Chapter 43: I’m Not the Culprit (1)

As expected, he came knowing everything.

The Oracle was certain.

Evan had orchestrated this entire situation.

The heretic remnant, Bishop Dexter.

The moment she saw him, she knew.

Their fate was sealed for destruction.

At the end of their ruin was Arthur.

A pitiful knight who dedicated his sword to the moon for revenge and his younger sibling.

But he wasn’t whole.

The red thread of fate tied to him was tangled.

As if some impurity had intervened.

Probably Evan.

He must have drawn her in this way too.

Just seeing how he found her location and came directly confirmed it.

He could deal with the remnants while he was at it.

He might have even anticipated I’d be misunderstood.

If he used the power of his family, it made sense.

The Alkart family.

The true power ruling the underworld.

Could they not uncover information in a kingdom inferior in every way except martial prowess?

She didn’t know what he was planning.

But she had a sense of one thing.

One of the things he sought.

That beast.

The Oracle’s eyes turned to the whimpering beast at Evan’s feet.

A bizarre appearance with two heads.

It didn’t look like a chimera.

Two fates were fully intertwined, two beings merged into one.

A wolf that walks the skies, chasing the sun and moon.

Born solely to slay gods, a fate of defiance.

Yet, that defiance would not come to pass.

Because the stars beyond the sky were still watching.

Even so, it was defiance.

Ordinary people would feel their souls twist in agony just by touching it.

That was divine punishment.

Especially for the virtuous, watched periodically by the stars.

Only those who rejected fate, believed in evil gods, or were born with a doomed fate could touch it.

“Hmm.”

Rustle—

Evan lifted the puppy without a change in expression.

Pain?

He didn’t feel it.

No sign of burning either.

Was Evan evil, then?

No.

Even evil beings would be affected by defiance.

They’d instinctively feel repulsion and an odd sensation.

An urge to destroy this fate.

Normally, one would crush it rather than hold it.

Evan showed no such signs.

“Hmm.”

Stumble.

Evan, slightly swaying, asked Lapis.

“Lapis, can you support me a bit?”

“Sure! Evan, your arms are shaking too much! You need to exercise!”

“If I exercise, I might cough up blood and die.”

“Oh! No way! I’ll handle the heavy lifting for you!”

“Thank you.”

With Lapis’s help, he adjusted his hold skillfully.

He definitely came for this puppy.

Perhaps—

Evan might be a defier too.

His frail body could be the price of defiance.

Evan had coughed up blood from a sandstorm.

No matter how weak, that was absurd.

Unless he was ill or his lifespan was nearly gone.

In other words.

The absence of lifespan.

He was already living on borrowed time.

Probably because of the cost of defiance…

As all the pieces fell into place, a thrilling rush of dopamine flooded her brain.

Her eyes welled with emotion.

Osera, you knew this and sent me that letter.

It was elation.

What Evan was trying to do was surely…!

THUD!

The ground suddenly shook violently.

Looking down, her eyes sparkled like a night sky filled with countless stars.

The fate of this area was observed in an instant.

A vision of the future unfolded before her.

A moment tied to her own death, shown by the constellation of the future.

A centipede, buried below, offered scales as tribute through countless sacrifices, awoke.

It surged like a dragon, shattering everything.

***

Before the Oracle saw the future.

Heavier than I thought.

Sniff, Evan looked down at the puppy, barely held up with Lapis’s support.

What do I do with this puppy now?

Its life force and mana were faint.

It would die like this.

Maybe a day at most?

Thanks to the beast’s natural regeneration.

Healing it won’t kill it, right?

His Living Armor twitched faintly, as if reassuring him.

As if it would protect him if it attacked.

Right.

Even if he didn’t trust it, he trusted himself for making it!

Subspace open.

Swish—

He pulled out a high-grade healing potion from his subspace and poured it into the puppy’s mouth.

Pant, pant, lick, gulp, the puppy swallowed the potion.

Its breathing gradually stabilized.

Its mana remained faint.

Maybe equivalent to a low-grade potion?

