The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

If That Is My Fate (5)

"Julien!"

Deneb screamed as she reached out. Then, divine power burst forth from her body and enveloped Julien.

Julien also clenched his teeth and drew out every ounce of strength he had. All the spirits were summoned and surrounded his body.

Breaths were being unleashed from every direction, leaving no room to dodge. Enduring was the only option.

Kwaaaaaaaaaang!

A massive explosion erupted, tearing even through the darkness that filled the sky. The surrounding structures were pulverized and vanished in an instant.

Even Arterion, who had been standing a short distance away, had to deploy several layers of powerful 9th-circle shields to protect Deneb and the altar.

And even then, he had to continuously pour mana into the shields to withstand the tremendous impact.

Kuuuuuuung...

Moments later, a cloud of dust rose and completely obscured the view.

One dragon summoned a wind spell to sweep away the dust, gradually revealing the scene within.

"Urgh!"

Julien coughed up blood and collapsed to his knees. But his eyes were still burning with life.

Kvarnex, who had been fighting Julien, spoke in a voice tinged with admiration.

"Impressive. To endure all that."

The previous attack had been powerful enough that even a dragon would struggle to withstand it.

Even the Adversary had always avoided the dragons' breath when they unleashed it simultaneously.

And yet, the Hero, completely surrounded and struck by their breaths, had endured it.

Of course, it was thanks to the Saintess deploying her divine power. They had accounted for that and held back somewhat, but there had still been concern that the Hero might vanish altogether.

But Julien had held out far better than the dragons had expected.

"Still, it looks like he doesn't have the strength to keep going. Just a bit more pressure should do it."

Dragons couldn't use breath attacks frequently. But in Julien's current condition, they didn't even need to.

Ziiing—! Ziiing—! Ziiing—!

Countless magic circles filled the sky.

If all those spells struck at once, Julien would no longer be able to endure.

"Urgh..."

Julien coughed up blood again and lifted his head.

Blocking the breath attacks had drained his energy in an instant. He no longer had the strength to summon the spirits.

No, he didn't even have the strength to stand anymore.

'That voice...'

He had definitely heard a voice, if only for a moment. It said it could help him.

Julien looked around with a pale expression. But still, he saw no one.

'Was it just my imagination...?'

It was a situation filled with utter despair. His desperate mind must have conjured up an illusion.

Abandoning hope, Julien trembled as he rose to his feet. With blood-covered hands, he gripped his sword tightly.

"...Deneb."

He had to hold on. He had to save Deneb, no matter what.

Now, there was only one thought left in Julien’s mind.

But… What exactly could he do?

He had trusted that Astion would escape with Deneb. But that plan had failed.

It wasn’t a fight he could win. Still, that didn’t mean he could give up.

Step.

Julien staggered forward, dragging his feet.

All for the sake of saving Deneb.

The dragons bared their fangs savagely as they watched him.

To think he could still move like that. His relentless willpower was staggering. But it didn’t seem like he’d last much longer.

“We’ll have to control our strength a bit. If we go too far, he might just die.”

One dragon muttered as it launched a spell.

Kwaang!

With a deafening explosion, Julien’s body was flung into the air and then crashed brutally to the ground.

Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaang!

Spell after spell fired by the dragons pounded Julien.

Though the dragons were holding back, not wanting to kill him outright, each strike was still devastating to the already drained Julien.

“Urgh…”

Julien continued to cough up blood as he crawled across the blood-stained ground. Wherever his fingertips touched, more blood spread.

The image of the great Hero who had stood against the Adversary and the dragons was no longer there.

Now, he only squirmed like a worm, barely clinging to life.

Julien’s eyes, crawling across the ground, were gradually losing focus. Yet there was still one thing he would not let go of.

‘Deneb… I’ll… save you…’

Covered in blood and dust, he struggled desperately to get closer to Deneb, no matter what.

The dragons' gazes hardened.

“This damn bastard…”

“Does he really not value his life?”

“That worm of a human is being praised as a hero? All he’s done is grow more stubborn.”

Each dragon voiced its own anger and frustration. But within them stirred a discomfort they couldn’t fully explain.

They could no longer bring themselves to attack. If they weren’t careful, the Hero might really die.

Of course, even if the Hero died, there were still many others close to the Saintess who could be used as hostages.

But the Hero was special, even to the dragons. They couldn’t risk him dying and driving the Saintess to give up everything.

Arterion, too, didn’t want the Saintess doing anything unpredictable because of the Hero’s death.

“Remarkable willpower. So he truly refuses to be broken.”

To begin with, someone who had reached that level was difficult to mentally dominate, even for a dragon.

Turning him into an undead and binding his soul would be even harder. Not only was his soul too noble for that, but the ones he bore resentment against were the dragons themselves.

Therefore, they had to avoid killing the Hero if possible—and instead wear down the Saintess’s mind.

To achieve that, they would have to treat the Hero even more cruelly—make him more miserable than ever before.

After a brief moment of thought, Arterion flicked his fingers.

“Just turn him into an idiot. In his current state, it should be easy enough. Every time the Saintess refuses, I’ll cut off one of his limbs and use it for experiments.”

“Arterion!”

Deneb looked at him in shock.

Arterion continued indifferently.

“Saintess, I told you before. I would make your friends exist in a state where they could neither live nor die. The ones who resisted and died already can’t be helped… but don’t forget, there are still plenty of them left outside.”

“Why… why would you go that far…?”

