Chapter 1449

Just because it was a high-speed expedition under a time constraint didn’t mean they were constantly rushing.

Frankly, they didn't even need to. Ever since the expedition began, they hadn't fought a single real battle. It wasn't because Davey was protecting them, either—it was because the number of monsters swarming the area had dropped drastically.

Noticing that, the expedition members' expressions remained grim, even as they advanced without trouble.

Aris was similarly nervous. “We're not running into nearly as many monsters as we expected. I hope that's a good sign, but...”

“It could be a trap,” Davey calmly finished for them.

She nodded with a resolute expression.

He knew they were risking their lives on this expedition, and the fact that everything was going so smoothly wasn't making them particularly comfortable.

“Don’t worry though,” Aris assured Davey. “I’ll make sure to protect you.”

“Worry about yourself, not me.”

Watching her flash a fleeting smile before heading back to the knights, Davey quietly spread his mana. Waves pulsed out a couple of times and brought back information about the nearby area.

There were no monsters that seemed overly dangerous, but, for better or worse, a small number of relatively stronger monsters were approaching from nearby. The advance scouting team had yet to spot them, but it was only a matter of time before they collided.

Facinh monsters at that level, Davey saw no reason to show his prowess and use high-level magic. He figured a few subtle self-buffing spells would be more than enough to deal with them. After all, it wasn't difficult to make it look like he was drawing out superhuman strength in a life-or-death situation.

Finally, someone cried, “Enemy spotted! Multiple high-level entities!”

The expedition members who had started to relax all tensed up and gripped their weapons.

Boom!!

A roar echoed throughout the forest, likely indicating that the trailing scout team had engaged the enemy.

“What types are the monsters?”

“One mutated ogre and a large number of hobgoblins!”

Aris drew her holy sword without hesitation, its blade shining with a brilliant white light. At the same time, her power spread out, buffing her party members.

Then, just as she intended, her power also came to shower over Davey. Yet, he showed no significant change.

Contrary to her expectation, her power didn't seem to be on a level that could affect him.

Soon after, one bizarrely mutated giant ogre and around thirty hobgoblins burst through.

“GRRRRAARRR!!!”

The Sword Saint, a former Transcendent-Class mercenary, drew his sword, unleashing an Aura Blade. “Hero, we’ll take care of the small hobgoblins. I’ll finish them first before joining you!”

“Understood! Let's go!”

Hearing her declaration, Davey immediately and discreetly raised his holy power.

[Strength]

[Agility]

[Hyper Body]

[Stoneskin]

Davey layered four spells onto the hero's party and the knights, bringing the total to five. None of those who had entered the battle seemed to notice.

But then.

“You...”

Davey turned and saw the Great Saintess staring at him with shocked eyes.

It seemed she had an exceptional sense for holy power, as she’d clearly noticed the subtle increase in strength he’d spread among them.

Well, guess there was no need to hide it anymore.

The Sword Saint made the first move. “Hurraaaah!!”

As soon as the Great Saintess's buff magic took effect, he charged into the pack of hobgoblins and swung his sword.

To a Sword Master, hobgoblins couldn’t even be considered as opponents. However, the ones in front weren’t typical goblins. They possessed tremendous defense and regeneration capabilities.

Aris shouted, “Davey! Step back while we handle this!”

Spurred on, Girul raised the battle-axe in his hands and roared, “Balkator!!!”

As mana infused his battle cry and stirred everyone's fighting spirit, he charged straight at the ogre, meeting it head-on and matching its strength with the raw power unique to orcs.

[5th Circle Wind Magic]

[Wind Cutter]

Mana surged through Mary, and a massive blade of wind flew in to assist him, piercing a short depth into the ogre's vitals.

“Grrruuuaaah!!!” As soon as Girul roared, the markings across his body flashed. Instantly surging with immense power, he pushed the ogre back with sheer force. He seized the opportunity to shout, “Now, Aris!”

Led by his shout, she zapped toward the ogre.

[Flash Sword Trajectory]

[Single Strike Lightning]

With a determined, emotionless expression, she drove her sword into the very same vital spot Mary had struck. It was all thanks to the power of a hero, a pure white energy that only she could wield which strengthened her party members.

The power that was fatal to mutated monsters; the energy that allowed Aris to exist as a hero.

