Chapter 52: Liberation (2)

“You…… came to save me?”

“Yes.”

Innocence let out a hollow laugh.

Suddenly appearing and saying they came to save him?

Well, he had hoped a little, truthfully.

Perhaps that kid knew his problem and could cure this illness.

But—

“It’s already too late.”

Innocence raised one corner of his mouth.

Crossing from top-tier knight to Sword Master realm, one branch of humanity he had discarded himself.

Emotions suppressed by responsibility and duty were gradually blooming.

He was becoming something no longer Innocence, yet still Innocence.

Ruined brain.

Ruined psyche.

With the foundational parts all destroyed, could he still be called Innocence?

Even endurance had its limits.

“This is my only hope.”

“Extracting and transplanting the brain won’t change anything.”

“I will absorb the ancestor’s memories and suppress my madness.”

…….

Innocence closed his eyes tightly.

“If that’s the case…… I can somehow hold on for less than two years.”

“That’s enough.”

“So that’s why he went mad around three years later in the original?”

The mad Knight King Innocence.

His own whiteness lost and contaminated, turning gray, eventually toppled by players.

Even then, he never touched the kingdom and slaughtered demons.

The problem was that the slaughter included enemy nations and refugees.

He recognized only those within the capital as kingdom citizens and treated the rest as enemies.

This was the only chance.

If he absorbed the boss’s memories to suppress the madness, it would be irreversible.

“Fortunately, there is a way.”

Evan swallowed dryly, gulp!

Honestly, it was scary.

He’d admit it.

Those grayish-white eyes mixed with white and gray.

They looked like the eyes of someone already mad, terrifying.

But retreating here?

That would make him a coward beyond a pushover.

Above all, this was an investment for the future!

Just endure a little now.

Aegis was prepared, Lapis too, and the shrine maiden was here.

There was no safer moment than now.

With that thought, Evan opened his mouth.

“There is still…… a chance.”

“Chance? What chance? The more you steal my time now, the madder I become?”

“I’ll explain later.”

He didn’t say he had no confidence in persuading.

Innocence had already decided not to try other methods.

With the only solution before him, he had no leisure to invest more time.

“Lapis.”

The moment Evan spoke, mana threads burst in all directions.

“!”

Mana threads instantly wrapped around his body.

Innocence tried to sever them, but they weren’t single strands—multiple intertwined like tough, solid rope.

They even glowed.

Had he prepared some trick in advance……!

—Uoooooo!

A shadow loomed overhead.

No. 5 leaped high, fists clenched, and smashed down.

Innocence tensed his upper body.

It was just a golem, but he couldn’t predict the trick.

The moment he tensed and cloaked himself in aura.

Rumble!

“!”

The ground caved in, throwing off his balance.

Enough to stagger, if only briefly.

Aegis formed hand seals from behind.

Various materials scattered on the floor flashed and vanished, the price of equivalent exchange pulling from below and binding Innocence’s legs.

“……Kuaaaaaaaaah!”

“Felix!”

“I know!”

Felix charged straight ahead.

His drawn sword cloaked in sticky aura, he gripped it with both hands and slashed horizontally with force.

[Elim Style 1]

[Diagonal Cleave]

Crack!

The diagonal cleave was blocked by aura armor.

But Felix didn’t stop, pushing harder.

The aura armor crushed inward.

Felix grinned.

“As expected…… you’ve weakened……!”

“You fools…… can’t you see what I’m suppressing right now……!”

“We do, that’s why. Lapis.”

“Yes!”

Lapis yanked the mana threads hard and popped up from behind.

She swiftly scanned the aura armor, pulled mana threads through the gaps, and disrupted the aura.

“!”

The moment Innocence focused on the aura, a proper opening appeared.

Yes.

Now.

“This is the only chance.”

Multiple coincidences overlapped.

Innocence had to pour his mind into not going mad and protect his body from injury.

With a ruined brain, his psyche was affected; he couldn’t exert full power—barely half.

Would it work?

No, that didn’t matter.

“Not ‘will it work,’ but ‘I must make it work!’”

Evan swallowed dryly, gulp, and gripped his staff tightly.

[Decomposition]

[Reconstruction]

Rumble rumble rumble!

