The Extra Can't be A Hero-Chapter 166: The Sword Saint (4)

"..."

Amon's accusation froze the room in an instant. The comforting warmth of the tea seemed to vanish, replaced by a biting winter that sent a shiver down his spine. The Sword Saint wore an amused smile, but beneath it lurked a deadly gaze—one sharp enough to sever a thousand heads in a heartbeat.

"How interesting… This is the first time someone dared to be so brazen with me in decades… I wonder if my reputation has reached an all-time low after my retirement..."

It was said that time forgets all.

Even though the Sword Saint had reached the pinnacle of humanity once, many assumed that he'd lost all of his power or, at the very least, was on the decline, especially after he abandoned his sword. So, it was right to assume that the Sword Saint's reputation had been dragged through the mud, and the respect he once commanded had evaporated entirely.

However, Amon shook his head to reject that.

"No, Lord Kassadin. You're still the respected and feared Sword Saint."

"If that's the case, why would you come up with such a wild accusation? In my house, no less?"

"Because… I know why you retreated from the world."

Amon continued his formal speech while staring the Sword Saint dead in the eye. For reasons unknown to the world, the Sword Saint threw away his sword and disappeared from the public eye. It was a mystery that baffled the most, including those closest to him. Even Alrock Solaris, one of the Sword Saint's closest friends, had no idea what factored into his decision.

Yet, Amon was claiming that he knew it.

"Ohhh? Pray tell."

"Lord Kassadin, you… are in search of eternal life."

"..."

For the first time since entering the hut, Amon felt the Sword Saint break character. There was only a slight crack on his lips, and that twitch was all it took for the astute transmigrator to understand that the Sword Saint had revealed his true feelings. And sure enough, if Amon could notice it, the Sword Saint became cognizant of his own mistake.

Heaving a huge sigh, the esteemed lord rubbed the temples of his forehead and said:

"Remarkable… I've never told anyone of my aspirations, yet you deduced it…"

Defeat.

It was not a word that Kassadin Bromm knew too well. He'd always been undefeated in his pursuits, and his ascension to the Lord Protector of the Realm was no coincidence. Even his decision to retire and disappear was part of his pursuits—a will to grow without any prying eyes.

Yet, it was all uncovered by this one boy who was barely twenty.

"Alrock, you raised a monster."

The Sword Saint mused to himself. The atmosphere became lighter as he relaxed. Now that his goals were out in the open, there was no need for him to keep up the pretences. He smiled right at Amon and shot back:

"How did you figure it out?"

"It was a coincidence."

Amon glanced at Yue, to whom she gave a firm nod. They'd rehearsed this many times in the past to prevent the Sword Saint from arousing suspicion. After all, they can't just divulge that he was a transmigrator who read [Bright] while she was a regressor who lived through the future.

"Yue has the ability of foresight, and she saw a future when you sided with the Demon Cult. It wasn't a clear vision, but we deduced a reason why you would do such a thing."

Amon stared at the Sword Saint, continually analysing his facial features.

The retired Sword Saint bore the quiet dignity of a man who had outlived a hundred battles. Alas, his once-powerful frame had thinned with time; the muscles beneath his weathered skin were wiry rather than robust. His hair, once as dark as iron, had turned a cold, silver-grey, falling in loose strands around a deeply lined face.

Scars, some thin as threads and others thick as rope, etched stories across his hands and forearms—the remnants of a lifetime spent on bloodied fields. His eyes had faded drastically, and it was only through sheer willpower that they retained their lustre.

Although he didn't show it, it was only a matter of time before the Sword Saint returned to dirt, leaving behind an empty legacy.

For someone who had lived his life defying the odds, it seemed like an unremarkable ending.

"The Demon Cult has a way of prolonging your life, no, to give you eternal life. That's why you sided with them and betrayed humanity."

"... you speak as if I've already become a traitor."

"No, you haven't…"

Amon shook his head as it was evident that the Sword Saint hadn't turned against humanity… just yet.

"But you will," Amon reaffirmed. "The Demon Cult's proposition is too tempting to ignore."

"..."

