novelraw Chapter 184 : Chapter 184
Chapter 184 : Chapter 184
Chapter : 184
The effect of the bomb Lerwon dropped was excellent!
A silence fell among the four of them, so much so that Theo, had he been there, might have made such an expression.
“What kind of bullshit are you spouting now?”
Lilia furrowed her brow and glared at Lerwon with contempt.
“Has this son of a b*tch finally lost it?”
“Lilia, your inner thoughts are showing.”
“It's my true feeling, so it’s fine.”
Lilia replied curtly to Laurel as well, then continued to stare at Lerwon with the same expression.
“If you're going to do that, why do you need our help? Can we just go back?”
“No, I have something separate to ask of the three of you.”
“Something separate to ask?”
“I’m absolutely not saying this to take the risk all by myself.”
“…I need to be able to trust you.”
Lilia crossed her arms, openly showing her distrust.
No matter how she thought about it, she couldn't completely trust Lerwon. Especially since it was related to Iris.
“I promise.”
At his incredibly serious gaze, Lilia seemed to ponder for a long time, letting out a pained groan.
I can’t trust him. No matter how I think about it, I can’t trust him.
“What do you two think?”
In times like these, it was important to hear others' opinions rather than just judging alone.
Especially if it involved Laurel and Cecilia, two of the few people Lilia couldn't trust.
“I’m against it.”
Laurel immediately made her decision.
“Laurel-sunbae.”
“It’s not that I don’t trust you. I’m against it because I’m worried that separating from you like this might be that person’s intention.”
Laurel's judgment also seemed plausible.
Cecilia, as always, stood a step back and watched Lilia, Laurel, and Lerwon.
Her gaze, in particular, lingered on Lerwon the longest.
“I don’t know Iris Viden well, but at least in this situation, I don’t think it’s right to leave you alone.”
“Cecilia-sunbae is—”
Even if Laurel and Lilia had already opposed it, there was a high possibility they would follow Cecilia’s judgment.
Laurel and Lilia’s trust in Cecilia was firm, so there was a high probability they would trust her judgment and act accordingly.
“First, try explaining your plan.”
At Cecilia’s words, Lerwon explained his plan with magic without hesitation.
Since Iris sometimes used the snakes she commanded as her ears, it was wise not to speak a plan that relied on surprise.
Cecilia, who had been listening to Lerwon’s plan alone, made her decision without hesitation.
“I’ll trust you.”
The surprised shouts of Laurel and Lilia echoed through the dungeon.
“This guy with low self-esteem might go to Iris and tell her not to touch anyone else.”
“His eyes aren't those of someone giving up on himself.”
“If he says his mind changed out of despair—”
“The old me might have, but not anymore.”
Lerwon said firmly.
He might have if he thought he was alone, but he knew he was no longer alone.
Lerwon Viden had changed.
He had learned a way of life other than what Iris had taught him.
Next to the Lerwon who was trying to die, refusing anyone's help, there was now a guy shouting that he wasn't alone.
That shout was so loud and annoying, it was like a nail in his ear, so he wouldn't sacrifice himself.
“I want to live as a person.”
The Lerwon Viden who gave up being human and tried to perish with the world as a monster was no more.
“I truly want to live. Like a human.”
The hope that had grown small like a weed finally blossomed.
That firm will was perfect, without even a shred of doubt.
Even after seeing that, they couldn't say he was deceiving them to sacrifice himself alone.
“Seriously, this is annoying.”
Why had he changed so much?
Lilia swept her hair back and forced down a sigh.
The feeling of a guy she had known for three years, whom she had never thought could change, appearing in a form completely opposite to what she had known was unpleasant.
It was as if he was shoving in her face the fact that she had been giving up, making the excuse that it couldn't be helped.
With what kind of arrogant mindset had I presumed to know everything about you?
Amidst the creeping unpleasantness, Lilia reached out and pressed Lerwon’s forehead firmly.
“It’s a protection spell. It’s a one-time use, though.”
“Thank you. I’m entrusting everything to you, so don’t hesitate to use it when it’s dangerous.”
“I plan to abuse it, so give me more later.”
With those words, Lilia turned her head.
Lerwon had changed.
If I've acknowledged that, then I should rightly treat you as a friend, trust you, and rely on your judgment.
‘I’ll make you pay the price, Iris Viden.’
At the same time, Lilia found herself even more unable to forgive Iris, the culprit behind all this.
* * *
Lerwon quietly watched the backs of Laurel, Lilia, and Cecilia as they left.
In fact, there was another reason he had sent the three of them away like this.
It was because he had to enter this door, which was only visible to Lerwon’s eyes.
The dungeon’s hidden secret passage.
It looked suspicious to anyone. And things like this were usually—
‘A trick Mordegar often uses.’
Normally, it shouldn’t have been visible even to Lerwon’s eyes.
This was no different from an invitation from Iris.
‘I’m not trying to sacrifice myself.’
But, to catch a tiger, you had to enter the tiger’s den.
Iris still considered Lerwon her son and wanted him to return.
‘If I can just divert her attention for a moment.’
That was reason enough to take the risk.
Without hesitation, Lerwon strode toward the secret passage.
