/

chapter 151




Someone approached Frey, who stood still for a while.
It wasn’t someone he brought with him. He didn’t promise to cooperate, but the man still asked to accompany him.
It was Cairo Wilsemann.
“…I guess I was mistaken.”
As his eyes turned to look at Rezil, Cairo paused for a moment before walking over and looking at his brother’s corpse.
“I didn’t know what effect teacher’s death had on him. No, I didn’t even want to know. It was too much for me to handle myself. My vision narrowed…. I shouldn’t have done that. I forgot my duty to my brother.”
Cairo smiled bitterly.
“Thank you. For letting him die as a human.”
Frey nodded.
He didn’t ask for forgiveness in the end.
He reflected and regretted his actions, but he didn’t open his mouth to say it.
Rezil died as the head of the traitors. He didn’t let down those who had followed him.
It was a twisted belief and twisted justice.
He couldn’t compliment him, but he couldn’t curse him either.
Frey looked around.
Sheryl, Nora and Snow all suffered small and large wounds. After all, the people they fought were all executives in the Circle.
It was almost impossible to annihilate them without taking damage
“…”
Frey sighed heavily at that moment.
It was a victory with only a few wounds. No, it couldn’t even be called a victory.
Knowing that didn’t help him feel any better.
He’d crossed the heavy mountain known as ‘Purge’ so he couldn’t feel happy at that moment.
‘Was this really the best option?’
Frey forcefully suppressed such questions.
It wouldn’t be too late to get sentimental after everything was done.
Right, it definitely wouldn’t be too late after the Demigods were defeated.
* * *
The Circle Master of the Lucid Swords, Jekid Deosis, sat in a small room lit by a single candle.
The image of him lost in meditation with his eyes closed showed a distinct air that could only be seen from first class masters.
“…”
Jekid quietly opened his eyes, and saw a man standing in front of him.
Frey Blake.
“Rezil?”
“Dead.”
“…I see.”
Frey looked at the silent Jekid.
He was a man who agreed with Rezil’s will, but did not take that irreversible last step. Of course, that didn’t mean that all his evil deeds would disappear.
However, he couldn’t cut down the Circle’s power more than he already had.
One of the Three Great Circles had already been destroyed.
The Trowman Rings could be used to take its place, but if another one collapsed, he would have nothing to fill the gap.
The Circle would lose its balance and would eventually collapse.
He needed the Lucid Swords’ reputation.
“What are you going to do now? You don’t really intend to have an all-out war with the Demigods.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Saying that you would do so at the meeting was simply to expose the traitors.”
Frey didn’t deny it.
If they were to really fight the Demigods, even if there were less than a hundred of them, the Circle would lose.
Nevertheless, he’d announced an all-out war in order to incite betrayal, and as Frey expected, Rezil was overcome with anxiety and made his move, leading him to be purged.
“I will announce my real plan at the meeting tomorrow.”
“Right. So you came here to secure the Lucid Swords’ cooperation tomorrow?”
“No.”
Jekid tilted his head to the side when he heard Frey’s firm tone.
“…then?”
“Think for yourself and make your decision. You don’t have to follow me if you think I’m wrong. I don’t intend to pressure you or retaliate against you if you don’t either.”
“Are you serious?”
“I don’t need a puppet.”
He was serious.
There was no one in the world who could say that all the choices they’d made so far had been right.
Frey believed that he’d made the best possible decision at that time, but there were still things he might have missed. So he needed comrades
People who weren’t unconditional yes-men, but who could make up for his own shortcomings and help guide him to a better choice.
“…”
After being silent for a moment, Jekid nodded.
“Understood, Rounder Frey.”
* * *
The next day, the second meeting began quite early.
Before the sun had risen completely, people gathered in the hall and it was soon filled.
Nevertheless, there were three Circles that had yet to make an appearance. The Strow Necklaces, Lucid Swords and Trowman Rings.
“…”
Shepard Jun was silent, but his expression was heavy.
