“Before that, there’s one thing that I would like to ask you. Do you perhaps know who we are?”
“I don’t. Is there a need for me to know a mere human’s identity?” Why would she learn more about those who would just be slaves? Ru Amuh looked at the captives, and some people nodded in confirmation.
“Why did you exchange looks with them?”
“I apologize. But first of all, it only seems right for me to introduce myself.”
“That should explain the look you just exchanged.”
“Yes. In short, I am a great warrior of a secret denomination.”
“…A great warrior of a secret denomination?” Vepar looked curious. “You are having a good start. All right. Go on, tell me what the doctrine of your denomination is.”
“Sorry?”
“Doctrine. I’m sure a denomination will have a doctrine.”
This was unexpected. He was sure that she would ask about what the denomination was rather than its doctrine.
‘No way…was Vepar already aware of the god that was buried here?’ That would explain the intention behind the demons’ camping grounds. But Ru Amuh couldn’t be sure of it yet, and he couldn’t return like this. He needed to achieve as much as possible, including, of course, getting more information.
“Why are you hesitating? If you are a great warrior of said denomination, there’s no way you wouldn’t know, unless you made it up.” Ru Amuh looked up at Vepar. While it would be normal for him to not be able to answer despite the identity he had made up, Ru Amuh was the epitome of hard work and a perfectionist in everything he did.
Before he revealed his fake identity to Vepar, he had made sure that she didn’t know who the eighth recruits were; and before coming here, he had exchanged many messages with Chi-Woo and asked him about every little thing that had happened in the temple. This was his way of increasing their rate of success no matter how the situation panned out. And thus, Ru Amuh’s personality really came to light and displayed its strength in this situation.
“…In the beginning, there was chaos. Good breeds evil, and evil breeds good. Good cannot be purely good, and evil cannot be purely evil. Therefore, good is evil, and evil is good—“
“It’s not good or evil, but both good and evil. That is real chaos…”
Ru Amuh’s eyes widened. The last words had come out not from his but Vepar’s mouth. How did she know the doctrine of this particular secret denomination?
“How…?”
“Fufu. If you live a long time like me, you will gain the opportunity to learn of an ancient secret.” Vepar chuckled. It seemed she liked Ru Amuh’s response and added, “It’s not really related, but Kabal’s tendency is similar to ours.”
“Ah…”
“So you do know the doctrine. Tell me more, great warrior.” The way she addressed him changed: from a male to a great warrior. And Ru Amuh realized that his guesses had been right. Vepar was aware of the secret denomination in this city. Then…
“Did you know that a small-scale battle took place near the castle walls at night a couple of days ago?
“I am aware.”
“The incident wasn’t actually caused by the monster alliance or the Demon Empire.”
“Hm?”
“It was something that happened while some of our members tried to escape.”
“…No wonder.” Vepar snorted and gave Ru Amuh a once-over. “I thought there was something that didn’t make sense. Well, that’s that. So what?”
Thus, Ru Amuh continued. He talked about the group of humans who lived in hiding while worshiping the god in this city after the world fell into ruins. Then, the war broke out. They couldn’t do anything because they were surrounded by enemies, but they were running out of supplies. Thus, some couldn’t endure it any longer and ran out even if death waited for them.
“I thought they would be captured and killed easily, but…” Ru Amuh stopped midway to grit his teeth. Vepar nodded slightly. It seemed she had a guess as to why Ru Amuh was acting this way.
“One of your companions must have leaked internal information, an especially important one at that.”
“…Yes.” Ru Amuh admitted after some struggle and nodded. “The reason why they were alive instead of getting killed or coming back safely! There was…a reason for everything…!” Ru Amuh gripped both hands tightly.
But indifferent to his reaction, Vepar asked, “Did that make you come to this place?”
“Yes, that’s the case.”
“Hm…” The great warrior of the key to her goal, the secret denomination, had come to her of his own will. After some thought, she continued in a soft voice, “You said you had a request. If I grant your request, what will you do for me?” Even though she knew what response she would get, she gave Ru Amuh an expectant smile.
Ru Amuh looked conflicted as the words escaped his mouth, “As the price…we will give you our god.”
Ru Amuh had given her the answer she wished for. The smile on Vepar’s face deepened.
It was then one of the captured recruits spoke. “What are you talking about? Giving over our god? Why would a great warrior suddenly…?”
Ru Amuh blinked hard. ‘She is …?’ She was the hero from the Mariaju family, one of the captives he was told to save at all costs. Many heroes turned to him with blank looks as well at her words. Then, after a pause, they began to speak out.
“Have you gone mad, great warrior!”
“No, you can’t! That’s the only thing…!”
“You traitor!”
