59 – Was I an Iron Man? (3)
Suddenly, the memory of catching the Minotaur in my head came back.
Back then, the warning message appeared just like this.
Two identical ‘WARNING!’ messages.
The fact that there was a variation in the scenario and the intervention of the Demon King’s power were the same.
The difference this time was that I was alone, unlike back then when I had party members.
Of course, the difficulty had increased compared to back then, but… it was still manageable.
Wha─bam!
I used Painful Memory.
Countless things in front of me were torn apart. Almost half of the monsters had disappeared among the many.
Indeed, this skill is the best. The conditions for using it are incredibly difficult, but when the conditions are met, there is no skill with a higher score than this.
From Noble mtl dot com
“Surprising.”
Whether it was surprised or not, its three eyes were wide open.
There was no sign of confusion. Perhaps that’s just its nature, it remained calm as ever.
After defeating the half of the monsters in front of me, I finally began to see what was behind them. It seemed like countless monsters were coming in from the entrance to the sewer.
As I expected, they were being replenished.
Thanks to that, I felt a slight pain in the back of my head for a moment, but now it didn’t matter.
Anyway, I had cleared the path leading to that guy.
The body is surrounded by various buffs, including increased blood flow. And in that state, I charged at the guy and swung my sword.
Pukwak!
Bright red blood shot up into the air.
I wanted to finish him off with that one strike, but he was not an easy opponent, as expected.
“Huh, you’re quite calm even with ribs exposed like that. You’re a tough bastard.”
“Well then…! I have no choice but to bet my life as well!!”
The injured guy started using his last resort.
The ritual begins.
What will be sacrificed is a part of my own body that just got injured. And a few corpses that I haven’t dealt with yet.
The scattered pieces of flesh gathered in one place and started to merge.
What was created was a corpse golem that looked even more like a patchwork than the word itself can describe.
Gurrr!!!!
As the guy let out a roar, distant magical powers surrounded us from all directions.
I chuckled.
“Heh, now you’re a necromancer?”
Indeed, a dark magician uses all sorts of things.
My head hurts. I’m out of breath. It feels like I’m getting exhausted from using too much magical power, but my task hasn’t changed.
I grasp the sword.
*
[‘Using “Memory of Pain”!]
[Using “Blood Exchange”!]
[WARNING!]
[Your stamina has reached its limit!]
[Activating “Indomitable”!]
[The level of “Memory of Pain” has increased!]
[The level of “Blood Exchange” has increased!]
[Using “Blood Absorption”!]
.
.
.
[WARNING!]
[Curses are suppressing your body!]
[Using “Memory of Pain”!]
[The level of “Indomitable” has increased!]
[Congratulations!]
[Your level has increased!]
[The level of ‘Magic Control’ has increased!]
[The level of ‘Bright Ryu Swordsmanship’ has increased!]
[The level of ‘Multicasting’ has increased!]
[The level of ‘Blood Manipulation’ has increased!]
.
.
.
“Haa, haa, huff, haa…”
How long has it been? How long have I endured? How many times have I swung my sword?
The floor is littered with corpses. The stench of blood pierces my nostrils. There is no living being around me except for myself.
My lungs ache as if they are about to burst, my limbs are trembling.
Just now, when I killed Ollek, the curses were lifted, but the accumulated fatigue in my mind was no joke.
Honestly, this has been one of the toughest fights I’ve had in recent memory.
If we were to measure it solely based on the intensity of emotions, it would be close to a level 0.7 “Chungwang” grade.
It was fortunate that I didn’t have to use the “Power of Sacrifice.”
With the exhausting battle finally over, I feel the tension leaving my entire body.
However, I couldn’t lie down just yet. At least, I needed to go up and inform them about the situation in the underground sewer.
So, I had to go back to the place I had just passed, dragging my body as heavy as a thousand catties.
As I emerged from the underground sewer, I saw people who were in a state of confusion but seemed relatively unharmed.
Fortunately, it seemed that the city wall had not been breached.
When I went back to the city wall with care, I saw soldiers taking a break. It seemed that the battle on their side had come to an end. There were no noticeable casualties, only a pile of monster corpses outside the city wall.
At that moment, I let out a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, even without me, they were able to hold off the monsters.
After wandering around for a while, I finally found my party members.
At that moment, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride.
I wanted to go and boast a little.
I, single-handedly, held off as many monsters as the city wall. In addition, I killed the high-ranking dark wizard, Olek, who had been a threat to humanity for hundreds of years.
Without surrendering to his treacherous tongue, while struggling with a mind that felt like it was about to break.
I endured the damage that could have destroyed an entire city if I made even the slightest mistake, coming out of the bloody battle wounded but alive.