This shouldn’t be too dangerous. Safe to touch, right?

Trusting his Living Armor, Evan stroked the puppy’s head.

The puppy twitched, as if unused to it.

Fearing it might seize and break his arm, he quickly soothed it.

“Shh… good boy.”

Whine…

The puppy twisted awkwardly at first, then found a comfortable position and relaxed.

It seemed oddly at ease.

Still, the missing leg was a pity.

Meanwhile, Lapis, having finished restraining Dexter, looked up at Evan.

“?”

“Evan, can’t you soothe me like that too?”

Evan looked down at Lapis.

She wasn’t fully grown yet.

Like a little sister to an older brother.

Maybe a cousin?

Saying “Shh, good girl” to her?

Wouldn’t that be weird?

“No. It’s different because they’re animals.”

“Animals? They are?”

“It’s one creature.”

“Oh, oops.”

Did the two heads confuse her?

It was kind of intriguing.

There were fire-breathing dragons, so an extra head wasn’t a big deal.

“Anyway, this puppy is an animal.”

“Hmm… the category of animals is broad…”

When Evan spoke firmly, Lapis nodded.

Phew, survived.

Almost died socially.

“So, what are you going to do with it?”

…I was thinking of freeing it with the other beasts.

“It’ll die if you do that. Why not keep it? Didn’t you heal it to raise it?”

That wasn’t the plan.

Wouldn’t a Bicon be better?

This one’s not cool.

A Bicon’s broken horn could be fixed.

It had more flair… though the golem might rebelliously disagree.

“By the way, Evan.”

“?!”

“It’s not a puppy, it’s a wolf.”

“Oh.”

A wolf?

If it grows up…

Wouldn’t it become cool?

He’d seen it on YouTube before possessing this body.

Cool wolves protecting their owners!

Huskies were like that too, right?

If it was only tame with him…

Tch, it won’t treat me like emergency rations, will it?

Nah, probably not.

He could ask the Duke about taming beasts.

His black steed was a beast too.

Plus, it’s cute.

True men go crazy for cute things.

Alright.

Decided.

I’ll take this one.

If it has parents…

Find them and take them too.

“Evan, what’ll you name it?”

“A name…”

“They say names carry great meaning!”

Evan paused.

Did names have such deep meaning?

When I named Lapis…

It was just a whim.

It’s a pretty name and a gemstone.

It should be fine, right?

Please let it be fine.

“Hmm.”

Should he name each head separately?

Thinking it over, two names came to mind for a wolf.

Mythological names should be good enough.

“Hati. Skol.”

Skol came from the scorpions common in the desert, and Hati just popped into his head.

That should work, right?

‘Hati’ and ‘Skol’ growled softly.

They seemed satisfied.

The names must have pleased them.

“Now the leg’s the issue.”

“I don’t think even Refinement Arts can fix that.”

“I happen to be in contact with the Saintess. I’ll ask her later.”

“What, the Sun Saintess? That crazy woman?”

“Huh?”

“N-Nothing.”

Aegis quickly backtracked.

Seems they didn’t get along.

Evan pretended not to hear.

For now, a temporary fix.

Rustle—

Using [Alchemy], he [Decomposed] and [Reconstructed] nearby materials.

A leg made of iron.

It was just for support now, but later he could make a full artificial limb.

Whine…?

Feeling the new leg, the puppy reacted.

Hati and Skol both looked at Evan, eyes sparkling, tongues out.

Pant, pant. Lick.

“Oh…”

Is this what healing feels like?

All his accumulated stress melted away.

Evan adjusted his hold on the puppy.

Hmm, calling them separately is a hassle.

“The dark red head is Skol, the dark blue is Hati. I’ll call them Shu for short from now on. Like it?”

Grr…

“Don’t like it? Should I call them separately?”

Woof! Woof!

Skol and Hati, together Shu, rubbed their heads against him, clearly pleased.

Alright… I’ll call them separately.

Just then—

RUMBLEEEEE!

A sudden vibration shook the ground.

Evan’s body swayed, but Shadow’s hand shot out from the darkness, and Lapis steadied him.

