Chapter 325: If You Don't Know, You Should Get a Beating
Chapter 325: If You Don't Know, You Should Get a Beating
- Step, step...
After finishing the press conference, Frey was walking down the corridor of the imperial palace with a proud smile on his face.
"Good, everything went smoothly."
In front of the terrified journalists, Frey revealed the power he had been hiding to the world.
Now, all the press and media would rush to report about him.
"The plan is perfect. Now, I just need to successfully finish the coronation ceremony."
Imagining such a situation, he muttered to himself with an excited expression, then suddenly stopped in his tracks.
"..."
His eyes, which had been cheerful all day, were slowly shaking.
"It's rather tiring."Then, he sat down against the wall, sweating.
"Haah..."
The silver smoke that had been swirling around his body was gradually fading away.
"This, I'm really sorry."
Watching the floating message windows in front of him, Frey let out a chuckle and muttered.
System Notification
> A message has arrived.
In front of him, a window of the Moonlight system appeared.
> Glare: Hero! Where did you spend all those points!!
> Glare: I was so surprised! I thought there was a thief!!
"Ha ha..."
After seeing the message that appeared in front of him, Frey quietly smiled bitterly.
For some time now, Frey had been able to receive chats from Glare.
Of course, he was in a position where he could only receive messages one-sidedly, but Glare's cute chats were comforting enough for him.
> Glare: Please save and spend wisely next time! Impulse purchase is bad!
"It was a rational purchase, you know."
Frey's ultimate move, 'Blessing of The Supernova,' would normally leave him in a groggy state for months or damage his body rather severely.
However, Frey had used the points Glare had saved up to use an 'Ultimate Move Permit' in the special ability section, and successfully overpowering the Emperor because of it.
Of course, he would be bedridden for a few days once the timer of the ultimate move ended.
[Tip. Accumulated helper points are used to purchase special abilities in the system window.]
Although he had spent quite a lot of helper points, Frey had gained a significant advantage.
System Notification
[Main Quest: Rebellion Against The Imperial Family Cleared!]
Reward: 100,000pt, Hidden Scenario Unlocked
"I've managed to take control of the system window."
Until now, Frey had always followed what the system and the prophecy dictated.
But with this quest as a turning point, he had successfully taken the initiative from the system.
Instead of the system giving quests and Frey accepting and completing them, Frey's actions were turned into quests by the system.
To induce such a situation, Frey deliberately chose 'Rebellion Against The Imperial Family’ as a forced scenario.
He thought that the more complex and massive the scenario, the more certainly it could be triggered.
"Not only that, but I also cleared the quest in two days."
The Rebellion Against The Imperial Family scenario was a long-term scenario that would take more than a month at most.
Normally, clearing the scenario in just two days would have been impossible.
"But I managed to clear it early."
With less than a year of his lifespan remaining, time was more precious to Frey than gold. Shortening the time it took to clear a scenario so significantly was a tremendous advantage.
"Yeah, clearing it is all that matters. Mhm."
Muttering to himself, Frey then stood up with a smile.
"...Hmm?"
But soon, he tilted his head.
"You go to the right, you to the left. You... just stand in the middle for now."
In the distance, Serena was busy weeding through the maids.
"Uh, ugh..."
"Ow, it hurts..."
However, Frey's gaze was directed at the young maids squatting right in front of her.
"Hello, kids."
Frey, watching them quietly, approached them with a gentle smile.
"Hi, eek!"
"Fr-Frey!"
Then, the girls, with their eyes wide open, began to tremble.
"Cute."
"..."
Frey wore a fatherly smile at the sight, but it held a different meaning for the huddled young maids.
"Hey, everyone."
"Uh..."
"Want some of this?"
Instead of satisfaction, Frey's expression turned cheerful as she distributed potions to the young maids.
After observing the pitiful sight with satisfaction, Frey retrieved potions from his pocket, his face lit up with excitement as he distributed them to the young maids.
"They're high-quality recovery potions. You'll be good as new in no time."
"Ah… ah… thank you..."
"Thank you!!"
Although the maids accepted the potions from him, they hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to do, before quickly running away.
- Grab...
"Eek!"
Watching them with a contented expression, Frey suddenly grabbed the shoulder of a girl and called out to her.
"Wh-Wh-What is it?
"Here. There’s a lot, so share it with others, okay?"
"Ye-Ye-Yes..."
Then, Frey sent the girl away with a bunch of snacks in her arms.
"Doing good deeds without any limitations… it feels like a dream."
With a bright smile, Frey walked forward, but soon his expression changed, and he lowered his head.
“Cough, cough…”
And then, Frey vomited a considerable amount of blood.
Gradually, the timer for his ultimate move was coming to an end.
