025. Distortion (6)
“The entire forest…?”
Owen asked, seeming to not grasp the reality of Kyle’s words.
“Yeah.”
Whether aware of Owen’s baffled state or not, Kyle remained casual.
He nodded for a moment, then shrugged his shoulders.
“I saw earlier that you could control it to some extent. If you make up your mind and unleash all your power, wouldn’t it be entirely possible?”
Owen found Kyle’s simple remark somewhat irritating.
Owen narrowed his eyes slightly and spoke.
“If that’s the case, then you could do it just as well.”
Not being the real ‘Owen,’ he honestly wasn’t sure.
He was able to use his power thanks to the memory that suddenly resurfaced earlier.
Using his power beyond what was in his memory, well, that was hard to guarantee.
Who knows, maybe ‘Owen’s’ memory might resurface again.
At this moment, it didn’t seem like he could muster enough power to lift a sword big enough to swallow the entire forest.
“Well…”
Kyle’s response was cut off by Owen’s remark.
It seemed he wanted to see Owen’s maximum power, for whatever reason.
The reason was unknown, but it seemed he had found something intriguing in a long time.
“Argh.”
After pondering hard for excuses, Kyle eventually bit his tongue, unable to find a suitable reason.
Seeing Kyle’s regretful expression, Owen raised an eyebrow in bewilderment before turning his gaze straight ahead.
Thud-.
At that moment, he swiftly pierced the heart of the charging demon.
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The swirling black aura enveloped the massive demon’s body, bringing it down helplessly.
“It’s not that difficult. You could probably do it in one go, right?”
With a tinge of regret in his heart, Kyle raised a large flame above his hand, then spoke softly.
Owen let out a sigh and spoke.
“Whose standards are we going by, anyway?”
Having hoped to get along well since meeting the sub-male lead.
It was quite strange how the kid suddenly became fixated on his power at some point, constantly asking to see it and clinging to him.
‘He should be clinging to the female lead from the start.’
No matter how you look at it, even if it’s before the original story started.
If the female lead Bella appeared, one should naturally shift their attention there.
Even after becoming a sub male lead, there was no clear reason why he was attracted to the male lead.
Among many things, why would I be interested in my abilities?
It was a headache because it wasn’t an area I could easily handle.
“Between you and me?”
As if Owen found Kyle’s question absurd, Kyle responded as if it was obvious.
With a shameless face and a twisted expression in his eyes, he seemed determined to bring out your abilities no matter what.
Unfortunately.
‘…I have to figure out a way.’
Owen inwardly sighed deeply.
He thought it would be nice to have a friend, but the guy turned out to be not quite normal.
He thought the tension between Owen and him was just due to fighting over Bella, but now it seemed like their tastes were a bit different.
He thought she was just deeply into magic.
Maybe she just liked strong guys.
‘Did Bella like that too…?’
He ended up thinking that.
Since Bella was a very capable character, maybe that’s why, he thought.
It probably wasn’t true.
In the original, they said they fell in love ‘at first sight’ so…
Was it because of appearance, then?
“Stop talking nonsense. Think of a reasonable solution.”
Owen, who was lost in thought for a moment, organized his thoughts and spoke firmly.
If he didn’t cut it off decisively, Kyle seemed like he would continue questioning and coaxing.
By any means necessary, get me to use my abilities.
Like he did back in the depths of the forest.
“Well. It’s not unreasonable, is it? Honestly, in the current situation, it seems like the most ideal solution.”
When Owen spoke with a somewhat pathetic voice, Kyle countered.
“A way to kill all the monsters in the forest in a short time. Since eradicating the forest is the only solution.”
“….”
This time, the words that came out of his mouth were undeniable.
Calling for reinforcements from the temple would take a whole day, and by then, the knights would have already fallen, whether it was Owen or Kyle.
If one of them were to eradicate the forest, the monsters would die along with it, making it the most realistic and ideal solution for now.
“But then the people of the territory would suffer in the winter.”
The reason why Kyle and Owen left the northern forest intact, despite having the power to do so, was because the forest was necessary.
The forest played a role in blocking some of the fierce winds that hit the villages in the north.
That’s why Owen and Kyle used a cruel ability to take away all life only in the depths of the forest.
In other regions, they painstakingly killed each individual to protect the trees.
To think of destroying the entire forest.
If all the trees in the forest were to die, this winter would have been extremely difficult.
Concerned about this point, when Owen brought it up, Kyle tilted his head slightly.
“But we can’t just let people get hurt by the monsters now.”
At Kyle’s words, Owen couldn’t help but agree.
If they couldn’t stop the monsters, it would be the nobles in the fort who would get hurt.
