chapter 84

‘Among the Apostles, there are those who are able to hide their divine power. The Apostles of the mighty Demigods, who the Circle calls the Apocalypses, and Lord.’

That was the information he received from Riki.

…Riki claimed to have betrayed the Demigods, but Frey didn’t really believe him.

So naturally, he wouldn’t just take his words at face value.

He believed the story about the Demigod’s hibernation because he had seen Indra’s severed head with his own eyes.

However, the phrase ‘Apocalypse’s Apostles could hide their divine power’ was different.

He had ample reason to doubt it.

‘Asura called Oydin a puppet.’

He didn’t know exactly what he meant by that. However, it made Frey’s question implicitly clear.

The power that Oydin showcased was in no way threatening.

In fact, Frey had never felt any threat to his life since encountering the man.

To put it bluntly, the effort that he needed to exert paled in comparison when compared to Lukes, Indra’s Apostle.

Besides, the depth of his ability was too shallow. It was too meager for him to believe it was the power of death.

Otherwise, why would he be so willing to summon a Demon while being able to utilise divine power?

All of this brought one question to his mind.

‘Is Oydin really the Apostle?’

Frey walked toward Oydin, whose cold, sweat-covered arms were shaking.

“A-, Apostle? Did you ask if I was an Apostle? Obviously…! I. I am Lord Nozdog’s Apostle!”

“I’ve heard about Nozdog before.”

Nozdog, the Demigod with the power of death.

There was a fair amount of information about him in the Circle.

This was natural. After all, the Circle had once led a punitive expedition against him. And the result was… a disastrous defeat.

The Trowman Rings, who had power comparable to the Three Great Circles, headed on a downward spiral following the deaths of the Circle Master and many key circle executives, and although it wasn’t as much, the other circles also suffered heavy damage.

“It’s not just about bringing the dead back to life. It was said that he always had a purple mist surrounding his body. If anyone who was not strong enough inhaled this mist, they would die instantly.”

“K-, kuh.”

“It wasn’t just that either. With just a touch, he had the power to melt skin and flesh from bone, and he could create ghosts that couldn’t be defeated through normal means. You are an Apostle, so it is impossible for you to have all of his power. However, even if we take that into account, you are still too weak.”

Frey looked at the undead around him.

“Look at this. Oydin, look at the undead that you summoned. Is this all the power you have? The power of the Death Apocalypse’s Apostle?”

“U-, uh…”

Oydin shivered.

The man before him was calling him weak. Originally, he would not have expected it just because he said it.

But…he knew that this man was stronger than him.

[I’m sorry. But this is a choice that you will regret for your entire life.]

The voice of the Wind Spirit King appeared in his mind at that instant.

At the time, he had only scoffed at her words, but now, he felt somewhat uneasy, as if her prediction was about to be proven.

Was Nozdog really tricking him?

“Nozdog…Lord Nozdog…!”

Oydin cried out his name.

At that moment, divine power erupted from his left eye, and purple smoke began spewing from it.

Pshhk.

‘Artificial eye? Is that the medium?’

The plume of smoke rose into the air before taking shape.

Frey was dumbfounded.

He had not expected him to contact his Demigod in such a situation. However, Oydin was already unable to think clearly.

He looked up at the sky with a desperate expression. He looked towards the only one who would be able to assuage his doubts.

That being stood high in the sky, looking like a god of death at that moment.

It was a skeleton with pure white bones wearing a sharply contrasting black robe. (YH: Overlord?!)

Even Frey felt his heart shake when he looked into the green fires that burned within the skeleton’s eye sockets.

Cold sweat began forming on his forehead.

‘That’s Nozdog.’

He realized it immediately.

The power of the being in front of him reminded him of Riki.

He already found it difficult to breathe just by looking at the image in front of him, which wasn’t even the main body.

[What is it?]

“Please tell me. Lord Nozdog…! Am I really not your Apostle?”

[…]

“Th-, this guy said that I was too weak! Is he telling the truth? He must be spouting nonsense, right? I… I am Lord Nozdog’s Apostle, aren’t I? Ha, haha!”

Nozdog looked at Oydin, who was laughing awkwardly.

His gaze could be predicted by the movement of the fires in his eye sockets.

So when Nozdog’s gaze turned to him, Frey stepped back and raised his guard.

[I didn’t expect Oydin’s identity to be revealed so quickly. Interesting. How did you find out?]

It was a questioning tone.

Frey realised that Nozdog was curious as to how he’d learned of this.

“Because of the traces that were left around the Great Forest.”

[You felt it? You’re quite sensitive for a human. There are a few people like that. But even then, it would not be so fast.]

“What are you trying to say?”

[The traitor.]

Frey sincerely felt that it was fortunate Ivan wasn’t with him at the moment. Otherwise, if that simple guy heard Nozdog’s words, he would have reacted as though they had already been caught.

Frey wouldn’t make such a rudimentary mistake.

He simply looked up at Nozdog with an expressionless face, as if to ask what nonsense he was talking about.

Nozdog stared at his face.

Then the pure white head of the skeleton tilted to the side.

[That’s right…I would expect no less from someone who realised that Oydin was not actually my Apostle. As expected, this little ploy attracted enough attention.]

‘…this bastard.’

Was the undead plague that had been unleashed on the Great Reynols Forest simply bait to lure out the Demigods’ traitor?

No, it wasn’t just that.

Frey looked at Oydin, who was staring at Nozdog with a horrified expression on his face, once again.

“I see.”

From the start, Oydin’s purpose had only been to serve as bait.

