The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

I'm Not Saving the World (4)

A mad gleam of delight flickered in Arterion’s eyes.

He shouted in an excited voice,

“Saintess! Are you serious?! Are you truly saying you'll sacrifice yourself for the world?!”

Deneb quietly nodded.

“Yes, but there's a condition.”

“Speak! I’ll grant anything you ask!”

Deneb's gaze reached Julien in the distance.

“Swear by Word. Swear that you'll never lay a hand on the Julien Mercenary Corps—on my friends.”

“I swear! As long as they don’t attack first out of some misguided revenge, I will not touch them.”

Arterion glared at Julien and repeated his words again.

“As long as they don’t strike first.”

If Deneb sacrificed herself, there was no way Julien would stand by. Arterion knew that.

He fully intended to destroy Julien here and now.

“Protect the Saintess!”

KUUUUUNG!

At Arterion’s cry, the dragons that had surrounded Julien moved to block the path before the altar.

Julien’s pupils quivered in disbelief at what was unfolding.

Deneb slowly turned her head and spoke.

“Lionel, come closer to me.”

Though he had been standing at a distance, Lionel heard her voice with uncanny clarity.

As if drawn by something, he stepped toward Deneb.

At that moment, she radiated overwhelming dignity and grace.

Even Julien and the dragons could do nothing but watch in silence.

As Lionel hesitantly approached, Deneb smiled.

“Take this.”

She handed all her accessories to Lionel—

The ornaments that had once held the Sacred Stones.

Lionel, holding the precious items, wore a confused expression.

“This… why are you giving these to me…?”

“Keep them safe. They're necessary for our future.”

A gentle glow briefly shimmered and faded from the ornaments imbued with Deneb’s Divine Power.

She already knew.

That over the long years, these items would scatter and be forgotten…

But one of them would eventually reach Ghislain.

That alone was enough.

Lionel gripped the ornaments tightly.

“For our future…”

Those few words were enough.

It told him that Deneb’s decision wasn’t just a simple act of sacrifice.

But that didn’t make it any easier to accept.

“Deneb, don’t do this. Let’s get out of here first. If we all come together and talk—”

“I can’t.”

Deneb firmly refused.

If they did that, the others wouldn’t survive either.

They too would be dragged into an endless battle against this world.

Deneb reached out.

Her Divine Power gently but firmly pushed Lionel back.

He couldn't resist.

Her resolve was far too unwavering.

‘Why… why is this happening…’

In the end, Lionel was forced away once more.

He had come to save Deneb, but now, he couldn’t decide what to do.

Soon, a sacred light began to pour from Deneb’s body.

That light slowly started to seep into the Sacred Stones.

The sealing of the Demonic Abyss had truly begun.

Julien shouted loudly when he saw it.

“Deneb!”

He had no intention of letting Deneb go like this.

KWOONG!

Julien took a step forward, darkness streaming from him in thick tendrils.

With that single step, the earth cracked, and even the darkness that filled the sky twisted.

His body burst open in several places as black energy surged violently from within.

Krrrnnn…

The dragons crouched low, tensed.

Julien’s aura burned with such intensity it seemed it could destroy the world itself.

Unlike before, he no longer cared for his body—he was unleashing his power recklessly.

Watching him, Deneb slowly spoke. She tried to remain composed, but she couldn’t hide the tremble in her voice.

“…This is how it has to be.”

“Don’t do it. I’ll save you.”

“Julien…”

He was a man who never wavered.

A man who had always looked at only one person.

Deneb knew that heart so well… and that was why she finally let the tears she had held back fall.

But she couldn’t follow his words.

This was fate.

Having glimpsed the future, she had come to understand it naturally.

No matter how hard they struggled, no matter what other choices they tried to make, they were always meant to arrive at this point.

Perhaps this moment had repeated countless times already.

Perhaps countless attempts had been made to escape this destiny.

But the result had always been the same.

The Adversary already knew this.

— It’s like all of this is a well-written play. No matter how much we struggle, it’s a fate we cannot escape...

— …Our god whispers to me. That this, too, is predestined.

— Only now do I understand. I know the way to break free from this fate.

The Adversary must have struggled countless times to resist his fate.

Though the paths were always different, the outcome remained unchanged.

But in the end, he succeeded in escaping that destiny.

Ernhardt.

The Adversary had reincarnated in the future.

No longer swept along by the current of a predetermined past.

He had taken a step into a future where nothing was yet decided.

Into a true future where he could write his own history.

And perhaps, at the end of that path, he had fulfilled his dearest wish.

But there was a truth even Ernhardt did not know.

“The future… can be rewritten.”

The results of the past couldn’t be changed—

But the future… could.

No—perhaps even this very past was merely the blueprint for a new future.

Ghislain.

Just as Ernhardt had cast aside his own self to choose a new future,

Deneb too had decided to stake everything on the second future that Ghislain had brought—regression.

But Julien could not understand Deneb’s resolve.

“Deneb, you don’t have to do this. Come with me. Let’s leave this world behind—go somewhere no one else exists.”

Deneb lifted her head and looked at Julien.

In her eyes, there was an unreachable longing and the sorrow of someone who had already made peace with her fate.

If I do that… I can’t save you.

The darkness enveloping Julien was growing increasingly violent.

