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chapter 106




While they were waiting for the other Demigods, Frey paid close attention to the Apocalypses’ Apostles.
He wanted to be able to track them down and kill them if possible. Only if he would be able to leave this place, that is.
Letia, who had the most prominent status, was pushed as far back in his mind as possible.
The same went for the Phoenix.
This left only Jenta, Ananta’s Apostle and the red-skinned Demon.
First was the Demon.
He had even boldly revealed his name to them.
“I’m Kaltud.”
Kaltud’s attitude had broken all the stereotypes of Demons.
He was serious, had good discernment and was able to have proper conversations.
In addition, he had even taken it upon himself to clean up the foul-smelling basement.
But that was it.
Frey was unable to get any other clues about him.
In the first place, there was no one for him to really talk to, so there were no conversations to eavesdrop on.
The Apostles didn’t talk to each other.
In addition, he was clearly wary of Frey, so even if he were to have a conversation, he would certainly make sure Frey couldn’t hear.
Next was Jenta.
However, he hadn’t learned more from him than he had from Kaltud.
He simply sat in his corner, cleaning his dagger or mixing some strange chemicals.
And whenever their eyes met, he would glare at Frey.
‘I’m glad I learned his face and real name.’
The only things he knew were Jenta’s name and face.
In particular, the scar across his face was a rare characteristic that would certainly make it easier to hunt him down later.
But that was all Frey had.
Personally, Frey wanted to find a way to talk to the Phoenix, but it wasn’t easy.
Frey simply spent his time meditating.
Even then, he didn’t let down his guard in case any of the Apostles made a sudden movement.
And so, time passed rather boringly.
But a few days later, when Riki opened the door and stepped into the room, he was quite happy.
However, his happy expression didn’t last long.
Although Riki was expressionless as usual, Frey couldn’t help but feel that something had changed.
“Come on.”
It was clear who he was talking to.
Frey immediately got up and followed him
The other Apostles were a bit dissatisfied, but they didn’t dare say anything against the Demigod’s actions.
When Frey got up to follow him, Riki continued heading down.
‘Lower?’
Was there another room below this one?
As if in response to Frey’s question, a dead end appeared before them.
Riki raised his hand lightly and cut the wall.
Shik.
The wall split apart, and a large space was revealed.
Frey’s expression became a bit strange.
He hadn’t known there was this hidden space here.
He would have learned of its existence if he had searched more thoroughly, but he hadn’t found it necessary.
Behind this wall was a large amount of gold and silver.
This was all the wealth that Marquis Dalaman had obtained with his blood, sweat and tears.
Of course, it couldn’t gain Frey and Riki’s attention.
Riki only stopped after he reached the deepest part of the room
“Do you know what Lord’s power is?”
“No.”
“It’s space.”
“…”
“He has control over space.”
This was the first time Frey was hearing about this.
But when he heard it, many pieces fell into place.
Even the Absolute Field, which only 9 star Wizards could unleash, had no effect when used against Lord.
He had also been able to separate his soul and trap it in the Abyss.
If Lord truly had the power to control space, then it would explain the power he had displayed.
“Do you understand what I’m trying to say?”
“No.”
“I’m saying even if you become a 9 star Wizard, you would still be far from being able to defeat Lord.’
Frey wanted to refute Riki’s words, but he couldn’t.
He knew that Riki was telling the truth.
The thought that he couldn’t defeat Lord simply by reaching 9 stars remained in his mind since his return.
And at that moment, Riki was just confirming his worst fear.
“That’s why I’m targeting the Apostles.”
“Right. But you’ve seen it, too, haven’t you? Illuminium. With that metal, the Demigods would be able to exercise their power without being punished. This means they no longer need to rely on the Apostles.” (TL: The author used ‘illuninium’ the first time and I thought it was a typo as ‘ㄴ’ and ‘ㅁ’ are beside each other…but the same thing was done here. Should I change the name?)
That was true.
When Leyrin first explained about the metal, Frey’s heart felt heavy.
The short duration wasn’t a large hindrance either.
It was obvious to him that if they exerted their full force, it would only take the Demigods a few minutes to completely destroy a city.
“This doesn’t mean they will just get rid of the Apostles right away. Because it’s not possible to create Illuminium indefinitely. However, it’s an undeniable fact that the value of the Apostles has fallen.”
“So? You want to give up?”
“…”
Riki fell silent.
Frey had no idea what he was thinking at that moment.
Ssrng.
Then, Riki drew his sword.
Frey started to gather his mana, but Riki’s sword was faster.
Shuk.
“Kuh… ugh…”
Another being appeared in the dark room with them.
“…!”
When Frey saw the ugly, wrinkled face, he couldn’t help but doubt his eyes for a moment.
Ananta, one of the five Apocalypses, had a large wound across his chest.
“Ri… ki…”
Ananta burst out angrily.
Riki spat out coldly.