He wasn’t sure exactly how it was possible, but he couldn’t just ignore this chance.

If he poked at him a bit, he should be able to get a reaction of some kind.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. This is my first time talking to a Demigod, but you talk a lot more than I expected.”

[…]

Nozdog observed the human in front of him.

He had been alive for tens of thousands of years, and it was not a hard task for him to understand the thoughts of mortals.

After asking a question that he determined to pierce the core of what he wanted to know, he would immediately be able to know the truth from even the slightest reaction.

That was why he had responded to Oydin’s call so quickly.

He was sure that if someone who was able to force Oydin into a corner, to the extent that he would call for him, appeared, they would definitely be connected to the traitor.

But somehow, he was unable to read anything.

‘How perplexing.’

This was something that Nozdog had not felt in over ten thousand years.

He could not tell what this man before him was thinking.

If other Demigods heard him say that, they might’ve burst into laughter, but it was the truth.

He, who had lived for tens of thousands of years couldn’t read the intentions of a man who had not even lived 100 years?

‘That makes it even more suspicious.’

Oydin slowly stepped forward.

“Lord Nozdog…please answer me. I threw away everything. You can’t do this. Please…am I just a puppet…no. I, am I…”

[You’re not a puppet.]

Nozdog shook his head.

When he heard this, Oydin’s eyes lit up.

“Do you…really mean that? Then I am really you…”

[You’re not my Apostle. You were just bait. And.]

Nozdog pointed a boney finger at Oydin.

[There’s no reason to keep the bait alive when it failed to catch the fish.]

“Uh…urk…”

Oydin’s body began to melt.

First, his hair fell out. Then his skin flowed down like water, and his eyes fell out.

Oydin’s appearance, which was even more gorgeous than Peran’s, disappeared in an instant.

“U-, u-, urk…ugh…!”

He tried to catch his melting skin, but it was impossible.

His hands had also melted, revealing his white bones.

“Ah…no wa…”

Those were Oydin’s final words.

Puk.

His body collapsed in a pile.

He’d died in vain.

Frey felt a little empty inside because he had been prepared to risk his life against him.

He turned to Nozdog once again.

It might have been because of Oydin’s death, but his figure had begun to blur.

[Circle. It’s definitely starting to become a pain. And if the traitor is intending to cooperate with you…it will become even more annoying.]

He muttered softly as he disappeared.

[Even if we have to pay a price, it’ll be better to wipe it out completely.]

“…”

With those words, Nozdog’s image vanished completely.

Frey looked up at the sky. It was still the dark night’s sky.

He really wanted to see the crescent moon that was hidden behind the clouds. But there was something he needed to do first.

“I think you can come out now.”

“…”

After he said that, someone finally appeared.

Frey turned around.

White hair that seemed to glow in the dark and skin that was even whiter than that.

She smiled gently with her destructively beautiful face.

Snow De Predickwood

The Queen of the Elves and Oydin’s sister.

“How did you know?”

“You mean after you purposefully revealed your presence?”

Frey didn’t speak politely, and Snow did not show any displeasure because of that.

Instead, she looked at Frey with a curious expression on her face.

“Hmm.”

Her aura was very different from the last time they met.

At that time, her body seemed to exude the nobility and grace that one would expect from a Queen, but now, it was like she was a completely different person.

In fact, she even looked a little cheerful.

Her gaze turned to Oydin’s corpse, which was in a pool of blood in front of Frey.

“So this is how it ended.”

“…”

“Thank you. For putting my foolish brother to rest. Originally, it was something I intended to do with my own hands.”

…was this her true appearance?

The way she spoke didn’t change much, but her expression was completely different.

“You knew that this man was a Demigod’s subordinate?”

“That’s right.”

Snow nodded and touched her slender waist, causing Frey to notice the sword that was holstered there.

“How? Did Hruhiral tell you?”

“No. Hruhiral does not say anything about them.”

“…then.”

“It was the one who told you about Oydin’s identity.”

Riki?

Riki was the one who told her?

‘Why?’

Frey remained expressionless, hiding the agitation he felt inside. It was possible that she was lying just to get information from him.

However, after hearing what Snow had to say next, he knew that she wasn’t.

“Demigod Riki with the power of the sword. Rest assured, Wizard Frey. You and I are on the same side.”

“Who are you?”

“Snow Predickwood, Queen of all Elves. But that isn’t what you want to know, is it?”

Snow laughed, revealing her white teeth.

“As for my identity, I will tell you when the Magic Warrior King’s successor joins us. For now, we should head down. There’s something we need to deal with.”

“What do we have to deal with?”

“My brother’s final struggle.”

The moment she smiled and spoke bitterly, divine power began to pour out of Oydin’s corpse.

‘He’s already dead, so how is this happening?’

As he thought this, Frey prepared his mana.

Snow muttered while slowly pulling out her sword.

“I tried to kill Oydin outside of the Great Forest because I was afraid something like this would happen. But it is inevitable now as his evil plan has already been exposed.”

Snow pointed to Oydin’s body.

“Nozdog planted seeds into Oydin’s body as he killed him. He intends to make use of the divine power still within it, and something really troublesome will come out.”

Chh.

Oydin’s blood began to clump together. Then it flew toward Frey at a tremendous speed.

Frey used Blink to escape the blood.

However, the blood continued and fell from the tree as though Frey had not been its target in the first place.

“That was it?”

“Look down, and you’ll understand.”

Frey stood on the edge of the branch and looked down at the village.

(TL: I feel sorry for Oydin, in all honesty.)