Chapter 83: The Truth part 1
Gritting his teeth, Misha lunged at the Hero beside him.
He was truly furious.
Just thinking about the agony of leading a pack of monsters to work through the nights made him want to land a few punches on the Hero’s face. However, he didn’t expect Lance to even try to dodge. When Misha lunged toward him, Lance remained perfectly still, even looking up to meet Misha’s eyes.
Misha: “…”
Misha’s hands, which were raised to grab the Hero’s neck, had nowhere to go. Feeling awkward and flustered, he ended up slamming them hard onto the Hero’s shoulders instead.
“You bastard,” Misha couldn’t help but curse. “Do you have any idea what I—”
Lance acted as if he hadn’t expected the sudden move. His body swayed slightly as if his center of gravity was unstable, and he began to tilt backward. They were at the very top of the Tree of Life; if an ordinary human like the Hero fell from here, he would most certainly die.
Misha panicked. He quickly grabbed the fabric of Lance’s shoulders. Then, realizing that might not be secure enough—the Hero was wrapped in a thick, fluffy cloak, and such things could easily slip off—Misha reached further down. He thrust his hands beneath the fur cloak and gripped Lance’s arms tightly, trying to stabilize him on the branch.
But Lance was also trying to find his balance.
Misha’s tight grip on his arms made it difficult for him to move. He pressed his hand against the branch beneath them, paused for a heartbeat, and looked into the panicked eyes of the boy before him. With only a second of hesitation, he flipped his grip, catching Misha’s hands, and pulled him into a firm embrace around the waist.
Misha had been leaning in to listen; being suddenly pulled into an embrace left him wide-eyed and stunned. He was at a loss, unsure if he should push Lance away.
Yes, the branches of the Tree of Life were thick enough to support both of them, but this wasn’t the ground. If he made too large a movement, he might actually push the Hero off.
Misha could only stiffen his back and try to scoot back slightly, hoping to release the Hero’s arms and gain some distance while maintaining their balance.
But the Hero spoke just in time.
“Don’t move,” Lance said. “We’ll fall.”
Misha: “…”
Misha froze.
He didn’t realize for a moment that this was just a pretext Lance used to keep him close. He took the words to heart and, in his anxiety, even manifested his wings. The dark feathers draped down over the branch, ready to react instantly if either of them actually slipped.
Misha’s reaction caught Lance off guard.
As he held Misha’s waist, the soft down of the hanging wings brushed against the back of his hand. He lowered his gaze, trying to catch a glimpse, but from his angle, it was difficult to see clearly. He could only see Misha’s brown hair draped over his shoulder, and he couldn’t help but think—while brown was nice, he still preferred that deep crimson that looked like fire when reflected by molten lava.
“I originally planned to escape,” Lance’s voice was right by his ear. “The Divine Realm had found me. I should have left immediately.”
He still didn’t mention everything he had seen through the illusions and the floating magical script from that night.
He knew very well that it wasn’t the magic of a Divine Envoy.
The gods loved to lace their mana with illusions of holiness and light; they wanted all their spells to shimmer with the golden glow of a beautiful dream. Misha’s magic felt nothing like that.
Not to mention that panicked performance within the illusion. Even though Misha had tried his best, Lance felt that Misha’s acting… was simply terrible.
But it was these unrefined lies that made Lance feel that if he stayed in this world, he might see something far more interesting than his previous experiences.
He had hesitated.
Misha, the “scammed” party, had finished renovating the entire Blessing Land. Lance had been debating whether to bolt. He had locked Misha out to pack his things, preparing to leave quietly. But when he saw Misha turn and run away outside the door, he couldn’t help but think—
This clumsy fake Divine Envoy is actually quite cute.
He figured that even if the Divine Realm discovered him, he could always escape if he really wanted to.
Besides, what was the point of aimlessly hopping between worlds forever? He couldn’t hide for the rest of his life.
He had long harbored the idea of severing the connection between the Divine Realm and the human world. It was just that, in the beginning, he felt isolated. If he were alone, completing such a task would be far too difficult.
He eventually decided to stay and observe, even coming up with a foolish excuse for himself.
If a Hero went missing suddenly, it might arouse the gods’ suspicion. Since a Hero’s adventure was so dangerous anyway, if things went south, he could just fake his death during a quest.
Until that moment atop the volcano. Misha had jumped into the chasm without a second thought, risking his true identity just to save him.
His perspective shifted once again.
This fake Divine Envoy is truly a fool.
If a Hero died now, another would just be born.
The arrogant gods would never sacrifice their lives for a “tool” like a Hero.
