◈ Episode 154. What Bloomed (1)
The place where the presence of a demon could be felt was none other than the branch director’s office.
AAU London Branch Director, Baker Chat.
The demon was possessing Baker’s body.
The moment I came to that conclusion, the questions lingering in my mind were resolved.
In other words, I had finally come to understand the structure of this vicious [Dungeon].
[Dungeon: City of Melancholy Rain]
[Appropriate Level: Lv.600~Lv.900]
[Collapse Progress: 2.3%]
An emergency update.
This dungeon had not been a scheduled update.
Well, considering the [Rift of the Broken Dimension] had happened more than once or twice,
I could let that much slide.
The problem was the appropriate level.
It was, somehow, ambiguous.
It was neither absurdly high nor particularly low.
Above all, the fact that I, Lee Hoyeol, had confidently entered the rift alone was a guarantee that this was an ambiguous rift.
Well, even if I wrote that off as another irregular characteristic of dungeons.
‘More than anything else, the traps crossed the line.’
Those were not traps a player could see through.
They were vile, to the point that malice could be felt from them.
They were traps meant to drive not only players, but every ordinary person trapped within the dungeon rift, to their deaths.
Even I, a demon hunter and their natural enemy, would have had a hard time seeing through them if not for Hiel.
‘I was certain it was a high-ranking demon.’
So, naturally, questions arose.
Even if it was not necessarily an upper-ranked Demon King, it had to be at least a high-ranking demon.
Shall I give a kind example?
Even someone on the level of [Laxioros, Overlord of the Demon Realm’s West], whom I saw on the Arcana Continent, would have already appeared before me, swelling with arrogance.
‘Laxioros was arrogant enough to rival Granfell. That one.’
Once they reached Demon King level, their confidence truly pierced the heavens.
But this fellow was strange.
So strange that I wondered if it was a trap.
Because it was crouching in a corner of the AAU London Branch, curled in on itself.
But as I said, my doubts had disappeared.
I looked at the branch director, Baker.
No, at the demon.
I murmured coldly.
“You have done something beyond your station.”
“……!!”
“Beyond his station……? Are you two perhaps acquainted?”
Schreig looked bewildered.
If it were a demon I knew, it would have started wagging its silver tongue by now.
It would have tried to deceive Schreig somehow and smooth over the situation.
But this one did not even seem to have the presence of mind for that.
It was an entirely natural reaction.
“Haa, haa.”
My level as a demon hunter had risen.
Thanks to that, the [Natural Enemy Relationship] between demons and me had become even firmer. A creature that was neither a Demon King nor a high-ranking demon nor anything of the sort could not even breathe properly before me.
I looked down at it with a cold gaze.
“Be silent.”
“……?”
“I did not permit you to breathe.”
“……!”
If it had been any other day.
I would have been fuming inwardly.
Are you trying to control even how others breathe now?
And just what are you spouting in front of Schreig?
I swear, I cannot live because of this damned mouth of mine.
That would have been me.
‘Just for today. I sympathize with that sentiment, Granfell.’
Soon, my gaze shifted beyond the window.
“From here, you must have seen and heard it clearly. The sound of those submerged in rainwater groaning in agony. As you watched that sight, what thoughts did you have? What emotions did you feel?”
“!”
When I said that much, the look in Schreig’s eyes changed.
Actions came before words.
Clang!
Schreig immediately raised his sword.
“Is what Player Lee Hoyeol said true? Branch Director Baker?”
The creature could neither affirm nor deny it.
Because I had not permitted it to breathe.
It merely clutched at its throat in terror, choking and wheezing.
Of course, no answer was needed.
“However, there is no need for me to know the paltry thoughts of your kind.”
“……!!”
“Even so, keep this in mind.”
I do not converse with prey.
Granfell, who held such a motto, and I.
The reason we spoke with a demon that was not even a Demon King was simple.
There is a limit to everything.
So……
“Do not cross the line.”
There was no need to draw up mana.
There was no need to raise the umbrella.
Yes, a warning was enough.
[“Fear” occurs in the unnamed demon.]
[“Suffocation” occurs in the unnamed demon.]
[“Death” occurs in the unnamed demon.]
