/

Chapter 189




“What do you…”
Frey couldn’t but mutter in a perplexed voice.
Dro looked at Frey with his uniquely emotionless eyes and said.
“Your relationship isn’t the kind of thing that other people want to interfere with.”
“You seem to know something about Iris.”
Those words seemed to make Dro sigh heavily.
“As I said, I have no intention of interfering. It would take too much effort. Forget I said anything.”
“This isn’t something that you can just drop like that. Especially to me. Tell me, what is she planning?”
“…”
Dro kept his mouth shut as though he had no intention of answering.
Frey clenched his fist.
The other wasn’t someone who would respond to threats. There was no way he’d be able to hear it unless he wanted to tell him.
In the end, it was Frey who was forced to compromise.
“…please tell me. Are you sure Iris is not his Apostle?”
“Right.”
“…”
“Most of the Demigods, including Lord, went to the Demon World.”
He changed the subject. Quite blatantly in fact.
Frey had wanted to maybe coerce him into saying more, but the words that Dro said were too important to ignore.
“Is it to retrieve the Dragon Lord?”
“Right.”
“What is Lord’s goal? I can’t guess what he’d do after he retrieves it.”
“I wasn’t told about that.”
All of his questions couldn’t be answered.
That was what Dro said.
‘Is Iris manipulating the scene?’
When they were teammates, he would have been reassured by this fact, but that was no longer the case.
Frey narrowed his eyes.
Dro thought about something for a moment before saying.
“Iris said that this is an opportunity.”
“Opportunity?”
“Right. Regardless of the reason, the six Demon Lords are in no way inferior to the Demigods.”
He recalled the fate of the Demigod he’d sent to Hell to face Asura.
“It’s certainly a good opportunity.”
From this perspective, it was a good chance to blow his nose without even touching it. This way, the Demons, a third force, would join the fight against the Demigods.
No matter which side won, he wouldn’t suffer any losses. It would be better if the Demons won, but even if they lost, the Demigods would surely suffer significant damage.
Frey was aware of the fact that his power currently transcended most Demigods’. Even though he had already been weakened, he still killed Agni without much trouble.
He didn’t think he would lose to anyone other than Lord. This went for Nozdog and Ananta as well.
But he still couldn’t guarantee his victory.
His explosive growth in strength was also part of the problem.
The Demigods had been in the position of strength for a very long time. Regardless of who their opponents were, they were usually able to press forward with overwhelming force, their formidable powers allowing them to recklessly advance.
That’s why they didn’t progress. Since they didn’t learn any new skills, they didn’t go any further.
But now, it was different.
The crisis they were currently facing was the first one of such magnitude that they had encountered in their thousands of years of life. They would also learn about Frey’s strength.
As long as they weren’t foolish, this would certainly raise an alarm.
Living things usually made the most radical and startling evolutions when their very existence was threatened.
This was the one thing Frey was worried about.
‘How would the Demigods, who were finally feeling a sense of crisis, react?’
Just by thinking about Riki, it was easy to see how terrifying Demigods could become if they were to recognise their flaws and move forward.
Of course, it was impossible for them to become as strong as Riki in a short time, but just the change in mindset would be enough to affect the battle significantly.
For example, if most of the remaining Demigods decided to band together and attack Frey, no matter how talented he was, he was bound to suffer at their hands.
More importantly, the Demigods still had Lord. Unless he was killed, this long and tiring war would never end.
“Since they went to the Demon World, this is our chance to reduce their power.”
Frey muttered as he thought about the two remaining Apocalypses, Nozdog and Ananta.
They could be considered as Lord’s right and left arm now.
“We have to get rid of their Apostles.”
“That’s right. If we could kill both Nozdog and Ananta’s Apostles, the power Lord could make use of against the Demons would drop by at least half.”
It was only then that Frey realised the opportunity might have been even greater than he expected.
If the Demigods’ strength dropped significantly, it would naturally increase the Demons’ chances of winning.
‘No matter how strong Lord is, he can’t defeat the six Demon Lords without Ananta and Nozdog.’
Perhaps the Demigods would disappear so easily that they wouldn’t be able to resist.
After thinking this, Frey turned to Dro.
“Do you know how many Demigods are left in Silkid?”
“There aren’t any. They all ran away.”
Retreat.
It was a word that had never been used by the Demigods.
“Then there is nothing more to do here.”
“Several cities have been destroyed. The rest have either descended into chaos and ruin or are on the verge of it. Silkid has already lost the qualifications to even be called a country.”
“It’s up to Silkid to settle this. As long as they are Warriors, they will not want outsiders interfering too deeply in this.”
“…”
Dro tilted his head. It seemed that he couldn’t understand the Warriors’ way of thinking.
