The Fake Hero Is Too Strong-Chapter 147

Impelium shrugged.
“You have already realized it yourself.”
“What are you talking about? If I had realized it, I would have used it already.”
“Either way, I can’t answer that question. When the time comes, you will figure it out on your own. I will give you advice then.”
“……”
“Back to the point. You’re probably thinking of demanding Velosian give you a way to save Serein. But that would be the worst choice, saving one party member at the cost of everyone else’s lives. As a leader, you need to be calmer, more rational.”
I swallowed hard.
And I reflected.
He was right.
Fear of losing a comrade had shaken my composure.
To rush blindly toward an unknown being like Velosian without a plan, that wasn’t like me at all.
‘Thanks.’
I felt grateful to Impelium for steadying my mind.
I was about to open my mouth to say so.
But he spoke first.
“So just abandon her.”
“……”
“Leave Serein behind and find a new party member. That’s the best option you have right now.”
Bang.
Before I knew it, I had him by the collar.
“Say that again.”
“I don’t think you misheard me.”
“Damn it. I was an idiot to think even for a second that I owed you thanks. How can you say something like that, telling me to discard a precious comrade so easily?”
“……”
“You know countless secrets I don’t. You have fought people like Adin and Velosian. I respected you for that. Which makes this all the more disappointing.”
“Mhm.”
“I won’t lose anyone. I will make sure they all live long enough to have gray hair and be happy!”
Thud.
I released him roughly.
That’s when it happened.
“Hahaha.”
Impelium burst out laughing.
He stood up and patted me on the shoulder.
“Sorry.”
“What the hell was that about?”
“I apologize. Truly. I didn’t actually mean you should abandon Serein.”
“Then why say it?”
“I wanted to confirm something. To see what choice you would make. And you gave me exactly the answer I was hoping for.”
Step.
He turned and walked toward the window.
Pulling back the curtain, he gazed outside.
With his hands clasped behind his back, staring at the view beyond… he looked exactly like the ‘figure’ I had always imagined.
“What are you looking at so happily? Mind if I see too?”
“It won’t make sense to you, but come on.”
“……?”
I stepped closer, standing shoulder to shoulder with him at the window.
“Wait, what?”
But there was nothing there.
The sunlight clearly streamed in through the glass, yet beyond it lay emptiness, as if the window itself were the source of the light.
“A quiet afternoon. Warm sunlight. A tidy room. And a view outside the window.”
“What are you talking about?”
“My vision of retirement.”
I gulped.
What he described matched perfectly with the ‘peaceful retirement life’ I had always dreamed of.
“That’s why you can’t see the view. Your version of retirement must look different.”
“……”
“I always enjoyed living in the city. What about you?”
“The countryside.”
“Then that explains it.”
He chuckled lightly.
Then he turned back to me, his expression growing serious.
“Once again I must say, you can’t face Velosian right now. But there is another way to cure Serein.”
“…! Tell me.”
“As Adwin must have already told you… her condition is because her soul has grown faint. Velosian erased half of it.”
“I knew it.”
“But Velosian didn’t erase Serein’s soul directly.”
He fixed his gaze on me.
“If he had tried to erase her soul in front of you, you would have fought him to the death. And he knew it.”
“……”
“So he chose an easier way.”
“An easier way?”
“He erased half the soul of someone connected to Serein’s.”
What?
I demanded an explanation with my eyes alone.
Impelium turned to the window again.
“Did you know Serein has an older sister?”
“She had one.”
“No, she has. Even now.”
“…!”
“The Second Finger of Lies. Pirensha is Serein’s sister.”
My knees nearly gave out.
“After Pirensha died, Idria abducted her. And, as always, turned her into one of her servants.”
“……”
“At that time, Idria was assembling the final piece of her plan to leave for the fake world.”
“What piece?”
“The creation of souls.”
Suddenly, everything clicked in my head.
Adin had said it once, Idria would depart for a fake world. But she couldn’t fabricate souls. That’s why she planned to annihilate humanity, to harvest countless real souls.
“Idria didn’t originally plan to exterminate all of humanity. At first, she probably thought she could create fake souls along with her fake world.”
“……”
“But that was impossible. Still, she was persistent. So she tested it… on Pirensha.”
“She created a fake soul for Pirensha?”
“Yes. And that’s how your party member, Serein, came into being. Originally, Serein was destined to be miscarried. But into that empty vessel, Idria implanted the fake soul she had created.”
My stomach churned.
Thud.
I collapsed back into the chair.
Serein’s parents had always treated her as if she were her dead sister.
In a way… they had been right.
Impelium glanced at me, then went on.
“As I said, it’s impossible for even a Demon King to create souls. Idria’s attempt was a failure.”
“……”
“She couldn’t create a fake. Serein’s soul remained perfectly linked to Pirensha’s. Not even a Demon King could sever that bond.”
“So Serein and Pirensha are basically the same person?”
“Not ‘basically.’ They are the same. One soul shared between two bodies.”
He explained slowly.
“On the surface, they look like two distinct souls. There is no visible tether connecting them. But they are one.”
“But then… Adwin saw both Serein and Pirensha. He wouldn’t have failed to notice that, right?”
Impelium smiled faintly, as if telling me to answer it myself.
And in that instant, I realized the truth like a lightning bolt.
“Idria.”
“Exactly. She altered the color of Pirensha’s soul, just enough that even the most brilliant necromancer couldn’t recognize they were the same.”
“……”
“The Demon King couldn’t create a soul outright, but changing the color of an already existing soul? That would have been nothing difficult.”