Last night, he had also gotten the offer from Rezil. The proposal to abandon the Circle and join the Demigods.
But Shepard couldn’t accept it. His last remaining sliver of conscience didn’t allow him to.
Of course, that didn’t mean that his conscience was clear. After all, he gave the Strow Necklaces a chance to escape.
Shepard was filled with self-loathing.
After all, the most pathetic men were those who could be neither black nor white, and had to settle for grey.
‘What will happen to the Circle now?’
No. It wasn’t just the Circle.
What would be the fate of the continent?
As an uncertain Shepard sighed inwardly.
Tap tap.
A group of people entered the hall, causing a bit of commotion from some of the people who saw them.
Shepard was confused.
‘The Lucid Swords? Didn’t they leave with the Strow Necklaces yesterday?’
Although some of the executives were missing, the Circle Master and Rounder were both present.
The strong alliance between Jekid and Rezil was something of an open secret in the Circle.
Did the two Circles change their minds?
‘Something like that would be a miracle…’
Shepard’s puzzled expression became even more pronounced as the Trowman Rings walked in soon after.
They crossed the hall with steady steps before seating themselves at the Strow Necklaces’ table.
“…”
“…”
Shepard hesitated because of the unexpected action.
“…Rounder Frey, that spot…”
Frey ignored Shepard’s mumbling and opened his mouth.
“Looks like everyone is here. So let’s get started.”
“The Strow Necklaces haven’t arrived yet…”
Someone carefully raised their hand and said that, but Frey continued in an irrefutable tone.
“No. Everyone is here.”
“…’
It was just one phrase, but it instantly caused the atmosphere in the room to become heavy.
No one could easily open their mouths.
Just like the day before, Frey walked to the middle of the hall.
Then he looked at each of the empty seats before saying.
“The Circle Master of the Strow Necklaces, Rezil Wilsemann, the Circle Rounder, Simone Kylia, and eight others, seven from the Lucid Swords, five from the Phisfounder Armlets, and 21 from the middle and small sized circles. A total of 43 people. After the meeting yesterday, they expressed the desire to leave the Circle and join the Demigods, so they were killed.”
“W-, what was that?”
“They’re all dead.”
“Surely…”
The Circle members looked at Frey with disbelieving gazes, and he could feel the subtle fear in them.
Fear was one of the most effective ways to take control of a group, but it wasn’t the way Frey preferred it.
That was why he brought this matter up first.
What was to follow would definitely cover the shock they felt from this news.
“Today, I intend to share with you the information I gained during my travels around the continent. I’m sure you will have a lot of questions, but please wait until I’m finished before asking them.”
Frey took a deep breath before continuing,
“The Demigods are currently facing a crisis.”
“Huh?”
“What does that…”
Everyone couldn’t hide their confusion.
After all, those words sounded ridiculous.
Frey spoke slowly.
“One of the five Apocalypses is dead. The other has fallen into hibernation.”
“Hibernation…?”
“When an Apostle dies, the corresponding Demigod goes into hibernation. While hibernating the Demigods are completely defenseless. Even an ordinary person would be able to kill them with just a knife.”
“I-, I don’t believe it.”
“I-, impossible.”
Frey pulled out Riki’s bead, causing the hearts of many in the room to shake.
“Mm…!”
“Demigod crystal! It’s ridiculously large…”
“I killed this Demigod.”
It was a lie. So he was deceiving them, but it was urgent.
There was no time for him to reveal all the circumstances and convince them. Therefore, this was the only method he could use, even if they might be a bit suspicious.
“The other three Apocalypses were fatally wounded, and Lord was stuck in one place trying to heal them. Then they destroyed Geotanbul and Talhadun. I’m not completely sure, but I believe that there has been some change to the situation. But they can’t fix everything. Their actions this time were very impulsive.”
“Are you saying the destruction wasn’t planned?”
“Right. One more thing. The Demigods would be placed in a very difficult situation if they just slaughtered indiscriminately.”
“Why?”
