chapter 85

As he looked down from Hruhiral, Frey’s expression became strange.

A gigantic magic circle had been drawn on the ground.

The magic circle, which could be seen clearly even from the top of Hruhiral, was emitting an ominous, bloody light, similar to Asura’s circle. However, the pattern was different.

“He used Oydin’s blood as a medium to summon something.”

“It’s huge. Maybe even a Dragon might come out of it.”

Rooooaaar!

At that moment, a Dragon made entirely out of pure, white bones, stepped out of the magic circle.

Its eye sockets lit up as a ferocious roar tore through the forest. (TL: if this doesn’t wake those elves up…nothing will)

Snow let out a cheerful laugh.

“A word can become a seed. This proverb seems to represent this situation quite well.”

“…”

“Well then…”

Snow covered her face with a wooden mask.

It wasn’t any ordinary mask.

Instead, the moment she put it on her face, her appearance began to change.

Her white hair became black, and her noble and mysterious aura faded.

“A magic tool?”

“It’s called Jenki’s Mask. Because my normal appearance is too eye-catching.”

“I suppose you don’t want to reveal your identity.”

“Right. It’s not yet time.”

Frey nodded.

“If you help me, I’ll be able to stop the Dragon.”

“That’s a weird thing to say. The Great Forest is the home of the Elves, so aren’t you the one helping? Thank you in advance.”

He could feel that she was smiling behind the mask just by looking at her eyes.

What she said did make sense.

It seemed that Snow was someone who liked having conversations, but now was not the time to chat.

Roooaaar-

The Bone Dragon caused a large commotion.

In that short moment, it had already uprooted countless trees, and deep scars marked the ground.

After looking at each other’s eyes for a moment, Frey and Snow lept from the tree at the same time, completely in sync.

* * *

“Fuck this!”

Ivan swore loudly.

Anyone would react in the same way if a gigantic skeleton Dragon appeared from out of the ground.

What’s more, he’d had a hard time defeating the Bloody Knights and had finally gotten the chance to take a breather.

“I thought this would happen…”

Syax was sad as she saw the destruction being wrought upon the forest.

From the moment the Dragon appeared, it had already smashed dozens of trees, and the destruction seemed far from over.

It was a truly heartbreaking sight for Elves.

This was true for the Elves she brought as reinforcements as well.

“Wind Spirit!”

“Lend me your strength!”

The Elves began using all of their means to desperately attack the Bone Dragon, but they failed to produce any results.

The Dragon’s bones were too hard, and its magic resistance too strong.

Someone couldn’t help but mutter.

“I can’t believe the Hiralgard isn’t here at a time like this…”

They would not have been this desperate if the Hiralgard had not left the village for a mission.

Most of the High Elves’ outstanding warriors were a part of that group.

It was then.

Crack!

Ivan’s fist smashed the Dragon’s bones, causing the eyes of all the Elves that saw this to widen dramatically.

This was because the Dragon’s bones, which they had been unable to damage, even after trying their best, were smashed so easily.

However, Ivan’s expression crumpled.

‘I used up too much of my strength. It’s not like I can’t damage it… but I won’t be able to last for much longer.’

Tat.

Then Frey and Snow fell from the sky and landed beside him.

Ivan clenched and unclenched his fist as he threw a glance towards them.

It would be different with that guy around.

“What about Oydin?”

“Dead. Now, all we need to do is clean up the aftermath.”

“You say that like it’s as easy as flipping a palm. That monster won’t be easy to beat.”

“But we have to anyway.”

As snow spoke in a bright tone, Ivan tilted his head slightly.

“Who’s this chick?”

“A partner. Not completely trustworthy.”

“You’re too much. Couldn’t you introduce me more warmly?”

Frey didn’t pay attention to her joke. It wasn’t a situation where they could afford to play around.

Snow grumbled as she tightened the grip on her sword.

“He’s loud, but he’s not that much of a threat. The three of us should be enough.”

“…fine.”

“Let’s get to it.”

Frey, Ivan and Snow looked up at the Dragon, and maybe it felt their gazes, because the forest was once again shaken by a loud roar.

* * *

“You’re late, Riki.”

A gloomy and unpleasant voice sounded out.

It sounded like someone was scratching the bark of an old tree with their nails, but it was a voice that he’d heard countless times before.

Riki turned his head calmly without even the slightest twitch of an eyebrow.

It was a hideous old man who sat slouched in a chair. He had numerous age spots on his face, a bulbous, aquiline nose, hazy eyes and messy hair.

Even if one tried to find something good in his appearance, it would be impossible.

“You’re early, Ananta.”

“Kukukuku. Same old, same old.”

Riki sat down after taking a look at Ananta, who was laughing in the darkness.

He wasn’t as late as he made it seem.

Apart from him, there were three others there. And they were still waiting for two more to join them.

“Wasn’t Nozdog the one who called us here today?”

This time, it was a bubbly voice.

Demigod Leyrin, who had gray hair, put her chin on her hand as she spoke in a bored manner.

“This is a special occasion. I can’t believe that Nozdog, who is the most taciturn after Riki, actually called a meeting.”

“There must be something important to discuss.”

It was a Demigod with hair that looked like fire.

Leyrin looked at him before saying.

“Agni, did you make an Apostle yet?””

“Not yet.”

“Aren’t you a little too late? Lord said that everyone should bring an Apostle to the next meeting. He said he’d check each and every one of us.”

“I will make one in time. Don’t worry.”

“You’re such a pain in the neck. Fine, I won’t worry. You’re on your own.”

Leyrin frowned and waved her hand a few times.

It was then.

[It seems I am the last one.]

