◈ Episode 426. I Do Not Believe (1)
[Grandmaster of Strangeness: A being not born of Strangeness has come to comprehend Strangeness. The teachings of this pioneer shall lead countless others into the realm of Strangeness.]
Yes, so that was how it was.
Dragons, elves, high-ranking Demon Kings. Even if they were ahead of me in the realm of Strangeness, to them, Strangeness was merely something familiar.
But not for me.
Was it not Strangeness I came to understand while struggling desperately because I wanted to live? I had understood Strangeness step by step from the very bottom and moved forward.
‘Thanks to that, in terms of understanding at least.’
I had no choice but to be ahead of any being who had entered the same realm of Strangeness. Thanks to that, it seemed I had obtained the grandiose title of teacher of Strangeness, a grandmaster.
Was this what a teacher’s vision was like?
As if I had known from the beginning, I could grasp the intent contained in the Apostle’s movements. Thanks to that, I must have been able to bring down the Apostle who kept resurrecting.
Its weakness.
In other words, the Apostle’s true body was its shadow.
The description of a flash like lightning was no mere metaphor. I had wrapped my sword aura in intense light and burned away not only the Apostle, but even the Apostle’s shadow.
As a result, the path opened.
[Level: 1,001]
An increase of 25 levels in one go.
It meant I had entered four-digit levels.
I slowly gathered the surging compatible mana.
‘In any case.’
My vision had opened.
Thanks to that, I realized this place was the holy ground of the Shadow Mercenaries, who had taken the life of Granfell’s sister. If it had been before, it would not have been strange for [Darkening] to occur immediately.
‘You held back well, Granfell.’
But perhaps it was because of the words I had said to Kichi.
‘You do keep the words you speak. Whatever they may be.’
The sins of the previous generation of the Shadow Mercenaries.
I had no intention of venting them upon the Shadow Mercenaries, including Kichi.
Because I had generously forgiven them.
Instead of Darkening, I was able to activate [Throughout Heaven and Earth, I Alone Am Supreme] and collect the debt owed to Granfell’s sister. But do not think this is the end.
Shadow God.
At the very least, you still cannot escape responsibility, can you?
I opened my mouth.
I feel like I have said this countless times.
“I do not believe in gods.”
Whether it was the Goddess or the Shadow God, it was the same.
I, Lee Hoyeol, have no religion.
Granfell is not the sort to serve anyone either.
That was the meaning behind the words I uttered.
……
Twitch—
This, somehow, seems to have made that fellow called the Shadow God bristle?!
Ssssss.
A chilling wind blew through the Canyon of the Forgotten.
‘What is this?’
The scale of the direction was completely different from when the Apostle appeared.
If the Apostle had appeared stealthily, like a shadow.
Then the one twitching now was……
Swoooosh.
It seemed desperate to boast of its own greatness……!
Look at this direction that transcends the laws of physics.
The sunlight that had faintly shone down to the bottom of the canyon.
The shadows stretched out thanks to that sunlight.
Every shadow in the area was writhing grotesquely.
At times like this, I became grateful for my status as a Player.
Imagine if I were an Arcanan.
Wouldn’t this be a situation where my heart would pound, wondering if I had truly incurred a god’s wrath?
However, my vision flickered.
[Main Quest: Uncover the Mastermind]
Thanks to that, I could speak confidently.
“Self-proclaimed Shadow God.”
Surely, it must have been enraged by the modifier self-proclaimed.
Swaaaaaak!
The shadows in the area stretched toward me threateningly. My own shadow was no exception. My shadow was raising the shadow of Gwicheol and aiming for my neck.
Anyone watching would ask.
Was this not a dangerous situation?
One of the most formidable armed groups on the Arcana Continent.
The Shadow God, who could be called the true nature of the Shadow Mercenaries, was enraged.
If I made even the slightest mistake with my words, would my head not fly off without my knowing why?
Even if I had something to rely on called [The Last Adventurer], considering the death penalty, would it not hinder the rescue of Diend?
All of that was correct.
“Are you shy? It is dark around us.”
Yes, I knew that fact and was still saying it shamelessly.
Even if I would not do so to anyone else, I needed to do so to the Shadow God.
It was all thanks to the quest contents.
