The Return Of The Genius Ranker Of All Times [EN]: Chapter 106

106.

Lair Grand Temple, Main Hall.

“Ah, you’ve arrived.”

“……You came.”

“Hmm? This time you’re with High Priest Herti.”

“But I don’t see Lord Zerdic.”

As I entered the hall, numerous gazes fixed upon me.

Some were curious about Zerdic’s absence, while others were puzzled by my entrance with Gamillion.

They wondered when the two of us had become so close.

“Ahem…….”

However, some elders and high priests sent meaningful glances.

I subtly nodded to them, and they returned the nod before averting their eyes.

‘Those must be the people Gamillion mentioned.’

The individuals who would help with ‘that’ which I had requested.

Having confirmed their faces, I decided to play dumb for now and accepted High Priest Gildete’s greeting.

“You’re a bit late. Sorry, I had some business to take care of.”

“Haha, it’s alright. Now everyone is here.”

“……High Priest Gildete, why isn’t Lord Zerdic here? He’s not one to miss something like this.”

The kindly smile on Gildete’s face hardened as if it had never been there in response to the question from a high priest.

His brow twitched for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure and opened his mouth.

“……Lord Zerdic is absent from the meeting due to circumstances. He asked for your understanding.”

A murmur arose at those words.

“That Lord Zerdic, you say…… It must be quite the circumstance.”

“Hmm…… He’s not one to just skip out, that’s for sure.”

“But the timing is a bit…… Am I the only one feeling uneasy?”

“Are you suspecting Lord Zerdic for lack of anyone else to suspect? Everyone knows his circumstances. He loathes the Abyss…….”

“Ahem, I’m just saying that’s how it feels.”

To suddenly be absent in this situation would normally raise suspicion.

It was a testament to how consistent Zerdic’s image had been.

My expression turned somewhat bitter at the sight.

‘Just as I expected.’

He must know that something had befallen Zerdic.

No, as my escort knight, he couldn’t not know. But seeing him trying to smooth things over like that, it seemed my prediction was correct.

That’s why I composed myself even more.

I couldn’t let him notice anything different about me.

‘I have to be certain.’

I only have one chance. If this fails, it’s all for naught.

I wouldn’t be able to clean up the mess then.

“Thank you all for gathering. Given the nature of the matter, I must ask for your understanding as I get straight to the point. May we hear the progress of what you were asked to do? If you have any information, please share it.”

Just as he said that, the elders reacted as if they had been waiting for the main topic.

“We have taken appropriate measures to ensure we can evacuate to the shelters at any time. We are also conducting disaster drills to avoid causing too much confusion…….”

“We’ve dispatched investigation teams to look for any traces within the city…….”

“We have done this and that.”

The faces of those reporting their progress were grim.

High Priest Gildete, who had been listening to all the progress reports, raised his hand. The voices stopped abruptly.

“You’ve all worked very hard. Thanks to you, the citizens can be safe.”

“…….”

“Haa…… Now it’s my turn to tell you what I’ve learned.”

Gildete’s face, as he let out a long sigh, was serious, enough to naturally draw attention.

Everyone was waiting for his answer, wondering what he had found that made him act like that.

“It’s said that the darkest place is under the lamp [meaning the most obvious place is often overlooked].”

Finally, Gildete’s mouth opened,

“……As a result of our investigation, the Destroyer Gaiman seems to be residing within the city. Has been all along.”

A very shocking statement lingered in the hall.

For a moment, there was silence, then an uproar several times greater than before erupted.

“Inside the city? Does that mean he’s living among us!”

“That’s absurd…….”

“What grounds do you have for saying such a thing!”

That’s because a contractor of the Abyss can never live normally within the city.

Even if we ignore the voices of darkness that constantly try to dominate the mind, it’s impossible to live without being detected by Brion’s numerous barrier devices.

“……Do you know what this is?”

What silenced the uproar was the contents of the box that Gildete placed on the central table.

Inside were several traces of the Abyss.

“Traces of the Abyss have been found all over the city. Some are from a few hours ago, others from as long as several years ago. Do you know where the oldest trace was found among these?”

“……Where was it?”

“Ironically, it was on the statue of the temple that symbolizes the great god.”

“……Good heavens.”

The implications were clear.

“Unless it’s just one or two, so many traces cannot exist in the city. Not unless he’s with us.”

The Destroyer Gaiman has been living with them in the city for many years.

There was no other explanation.

“I can’t believe it……. To think we’ve been living with such a monster for years without knowing.”

“The temple is an inviolable area. We never imagined he would be going in and out of there.”

“……How could someone consumed by the Abyss do such a thing?”

“Is he maintaining complete intelligence?”

As the murmurs and uproar grew, Gildete’s gaze turned to me.

Gildete, watching me, the only one who remained calm, with strange eyes, suddenly asked.

“May we also hear the words of the esteemed guest?”

At that, the noisy gazes turned to me.

“……Esteemed guest, you say? The outsider?”

“Indeed. I’m curious about his thoughts as well.”

In their eyes, I was clearly a resident of another world.

Since my perspective would be different, they were curious to hear what opinion I would offer.

A moment of silence passed.

Having received everyone’s attention, I, who had been sitting, finally opened my mouth.

“Actually, I couldn’t just sit still, so I did some investigations of my own.”

“Investigations, you say?”

“Yes.”

I rose from my seat and slowly moved.