Ru Amuh realized it then they were trying to help him. It seemed they had caught onto what was going on and was helping him play his part better to convince Vepar. After all, it would be weird for other followers to remain quiet when hearing that their god would be turned over.
“I am not a traitor!” Ru Amuh shouted “Ruana! That’s the one who betrayed us!”
If Ru Hiana heard this, she would have been shocked.
“That guy has already tried to give up our god! A couple of days ago, the space boundary broke, and the temple was revealed!”
“W-What!” The Mariaju hero gasped. Other heroes also hushed in shock.
“Ho, a space boundary.” Vepar was impressed. “No wonder we couldn’t find it no matter how much we searched for it…I see. That’s why…”
But she decided to go over another point, “How did you learn of the monster alliance’s goal?”
“Ruana told me.”
“Is that the name of the traitor?”
“Yes. Before that, I didn’t even realize the space boundary was broken. But it seems that guy came knowing that the holy relic was missing.” This would’ve been a strange thing to say if he was talking about a normal religious group, but this was a secret denomination; they hid their temple, not wanting to be accused as heretics, and only permitted a few people who had gone through the necessary checklists to enter.
“The missing relic…Does that mean you hid the relic elsewhere?”
“A holy relic is the symbol of the denomination, the god themself, and the last wall of protection for us. Since the world fell into this state, we had preserved it as our last resort.”
“And I suppose you are planning to pass this great and valuable relic over?” Vepar said with a smile, and Ru Amuh reddened.
“…There’s a limit to how much loyalty and affection I can show,” he said and continued, “That man didn’t care for our captured companions here or the remaining ones in hiding.”
“Well, I mean he wouldn’t have exposed the temple if he did.”
“After getting captured, not only did Ruana expose the temple but also demanded that I hand the holy relic over to save the companions captured by the monster alliance. There’s a limit to how brashly one can act.”
“I see. I suppose the remaining members told you to do as the traitor said, but you couldn’t accept it and come to me instead.”
“Yes. I couldn’t abandon the companions here, either.”
“Kuh. I suppose you really are the great warrior of your group.”
Vepar thought she got the general sense of the situation. She thought Ru Amuh was no different from the traitor named Ruana, but she went along with it. Everything this human male said fit so far… The situation matched his explanation. If it was as he said, the monster alliance might have reached their goal—if it wasn’t for this foolish human male whose greediness had made him blind.
“Haha, hahahaha.” Vepar’s shoulders shook as she laughed. In a normal world, even a great devil could not face a god, but Liber was different. Liber’s main god, Elephthalia, had gone mad, and Liber’s World had disappeared. As a result, countless gods were weakened and turned into mere ornaments.
However, since a god was still a god, the value of their utilization was endless, especially in a world like this. How could she not be glad that such a useful tool had rolled right into her hands? Vepar intuitively felt that depending on how she took advantage of this situation, she could not only win this war but also make the future work in her favor.
After laughing for a good while, Vepar said softly, “All right…” She could never let the monster alliance secure the god, and instead, she needed to secure the god for herself. She needed to accept this deal at all costs.
“It’s simple.” But of course, the basis of making a deal was to make sure she didn’t seem too interested. So she threw the first bait, “If you bring me the holy relic, I will open up a path for you and your comrades to safely get out of here.”
“No.” Ru Amuh was firm. “The price is not right.”
“What did you say? You want to talk about price?”
“I’ve come here while risking my life.” Even if this deal fell through, the only loss the Demon Empire would suffer was some humans who were going to be taken in as slaves.
Vepar replied, “That’s your position. You can only barter for a better price when you’re on equal footing with the other party.”
“Please release my comrades first and show me that they had left safely. Only after that will I bring the holy relic to a place that only I know.”
“You’re very greedy. What if I don’t accept your condition?”
“Then we’re all going to die together.” Ru Amuh closed his eyes as if he would never back down from his condition.
Vepar’s eyes narrowed. Just the fact that he came here alone was proof that he had prepared to die. It seemed that he was also certain she would accept the deal no matter what. However, this didn’t matter, since humans were a foolish race, and she could use this condition against him as well. For example, if she thought about the reason why he was showing so much courage…
“You…” Vepar was about to say something, but stopped and looked over at the captured humans. What if he hadn’t come here because of a power struggle? What if there was a family member or a lover in this group? Then it made sense that he was being so persistent and stubborn. Even if he died, he might want to let them go first.
“You leave me in a difficult position. If I put my trust in you, you might not come back.”
“About that…”
“So let’s do this.” Vepar continued as if she was being generous, “I’ll send away half of your comrades first. Of course, I’ll let you check if they have left safely.”
“What?”
“Divide them in half.” At Vepar’s order, the nagas exactly divided the prisoners in half. “Choose one—the left, or the right.” Looking at Ru Amuh, who was visibly taken aback, Vepar asked, “Which one will you send out first?”