[Main Quest: Uncover the Mastermind]
The Arcana Continent collapsed, and the Pantheon opened. However, the Shadow God’s incomplete “rank” became the cause that prevented it from entering the Pantheon. From now on, the Shadow God will move by any means necessary for the sake of its own rank.
The Shadow Mercenaries.
After taking office as the general manager of AAU’s Yusra Branch, I came to know even more about them. In any case, the reason the Shadow Mercenaries, mere humans, still had room to play a role until the latter half of Arcana Continent Chronicle’s story?
It was thanks to the secret hidden within the Shadow Mercenaries.
‘The problem was that no one knew what that secret was.’
They did not know because, back when AAU was Cosmo, they had not given it a specific setting…… But thanks to encountering the party involved like this, I had found out.
That “mastermind” was referring to you, self-proclaimed Shadow God.
That was the reason I could be shameless.
And at the same time, the reason I had to be confident.
Quest objective.
-Encounter the Shadow God on the Battlefield of Proof. (In Progress)
Yes, the battlefield where we are to clash is not here, is it?
“Do you desire my throne?”
I recited as though I had truly become a Demon King.
Swoosh.
The Canyon of the Forgotten, a remote place no one would seek out.
With arrogant eyes, I swept my gaze over the Shadow God’s holy ground and continued.
“Indeed, it is worth coveting. Even you must have grown sick of the scenery here, at the very bottom of the continent’s shadows, dreary, reeking, and with not a trace of beauty to be found.”
I feel this anew, but……
When it comes to uttering biting remarks.
It feels as though lofty pride becomes lofty rudeness.
But thanks to that, it seemed my intent was sufficiently conveyed.
!!!
Had I truly gotten under its skin? The shadows surged.
However, I was not the sort to stop here.
I added.
“If so, I shall be waiting. I would very much like to face you on the Battlefield of Proof. Just as you took my sister from me, I shall take something from you as well.”
I added my utmost sincerity.
“Your everything.”
The conversation ends here.
‘……Let’s see, I need some direction too.’
In truth, the struggle for the Demon King’s throne, the Proof of the Ten Thrones, had already begun. Why, you could tell just from the fact that Disqus, the lich of the Demon World, had ambushed me while aiming for Buer’s throne, which I had claimed, couldn’t you?
‘But you don’t know that fact.’
However, judging from the quest contents and objective.
It was certain that the Shadow God did not know the struggle for the Demon King’s throne had begun. In that situation, could it attack me, someone capable of handling power of a different “rank”?
Even if it had the ability to do so.
If it killed me?
It would fall into a question it could never resolve for the rest of its life.
‘In other words.’
Just as the Shadow God had threatened me, I also needed to threaten it appropriately and drive it away. And I still had a desperate measure I could use at times like this.
[Aesthetics: High]
I incorporated aesthetics to manifest magic that drove out shadows.
The shadows surged violently.
My body began to emit intense light, as if suppressing the shadows.
Swaaaaa.
What made that possible was [『Strangeness』] added to mana of a different “rank.” Only then did it lower its tail and begin to hide itself once more within the shadows.
Soon, my vision flickered.
[The Shadow God promises to meet you again.]
Meet again, huh.
Now, with high-ranking Demon Kings.
With demons swarming everywhere.
And now even the mastermind of the Arcana Continent known as the Shadow God.
It looks like they are all going to be after my life.
Which means I have even less time to sit still.
‘Diend, as expected, I cannot do without you.’
The scenery of the canyon had completely changed.
Was it because the shadows hiding the Canyon of the Forgotten had vanished?
[The holy ground of the Shadow Mercenaries, the “Canyon of the Forgotten,” is revealed to the Arcana Continent.]
The magic tool borrowed from Matisse, the [Refined Arachsitas Ring], began to turn black. I headed toward the place where compatible mana surged.
And then I came face to face with it.
For only a moment.
The fact I had overlooked.
If the Canyon of the Forgotten was the holy ground of the Shadow Mercenaries, why had the seniors who fled from Akshan headed to the canyon where the Shadow Mercenaries were staying?
Just what kind of connection existed between Akshan and the Shadow Mercenaries……
For them, unlike the demon hunters of Akshan.
At the bottom of such a cold canyon, one so gloomy beyond measure.
To meet their deaths?
[Class Quest: Akshan Civil War]
The deserters of the Akshan Base.