“I swear on the Dragon Tongue. If you do not sacrifice yourself for the sealing, if you take your own life, we will take revenge. We’ll turn them into fools, control their minds, make them undead, and torment them with every cruel method we possess.”

“…”

“Your soul will look down from the heavens and weep forever as it watches your remaining friends suffer.”

Tears streamed down Deneb’s face at his words.

Arterion meant every word. He fully intended to shatter Deneb’s mind, to make her incapable of thinking of anything other than obeying his will.

Kuuung!

The dragons landed on the ground. One of them, who had already transformed into human form, approached Julien.

A white light shimmered around the dragon’s hands.

That light had the power to invade Julien’s mind and destroy his brain completely.

“I’ll make you a fool myself. Until the Saintess accepts our terms, you’ll be nothing more than our experiment and puppet.”

Julien barely managed to stand, staggering weakly. In his condition, there was no way he could resist.

At last, Deneb broke down and screamed.

“Stop! Stop! Fine! I’ll…”

But before she could finish, Julien’s faint voice echoed through the air.

“Don’t.”

“Julien…”

“Don’t… give in… to scum like them…”

“But…”

“Don’t… save… a world like this…”

Arterion’s eyes twitched.

Julien wasn’t even shouting—he no longer had the strength for that.

Yet his weakly murmured voice was somehow heard clearly by everyone present.

The dragon who had been approaching him also stopped in its tracks, sensing something strange.

Julien kept his head lowered as he continued to speak to Deneb.

“I’m… all right…”

“The friends outside… they’ll… make it through… I’m sure…”

“So don’t… do it…”

“Don’t… stay trapped here… alone…”

With trembling hands, Julien lifted his sword.

If he were captured by the dragons, Deneb would surely yield to their threats.

So, to prevent her from suffering further under their coercion, he chose to end his own life.

But he couldn’t bring himself to carry it out. Not because he feared death.

‘…Deneb.’

If he died, Deneb would fall into shock and sorrow. And in the end, she would sacrifice herself for the others.

Because that was the kind of person she was.

Clang.

Julien dropped his sword. He no longer even had the strength to hold it.

His heart was now filled with despair. No matter what he did, there was no way to save Deneb.

With his head bowed, Julien muttered.

“What… should I do?”

He kept asking himself the same question over and over again—how could he possibly save Deneb?

Even with the dragons approaching, he just kept whispering to himself.

Then, from deep within his mind, he heard the voice again.

— Have you despaired, endlessly and completely?

Julien stopped breathing. This time, the voice was clearer than ever before.

— I can help you.

The whisper seemed to blend with the beating of his heart.

“…How can you help me?”

Julien’s faint voice was closer to a prayer than a question.

Even if it was just an illusion, even if it was a hallucination—it didn’t matter.

Even if it was the temptation of a demon, what he needed now was a sliver of hope to escape this despair.

He closed his eyes and listened to the voice.

Slowly, very slowly… an unknown whisper began to envelop his soul.

At that moment, Arterion, who had been silently watching Julien, lifted his head.

Gwooooooooh…

“What is that?”

The darkness that filled the sky began to swirl slowly, as though forming a vortex.

The shadows had always flickered and moved irregularly before—but now, it felt ominous, foreboding.

Even as this happened, Julien kept his head down, eyes closed, whispering to himself.

“If that’s possible…”

“Yes…”

“I…”

The dragons leaned in, trying to listen, but suddenly they couldn’t hear his voice anymore.

And that was only natural.

Julien wasn’t speaking to them—he was speaking to something else.

‘How… Can I save Deneb?’

— Do you seek power?

‘I do. Power to protect Deneb.’

— But this power will consume you and bring you pain. It does not belong to your soul.

‘I don’t care. If I can save Deneb, I’ll endure any pain…’

The voice in his mind suddenly wavered. It sounded as though it were both laughing and crying.

— Did I not tell you? This is an inescapable fate.

‘Fate…’

— Yes, fate. But it can be changed.

‘Changed…?’

— This is your last chance to defy your fate. Forget the Saintess. Forget your friends. Abandon everything and take your own life. That is the only way to escape this great cycle of destiny.

‘…’

— If you do, you will change the future that has already been written. Your noble soul will ascend to the heavens of the goddesses, where eternal peace awaits you.

‘…That wouldn’t be happiness for me. I can’t leave Deneb trapped here forever.’

— If you accept this power, your soul will be tainted by darkness and cast into the deepest pit of hell. You will be cursed by all living things, your soul suffering for eternity with no salvation. Is that truly the fate you desire?

‘…If it means saving Deneb, then yes.’

Even if it meant living a life forever cursed.

Even if it meant eternal suffering.

Even if it meant never being saved again…

Ssss…

Julien’s hair began to turn black. Darkness writhed beneath his skin, seeping into his very being.

Paaah!

A pair of wings, forged from pure darkness, burst from his back.

They were the remnants of light that had once burned brightly—now turned to shadow.

The most beautiful radiance in the world—and at the same time, its most blinding despair.

‘…If that truly is my fate.’

Julien slowly raised his head.

The eyes that once shone brighter than the stars in the sky were now swallowed by a darkness deeper than the abyss.

His gaze, now stained by shadow, rested upon Deneb.

Thus, the deepest darkness looked upon the unreachable light…

longing for it, as though in yearning.

‘I will…’

A single tear slid down his cheek.

‘…love even this fate of mine.’

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