"A boring trick."

The elf gave an arrogant huff.

She had traveled far enough with the young man to believe she knew him well. Cheap bait like this could never hook him.

"Of course. So can you give it to me?"

"Huh?" The elf went blank, snapping her gaze to the young man with sudden anxiety.

Seeing that, Griffin quietly let out a breath of relief.

"I didn't expect someone so young to have already grasped the value of time. Unlike me — I had to become a wretched old man before I turned back to chase something so intangible."

"Intangible? Meaning you can't actually give it to me?" Banxia sighed. The look he gave Griffin was no different from the look one gives a corpse.

"No, no, no, you misunderstand." Griffin waved quickly and pointed toward the hooded woman standing nearby. "She is a pure-blooded human, just like us.

"And yet she has lived from the mythological era until now."

Banxia followed the gesture and looked at the hooded woman who had not spoken a word since this all began. "How can you prove she's human and not a monster?"

"That's..." Griffin faltered.

Fortunately, the hooded woman stepped forward on her own and reached up to pull back her hood, sparing him the trouble.

"Judging by your performance just now, you are worthy of joining our ranks. Join us, and that lord will grant you the immortal power of eternal life!"

Only then did all three of them see the real reason she had kept her face hidden beneath that hood.

A massive portion of her head was simply gone.

A wound like that would kill any human being ten times over. She stood there as if nothing were wrong.

That was proof enough.

"Have you ever heard of a powerful monster from the mythological era, the Eater of Life?"

"Hmm..." Banxia turned his gaze toward the elf.

The elf let out a slow breath, and a heaviness she couldn't quite conceal crept into her voice. "So it is... I had a vague suspicion before. I just didn't think it would actually turn out to be this troublesome creature. Legend says the Eater of Life possesses the power of Assimilation."

"It can grant, no, enslave is the better word, enslave humans to serve it for all eternity. An exceptionally dangerous monster. Not even the strongest warrior in history managed to slay it."

"So its lifespan is very long?" Banxia asked.

"Huh?" The elf blinked, clearly not expecting that question. "I honestly don't know. But there are no truly imperishable beings in this world. Even the Eater of Life, having survived from the mythological era to now, must be nearing its limit..."

"Nonsense! The Eater of Life is immortal and imperishable!" The hooded woman's voice cracked with fury, that ruined face twisting with agitation. "Its greatness is something you mortals could never comprehend! If you two want eternal life, then kill this elf for me, right now!"

The more frantic the hooded woman became, the more it confirmed the elf's suspicion.

At the very least, the Eater of Life's true body was not doing well.

Even Griffin found this surprising.

Griffin had known the monster would be severely drained after battling the strongest warrior in history — but had not expected its condition to be so dire that its own life was at risk.

Then again, this only made things easier for them.

Even with the mage dead at the young man's hands, as long as Griffin could leave the labyrinth alive and return with enough mages, there would still be a chance to bring the monster under control.

The pressing matter was to stabilize this young man of unfathomable strength.

"Young adventurer," Griffin said, slowing the cadence, voice low and raspy. "Sacrificing certain things for the sake of eternal life is nothing to be ashamed of. Loss is simply part of the road."

"Humans have limits. Only by transcending humanity can one attain true power."

"Think about it. If you cannot live forever, what will remain of everything you are doing now, five hundred years from now?"

"All your reputation, everything you have ever accomplished, will be forgotten by history without a second thought."

The more Griffin spoke, the deeper the descent into it. Something feverish and sick kindled in those clouded eyes.

The elf watched Banxia nervously, afraid he might actually be swayed.

His expression didn't change at all.

"The Eater of Life is right behind that door, isn't it?"

"Without my permission, none of you will ever, "

"Noisy."

The hooded woman never finished the sentence. Countless slashes swallowed her whole.

That body, the one that had clung to existence from the mythological era all the way to this moment — became a smear of pulp on the ground in an instant.

"All that talk about eternal life and imperishability." Banxia withdrew his hand without interest, his gaze already drifting past the mess and settling on the sealed final door. "Looks pretty thoroughly dead to me."

The abrupt turn drained the color from Griffin's face.

A mouth opened. No words came out.

The crucial link in the plan had just been casually trampled flat.

Without the intermediary between human and monster, getting close to the Eater of Life, already a creature of extreme wariness, would be next to impossible.

The thought of being cut off from eternal life sent rage surging straight to the top of Griffin's skull. The old face contorted.

