The Academy’s Weapon Replicator - Chapter 139

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

The Academy’s Weapon Replicator, Chapter 139
Episode 42: Deception Operation (5)
Inhale. Exhale.
I repeated the deep breaths silently, making sure no sound escaped.
The most critical factor in this Deception Operation was my remaining Mana reserve.
Penelope’s Cloth certainly held tremendous Mana and was a remarkable artifact, but that didn’t mean it could sustain this absurd charade indefinitely.
I’d caught Heldre off-guard and dealt him a killing blow, but there was no way I could pull off another attack like that.
Maintaining the form of both Excalibur and Mjolnir was already straining me. Though for now, my act seemed to be holding.
Speaking of which—
“Please, spare me! I’m begging you! I’ll do anything!”
Heldre was groveling.
For me too, this was a fresh experience, though not a pleasant one.
In the game, Heldre was depicted as quite a formidable adversary.
Of course, he was defeated by the Constellation Academy’s faculty, so Aster Evans—the protagonist—would struggle to face Heldre directly. And that would come much later, anyway.
Because of this, Heldre’s downfall was never shown in the game, leaving him depicted as a mysterious figure.
He wounded numerous Constellation instructors and resisted to the bitter end, which was why he even had fans among the players.
For him to beg for his life now. For Zodiac’s pride to bend so completely.
“Heldre.”
I called his name and asked what was bothering me.
“What about your Divine Power?”
……
Heldre bowed his head. His expression was hidden, but his trembling hair betrayed rage and humiliation.
Heldre had not used Divine Power.
All twelve members of Zodiac possessed Divine Power. Originally, one cannot join Zodiac without it. There exists a gap that magic and Aura alone cannot overcome.
Yet Heldre had not used it. Not even after both his arms were severed.
Of course, I knew the reason why.
“You’ve been abandoned.”
……!
A god’s heart is capricious.
Some receive no Divine Power at all, while multiple deities may cling to a single person.
And sometimes, as with Heldre, a god grants it only to take it back.
Though I didn’t know the reason. The game said Heldre fought to the very end, but how could he manage that without Divine Power?
……I was not abandoned……
Then Heldre spoke in a voice thick with rage.
“My god did not abandon me. Even now, the god stands by my side.”
“Then why—”
I stopped mid-sentence and fell silent. Something shimmered into being around Heldre’s body.
It had been a long time. A phenomenon visible only to a player. A purple shimmer.
……!
I see.
So the god is indeed here.
Originally, players considered that purple shimmer evidence that a character had “fallen into corruption.” When the shimmer appeared, characters generally began behaving erratically.
But I had witnessed something during the Golem incident.
From that shimmer around Edwin, I saw Hephaestus manifest.
In other words, the shimmer was not evidence of “corruption,” but rather evidence of a god’s manifestation.
In short—
[Welcome, Frontdier de Roach.]
The frozen time I had experienced during the Golem incident.
And a voice that only I, perhaps, could hear.
The shimmer took form and appeared as a woman.
[Greetings.]
And the woman bowed gracefully.
[My name is Hestia.]
Hestia.
The goddess of the hearth, guardian of the home. In Greco-Roman mythology, the most gentle of all gods.
……To be honest, she seemed entirely at odds with Heldre. I’d expected someone like Lenzo—the “chaos eater”—paired with a war god like Ares through his Divine Power, but I thought Heldre would have something similar.
Perhaps in the world of Etius, the image of divinity differs from what I generally understood.
[You seem to think I don’t belong here.]
Indeed, she must be a true god. She pierced my thoughts so easily.
“I see. I’m curious why you granted Heldre Divine Power.”
I spoke within the stopped time. When Hephaestus had frozen it, I couldn’t speak—did this mean Hestia was a higher-ranking god?
[The reason is simple. I love humanity.]
Hestia spoke in a composed, measured voice that was entirely her own.
Whether that affectionate manner was genuine or a carefully woven falsehood, I had no way of knowing yet.
“What do you mean?”
