Chapter 117

Rahar, who had gone to find Panz in order to persuade him, eventually gave up and returned to the Grand Duke’s castle when he realized there was no reasoning with him.

 

Enria’s group also returned to the castle as soon as the purification of the poison was complete, and Caldeon came back after nullifying all the dark magic flowing through the rivers connected to the empire’s entire water supply.

 

However, Caldeon was not in good condition.

 

Having used an excessive amount of mana to neutralize the dark magic, he collapsed the moment he entered the castle gates. When Enria heard the news, her face drained of all color as she ran to him.

 

Seeing Caldeon lying unconscious on the bed, Enria immediately ordered everyone out of the room.

 

Her chest ached as she realized just how much he cared about the North, to the point of pushing himself this far to erase the dark magic.

 

She climbed onto the bed over Caldeon, who was suffering from the early signs of mana rampage, and pressed her lips to his.

 

Then, one by one, she undid the buttons of his shirt.

 

Enria devoted herself entirely to calming Caldeon’s rampaging mana while he remained unconscious.

 

 

***

 

 

Thanks to Enria, Caldeon soon stabilized. He then summoned all the spirits, along with Belona and Tearen—both now fully recovered—and began a meeting about Panz.

 

“I can’t persuade him at all, so when he gets here, you try talking to him,”

 

Rahar said, waving his hand toward where Tearen was sitting, his eyes hollow with exhaustion.

 

He added that once Panz arrived, they should take responsibility for grilling him into submission, then leaned his head back against the sofa.

 

The dark circles deep under his eyes clearly showed how hard he’d tried to persuade Panz.

 

“Putting that aside, how bad was the damage? Did the dark mage show up?”

 

Belona, who hadn’t seen the scene herself due to recovery, asked Enria.

 

Enria shook her head.

 

“We didn’t see the dark mage. The damage was worse than expected because poison was added to the water supply. Hayden purified things quickly, so we saved those who were still alive, but people who’d been left unattended for too long couldn’t be saved.”

 

“Considering the scale of the damage, it wouldn’t be strange if the dark mage tried to summon the Evil God at any moment,”

 

Roseanne added, then looked at Rahar.

 

“So your fire spirit needs to make his choice quickly.”

 

“You think I don’t know that? I do. The problem is that nothing I say gets through to him.”

 

“Panz must be in hell right now too. Having your body and mind taken by the Evil God, or being annihilated altogether—neither is an easy choice to make, like drawing lots.”

 

Silri, who had been sitting quietly, suddenly spoke up.

 

“I know that. But in the end, he has to choose one. And if that spirit chooses to become the vessel of the Evil God, we’ll have no choice but to destroy him ourselves.”

 

Roseanne’s words made Silri nod slowly.

 

Dragging this out was dangerous in every way; if they couldn’t persuade him here and now, they had to consider killing him. A heavy silence fell over the room.

 

“For now, he’ll be arriving soon, so let’s talk things through properly one more time.”

 

“That’s right. If we can just be certain about Hayden using absolution, Panz will naturally choose annihilation.”

 

“But you said absolution uses Hayden’s life force, didn’t you? Using the life force of such a young human to revive Panz is cruel to the child.”

 

As Undy nodded at Lonn’s words, Eva frowned slightly.

 

Silri shot Eva a sharp look, and Eva shrugged.

 

“I’m not wrong, am I? I oppose using the life force of the oracle’s owner, Hayden, to save a criminal who devoured his comrades’ souls.”

 

“That’s easy to say because he wasn’t your comrade…”

 

“If he had been my comrade, it wouldn’t change anything. Calling someone who eats the souls of fellow spirits a ‘comrade’ is ridiculous to begin with.”

 

Still glaring at Panz with hostility, Eva said that if he had even a shred of conscience, he should pay for what he’d done by choosing annihilation.

 

Graum, Blizzan, and Windel nodded in agreement.

 

Those who had never been Panz’s comrades naturally accepted his annihilation as the obvious outcome, while Silri, Undy, and Lonn—his former companions—stood on his side, trying at least to consider his position.

 

Of course, none of them had any intention of excusing what Panz had done.

 

They simply understood that Panz, facing either sudden annihilation or the loss of body and mind, must be feeling more conflicted than anyone.

 

At that moment, as if aware he was being discussed, Panz appeared.

 

He hesitated under the weight of so many gazes, then quietly entered and took a seat at the very edge of where the spirits were sitting.

 

“You still haven’t chosen,”

 

Caldeon said, looking at him.

 

Panz flinched as he was about to sit. He lifted his gaze to Rahar, who merely let out a short sigh—wordlessly telling him that Caldeon already knew everything.

 

“If it were an easy choice, I would’ve chosen long ago,”

 

Panz clicked his tongue softly.

 

Silri spoke firmly.