Since Bella was there, it was clear that the monsters would first attack the fort.
If that happened, Lucia would be in danger.
Regardless of anything else, they couldn’t let that happen.
“And if we pour out money and magic stones as much as we have, wouldn’t that solve it?”
Seeing Owen deeply immersed in thought, Kyle, as he threw a fireball at the monster rushing towards them, spoke.
“If we buy a large quantity of magic stones and magical stones, the recovery process might speed up a bit. It will still take quite some time though. With the prince in the group, the royal family will probably support us. They should take care of the aftermath as a reward for saving lives, right?”
Kyle’s argument was very convincing.
The emperor really cherished his son, the prince Richard.
Even if a single hair of his son was hurt, the man who would call for a priest and draw his sword in fear would not have a single scar on him.
“Moreover, it seems that the emperor sent his beloved son here to empower him.”
Furthermore, this year, the prince participated in this dangerous hunting competition to gain popularity.
If they sent the prince, whom they had cherished so much, to a dangerous place, they wouldn’t just let the public opinion they had worked so hard to gain slip away.
If the forest disappeared, they would surely hear the complaints of the empire’s people living in the north.
Before they start complaining, they must find a solution somehow.
“Yes, that’s true.”
Owen finally nodded at Kyle’s explanation.
If I don’t step forward.
Actually, it didn’t matter.
Whether it was about the wintering of the territories, the health of the people, or the situation in the north.
Although all of these were important matters, they weren’t as important as Lucia.
For him, Lucia was the top priority.
There was no one more important to Owen than Lucia.
Even if the people of the territories had to struggle in winter, he would choose Lucia’s safety.
It was a selfish thought, but it couldn’t be helped.
Lucia was an absolute presence to him.
“Anyway. So, you have no intention of stepping up, right?”
As Owen remained silent, Kyle exhaled deeply and asked.
Owen just nodded affirmatively.
As if he couldn’t help it, Kyle conjured magic from his hands.
Whether it was drawing out the magic itself rather than a specific spell, unlike before, only a blue light of magic spread widely in the air.
“Everyone step back. Just in case, provide some assistance from behind.”
Upon Kyle’s voice, the knights and mages who were at the front of the ranks started hesitantly moving back, followed by those at the back.
Among them were Viscount Keres and Louis.
Perhaps everyone sensed it instinctively.
That the persistent confrontation with the creatures happening now couldn’t be resolved through normal means.
And that there was a need for a being with overwhelming power to suppress the situation, as no matter how many creatures they killed, new ones kept emerging.
As everyone retreated, Kyle remained at the forefront, with Owen a few steps away from him.
Continuing to release magic into the air, Kyle, at the moment when the violet gaseous entities became very clear to the eye, flicked his finger.
Tap.
With a short sound, the dense violet gas instantly turned into a bright red blaze.
And the forest began to burn.
“Goodness…”
“What in the world…”
“Her Majesty didn’t just mention this for no reason.”
Amidst the knights who had retreated as the entire vast forest was engulfed in red flames, various comments emerged.
While there were occasional positive reactions like surprise and admiration, they were not as common.
Most seemed to be experiencing negative emotions like astonishment, shock, fear, or helplessness.
Even…
“Monsters…”
“To think a human possesses such abilities.”
“Perhaps, they’re not human? It seems like a power that could be from the bloodline of demons.”
Words that could hurt Kyle were also thrown in.
Perhaps, having had magical talent since childhood, he had endured terrible looks and voices.
Yet, somehow, Kyle showed no reaction and only intensified the raging flames.
As if this was all too familiar to him.
He seemed indifferent to the current situation.
“It’s chaotic.”
Owen turned to the knights whose voices continued to reach him with a chilly gaze.
Having seen the original many times, he knew.
The gazes of the nobles towards Kyle, the people’s gazes, were never kind.
But to actually hear it was more shocking than he had expected.
They showed no hesitation in displaying words and actions that were so direct and hurtful, and the person in question did not react at all.
As if this was all just routine.
Owen was bothered by this.
So, he spoke up.
“I don’t understand why unnecessary words are needed in the current situation.”
The knights were taken aback by Owen’s cold voice.
They only bowed their heads after Owen’s warning.
“Sorry.”
And finally, they apologized.
Of course, those words did not come from genuine sincerity.
Owen knew that, and he also knew that it was impossible to make them genuinely apologize.
They just lowered their heads because they were scared of the Marquis of Verdun.
Owen was a noble, unlike Kyle, who was a commoner.
It was clear that the knight retainers of the noble family looked down on him.
This is a matter of basic human thinking.
Even if I shout and point it out, it won’t change.
Unless Kyle directly responds.