Chapter 201-202 – Revenge Begins
"Sword Harmoniere will completely belong to the warrior. The warrior will become the leader of Elora, and eternal peace will remain in this land."
Iril trembled as she read the prophecy aloud.
I was just as surprised.
"I'm going to be the leader?"
I had never imagined something like this. The goddess had foretold that I would become the leader of the elves.
Iril was even more shaken than I was and seemed completely lost.
"Nonsense…"
"Iril, are you okay?"
"Oh, no. I don't think it's okay…"
Was it really that shocking for her to hear that I would become a leader?
For a moment, I wondered about her reaction, but then I realized why she was so disturbed.
"Dayke. In your past life… were you killed by Agnes?"
"That's right. Why is that… huh?!"
A thought suddenly crossed my mind. If I became the leader, it would mean Nermedia would have to step down from her throne. But if the queen had killed the hero as soon as the Demon King died…
"She doesn't want to lose the queen's place, so she…killed me?"
A question I must have held for years surfaced. Five years ago, the queen had ordered Agnes to kill me.
Humans were accused of summoning the Demon King, so the belief was that none should remain in this land. But when I returned to the castle in this reincarnation, the queen tried to drive me out of her kingdom instead of killing me.
After that, she only avoided me. There was no real attempt to take my life. So I began to wonder if there was a reason she could not kill me now…
'It's not that she couldn't kill me now. She had a reason why she had to kill me in my past life.'
If so, the pieces finally fit together. Alvin, the warrior, was killed to protect the queen's throne. And Dayke, who had nothing to do with the prophecy, thought only of driving me out rather than killing me.
'That bitch…'
I had thought it was just hatred toward humans, but it seemed there had been a darker purpose hidden beneath it.
As I tried to calm my growing anger, Iril spoke.
"Now I understand why Mama tried to hide the prophetic book. If this becomes known… Mama will be finished."
"What?"
"For us elves, the words of the Goddess are absolute. The reason Elf joined you five years ago to defeat the Demon King was to protect this land. But above all, it was because the Goddess' prophecy commanded it."
"…"
"Breaking the prophecy is a grave crime. It warrants banishment. The queen's duty is to lead her elves by spreading the Goddess' words written in the Book of Prophecy. Yet she killed the warrior with…"
Iril's voice trailed off, but I understood how heavily the queen had sinned. It was the kind of crime that could turn the entire kingdom upside down.
The shadow on Iril's face did not fade. After a long silence, she called to me in a trembling voice.
"Dayke, are you going to use this prophecy to avenge Mama…?"
"…I suppose it has to be that way."
"Please. I will do anything you want, so please don't let Momma be banished… I beg you."
"Iril!"
As she was about to fall to her knees, I quickly helped her up.
From the beginning, I only wanted the queen to realize her karma and regret it deeply. I wasn't particularly interested in seeing her banished, especially if Iril herself didn't want it.
"Don't worry, I won't have her banished. I promise."
"…Thank you."
Her voice was still weak, as though she hadn't fully calmed down.
I felt sorry for her, but she couldn't stay in despair forever.
"Is there anything else?"
"Well, the prophecy was different from what we knew…"
"What?"
"It is said that the magicians of the royal castle sacrificed their lives to revive the forests and lands that were burned in the war against the Demon King…"
"Life?"
I remembered hearing from Kiella that the wizards had restored Elora after the devastation of the war. But this was the first time I had heard that they had sacrificed their lives to do so.
'No… Thinking about it now, it makes sense.'
Until this moment, I had believed it without doubt. Yet as far as I knew, the number of active wizards had always been fewer than ten.
No matter how skilled they were, it was impossible for such a small number of magicians to restore so vast a land. However, if they had all sacrificed their lives according to the Goddess' prophecy, it would have become somewhat understandable.
"When the Royal Wizards disappeared, the queen made a public speech. She clearly said they left to research magic…"
"It was probably a lie to prevent rebellion. A warning—meant to make people think the wizards would return if anyone dared to resist."
"That can't be possible…"
I didn't want to believe it, but the queen's lie had worked. Because of the supposed presence of powerful wizards who no longer existed, I had been forced to act far more cautiously.
Still, now that I knew the truth, I could take more decisive actions. Plans began forming quickly in my mind.
"Iril, when we get back from here…"
She fought back her sadness and listened carefully to my instructions. When I finished speaking, she looked at me and slowly nodded.
"Oh, okay."
"You must do exactly as I say. Please do me this favor."
"Yes. I definitely will."
"Good. I'll believe you."
She answered in a hard way—her eyes no longer trembled. Iril seemed to have made up her mind.
