CH 129

I didn’t think it’d be this much…



Seeing the power of the Fruit of Life unleashed, I was inwardly astonished.



It’s not like I was making light of it before.



I had made an estimation of its maximum power, and even considered the level above.



And yet, the result exceeded even that.



The Fruit of Life was more than just crystallized power.



It wasn’t that over 10,000 souls were used as nourishment for it, it was that they were all reborn as a single fruit.



So it wasn’t crystallized power. That thing was throbbing and alive.



That’s what made it fundamentally different from a Fahr Stone. The Fahr Stones I used so much were merely mana batteries.



This thing, however, was a mana generator that perpetually produced mana.



Mana-storing objects were a dime a dozen, but only living beings could produce mana.



The mere thought of a Demon King being born by consuming several Fruits like this one gave me chills. After all, it seemed as if this single Fruit of Life could match even the power of Epona the Hero.



If the creature known as the Demon King was the product of one demon and multiple Fruits of Life, then he would have to be invincible.



And a more troublesome part was that I had been drooling for the past while.



The same craving that I had when I saw this thing for the first time was raging in my heart.



[I want to eat it. It looks so tasty.] (Lugh)



I had never experienced such hunger.



There was a time when I fasted for two weeks as part of my training. And even then, I didn’t feel this hungry.



My instincts were screaming for me to eat it.



The temptation was all too sweet.



I felt like if I didn’t take a bite of it right now, I would go insane.



That was when my sense of reason stopped me in my tracks.



There was no way I could accept so much power.



And most of all, its substance was extremely dangerous.



If this had simply been a mass of sheer power, I might’ve been able to accommodate with the help of my【Rapid Recovery】and【Limitless Growth】skills.



I wouldn’t eat it in one bite, but gnaw at it little by little, and adapt to it as I healed my broken body. I could’ve managed that.



But this power was alive.



The wills and emotions of more than 10,000 people were forcibly bundled and mixed together into something that was so foreign and overwhelming that it was almost impossible to comprehend.



If I took those wills and emotions into me along with that power, my body would be unharmed, but my identity as Lugh Tuatha Dé would be erased, and I wouldn’t be me anymore.



I would be nothing but the string puppet of the Fruit of Life in the shape of Lugh Tuatha Dé.



[It really is the forbidden fruit itself.] (Lugh)



I smiled bitterly.



If I ate it, I would undoubtedly become stronger. And even more of a monster than the Hero herself. But in return, I would lose everything, save for my strength.



Sometimes, following your instincts is important.



But here, it’s not.



Use your sense of reason to overcome your instincts, and ward off the temptation of the devil.



Composure was an assassin’s greatest weapon.



[Now, let’s see what you really are.] (Lugh)



I managed to keep my emotions and instincts under control, and analyzed the rampaging crystal of life.



There must be some hidden truth that I don’t know about beyond what this thing holds.



Five hours later, I managed to get back to the mansion.



[Kyah…! Lugh-sama! What happened to you!?] (Tarte)



Tarte screamed and dropped the plate she was carrying.



[I just pushed myself a little too hard. But don’t worry. I may be wounded, but it’s nothing too serious. I’ve already administered first aid on myself, and with my【Rapid Recovery】, I should be healed in three days.] (Lugh)



At the moment, I looked like a real wreck.



My clothes were in shreds and covered in blood, and I had a large laceration on my chest.



Moreover, my left hand was badly burned, my right arm was broken, and my ribs and legs were fractured.



I hadn’t been this beat up in a long time.



What’s more, as the Fruit of Life clung to my body, its conscious mana inhibited my【Rapid Recovery】, and slowed down my healing.



Though on the bright side, I managed to avoid any long-lasting damage.



[Um, should I call Cian-sama?] (Tarte)



[Yeah, please do. I’ll be waiting in my room.] (Lugh)



My dad was the greatest doctor in the country.



Even if I missed anything during my self-check, he would know.



[In that case, I’m going immediately.] (Tarte)



Tarte rushed to my father’s office.



I leaned against the wall and walked.



[…That’s one hell of a bomb I’ve got in my hands.] (Lugh)



My body was in tatters, and my mana had run out.



Despite that, the corner of my mouth was pointing upward.



Because I managed to get results that were worth the injuries.



Although I had some trouble with it, I was able to analyze the Fruit of Life.



I was getting stronger.



And I had discovered the rule that the Goddess, the demons, and the people from the Church had been hiding.



And this was far more important than getting stronger.



I found an alternative that the Goddess and the demons had kept hidden from me. If I picked it, I could achieve an ending that neither the Goddess nor the demons nor any of the “players” wished for.



And so, I went for that secret option.



If I kept following the rules those guys had set, and staying on the rails they had laid out, my happiness would be destroyed.



Ahh, I see.



Now I understand.



I finally know what will cause Epona the Hero to lose her mind in the future.