However, Davey realized upon closer inspection that her energy’s functions weren't limited to its fatal edge when facing the imps. He had wondered whether Aris could display power beyond that of Transcendent-Class mercenaries, but it seemed her power also enhanced her physical abilities.

“Grrrraaah!!!”

She plunged in with tremendous speed and instantly pierced the ogre’s vital spot once more. It had a surprising ease.

“Huh?”

Squelsh!!

While inside, her power turned its insides into a bloody mess.

Aris quickly pulled back her sword with a puzzled look, putting some distance between herself and the ogre to avoid a follow-up attack. Mary and Girul also tensed up, ready to defend against any stray attacks that shot her way.

Thud!!!

However, the ogre, which normally would've taken several rounds of coordinated attacks to bring down, collapsed on the spot.

“Uh... huh?” Clearly having never expected the ogre to be taken out in a single strike, she stared at her sword with a bewildered expression. “It went down... in one hit?”

Mary was similarly stunned. “What the...”

Seeing their stunned faces, Davey cut in and shouted, “Hey, hey, can’t you see the others still fighting?!”

Aris flinched, then turned her gaze toward the others fiercely fighting the hobgoblins. She noticed each of the enemies enduring multiple blows from her allies, suggesting they hadn’t experienced significant gains from her buffs. Even so, the group of fighters was steadily reducing their numbers one by one.

The Sword Saint was, of course, the standout fighter among them. He even took the care to slice the enemies into chunks of meat so they couldn't rise again.

Yet, even he had a bewildered look, sensing something was wrong. Noticing Aris, he told her, “I’ll join you in taking down the rabble!”

“What?! You’ve already dealt with those frontliners?!”

“Something feels weird! My body’s overflowing with power!”

“That’s good news! I feel the same way too!”

Thanks to Aris quickly dealing with the ogre and joining the fight, the tide of the battle instantly shifted in favor of the expedition.

It didn't take long for the battle to conclude, the field cleared of enemies. It was primarily thanks to how the ogre, which should have taken a considerable amount of time, had instead died instantly to Aris’s assault.

All in all, they were all simply astounded by their own increases in fighting strength.

The Great Saintess finally managed to approach Davey and quietly ask, “Did... did you do this?”

“Just some simple buff magic,” he calmly replied, waving it off.

“Simple buff magic, you say...” she muttered, looking flustered.

Aris’s eyes lit up. “Davey! Was it really you that did it?”

He informed her, “I can use holy magic, so I can cast buffs.”

Aris nodded, finally understanding. “Right... I didn’t think about that.”

Girul clapped Davey on the shoulder, grinning widely. “Amazing! That was a truly tremendous buff.”

Mary similarly showed her appreciation, saying, “Thanks to you, the sacrifices were minimized. No fatalities, just minor injuries.”

“This is just the beginning,” he warned them, wanting to avoid any complacency. “Don’t let your guard down.”

Buff magic was enough to handle things for the time being, but they would eventually come to face enemies that even that buff magic wouldn't be enough to deal with.

He smirked, nonetheless. “It’s the least I could do. After all, I promised to help you achieve what you want.”

“You’re incredible!”

The mood quickly shifted to overwhelming praise for Davey, but the Great Saintess looked at him with a puzzled expression. She argued, “That’s nonsense. Even if Aris’s power could strengthen yours, this buff is beyond reasonable limits. You... what exactly are you?”

She was the most perplexed because she also used holy magic.

One of the soldiers asked, “Great Saintess, does that really matter? What's important is that our chance of winning has increased.”

“I know, but this goes against my common sense...”

“He is an exceptional priest who can even remove the beruul’s curse. I’d say it’s only natural that he’d have other powers incomparable to a common priest.”

They mostly defended Davey. The Great Saintess slowly nodded, burying her unease. She turned to Davey. “Y-yes, they’re right... I apologize for doubting you.”

“It’s alright. I understand where you’re coming from.”

She quietly bowed and said, “I’m relieved you understand...”

“At this rate, we might actually succeed in the expedition without much difficulty.” Aris seemed happy that they had made it so far without any casualties. “We can definitely overcome this!”

“Yeah,” Davey agreed. “I’ll help make sure of it.”

Even setting Goddess Freyja’s oracle message aside, if Davey revealed any more of his power, he knew Perserque might notice. That meant he couldn't help them too much. Fortunately, even so, they had more than enough potential to make it all the way.

