«Yes it's Iblus...»
«Don't worry. I have already confirmed that he has activated a Heretic Altar inside the palace».
The truth is that it was just a guess on my part, but I said it regardless. And honestly, I was pretty sure about it anyway.
«...That's a surprise.»
«I already imagined it. The essence of Iblus is not common...».
«No. I didn't expect you to suggest something like that», the boss said before falling silent again.
A great silence came over us, but ultimately it benefited me. I had been put in this situation before I even opened my eyes. I needed time to organize my ideas.
Jerome Saintred...
What would happen if he gave his body to the village chief? Although I had suggested it, I hadn't had the opportunity to really consider the consequences before embarking on the adventure.
...It should be fine, right?
For the village chief to become commander of the First Royal Guard would be positive for me. On the one hand, it would remove one of the palace's top fighters from the board, and on the other, since we both had a secret connection, the village chief and I could share information and make deals with each other.
The problem here was rather moral...
But he was the one who stabbed me in the back first.
If he hadn't handed me over to the boss, this wouldn't even be happening in the first place. No, there was even a world where we could have united to defeat the village chief together. If the village chief had been as sure of his strength as he intended, he would have killed us all and forcibly taken my body, but that was not the case.
«But I'm sure since I arrived on this island. You are the man who operated under the name Iron Mask decades ago in Noark».
Not to mention that Jerome was convinced that I was Iron Mask, so I needed a way to convince him otherwise or silence him. If that information reached the palace's ears, it would become a great responsibility...
«I'll ask you this», the village chief said cautiously, interrupting my thoughts. «What happened after they defeated me?».
Yeah, I figured I'd be curious.
He probably still wasn't sure if I was telling the whole truth, so it made sense that he would want a little more information before issuing his final verdict. To that end, I decided to give him an honest answer this time.
«You are immediately executed by Jerome. He hits me with his sword seven times, decapitating me».
«That can not be...»
«And once dead, one of my allies uses the Renaissance Stone on me».
This was the final scene I saw in my vision of the future.
«Do you have... a Renaissance Stone?»
«It's the truth, even if you don't want to believe it».
The boss was silent again, mulling this information in his mind, and I gave him all the time he needed. «If it's true...», he finally said. «Makes sense».
«What exactly makes sense?»
«Why would you make me an offer like that if I'm really going to fail, as you claim».
Indeed, he was probing me. Although inside I complained about how clever he was, on the outside I stayed calm and told him: «In any case, as long as we have the Renaissance Stone, you will never be able to achieve your goal».
The Renaissance Stone had two main characteristics. One was that he could revive a dead person while his corpse was intact, and the other...
«When the Renaissance Stone is used, you lose your memories.»
The other was that it erased your memories. Even in the game, if you used the Rebirth Stone on someone, the character in question would forget everything, and all relationship and intimacy statistics would return to their base state.
This reminded me of what a shitty object it was. I had once tried my best to use his two valuable charges to revive two members of my group, but they both ended up leaving the group shortly after.
«That... is definitely a problem». Luckily, it seemed that the village chief already knew how the Revive Stone worked. If not, I would have had to take the time to explain it to him. «According to the Stone of Records, Bjorn Yandel will leave this place one day... but as long as that object exists, we cannot be sure if that person will be you, me, or even someone completely different».
The turn his thoughts had taken told me that this conversation was nearing its end.
The main reason the village chief wanted to steal my body was because it was the «safest way out». My body was destined to one day escape from this ground, so if I stole it, I was guaranteed he could leave too. However, the presence of the Renaissance Stone had called into question its certainty.
«So», I asked him, "what are you going to do?".
He only had to make one decision.
Would I steal my body, even with the Renaissance Stone at stake, or use Jerome Saintred's body to escape to the city?
Sitting back and waiting for his response made me too nervous, so I added something else to sweeten the deal. «If you decide to steal his body, I will help you».
«You... are completely different from the things I have heard about you».
«Really? I don't know what kind of background check you did, but this is fair. He was the first one to stab me in the back».
«That's true».
«So», I said swallowing, "what's your answer?".
«I refuse», answered the boss.
...Damn.
«Do you... refuse?».
I did not understand. I had explained carefully and logically why I had to choose Jerome over me, but he had still rejected me. There was no way this cold-hearted guy would have made this decision based on emotions, so...
«... What is your reasoning?»
«It's because you would still be alive.»
«...What?»
The answer left me reeling, but I didn't have time to question his line of thinking because he was kind enough to explain it himself. «Even if I stole his body, you would still know my true identity, right? I could escape after all this time only for you to go around talking nonsense, plunging the life I fought so hard for into Chaos».
In other words, he wanted to get rid of the witness. «So?»
«So I'd rather kill you here and steal his body later. It is a much better option».
