usenovelgroup Chapter 153
Chapter 153
Chapter 153
“Leios……!”
The moment Petra von Leipzig burst through the door, her eyes widened. Then, from that very spot, she threw herself forward and rushed toward me, as if the Esmeralda standing in front of me didn’t exist, and embraced me.
“You’re okay, right?”
Her hand gripping my collar tightened. At that, the front of my clothes was pulled open, exposing my upper body.
“…Well, I don’t have a single injury.”
I shrugged my shoulders as I gently soothed Petra.
Just before I lost consciousness, I still remembered that Chris Hilton Leycias had used an Elixir on me. It was probably thanks to that that I survived.
When I snapped my fingers and checked my status window, the Blessing of Invisibility was also completely intact.
“…….”
Petra rested her face against my chest for a moment. She took in a deep breath, as if trying to imprint my scent.
Feeling a ticklish sensation from her breath, I grew slightly embarrassed and glanced toward the people standing by the door.
“Um, first of all, I’d like to hear what exactly happened.”
“…Right. I understand how you feel, unni, but I don’t think it’s quite right to crush someone like this.”
From beneath Petra, where she had been pinned down this whole time, Esmeralda voiced her complaint in a sulky tone.
Only then did Petra realize her presence. With an apologetic expression, she got up, and Esmeralda, looking exhausted, sat down at the edge of the bed.
“Is everyone else safe?”
When I lifted my head and looked toward the door, Alice, who had been standing there with her arms crossed and a slightly sullen expression, slowly walked in.
“Is your body alright now?”
Following behind her, Chris Hilton Leycias asked with a worried expression.
As I lightly rotated my arm, I felt a faint creaking sensation—it seemed I hadn’t fully recovered yet.
‘Even with the power of an Elixir, was restoring my body the limit?’
Baphomet, who had manifested in its true form.
And the hellish flames it unleashed were more dangerous than any attack I had faced before.
When I lightly clenched my fist, I felt a faint throbbing from the tips of my fingers. Wondering if something was wrong, I examined it closely, but soon realized it was phantom pain.
The sensation of my entire body melting away as it burned was something I never wanted to recall.
Still, perhaps that pain engraved into my body hadn’t fully faded—when I recalled those blue flames, my fingertips trembled slightly.
“…I’m fine now, but did everything end well?”
I hid that subtly beneath the blanket and asked with a nonchalant expression. However, perhaps I couldn’t fool Alice—just for a moment, a worried look passed across her face.
“That mage and the Sword Saint drove the demon far away. Was it called Baphomet?”
But as if trying to match my tone, she answered calmly. At those words, I couldn’t help but make a slightly heavy expression.
‘Even with the Sword Saint and Chris working together, all they could do was drive it away.’
If a gate connected to the Demonic Realm were to open, there would be at least 72 more monsters like Baphomet. And their leader, the Demon King, hadn’t even appeared yet.
Of course, it wasn’t all bad. Experience—especially for those who had reached the level of the Sword Saint or Chris—was an enormous asset.
Having faced a being with the strength of a Demonic Realm lord like Baphomet, they might be able to defeat it more easily next time.
Especially since the Sword Saint would fight against a Hell Archduke at the end of Part 2.
In the original, they both perished together. Of course, I had no intention of just watching that happen, but if the Sword Saint could crush and defeat it with his own strength, there would be no better outcome.
“Please get some more rest. It only happened yesterday, so it’s only been a day. The Sword Saint also said to leave the aftermath to them.”
“I see.”
I had expected to be unconscious for several days, but waking up after just one night—an Elixir truly was an Elixir.
But aside from that, the mental pain and shock still remained vividly at the edge of my vision.
If I closed my eyes now, I felt like that scene would engulf me again. Just as the trembling in my fingertips worsened slightly, Alice clapped her hands as if organizing the situation.
“Then let’s rest for now too. Since I didn’t do anything, I’m fine, so I’ll stay by Leios’s side.”
“No, there’s no need for that—”
As I was about to tell her to go rest as well, Alice shot me a glance, silencing me. Then, returning to her usual nonchalant expression, she looked at the others and continued.
“Next time, we can just take turns nursing him among those who’ve recovered. Right?”
At that, everyone silently nodded. Petra seemed like she wanted to stay longer, gripping my blanket, but perhaps realizing Alice’s suggestion was reasonable, she let out a small sigh and stood up.
“…Then I’ll leave it to you.”
Soon, they all left the room. Only Alice and I remained—me sitting awkwardly on the bed, and her watching me—as an uncomfortable silence filled the space.
“That was serious. Still, I’m glad it was resolved well—”
“Again.”
Alice reached out and grabbed my hand hidden beneath the blanket.
Startled by the sudden action, I was at a loss for words. She stared at my trembling hand and bit her lip, as if frustrated.
“I couldn’t do anything again.”
She brought it to her forehead. I could feel the soft texture of her hair against my fingertips, but seeing the sorrowful expression beyond it, I couldn’t say anything.
“Hey.”
Alice lifted her head and looked at me with tear-filled eyes. As if she could no longer endure it, she spoke.
