The Regressed Mercenary's Machinations-Chapter 598: Let Me Tell You an Old Story (3)

Ereneth looked at Julien with trembling eyes.

"You are..."

If he were truly the Adversary, he wouldn’t act like this. The Adversary desires nothing but the annihilation of humanity. He would never fight to protect people.

But look at him now. He has fought against Rifts, battled the Salvation Order, and now even stands unafraid to confront a dragon.

There isn’t a shred of selfishness in him. He devotes everything solely to protecting others.

This was the image of the hero she had once fought alongside.

"The Savior."

During the ancient war, the hero was also called the Savior.

When she had obtained information about Julien, she learned that he was referred to by that title even in the Turian Kingdom.

Thus, her confusion grew deeper. She could no longer be certain that this man was the Adversary.

Her heart ached. His face kept dredging up memories of the past.

Suppressing those memories and emotions, Ereneth spoke coldly.

"No matter how strong you are, you can’t defeat him. Dragons aren’t called the ultimate lifeforms and supreme beings without reason."

Ghislain nodded at her words. In his previous life, he had fought against dragons and understood their power well.

Himself, Julien, Jerome, Parniel, and Aiden.

Five of the Seven Strongest on the continent had led armies against the dragon Arterion. Even then, they had struggled against its overwhelming strength.

And there were still stories that needed clarification. More pieces to piece together.

"Julien, we can’t let you go after the dragon alone."

"It’s fine. The dragon will seek me out anyway, so I’ll handle it myself."

"Why are you trying to do something so interesting alone? If we’re going, let’s all go together."

"......"

"Ereneth, why are you and that dragon so sure the Adversary has returned? From what I’ve heard, wasn’t he killed in the ancient war?"

"Yes, he was killed."

"A dead man can’t come back to life..." Ghislain trailed off. A thought struck him mid-sentence.

Wasn’t he himself someone who had died with unresolved resentment and come back to life?

Strictly speaking, he had returned to the past rather than resurrected.

Ereneth answered with a calm expression.

"The Adversary’s death is certain. But before he died, he foretold his resurrection. He cursed us with that prophecy."

"Even if he prophesied it, isn’t it strange to believe it at face value?"

"We thought it was merely a curse born of hatred. But the curse was real... and only now has it been lifted. That’s why the dragon and I can move freely."

The group fell silent, their eyes darting as they struggled to process the explanation. They wanted to believe, but it still sounded like nonsense.

Even Ghislain found it difficult to assert anything with confidence. After all, his dreams had only revealed fragments of the truth.

Vanessa, the mage, summarized the situation succinctly.

"So... long ago, Lady Ereneth and the dragon fought the Salvation Order... killed their king, won the war... but the king prophesied his resurrection... and now he’s come back to life?"

"Yes."

"And the Salvation Order believes in that prophecy... so they’re searching for their king... and you and the dragon are also searching for him to kill him again?"

"Yes."

Even a person brainwashed by a cult might find it hard to believe in a prophecy this much. Especially to Vanessa, as a mage, it seemed even less credible.

So she offered a somewhat rational hypothesis.

"Um... isn’t it hard to believe that the curse alone means he’s been resurrected? No matter how strong a curse is, it will naturally fade over time."

Ereneth nodded, as she had once thought the same.

Thus, she presented another basis.

"The Demon God's will, though sealed, has never completely vanished. It has long been scattered across this world. Even I don’t know all the details... but I understand that it became a part of the world long ago."

"What does that mean?"

"Only those of the Salvation Order can wield that power scattered throughout the world. No one else can see or feel it."

The group tilted their heads in confusion.

They knew the Salvation Order used a unique power, and Ereneth’s explanation seemed consistent with their myths, which claimed it stemmed from the Demon God’s remnants.

But how was this connected to the Adversary’s resurrection?

Ereneth continued speaking with composure.

"As the Adversary’s strength grows, so does the power of the Demon God scattered throughout the world. The Adversary is someone who has engraved the purest essence of the Demon God’s power into his soul."