The Sword Saint remained silent, and his eyes locked onto Amon's body. At that point, a wave of envy, an emotion he'd thought he had buried, resurfaced.

Youth. Intelligence. Talent. A Solaris body.

Those were all things that the Sword Saint desired. No, those were aspects that all humans desired. And Amon possessed all of those traits. A rare feeling of rage stirred in the Sword Saint's heart, but he knew it was immature to act on it. Laughing it off while calming down, he said:

"You're right. Eternal life… It is a tempting offer, don't you think?"

"..."

Amon remained silent. There was a reason for the Demon Cult's explosive growth. They played to humanity's deepest, most innate desires—a young man who sought power to change the world. A mother who lost a child and wished to bring them back from the dead, and finally, an old man who was about to pass away.

They were all offers that were too hard to turn down, but naturally… everything came at a price.

"Selling your soul to the Demon Cult… you will get eternal life… but would it be the eternal life you desire?"

"You… you're something else. It's almost as if you have seen everything."

The Sword Saint laughed, clearly impressed by Amon's deductions.

"You are right, the Demon Cult has approached me. No, the one named the Prophet did. Multiple times. But, I haven't accepted his offer."

The revelation hardly surprised Amon and Yue. They had anticipated the Prophet's swift action, and given his unorthodox methods, it was no wonder he had managed to bypass the Sword Saint's defences and reach him. But the following words out of the old man's mouth went beyond their wildest expectations.

"After all… I was the one who brought him into our dimension."

"... you what?"

The couple looked at each other, their eyes almost popping out from the revelation. Although one had read [Bright] and the other had regressed from the future, they weren't omniscient. In the past, there was always a blind spot.

How did the Demon Cult invade their dimension?

After the Great Demon War, where the Solaris Saint and the Goddess Hyades joined forces to expel the demon invasion, the bridge between the two dimensions should have been closed. Yet, it was reopened in recent years, allowing a new swarm of demons to return and form the Demon Cult.

The most prominent of which is the Prophet.

No one knew what his true identity was, and many speculated he was the Demon King himself.

"It was an accident," the Sword Saint clarified. "I was testing something out, and I broke the dimensional walls. Unfortunately, the Prophet read my inner desires and used them to invade Hyades. Or perhaps… a piece of him was already in Hyades, and it was amplified by my mistake. I don't know."

The Sword Saint showed some signs of remorse as he confessed to his crime.

"Is that why… You chose to seclude yourself? To atone for your sins?"

"That's one of the reasons," the Sword Saint affirmed Yue's conjecture. "If I'm secluded, the Prophet won't be able to bother me as much, and… I won't be dragged into temptation."

The Sword Saint was remorseful for his actions. Even without the title of Lord Protector, his loyalty remained with humanity. That was the main reason he was still holding back from allying with the Demon Cult, even though just by saying yes… all of his heart's yearnings would be fulfilled.

"But ultimately…"

Before the Sword Saint could continue, a violent tremor tore through the mirror dimension, shaking the very fabric of the world around them. Cracks splintered across the crystalline surfaces, and the once-pristine reflections rippled and warped as if reality itself were buckling.

The force of the quake was overwhelming, a deep, resonant growl that seemed to come from the bones of the dimension itself. Dust and shards of mirrored glass rained from above, catching the fractured light like falling stars. It was unmistakable — their hidden sanctuary had been compromised, and whoever had found them was powerful enough to tear apart even this secluded realm.

"It seems like we must postpone our discussion."

The Sword Saint sighed with a heavy heart. The Prophet and the Demon Cult would never leave him alone, mainly because he was the key to their goals. So long as they existed, he would never get peace.

Fortunately, he wouldn't have to raise his hands today.

"Let me deal with the intruders."

Amon rose from his resting place, gripping Nyx tightly in his hands. As fractures spread across the mirror dimension, the weakening barriers allowed his senses to slip through the cracks, allowing him to probe the outside world. It didn't take long for him to detect the intruders, and among them pulsed a familiar mana signature, one he could never forget.

If the Sword Saint met that man, who knows what deviations could occur?

Therefore…

"It will only take a few minutes."