Thud—
Baker collapsed as he was, clutching the nape of his neck.
Schreig hurriedly ran over and placed a hand on his neck.
Then he looked up at me.
“For now, he’s still breathing.”
Purifying the Demon King’s trophy, the [Evil-Stained Unicorn Baton], was important, but there was no need to offer a Demon King’s trophy as a sacrifice against a nameless demon.
‘The power of an exorcism ritual changes depending on the grade of the sacrifice.’
Of course, the [Exorcism Ritual] had already been activated.
Naturally, Baker’s body would not be harmed.
Schreig carefully continued speaking to me.
“By the way, what exactly happened here……?”
The reason Baker had been possessed by a demon?
I was not a psychologist, and I neither knew nor wanted to know such a thing. However, I did need to explain what I did know. Without embellishment, plainly.
“His body was taken by a demon.”
“……Branch Director Baker? That can’t be! Are you saying he was possessed?”
[Possession].
It was not an unfamiliar debuff to players. Even though their appearances had grown rarer now, until recently, demons had been monsters frequently encountered in rifts.
“I never dreamed demons could possess ordinary people as well.”
When did they slip into society……
Schreig, who had been muttering, flinched.
Then his face turned pale as he continued.
“Wait, then the Branch Director Baker I met yesterday was……!”
Even though he had been right beside him.
Even though he had spoken with him, he had not noticed anything amiss.
It seemed he was quite shocked by the demon’s method acting.
But the truth was even crueler, Schreig.
‘Because this is only the beginning.’
There is a saying that you see as much as you know.
Through this incident, I came to a clear realization.
Perhaps reality was a place even more suitable than the Arcana Continent for demons to run rampant. Let us assume. If the one that possessed Baker had been a True-Name Demon……
‘A dungeon far more vicious than this might have appeared.’
An AAU branch director.
Considering that AAU’s predecessor was Cosmo, Arcana’s developer, Baker’s knowledge of Arcana’s worldview must have surpassed that of most players, and even most demons.
The nameless demon had undoubtedly used that knowledge.
……Just imagining it is horrifying!
A dungeon of a level where escape was truly impossible could have appeared. But it is better to take the first blow sooner than later. What matters is that we now know of the possible danger.
In that case, there is no problem.
Because everything simply needs to be set right.
I said to Schreig,
“You seem startled.”
“……I apologize. I was quite startled.”
“However, this is only the beginning, Schreig.”
“Only the beginning? What do you mean by that?”
As I said, crushing the Demon King was merely the catalyst.
The calm before the storm.
The reason the demons had been quiet until now was because they were watching one another ahead of the [Demon King Contest]. Having entered the Arcana Continent, I had come to realize that.
The moment the contest began in earnest, the scale of the demons’ activities would become incomparable to anything until now.
“An incident will come for which this situation will be no more than a warning.”
“……!”
“But there is no need to worry.”
Clack.
I said that as I moved my feet.
Now that the demon, the root cause of the situation in the dungeon’s depths, was dead,
a message appeared before my eyes.
[You have cleared the rift, “Dungeon: City of Melancholy Rain.”]
“The pride that blooms at the end of trials.”
At the same time, the rainy mist lifted.
The City of Melancholy Rain, was it?
The tears that had submerged London had dried up.
“Will shine more brilliantly than anything.”
As always, I was not merely spouting grandiose words.
The streets of London were filled with trees glistening with moisture.
Aquariu oaks that had bloomed by taking tears as nourishment. Yes, because the leaves reflecting the sunlight that poured down after the dark clouds cleared were truly brilliant.
And there was one more thing that was brilliant.
[You acquire a trophy according to your contribution to clearing the dungeon.]
I could tell without even checking my inventory.
[The Hexagram Brooch is shining.]
I found it, the second [Hexagram Brooch].
...
Dududududu—
A noisy helicopter.
A reporter relayed the situation in an urgent voice.
“Th-the dark clouds are clearing, everyone!”
As though refusing to allow outsiders to approach,
the sight of London, which had been enveloped in rainy mist, began to reveal itself.
The rainy mist slowly lifted from the outskirts.
The first thing caught in the camera’s frame was the players.