Even with the "Ultimate Move Permit," there was no way that a technique that increased his mana output tenfold wouldn't put a strain on his body.
Moreover, he was forcibly sustaining himself with Miho's life force beads, so when the timer ended, he would likely collapse immediately.
"I need to do as much as possible before then."
However, with much left to do, Frey steeled himself and wiped away the trickling blood as he moved forward.
"..."
All the servants who once worked at Starlight Mansion stared at him.
“Cough, cough…”
Feeling awkward due to the gaze, Frey took out a handkerchief to wipe the blood from his mouth.
"Frey."
"...Ah."
Suddenly, Serena appeared in front of him, causing Frey's eyes to widen.
"Just by seeing you clears my mind."
And a moment later, Frey joked lightly.
- Tremble...
However, for some reason, his right arm trembled uncontrollably.
"You..."
"I have a favor to ask."
As Serena began to speak, Frey cut her off.
"Give those you're weeding out a chance."
"What?"
Listening to this, Serena looked bewildered.
"Give them a chance to reform. Observe them periodically, and if they sincerely repent and reflect, grant them another chance, limited to those who genuinely want to come back."
"Hooo..."
Unable to respond, Serena frowned and asked.
"Even the head maid? Anne?"
"..."
“Originally, I planned to tear her into pieces, but I let her go because of your plan. Would you give her a chance too?”
Listening to this, Frey chuckled in response.
"Continuously giving chances might be problematic, but it's okay to give one last chance. Everyone deserves a second chance."
"I thought you had changed, but you're still the same."
As Serena looked at Frey, she eventually chuckled along with him. Then Frey gazed at her and put his hand on her shoulders.
"Looking at your face really do clears my mind."
"Don't joke around..."
"It's true."
Only then did Serena notice that his hand on her shoulder was trembling.
"...You said it was all an act."
"I have to deceive even myself for it to be an act."
"..."
Lost for words at his remarks, Serena asked with a dark expression,
"I thought you had become just like me in nature, but it seems you can't get rid of that pushover trait of yours, can you?"
"..."
"Do you feel guilty when you look at me and momentarily come back to your senses? Is that why your arm is trembling? Please, Frey. From the mass-murdering Emperor to the corrupt nobles who were rotting the empire, and even to the maid who slandered you and abused children... Are you saying you're trembling just because you punished those vile individuals?"
"I wasn't out of my mind from the beginning. It's just that I changed my perspective, you know?"
"Sigh..."
Eventually, her expression changed to one of frustration.
"Don't be like that. Instead, enjoy it. If you get hurt over such things, I will get angry, okay?"
"Alright, I got it."
At those words, Serena, who saw Frey laughing as if he heard something amusing, pursed her lips.
Really, stupid Frey.
Frey must have chosen to go against his beliefs to defeat the mastermind.
Even if he said he just changed his perspective or whatever, to Serena, it seemed more like a sort of psychological defense mechanism.
It was merely speculation, but could it be that Frey was deliberately maintaining a state of madness by deceiving even himself with those words?
It was hard to make more precise speculation, since Frey had completely lost his mind. However, to Serena, it seemed like the only way to conclude things within a year was the method Frey was currently employing.
Frey's unconventional actions this time certainly inflicted a blow to the mastermind, making them unable to control the system. This strategy must continue.
So, she wasn't going to stop Frey, but now she felt so frustrated she could go mad.
She hoped it was just her imagination, but no matter how she looked, the current Frey seemed to be shivering as if he had become a criminal just because he slightly breached his beliefs.
To outsiders, it might look like he had killed a few innocent people, when in fact, all he did was beat up people who deserved to die or had committed heinous crimes.
"I don't know, I just... want to rest a bit."
But, absurdly enough, Frey was the one acting this way and feeling guilty about it.
"Then rest. I will prepare a place for you to rest..."
"There are things that need to be finished before that."
As Serena sighed and spoke, Frey shook his head and turned around.
"I need to trigger the next event."
Frey said with an excited smile.
"Look there. Isn't the repertoire too obvious?"
He pointed far beyond the window, where people in white uniforms were being interviewed by journalists.
The clothes they wore were the traditional ceremonial outfits of the Sun God Church.
"So, what are you going to do?"
Serena asked coldly, looking at the group.
"Hmm..."
Hearing that, Frey simply smiled.
"We just have to do what we always do."
"I happen to have a good card with me, just in case it's needed."
Looking at him, Serena covered her face with a fan and whispered.
"Will you use it?"
.
.
.
.
.
"Hello, everyone."
Smiling, the bishop dispatched by the Sun God Church looked at the journalists.
"I am Bishop Easter, a representative sent by the Sun God Church."
