◈ Chapter 436. I Knew It (3)
The Holy War Allied Forces and the AAU.
The emergency general assembly had ended.
The branch chiefs let out deep sighs.
“Phew.”
“The pressure really is no joke.”
“Maybe it’s because I was tense, but my neck’s gone stiff.”
It felt as if they’d been thrown in front of a beast of prey.
“I know there’s no way anything would happen, but instinct is really……”
As ordinary people, facing players was always a burdensome thing. But there were those even harder to face than such players: the great figures of the Arcana Continent.
Someone added,
“Did you see Senior Black Magic Scholar, Mage Matisse?”
“I was worried about getting on his bad side, so I only stole a glance…… but he was seriously no joke.”
“His eyes especially were incredible. Like he could see right through you.”
Among them, the executives of the Magic Tower were ones they could never get used to, no matter how many times they saw them.
Of course, that didn’t mean there was anything wrong with their attitude. Ever since Hoyeol had taken office as Chief Mage, the Magic Tower had shown an attitude more friendly toward humanity than anyone else.
Abruptly.
Park Minjae, who had been listening, cut in.
“It’s not good to judge people by their appearance.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Branch Chief Park.”
“Huh? I wasn’t talking about me. I meant the Magic Tower. From Senior Matisse to Tower Master Marcelo. They all have visuals with quite a presence, but contrary to how they look, they’re extremely gentlemanly.”
Park Minjae had held close talks with the Tower Master, Marcelo, in order to resolve this incident. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the Magic Tower had swiftly moved to suppress the Collapse Rifts thanks to him.
All of it was because the Magic Tower had been updated to Seoul.
Because he had watched them for a long time.
Park Minjae was able to treat the Magic Tower without prejudice, and yet.‘……
Why are they suddenly apologizing to me?’Don’t tell me I look even more temperamental.
Than the mages of the Magic Tower……?
Just in case, Park Minjae asked,
“Am I still being called Mad Dog?”
“……
Are there perhaps any green tea teabags here?”
“Haha. Shall we leave that topic there, Mister Park?”
The branch chiefs suddenly feigned ignorance.
Baker, the London branch chief, mediated the situation.
Baker patted Park Minjae’s shoulder in a friendly manner and continued.
“It may be difficult to deal with them. After all, we know better than the players what kind of beings the mages of the Magic Tower are. Though it may be prejudice from the days when Arcana was nothing more than a game.”
At Baker’s words, Park Minjae nodded.
“Well, it’s not as if I wasn’t nervous either.”
In any case, Park Minjae and the other branch chiefs had safely concluded the meeting.
It meant that although they had been extremely tense, the meeting had proceeded without a hitch.
That was thanks to none other than Hoyeol leading the general assembly.
“You remember what the Yusra General Manager said, don’t you?”
Because he had emphasized it so that they couldn’t let their minds wander elsewhere.
“That this is only the prologue.”
It wasn’t a threat, but the truth.
“It really doesn’t end.”
“Is it the same in America?”
“There are no notifications, but China must be the same.”
Even at this very moment, news continued to pour into the branch chiefs’ communication networks.
The Demon Eyes that had appeared from the Collapse Rifts
had broken through the atmosphere.
There was even news that they were floating at the same altitude as satellites.
“I trust you’ve all confirmed the photograph transmitted from the Another Space. The Demon Eyes, those eyeball bastards, are smiling even out in space.”
If there was one thing that had changed, it was that the number of pupils had decreased from eight to seven. They couldn’t be certain, but that too was likely an achievement of General Manager Lee Hoyeol of Yusra.
Park Minjae looked at the branch chiefs.
“To think this damage is only the prologue. As of now, we cannot imagine what terrible trials will strike humanity from here on out…… But in any case, don’t we have something we must do immediately?”
“Of course, Mister Park.”
The Demon Eyes had no aggression.
Even if they did have aggression, they had no direct means of attack.
To put it in Arcana terms, they were nothing more than non-aggressive monsters.
“At the very least, eyes like those, we should shoot down as best we can on our own.”
Swoosh.
Park Minjae’s finger pointed to the sky.
It was the bright night sky of a downtown lit by neon signs.