I opened my eyes.



My body was cleansed, and I was now dressed in comfy sleepwear.



I had bandages all over me.



I didn’t know how, but the mana that was clinging to me and preventing my recovery had been removed.



That’s my dad for you. He gave me the perfect treatment.



[Ah! Lugh-sama has woken up!] (Tarte)



[For God’s sake…! We were so worried about you.] (Dia)



Tarte and Dia called out to me while still holding my hands.



[…Did I pass out?] (Lugh)



[I was so shocked. I brought Cian-sama to your room, and we found you collapsed in front of your bed, completely still.] (Tarte)



[For a moment, I really thought you had died.] (Dia)



I remembered what happened, albeit faintly.



As soon as I entered my room, the strings holding me up snapped, and all of my strength left my body.



[Sorry about that. I got too reckless this time.] (Lugh)



[If you’re going to do something reckless, then take me with you next time!] (Dia)



[Me too! It is my duty to protect you, Lugh-sama!] (Tarte)



[No, it’s too dangerous. If I had made one wrong step, I would’ve died. So I can’t take you there. If I had, you would’ve definitely gotten injured as well. …And even more severely than me.] (Lugh)



Frankly speaking, the Fruit of Life was undoubtedly more powerful than I could handle.



[That’s precisely why we should come along. The two of us have gotten stronger as well. We’re not just going to have you protect us forever.] (Dia)



[That’s right. We’ve been polishing the power you have given us every day, Lugh-sama.] (Tarte)



Ever since I gave them【Rapid Recovery】and【Limitless Growth】by using the power of【My Loyal Knights】, in addition to their already ongoing training, the two had also been training to improve their physical abilities and mana capacity.



The results began to show, and they had achieved the pinnacle of human standards.



Besides, thinking back on all the times we fought the demons, it was obvious.



Not a single one of them were solo victories. I won because the two of them were there with me.



They didn’t need me to protect them anymore.



…I should’ve known that much.



[You’re right. I’ll be counting on you next time.] (Lugh)



Which is why I decided to listen to them.



I accepted the fact that they were now capable of standing on their own.



[Glad that you agree with us. Well then, I’m going back to my room. Today, you have to rest.] (Dia)



[Sure. I’ll admit I’m really tired.] (Lugh)



Thanks to my【Rapid Recovery】, I had regained much of my strength and mana.



However, my body felt as heavy as lead, and I couldn’t think straight.



[Um, would you like to have a meal? Cian-sama said that you were in good enough condition to eat.] (Tarte)



[In that case, I guess I’ll have some food. Something light, like noodles maybe.] (Lugh)



[Understood. I’ll make some right away.] (Tarte)



The two of them were about to leave the room.



And as they did, I called out to them.



[Say… Am I still me?] (Lugh)



[Don’t ask such a weird question. You are you, Lugh.] (Dia)



[Um, are you feeling sick in any way!?] (Tarte)



[No, forget what I said. Sorry for asking you something weird.] (Lugh)



I laid back down.



I was analyzing the Fruit of Life when an accident happened.



To begin with, although I was trying to study it, I had zero intention to harness its power.



Because it was too dangerous.



However, I took the fact that it was alive and had a will of its own too lightly.



As long as that would be the case, the Fruit of Life would act for a purpose.



And it was for that same purpose that it tried to entice me and make me eat it.



I suppressed the urge to with my willpower, and called myself down.



But then, the Fruit of Life made its next move. Instead of enticing me and waiting for me to eat it, it tried to eat me and assimilate me.



I found myself connected to it, then my personality was crushed by the aggregated consciousness of more than 10,000 souls, and I was practically cornered into becoming a puppet that would fulfill the goal of the Fruit of Life.



But at the last moment, I was able to use the insurance I had in place to protect my personality, and put a lid on my connection to the Fruit.



The reason I was able to get a lot of information was because the moment the Fruit of Life took control of me, all the details about whatever purpose it wanted me to achieve flowed into me.



But in return, my connection to it remained even now.



Sure, I managed to keep it in check, but I couldn’t sever it.



[…Seriously, what should I do now?] (Lugh)



I held up my hand, and a vast amount of mana flowed out from it.



It was several times more than my own instant mana output.



The source of this power was the Fruit of Life, which I had sealed in the Tuatha Dé domain through certain means.



Because we were connected, I could pull stunts like this regardless of the distance between us.



This mana was what I got when I loosened the lid a little. If I removed it completely, I could let out several times more than that.



But I didn’t intend to use it rashly.



This power was a double-edged sword.



It was so dangerous that if I handled it poorly, I would lose my identity without even realizing it.



Still, it was undoubtedly a great power.



If I was going to outsmart both the Goddess and the demons, there would come a time when I would need this power.



I had to figure out a way to make it follow my will.



Even if it were a trap set by the Fruit of Life.