The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

I’m Not Saving the World. (3)

Astion!

Deneb’s pupils trembled.

Even when she first saw the mage named Jerome, she couldn’t shake the feeling that he bore a strong resemblance to Astion.

The spells he used were all ones Astion frequently favored, and the way he moved and manifested mana was also strikingly similar to Astion’s.

The golden hue of his manifested mana was another hallmark of Astion.

Especially the mana blade that Jerome used—it was a unique spell Astion had created himself to complement his martial arts.

No magic tower would ever create such a spell for close combat.

That’s why she was certain.

That the mage named Jerome was the successor of the magic tower Astion had built.

And that spell, too, must have been created by Astion. No one else would have crafted such a spell for Julien’s sake.

Deneb felt a crushing sadness settle in her chest.

"...It’s not your fault."

Astion must have believed this entire incident was because of him. Even though it wasn’t his fault, he likely spent his life tormented by guilt.

Knowing Astion’s personality, Deneb’s heart ached.

"He wanted to fall in love so badly too..."

He must have devoted his life to creating that spell. How could that not be heartbreaking?

KWAHHHH!

The meteor of light began to burn away all the darkness.

Even Gattros, who had transformed into a colossal demon god, couldn’t budge and was trapped within the barrier of light.

Gattros was undoubtedly dangerous. Deneb knew how exceptional a priest he had once been.

Therefore, he needed to be erased here. If he survived, the Salvation Church would tenaciously rebuild its power once more.

But the spell was unstable. It was so overwhelmingly powerful that Jerome couldn’t endure it.

If he continued to maintain it, Jerome would surely die. Even someone who had reached the 9th-Circle could not confidently succeed with such a spell.

Gattros deserved to die, but Jerome shouldn’t be the one to sacrifice himself because of someone like him.

"No. You mustn’t die here."

Jerome was someone capable of saving many more lives.

And Gattros… was still a necessary presence for Julien’s awakening.

That’s why Deneb intervened again.

FWAAAH!

From the Saintess’s bracelet Gattros possessed, divine power burst forth.

Deneb didn’t know why Gattros had her bracelet. But considering how many years had passed, it wasn’t strange that her relics had ended up scattered in various places.

The fact that she could now use the divine power remaining in the bracelet was actually a stroke of luck.

"Stop this spell. Just wait a little longer—Ghislain will come."

Deneb poured her will into her divine power with all her might.

Though she couldn’t fully convey her intent, she hoped it would be transmitted at least through the resonance of her soul.

Did her wish reach him? Jerome could no longer endure it and released the spell.

And not long after, Ghislain appeared.

He tried to kill Gattros at once. But once again, Deneb blocked Ghislain’s attack.

“I’m sorry, Ghislain. This one mustn’t die yet.”

Standing beside Ghislain, she saw Ernhardt’s face. And she realized—

The adversary from the previous era had reincarnated in this age, along with Julien.

That was a deeply ominous sign. It was certain the previous adversary harbored sinister intentions.

But she was the only one who knew that truth.

If Gattros were killed here, Ghislain would face an even more difficult battle.

Julien’s sudden awakening was already dangerous, but losing the trail to pursue Ernhardt was just as grave a problem.

Ernhardt is more dangerous than Gattros.

Ernhardt was with Gattros. So if Ghislain pursued Gattros, he would naturally come face to face with the entire truth.

He might even come to know Julien’s true nature.

Having endured the Great War with Ghislain and learned the way he set the board, Deneb carefully guided the situation.

That was why Gattros had been able to survive two crises with her help.

Even after that, Deneb continued to subtly intervene in Ghislain’s dreams.

When she showed him the battle between Julien and the Adversary, Ghislain focused more intensely than ever before.

He wasn’t just watching the fight—he was feeling it, as if absorbing the flow and rhythm of the battle itself.

She wished she could stop time and keep showing it to him. In this place, detached from time and space, Ghislain could train for years.

But that wasn’t possible. The more he immersed himself, the more the boundaries of his consciousness would collapse.

One day, when Ghislain had become too immersed, Deneb halted the dream and smiled at him.

“Did you see it?”

Ghislain was in no state to respond. Knowing this, Deneb gently continued.

“I hope it helped you.”

“……”

“Don’t think it's strange. I’m a friend from your distant past.”

The dream space was calm. But within that stillness, Ghislain’s soul trembled violently.

Feeling that tremor, Deneb whispered softly.

“I know you’re confused, but don’t doubt. You must trust me. There’s not much time left.”

The day we meet again will soon come.

That was how Deneb slowly drew closer to Ghislain.

She revealed her existence and tried to earn Ghislain’s trust.

On the day she drew even closer to him—

FWAAAH!

The divine power in the necklace radiated light.

The light surged like a wave, enveloping Ghislain and seeping into his body.

It wasn’t something Deneb had done. Though she was momentarily surprised, she believed there must have been a reason.

After that, she also showed him the battles of their old comrades.

"This will definitely help you."

Indeed, Ghislain, with his innate sense, began to master the techniques of their old friends.

He refined the techniques he saw in the dream on his own, and as time passed, he wielded them with increasing mastery.

With that, Ghislain’s strength grew far beyond anything he had before.

Eventually, Ghislain and Julien defeated the awakened Arterion once more.

Deneb witnessed during that battle how the darkness within Julien’s power had grown stronger.

“That’s…”

Dark energy had been hidden within Arterion’s body. During the fight, that energy gradually seeped into Julien.

Only then did Deneb finally understand the choices they had made in the past.

“So that’s how it was…”

The moment she grasped the truth, Deneb’s body began to shimmer like scattering light.

She wanted to intervene in Ghislain’s dreams just a little longer, but she couldn’t.

