Hero without Blood or Tear - Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Chapter 18 - One Crouching by the Grave (2)

Translator: OverlordS2gollem

Editor: Perditor, Deus Ex Machina

“Fine, I’ll tell you the truth . ”

The One Crouching by the Grave had managed to hide himself from the world for a long time . He was naturally quite sensitive a human not only knew he existed, but had summoned him as well .

“I’ve read the Canon of Seven Evils . ”

The Canon? That book should be hidden! How did you read it?

That was a difficult question to answer .

I said how did you read it?

One Crouching by the Grave urged me harshly when I hesitated to answer . He looked like he was about to snatch away the nuns’ souls at any moment but now wasn’t the time to panic .

Right now, Struggling Death was the one holding the Canon of Seven Evils . But, someone appeared who claimed to have read the book . From One Crouching by the Grave’s point of view, Struggling Death would be extremely suspicious .

Furthermore, in the later part of the story, One Crouching by the Grave and Struggling Death were on bad terms with each other . They had allied due to necessity, but ultimately worked against each other in most things .

The one who received power from One Crouching by the Grave, the top class necromancer “One Without Blood or Tear” attacked the demon lords serving Struggling Death as well .

I needed to play them against each other .

There was nothing better than for these mysterious beings to turn on each other and bloody themselves . There were risks associated with deceptions like this but now wasn’t the time to be picky .

For me to get out of this situation, I needed to frame someone else . I steeled my resolve .

“Struggling Death showed me . ”

What!

Its voice was filled with anger . However, he had already anticipated my answer . The moment Canon of Seven Evils came up, Struggling Death would have been a prime suspect in One Crouching by the Grave’s mind .

Why did he show you the Canon of Seven Evils!

The dark aura around me started to boil like magma .

“How would I know? I only know what’s written in there; I used the knowledge when I came across your dead avatar . ”

I masterfully lied and led him on .

“I’m probably not the only one he showed it to . I believe he also showed it to several sages around the Empire for a price…”

That flippant fool… .

It seemed One Crouching by the Grave believed everything I was saying . Or rather, his mind was already made up when he asked me .

To be fair it’s difficult to claim I masterfully deceived him . I only fanned the long seated mistrust between the two of them .

These beings live for a long time so they did not care much about a single event . Even the quickest of plans they devise extend well over hundreds of years .

Betrayals like this must have happened numerously in the past and the only thing I had done was add a small piece on top of a large tower of distrust built over time .

However, there was such a thing as a limit . Built over time, even a small thing could reach the limit .

Fine . I will no longer tolerate that fool .

The Canon of Seven Evils was just that limit . Finally, the cumulation of thousands of years of events matured in front of me .

The time and situation is early but that is no obstacle . Meeting you in a place like this, I consider it a karma and destiny that even I could not foresee .

Wooosh

Great darkness filled with malice gathered from all directions . My teeth chattered and I felt as if I was standing naked on ice in the middle of a blizzard .

I allow you to use my power! But you must carry out a task .

“That’s what I wanted all along . What task is it?”

Kill all the demon lords serving Struggling Death .

Demon lords were chess pieces of the Princes of Darkness . Princes of Darkness wishing to intervene in the world used demon lords to carry out their will . They were the true power pulling the strings from the shadows .

Most demon lords work towards their ambition without even knowing who they are being controlled by . The heroes are the same . The heroes are gods’ chess pieces and fight without knowing who their true enemy is .  

One Crouching by the Grave started his plot against Struggling Death and I became one of the chess pieces in that game .

Being one of the mysterious beings’ chosen is the opportunity of a lifetime . I would become king of the undead soon . Then, I would fight for One Crouching by the Grave .

I wouldn’t fight wholeheartedly of course . Thanks to the player’s protection, even a Prince of Darkness couldn’t bind my soul . I would betray him if necessary in the future .

Remember .

Rank 5 . Demon Lord of Emptiness, Kulak .

Rank 7 . Demon Lord of Dark Sky, Parja .

Rank 14 . Demon Lord of Gluttony and Greed, Herjamok .

Rank 17 . Demon Lord of Nightmare and Illusion, Amur .

Kill these four . For they are being aided by Struggling Death .

I learned something I didn’t expect . I knew Rank 7 Parja and Rank 14 Herjamok received their power from Struggling Death but I didn’t know about Rank 5 Kulak and Rank 17 Amur .

From where I stood, I had planned to eliminate the demon lords anyway, the condition was acceptable . The only thing which changed was now there is bigger focus on the ones serving Struggling Death .

Not a bad deal .

No, it was a great deal .

“I swear it . ”

The darkness exploded when I agreed and swallowed me up .

Kuaaaang!

That was it .

<You died . >

But I will rise again from death .

***

How long has it been?

I was still groggy but I could feel my consciousness returning . It felt like right before waking up from sleep . My head spun like a kaleidoscope and just as I was about to reach the epitome of confusion, my eyes opened .

“Haaa--- Haaa---”

I was soaked in sweat . Was everything a nightmare? I couldn’t remember anything… Then I remembered I died .