Amidst the fire and flames, the Goddess’s past words drifted back into his mind. He had never valued the words of the gods, but those words now overlapped with Misha’s, carving themselves into his heart.
He had reached out and grasped the hand Misha extended to him.
Their fingers locked.
Black and red wings unfurled amidst the flames, and Lance finally saw a glimmer of hope in his long years of hiding.
This was his Divine Envoy.
The lantern in the fog. His hope.
Misha remained frozen in that posture, waiting for Lance’s next words.
But Lance slowly released him, as if he had finally regained his footing, and gave Misha a slight, curving smile.
” I haven’t finished the story of the past,” Lance said. “There are only a few sentences left. Listen to the end, okay?”
Misha: “…”
Misha actually nodded.
He refocused on what Lance was about to say. After all, the information coming next was the core of what he needed to know. He couldn’t afford to miss a single word, as the density of information was too high, and the Hero wasn’t the type to patiently explain every term.
He failed to notice that everything just now had been a calculated move by the Hero. His attention was entirely elsewhere, and the Hero’s “wicked deeds”—which deserved a good thrashing—were once again perfectly brushed aside. Lance cleared his throat, naturally moved past the moment, and continued describing his crime of “Deicide.”
“They probably didn’t intend to kill me. After all, in the eyes of the arrogant High Gods, I was just a lowly human who didn’t know his place,” Lance said nonchalantly. “Since this Hero was such a ‘failure,’ there was naturally no need for him to exist anymore.”
Misha: “…”
Misha thought back to how Arlo had once wanted to report the Hero to the Divine Realm.
They both thought the Hero was strange. Arlo had wavered on whether to report his negligence, but Misha had rejected the idea without a thought.
At first, Misha felt that waiting for a new Hero to appear would take too long, and he didn’t want to waste more time in the human world. Later, when Arlo brought it up again, Misha thought the High Gods’ punishments for failed Heroes were too heartless, and he didn’t want the Hero to lose his life over such a small matter.
He had always been indecisive, never able to make a final call. It was a trait a proper Demon King should never possess. In this regard, Misha felt he had failed his duty.
Teacher Alisa would surely be heartbroken. His best student had turned out to be nothing more than a soft-hearted failure who couldn’t even finish a mission.
But Misha was glad he hadn’t become a “proper” Demon King.
It was precisely because he retained some soft-hearted human traits that he had the chance to learn the truth.
“I was taken to the Divine Realm to face a so-called ‘trial’ and a final chance for correction,” Lance sighed. “Looking back, they were actually quite merciful then.”
Misha: “…And now?”
“After I escaped, all ‘disqualified’ Heroes are directly destroyed.” Lance leaned forward slightly, resting his elbows on his knees and propping his chin in his hand. “But it seems that other than me, they’ve never encountered a second ‘defective product’ like this.”
Misha cleared his throat and pressed, “You… killed the guards who captured you?”
“Back then, how could I have had such power?” Lance smiled faintly. “At most, I was a human with decent combat skills. I wasn’t nearly strong enough to face the God Race.”
Misha: “But you said—”
He caught the word “Deicide” in his throat, unable to let it out.
But Lance understood him as always. Lance said, “He and I fell into the Interdimensional Gate together.”
Misha’s eyes widened. He suddenly understood what the Hero meant by “killing a god.”
“It was an accident, but it was a calculated one.” Lance lowered his eyelashes, his emotions unreadable. “I knew that was a gate that could travel between worlds, and a High God would definitely have the key to pass through it.”
So, he had grabbed the High God closest to him and forcibly dragged the other into the Interdimensional Gate with him.
“I told you, there are no real gods in this world,” Lance whispered. “The so-called God Race is just a race that is more proficient in magic than others.”
Misha found it hard to agree with that.
He hurried to speak, but just as he opened his lips, Lance raised a hand. He looked at Misha with a pleading gaze, asking him to wait until the story was finished.
“Inside the Interdimensional Gate, it’s a very strange place.” Lance frowned, seemingly searching for the right words to describe his nearly unbelievable experience. “Once inside, you need to find the correct path to reach the right world. But within that gate, paths seem to be everywhere. Everything feels like it’s simultaneously everywhere and nowhere.”
Misha didn’t understand. He tried to imagine what the gate looked like, but Lance’s description wasn’t enough to form a clear picture. He could only shake his head and think that if he had the chance, he might want to see it for himself.
As if reading his mind, Lance answered.
“I suggest you don’t think about going in for a look,” Lance said. “It’s not a pleasant place.”
Misha: “Mm…”
Recommended Reads