They hid in the Canyon of the Forgotten, counted as one of the most dangerous places on the Arcana Continent. Enter the Canyon of the Forgotten and retrieve the Akshan relics stolen by Akshan’s deserters.
-Enter the Canyon of the Forgotten. (Success)
-Retrieve Akshan’s relics. (In Progress)
I looked at the white bones and the equipment draped over them.
The mark of Akshan, the silver weapons engraved with the Akshan wolf. I did not yet know whether those were Akshan’s relics or its legacy, but for now, I reached out.
It was then.
An unexpected message appeared.
[Akshan’s relic rejects you.]
……
It rejects me?
I may not look it, but I am Akshan’s last survivor.
Why be so hurtful?
*
AAU.
“Senior, can I ask you just one thing?”
“Hm? What is it?”
“It’s nothing else……”
Seong Hyeonjun’s monitor.
On it, the Akshan wolf had appeared. Yun Sugyeom shrugged. Seong Hyeonjun had not even continued speaking yet, but it was obvious what he was going to say.
“You’re thinking the General Manager might be a demon hunter, aren’t you? At the point where he crushed a Demon King and even tamed the Akshan wolf, it’s natural to think that. But you know too, don’t you? What kind of class demon hunter is.”
Demon hunter.
Their flowing equipment might look cool, but in terms of lack of substance, they were a class that would be disappointed to come second in all of Arcana. Yun Sugyeom shook his head.
“It’s not like I haven’t thought about it either. But no matter how you look at it, it’s too far from the General Manager. Above all, considering how he took the position of chief in the Magic Tower back then, the theory that he’s a hidden class in the magician line surpassing even an archmage is more convincing……”
“Senior, I haven’t asked my question yet.”
“Eh? You weren’t going to ask about the General Manager’s class?”
Tsk, tsk. Seong Hyeonjun clicked his tongue playfully.
“Senior, you’re still lacking in pride. Do not try to know rashly about the General Manager. Have you ever seen the General Manager hide anything from us?”
……
This kid is seriously afflicted.
“It must be because it’s still too early for us to accept. That is why the General Manager is sparing his words. If you understand, from now on, shout it before every meal. Homen.”
“……Seriously, what nonsense about Homen.”
No matter what, I’m not on your level.
Yun Sugyeom was dumbfounded for a moment.
Then he asked Seong Hyeonjun in return.
“So what are you curious about?”
“Ah, it’s nothing else, but about the Akshan deletion update! The Akshan Base was completely annihilated after the Cataclysm, but the fact that it was realized means there must have been a plan, right?”
Drag.
When Seong Hyeonjun moved the mouse, the meeting minutes appeared.
“In fact, the update plan regarding the deletion of the demon hunter class remains in Cosmo’s database too. Updates need a plausible story, don’t they? I was curious what kind of story was tied to Akshan. If we find out, it might also be of help to the General Manager……”
Yun Sugyeom nodded.
“Ah, so that was it? Then I’ll ask.”
Yun Sugyeom immediately sent out messages. From the Cosmo days until now, they were former colleagues with whom he had maintained fairly close relationships. The replies came back at once.
But Yun Sugyeom’s expression was grave.
“……There isn’t one.”
“Pardon?”
“Hyeonjun, you remember, right? Everything needs justification.”
Any setting of Arcana Continent Chronicle that remained even in the slightest was realized through some process or another. Whether it was the direction Cosmo had intended or not.
However, the Akshan Base was the opposite.
“There’s an employee who attended that meeting. But apparently, the proposal to delete the demon hunter class was withdrawn early on. They said deleting a class simply because it wasn’t popular didn’t fit Arcana’s operating method.”
“What? Then why did Akshan……?”
“Cosmo, in other words, our intervention, had nothing to do with its destruction.”
Yun Sugyeom continued meaningfully.
“The cause that destroyed Akshan was ‘internal.’”
...
Mana is like a material.
What kind of interference process is added to it.
What result will be manifested from it—no one can predict that.
The same goes for compatible mana.
I looked at Diend. Diend had been corrupted into darkness after responding to the compatible mana that originated from Akshan’s deserters. That Diend declared to me.
“We Akshan must hunt.”
Only then did I realize.
“You, Granfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo.”
The Akshan Civil War.
That Granfell had been the cause of it.
You truly are a man with many sins in all sorts of ways, Granfell……!