Chapter 17

‘Don’t tell me… this is coming from higher up?’

And then—

A consequence I’d completely forgotten about hit me like a truck: the downside of one particular skill.

[Post] [Strategy Guide]

Title: [Useful Passive Skill List (Long)]

◆ No. 23: “Child Actor”

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When you’re in child form, your HP is super low, making you extra vulnerable to fanatic skills.
This stat helps preserve HP.

But the fatal downside is…

Eventually, you get stunned.

It’s designed so your body “borrows” stamina through acting—and eventually pays the price.

It’s a buff with a cost, so suck it up.

That “stun” meant I’d be completely knocked out.

‘Seriously? I’m actually passing out in real life? That’s messed up.’

Way too vulnerable.

And yet, I let my eyes fall shut with full confidence.

Because I was in the arms of the one person in this world I could trust the most.

‘Leaving you in charge, Handsome Blobfish.’

…But hold on.

He’s not going to go berserk, is he?

What color were Dad’s eyes just now…?

* * *

Silence fell around us.

Derek, holding Nemesia in his arms, stood amidst a silent standoff with the surrounding holy knights.

“U-um… Is the Candidate okay…?”

Bennett timidly asked.

Derek turned to look at the boy—and Bennett froze on the spot.

‘Th-those eyes…’

Even Bennett, who’d heard the stories about the fallen hero of the Order, wasn’t prepared for those eyes—eyes like a death god’s, hollow and terrifying.

Derek stood there, silently retracing what had just happened.

He’d only gone five steps away to fetch some water.

And when he turned back—he saw Nemesia being sucked into a gaping void.

“Candidate! Nemesia!!”

He’d run as fast as he could, but still—

He failed to reach her in time.

“Haa… haa, haa!”

His breath was ragged.

It wasn’t the first time he’d failed to protect someone precious.

“Captain, g-g-go on ahead!”

“Cut the crap and hold on!”

It was the day three members of the Azure Holy Knights, including Derek, were trapped in the corrupted entity Rain of the Warped Field.

They had managed to evacuate civilians to safety.

But two of his subordinates died.

And just before escaping, one had been clinging to the edge of a cliff.

“Haha… When I was first assigned to a captain ten years younger than me, I had my doubts.”

“Philip! Damn it, don’t let go! I said don’t!”

“I’m happy I followed you to the end…!”

At just sixteen, Derek had become a hero of the Order.

And for more than thirteen years, he dedicated his life to it.

His innate divine power and strength made him immune to corruption—but not to the cracks forming within.

That day, inside the space created by the corrupted entity, he lost his subordinate’s hand.

He didn’t even notice the monster closing in—his eyes were fixed on his right-hand man plummeting into the abyss.

That was the day Derek became a Corrupted Holy Knight.

And today, once again, he had lost someone.

His vision swam.

It felt like that day all over again, with black rain falling in the monster’s lair.

WHACK!

He struck himself hard across the face.

‘It was a door. It looked like a black portal-like door.’

Nemesia must’ve been sent to the underground of the Order.

It wasn’t the official entrance.

From time to time, people had gone missing after triggering mysterious hidden doors to the underground.

Even the Order itself didn’t fully understand how those doors activated.

But Derek didn’t hesitate.

‘I can feel her presence.’

That was the clue only a Guardian could sense—Nemesia’s presence.

Even now, she was getting farther away.

The question of how he could sense her despite not officially forming a guardian contract didn’t matter right now.

‘This time… I won’t lose her.’

With a face on the verge of tears, he ran.

He’d made up his mind—he wouldn’t let go this time.

“…”

Now.

Not a single person in the garden dared to speak.

The air was razor-thin, as if everyone stood on glass.

“V-Vice-Captain…!”

There was a clear reason why the White Holy Knights weren’t moving recklessly.

No matter what, the man before them was once a legendary hero.

And because he’d been appointed at such a young age, everyone here was his junior.

