Chapter 40: Unveiling The Mask

Stab—

Robert grinned in delight watching Zeus' unresponsive figure. However, the next moment, it turned into a frown as the dagger refused to penetrate Zeus' skin further. 

'Huh?'

Seeing this, Robert pushed more force on the dagger but it remained the same way.

'What the hell?! What is happening?!' He said with clenched teeth. 

Since one hand is not enough, he used both of his hands together to push the dagger but to his surprise, it still didn't go forward.

It's as if…as if it hit a metal wall! 

What kind of exaggerated defense is this?! 

"Doctor Robert, what are you doing?"

A nonchalant voice awakened him from his dilemma. 

"!!!" 

Hearing the voice akin to the sound of death, his eyes trembled, followed by a cold shudder that coursed through his body. 

"Are you trying to kill me?" Zeus turned his head and said with a calm smile. 

Taken by surprise, Robert accidentally dropped the dagger, smiled nervously, and slowly staggered backwards. 

"Ah, this…haha." Robert scratched his head and chuckled. "I'm just… just…" 

His heart raced wildly like a beating drum. Robert rummaged for any excuses in his head only to end up getting nothing. Cold sweats ran down his forehead as he stared at the young adventurer. 

"Just?" 

"Just…just trying to kill the mosquitoes."

"Mosquitoes?" 

"Yes, yes! That's right! Mosquitoes! They jumped on your back and I killed it since it might contain the plague." Robert appealed. Though he tried to hide the fear in his eye, it couldn't cover the fact his emotions were a mess. 

Hopefully, this young man is an idiot. Otherwise, his cover would be blown! 

"Is that so?" Zeus raised his brow. Even then, a gentle smile formed on his lips. "Really?." 

Hearing the young man's affirmation, Robert almost jumped wildly in joy. 

'He's an idiot!' 

This young man really believed it! In his life, he had never seen someone this foolish enough to not detect his lie despite seeing his clumsy body language. 

Robert immediately laughed. "Hahahaha, of course, I'm telling the truth! Why would I lie to you?" 

"I believe you!" The young man blurted. His eyes contained a hint of trust. 

Robert was about to thank the young man for his trust but the next moment, his words were blocked by a fast moving staff that slammed inside his mouth. 

"Kuuaahk!" 

A tearing pain assaulted his throat. He tried to scream in pain only to end up with muffled sounds. 

The young man continued, "...only if I'm stupid, that is." 

… 

Zeus kicked his staff at the end puncturing Robert's throat but it didn't go through. Instead, he flew into the air and slammed into the barricade which destroyed it in the process. 

Slam! 

Unfortunately, that still didn't kill Robert. Zeus shuttled towards him and stared at his miserable face. Then, he pulled the staff from inside Robert's mouth, giving him time to speak. 

Even then, it sounded hoarse as if his voice box were nearly destroyed by his attack. 

Robert glared at Zeus with a horrified gaze. The pain in his throat remained but still, he forced himself to utter several choked-up words. 

"How…did…you…found… out?" 

Zeus grinned and answered, "Through Khan's information."

Remembering the fat man earlier, Robert's eyes widened. "T-that… pig? How!?" 

Hearing his words, Zeus looked at Robert with a playful gaze. Then, he sneered, "Ah, still going at the act?" 

"What… do… you… mean?" 

"Fine then, let's see if you can keep that up." 

At that moment, Zeus' muscles bulged. He raised his staff, coated it with aether, and smashed it down to Robert's head. The power of this strike is enough to kill a Novice Rank with a weak defense. 

However, as soon as the staff went down, Robert suddenly vanished from his position and appeared 5 meters away. 

Zeus took back his attack like it was nothing, ignoring the momentum. After all, that was only feint.

"Is this the real you? Or are you still hiding behind another mask?" Zeus jested as sent a murderous gaze at Robert. 

Unlike earlier, Robert's face was cold. The change of demeanor and posture made him completely different as if seeing another person. Even Zeus was surprised by this. 

"This is me," Robert muttered as he wiped the blood from his mouth. "Tell me, young man, how did you find out? That fat pig was surely oblivious as far as I'm concerned."

"Ah, of course, he is." Zeus chuckled. "I only told him that the village chief is not the source of the plague after all."