"You bastard! Do you have any idea what you've done?! Every noble in the kingdom will come for you!"

"What..." The elf's expression shifted sharply.

She understood exactly which kingdom that was, the Central Kingdom, seated in the Holy Capital, its hand over the richest lands on the entire continent.

She had never imagined that the entire noble class of the kingdom was tangled up in this.

"Realizing it now is already too late!" Griffin's glare was venomous, as if every ounce of rage at losing eternal life had found a single target to pour itself into.

"I think you've got some things wrong about me." Banxia took a calm step forward.

"Wrong? Ha." Griffin let out a short sneer.

Something numb and reckless had settled in now. "You actually think a lone warrior can survive being hunted down by the kingdom's finest knight order?"

"A warrior?" Banxia repeated quietly. Then a small laugh escaped him. "As expected. Your level is just too low. You'll never understand what I am right now."

"Talk is cheap." The Dragon-Slaying Hero, once revered by tens of thousands, slowly closed both eyes like a man accepting his fate.

"If my body weren't so old and broken, someone as ignorant as you would be nothing. I'd kill you without effort."

"You look unsatisfied. Then I'll give you a chance."

"Hmm?" Griffin opened both eyes, puzzled.

A chance? What kind of chance?

There was no time to think it through. The young man's slender fingers had already come to rest on the crown of the old head.

"Rejuvenation."

A surge of magic thick with the scent of living things poured from Banxia's palm and flooded steadily into Griffin's body.

The next moment, every person present watched as the old man's withered, decaying body began to change, visibly, undeniably, before their eyes.

Creased skin pulled taut. Slack muscles filled out and swelled. Even the white threading through the hair began to yield, reclaiming hints of its old color.

"This... this can't be..."

Griffin was shaking, staring at both hands as though they belonged to a stranger.

Beside Griffin, the elf's hand flew up to cover her mouth.

In this world, authority over lifespan was something legend said rested solely in the hands of the Goddess.

So what was there to say about the miracle happening right in front of them?

➤ Next: Um... Can We Settle This?

Chapter 84 - Um... Can We Settle This?

The moment the mage died, the mind control snapped with it.

Most of the adventurers only fainted briefly. They came back to themselves clutching their throbbing heads, blinking at the world like they'd just woken from a bad dream.

"My head is killing me..."

"What just happened? Wasn't I marching?"

"Huh?! Where did all these bodies come from?"

"Wait — is that Lord Griffin, the Dragon-Slaying Hero? Why does he look like... like he did when he was young?"

"What on earth just happened..."

The crowd was still reeling, not yet recovered from the string of impossible sights in front of them.

Griffin, the Dragon-Slaying Hero, had lost all will to fight.

Head bowed, staring at hands that had grown powerful and young again, body still trembling with fine, involuntary shudders.

The thing Griffin had spent an entire lifetime chasing, abandoning everything to reach, had just been casually placed upon Griffin by the man standing there.

Immense fear and the raw instinct to survive spread like wildfire through Griffin's chest.

"Mm. Recovery looks good, at least thirty years younger." Banxia opened his palm. The mana inside him had dropped by roughly a century's worth, but the result was hard to miss.

He looked Griffin over with genuine curiosity, this warrior who had gone from old man back to the prime of life.

"Now if you lose, you can't use 'I'm getting old' as an excuse anymore."

"Um... Lord Adventurer, can we come to an arrangement?"

With the threat to lifespan gone, Griffin wanted to live more desperately than anyone in that clearing.

The figure who had once been the living symbol of valor and justice in the eyes of so many dropped to their knees before the young man without a shred of dignity, right there in front of everyone.

"I beg you, I will give you everything I have, my lord, just spare me this once!"

"Once I return! I will — I swear I will — build the most magnificent statue in your honor and sing your name day and night!"

"No, that's still not enough! Give the word and I'll do anything, anything at all! Truly, Lord Adventurer, as long as you, "

Banxia watched the man calmly.

"Then go die right now."

"..."

Griffin's voice stopped dead.

Lips parted. But no matter how hard Griffin tried, the word "yes" wouldn't come out.

"Just as I thought." Banxia looked away and didn't spare another glance.

"Watch out!"

The elf's shout rang out from nearby.

In the brief moment Banxia turned his back, the newly rejuvenated Griffin had snatched a short blade and lunged forward with a vicious expression, going for a clean backstab.

The act, a flat betrayal of chivalric spirit and every principle of righteousness, left the many adventurers who had idolized the Dragon-Slaying Hero frozen in place.