Aegis quickly waved her hands.

“It’s not me!”

“Evan.”

The Oracle, looking down, spoke.

“This Colosseum is fated to collapse.”

“What?”

Collapse?

It wasn’t supposed to collapse for a while.

“When will it collapse?”

“50…”

“50 days?”

“49…”

RUMBLEEEEE!

Another vibration.

No, no!

Now?

“An ancient beast buried underground has awakened.”

Damn it.

Seriously?

Evan had a rough guess.

An ancient beast sleeping underground.

Don Quixote had kept it asleep with sacrifices, harvesting its scales.

Maybe they missed a sacrifice, or it noticed its feeding ground was gone.

Why now, of all times!

“Let’s escape now!”

“Wait.”

Evan spoke to Aegis, who was about to use alchemy.

“We need to grab the rewards.”

“Oh.”

Aegis hurriedly adjusted her alchemy.

Even amidst this, the countdown continued.

“39…”

They’d grabbed most of what they could.

All that remained were the people in the Colosseum.

“No. 5.”

The moment he called, he felt the connection to the golem.

No. 5, waiting for orders!

Evan pointed upward with his finger.

“Destroy.”

***

In the Colosseum, brimming with fervor.

—WAAAAAHHHH!

“Urgh!”

Felix rolled across the ground.

Arena sand clung to his body.

The leather armor he’d worn was long torn.

Felix raised his creaking head.

His eyes were filled with shock.

—WOOOOOHHH!

What kind of monster did he create?

Overwhelming.

From strength to size to skill.

A golem made purely for combat.

To think such a thing came from human hands?

Talent, sure.

He could accept that.

A gift from the gods—how could a human comprehend it?

But a creation was different.

Raising its heavy arms to incite cheers.

Didn’t it have a will of its own?

What am I…

The path he needed to walk wasn’t clearer—it felt darker.

What was the Pilgrimage Path?

Was he even on the right path?

Just then—

“No. 5.”

I surrender—

A faint voice came from No. 5.

It was Evan’s voice.

“!”

“Destroy.”

The sand around No. 5 twitched, forming facial features.

A grinning face.

W-What?!

Felix instinctively threw himself aside.

Part of the sand forming No. 5’s body gathered into one arm, elongating.

Then BOOM!

—Kyaaaahhh!

—W-What’s happening?!

—WOOOOOHHH!

—D-Dead Bear’s suddenly going berserk!

The Colosseum began to crumble.

As if its previous strength was a fraction, the building shattered indiscriminately.

Spectators screamed and fled.

Felix’s mind raced.

What?

Why’s it suddenly going wild?

A malfunction?

Should I stop it?

Just then—

RUMBLEEEEE!

The ground shook.

A knight’s instincts sensed an immense presence.

This was…

A beast!

An enormous one!

Bigger than a sandworm.

His body tingled.

Danger instinct!

Felix turned to run.

Fighting it was reckless.

To survive, he had to escape!

“…”

Felix slowed down.

His father’s words suddenly echoed.

They held him back.

“A knight doesn’t flee from danger.”

“Though I became a wandering knight… my son, I never avoided a crisis.”

“Son, you said you wanted to be a hero. A knight is the same. You mustn’t flee from danger.”

Don’t flee.

Hadn’t he been fleeing all this time?

Making excuses?

He’d seen countless walls and avoided them instead of fighting.

That’s why he’d wandered so often.

Straying onto strange paths instead of the right one.

To walk the Pilgrimage Path—

I mustn’t flee.

Felix slowly turned.

Did he go underground to teach me this?

Now he knew what to do.

He felt like he stood at a crossroads of the Pilgrimage Path.

Felix gripped his sword and turned.

He’d fight.

This time, he wouldn’t back down!

No matter how strong the enemy—

RUMBLEEEEE!

A red-scaled centipede burst through the arena floor, surging like a dragon.

Its size dwarfed any beast he’d ever seen.

Was that a dragon?

Felix froze instinctively.

…Isn’t that a bit too big?