Chapter Season 2 736

Translator: Alpha0210

Surprisingly, it is difficult to completely break a person through violence alone. Some people may go mad after repeated torture, but given enough time and steady rehabilitation, they can return to normal. This was something Residue had learned through experience.

Even if subjected to suffering in the cruelest way imaginable, those who will not break simply will not break.

Then what is the surest way to drive a person out of their right mind?

An event.

An event so immense that it cracks a firmly established sense of self─ pain alone cannot break Lukas. Nor can it make him give up.

So Agolet must have been chipping away at Lukas's firmly established sense of self little by little for a very long time. So that someday, when a massive wave finally came crashing down, the cracks would begin from those tiny flaws……. It was not as easy as it sounded.

If handled poorly, this sort of work can instead become fuel for growth. Just as vegetation battered by wind and rain grows hardier, someone who rises above their wounds can emerge with a stronger mind than before.

The key is ‘letting it pile up’. Negative emotions such as dissatisfaction and irritation are left unresolved, accumulating so subtly that even the person himself fails to notice them, until some event finally causes them to explode.

Schweiser's death was merely the trigger.

“…….”

Residue looked down at the blood-covered Lukas.

Suddenly, he wondered who could possibly have predicted something like this.

There had been a time when he had desperately longed for something like this. Something that fell outside his expectations. No matter what he did, everything had always remained within the bounds of what he had anticipated, leaving him with nothing but boredom.

So how did he feel now that he had gotten what he wanted?

Did he feel any sort of thrill from simply inflicting violence on Lukas Trowman? Was he enjoying himself because things had taken an unexpected turn?

Residue bent at the waist and peered into Lukas's battered face. His half-lidded gaze seemed to have sunk into unfathomable depths. For some reason, Residue could not bear to look for long, so he lightly closed his eyes.

He had no idea how much time had passed. It felt as though he had been carrying out this nauseating task for an incredibly long time, yet the sky was still steeped in darkness. There was not even the slightest sign of dawn approaching, so hardly any time seemed to have passed at all.

After dwelling inwardly on complaint after complaint, he realized that this, too, was merely another form of escape.

There was still something he had to do, so with a sigh, he grabbed Lukas by the hair once more and hauled his head up.

“──.”

At that moment, Lukas's lips moved.

His voice was faint and on the verge of breaking completely, but Residue heard it clearly.

“…st, op.”

Residue suddenly felt strangely deflated. All the strength drained from the hand gripping Lukas's hair. Lukas's body crumpled naturally to the ground, and Residue briefly glanced at the back of his head as he lay there with his back exposed.

He could not look for long.

Only after pointlessly straightening his clothes, brushing off his sleeves, and taking a deep breath was he finally able to speak.

“You should've said so sooner.”

There was no response. Apparently, Lukas had already lost consciousness.

Residue looked at him once more, then pulled Lukas's upper body upright and propped him against the wall. He removed the robe Lukas had been wearing, then roughly wrapped his own robe around him instead.

Residue, in turn, put on Lukas's shabby robe.

“…….”

He felt as though he ought to say something, but nothing in particular came to mind. Besides, Lukas had already lost consciousness. The Blue Knight would take care of the rest.

Would this be the last time?

It might be.

If Residue became the Fifth Destruction, they would meet again, but there was no telling what form that reunion would take. There was no guarantee Residue would still be sane by then, and he had no idea what state Lukas might be in either. He did not even know how long it would take, so in truth, almost everything was uncertain.

Leaving Lukas behind, Residue walked through the silent city for a while.

There was almost no sign of anyone around. Where had all the city's residents gone? Had they evacuated somewhere? He had been wanting some peace and quiet anyway, so he did not mind.

Thud.

As he continued along the streets, memories of what had happened in this city came back to him. Strangely, what surfaced at that moment was the sight of Lukas in the back alley, holding out a skewer of meat and vegetables. Even back then, the bastard had already been as worn down as a person could be.

