Retribution (3)

During the fight at the mansion.

Hagley was chasing after Heldre.

"How far do you intend to run?"

Heldre had already escaped the mansion. Hagley chased him, cutting across the trees in the forest.

"Hagley! You! Are you still dreaming of revenge?"

Heldre shouted at Hagley while running.

Hagley said,

"Everyone in 'Manggot' has gathered dreaming of revenge. You should know."

"Foolishness!"

Crack!

While running, Heldre turned and kicked a tree.

With just that, the tree split with a crack, and large pieces and splinters of the trunk fell on Hagley.

Hagley lightly brushed them aside or dodged, persistently chasing after Heldre.

'His arms really are ruined.'

Hagley closely observed Heldre's appearance. The noticeable bandages wrapped around both arms.

"Heldre, what happened to your arms?"

"It's none of your business!"

It seemed Heldre was desperately running away from Hagley because of his injuries. After all, if he were unharmed, he wouldn't have turned his back on Hagley.

Even if Hagley were not an easy opponent, seeing Zodiac 'Heldre' running away so desperately might be a sight never to be seen again.

'...Well, it's entertaining, at least.'

Let's end it here.

Hagley raised his right hand. With that hand, he formed a unique shape and bent it.

Suddenly, a massive curtain unfolded in front of Heldre. The curtain was flawless, without a single gap or stain.

"Running into a place as shadowy as a forest. You've lost your judgment, Heldre."

"...Do you really think you can kill me?"

Heldre stopped running and turned to face Hagley. His aura surged, pushing away the surrounding leaves and dirt.

Seeing that significant momentum, Hagley frowned.

'That enormous aura. I thought losing his arms was like an old man losing his teeth, but it seems that's not the case.'

Then who could have inflicted such a wound on Heldre?

Hagley gulped in tension. When he was running away, he seemed easy, but even without both arms, Heldre was still Heldre.

On the other hand, however, this was the perfect opportunity to kill Heldre.

Even if Hagley has to give both of his arms just like Heldre had done, Heldre should die here.

“The continent will receive its retribution. You will be the first.”

“Even if the past history of the empire has just a single flaw, is that enough to justify your crazy revenge! You are just lunatics obsessed with revenge!”

Heldre shouted. Hagley laughed and shook his head.

“That no longer has any meaning.”

“What?”

“Who is right and who is wrong, what is just. There is no one in the entire continent who thinks about such things anymore.”

Hagley's gaze, as he said so, was not just cold, but completely empty. It contained a void that didn't even feel the temperature of 'coldness'.

“Your words are right. We are just murderous maniacs obsessed with revenge. We don’t even know what will happen to us after we set the continent on fire.”

“……I should have killed you all back then.”

“Those are wise words.”

Hagley slowly mustered up his mana. This time, it was both hands. Fingers bent in strange shapes. The wrists of both hands met in a cross.

The moment the two’s murderous intent grew even stronger and they were about to aim their weapons at each other without holding back,

“──Hey, gramps.”

Swish!

Bam-

An eerie sound of air being split horizontally.

When that sound rang out, Heldre looked at his chest.

“……Cough.”

Blood flowed from his mouth as he coughed.

A huge spear was stuck in his chest. The heart of Heldre that it had pierced emitted an ominous light.

Clack, clack. Footsteps approached from afar. That leisurely walking pace told him who it was.

“You dare deceive me?”

Renzo approached, exhaling rough breaths.

Heldre looked at Renzo with bloodshot eyes.

“How did you, here……!”

Heldre was going to die soon. He knew that well. That’s why he couldn’t stand it, because it was even more strange.

Why had Renzo come here. How could he have come?

"Ah, Ares told me. If you ask why I'm so fast, well, I ran hard," he said.

"…!"

Ares. The god of war.

It was Renzo's divine power, but for a god to intervene in human affairs to this extent.

Moreover, the spear just now. Heldre was caught off guard without sensing any premonition. Despite having lost both arms, suffering from severe mental exhaustion, and having an enemy right in front of him, not noticing at all was unthinkable.

'Could it be, could it be... Hestia!'

Heldre suddenly thought of his own god.

"Oh, Hestia!"

Thud.

Heldre fell to his knees. The end of the spear's shaft touched the ground. The unstoppable bleeding. Heldre felt his life draining away.

"Have you abandoned me as well!!!"

His cry of despair echoed through the forest, unable to sense the qi of such a spear. Hestia must have blinded his eyes and ears. He could think of no other explanation.

After his vain cry for an answer,

Heldre died.

The death of 'Zodiac' was so vain.

'...No. It's not because of the gods.'

Hagley, who was watching, swallowed hard.

'I didn't know either. I couldn't read any signs.'

It wasn't just Heldre who didn't know the spear was coming.

Hagley also realized it was flying towards them only after it had pierced Heldre's heart.

Now, he can feel an enormous amount of mana from that spear. A massive presence presses down on the forest.

However, its presence was only revealed after Renzo threw it, or rather, after it hit Heldre.

It wasn't that it was invisible. It didn't disappear and then reappear.

It simply hid its powerful aura until it hit its target. A property that flies ignoring the radar of human mana detection.

'What are you trying to become, Renzo?'

According to the information Manggot knew, Renzo wasn't such a character. Certainly, a dangerous and unpredictable person with a strong temperament, but still an individual.

Moreover, his unpredictable volatility was thought to potentially benefit Manggot cause.

But now.

Could Renzo's impulsiveness truly be controlled by anyone? Hagley couldn't come to a definitive answer.

"Hey."

That's when Renzo spoke up.

"Where is he?"

"Who?"

"Frondier."

Words Hagley hadn't been expected to say came flowing out.

What? Wasn't he supposed to see Heldre? Why is Frondier's name coming out of Renzo's mouth?

"...He should be at the mansion. Still."

"I see."

Hagley answered honestly. Turning Renzo into an enemy now would be foolish. While Frondier's interpretation skills were important, they weren't as crucial as Hagley's own life. That was the view from the Yeolgot's perspective as well.

"Fine. I'll kill him this time. Frondier."

Renzo walked away with a smirk, seemingly losing interest in Hagley.

Since he had no intention of hiding his immense aura, Hagley actually felt relieved.

If he made his presence that obvious, Jei and the Yeolgot would probably run away on their own.

It's a shame about Frondier, but it can't be helped.