NOVEL NEXT Chapter 907
<907 – Dark Shadow vs Dark Shadow (16)>
Oknodie’s bold resolve surprised me too.
If I can be resurrected anyway, shouldn’t I just achieve some accomplishments?
Then I can cherish my real life even more.
Oknodie didn’t think that way.
So I never thought to kill him.
Why is he suddenly going off like that?
Why did he just decide to die on his own?
Why does he assume I’m a bad child and not trust me?
I had so much to say.
But the Oknodie who could listen to me is no longer here.
“Just say something! Please, let me understand this situation!”
What remains is just me and the mob.
What should I say?
This wasn’t my intention, but Oknodie went off on a tangent.
Would the mob understand if I say that?
I trusted Oknodie when I said it, but he didn’t believe me.
What if the mob also doesn’t believe me? What then?
But thinking about it, it’s quite annoying.
Oknodie is practically my clone, so why does he like Oknodie more than me?
“Oknodie wanted to die maintaining his own unique philosophy of life rather than living as my doppelganger!”
“Oknodie fought you?”
“Do you hate me?”
“I don’t know. I can hate anything in front of my eyes. I hate the whole world! So please, just tell me it’s none of your business!”
“It’s not unrelated.”
In short, this is a loyalty test.
It’s not just these guys who don’t trust me.
I’m starting to doubt you too!
“I stuck to what I thought was best, and Oknodie stuck to what he thought was best. We were both headstrong; I tried to give the mob the power that can be gained through my death, and Oknodie gave the power that came with his death. The result is the power the mob gained.”
“…!”
“So, who will the mob blame now?”
Most likely me.
If I were the mob, I’d do that.
After all, he’s just an easy guy who falls in love quickly, enough to decide that the love goddess fell for Oknodie and his pure harem, leaving the original me behind.
A person who falls in love quickly can also fall into blame quickly.
But haven’t love feelings also been paralyzed?
Was it out of friendship or loyalty?
That’s just so annoying.
How much time have we spent together?
This is why black-haired beasts shouldn’t be raised.
But Sia’s also not black-haired, right?
Um… yeah, Sia is now Sia, after all.
Beasts are male.
Women aren’t beasts!
For the same reason, Jiang is also safe.
Titosso isn’t black-haired, so he’s not a beast either.
Three safety coins have been accumulated!
Feeling better, I chuckled, but a strong guilt flashed across the mob’s face.
Huh?
This reaction, could it be…?
“I… the person I will blame…”
The mob pressed down on the area of his armor where the key was inserted into his chest.
“It’s not you.”
“Huh?”
“Even if I blame the whole world, Oknodie, I must not blame you.”
This was unexpected.
The mob did not betray me.
“Is that because you are projecting Oknodie’s form onto me?”
“No. If it wasn’t for the grace and training you’ve given me, I wouldn’t even have the opportunity or qualifications to stand next to Oknodie. So… the thing I should blame is my weak self.”
The mob did not seek the reason for loss in others.
“If I had been stronger, Oknodie wouldn’t have had to give me power at the cost of his life. In the end, weak people do not deserve love. Ultimately, the two of them fought because of me, because I’m still weak…!”
Tears flowed from the mob’s eyes.
Those tears were shed out of frustration over his own weakness.
It was a boy’s tears that used to feel like a long time ago, boiling over with anger about his weakness, but now those feelings felt hot again.
The emotions that had overflowed after being cursed and sealed by the love goddess were genuine and deep.
I thought I was the only one who hadn’t changed.
Maybe I’ve changed.
The mob’s tears didn’t feel as cute as before.
Only pity remained.
I could guess the reason.
‘It’s because I don’t feel like he is entirely mine!’
Seeing the mob felt like looking at an ex-girlfriend.
Once, we were so close that I was desperate to give everything, but now even if I want to give, something inside me pulls back.
What if I give and get discarded again?
An echo that doesn’t come back is hollow.
Unrewarded efforts are now tiresome.
‘Distrust’ has been unconsciously learned.
No matter what the mob says.
No matter what actions he takes.
What he has shown me up to now in words and actions.
That can’t be wiped away.
A mob with loyalty less than 100.
That’s why the mob might take a cynical path; it’s possible.
But my expectations for the ‘new face’ were special.
They could be different from the other newbies.
They might reach a loyalty of 100.
Even if they always grumble and act tough, they might become a reliable ally like Ishtar who stood by my side in the end.
The gamble failed.
The mob was not a certain person.
Neither Jonnas nor Ishtar could be trusted.
Yet, he was my student who learned from me.
To the boy, who lost his lover, lost his mentor, and was about to be left alone due to his own weakness, I intentionally asked.
“If you become stronger for Oknodie, what will you fight against?”
“The reason Oknodie had to become strong, the reason Oknodie has to become strong. I will stand against the Demon King and the Principal Omoshiroi. I will face all entities that threaten peace.”
“I see.”
“I won’t ask you to help me like before. I have some shame too.”
It was unexpected, and as I blinked, the face hidden under the helm was contorted in pain.
“Were you disappointed? I said I wanted to respect you and follow you, yet I easily changed after standing before Oknodie.”
“Do you think of yourself that way?”
“Yeah. I was cowardly. Unlike you, who I could never hope to surpass, Oknodie simply showed me love and filled what I couldn’t expect from you. He gave me the [Happiness] I couldn’t guarantee to reach even if I spent my whole life and the [Fruits of Efforts]. That’s why I liked Oknodie.”
