Chapter 184

"Your Highness the Crown Prince..."

Arndt whispered quietly.

Like a predator leisurely eyeing prey that couldn't escape, yet heading precisely toward them, Yurik's approach made Arndt shrink back slightly.

Normally, Arenheit would have been tense too, clenching his fists slick with cold sweat.

Perhaps it was because of Arndt's frightened appearance. He couldn't afford to be intimidated as well.

Taking a step forward to block the space between Arndt and Yurik, Arenheit met Yurik's gaze directly.

He was wearing his usual flawless military uniform. The only difference was that he was clutching some ugly stone tablet like a precious treasure.

Yurik, who had stopped at a distance, asked.

"So after deliberately leaving the hall, all you do is rescue a retainer?"

"It may be trivial to you, but not to me."

Behind him, Arenheit heard Arndt gasp.

No matter how strange the situation was, Arndt clearly hadn't even considered acting insolently before the Crown Prince of a nation.

But having come this far, was there really a need to politely address him as 'Your Highness'?

This world would end soon anyway.

"Let us go."

"I cannot do that. Duke, you are precious bait to me. If you're here,"

Yurik's gaze turned toward a distant place.

"Sir Leandros will come. Without fail."

"So you won't let me go?"

"There's no need to repeat myself twice, is there?"

"Then at least let Arndt and Verde go."

"Ha."

Yurik laughed.

He didn't know why he was laughing, but Yurik laughed and laughed again in a situation that was far from pleasant.

After laughing ominously for a while, Yurik granted permission.

"Fine. I'll let those two go. But you'll stay here. Don't even think about personally seeing them off, Duke. You should be grateful that I'm even releasing your subordinates."

Grateful, his ass.

Arenheit turned to Arndt.

It was unfortunate that he couldn't immediately untie his bound hands, but it would be fine once he met Verde, who should be in the Great Hall.

Arndt said with a frightened face.

"Your Grace. It's dangerous for you to remain alone with him. This isn't right. I'd rather stay here with you."

"Arndt, this is the last chance. If you hesitate even a little, you might really not be able to leave."

"But!"

"Arndt. Listen carefully. Take Verde from the Great Hall. Verde's condition is very poor. So you need to help him well. Don't treat him harshly like before. Understand? And..."

And.

He closed his eyes briefly and organized the thoughts that had been swirling complexly in his head one by one.

"Don't go far from the castle."

"...What? What do you mean by that?"

"Exactly what I said. Don't go far. Places beyond Yurik's sight, up to near the castle's exit is fine. But don't really get far from the castle."

"But if we don't leave the castle, we can't even request help, Your Grace!"

"There's no need to go seek help. The rescuer is coming here now. No matter what happens, saving your lives is the top priority."

"Your Grace."

"Go now. There's no time. Hurry!"

Arndt was pushed by him and forced to move his reluctant steps.

When Arndt's figure running past Yurik became small and finally disappeared, Yurik asked.

"Satisfied?"

"In this situation, nothing would have been satisfying, but for now."

"More than that, I'm curious about something. How did you know? For you to be so considerate of your servant... you haven't been awake for long."

"How, you ask. Look at the state of the sky right now. If you were me, you would have pushed them out quite readily."

The sky was red.

It was so ominously crimson that just looking at it felt like it would drive one mad.

But that wasn't the only reason he had said such things to Arndt.

The faint noise that had been continuously coming from beyond the castle walls.

It was just background noise so small that one might easily overlook it, but now he had to carefully examine even the smallest clues.

Even if he couldn't know exactly what the commotion was, he could sense it wasn't anything good.

In that case, rather than rashly driving them out of the castle, they should seek safety in this vicinity.

He knew nothing about the outside situation, and at least here there were no immediately visible threats.

More than that, what Yurik had said was somewhat bothersome.

"But 'awakened'?"

"You died once. I even confirmed that your heart had stopped. A physician came and directly pronounced you dead."

"Did you kill me?"

"Hardly. One of the palace staff who went to catch you shot you with an arrow. Like hunting a bird."

So that was it.

"You saw me come back to life?"

"Directly. With these eyes. And I became curious."

Yurik approached with large strides and bent his waist slightly.

Since he hadn't been conscious of it until now, only after Yurik did this did Arenheit notice Yurik's height.

Naturally, he was much taller than Arndt or himself, and among the people he knew, perhaps Leandros was comparable.

Moreover, Yurik was also a handsome man who didn't fall behind Leandros at all.

Perhaps because he was the main villain in the novel, his light platinum hair was long and soft. Having lived as royalty, he had an elegant and dignified atmosphere.

His red eyes like the finest ruby without impurities, his style of loosely tying his hair to one side and letting it fall in front of his shoulder, the thin shadows cast by his long eyelashes - all were indispensable parts of his perfect sculptural features.

A different type from the cold handsome man like Leandros. With such a face, he would have toyed with his opponents before stabbing them in the back.

As he was closely examining and observing his face that had come right up close, he suddenly realized something.

Until now, whenever he saw Yurik, he had only worried about how this bastard would hit him in the back of the head this time, how he would try to kill him this time.

As a result, he felt that he became particularly sharp and hostile toward Yurik.

But... not now.

He was strangely calm and stable. He didn't raise his voice from fear or flinch reflexively.

He remembered without fail the fact that Yurik had tried to kill him several times.

And he could clearly recall the moments when he had no choice but to choose regression because of Yurik.