The surroundings were dead silent, and the secret passage was not very wide.
“……”
The long passage felt like the road back home.
Waiting at the end of this path would be Iris Viden.
Lerwon swallowed hard in nervousness.
‘It’s okay.’
I will not go back.
Ending this relationship had to be Lerwon’s own doing.
Theo had only arbitrarily interrupted the relationship, not severed it.
Lerwon steeled his resolve and moved forward.
However, even the most resolute will was bound to falter and shake.
As darkness fell in the passage, Lerwon’s breathing became a little rough.
Darkness was the first method Iris used when dealing with people.
Humans who live in the light are naturally most afraid of the dark.
To Lerwon, who had been tortured in the dark and had tortured other innocent people, the darkness was Iris herself.
It’s okay. It’ll be okay. There was a limit to how much he could comfort himself.
At some point, Lerwon stopped abruptly and let out a rough breath.
I’m scared, I don’t want to go forward anymore.
At that moment, someone approached from the darkness.
The moment his body froze in fear, the person who had approached in an instant immediately flew their head toward Lerwon’s solar plexus.
Thwack!
There was a rough colliding sound, and Lerwon’s body rolled pathetically on the floor.
“Huh? What?”
A voice that sounded puzzled at the situation of being pushed back by its own strength.
At that voice he had heard not long ago, Lerwon slowly lifted his head.
“…⋯.”
They say you can't even speak when you're too surprised, and that was exactly the case.
The person looking down at Lerwon, who could only move his lips, shouted.
“I told you to stay quietly in the fief!”
Theo shouted, looking down at the furiously glaring Lerwon.
* * *
“Oh my.”
I didn't plan for them to meet this early.
In the innermost room of the dungeon, surrounded by countless snakes, Iris, lying on a sofa, lightly gasped.
I thought I'd drag it out a little longer.
But, the Lerwon she saw after a long time was still weak, and he still made Iris feel good.
As expected, no matter how interesting Theo was, Lerwon was different.
It was so much fun in a different way from Theo. It seems she had been too bored in the past.
To think she had thought of abandoning her one and only son just because she was bored.
“Haha, my dear son.”
It seems I still consider you 'special'.
That was a fortune for Iris, and for Lerwon, a terrible misfortune that would not happen twice in the world.
“How pitiful.”
If only he had died in prison that day, he surely wouldn't have become so terribly unfortunate.
Was life truly a terrible curse for those with the 'Viden' surname?
Did that curse even extend to you, who isn't even a real Viden?
At Iris’s seemingly downcast mood, the snakes bowed their heads, busy observing her mood.
Snakes that were not even directly commanded by her willingly pledged their loyalty to Iris and bowed their heads.
That was proof that the day Iris would fully emerge as Ouroboros was not far off.
“Iris Viden.”
Even at the voice that suddenly called her, Iris did not bother to get up.
As far as Iris knew, there was only one person who could secretly appear deep inside the dungeon.
The one who taught Iris how to become Ouroboros, and who might have also taught Lerwon that method.
The one who despaired Mordegar, who was tracking information, by giving him a piece of it.
It was a bit unpleasant that he had arbitrarily made her right-hand man fly away, but it didn't matter.
After all, Mordegar no longer held any value to her.
But, that didn't mean she couldn't use him.
“I lost a competent right-hand man because of you, how are you going to compensate me?”
“Do you think I don't know your scheme?”
When the man asked back, Iris smirked.
“You’re right about that.”
The man knew surprisingly well about Iris.
In the first place, it was the man before her who had told her that this world was an artificial world created for the amusement of others.
Like Theo, who knew strangely well about himself, this man must have also fallen into this world from the outside and been trapped.
Iris faced the man with a sticky smile.
“……”
Even under the gaze directed at him, the man maintained his silence.
It was a gaze demanding an answer.
“Oh my, you'll scare me if you glare at me like that.”
“I remember our contract was that you would kill Theo Lisitoel if he was 'like me'.”
“It was more of a promise than a contract.”
Didn't he know that the contract between Iris and the man was something different?
Her gaze toward the man deepened.
“You’re still in a situation where you have to operate in the dark, are you going to interrogate me?”
“The fact that you committed a taboo has been relayed to the outside.”
“Is that so?”
“…As long as you haven't forgotten your contract with me.”
“Don't worry. I will fulfill the contract properly.”
Iris’s appearance, placing a hand on her chest as if to prove her innocence, was even detestable.
Knowing she was this kind of person and having made a contract, the man had no regrets.
Above all, if Theo Lisitoel was truly a variable, it was right to kill him, but among the things Caelus wanted was Theo’s painful death.
He hadn’t been deprived of the opportunity to eliminate the variable and put a leash on Caelus by Iris, so that was enough.
The man’s black eyes shone eerily.
“So, would you please stop suspecting me? I need to start preparing to welcome my son soon. If he sees you, I’ll have to kill him anyway.”
Iris frowned as if just imagining Lerwon’s death was unpleasant.
“…I suppose so.”
Iris was still Iris Viden.
In that case, Iris would eventually lose her life before the Hero's sword.
Yes, just as the Lerwon of the 'original storyline' had.