There was no way stars could be visible.
And yet several large red stars were twinkling in the sky.
They were undoubtedly Demon Eyes.
Park Minjae ground his teeth.
“They must have hoped for it. For reality to fall into chaos. For people to be swept up in negative emotions. Now that we know their pitch-black purpose, from here on out, we must not show it, even if we have to force ourselves. If only to repay our debt.”
Grit.
It wasn’t simply because he had been called Mad Dog.
It was because, as a branch chief of the AAU, he could not overlook it.
The lives of the players sacrificed in this incident.
Park Minjae murmured,
“We must mourn, but we must not grieve.”
His gaze shone with determination.
“We must not grieve, huh……”
At Park Minjae’s words, Joshua trailed off.
“That won’t be easy right away, Mister Park.”
Yes, it might not be easy.
But Park Minjae didn’t dwell on it.
The reason he had come to harbor such thoughts
was because he had looked through the database from the days of Cosmo.
Akshan.
While conversing with Yoon Sugyeom and Seong Hyeonjun, he had examined the records related to them.
Even looking at it again, the class had more than a few screws loose: Demon Hunter.
But because those screws were loose,
they were able to stand against demons.
Park Minjae recalled that way of thinking of Akshan’s.
“They were not sacrifices, accidents, or deaths.”
If it were an Akshan Demon Hunter, they would surely have said this.
“The players proudly fought back and fell in battle.”*Reality and the Arcana Continent.
Two completely different worlds.
News from reality arrived through the players.
The three guild masters of the Great Alliance.
Shraig of Second Sun.
And Skal.
“As expected……!”
The players of the Holy War Allied Forces let out sighs of relief. Time on the Arcana Continent flowed four times faster than in reality. Thanks to that, the wait had felt long, but it had been worth it.
“So there was a reason the Commander-in-Chief refused!”
Hisagi reached a sharp conclusion.
“Even if we had joined them, our efficiency would have dropped.”
Even if they could make use of the Magic Tower’s portals.
In order to subdue Collapse Rifts in countries around the world,
they ultimately had to enter the rifts directly.
“Right, it’s not like we don’t have anything to do.”
Moreover, the Holy War Allied Forces had work to do on the Arcana Continent.
Protecting the Empire from the factions that had risen chaotically after the Emperor’s death?
It was an incomparably important task.
However, his words trailed off.
“Though, honestly, there isn’t much to do in Antonium……”
It was because everything was far from ordinary.
The level of the reinforcements that had arrived in Antonium! The Four Houses, Dune of the Red Eyes, even the Diamond Trading Company. The players had interacted with them in Antonium and gauged their forces.
Leonie clicked her tongue.
“Every single one of them is a monster. Our help probably won’t even show.”
To the point that no matter how many times they saw it, they couldn’t understand how the Commander-in-Chief could lead such forces. But they weren’t discouraged. After all, hadn’t the Commander-in-Chief left them with words?
“At first, I wasn’t sure what he meant.”
I leave the Arcana Continent to you.
Leaving those words behind,
Hoyeol had headed to reality alone.
“Now I understand. What we have to do.”
Nam Taemin continued.
“We have to find the rifts here.”
Reality and the Arcana Continent.
A bizarre space where two completely different worlds are mixed together—that is a rift.
Just as there is an entrance, there is an exit.
If rifts appeared in reality,
then rifts should also appear on the Arcana Continent.
Nam Taemin clenched his fist.
“We haven’t confirmed it yet, so it’s only a guess…… but before the rifts generated in reality collapse, we may be able to clear them from this side. In other words, we don’t have to just sit here sucking our thumbs.”
Shraig stroked his chin and replied,
“That makes quite a bit of sense?”
Had the barbarian invested stats into [Intelligence]
?
Nam Taemin, whom he had considered nothing but a lump of muscle, looked somewhat new to him. It was probably because he had carried out many operations together with the Commander-in-Chief. His perspective on the situation was far broader than Shraig’s own.‘I’ll have to work harder too.’It was the moment Shraig was reflecting.
Narrowing snake eyes.
Hisagi’s sharp observation followed.
“That must be Analyst Nam Cheolmin’s opinion, right?”
