◈ Episode 195. Can You Keep Up? (3)
Light illuminated the darkness of the Zero Mountains.
“This really isn’t the time to say this, but… it’s beautiful.”
“So I wasn’t the only one thinking that.”
“It’s sparkling enough to make me lose strength. So pretty……”
A sphere of light so bright it almost seemed warm.
For all sorts of complicated reasons,
it was enough to make Dmitri, who usually frowned at the mere mention of Hoyeol’s name, trail off.
“……
What the hell is this?”
When they had entered the portal, he had been tense.
Though he hadn’t let it show, for fear Camilla would tease him.
There was no battlefield more threatening to a tanker than a forest shrouded in darkness.
In a dense forest, you could never know what monster
might leap out, or from where.
And this forest was no ordinary forest, was it?
It was the Zero Mountains.
Back when Arcana had been nothing more than a game,
this wasn’t some low-level area he had experienced.
It was the middle slopes, a place he hadn’t even been able to sightsee.
“Dmitri, incoming.”
Suddenly, Rox’s voice rang out.
Coming to his senses, Dmitri saw a rabbit charging at him.
Dmitri raised his shield.
“Okay!”
Thud!
He lifted his guard tight.
Even as he did, Dmitri continued his thoughts.
If Light hadn’t illuminated the darkness……
Bang!
“Ugh……!!”
Would I have been able to block that blow just now?
On the outside, it looked no different from an ordinary rabbit.
But for a rabbit,
the very fact that it attacked players first was enough to make one understand.
You couldn’t let your guard down because of its cute appearance.
Creak—
The bowstring was drawn.
With an arrow held between her teeth, Camilla spoke.
“How mush good shtuff did theze guys pick up and eat? (How much good stuff did these guys pick up and eat?)”
The fact that they had survived in the environment of the Zero Mountains’ middle slopes
was proof enough that they were no ordinary rabbits.
But as stated, there was “light.”
“Maintain formation. Even if their levels are high, they’re normal monsters. Their patterns are obvious.”
Under Rox’s command, Shining skillfully dealt with the rabbits’ surprise attack.
Was it thanks to the extreme experiences they’d had facing demons in the rifts all this time?
Or was it thanks to the Light illuminating the darkness?
Swish—Camilla swept back her red hair.
“Looks like the welcoming ceremony is more or less over~”
“……”
Thud.
Only then did Dmitri silently lower his shield.……
There was no way he’d be this quiet.
Sensing something, Camilla spoke to him.
“What’s with that reaction? That’s not like our youngest.”
“……
I can’t understand it.”
“Hm? What? What is it now~”
“What do you think his reason is for going this far?”
Thick—Dmitri’s thick finger pointed at the sphere of light.
Ah, that?
Camilla smiled.
“Well, if I knew that, maybe I’d have already run out of Shining too.”
Like our Jesse.
“Camilla, I can hear you.”
“Eek. Look at that serious face. It’s a joke. I’m joking, Rox.”
Camilla giggled, then continued.
“Honestly, does the reason even matter?”
“?”
“It’s not as if this is anything new, is it? Our commander-in-chief doing things like this isn’t exactly a first. How many times do you think he’s gone out of his way, troublesome and laborious as it was? Don’t tell me you thought this was the first time, Dmitri?”
Dmitri closed his mouth and searched his memories.‘At least level 900…….’And even that was a figure estimated quite some time ago.
Dmitri was also a ranker, so he knew very well.
How much tremendous effort it took to hold one’s position.‘Even pouring every hour into leveling up wouldn’t be enough.’And what path had Lee Hoyeol walked?
Even in rifts that must have been trivial to him, he had done his best.
The Demon King, and any being that might pose even the slightest threat to humanity?
He had crushed them at the root.
Even so, he had never been arrogant or conceited.
He had even moved the Arcana forces he had built to help lagging players grow.
That was right.[Quest: The Unending Holy War]
The quest floating before his eyes was proof of that consistency.
Shake, shake—Soon, Dmitri shook his head.
“……
Was I looking at the tree instead of the forest?”
To have looked at such a man with mere jealousy.
“Pretending you only realized it now? Still not cool, you know~”
For today at least, he deserved to hear that from Camilla.
Slap!
Dmitri roughly smacked both his cheeks with his hands.
“Good. From now on, I’ll be a little more serious.”
Watching Dmitri make his resolve, Rox smiled bitterly.‘At this point, it would be stranger not to acknowledge it.’As if Jesse weren’t enough.
