuria, healing Mikhail with protection magic.
It was a statement addressed to everyone here.
The Man in front of me stood awkwardly, holding a dagger. With a single stroke, he could have surely ended Mikhail’s life.
He trusted his own skills, and I, knowing his abilities from the novel, could understand his hesitation.
After all, the Archbishop before him was not someone to be easily dismissed.
He stood still, gripping his dagger.
Mikhail did the same.
With his strength returning, he adjusted his grip on the sword, infusing it with an aura that shimmered like a mirage.
Frustrated by the seemingly endless battle, I spoke with irritation.
“This is becoming troublesome.”
I slowly walked between them.
“You should clock out.”
I walked between them like a lion stalking a buffalo, moving slowly, my sense perception sharp, ready to pounce at the slightest movement.
I walked between the heretics and Mikhail.
The heretics wouldn’t remember my presence. My existence, my voice—everyone would give different testimonies.
The mask I wore was one of the heretics’ fortuitous encounters, creating fragments in their memory.
It didn’t have a fraudulent effect of distorting memory. The mask I wore was simply an artifact that demonstrated its power in the fundamental realm of perception.
The ability related to memory was the dark magic used by the Archbishop standing before me.
Even so, this mask alone was sufficient to conceal my presence. That was enough for me to speak to The Man without hesitation.
Asking if he wanted to die.
“If you want to walk away in one piece, leave now.”
The Man let out an empty laugh and shook his head.
“Yeah, I should leave if I want to live, but I feel like I won’t get another chance to kill him if not today.”
“There are ways to resolve this without killing him.”
“That guy doesn’t seem like the type to let me live.”
The Man spoke while staring at Mikhail.
Mikhail, emanating an aura like a mirage and steeling his determination, was like the eye of a storm.
The Man clicked his tongue as he looked at Mikhail, who had grown into a monster in such a short time.
“He’s already grown this much. Do you think he’ll leave me alone the next time we meet?”
Seeing Mikhail gripping his sword with an intensity that seemed ready to explode, I nodded with an intriguing smile.
“You’re not wrong.”
“So if I don’t kill him today, I’ll be the one to die….”
“In that case, you’ll die by my hand.”
The Man muttered to himself, “That’s why I’m going crazy,” as he roughly ran his hand through his hair.
“Can’t you just let this slide?”
“Can you stop pretending we’re close? It’s our first meeting.”
“…”
“What? Do you know me?”
“…Kids these days have no manners.”
I responded with a bright smile toward The Man.
“What are you going to do about it?”
Personally, I hoped the relationship between these two would come to an end today.
After all, The Man and I shared a rather unfortunate connection.
-Kiddo, are you some kind of killing machine? Why are you so good with a sword?
-The Mother who left home raised me. Jealous?
-Ha… You son of a b*.
The fact that The Man’s dark magic was related to memory, and that his strength would reach quasi-apostle level in the later parts of the novel, made him a particularly troublesome existence.
And I couldn’t just kill him either.
[Q. Mikhail’s Guardian.]
Because of a sudden quest, I was bound by a restriction that prevented me from killing The Man. The upcoming story and the quest rewards were significant, too.
Although the relationship between Mikhail and the High Priest of Oblivion wasn’t explicitly revealed in the novel, The Man’s existence was necessary for Mikhail’s growth.
A brief silence passed.
The Archbishop and Mikhail stared at me. The rare attention made my face feel hot.
At this rate, I might start dreaming of a job as an idol, something that doesn’t even exist in this world, so I slowly opened my mouth.
“Shouldn’t you leave quickly?”
“Why? No matter how strong you are, I think I can buy enough time to kill him and escape.”
“Would you like to try?”
“…”
I shrugged at The Man’s provocation and replied.
“Go ahead. I think it would be fun.”
If he could, he would have done it already.
In the novel, Mikhail only suffered a critical injury and collapsed, so I wasn’t afraid. A skilled healer was by his side, and I wouldn’t let it happen anyway.
The Man stared down at his dagger for a long time, lost in thought.
“What a scary bastard.”
The Man shook off the heavy killing intent weighing on his shoulders and smirked.
