Regressor Of The Fallen Family [EN]: Chapter 423

After the victory, many people had ideas for Logan. Some said he should have a big parade in Grang. Others wanted to create a special day called ‘Triumph Day’.

However, he dismissed them all with a single sentence.

“The situation remains uncertain, so all legions will remain in their current positions. We must be ready to respond proactively to any changes in the political landscape.”

Logan said this because he was thinking about two things: the Empire might attack again, and McLaine was still taking over the Empire.

Naturally, he expected some opposition, but surprisingly, there was none. Keeping the soldiers in place and the local fighters ready cost a lot of money. But even Dwayne Pilsner did not complain.

On the contrary.

“Then, why not have victory parties in each location!”

Logan cleaned his ears several times and asked again, but Dwayne repeated the same words.

‘What’s wrong with him?’

Eventually, after confirming that the Imperial Army was more than three days away, victory parties erupted, starting from Kyle Castle.

Clink!

“To the undying flame, glory!”

“Long live McLaine!”

“Huzzah!”

The victory parties erupted, starting from Kyle Castle. The air filled with the clang of mugs and loud cheers. Torches cast flickering shadows on the happy faces, and the smell of roasting meat drifted through the air.

Everyone there looked incredibly happy. Even Logan greeted people with a smile, but one person approached him with a distinctly somber expression.

“Ah, Lord Hayman. Thank you so much for everything you did in the last battle…”

“Your Majesty, there is a request I must earnestly make.”

Hayman, or Holy Sword Harman Killerbrew, bowed his head. He spoke in a very serious voice.

The story that followed was deeply shocking.

“…The gods told you to kill me? That I am the incarnation of Zibric Cassel?”

Logan thought, ‘This is too crazy to believe.’

Logan chuckled at the suddenly emerging tale from mythology.

Harman bit his lip. Harman had worked hard to get this private meeting. He couldn’t risk sounding foolish.

“I know it’s hard to believe, but…”

“No, no. Just a moment…”

Logan, cutting off Harman, paused to think.

He wanted to dismiss it as nonsense, but the person who spoke those words was the Holy Sword. Moreover, he himself had nearly had his body stolen by the soul of his ancestor, Zibric Cassel.

Because Harman was the Holy Sword, and because of what Logan himself had been through, this crazy story might actually be real.

‘Bloody hell!’

What he had thought was Viktor’s delusion was not a delusion at all.

Logan pressed hard on his temples, which had suddenly begun to throb, and asked once more.

“…You said I am destined to be the incarnation of Zibric Cassel?”

He seemed to believe a story that anyone else would consider absurd. Harman’s face brightened slightly.

“Yes. But the Saintess is also likely being controlled by the soul of a god. Perhaps these damned relics are the medium.”

Whirr.

Whirr. Harman glanced down at Licentia, the relic still hanging from his neck. His lip curled in disgust, as if the metal burned his skin.

That look clearly showed that Harman, who had lived his entire life as a devout believer, had completely turned to the opposite side.

Just by looking at Harman, Logan could see how awful it must have been to almost lose his soul.

And.

– If I cannot answer that question properly, I will no longer be myself, and you must consider me an enemy, he said.

Viktor’s words were also true.

Logan bit his lip and asked about the point that bothered him.

“Was there anything else? Anything about Zibric Cassel’s soul disappearing?”

“…Only that he will be resurrected through you. Oh, and that if the Great Devil, the Archmage Saint, is resurrected, he will wipe out all faith from this land.”

“…I see.”

“Is there anything I should know?”

Harman could tell Logan was thinking about something. He asked again, but Logan didn’t answer right away.

‘Eliminate faith, eh….’

Logan, knowing the power of faith and its value to some extent, thought he understood why the gods were trying to make such an unreasonable move.

‘The Nine Gods are merely higher-dimensional beings who need the power of faith, not true gods.’

The memory shown by Zibric Cassel’s soul struck him anew, and the remnants of faith that had remained in his heart shattered. At the same time, Zibric’s soul, which had disappeared with the Holy Sword Vanitas, and the last words he had left behind came to mind.

– What bastards are meddling with my work….

– I will never give up like this….

‘…I didn’t think that would really be the end.’

Logan bit his lip again.

Logan didn’t think the gods didn’t know he had destroyed Zibric’s soul. It seemed more likely that Zibric’s soul was still around. Aside from the Holy Sword, there were two more relics of the Archmage Saint he had seen in his past life.

Did that mean there were two more of Zibric’s souls?

‘Can you maintain your ego even after splitting your soul like that?’

Logan knew a lot about souls. He knew how crazy this idea was.

But after hearing Harman and remembering Zibric’s last words, this crazy idea seemed to be true.

‘Demigods, demigods.’

The images of the demigods Zibric had shown in his life, the omnipotent beings who wielded 9th-class magic, flashed through his mind.

They could destroy a mountain with just a wave of their hand, and then build it back just as easily.

They could use Extinction magic as easily as breathing. This was a powerful magic the Archmage Emperor made using many magic stones and special objects.

Even if only half of what he saw in those memories was real, these beings were monsters. They were so strong that armies and soldiers wouldn’t matter against them.

It didn’t make sense, but if they were really that powerful, Logan could understand why they might split their souls.

The problem, however, was that nine of the most outstanding among them had ascended to become gods, and now they were trying to kill him. Based on their ridiculous standards.