«...Are you an idiot? I'm willing to betray the Royal Guard commander to help you, but are you worried he'll gossip about it later?»
«You never know with people. Although it may seem paradoxical, trust is not built on faith».
In an ironic twist, I saw in that sentence an opportunity to continue negotiating. Trust is not based on faith, meaning if I gave him something he could trust, there was a chance he would accept my deal.
«So...» I was wrong. «What do you want from me?»
The village chief did not hide what he wanted. «Your weakness. Just as you can destroy me with a single word, if I could have that same power over you, then I would be willing to shake your hand and work with you».
What kind. «What if I don't have any of that?»
«Someone who has nothing to hide wouldn't ask that question».
I didn't have enough data to know if that was true or not, but in this case, it turns out I was right.
As soon as I heard the word «weakness», several things immediately came to mind. The fact that I was an evil spirit. The time we killed the Order of the Rose on Ice Rock. Even the way I stole the Stone Fragment from the Records right under Jerome's nose decades ago in Noark. There were a few things I could give her here, and if doing so meant avoiding the future the goddess showed me, I wouldn't even regret it.
...But I'm not easy to convince.
My response was severe. «I refuse». I did not lie and say that I had no such weakness, but rather rejected his condition outright.
«Do you... deny?», he asked just like me a moment ago, but my answer didn't change. The fact that he demanded it from me told me that he found my offer very tempting.
«As I told you, you have two options. Either you accept my offer, or you reject it and try to do it on your own. That's all», I declared, ending the negotiation. «There is no room for ultimatums».
«...You're pretty bold for someone whose life is at stake».
«As any barbarian warrior should be».
At my carefree response, the village chief seemed to smile a little before responding without missing a beat. «Very good. Let's put our heads together and come up with a plan to steal Jerome Saintred's body».
Ugh, I almost died.
***
After a successful negotiation with the village chief, we had a long conversation in the cave. The topic of discussion: how we would put Jerome Saintred in this cave to steal his body. Honestly, it didn't take us long to come up with the plan, and it wouldn't be that difficult to carry out as long as the village chief and I worked together.
However, our conversation dragged on.
«So what is the object you promised Jerome? Tell me. Now we are practically on the same side».
This was something I had been wondering for a while. What had I offered Jerome so that he would decide to hand me over?
Surprisingly, the village chief responded without a moment's hesitation. «It was Karui's Heart».
«Karui...?» It had been a long time since I had heard the name of the ancient evil god.
When I tilted my head, the chief kindly gave me the explanation I was looking for, pointing to a black stone sitting in the middle of the cave. «That. In exchange for a human sacrifice, you can use one of Karui's legendary abilities. This is how I can steal people's bodies».
This was an item that had never appeared in the game. Well, not that it was a big surprise.
«Then why does Jerome want it?» I asked.
«It is one of the treasures of the royal family, something that originally belonged to the Immortal King. The reason I am in this state is because I stole it».
Instead of focusing on the village chief's past sins, I worried about something else. «A treasure of the royal family? Wait... Is this thing the reason why the Immortal King was immortal?»
«Oh, didn't you know that? Every time the Immortal had a child, he stole the child's body to continue his reign. This is also why the Immortal was known for always wearing a mask».
This was a great secret buried in the heart of the great kingdom of Rafdonia.
He didn't expect the Immortal King to have hidden wisdom like this.
Perhaps the reason why the New World King defeated and usurped the Immortal King was not to «free the kingdom» or whatever, but to save his own skin from being kidnapped.
And if it wasn't that... perhaps the Immortal simply died because the Heart disappeared.
In any case, from the perspective of the New World King, no price could be placed on the value of this item. It was understandable that Jerome would lose him a little after hearing that he was here. His loyalty to the palace was absolute.
«Wait, but that doesn't make sense. If you ran away with this item, how did the Immortal live thousands more years later?» As his name suggested, the Immortal King had lived for what could be considered an eternity before finally dying about 150 years ago.
«Who knows? I was surprised myself when I found out. However, aren't they the royal family? He probably found a different way to stay alive».
«Okay, so you don't know...»
The Immortal King, the Heart of Karui, the New World King...
What the hell happened then?
I was dying of curiosity, but I wasn't going to get any more answers here.
«Does that answer all your questions?», asked the village chief.
«No, one more thing. What happened to the captain of the Silver Lion Clan that you sent to the library?».
«To them? I sent one of the village warriors to confirm his whereabouts. The offering needed to take care of a body for just one month is just... No, I don't even know why I'm explaining this to you».
Oh, so he realized. To be honest, I had been wondering why he answered all my questions so easily.
«Enough talk. Let's go back upstairs», he said, forcibly ending the conversation before stepping forward to take me out of here. «It will be waiting for us».
Jerome Saintred.
It was time for revenge.