The Second Son of The Marquis Runs Away from Home ~ Lacking Talent, He Abandons Everything and Becomes an Adventurer ~ - 145

Chapter 145: Boredom

“When Lowd returned from the ‘Tower to Heaven,’ he seemed to have burned out… Wealth, beautiful women, glory, everything people desire and think about was given to Lowd, but it wasn’t what Lowd desired.”

While speaking, Elford gazed at Lowd’s statue, his expression filled with a melancholic reminiscence.

“Hyend is the embodiment of the strongest creatures. The battle with Hyend must have been fiercely intense and harsh… Facing an entity incomparable to any other monster in the past, Lowd gave it his all and lost.”

“Lost…”

“For Lowd, who had dedicated everything to fighting, the battle against Hyend was the pinnacle of his life. But when it ended, and there was no longer an opponent to fight, Lowd was left with immense boredom.”

“Boredom…?”

“Lowd had staked everything on fighting. As a result, his strength reached a level where no one could match him. Not only standing alongside him but even standing in front of him, there was no one.”

Elford closed his eyes, speaking of what Lowd might have felt.

“Who would understand the despair when you realize there’s nothing ahead after you’ve devoted everything? Who would understand the loneliness of reaching a state where no one else can understand or catch up with you? And when Lowd, who couldn’t find meaning in life other than fighting, disappeared, adventurers with rare drops were attacked and killed one after another.”

Elford spoke with closed eyes, as if to prevent his emotions from reflecting in his eyes…

“I headed to that tower with everything I had, and then… I confronted Lowd at the tower’s peak.”

—

“Lowd… Are you the one killing adventurers?”

“…Yeah.”

“Then stop now. The guild is beginning to suspect you’re the culprit… You can still turn back!”

I didn’t want to give up. I wanted to believe that the heart we shared when we shared drinks… when we fought together, was still there.

As silence fell around us, Lowd turned around…

“…What good will turning back do?”

Looking into his eyes, I realized my own guilt.

“Are you telling me to continue living in this boring world? To continue doing meaningless things without purpose… to keep living while dying until my life expires?”

Feeling inferior, giving up on catching up, pushing everything onto him—it all led to Lowd having no choice but to follow a solitary path, leaving no other option.

“You can’t live like that. If I’m going to die… I’ll burn this power and strength I obtained to the last fragment for my ideal! To understand what lies at the end of the path I chose!!”

I should have pursued him. Despite the setbacks, I should have stood beside him. Even if it was a meaningless what-if, I couldn’t help but think about it.

“…Even if the world stands against you… you’ll keep moving forward, won’t you?”

“Yeah, if everything becomes my enemy… perhaps this boring world will look a little different.”

“…I won’t let that happen.”

Gripping Abyss Cord, which took the form of a magic wand, I activated the spell I had developed through research.

…If Lowd had completely controlled a Hyend with enough power to destroy the world, then the method I had arrived at to surpass Lowd was to draw out the power of Abyss Cord even more than Lowd.

My body began to change into something else. As my human self faded away, the power and knowledge of Abyss Cord that I had been handling flowed in and reshaped into a new body.

I could understand in my soul that I couldn’t return to being human. But with overflowing power and the self that had not been lost, I commanded what I must do.

“I won’t let you become the enemy of the world. I’ll stop you.”

“…Huh?”

As I released the seal’s spell structure I had built inside me during the battle, the light of the seal enveloped me, holding Lowd, whom I had grabbed with his sword, and sealed him to the top of the ‘Tower to Heaven.’ I was sealed underground, falling asleep… but I didn’t stop trying to stop him…!