The only good thing was that the gods couldn’t directly attack him.

Zibric’s memories said that gods, who were now higher beings, could only affect the human world in two ways: through divine power, or…

“…Just one question. How much do you know about the Apostles, Sir Harman?”

“Pardon?”

Harman’s face hardened at the sudden question.

Harman answered quickly, almost without thinking.

“A saint blessed by the gods, able to perform miracles representing their will…”

Harman, reciting what he had been taught since childhood, suddenly paused, as if realizing something, and then asked Logan.

“…Are you suggesting that this soul-devouring thing is making Apostles?!”

“Well, as far as I know, yes.”

Logan tensed, expecting questions like, ‘How do you know that?’ but instead, he heard something unexpected.

“No, not all of the Apostles in the Order’s history…”

Maybe because he already didn’t trust them much.

Seeing Harman agree so easily, Logan felt less worried.

“Just like you almost became an Apostle by getting a sacred object, could others do the same thing?”

This was something that priests, or even just regular religious people, would call wrong and curse you for saying.

But Harman, looking serious, thought hard, and then spoke carefully.

“…It seems possible. If it involves sacred objects and divine power, then some of the high priests who are very skilled might be able to do it… but it might take a while.”

“So, the Saintess could use sacred objects to make more Apostles. Hmm…”

His head started to hurt.

He didn’t know how strong the Apostles were in a fight.

But Zibrick Cassel, who wanted to become a god from being like a demigod, was stopped by nine Apostles. Even if only half of the stories about the Apostles were true—stories that people have told for hundreds of years—it would be a terrible disaster.

Even though the problems with the Empire weren’t completely fixed, dealing with this seemed like too much.

“Haa…”

Logan rubbed his face and sighed deeply, then suddenly thought of a possible solution.

“Ah! Can I tell the gods that I beat Zibrick Cassel’s soul before? That I can do it again in the future…”

Harman immediately shook his head at his hopeful words.

“…They won’t believe it. If they trusted humans’ power or words, they wouldn’t have tried to eat my soul. They would have asked me to destroy you.”

Harman’s face was like stone when he answered. The priest, whose faith had been rejected by God, now felt only distrust.

“A priest who doesn’t believe in God… Then what are you even asking me to do? Shouldn’t you just leave the temple then?”

“Even if God is no longer God, there are people who believe in them and follow them, keeping the peace. If my bad feeling is right, the gods will do anything to deal with you and Cassel’s Magic Tower. They won’t care about what anyone wants.”

Logan thought that was very likely.

And if they were after him and his kingdom, they might have to fight not only the Empire but also the Holy State.

Harman seemed to be thinking the same thing.

“If they hear that I failed, the Holy State might declare war right away.”

“…I guess so.”

“So, before that happens, we have to get the Saintess, or rather, the Avatar of Amun, out of the Order’s main position.”

This was like saying the Holy State would turn against itself.

But Logan understood that it was the best thing to do in this situation. Plus, he seemed to know what Harman was going to ask him.

“…Are you asking me to help you kill the Saintess?”

“I know you have a connection with her. But once the soul is completely eaten, it can’t be undone. Your Majesty, you know that better than anyone.”

Harman looked straight at Logan with clear eyes.

Logan had to nod at those words.

‘The most important things about someone, the marks on their soul, can’t be changed back.’

That’s why he hadn’t really thought about the idea that Zibrick Cassel had split his soul into three pieces.

Could that even be possible if someone became like a demigod?

Logan thought about Clayton, who hadn’t woken up yet, and sighed again.

Harman, thinking that Logan had refused, quickly added.

“Just one or two very strong people will be enough. Actually, just one strong person to help me is enough. As you can see, I’m not doing very well…”

“…The strong people in our kingdom are getting a lot of attention right now. We can’t move them without a good reason. I pretended to be hurt once before, but now I’m actually not in good shape, so it’s going to be hard.”

Only he could change the color of his aura. But right now, he had to be careful even when using his power, let alone his aura.

Then Harman carefully added.

“…Do you even need to pretend to be hurt? I heard that there are some strong people who are known to be badly injured.”

“Well, actually… Ah!”

Logan thought of his master and frowned at first, but then suddenly exclaimed.

“Yes! Sir Victor, my friend, might have already gotten better. Send him.”

“…That’s possible. But I don’t know if Victor will agree. You know he’s very close to the Saintess.”

It wasn’t just a simple friendship. Logan, who had a feeling that Victor liked Ilia more than just as a friend, found Harman’s words difficult.

But Harman’s next words were quite convincing.

“It’s not about killing the Saintess, but about getting revenge for the Saintess who is already dead. Sir Victor will understand.”

“That… might be true. Alright. I’ll ask him.”

As Logan nodded, Harman carefully added something.

“And I’m sorry, but I have another request.”

“Hmm?”

“First, we need to buy some time before the Saintess, or rather, the Apostle, does something extreme.”

“That’s right. So, what can I do to help?”

Harman took a deep breath, his voice becoming very serious. “Your Majesty,” he said slowly, “there is one more thing… I need you to pretend to die.”

Logan’s face changed slightly that night.

In Kyle Castle, a strong person suddenly disappeared, and at the same time, a big rumor spread around the world.

King Logan McLane of McLane was attacked.

He was badly hurt and in danger of dying.

The attacker was a mysterious strong person named Hayman.