There Is No Place For Fakes [EN]: Chapter 161

He approached the giant with lightning speed.

“Kuweeeeehk!”

In an instant, the giant’s head fell off.

“Philomel!”

Nasar rushed to Philomel and embraced her tightly.

“I was so worried!”

“Nasar……”

“Are you alright? Are you hurt? Did you step on the crimson land?”

“I’m fine. But more importantly……”

Theodore was staring at them. Only after Elaine nudged him did he flinch and look away.

“Should we save this for later, when we have a bit more privacy?”

Nasar made a sound of agreement and stepped away from Philomel.

“I’m sorry. I was just so relieved……”

With that, Nasar joined Philomel’s group.

Nasar explained how he had arrived.

“When I got to the Holy Relic Repository, I was told that you had gone this way.”

“Do you know what happened to the others?”

“His Majesty the Emperor cleared a path for me to reach the Holy Relic Repository.”

“His Majesty?”

“Yes. The area where I was had an unusually large number of monsters, and even high-level ones appeared, making it impossible for both of us to escape.”

He also shared other news that Philomel was curious about.

“I saw your brothers briefly on the way; they were busy fighting monsters.”

“Is anyone hurt?”

“I think you should be more worried about the monsters than your brothers.”

Philomel sighed in relief. She had expected as much, but it was still reassuring to hear.

‘I’m glad I fixed Jeremiah’s leg with a bandage beforehand.’

It would have been a disaster if his leg had been injured in this chaos.

Nasar smiled faintly.

“Your brothers are also looking for you, but I found you first.”

‘Cute.’

Philomel tried to shake off the fleeting thought and explained her situation to him.

Nasar’s face grew serious as he listened.

“I can’t stop you from making this decision, can I?”

He seemed concerned about her heading to the ‘Stem.’

“I have to go.”

The Balbad’s sword recognized Philomel, and no one else, as its owner.

Moreover…….

‘Let’s meet again next time. Another child chosen by Miwa.’

The evil god had said in her dream.

‘Another child chosen by Miwa.’

At first, she had no idea what it meant, but now she understood.

According to the high priest, the system is the power of the god Miwa.

‘If that’s the case, being chosen means that the system is visible.’

Since there are intruders, the modifier ‘another’ is attached.

No matter how she considered it, Miwa didn’t seem to have chosen Philomel just to stand by and watch during this crisis.

“I have to go.”

Philomel repeated the same words.

Nasar closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them and said with a determined look, “Okay. I will follow you.”

“Really?”

He agreed more quickly than she had anticipated. She had expected him to worry for a while.

“I know better than anyone else how strong you are. And once you decide on a path, you won’t give in to any opposition.”

Then he added, blushing slightly, “And I feel much safer fighting with you than leaving you and fighting monsters alone.”

Philomel felt the same way about wanting to be with him.

“Okay. It’s decided. Let’s move on.”

They set off again.

Nasar admirably filled the void left by Priest Kyle. No, he more than filled it.

He practically flew as he defeated the monsters.

The two priests watched Nasar’s performance with wide eyes.

“Cool……”

Philomel’s shoulders twitched slightly at Theodore’s exclamation.

Priest Kyle had left with the others and hadn’t returned. She couldn’t contact him.

‘……Maybe something went wrong along the way.’

An ominous thought crossed everyone’s mind.

Elaine said brightly, “It’s difficult to reach a safe place and then catch up with us. And Kyle isn’t exactly a fast runner.”

From the beginning, everyone knew it would be difficult for Kyle to rejoin them. They just couldn’t ignore or carry the helpless.

She had told Kyle to prioritize other things if necessary.

“If we have the Young Duke, we’ll be fine on our own!” Theodore confidently asserted, and Elaine cautiously agreed.

Philomel felt the same way.

‘Even now, people are dying every moment, and the pollution is spreading.’

She couldn’t delay any longer.

She wanted to be with her brothers, but it was uncertain when she would be able to contact them and join them…….