‘Yeah. As long as nothing that shouldn’t exist shows up and turns the entire situation upside down...’

After cleaning up the battlefield and taking a brief rest, the expedition party pushed even deeper into the forest.

As stronger imps began to appear, the buffs became less effective, and serious injuries began to mount. Although those who would've died in the past instead suffered only serious or minor injuries, the fact that the situation hadn't completely turned in their favor weighed heavily on the expedition's morale.

Aris stared at the expedition members with a grim face after slaying three imps.

Davey approached, asking, “What’s on your mind?”

“Davey, I need you to tell me the truth about something.”

“Go ahead.”

“If we go any deeper... There will be sacrifices, won't there?”

“There will be,” he confirmed.

The buffs Davey cast had their limits due to his power restrictions. Besides, he was helping them simply because he liked and respected their conviction.

“I saw you treating the knights who were infected with the beruul curse. If you hadn't removed the curse, many of them would've died before we even made it here.”

If it weren’t for him, the size of the expedition would’ve been drastically reduced or forcibly expanding using weaker fighters. Either pushing through with sheer numbers or with high quality, it was one or the other.

She quietly asked him, “Is it too much to ask that everyone returns alive?”

“Hard to say. I reckon it’s good to be optimistic, but realistically? It won't be easy.”

Instead of responding, she just gave a bitter smile.

He continued, “Don’t worry, though. I promised I’d help you.”

“Davey...”

“I’ll make sure everyone returns alive.” Even if he didn’t personally step in, there would be plenty of ways for them to all return alive on their own.

Then, just as Davey was about to reach out his hand to her, an earthquake struck.

RUMBLE RUMBLE!!!

“What?!”

Aris and everyone else around them were startled and tensed up.

Suddenly, a fissure tore open in the air behind Davey and a rift appeared.

“Davey?! Watch out!”

Davey, who was about to move out of its range, surrendered his body to the voice he heard from within.

Poof!!

His vision changed, and a blue-haired goddess appeared before him.

“Goddess Freyja.”

The goddess had called to Davey. She then drew her hand across the air, showing him a premonition. He saw the confused faces of those caught off-guard by the sudden earthquake, as well as him being sucked into the rift.

“Ummmm. Ifyou aren’t busy, may I go back?”

The goddess hadn’t caused the earthquake just then. That meant a proper offensive was about to begin. If he didn't cast buffing or protective magic beforehand, he wouldn't be able to send everyone back alive like Aris wished.

In fact, in the scene Goddess Freyja showed, the imps and monsters, who had been quiet until now, were all moving to press the expedition. The imps seemed to be instinctively telling them that they couldn't let the expedition go any farther.

BOOOOM!!!

Soon, massive tentacles and gigantic imps began to slowly emerge from the cracked earth beyond the screen.

“Things look a little urgent.”

Standing next to him, the goddess slowly held up her tablet.

[Can you take responsibility for that world?]

He didn't have anything to respond with.

[That world is still growing. If you help too much, it will settle for less and prevent all those people from developing.]

She reminded him that excessive development beyond the crisis point would only damage the dimension.

Each dimension was born with a safety device. The reason Davey could act freely in worlds other than the bubble world was because those worlds had already finished growing. It was like how the same words could have a completely different impact on a grown adult than on a child.

The other bubble worlds were not like Troy, even from the start.

“I heard Daphne mention it before. So, if I interfere any further, this world won’t be able to develop correctly?”

[If a crisis comes one day when you are not there to look after them, all living beings, including humans, may find they haven’t grown enough to withstand it.]

Just as Tionis had developed in many ways while its scientific progress remained extremely slow, every dimension had its own unique traits. It was similar to how Earth made all kinds of advances in magic now, yet still couldn't surpass a certain limit.

[In that sense, you are truly a unifying existence.]

His existence arbitrarily bent the boundary of such dimensions. Originally, Goddess Freyja might never have tolerated an existence like him.

[Will you still help them?]

At that question, Davey fell silent before finally answering, “I’ll only lend a hand every now and then. It might be too late, but I’ll be sure to only use buffs that Perserque won’t notice. Even with just that...”

[That's just an excuse.]

Davey became speechless. Frankly, the real reason he genuinely wanted to help the world was because of Aris.

“But...”