It was hardly something worth calling a fond memory, yet for some reason, he had the feeling his memories of this place would remain with him for a long time.

How long had he walked?

By the time the fallen Lukas was no longer visible, an inexplicable exhaustion washed over him. Should he rest for a bit? From this point onward, he probably would not have even a single second to truly catch his breath.

But it seemed his time to rest was already over.

A woman was standing a short distance ahead. She happened to be looking at Residue as well.

“Are you finished?”

“…….”

The Blue Knight was in no condition to be called unscathed either.

She looked as though she had rolled around the sandy desert dozens of times, and small cuts covered her here and there. A distinct bloodstain marked one shoulder, and if that blood belonged to the Blue Knight, then she must have suffered a fairly serious injury.

“More or less. What about Agolet?”

Pale made a peculiar expression and held something out.

Residue had been slow to notice, but there was a shield strapped to Pale's back. Of course, it was not hers.

A white shield. Agolet's shield.

It was not broken, nor did it bear so much as a scratch, but the radiance it normally emitted had completely vanished.

Residue unconsciously accepted the shield and asked,

“Did you kill him?”

“Of course not. As you know, when he focuses solely on defense, there's no one who can break through it. Fortunately, today, the longer things dragged on, the more it favored me. Look. It seems pretty painful, doesn't it? I did pay him back tenfold, though.”

Pale pointed to her bloodstained shoulder as she spoke. The bleeding already seemed to have stopped.

“He probably won't be able to do anything for a while. And by the time he's back to normal, there won't be anything left for him to do.”

“Who knows……. He's still dangerous even when he can't so much as twitch a finger. In the past, he even destroyed an entire Great Universe in that condition.”

“What's so impressive about destroying one universe?”

The Blue Knight shrugged as she spoke. Had that warning been unnecessary?

She was, after all, one of the Four Knights just like Agolet. In some respects, she probably understood him even better than Residue did.

“If he's badly injured, then naturally, there will be many restrictions on what he can do. Assuming he really did suffer a critical injury.”

“…Are you saying Agolet tricked me?”

“Deception is his specialty in the first place. Why act surprised now? It's not as though you're particularly good at spotting lies.”

“…….”

Despite Residue's reproach, the Blue Knight did not look especially offended. She pondered his words for a moment, then nodded as though convinced.

“That certainly could be true. Still, it doesn't really change anything.”

“What are you going to do now?”

Pale's face visibly brightened. Like a young person picturing a rosy future, there was even a touch of shyness in her expression.

“Who knows? I guess we'll figure it out together.”

“Keep Lukas's face covered whenever possible. It'll cause trouble if our respective movements start overlapping.”

“Okaaay. Well then, Residue. Good luck.”

Good luck, huh.

Residue could not hold back a disbelieving chuckle. In a way, being able to say something like that at this point was impressive in itself.

The Blue Knight waved and turned away. Residue watched her retreating back, then suddenly spoke.

“Pale.”

“…Yes?”

Her reply came a beat late.

The Blue Knight was staring back at him with her eyes wide. Come to think of it, was this the first time he had called her name of his own accord? Excluding what had happened on ‘the Island’, that was.

Residue looked at her face and spoke with complete sincerity.

“Eat well, and live well.”

*

Residue could not retrace Lukas's path exactly.

As mentioned before, too many things in this world had already diverged from the original history.

Residue decided to start by setting right what he could.

He first headed to the temple to meet Kasajin and Lucid. He already knew that the inn where they had been staying had been destroyed. The two, who were receiving treatment for their injuries and resting, stared at Residue in surprise. Since they knew about the existence of ‘Residue’, they clearly seemed unable to be certain who he really was.

“I'm sorry.”

When Residue bowed his head and apologized, the suspicion in their eyes visibly eased.

That one sentence was enough to make them regard Residue as ‘Lukas’, but in truth, the matter was not so simple. A person's impression is not determined by their manner of speech alone. Subtle changes in expression, unconscious posture, the way one behaves when uneasy, habits……. Countless other details combine to form an overall impression.

