Chapter 227

Evade the Hero and Flee! 227. Why Me? (2)

“I will go below.”

“All right.”

I could see the ground clearer as Mirua flew downwards. I now saw monster and demon corpses, and the incomplete castle walls were half destroyed.

“The damage would have been less severe if the walls had been completed…”

The enemies would have retreated, so I would lessen my guard. If they had tried to destroy everything, the damage would be severe.

“I hope the demons win…”

They had a chance, as normally only an elite number of heroes faced the Demon King. Soldiers all over the land were utilized so the heroes could only focus on the Demon King.

“My life would not be that easy…”

However, the Demon King would only know destruction and madness in the past. This time, he remembered the past and me. He had rationality and differed from past records.

Variants are known to be strong, and my past student and current Variant Demon King will appear in front of me to get back that fragment or something!

“At least it was him.”

He was one of the normal ones and had been inflexible. Even I was surprised to hear that he had run away because of a woman. That was why I had trained them not to be allured by beautiful women. I had been lucky that it was my earlier days and had not taught them much. If it had been another student, he or she would have coerced me to remove the fragment by saying I would be unharmed. It would have been an alluring gesture, as I did not like having it in me.

“Instructor, we’ve almost arrived.”

Mirua spoke to me as I organized my thoughts.

“Drakes are fast!”

While wyverns were faster, the Drakes ruled the skies and flew fast enough for me.

“Hmm…”

I could fly to another land as I saw our destination, the Last City Vervelion.

While I had thought of living the drake near the national borders as knights riding on griffons patrolled the area, and detection spells were used, I thought I could ride it more.

“Everything is destroyed.”

“It is so…”

I saw that the castle walls were destroyed, and there was no response from them as we entered Vervelion.

“Can I go lower?”

“Yes.”

Mirua went slowly lower.

“Wow!”

We went below the clouds, and I saw the castle utterly destroyed when we went low enough to lift the spells. I saw human remains now.

“They would have resisted until the end.”

The useful cat had made my daughter and Coco comfortable enough to sleep, so they did not have to see this.

“They have needless pride.”

Mirua shook her head as she looked below. She was truly my student, as while other guys with feelings or honor would have praised their resistance, she thought their deaths useless.

“They only needed to let them pa.s.s to the demons, but they did not even do that…”

Mirua clucked her tongue as she criticized them for their stubbornness. She was truly my student. Now, the problem was that…

-She’s the one who caught you?

-Yes…

While she was on my side now, she could betray me anytime. Mirua had done it three times already, and it would become easier each time.

-Should we take care of her here?

-No, we need a rider, for now, so let’s sleep on it.

Verveilon was completely destroyed, and Ruivella city alliance, which had similar ideas to this city, would not have acted differently. That meant I could ride the drake at least there! That meant Mirua needed to work until then.

-After that?

-I will think it over.

“Ah…”

While Mirua shook due to the cold, she survived in icebergs by hunting bears. She would feel suspicious already, and those sensitive to danger survived longer than those with skills. Mirua had both, which meant I had to think whether taking care of her here and now was the better idea. While I did not want to harm my former students, she was too dangerous!

“Uh?”

However, Mirua showed me why she should leave.

“Instructor, there…”

I turned my gaze to where she was looking.

“There are a lot.”

Monsters steeped in black evil were destroying things.

“They seem strong…”

“I agree.”

Mirua whipped the drake for us to rise in the air. I could see black orcs punch out stone buildings, and they seemed like ogres. The problem was that black ogres were destroying castle walls and looked powerful enough to throw boulders and hit us.

“Uh…I don’t want to return…”

Mirua looked down at the monsters.

“Instructor…”

I thought I knew what she wanted to say.

“No.”

Mirua looked sad at my refusal, but my answer remained the same. According to my plan, the Karuan Empire would have to stop the monsters, and Mirua was my key.

“You have to let them know where I am.”

“All right.”

The plan was simple. The Demon King knew where I was due to the fragment, and that meant I had to kill him in order to be able to keep escaping.

“You know the code, right?”

“Yes.”

Giving her specific information will end in betrayal, as she will inform the princess. Therefore, I gave her general coordinates and my secret code so she could follow me a while later.

I used Hangul and was grateful to Korea for giving me this tool.

“Listen. If you betray me, all unknown dishes will die with me.”

“Ah!”

My threat worked as Mirua’s expression changed.

“Don’t…”

Mirua looked like a frail girl as she looked at me.

“I will tell you a recipe when you bring people to me as promised. Fried chicken is one, so think carefully.”

“Yes.”

Mirua nodded. I had only given her 10 recipes as advance payment. While the cooking methods differed, the Imperial Palace could achieve miracles if the princess asked people. I still remember how she used magicians to make soft ice cream. Mirua’s love for food and her finding me would enable her to recreate the dishes, which were simple in Korea.

“Remember, the dishes will get better with time.”

“I will keep my secret.”

Mirua nodded and pretended to lock her lips.

“I cannot trust you.”

“I’m trustworthy!”

Her lock had many keys to open.

“…I will trust you.”

She was the only one I could trust at the moment. She and Raine were the only ones near the princess who would listen to me, and as Raine was stuck with the princess, Mirua was all I had.

-Master, there’s a saying you say often.

-Cherish a serpent in one’s bosom.

-Yes!

…As I did not trust her fully, I could avoid that. We stayed together for three days and pa.s.sed the destroyed Ruivella alliance to land on a nearby nation’s border. The problem was that…

“Uh…”

“Why are you here?”

I met someone I should not meet on the mountain we landed.

“I was called to fight the Demon King…”

I saw my former student and current hero and raised my bat.

“Let’s pretend we did not see each other.”

“Right.”

We thought our meeting ended when a voice was heard.

“Hero, the Demon King is…!”