Chapter 30
The voice was soft, almost reminiscent of Yeriel’s gentle tone.
However, Yeriel at the moment was…
[Yeriel: Wendy, I think it’s best to be on guard.]
…in a state of being a plant.
‘All green and leafy~’
…truly in a “vegitative” state.
Anyway, enough with the small talk.
“Yes? There’s nothing to really be wary of….”
Right? After all, this place is near the Survivors’ Base.
In the demilitarized zone, no one can attack each other.
So, in other words, it’s safe.
Besides, just from the voice, they seemed like a pushover… I mean, a kind-hearted person.
I was just about to reassure Yeriel when—
“Greetings, survivors.”
Until I saw that person’s face directly.
“My name is Agatha.”
<Agatha>
[Constellation: Vanguard of the Sky]
A man with radiant golden hair that flowed down past his waist to his hips and a rare, handsome face.
“You seem to need comfort, weary and suffering as you are.”
His verdant eyes, as green as a lush forest, gleamed as he bowed gracefully in greeting.
[Constellation, The Abandoned Child, senses a foreboding feeling with the appearance of Agatha’s avatar.]
[Constellation, The Hearth of the Cosmos, pokes at the flames irritably.]
[Constellation, The Sage of Death, glints its wise eyes.]
I wasn’t the only one taken aback.
The appearance of a high-ranking constellation stirred up the audience.
“If you don’t mind, could we have a little chat?”
“…”
His words about comfort and whatnot were slick and polished.
Had I not known the sinister depths behind his charming exterior, I might have been fooled!
‘…Why is he here?’
Agatha.
With a presence as radiant as the sun, this guy was among the more significant villains in Three Lives Chronicle, alongside Wendy.
‘I was hoping to meet him much later….’
No, if possible, I wished never to meet him at all.
‘My luck is so terrible!’
To be tangled up with him from the start.
His constellation is the archangel ‘Michael.’
A relatively good-natured constellation, certainly not as problematic as Goebbels’s.
But that wasn’t the issue.
Agatha possesses a unique skill called <Apostle of Light>.
This skill uses a holy aura to make people obedient.
In a way, you could say it’s an advanced version of my own ‘Instigate’ skill.
…So then.
Why is this skill a problem?
‘Because he uses it to brainwash people into creating cult-like followers!’
He has a skill that can sway and manipulate people’s minds.
How many people could truly use such a power purely for good?
Later on, he would exploit those under his influence to commit all sorts of unethical acts.
Murder, violence, kidnapping, and imprisonment were just the basics.
I can’t go into details due to the story’s rating, but…
While I was lost in the vivid descriptions of the original story, a cold voice broke through.
“I have nothing to say to a scumbag like you.”
It was Xenon’s face, filled with murderous intent, something I hadn’t seen in a while.
“Why would I trust anything you have to say?”
If I didn’t stop him, he seemed ready to draw his sword at any moment.
He looked like he was confronting a mortal enemy on a narrow bridge, so I massaged my temples.
Haha, this guy….
It’s great that he’s watching out for suspicious individuals for the sake of the team’s safety, but…
‘Can’t you phrase it more nicely?’
With a sour smile, I jabbed at his side with my elbow.
Hey, cut it out!
You don’t stand a chance against him!
Fortunately, it seemed that Xenon wasn’t completely clueless.
As soon as I jabbed him three times in the side, he withdrew his killing intent.
“Oh dear, that’s a shame. I only approached out of goodwill.”
Agatha didn’t seem interested in fighting us, regardless of the situation.
He looked at me and my companions with a friendly smile.
A man wearing the mask of an angel.
But inside, he probably wanted to tear Xenon apart.
I knew his hidden side.
He’s a huge sadist.
He enjoys watching others suffer and fall into despair—a twisted, masochistic pervert.
He once sacrificed a devotee who adored him as a ritual offering.
And even stabbed the one he loved most to death himself.
What were his words back then?
“If I can’t have it, it’s better for it to disappear from this world.”
…Or something like that?
In any case, he was definitely not a sane individual.
But wait. Come to think of it…
‘How did Xenon know this guy was bad news and act so guarded?’
I felt puzzled for a moment.
But Agatha’s next words left me no time to think further.
“Then, let me ask the rest of you.”
He locked eyes with each person, and when he reached me, his lips curled into a smirk.
As if he’d been waiting for this moment.
