Chapter 76
“Don’t move from here, Cadet Luri.”
“Ah! M-Martin!”
I reached out, and the Black Knight’s hunting rifle ca into my grip.
I rolled behind a sofa one block ahead, taking cover, and fired the rifle.
“Hmph!”
The Peacemaker sidestepped, and, as expected, the bullet veered off course.
There’s a saying: if soone makes a seemingly impossible task look effortless and inspires you to think you could replicate it, that person is likely a master beyond compare.
‘This opponent is on a completely different level from anyone I’ve faced!’
Perhaps because he’s a gunslinger too, his evasion is an art form.
The gap in skill was evident from his dodges alone.
Bang! Ba-bang! Bang!
Bullets grazed past my ear.
I fired a piercing round, aiming to hit the Peacemaker through a statue, but he vanished like a ghost.
‘I need to move too.’
At that mont, I nearly got hit by a bullet that predicted my movent, forcing to roll across the floor to dodge.
I counterattacked imdiately, but the Peacemaker’s next shot precisely struck my bullet, ricocheting it.
The deflected bullet lodged into an unintended spot, and my heart plumted.
‘Are you kidding ?! The gap is this wide?!’
That was a pinnacle technique, far beyond what Firearm Proficiency Lv 1 could ever mimic.
“Want to see sothing even more entertaining?”
The Peacemaker’s dual pistols blazed.
One fired first, launching a bullet.
The other followed slightly later, but the second bullet caught up to the first, colliding and altering its trajectory!
Like a pack of wolves charging from both sides, the bullets closed in on .
I barely evaded, rolling across the floor like a flailing donkey.
‘What did I just witness?!’
I could at least comprehend the earlier move, but this was beyond belief, even seeing it with my own eyes.
“Hahaha! How long are you going to hide behind cover?!”
Wondering what he’d do next, I saw him swing his gun like a sword as he fired.
The result was even more astonishing.
The bullets curved through the air, a true calamity.
I rolled, ran, and crawled across the floor in the most undignified way to dodge them.
‘If I stay still, I’m done for!’
I hurriedly raised my hunting rifle and shot at the Peacemaker.
The cover he’d been using shattered into pieces.
“Haha! I like that you’re facing without flinching!”
The gunfire echoed through the corridor, reverberating from end to end.
Sofas and vases used as cover broke quickly, forcing us to keep moving, drawing closer.
50 ters, 40 ters, 30 ters, 20 ters, 10 ters.
Finally, with nearly all cover in the corridor gone, we naturally lowered our muzzles.
Through the deeply pulled hood, I could clearly see the Peacemaker’s sly grin.
“I’ll admit it, Martin von Targon Ulvhadin. Your skill is worthy of being mistaken for mine.”
I maintained a blank expression beneath my own deeply pulled hood.
The Peacemaker’s praise felt almost like mockery.
“My skills are lacking.”
Truly, they were lacking.
I couldn’t even touch the hem of his abilities.
The Peacemaker, called the first Gun Master, proved his reputation was no lie.
I daresay, if he hadn’t held back, I might have died with his first shot.
“For your age, they’re exceptional.”
Through the shootout in the straight corridor, using cover, we gauged each other’s abilities—whether they were worth utilizing or not.
It seed I had passed.
The Star Child of Cosmos, Peacemaker, acknowledges you.
Achievent unlocked! As a gunslinger, you’ve faced a Gun Master and earned recognition! You gain additional bonuses to firearm skills!
This was welco news.
Combined with the bonuses Martin already possessed, it would create great synergy.
“Grandfather!”
As the shootout ended, Luri stomped over from a distance, her cheeks puffed up.
…Grandfather?
The Peacemaker removed his hood, revealing a strikingly handso man with white hair, looking like a young man in his mid-20s.
“Well, Luri! It’s been a while. Didn’t you miss your old grandpa?”
“Grandfather! Who’s going to clean up this ss?!”
“Haha, sorry about that. I had to test this friend.”
“Ugh! I was in the middle of a date with Martin!”
“Oh, I’m truly sorry for that.”
Was I on a date?
That’s news to .
I stepped in between Luri and the Peacemaker.
“…I’m more curious. Do you two know each other?”
The Peacemaker, looking at with satisfaction, explained casually, as if welcoming a guest in his own ho.
“When you roam the continent, you make unexpected friends.”
“I knew the grandfather of the grandfather of the grandfather of the grandfather of the grandfather… well, Luri’s great-great-grandfather, from the ti of the previous head of the Elidore family, Marquis Arnold.”
“That connection has lasted until now.”
“The Elidore family has been allies of the Peacemaker for generations.”
That ans he’s at least over 100 years old.
“When I first saw your face, I felt it, but your appearance and actual age are quite different.”
No wonder his tone carried a hint of an old man’s cadence.
There was a calm confidence, as if he could handle anything, anywhere, with ease…
“I’m kind of a big deal.”
…Or maybe not?
The Peacemaker then led to a reception room, where Marquis Arnold, a giant with pink hair, was waiting.
He bowed 90 degrees to the Peacemaker in greeting.
“You’ve returned, Lord Peacemaker.”
For the owner of Imperium Bank and a figure second only to the Four Great Ducal Families to show such deference spoke volus about the Peacemaker’s stature.
“Yeah, it was pretty good. Sit.”
A fantastical spread of tea and pastries was set on the table, but no one focused on it as we sat.
