◈ Chapter 420. O Merciful Darkness (2)
Argentress was on his way to the newly sprouted World Tree.
That was when he caught the scent of Elsidore, carried in on the wind.
From an adventurer, a being from a completely different world.
His voice was cold.
“No. I will not hear your answer.”
“?!”
That was all the conversation exchanged between Argentress and Baek Seongryun.
Argentress was the leader of the elves, the sole High Elf.
He was of a different “caliber” from ordinary elves.
‘……
He’s coming!’
Baek Seongryun.
The countless experiences in battles against people that he had amassed as the leader of Supernova?
Before Argentress, they could not even amount to showing off before a master.
Even if Baek Seongryun had swung his weapon with killing intent, it was nothing compared to the blood Argentress had once stained his hands with while wandering the Arcana Continent.
Crack!
He was barehanded.
Argentress perfectly subdued Baek Seongryun.
With his right hand, he broke the crescent glaive Baek Seongryun had swung.
With his left, he seized Baek Seongryun by the throat.
“Ghk!”
There was no mercy in that grasp.
Why did he carry Elsidore’s scent?
What was his identity? There was no need for such questions.
Unification Under Heaven, Ryu O Jwinchun, Lee Hoyeol…….
A High Elf.
A being born with lofty mana and mental strength.
Argentress had read Baek Seongryun’s innermost thoughts.
“I see.”
Thanks to that, he learned the truth. Baek Seongryun was nothing more than a puppet, and their leader, Ryu O Jwinchun, was their monarch. And, above all, the most important information.
“You were not human, but an insect.”
Unification Under Heaven was openly hostile to Hoyeol.
Argentress immediately twisted Baek Seongryun’s neck.
There was no hesitation in his action.
Crack!
A High Elf who had finally come to look down upon humans after beholding pride.
However, he was not so merciful as to show patience even to hideous insects.
Thud.
Argentress flung Baek Seongryun onto the dirt ground.
‘Including their leader, four remain.’
He wished to deal with them by his own hand.
Unfortunately, they were in the opposite direction from the path to the World Tree. With the Primordial Evil targeting the World Tree, and even the dragons not intact, he could not afford to divide his attention over mere insects.
Argentress sent telepathy to the elves.
—Execute them all.
He ordered the extermination of Unification Under Heaven.
A kill order had been issued to the one hundred elves searching the Arcana Continent in pursuit of the Primordial Evil. Without even sparing Baek Seongryun a glance, Argentress took a step forward.
It was then.
Baek Seongryun’s unmoving body twitched.
[Skill, “Last Struggle,” is activated.]
Returning from death.
It was no miraculous revival.
It was, quite literally, nothing more than a last struggle.
Suddenly, his consciousness returned.
Baek Seongryun swallowed blood and a bitter smile at the same time.
‘……
It’s been a while since I saw this message, too.’
Back when Arcana was nothing more than a game, he had made good use of it.
Its effect came with rather special conditions.
[Last Struggle: Activates when Health falls below 1 percent. Upon activation, Health rapidly recovers up to 30 percent of maximum Health, and all status abnormalities are removed. (Duration: 1 minute)]
A skill specialized in stabbing an enemy in the back, Last Struggle.
Its effect made at least mutual destruction possible.
“……
Damn it.”
Even though his Health had recovered, he could not bring himself to charge at Argentress. He had realized the overwhelming gap between them. No, even if he conceded a hundred times over and there had been a chance of victory.
‘No. I no longer have a cause.’
At the moment of death.
The Monarch’s Shackles that had always been active on Baek Seongryun.
Ryu O Jwinchun’s brainwashing had been undone.
Baek Seongryun let out a hollow laugh.
“You didn’t have to go this far.”
I would have followed you, Ryu O Jwinchun.
No matter what evil deeds Ryu O Jwinchun had committed, it was undeniable that he, too, had benefited from earning his trust. Baek Seongryun recalled his first meeting with Ryu O Jwinchun.
—“I like your venom. I shall give you the opportunity to fight for me.”
It was the first time anyone had acknowledged him.
From that moment on, Baek Seongryun had decided.
That he would live for Ryu O Jwinchun.
Though it seemed the one he had served as his lord had not believed in him.
Baek Seongryun smiled bitterly.
“Fine. Let’s call it even between us with this.”
The duration, one minute, was coming to an end.
The effect of [Last Struggle] was gradually fading.
His dulled senses returned, and pain returned.
Baek Seongryun lay spread-eagled and looked up at the sky.
[Excessive Bleeding]
[Fracture]
[Internal Injury]
…….
Once even his status abnormalities returned.
The 1 percent Health he had left would go out like a candle in the wind.
He was well and truly going to die.
They said that in the moment of death, one’s life flashed before one’s eyes.
But not even memories to flash by came to his mind.
He did not want to think of killing players as memories.
But aside from that, he had no memories left.
“Ghk.”
Just as Baek Seongryun coughed up blood.
“Uwaaah?”
He sensed a presence.
Someone came running toward the fallen Baek Seongryun.
Judging by the sound of footsteps, it was not one person, but a group.
“……
His clothes are unfamiliar.”