To think he had even changed Dmitri’s free-spirited personality.
I’ve lost completely to Lee Hoyeol.
Rox looked at the path of light embroidered across the mountain range.
Then he raised his sword and shield.
“If I feel wronged, I suppose I have no choice but to diligently chase after him.”
“……
What did you say, Rox?”
“No, nothing.”
That’s right. I’m an underdog.
No matter how hard I try to look cool, at my core, I’m a dog.
A hunting dog that’s long since grown accustomed to chasing after someone.
Rox gave an order to the support team.
“Set up base camp at the place closest to the portal. We’ve cleared out the monsters in the area, so this place isn’t bad. Then I’ll leave it to you, everyone.”
“Already done? Come on, no way, Rox?”
“That’s right, the fire of a man’s passion has only just ignited!”
“Of course, if only to show our sincerity, we should go farther.”
Just as Shining was about to take a step forward.
Float—
“?”
The spheres of light suddenly rose into the air.
“Whoa, what’s that? It’s seriously pretty.”
Their astonishment at the spectacle lasted only a moment.
Swoooooosh—!
The Lights became a streak of light and shot across the Zero Mountains.
“……!!!”
It wasn’t only Shining.
Everyone in the Zero Mountains could guess.
That Hoyeol was at the end of that streak of light.
The vision-expanding skill, [Eagle Eye].
Camilla looked over the Zero Mountains with the eyes of an eagle.
In a manner unlike herself, she stammered.
“……
W-wait, how high up did he climb?”
It was too far for even the sight of [Eagle Eye]
to reach.
Just as it appeared.
The streak of light stretched toward the very summit of the mountain range.
Astonishment soon turned into horror.
Because of the sound that came from an endlessly distant place.
Ruuuuumble—!
Just how enormous was that roar
for the sound to reach all the way here?
What on earth was happening up there……?
Dmitri spoke in a voice that sounded as if he feared the answer.
“……
Wait, near the summit means it’s around the dragon’s nest, doesn’t it?”
*[Rhythm’s Baton][Grade: Epic][Restriction: None][Effect: When equipped, the wearer acquires vast musical knowledge and bestows buffs with effects befitting that musical knowledge upon everything under the wearer’s control.][Description: A magic tool with effects as refined as its elegant appearance.]
That was right.
Along with [Map That Communicates with All Things] and [Telescope of the Magic Eye],
it was a spoil of war from the Demon King acquired when crushing the Demon King’s Castle. Was it thanks to that effect? I was able to utter musical terms naturally.
Lift—
“Vivace.”
—Brilliantly and swiftly.
But why did it have to be Vivace, of all things, Vivace!
Accelerando, or something.
Or just “swiftly” would have been enough, wouldn’t it?
Did you really have to attach “brilliantly” in a place like this, Grandfell?
It made me want to ask whether he had lost his sense of direction after coming through the portal. Because if I lifted my head even slightly, what I saw was none other than the dragon’s nest……!
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-bang—
And I
was noisily pouring out magic beneath that dragon’s nest.
I was seriously worried.
What if I made so much noise that the dragon woke from its sleep?‘You know how severe stress from inter-floor noise can be.’If it woke up, naturally, its anger would be directed at me.
I was already hard-pressed dealing with Shegwin in front of me; a dragon on top of that?
That, at least, I absolutely wanted to avoid.‘To do that.’I had no choice but to settle this as quickly as possible.
I had to pour out my full strength.
Shegwin’s movements had been difficult even to follow with my eyes.
But from the moment I raised [Rhythm’s Baton],
the one conducting the battlefield was me.
Yes, it was thanks to that damned Vivace. Of course, the baton did not enhance my physical abilities.‘If it did, it would have been an item above Epic.’But that alone was enough.
The Lights moved swiftly according to my conducting.
No less swift were my own search, interference, and manifestation.
The Lights, the spheres of mana, each manifested into different spells and began pressuring Shegwin. Flames, cold, and even illusion magic that disrupted his vision.
The number of spells I was pouring out was difficult even for me to count.‘So this is what a Circle is.’It wasn’t a realm of a transcendent I had reached honestly.
Yet even with its current effects, I could feel it.
Why the elder, Yugweed, had been excited as if it were his own affair.
However.‘It doesn’t feel overwhelming in the slightest.’It was surely a Circle beyond what I deserved.
And yet I was freely utilizing its effects.
No, beyond that,
I felt as though I was finally pouring out my “full power.”『His innate magical talent was such that he could imitate most magic simply by seeing it.』Yes, only now that I had formed a Circle
did it feel as if Grandfell’s setting was displaying its true power.