The Peacemaker, the eldest, got to the point.
“Neither of us seems the type to beat around the bush, so… I’d like to see the Rosary.”
“Here it is.”
I pulled the Rosary of Grace from my ammunition pouch.
A diamond cross necklace.
I placed it on the tea table, and the Peacemaker’s eyes wavered.
“It’s truly the Rosary of Grace. May I ask how you acquired it?”
“I obtained it in a Ti Chaos Dungeon that ford in an old sewage treatnt plant in the underground waterways.”
“A dead knight was wearing it around their neck.”
“Ah, to hear news of a forgotten comrade here.”
Closing his eyes, the Peacemaker reminisced about a distant past.
His life’s depth and weight were surely different from ours.
We gave him ample ti.
After his reverie, the Peacemaker turned his pure white eyes toward .
“Is there sothing you want?”
“…Do you want the Rosary back?”
If the Peacemaker wanted it, I wouldn’t refuse.
It’d be a sha, but I didn’t want to make an enemy of its original owner, a formidable powerhouse.
But he shook his head.
“No, that’s not why I asked.”
“I only want to reward you for bringing news of my comrade.”
“And the Rosary is better kept with you.”
Keep the Rosary with ?
I ca here prepared to lose it.
If the Peacemaker is the Star Child of the Cosmos Empire, he’d naturally be the owner of this holy relic.
This was, in a sense, stolen goods.
“Why should I keep the Rosary? Isn’t it rightfully yours?”
“You’re mistaken.”
“The true owner of the Rosary is none other than Cosmos, the order of the universe.”
“We, as believers, rely hold it temporarily, but we aren’t its owners.”
“You, however, are its chosen, legitimate possessor.”
“Thus, I only follow the will of the great order and the Rosary.”
So, I… was chosen by the Rosary and beca its legal owner?
“So, is there sothing you want?”
“…”
Sothing I want.
What could it be?
Is he genuinely asking, or is this a test of my intentions?
“There’s one thing.”
Even if it’s a test, my answer is clear.
It’s what I’ve consistently pursued all this ti.
“I want to prevent the apocalypse.”
“Please cooperate, or help cooperate.”
The Peacemaker’s face flinched.
“…Remarkable. To think there’s another who knows of the apocalypse.”
“How much do you know?”
No need to ntion artificial disasters.
Listing only the calamities ordained by cosmic and chaotic forces is enough.
“The most dangerous are likely the descent of the Demon Lords within three years and the Level 6 Ti Chaos Dungeon.”
The litany of cataclysmic disasters was so absurd it sent chills through Luri and Arnold.
Even the Peacemaker, who had been slightly playful, now faced with a serious expression.
“Martin of Ulvhadin. You’re no ordinary man.”
“If all you say is true, you must have been looking forward to eting .”
“As you say. You’re the one closest to the apocalypse.”
“I’m curious about the source of your information.”
I read the original story! …would be a foolish thing to say.
ntioning Nerjin, from the Dinsion Research Institute, would be convenient, but I can’t.
Nerjin once said the Peacemaker would kill him on sight.
“I learned about the Demon Lords through frequent encounters with the Demon Lord Cult.”
“The Level 6 Ti Chaos Dungeon I learned from a Dinsion Research Institute log found in the Ti Chaos Dungeon where I got the Rosary.”
“I see.”
It’s not entirely a lie.
That’s why even Marquis Arnold, with his keen lie-detection skills, said nothing.
The Peacemaker sighed, downing his tea in one gulp.
“Phew! To stop the apocalypse, we need keys.”
“How many?”
“Three! First… we need all three holy relics bestowed by Cosmos.”
“We’ve barely secured the Rosary and the Chalice.”
From within his tattered robe, he produced a diamond chalice, like the Rosary.
He placed it beside the Rosary, and the two relics began to resonate lightly when near each other.
Undoubtedly authentic.
“Second, we need lineage and knowledge.”
“The lineage of those who caused this ss—the royal bloodline of the Cosmos Empire—and the alchemical knowledge of the Wisdrammus family, who inherited the directorship of the Dinsion Research Institute.”
That’s Gilbert and Nerjin.
Good heavens.
Goosebumps raced across my body.
How did I get so lucky to gather them all?
…No, it wasn’t luck.
Recola had arranged all the keys to prevent the apocalypse from the story’s creation.
But they hid it intentionally!
And so, this world was set on a path to destruction!
Chills ran through .
“Third, overwhelming force.”
“We need four heroes who’ve surpassed Platinum Knights and stepped into the realm of the ultimate, the Diamond Knights.”
“And a good number of Platinum Knights, too.”
That’s enough power to topple a couple of nations.
There’s only one task requiring such overwhelming force—the grand finale in the story’s final act.
“To conquer the rift that appeared in the capital of the Cosmos Empire, at the Dinsion Research Institute?”
“…You keep surprising .”
“I’m surprised too. I’ve never heard of the Diamond Knight realm.”
“Only five have ever existed throughout history, so more people don’t know than do.”
“Maybe a scholar of theology or archaeology might have heard of it once or twice.”
“…Only five in all of history, and we need four right now?”
I knew but pretended otherwise.
Diamond Knights were the stuff of legends, and in the original story, only Gilbert reached that realm.
…Him doing the work of four was likely because he was the protagonist.
“Be glad. At least one exists.”
Reviews
All reviews (0)