Small golems poured out in droves.

Small golems approached as if entering eyes and ears.

Innocence urgently spread his aura.

As if anticipating blockage, the golems facing the aura wall exploded.

The exploded golem debris split into thread-thin strands, drawing a circular pattern.

An alchemy array.

Used when handling alchemy, amplifying power, automatically finding problem areas, and increasing stability.

A massive amount of mana and the small golems forming the staff were consumed as the price of [Equivalent Exchange].

Mana drained at once, a metallic taste rising in his mouth.

Uwaaaah!

Evan held back the urge to scream and opened his mouth.

“I’m sorry, Innocence.”

Shwaaaaa……!

Evan urgently signaled the shrine maiden with his eyes.

“It’ll hurt a little.”

The shrine maiden extended her hand.

[Spatial Magic]

[4th Tier]

[Spatial Transfer]

Spatial transfer that moves perfectly intact without a single damage.

The shell of the bizarre device in his hand [decomposed], revealing it.

A syringe filled with some liquid.

It stabbed directly into Innocence’s temple.

Plunge!

“!”

Grind!

Innocence’s eyes bloodshot, teeth grinding.

The material in the syringe was [Time Grass].

When ingested or injected, time in the area slows extremely.

“Thiiis…… with thiiis……”

“Suppressing the madness, yes. Impossible in your current state. This buys time.”

And.

“What I want to do is block the erosion of madness. And…….”

Alchemy wasn’t finished yet.

“Find the problem area.”

“……!”

Content written in the alchemy text.

It went beyond a simple research journal—it was data for treating someone.

Permission from criminals or those whose lifespan ended to open organs.

Alchemist Hargen, skilled enough to leave only the brain.

It would have been hard without his records.

Preserving or fixing brain-like areas requires several conditions.

First, cessation of function. Impossible without slowing time.

Ability to alchemize a replacement. Human body alchemy, khe he he, if that were possible, I would have done it long ago.

“Luck was on my side.”

Evan had everything prepared.

Cessation of function substituted with Time Grass.

Next, human body alchemy—

“Homunculus.”

Artificial life form.

A type of golem, but a step toward human body alchemy.

Evan—no, the understanding and knowledge of the human body accumulated by Evan before possession.

Plus the homunculus information from the Bluebeard Count.

Combining all this allows [Understanding].

Then [Decomposition] and [Reconstruction] are sufficiently possible.

“I can do it……!!”

Evan closed his eyes tightly and focused mana.

The single problem in Innocence’s brain.

The part even a superhuman’s regeneration couldn’t fix.

If replaced with a pre-made homunculus body part—

Connected.

Aegis’s voice.

Aegis assisted and helped so Evan wouldn’t err.

She had expended great energy even potionizing the Time Grass before coming, but was holding on somehow.

“Ugh”

Still not enough.

His head spun.

Lost too much blood?

Just a little?

In that absurd moment.

[……You’re doing better than I thought.]

The brain—no, Hargen’s voice rang out.

[Not that way. Move mana this way. It’s not about brute force quantity, but thorough understanding and efficiency.]

Evan didn’t try to understand the words precisely.

Input and follow.

The moment he thought that, some memory seeped into his head.

[Yes. Good…….]

This is…….

My friend’s last request, so I can’t

Seems mismatched…….]

[Memory transfer. One of the few ‘inheritances’ I can do…… I was preparing but couldn’t give, seems you’re the one receiving]

“This is…….”

[A senior’s gift, junior. Suffer well from now on…….]

Fading voice, conversely sharpening memory.

Evan strained to recall the memory and focused on alchemy.

Boldly [decompose] the problem area, then [reconstruct] with the brought homunculus body part.

Perfect mana control and understanding meant no damage to other areas.

Perfect replacement.

In a flow of unity, the time of slowed concentration ended.

“Ah…….”

Light began returning to Innocence’s eyes.

Simultaneously, the Time Grass effect ended.

Thud!

Innocence fainted as if dead.

White snow piled atop him…… but his expression looked peaceful.

“Ha.”

Evan plopped down in place.

Hands and feet trembled from the aftermath.

He wanted to uwaa! It’s over, and lie down.

