Chapter 218

It took them a while to persuade Jekid and the others. And Anastasia couldn’t stop glaring at the Knight who called her a Lunatic.

She wanted to hit his head at least once, but she knew that with her current body, doing such a thing would only have made her look more ridiculous.

So instead, she thought about Hector. If he wasn’t a Dragon, she would have long separated his flesh from his bones.

‘He could have at least made me look a little older.’

Since she didn’t appear very old, it could be said that Anastasia’s suffering was only beginning.

The Knights flinched when they saw her gritting her teeth. On the other hand, Jekid, whose face had regained some semblance of calmness, opened his mouth with a sigh.

“Hoo! If all of this is made up…”

“Then I would have been called Great Literati, not Great Sage.”

“…”

Anastasia didn’t really care too much about persuading them or proving herself. Probably because she didn’t think it was necessary.

In fact, her judgment was correct.

‘I don’t think it’s a lie.’

Anastasia’s story had managed to fill in many of the doubts Jekid had. The things that had happened so far had too much of a cause-and-effect relationship for him to deny her words.

In particular, there was Frey Blake’s ridiculous growth speed.

He was an unprecedented genius who had managed to reach 9 stars at an age of less than 30 years. At the same time, he had discretion and judgement that were not proportional to his age, and he knew to act boldly at times.

There were times when he showed consideration even with small actions, and there were times when he was so cold-hearted that it was hard to tell if he was truly a human being.

Talent alone was not enough to explain all of these things.

Time was a necessary factor in order for such omnipotence to appear in a human.

If Frey’s real identity was the Great Mage who disappeared 4,000 years ago, then all the questions he had would be answered.

“…I see.”

The day of the purge. He remembered the words Frey said to Rezil at that time.

‘You don’t deserve to be the master of the Strow Necklaces.’

At that time, he’d thought it was just arrogance.

In fact, it was possible that everyone thought so.

Rezil had been leading his circle before Frey was even born. Although his choices were wrong, the agony he went through and the burdens he had to shoulder were enough to destroy a person’s character.

No one felt that a child too young to understand these things had the right to question his qualifications.

But that wasn’t the case.

Frey was truly ‘qualified’ to judge others’ qualifications

Jekid felt like he’d finally understood a hidden truth after the fact. He looked up, his eyes calmly sinking again.

“So what are you going to do now?”

“We have to kill Nozdog.”

Ivan replied in a tone that seemed to say the answer to the question he was asking was obvious.

In any case, since the Great Medium and Grey were there, it wouldn’t have been hard for them to escape the forest.

But Anastasia was paying attention to something else.

“What is his purpose for coming here in the first place? Was it to bring the country to its knees? Or was it to destroy it?”

“I don’t think it’s either of the two.”

“Why do you say that?”

The Great Medium shook her head.

“If his purpose was to make the country submit, he wouldn’t have killed the country’s royal family.”

“…he killed the royal family? Nozdog?”

“Yeah.”

If that was the case, then the situation might have been worse than they expected.

“And afterwards?”

“He’s currently staying in the palace.”

The people in the palace were most likely dead.

Ivan was almost certain of it.

“He’s probably looking for me. That’s why I came to this forest.”

The Dark Forest could be called a closed space as it was completely isolated from the outside world. Unless Nozdog used a special method, he would be unable to find any trace of her.

Meanwhile, Anastasia still pondered with a serious expression.

‘Does he still have Illuminium?’

Or had he found another method to escape the punishment of the law?

She wasn’t sure.

But there was one thing unclear. What was Nozdog’s purpose for coming to the country if it wasn’t for submission or destruction?

“…perhaps, killing the Great Medium is his goal.”

“Yeah. But we don’t know why.”

Then Ivan asked bluntly.

“How are you so sure that you’re his target?”

“Because he’s blatantly following my tracks.”

The Great Medium could see the entire continent.

It couldn’t have been a coincidence that Nozdog appeared in the places she’d been in one after the other.

So she was certain that he was tracking her.

In a way, the fall of the palace was her fault.

Ivan, who had been thinking for a while, suddenly opened his eyes.

“Let’s defeat Nozdog.”

Anastasia sighed.

“…Ivan. As I said earlier, defeating Nozdog is not so simple.”

“I know. I didn’t say that without thinking about it first.”

Anastasia paused.

This was because Ivan’s voice was serious as he said those words. He continued in a clear voice.

“Because I fought Agni before, I have an idea of how strong Nozdog will be. So looking at the current power of our group, I can say that it’s not impossible.”

Lucid Swords’ Circle Master. A Magic Warrior who was at the threshold of Warrior King. A Golem with a transcendent body. A 9 star Wizard. And the Great Medium who had mastered sorcery.

The Great Medium froze at that.

“Wait. Why am I in the head coun-”

“We’re definitely not inferior in terms of power. I think we would be able to defeat him. But the risk is definitely high. I think…”

“That we should wait for Frey to come back?”

“…”

Anastasia could not respond. Because Ivan’s words were exactly what she was about to suggest.