[They can overcome it on their own. Though, if you don't properly interfere, that child, Aris, will surely die.]

Her sacrifice was faintly visible in the delicate line of fate.

[Ultimately, you’ve always supported dimensions becoming self-sufficient, which is why you made that decision even on Earth.]

Davey had simply watched the beings of Earth handle the mutated dagon parasites. Yet in Troy, he showed a tendency to go against that decision simply because he wanted to protect Aris.

[Unless you can constantly look after Troy, your current actions are like poison to them.]

“Honestly, it’s pretty hypocritical to say this after making that decision on Earth, but I find myself moving here without realizing it.”

Meanwhile, he was implicitly restraining his actions by using the excuse that he couldn’t be caught by Perserque.

Davey was in an ambiguous position, neither fully standing by nor fully helping.

[Sad.]

Goddess Freyja looked directly at Davey.

[If you are helping them simply because of your emotions, then you need to make decisions with more caution and certainty.]

Cheap sympathy didn’t take responsibility for the aftermath.

He could take care of them at that moment, but to take care of Troy for the time afterward? He knew it’d be impossible.

Davey couldn’t find anything to say to Goddess Freyja.

[Willow. Evangeline. I understand your heart is wavering because of your children.]

Aris was still young. She looked even younger than Willow, apparently similar to or younger than Evangeline. Perhaps that was why Davey was paying more attention to her, like a father worried about his child.

[But you must not forget that you are a complete divinity. Moreover, you are an existence who has been granted the authority to interfere with the world. The one and only miracle existence in the world—that is what you are, Davey.]

The choice he would make there would change a lot of things. Depending on what he went with, his entire future path would change.

“You got me. Ever since I entered Troy, I've been inconsistent. Even though I keep telling myself they need to overcome this on their own, even if it means sacrifice... every time I see Aris, I can't help wanting to protect her. I keep going back and forth because I don't want her to die.”

It was neither full assistance nor complete neglect. It was an ambiguous hypocrisy.

It’d be a lie to say every person in the world was good, but he knew these people were good for sure. Even so, he already knew their deaths wouldn’t be pleasant.

On top of that, the warmth the people of Troy showed made him even more attached to their prosperity.

[The gods of the past would have absolutely prevented your interference.]

That was because it was inefficient, as well as an outright obstacle to the dimension's growth. Since Davey wasn't going to look after Troy all the time, they would’ve judged his actions as problematic.

[But because I have emotions... I, too, am swayed by their warm hearts.]

Even the Primordial God, Goddess Freyja, felt that way.

[Think about what you truly desire. What exactly you think is best for them. And once you’ve made your decision, what you must do moving forward.]

She urged Davey to make a choice.

[Think it over carefully, and once you’ve made a decision, don’t look back.]

If he was going to help, he should help decisively, and if not, he should forget everything. After all, Troy wouldn’t be destroyed, regardless of the outcome.

Davey fell into thought.

The man he was before becoming a father and the man he was afterward were undeniably different. He had to admit that. Still, he couldn't help feeling bitter. He'd stayed the same for a thousand years, yet after having a few children, he suddenly found himself changing.

[Oh, actually, there’s another reason why I called you here. When you do something wrong, you deserve to be punished.]

An exclamation mark icon appeared on the tablet.

“Excuse me?”

At the same time, someone emitting a black aura emerged from behind her.

Davey swallowed a gasp and took a step back. “Holy shit...”

“Yes. You think running away will help you?”

The one who appeared, emitting a sinister atmosphere, was none other than Perserque.

“Honey!! I can explain everything!”

“You should. You should indeed. But before that, you can also be beaten to death.”

“Wait a moment, calm down just a little.”

“You don't even know why I spent so long preparing those ingredients. You probably think it was simply for research, but this time, I can’t let it slide.”

She raised the Transcendence’s Demise high above her head.

Davey wailed, “Goddess! Why did you betray me?!”

“Shut up and get over here, you bastard.” The malicious spirit devil Perserque dropped her dignified tone and slowly walked toward him.

Davey still hadn't secured anything to calm her anger. If he'd known this would happen, he would've just charged in and grabbed it, whether she caught him or not.

Hearing his cry, Goddess Freyja looked away, sat down by the edge of a small pond, and began singing a beautiful melody with her feet dipped in.

As her classical melody filled the air, Davey was beaten to a pulp.