As he spoke with a sunny expression, flashes from recording devices started to go off.
"..."
However, unlike before, there were no journalists hastily throwing questions.
Because of the stench of blood emanating from Frey's body and the overwhelming aura he exuded, the journalists hadn’t regained their senses.
"Why isn't anyone asking questions? Usually, you bombard us with them at times like this."
The bishop looked at them with his head tilted and asked.
"It's alright, everyone. Our Church won't beat someone to death just because you say something rude."
As he spoke, the journalists started to sweat profusely.
"W-What do you think about the current situation?"
"The only stance the Church will take on the current situation is one."
Amidst this, a brave journalist dared to ask a question, prompting the bishop to begin answering as if he had been waiting for this moment.
"The new emperor must receive recognition from the Pope."
At his words, the journalists started flashing their cameras continuously.
"For 1000 years, there hasn't been a single emperor who hasn't received the Pope's baptism."
As the bishop finished saying this, he quietly raised the corners of his lips.
"So, those who seek to become the new sun should rightfully welcome us..."
"Did you come from that organization, which was riddled with lies? Welcome to the palace!"
Suddenly, the doors of the palace swung wide open, and Frey appeared.
"... Just now, what do you mean by that?"
Thanks to Frey's haughty entrance, all the journalists froze, and the bishop, pushing his glasses up, directed a question to him.
"Bishop Easter. What is the formal name of your organization?"
"The Holy Sun God Church. We're also known as the Church for short."
Upon hearing this answer, Frey chuckled.
"You're not holy, you don't serve the Sun God, and you're not even a Church, are you? Hence, you're a group riddled with lies."
"Huh?"
“You deceive and manipulate the people with your so-called divine laws and 'divine power' that aren't even divine to begin with. Instead of serving the Sun God, you're making plans to imprison her. You've lost your purpose as a church and degraded into an armed organization long ago, isn’t that right?”
As he finished speaking, deafening silence enveloped the area.
"Why should the emperor be recognized by a parasitic, armed puppet organization like yours?"
"With those words… Are you turning against the Church?"
"It's not a Church but an armed militia, right?"
"You'll regret those words."
When the bishop said with a cruel look on his face, Frey exercised patience and took a deep breath.
"Please come out!"
Looking at the back, he shouted loudly.
- Step… step…
And shortly after, someone timidly started walking towards Frey with a shy expression.
"...!"
The bishop's eyes widened at the sight, and the paladin and priests behind him trembled.
"H-Hello~"
The Youngest Paladin of the church bowed to them.
"Nice to meet you... um, is this not it?"
Recently known as 'Light,' she scratched her head, her eyes glowing golden.
"Do you know them, Sun God?"
"Oh, Ahhh! Those bad people...!"
Then, when Frey walked up to her side and asked her, she clenched both of her hands tightly.
“How on earth are they called the Sun God Church?! It’s supposed to be called…um, the Demon God Church!”
"Is that so?"
While the people behind the bishop were puzzled by the words of someone who was supposed to be on their side, the bishop himself, who understood the meaning behind those golden eyes, started to sweat profusely.
"Excuse me, Sun God."
"Yes?"
"Could you disconnect for a moment?"
"Yes, huh?"
The paladin, who had been glaring at the people of the Church, looked puzzled at Frey’s words.
"B-But if I disconnect now... the Demon God..."
"Yes, that's exactly why."
Eventually, the sun god began to tremble quietly upon seeing Frey's eyes filled with chaos.
"I'll teach your little sister a lesson today."
"B-But..."
“It’s okay. My cute helper said that the Demon God has lost almost all of her strength since the last incident.”
"Well, still... um... actually, the Church and the Demon God aren't really related..."
"Hurry up."
The Sun God contemplated and wriggled her hands for a while, eventually she closed her eyes and muttered in a frightened voice.
"Lunar, there's something wrong with him... Did he eat something bad..."
Then, a moment of silence ensued.
"Huh… What’s this? Did I already regain all of my strength..."
As the paladin, who had been standing still, opened her eyes and looked around with glowing red eyes, the bishop recoiled in surprise.
"Hmm?"
Meanwhile, as she continued to look around with wide eyes, the Demon God locked eyes with Frey.
"Hello?"
"...???"
The Demon God's eyes were wide open with an expression of disbelief at the situation unfolding before her.
"Do you know them?"
"Uh, um?"
As Frey casually put his arm around her shoulder and asked, she responded with a bewildered voice.
"I-I don't know them?"
"Is that so?"
Then, Frey started to smile chillingly, clenching and unclenching his fist.
"If you don't know, you should get a beating."
"...What the hell."
The Demon God couldn’t comprehend the perplexing situation at /genesisforsaken