novelraw Chapter 165 : Chapter 165
Chapter 165 : Chapter 165
Chapter 165 - Resolve
It passed in a daze, but a lot happened over the past semester.
From a personal perspective, it might sound like a story related to only personal training or my mental state, but there was also the point that assassination attempts were now coming without any hesitation.
Ambushes in places out of sight, the ensuing massacres, sniper attacks using magic aimed at me when I was asleep, and besides that, classic poisonings, and so on⋯⋯.
There was 'some' pain, but it wasn't a major problem. 『Overcoming Ten Thousand Deaths』 was a skill that could be said to exist for such situations.
‘The most troublesome was not the type of poison that caused instant death, but the one that slowly killed with a synthetic poison. It was a pain finding out what the cause was.’
A body that slowly weakened, a pain that slowly seeped in as if being dragged underwater, the reactions of those around me watching it.
It wasn't a very good experience.
How many assassination attempts there were⋯⋯ well, I don't remember well. I counted them one by one from the first time, but I gave up after it exceeded 20.
Well, it's probably around the mid-40s. I can only guess.
When such assassination attempts occurred, if it wasn't something I could handle easily on my own, I consulted with Regina⋯⋯ and Regina's astonished expression at that time was a masterpiece.
“Again, you say.”
“That's what happened.”
“Living under the threat of assassination is the same for both of us, but how can you speak so calmly about it…… haa.”
Seeing such a reaction from Regina, who always had a relaxed smile on her face as if it were a given, was one of the few pleasures I could find in this stuffy daily life.
Anyway.
“It goes without saying, but such frequent assassination attempts are not normal. As public attention is quite focused on you, the burden on the enemy side would be considerable even if the assassination succeeds.”
Regina spoke about the series of situations. That this situation was by no means normal.
I had the perception that it was too much to have this many assassination attempts in one semester, that is, a period of about four months.
“Perhaps they're pushing this hard because they're in a hurry for some reason…… or they have another objective.”
“……I see.”
Thinking about it that way, it wasn't that I had nothing in mind.
In the eyes of the enemies, it would have looked as if I had overcome all the threats to my life so far—not only the battles with Ad Astra like Gabriel, Stella, and Grændal, but also the series of assassination attempts—without a single failure.
Such a situation would inevitably have made them harbor doubts about the 'hidden ability' I might have.
‘In short, it's a probing attack?’
To collect enough data to form a reasonable conjecture about my abilities.
Was that the objective?
-Tap, tap, tap.
After hearing those words, I silently fell into such thoughts and tapped the table with my finger.
“Do you have anything in mind?”
To Regina's subsequent question⋯⋯.
“No. I still haven't gotten a handle on it either.”
I responded by evading the answer.
The reason was simple. If I answered this question properly, it would be the same as giving Regina a clue about 『Overcoming Ten Thousand Deaths』.
I don't doubt that Regina is on my side, but I don't know how the information might leak to The One's side.
……Well, I'll be honest.
I attached various flowery phrases, but in the end, it was a story of being anxious and afraid that it would leak.
“Hmph.”
Regina didn't press further on my answer, and just showed such a subtle reaction.
She probably doesn't believe everything I said either.
But we were walking in the same direction.
That was enough. It would probably be the same for her.
***
It wasn't just a story limited to me personally; a lot was happening even when looking at the world as a whole.
For example, the continuous occurrence of powerful monsters, and the outbreak of wars in various places.
‘It was as I expected.’
Even in the original
The hopeful atmosphere of the first-year part quickly became gloomy, and from then on, the true face of
The dark side where people die left and right, and the existence of the world is endangered.
Regarding that situation, Regina said this.
“The situation on the western and northern fronts seems to be bad. They're trying to suppress it from spreading to the public through the media, but…… I heard that the military and the knight order are even considering conscripting students.”
That too was not surprising. When
However, in the original work, there was no talk of student conscription, so from this, it was possible to infer that the situation was probably worse than in the original.
‘It seems Ad Astra is also in a hurry.’
News had come that Gabriel was dead, and Salvatio—Jared—was also seriously injured and had entered a period of recuperation.
Are they going to pick up the pace now that their available forces have been reduced?
The factors fueling the world's chaotic situation were not limited to that.
The occurrence of wars and monsters. It might be questionable whether there were more events that could cause as much chaos, but it was a stark fact.
‘All sorts of bizarre incidents are happening.’
Homunculi that were under clear control suddenly attacking their master-like beings, humans.
Contact with the eastern continent, with which we had a friendly relationship, being cut off.
A blasphemous incident where a large number of undead appear in a holy place of religion.
And renowned knights being killed one after another, mysteriously.
This series of strange incidents, along with the preceding wars, was pushing people into chaos.
Of course, the main culprit behind this chaos was, naturally, Ad Astra.
‘In order, it's Stella, Akmandar, the Black Bride, and Grændal.’
The reason Ad Astra was causing such a series of chaos was simple.
When the world falls into chaos due to supernatural forces, people are bound to yearn for salvation from a transcendent being.
In the original
‘He established a firm power base to the extent of becoming the main religion of the continent, surpassing the existing powerless church. That was his objective.’
If so, what do I have to do to stop Ad Astra's conspiracy?
The answer was set.
To stop this series of incidents.
That was the mission given to me.
***
I was foolish.
In the situation of facing Ad Astra with the ability 『Overcoming Ten Thousand Deaths』, my mindset itself had been wrong until now.
If you ask what part was wrong, the answer lay in my proactiveness in dealing with the problem.
‘Matching the pace so as not to hinder the growth of the main characters of
Until now, I, too, of course had a plan. A plan to stop Ad Astra in the long run, in step with the growth tempo of the main characters, based on my abilities.
The basis of that plan was my knowledge of
Therefore, I did not doubt that this was the wrong judgment.
But it wasn't. I was able to realize that while mulling over the raid on the Exchange Meeting.
Certainly, in dealing with Ad Astra, the knowledge of
Knowledge that allowed me to grasp the enemy's intentions in advance.
An ability that closed off the possibility of failure inherent in all success through 'some sacrifice'.
They were truly excellent weapons that brought excellent results, but they were also bound to arouse the enemy's vigilance just as much.
I should have thought in advance that the enemy would also match their level and confront the repercussions that would arise from this powerful ability.
Even if it was to survive, to avoid the threat of assassination, I had become too conspicuous, and that became a poison.
‘I'm already in a state of being completely guarded.’
Not touching their arch-enemies to borrow the power of the main characters.
Not choosing a method that would involve too much pain.
Solving things step by step from under the surface.
Those were soft-hearted thoughts, and a stopgap measure to reduce the pain even a little.
For that reason, I made up my mind.
‘I will not hesitate any longer.’
No matter how much pain the path entails, if there is an opportunity, I will not miss it anymore.
I will not choose an indirect solution.
I will cut off the enemy's life with my own hands.
That was my resolve.
Flap-
Three days after the semester ended, I was cooped up in my room, engrossed in something.
I think I had received various suggestions and invitations from the other guys around me…… hmm, I don't remember well.
Because there was an important matter I truly had to be engrossed in.
In the room, various photos, newspapers, and materials were spread out.
The theme that those materials pointed to was one. The recent serial knight murder case that was happening on the continent.
In other words, the knight execution case.
It was data collection on the enemy I was about to deal with.
And that enemy was the 'Knight Executioner,' Grændal.