Became a tyrant of defense games - Episode 683
◈ 683. [STAGE 40] Conditions of a hero (3)
There was one reason Skarian was initially interested in Violet..
Of all the humans who participated in this great expedition, the final war of royalties, they were the ones most unsuited to this war..
Illusionist Violet.
As a wizard of illusion, she was essentially a liar..
She always lived a lie called illusion, both to herself and to others..
Origin, age, career… … She was a petty thief, a robber, and a conman who had lied about everything about herself, and then used her lies to profit by deceiving others..
Even to my closest colleagues.
The Gamble Club colleagues who had been working together for a long time came to trust and rely on each other at some point. But it wasn't Violet.
Still she lied like she breathed.
She still didn't trust anyone, not even herself. she was a perpetual liar.
Unlike all the other heroes who fight wholeheartedly, voluntarily, and risking their lives, even in the final season, Violet was still forced by inertia to participate in the front lines..
An ordinary, insignificant person who can't run away because he has no excuse to run away..
So, among the heroes on the front line, Skarian was particularly interested in Violet..
I wanted to see Skarian..
This poor human being was an ordinary villain who was forced by inertia to participate in the great war..
Falling again.
By seducing her, cajoling her, and luring her away. If you just gently push her back. I will tumble down that far cliff by myself..
I wanted to watch the messy fall process of a person who could have been a great hero transforming into a petty thief again..
In a world that is destroyed by fire, or even in the world after that... … I wanted to observe from her side the whole ugly process of surviving her shabby life as she fell to the bottom..
I wanted to prove before my eyes that human will is so insignificant and weak..
so…….
***
6time ago.
Southeastern part of the continent. An old village with a distant view of the coast.
Violet and Skyrian, riding on Parekhian's back, entered this empty, abandoned village. Skarian looked around curiously..
As I left the main road and suddenly turned east, I wondered where I was headed, but Violet led the group here..
《here is?》
“……It's my hometown.”
《huh? I didn't say I was from New Terra.?》
“That's a lie. This is really where I was born.”
Violet raised her bewildered gaze and looked around..
“It's been nearly 20 years since I came... … I never thought it would change like this.”
It wasn't just that things had changed, the town was completely ruined..
It was empty, as if everyone had left a long time ago. In the South, rare snowflakes were piling up endlessly above the collapsing buildings..
“It's completely ruined. Is no one living??”
Violet, who was walking, smiled in front of a bar where one of the doors had fallen..
“Oh, this was my home.”
《I didn't say he was the illegitimate child of a noble family.?》
“That's a lie too. They say he was an orphan who was abandoned by a prostitute at a bar here. The owner of this place, the old man, couldn't bear to throw it away so he collected it..”
Violet ran her fingers over her temples. Then the long scar that had been hidden by the illusion was revealed..
“I beat up kids on a drunken day... … But thanks to you, I was able to survive without dying..”
《…….》
“When I was eight years old, they tried to sell me to a brothel, so I broke a bottle of alcohol on the owner's grandfather's head and ran away..”
Violet, who was heading towards the center of the village while speaking calmly, made a noise..
Parekhian stopped, and Skairian looked in Violet's direction..
In the center of the village, there were small shopping streets. And in the center there was a pawn shop and a tailor shop..
“20A year ago, this was a large village in its own right, so quite a few outsiders came and went. Picking the pockets of those outsiders was my livelihood..”
Violet stopped at the pawn shop first..
“This pawn shop also doubles as a fence… … They used to sell stolen items here at low prices. haha. Should I say this is the location of my monumental pickpocketing debut?.”
The pawn shop's door was broken open and the inside was completely emptied..
It was natural that this would be the place where thieves frequented the most even after the village collapsed..
Violet picked up some cheap fake jewelry lying around on the floor and some gold thread with the gilded paint peeling off..
Next, Violet entered the tailor shop next door. Inside the store, covered in dust and cobwebs, several moth-eaten suits remained..
