NOVEL NEXT Chapter 172
Chapter 172. Childhood Friend – Nuts
“What happened to Lena?”
Lev took a moment to catch his breath. Instead of answering the question, he nodded, indicating they should move.
Leo de Yeliel followed Lev without a word. Though it was nearly sunset and time to enter the palace, such things no longer mattered.
The two headed to a nearby restaurant in front of the palace. It was late, so they couldn’t go inside; they spoke at the entrance instead.
“You don’t have to worry about Lena.”
“…That’s a relief.”
Leo exhaled a sigh of relief. Whether his guilt lessened, he brushed his bangs and stared into space before asking.
“Then what happened to me? No, more importantly, are you… Minseo?”
Lev pondered. After rolling his eyes upward in thought, he answered.
“No.”
It was a denial, but not one spoken with confidence. Two months had passed since the Childhood Friend scenario began, and Lev knew Minseo’s traces were still present.
But that didn’t mean he could unequivocally state that he was Minseo.
Realizing he had asked a needless question, Leo de Yeliel leaned against the wall and sat down. He tapped the ground, gesturing for Lev to sit next to him, and then began to speak.
“Well… Anyway, it’s nice meeting you. We haven’t even introduced ourselves yet.”
The two young men sitting on the street shook hands. Despite being strangers, they knew each other all too well.
“Then will you tell me what happened to me? And how Lena has been living?”
Leo asked. With little to say, Lev hesitantly recounted the past as it had happened.
“You… died.”
+ + +
Despite being prepared, Leo’s legs trembled as he entered the palace. While he announced his return to the leader of the Royal Guard and was on his way to meet the king with the chamberlain, he nervously fidgeted with his sword sheath.
How fickle the human heart can be.
Determined to help Minseo, he had vowed to leave something behind in this round. Yet deceitful thoughts gnawed at his resolve—‘It’s not too late. Run.’, ‘Why must I go this far?’
Leo endured. He believed that his choice was not wrong and would eventually prove beneficial.
The vast palace felt narrow.
It seemed like he had taken just a few steps from the commander’s office, but he had long passed the ‘Sanctuary of the Sky’ and was now at the ‘Emperor’s Ascent.’
At the top of the Emperor’s Ascent, there was a spacious lobby. Lavishly adorned with what seemed like gold plating, it was a dazzling sight. At its center stood the main entrance to the king’s private chamber.
“Noel requests an audience.”
The engraved door opened to the sides. Despite expecting it, Leo was startled.
Red. Crimson.
Using the {Divine Insight} ability, Leo could see it. Centered around the throne where the king sat, the walls, floor, and ceiling were densely covered with indecipherable red characters.
And the king sitting on the throne was… not an apostle.
He was Asin (the Young God) himself.
[Achievement: King 3/7]
“Gasp.”
Leo inhaled sharply when faced with the king, who had blond hair and golden eyes.
Outwardly, he seemed benevolent, but within raged a blood-red divine power with the form of a tetrahedron.
Leo felt a fear he couldn’t comprehend.
“Leave us.”
The king commanded the chamberlain. With a thud—the door closed, leaving Leo and the king alone.
“Pleasure to meet you again.”
Karoman de Tatalia—or rather, an ancient ‘Beast’—smiled. He grabbed a handful of almonds, crushed them, and stretched out his arms as if to welcome Leo.
“Come here. I’ve awaited this for so long… but you return in another’s embrace. Naughty child. Breaking promises again.”
Leo didn’t move closer.
He knelt courteously just below the throne.
“Greetings to the wise ruler.”
“…Indeed, you wouldn’t remember me. No one is here, so let’s be honest. What brings Barbatos’s apostle to me?”
—Click.
The king descended the stairs. As the king took each step, Leo thought he saw scales-covered hooves.
When he blinked, the hooves were gone.
“Lord Barbatos asked me to inquire.”
Leo began to speak.
Trying his best not to look at the slowly approaching terror, he posed a question to grasp at any straw.
“Why does Lord Astoroth remain silent? Sixteen years have passed since reaching the exalted position, yet why insist on staying in the palace? If there’s any difficulty, Lord Barbatos offered willing assistance.”
