Chapter 285
A Strange Decision
Arthur sat quietly in the middle of the forest after Cain had finished explaining almost everything.
Arthur remained silent for a while.
He truly did not know what to say.
|Arthur.|
"Yes?" Arthur replied calmly, looking down at the ground.
|Do you feel as though I've been using you?|
Arthur's eyes widened slightly in surprise before he smiled and replied, "What are you talking about? I've never felt that way. I mean, if you're referring to how you became my system to grow stronger and all that…"
Arthur stopped speaking.
He stood up and looked at the sky.
"Of course I don't feel that way. Cain, you've saved me from hardship and death countless times, my friend."
Arthur smiled faintly.
"And let's be realistic here. Let's say you really did use me. Didn't I use you as well?
I mean, the rewards, traveling between worlds, the bonuses, the increase in power… I obtained all those things because of you.
So, if we follow your twisted logic, then I've been using you too, my friend."
Arthur brushed the dirt off his clothes with calm, effortless movements.
"You're my companion, whether you like it or not. I don't care whether you're Azathoth's brother or his father. You're my companion, and you've helped me in countless situations.
You've done far more for me than I've ever done for you.
So instead of exchanging these stupid insults about how one of us has been using the other, why don't we continue our journey toward a future neither of us knows anything about?"
|I like that… Let's do it.|
"Now that's what I'm talking about. But there's something I want to say."
Arthur fell silent for a while before speaking again, as though he had gathered all his thoughts and was now ready to let them all out.
"You said that Azathoth doesn't want to rule, dominate, or do anything of the sort. So why did he send all those Great Ancients after me?"
Arthur was somewhat skeptical about the matter. If Azathoth was truly as Cain described him, then he was a being who didn't care about anything and simply wanted to continue sleeping peacefully.
So why had Arthur fought all those Great Ancients? Why had he repeatedly put his life on the brink of death?
|This all comes down to the fact that you were able to defeat Cthulhu, Arthur.
As you know, Cthulhu is the High Priest. And you were able to fight Cthulhu and even imprison him. Well, you didn't actually imprison him, but you fought him and held your ground.
You stood firm before an immensely powerful being and fought.|
"What does that have to do with anything?"
|Arthur, no one in existence has ever fought the Great Ancients. No one has ever confronted them. No one has even stood in their presence.
Yet you managed to stand before Cthulhu, the High Priest.
Of course, when the Great Ancients hear that you accomplished such a feat, they'll want to fight you.
I mean, imagine it. An ancient, immensely powerful warrior whom no one can kill or threaten.
He has spent his entire life watching worlds be destroyed and created before his eyes. Wouldn't he be delighted to discover an opponent capable of standing against him?|
Arthur thought for a few seconds before memories of his days on Earth returned to him.
Back when he was nothing more than an ordinary human.
He remembered his older brother, Einver, the young man who had mastered every martial art. He remembered how easily Einver defeated everyone who challenged him.
Arthur could still remember Einver's expression whenever an opponent appeared before him, or when he had to fight a famous opponent or a world-renowned champion in a public match.
Einver's gaze had always been dull and exhausted. He was tired because he couldn't unleash his full strength or fight the way he wanted to.
Then Arthur remembered Einver's expression whenever he fought Elai, their other brother.
The only person who could stand against Einver and even fight him with equal intensity and madness.
Whenever they fought, their battles would last half a day, sometimes even longer.
Einver would unleash everything he had, and Elai would do the same. The two would clash relentlessly.
At those times, Einver's eyes seemed to scream with happiness and joy, as though he were a child who had finally received a gift he had wanted for a very long time.
Elai fought fiercely and relentlessly, his eyes filled with an unwavering determination to win.
Einver, meanwhile, fought with a pure heart, seeking nothing but enjoyment.
And every time, Einver emerged victorious, but only after an incredibly long battle.
That made him happier than anything else.
Now, as Arthur thought about it, he finally understood.
He understood his brother's gaze.
He understood the feelings of the Great Ancients.
He understood the logic of true warriors.
Throughout his life, Arthur had never called himself a warrior.
No.
He had never been a warrior. He had been an assassin.
But after his death, after his transmigration, he found himself fighting enemies face-to-face all the time.
He had come to resemble a warrior far more than an assassin.
Yet he had never acknowledged himself as a warrior.
"So that's how it is," Arthur murmured softly, smiling as he gazed at the sky. "They truly have every right to do so."
Arthur sighed before speaking again.
"So, now… is it over? I mean, no other Great Ancient will come after me, and neither a Lower Priest nor a High Priest will come either?"
|Not necessarily.
If one of the Great Ancients wishes to fight you now, they can come to you.
They know they'll be defeated. After all, you defeated the strongest being among them.
But they can still come. And if one of them becomes stronger in the future, they can come as well.|
Arthur initially smiled calmly, but his smile gradually widened more and more until the corners of his mouth nearly reached his ears.
"Yes. Now that's what I'm talking about!
You've truly made me happy with those words."
|You're insane.|
"Ooooooh, I'm insane, yes. Truly insane, and I couldn't care less.
I've let my ancestors down for far too long," Arthur declared, gazing at the sky before looking down at his hands.
"All my ancestors, even my father, were great warriors."
|??? Didn't you say your father was…|
Cain didn't finish his sentence. He didn't want to reopen an old wound for his companion.
Arthur smiled faintly.
"Ooooooh, yes. It turns out I created a wall that prevented my true memories from reaching me because reality had been far too cruel for my young mind to bear back then.
My father never did any of those horrible things.
In fact, that damn clan was the one that came after my father that day, intending to kill him.
They sent forty people after him. My father killed them all, but not before one of them killed my companion.
So, when I returned home and found my companion dead, countless corpses scattered around him, and my father lying on the ground, severely injured…
Well, my mind painted a different picture. One that was less bloody, but still horrifying.
And that was how I killed my innocent father."
|.....|
"I know. I know. You're probably wondering why I'm not breaking down, falling into shock, or crying over what I did…
Well, I honestly don't know.
I mean, my father was innocent of that crime, but he's still a damn bastard."
Despite saying that, Arthur felt something trickle from his left eye and run down his cheek.
His eye was crying.
Only the left one…
And that alone revealed the enormous contradiction within Arthur's soul regarding his father.
A truly unprecedented contradiction. One part of him hated his father, while the other loved and admired him.
"Ah, damn it… I really hate this," Arthur murmured in a low voice as he closed his eyes.
|I'm sorry for reminding you of that.|
"There's no need for that. I remembered it a while ago, and I needed to talk about it and tell someone before it all exploded inside me… Thank you."
Arthur smiled calmly. He had genuinely been on the verge of breaking down. Ever since the previous world, he had regained his childhood memories and had no idea what to say or do.
The whole thing had nearly choked him, quite literally.
But now… now he had finally freed himself from that damn burden.
He was finally free of it.
|Oooooh, look at him thanking me. What a stupid bastard.|
Cain's voice echoed through Arthur's mind, mocking him in a childish manner.
Arthur smiled happily.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
He burst into loud laughter.
"I'm truly happy… I'm so happy. Hmm…"
Arthur hummed as he raised his arms and stretched his exhausted body.
"So, I've made my decision."
|What decision?|
"I'm going to give up all my power."
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