64 Foreboding the end

(Third POV)

Ten days have passed since Rudeus's talk with Ariel.

While significant improvements in producing awakened chantless Magicians have been made ever since that day, fear amongst the citizens have become increasingly evident.

Most adventurers ceased to go out in fear of encountering any insect monsters, each gate-knight focused on looking outside for any monster, and merchants occupied themselves within the city as long as they could or would hire what they thought were enough adventurers should there be any.

All hopes to get the normal routine back are set on three people.

First would be North God Kalman III. After informing the authorities about the monster colony growing close to Sharia, he made it his job to go around the city and exterminate any monster on sight, noninsect ones excluded.

But to his regret, Hiryū keeps beating him to it because he has been explicitly ordered to eliminate any abnormal monsters he can find.

Any other time would have been fine, but the feathered dragon ensured that Aleksander saw his target taken away before flying off.

It was a means to get back at him for taking back the powerful weapon he stole from the North God since he could tell that it would suit his master much better.

The second person is Sword God Gal Farion.

Notice of his departure to Sharia has already reached, but unnoticed circumstances have delayed his arrival for days, urging authorities to perhaps begin the attack without him.

Third and last would be the strongest out of the three and yet youngest in more than one way.

Flourishing Calamity Rudeus Greyrat. Some would call it ridiculous for a teenager to claim such an absurd title, but such people have not bore witness to his incredible power.

In addition to his work on producing chantless Magicians, he helped heal injured people with new limbs or cure them from nearly any poison they had received from mutated monsters.

In the eyes of every Magician in Sharia, he has proven himself to be a master in the arts of magic, but he has made it clear to all of them that what they have achieved so far has barely any significance compared to what he can do.

As such, Rudeus's number of admirers rose just like it did in Rosenburg, and some even wanted to become pupils of the one who was worthy of the title of true Magician.

However, in contrast to his rising popularity, some people became exponentially more suspicious of him because of his King class Healer capabilities.

Mainly those who worshipped the Millis Religion, their belief being guided by the Demon Expulsion Faction.

But one person, who isn't part of the church, has other reasons to dislike the young Magcian.

Luke, who had been confined in his room since Ariel suspended him from his duties, grumpily looked out the window.

He was still convinced that Rudeus was Laplace, an enemy of the human race.

He thought that after pointing everything out and even mentioning the parts Sandor had revealed, he would bring people to get his point.

But it made his superior call off the duties bestowed on him, and now all he could do was wait for the truth he hoped to emerge.

Seconds passed by, and the knocking on his door drew him out of his thought process.

Once he opened the door, his princess and his two colleagues looked at him calmly.

"Luke. I hope you have calmed down. We need to talk about what you said the other day."

For Luke, this was an undesirable subject. It meant Ariel designated him as a lunatic.

But a shimmer of hope arose within him to attempt one last time.

As normal, Ariel was given the only seat Luke had available in his room, him standing a few feet before her and Fitts and Sandor positioned on each of Ariel's sides.

It has officially become an interrogation.

"To start off, how about you explain to me what you were saying the other day?"

Ariel's voice held no judgemental tone, starting off calm.

"I believe I only said what needed to be said."

His words were also directed at Fitts. Luke glared at Fitts, but the receiver remained unfazed, keeping a stone-cold expression.

"So, I need to reiterate your statements? Did you even play in your head to hear yourself more properly in your confinement?"

"I stand my point."

Refusing to admit his mistakes, he stood firm on his decision to declare Rudeus an enemy.

But for his princess, that was not an option.

"Luke, I have a feeling you have been talking with someone without my notice."

Her spoken-out suspicion struck Luke with both shock and admiration. He knew she would eventually figure it out, but it came sooner than he'd expected.

"I received some information from a reliable source. I was promised a better method for solving our problem of making you king."

"Reliable in what way? Are you perhaps talking about a way for us to get in touch with the Armored Dragon King without the help of Rudeus?"

"It is far more than just that. I was revealed the true nature that monster holds within himself."

"And what might that be?"

"Bringing the end of the world."

The ridiculousness and seriousness of such an answer made Ariel and Sandor deadpan. Fitts merely had his eyes widened a bit.

Ariel was disappointed, to say the least. It only proved to her that what Rudeus and Sandor told her could very well be true, so she jumped straight to the main question.

"Were you contacted through your dreams by a god named Hitogami?"

Luke was momentarily speechless but became relieved to know he wasn't the only one earned by the god of this world.

"It seems the god has warned you about him as well. Now you understand where I'm coming from." Luke said with a smile.

Yet his smile received a frown from Ariel, who was distraught by his boldness.

"I heard nothing but bad things about that person. He manipulates people for his own benefit and disregards how many of them will end up suffering from the consequences."

"So you understand. It's not too late for us to do something about it."

"So you admit your mistake in trusting Hitogami?"

Speechless, unlike before, Luke was puzzled. He thought Hitogami also contacted Ariel about Rudeus's trustworthiness, but it was the other way around.