Her eyes softened, as if recalling someone from her memories.

"Those connected to him are also affected. First are those who use the Salvation Order’s power, and second are those cursed by him."

The group finally began to nod. Even if they couldn’t confirm the Salvation Order’s growing strength, the lifting of the curse that had bound the dragon was enough evidence to support her claim.

But then, Ereneth said something that shocked everyone.

"The third is the Rifts. If you investigate, you’ll surely find abnormalities in them."

"......"

Everyone’s faces hardened. Jerome and Vanessa, in particular, reacted strongly.

Recently, there had been anomalies in the Rifts, prompting mages to gather and study them intensively. Yet, they still hadn’t identified the cause.

If Ereneth’s words were true...

Jerome muttered unconsciously.

"The Adversary has returned, and his growing power is causing abnormalities in the Rifts?"

Ereneth turned her gaze to Jerome.

"What kind of anomalies?"

"Oh, the size of the Rifts, which we had suppressed with magic circles, has slightly increased."

She nodded, her expression as though she had expected this.

"Yes, the Rifts are influenced by the Demon God’s power. The Adversary must be amassing strength somewhere. That’s why he hasn’t revealed himself yet."

Ereneth seemed to have shifted from certainty about Julien being the Adversary to doubt.

Jerome asked Ereneth a question.

"Is it really impossible for us to sense this Demon God’s power? Can such a thing exist?"

Jerome, an 8th-Circle mage, was more attuned to the world’s energies than anyone.

And yet, in his entire life, he had never felt anything as strange as what she described.

Ereneth nodded.

"The power scattered across the /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ world cannot be perceived. But it does exist. Everyone knows the Salvation Order wields a strange, otherworldly power."

"Then how can the Salvation Order use it?"

"I don’t know. They must have their methods."

"Hmm..."

"Think of it as something like spirits. People who lack affinity with them can’t sense their presence."

Jerome nodded. That explanation made sense.

The exact nature of the power wielded by the Salvation Order’s priests remained a mystery.

While it involved draining life force, it was distinct from necromancy. Even Helgenique couldn’t fully grasp its origins.

If it truly stemmed from the scattered remnants of the Demon God’s power, it would explain a lot. Much like ordinary people use mana.

"Hmm..."

Ghislain fell silent, lost in thought. Though he had glimpsed the flow of the world, he had never seen anything like the Demon God’s power.

Perhaps it was due to his still-developing abilities, or there might be another reason entirely.

In any case, he couldn’t deny the existence of this power. After all, the priests of the Salvation Order wielded it freely.

After a brief silence, Ereneth looked around at everyone and spoke.

"I believe you’ve grasped the general background by now. Of course, it’s hard to believe since myths are interwoven with it. Even I don’t know the complete truth. But one thing is certain: the Adversary has returned, and his influence is growing stronger."

"......"

Several people turned their eyes to Julien. When they considered what they had heard so far, everything seemed to fit perfectly when applied to him.

After all, Julien was growing stronger faster than anyone else.

However, they quickly dismissed the idea. There was no way someone like him could be the Adversary.

Ghislain, too, was confident that Julien wasn’t the Adversary. In his dreams, the figure who resembled Julien had been the Hero.

Even if Julien had been reborn, it was far more likely for him to be a Hero again rather than the Adversary. Wasn’t his current behavior—fighting for the sake of others—exactly like a Hero?

In that case, the Adversary must be...

Ghislain glanced around cautiously before shutting his mouth.

Ah, damn it. Why does he resemble me so much?

"Master! That guy looks exactly like you! Just admit it and beg for forgiveness! Swear you’ll give up on world domination!"

Shut up.

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In the dreams, the Adversary had looked almost identical to Ghislain when he used Dark’s power. It was so uncanny that even Dark had pointed it out.

Ereneth had also attacked Ghislain on sight when they first met. Only after experiencing Dark’s aura firsthand had she admitted her mistake, but that just confirmed how much Ghislain resembled the Adversary.

He couldn’t shake off the unease. That dream had left him feeling increasingly conflicted lately.