But he couldn’t.

With Lapis and No. 5’s support, Evan slowly turned his head.

Standing before the graves, watching all this—Kenbaek.

He was staring fixedly at Evan.

***

[Kenbaek. My friend’s name. Also the ancestor of that idiot collapsed over there…….]

“……Kenbaek.!”

First time hearing it, but similar to Innocence.

Solid white.

Standing before the stretching graves under swirling snow, a fitting nickname.

Kenbaek turned his back to the graves and gazed at Evan and Innocence.

[Friend…….]

Hargen, rescued by Aegis after being face-planted, asked.

[Why didn’t you stop it?]

[You could have stopped it. With my memory transfer, you could have suppressed that madness…… You promised the guy, why didn’t you move? Afraid to die?]

“No.”

Kenbaek shook his head.

Because he thought it was right. In the end……

“This is not a complete solution, just first aid…… For true perfection, we had to wait.”

[Indeed, words befitting one who ran for a single perfect moment where all people are safe…….]

Hargen chuckled and asked.

[You…… haven’t changed from beginning to end.]

[You’re the first leader who didn’t ask me for immortality, friend.]

Gradually fading voice.

[This death…… isn’t bad…… not a bad ending…….]

“Hargen.”

[Go ahead…… wait…… not like this, in whole form…… let’s drink…….]

The life reaction from the brain fully extinguished.

Aegis gasped.

Death.

Alchemist Hargen, who left only his brain to escape a frail body, but fell into the infinite cycle and crumbled.

His name unrecorded, but he passed all memories and alchemy knowledge…… to Evan and departed.

“I…… am not your enemy. But I want to ask one thing.”

Kenbaek slowly opened his mouth.

“Is my kingdom…… at peace?”

Evan hesitated briefly.

What to answer?

It’s actually crumbling?

Or countless die under survival of the fittest?

Then the shrine maiden stepped forward.

I’ll show you. The scenery I’ve seen……

Starlight gathered at her fingertip.

A considerable amount of star clusters remained after spatial transfer.

Through them, she showed the scenes she had witnessed.

Scenes with ends but beginnings possible.

Countless lives living in the nation Kenbaek created and hoped to continue.

“……Ah……. So this was the sight…… the sight I wanted to see…….”

Kenbaek closed his eyes tightly.

“This too…… isn’t bad. All the karma my remaining people bear because of me, I will take…….”

Innocence slowly sat down in place.

This time, not guilt or despair.

“God…….”

A habitual prayer.

A prayer to the god as a knight chasing honor and glory.

Then, white light swirled.

“..!!!”

Evan and everyone looked up.

The dungeon…… was opening.

Light pouring through the gap like an entrance connected sky and earth.

Kenbaek began fading with a peaceful expression.

The soul that lived trapped in the dungeon for a perfect moment was returning to where it fully belonged.

Liberation.

“Thank you. From now on…… please take care of my descendant.”

With those words, the light cluster and Hargen ascended to the heavens together.

The end of one who surpassed superhuman realm and built his own domain as Sword Master.

He had seen it a few times before.

It was so flashy, it floated around YouTube a lot.

“……Ah. It’s over.”

Evan flopped down.

It was cold, but no choice…….

Time to rest a bit.

“Good work, Evan.”

The shrine maiden approached slowly with a smile.

“Thanks to you…… one fate was liberated.”

“You worked hard too, shrine maiden. Luck…… was good.”

“It’s beyond luck now. Planning all this for this……

Huh?”

The shrine maiden sensed something odd and looked up.

Evan felt it too.

The swirling aurora hadn’t vanished yet.

“……Huh?”

He looked up.

The opened sky.

The dungeon door

Wasn’t closing.

“Ah.”

The shrine maiden’s mouth opened.

Through the gap, countless ‘gazes’.

Familiar.

The constellations that bestowed power upon her.

Their gazes.

But…… something different.

All from a different time period.

The constellations of that era watching the liberated Kenbaek.

Among them, particularly red-glowing stars ‘observed’ her.

The moment the shrine maiden’s face paled.

What…… you were doing something fun?

An awakened voice whispered.

Doing such a cute thing behind my back without calling me?