THE VILLAIN'S POV Chapter 784 The Heir of the End (2)

Frey displayed no emotion whatsoever.

Rather, he got up from his chair and approached Gehrman with deliberate, ponderous strides.

"It makes no difference if I despise you at this moment. And ending your life would bring me zero benefit."

He halted right before Gehrman, gazing intently downward at him.

"Let me ask you, Gehrman. You're aware of the future—but only portions of it. Correct?"

The grin gradually vanished from Gehrman's features.

Observing this, Frey pressed on.

"I've pondered this for some time now. You possess knowledge of the future, or at least fragments of it… yet you lack innumerable specifics."

"You were unaware of Vex from the Hell Dukes. You had no idea about Amon among the High Demons. This fact alone confirms it."

"What comes to you are chiefly significant occurrences—pivotal moments that outline a particular trajectory. Separate points that form the direction you seek to follow. However, the spaces linking those points remain empty… shrouded in obscurity. You attempt to link them while keeping the overall course intact."

Such an approach involved navigating boundless unknowns.

Nevertheless, Gehrman had consistently followed that very method.

The man with blue eyes remained quiet for an extended period, locking eyes with Frey. Then he shut his eyes… and grinned once more.

"You're spot on. That's precisely the situation."

Frey's calm verification prompted him to settle onto the ground before Gehrman.

"Answer me this," Frey murmured softly.

"You withheld information about my link to Nameless. You kept silent on the future you're frantically striving toward. Not out of reluctance… but because it was impossible for you."

"Am I correct?"

Gehrman was briefly taken aback by how astutely Frey had connected the pieces.

He spoke no falsehood.

He inclined his head in agreement.

"Revealing the truth would cause it all to crumble. Just like one tiny element toppling a bigger one… which then topples yet another, and so on, until they all tumble and total ruin ensues."

Gehrman was scheming something vast.

An undertaking that encompassed both Frey and Nameless.

Frey Starlight had shouldered an overwhelming burden recently… his splintered sense of self, his tie to Nameless, the Aether World, the History Scribes, the Demon King Agaroth…

And above everything else, Audrey—whose location escaped him entirely, though she obviously possessed vital insights he yearned for.

His thoughts never found peace.

That he managed to stay composed at all was astonishing.

Gazing upon him, Gehrman came to a realization.

The youth before him could no longer shatter.

Even should those around him perish, he would press onward.

At some point, Frey had acquired something profound beyond simple fury.

A driving force.

A route he had selected solely for himself.

A route understood only by him—and Nameless.

Frey remained quiet for quite a while.

Then his gaze returned to Gehrman.

"I have just one query," he stated.

"And I insist you respond to it."

"That hinges on what the query is," Gehrman answered steadily.

Frey dipped his head.

"Given all I've suffered thus far… whatever lies ahead is bound to be far grimmer. I'll probably plunge even further into shadows than before."

"I get that it's essential for attaining the future you pursue."

"But reveal just this one detail."

"Once this journey concludes—once your desired future materializes—will I achieve it?"

"The strength. The strength to shatter the boundaries of this world."

"Strength matching… or surpassing what Nameless once wielded."

"Following all these losses… all this torment…"

"Will I seize genuine might?"

"The sort of might capable of obliterating this whole world if required?"

As Frey uttered these words, his face contorted into a frightful mask.

His shadowy eyes stretched wide… craving the response…

That craving…

it was the first thing since their talk began that stirred discomfort in Gehrman.

Disbelief etched plainly on his countenance. He hadn't anticipated such a query.

And from Frey's inflection… his stare, his manner of expression… Gehrman understood that evasion wasn't possible.

Thus, gradually… after inhaling deeply, Gehrman nodded.

Frey witnessed it.

He exhaled a soft sigh of ease.

"I understand… that suffices, then."

Frey rose to his feet, presenting his back to Gehrman.

"I can't yet mend your vessel, despite attaining the sixth stage of Shadow Adaptation. But that doesn't render you useless in combat. Safeguard yourself to the utmost—you'll join the fray as well."

With those words, Frey started to depart.

"Where to?" Gehrman inquired.

Frey gestured dismissively without looking back.

"To my father… and my sister."

Upon hearing that, Gehrman held his tongue.

Frey slipped from view.

---

With each step as he departed, the identical icy gleam persisted in Frey's dark eyes.

"That works… Even should disaster strike me at the close of the future Gehrman envisions… even if Nameless seizes control of my form… he'd continue along the identical route, even without me."

Frey shut his eyes.

Buried deep within him… in that internal sanctuary stained scarlet by myriad souls and rivers of blood—the blade he had once plunged into the earth remained planted, sunk into a crimson expanse.

Next to it were Frey… and Nameless.

The pair of them, treading the identical trail.

"Should one of us perish,"

they declared together,

"the other shall proceed."

Regardless of events…

regardless of what lay in store…

nothing would shift from here on out.

Frey bolstered his determination…

and shortly reached the spot where his father and sister waited.

In a remote area of the Shadow Sect, nestled in a gloomy woodland,

there existed a modest hut… freshly constructed by Gehrman for Frey and his kin.

It lay secluded, concealed from curious gazes… far more appropriate for Frey's present condition.

Upon reaching it, he discovered his father upright, having contended against Thanatos's curse for an extended duration.

"Father…" Frey uttered, hurrying to his side.

"Welcome home, my boy," Abraham responded with affection.

"Is it truly safe for you to be up and about?" Frey questioned. "That curse had you bound so tightly…"

Abraham grinned and swept his hand swiftly through the atmosphere, cleaving it like a bolt of lightning.

"No issue at all. I've entirely eradicated the traces of that vile beast's influence."

At those words, Frey engaged his Void Eyes to inspect his father's form.