Ke-style law enforcement officers

Chapter 927 Deceiving Yourself~
……

"Huchihuchi..."

"I feel stronger than ever before."

Of course, this wasn't said by Milo in the Fog Wall realm.

It was Imnar's self-encouragement as he ran through the towns of the Kingdom of Kem.

After leaving the opera house by the sea, he finally understood.

The ancient gods show no mercy to anyone.

For some reason, he could no longer play the melody that summoned Pagon. There was only a rambling young man who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere in the audience, but none of that mattered anymore.

Imnar firmly believes he has not gone mad.

At one point, he realized with great clarity that if it was for the sake of redemption, he should not place his hopes on any superiors he could not reach.

If he can't save the country, at least he has the ability to save the three children in the cellar, right?

...

……

What Imnar didn't know was that the reason he ultimately failed to play Pagon's summoning melody was because Milo had drained the power of dream-guiding that was rooted deep in his soul.

The situation is already chaotic enough. Dozens of high-ranking beings have come to the Temple of Hook alone. If the will of the ancient god Pagon is summoned as well, who knows what even bigger trouble it will cause.

Therefore, before activating the Fog Wall domain, Milo ended his Dream Curse on Imnar.

This is also why Imnar was able to walk out of the opera house with a clear mind.

He has now given up on a series of unrealistic illusions, including those about himself being a savior.

On the way from the opera house to the town center, he saw those awakened individuals deeply mired in self-contradiction, a large procession moving toward the coast under the influence of a strange atmosphere.

Imnal knew his chance had come.

At this point, the town center would be empty, and he could easily take the three children away from the Kingdom of Kem.

...

Is that absolutely possible?
Crow said no.

On the top floor of the opera house, Claudio gazed at Imnar, who was heading straight for the city center through the ruins, his eyes filled with melancholy.

"I hope you understand that I'm trying to save you, my friend."

……

As usual, Imnar navigated the streets and entered the intricate network of alleyways, eventually arriving at the charred remains of the abandoned monastery.

He put down the bread and moved the charred pillar and iron gate aside.

"Come on, children! I'll take you away from here!"

This time, Imnar didn't jump into the cellar with the bread in his arms; instead, he reached his hand down.

"This is a perfect opportunity, we have to go, hurry up."

The three children climbed to the cellar exit and, upon seeing Imnar's unshaven face, finally lowered their guard.

Two boys lifted the little girl from below, allowing their youngest to leave the cellar first.

However, just as the girl was about to grab Imnar's hand, a look of astonishment suddenly appeared in her clear eyes, followed by fear and unease.

She quickly pulled her hand back.

The two boys below seemed to have noticed something was wrong. They glanced at the entrance to the cellar, then, with horrified expressions, dragged the girl deeper into the cellar.

It was only at this moment that Imnar realized there seemed to be something behind him.

...

He stood up and looked behind him.

What I saw was another man, listless, emaciated, disheveled, and unshaven.

The other person had the exact same appearance as him, even the ripped parts of his clothes were exactly the same. The only difference was that the "late" Imnar was not holding two loaves of bread, but two hammers, the hammers still stained with dried blood.

……

"who are you?"

"Who are you?" they asked almost simultaneously.

They were both extremely shocked by the other's appearance.

Two Imnals appeared simultaneously.

This is something that has never happened since the awakened will invaded the Kingdom of Kem.

...

Both Bread Imnar and Hammer Imnar stared at each other in astonishment. The moment their eyes met, some previously separate memories began to merge and converge in a strange way.

First, the image that appeared in Hammer Imnar's mind was of himself carrying two hard loaves of bread, traversing a dangerous town to reach the cellar of an abandoned monastery, and feeding them to three children...

The images flashing through Bread Imnar's mind were of himself in a dimly lit cellar, wielding a rusty hammer and repeatedly striking three children.

His vision was filled with bloodshot veins.

The hammer was being swung faster and faster.

Until he could no longer hear the children's cries and screams, until the sound of the hammer striking the ground ceased to be crisp and instead became sticky...

...

The merging of fragments of memory made them realize something.

……

In the distance, Crow had already appeared on an attic somewhere in the town.

He watched the standoff in the abandoned monastery, a look of realization dawning on his face.

"Ah, I see."

"All so-called redemption and destruction are merely the struggles of a god trapped in chaos deep within his own soul."

"Bread and hammer go hand in hand."

“He fed those three children every day and also smashed their skulls every day.”

"Is this the mutation that occurs when those in positions of power merge with humanity?"

"A form of self-justification?"

"No, it's two wills running in parallel."

"That's right. Two wills are growing, independent of each other. His strength is getting weaker and weaker, but his will is constantly getting stronger and stronger, and eventually they will go their separate ways."

"Just like the Holy Golden Tree and the Deep Golden Tree."

"So the fraudsters have gone this far."

"But even though his will was torn in two, he remained incorrigible, engaging in acts of kindness and destruction every day, and even deceiving his opponents."

"Deceiving yourself?"

...

……

Crow truly deserves to be called an ancient scholar with exceptionally high intelligence.

He could see the whole situation clearly just by glancing at it from a dark corner.

The fraudster's will has been torn apart.

Feeding three children every day is only half of Imnar's daily task. At different times, another Imnar will come with a hammer and kill the three children every day, simply because they are heretics who refuse to awaken their will.

As for the three children, yes, they were also products of Imnar's fractal godhood, like an endless supply of five loaves and two fish—they could never be saved or killed.

It's like Imnar played a cruel joke on himself.

He proved that he could not only fool the gods, but also fool himself...

...

And this absurd farce continues.

On the abandoned monastery, "Holy Radiance" Imnar and "Deep Abyss" Imnar, whose time balance was disrupted by Milo's appearance, finally meet and are about to have their showdown.

It's now a battle of bread versus hammer.

(End of this chapter)