I closed my eyes.
At the very least, Teresa had never done anything cruel to me.
She hadn’t tormented me either.
It was out of fear—fear that she might die—that I closed my eyes.
And then, I waited for the reactions around me.
Silence.
There was no sound.
Utter stillness.
What could this mean?
Was it the silence of mourning for a saint who had died mercilessly?
Or was it… no, never mind.
Speculating wouldn’t answer anything.
I had to face reality.
“Let’s open my eyes… no matter how harsh the reality before me might be.”
“Phew…”
I cautiously opened my eyes and saw Teresa’s neck intact.
She was fine. Or rather… maybe not entirely fine? A sword wound was still visible around her neck.
Wait.
No.
Even that wound disappeared. Cleanly… perfectly.
How could this be?
I witnessed the moment her injury healed with my own eyes.
No magic had been cast, yet the wound healed on its own.
“Did you see that…?”
“Y-yeah, I saw it.”
“Her neck was severed, and then suddenly…”
“It reattached.”
“Like magic…”
“Are you kidding me? There’s no magic like that. There’s no spell that can bring the dead back to life!”
“Then what was that? Are you saying it was a miracle?”
“It’s magic that transcends magic… I guess.”
“Something like that only happens in fairy tales, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah. The kind you see in stories about the first hero.”
“This is… unbelievable…”
“So, it’s true? That she’s a genius surpassing even the first hero?”
“Yeah. Seeing it with our own eyes, we have no choice but to believe.”
“Victor Evans.”
“He’s the real deal.”
“He’s genuinely extraordinary.”
The murmurs stung my ears.
Of course, they would react that way.
While my eyes were closed, everyone else saw it.
They witnessed Teresa, whose neck had been severed, come back to life.
After witnessing such an event, anyone would have to believe.
In the existence of buffs beyond human comprehension.
In other words… the words of the crystal ball were true.
Now, even I could believe in my own power.
Finally, I understood everything.
I was never powerless.
From the moment I was summoned to this world…
…In fact, it was I who had been protecting the world all along.
“Noooooooo!!!”
A scream echoed from somewhere.
It was the voice of the Warden of the Nation.
“It’s a lie! This is a lie! It’s all a lie!”
“What’s a lie…?”
The Emperor, grinding his teeth, glared at the Warden.
“What’s a lie? Did you not just see it yourself? Teresa’s severed neck reattaching itself! Damn it! That miraculous phenomenon can only be described as a buff! And not just any buff, but one imbued with the highest level of magic! Damn it all! Trusting you was my greatest mistake! Do you even realize how much of a mess you’ve caused me? Do you?!”
“Your Majesty! What are you saying? That sounds as if… as if you’re abandoning me. Surely, I must have misheard?”
“Misheard? Don’t be ridiculous! Because of you, I’m in deep trouble!”
The Emperor had long discarded his dignity.
Carlos had turned into little more than a raging beast.
Still, his commands carried the weight of imperial authority.
The Emperor decreed:
“Guards! Gouge out the Warden of the Nation’s eyes at once!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
One soldier standing beside the Emperor bowed deeply.
But he wasn’t just any soldier.
He was Grand Marshal Jack Grave.
Jack walked toward the Warden like the harbinger of death.
The Warden stumbled backward in terror.
“Your Majesty! Your Majesty! This is unjust! How could you issue such an order to gouge out my eyes? Please, consider the loyalty I’ve shown while serving you!”
“You fool! If you hadn’t lied, I wouldn’t be in this mess! You wretched scum! No, you’re worse than scum!”
“Your Majesty!!”
“What are you waiting for, Jack? Gouge out that traitor’s eyes already!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
“Your Majestyyyyy! Please, retract your order! Retract your order! Retract your order!”
The Warden screamed until his voice broke, but the Emperor didn’t revoke the command.
Jack Grave stood before the Warden, ready to carry out the decree.
At that moment, a man placed a hand on Jack’s shoulder.
It was me.
I spoke to him.
“Hold on… I think this is something I should handle.”
“You?”
Jack asked back.
“What do you mean?”
“It was the Warden who branded me as incompetent in the first place. There’s some bad blood between us. So, leave this to me.”
