Chapter 745: Dave

Suddenly, Oliver appeared and greeted everyone.

At that moment, it felt like the sounds disappeared in an instant.

Not just the sounds of voices and breathing, but even the ominous crackling of flames devouring the buildings and air. Complete silence.

Absolute, serene silence.

That silence spread across the chaotic city, as if washing away the hearts of the people like water.

The terrified citizens, the anxious Terence and Philip, even the Dark Sorcerer behind the Zombie Puppet… all alike.

In that calm, Oliver knelt on one knee to meet Edith’s gaze.

“You seem to have gone through quite a bit, haven’t you?”

Edith, with a wound piercing from his abdomen to his back, breathed raggedly, staring blankly at Oliver.

His expression was one of such trance it seemed he’d forgotten he was dying.

But Edith was a Randa gladiator who sold his conscience for the heart of a beast. He quickly regained his composure and spoke.

“…Damn, you’re late.”

“The hero always arrives late.”

At Oliver’s reply, Edith’s eyes grew wide once again. To the point that it seemed they would pop out.

It was that surprising of a remark. Completely unlike Oliver.

“You’ve been through quite a bit yourself, haven’t you?”

“It wouldn’t be a lie to say so. A lot has happened.”

“Were the rumors true then?”

The Prince of Hell, the center of the apocalypse.

Edith referenced the rumors about Oliver that had been circulating in the underworld ever since he defeated the Pied Piper.

“Yes, they are.”

Without hesitation, Oliver answered directly.

He was confessing to being the Prince of Hell and the center of the apocalypse.

Edith was quietly astonished.

Not because Oliver was the Prince of Hell—it somehow made sense for Oliver, maybe even something beyond that.

What shocked Edith was Oliver’s attitude.

Despite possessing talent and power far beyond anyone’s reach, he used to be excessively polite, almost subservient, yet now he was calmly admitting to such overwhelming facts.

Personality, after all, was an innate disposition. It hardly ever changed.

It was harder than changing rivers and mountains.

And yet Oliver had changed this much? Indeed, Edith couldn’t decide if that was a good or bad thing.

People tend to change for the worse rather than for the better. Just like Edith himself.

“I didn’t expect you to be so interested in me.”

“What?”

“The questions you’re asking… they suggest you care about me.”

“…I’m a great investor, that’s why.”

“I see. I thought there might be another reason. For example, conflicting emotions, perhaps love…”

Oliver trailed off and looked toward Jane. Edith coughed up blood and burst out angrily.

“You bastard—! Cough! Cough!! Damn—!!”

Like poking an infected wound, Edith flared up. Oliver casually ignored him.

“Seeing you like this, I’m glad I came late.”

“Argh—Cough!! …Argh! Damn it!! Have you always been this kind of person?!”

“I’ve decided to live a bit more joyfully. Anyway, would you like to confess?”

“Oh… What the hell are you talking about?”

“You’re dying right now. I figured you’ve probably committed a lot of sins.”

“This crazy bastard is joking until the end—”

“—Edith.”

Oliver cut Edith off, his voice seriously solemn.

“I’m not joking. Do you not need to confess?”

There was a brief silence. Edith pondered before giving a mocking answer.

“…No need. Confession is for those who regret their sins and seek forgiveness. I may have committed sins, but I’ve never regretted them. Nor do I want forgiveness.”

“Is that true?”

“Yeah. If I hadn’t done what I did… If I had lived like the fools here pretending to be good, do you think we’d be here together now?”

Edith said that and glared straight at Jane. Then he glared at the others around as well.

His gaze was sharp, unbefitting someone dying from a stomach wound.

“Are you listening? I do not regret a single thing! Unlike you, I don’t whine, and I don’t regret my decisions!! This is my final moment, and I embrace it! I have no regrets about my life! Not about my damn daughter! Nor even about my end!!”

“Alright.”

Oliver made an odd sound and placed his hand over Edith’s abdominal wound.

It was a sudden move.

Edith looked dumbfounded and was soon shocked for the second time that day.

