Chapter 9: Just stop there
It was a while before I let go of Tana.
“…Ah…”
“Tana, listen carefully.”
I looked into her eyes.
Her lost, wandering gaze met mine.
“Soon, when the day breaks, the final ritual will begin. You know that, right?”
“…How do you…?”
“I heard about it. And if this ritual succeeds, you’ll vanish. If it fails, you’ll be trapped in an endless cycle of collapse and reconstruction, suffering forever.”
“…Yeah. So don’t come anymore. There’s no need.”
“Tana, I’m not leaving.”
“…What do you mean?”
Tana’s brow furrowed slightly.
The girl who once showed no emotion, maintaining a cold facade, now knew how to frown.
“Whether the ritual succeeds or fails, you’re screwed either way. Knowing that, how could I just leave?”
“…”
“So, we stop the ritual from happening. I’ll block it myself.”
“…What?”
Her eyes widened slightly, then she scowled.
“Don’t talk nonsense. …Just go.”
To her, I must sound like I’m spouting absurdities.
Understandable.
She’s up against the king of a nation, while I’m just one person.
“I already told you. I’m not going.”
I knew the odds.
Critias is a kingdom built on advanced magic.
Even I couldn’t take on an overwhelming number of mages.
And among them were Akairum and Hekaton.
Akairum needs no explanation, and Hekaton’s a formidable mage himself.
Fighting off a swarm of mages would be tough enough—adding those two?
No matter how strong I am, holding out would be the best I could do.
…Still, I couldn’t back down.
“Tana, I’m not leaving until I save you.”
“I told you to go. You’ll die.”
“If it weren’t for you, I’d have died that day.”
“…”
“I owe you. It’s only fair I save you once.”
“But this—”
“Tana.”
“…”
“Trust me.”
The fourth job advancement was close.
If I could just advance, stopping them would be easier.
Maybe I could even break the chains binding her.
…And if that didn’t work, I had one last resort.
“…Tana, do you know how that book we were reading ends?”
“…”
“The princess under the spell is saved by the knight in the end.”
“…You’re not a knight.”
“And you’re not exactly a princess, are you?”
Oh.
Her mouth opened slightly at that.
“Let’s get out of here, Tana. It’s my turn to save you.”
“…”
She didn’t respond.
Then, a faint smile appeared on her face.
‘…She smiled.’
It was the first time I’d seen her smile.
It was… beautiful.
A short sentiment, but it was enough.
No words could capture that smile.
I smiled back at her.
Back at the inn, I quietly polished my weapon.
“Hm…”
Something felt off.
I opened my status window.
Lv.121
73220 / 698000 (10.4%)
Name: Juhyuk Seo
Job: Crusader
STR: 1332
DEX: 272
INT: 265
LUK: 192
AP: 0
[Hold off the final ritual for 1 hour]
[Time remaining: 1:00:00]
One quest left.
Complete it, and I’d finally get my fourth job advancement.
The timer would start at 1 p.m., when the ritual begins.
I couldn’t guarantee I’d last an hour.
But there weren’t exactly other options.
The narrow passages to the underground prison could work in my favor.
It wasn’t impossible, so I had to try.
“…”
I was starting to question the quests.
Looking back, a lot didn’t add up.
First, the quest to go to Trueffe Plaza.
It was odd, but not worth overthinking.
It could’ve been a way to connect me with Tana.
What really felt off was after Akairum arrived.
The future had changed.
Akairum came to Critias in Hekaton Year 53, a year earlier than planned.
Yet the status window seemed to know, perfectly aligning the quests.
It was as if it knew today would be the final ritual, leaving just one quest.
Did the status window know the future would change?
…Or was this the intended future all along?
“Hm.”
No point dwelling on it.
I was just curious.
It didn’t matter much.
Even if the status window knew the future, it wasn’t like it was bringing me bad luck.
It was helping me.
Of course, if it made ridiculous demands, I’d refuse.
I’m doing this for the advancement, not to be its puppet.
…That’s good enough, right?
I stood up.
Dawn was breaking.
I pulled an item from my pocket and gripped it.
“…”
An anti-magic stone.
My last resort if things went south.
…Hopefully, I wouldn’t need it like Jang did.
“Haa…”
No more useless thoughts.
I let them all out with a sigh.
1 p.m.
“His Majesty the King arrives!”
Hekaton entered the lab with his royal guard.
Akairum approached.
“I greet Your Majesty. May the goddess Rhinne’s blessings guide your steps.”
“Akairum… you haven’t forgotten my words, have you?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. I will deliver only success.”
“Let’s not delay.”
“Understood.”
They descended the stairs to the underground prison.
Impatient, Hekaton led the way with his guard, ahead of Akairum.
Tap, tap, tap.
As they reached the final landing—
Clunk—.
“…Hm?”
Hekaton’s guard voiced confusion.
The door wouldn’t open.
“It’s locked.”
“…Akairum.”
Hekaton’s irritation flared, annoyed that even this wasn’t prepared.
“I’ll open it immediately.”
“No need. This is the final ritual—why bother with a door?”
“…”
Hekaton stepped toward it, raising his scepter to cast a spell to break it.
The guard stepped back slightly.
Akairum frowned inwardly.
The researchers always left this door open.
Why was it locked now?
“—…——…”
As Hekaton chanted and magic surged from his scepter—
BOOM—!
The door shattered before the spell could finish.
And at that moment—
“Wha—argh!”
A hand shot out, grabbing Hekaton and pulling him in.
“Ughhh…!”
It happened in a blink.
No one had time to react.
Hekaton, stunned, was dragged inside.
“Your Majesty—!!”
“Your Majesty!!”
The panicked guard rushed into the lab.
“Your Majesty…?”
“The king’s been taken!”
As others scrambled to follow—
Crack—! Thud—! Crunch—!!
Horrible sounds echoed from inside.
The guard froze, chilled by the noise.
“Gasp…!”
Those who saw inside were horrified.
The researchers already in the lab were collapsed far off.
The guard who’d rushed in were in bad shape, sprawled motionless on the floor.
The gruesome sounds explained why.
…And then.
“Pant… pant…!”
Hekaton was held hostage by an unknown figure.
He was gasping, a sword pressed to his throat.
“Move one more step.”
The stranger spoke.
“If you want to see this guy’s throat slit.”