Conversely, if even one of those elements fails to mesh with the rest, the other person will unconsciously sense that something is off.

But Residue was not acting in the first place. He was merely allowing the aspect of himself that was ‘Lukas’ to surface, which was a far cry from putting on a false performance. Naturally, there was no way for them to see through it. And not only them. The same would be true for anyone. If Residue chose to become ‘Lukas’, no one except Lukas himself would even be capable of harboring doubts.

About thirty minutes.

They continued talking as they exchanged updates on what had happened in the meantime.

Residue explained that the battle with the Demigods had been what snapped him out of the half-ruined state he had been in. During the battle, he had realized just how pathetic he had become and managed to overcome Schweiser's death. Hella would not remember anything about ‘Residue’ anyway.

By the time their conversation neared its end, even the last shred of suspicion they had harbored was gone. They had subtly mixed several facts known only among themselves into their questions, but there was nothing Residue did not know. When he answered those questions just as casually, they finally came to regard Residue completely as Lukas.

He had taken Lukas's place so effortlessly that it was almost enough to make him yawn.

Unless the real Lukas appeared now, there would be no reason for them ever to question Residue's identity.

…Kasajin had lost one arm. It seemed to have been a consequence of his battle against the Demigods. Lucid still had all his limbs intact, but he appeared to have suffered severe internal injuries. Both of them bore wounds they would have to carry for the rest of their lives.

Residue had assumed he could no longer expect much from them in battle, but their attitudes suggested otherwise. Although their physical capabilities had diminished, their minds had grown more resolute. Because of that, Residue had no choice but to reserve judgment on them for the time being.

Iris returned a little later.

She visibly flinched at the sight of Lukas, but after exchanging a few words with him, the wariness in her expression noticeably diminished. Of course, Iris was far more perceptive and suspicious by nature than the two men, so there was no way to make her trust him immediately. He would simply have to give it time and gradually let her suspicions fade.

Afterward, Residue worked with the others to deal with the aftermath of what had happened in ‘Sarman’. Cooperation with the temple was unavoidable, but they could not reveal everything about the Demigods to them. That was also for the sake of the city. Fortunately, if it could be called fortunate, new monsters emerged from the desert every year, and there were times when such disasters spread as far as the city.

In the end, the incident was officially concluded as an invasion of the city by a new type of monster.

“…Oesst has gone missing.”

One of the temple's clergy spoke in a tearful voice. Oesst had gone out to stop the monster invasion and had not returned afterward. Others had also witnessed him hurrying out of the temple.

Residue suddenly wondered whether this might have been how Agolet had originally intended to wrap up the identity of ‘Oesst Jore’. Even if the exact form had been different, perhaps the ending would have been much the same.

Residue's attention briefly shifted to the shield hidden beneath his robe, but that was all.

After leaving Sarman, they headed for an oasis to the north.

They had not yet finished mourning Schweiser. The group remained at the oasis for roughly a day, spending time in silent remembrance of their departed friend.

And the next day.

They left the Amakan Desert.

*

Agolet had said Lukas had about half a year remaining. They had wasted roughly two weeks in Sarman, which meant there were now about five months and a fortnight left.

There was still far too much to do for the time remaining, so Residue traveled tirelessly across the continent. Perhaps this, too, was Agolet's doing, but the achievements Lukas had accumulated by this point seemed lacking compared to the actual history.

Then, in the midst of it all, something unexpected happened.

He parted ways with Kasajin, Lucid, and Iris.

It was not a permanent farewell. Residue could see what they intended. They simply wanted to escape Lukas's shadow.

“If I stay with you, I feel like I'll start thinking cowardly thoughts again.”

Kasajin spoke on behalf of the others, and Residue had no particular reason to refuse, so he nodded. They were going to be doing the same work regardless, and dividing up to handle it separately would be more efficient than remaining together.

Even so, Residue was still the busiest of them all.

…And when fifteen days had passed since he parted ways with the others,

the sparks of war spread across the entire continent.

*****

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