“That…”
He told them all he had learned about the will of the world from Riki. The more massacres they carried out, the more karma they would accumulate, and in the worst case scenario, they would be destroyed.
The faces of the Circle members, who were hearing this for the first time, were filled with shock.
“Su-, sure enough.”
“So that’s the reason why we’ve been able to survive for so long…”
“Then isn’t there a high chance that the Demigod who destroyed Geotanbul was also destroyed?”
“No. There is an alloy called Illuminium. If a Demigod eats it, they would be able to trick the will of the world for a short period. But it’s a very tricky thing to make so they have to use it very sparingly.”
Frey didn’t explain any more than that about Illuminium. After all, the Blake family was deeply entwined with it.
‘And we don’t know how much Illuminium they have left.’
The attack on Geotanbul and Talhadun meant that they still had some Illuminium left,
This amount definitely shouldn’t be large as he had obtained the largest portions of it, but he couldn’t be a hasty judgment.
“We have to kill the Apocalypses’ Apostles.”
“Do you know who they are?”
“…I know two of them.”
In fact, Frey knew all of the Apocalypses Apostles, including Lord’s.
Ananta’s Apostle was Jenta, a man who appeared to be an assassin, Nozdog’s was Kaltud, Agni’s was Nix… Lord’s…
Frey shook his head.
Then he opened his mouth and said.
“An assassin named Jenta, and a Demon named Kaltud.”
“A Demon? You mean a Demon became a Demigod’s Apostle?”
“I can’t believe it.”
“Wait. By Jenta, does he mean the King of Darkness?”
When the commotion subsided, Frey once again opened his mouth.
“We have to kill them somehow. If we can make two more Apocalypses hibernate, then the chance to overcome this hopeless war might not be a fantasy. After all, they are Demigods that Lord considers special.”
It was true.
Even when Frey was identified to have been in the Blake family’s residence, Lord didn’t come to kill him personally, instead choosing to keep healing the others.
If they could make Ananta and Nozdog hibernate, they’d be able to restrict Lord’s movement a bit more.
‘10 stars…’
The fantasy level that Cairo spoke about. He would need to avoid Lord until he reached that level.
So the more restricted his movements, the better.
Frey nodded at Jekid’s words.
“From now on, the Circle’s members will be scattered across all the major cities on the continent. It’ll be up to the Circle Masters exactly who to send to which place, but I hope you respect the Circle members’ opinions as much as possible.”
If possible, it would be much better to station them in their own hometowns. In addition, the efficiency would be much higher.
“If possible, you should stay in cities that have Warp Stones.”
“To prepare for the worst.”
Frey nodded.
“In addition, we should create a team that will search the continent thoroughly. Because we need to find those two Apostles.”
That was all he had planned at the moment.
At that moment, a subtle air began flowing around the hall. It was a heat.
The information Frey had given them was incredibly shocking and it opened up the possibility for them to deal a blow to the Demigods.
“I think that’s good…”
“Can we win?”
The mood improved, and Frey inwardly sighed in relief.
In truth, their situation wasn’t that good. So he had tried to convey as much positive information as he could.
He controlled what he told them, and he mixed a few lies in.
Frey felt a bit guilty for that, but he didn’t have a choice.
He couldn’t let them think too much about the Strow Necklaces’ betrayal. To do that, he had to give them something that would take their minds off of it.
They would track down the Apostles and protect the cities.
He wasn’t sure what the outcome would be, but at least they would not have any free time.
It was the same for Frey.
‘Agni.’
Frey had to defeat Agni. After all, he couldn’t kill Nix.
He closed his eyes, settling his thoughts.
He’d regained his 9 stars level, and although it had been done in a violent way, he had achieved the integration of the circles.
He had also secured many like-minded partners.
The goals he had set, big and small, were slowly being completed one after the other, pointing towards the ultimate goal.
‘The real fight starts now.’
A fight that wouldn’t end until one side was destroyed.
The full-fledged war with the Demigods had begun.