Nobody knew the full story yet. But it didn't matter. In that moment, Griffin had stopped being worthy of the name hero.

Under the elf's anxious gaze, Banxia simply stood where he was, seemingly unaware of the killing intent closing in from behind.

The elf shut their eyes, unable to watch.

SNAP,

The short blade shattered. The sound was almost delicate.

Banxia turned back slowly, glanced at the metal fragments scattered across the ground, and let out a quiet breath.

"A dog never changes its habits."

"That's... impossible..." Griffin stared at the hilt left in hand, face gone completely white.

The blade had clearly pierced the young man square in the back, through the heart.

So why had the short blade shattered? This was a priceless magic-item weapon.

Griffin had been careful. Had confirmed the opponent wasn't running Battle Aura to reinforce the body. There had been no Battle Aura ripple at the moment of impact. None.

So why,

The physical body itself... The thought crashed into Griffin's mind like a thunderbolt.

Eyes flying wide, Griffin stumbled backward.

Purely with flesh and blood, no aura, no magic, this person had shattered a priceless magical weapon?

Was this monster even human?!

"..."

Banxia didn't move.

He watched Griffin quietly, waiting for the side effects of the Rejuvenation magic to arrive.

He waited. And waited. And aside from sheer terror, Griffin showed nothing abnormal at all.

He was starting to get impatient.

"Hey. How does your body feel right now?"

Griffin was still drowning in shock, lips moving on a loop: impossible, impossible, impossible.

"Fine. If you won't say it, I'll see for myself." Banxia stepped forward, pressed his palm to the crown of Griffin's head, and murmured, "Magic to Show Fond Memories."

Mana flowed. A massive screen of light bloomed open in the air before everyone.

Magic to Show Fond Memories displayed all of a person's fond memories in reverse chronological order, starting from the most recent.

On the screen, an aged Griffin knelt on one knee before an elderly man wearing a crown.

"Your Majesty, thanks to your wisdom, all the sacrifices needed to deceive the monsters have been assembled."

"Heh heh. Those fools probably still think they're fighting for glory. Soon enough, they will become the first stepping stones on our path to eternal life."

The playback continued.

"..."

...

Hardened.

Fists hardened.

After the silence came the sound of heavy breathing, rising all around.

As the footage played, the adventurers who had been confused moments ago began to seethe.

They finally understood.

From the assembly to the departure. The supplies and the route. Every last detail, a meticulously laid trap.

All that lavish hospitality, all that attentive care, nothing more than fattening livestock before slaughter.

"That bastard! He was going to sell every single one of us to the demons as meat!"

"No wonder he spent a fortune every day before we set out, wining and dining us like royalty!"

Fury swept through the crowd like a rising tide.

Griffin slumped onto the ground, face deathly pale, unable to produce a single word in defense.

Griffin had once been a hero. Had been the light in countless hearts. Had savored every moment of it.

Now, inside that light, nothing remained but rot and lies.

"Don't look at me like that." Griffin suddenly screamed, voice cracking into hysteria. "You know nothing! I did it for the future of pure-blood humanity! If the plan had succeeded, we would have attained eternal life,"

"Are these adventurers actually included in that 'we' of yours?" Miss Elf said coldly. "Or is it really just the nobles, and you?"

"..."

Griffin's mouth opened. The last shred of fight dissolved into nothing.

"I mean, I did you the favor of making you young again." Banxia couldn't help himself. "Did you really not feel anything good at all?"

Because of this man, he'd had to drag a progress bar just to get to the truth.

Leaving the adventurers to crowd around Griffin with their torrent of questions, Banxia scrubbed the light screen forward to the most recent footage.

"So good... feels incredible... my body actually went back to what it was when I was young..."

"My stomach hurts a little, though..."

"No, now isn't the time for this, I have to survive, I have to!"

That, aside from shock, was the dominant emotion running through the Dragon-Slaying Hero's mind after receiving a young body.

Banxia cut off the mana supply, speechless. The screen of light vanished.

Right then.

So the so-called price of being despised by the Life Spirits was apparently... a mild stomachache.

All that worrying, completely wasted.

No, wait. That might only be one of the prices.

He'd need to run more tests before he could safely use Rejuvenation on himself.

Banxia rubbed his chin, and his gaze drifted back toward Griffin almost without meaning to.

This man wasn't entirely useless after all.

At least before the end, Griffin could still contribute one final bit of data to the Rejuvenation experiments.

➤ Next: The Strongest in History