◈ Episode 227. Confrontation. Commander Hoyeol Joins Forces.
Every last civilian rescued safely.
And then, the advance.
To the Holy War Allied Forces whose morale had soared to extremes, retreat did not exist.
The Lion Heart Knights and the Goddess Church paladins swept through the battlefield with consummate skill. As they opened the path at the vanguard, the Players joined in.
"Press the attack without rest!"
"Where do these bastards think they're looking!"
"Stay quietly cooped up inside the Demon Castle!!"
Wolf clicked his tongue at the fierce charge.
"Amazing, our Commander."
Even if one said the Shadow Mercenaries were an exception because they were so willful.
Leading someone was by no means an easy task.
Moreover, a battlefield where you had to risk your life?
The efficacy of loyalty did not last long.
But the Holy War was different.
"This isn't on the level of leadership."
Leadership, a stage beyond that.
Everyone was burning with fighting spirit of their own accord.
No matter how overwhelming their strength.
It was a battlefield where casualties were bound to occur.
But even the wounded did not retreat.
Someone even smiled.
"Tch, feels like I've finally paid off my debts."
This must be the pride he always spoke of.
Wolf smiled bitterly.
Pride—it felt like a story so very far from himself.
But it seemed not so for the newcomer, Rakid.
"Out of the way. Out of the way. That bastard's mine!"
At a glance, he seemed to be rampaging recklessly, obsessed with merit.
Wolf's sharp eyes surveyed the adventurer Rakid had pushed aside.
It was an injury that would have led to a fatal wound had Rakid not stepped in.
'You've gotten quite soft, Rakid.'
Was Rakid looking out for the injured because he himself had suffered severe wounds?
Or because he was a newcomer, not yet tainted by the times?
Or if not that, had he truly embraced pride in his heart?
He had no way of knowing, nor any desire to know.
"I suppose I should just take it as something unbelievable and move on?"
Wolf's contemplation did not last long.
Click—thunk—the repeating crossbow's bolts poured out as fast as the pouring enemies.
Even if he couldn't realize pride, he was a mercenary.
Regardless of reason, it meant he had to earn his keep properly according to his employer's will.
"Charge!"
Soon, it was the moment the Holy War Allied Forces entered the Demon Castle.
He had expected the demons to fight a desperate battle to stop the advance.
But a scene different from what he had prepared for unfolded.
"......What the hell is this all of a sudden?"
Silence had fallen upon the Demon Castle, which had been filled with war cries.
Harkon, who was commanding at the forefront, opened his mouth.
"All units, halt!"
The demons had not hidden their traces.
The Allied Forces were facing the Demon King's grand army right before their eyes.
What was strange was their reaction.
Harkon shouted as if to confirm once more.
"Are you certain there are no magicians on our side?"
"Yes, sir."
"I believe that is correct, excluding me......"
Quietly.
Aside from Pimbi, who had raised her staff, there were no magicians.
Then what was this?
What.......
"Had they been made to strangle their own necks with their own hands?"
"!!!"
It was exactly as Harkon had said.
It was not mere silence.
Thud—clatter—rattle—the demons dropped the weapons and shields they held and grasped their own necks with both hands. Unable to let out so much as a rattling breath, let alone a war cry, they knelt to the ground one by one.
"Commander......?"
Yesika sought Harkon's opinion.
One must not let their guard down when the opponent was a demon.
By principle, they should have seized the gap created by their collapse to settle the battle quickly.
"All units, stand by."
But this was an alien battlefield that even Harkon had never experienced.
Not to mention the common sense of Arcanians.
It was a sight incomprehensible even by Player common sense.
Leoni opened her mouth.
"Th-there's not just one or two of them?!"
Tens of thousands.
Precisely seventy thousand (70,000).
Named monsters, even the demon legion commanders, were no exception.
All demons fell into panic and could not even resist.
They turned blue with fear at 'something' more terrifying than their own blades.
Hisagi muttered as he looked at the soaring citadel.
"Is this also Lord Hoyeol's ability......?"
That was the only possibility he could guess.