"Then—"

"As I was not sure myself, I asked him many questions which weren't in line with what you told me." 

After listening to Zeus, Robert recalled his conversation with him. Like a scene from a theater, it played inside his head one after another. However, to his surprise, he didn't find any flaws at all. 

"I never revealed anything." 

"Yes, you did." Zeus grinned mysteriously. "Remember when you said that you're from the nearby village? Yes, Khan went there." 

Hearing this, Robert frowned. Even then, he remained silent. 

"Of course, that's not really suspicious evidence, but you missed one thing. The distance from that village to here is half a day if you traveled by foot. As I didn't see any animal that could be used here for transportation, I assumed you did travel by foot. At that moment, I began to doubt your authenticity. Even so, I didn't dare to believe it but the suspicion is already there."

"That's not enough evidence." Robert retorted.

"Indeed, you're right but you also blew your cover with this one." 

"What do you mean?"

Zeus' eyes narrowed, recalling the memories a few hours back. 

"'I am a doctor in a nearby village and after hearing this news, I hurried here'. Isn't this what you said? Haha, that's really a good one but that's where you fucked up.." 

After a brief pause, Zeus continued. 

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"There's no one to pass the news here to you. Even if there is, their travel time would be half a day at maximum and you going here would be also half a day. This means, you should be here by a day after the news went out." 

"But you didn't. You're already here the day the plague started."

"Your words might be true but that's not enough." Robert was still unconvinced. 

"Not enough? Then, why would the news passer go to a nearby village to report a possible plague? Shouldn't the kingdom have known it first since it's a crisis they can't ignore? Instead, they only know it after you report this incident. This means that no news went out of this village other than when you reported it. Well, you didn't really report it, instead, you made it a mission to lure adventurers."

"Still not enough."

Zeus sneered, "At this point, does it matter? The village chief turned into a mutated rat not because he's the source of the plague but rather someone made him that way and framed the blame on him."

Furthermore, Zeus also had evidence of it that he cannot tell Robert. That is, his quest was still ongoing. 

[Quest: "Not all heroes wear capes."]

[Description: Solve the root of the plague.]

[Reward: 5,000 SP.]

[Time Limit: 2 days.] 

[Status: Ongoing.]

This means the source of the plague was still roaming around somewhere in this village. 

"What? Still not convinced?" 

At that moment, Robert raised his hands.

"Haha, fine. You win." He chuckled in defeat. "I never really thought you would discover me with just that information alone. I even thought you were an idiot but here you are, talking smart." 

"You don't need to be smart to do that." Zeus positioned in an attacking stance. "Don't think about escaping here." 

"Well, I never really thought of escaping since he's also here. Right, fat pig?" Robert turned towards a corner where faint sounds could be heard. 

Khan stepped out of his hiding place and let the rain splatter on his body. 

"As expected, you didn't leave." Robert shifted his gaze to Zeus and continued, "That letter was a good idea. I bet the content was about me." 

Zeus didn't answer but he also didn't refute it. 

Robert was right, after all. 

The content of the letter was his suspicions about the doctor. After Khan read it, he was instructed to hide somewhere and wait for Robert to show his true face. 

"So you're truly the cause of this!" Khan roared as he clenched his fists. His throat tightened in rage thinking about the innocent people that had already lost their lives. "Why are you doing this? What's your purpose!?" 

Robert's eyes sharpened as memories played in his mind. After a short while, he shook his head. A nefarious grin formed on his lips. 

"I don't have a purpose. I just like experimenting with people." 

"Is that so? It makes me want to rip you into pieces even more." Khan's aether exploded, anger evident in his face. 

Robert glanced at the two men with amusement evident on his face. 

"Hahaha, I wouldn't be arrogant enough to fight you two but it seemed like I had no choice."

At that moment, both Zeus and Khan felt an ominous premonition. 

Shu—

Robert's eyes narrowed sharply before he whispered, "Curse Reversal: Return."

"Staff guy!" Khan roared. 

"Khan!" Zeus yelled. 

Using their fastest speed, Zeus and Khan arrived at Robert in almost an instant. Khan used his powerful fist while Zeus used his powerful skills.

However… 

"Hehehe, too late." 

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