Though this divine power was hers, it wasn’t something only she could use.

Another version of herself already existed here.

The divine power that was absorbed into Ghislain must have been the work of that other self.

Watching her fading body, Deneb smiled.

“Yes, that must have been my choice.”

Now, Deneb understood.

What she had to do, and where that path would lead.

For Julien, for everyone, and to summon a future filled with a single sliver of hope...

A brilliant light soon filled Deneb’s vision.

Just for a moment, she saw—

“Ghislain…”

His back as he stood against the true source of darkness.

Deneb softly murmured and closed her eyes.

“Only you…”

And when she opened them—

She had returned to reality.

* * *

KWAHHHHHH!

The battle between Julien and the dragons grew ever fiercer.

Darkness spread in all directions, piercing the dragons’ scales and erupting outward like explosions.

The black trails splintered into dozens, hundreds, as if fracturing the world itself.

KWAANG! KWAANG! KWAHHHH!

The dragons fighting Julien unleashed immense power. With their pride as a race on the line, they burned their very lifeforce, pouring out all their mana.

9th-Circle spells rained down upon Julien in succession. The mana storm devoured the heavens and earth, as if tearing the world apart.

Yet the explosions did not spread far. The impact still struck only those engaged in the battle.

“Adversary!”

Arterion’s body was already torn and slashed, covered in wounds. Yet he did not take a single step back.

The Heart of Creation pulsed within him, drawing in the energy of the world.

KWAHHHH!

Each time his heart throbbed, a tremendous wave of mana burst out like a storm.

The other dragons, too, had given up on survival and fought with reckless abandon. Unlike their usual dignified selves, they threw away their pride and charged in with savagery.

They had no choice. Two dragons had already fallen, consumed by darkness.

At this rate, the dragons could lose—so they cast aside all means and restraint.

Under such relentless assault, even Julien’s darkness began to waver.

……

No matter how powerful he was, it wasn’t easy to face seven dragons alone.

KWAANG! KWAANG! KWAHHH!

Both sides fought without regard for their lives. This was not a battle anyone could stop.

It would continue until either they all collapsed or the world itself was destroyed.

Lionel, who had rushed to help Julien, stood dumbstruck at the sight before him.

“Julien…”

His voice cracked with despair.

Julien had become a Demon King.

He radiated darkness that oppressed the entire world, overwhelming the dragons.

“Is it already too late…”

Tears fell from Lionel’s eyes.

He could easily guess why Julien had changed like this.

It must have been to save Deneb that he accepted the Lingering Thought of the Demon God. He understood that desperate decision, yet it broke his heart to see his friend cast away his very soul.

“Deneb…”

She would likely be the one who grieved the most.

They were two people who always tried to sacrifice themselves for each other. She, more than anyone, would understand Julien’s heart.

He had believed they could finally lay down their burdens and live happily.

But the price of saving the world was turning out to be a far too cruel fate.

“This kind of world… Maybe it should have just been left alone…”

For a moment, Lionel felt utterly powerless. Even his faith, which had endured despite abandoning the Holy Empire, began to waver.

Though Julien had changed, Lionel had no intention of raising his sword against him. No, he couldn’t interfere in such a titanic battle anyway.

He simply watched the battle from afar with a dazed expression.

He wanted to go and save Deneb too, but couldn’t even approach. Had Julien and the dragons not been consciously controlling the explosion radius through sheer endurance, he wouldn’t have made it this close.

KWAHHHHHHHHHH!

Another massive explosion erupted.

Even this time, the blast did not spread far but delivered a devastating shock to all those engaged in the fight.

At last, one dragon, unable to endure the force, began to stagger.

Julien didn’t miss the opening. In an instant, he closed the distance and plunged his sword into the dragon’s heart.

CRAAANG—

A sound rang out like the world itself was shattering.

From the dragon’s chest, light exploded outward, and darkness devoured its heart. The light soon vanished, and the crystal of life crumbled into dust.

At the same time, the remaining dragons’ magic struck Julien’s body.

KWAKWAKWAKWAKWAKWAANG!

His body shook violently and was hurled backward.

Julien looked just as wrecked as the dragons.

Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and the darkness surrounding him surged roughly.

To anyone watching, it was clear he had taken a serious hit. But Julien’s expression remained unchanged.

His cold voice echoed across the battlefield.

“...Only four left now.”

The dragons felt a chill of terror at his words.

They were dying off one by one. At this rate, they truly would all perish here.

The warrior tainted by darkness was far stronger than they had imagined. He possessed skills forged through countless battles.

Arterion growled, a bluish light flashing in his eyes.

“He’s exhausted too. We must never let him escape from this place. If he does…”

His voice quivered faintly as he continued.

“…the world will be destroyed.”

Those words snapped the dragons back to their senses.

Though they were afraid, they did not lose their will to fight. They showed an unshakable resolve to eliminate the Adversary here, no matter what.

For that was the very reason dragons existed.

GOOOOOOOO…

Julien spread his wings and raised his sword. The dragons' magic filled the battlefield in response.

The sheer energy they gathered was enough to make the world tremble.

As they prepared to clash once more, targeting each other’s lives—

FWAAAAAH!

Suddenly, a gentle divine power began to radiate in all directions.

Julien instinctively flinched and withdrew. The light that once protected him now became pain.

In contrast, the dragons brightened and turned toward the source. Their wounds had begun to slowly heal.

The dragons saw her.

At the center of the altar, wrapped in a gentle glow—Deneb.

Her calm voice echoed across the battlefield.

“Arterion, I accept your proposal.”

For this world teetering on the brink of destruction.

For the future to come.

And—

To save Julien, tainted by darkness.

Deneb realized that she would have to be the one to make the sacrifice.

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