Book 14 Chapter 3

The beginning of the Hero Party's journey,

The King's Flesh (1)

This is the Red Mountains, known as the spine of the Akrad Continent.

This mountain range was originally a sacred mountain where the Red Dragon Legion resided, but most of the legion had moved to the Demon Realm front, leaving its defenses weak.

Underground in that mountain range, <Ikegrad Prison>, famous for housing only the continent's most heinous criminals, was collapsing horribly.

“As expected, you are incredible. To have eradicated three Red Dragons with puppets. It was truly beautiful black magic.”

The man in the dark blue robe bowed his head. The evil thoughts he harbored were truly chilling.

This was the impressive aura of a member of [Chilhun (漆昏; Those Who Paint Darkness)], known as the foremost agents of the Black Church's Second Pillar. Unlike organizations haphazardly put together like "fingers or toes," it was incomparable.

In the direction the man bowed, that is, standing on the brutally torn corpse of a wyvern, an old man smiled faintly.

[Kishua, who do you think I am? I am Zernix-nim, the strongest mage.]

“My apologies, this lowly one made a slip of the tongue…!”

[I'll let it slide for three cheers of 'Long live the strongest!']

“Long live the strongest! Long live the strongest! Long live the strongest!”

[Hmph, that's enough.]

Kishua glanced at the prisoners attempting a mass escape, killing witches and guards amidst the flames.

“But was there a need for you to personally give the flesh to such scoundrels? I understand giving it to platinum-grade mercenaries.”

[Of course there was. Because it's entertaining. And no one can use this flesh as well as those heinous criminals. Ah, this is a secret.]

“So, this is another matter the First Pillar is unaware of.”

Kishua smiled as if to say, "What can you do?" His smile, which seemed to praise rather than criticize insubordination, hinted at blind loyalty.

[If the concept of power were expressed as an equation, the King's Flesh is multiplication. If it were addition, the absolute value of the low end might have increased, but the high end would have decreased accordingly.]

“That's right.”

[But the flesh is multiplication. No matter how many small fries gather it, it's only at the level of 1×7. They're ultimately small fries.]

Zernix wasn't particularly fond of the First Pillar's method of "anyone who seeks power can obtain it."

That's why he pulled this trick.

As a master of spatial magic, he quickly pinpointed the locations of the flesh, collected it, and distributed it to those he deemed to have decent power.

[But what if someone who already had a high power value gets their hands on it? That's why I gave it. I selected exactly twenty strong individuals and gave it to them. How do you think I selected them?]

“I don't know.”

[I told them, 'Kill each other from now on.' And I told them to do the same after getting the flesh. What do you think? Don't you think interesting situations will arise every day now, Kishua?]

Kishua responded with an enthusiastic standing ovation. Tears like chicken droppings streamed down his face, revealing his fanatical loyalty.

“Truly the insight of the strongest! Long live the strongest! Long live the strongest! Long live the strongest!”

[Hahahaha! Stop it.]

“How is the war situation on the Adrion Continent?”

[The Brown, Red, and White Legions have all swarmed in, making it a living hell, but we're somehow holding on.]

Brown refers to the Yellow Dragon, Red to the Red Dragon, and White to the White Dragon.

“Aren't you busy?”

[I am busy, but I prefer civil wars among humans over wars between humans and demons. How entertaining is it to watch them kill each other out of their own greed?]

Kishua entered enthusiastic three-cheer mode.

“Truly the taste of the strongest! Long live the strongest! Long live the strongest! Long live the strongest!”

Zernix awkwardly brushed under his nose and waved his hand.

[Mwahaha! Stop it, you rascal! You'll make my ass crack get raw!]

* * *

Ever since the Hero Party's journey began, I always had a certain dream.

It was my hometown.

In the dream, an old man sat on the porch of the Osarius Magic Tower, where the scent of pine needles coolly pricked my nose, and I was kneeling before him.

- Aroha, what do you think a mudra (hand seal) is?

However, it was slightly different from the scene I knew. The pine trees surrounding the magic tower were not old trees but still saplings.

- I don't know.

I answer.

As in a dream, it was a random answer that came out regardless of my will.

To put it metaphorically, it was like reading a book.

- The script of creation we call runes is called the Rin script.

- It means 'spring breeze,' doesn't it?

- It also means 'mind.' You're not ready yet. Again, from the beginning. Transcribe all of these.