The void split, and with a gloomy voice, Nozdog appeared.

His skeletal appearance stood out a lot among the group of Demigods.

“Lord’s not here yet?”

[Lord won’t be coming this time.]

“What? I wanted to see his face after such a long time.”

Leyrin leaned over the table with a sad expression on her face. However, her grumbling ended there as it was a common occurrence.

After all, Lord was busier than the five of them combined.

“So? Why did you call us here, Nozdog?”

[I’m sure you’ve already guessed the reason for this meeting. At this point, there’s only one thing that would warrant such an urgent meeting.]

Ananta let out a low laugh before saying.

“You discovered a clue about the traitor.”

[That’s right.]

Nozdog nodded and observed these people whom he’d known for tens of thousands of years.

He’d deliberately spoken publicly about the traitor, but no one had any noticeable reactions.

He didn’t expect to see any anyway.

If he could have found out who it was with only so few words, then they would have been captured already.

He wasn’t even sure that the traitor was an Apocalypse in the first place.

Nozdog still found it unbelievable.

Was there really a traitor among their people?

Theirs was not a bond that was bound by a few years or decades as those among mortals.

They had been together for thousands and even tens of thousands of years.

Their minds were already entangled like webs down to the deepest depths, reaching to the point where they even shared feelings and emotions.

Nevertheless, the fact that they had been unable to find the traitor meant that they were extremely adept at controlling their emotions.

Therefore, in order to find the traitor, they must first break their composure.

‘That’s easy to say.’

He knew how difficult such a task was since even he himself would not so much as twitch an eyebrow if something were to not go as he wanted.

“Huh? Really? Yay! So we can finally get rid of that ungrateful bastard?”

[No. I only have a clue. We still don’t know who it is.]

“Hmm. I see.”

Leyrin.

At first glance, one might think from her actions that she was quite expressive. However, her insides were colder than ice.

Nozdog continued speaking without paying much attention to her outburst.

[I created several Apostles and scattered them across the continent.]

“You made several Apostles? That’s possible?”

[It would be impossible if they were all the real thing. But except for the real one, the rest are just trash who can’t even properly use the bit of power I gave them.]

“I see. So they’re bait.”

[That’s right. And one of them, whom I planted near the Great Reynols Forest, died.]

“The Great Forest…that’s near where Riki stays.”

The Demigods’ eyes all turned to Riki. Though no one looked at him openly with suspicious gazes, it didn’t make it any better.

Riki simply nodded.

“There were some undead around the area.”

[Riki, you said you made an Apostle a while ago.]

“Is there a problem with that?”

[It’s not that. It’s just…haven’t you hated interacting with mortals since that incident 4,000 years ago?]

“…”

As he said this, Nozdog turned to Riki.

[That human country you destroyed. What was the name again…]

“Icollium.” (TL: …)

Riki said the name for him.

Nozdog, no. Every Demigod seated there felt his emotions fluctuate slightly.

However, it was not suspicious. They all knew that Riki had been greatly impressed by the man he’d fought there.

“It was called Icollium. Nozdog, I wonder why you’re suddenly bringing up that story.”

[It’s because I’m curious as to why you would suddenly make an Apostle,]

“Lord said to make one. It was in preparation for the meeting.”

[…]

He wasn’t wrong, but Nozdog was a little suspicious.

The only ones who could get away with disobeying Lord’s orders were the five seated in this room.

And among those here, Riki especially had numerous conflicts with Lord.

It was slightly suspicious that Riki so obediently followed Lord’s orders.

Leyrin spoke with a bored expression still on her face.

“Alright, that’s enough. Tell us what clues you’ve found.”

[The dummy Apostles I made also had the ability to hide their divine power. This means that unless they revealed their power first, those troublesome pursuers from the Circle would never be able to find them. Only a Demigod would be able to see through it.]

“Then…”

[For now, the more suspicious are the ones who reside near the Great Forest.]

For a moment, silence descended upon the room.

Finally, Agni said.

“Does that include Riki?”

[That’s right.]

“…”

Agni’s expression became slightly strange.

In truth, he still didn’t believe that there was a traitor among the Demigods. And even if it were true, he did not believe it would be one of the five.

[If we consider the range of a Demigod’s perception, then four people, including Riki, are the main suspects. Lord will speak directly to the four of them during the meeting in three months time. Riki, you are no exception.]

“I’ll keep it in mind.”

Riki nodded calmly without showing any reactions.

Nozdog looked at him for a moment before speaking.

[Everyone must bring their Apostles to the meeting. However, we should consider alternatives to hide their appearances. Our Apostles’ identities are our weak points as long as we don’t know who the traitor is.]

Everyone nodded.

The meeting was important for the Demigods, but it was also an opportunity that the traitor would not dare to pass up.

The Apocalypses’ Apostles were particularly well hidden, so they would participate in the meeting just to learn their identities.

“Then, I’ll see you there.”

Leyrin was the first to leave, followed by Ananta, Agni and finally Nozdog.

Riki was the only one left in the dark room.

“Hmmm…”

He tapped on the arm of his chair, deep in thought.

“As it is… my plan won’t work.”

If he was to take his real Apostle, then Nozdog was bound to be suspicious.

He had made a blunder, so to speak.

However, he could use the method Nozdog mentioned and use someone who wasn’t his Apostle to fool Lord.

“It’s difficult. It’s a really difficult problem.”

But it wasn’t impossible.

Riki’s murmur echoed in the dark room.

(TL: this chapter makes me sad. The author is developing the Demigods into actual people and I’ll feel more hesitant to watch them die…especially after that part about them not believing someone could betray them and caring for each other so much. ㅠㅠ

On another note…Riki got played.)