Chapter 62: Equivalent Exchange
Misha found it very strange.
The look in Lance’s eyes when he said that was like he had discovered something extremely interesting and attractive. But in the context of their current conversation, Lance’s behavior naturally equated to—Lance originally thought he was an idiot.
Misha was very unconvinced.
What did “smarter than I thought” mean? As the top-scoring Demon Lord in the training class, he got full marks in every subject. Such ability wasn’t something an ordinary Demon Lord could achieve!
Teacher Alisa had said that an outstanding Demon Lord student like him might not appear once in a thousand years. Yet this Hero said he used to be an idiot.
Damn it, starting to get angry.
Misha took a deep breath, then another, trying his best to calm his mind, telling himself this wasn’t the time to fuss about such things.
But his favorability toward the Hero had dropped almost to the bottom. He frowned, glared at the Hero in front of him, and issued a nearly powerless threat: “You destroyed the Gate to Another World. The Divine Realm will definitely send someone to deal with this.”
Lance was clearly not threatened at all. “Hmm? Is that so?”
Misha: “…They will beat you up!”
Lance shifted to a more comfortable side-lying position, propping his head with his hand, that smile still on his face. “Oh, beat me up?”
Misha: “…”
Fine, Misha understood.
This Hero was overly confident in his own strength. He didn’t seem afraid of the god who would be sent to investigate the broken Gate at all.
But he should have such confidence.
Misha was a new Demon Lord lacking experience, but Arlo was a senior Divine Envoy with deep magic power, yet even he felt destroying the Gate was extremely difficult. That meant most ordinary members of the Divine Race absolutely wouldn’t have the strength to destroy the Gate.
The Hero had enough power to defeat those ordinary gods, but Misha thought, surely the Hero couldn’t defeat the God King, right?
So Misha took another deep breath and whispered a threat, “Just you wait and see.”
Lance seemed to find his soft, powerless threat adorable. The smile on his lips deepened, and he winked slightly at Misha. “I’m waiting.”
Misha: “The God King is omniscient and omnipotent—”
This time Lance interrupted him, saying slowly, “The God King is not omniscient and omnipotent.”
Misha: “Pah, you heretic.”
Lance: “To be precise, I don’t believe in any religion.”
Misha: “Just you wait! The God King will definitely—”
Lance: “He won’t.”
Misha: “Hah, you haven’t even met the God King.”
Lance paused slightly, then deliberately lowered his voice to a near-whisper, speaking right by Misha’s ear: “Actually, I have been to the Divine Realm.”
Misha: “…”
Wait, what?
Even if the Hero was from another world, even if the Hero’s power was overly strong, he shouldn’t have been to the Divine Realm, right?!
Misha opened his eyes wide in astonishment, once again pondering the identity of this strange Hero.
He carefully reviewed the many lessons Teacher Alisa had taught him. Not a single case mentioned a Hero who had been to the Divine Realm. This was an extremely incredible thing. If it happened, it would definitely be recorded in the Divine Realm’s archives and become a hot topic at the time.
The Hero was just an ordinary human; his lifespan shouldn’t be long. So if he had been to the Divine Realm, it should have happened within the last few years. Misha couldn’t possibly be unaware of such a huge event.
Naturally, he subconsciously felt the Hero must be lying—just a psychological tactic to trick him. Misha wouldn’t fall for it.
But when Misha didn’t speak, the Hero seemed to have more to say.
Evidently pointing at something, he said, “Just a bunch of liars.”
Misha: “…”
As a member of the Divine Realm, Misha felt the Hero was insulting him again.
He raised an eyebrow, intending to refute, but Lance asked him, “The Divine Realm selecting a Hero to ‘save the world’—isn’t that a scam?”
Misha: “…That is for humanity.”
Lance: “That is for the greed of the gods.”
Misha: “But… all this hasn’t brought any loss.”
“Only temporarily no loss.” Lance emphasized the word ‘temporarily,’ paused slightly, and stressed, “The Apocalyptic Fire of Sky City.”
Misha: “…”
Misha couldn’t refute that.
Yes, in the oracle, Sky City would be destroyed in the future by the Apocalyptic Fire from the decisive battle between the Demon Lord and the Hero. The humans who died in the disaster would not be resurrected by the gods.
They were innocent sacrifices. The path of the gods selecting a Hero to become a King was inevitably paved with such sacrifices.
A ruined city, the bones and blood of innocent humans—only these could pave the Hero’s road to kingship.
Misha once had doubts too, but Teacher Alisa said disasters were unavoidable. This was the path calculated by the God King to help humanity avoid most disasters.
He fell silent. But Misha still didn’t drop his guard. gripping his sword, he connected everything the Hero had done, trying to discern the Hero’s intentions. Thinking about it this way, he clearly realized: The Hero hated the gods and claimed the God King was a liar. Then destroying the Gate to Another World might be to cut off this region’s connection with the Divine Realm.
If, as Arlo said, there were several Gates in the human world serving as the only links between the Divine Realm and the human world, and if Lance destroyed all of them—
This would become a godless world lost to the rule of the gods.
Misha felt an inexplicable chill shoot up his spine. He had never imagined such a terrifying thing. If a world was no longer governed by gods, then that world…
No, he couldn’t imagine such a world.