“Ah… my…”

I could recall everything .

“Revived!”

My body shuddered in relief that I was resurrected due to the Angel’s Heart . A sigh of relief came out naturally .

I looked around and saw a clean bed . From the way the dark sky was slowly brightening up, it must be daybreak . I immediately opened my stat page . If I was successful, I would have a new class .

“Ah!”

One Without Blood or Tear (Level 1)

Those clear letters were telling me all about the result . My chest warmed up . I started as a commoner and now obtained one of the best classes .

shakeshake

My body shuddered subconsciously . My stats were up by a significant amount due to the new job as well .

_________________________________

HP: 570 -> 880

MP: 0 -> 550

Darkness: 0 -> 320

Renown: 80 (A Well Known Rookie)

Status

Strength: 187 ->232

Intelligence: 39 -> 139

Agility: 233 -> 250

Constitution: 230 -> 240

Charisma: 70 -> 178

Skill

Summon Undead (S Class)

Achievement Point +50,000

___________________________________

There was huge boost to stats overall .

Getting MP was good development as well . 550 MP was roughly about the level of an intermediate mage . Now I could use spells if I learned them .

Something I didn’t see before was the “Darkness” . This was something only demon lords receiving powers from Princes of Darkness had . But thanks to the dead husk of the avatar, I now had one as well .

I concentrated the power of darkness into my hand for a moment .

Wooosh

Pitch dark flame climbed up my wrist and dissipated with black smoke on the tip of my finger . It was the power of darkness . I managed to obtain demonkin’s power as a human .

There was even the S-class skill, <Summon Undead> . I would only be able to summon things like skeletons in the beginning; but if I raise the proficiency, I could probably raise a monster like the bone dragon .

Should I make my personal guards vampires? Might as well fill it up with all those beautiful female vampires… Since there are many beautiful femme fatale vampires . . .

Furthermore, summoning undead was just a first tier skill for One Without Blood or Tear . There were far greater things to come . My expectations were high .

Creak

The door opened . A nun carrying a jug of water and a plate entered and seemed surprised to see me up .

“Valler!”

She ran over immediately and jumped into my embrace . It was Walpurgis wearing a nun’s habit with a mask .

“Valler! You woke! Why did you do something so reckless! You fool!”

“It seems everything went well since I woke . ”

“That is correct . Everything went as you planned . Ah! I must catch you up first . ”

Walpurgis explained what happened while I was out cold . She said that the Abbess survived the curse and recovered for the most part .

“The Abbess could not hide her surprise at your sacrifice . She did not think there was someone brave enough to take on the curse for the peace of the Empire’s south-west . She said that the Order would do everything in its power to repay you . ”

Of course . That’s how it should be . I did go through the trouble after all .

“Valler, I am thankful you saved the Abbess . But my heart still aches . What will you do with this curse…”

I replied to her depressed voice with a cheery voice of my own . If Walpurgis was sad, even I would get sad as well .

“Please think of me often . It would be an honour for my lady to keep me in your heart . ”

“What?”

Walpurgis pinched my side .

“You! Now you are starting to sound like a bon vivant . Answer me! Are you keeping a woman hidden from me?

“No . What woman are you even talking about . ”

I replied excitedly but her response was enthusiastic .

“Is, is that so?”

She really sounded happy .

“So there is no someone… That is good…”

“It’s a good thing?”

“N, no! Pay no attention to what I said! I shall be taking care of you for the rest of your life in any case . B, because of the curse!”

A sound of dry cough came amidst our conversation .

“Hm . Walpurgis, your relationship is your own as you are a secular nun but please do not forget this is a convent . ”

“Prioress!”

Angela’s sudden appearance made Walpurgis jump while still hugging me . She let me go and bowed her head . Personally, I felt empty for something very bouncy stopped pressuring my chest .

“Mr . Valler, have you recovered fully?”

“Yes . It didn’t take very long . ”

“That is quite fortunate . On behalf of the Order, I thank you once again . ”

“No, I’m sorry the convent has to lodge a cursed person . ”

“Please do not say that . Whether you are cursed or not, the Order will always welcome you, Mr . Valler . ”

She didn’t seem to be the type to come just for pleasantries so I asked her what the matter was . She replied the Abbess wished to see me .

“She instructed me to escort you to her once you awake . The proper etiquette would have been to come see you herself, but she asks for your understanding due to her condition . ”

I would be fine because I died and revived; however, she would take a long time to recover . It would be difficult for her to move for at least one or two months .

“Of course, someone who’s healthy should go . I’ll go right away . ”

“She wishes to discuss this incident and demon lord Pejamut . ”

Good . I stood on my feet . I planned to go meet Pejamut after leaving the convent, so more information was better .

But why was I planning to meet Pejamut?

It was simple . I planned to sell out Iron Prince-Elector Philip to him . I would tell them where Philip is hiding and hunt him down with their help .

I would take my revenge on that bastard and also get rewards from the demon lord . It was two birds with one stone . Plus, this wasn’t a bad opportunity to get familiar with Pejamut .

The conclusion I came to with all my past experiences is that even demon lords have their uses .