A strange-looking bastard who practically reeked of bad omens.
Back then, Teron had no interest in Zero whatsoever. After all, he believed appearance was a talent in its own right.
That might sound cruel, but how many people could willingly keep someone with the face of a cockroach by their side?
Even the great Teron couldn’t manage that.
Of course, it would have been a different story if Zero had possessed exceptional ability.
‘If he had any real talent, he would’ve distinguished himself during the entrance examination.’
That was why Teron devoted himself to recruiting other students, and he successfully assembled his faction.
His forces were overwhelming enough to crush Yuridia’s in a single stroke.
The contest was practically over before it had even begun.
And yet…
“Zero, that was a truly excellent answer. I’ll award you two merit points.”
He earned the praise of the Archmage, Lord Elester.
“Did you hear? They found traces of a Demon and Erosion underground.”
“Of course I heard. Apparently, they discovered an enormous clue about Erosion… It probably won’t count toward his grades, but he’ll certainly make a name for himself. It sounds like the teachers and even the nobles are taking action.”
He became the first among the first-year students to gain recognition beyond the academy.
“I hereby present this commendation to you for understanding the importance of responsibility, putting it into practice, and displaying the spirit of a true hero.”
He even received a commendation after holding off an unknown passage in the ant nest all by himself.
His achievements made Teron and Yuridia, who had been scurrying around like ants to build their factions, look ridiculous by comparison.
“Come work under me.”
“I need some time to think.”
“I see. I’ll wait patiently.”
“Then I’ll see you in three years.”
“…?”
“Keke, I’ll be going now.”
Zero repeatedly brushed off Teron’s recruitment offers as though they were nothing more than jokes.
He was absurdly good at escaping as well. No matter how badly Teron wanted to teach him a lesson, he could never find the opportunity.
‘Does that bastard have no pride?’
Was his behavior as cockroach-like as his face?
With every new achievement Zero claimed, more and more students began to look down on Teron.
Eventually, Teron resorted to scheming and succeeded in luring him out by using his cat minion.
But then…
“I can’t believe you lost…”
“…I apologize.”
Daike, a five-star knight, had been defeated.
Teron knew the world was vast.
But…
‘I knew there would be people who defied all standards… but I never imagined he’d be this far beyond them.’
Zero possessed more than strength. He also had the courage to remain unmoved by either money or threats.
Teron even ordered an investigation to uncover his weaknesses.
“There’s no information on him?”
“Yes… That is what they reported.”
Was such a thing even possible?
The Vyuern family’s information agents might not have been quite as capable as the Empire Rats, but they still boasted some of the finest intelligence-gathering skills in the empire.
Yet they had failed to uncover even the faintest clue.
It was strange. Almost as though…
“He simply fell out of the sky.”
Natural disasters didn’t exist only in nature. Some people were disasters in human form.
Those known as geniuses were precisely that.
Teron’s father admired geniuses, and Teron was no different.
That was why he continued trying to win Zero over until the very end, but…
“I’m sorry.”
His final answer was still a refusal.
Teron couldn’t understand it. Zero clearly held some affection for him as well.
He didn’t know the reason, but he decided not to expect anything more.
“It can’t be helped. We’ll have to crush him by force.”
“This time, I will bring you victory without fail.”
“Naturally. No matter how strong he may be, he isn’t powerful enough to defeat us.”
The intensity of their training was different.
The weight they carried on their shoulders was different.
The scale of their dreams was beyond comparison.
So why?
“…Why can’t we defeat him?”
Neither during the battle for Carpathia nor during the fighting in Trash Village…
They had been unable to defeat Zero.
“We still have the final examination.”
“That’s true. But…”
Teron couldn’t imagine them winning.
And Zero wasn’t their only problem. Even Teron had no choice but to fear the alliance between Alex, Yuridia, and Victoria.
“We weren’t prepared enough. I should have been more thorough. I’m sorry.”
“Lord Teron…”
“Don’t worry. This won’t happen again. We’ll prepare properly and settle everything next semester.”
There was still plenty of time before graduation. Teron believed they could recover before then.
But he was wrong.
His father’s reaction upon visiting the academy made that painfully clear.
‘Daike will die when summer vacation begins.’
Teron had to prove himself before that happened, on the one and only stage left to him—the final examination.
Alex, Yuridia, Victoria, and Zero.
He would defeat them all and claim first place in the finals.
But with his current strength, he couldn’t overcome all four of them.
That was when the Demon’s whisper reached him.
Teron willingly chose to borrow its power.
Had the pressure driven him insane?
No.
Everything he did was for that clueless pup.
It was all to protect his friend.
Teron finished his story and released a ragged breath.
It had been a long tale. I was busy turning the information into puzzle pieces and fitting them together inside my head when he spoke again.
“This is all your fault.”
“Pardon?”
“Neither Yuridia nor Victoria was our equal. If it weren’t for you, we would have achieved our goal.”
“Alex was there too, wasn’t he?”
“…He was special. In a positive sense.”
Perhaps he was remembering what had happened with Alex, because Teron let out a faint chuckle.
Though it didn’t take long for that smile to turn cold.
“You were special in a negative sense.”
“My, my~ To think an ordinary person like me could be so special to you. It sends delightful shivers down my spine.”
“…You pervert.”
Aren’t you the pervert here, smiling while thinking about another man?
In any case, judging by his condition, this seemed to be all the information I could extract from him.
I loosened up my body and raised my fists.
“Keke, shall we bring this to an end?”
“Y-You bastard! Didn’t you say you’d help me if I told you everything?”
“My apologies, but I can’t afford to waste any more time. It feels like I haven’t had a chance to shine in three whole months.”
“D-Do you have no blood or tears?”
