Letting Freya find a hidden place to temporarily hide, Reji walked towards the forest alone.
Yes, even though he knew that in the past plot, if he wanted to pursue a perfect recreation, he should have gone to find people together with Freya.
But Reji still chose not to bring Freya.
It wasn't that he thought Freya was a burden.
It was just...
If he remembered correctly, the upcoming "search for people" plot would deal a significant mental blow to Freya, letting this Saintess, who had always been in the isolation room and never concerned herself with worldly affairs, witness the fickleness of the human heart for the first time.
Since he had already told Freya that she was family, Reji naturally had to do his best to protect his family.
In fact, there were hints from many previous details.
The Black Lion mercenary group frequently mentioned the term informant.
In other words, the other party's ability to find this place and launch a surprise attack on them was all based on information provided by the informant.
If this wasn't enough to illustrate the problem...
Then later, when Freya displayed her radiant divine power, trying to scare away those mercenaries, the leader still remained unafraid and directly pointed out that Freya couldn't use offensive spells at all, using this to dispel the fear of his subordinates. This was already very obvious.
Just what kind of informant was so clear about Freya's power?
There was only one possibility...
Following the coordinates in his memory, Reji arrived at a hidden cave in the forest. Even from outside the cave, Reji could already faintly hear the echoes of intense arguments coming from inside.
"This is the weak little guy you were talking about!??"
"Didn't you say he was seriously injured? Where is he injured? How can he still beat up our people like this if he's injured??"
"You two are not allowed to leave today! You must give us an explanation! Otherwise, we can't face our dead boss and brothers!"
"Yes, that's right! If it weren't for your information, Boss wouldn't have died!"
This cave was the stronghold of the Black Lion mercenary group.
The group of battered mercenaries who had been beaten and chased away by Reji earlier were now gathered here, surrounding two men.
If Freya were here, she would recognize at a glance.
Weren't those two men Matthew and Tabor, her two companions on this journey?
Tabor frowned and repeated, "You said that hero not only didn't run away but also killed your boss?"
"What else could it be? Do you think we would joke about something like this?"
"How is that possible! Even with Lady Freya's healing, his injuries may have healed, but I've checked that guy's strength. He's not even at the third tier!"
"Huh!? What did you say about the third tier?! It's because of your crappy misleading information that we suffered such heavy casualties. Third tier, my ass! He's definitely an archmage who can turn a tree branch into a sword. It's definitely a spell above the fifth tier!!"
The Black Lion mercenaries were furious and directly spat at the two paladins.
"Killing so many of you with just a tree branch... No, there must be something wrong. Could it be... could it be that the prophecy Freya spoke of wasn't fake, and that guy is really some kind of... chosen one?"
One of the paladins panicked.
"That's how it was supposed to be. I did it. I became Freya's exclusive guard. I could see that girl in the isolation room every day, that girl who couldn't be tainted by any worldly things, that pure and flawless girl, that girl who belonged only to me! But! But!!"
Tabor's expression became more and more crazed.
Until finally, he directly roared at Reji.
"It's that damn prophecy! The chosen one, the hero who will save the world... Freya left the temple for the first time, left the isolation room, saying she was going to find this person, saying she was preparing for the 'calamity.' Ha, hahaha, why! Why!!"
"I worked hard all my life to get close to Freya, and you, what have you done! What gives you the right to make Freya actively seek you out! What gives you the right to make Freya obey your every command, what gives you the right to make Freya treat you so well!"
"What prophecy, what calamity... what doomsday... Fake! It's all fake! It's you, you've bewitched my Freya! It's you!
Die! No one can take Freya away. She's mine. Die! Die, die, die!!"
Radiant power surged throughout Tabor's body.
At this moment, he seemed to have a sudden breakthrough due to his emotional fluctuations, and his strength skyrocketed.
It was as if even the Goddess of Light took pity on this young man and showered him with blessings from the treetops in the forest.
Bathed in holy light, Tabor was overjoyed.
His expression also became crazed.
"Yes, that's right. If there really is a doomsday, if there really is a calamity, then that hero must... must be me! I am the chosen one! I am the hero of the Goddess of Light, I am the savior of the world!!"
At this moment, Tabor felt unprecedentedly powerful, with unprecedented confidence. He directly charged towards Reji, the light blade in his hand seeming to have become a holy sword as he swung a fatal blow at Reji.
Then...
Bang!
Tabor flew back at ten times the speed he had charged at Reji.
Retracting the leg that had kicked this paladin flying, Reji slowly walked over to Tabor, who was now lying in a pile of rubble, on the verge of death, his internal organs already shattered by a single blow, leaving only his last breath.
Reji actually felt quite sympathetic towards Tabor.
Especially after hearing his outburst.
So...
"First of all, the prophecy is real. In a few years, a foreign invader called the 'demon race' will invade the world. At that time, all of humanity will face a life-and-death calamity."
"Secondly, I will take good care of Freya on behalf of your Radiant Temple. You can rest assured about that. By the way, just a short while ago, she already agreed to become my family member. This is thanks to the assistance of those mercenaries you sent~"
Tabor's eyes widened. Even on the verge of death, he couldn't suppress his anger and jealousy towards Reji. Although he couldn't speak, his crazed eyes seemed to be telling Reji to explain clearly what he meant by family and what exactly had happened.
Seeing this, the kind-hearted Reji, in order not to let Tabor die with regrets, had no choice but to add one more sentence.
"Lastly..."
"I am the Demon King."
Splat!
Tabor's chest heaved violently. He stared with wide eyes, but unfortunately, after spitting out this mouthful of blood, he fell silent forever.