“This place is disguised as a tailor shop, but in reality, it is a store that leads to an underground illegal gambling house. If something goes wrong here, you leave the money at the pawn shop next door, something like that..”
《…….》
“Still, I actually ran a tailor shop. While watching adults getting their clothes made here, I used to vaguely imagine it. I saw my parents coming to look for me one day..”
A couple wearing a nice suit and a beautiful dress came to visit in a carriage..
In fact, you are our child. Now the hard days are over. Let's go home together and live happily ever after.
I imagined that as I glanced at the smartly dressed adults walking in and out of the tailor shop..
“Of course, that didn't happen. haha.”
Violet smiled bitterly and calmly entered the tailor shop, calmly took out the most decent clothes and put them on her body..
“Still, it was my wish to try on these clothes, so I'll try to achieve it now..”
Next, he picked up a fedora that was hanging on the wall, shook off the dust, and placed it on his head..
A moth-eaten suit and a dusty hat. Gilded gold thread on top of a suit and jewelry that look fake at first glance…….
Violet's appearance was comical. But Violet wore it all on her body as if it were some kind of pious ritual..
After leaving the tailor shop, Violet left the shopping area and headed toward the back..
There was a large vacant lot that was used as the village square, and beyond the open view, the eastern sea was visible in the distance..
“…….”
Violet silently gazed at the distant horizon..
Before she knew it, the magic spell on her head had been lifted, and instead of the iconic light purple hair, her natural hair color - plain brown hair - was flowing long..
Skyrian, who quietly followed her, asked..
《Why did you come here??》
“I want to check.”
《what?》
“my real heart. What do I really want to do and how?.”
Then, take a deep breath.
Violet turned around and opened her mouth..
“I want to run away. to the end of the world.”
《…….》
“I never want to go back to that horrible battlefield again. If the dragon can protect me from the destruction of the world, then yes. I want to do that. I want to get rid of you forever without looking back..”
Skalian's tightly closed lips twitched. He was holding back his smile desperately..
That's it, Violet..
You are at best a petty thief. There is no need for you to continue this difficult fight..
Let's keep running away together.
Abandon the pride that others have built for you, and take the last step toward corruption..
hurry……!
“but.”
Violet's tightly clenched fist trembled..
“Still, I want to go back again.”
《……what?》
“I'm going back. To the crossroads.”
Not understanding the context of the conversation for a moment, Skarian blinked blankly..
《What does that mean? You say you want to run away? But I said I would go back.?》
“……is it so. Seriously, I want to run away.”
Violet trembled as she hugged herself..
“I want to run away, I want to run away, I want to run away! My whole body is shaking. Just imagining that giant monster makes me want to pee..”
《But, why…….》
“I know it too. That I'm not suited for that kind of fight. Going back wouldn't be of much help. I know that at best I am nothing more than a swindler, a robber, and a petty thief.!”
Violet looked back at the village where she was born..
A gambling house, a fence, a window shop, and a bar were all intertwined in a chaotic manner. … The prison of childhood.
“but… … Just because you were born this way doesn't mean you have to live like this.?”
《…….》
“I had a great fight.”
An unforgettable word was stuck in Violet's mind..
- If you're going to play a clown... … Shouldn't we play to take on the world??
That one word from Prince Ash.
So, I had a blast with him..
I competed with the fate of the world at stake. We saved the citizens of the imperial capital and defeated powerful monsters..
The only means he had were trickery and illusions, but Prince Ash took him to and from the land of decisive battle..
We had a real competition that couldn't be played at a gambling table with a lot of money at stake..
“Even if all I can show to this world is an illusion, that doesn't mean everything in my life is a lie..”
Without a doubt, Violet has saved the world time and time again..
Even if the fight was unintentional, it did not tarnish its greatness..
“I am…….”
Returning to the hometown I never wanted to return to, I faced the messy past I had avoided, even with it on my whole body..
This was the conclusion Violet came to after facing her true self for the first time in a life that had always been lies..
“I want to be great.”
