chapter 72

What did he just say?

Frey could not hide his astonishment.

He could not remember the last time he’d been so surprised.

No, this was definitely the first time since he had entered Frey’s body. That was how shocking Ivan’s words were.

“Did I…hear that incorrectly?”

A traitor?

A Demigod traitor?

That was ridiculous.

Those prideful beings were loyal only to themselves.

Frey knew this better than anyone.

Demigod infighting!

How would he not have thought about it before?

No matter how much the mortals struggled, it would take an unprecedented number of casualties just to kill one Demigod.

It would be accompanied by thousands or even tens of thousands of mortal lives…

Then what would happen if they fought amongst themselves? If they turn their swords against each other and destroy themselves.

…just one.

Even if only one of them decided to betray the others…

It was a useless delusion.

The Demigods valued their own kind just as much as they valued themselves.

Frey could still remember Lord’s face as he vented his anger with a burning gaze.

‘Lukas’, who had killed many of his people, was an insignificant being that Lord could tear to pieces in an instant.

However, he didn’t even allow him to die.

Instead, he trapped his soul in the Abyss so that he would suffer for all of eternity.

This was why Frey despised the Demigods.

The only thing the Demigods had was power.

The fact that they had such immature personalities and displayed such emotional behavior despite living thousands and even tens of thousands of years, proved that fact.

This was why he could not believe there was a traitor among the Demigods.

“The Demigod himself told you that he betrayed them?”

“Right.”

“You didn’t actually believe his words, did you?”

Ivan looked at Frey for a moment before nodding.

“I know what you’re trying to say. You’re afraid that I was tricked by the Demigod’s lies.”

“…”

“I’m not boasting, but I have a keen eye. Especially with slimy bastards with slippery tongues. If he was that kind of person, I’d never associate with him. No. All of these assumptions are meaningless.”

He looked down at his fist.

“If that guy was trying to trick me, I’d be dead already.”

“…”

“Just meet him. I think meeting him will be helpful for you.”

Frey gave a stiff nod.

This caused Ivan to smile which relaxed his serious expression.

“Great. Follow me.”

Ivan soon began heading deeper into the forest.

It seemed he no longer had any antagonistic thoughts towards Frey.

“By the way, what’s your name?”

Now that he thought about it, he had not even introduced himself.

“Frey.”

“Hmm. I see. I’m Ivan.”

“I know.”

“Huh? How? Did you hear it in the Circle?”

“No. I was there when you were threatening those Mercenaries.”

“Hmm. So you were there.”

Ivan scratched his head, and Frey asked something that he had been curious about since the beginning.

“If the Mercenaries hadn’t backed down, were you really going to kill them all?”

“Of course not. I would have only broken their arms and legs. In the first place, I never even killed those annoying bugs from the Circle.”

It seemed that Eizek hadn’t survived because of luck.

Ivan had probably let him go.

This was natural.

Ivan was so powerful that even Frey could not guarantee his own victory.

Additionally, he was one of the most difficult types of enemies.

The funny thing was that Ivan, who was shooting glances at Frey, was thinking the exact same thing.

Ivan recalled the brief fight that they had.

Just as he hadn’t used his full power, he was sure that this guy hadn’t either.

The two of them continued on their way while hiding their thoughts about the other.

Frey then spoke up.

“Why don’t we increase the pace a little?”

“Hmm. It would be hard for a weak Wizard to follow.”

“It’s fine. I’ll just use magic if I start falling behind.”

“If you insist…”

Tadat.

Ivan nodded and started running immediately. Once again surprising Frey with his explosive speed.

Ivan, who had shot forward, turned to see if Frey was still keeping up with him.

“Hmm. You’re keeping up pretty well.”

“…”

Although he was not a Magic Warrior, his pride was still hurt from being looked down on in such a way.

Frey clenched his teeth and continued chasing after Ivan.