“Barbatos, so naive.”
Karoman de Tatalia scoffed. But acknowledging Leo had the right to ask, he offered a rare grace.
“Tell him not to underestimate the humans placed by the Supreme Deity. They are intricately entangled and occasionally peculiar.”
The king extended his hand.
Choosing to extend his left hand, he specifically reached for Barbatos’s mark on Leo’s right hand. Leo, head bowed, feigned ignorance and pressed with another question.
“Is that why you activated the princess? To create a rift by touching the Swordmaster’s son?”
Perhaps his interest wasn’t piqued. The king bent down to grab Leo’s right hand, compelling Leo to hastily speak again.
“If so, then you were even planning to involve the Marquis Tatian’s son?”
“Oh?”
The king, kneeling on one knee in front of Leo, showed a look of surprise. He thought to himself, “This Asin guy I’ve never heard of is quite something,” and wrinkled his nose.
“Yes. That guy is quite annoying.”
A peculiar human. Astaroth did not like Marquis Tatian.
There were few humans in the world whom he liked, but Marquis Tatian was especially annoying in Astaroth’s long history.
Sixteen years ago. On the coronation day when he endured the hot holy water pouring over his head, Marquis Benard Tatian approached. The marquis seemed to be fond of the king who killed his two older brothers and claimed the throne, as he constantly hovered around him.
Whenever the king would try to do something, the marquis would almost supernaturally perceive it and request an audience, all the while pretending to know everything in an irritating manner.
“The crown suits you well.”
It was the same appearance, except for the blessing of the chief god being absent.
“The weather has turned cold. Please accept my humble gift.”
It was the day after the king had secretly left the castle to check where it would be best to erect the altar to gather divine power.
With an intrigued expression.
An expression that showed he was dying of curiosity about what the king was thinking and what he was planning to do, which infuriated the king enough to squeeze out his limited divine power and cast a terror spell on the marquis.
But it failed. Although he managed to penetrate the blessed items the marquis was wearing, the marquis showed no change. He was an abnormal human who lacked fear.
“Damn main god.”
Astaroth realized that the filthy main god had ‘thwarted’ him once more. He had holed up in the palace, waiting quietly, and finally, he had reached today.
Astaroth grasped Leo’s hand. Planning to erase the insignificant trumpet pattern and take in his first love and first contractor, his first return in thousands of years through the royal blood.
However,
“This… this…!!”
Astaroth stood up abruptly.
He shook off Leo’s hand and shouted in anger.
“You filth! You have become a toy of the god!”
Barbatos was no problem at all. His true name had changed, and his first love, who returned as a completely different person, already had a master.
[Player: Minseo]
He could no longer possess him. As Astaroth, unable to contain his boiling rage, stomped the ground, Leo drew his sword.
-Slash.
The sword swung with lightning speed. Leo felt certain he had cut off both of the king’s legs, but the king scattered like mist. As if he had never been there, he appeared behind and threw open the door, shouting.
“Traitor! Kill this scoundrel!”
“Your Majesty? What is…”
The guard who was keeping the lobby was astonished upon seeing Leo with a drawn sword, blocking his path. He was a knight who was somewhat distant with Leo, but he shouted for support from the chief of staff and drew his sword.
“That is not the king! It’s an evil god!”
-Clang!
“What nonsense are you talking about! I knew something was off since you barged into the prince’s room! And with the princess too!”
-Clang!
Realizing that his words were not getting through, Leo gripped his sword tighter.
The king, with a face filled with indignation, occasionally looked back as he disappeared. Leo had no choice but to pursue him.
“Urgh…”
[Quest: Duelist 976/1000 – {Swordsmanship} skill has increased by one level.]
After exchanging ten or so blows, Leo’s sword pierced the heart of the guard. Without having time to admire the blood seeping into the blue uniform, Leo hurriedly ran out.
Suddenly, he noticed the number on the quest was one more than he remembered from the previous childhood friend scenario, but Leo thought he might have killed someone and exited the lobby.
“Sir Noel! What are you doing!”
Around the Hall of the Sky under the Emperor’s Ascent, guards and knights were gathering. The commander of the knights, Hamlet, questioned with a bewildered expression.