“Tears? I’ve shed plenty. Look right here. Can’t you see the glistening dew gathered in my gentle, deer-like eyes?”
I pointed to the corner of my eye.
Teron narrowed his gaze and stared before muttering.
“…All I see are eyes like earthworms.”
I see.
So those are your final words?
How dare you insult my slit eyes!
“I’ll make your eyes look exactly like mine.”
Perhaps he considered that a fate worse than death.
Teron threw a punch. Demonic energy burned around his fist so intensely that it was visible to the naked eye.
If it struck me, it would break several bones and inflict at least three status ailments.
Of course…
Taaang!!
[Parry successful.]
[Your opponent’s weakness has been temporarily exposed.]
“…!!”
None of that mattered if it didn’t hit me.
Vyuern Family Style, Fourth Secret Art.
Meteor Kick.
“Gugh…!”
Teron was sent flying by the kick and groaned as he clutched his stomach.
Truthfully, I wasn’t in a particularly good mood.
Teron had carried both the burden of his family and the burden left behind by his brother.
He had temporarily set aside his dream and chosen the path that would save his friend.
No matter how long it took, he had been willing to endure it.
And yet…
“Why did you suddenly choose the wrong path?”
I could overlook everything else, but a contract with a Demon was an entirely different matter.
That remained true even if he had planned to use Caron to kill the Demon and nullify the contract.
It wasn’t the kind of decision the proud and intelligent Teron would ever make.
This was all because of…
“The infamous scoundrel Alex.”
After retching for quite some time, Teron looked up at me with an utterly dumbfounded expression.
“This happened because of you…”
No, it didn’t.
You always fell into darkness because of Alex in the game too.
“He walks the righteous path and still has plenty of friends. I can understand why someone like you, who relies on money and threats to make friends, would envy him.”
“I have never envied him! I’m telling you, you’re the reason I ended up like this!”
“There’s no need to be ashamed. It’s rather unfortunate that Daike is your only friend… Even Luna has two of them.”
“Gah!”
Teron spat blood from his mouth.
Apparently, discovering that he had fewer friends than the ferocious cat Luna had dealt him a devastating blow.
“Don’t worry. As payment for telling me your story, I’ll grant you the privilege of introducing me as your friend in front of others.”
“I don’t need that ridiculous privilege!”
“My, my. Think carefully. I’m far more entertaining than Alex. Wouldn’t you rather have me as a friend than someone who only makes you suffer?”
“Stop shifting the blame onto someone innocent! Alex is nothing like a pervert like you! He’s a good person!”
Teron picked up a stone and hurled it at me.
That damned protagonist buff was the real problem.
Anyone could see this was all the fault of the absurdly impressive protagonist, yet Teron blamed me instead.
There was no helping it. At times like this…
“Fists are the best solution.”
“Y-You violent thug! Do you intend to solve everything with brute force? What kind of hooligan thinks like that?”
I strode toward Teron as he crawled across the ground.
He resisted desperately, but it was useless.
Once he had exhausted himself and collapsed, I raised my fist above him and whispered.
“Don’t worry.”
“?”
“I’ll make sure this ends well somehow.”
“What do you…”
Vyuern Family Style, First Secret Art.
Force Burst.
Baaang!!
“Guh…!”
My strike sank into his stomach.
Blood burst from Teron’s mouth.
His body twitched for a while, then suddenly went still.
He was dead.
Even though he was only a clone, it still left a foul taste in my mouth.
I shook the blood from my hand, trying to cast aside the unpleasant feeling.
[Quest conditions fulfilled.]
[Teron de Vyuern (1/1)]
The quest to defeat the clone was complete.
All that remained was the final confrontation with the real Teron.
‘Now then… what should I do?’
I had uncovered every secret of the Vyuern family that had remained hidden until now.
The greatest discoveries were that Ileon’s suicide attempt had been genuine and that Teron still hadn’t abandoned his dream.
‘He and Daike had continued fighting together all this time.’
I had uncovered the truth, but I couldn’t say the situation was favorable.
I couldn’t simply hand first place over to Teron, and even if I did, that alone wouldn’t solve the problems involving Duke Zeppelin and the elders.
‘Let’s organize the information one piece at a time.’
Shrrrk—!
Puzzle pieces spread throughout my mind.
Teron and Daike’s dreams.
The conflict between Duke Zeppelin and the elders.
The reason Ileon remained asleep. No—the reason he had no choice but to remain asleep.
The traces of Teron’s contract with a Demon and the bishop’s scheduled visit.
And the list of forces and items currently at my disposal.
The instant the puzzle fell into place, I opened my eyes.
A single path appeared before me.
“Keke, perhaps… I’ll have to face Duke Zeppelin one more time.”
It was another path that would require me to risk my life.
I passed through the portal and returned to reality.
Alex and Teron were still locked in battle.
Alex was being pushed back because he wasn’t accustomed to parrying. But he would soon grasp the trick and win.
‘That’s how the story goes.’
In other words, all I had to do was wait.
Watching with snacks in hand would double both the excitement and the emotional impact!
Just as expected, Alex forced Teron to his knees.
I gave a light round of applause and approached Alex.
“You’re back?”
“Keke, defeating Teron all by yourself. Impressive.”
“I just got lucky. Teron was unusually agitated too. But…”
Crackle—crack!
An ominous surge of demonic energy began spilling from Teron’s body.
It was the warning sign that appeared before the second phase began.
“Something’s wrong with him. Is that really okay?”
“Keke, it’s fine.”
The others who had defeated Daike would arrive any moment now.
It was an annoying mechanic, but with enough people, it became laughably easy.
And yet…
“…”
“…”
“Graaaaaaah!!”
…Why the hell aren’t they coming?
–TL Notes–
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Illeon plot twist is huge…Did he plan to hibernate till the Elders dies?