“How long are you going to keep suffering alone?”
It was just a single question, but it contained countless emotions.
Didn’t you say you would play a crucial role in the future?
Then why are you always the one in pain?
Why can’t anyone help you?
All kinds of thoughts swirled in her tearful eyes. Seeing that dark, stained gaze, I let out a small sigh and gestured for her to sit on one side of the bed.
“…….”
Alice slowly sat down. Still holding my hand, she continued in a trembling voice.
“When you were burning, I thought you’d get back up soon like always. But seeing you writhing in pain… I started wondering if that was really right.”
The strength in her hand increased. I had nothing to say to that either.
I thought I had prepared myself enough, but neither I nor those watching had been prepared at all.
In the end, I tried to escape by dying once—and if it hadn’t been for Chris, I really would have died.
I would have revived through the Blessing of Invisibility, but Alice didn’t know about it. So naturally, she must have been deeply shocked, thinking I had reached the brink of death.
“It’s not just me. Petra unni, Elysia, Chris, Yuria, Esmeralda too.”
She swallowed her words, saying they were all worried about me.
I had no excuse. I thought as long as the result was good, that was all that mattered—I hadn’t thought about looking around me.
I had forced one-sided trust, and because of that, I was hurt—and they were deeply hurt as well.
‘…….’
Part of me thought it couldn’t be helped. I wasn’t a regressor or a reincarnator—I was just an editor who possessed the body of a scoundrel, carrying only knowledge of future developments.
Every moment was my life, and every moment was reality.
No matter how meticulously I planned, everything would collapse due to a single variable, and unexpected events—like Baphomet suddenly appearing—happened frequently.
Even if this happened again, I couldn’t say I’d choose a different method.
I would probably choose the best method available to me—and it would likely lead to the same process and result as now.
“…….”
But Alice looked at me with clear eyes, as if determined to ensure something like this would never happen again.
“Seriously……”
She really was the protagonist.
Muttering vaguely, I flicked Alice on the forehead while she was still staring at me.
Thwack-!
Perhaps I failed to control my strength—it landed quite hard. She grabbed her forehead, asking what the hell I was doing, and hit my chest with a pained expression.
“…I won’t do things like this anymore, so don’t worry.”
This was the smallest lie I could tell. She probably knew it wasn’t sincere, which was why she nodded with a dissatisfied expression.
“They probably decided to end the Gathering like this, right? Since there’s still plenty of vacation left, let’s go to my territory and focus on training for the rest of the time.”
Originally, we had plans to travel around South Yorkshire, Britain, and Leipzig to meet others, but given the situation, they would understand.
‘I still need to meet the Count of Sheffield.’
The linkage between Prometheus’s Flame and divine power. With the appearance of demons and Majin happening earlier than expected, we needed to establish a proper countermeasure.
And I planned to finally take charge of my party’s training in earnest.
Originally, I had intended to gradually expand their capacity and guide them so they would awaken around the time of graduation, but given how things were unfolding, we didn’t have the luxury of time.
‘I’ll cram everything into them—elixirs and swordsmanship alike.’
I had plenty of elixirs, and even more money. I hadn’t realized it when I first came to this world, but my palace warehouse held more than enough elixirs to feast on endlessly.
I had already brought them all to my territory’s warehouse, so there would be more than enough for everyone.
Seeing this, whether in reality or fantasy, money really was the best.
“…Right, what is Werner doing right now?”
I recalled that he hadn’t been among those who came to my room earlier. At that, Alice frowned slightly and spoke with a regretful expression.
“You know, among those Majin… Werner’s older brother was one of them.”
“Yeah.”
“He seems to have taken quite a shock. I heard he followed his brother more than his late father, and now that this happened…”
She said he was so devastated that he still hadn’t left his brother’s body.
“…….”
At that, I could only sigh as well. Werner’s brother, Mersen, was originally supposed to be leading part of the allied forces fighting against the Demonic Realm for the prosperity of the Kingdom of Demedrio.
But why had he suddenly turned to the Demonic side?
‘Either way, Sword Marshal General Isaac must have been deeply involved.’
He likely used the Majin and the Anti-Imperial Faction to kill his own older brother and even caused his nephew to side with the Majin.
I knew I had to do something, but that bastard needed to be dealt with soon.
“For now, I should make him focus only on training.”
He hadn’t even recovered from the shock of his father’s death yet. And now, on top of that, this had happened to his brother—he must be devastated.
Eventually, night fell. After Alice, others came to nurse me, but I sent them back, telling them to rest at night.
Outside the moonlit window, many people moved about busily. It seemed they still hadn’t finished dealing with the aftermath of the battle.
“…You must’ve been busy.”
I turned my gaze from the window and spoke quietly into the darkness inside the room.
“…….”
The late-night guest slowly stepped forward. The moonlight illuminated his face, revealing his blue hair.
He wore an expression no different from a dead man’s. Though the moonlight shone down, not a single trace of light could be seen in his eyes.
“…Leios.”
Werner Demedrio called my name in a low voice, as if answering.