The pursuit of freedom

In the middle of the sky, inside the helicopter, Elias looked below with a smirk as he muttered to himself.

"The world of Aegis… This is where things truly begin."

The blue sky was immensely vast while the lands beneath were tinted of green and filled with high mountain peaks and breathtaking sights.

Occasionally, one could hear a beast cry echo from the wide mountain forests, accentuating the wild and free air around the high mountains.

The sight of the world made Elias uncontrollably smile. It was breathtaking, immersive, and most importantly… free.

In this world, who doesn't like freedom?

Certainly not him. Elias pursued the freedom of life. He sought to enjoy life and at the same time not be restrained by anything.

Unbound by anything, freely indulging in life.

Ding!

At that moment, while he was immersed in his thoughts, a system notification suddenly appeared in front of him.

[Achievement Unlocked!]

Elias furrowed his brows, confused.

[Mastermind: The planner behind the shadows, the instigator of chaos, the conspirer of society. Be the source of chaos you have always been, Hero.

Rewards: INT (D+) and Trait (Mastermind)]

'This is… Traits?'

Elias raised his eyes in surprise. This was unexpected. There were no such traits in the original novel.

'Then is this something exclusive to the Hero Creator System?'

Regardless, this was a welcome surprise. He would take any advantage he could get.

He hurriedly pressed the shining Trait (Mastermind).

[Traits: Mastermind - People you intend to use will be more easily convinced. Whether unintentional or intentional, they also are highly likely to move according to your plans subconsciously.]

"Not bad."

Reading the effect, Elias remarked with a nod. This trait was extremely useful to him, especially for later on when he starts to establish his own force to fight the Ghost King.

Although that time was still far, preparing early was the only way to even have a fighting chance against that main quest.

While he was thinking, Junior suddenly called from the cockpit.

"Young master, we've already flown away to a safe distance like you ordered."

Hearing that, Elias snapped out of his thinking and looked below.

Beneath the vast infinite sky, there was a large forest near the mountains with a small village nearby.

'This place should be good enough. There's a settlement, so it should be a safe space. Additionally, since there's a settlement, maybe a town is also nearby…'

He thought for a moment before he decided in his heart. He turned his head to his subordinates and praised them.

"Good job. Since that's the case, get ready and take some of the backpacks on the back."

Without asking exactly why, Donato and the rest gave a nod and followed his orders, taking one backpack for each of them and giving an extra one to Elias.

Woosh!

Elias caught it calmly and immediately wore it on his back. He examined it and checked its contents.

"Ah, It does have parachutes. Nice. Alright, Junior, you can stop now."

"Young master, are we…?"

Leaving the cockpit, Junior stopped and hurriedly moved to them. He also wore a backpack behind him. He and the group had faint guesses in their hearts.

Looking at them, Elias slowly nodded and confirmed.

"That's right. We're going to jump. Have you guys ever skydived before?"

From the beginning, he had never planned to land using the helicopter. This was the enemy's helicopter. What if there was a hidden tracking device in this thing?

No one knows for sure.

Donato and the rest looked at each other before shaking their heads with a rueful smile.

"No. We haven't had the chance to do so.

"Oh? That's great then. I don't have experience either. This is a good opportunity. We'll jump on the count of three."

Elias said as he calmly looked below, seeing the vast sky and infinite lands. He felt exhilarated but at the same time, he couldn't help but feel a slight anxiety.

"One."

Hearing his words, Donato and the rest suddenly widened their eyes as they prepared themselves hurriedly.

"Two."

At the same time, the helicopter was slowly going haywire with no one in charge of piloting in the cockpit.

Inside the helicopter, Elias' lips curled into a wide smirk.

"Three."

At that moment, he jumped. Besides him, Donato, Galilei, Taurus, Junior, and the rest also jumped at the same time.

Woosh!

Elias had a wide smirk on his face as he fell to the infinite sky. The wind accelerated their fall to the ground.

***

Tartarus, Fourth Floor.

Woosh!

"Gahk..!"