In Hisagi's knowledge.
There was only one being who could make seventy thousand demons tremble in fear.
None other than Hoyeol.
But if that was so.......
"It seems the emotions he is feeling are being conveyed."
If the usual Hoyeol had always been unwavering.
From the current Hoyeol, a quiet rage seemed to be felt.
However, it was understandable.
If one traced back the actions the demons had committed.
Not content with interfering with the regular academic conference.
Putting civilians in danger.
And if one more reason were to be added.......
The rowdy clamor that violated decorum.
The fact that they shouted the meaningless word 'Claudi' could not be left out either.
Hisagi nodded.
"I understand that sentiment as well."
Therefore, I shall not hesitate either.
Shing—Hisagi advanced, dragging his spear.
"The ones to whom the Allied Forces shall show mercy are not demons."
The spear swung without hesitation, eyes half-open.
Starting with such a Hisagi.
Those who had stopped began to move once more.
'Mr. Hoyeol.......'
'What on earth is happening, Gyeong......!'
'Don't get distracted, focus on the battle before your eyes.'
While deliberately turning away from the citadel where Hoyeol and the Demon King had faced each other....
Magic Tower.
Crystal Hall.
As expected, Benshi was making a fuss.
"Wh-what is that again?! Nasrou, isn't that your field?"
The demons are strangling their own necks with their own hands!
The only thing he could think of was illusion magic.
But Nasrou shook his head.
Yes, at a glance, one might mistake it for illusion magic.
"It is by no means illusion magic."
"......It's not? Why? If it's you, Senior Nasrou, something like manifesting that level of illusion magic should be more than possible! You were a prodigy of illusion magic!"
"Senior Benshi, recall the words you once spoke."
"......Huh, words I spoke?"
"The evaluation you gave regarding illusion magic."
Benshi was someone who talked a lot.
An evaluation regarding illusion magic.......
He had definitely made some pointed evaluation.
As Benshi pondered, Nasrou spoke with his own mouth.
"Its mana consumption is needlessly extreme."
"......No, I said something like that?"
"I remember it clearly."
There was bone in Nasrou's words.
Pyromancy, which boasted the worst mana efficiency among elemental magics. Having heard those words from Benshi, a senior of said Pyromancy, had been quite absurd.
Benshi opened his mouth hesitantly.
"That's because I was a bit immature back then......"
"I do not say this to receive an apology. It is the truth."
"Then what do you mean?"
Because he had been pushed around here and there.
A senior Enchanter who had unintentionally become quick-witted.
Kiko Armin continued.
"It really isn't illusion magic......?"
Nasrou suddenly rose from his seat and spoke.
"That is correct. That is not illusion magic. Setting aside the amount of mana or manifestation power, it is magically impossible. I dare say, no matter how much it is Chief Lee Hoyeol......"
There was reason in Nasrou's words.
His glimmering, silvery pupils.
He possessed exceptional vision for capturing mana, as excellent as his mana sensitivity.
"No noticeable mana can be seen in the area."
If it were truly an illusion magic deceiving tens of thousands of demons.
Uncontrollable mana would be flowing through the Demon Castle area.
Marcello looked at the cat, the Tower Lord.
'Like the illusion magic manifested by the Tower Lord's body.'
Then what on earth was the cause?
Marcello.
Even the Tower Lord, who was scratching his head with his hind leg.
It was a moment when even he could not guess the cause of that bizarre phenomenon.
Only Matisse closed his eyes tightly.
'It's black magic.'
Matisse looked at his hand.
The magical artifact responding to the alien mana.
The ring was not merely stained black but cracked.
Matisse realized once again.
'Even though I am not facing it directly.'
He was merely watching an illusion projected through magic.
An immeasurable level of alien mana had destroyed the magical artifact.
Matisse swallowed his groan.
'Gyeong, just what are you......'
It is an alien mana stemming from one's past and background.
'What kind of past have you endured?'
Matisse could not dare to guess.
No, he did not even wish to guess.