Swoosh—I gazed at the baton being swung indifferently.……
At this rate, I really felt like I’d become a conductor.
The Sword Saint and the only Grand Sword Master on the continent.
Shegwin was busy avoiding the deluge of magic.
The sight was like an orchestra member thrown out of rhythm by a shower of notes.
What was it again?
A duet of ragged heartbeats and screams, was it?
Truly, Grandfell, whatever you say, you make real in the end.
But I must not overlook it.
Likewise.
No, unlike me, who had cut across by a shortcut,
Shegwin was a transcendent who had reached his realm through his own power.
As if answering my guess,
Swoooooosh—!
A fierce wind pressure soon deflected the falling notes of magic.
“A damned magic tool.”
Ssssss—Dust rose across the mountain range.
From within it, Shegwin revealed himself.
His pupils emerged from the clearing dust.
“And a damned feeling.”
Eyes stained black.
They told me Shegwin had truly fallen into a demon.
But those pupils were shaking violently.
To be precise, he could not meet my eyes.‘There’s no way a transcendent like him would be cowed by force.’Then there was only one reason.
As Demon Hunter versus demon,
Shegwin and I were not in the same weight class.‘The true-named demon, Shegwin. He is not a Demon King.’One had to be at least a Demon King.
And even among Demon Kings, one had to have experience facing a Demon Hunter.
To put it more simply, only those who had overcome the relationship of natural enemies
could remain unshaken before their predator.‘It must be similar to Greed.’The Seven Deadly Sin Greed, who had taken his own life and been born anew.
Though he was a great evil, he had no resistance to Demon Hunters. He had been unable to put up any meaningful resistance against me in the past, when I was far weaker than I was now, and had been cast into hell.
Shegwin was the same.‘It hasn’t been long since he fell into a demon.’The fact that he had no resistance to his natural enemy.
The fact that he smelled like an immature demon.
As expected, it was good news for me.
That was why I could speak so confidently.
“That form is, as expected, hideous.”
The corner of Shegwin’s mouth twisted upward.
“I felt it at the social hall as well, but you have quite the way of speaking. That gaze of yours, looking down on the world, is arrogant and insolent as well.”
To get worked up over informal speech.
Even if you regained your youth, you can’t hide your age, can you?
In any case, I knew I’d get scolded at least once, Grandfell.‘I knew it from the moment you kept speaking informally to Senios until the very end.’Of course, that didn’t mean, Shegwin,
that you were qualified to be spoken to politely.
I replied.
“You are mistaken.”
“……?”
“To exchange words as though they were between human and human.”
“……!”
“Could it be that you still mistake yourself for a human?”
Grit—Shegwin’s face distorted.
At that point, I could be certain.‘It seems he really hadn’t intended to fall into a demon.’But that changed nothing.
No, if anything, it made him even worse.
He had made a deal with a demon simply to regain his youth.
Even if he had been deceived by a demon, the nature of his crime was different.
Shegwin did not seem inclined to refute it either.
“I am neither mistaken nor regretful. Even now, the cries of humans still ring clearly in my ears. But what, exactly, was so wrong with it?”
Madness instead gleamed in his black pupils.
“They were lives that would have been trampled by demons anyway. I merely offered such people as sacrifices. What was wrong with that? Being insulted by that damned demon bastard is already enough. Shut your mouth!”
Demonic energy surged up.
I could consider the meaning behind Shegwin’s words.
In truth, the Arcana Continent had been trampled by demons.
But to me—to Grandfell—they weren’t even worth hearing.
A cold voice flowed from my lips.
“No. You merely turned away.”
“……
Turned away?”
“You merely turned your head to achieve your hideous goal.”
I had no intention of preaching, but I had even less intention of listening to his rationalization.
And above all, I—Grandfell—had the right to say this.
We had struggled desperately, even if only for a short time,
and brought peace to the Arcana Continent.
We at least had the right to speak.
I slowly opened my mouth.
“But if that paltry excuse is the pride you have upheld,”
Then I slowly lowered the baton.
“I shall break it with true pride.”
That was right.
This, above all,
was Grandfell’s judgment upon Shegwin.
I continued.
“I address the Social Hall of Space-Time.”
“……?”
“I challenge the transcendent Shegwin to a Duel of Space-Time.”
“!”
At that moment, my vision shifted.
“Take up your sword. I, too, shall take up a sword.”
Yes, a “new sword,” that is.