“How about working with me?”
It was, without a doubt, a proposal that was hard to refuse.
I stiffened, like a prey caught in a trap.
‘What should I do about this?’
For some reason, he seems fixated on our party.
More precisely, on me.
I swore I’d avoid trouble, but I never expected it to come straight at me like this.
‘If I show outright hostility now, he might use his skill to brainwash me.’
The silver lining is that Agatha’s mind control skill isn’t that powerful yet.
I glanced at Agatha’s skills.
[Stigmata: Apostle of Light]
A holy aura that compels others into obedience.
It bewitches people with all sorts of sweet words.
[Stigmata: Truth]
When lies persist, even the most absurd falsehoods can become truth.
*No cooldown. However, only one slot exists.
The slot cannot overlap; if another target is added, the original target is freed from the ‘Truth’ state.
As expected from a top-tier villain, his skills were overwhelming from the start.
The only relief is that, for now, his power is weak, and the effect lasts only a few hours at best.
The problem is, while we’re under his influence, who knows what that lunatic might do.
And since skills like ‘Instigate’ don’t directly cause physical harm….
‘We’d be in real trouble!’
The silence dragged on for quite some time.
Everyone was probably trying to gauge the situation.
There’s no one else here who can see a person’s stats or skills like I can.
‘I’m a special case, after all.’
But they were sharp enough to sense the tension.
Xenon’s aggressive response, the subtle shift in the atmosphere, and my unusually cautious behavior all pointed to one thing:
They realized that our opponent wasn’t someone to be taken lightly.
“In times like these, gaining allies is always a good thing.”
But who is our opponent? A psycho infamous for his ruthlessness.
He smiled brightly, not caring at all about our reactions.
That eerie sense made my shoulders shiver slightly.
As I swallowed hard—
“There are two kinds of people who always smile like you.”
Xenon spoke first, breaking the lengthy standoff.
“Those who carry happiness and joy and spread those feelings to others.”
He placed a hand on the hilt of his sword as he spoke.
“And those who hide a knife behind their smiles.”
A low, growling intensity filled the air.
Xenon’s eyes turned cold and sharp.
“People like that usually stab you in the back.”
It was as if Xenon was saying he could see right through Agatha.
At his words, the corner of Agatha’s mouth twitched momentarily.
“We don’t need more allies. We’ll manage on our own, so get lost.”
It was practically a declaration of war.
If Agatha didn’t back down, it meant Xenon was ready to cut him down, penalties be damned.
Agatha stared at him for a moment before taking a step back.
“If you insist so strongly, I’ll retreat.”
He was wise.
He must have realized that there was no gain in continuing this conversation.
“Be careful.”
He murmured with a smile so dazzling it felt almost alien.
“If you’re not part of the group, you’ll become its enemy.”
His warm, friendly words sent a chill down my spine.
Maybe this was the hidden blade behind the smile that Xenon had sensed.
“Well then, see you again. Next time, I hope…”
Agatha rolled his eyes, seemingly deep in thought, before adding in a soft voice:
“You’re a bit more… friendly towards me.”
Considering his abilities, it was a rather chilling statement.
After Agatha turned his back and disappeared, I smacked Xenon on the back.
“Ouch!”
Of course, it was me who ended up crying out in pain.
Why is this guy’s back so hard?
“?”
Xenon looked back at me with a puzzled expression as if wondering why I had done that.
Seriously, this guy has no sense.
“What were you thinking, picking a fight with him out of the blue?!”
It’s true that I wanted to keep Agatha at a distance, knowing his actions in the original story.
But at the very least, we could’ve declined politely without making him upset.
What if that psycho snapped and attacked us?
Dealing with a guy like that as an enemy would be such a headache.
“I had a bad feeling about him. I can’t stand people who walk around with fake smiles like that.”
He’s like a hedgehog, always bristling his quills.
“Hey, no matter how much you dislike someone, if you speak to them like that and start a fight…”
“The moment he said his name, your face went stiff and your body tensed up.”
Xenon’s next words caught me off guard.
“You seemed like you wanted to avoid this situation. Was I wrong?”
An unexpected response.
His blunt words made me feel strangely flustered.
So…, in other words, he did this because of me.
He noticed I was uncomfortable and got cautious even though he didn’t know who Agatha was?
Why is he acting so uncharacteristically considerate today?
—
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