In the suffocating tension that lingered after the Great Warrior Vidar departed—
“Huu…”
Lobelia was finally able to let out a sigh of relief.
“Tsk.”
But following that sigh of relief came a deep sense of humiliation.
In the end, she had failed.
Even though she had cast aside her pride and fought disgracefully, she couldn’t even manage to hold Vidar back.
Had the Oracle not appeared in the middle, she wouldn’t have survived.
“Are you all right?”
“Me?”
Lobelia, who had been stewing in humiliation, asked the Oracle, who was looking off in the direction Vidar had gone.
“You seemed to be having quite a serious conversation.”
She didn’t know the exact details.
But judging by how even Vidar had clicked his tongue and looked at her with pity, it was clear the Oracle had lived a harsh life as well.
“I’m fine. It’s not like he’s the only one who’s had things to say about my situation.”
“I see.”
Lobelia thought the Oracle’s detached attitude resembled Johan’s. That level of cynicism had to be the result of his influence.
Thud!
“Ugh!”
Just as she was thinking that, Lobelia was thrown to the ground.
“I can see everything you’re thinking.”
“Ahem… Shouldn’t you show a bit of respect toward the imperial family?”
“Me? Ha!”
The Oracle sneered.
This part revealed a fundamental difference from Johan.
Unlike Johan, she made her dislike blatantly obvious on the outside.
A truly shameless situation. Especially since, unlike Johan, she wasn’t even holding anything over her.
“And Princess Lobelia, you didn’t exactly fail.”
“Hmm? What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“Stalling for time. You succeeded. It’s just that His Majesty the Emperor seems to want to meet Vidar himself.”
The Oracle muttered as she looked off into the distance, in the direction Vidar had gone.
Even from afar, his massive figure was visible.
And now, his steps had come to a halt.
***
Vidar had achieved his goal even before reaching the audience chamber.
Though he had not yet set foot in the main castle.
“You’ve come.”
He had encountered the Emperor Abraham.
Contrary to Vidar’s belief that Abraham would never leave the chamber, the Emperor had come to greet him instead.
Abraham asked, as if welcoming an old friend,
“Great Warrior, how were my knights?”
“…They were all strong and valiant warriors. Even knowing they would lose, they charged in with their lives on the line.”
“That’s what it means to be a knight. They are men who understand honor.”
“And what about you?”
Would even the Emperor who had committed countless atrocities in the name of the Empire have any claim to honor?
The Great Warrior asked, half in mockery.
“I have no honor, but I do have a cause.”
“And what is your cause?”
“A world made for humans.”
“I take it that world doesn’t include other races.”
“If they had abandoned their faith, I could’ve embraced them too.”
“……”
Abraham explained the massacre he had committed without changing his expression, as if it had been the most natural thing in the world.
“Vidar, you know, don’t you? The fundamental problem with the Varg faith.”
“…”
“Human sacrifice.”
The barbarians weren’t called such because they were beastkin.
They were called barbarians because they followed the Varg faith.
“The same was true for other non-human races. There were beliefs that couldn’t coexist with humanity, so I erased them.”
Faith is blind by nature.
And so, Abraham sought to erase the monsters called gods from history.
He believed only then could faith itself be eradicated.
“It may be acceptable to find comfort in the existence of a god, but a person should never live for the sake of a god.”
What kind of god can’t even save a single person?
A god who demands human sacrifice doesn’t even deserve to be called an evil god.
That’s just a monster.
“What do you think, Great Warrior of Varg? Do you believe it’s right to bring down the Empire for the sake of your god?”
“No.”
Vidar shook his head. He didn’t affirm the Varg faith either.
He was a man of reason, and he knew human sacrifice was wrong.
He also understood that such foolish fanaticism stemmed from what was called faith.
But still, among the barbarians, there were those who sincerely believed in the Varg faith.
“I too understand the dangers of blind faith.”
That was why Vidar had thrown all their lives onto the battlefield.
Even when he gave direct orders for them to die, they obeyed without hesitation—
Because those were the orders of Varg’s Great Warrior.
And that was a truly terrifying thing.
It meant there were countless people willing to die for their faith.
And that also meant—
Not even death could break that faith.
“But if you kill people just to kill a faith, how are you any different from the monster you speak of?”
“There’s a clear difference. That difference is that I am not eternal. I am a mortal who will one day fall.”
“Then did it never occur to you that today might be the day you fall here?”
“Of course it did.”
Abraham placed his hand on the sword at his waist, ready to draw it at any moment.
Vidar, seeing this, clenched his fist as well.
“I am a mortal. A person whose life will someday end in death. That is precisely why I am an emperor, not a god.”
“Nonsense.”
He rejected all forms of faith.
Sure, as Abraham said, the Varg faith was a twisted one that needed to be eradicated. But what about Elysium?
That had been an ideal faith.
It was Abraham’s oppression of it that gave birth to the heresy known as Eden.
Anyone could see that was clearly his mistake.
“Do you truly believe you are in the right?”
“I am not a perfect man. But whether what I’ve done was right or wrong is for future generations to judge. And if we’re going by that, can you truly say what you’re doing is right?”
Vidar wished to overthrow the Empire.
That meant bringing about chaos.
If the massive framework of the Empire were to collapse, the world would be thrown into unspeakable disorder.
The single fence of the Empire would splinter into dozens.
And those fractured nations would wage war, one after another, in a bid to become the next Empire, bathing the world in blood.