Ru Amuh’s eyes dropped. It was a sudden question. This was probably the final compromise that Vepar set for herself. If he refused even this, the deal that he had barely managed to introduce might fall through. Thus, even if it was disappointing that he could only free half of the eighth recruits, he needed to accept this final compromise.
“Uh…” Ru Amuh gulped a few times and said, “All right. Then, please send the right side away first.”
“Is that so? Vepar smiled inwardly. Ru Amuh’s stubbornness had broken in an instant. There could only be one reason why he immediately took the bait—the human that he needed to save while risking his life was among the group on the right. Vepar smiled and gave out an order, “Leave the right side group and send out those on the left first.”
Ru Amuh stared at her, startled. “Why…!”
“I changed my mind.” Vepar checked his reaction and chuckled. “Didn’t I listen to your request anyway? Don’t worry too much, since I’ll make sure to fulfill your condition. Follow me.” Vepar showed him that the group of people on the left had left safely. “Is this good enough?” When they looked as small as dots, Vepar returned to her original spot and said, “I kept my promise, so it’s now your turn to keep your promise.”
Ru Amuh was extremely pale. Vepar expected this, since she had let the other group away rather than the group with the human he needed to save while risking his life. And like this, Vepar was sure that Ru Amuh would have no choice but to return with the holy relic.
“How long will it take you to bring it?”
“…It won’t take long.”
“Good. If you gave me a different answer, I would have asked you again after killing a couple humans. Go get it and come back at once,” Vepar said leisurely. “It would be better for you to bring the holy relic as fast as possible because I really hate waiting. If you make me wait for too long, I’ll have no choice but to get my underlings to help me relieve my boredom.” She didn’t forget to append her words with threats.
“…I understand…” In the end, Ru Amuh dropped his head low and turned around as if realizing his own helplessness. Upon his return to the basement of the center building where the other recruits were, Ru Amuh was swarmed by the numerous people waiting for him.
“How was it?”
“How did it go?”
He was immediately bombarded with questions. “I saved half of the recruits.”
“Half?”
“Yes, more than that would be difficult.”
“What about Mariaju?”
“She’s probably outside the city about now.” Ru Amuh smiled softly. “The demon suddenly split half of the prisoners and told me to choose, so I purposely chose the group that she wasn’t in. And as expected, the demon let the other group go.”
The one who was tricked wasn’t actually Ru Amuh, but Vepar. At Ru Amuh’s words, Eustitia looked subtly relieved, while Afrilith showed it openly.
Afrilith said, “I’m impressed.”
“I thought it was a little strange that she would make a compromise so easily,” Ru Amuh replied humbly as Afrilith seemed to be looking at him in a new light.
Then Afrilith said, “But I don’t know if we can trust her. She might have secretly sent out a tracking team…”
“While we’re on that topic, would you be able to perhaps send out a message?”
“A message? I have Mariaju on my contact list as my friend.”
“Then, please send her a message, telling them to head towards the alliance. I’ll send a message right away as well.”
“I got it.”
Ru Amuh did that quickly and looked around. “By the way, did the object arrive?”
“Well, I retrieved it while Ru was drawing attention.” Ismile from the Nahla family stepped forward. There was a statue in his hand—it was the statue found in the chaos temple.
“They gave it to me secretly, but I’m not sure if this will work.” Ismile shook the statue with a dubious expression. The water inside swished around and made a sound. “Ah, and he told me to relay this message to you. What was it? I already made a wish or something like that? Do you know what that means?”
“No, I don’t.”
“…Can we really trust this guy?”
“Of course. Please pass that to me.” Ru Amuh spoke without an ounce of doubt on his face and took the statue. Ismile still seemed confused. Of course, Ru Amuh couldn’t guarantee that everything would go well. No matter how well he prepared, there were times when unexpected or dangerous situations would arise regardless. However, Chi-Woo was someone who could see several steps ahead. Ru Amuh was certain that this statue his teacher had made would work and be extremely useful. Thus, Ru Amuh believed in Chi-Woo; he had no doubts that someone who had somehow overcome seemingly impossible situations would turn things around, and that this situation would also go the way Chi-Woo wanted—as it already did many times.
“I can’t be too late, so I’ll leave right now. Please take care of the rest.” With these parting words, Ru Amuh moved out of the basement. While making his way to the demon territory, he fell into thought. He was certain that everything would come to an end tonight. And if he successfully finished this task, he would be acknowledged and be able to stand next to his teacher for the first time. He would finally earn the right to wield the longsword that his teacher gave him. Ru Amuh firmed his resolve and tightly clutched the weathered sword among his two swords with all his might.