"I heard a bit about that self-proclaimed god. He appears to have been involved in many historical stories of the past, some of which he intentionally made into disasters. It doesn't seem like he is seen highly by many who know his true nature after falling victim to him. That is if they survived his schemes."

"W-What? That can't be. He showed me the truth about Rudeus's real identity."

"And what might that be? Is it about this end of the world you just mentioned? Did he show you that through his ability to see into the Future?"

"Wait, how do you know that? Could it be… it was him! I was warned by the god that Laplace tells people otherwise."

"So was I when it comes to those who Hitogami contacted."

"I know what I was shown! Laplace took over Rudues Greyrat's body to one day destroy the world we stand on with demonic powers."

"Explain in detail what you saw. I want to know what this premonition has shown you."

Taking a deep breath to calm down, Luke began telling everyone in the room what he was shown.

His explanation began with how Hitogami contacted him and how he needed to be careful around the person claiming the name of Rudeus Greyrat because he is secretly another being who would bring forth the destruction of the world.

The vision was described as follows.

Hitogami provided the perspective, looking up at the sky of what he called the Void World, the world lying below the one they were standing on.

What Hitogami witnessed was chain explosions of white fire and the occasional descent of land masses of earth and ocean water.

But what came down straight to Hitogami was what he called the monster Rudeus has become from the inside.

Luke was told this was the result of a failed experiment Laplace did on himself to bring forth more of his own power to use against the humans.

His description resembled Rudeus's cursed Demon Dragon Form, with additional mutated parts resembling ancient demons and dragons, horns and tails, and extra arms.

But what stuck with all of them was his face.

Distorted into the most horrific smile of an insane psychopath and eyes pitch black with thin red veins going across, replacing the pupils and irises.

It then skipped forward, with Hitogami struggling to keep Rudeus at bay. The latter couldn't be killed no matter how much his body was obliterated into dust; he would always regenerate in white flame almost immediately.

At the end of it, Hitogami received the final blow with a hysterical laugh from his opponent, who was looking down on him with the same smile he kept the whole time.

"You must be kidding me. Why would you believe that?"

"It was only until Sandor revealed Rudeus is the cause of the [Bright Sky Wave]. I was told he only used it unconsciously at first, but should he master it, it will call upon what I was shown."

As a response, he received a sight from Ariel, her being tired of the nonsense she had to hear from her subordinate.

She proceeded with her next questions because she didn't want to hear any more accusations about the world ending.

"Did he give you any advice, like going to a place to meet someone or carrying out a seemingly bizarre task?"

"He told me to put my most expensive possessions in an alley on the city's northwest side."

Luke was complying at this point since he was told that it wouldn't matter anymore, even if he were to be found out.

"You didn't throw away any of your Magic Items, right?" Ariel asked.

"It was the high potent aphrodisiacs I bought from the remains of the Fittoa region."

"Weren't those worth several gold coins? When did you put them to that allay?"

"About four days before Laplace arrived. So, nearly a month ago."

Ariel's eyebrow twitched. She was a bit irritated that Luke started to address Rudeus now as Laplace instead.

"Do you know who could have taken them?"

"I was not told such detail. Putting somewhere was the only thing I was told."

"Did he leave any indication as to how he will use that against him?"

"He did not. No further contact came after that, so whatever purpose those would have served, I did everything I needed to do, and nothing could be changed about it."

"Even telling me all of this? Seems to me that you are risking that task to become a failure by doing so."

"In the end, it is for the sole purpose of receiving advice on your campaign, so no further secrecy is required."

Ariel became a bit disturbed. She knew about the details of people trusting Hitogami too soon because he used the right moments and sugarcoated some promised future to do his bidding, but she had hoped that Luke wouldn't have been gullible enough to fall for that.

She looked to her left at Fitts and asked him for his opinion.

"What do you think? Is any of what he said credible?"

Luke was livid to see that Ariel seemed to advise Sylphiette. He was tired of hearing the stories of how amazing Rudeus was in her eyes for a while now. In Luke's eyes, Rudeus was a faker who sought destruction wherever he went.

"Hmmm... I'm not sure. His description about my body is pretty vague but accurate in the core."

To Luke's surprise, he was tricked by Rudeus and Ariel's collaboration.

By removing the glove the previously presumed Fitts wore, the green ring he wore was also removed, and Rudeus's head changed back to its former state.

***

(Rudeus POV)

Finally, I can stop with this silent cop act.

When Ariel told me that we would be doing a prank, I didn't expect anything like this. A two-part Magic Item that allows someone to change their appearance to the wearer of the second ring? How do they even get something like that?

It's a good thing Sylphy wears such dark glasses for her persona since this item doesn't change a person's eye color, among other traits.

But I feel a bit weird wearing not only her coat but also her boots. Which are both Magic Items!

And I don't mean because her coat smells oddly good, but because I feel weird exactly because of it.

