Volume 9, Chapter 46 – Stirrings Before the Arrival

Night fell.

The entire street was silent. Since most of the duchy’s residents had fled the city, not even a single window glowed with light on the streets at night. Only the late autumn night wind, like a phantom, roamed freely through the streets.

Walking from the slums to the King’s Avenue, and then from the King’s Avenue into the noble district, Lin encountered no one besides patrolling soldiers. And even those soldiers, upon seeing her, bowed with exceptionally tense faces, their strained expressions reminiscent of startled birds. If any sound resembling an explosion were to ring out from outside the city walls at this moment, this soldier would likely scream—Lin had this premonition. In just a few days, the Ducal Capital of Chloe had transformed into an isolated island of a city.

A full day had passed since her attack on the Norta Empire’s military camp. Yet, in that entire day, the Norta Empire had not made any retaliatory counterattack, nor even given any indication, acting as if their camp had never been attacked—an unbelievable calm.

However, for Lin, this day had been an agonizing eternity.

The war truly began because of her.

Initially, upon seeing the Empire’s declaration of war, Lin’s first thought was that it was an Imperial conspiracy, merely using the declaration as a pretext to put her in the predicament of being denounced by the ignorant masses. However, during the attack three days ago, she learned that the Empire’s declaration was not baseless. It was indeed possible that she had killed the Eldest Princess. The ‘Calamity That Brings Ruin,’ forgotten by humans in history, was not only mentioned by Gore, but he had even accurately described the time and place of the tragedy. Coupled with the hatred in Gore’s eyes back then, the only possible answer was that Gore had personally experienced that disaster.

“Hah…”

Lin, with her deep-sea monster and dragon bloodline, wasn’t afraid of the cold, but she felt a slight chill now. She hugged her arms, rubbing them gently.

Even if Gore was lying, even if the Empire’s Eldest Princess hadn’t died because of her, she couldn’t deny that she had indeed destroyed a city in the past, even if it wasn’t her intention.

This led to a contradiction.

If she handed herself over, this war might end. The soldiers stationed in the Duchy of Chloe and the residents forced to stay behind due to lack of travel funds wouldn’t have to die because of her. It was foreseeable that the Duchy’s defeat was only a matter of time. With that magic caster beyond the hero’s domain present, even if the Divine Religion played all its trump cards, the chances of victory were unimaginably low. Compared to the Norta Empire, which occupied one-fifth of the continent, the Duchy of Chloe was simply too small. Any resistance was merely an ant trying to shake a tree. The Divine Religion would ultimately leave behind a devastated country and depart from this land.

“Are all these people just pawns leading to the final outcome…?”

Rеαⅾ оո ΚаtRеaԁіnɡCαfе

Stopping her steps, Lin, walking through the noble district, turned her head and looked back down the street. On that desolate, dark street, reminiscent of a place where undead might emerge, one or two candlelight flickered from residents’ homes. Using the night vision granted by her monster bloodline, Lin could glimpse some patrolling soldiers sitting beneath those lit buildings, resting together. For the patrolling soldiers, these candlelights were likely the last psychological solace. Although these soldiers had a duty to defend the Duchy of Chloe, they were also living people and shouldn’t be deprived of their lives without reason.

“If only the Gospel could prevent this war…”

Shaking her head, Lin continued walking aimlessly through the noble district.

Atwood’s words suddenly flashed through her mind—something she had heard him mutter softly beside her shortly after she became the Hero.

Humans cannot take on the duty of the savior.

In the past, she had simply interpreted this as humans being too physically weak, lacking the necessary talents for a savior, which was why Atwood had chosen her, this incongruous being, to become the one who would save the continent from peril in the future. But a few days ago, standing on the Ducal Capital’s wall, watching Red and Purple’s figures gradually disappear into the distance, she suddenly understood the phrase. And now, thinking about how the entire population of the Duchy might die because of her, she understood its true meaning even more deeply.

The ‘humans’ Atwood spoke of didn’t refer to the ‘human race,’ but to human emotions. As long as one possessed human emotions, one could not become a true savior. Sending Red and Purple to assassinate the Emperor was like this; watching these soldiers go to their deaths was also like this. If she couldn’t discard her human emotions, she couldn’t act according to the Gospel’s guidance. The so-called savior was merely a tool to carry out the Gospel’s will, and tools didn’t need their own emotions.

That must have been the meaning behind Atwood’s muttering back then.

It’s too cruel.

If Yisi were here, she would surely frown—Lin had this premonition. She could even imagine the tone Yisi would use. However, anyone could choose not to act according to the Gospel’s will—or rather, anyone could give up being the savior—but she, Lin, could not. She didn’t have the right to give up.

If she hadn’t agreed back then, when the old Pope asked if she wanted to control the power within her, perhaps she would have had the right to renounce being the savior. But such a hypothetical didn’t exist. If she gave up her duty as savior now, she wouldn’t be able to face the predecessors of the Divine Religion who sacrificed themselves so she could control her power. She wouldn’t be able to tell them their sacrifice was worthwhile, that she hadn’t failed them. This point alone was not the Gospel’s will. Acting according to the Gospel’s will, and why one acted according to the Gospel’s will, were two different things.