“Did you enjoy eavesdropping like a rat?”
“As I expected… you are the one… Hydra…”
“Right. I killed Hydra.”
Chuk.
Riki’s sword moved once again, and Ananta’s body was cleanly cut in half.
Frey looked at Riki in shock.
“You… what are you…”
It was the same sudden way in which he killed Hydra, but the location, situation and opponent were all incomparable to last time.
This was the castle where Lord and the other Apocalypses, who were already suspicious of Riki, were staying.
Besides, this was Ananta, the Poison Apocalypse, not some small-fry Demigod.
Riki pointed at Ananta’s body.
“This is just a clone he sent to watch me. His real body will notice this before long, so you have to hurry.”
After saying this, Riki closed his eyes.
Then, he drew his sword and took a deep breath.
“Sss…”
Krrr.
Tremendously powerful divine power began emitting from Riki’s body, causing Frey, who was standing in front of him, to shudder and feel small.
‘This… the same as Lord…!’
It wasn’t just the vault.
The castle. No.
The entire mountain began shaking violently.
Chuk.
Frey didn’t see Riki swing his sword. He only saw him slowly return it to its sheath.
Riki looked extremely exhausted, and sweat slowly dripped down his face.
However, there was a look of satisfaction on his face.
“…as I expected. It wasn’t easy to cut Lord’s barrier.”
The void in front of him had been cut open.
“Go in there and wait.”
“And you?”
“I’ll be there soon.”
“…”
“What? Don’t you believe me?”
It was true that he still hadn’t fully come to trust Riki, but Frey became certain at that moment.
“I don’t think you’ll make it.”
“Haha…”
When he heard Frey’s blunt words, Riki let out a rare laugh.
Rare?
No, Frey was certain that he had never heard Riki laugh before.
Riki gestured with a smile.
“It’s fine, so go ahead.”
Frey nodded and dived into the crack in space.
Immediately afterwards, the crack sealed up once again.
Riki took a deep breath, then stood there, as if waiting for someone.
Then, four figures entered the vault.
The Apocalypses.
[Have you finally decided to reveal your true colors?]
“Kukuku…”
Nozdog and Ananta both looked like they’d expected this to happen.
On the other hand, Leyrin and Agni looked like they were having trouble coming to terms with it.
“I really didn’t expect you to be the traitor.”
“Riki, what were you thinking?”
What was he thinking?
They wouldn’t understand even if he told them.
If it was possible to convince them through conversation, then he would have done that far sooner.
But it was impossible.
They were Demigods. Their utmost confidence in themselves and their strength were things that had formed over a countless number of years and could not be easily changed.
[You even cut Lord’s Barrier to let your Apostle escape… and you’re standing in our way to give them more time.]
“That’s right.”
[For a mortal… Ha. You really are crazy. Is this the change you were talking about, Riki?]
Riki didn’t respond.
In fact, saving Frey was only a secondary objective.
Lord’s deal for him to kill his own Apostle and go into hibernation for 100 years. Riki couldn’t accept it.
As Lord had said, when he woke up from hibernation, he would no longer have anything to worry about.
Now that they had discovered Illuminium, 100 years was more than enough time for the Demigods to take complete control of the continent.
For Riki, living such a life was no better than dying.
Riki looked around before saying.
“Where is Lord?”
[Hmph… do you want to beg Lord? You want him to let you off?]
Nozdog snorted.
[That’s too bad. Lord didn’t come here. He didn’t even tell us to spare you. It’s a shame for us to kill our kind with our own hands, but you’ve gone too far.]
“You’re mistaken.”
[What?]
“I’ll tell you something interesting. The Circle was the one to put us in the same category. Calling us Apocalypses.”
“Kukuku. It was a pretty accurate analysis by them. I don’t know how they managed to measure our strength.”
Ananta let out a low laugh.
However, Riki shook his head.
“I don’t know why Lord didn’t come. However, that has greatly increased my chances of getting out of here.”
Leyrin couldn’t help but ask a question when she heard his ridiculous words.
“Riki, you… are you saying you can take on the four of us on your own?”
“…I know your strength, Riki. You might be stronger than us, but the difference can’t be that large.”
Riki shook his head at Agni’s words.
“It’ll be different from that time. For one reason.”
Riki drew his sword while looking at the other Demigods.
“You and I, we’re no longer on the same level.”
* * *
The place that Frey was sent to was a dark, empty cave.
No, it wasn’t empty.
He spotted a lone grave on the far end of the cave.
Frey walked towards it as though he was possessed.
A simple sword was stuck in the grave.
“This sword…”
Diukid.
Sword King Lucid’s sword.
Then this grave…
[There you are.]
Then he heard a voice.
Frey shivered and turned around.
[Is it you? The foreign entity that caused my oldest sibling to be confused?]
Lord.
He stood at the entrance to the cave, and his words were filled with anger.