《……!》
“It's a life I've already run away from once, no, several times, but maybe it's already too late.…….”
At that moment, Skarian saw clearly..
“I... again... … I want to save the world!”
In a world covered in darkness.
The petty thief in front of you is wearing shabby clothes, wearing ridiculous decorations, and revealing his hidden scars and normal hair color..
Shining brighter than ever.
Giving off the glory of a true hero.
《……Just because you were born that way doesn't mean you have to live that way..》
Skarian slowly thought about what Violet said..
《Just because you've fallen once doesn't mean you can't be great again…….》
The corner of Skalian's mouth twisted as much as possible..
《Ah, as expected…….》
And then, as if I couldn't bear it anymore,-
I had a big smile on my face..
《Humans are really cool…….》
Actually, I liked this story better.
Stories of falling, falling apart, and being broken are good, too..
Even if it's a story that's so familiar that you'll get sick of it, stuffed all over your bookshelves, so wide that you'll run over your feet,.
Even though it may be childish, obvious, and common…….
Stories of hopeful heroism, the Skalians actually liked much - much, much more..
《Violet.》
So Skarian slowly took out a bead from his arms..
《Will you accept it??》
Puzzled, Violet took it..
“What is this??”
《my gift.》
It was one of the two magic spells possessed by Skalian..
Violet, who had no idea what this bead was, tilted her head, but it still looked precious so she quickly took it..
The movement still seemed like a petty thief, so Skarian laughed without even realizing it..
《Okay, then shall we go back?!》
flashing!
Skarian, transformed into a long dragon, glanced over his back..
《To continue the epic story of the great hero Violet!》
Violet blushed with embarrassment, but eventually nodded loudly and climbed on top of Skalian. Parekhian followed suit..
The two dragons and one human flew through the blizzard-filled sky, retraced the way they came, and started to go back again..
***
today. crossroads.
《Oh my gosh, I almost died…….》
After receiving every last piece of the Night Bringer's breath,.
The Skyrian, who almost fell from the top of the castle wall, let out a hot sigh from the corner of his open mouth..
No matter how much he inherited the black dragon's 'scale' trait, was a loner in a room and was expert at defense, and inherited his father's blood, he was resistant to its breath and black flames..
It was impossible to block that breath completely without damage..
Skyrian, who was examining his half-cooked body, glanced down the castle wall..
When she came in front of her colleagues, Violet put on her magic again over her shabby outfit, transformed into a stylish outfit, and took her form... … was getting beaten up.
In a way, it was only natural that he came back after running away for over a day..
“Ah, but you’re back! Please take a look!”
Violet screamed as she was beaten on the back by the gambling club members. Skarian looked at him and laughed..
Shield warriors who had been out in the southern fields began to return..
Thorkel was unharmed due to the effect of his ultimate skill, and the remaining shield warriors were seriously injured, but there were no casualties. Miller Ariane, who lost one of his arms, was rushed to the temple..
In this way, I blocked another and final breath..
Got a last 12 hour reprieve. We have gained time to prepare for the final battle that will come soon..
It was a time when everyone felt momentarily relieved and gave each other words of encouragement..
“Hey, I'll report to you.-!”
A soldier rushed urgently from inside the crossroads..
He was a scout dispatched to the observation tower. Everyone looked up at him curiously..
The soldier who approached the heroes was out of breath and barely shouted out a report..
“The last observation tower a little while ago... … destroyed!”
“……I beg your pardon?”
Evangeline, who was receiving healing magic for her burns, jumped up in embarrassment. The soldier continued..
“Immediately after the breath, the Night Bringer's six auxiliary heads flew into the observation tower... … The observation tower was destroyed.!”
“Did everyone who was out return safely??!”
“Well, that is, all the soldiers of the observation team succeeded in escaping through the teleportation gate.…….”
The soldier closed his eyes tightly and lowered his head..
“Damian, who was providing covering fire to support our retreat until the end... … You didn't come back……!”
The color drained from the faces of everyone who heard the story..
Comments