The surrounding landscape rapidly changed, and before long, Frey was gasping for breath.

Even though he had been training his body in the magic tower, he hadn’t been able to do a lot.

Ivan had a comfortable expression on his face as though he was taking a leisure stroll.

On the other hand, Frey panted while his entire body was drenched in sweat.

After about an hour, Frey began to use flight magic because he felt like he would collapse if he ran any longer.

Ivan shot a glance at Frey before speaking.

“You learned some of the Warrior King’s Fist.”

Frey, who had not yet recovered his breath, replied while panting.

“Why do you think that?”

“Your excellent Bull Rush was a hint, but it was your gait while we were running that convinced me. You showed the peculiar grace that could only be the Clown Steps(1) of the Warrior King’s Fist.”

“You really do have keen eyes.”

Ivan shot him a curious glance.

“I’m really curious about you, but I’ll save it. Until you meet ‘Riki’.”

* * *

Ivan continued to head northeast, and on the way, he fought against many undead and other monsters.

Even the greatest A-class Mercenaries would have become cold corpses after fighting so many powerful monsters. However, for Ivan, it was not even a challenge.

Crack.

Crack.

Against Ivan’s Warrior King’s Fist and Frey’s spells, even the strongest high ranking undead could not survive more than a moment.

They were annihilated without a chance to fight back.

This put Frey in a strange mood as it reminded him of fighting alongside Kasajin.

‘This guy is truly a genius when it comes to fighting.’

He was the same as Kasajin.

Because of this, he was able to fight in the most efficient way possible.

Frey made use of Ivan’s explosive power and easily supported him from the back.

Thanks to Frey’s experience, the coordination between the two of them was as perfect as a small stream joining a river.

Recognising this fact, Ivan couldn’t help but look at Frey with admiration.

“This is amazing. I can’t really put it in words, but this is much more comfortable than fighting alone.”

“That’s great.”

“Hm…you really are a mysterious guy.”

He looked at Frey with complicated eyes for a moment before shaking his head.

Ivan was comfortable being alone with nature.

Humans were said to be social animals, but not everyone was the same.

He was the type who enjoyed solitude. He didn’t hate spending time with others but he preferred being alone.

This was especially true when it came to fighting.

However, for the first time in his life, Ivan felt that it wasn’t so bad to fight with another person supporting him.

And from then on, Ivan’s attitude changed a little.

He still spoke in the same casual manner, but Frey felt that he had secretly begun respecting him more.

It was at that moment that Frey felt like he had finally understood this complex human known as Ivan.

At least he was not the type who would do things that he knew he shouldn’t do.

Of course, because of how prideful he was, being acknowledged by this man was not a simple endeavour.

After four days, they reached their destination.

“This is it.”

“…”

It was a hut built deep within the forest.

For a moment, Frey completely forgot that this was a forest where monsters and terrifying undead roamed freely.

Ivan took a deep breath before shouting.

“Riiiikiiii!!! I’m here!”

“Ugh.”

Frey covered his ears.

The roar was so loud that it even caused birds in the distance to fly away, startled.

A weaker person’s eardrums would’ve already burst.

Ivan shot an embarrassed smile at Frey, who was staring at him angrily.

“I have to do this to wake him up.”

“He’s sleeping in the middle of the day?”

“Right. He can’t help it.”

Creak.

Then the door opened, and a man walked out.

The man had waist-length silver hair that contrasted nicely with his plain black robe.

What truly stood out was the giant sword that was slanted across his back.

The man spoke with a sleepy look in his eyes.

“Ivan, did you do everything I asked?”

“Hmph, of course.”

“…”

The two of them began speaking, but Frey could not pay attention to their conversation.

Babump.

His heart was pounding.

In fact, Frey did not completely believe Ivan’s words.

Maybe he had been tricked by someone pretending to be a Demigod.

Or maybe Ivan was just mistaken.

But now he could see it for himself.