Even though he’d become corrupted, the Order hadn’t disposed of him.

He’d locked himself in the prayer room, maintaining control—and no one had dared approach him since.

Except for one person.

“Oh? I thought you went underground. When did you pop up?”

Usher drawled casually.

Just moments ago, he’d heard that the candidate had been trapped behind rubble down below.

Orders for dispatch had just been issued.

‘Bunch of dumbasses.’

Clearly, the grunts in the underground cell had screwed up.

The portal had been activated, and they were supposedly prepping to clear debris carefully.

But the “trapped” girl had just walked right through the portal.

With some scrawny kid in tow.

The boy was standing there dazed, clinging to her and trying to read the mood.

‘Tsk. She could’ve been mine by now.’

But why wasn’t Derek reacting?

Almost as if… he knew she’d come through the portal?

Usher narrowed his eyes slightly, a strange possibility forming in his mind.

No way… and yet…

“…”

The tension surrounding Derek felt like a brewing storm—ominous, volatile.

“G-G-glitch…”

Someone gasped.

“At least you showed up.”

“…”

“You’re so damn incompetent. What if our precious little candidate had died down there?”

A vein bulged on Derek’s forehead. It was dark—pitch black.

The corrupted energy inside him was writhing violently.

Oh, how delightful.

“Fast on your feet, for a former hero. Too bad you couldn’t run a little quicker when your men were dying. You might’ve saved a few~”

“…”

“Why not step down gracefully, huh? Before you ‘accidentally’ get someone else killed.”

Crack.

As Derek gritted his teeth, Usher’s eyes glinted with glee.

He activated his ability ever so subtly—

The hidden skill: Persuasion.

A gift from the Evil God, designed to help “guide” the pitiful masses.

‘Lose it. Come on, lose control!’

“Oh? Planning to send our little candidate to the afterlife, just like your dead subordinates?”

Crackle!

Dark energy flickered visibly from Derek’s body.

“Haha! I heard the son of one of your fallen knights even slapped you at the funeral—without a corpse to bury!”

Derek’s sword was drawn, and a pitch-black aura wrapped around the blade.

Usher’s eyes gleamed with excitement.

‘If you lose control, she’s mine!’

Looking back, this candidate really was tempting. She had potential—real potential.

Even if you were a former hero, once you lost control, you’d be discarded.

It’d be perfect if he just vanished like this!

Think of the boost it would give his sect.

Derek raised his sword.

Usher’s power swelled like a balloon—

KRAKOOM!

Derek slammed the sword down.

“Gaaahhh!!”

Usher’s subtle brainwashing shattered like glass.

Everyone within a 10-meter radius of Derek was sent flying.

The ground cracked—except where Derek and Bennett stood.

Gasps and murmurs spread among the fallen White Holy Knights.

“H-he resisted the rampage…?”

That’s right.

Corrupted Holy Knights were like ticking time bombs—ready to explode at the slightest provocation.

Everyone present knew Derek had come dangerously close to snapping.

They had drawn their swords, bracing for the worst.

But Derek held it back.

Even Bennett was stunned.

From up close, he’d seen it all.

‘So it’s real…’

It was said to be nearly impossible for corrupted knights to restrain themselves.

But Derek—once a noble hero—had done it.

That’s why the Order hadn’t abandoned him.

That’s why he’d locked himself in the prayer room.

Drip…

Derek wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

He’d pushed back the corruption and it had rebelled, internally.

He spat out the dead blood and adjusted the girl in his arms.

The precious child, still asleep.

“…I have no time to waste on meaningless power struggles.”

His cold dismissal made it clear: he was leaving.

But then—he staggered.

One of the nearby White Holy Knights instinctively reached out to help.

“Ah, S-Sir Derek, let me—”

Smack!

“Don’t touch me.”

The knight froze.

He had seen something raw and feral flash in Derek’s eyes.
 

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Translator: Japchae