“……
What?”
“Taemin-kun doesn’t have that kind of creativity.”
“I don’t have creativity? Well, you’re not wrong, but……”
So that was it?
“What, and here I thought.”
Shraig let out a small laugh.
No wonder, even at Nam Taemin’s statement,
Hisagi, Leonie, and Skal had reacted as if it were nothing special.
It seemed this sort of thing happened often.
Of course, Hisagi did not oppose the idea itself.
Roughly thirty.
Nam Taemin’s party left Antonium with the elite executives of each guild.
Nam Taemin asked Skal, who had been silent.
“Skal. Is the World Tree okay?”
“It’s fine.”
“Weren’t you supposed to be guarding it?”
Of course he had to guard it.
The World Tree, having fully taken root, was growing rapidly.
By contrast, Skal’s face had turned pale.
“……
I don’t have the energy for that right now.”
The long-awaited meeting with the dragon had been the worst.
-“Shut up, brat.”
-“You’re still far from being able to ride on my back.”
-“I’m bored. Sing me a song, Dragon Knight.”
If it had been a real dragon, that might have been one thing.
But it was the polymorphed Froznax.
And hadn’t Skal been tormented to his limits by a mere chick?
“……
I need to recharge.”
The excited look he had once worn was nowhere to be seen.
Well, there was nothing easy in this world.
Just as Nam Taemin thought nothing of it and shrugged.[Hawkeye].
“I knew it!”
The player who had been scouting the surroundings with a wide field of view sent a signal.
Just as Nam Taemin—
no, Nam Cheolmin had predicted.
They had discovered a rift on the Arcana Continent as well.
However.
“Can everyone see it?”
“No. Nothing.”
“I cannot see it either.”
“Shraig, what about you?”
“Same here.”
The rift’s information was not visible.
The rift was clearly right before their eyes,
but no message appeared.
Nam Taemin tried to think like Nam Cheolmin.
“Let’s see, is it because it’s a rift that hasn’t yet been generated in reality? To use an analogy, it’s still under construction. Since the curtain hasn’t been pulled away, the message isn’t appearing.”
Hisagi added,
“Does that mean it’s an unstable rift?”
Then he rolled his snake eyes and grasped their current position.
Several kilometers, roughly.
It was close enough for Antonium to be visible to the naked eye.
Even if an unavoidable situation occurred inside the unstable rift.
“At this distance, we can escape sufficiently.”
Skal added a word as well.
“That chick…… no, Froznax told me. That the one holding the reins isn’t me, the Dragon Knight, but him. So I shouldn’t think about going too far away.”……
It seemed something had been reversed, but.
“That’s reassuring. In any case.”
If something dangerous happened to Skal, it was also a distance at which they could receive Froznax’s support. After all, the World Tree had taken root not far away, north of Antonium.
Thanks to that, their opinions aligned.
“Then, let’s enter.”
It was unavoidable.
Because one sees only as much as one knows.
They had simply failed to realize it.
The domain of anomaly.
The fact that instability meant there was much room for interference. The fact that a rift right before its generation was the only opening through which the Demon World, another world separate from reality and the Arcana Continent, could stretch out its demonic hand.
Those ignorant of anomaly simply did not know.
They could not see, hear, or feel them.
The primordial beings of the Demon World inside the rift.
-So that is how it is.
-They can enter the rift despite their ignorance.
-Indeed, that potential is threatening.
-It would be best to trample them in advance.
-No objection.
However, they had overlooked something as well.
The fact that they were not the only ones who had entered the domain of anomaly.
Soon, a grand sound began to echo through the unstable rift.
It was the sound of heels.
Clack.
That’s right.
Clack.
To someone, it was all too familiar.
Clack.
The sound of dress-shoe heels....
Indeed, it is a trophy befitting a drop from the fourth-ranked Demon King.
It truly possesses an overwhelming effect.
Thanks to it, I was able to prevent an incident that could have led to tragedy.
However, at this moment.
I could not purely rejoice.
The message flickering before my eyes.[Activating unique skill, “Heavenly Demon Reigning Step.”]……
Seriously, Lee Yerim, you bane of my love and hate!