Everyone fell into silent contemplation. The information Ereneth had shared was shocking, but it had undeniably helped unravel some of the mysteries surrounding the Salvation Order.

As everyone remained lost in their thoughts, Jerome suddenly stepped forward, as if he had made a decision.

"Actually... there are records about the Adversary."

Ereneth’s eyes widened in surprise.

"What? Records still exist?"

"Yes. Our magic tower has passed down records about the Salvation Order and the Adversary. Strictly speaking, it doesn’t mention the Salvation Order by name—it simply refers to them as the Darkness that enveloped the world."

"What records? What exactly do they say?"

Ereneth’s fiery gaze bore into Jerome. He swallowed nervously.

"To be honest, I don’t know much. All I’ve been told is that the founder of our magic tower created a spell specifically to counter the Adversary. The spell I used against Gatros was that very spell."

"What else?"

"That... that’s it. All I know is that if we ever encountered the Adversary, we were instructed to use that spell. It was our tower’s mission."

"Who was the founder of the tower?"

"No name was passed down."

Jerome explained that both his mentor and their predecessors had kept their identities hidden for generations. Their sole focus had been to fulfill their duty.

Initially, Jerome had hesitated to bring this up, as it was a closely guarded secret of the magic tower.

However, Ereneth’s story aligned perfectly with the ancient traditions of the tower. It was no longer something that needed to be concealed.

But Ereneth’s reaction was strange.

She looked at Jerome and asked again.

"Are you certain there were no other records?"

"Yes, absolutely nothing else."

This time, others began to regard Ereneth with suspicion.

Earlier, she had claimed not to know why the records were lost. Why was she now so fixated on them?

Perhaps noticing their wariness, Ereneth shook her head and explained.

"I was only asking because I thought someone I knew might have left those records. If that were the case, they would have been someone who fought alongside me. I simply wanted to revisit old memories."

Jerome opened his mouth as if to say something, then closed it again.

The founder of the magic tower was said to have been a companion of the Hero and the Saintess. Yet, for some reason, Jerome felt that now wasn’t the right time to reveal this.

Ghislain also regarded Ereneth with suspicion. She was clearly hiding something.

She’s not someone you can force to talk.

The fact that he had managed to glean this much information was already a victory. In his past life, she hadn’t shared anything at all.

What secret could be so important that it needed to be protected so fiercely? It had to be related to the war from a thousand years ago.

But Ghislain didn’t press her further.

This much information is enough.

The rest, he would uncover through his dreams. Those dreams were undoubtedly showing him fragments of that war.

Still, there was one thing he needed to confirm immediately.

Ghislain turned to Ereneth and spoke.

"Alright, I think most of my questions have been answered. If I have more, I’ll ask later. Finding the Adversary seems impossible for now, so we should focus on dealing with the dragon first."

"Yes. For now, stopping the dragon takes priority."

"That said... I’m curious about the end of that war."

"I told you already—humanity won. That’s why we’re thriving today."

"I know that, but... what happened to the Saintess and the Hero? Weren’t they cursed?"

"The two of them... used all their power to purify the Demonic Realm and seal the Demon God’s corpse. They died in the process. Thanks to their sacrifice, the Salvation Order lost their stronghold and were forced into hiding."

"I see. Truly fitting actions for a Saintess and a Hero."

Everyone nodded. The two who had sacrificed themselves for the world deserved to be celebrated.

Just as it seemed the conversation was ending, Ghislain suddenly asked.

"Where was this Demonic Realm? Does such a place still exist on this continent?"

At his question, Ereneth hesitated. She remained silent for a long time.

After several moments of hesitation, she sighed deeply and finally spoke.

"That place... is somewhere everyone here knows."

"Where? I’ve never heard any rumors or legends about such a place."

Ereneth turned to the massive map on the wall and pointed to a location.

"The Ruthania Kingdom’s..."

Everyone’s gaze followed her hand. When they saw the spot she was indicating, their expressions hardened.

Ereneth’s voice echoed in their ears.

"The Forest of Beasts."