…
[POV Change]
A few hours later, darkness had settled outside.
After dining with Kiella, Nermedia returned to her quarters once she had finished her queenly duties.
"Ha… I'm tired."
Her sigh carried exhaustion, and the words she muttered to herself revealed the weight pressing on her. Perhaps it was because the endless tasks of the day had drained her, but it also seemed tied to the failure of her plan to drive away the human who still lingered in her castle.
"I should not think about anything else today. I need to sleep right away."
She walked toward her chamber to wash away her fatigue. But then she froze. The sound of footsteps echoed unnaturally across her room.
Grumble—
"What, what?!"
The bookshelf shuddered and moved aside with the grinding sound of gears. Behind it, a hidden door appeared, and without anyone touching it, the door creaked open on its own.
And there stood the human, waiting inside the secret passage.
…
…
[MC POV]
"Dakye… you?!"
After sending Iril away, I had remained here, waiting for the queen to return. Since the closed door could be opened from the inside without her blood, slipping out of the hidden space was no problem.
Upon seeing me, Nermedia's face went pale, as though she had seen a ghost.
"You seem very surprised."
"Why are you there… No way, the Book of Prophecy!"
"Don't worry. It's in its rightful place."
The invisibility pill only made the body and clothing of its user transparent. It would have been ideal if Iril had been able to take the book out earlier in the day, but that had been impossible. If the massive tome had floated through the air in front of the guards, it would have drawn instant suspicion.
"But I read what was inside."
"You read it? You, a human, understood the ancient elf script?"
"I studied a little of this and that."
I intentionally kept Iril's involvement hidden. If her mother's anger turned toward her, the child would only suffer.
"…How far did you read?"
"Everything. Including the fact that the hero you killed was destined to become a leader."
I had no intention of revealing that I was Alvin. That truth would need to wait for a moment far more decisive than this one.
"Now that I think about it, I heard that five years ago you ordered the knight commander to kill a hero. What would happen if the other elves learned of this?"
"How could you… Kiella!"
The queen furrowed her brow in betrayal and raised her right hand.
"It seems you are not the only one who needs to be removed from this castle. No… since you've read the prophecy, exile won't be enough. You and Kiella will be executed as well."
Snap!!
She snapped her fingers, her voice sharp with anger. But her room remained silent.
"…How did this happen?"
Snap!!
Snap!!
Snap!!
She snapped her fingers again, yet nothing happened. She tried several more times, and her face gradually twisted with embarrassment.
"Why isn't the summoning magic being transmitted?"
"You just need to use some other way to call the guards. Step outside and shout if you must."
"You don't even understand your position. Do you think that just because you are a knight, you can overpower the guards? You, who cannot even use magic? You'll regret this."
She stepped back slowly, eyes fixed on me in case I attacked. Then she tapped the air with her heel and her hand, muttering in a trembling voice.
"Well… something is blocking it…"
As she said, a transparent wall barred her way. She could not reach her door.
The cause was the Ring of Eternal Isolation, which I had once obtained from a goblin wizard. When I heard her enter, I used the ring's power to seal off part of the room completely.
In short, a sphere-shaped transparent barrier now surrounded the bedchamber.
"How on earth did this happen?!"
"It's no use. You can't get out. Summoning magic won't work either."
"What… what is your purpose?"
Her spirit faltered once she realized she could not call for help. She never fought battles herself, and the only spell she truly knew was guard summoning. Without magic or strength, she could do nothing against me.
"As a fellow human, I only want to take revenge on behalf of the hero who was killed unjustly."
"Are you… trying to kill me?"
"Killing you would be a waste. I'll make sure you suffer first."
"Ha! How foolish. You may think you've won, but when the sun rises, the servants will come to this room."
Her words weren't wrong. To use the ring's magic, I had needed to replenish its mana with corruption points from the app. The cost was too high for a full recharge, so the barrier would fade by morning.
Still, I wasn't foolish enough to be unprepared. Iril had followed my instructions faithfully after leaving, so I had nothing to worry about. All I needed was to focus on the moment at hand.
"You don't actually believe you can touch the queen and get away with it, do you? Or are you planning to live only for today? That's pathetic."
"I guess you still don't understand your situation. If you beg me now, maybe it will ease what's to come."
"Why should I beg forgiveness from you? You're not even a hero. Even if a hero returned from the dead, a noble elf would never kneel before a human."
I hadn't planned to waste time listening to her, but her arrogance only stoked my resolve.
"Fine. Let's see how long that attitude lasts."
With those words, I stepped out of the hidden passage and pulled the phone from my pocket.