“Where do monsters like you even come from?”
“From home, on my way to work.”
“Right. So where’s home?”
“In a sunny place.”
To his lighthearted question, aimed at retaliation, I let out an empty laugh and responded lightly.
After a moment of deliberation, The Man shook his head, placed the dagger in his pocket, and turned around.
“Let’s go.”
The Man’s voice was soft as he spoke to the heretics confronting Hanna.
“If we delay any longer, we’re the only ones who’ll lose.”
“A wise choice.”
“You called the Imperial Knights’ Order, didn’t you?”
“Of course. Because of what happened at the Academy, the Knight Commander seems very eager to meet the heretics.”
“Histania, huh…?”
The Man let out an empty laugh, his shoulders trembling.
He must know that the Head of Histania is not someone you can reason with.
-Plod.
-Plod.
-Plod.
Stopping his steps, The Man gave a sly smile and said.
“Still, wouldn’t it be a shame to leave just like this?”
The Man swiftly swung his sword at Mikhail.
At the sudden slash of sword energy, Mikhail widened his eyes in shock and froze, while Yuria screamed “Mikhail!” in a dying scream and quickly created a shield, but it wasn’t enough to block The Man’s attack.
The sharp blade aimed for Mikhail’s chest.
Alongside The Man’s laughter, filled with delight, a cold voice whispered chillingly into his ear.
“Do you want to die?”
“…Wow.”
The Man gasped as he stared at his disappeared self, his right hand gone.
“Crazy bastard.”
The Devotees of the Heretics blocked my path to protect the Archbishop. The sound of the blade’s dazzling dance and the dull thuds echoed incessantly in The Man’s ears.
I wiped the blood off my sword with a small smile, while The Man let out an empty laugh as he looked at the bloodstains on his face.
“Haha, f*cking hell…”
As The Man awkwardly smiled at his fallen subordinates, I radiated killing intent and slowly approached him.
“I told you to leave. Why won’t you listen?”
“I didn’t think it would be this bad.”
Black Smoke began to rise from The Man’s body like a mirage.
I nodded quietly, observing The Man’s magic.
“Oh-ho…”
The Man’s name was ‘Yung.’
Among the Heretics, he held the position known as the ‘High Priest of Oblivion.’
True to his title, he was a Dark Sorcerer who manipulated and altered people’s memories, serving as an executive of the Heretics known as the High Priest of Oblivion.
He possessed a fraudulent ability that could leave someone with their worst nightmare or their greatest joyous bliss.
Although it was limited to editing the memories the target already had, its impact was tremendous.
Of course, being someone who disliked complicated tasks, he usually restricted himself to altering memories related to his own existence or that of his benefactor, but he also had a secret technique to revert someone’s memories to their very beginning.
In the past, this guy had used Dark Magic on me, but due to a fortuitous encounter I had prepared as insurance, he failed.
A Possessor should always carry at least one item to protect their body, so naturally, I was able to block his magic.
Now, he wouldn’t be able to break through my resistance. There was no need to worry.
The Man looked at me and smiled.
The Strands of Mana emanating from him slowly began to engulf everyone in the forest, reaching out to erase the memory of his existence.
I stood still, letting the Cloud of Mana wash over me.
“There’s quite a lot of fine dust today.”
With a small cough, I watched The Man’s retreating figure through the rising smoke.
‘That’s it for today.’
-Ding.
As the faint sound of an alarm rang, I nodded, marking the end of the battle.
*
In the Forest of Hamel, now abandoned by The Man, a heavy atmosphere lingered.
I began removing my mask. My sweat-soaked hair fell gracefully, captivating the gazes of the Ladies.
“…Or maybe not.”
Once again, they were looking at me with suspicious eyes, even in such a dramatic moment.
I shrugged my shoulders and said,
“What did you think of the world’s coolest Butler’s Mad Movie?”
Their expressions were indescribable.
Hanna stomped her feet as if she wanted to embrace me right away, while Yuria blinked at me with her reddened eyes.
And Mikhail…
“Stop showing off.”
As always, he was disliking me.