I Became the Guild Leader in Exile

91 – 3# Niflheim (4)

The flag with the shield emblem was waving in the wind.

The one holding the flag at the forefront was none other than Zik. Zik’s completely black hair was waving like a flag, but his red eyes were fixed on one spot.

Since the day Master saved me, I’ve never looked away. Master’s iron shield is where I belong. It’s a place I’ll stake my life to protect.

I’ve never doubted Master once. The path Master takes is the right one. Of course, there were idiots who scorned Master along the way, but…

I endured it somehow.

Master didn’t want that.

I didn’t want to be hated by Master. But they crossed the line. They used Master for their own political games. Can I just accept that?

[Think realistically. War isn’t something you can do easily.]

Of course, Vice-Master Cain tried to stop Zik. Not that he didn’t want to go to war, but if they did, they should do it carefully. They should focus all their strength to attack the Law Nation.

It’s not like they’re dealing with any other opponent. The Law Nation has been evaluated as a country with military power equal to Gideon’s. The iron shield without Master can’t win alone.

That was the conclusion drawn by Cain, who had accumulated many experiences as a wanderer. But Zik lightly dismissed Cain’s opinion with just one question.

If there was a master.

So, our family was humiliated.

Did he really think he could get away with this?

With just one word, Cain finally raised his hands in defeat. No matter how I thought about it, the master wouldn’t just sit back and do nothing. Instead, he would take bold action, going solo against the law and causing a ruckus.

Of course, that didn’t mean Cain was unprepared. He had mobilized the two strongest allies of the Iron Shield, the Creta Guild and the Amazones, going beyond mere allies to form a blood oath.

Although five years had passed, they had maintained a good relationship and helped each other in various ways. So, when Vice-Master Cain called, the two blood oaths readily responded.

“Thank you for responding so readily.”

[What’s the point of saying that? When a blood oath is called, you have to respond.]

[Yes, yes, so where is the master now?]

“He’s temporarily stepped down.”

Tiforte’s sticky gaze wandered around, searching for Isaac, but unfortunately, it couldn’t achieve its goal. Cain also didn’t think the master was dead.

“He’s definitely going to do something ridiculous again.”

It was unimaginable that the master would lose his life. Moreover, the master’s last words were like those of someone leaving far away. The master wouldn’t abandon us.

It seemed like he was trying to save a woman named Hell, a family member of Penril and Yormungand. At least, please explain it in detail. Cain was secretly resentful of the master.

But that was secondary. The fact was that they couldn’t tolerate the law’s tyranny anymore. So, they declared war, just like Zieg said. Of course, the opponent’s power was not to be underestimated.

However, it wasn’t impossible. Based on their experience, the probability of winning was very high. This was also because the Iron Shield’s power was immense.

“We’ll help too. We owe you a debt of gratitude.”

“I want to see my uncle!”

“Thank you, Penril. Yormungand.”

More than anything, the fact that Penril and Yormungand, the strongest in the law, were participating together was a reason. It wasn’t just about repaying a debt, but they had their own reasons.

“We must weaken the law’s power as much as possible during this opportunity.”

Penril already knew about the law’s extreme obsession. If they thought it was just their own business and ignored it, and the Iron Shield lost the war against the law…

The law’s interference would intensify. In the worst-case scenario, things might return to how they were before. But by then, there would be no one left to save them.

By then, the people who could save them would already be gone.

To prevent that, Penril participated in the war with Yormungand. And there was no reason to miss the opportunity to deal a decisive blow to the law.

Although the response was a bit slow, the law also quickly mobilized its power. They deployed two of the highest-ranking White Knights, the law’s strongest force.

White Knight Arnold, 12th in rank.

White Knight Berington, 10th in rank.

Although they were close to the bottom, they were still White Knights, an unstoppable force. The law’s holy knights advanced together, but they were defeated one-sidedly.

“The enemy is counterattacking.”

“Shall I help? Zieg?”

“No, I can handle it alone.”

That was Zieg alone.

* * *

Isaac, of course, was unaware of the situation on the ground. He was thinking about how to escape with Helen. There were three ways to escape from Niflheim.

One was to kill Helen and use the obtained soul to control Niflheim, then use the ruler’s authority to escape. This method was clearly not worth considering.

Then, there were only two realistic methods left. Both were extremely difficult. One was to find the deepest, hidden underground city in Niflheim.

“The easiest method, but the problem is that it takes too long.”

In the original story, the protagonist gave up on this method because it took too long, around 3-4 years. Isaac’s physical abilities were exceptional, so it would be significantly shortened, but even so, it would take around a year. They couldn’t afford to waste that much time.

Therefore, the remaining method was the one used by the protagonist in the original story.

“That’s a bit of a problem, but it can’t be helped.”

“Yes, yes? What’s going on?”

“Helen, please. Kill me.”

“What?!”

Helen was taken aback by Isaac’s sudden request, her expression shocked as she gazed at him. But soon, she quickly distanced herself from him. Ah, I didn’t explain it properly.

“Calm down, Helen. This is the only way to escape.”

“But if I kill you, you’ll become a vengeful spirit.”

“That’s exactly what I mean.”

As Odin said in the original story, in Niflheim, the living can never leave. The protagonist, Zick, thought deeply about those words and finally came up with a clever idea.

[Does that mean we have to die then?]

That’s right. Zick’s plan was to really die. To be precise, it was closer to a state of suspended animation, but the goal was to maintain that state and find an exit to escape.

There wasn’t much time to spare. The door that approached the state of suspended animation wouldn’t stay open for a whole day. Moreover, to find a path, one had to die once to create the situation.

“Then can’t we just ask the vengeful spirits for help?”

“Those things are just called vengeful spirits, but in reality, they’re just scraps.”

“What do you mean?”

“In short, they’re Odin’s puppets.”

Those who lost their lives to Helen were left with only remnants, similar to puppets without a sense of self. And these puppets followed the laws set in Niflheim.

They devoured the living to make them the same existence as themselves, and also monitored Helen to prevent her from leaving. That was one of the laws Odin had established in Niflheim.

“This is disgusting.”

In the end, Helen had increased the number of surveillance puppets on her own. From Odin’s perspective, it was very efficient, but to others, it was a detestable act.

Hadn’t Odin deceived Helen from the start? He never intended to free her. Of course, Isaac wouldn’t just let it go after seeing it for himself.

“Helen, I need to die to free you.”

“No way! I don’t want to kill anyone else!”

“I understand your feelings, and I’m not really going to die.”

Helen, who had realized the truth, firmly refused to commit another murder. In a situation where she might meet her family again… She had already stained her hands with countless blood…

Could she really do it again? Of course, she couldn’t. So Isaac tried to persuade her as much as possible. This wasn’t really dying, but more like deceiving.

“The moment the soul’s destruction is detected, the door opens for a very short time. Maybe it’s for Odin’s report.”

“For Odin’s report?”

“Yes. Even Odin can’t keep an eye on Niflheim, it’s that vast.”

Niflheim was a world created on a massive scale. In other words, Odin had judged that there were many people to eliminate. Anyway, Isaac looked at Helen and said,

“I promise. When this is over, I’ll let you meet your family again. And you’ll never have to kill anyone again, including now.”

It was an amazing thing. Despite having met not long ago, Helen trusted Isaac this much. So…

Helen placed her trembling hand on Isaac’s chest.

And…

“…You’re not going to die, are you?”

Isaac didn’t die.

“Huh?”

Isaac tilted his head, but soon understood the reason. His power surpassed Helen’s, meaning Helen couldn’t kill him no matter what.

…What now?