I Have Become The Heroes’ Rival - Chapter 76

Translator: Kay

The spirit’s heart. It was an unfamiliar word.

Did spirits have a heart in the first place?

Although spirits existed, they were more like floating clouds. Instead of having a living body like human beings, they were more like other-worldly beings.

“Aren’t spirits bound to the body?”

“That’s right. However, once the spirit abandons the spirit world, it requires a body to live in the human world.”

I just blinked silently, showing no signs of understanding. Claudia’s explanation continued.

In order for the spirits to continue living in the human world, they require a body to bind themselves to the land.

Therefore an independent spirit must obtain someone’s heart and make it their only weakness.

That was the ‘price’. In return, they could maintain the form they desired during their time in the human world.

As long as the heart continued to beat.

Honestly, I found it quite disgusting. In order to maintain its appearance, it had to keep a beating heart in a box.

Whose heart was it in the first place?

First of all, I had to set aside my personal feelings. The moment I did so, I realized that this was why the spirit was free to act however it pleased. It was literally independent. It didn’t belong anywhere.

“That’s why independent spirits can maintain their form even before they are summoned by a contractor.”

So based on Claudia’s story, that meant we finally captured the lifeline of Illypia, the Spirit of Life, who made us utterly suffer.

My mouth fell wide open at Claudia’s explanation.

Claudia continued to reveal the mysteries behind the independent spirits.

If we destroyed this box, the spirit would die completely. We were looking down at it curiously, but Felix, no, Leraze, came to our side.

“Then, if you threaten to stab this guy’s heart, will he come out on his own?”

Then Claudia, who had been explaining the new knowledge to me for a while, immediately halted.

With a suspicious look on her face, she asked warily, “……Who are you?”

That’s right. No wonder you couldn’t recognize him. His tone and demeanor were different, and even the way he spoke was unlike Felix.

After such a catastrophic event, anyone who saw Felix would ask, ‘Are you hurt?’ rather than ‘Who are you?’. They wouldn’t say such uncaring words no matter how close they were to the brink of death.

“Is it that obvious?”

“Didn’t you have no intention of hiding it in the first place?”

“That’s true.”

“He’ll wake up soon anyway.”

As he said so, Leraze yawned and stretched out his hands.

He resembled a languid beast lying on a rock in the middle of the day while comfortably basking in the sun.

‘I’m impressed that he looks good no matter what he does.’

Declaring that the devil had taken over her brother’s body, Claudia shuddered and hid behind my back.

I hadn’t even explained the situation yet, but she knew it right away.

As I explained the whole story to Claudia, she showed signs of regret that she should have come earlier.

“Chloe tried her best.”

If everything always went well just because you tried your best, everyone in the world would be eating and living well. It wasn’t the best outcome, but it worked out well.

At least Felix and I were alive.

So that’s that.

“It’s rather incredible. Without Chloe, it would have been impossible. I almost thought it was all in vain like this. How on earth did you find out about these things?”

Even Martina couldn’t attain much information about the independent spirits. No, aside from the information, where and how on earth did she get that box in the first place?

Claudia smiled awkwardly at my compliment and hugged me tightly before speaking.

“The Lord of this place told me.”

You mean, you met the Lord?

Claudia recounted the story of the Lord of the castle.

Since they didn’t have much time, they used a rather radical measure to test Claudia. However, the Lord was still unexpectedly kind, benevolent, and thoughtful.

As I recalled the scenery from four thousand years ago, I certainly thought that a person like Ilypia couldn’t be the lord.

It was an environment where everyone could hang out regardless of status, age, or gender and respected one another.

Now I understood why the man grasped his stomach and laughed so hard when I requested to meet the Lord with the fake plan to seduce them. It was because the Lord was a woman.

‘But I think it’s easier to seduce a woman…….’

The man who laughed so hard at my words had already disappeared, so the truth of how he would react if I said this would forever be a mystery.

“The Holy Lord asked me to take care of the spirit called Ilypia.”

“Ah.”

I was reminded of the reality where I intended to meet the Lord but became entangled with a crazy spirit instead. I gnashed my teeth.

“That’s something I’d like to strongly oppose. I don’t think it’s a good idea. Of all the spirits in the world, why is it…….”

I spoke furiously, fuming in anger.

Claudia responded.

“To tell you the truth, whenever I think about all the things the spirit did to Irene and my brother, I become so angry that I want to burn its heart right away.”

Claudia wickedly grinned and firmly grasped the box containing the spirit’s heart as if she was going to crush it.

Even if I didn’t remind her directly, she was already burning with intense rage, so I decided to keep my mouth shut.

If Ilypia had been watching this situation now, he would feel a creepy, murderous spirit.

“However, I thought I should at least listen to the spirit’s circumstances…….”

After saying that, Claudia told me the spirit’s personal circumstances that I had been curious about since before.

“Even after four thousand years had passed, he still remained in front of the tomb of the Holy Lord like a dog guarding a house. But, a few years ago, some men dispatched from Mendello dug around the tomb and stole the Holy Lord’s belongings.”

I knew those jerks did something wrong! Those wretched bastards dared to dig into people’s graves as they pleased!

I exhaled loudly. I understood that it was the humans who touched the nose of a sleeping lion first. Furthermore, I understood that the wounds he received from the humans and the devil were immense. I understood that…….

However, that didn’t justify everything Ilypia did.

Why should we reap the seed of wrath that the Mendello authorities and the devil sowed four thousand years ago?

We didn’t do anything wrong, so it was absurd for him to try to kill us out of the blue.

“I haven’t met him in person yet.”

As Claudia said that, she raised the box that she was holding and then slightly lowered it.

“I’ll meet him and then decide. If we burn this.”

“…..”

She said it with a sweet smile on her face.

It was sweet, benevolent, brutal, and terrifying.

I couldn’t understand how such discordant words could coexist with one another, but they did.

That’s right. Whether it was a person or a spirit, it was wrong to judge them before seeing them first and listening to them directly. It seemed that Claudia had grown more mature during the short time that I had not seen her.

“Although he’ll have to fix up his bad manners.”

* * *

“Huh? Why am I here…….”

Everyone, who had been eating, drinking, and enjoying the festival, looked around in bewilderment.

When they came to their senses, they noticed the barren land, with not a single building standing properly; the absence of the islanders who had disappeared like ghosts; the food and alcohol that had vanished; and the cup in their hands which was green with rust.

It was similar to the feeling Cinderella got after the magic was lifted at midnight.

I, myself, belatedly realized that the clothing I was wearing was just a piece of an old curtain, shabbier than a rag. There was a different reason why Claudia was so shocked when she saw me.

It looked like even the clothes were made with vitality. Surprisingly, it was an unnecessarily detail-orientated spirit.

I took out the wet clothes that I had kept in my bag and put them on.

Some time had passed, so it was slightly dry. Although it was uncomfortable, it was worth wearing.

I also urged Leraze, who was puzzled, to change his clothes quickly.

Additionally, since the appearance-altering artifact had shattered, I told him to wrap the rag around his head like a hood.

“Don’t tell me what to do, you mere mortal.”

“As a devil, you shouldn’t argue with a mortal.”

“Really, this is…….”

The devil was continuously filled with complaints and dissatisfaction. However, whenever I told him to do something, he would still obey. It was quite a pleasant surprise.

His words were rough, but it was only his words.

He yelled without thinking, looked at me carefully, and got mad at me for making that expression again. But in the end, he would do whatever I told him to do.

Perhaps the devil was much better than I thought.