However, on the other hand…
It was so difficult. My flesh was pierced multiple times, and my brain was suppressed all day long. In the midst of it all, my lungs were in so much pain that I wanted to kneel down several times.
But, even so, I won…
At least, at least this time, I want to take a brief rest by their side.
But, as always, it seemed like I didn’t even have the right to do that.
All that returns are words mixed with suspicion.
“No, perhaps you are preparing to return to the Demon King.”
Every time, I couldn’t help but feel it painfully.
Yes. In the end, the day I receive repayment will never come.
*
-There is no glory on the path you take.
-There will be no honor either.
-Remember. Even if someone achieves an unprecedented feat, all that remains for you will be emptiness. You will live your whole life in a bitter loneliness.
Suddenly, why did Olek’s voice come to mind?
I thought I was prepared, but thinking about it and experiencing it firsthand are different stories.
After cutting down hundreds of enemies and saving a whole city, the words that came to me were just this.
“Now admit your true intentions, you traitor.”
Lily scolded me with blazing eyes. Her eyes held a strange conviction.
“Now that I know everything. What your intentions are.”
Of course, I couldn’t understand that conviction.
That’s why I asked her in a sinking voice.
“…What kind of speculation are you making?”
“You actually want a position as one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon King, or even a higher-ranking officer. Isn’t that right?”
She spoke like a detective caught up in a game of finding the culprit.
As it turned out, I was one of the many villains who belonged to the Demon King. I had some skill, but I was lacking to aim for the position of the Four Heavenly Kings. However, ambition overflowed.
That’s why I used the party members. If all the Four Kings’ seats were taken, then it would be the end. It’s a good opportunity to learn their abilities as well.
By reducing the number of seats for the Four Kings, I will once again devote myself to the Demon King’s army. In the first place, there is the official position of being a spy for the hero party. My position will rise in an instant.
It was a sloppy and truly absurd assumption, but it was enough to fit in some evidence.
“From the beginning, something was off. The intense atmosphere, the complete lack of resistance to black magic. And knowing the Demon King’s army so well… Actually, you’ve already stayed in the Demon World before, right? And as a fairly high-ranking officer.”
From the start, people only hate others when there is a reason.
Sometimes, there were also times when they created reasons just to hate.
“Maybe it’s because of the reason why you learned swordsmanship. To take a higher position when you eventually return.”
Her eyes are fierce. Did I keep making these assumptions even when I fell from the castle wall? No, maybe I’ve been making these assumptions even before that.
“Why did you disappear during this fight? Did you go to meet the Demon King’s army? Just now, when Alec appeared, it was clear. Did you know each other for a long time?”
I can see the gazes of the people around me. Lily, along with Adel and Camilla, were looking at me as if interrogating. It was definitely not a good reaction.
Yuris was treating patients nearby, but he felt that something was off in the atmosphere, so his gaze was directed towards us.
Of course, it’s all absurd nonsense.
If I were to refute, I could do it as much as I wanted. There were countless things they could deny whether they believed it or not.
But this time.
“…Let’s suppose it’s like this instead.”
Somehow, I didn’t like it. The accumulated resentment churned in my throat. I tried to hold it back, but it couldn’t help but seep out little by little.
“Actually, I was originally one of the Four Kings but was driven out for some reason. And feeling the timing, I tried to regain the seat of the Four Kings by using all of you.”
“Or maybe, I could simply be a spy. Secretly raised by the Demon King. Since that person couldn’t be satisfied with just the hero party, they planted me to cause even greater damage.”
“Or maybe, maybe I am the Demon King. I just wanted to play as a hero because fighting against the human army was not fun.”
Or maybe, or maybe, or maybe.
Many pretentious assumptions emerged. They were all cleverly concocted, something anyone could make.
After pouring out a barrage of words, I growled softly at her.
“Just because a sentence is formed doesn’t mean it’s all human speech. Just because you have a gaping mouth doesn’t mean you can say anything you want, especially not that.”
“What?”
Her expression hardened fiercely. It was the result I expected.
“So, now… am I just talking nonsense?”
“You know it well.”
I nodded my head.
After that… well, it was simple.
We fought. It had been a long time.
We hurled insults at each other, sharp words flying from all directions. I was unleashing the pent-up resentment inside me without stopping.
There were more colorful condemnations than logical refutations, and each one pierced somewhere deep in my mind.
This too, clearly, would someday become one of the wood-boring beetles that gnawed at the tree.
From Noble mtl dot com
Amidst the long fight, the saint intervened and mediated between us.
“Enough already!”
Thump!
Lily was pushed away by her palm. She knew how to use her hand to mediate a fight.
The heated atmosphere, which had been intense, quieted down as if cold water had been poured on it.
“…It seems like both of you are too worked up. Just calm down for now…”
After that, I’m not sure what happened.
I felt the desire to be alone. That’s why I quickly got up and left.
