Chapter 275: Aftermath and an Uninvited Guest

The carnivorous plant, seizing the heroes’ moment of carelessness, pierced the chests of the fools who had targeted Deon with its vines.

As the startled Heroes became wary, Deon scanned Ben and Dan before calmly slapping away the hand that pressed on his knee and rising from his seat. It seemed he’d dismissed Lindel from his mind after their brief exchange. Even as the swiftly approaching Heroes pulled him back, he merely glanced in Lindel’s direction, taking no particular action.

“Why are you so late?”

His red pupils, which had been observing the carnivorous plant rampaging as if burning its last flame, turned towards Ben and Dan.

Though his gaze and tone were clearly indifferent, Dan narrowed his eyes and Ben immediately bowed his head, sensing an indistinct resentment. Just like when he appeared, Deon’s booming voice echoed.

“We apologize!”

“Ben has the necklace, so you should have known my location. What’s the reason for the delay?”

Only then did Dan open his mouth.

“Rweche’s troops were more persistent than expected.”

“…Rweche, not the Empire or Esperance?”

“Yes, if we hadn’t received communication from their commander midway, it might have taken even longer.”

“Communication… it must be about that then.”

“Yes.”

News that Rweche had been attacked.

Ed must have done his job properly. Deon nodded lightly.

“They seemed quite flustered.”

“Well… they probably didn’t expect us to react so quickly.”

“Their response was certainly swift.”

Even if it wasn’t perfect retribution, they had definitely succeeded in screwing them over. Dan subtly raised the corner of his lips.

[What the hell is this…!]

The guy’s face, a mixture of confusion, betrayal, and anger, flashed through his mind. No doubt, the Demon King’s army attacking by exploiting the Taehon Kingdom’s border was definitely conveyed to them. As expected of a commander, despite the chaotic emotions, he showed the judgment to quickly withdraw his troops.

Dan, who had been reminiscing about the situation, suddenly felt a breeze and lifted his head. As if waiting for Deon’s mood to soften, Ben, who had dashed out in an instant, began to check Deon’s condition.

A voice dripping with worry reached him.

“Sir Deon, are you alright?! The signal…!”

“I’m fine.”

“You don’t seem to have any injuries, but… your complexion is not good. We need to check… but there are interlopers…”

Ben’s gaze turned towards a certain spot.

Lindel, feeling the gaze directed at him from behind the Heroes, gritted his teeth.

‘Why would demons come now?’

Avoiding a clash between Heroes and demons was fundamental to this plan.

‘…Still, it’s just one.’

They had gathered the Heroes to hunt the Hero.

They had already lost many in the process of clashing with the Hero, and the remaining forces were dwindling while fighting the plant-type monster, but it wasn’t as if adding one more demon would make it unmanageable.

‘If not now, there will be no chance.’

Too many troops had been lost. If they returned in failure, despair would take root in humanity’s hearts. Everyone was too exhausted to plan for the future.

He placed his hand on the dagger embedded in his shoulder. A cold smile appeared on his lips.

He was well aware that this was his last mercy and warning, but he was also in a position where he couldn’t back down.

“Everyone, ignore me and attack…”

*Thwack! Thwack!*

Two spears flew in and landed at his feet in quick succession. Lindel reflexively shut his mouth and then frowned.

‘Ah, right.’

There was another hidden helper.

Following the path of the spears, his gaze wandered before settling on a spot with the help of the Heroes. The Heroes said the person was wearing a deep hood, but he didn’t know about that. However, he could tell that the dot-like figure was the one who threw the spears, prompting a groan.

‘…To throw with this much force from that distance.’

Impossible unless it was another demon or a Hero.

Dealing with just the Hero was already difficult, and now there was a plant-type monster and ranged support. As he deliberated whether to retreat or push forward in this unfavorable situation, a Hero standing beside him spoke.

“We must retreat.”

“…….”

“Our already insufficient forces are dwindling further due to the monster. And more importantly, in this state, it will become difficult to protect Lindel-nim while fighting.”

“…….”

“Crown Prince, Your Highness, said that we must never lose Lindel-nim.”

Certainly… retreating was better.

The monster was focused on ‘protecting,’ but if it had focused on attacking, they would have lost even more. If the ranged helper became more aggressive, the situation would become even more unfavorable.

Lest they prolong the time and increase the enemy’s aggressiveness, Lindel suppressed his reluctance and forced his mouth open.

“…Let’s withdraw for now.”

“Understood.”

***

The Heroes retreated.

Deon, indifferent to whether the enemies retreated or who the spear-thrower was, simply staggered towards the carnivorous plant. Ben watched with worried eyes, but he paid no heed.

‘Again…’

It was this shape, this sight again. Why was he always like this?

His red pupils trembled as if about to shatter. Knowing he was wavering himself, he tightly closed and then opened his eyes, but the trembling in his pupils remained.

“…Maybe I shouldn’t have brought it here.”

He reached out his hand towards the creature, which was withering as if its strength was spent. *Tap*, his fingertips touched a vine.

If it had simply died at the hands of an enemy or if this situation had occurred when he knew nothing, he wouldn’t be wavering like this now.

Another life was sacrificed for him again. The very notion was so suffocating that Deon couldn’t easily move, his eyes fixed solely on the nameless carnivorous plant.

“You too are just adding to my nightmares.”

It was a situation he didn’t want to experience again after Cruel.

Now, if he were to strangle himself, who would stop him?

The creature gradually turned yellow and then shrunk. As it took on a completely brown hue, Deon instinctively knew it was the end and took a step back. At that moment, a vine extended.

Tap.

“Kkyiaek.”

That familiar cry was the creature’s last.

