Chapter 13: A perfect plan(3)

Authority. That was the decisive difference between ordinary people and heroes.

Authority could be divided into two main categories. One was seizing the authority of monsters through achievements of killing them.

The other was when a god in this world directly bestowed authority upon a human.

A god would usually bestow authority upon a human when they favored that person.

However, it wasn’t without any signs. Isaac had a vague suspicion as well. But he didn’t know which god had given him authority.

‘I dreamed of drinking milk as a baby. But there’s no character in the original story who received authority like this.’

For now, that was the only suspicious sign. Otherwise, there was no way Isaac would have such overwhelming physical abilities.

Isaac looked at the man in front of him.

It wasn’t an exaggeration when they said he was on par with a White Knight.

Yulis was holding his own against Isaac.

He was evading Isaac’s attacks as much as possible, even counterattacking in between.

But none of it worked. It was like punching a massive rock that would never break. Isaac hadn’t had many battles like this before…

‘Times have changed. Is it time for me to step aside for the younger heroes?’

Yet, Yulis didn’t despair. On the contrary, he thought he could willingly make way for such a hero. But, not yet. At least not this.

“I acknowledge your strength. You will likely grow into a hero who sustains this era soon.”

“Then step aside. You and I have no reason to fight.”

“But I can’t. Behemoth is a different kind of enemy. I can’t send you to face that monster.”

If strength alone could resolve it, how wonderful it would be. If it were possible, Yulis himself would have tried first.

But Behemoth couldn’t simply be overwhelmed by brute force.

The reason the leader of the Holy Knights could subdue Behemoth 60 years ago was thanks to significant support from the Holy Kingdom and the authority possessed by the leader of the Holy Knights.

Isaac’s strength was undeniable. But strength sometimes invited poison.

A hero who recklessly challenged an overwhelming foe could be crushed, or in the worst case, lose their life.

“Is that for the greater good? Or are you simply unable to let go of what you’ve been doing so far?”

“Probably the latter. I’ve already lost too much. I don’t think I could ever stand up again.”

“I see, your wife too…”

“Yes.”

Yulis nodded heavily. The first sacrifice had been his wife. The more tragic part was that while Yulis hesitated, his wife had stepped forward.

[It’s okay. Please do what you must.]

[Anna…]

[But promise me this. At least, our daughter…]

That he would protect her, no matter what.

He wanted to die. Losing half of himself was unbearable pain. And it still was. He would rather have died. But he couldn’t.

There was someone he had to protect while alive.

At least until his child, who had not yet left his arms, grew up fully, he couldn’t die.

He had lived for his daughter alone until now. But what cruel twist of fate was this?

One life versus 800 lives. If only he were a villain who could choose the latter.

If only he could have turned away from everything and fled. He had thought about it countless times.

“Do you regret it?”

“As the leader of the Holy Knights, I don’t regret my choices so far. Even if the same situation arose, I would make the same choice.”

A tragic fate where he had to send away his beloved wife and now sacrifice his only daughter.

But it had to be done. That was why he had become the leader of the Holy Knights in the first place.

“You… Are you out of your mind?! You’re willing to feed your wife and daughter to that monster?!”

Cain, who had been listening from behind, couldn’t contain his anger and pointed accusingly at Yulis. Yulina barely managed to hold him back. After a moment of silence, Isaac spoke.

“So? What will you do when this is all over?”

“Suicide doesn’t seem like the best option, does it?”

“S-Suicide?!”

Yulina was the one who reacted the most violently.

Suicide? A conclusion she couldn’t even imagine naturally caused an intense reaction.

This time, it was Cain who had to stop her.

But Cain had similar thoughts.

Suicide? Why make such a choice?

No, more importantly, how did Isaac figure that out?

Yulis finally opened his tightly shut mouth.

“How did you figure that out?”

“A desolate castle, none of your belongings, and most of all, the lack of will to live in your eyes.”

“I see.”

‘Actually, I figured it out from reading the side story!’

In the side story, there was a description that he would take his own life after everything was over.

Isaac had realized this from reading the side story.

Of course, no one else could know that.

“Your observational skills are impressive. Or rather, it means you pay close attention to your surroundings.”

Yulis honestly admired him.

There were only a few times in his life when he had met a real hero who paid such close attention to his surroundings.

After hearing this much, how could he deny the truth?