He was used to this life. From his birth in the Divine Realm, the omniscient and omnipotent God King had set the path he would walk. He was born to be the Demon Lord, the final test on the Hero’s long and arduous journey. He didn’t need to worry or hesitate; he just needed to follow the steps, obey the divine command, and finish the path chosen for him by the God King.
Right, he had never thought about it.
If he didn’t become a Demon Lord, if he could choose freely, what kind of person would he become?
Lance didn’t continue speaking.
With that trace of a smile still on his face, he made it clear he was doing it on purpose. “For this kind of intelligence, there should be an item of equal value in exchange.”
Misha was stunned: “Exchange? What?”
“If you’re still curious, I can make some trades with you,” Lance lowered his voice. “Pay an equal price to exchange for the things you want to know.”
Misha: “…”
Hah, here we go again.
This Hero, whose brain was filled only with doing business, was starting his detestable operations again!
Misha snorted with extreme disdain, “I won’t give you money.”
Lance: “Did I say I wanted money?”
Misha: “…”
To be honest, Misha was somewhat intrigued.
There were too many mysteries about the Hero. Even though the Hero had said so much to him, he hadn’t resolved many doubts; most were still Misha’s own guesses.
That is to say, up to now, he only knew that Lance was a Hero from another world who didn’t like the gods and perhaps wanted to sever the connection between this world and the Divine Realm.
But beyond that, Lance seemed to have told him nothing.
Misha finally cleared his throat hesitantly and whispered, “What… do you want?”
“Different intelligence naturally has different prices.” Lance said, “It depends on what you want to know.”
Misha: “…”
Staring at Lance’s face, Misha felt Lance’s current expression looked like a hunter who had carefully laid an ambush and waited a long time for the prey to finally fall into the trap. The Hero had gone to great lengths to dig a big pit and seemed to be waiting for him to jump in.
Misha refused hurriedly, “I don’t want to know anymore.”
“Pity.” Lance sighed lightly. “Opening sale promotion—I originally wanted to give you some free information.”
Misha: “…”
Damn it, this Hero. How is he so good at baiting people?
Misha took a deep breath, trying hard to suppress his curiosity. “I… I’m not interested!”
Lance: “Mm, then forget it. Let’s sleep.”
Misha: “…How can you still sleep!”
He really couldn’t understand.
This Hero caused such a huge incident, yet wasn’t anxious at all. He just lay down intending to sleep. Misha knew everything, yet hadn’t promised not to tell, and the Hero didn’t even need hush money?!
Misha stared at Lance. Watching Lance actually shift to a more comfortable position and close his eyes, looking like he really intended to sleep comfortably, Misha felt a stone hanging in his heart. It was the stifling feeling of a fixed process left unfinished; it really made him uncomfortable.
He gripped the sword tighter, feeling that Lance hadn’t even finished half of what he should have said, yet Lance decided to sleep.
No, how could Lance sleep!
Misha couldn’t resist poking Lance’s leg gently with the sword, whispering a threat, “How can you… Aren’t you afraid I’ll tell?”
Lance was too lazy to even lift his eyelids, but he answered Misha’s question. “You won’t tell.”
Misha muttered, “How do you know I won’t tell…”
Lance opened his eyes slightly. He still wore his usual expression, but perhaps because his eyes were only half-open, his golden lashes veiled the sharp edge in his ice-blue eyes. His gaze was far gentler than usual, and his tone carried a hint of helplessness. “I trust you. You won’t tell.”
Misha: “…”
Misha indeed wouldn’t tell.
He felt the Hero didn’t seem like the “dangerous element” he knew of. He preferred to figure out the Hero’s reasons, then judge based on his own thoughts whether he should stop the Hero—definitely not rashly tell on him and wait for the Divine Realm’s merciless punishment to fall on the Hero.
Human life only happens once. He didn’t want to see Lance die.
“I can also prove my thoughts.” Lance’s voice gradually dropped lower. Maybe destroying the Gate was tiring work; he looked truly sleepy. “As long as you go to the Dragon Clan with me, I can prove many things to you.”
Misha: “…”
Go to the Dragon Clan.
He had originally planned to escape in the chaos during the fight between the Hero and the Black Dragon after they reached the Royal Capital, returning to his Demon Lord identity and never appearing before the Hero again until the final battle.
But… this current Hero knew about the Divine Realm and the gods’ plan to select a Hero. The conspiracy planned by Genesis and the Black Dragon would have no effect on the Hero at all. If Misha really disappeared in the chaos, it would only make the Hero suspicious.
Being the only one who knew the truth about the Gate to Another World, perhaps he should stay by the Hero’s side.
Try to uncover the truth, then stop the Hero from destroying the next Gate…
The more Misha thought, the more chaotic and complex it seemed. He shouldn’t be the one handling this, but now he was wavering between the Divine Realm and the Hero. He had never thought of betraying the gods, but also… didn’t want Lance to be punished by them.
Misha started getting a headache.
He couldn’t help sighing softly. Then, he saw the Hero, who seemed to be really falling asleep, shake out the worn thin quilt on the bed and naturally reach out to pull him in.
“Alright,” Lance said with his eyes closed. “Sleep.”
Misha: “…”
Misha, holding the sword, froze.
The Hero had his arm half-around Misha’s shoulder and even habitually rubbed Misha’s head, messing up his hair. But… but in such a supposedly tense moment, how could the Hero do this!
No need to wait for divine punishment!
Should he just stab this Hero to death right now!!!
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