The dream always ended that way.

As I slowly opened my eyes, I heard the creaking of the carriage wheels forming an exquisite harmony with the crunching sound of snow.

This place, where snow blankets both sides of the road in white throughout spring, summer, autumn, and winter, is the Seti Basin in the central-southern part of the North.

“Lin, are you awake? It's time to embark on an adventure!”

Adventure, my foot…

To be honest, when I joined the Hero Party, I burned with a desire to face the [Strongest].

They say there are those who wish for the world's destruction at the ends of the earth, so they must be incredibly powerful masters. Not mere bandits or small-fry black mages like the ones I've caught so far!

A [Strongest Mage] confronting such beings… doesn't just hearing the description make your fingertips tremble?

“Hahahaha, interesting! Hey, where did you get such power…?”

“Hmph, who's to say…!”

They would exchange such lines, only possible between [the strongest], and demonstrate the [strongest] powers they had painstakingly cultivated.

But…

For six days now, such a journey hadn't even thought of beginning.

“Whoa, that guy is amazing…!”

At this moment, the strongest magic I was wielding was a hybrid of wind and telekinetic magic.

“He's instantly threshing and harvesting only the wheat grains…?!”

And the opponent receiving it was none other than a wheat field.

“It would take thirty able-bodied men a week to do this…!”

The wind sweeping through the wheat field precisely separated only the grains, loaded the cart full, and filtered out the chaff.

“Just who is that boyyyyy…!”

The reactions of ordinary people witnessing [the strongest mage] were all the same… but if the enemy was just a wheat field, I couldn't even get motivated.

“Amazing, Lin? I can't be outdone either! Shall I harvest the wheat with a sword wind?”

Lista, modestly dressed in clothes and boots borrowed from farmers, for some reason burned with rivalry towards me.

Huh? Why?

This is the Hero Party?

Lista, on the contrary, dyed his white hair, the symbol of a hero, an aquamarine color and even wrapped his holy sword, Shurpen, tightly in bandages to conceal it.

- What did you say?

Actually, there wasn't a lack of explanation for how things came to be this way.

- That meteor shower we saw was the [King's Flesh] scattering.

- [King's Flesh]?

- <The Ones That Came> sealed the ancient kings. The body of one of them, the Lizard Lord, was torn to shreds and sealed. But it seems someone maliciously scattered it across the world.

After hearing the explanation, this [King's Flesh] was an incredible thing.

If one swallowed it, humans or monsters alike would become incredibly powerful with abyssal strength.

Furthermore, the [King's Flesh] was set up to exert even greater power the more it was gathered.

What is this, this incredible situation?

However, Lista's judgment was that the flesh owners would hide when the hero passed by.

He said that to recover the [King's Flesh] while heading south, they needed to conceal their identities.

This was also why Lista dyed his hair.

- I don't know how much flesh there is, but if villains or monsters start collecting it, a disaster will occur.

The problem Lista pointed out was that in this emergency, most of the strong individuals in key positions had been conscripted to the major demon front.

- So, let's combine our strengths, recover as much of the [King's Flesh] as possible, and head south.

After synthesizing the information, I thought this direction seemed good.

A flesh owner running wild.

The strongest mage appearing before them.

Showing that one cannot become [the strongest] by using the power of tools and then quietly making an exit. I had dreamed of such a thing.

“Why am I doing this kind of thing every day, I wonder…”

Lista let out a chuckle.

“Why? Does it seem different from the Hero Party's expedition you imagined?”

“It does.”

“It's not different at all.”

Lista gestured with his chin towards the farmers chatting idly over there.

“Do you remember how those people's eyes were when we first came here? Their faces were full of shadows. But now they're smiling so happily.”

“So what?”

“Lin, you think a hero's job is to save the world, right? Well, right now, we've essentially saved a world.”

It would be a lie to say my eyes didn't widen for a moment. My journey with Lista was always like this.

- Do you see? How Lin's actions brought spring to everyone's hearts.

Looking back now, I wonder if my journey with Lista wasn't a period of review.

Making me re-examine things I had casually overlooked during my days accompanying the Dean…

However, at that time, more than anything, I ardently wanted to become [the strongest mage]. I thought I couldn't waste time in such a place for that.

“I just expected to meet enemies empowered by the King's strength and have them be my magic punching bags. Unlike this utterly useless Sbal fellow.”