Suddenly, the air brushing against my skin was incredibly cold.
*
When I regained my senses, I found myself in a back alley.
There was no one around, and no reason for anyone to come in.
The floor was a little dirty, but it was the perfect space for someone like me who wanted to be left alone.
-A man made of iron. In many ways.
Suddenly, one of the things he said came to mind.
At that time, my head hurt so I didn’t really understand, but I remember that his voice was mixed with awe and admiration towards me.
But I couldn’t empathize with his words.
After all, what is a man made of iron?
It means a resolute and strong person.
A person who has a strong mental strength and is not easily shaken by anything. We usually call someone with a body and mind like steel a “man made of iron.” Maybe he meant the latter.
But I was just an ordinary person.
There was a bit of tragedy, but I graduated from school, served in the military, and was an ordinary person with a small apartment and a hobby of playing games. That was me.
I didn’t excel at anything more than others.
I thought I had some perseverance, but it wasn’t outstanding compared to others. If it were, I would have gone to Seoul National University.
Now, someone like me was shouldering the weight of the world. It was so heavy that I often wanted to hesitate.
I always regretted my choices and lamented.
I was always wavering and always scared. The most painful thing was that there was no one to truly support my heavy shoulders.
However, how can one call themselves a human?
It feels like it could collapse any moment now.
“Haa, haa… You’re here,”
“……?”
I pondered alone for a while. Suddenly, when I looked ahead, the saint was already there in the back alley. Her cheeks were flushed as if she had been running.
She seemed relieved for a moment and spoke to me.
“I’m sorry. Lily has a tendency to get easily excited. I’ll give her a stern word later. For now, please get up…”
“Go away.”
But the words that came out of my mouth were a rejection.
“Yes?”
“Please be honest. What is your intention? Why do you keep approaching me like this? It’s uncomfortable.”
My words burst out.
“I know that all of you dislike me anyway. So why not just tell me your true feelings in the midst of our fight-“
“Stop.”
However, those words could not help but be blocked by the approaching her. As if trying to seal my mouth shut, she forcefully pulled me down.
With a warm sensation, her warm body temperature protected me from the cold night wind. I was taken aback and could not say anything.
At a glance, her face was deeply wrinkled, without any mercy.
When I looked at her eyes, they seemed slightly moist.
“Stop. Please stop hurting yourself with your words.”
“……”
“I’m sorry. I should have paid more attention. At least I suggested using an umbrella…”
Her hand, holding onto my back, trembles. If my current emotions are correct… she seems sad right now.
Is that even possible? At least my curse seems impossible to break.
“You were curious about my intentions, right? It’s simple. I just want the hero to be a little happier. Sincerely. No matter how much you doubt me. I’ll prove it through my actions. So, can’t you just… have some hope for now?”
It’s a lie.
It must be a lie. At least, there is no reason for me to show any kindness. Her comforting words surely hide a sharp dagger somewhere.
So, I should push her away…
But it seems I can’t do that right now.
“…I’m tired.”
I hold her tightly with both arms.
My arms were trembling just like hers.
“I believe I’m making an effort. There’s no end to it. No one understands.”
The weather is cold.
My nose feels numb.
Perhaps it’s because of the wind, but everything in front of me is blurred.
“Why is saving the world so damn… difficult…”
I held her like that for a long time.
In the quiet alley, as still as a mouse, occasional faint sounds echoed.
*
…It does feel somewhat relieved after pouring out all those emotions.
In the end, all that followed behind were shameful emotions and awkward aftermaths.
In the back alley, she said to me, “Let’s finish up that… um, that thing.”
“Well… um, yeah, sure.”
My eyes were slightly swollen.
I don’t really want to explain why. It’s embarrassing.
I awkwardly scratched my cheek and nodded.
As we walked back towards the party, an awkward silence filled the air. She couldn’t even meet my eyes, clearly feeling embarrassed herself.
“…”
“…”
To be honest, it’s painfully awkward. But I wasn’t the type to act nonchalantly and speak first after having done ‘that’ thing.
I had no choice but to divert my attention elsewhere.
The worst part about attending the same party is that even if we fight, we have to see each other again.
And if we have to keep going together, we have no choice but to somehow alleviate this uncomfortable feeling between us.
Just thinking about it already hurts.
How will that stubborn girl Lily react? Has the tension eased a little? No, can we even have a conversation in the first place?
Just thinking about it makes my chest ache.
But… unexpectedly, it wasn’t what I had anticipated.
When we turned back towards the castle walls, the scene I saw was…
“Uh-oh… I got lost in the maze…”
Lily was crying loudly.
“······Uh, uh?”
All Ulysses could do was stare at her with shaking eyes.
‘Hmm?’
What’s going on?
How did this happen?
They did “it”? Or just cried the whole time