What Vidar was doing was that.
“You’re right. I probably can’t claim to be in the right either. From the start, all I’ve been trying to do is return the world to its origin.”
“Yes, you and I… we all live for our own causes. There is no right or wrong in that.”
Abraham had changed many things.
Sometimes patiently, sometimes with extremity….he changed the world.
At first, the beastkin were no different from barbaric men, and the elves were steeped in a sense of supremacy.
The dwarves believed the entire world should become a forge and went so far as to turn countless dormant volcanoes into active ones.
The frail humans couldn’t accept the faiths of these other races, so he had no choice but to eliminate them all.
“The very fact that you think that way proves I’ve succeeded. You’ve been absorbed into the Empire. Without even realizing it, you became human.”
“……”
“And that work will be completed through you.”
“Ha!”
Vidar let out a hollow laugh at Abraham’s final words.
“Hahahahahaha!!”
Then he burst into laughter.
Abraham was the same as him. They were looking at the same landscape.
The only difference was that Vidar had two possible endings while Abraham was bound to reach just one.
“So, Great Warrior. If you wish to face me, defeat her first.”
Abraham lowered the hand resting on his sword’s hilt and took a step back.
And from behind his strong, imposing frame, a small figure was revealed.
“Great Warrior, Vidar.”
A girl, small in stature, wearing a wide-brimmed witch’s hat large enough to hide her face.
The Archmage Ariel Ether.
“I’ve come to keep my promise.”
“Have you now.”
Vidar smiled.
It was a satisfied smile, unlike the laughter from before.
He had gained the right to challenge every ending he had ever desired.
***
Was it the aftereffect of the gears?
My body felt heavy. More than that, my left leg had no sensation at all.
When had I passed out? What state was I even in?
I was afraid to open my eyes.
“……”
But still, I had to open them.
I had to check what happened to Ariel.
I couldn’t leave her to face it alone.
If Mephistopheles was telling the truth, then Ariel wouldn’t be able to win.
“Ugh.”
Forcing my eyes open, I was met with a jolt of pain, like electricity running through my entire body.
I must’ve been lying down.
“Where… am I?”
I wasn’t entirely sure.
Judging by the interior, it was probably one of the Andvaranaut branch offices.
“Yuna?”
Lifting my head with some effort, I saw Yuna sleeping with her head resting on my leg.
Thankfully, the lack of sensation in my leg didn’t mean I was paralyzed.
I guess I just couldn’t move because Yuna was lying on it.
“……?!”
Startled by my voice, Yuna suddenly woke up.
“Johan…”
“What happened to your face?”
Yuna looked at me, eyes wide with concern.
She looked awful and worn out, like she hadn’t slept in days.
“Were you that worried?”
“…Of course I was!”
Tears began to pour from Yuna’s eyes.
While I’d been enjoying a surprisingly good work-life balance, she must’ve been carrying all the worry on her own.
Had I been too careless?
I’d never really stopped to consider how she must’ve felt, having to leave me behind.
She was always so cheerful and playful I never imagined she might be struggling.
“Yuna, how long was I out?”
“…It’s been less than 30 minutes since Ariel brought you here.”
“So I was only unconscious for a little while.”
I ran a hand over my face.
Exhausted. My brain wasn’t working.
Maybe I’d pushed myself too far.
I probably should rest, but—
Booooooooom!!
A massive explosion echoed in the distance.
I could feel the source of the blast shifting around—
It had to be Ariel and the Great Warrior. They’d finally clashed.
“Johan, wait.”
“Yuna, you know as well as I do. If we stay here like this…”
“I know. But someone’s coming soon.”
“Coming? Who?”
Yuna stopped me with a bitter smile, as if she already knew everything.
“Someone who can get you moving again.”
Click.
Almost in sync with her words, the door opened. Standing in the doorway was…
“……”
A ghost with a bedsheet over its head.
I stared blankly for a moment, wondering what on earth I was looking at.
“Helena… is that you?”
“Yes, teacher. What do you think?”
“…About what?”
I honestly had no idea.
Was she asking how she looked dressed like that?
Why was she even dressed like that?
“Don’t you think it looks mysterious? The way my face is hidden behind a pure white veil, but still giving off that ethereal vibe?”
“Ah.”
So that was supposed to be a veil?
Sadly, no matter how I looked at it… she just looked like a ghost.
Worse yet…it wasn’t even a veil. She had literally thrown a bedsheet over herself.
“Well, as you probably already know, I’ll only charge 50 gold coins.”
“Highway robbery.”
“That includes the training fee.”
Would Helena even understand how much 50 gold coins are worth?
“Teacher, technically, you’ve already undergone the first round of treatment. Do you understand what I mean? Your condition was so bad that a single session wasn’t enough.”
“……”
“Full-body fractures, torn muscles, most of your organs were…”
“Leave that to Cattleya.”
“Yes.”
Good thing I was unconscious.
Apparently, I’d been in much worse shape than I realized.
“Helena.”
“Yes!”
“Where are the others?”
“They’re out on the streets, fighting off the barbarians. No one wanted to stand by and watch innocent people die.”
“They’re all reachable, right?”
“Yes, but what for?”
The final battle with the Great Warrior is a stage that only Ariel can finish.
She’s the protagonist of that moment.
Which means what we need to do is…
“Get ready to be the best supporting cast.”
It’s time for the Misfits to shine.
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