Next to him was the knight who had mentored Leo, making him feel even worse.
Feeling bone-chilling loneliness, he looked around. The king was already across, climbing the prince’s stairs. After briefly gazing at Leo with lingering feelings, the king entered the prince’s office.
“Sir Noel! Drop your sword immediately! If you are still a knight, act honorably…”
“There’s no need for that!”
A swordmaster appeared. Count Herman Forte, who must have still been with the prince after the ball, came running out from the office the king had entered, shouting.
-Thud!
Count Forte jumped off the railing. Forcing his way through the gathered knights, he stepped onto the Emperor’s Ascent.
Feeling somewhat relieved, Leo raised his sword. Approaching the stairs to take a vantage point, he rekindled his grudge against the Count.
This was the man who killed my sister. Also the man who killed Leo Dexter and Lena Einar.
Honestly, there was no chance, but for the sake of revenge later on, it would be good to face him at least once…
-Clang!
The count drew his sword ‘without any prior indication’. Feeling a powerful blow land in an instant, Leo barely managed to block with his sword and slid backward.
He recalled the attack he received during guard duty in the past. Even with Lena Einar helping him at that time, his nose was still broken, and his lips were split.
‘Looks like he prefers to ambush with his first strike… Owaah!’
The count’s sword plunged in. It narrowly grazed his waist, and Leo realized it was not the time for analysis.
– Kaaang!
“Ugh!”
The Swordmaster’s body spun swiftly. Keeping his thrusting posture intact, he pivoted and struck down upon Leo. This is unreal…
‘That’s unfair!’
How could he blatantly pull off such a spin? Thanks to scenario rewards, Leo had developed a deep understanding of swordsmanship, and he gritted his teeth at the opponent’s brazen attack.
A large move like a spin comes with costs. You could get hit on the back of the head during the spin, so you’d only utilize the time advantage when the opponent couldn’t react.
But just now, that wasn’t the case at all. No matter how Leo’s posture was disrupted to avoid the thrust, it wasn’t a situation where he had enough leeway to execute a spin.
Count Herman Forte arrogantly utilized his ‘hidden prelude swordsmanship.’ Though it couldn’t really be criticized as arrogance since Leo hadn’t realized the body was ready to spin at the end of the thrust…
The Swordmaster looked surprised. Yet, with menacing eyes fixed on Leo, the sword blazed white. Perhaps intending to end the fight quickly, he swung the sword again without waiting for the Aura Blade to form.
Leo remained extremely vigilant.
You couldn’t predict where the attack would come from before seeing it. It was impossible to anticipate ─ you had to defend already half a beat behind.
The Swordmaster’s attack came as a horizontal slash. Leo barely raised his sword to block it, and as the Aura Blade met Leo’s sword (a bound item), Count Hermann Forte wore a look as if he had swallowed a whole apple.
As his lips slightly parted, Leo seized the opportunity.
He reversed his grip on the sword handle, stepped forward, and lifted the sword that was pressed inside.
When the tip of the sword naturally turned toward the Swordmaster using the axis of the count’s sword, he thrust vigorously.
Got it! But at the same time, it was regrettable.
Instead of the abdomen initially targeted, the sword grazed the count’s thigh. But it went in deep enough to cut through about two finger joints.
This should be a sufficient critical wound…
‘Wait, what?’
At that moment, the palace tilted. The palace was spinning rapidly.
Have I fallen now? For a moment, he thought, but he felt nothing below him.
– Thwack!
Seeing the ceiling, Leo confirmed he had indeed fallen. No, it wasn’t an accurate description. Only ‘half of his upper body’ had fallen.
From his right shoulder to his left waist had been severed. The Swordmaster focused on killing Leo rather than avoiding, and the Aura Blade cleanly cut through Leo’s body.
Leo de Yeriel, lying on the floor, saw his own legs still standing. His heart, still beating, kept him alive for a moment longer.
But it was fleeting. Leo’s vision blurred, and amidst the shouts of “The Count is injured! Summon the priest immediately!” a message appeared.
[ Leo has died. ]
It was an empty, futile death.