“As the leader of the Holy Knights, I have no regrets. But as a father, I regret it every day.”

“And the price for that is suicide?”

“I’ve lost even my beloved wife, and I couldn’t protect the daughter I swore to safeguard.”

“How could I live with such shame?”

Yulis’ face showed no emotion.

But for some reason, Isaac thought there were tears flowing from his eyes.

They were just dried up, invisible now.

“I understand your intentions clearly. However, I cannot step back.”

“Are you saying you won’t yield?”

“Yes. After all, Behemoth doesn’t need a sacrifice.”

“……What do you mean by that?”

“Come forth, or die.”

Isaac’s cold command made most of them flinch.

At the same time, question marks filled their minds.

Who is he talking to?

But they soon realized who those words were directed at.

……!!!!!

The ground started shaking as if an earthquake had struck.

A bizarre noise, one that human ears could not comprehend, assaulted their minds.

At the same time, the ground split open, revealing the incarnation of disaster.

The Overlord of the Earth.

Behemoth.

True to its name as a disaster, its massive form tore through the earth as it emerged.

Isaac clicked his tongue at the sight.

According to the side story, Behemoth was in a severely weakened state.

Yet, despite that, Yulis, with the strength of a white knight, and the Holy Knights couldn’t stand a chance.

This was due to Behemoth’s authority.

Nothing born from the earth could wound it.

In other words, ordinary weapons were useless against Behemoth.

Of course, this included swords made of metal.

It wasn’t called a disaster for nothing.

Yulis screamed in shock.

“That’s impossible! Why has Behemoth been resurrected?!”

“Didn’t I say? Behemoth doesn’t need sacrifices. What it needs is negative emotions.”

“Negative emotions… Does that mean…?!”

“Yes, it has grown by feeding on your despair and sorrow.”

Even if that wasn’t the case, it would have eventually recovered with time.

But when it devours negative emotions, it recovers much faster.

That was how it ended in the side story.

Eventually, Behemoth was resurrected.

The Holy Knights and Yulis, who rushed to stop it, were annihilated.

Cain also died fighting Behemoth.

That was the side story’s conclusion.

However, Isaac rejected that ending.

‘Why would I accept such a terrible ending?’

As mentioned before, Isaac held a grudge against the author who had possessed him.

So, he decided to thoroughly change the course of events to his liking.

Happy endings would become even happier.

Bad endings and sad endings would also turn into happy endings.

Why did he choose happy endings?

Because that was Isaac’s taste.

To achieve that, he adopted this concept.

Isaac stepped forward.

The resurrected Behemoth resembled an elephant.

But it was far larger than any ordinary elephant.

So much so that it could easily crush the remaining walls still standing.

The Holy Knights and Yulis hurriedly drew out the weapons they had prepared in advance to deal with Behemoth.

But, as expected, they were ineffective against it.

This was the Overlord of the Earth.

Isaac’s authority was materialization.

He could manifest whatever he imagined in his mind.

According to the setting, Isaac had possessed this authority ever since founding his guild.

However…

In truth, Isaac’s authority didn’t end there.

In the original story, Isaac could only manifest swords, but that was because his capacity was limited.

The current Isaac was different.

If he could decide on a concept and was willing to devote his life to it, then it would no longer be just a concept but a conviction.

And the vessel of a man with such conviction couldn’t be small, could it?

[If this is the only talent I possess.]

[I will forge it into a weapon no one can match.]

[I will prove it to everyone who mocked me.]

Isaac’s power of manifestation consumed his entire character setting.

As a result, Isaac had truly become a fool.

But even if he had known that, he wouldn’t have changed his choice.

Because…

That was what he found romantic.

At long last, Isaac finally gripped the sword’s hilt.

Facing the overwhelming Behemoth without retreating, his stance made the Behemoth, sensing danger, prioritize him as its target.

In an instant, the sword was drawn from its sheath, becoming a radiant light.

Like the first light of dawn that cuts through the darkness.

A fool cannot defeat a genius.

But even that self-evident truth was completely shattered by the ultimate sword, which reached the heavens.

A certain kill.

One swift strike cleanses all, staining the rivers and mountains with blood.

And then they all witnessed.

They saw it.

The being called a disaster.

No, the being formerly called a disaster.

The sky, which had been hidden by its enormous body, now split apart with it.