In the sea of unconscious bodies, Swain gasped and coughed out a mouthful of blood, staining his clothes.

The blood heavily splashed, smearing the long blade that was piercing through his chest. The long metal blade gave out a light sheen, reflecting the appearance of a middle-aged man with a military suit.

Captain Voxen was silent, his gaze was cold as ice while he stared at Swain. After a few seconds of silence, he spoke calmly with a sigh.

"Swain Castellano, you lost. Although you're a criminal, you gained my respect. You refrained from killing any of my subordinates weaker than you, only knocking them out. You clearly had the chance to do so, but you didn't."

"Alternatively, you could have also caused further chaos by breaking the other sealed cells in this place, but you didn't. It's a pity… if only you weren't a scum criminal."

Hearing that, Swain was still silent with a vacant gaze. However, Captain Voxen shook his head and continued:

"Speak, what was your goal in all of this? You even used such a self-destructive skill that destroys yourself in exchange for greater power… clearly, you're resolved to die for this goal of yours. Were you trying to escape?"

"..."

Utterly silent, Swain didn't respond, staring at the ground vacantly as though dead. Captain Voxen let out a long sigh and gave up.

"Why struggle in futility? The great era of Andolinio is over. The times have changed. It's time to accept that, Swain Castellano."

"No matter what your goal is, it wouldn't change anything. Even if you did manage to escape, you were going to die by your own skill in the end. This is just an asinine struggle."

While he was speaking, a buzz rang out on his transceiver and a voice came out.

[Captain, there's an emergency!]

Captain Voxen stooped and pressed the transceiver with a heavy frown.

"Calm down. What is it?"

[The underground facility has been invaded and attacked! Everyone down here has been knocked out!]

Captain Voxen's pupils rapidly shrank as his eyes widened in shock and disbelief. He hurriedly grabbed the transceiver.

"What?! What about the sealed demon class?!"

[Don't worry, Captain! The demon-class is still sealed! More importantly, someone managed to escape this place through the portal!]

Captain Voxen sighed in relief before turning grim once more.

"What?! Did you manage to identify the prisoners?! How could they have escaped? That's impossible! How could they have the door code and the right keys to that place…"

At that moment, Captain Voxen suddenly remembered the uneasy feeling he had. He slowly reached out his hand to his waist and felt nothing.

"...The master key."

At the same time, the transceiver quickly answered.

[We just received an update! We've managed to uncover their identities! It's… it's the son of Andolinio Castellano, Elias Vito Castellano, and the 'Five Musketeers' of Andolinio!!]

Hearing that, Captain Voxen's eyes widened in realization and his gaze fell at Swain. He gripped the transceiver tightly and broke it in rage.

Crack!

"So… that's it."

In front of him, Swain was extremely pale, as though slowly losing his life in each second. Hearing those words, his eyes shone with bright hope and joy.

Using all his remaining strength, he raised his head and answered with a slight smile.

"..Indeed, you're not wrong. The great era of the Godfather ended that night. The times have changed. I also should've died that night along with the Godfather…"

"..But now I realized It still wasn't time yet. I wasn't destined to die that night. I still had a purpose left in this world."

Even with a long blade piercing through him, Swain stared directly at Voxen and let out a low, maddening chuckle.

"Now I know… that purpose is to bring upon the rise of the devil himself. Hehehe… My sacrifice is not in vain. It won't be long until a new true war will start as the son attempts to reclaim his rightful throne."

Feeling his death quickly approaching him, Swain paused before he sighed and chuckled quietly.

"...It's truly a pity, I can't live long enough to see that future. The Ghost King… the Five Families… they couldn't have known that they made a huge mistake that night."

"A pity..."

Swain whispered quietly, his words drifting along the wind. His eyes slowly lost their bright luster and in the end, he stopped breathing.

However, even in death, a smile remained on his face.

Swain Castellano, the right-hand man of Andolinio Castellano, has finally died with a smile.

'A new true war…'

Captain Voxen gazed at Swain with a complex feeling.