‘If we increase the number of people any more, the burden on Elaine and Theodore will increase.’

Because the place they were heading to was polluted land.

They encountered the crimson land sooner than expected.

Elaine, who was walking down the road, stopped and said, “From here on, I can’t see any unpolluted land.”

The lands visible ahead were all red. The crimson energy stained not only the soil and vegetation but also any other objects in contact with the ground.

Everything, whether marble or wooden benches, was crimson.

Until now, they had managed to move forward by stepping on unpolluted land as much as possible, but that was no longer an option.

In other words, they had to pass through the crimson land to reach the ‘Stem.’

Elaine adjusted her shoes.

“I can’t help it. This is why I’ve been conserving my divine power.”

She looked back at the group.

“From now on, I will take the lead. Please only step where I have stepped.”

Elaine’s feet, encased in her shoes, glowed faintly.

“You’re going to purify only the places you step on?”

“Yes. This way, I can save as much divine power as possible.”

Theodore said to Elaine, “Tell me when your divine power runs out. I’ll take over.”

“No thanks. You have less divine power than me.”

Nasar raised his hand and asked, “What happens when a monster appears?”

They couldn’t just fight behind Elaine.

“At that time, I will temporarily expand the purification area. And just because you step on the ground doesn’t mean that the pollution will progress immediately.”

That’s what they had heard from the people they met along the way.

Nasar nodded.

“I understand. Even if I have to leave the purification area, I will come back quickly.”

Elaine stepped into the crimson land, one step at a time. The place where she passed shone faintly but was soon swallowed by the crimson energy.

Elaine looked back.

“Oh, with this amount of divine power, the purification time is too short. I’ll increase the output a bit.”

She came back near the group and entered the crimson land again. This time, the place she stepped on shone more brightly.

Philomel swallowed hard and followed, and Nasar followed her. Theodore, who could purify himself in case of emergency, stood at the end.

They moved forward.

“Kkieeehk!”

“It’s coming this way!”

At the same time as Nasar’s warning, a monster rushed toward Philomel.

“Kyaaak!”

“Elaine! Hold on tight!”

Philomel pulled Elaine, who was screaming, toward her.

Soon after, with a crackling sound, the approaching monster fell away.

Philomel quickly hit the monster with a toy hammer.

“Take this, take this!”

“Kuek!”

After she hit it a few more times, the monster’s movements stopped completely.

“I did it……”

Philomel muttered, wiping the sweat from her forehead.

How many times had this happened already?

As they got closer to the ‘Stem,’ the frequency of encountering monsters increased. The number was more than double what it had been so far.

Nasar was still playing the role of a one-man army, but Philomel was facing more and more monsters.

Nasar, who had finished dealing with the monsters he was facing, approached Philomel and bowed his head.

“I’m sorry.”

“Why are you so down?”

“I should have taken care of everything on my own……”

“I’m pretty strong too. I’m a hero, you know.”

Nasar’s expression softened somewhat at Philomel’s playful tone.

Theodore cheerfully chimed in. “That’s right. Thanks to the Hero protecting Elaine, we can fight with peace of mind!”

Elaine blushed.

“You threw yourself in front of me and protected me again……”

Philomel looked at the group and breathed a sigh of relief. She was worried that they might be tired from the continued battle, but they seemed to be holding up.

“The destination is in sight.”

They raised their heads and looked at the ‘Stem.’

A crimson monstrosity that stretched into the sky without leaves or fruit. Seeing it up close made its bizarreness even more apparent.

Philomel encouraged the group. “Let’s push on a little harder!”

* * *

At that time.

There was a being watching Philomel’s group from inside the ‘Stem.’

“Hmm, it’s going too smoothly; it’s not fun.”

Ieris whistled and wiggled her fingers.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t directly intervene. The evil god was preoccupied, trying to fully integrate the newly absorbed power.

Ieris smiled after pondering for a moment.

“How about this?”