From the table to the wall in front.

To be exact, I wanted the water on the shelf hanging on the wall.

After pouring water onto the handkerchief placed next to it and suddenly wiping the old staff-shaped Cheonbyeon [Thousand Changes], High Priest Gildete frowned.

“……What are you doing?”

“Just a moment. Hmm…… Okay. It’s clean now. After all, maintenance is important.”

“Kaiser-nim.”

High Priest Gildete showed signs of discomfort, but I paid no mind.

Rather, as if wiping it lightly wasn’t enough, I poured water directly onto it and wiped it before finally wearing a satisfied expression, and then continued to speak.

Gildete’s face had already hardened.

“Actually, I went to the ominous fog zone.”

However, as soon as my words that followed ended, Gildete’s hardened expression was noticeably shaken.

Others were just as surprised.

“The ominous fog zone? How could an outsider…….”

“There aren’t many among us Brion who know that place?”

“Can you explain, Apostle?”

They couldn’t understand how an outsider could find the ominous fog zone.

It wasn’t me, but Gamillion who answered.

“I told him.”

“……High Priest Herti, you say?”

“Yes. I thought I couldn’t just stand still in this critical situation, so I only gave him the information…… It seems he found it safely.”

Although Gamillion had disguised himself as the high priest of an old and unpopular temple, he was clearly the high priest of a temple.

Moreover, he had never caused any problems and had a good reputation for his flexible personality.

He didn’t have any close friends, but no one disliked him either.

With his attestation, no further explanation was needed.

“Hmm. If High Priest Herti says so, then it must be so.”

“It’s been a while since High Priest Herti has stepped forward.”

“Haha, the matter is quite significant, you see.”

Leaving Gamillion’s jest behind, I took over the words.

“I think that’s enough reason for me to go there…… Do you know what I saw there?”

With that meaningful remark, the topic changed again.

“Hmm? No one should have set foot in that place?”

“You saw something in the ominous fog zone?”

“……What did you see?”

“Was there any trace of that bastard?”

As the elders, as well as Gildete, looked at me with curiosity, I answered without dragging out the time.

“No. I didn’t find anything.”

“……Hmm?”

“Then why…….”

Why did you bother bringing it up?

Before those words could continue, I preempted them.

“However, I discovered something important other than traces.”

“What is it?”

“There was a cave there…… It had collapsed. The side was so badly melted that I couldn’t tell if the entrance was in the front or on the side.”

The high-ranking priests and elders tilted their heads.

“……You say the cave collapsed?”

“Melted…… Could it be the work of the Destroyer Gaiman?”

“Hmm, it might be a natural disaster. It’s ambiguous with just a collapsed cave, but I think it’s worth investigating.”

The elders, while flustered by the somewhat exaggerated gestures, were divided in their opinions.

I, watching them, drove in the final wedge.

“But actually, that’s not the important part.”

“Hmm? Not important? What do you mean?”

The one asking was an elder sitting in the upper seat, but my gaze was directed at Gildete.

I was asking with my eyes.

“……Lord Zerdic was inside the cave. Dead, in a terrible state.”

Lord Zerdic, who was said to be absent due to circumstances, was dead in a collapsed cave.

“What……!?”

“Is that true, Apostle!”

The elders jumped up at that bombshell-like statement.

If that was true, it meant that High Priest Gildete had lied. Numerous eyes seeking an explanation turned to High Priest Gildete.

And they saw it.

“……High Priest?”

The look in High Priest Gildete’s eyes, shaking violently as if an earthquake had struck.

“……It’s not true, is it? Say something, High Priest Gildete.”

“No, that can’t be. Are you believing the words of just some outsider?”

“But it’s true that Lord Zerdic didn’t attend.”

Those seeking an explanation, those suspecting, and those denying.

Torn by various reactions, they couldn’t believe this situation.

Step by step.

I was slowly getting closer.

Gildete, who belatedly came to his senses, barely opened his mouth.

“……What are you talking about right now?”

“What am I talking about.”

Finally, I, who had come within striking distance, slightly raised the corners of my lips.

“I’m saying you killed Lord Zerdic. Isn’t that right? High Priest Gildete…… No, Destroyer Gaiman.”

“……!”

At the same time, my hand moved like lightning.

[Cheonbyeon (千變) transforms into ‘Bastard’s Training Sword’.]

[Using Darkness Coating on Cheonbyeon (千變).]

[Mana is consumed every second.]

Cheonbyeon, which was clearly an old staff, had become a sharp sword, and the sword was surrounded by pitch-black darkness.

Thwack!

Before he could even react, the sword pierced his heart,

“Cough……!”

A groan escaped, along with a flash of red visible only in my eyes.

However, the groan didn’t come from Gildete’s mouth.

A middle-aged knight who had fallen slightly behind Gildete.

“Lord Taxinel!”

“……Apostle, what are you doing!”

“What is the meaning of this!”

It wasn’t High Priest Gildete that I stabbed, but Lord Taxinel.

I could see it in my eyes.

[Eye of Truth is activated.]

The intense red light that was pouring out as if a switch had been turned on as soon as the heart was pierced.

Destroyer Gaiman.

The light was exactly the same as what I had seen from that bastard.

“…….”

The one who burned the city 10 years ago, causing numerous casualties.

The identity of the traitor who tried to leave evidence until the moment Zerdic died was none other than Taxinel.