Salvation Through Delusion C66

Chapter 66

“I didn’t do it! I didn’t, so, Your Grace, stop slandering the poor divine beast and stay quiet for once. Otherwise, I’ll just take the divine beast and escape alone while you rot away like a half-dead corpse in Borhumi’s tomb. Got it?”

Tyroc’s eyebrows twitched, but he eventually muttered under his breath.

“…Fine.”

[Let’s ditch Koon.]

Ah, seriously. This time, I turned sharply toward the divine beast and gave a stern warning.

“No. Duke Koon will be with us until the very end. If you don’t like it, then forget the key and everything else—I’ll just die here too, so you can find your own way back home. Understood?”

The divine beast was no less troublesome than a human. The small dragon’s serpentine head whipped to the side.

[Hmph.]

A child. It was a child. But thankfully, thanks to my warning, the two of them didn’t pick another childish fight. Taking advantage of the rare peace, I turned to the divine beast with curiosity.

“Come to think of it, you said you’re trapped?”

[My true body.]

“Ah!”

Only then did I understand why the divine beast’s form was so small.

“The divine beast’s true body must be sealed elsewhere.”

“Are you sure? It’s not that its strength is just… naturally pitiful, like an ant’s?”

“……”

“…Fine. I’ll be careful.”

Tyroc averted his gaze, speaking like a man forced to swallow words he didn’t want to say. No matter how sulky he got, I couldn’t ignore the divine beast’s tail message.

[Trapped. Weak.]

“Oh, so you became weak because you were sealed?”

[Yes, yes.]

Good grief.

“You must feel betrayed by the one who sealed you—by Zab.”

[Zab cute.]

That was the last answer I expected. I was so stunned that I wondered if I’d misinterpreted the symbols. Tyroc quickly caught on to my expression.

“What’s wrong?”

“…The translation’s… difficult to process.”

[Pretty blue.]

Blue? Zab’s blue hair? I recalled Zab’s long, tied-back blue hair and asked hesitantly,

“Don’t tell me… that’s why you gave Zab your power?”

[Correct.]

…Are you insane?! I barely stopped myself from scolding the divine beast. Now that I thought about it, even Mandoek’s affection for Ewik seemed to stem from that sharp, petal-like face of his.

Seriously—what is this? Are all non-human beings single-celled organisms? Amoebas, maybe? It was absurd. To think they poured such blind affection for such a shallow reason.

“Zab trapped you, and you’re not even angry?”

[Yes, yes.]

They said non-human beings couldn’t be understood by human logic—and they were absolutely right. While I stood there speechless, Tyroc smirked faintly, clearly catching on.

“You’re asking the wrong question.”

“How so?”

“Divine beasts shower their contractors with one-sided devotion. No matter what the human does, they keep giving them power—without end. Even if that human imprisoned them.”

“But the divine beast told me it wants to go home.”

“Yes. To the extent of dividing its power just to appear before you, even while still granting its strength to that despised Koon.”

Only then did I understand what Tyroc meant earlier when he said my question was wrong.

“Then why does it want to escape and return home?”

At that, Tyroc’s lips curved even more deeply.

“No matter how much affection a divine beast holds for its contractor, there’s one thing that comes before that.”

And that is—? I looked at him expectantly, but instead of answering, he lowered his gaze to my wrist, where the divine beast resided.

“A promise. If the contractor breaks a promise, the divine beast leaves—without hesitation. Ask it yourself. Ask if Zab broke its promise.”

But I didn’t need to. The divine beast’s tail answered first.

[Yes.]

‘Let me know when you’re ready.’

Tyroc’s reply had been short, but his friend had already read those words countless times until the letters had nearly worn away.

Koon’s stronghold was sealed under a dome—one no one could enter or leave. The curse that ravaged those trapped inside was a problem, but worse yet, there was no way to break it while that barrier remained.

But his friend believed Tyroc knew a way to enter. Because Tyroc never concerned himself with the barrier—only with how to break the curse.

That meant, perhaps, he could bring him inside. And now—permission had been granted.

Thump, thump.

His heart was already pounding in anticipation. All he had to do was lift Koon’s curse. From the ancient documents the High Priest had obtained, he had already found meaningful clues.