[I believed that aiding him was the way to save the most human lives.]
“……A monster invasion.”
Hestia nodded.
[Gods can perceive the rough outline of what qualities a human will possess at birth, what fate they will walk. That’s why I aided Heldre. In the monster invasion, he would achieve the greatest merit.]
“……Before that monster invasion, Heldre was a vicious criminal, and now he dreams of overthrowing the Imperial Palace with revolution.”
[It’s difficult for me to pass judgment on laws and crimes that humans created among themselves. What I can tell you is this: Heldre has saved far more humans than he has killed—a number that overwhelms any other in the present age.]
……Hestia, who loves humanity.
Evil or good, she does not discriminate—she loves and saves them all, and the greater the number, the better.
So she granted Divine Power to Heldre, who saves the most humans.
That is truly the way of the gods.
[But I did not consent to revolution either. That future holds only rivers of blood and unspeakable death. So I tried to restrain Heldre as much as I could.]
It was true that Heldre changed after the Barrier was erected.
He transformed from a criminal who knew only bloodshed into someone possessed of compassion and mercy. People attributed it to his becoming “Zodiac,” but perhaps Hestia’s hand was in it.
“Even with that restraint, it proved ineffective?”
[I have no intention of forcibly changing his heart. That would make him a puppet of the gods rather than human. So I left him. I have only manifested by borrowing his body—now he cannot borrow Divine Power from me. I grant it only when I will it, only according to my decision.]
She was not giving him Divine Power.
Then it meant Heldre had pursued his revolution without Hestia’s aid.
Was the pathetic appearance Heldre showed now a rebound from losing Divine Power?
But in the game, at the final stand, Hestia would likely have lent him Divine Power then. Though the current Hestia wouldn’t know that.
[There’s no time, so I’ll explain briefly.]
Hestia spoke.
It seemed she was finally approaching the true purpose for revealing herself to me.
[As the human realm grows turbulent, the divine realm is no less peaceful.]
“Not peaceful…….”
At my murmur, Hestia nodded.
[I cannot explain in detail. Certain keywords would summon other gods, and that would be dangerous for you.]
“Could you tell me something, at least in general terms?”
At my words, Hestia lowered her eyes for a moment, as if thinking.
She was searching for how to convey meaning while avoiding keywords that might alert other gods.
[The gods have had one unsolved problem for an extremely long time. A framework of conflict has been built up since ancient days to address it.]
“……So it has an effect on humanity.”
Hestia nodded.
I asked.
“Then where do you stand in this, Hestia?”
[I am on your side. For now, at least.]
Hestia, who loves humanity, was on my side—for now.
If gods were truly in conflict, this was enormously significant information.
[But I hear you may be able to do something in this situation.]
“Do something?”
I looked at Hestia, bewildered.
Then our eyes met.
“……Ah.”
A landscape suddenly visible to my eyes—the same as when I faced Hephaestus.
Within it lay Hestia, repeating the same work eternal.
Her daily life rushed past like a dream.
Kindling the flame in her hearth, gazing down at the human realm and observing their lives with compassionate eyes.
An eternal flame that never died within the hearth.
‘Hestia’s Hearth’.
I stored that hearth in my Workshop.
[……Truly,]
Hearing Hestia’s murmur, I awoke from that vision.
Not quite a shimmer, but Hestia seemed surprised.
[You can observe the past through the Divine Eye. Just as Hephaestus said.]
“…….”
I had no answer. The truth was, I didn’t understand how this was possible myself.
Artemis’s Bow and its arrows. These two weapons are instruments I witnessed when I glimpsed into Hephaestus’s past.
The condition is likely meeting a god who has manifested in the form of a purple shimmer. Yet having witnessed the god’s past directly, I don’t even sense that I did anything myself.
Rather, it feels as though the god’s past is forcing itself upon me of its own accord.
[It’s time.]
Hestia, who had spoken suddenly, seemed to lift her head slightly. As though sensing something.