 

“You have to choose today, Panz.”

 

Panz’s face stiffened, then he nodded.

 

“I know. That’s why I came.”

 

He then stared fixedly at Hayden, who was nestled in Enria’s arms.

 

It seemed that if he could be certain Hayden would use absolution on him, he intended to choose annihilation.

 

“Yeah. I’ll do it.”

 

As if he understood perfectly, Hayden nodded the moment their eyes met.

 

Panz stared at him in shock, asking again as if he couldn’t believe his ears.

 

“You’ll do it? You’ll really revive me with absolution?”

 

“Yeah. Baby will do it. So annihilate yourself.”

 

“Really?”

 

“I said I will.”

 

As Hayden nodded again, Panz narrowed his eyes, still unconvinced, then looked at Enria.

 

“If I can’t be revived, then what? What will you do?”

 

Caught off guard, Enria blinked, unable to answer. Caldeon, irritated, frowned sharply at Panz.

 

“Why are you talking like revival is guaranteed? You really don’t seem to grasp your situation. Either way, you’re going to die. The only difference is whether it’s annihilation or being completely taken by the Evil God.”

 

Caldeon’s bluntness made everyone else stiffen slightly.

 

As fellow humans, they were both amazed and alarmed by how completely unfiltered he was—yet also impressed that he could speak so frankly about such a sensitive issue.

 

They’d all been anxious that upsetting Panz might push him to choose the Evil God, so it was only natural.

 

Panz muttered that he knew that already, clearly displeased.

 

“I haven’t forgotten my sins. I did commit something foolish, and I regret it.”

 

Because not all of his crimes had been born purely of his own will, he felt some resentment.

 

At first, he’d foolishly been tempted by power and deceived by the dark mage, but what followed was largely due to the mage’s brainwashing.

 

Once separated from the dark mage, that influence weakened, and Panz was finally able to reflect on his actions.

 

“If you regret it, then choose annihilation. That’s the best choice you can make.”

 

“…That’s why I’m asking for certainty. If I’m revived, I’ll gladly pay for every sin I committed—just don’t let my existence disappear entirely.”

 

“Baby said I’ll do it.”

 

Hayden cut him off, frowning as if annoyed.

 

The expression was so identical to Caldeon’s that Tearen and Rahar let out sounds of amazed disbelief.

 

“Wow, they really look that alike.”

 

“Right? I was honestly shocked too.”

 

“At what.”

 

Caldeon raised one eyebrow, glancing at them.

 

Rahar laughed awkwardly, and Tearen pointed at Hayden.

 

“He’s exactly like you. You when you were little. You used to make that aloof face all the time at the academy.”

 

As Tearen mimicked the gesture by pulling up the corners of his eyes, Caldeon’s gaze instantly mirrored Hayden’s.

 

“Oh. Exactly the same.”

 

Rahar commented, and Belona murmured that their eyes really were identical.

 

“Right? Like they were cut out and pasted on.”

 

“He’s my son. Of course he looks like me.”

 

Caldeon twitched his eyebrow, as if they were making too big a deal out of it, then turned back to Panz.

 

“So. Will you annihilate yourself now?”

 

Panz’s shoulders jerked again.

 

Despite Hayden’s promise, he still seemed uneasy.

 

Watching him hesitate, Silri thought for a moment, then spoke to Hayden as if an idea had struck her.

 

“Hayden, can you annihilate Panz here and use absolution immediately afterward?”

 

“Yeah. Baby can do it.”

 

“Then will you do that?”

 

Hayden nodded.

 

Windel frowned at Silri.

 

“Aren’t you asking too lightly? It’s not your life force.”

 

Windel, who’d spent the longest time with Hayden and grown deeply attached, was far more skeptical than the other spirits.

 

Silri replied impatiently.

 

“If we keep stalling, Panz could lose his body and mind to the Evil God right here. Hayden is offering because he believes it’s worth using his own life force.”

 

“Hayden is still young. Do you really think he understands what he’s sacrificing to use absolution?”

 

“Hayden is the owner of the oracle. There’s no way he doesn’t understand.”

 

“Just because he’s the oracle’s owner doesn’t mean he understands everything—”

 

“Yeah. That’s enough, both of you.”

 

Hayden interrupted them, nodding.

 

“Don’t worry about baby.”

 

His expression clearly said that worrying wasn’t even necessary—but only Enria and Caldeon, who knew he was part of a god, understood what that truly meant.

 

Windel and Silri, inexplicably moved by Hayden’s words, made a fuss about how they couldn’t possibly not worry about him.

 

Hayden, looking annoyed, wore the exact same expression as Caldeon as he turned to Panz.

 

“Baby promised, so can I kill you now?”

 

The smile on his face was bright and innocent—but the words that came from that innocent mouth were chillingly cold.