Bloodshot, his eyes gradually turned red—

A sign that his soul was slowly being consumed by the Lingering Thought of the Demon God.

Even if they managed to escape now, it would only be a matter of time.

Even if, by some miracle, they survived the dragons,

Once she died…

Julien would be left to endlessly battle against the world.

And such a Julien…

Would never reach the future where Ghislain existed.

The one future—

Where his soul could be saved.

“Julien, I have to sacrifice myself here.”

“There’s no need to do that for this kind of world.”

Deneb shook her head.

Slightly, but with absolute conviction.

“…I’m not saving the world.”

Yes. This wasn’t about saving the world.

There was only one reason she was making this sacrifice.

“I…”

Deneb steadied her trembling breath and looked into Julien’s eyes, so far away.

And then… she forced a smile.

“…I’m saving you.”

“Deneb…”

The two looked at each other, sorrow written across their faces.

Because they were both willing to give up everything for the other.

And because of that—this tragedy was inevitable.

No matter what they did, this moment would always come.

Because that’s what fate was.

FWAAAAASH!

A torrent of sacred light surged from Deneb’s body.

The power of the Sacred Stones resonated with her Divine Power, filling the altar.

Arterion didn’t need to explain anything.

The countless magic circles engraved into the altar were already guiding the Divine Power’s flow.

No—Deneb already knew.

As if this wasn’t the first time she had done it.

KUUOOOOOOOO…

The sky twisted in agony.

The darkness that had filled the world now seemed to converge upon this very place.

CRACKKK!

Deneb’s body began to slowly turn to stone.

Starting from below her ankles, inch by inch.

As if sealed in wax, something crawled up her body, hardening her bit by bit.

“DENEEEB—!”

KWAHHHHHH!

Julien, his face twisted like a fiend, surged toward the altar.

With every step he took, the world screamed and twisted in agony.

“Stop him!”

Arterion and the dragons threw themselves before him with all their might.

Julien swung his sword without hesitation at the dragons.

Ssskak!

With a single strike, deep wounds were carved into every one of their bodies.

Arterion bared his teeth and growled low.

“The condition has been fulfilled.”

KWAHHHHHH!

A tremendous surge of magic erupted from the dragons and rained down on Julien.

The dragons were desperate.

They truly spared no effort in stopping him—

Even Julien had staked his life, but so had they.

As the Dragon Lord, Arterion no longer raised a barrier to protect the Saintess.

The Divine Power radiating from the altar was now strong enough to shield her.

With the Heart of Creation in his possession, Arterion unleashed his full power.

In an instant, the world froze over, and a massive blizzard engulfed Julien.

The other dragons poured all their mana into Arterion’s authority.

DDDDDDD!

Julien’s body froze solid, then shattered under an explosion of darkness—

Only to freeze and shatter again and again.

The darkness raged violently, trying to break through, but Julien, already weary, couldn’t do so easily.

The combined power of the dragons was truly immense—

Even Julien, as powerful as he was, couldn’t break through it without struggle.

Grrrrk.

Julien ground his teeth.

How dare they block his path to Deneb.

A fierce killing intent surged once more from his eyes.

The deeper his rage grew, the more the Lingering Thought of the Demon God dug into his mind—

And in return, his darkness grew even stronger.

KA-KANG! KA-KAGAGAGANG!

The frozen world shattered into pieces.

Julien’s unleashed hatred and fury warped and shattered the world.

KWOONG!

Still, he didn’t stop—

He kept moving toward Deneb, step by step,

Carrying emptiness and madness on his back.

With every step, fragments of his humanity were torn away.

But Julien didn’t care.

Like a moth flying into flame—knowing it would burn, yet drawn to the light all the same.

As Julien slowly approached, Arterion screamed in desperation,

“Push harder! Don’t hold back your lives!”

They only had to hold on until the sealing was complete.

Then Julien’s darkness would weaken—

It was just a guess, but the odds were very high.

“Then I’ll rip him apart in one blow.”

Once the seal was complete, the Demonic Abyss would be shut forever,

And the Demon God’s energy would never again spread into the world.

Arterion was certain of it. That was why he focused solely on stopping Julien with everything he had.

And so—he didn’t notice it.

The red meteor falling from the sky.

KWAHHHHHH!

A crimson streak struck Arterion’s long neck like a bolt of lightning.

The blow disrupted the magic and broke the dragons’ concentration.

Arterion looked at his attacker in utter shock.

“Astion! How did you—?!”

He couldn’t understand what was happening.

Wasn’t Astion supposed to be under Darvasca’s control?

And in this place, sealed with a barrier, Astion shouldn’t be able to wield his full power.

So how had he broken free from Darvasca and made it here?!

Ignoring the stunned dragons, Ghislain shouted toward Julien.

“Julien—!”

His roar tore through the sky.

“Save Deneb—now!”

Even upon seeing Julien’s state, Ghislain wasn’t shaken.

In truth, he had expected this, at least partially.

This was the source of the unease he had felt.

But that was a problem for later.

They could solve it after this was over.

For now, he would focus only on the objective they had set.

KWAHHHHHH!

A crimson flash sparked in Ghislain’s eyes.

As he fully unleashed his mana, thousands of strands of magical threads scattered through the air.

They all surged toward the dragons at once.

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