Yet he wasn't angry at Yurik. He wasn't afraid of Yurik either, nor did he see him as a terrifying monster that could never be overcome.

Was it because this was the end of the story? Because the ending was guaranteed once he got past this hurdle?

It could really be that, or it might be because Yurik had killed him too many times...

"What kind of curiosity?"

"Why didn't I discover you sooner? How did the former Duchess raise you? Is everything thanks to Hartmann's revelations? Or are you a masterpiece created by countless coincidences overlapping?"

"Even if I die and come back to life, it wouldn't be for your sake."

"Right. It's not for my sake. Then you too must be a person arranged for Sir Leandros. How interesting. That people like us were prepared for just one person."

"Don't be mistaken. I wasn't prepared for him. I came to assist Leandros entirely for my own purposes. And that's the same for you too."

"The same?"

"Your father."

The smile remaining on Yurik's face completely disappeared.

An expressionless face that was neither angry nor anxious looked down at him and asked.

"How long have you known?"

"You wouldn't be unaware of the story of the deity that Hartmann serves. You ask as if it's news."

"Indeed, the favor of the deity protecting your family is extreme. A blessing passed down through blood. Could there be anything more convenient?"

Yurik, who had been sneering while raising the corner of his mouth, turned around.

"We've never had a long conversation. How about it? Shall we take a quiet stroll together just before the world's destruction?"

* * *

The stroll before destruction was frighteningly peaceful.

The sense of déjà vu he had felt when heading to the underground prison to save Arndt wasn't wrong.

Even while walking around various parts of the castle, he couldn't see a single living person other than Yurik.

Where had those people gone? Given Yurik's thoroughly nasty personality, it was hard to believe he had sent them outside the castle.

Yurik, still holding the stone tablet, finally spoke after a long while.

"Our father."

"......"

"Loved me."

"?"

What kind of out-of-the-blue statement was this?

But Yurik continued regardless.

"He must have loved me. Without his great love, my existence until now couldn't be explained."

"Ah, I see..."

"There were days filled with pride. I believed there must be a reason why Father chose me, rejecting countless brothers and sisters. But as time passed, as the world I knew became different from the outside, doubts arose. Did he really love me? Such doubts came to me."

What was this?

He was momentarily speechless and missed the timing to respond.

That was because there was no reason he had to listen to this bastard's family history.

He didn't know about Yurik.

He had never traveled with Yurik, never seen him fight. He had never shared stories around a campfire with him and then slept under a blanket.

What kind of past he had and what kind of setting he possessed was beyond his interest.

He was the villain, the final person to oppose Leandros, and the last enemy to be destroyed in this world.

If this had been a game, he would have pressed a skip button somewhere while the villain was rattling off settings he wasn't curious about...

But whether Yurik knew his thoughts or not, he continued speaking.

"So I wanted to ask again. Why did he do that then, why did he make such a choice? Does he still love me? Is it just my delusion?"

"I know this isn't the moment for such talk, but I'd recommend digging up your father's grave and screaming at it. I think that would be faster, don't you?"

"Do you think I haven't tried that? But father's remains decay at a severe rate. Moreover, I can't even know if what remains is really 'father.'"

"Really father?"

"The ducal residence is in the Dikenter Mountains. Have you ever seen demonic beast hunting?"

"Of course."

He couldn't remember exactly when, but he had even pulled out Vormi teeth with his own hands.

Yurik answered gently.

"Excluding special species, most demonic beast individuals have physical bodies. The same goes for the ancient ones now called gods. In fact, they too have physical bodies. They need them to move in this world."

"So?"

"But it's difficult to equate them with demonic beasts. Demonic beasts end when you kill their physical bodies, but ancient ones don't."

"They don't?"

"Ancient ones can descend anytime as long as believers call them. Anytime, anywhere. Isn't it strange? That they, who have physical bodies, can be anywhere. That's the difference between demonic beasts and ancient ones."

"...Are you saying the gods called ancient ones don't die?"

"At least it's certain that it's not the kind of death we generally and vaguely imagine. They always return."

The gods called ancient ones don't die.

His mind went blank as Yurik suddenly revealed this setting.

Amidst this, the first thought that came to him.

What would happen if gods don't die?

Even if avatars could be destroyed since they were parts of gods contained in vessels, the gods themselves don't die even when killed?

No. That couldn't be right.

In his previous life, Russel had defeated the giant made of northern snow and storms.

Judging from that, while it might be impossible to completely eliminate ancient ones from this world, it might be possible to neutralize them for some time. If so, what Leandros and they had accomplished wasn't in vain.

It would be fine. It would still be fine...

While comforting himself, he suddenly had a strange thought and reconsidered Yurik's words.

"You say those ancient ones are called gods. Then there was a time when they weren't?"

"Sharp. Duke, it's delightful to have a human with such quick understanding."

Yurik, who had been walking through the courtyard together, raised his head.

Following his gaze, there stood the silent main castle towering high.

The royal palace consisted of several towers and small annexes centered around the main castle.

Among them, the main castle was built to be easily visible from anywhere within the royal palace.

As if that was intentional. Of course, since the main castle was where the nation's ruler resided, there would be an intention to elevate its status, but seeing how Yurik looked at the main castle, this somehow seemed...

"Isn't that right?"

Yurik smiled silently.

The castle made of pure white with an elegant appearance was tinted along with the red sky. He pointed to the main castle and answered kindly.

"Duke, let me introduce our father for the first time. Although he's in this state now, he was truly one of the real ones."