[Then be careful, Frontdier. You know this well enough, but you have many enemies.]
“……The fact that some of the gods are on my side is a comfort to me.”
Within the slowly fading shimmer, she seemed to smile faintly at my words.
And as the frozen time began to flow once more,
I saw Heldre again.
‘……All right. It’s strange getting used to this, but.’
The reality I returned to from facing a god feels like waves crashing down suddenly.
But nothing has changed. I’ll proceed with the operation.
“Heldre. Then allow me to make you a proposal.”
I spoke to Heldre. His eyes narrowed with suspicion as they fixed on me.
Even as he begged, he must have assessed his own chances of survival as slim.
Of course, his thinking wasn’t wrong.
“What I want is only your life. So a negotiation with you is impossible.”
“……Then what exactly is this proposal you’re making?”
Heldre murmured, visibly displeased.
“I’ll give you a choice.”
“A choice?”
As Heldre repeated the word back to me, I grabbed Kian by the collar and lifted her up. Heldre’s gaze shifted to Kian.
“It seems you hold your granddaughter dear.”
“……Wait, hold on.”
Heldre guessed what I was about to do.
And his guess was probably right.
“I’m going to drop Kian right here.”
“……!”
I spoke calmly. I was trying my best to sound that way.
“As she falls, I’ll strike her with exactly the same attack I aimed at you. It doesn’t seem likely that Kian could dodge an attack you couldn’t escape.”
Heldre’s eyes widened. Looking at Kian, her expression was largely similar.
“But someone like you could block it, couldn’t you? You managed to block it once already.”
Though both his arms were destroyed in doing so.
I smiled. I’ve felt like quite the villain since a moment ago.
Standing before a grandfather, I’m weighing the life of his granddaughter against his own life on a scale. Yes, by any measure, I’m playing the villain.
“I’m offering you an opportunity.”
At my words, Heldre clamped his mouth shut. His jaw clenched visibly.
It was an expression of anger, though I couldn’t know what thoughts churned behind it.
“While I’m dropping Kian and firing Excalibur, there will be an opening. You can use that moment to flee, or to protect your granddaughter. Your choice. For what it’s worth, I don’t recommend attacking me. Your hands won’t manage it, and don’t forget the one standing beside me.”
At my words, Heldre’s gaze shifted to Osprit.
Osprit is already at my side. With his abilities, he could easily defend against Heldre in this state attempting to rush us.
After a moment of silence, Heldre spoke.
“Then does Osprit also agree to this proposal? Won’t he interfere with me either?”
“Of course. Isn’t that right, President?”
I laughed as I looked at Osprit.
Of course, nothing had been agreed to beforehand. But with this proposal, Osprit would see through to the depth of my thinking.
“……Of course. I won’t interfere.”
Osprit said.
I stretched out the arm holding Kian by the collar to the side. Though I was using Aura, she was quite heavy.
“Then choose.”
Having said that,
“Ah!”
I dropped Kian without hesitation. A short, barely audible cry from her.
I pointed the tip of Excalibur, held in reverse grip, toward Kian. I pulled Mjolnir back with all my might behind me. It was the same attacking stance as before.
I haven’t named this attack yet, but it resembles striking a chisel with a hammer. Perhaps I’ll call it the ‘Chisel.’
“Ugh……!”
Heldre, seeing that,
──fled. Without so much as a backward glance. Disappearing far into the distance via Propulsion Flight.
‘……It worked.’
I certainly had no energy left for a second “promise” of that sort. Instead, I spoke.
“Rector! Chase after Heldre!”
“You’re breaking your word?”
“There’s no need to attack! Just drive him away so he doesn’t come back this direction!”
“──I see. Very well.”
Osprit also launched into Propulsion Flight, rocketing after Heldre’s vanishing form.
And I canceled Excalibur and Mjolnir. I plummeted vertically toward Kian, who was falling.
It’s awkward to say, considering I was the one who dropped him.
But I was going to save Kian.
He hadn’t earned death yet—there was still too much use left in him.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————