It must be a sense of guilt towards Sara since I feel like I'm cheating on her. Whatever.

"So, what do you say, Sir Rudeus?" Ariel asked me in a serious tone.

"All of what he told us was the honest truth. However, like I said before we started this, anything Hitogami told him does not particularly have to be true. And besides..."

Adjusting the glasses a bit with my right hand, I glanced at Luke. He was still pissed at me, even if this idea was Ariel's all along.

"Since he wasn't warned not to tell me anything about this, or anyone in general, it must mean he was only needed for that one task and nothing more. An errand boy, so to say."

"How dare you belittle me like-"

"Quiet, Luke!"

Getting silenced by his princess, Luke stepped back from when he was about to go after me.

"What do you plan to do now?" Sandor asked.

"Nothing. At least for now. We still have the insect colony to worry about. Especially with the recent finding that made the authorities rethink their decision on the departure day."

The cut-up remains the knights brought led researchers on monster biology to an unsettling discovery. By comparing other monster parts of a similar kind from the South, it was determined that the monsters were still fairly young—all of them.

This made them conclude that the speed at which the number of monsters was growing was much greater than anything documented before.

It could be argued that these creatures were the result of experiments conducted in a different kingdom to assess their outcomes, which goes back to my own theory back at Rosenburg.

I know I'm from a world where the concept of Magic is only fictional, but even by this world's standards, this is too unnatural.

"And what shall you suggest we do with Luke?"

"Why are you asking me that? He is your servant. And I don't think you want me to use the presumably best method to deal with an apostle."

"And what would that be?"

"Kill them on the spot."

My blunt answer surprised Luke and Ariel. Only Sonador seemed indifferent when he held his hand on his forehead. Oh, so he knew.

"That... that seems a bit extreme, don't you think?"

After she made her remark, I began removing the coat I had received. The cold air in the room hit me because the cloth had the magic effect of regulating temperature.

As I held it in the air with [Specter Force], I rolled up the top part of my clothes, revealing the black scar on my chest.

This time, all three of them were shocked.

"Looks horrible, doesn't it? I got the same one at my back as well after Orsted plunged his bare hand through me."

"How did you survive?!" Sandor asked quickly.

"Miraculously, I gained King class Healing Magic the moment after, healing myself from all the injuries."

I left the part out in which I did while unconscious and without putting my hand on myself.

I'm still trying to figure out how I did it, but I know it has something to do with my mana circulation still being intact, even without a functioning heart.

If I ever manage to recreate it, I could practically put on an automatic healing mechanism. Oh, the possibilities.

I rolled down my shirt and then began taking off the boots I was wearing. They were a number too small for me, so it was slightly painful for me to wear them anyway.

"So that's what you wanted to tell us before Luke's accusation. But there must be a better way to deal with those apostles."

"If there was, why do you think the bastard still lives and dooms other people's lives?

Sure, Orsted's method could make him more enemies if it weren't for his might and menacing aura, but neither of them will stop until one of them comes out victorious. Kind of like you and your brother have, honestly."

After putting the boots aside, I opened my pocket dimension and took out my own, immediately putting them on.

"But what do you have to do in this? Is it because of your world-ending spell?"

"No. That was after Hitogami first visited me. Then again, he said that event was hidden from his sight until it happened, so whatever hunch he may have had, it must have been the one thing that triggered that future.

In other words, it was most likely his own fault, and now he can't undo it."

Of course, that was only a hunch on my side. I don't think Hitogami would take such a risk based on mere suspicions. There is more to it that I can't see.

I was done with my boots, so I took out my robe next, as the other theory came to mind.

What Luke said could be true. Maybe Hitogami saw that I was going to destroy the world one day and took precautions to prevent that.

Kind of funny how the one thing that gives him security is bringing an end to him.

After finishing the last buckle on my robe, I folded the mantle and handed it over to Sandor.

"Aren't you going to give that back yourself?"

"I need to check on the awakened Magicians. The time we can prepare is getting thinner."

In actuality, I just didn't want to be there when the bad news of her friend having betrayed his princess was being told to her.

Ariel and Luke (and two others I haven't met yet) are the first real friends she made on her own. And now I'm here to break their dynamic because of my mere existence and a dumb god's premonition.

When I took off the glasses I received, the light kind of hurt my eyes. How has Sylphy been going around with these for so long?

"Just... don't push yourself, lad. Everything is going smoothly, so don't worry about it too much."

"Mhm."

He was talking about my sleep-deprived state.

Since the night I received these Demon Eyes, I have been more tired than usual.

Whatever happened took a lot of energy off of my body, so I was a bit exhausted.

I went for the door and grabbed the door handle, leaving one final warning before exiting.

"Anyway, keep an eye out for any other activity from your so-called knight, and inform me if there is."

"I will do that."

Her tone of voice was a bit disappointing. She might have hoped that little event would have given her better chances of getting me to her side, but I never intended to do so.

Closing the door behind me, the resentment I felt coming from Luke never diminished for even a second.

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