“They are members of Second Sun. It looks as if they were in the middle of combat until just now! W-wait a moment. What’s collapsed behind the players is……!”
More precisely, they were the players who had been fighting desperately to protect the citizens.
It had been an unforeseen emergency update, but everyone could check the additional update details being added in real time.
Because of that, those watching were left aghast.
“Level 600 monsters, and wraiths at that, appeared.”
“They wouldn’t even budge against most physical attacks, would they?”
“You’re saying they protected citizens in front of mobs like that?”
“How are those guys even still alive?”
Second Sun.
There was no reason to doubt the skill of its guild master, Schreig.
However, the average level of the guild members, including executive Zachary, was not outstanding compared to other guilds.
Surely, not all of the guild members could be safe.
Gulp!
Those who instinctively realized that swallowed dryly in tension.
“!”
But it was an unbelievable sight.
There were no players with serious injuries, nor anyone collapsed on the ground. Going further, even the citizens who had fallen were regaining consciousness one by one and rising to their feet.
Dududududu—
No matter which street in London the camera showed, the situation was the same.
A rift, and not only that, a dungeon that had never once appeared before.
Even though all of London had been covered within such a dungeon rift,
not a single casualty could be seen.
“Are you watching this? It is a miracle. A miracle has happened, everyone!”
The United Kingdom.
No, the entire world let out a sigh of relief.
Soon, when the rescue teams and military forces on standby were deployed,
those who set foot in London were able to witness it.
“……Wait a minute, was there always a tree-lined road here?”
The noble trees that had bloomed from the seeds of tears.
...
[Mysterious trees appear throughout the streets of London……!]
[Second Sun Guild Member: “The trees restored our vitality.”]
[Survivors: “Even while unconscious, we could feel a warm heat. We want to express our gratitude to the players who sacrificed themselves for us…….”]
They were trees that did not exist in reality.
Even if he did not know the name of the trees like the others,
Schreig knew their identity.
AAU London Branch.
“Wait, it’s Schreig!!”
When Schreig emerged from there, the gazes of the busy reporters focused on him.
Everyone rushed toward Schreig.
“Mr. Schreig, what exactly happened?”
“Was the AAU London Branch perhaps the deepest part of the dungeon?”
“Where is Player Lee Hoyeol?”
Schreig swallowed a small laugh.
‘This isn’t where I’m supposed to stand.’
The protagonist, Hoyeol, had activated a portal as soon as he cleared the rift.
He had left the scene.
Even when Schreig had pleaded that he wanted to offer him proper thanks, Hoyeol had left only the words that it had been something he ought to shoulder. So there was only one thing Schreig could do.
‘Today’s incident was no more than a warning.’
Foolish as he was, he had only now come to understand Hoyeol’s intent.
Why he had thrown himself into the Holy War, even going so far as to move the Yusra Kingdom, Frost, Muon, and the Magic Tower.
Now that he understood that intent, Schreig could not hesitate.
‘Confidence? Limits? None of that matters.’
Even if he had no faith in himself,
his faith in Hoyeol would not waver.
Having made that resolve, Schreig opened his mouth before the reporters.
“Today, London was saved by Player Lee Hoyeol. By him.”
“!!!”
*
Strict formalities and procedures.
I had even grown somewhat accustomed to this damned loose tongue.
Even so, I, Lee Hoyeol, was inevitably a slave to capitalism. Seeing as I hurriedly manifested a portal because I wanted to check the effect of the [Hexagram Brooch], integrity and innocence be damned……!
Yusra Kingdom, office.
I took the Hexagram Brooch out of my inventory.
So this was what they called a set item.
I could feel the two brooches pulling toward each other.
……If I combined the two, would some additional effect activate?
Like when I was a child, thrilled by transforming and combining robots.
My heart swelled with anticipation.
However.
“There is an order to all things.”
Yes, before combining them out of nowhere, I needed to examine the original item information. Of course, before checking the information, boiling the tea water came first.
Bubble, bubble—
This tongue that would grow thorns if I skipped green tea for even a single day, really……
Click—
In any case, only after tilting the teacup containing the green tea bag was I able to check the effect of the new Hexagram Brooch. And then, without realizing it, I opened my mouth.
“Utterly splendid.”