As Oliver removed his hand, the wound, which had pierced from Edith’s stomach to his back, disappeared as if it had never been there.

“What the…”

Edith touched his belly where the wound had been, startled.

There wasn’t even a scar. Only the red blood soaking his shirt testified that he had been injured.

A wound that had vanished like a miracle. Edith stared at Oliver with utter disbelief.

Unable to process, Edith asked the only thing his mind could grasp in that moment.

“Why?”

“So you’ll have time to regret, Edith.”

“What…?”

“Live a little longer. And regret. Of course, if you don’t want to, you can continue living the way you have.”

“…”

“What I can do is just offer a little help. From here on, the choice is entirely yours, Edith.”

It was so one-sided and brazen. After a long pause, Edith murmured quietly.

“In hindsight, I never liked you.”

“I like you, Edith.”

With that, Oliver stood up.

As he rose, he met Jane’s gaze. He wordlessly asked for her understanding with just a glance.

Then, he walked toward Terence—more precisely, toward Prince Albert, who was wrapped in the burnt tarp.

“May I have an audience with the prince?”

The word ‘prince’ caused the surrounding crowd to stir, and Terence stood frozen, unable to say a word.

Normally, he would have lied or brushed it off, but Oliver’s strange, indescribable aura overwhelmed him, leaving him speechless.

His head told him to lie, but his body rejected it.

As he stood frozen,

Rustle.

Prince Albert, wrapped halfway in the burned tarp, revealed himself.

“Greetings, Your Highness. You seem a bit different.”

Oliver said as he looked at the prince.

Indeed, Albert had changed from the last time they’d met.

Their last meeting had been in Randa, where Albert was well-dressed and clean, like a noble boy.

But now, his attire was ragged, soaked with sweat and soot, he looked filthy.

It seemed this boy had been through a lot, just like everyone here.

“Dave…”

“Please, hand the prince over to us!”

As soon as Prince Albert appeared, someone from the crowd shouted.

Surprisingly, the people who had been silent began speaking all at once as soon as the first person broke the silence.

“Please! You don’t understand what’s happening in this city!!”

“The Royal Family are criminals! He must face justice!”

“Please, help us!!”

People pleaded in turn, recounting the disaster and their yearning for justice, all insisting that the prince be handed over.

Their words surged forth like waves of language and emotion, constantly crashing, attempting to sway Oliver. The problem was.

“What do you want to do, Your Highness?”

It all had no effect on Oliver.

While people shouted about the tragedy in the capital and the coming calamity, Oliver remained unmoved, calmly listening.

“Dave…?”

“I want to hear the prince’s opinion. I understand the situation roughly. What would you like to do, Your Highness?”

Terence, who had been watching from the side, tried to say something. However, when Oliver placed a finger over his lips, he fell silent.

It was a peculiar sensation. Terence wasn’t sure whether he closed his mouth by force or by will, but he did.

He simply watched Prince Albert in silence.

Soon, the silent Prince Albert spoke.

“My, my brother is preparing some kind of ritual right now… I don’t know what it is, but he has betrayed everyone. He betrayed the country, the people, and even the family…”

“I’m listening.”

“I’d been warned. That this might happen, by Children of Angels… by Joanna.”

“I’m listening.”

“But I ignored that warning. I thought my brother would never do that.”

“I’m listening.”

“And then I ran away. While my mother collapsed, while the city was being engulfed by the catastrophe, I ran away.”

“I’m listening.”

“I even saw orphans being hunted down on the way but pretended not to see. At the execution grounds too… it’s all because of me. People got hurt because of me. And, and…”

Prince Albert confessed what he considered an overwhelming list of sins, recounting all the things he’d seen and done that day. He looked tormented.

“So, I… I…”

“Prince.”

“…”

“I didn’t ask what wrongs you’ve committed. I asked what you want to do. I’m not asking about your sins, but your desires.”

Oliver looked at him with eyes as calm as a bottomless lake.

Seeing that gaze, Albert, who had been writhing in guilt, paused as though struck, and after a moment, he spoke in a desperate voice.

“Help me…”

He asked to please help him.