“Why would she do such a thing… No, there’s no need to even ask.”
It was Idria who had made Ophelia die by Xenia’s hand.
This too must have been just another ploy to harvest Lies.
‘Come to think of it, before the regression we definitely killed Pirensha too.’
So I had been right.
The minions of Demon King who had fallen to Kaeld’s hand before the regression hadn’t really died at all.
Of course. There was no way that Demon King would let the “fingers” she treasured like her own children be struck down by someone like Kaeld.
That too must have been nothing more than a staged play to raise his reputation.
Just then, Impelium spoke.
“Starting to get the picture?”
“Wait. If what you’re saying is true, then Velosian only erased half of Pirensha’s soul. And Idria just sat back and let that happen?”
“He did it in secret.”
“What do you mean?”
“Pirensha knew everything from Velosian himself. She was the one who asked him to proceed, hiding it from Idria. Most likely, Idria has no idea what happened between Velosian and Pirensha.”
I stayed silent for a while before finally speaking.
“Why would Pirensha… do something like that?”
“A child wanting to help her parents, perhaps. By sacrificing herself, she could bind your steps and that would help Idria.”
“Ha. Nonsense.”
“The Demon King and her minions reserve their cruelty for humans only. Among themselves, it seems, there is at least a sense of camaraderie.”
“……”
“Anyway, is that enough for you?”
Enough? Far from it.
I answered curtly.
“You skipped the most important part. How do we save Serein without confronting Velosian?”
“You need to sever the bond between the two souls. Then the world will recognize them as entirely ‘separate.’ The laws of the world will accept it that way.”
“……”
“And once that happens, the erasure of Pirensha’s soul will have no effect on Serein. If my guess is right, even a soul already erased will automatically be restored.”
“And just how are we supposed to cut apart souls that are bound together?”
“That’s… not something I can explain in words right now. You will have to see for yourself.”
See for myself? What did he mean by that?
Reading my expression, Impelium said it lightly.
“Go visit the Underworld.”
“…?”
“If you reach it, I will guide you further from there.”
“Are you telling me to just die?”
“Well, making the trip while alive won’t be easy. Here’s a hint: go beneath the Imperial Palace. You will find a way to reach the Underworld there.”
My mouth opened and closed in sheer disbelief.
“You just told me not to go looking for Velosian. Now you’re telling me to head under the Imperial Palace?”
“As long as you don’t enter the ‘special room,’ you will be fine. Any other door, you’re free to open.”
“Free to open them and find… what, exactly?”
“That’s enough. Our time is up. Return now.”
In an instant, the window vanished.
The table, the teacups.
The furniture, the patterned walls, all gone.
Even Impelium himself faded away.
All that remained was the same pitch darkness as in the beginning.
And at the very end, he said this:
“One day, I would like to be invited into your room as well. When you retire.”
When I opened my eyes, my companions were gathered around, looking down at me.
I asked,
“What are you staring at me for?”
“Your face.”
“Well, that’s obvious.”
“You had such a calm expression.”
“…Huh?”
I was pretty sure I had just had a rather intense conversation.
Xenia spoke.
“Did you perhaps have a pleasant dream? If it was too pleasant, that could be a problem though…”
“It wasn’t pleasant. But I did get a proper clue, so don’t worry.”
“That’s a relief.”
Xenia let out a heartfelt sigh of relief.
Neril crossed her arms.
“So what did Impelium say?”
“You’re assuming I actually met him?”
“You just said you got a clue. And besides, I saw that calm look on your face.”
“…Right.”
“So, what’s the clue?”
I calmly explained it to them.
Their expressions shifted again and again.
Adwin especially looked like a criminal guilty of a grave sin.
“S–Serein and Pirensha share the same soul? And I didn’t notice something that important…?”
“That was a secret hidden by the power of the Demon King of Lies. It’s not your fault, so don’t make that face.”
“…Hyung.”
“Anyway, the point is to save Serein, we need to sever the bond between their souls. And for that, I must go to the Underworld.”
Neril gave a faint smile.
But her voice, unlike her expression, was cold.
“That’s a metaphor, right?”
“Uh… no, I think he meant it literally.”
“He told you to die?”
“Well, supposedly there’s a clue under the Imperial Palace that leads to the Underworld. Let’s start by finding that. Just don’t enter the special room.”
Not that it really mattered, since we had no idea where the special room even was.
Even if our luck was horrible, what were the odds of opening that one door out of tens of thousands?
“Xenia. How close are we?”
“We are there. Time to descend. Agril!”
I felt Agril descending as I approached the carriage.
When I opened the door, Lisel was holding tightly onto Serein’s hand.
“How’s Serein?”
“Not well. Her fever is so high, she keeps muttering nonsense.”
“What kind of nonsense?”
“She said, ‘Swimming in a sea of gold coins is the best.’”
“That’s not nonsense. That’s just her true feelings spilling out.”
“Ugh… where are we now?”
I answered gently.
“We are here. And don’t cry. I have found a clue.”
“A clue?”
“For now, someone needs to stay and watch over Serein. You do that, and I will explain everything when I return.”
“Yes. Ah, Sir Mide…”
Suddenly.
She grabbed the edge of my sleeve.
Her eyes welled with tears, but she didn’t even bother to wipe them as she said,
“Serein may be foul-mouthed, and often… no, usually selfish and greedy, but…”
“……”
“But deep down, she is truly kind. She absolutely must not be lost in a place like this.”
Come to think of it, Lisel had traveled with Serein the longest.
I gave her a firm nod.
“Don’t worry. I won’t lose anyone.”
Because that’s what it means to be a hero.
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