This time, he could finally make Tyroc happy. His friend was so full of excitement he could hardly stay seated.

Calm down. Stay calm. He couldn’t fail if he wanted to see Tyroc smile.

He tried to steady himself, but the impatience gnawed at him nonetheless. After all, the future had changed. Not that this was entirely shocking—the future had already begun to diverge since the moment he arrived in Tuvine.

But that was precisely why he’d been so careful not to alter it further. That way, the future he knew would still hold value. Instead of trying to prevent crises, he had focused more on managing their aftermath—balancing on a razor’s edge to ensure major events still occurred as foreseen.

And so, the great tides of fate had unfolded as expected.

Until now.

Then came the shock—something entirely unforeseen. On the day of the temple’s charity auction, the secret of the lake had been revealed. Who could have guessed it was the entrance to the Forest of Crimson Waves?

This wasn’t the future he knew.

It was as though one of the strings tethering the world had suddenly snapped.

Why had it changed? What kind of variable could have done this?

A dreadful feeling crept up his spine. Could it be… that someone else had succeeded in transplantation like he had? No—impossible.

He shook his head. He had painstakingly checked every name on the list of potential candidates. The only other possibility was if another scroll had arrived after his arrival—someone else could have received and grafted it with new coordinates.

But that was nearly impossible. No—it was impossible.

Still, he couldn’t shake the unease. He recalled his own world one last time before taking a deep breath.

No. The variable that changed Tuvine’s future wasn’t a new information source. He told himself that—but the unease clung to him like a shadow at his heels.

There was only one way to defeat this anxiety: work harder. He would use his abilities to earn Tyroc’s trust, strengthen the Eye of Hell, and permanently fuse it with the demon rift. Then… this unease would finally end.

With renewed resolve, he spread open the ancient text containing information about the curse. He’d already studied it before, but he rechecked every line carefully, making sure he hadn’t misinterpreted a single symbol.

Then, imprinting the method in his mind, he wrote to Tyroc:

‘I’m ready. I can come to you right away.’

But hours later, as he waited anxiously for a reply, the message he received instead turned his unease into a roaring blaze.

‘The Ewik estate has collapsed. Traces of Adeye Rue’s abduction were found within, and the Adeye family has issued a region-wide notice throughout Tuvine seeking cooperation in his rescue…’

He barely registered the rest.

Collapsed? That never happened in the future he knew.

What in the world…? What variable caused this—? Adeye Rue?!

Zab had broken his promise. Broken it—with the divine beast! Zab was even more foolish and pathetic than he appeared.

“If Zab broke the promise… what happens then?”

“The contract ends.”

Tyroc’s answer was calm, his gaze fixed unerringly on the exact spot where the divine beast lingered—though he couldn’t possibly see it.

“What kind of contract?”

I looked between the two of them, but this time, the divine beast’s tail remained still. Again, Tyroc spoke in its stead, his voice low and cold, lips curling faintly.

“There’s only one contract between a divine beast and the House of Divine Beasts—to lend its power.”

I turned in shock to the divine beast. It simply stared at Tyroc with those unfathomably deep blue eyes. Could it be… he really saw it?

The divine beast’s tail flicked once.

[Correct.]

A short response—and at the same time, Tyroc murmured a single word.

“Understood.”

“What do you mean?”

Could he actually understand the divine beast’s words? Interpret the tail’s movements? Thankfully, before I could blurt out my disbelief, Tyroc gripped his sword tightly.

“If that’s your intention, then I’ll gladly make use of this power.”

“Use it? What do you mean?”

He didn’t answer. Instead, he clenched the sword, focusing intently. Yet something wasn’t working—the tension drained from his arm, and his breath came rough and ragged.

“But it’ll take time.”

“What are you trying to do?”

“To get out of here.”

Well, yes, we should get out, but—

“Dorgo said no one can enter or leave without Zab’s help. Do you have a plan?”

But he didn’t answer right away. Perhaps out of stubbornness, he gripped his sword once more. No matter how much strength he poured into it, it refused to obey his will.

“Damn it… Not a chance.”