“Gyoo, gyu-gyu, gyu-gyu-gyu-gyu-gyut!”

“What, you punk. If you don't like it, prove you're useful.”

I flicked the forehead of the trembling ball of fluff in front of me.

This feels a bit ominous.

This guy was also a spirit turned Balrog because of black magic, but look at him now, in this state. What if the other guys are just as weak?

“Lin, can you understand everything Sbal says?”

Lista, [the strongest] concealing his power, asked.

“I thought communicating with spirits was the exclusive domain of witches… I've never seen a mage do it. Is it possible because your ability to commune with mana is extraordinary? Friede would be incredibly amazed if she saw you, Lin.”

Lista made his own assumptions and then nodded, looking convinced. But there was a huge misunderstanding here.

“Dude… what nonsense. That's impossible.”

In truth, I didn't understand Sbal's words at all.

“?”

“Gyut?!”

I simply interpreted Sbal's actions as I saw fit. Bothering to analyze the meaning of his actions was annoying and not to my taste.

“Isn't it better to interpret it my way and solve one more math problem in the leftover time?”

What does it matter?

For a mere beast to defy a human, especially one who dreams of being [the strongest mage], goes against the laws of nature.

“Ha, ah-ha, ahahahahat, hat, ah-eu, ah-hat… my stomach actually hurts from laughing so much! Lin, if the party members saw your craziness, they'd all acknowledge you.”

It sounded somewhat sarcastic, but receiving praise from the modern [strongest] was quite a pleasant feeling.

Perhaps for such a deductive reason, whenever Lista laughed, my own lips would involuntarily twitch upwards.

So, at that time, whenever Lista laughed, I would lift the grimoire I was engrossed in to cover my mouth.

This was my creed.

The strongest mage does not laugh carelessly.

Why? Because they are the strongest.

Just as they were about to conclude their business in this third village and depart, the village chief resolutely shook his head.

“The sun is starting to set, so it would be best if you spent this evening in our village before leaving. It's a very ominous time…”

“Ominous?”

“Indeed. It's to the point where you shouldn't be wandering outside at night. The situation here has become very dangerous lately…”

The village chief invited us into his home.

I don't particularly like such useless talk. I consider it a waste of time.

While Lista talked with the village chief, I activated my [Reading Grimoire to a Cow's Ear] mode and engrossed myself in *Osarius Bibon*.

“There are these rascals called the Nesli Siblings…”

Unaware that this story would lead to their first encounter with a flesh owner.

* * *

“The Nesli Siblings?”

Lista Alter Shurpen asked.

The village chief nodded with a dark expression.

“They were just insignificant thieves, but suddenly they started wielding tremendous power. Three nearby villages have already been burned, and the thirty-man subjugation force sent by the lord was annihilated two days ago.”

Lista hummed thoughtfully and cupped his chin.

Already, the [King's Flesh]…

It's rare to see such perfect synergy, but given that the flesh was scattered across the world, similar chaos must be occurring elsewhere.

“Do you happen to know where those three siblings are?”

“They're probably using Kajiya Village as their base now. They've turned it into a fortress. But why do you ask? If you're thinking of going there, forget about it. They're not people a single bodyguard can handle.”

“Chief, unfortunately, I'm not just any bodyguard either.”

Lista glanced at the holy sword, Shurpen, propped against the wall.

Hmmm…

The will of the proxy and the holy sword resonated. A noble pure white sword light overflowed from the blade wrapped in bandages.

“Lin, I think if the two of us go, we could sort it out within half a day.”

“Hmm…”

“Why? Is there anything unclear or unsettling?”

When Lin read a book, he had an invisible air of seasoned experience. He was clearly a thirteen-year-old child, yet he felt like an adult who had endured all kinds of hardships and difficulties.

“Necessarily…?”

Lista's eyes widened at Lin's simple but sharp insight.

No matter how much they were strengthened by the [King's Flesh], they were just small fries who became a little stronger; they wouldn't be a match for Lista or Lin.

But what if they weren't there? What if another place was attacked while the two of them went there?

“You're right. It would be better to act individually here instead of together.”

“Hmm, in that case…”

“I'll move immediately. My eyesight improved greatly when I received the hero's body modification, so night travel isn't a problem. Then, let's meet back in this village two days later. See you later, Sbal.”

“Gyugyut!”

“Aww~ cute.”