Of course, Frey had no intention of kindly explaining.
“How much time do we have?”
“You can relax right now. No matter how strong Lord and the Demigods are, they won’t be able to defeat the Demons in a day or two.”
Frey understood. It was possible that the invasion would take a long time.
He couldn’t be certain, but he believed he at least had a month. Of course, that didn’t mean he could relax.
* * *
Most of the punitive force had been exterminated. And Beniang was included in the deceased.
But Frey knew that not everyone was dead.
‘Dragontongue.’
Beniang had used her power to protect some of them.
Where did she teleport them?
The traces were very faint. It seemed she’d used her Dragontongue again to erase them.
‘To do so much with only a half’s heart…’
Frey shook his head to remove the rising bitterness.
Then he focused on the traces left by the Dragontongue.
Dragontongue was certainly extremely powerful. It took him half a day just to find the right trail.
Shuk.
“…”
The place he arrived in was very familiar to Frey.
It was the Trowman Rings’ hideout.
Before she died, Beniang sent them to the safest place she knew. It was a wise decision.
There was a magic barrier erected here. Even if Frey hadn’t turned up, Agni would not have been able to track them down.
He looked around.
He could see the survivors that Beniang had sent away. There weren’t even 20 of them.
“…Frey?”
Someone called his name in a broken voice.
It was Nora.
Frey’s expression upon turning to her was still. Because he noticed her missing arm.
“Your arm…”
“More than that. Beniang… what about Beniang?”
She didn’t have any energy, but she still asked in an urgent voice.
Frey shook his head without saying a word.
“I… see.”
Nora collapsed on the spot as though the little energy that was keeping her going had dissipated. Sorrow seemed to pour out of her.
“…she sacrificed herself because of me.”
“You don’t need to blame yourself. I was the one who was late.”
That wasn’t any comfort.
Nora smiled bitterly and asked.
“What about Agni?”
“I killed him.”
“…”
Nora froze for a moment, staring at Frey.
She had been too sad to realise it before, but she noticed that there was something different about Frey.
‘Why can’t I feel his mana?’
This was something that was impossible even for a 9 star Wizard.
Besides, he said he had killed Agni. But even though he was weakened, that shouldn’t have been an easy task.
Then she finally noticed Dro, who was standing beside Frey.
“Who is that?”
“That’s a bit of a long story. I will tell you later.”
Frey turned to Tuarik and the surviving Silkid Warriors. Tuarik felt his gaze and walked over.
“Silkid’s Great Chief, Tuarik.”
“Frey Blake.”
“…I’m not sure if I overheard correctly… did you really say you defeated Agni?”
When Frey nodded, Tuarik was lost for words for a moment.
“Could he be lying?”
“No… that shouldn’t be. But how?”
“He was very weak.”
“…”
At those words, Tuarik had similar thoughts to Nora, but Frey did not give him the chance to ask.
“You plan to head back to Silkid, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Talhadun is gone, so I’ll take you back to Al-Tarha. Is that okay?”
“Thank you for that…”
Tuarik nodded.
Paht.
Then, in the next instant, he and the other Warriors were standing in Al-Tarha.
“Wh-, what just…”
“Was that a Warp?”
“Mm…!”
It took the Warriors a few moments before they realised that they had returned to Silkid. However, most of them stared at Frey with incredulous expressions upon realising this.
Although they were Warriors, they still knew a bit about magic.
‘To use Warp on his own and so easily despite carrying so many people…’
‘He didn’t even chant or say anything.’
‘Is that even possible?’
Frey ignored their glances and said.
“There are no more Demigods in Silkid. However, the damage they dealt cannot be repaired in a short time. Of course, more serious problems remain.”
“…”
“You won’t be able to easily fix the emotional damage.”
He was talking about those who had chosen to follow the Demigod. It was possible that there could be a civil war.
To put it bluntly, the real disaster for Silkid was only just beginning.
Tuarik also knew this, so he nodded with a firm expression.
“…that is also our responsibility to deal with. In any case, thank you. You are all Silkid’s benefactors.”
Frey didn’t respond.
The damage was far too great for him to accept any praise.
He returned to the Trowman Rings’ hideout.
Now that all the Warriors from Silkid were gone, the atmosphere felt thicker.
Nora, Isaka, and Nix could be seen in a clearing, their expressions gloomy.
“The rest?”
“Snow is locked in a room, and Ivan went into the forest.”
Nora was the one who answered with a bitter expression.
“I gave them a rough rundown of the situation. Would you like to meet them?”
Frey nodded before turning around.
He looked at Nix.
“I’m glad you’re safe.”
“…yeah.”
She looked restless, like a child who had been caught doing something wrong.