Then Oliver placed his hand awkwardly on Albert’s head and patted it.

Afterward, Oliver stepped forward, tapping his Quarterstaff on the ground, standing before the engulfing crowd.

As Oliver, who had stepped up, looked at them, the crowd that had been crying out for the prince to be handed over began to fall silent one by one, and the quiet returned.

In that quiet, Oliver spoke.

With one hand wrapped in bandages, half his hair bleached white, and his emaciated body looking like it might collapse at any moment, Oliver said.

“I’ve heard your voices clearly. You’ve asked that the prince be handed over to you?”

“…That’s right.”

The crowd responded.

Sensing there was no point in trying to take the prince by force, they now tried to persuade Oliver with words.

“The city is in ruins because of the Royal Family.”

“That’s right! They betrayed us and made a pact with the Dark Sorcerers!”

“He’s a criminal! He must pay for his crimes!!”

People once again voiced the tragedy of the city, the betrayal of the Royal Family, and the need for justice.

Oliver agreed.

“Perhaps you’re right. The prince did, after all, as he himself said, turn away from truth, cowardly fled on his own, and ignored others. Those are indeed sins.”

“Exactly. So—”

“But as you’ve heard, Prince Albert didn’t know about any of this.”

The agitated crowd fell silent as though doused in cold water.

They wanted to shout that it was a lie. Yet, when they met Oliver’s calm, steady gaze, they couldn’t.

It felt as though, the moment they spoke, he would ask, ‘Do you truly believe that?’ and they would have no answer.

Then, someone shouted.

“He is, he is a prince! A prince! Second in line to the throne!! …Regardless, he has a duty to this chaos, even if he knows nothing!”

The man shifted the subject from ‘crime’ to ‘duty.’

Though sudden, his words weren’t wrong.

Albert was a prince. Even if he bore no responsibility for what had occurred, as a prince, he had the duty to quell the chaos. That’s what being a prince meant.

Once again, Oliver agreed.

“You’re not wrong. No matter what, a prince is still a prince.”

“Then…”

“But, sir, have you fulfilled all of your duties?”

The man’s face froze at Oliver’s question.

“Have you honored your parents as their child, loved your siblings as a brother, been devoted to your wife as her husband, loved your children as their father, united with your neighbors, and done your utmost in your responsibilities…?”

The man could only clench his jaw without saying a word.

Turning his gaze from the man, Oliver addressed the crowd.

“I’m not criticizing or blaming you. I simply want to ask. If anyone here, anyone at all, is free of sin or has never neglected their duty, they may come forward and take the prince.”

Following his words, Oliver waved his hand.

The ominous steel wall blocking the path between the crowd and Prince Albert slowly retracted, returning to its original form as a sword.

Now, anyone who wanted to could step forward and take the prince.

Yet, not a single person moved.

Though physically there was nothing in their way, it felt as though a much larger and more formidable wall now stood before them, preventing them from even trying.

They stood there, shuffling their feet, avoiding Oliver’s gaze.

The only emotion they felt at that moment was shame.

The shame they should feel as human beings.

“You are not wrong. The prince does bear his share of guilt and duty. But judging him excessively, simply for being a prince, would also be too cruel. If such a thing were permitted, wouldn’t it also allow us to scorn the poor and oppress the weak? Is that truly what you seek?”

“…We just want to live.”

Hidden within the crowd, someone whimpered.

“We just want to live… The city is burning, the sky is dark, and the city is twisted… What can we do?”

How are we supposed to survive, they asked.

“The army surrounds the Royal Palace, we can’t even stop them, and we cannot flee the city. The radio said this is only the beginning, so what are we supposed to do? We want to live. But the heavens have abandoned us. What can we possibly do?!”

A desperate cry. The people, trapped in despair, began to weep, unable to see a way out.

Just as their sobbing was about to reach its peak, Oliver, who had remained silent all this time, finally spoke.

“The heavens have not abandoned you.”

The people, whose heads were bowed in shame and despair, looked up.

To them, Oliver repeated his words once more.

“The heavens have not abandoned you. After all, I’m here.”