*Paaht*, a small light burst, and the carnivorous plant vanished without a trace, leaving behind a small sapling. Deon rubbed the cheek where the vine had touched, then knelt down, gazing silently at the sapling that no longer moved or made a sound.

“…Master.”

“What.”

“That…”

“…Forget it, just take care of this.”

Dan, unsure of what to say, quickly nodded.

“We need a place to transplant the sapling, do you have a flowerpot or something?”

“A flowerpot, if you mean the one that guy used… ah.”

It was broken.

Deon’s slightly dazed eyes stared at the shards of the flowerpot the carnivorous plant had broken out of. Dan didn’t like that look, so he turned his head away.

“Then something to replace it…”

“If it’s a flowerpot, I have one here.”

“Ah, perfect… ?”

“But lending it to you would be difficult, I’m afraid.”

“……”

Wait… is there a madman carrying a flowerpot around on this battlefield besides Master?

No, before that… the voice itself belonged to someone who shouldn’t be here. Dan’s gaze turned to where the voice came from. Deon, sensing the anomaly as well, lifted his head and looked at the owner of the voice.

Even the Lofty Knights were staring at the uninvited guest, who was out of place on the battlefield. Seemingly unfazed by the attention, a woman holding an empty flowerpot greeted them calmly.

“Long time no see, Honorable Person.”

“…Sorcerer.”

Deon frowned.

It was the person he had met once during the Salvation Church suppression and worked with. Her name was Ran.

Her words, as if seeing through everything, and the note she had left him were quite memorable, so he clearly remembered her.

“Why are you here?”

“I’ve come to take the sapling.”

“…This?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s something the world has left behind.”

As expected, she wasn’t an ordinary sorcerer.

An explanation was needed. Deon stood up from his seat, crossed his arms, and cocked his head.

“If it’s left here where the war continues, something bad will surely happen. It’s better to move it beforehand.”

“Where are you planning to move it? Is there a safe place in the Human Realm…”

“Esperance.”

“…That’s something you shouldn’t say in front of me, don’t you think?”

Saying Esperance wouldn’t be caught up in the vortex of war was as good as saying the Demon King’s army wouldn’t attack Esperance, or even if they did, they wouldn’t be able to infiltrate inside.

It was inappropriate to say in front of Deon, who was clearly affiliated with the Demon King’s army.

“So, are you going to attack Esperance?”

“Well, now that I think about it, Esperance is mixed in with the Human Realm forces gathered this time, so leaving it alone might be a bit concerning.”

“You’re good at saying things you don’t mean.”

“……”

Deon silently furrowed his brow.

“So, you’re taking the sapling?”

“Yes.”

“What if I say no?”

“……”

Sorcerer Ran quietly turned to look at Deon.

Silence fell as their gazes met in the air for a moment. She slowly opened her mouth.

“Perhaps, are you still attached to it?”

“……”

“This is no longer the plant you knew.”

“…I know.”

Whatever drug she took, the side effects were severe.

…Come to think of it, what exactly did she do to be able to do this?

The answer came from the sorcerer.

“I didn’t expect your plant to have the seed of the world.”

“You say you didn’t expect it, yet you came all the way here… wait, seed of the world?”

That seed that the Fairy King said was contaminated and almost discarded to Hien?

“The birth of something that will greatly affect the world is bound to be caught in divination. And… it seems you didn’t know.”

“So… that thing was carrying the seed left by the world… and absorbed it at the right moment to use it…?”

“Rather than absorbed… it’s more accurate to say it temporarily gained power as compensation for purifying the seed’s contamination by offering itself as a sacrifice.”

The bulging flowerpot of the creature came to mind.

And Hien’s words about giving it some nutrients too.

…They planned this together. Deon’s red pupils sank gloomily. He was too exhausted to fuel any more emotions, so he didn’t get angry.

“If you take the sapling to the Demon Realm, it will only be contaminated by demonic energy again. Surely you’re not thinking of ruining what your plant sacrificed itself to purify again.”

“…Get your words straight. That thing didn’t sacrifice itself to purify the seed, it sacrificed itself for me.”

That’s why it was even more devastating.

“…Anyway, I have no intention of re-contaminating something that was purified with such effort.”

“……”

“Take it.”

“Thank you for your concession.”

Deon stepped aside, and Ran, passing him, sat in front of the sapling.

The mad dogs were milling about as if asking what to do next, and Ben seemed to want to check his condition, hovering nearby, but Deon ignored them all, silently watching the sorcerer digging around the sapling in a circle.

The sorcerer, who had been quietly digging, broke the awkward silence.

“The world is angered by your actions, Honorable Person.”

“…Is that so?”

Deon’s lips twisted into a smirk.

“So, did it take away its blessing or something?”

He was talking about that luck that manifested as unbelievable power when his life was in danger.

“That’s not the case. The current Honorable Person is certainly needed by the world. The problem is the karma and the world’s anger you have accumulated by causing trouble so far.”

“…It sounds very abstract and cult-like.”

“To put it simply… your next life will suffer unprecedented pain.”

“Ah… and here I thought it was something important.”

He was struggling just to live in the present, let alone think about the next life, which was not even in the future.

The next life, what an unrealistic thing to say. Deon made a deflated expression.

“Even now, you could stop…”

“Well…”

Ran, who had transplanted the sapling into the flowerpot, lifted her head. Her red gaze met his directly.

Her eyes, curved as if mimicking a smile, seemed to say.

“Isn’t it too late to say that now?”

Too late.

“……”

“…Well… more than that, there’s something I’m curious about.”

Deon, who had been peering into the sorcerer’s eyes filled with despair, lightly shrugged and changed the subject.

“…Speak.”

“Is the warning to be careful with my eyes still valid?”