“I only act on the Emperor’s orders.”
“Don’t you sense the Emperor’s days are numbered?”
Jack didn’t deny it.
He didn’t seem like a good man, but he wasn’t foolish either.
I explained plainly.
“Today, I’ll clean out all the remnants of the old world. If you don’t want to be swept away with them, step aside.”
Jack Grave glanced back and forth between me and the Emperor before eventually stepping aside.
The Emperor’s enraged outbursts echoed, but I chose to ignore them.
For now, my focus was on the Warden.
“H-Heek!”
The Warden Zero.
From the moment I was first summoned to this world, he persistently labeled me as incompetent.
“This man is useless.”
“He has no skills, no abilities whatsoever.”
“How could someone like this be chosen as a hero? The Empire’s luck has truly run out.”
“Victor Evans. Never be arrogant. You owe an apology to the Empire.”
“You are a burden upon this world.”
I had to endure such words countless times, to the point where they became embedded in my memory—a bitter recollection.
“…Warden.”
“H-Hiiik!”
The Warden, who always acted so superior, now looked at me as though I were some kind of ghost.
He scrambled backward, trying to flee, but there was no escape route in this banquet hall, packed tightly with people.
I pursued him, cornering him.
“Why did you lie and deceive people… deceive me? Do you have any idea how many people suffered because of your silver tongue?”
“I… I…! I did it for the world!”
“The world?”
“Yes! You! You came to this world with overwhelming power! Power like that makes people arrogant! If I had told the truth, you might have become drunk on your power and become a threat to us! That’s why I lied—to keep you humble! That’s all there was to it! Really! I did it for everyone!”
“Lies only beget more lies.”
I understood his excuses well enough.
That didn’t mean I could forgive him.
“Even if your intentions were good, if the results were catastrophic, your actions cannot be justified.”
“I-I understand! Then I’ll apologize!”
“Apologize?”
“Yes, I’ll apologize. I-I’m sorry for lying. I never imagined things would turn out this way! Truly, I didn’t! Please, Victor, accept my apology!”
The Warden dropped to his knees, bowing low.
His apologetic attitude seemed sincere enough.
Then again, he didn’t have much choice left.
However, this wasn’t a situation that could be resolved with mere words.
“Warden Zero.”
“Y-Yes? Why? Will you accept my apology?”
“I will. They say even the wishes of the dead can be granted, so why not yours?”
“O-Oh, thank you! As expected, you’re truly generous! I thought you were no ordinary person from the moment I met you.”
“On one condition.”
“…What?”
“With one eye.”
…What?
“I’ll let you off with just one eye.”
“Wh-What are you talking about?”
“The fact that someone like you possesses the State Eye is what caused all this chaos in the first place. That State Eye seems to be the root of it all. I’ll be taking it away.”
“What are you—”
“You’ll understand soon enough.”
“Waaaaargh!!!”
I thrust my fingers into his right eye, where the State Eye was embedded. My fingers gripped the soft eyeball.
Of course, the Warden struggled and thrashed to push me away, but his strength was no match for mine.
I held his shoulder firmly and extracted the eyeball. The vitreous fluid burst out as I pulled it free.
“Aaaaaaargh! My eeeeeyeeeee! My eeeeeeyeeeeee! How could you do this?! How could you be so cruel?!”
“You staked your eye from the start. Fair game means the stakes must be claimed.”
“Huff… puff… The State Eye is a treasure passed down through generations in my family…!”
“That treasure plunged the world into chaos. Punishment is deserved.”
“Ugh… d-damn it…”
The Warden collapsed to the ground, clutching his eye socket.
Understandable—losing an eye entirely must be a staggering shock.
Though my punishment for him wasn’t finished, I decided to set it aside for now.
A bigger enemy was waiting.
“Your Majesty.”
I looked up at the Emperor on his throne.
“It seems we, too, have an unresolved matter.”
“Y-You insolent… do you think you’re my equal?”
“And why wouldn’t I?”
I had no respect left for him.
No need for formalities.
“You bastard.”
“Y-You scum…!!”
From now on, I’d go all out.