“Could he be one of those adventurers we’ve only heard about?”
“A-adventurer!”
“This is no time to be surprised. His wounds first!”
“……?”
Baek Seongryun was dumbfounded.
‘Why?’
Why were they showing kindness to someone who had nothing to do with them? Because he had engaged in PK since the days when Arcana was still a game, his reputation was scraping the bottom. The Arcanians, who had once been NPCs, should not be able to show him goodwill…….
“You don’t need to thank us.”
“……?”
“We are merely returning what we received from Him.”
…….
“Him”?
In any case, it was pointless. This was a fatal wound that could not be healed by ordinary healing magic. No matter how desperately they clung to him, it would be no different from pouring water into a bottomless jar…….
[Health is rapidly increasing.]
“?!”
Things that should have been impossible according to Baek Seongryun’s common sense were happening one after another.
Naturally so.
Because the ones healing Baek Seongryun at this moment.
Were beings the players did not know of.
Beings forgotten on the Arcana Continent.
[The Shepherds Who Sing of Peace bring peace to the Arcana Continent. From now on, the Shepherds will wander the Arcana Continent and heal injured players.]
Baek Seongryun closed his mouth.
Perhaps he already knew.
Who the “Him” they spoke of was.
Foolishly.
He simply still did not want to admit it.
Baek Seongryun bit his lip hard.
Even Ryu O Jwinchun, whom he had once considered his lord.
‘……
Couldn’t trust me, and abandoned me.’
Lee Hoyeol, whom he had thought of as his sworn enemy.
Who would have thought the pride he left behind would save him?
At this moment, Baek Seongryun felt a powerful sense of doubt.
His lips twitched faintly.
“Since I have received it, I will repay it without fail. That is who I, Baek Seongryun, am.”
*
“It is seething.”
A forgotten fact came back to him.
That the Arcana Continent was boundlessly vast.
Ryu O Jwinchun checked the information window of his territory, [Rangery].
[Rangery]
[Status: Fear]
[Fame: 3,800]
…….
The territory’s status had changed to [Fear].
What that meant was simple.
Hostile forces had gathered around Rangery.
Considering the flickering World Quest, it was obvious that the rising factions that had returned to the Arcana Continent were targeting Rangery. Just as he had, they must have found Rangery a delectable territory.
Ryu O Jwinchun crooked up the corner of his mouth.
“Fearless, aren’t they?”
They were those who had moved to target the Empire only after the emperor had died.
Ryu O Jwinchun was different from such riffraff.
From the very moment he had set foot on the Arcana Continent.
He had resolved to devour Lee Hoyeol, the Empire—no, the Arcana Continent itself. That was how many plans Ryu O Jwinchun had devised and carried out.
[Your stats increase due to the effect of the Warring States Period.]
Furthermore, the flow of the era was spurring on the abilities of his class, [Monarch].
And the higher class of such a Monarch.
The stats of Ryu O Jwinchun, who had been reborn as a [Tyrant]?
[The influence of the class, “Tyrant,” covers Rangery.]
[The territory, “Rangery,” obeys you.]
[Your stats increase in proportion to the territory’s Fame.]
[Archmage], [Dragon Knight], [Weapon Master]…….
Even compared to the hidden classes called humanity’s final weapons, it possessed potential equal to or greater than them. Because he himself knew that fact well, Ryu O Jwinchun stood without hesitation.
“However, you are worthy of praise.”
Shing—!
He drew his sword and evaluated the intruders.
“I will commend you for aiming for the moment when the Five Stars were away. However, you overlooked something. To reign, one needs strength. Yes. Worthless excuses are unnecessary.”
Ryu O Jwinchun’s eyes gleamed with madness.
“If one cannot reign, then one’s strength is simply lacking.”
Ryu O Jwinchun could say so with certainty.
No matter how severe the gap between himself and Lee Hoyeol currently was.
The potential of [Tyrant] was on another level.
Before the Warring States Period ended.
He could place Lee Hoyeol beneath his feet.
So this was nothing more than proof.
Thud—
Ryu O Jwinchun walked from Rangery’s lord’s castle to the city gates.
Guards, retainers, merchants, farmers…….
All the people of Rangery lay flat before Ryu O Jwinchun.
They submitted before the Tyrant.
It was not a metaphor.
Ssssss.
Because intangible energy flowing from those lying flat on the ground was truly gathering upon the Tyrant, Ryu O Jwinchun. Ryu O Jwinchun’s eyes turned toward the class skill currently activated.
[Tyranny (20%): Upon activation, absorbs the stats of all living beings under the Tyrant’s rule. Its efficiency increases in proportion to the rise in Dominance. (Current absorption rate - 20%)]
If Rangery’s total strength was 100, then 20, corresponding to two-tenths of it, was currently concentrated on the Tyrant Ryu O Jwinchun. Some weak person might say that, in terms of overall strength, was that not simply a loss?
Truly a statement that could not be more weak-minded.
‘If I cannot completely dominate it and wield it.’
Then whether its value was one hundred, one thousand, ten thousand, or infinite, did it not become meaningless? Ryu O Jwinchun intended to prove his logic here and now.
“How futile such paltry loyalty is.”