Because Matisse, as the founder who had established the school of dark magical arts, knew the dangers of alien mana better than anyone. Therefore, he was merely concerned.
'If that past were to flow back.'
If Gyeong were to undergo 『Blackening』 because of that.
The aftermath would bring about consequences beyond imagination.
That is why.......
'I know it is a thought that may be discourteous. However.'
Such a past.
A past that no one could have endured had it not been Gyeong.
That it was Gyeong, and no other, who endured it—saying he was glad of that.
'I, Matisse, dared to think and speak thus.'
...
More than anything, shutting them up was urgent.
Claudi, Claudi out of nowhere......!
By now that name must have echoed not only across the world but even to the Magic Tower.
But I can't just stand idly by, can I?
If they take it further and even recite the full name.
'I can endure everything else, but that damn Romeo......!'
On TV, on the news, in the community.
It would be nothing but gossip bait rolling around all day long.
To hell with pride, I wouldn't have the face to show myself out of sheer shame! So I manifested the black magic, 『Black Crown』. I denied the sensory activity of the Demon King, Andras, and the demons.
And now.
If you were quick-witted, you would have noticed from my words.
That I was the Claudi you were desperately looking for.
That's why I appeared like this.
So what's the reason you searched for me while mentioning that name?
Of course, I am not the one to answer.
───────Demon Invitation Ritual: Invites a demon through consciousness.───────
In the space of the ritual, one could converse regardless of the senses.
I asked the trembling Andras.
No, I interrogated him.
"It is not a name a mongrel who doesn't know his place could know."
"......."
"Tell me where you heard that name."
Was I a bit harsh?
But honestly, it's enough to make one angry.
Grrrrg—Andras foamed at the beak.
He's already surprised when the proper interrogation hasn't even started?
He's in such bad shape that I wondered if I could get the answer I wanted like this.
Still, Andras somehow managed to force out the words.
"Fr-from... the Great Evil...... I heard......"
The Great Evil?
Yes, it's not like that name entered your ears for nothing.
Demons are loose-lipped anyway.
Birds of a feather flock together, really.
Good thing I blocked their mouths from the start, Hoyeol.
Self-praise aside, I continued to pry.
"Which of the six?"
The Seven Deadly Sins.
Among them, I had personally sent Greed to hell, so it is six.
From Andras's position, it must be a story he must hide.
But no matter how hard he tried, it would be impossible to keep his beak shut.
What kind of space is the Demon Invitation Ritual?
The initiative of the ritual was mine.
If I asked, he had no choice but to answer.
"S, S, Siktam......!!"
Urk—Andras vomited blood from his mouth.
It seems he made a contract that forces him to keep the secret.
'Anyway, both the Great Evils and the Demon King.'
The saying that those who have more do more isn't for nothing.
'So should I consider this fortunate?'
It was the Seven Deadly Sins' Gluttony, whom I at least had some acquaintance with.
Why, on that day when heavenly fortune came to me through the Siren's blessing.
I witnessed Gluttony through the [Telescope of the Demon Eye].
Well, what does appearance matter to a demon for whom possession is everyday business?
I am a demon hunter, after all.
I might recognize him by instinct if we ran into each other by chance.
'By the way.'
A question naturally followed.
So Gluttony, that bastard, my name.......
No, how does he know the name Claudi?
'Why do the questions never end?'
It was the moment I swallowed my self-pity and traced back my memories.
'......Wait.'
I recalled.
That day when heavenly fortune followed me.
The one single question that had remained with me.
That's right.
Elder Dragon, Yunaxus.
The elf tribe led by Agentres.
Transcendent, Urs.
Great Evil, Seven Deadly Sins, Gluttony.
A hair-trigger situation that seemed ready to explode at any moment.
I recalled the transcendent riding a broom who had sorted out that situation.
Then the questions began to click into place.
'......!'
Skal's Dragon Knight class quest.
The 'Great House' specified there.
And this moment.
To the Gluttony who was there.
Andras, who had heard the name 'Claudi.'
Soon, I reached a conclusion.
......That mess was cleaned up in the name of Claudi?!