“If that guy was here, then catching Nozdog would definitely not be a problem. He managed to defeat a monster like Agni without a scratch. But we don’t know when Frey will come back, do we?”

“That’s right.”

Grey nodded.

Ivan turned to Anastasia with a slightly cold gaze.

“I felt it before, but you are too dependent on Frey. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but… I don’t really like things like that.”

“…!”

Those words gave Anastasia a shock.

She stared at Ivan blankly for a while before nodding as if she was broken.

“…you might be right.”

She couldn’t deny it.

Looking back, that had always been the case since the time Frey was Lukas.

Was it because of his natural charisma?

Or was it because she’d seen countless heroic aspects as he somehow overcame situations that were thought to be impossible?

Anastasia couldn’t tell.

She knew how heavy the burden on her best friend’s shoulders was. But now, she realised that she was part of that weight.

In fact, it was possible that she was the greatest burden.

Anastasia looked at Ivan with a fresh gaze. It was only now that she realised he looked at Frey as a person, not as a hero or the Great Mage. He knew of Lukas’ numerous achievements, but he didn’t dwell on it.

His attitude didn’t change.

Other people might have called Ivan rude, but it was possible that only this kind of person could truly be on par with Lukas.

‘…if this guy was around 4,000 years ago.’

Anastasia had that thought for a moment before shaking her head.

The past didn’t matter anymore. What mattered was the present.

“…fine. Let’s hear your plan.”

Ivan had managed to convince Anastasia.

This guy was not ignorant nor savage. It was clear that he could make rational judgments when necessary.

“It’s simple.”

However, when she heard the words Ivan said next with a smile, she regretted that thought.

“We’ll just attack the palace and crush the skull of that guy, Nozdog.”

* * *

Beelzebub never returned. The other Rulers, including Frey, scoured the area, but they were unable to find any traces of him.

“Where the hell did he disappear to?”

“I don’t think he ran away.”

Asura and Barbatos grumbled, but Frey’s expression was even more serious than theirs.

There was no way he’d run away. After all, where would he escape to if the plan failed and Hell was destroyed?

‘…surely…’

An ominous thought popped up for a moment, but Frey shook his head.

This was not something that he could judge rashly.

After all, Beelzebub was no pushover. He was one of the Rulers of Hell, a being who had managed to live for thousands of years.

It was impossible for him to be dealt with covertly.

‘We have to hurry.’

Time continued to flow even at that moment, so he didn’t have any time to waste.

Even though the owner was absent, they eventually held the final meeting in the castle.

Surrounded by a sullen mood, Frey opened his mouth.

“Lord and I are in a superficial alliance. Of course, I have no intention of maintaining that alliance.”

Afterwards, he briefly explained his plan.

When Lord and Lucifer began fighting, he would not actively interfere with the fight and would instead control the situation, eventually stepping in and taking care of both of them at the same time when their strengths had reached a suitable level.

According to his plan, the rest of the Rulers would standby at a distance, and they would rush into the battle when Frey gave the signal.

Tilting his head, Asura asked.

“Is that it?”

“Is there a problem?”

“It’s just much simpler than I expected it to be.”

The other Rulers seemed to have similar thoughts. But Frey had no intention of making an overly complicated plan.

“It might not necessarily be a simple plan. In any case, against those two, complex tactics are almost completely useless.”

It was also true that even a ‘simple plan’ might not be realised.

That was why he purposely made it simple. Complex plans became useless if even a small variable was changed.

“Your task is to look for traces of Beelzebub. Expand your range a little further.”

“Understood. What about you?”

“I need to head back to where Lord is.”

He needed to ask exactly when the fight with Lucifer would begin. In addition, his fight with Asura had caused more of a ruckus than he expected.

Considering Lord’s capabilities, it was possible that he’d noticed the fight. Therefore, he needed to confirm this fact and check whether their alliance was still in effect.

If he felt anything strange, he would have to change his entire plan.

Frey quickly headed back to the place where Lord had been staying, and his anxiety became a reality.

“…”

The location where Lord had been staying was empty.

* * *

“You can head back to the continent.”

“What should I do there?”

“You just need to wait in Hitume Ikar. When I give you the signal, you just have to be the bait. It’s simple.”

“Understood.”

Dro nodded gently.

He’d realised his identity. There was no reason for him to not listen to Lucifer.

He could no longer hear Iris’ voice. Now, Lucifer was the person he trusted the most.

Shuk.

Dro’s figure disappeared.

For him, jumping between dimensions was nothing. It would only take him a few minutes to arrive in Hitume Ikar.

Lucifer looked down, seeing the figure of a person. Blood from this person’s body soaked the ground of Hell.

“Your blood smells really bad. Is it because you’re a fly?”

“…”

“Didn’t I tell you before, King of Flies? Accidents happen.”

Beelzebub didn’t answer.

No. He couldn’t answer.

This was natural. After all, the Ruler of the Bloody Hell had already been decapitated.

“I hope Lord likes my gift.”

Lucifer grinned.

(TL: I knew he would kill Beelzebub)