A siege.
The enemy, too, must have attacked Rangery after steeling their resolve.
Ryu O Jwinchun intended to trample that resolve mercilessly.
“Humans who are not ruled are weak.”
It would not be bad to make them scramble over one another, begging for their lives, and turn their blades on each other. Just as Ryu O Jwinchun thought that, he opened Rangery’s gates.
Creeeeak!
“I found you.”
They faced each other.
“You rat.”
A man with one eye covered by an eyepatch.
The advance party of Unification Under Heaven.
Yong Seongrak, whom he had thrown onto the Arcana Continent.
“The eye I gouged out because of you has been throbbing so badly I can hardly live.”
On the Arcana Continent, Yong Seongrak had not forgotten his own use as a member of the Holy War Alliance. He was not a top ranker, nor did he possess outstanding abilities like the Arcanians.
The only thing in which he surpassed others.
“Ryu O Jwinchun. I can see straight through the way you think. Trash recognizes trash, after all. I could smell it—the stench of rotten garbage coming from this place.”
Was that, thanks to having once been brainwashed and manipulated by Ryu O Jwinchun.
He could guess Ryu O Jwinchun’s behavioral patterns.
Moreover, Yong Seongrak had the support of the Empire and the Holy War Alliance.
Thanks to that, he had been able to find them.
—“The residents of Rangery have brought us sinister rumors.”
—“They said unusually dressed men were going in and out of Rangery’s lord’s castle, did they not? According to the people, their clothing and appearance made them seem as though they had come from a completely different world…….”
—“They all had red garments in common……!”
Traces of Ryu O Jwinchun in Rangery.
“After all, your tricks haven’t improved one bit.”
“…….”
It was something he had not expected.
For Yong Seongrak, whom he thought must have died an untimely death somewhere on the Arcana Continent, to be alive and well. Surely Lee Hoyeol had shown him mercy. In order to uphold some absurd ideal.
A weak judgment.
“Humans cannot be fixed and reused.”
Ryu O Jwinchun stopped thinking there.
Yong Seongrak’s betrayal was somewhat refreshing, but there was no reason for him to be shocked.
Because Ryu O Jwinchun had never trusted anyone to begin with.
Naturally.
Shing—!
There was no old affection in the sword strike he swung.
“!”
Yong Seongrak flinched.
‘So he hadn’t failed to improve?’
Because he had been a Monarch class.
Even in the past, Ryu O Jwinchun had been unable to display any particular prowess on the battlefield.
…….
Could it be, he had broken through the wall?
The higher class of Monarch.
Had he become able to handle the power of a Tyrant fully?
‘He’s fast.’
His movements were so fast that the eye could not easily follow them.
In an instant, he was right before him.
However, in that split second when his life was on the line, Yong Seongrak opened his mouth.
“But. As much as you’ve been reborn as a Tyrant, your field of vision has narrowed, Ryu O Jwinchun. You considered me trash, and yet you failed to realize it? Surely you didn’t really think I could drive your proud territory into fear all by myself?”
Ryu O Jwinchun did not even have time to realize it.
Swish—
Because there was no mercy in the arrow that came flying.
Thuck!
“……?!!”
The arrow easily ignored the defense that had surged as a result of becoming a Tyrant and dug into his flesh. Ryu O Jwinchun’s body staggered violently from a mere single arrow.
[Status abnormality, “Confusion,” has occurred.]
[Status abnormality, “Bleeding,” has occurred.]
[Status abnormality, “Stiffness,” has occurred.]
…….
“!”
His arrogantly lifted eyes widened of their own accord.
The senses of a Tyrant allowed him to guess its identity.
Yes, he could not forget.
‘……
This is?’
No matter how he tried to dress it up, the fact remained that he had turned his back on his homeland and Unification Under Heaven and fled to the Arcana Continent. Because he himself considered it a disgrace.
At last.
The being that revealed itself from within the forest.
An existence noble beyond measure.
An elf.
“……!”
But it was not just one.
Two, three, four…….
Dozens, roughly.
There was not even a gap to escape through.
Elves were approaching from every direction.
Ryu O Jwinchun was horrified.
‘This many elves moved just to kill me……?’
Even if he had earned Elsidore’s grudge.
That had been something that happened in reality.
There was no way the elves of the Arcana Continent could know that.
He had never done anything that would worsen his relationship with the elves.
‘The elves, me…….’
Ryu O Jwinchun’s mind, which had been spinning without pause, produced an answer.
Yes, if he assumed one thing.
Everything fit together.
‘……
No way.’
The elves.
If they, too, were Lee Hoyeol’s forces.
But Ryu O Jwinchun could not accept it.
“Unlike Him, we are not merciful.”
Why did even primordial beings.
Refer to Lee Hoyeol as Him and follow him?
Then, his gaze turned toward Yong Seongrak.
“…….”
Why could he draw out a loyalty.
That even he, who had been a Monarch, had never once witnessed?
Why could he make it so they would not break even before death?
“What, exactly, am I lacking……!!”
Overcome by resentment, he shouted.
But Ryu O Jwinchun’s question was not answered.
As stated, the elves had no mercy.
Slice!