Did the mob regret meeting Oknodie?
I had doubts for a moment.
Fortunately, he wasn’t that blinded.
“I regret to say this, but that feeling was real. Oknodie faced her end for the day that would have no last. I have to tell her that my heart… her heart… wasn’t in vain.”
“!”
“For the Oknodie who risked her life and bestowed upon me talents that were beyond my worth, I must prove now. I must prove that what she gave me was not in vain. That the talent she bestowed and the method she chose for me to grow is not inferior to your methods.”
“Tch. In the end, you’re just saying you like Oknodie.”
“Even if you’re mad, understand this. If you can’t forgive me while I’m alive, even if I die, I will offer my life willingly.”
“Hmm. It’s because you can be resurrected, right?”
“It’s fine even after the weekly event ends. It’d make sense to take it all back, considering there were times that couldn’t have even begun without you.”
I knelt and bowed my head.
Looking down at my neck, offered as if in a textbook apology, I felt strangely deflated.
I’m weak against good newbies.
No matter how awkward feelings akin to those toward an ex-girlfriend arise, I still have a sense of responsibility as a former mentor.
“I will give it to you. Everything you desire. But if I have another chance, can you forgive this heart that wants to live for Oknodie?”
“Are you thinking of me as too bad a person?”
“…”
“Still, I’m okay now. The mob has also decided what to hold dear. I don’t think of it as betrayal. I just think it’s time to let go of my grown-up disciple.”
So this is the last gift I give as a mentor.
I caught the doppelganger, wriggling and instinctively hiding in someone who would protect it.
When I lifted it up, the doppelganger extended like gum, unconsciously fearing me and hating to leave the mob, but hmph.
If you didn’t want to be caught, you shouldn’t have just thrown everything away and run away.
I cast [Grand Magic] within the doppelganger.
10 seconds. 20 seconds. 30 seconds.
Restoring existence and calling back the soul to seal.
Engraving the form and imposing conditional restrictions.
A spell not easy even for a veteran player like me has reached its end.
“In the next 10 years, if the mob can maintain purity by the side of this child, this doppelganger will regain the self of the Doppelganger Queen. After another 10 years, she will regain Oknodie’s form.”
“!!”
“Even if the shape and memory are different, if you can cherish such a doppelganger queen, I believe we can build a sound relationship rather than an unpayable debt formed by Oknodie’s selfish sacrifice!”
“Why go this far…”
“Think of it this way. It’s a severance payment from a mentor to a disciple. Prove that today’s resolve isn’t false with a life that’s harder than dying. This is my last teaching and graduation project!”
With tears overflowing from between the gaps of the helm, the mob shouted with all his might.
“I will engrave the kindness of today in my heart and live on. Mentor…!”
“Well then, step aside quickly since you’re in the way!”
“Huh?!”
I waved my hand and sent the mob rolling away with the wind, and then I turned to Forever More, who had thoroughly expelled the mana I inserted.
“Senior, you have some surprising manners, huh? Waiting for all this. Should I at least thank you?”
“No need. I thought that the future you are trying to create might not be all evil.”
Forever More sat down.
“Do it. Whatever you plan to do. I will watch the results with my own eyes and judge.”
It was amazing.
Forever More.
This man can never give up his position as the ‘top’ and ‘strongest’ for the sake of his goals.
And but, he yielded the board to me.
My generosity shown due to mob’s sincerity must have moved Forever More’s heart.
‘My departed disciple still did well in the end!’
I felt a little prickly thorn in my heart soften.
*
Having let go of my disciple, I might have felt a bit upset.
But did he overcome even that? The child, who is not yet yielded, smiled brightly and said.
“Hey, I feel good. Then I’ll grant you special intuition!”
“What were you going to do while guarding the Death Zone?”
“Stealing from boss mobs?”
“…?”
“So, like this!”
Oknodie’s hand poked at the Death Zone, causing the Dark Mana inside to writhe wildly.
Following the absolute hierarchy of Dark Mana, the Death Zone, deemed ‘below’ Oknodie, showed signs of collapsing as if it would soon be annihilated.
[Regeneration cooldown 13% elapsed]
[Regeneration cooldown 100% elapsed]
The regeneration cooldown for boss mobs passed instantly thanks to the energy supply from the threatened Death Zone, and a new boss mob that came after the Disaster Bug appeared.
But as Oknodie suddenly wielded the Disaster Bug’s power and pulled the new boss mob in ‘both’ directions, the boss mob blew up as soon as it popped out.
Thanks to having trained the Disaster Bug well and controlling it.
Forever More is not easily surprised.
Even he was astonished with his mouth gaping wide.
‘If we had done the same thing to a person… we would have all died long ago.’
Oknodie can control the Disaster Bug.
And yet, she showed restraint.
Seeing that, I understood how genuine her feelings were.
She could tear apart not just Oknodie but herself too.
A natural talent for handling monsters.
A child with the potential to be a Demon King perfectly managed the functions possessed by the Disaster Bug with just that level of potential.
The more I looked, the more I was amazed by her tremendous power.
But the most shocking was the current atrocity.
Oknodie, who seemed to have come to act as a guardian of the Death Zone, poked her finger in again right after the second boss mob of the Death Zone disappeared and began to torment the Death Zone.
As if to imply, ‘If you don’t want to be annihilated, quickly produce the next Death Zone boss mob!’
“…”
For Forever More, who had come to smash the Death Zone, it was a frustrating sight, wondering why he stopped Oknodie, thinking she would play around and demolish it on her own!