“Not following the Gospel’s guidance will only lead to more sacrifices.”

Reαԁ οn ΚаtRеаⅾіոgСαfe

After muttering these words, Lin couldn’t help but clench her fists again.

Even though what I said is logical, what is this tight feeling in my chest?

Very rarely, her heart had no answer.

Only the sound of something cracking.

“Yo.”

“Ah!”

The sudden voice from behind made Lin nearly jump. Turning around, she found Yisi, alone, carrying several paper bags.

“Haa… It’s you, Yisi. You startled me.”

“Ahaha, seeing you walking alone, head down, talking to yourself, I just thought I’d startle you. I didn’t expect you really wouldn’t notice me approaching.” Scratching her cheek, Yisi smiled sheepishly, then walked up beside Lin, tilted her head, and looked curiously at Lin’s profile. “What’s wrong? You look so troubled. Worried about Red and Purple? Or worried about the Imperial army that could attack at any moment?”

“Hah.”

Lin let out a long sigh. For some reason, lately, when facing Yisi, she found it increasingly difficult to remain serious. Just moments ago, her chest had felt tight, but now it felt unusually light, as if just being near Yisi meant everything would be fine.

I’ve probably developed a habit of dependency. Or maybe it’s because I lost Red and Purple, and now I want someone I can rely on. Although this was an emotion a Hero shouldn’t have, Lin answered, exasperated, “Just thinking about things unrelated to you. What are you doing, Yisi?”

“Me? I bought some things that can be used as ingredients. Saw you on the way back, so I came over.”

Rеаd οո ΚаtRеadіոɡCafе

Yisi waved the paper bags in her hand in front of Lin. The aroma of hot oil wafting from them proved she wasn’t lying. However, it was late at night, and due to the exodus, food vendors were nowhere to be seen in the Ducal Capital. Where exactly did Yisi buy these?

Just as Lin was about to voice her thoughts, Yisi, looking straight ahead, suddenly said something that darkened Lin’s expression.

“Counting the days, Red and Purple should be starting the assassination attempt on the Emperor soon, right?”

“…Yes.”

“I should also… No, speaking of which, didn’t you say before, Lin, that if you don’t follow the Gospel’s commands, more people will die?”

“Yes.”

If that weren’t the case, the Divine Religion could choose whether or not to carry out the Gospel’s missions.

“Then how do you explain the Alice situation?”

“Alice?”

Lin looked at Yisi, puzzled. Yisi had her hands clasped behind her head, looking up at the sky. Under the moonlight, her exquisite, doll-like face looked so holy it almost hurt Lin’s eyes. Unlike herself, whose hands were stained with blood, Yisi possessed great strength but would absolutely never kill. It was precisely because of this that Lin felt the gap between them, like a phantom in the dark watching a human living in the light. She and Yisi were beings from two different worlds. Lin sometimes thought that perhaps she envied and admired Yisi.

“Ah, you might have forgotten. The Alice I’m talking about is the fifth daughter of Duke Wozwahl’s family, the one who was supposed to be killed by the Divine Religion. Because of my appearance, you weren’t able to kill her, right? But looking at the results, nothing happened, did it? Although it might just be a matter of time, there’s also the possibility that you all misinterpreted the Gospel.”

“Ngh…”

Indeed, she couldn’t refute Yisi’s point. At least so far, the failure of the operation against Alice hadn’t resulted in any consequences. No one had died because of it.

Reaԁ oո ΚаtReаԁіոɡCαfе

Seeing Lin at a loss for words, Yisi kindly changed the subject.

“I took a look around the Imperial military camp this morning. They seem to be waiting for Gore’s hands to fully recover. It should still be some time before they officially attack. Your raid yesterday wasn’t entirely fruitless, Lin.”

“You went to the Imperial camp?! Yisi, there’s a magic caster beyond the hero’s domain in there! How could you approach so recklessly!”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. He didn’t notice me. And even if he had, he couldn’t outrun me.”

Impossible.

The word flashed in large characters across Lin’s mind.

A magic caster beyond the hero’s domain possessed control over magical elements beyond ordinary imagination. As soon as an elemental disturbance occurred, they would immediately sense it. There was no question of not being able to detect someone.

However, coming from Yisi’s mouth, the statement somehow became very believable. Recalling some questions that had puzzled her for a long time, Lin stopped and said seriously, “Wait, Yisi. I have a question for you.”

Lin’s serious demeanor made Yisi look puzzled.

“What?”

“Were you the one who helped me last night? And even after I broke through to the realm beyond heroes, you still looked completely at ease when fighting me. Just how strong are you?”

“Eh, well…” Although she really wanted to say she was level 427, Lin probably wouldn’t believe her. After thinking for a moment, Yisi made a measuring gesture with her thumb and forefinger. “Maybe… this much stronger than the Demon Lord?”