‘It really is a Demigod…and he’s as strong as the old man who uses poison.’

Frey broke out in cold sweat.

Suddenly, he was full of regrets. Why didn’t he consider it more seriously before deciding?

With his current ability, the transcendent being in front of him simply had to shake his hands, and his head would fall to the ground.

Then the man turned his eyes to Frey.

“You brought a guest.”

“Right. He’s from the Circle.”

“The Circle. Hmm.”

He scratched his head and seemed to think about something.

“Come inside first. Ivan, I just happened to have something I needed to ask you. I think I’ll get a pretty good picture if this friend of yours helps.”

Then he went back inside as though expecting them to follow.

Frey, who had been preparing to risk his life, felt drained.

“You don’t need to be so nervous. He’s unpredictable, but he’s a good guy”

Frey looked at Ivan’s face for a moment before saying.

“It’s not very convincing when you talk with such a stiff expression.”

“Kuku…the higher your level, the more you can sense Riki’s terrifying power. That guy is a monster.”

As Frey had said, Ivan’s face was just as stiff as his.

Frey nodded while wiping away his sweat.

“There’s no mistaking it. He’s a Demigod.”

“Don’t be openly hostile. While I don’t think he’d kill you, from here on out, we’re in his territory, and it’s not like I can stop him.”

“…understood.”

Frey nodded, and the two entered the hut.

As soon as he opened the door, Frey was surprised.

This was because the interior was incredibly spacious.

He couldn’t even tell how large this space was.

The hallway was long, and the walls were decorated with swords of all shapes and sizes. Suits of armor that seemed like they were guarding the hallway were also displayed.

Together with the subtle candlelight that illuminated the dark space, this place had an atmosphere that could not be found anywhere else in the world.

“Spatial Distortion…”

“What’s that?”

“By twisting time and space, a limited space can be expanded dozens of times.

“Hmm. I always thought it was just a Warp or something.”

Frey shook his head.

When he opened the door, he had not sensed any distortions that were characteristic to a Warp.

His expression became solemn.

Space-Time Magic was a field that was difficult to handle even by a 9 star Wizard. However, the Space Distortion that was placed within the cabin was so stable that there wasn’t even a single crack.

‘This must be his Divine Power because Demigods can’t use Magic.’

Was it this Demigod’s power?

Frey and Ivan walked through the dark hallway, and at the end, they found Riki sitting in a room.

He was sitting on the floor with his eyes lowered. At his side was the sword that he had been wearing on his back.

“Have a seat. I’m sorry I don’t have tea to serve.”

Frey looked at him for a moment before speaking.

“You talk like a human.”

Riki looked up at Frey.

“You are a strange human. You don’t seem like a human who could barely live to 100 years. Ivan, you brought an interesting guy this time.”

Frey gathered himself and stepped forward.

“I heard that you betrayed the Demigods. Is that true?”

“That’s right…but would you believe that just because I said so?”

“…”

Frey’s expression became a bit strange.

The being before him was probably not too far off in age from him.

The only difference was that he had been locked in the Abyss for 4,000 years.

He could usually look at a person’s expressions, speech, or trivial gestures and infer what they were thinking, but this time was different.

The one before him was a quasi-immortal who had been living for who knows how many years while Frey had been stuck in the Abyss.

‘I can’t tell what he’s thinking.’

Frey nodded, deciding to speak frankly.

“No, I wouldn’t believe it.”

“You’re not wrong to doubt me. Since you’re a part of the Circle, it makes sense that you find a Demigod’s betrayal so hard to believe. In truth, I have no intention of proving myself to you, but I can, at least, relieve some of your doubts. If you can tell me what information you don’t have about Demigods, I will share it with you.”

“Hmm. Anything we don’t know?”

“Right.”

At Ivan’s question, Riki said something that Frey was not expecting.

(Note:

1. For this technique name, from all of the possible translations, this is the one I liked the most/found the most suitable.)