◈ Chapter 442. Hypocrite (4)
The demon’s bloodline, Claudi.
I mull over those words.
To be honest, it wasn’t as if there was no basis for being called that. ‘If only because of that bastard.’ The Seven Deadly Sin, Pride.
The traitor of Claudi who bore a grudge against Granfell after he became head of the family and carried out the annihilation of Claudi. Perhaps it wasn’t so strange that the tragedy reached the ears of Akshan, the demon hunters. ‘In truth, even at this point.’ The name of Claudi wouldn’t have been completely forgotten on the Arcana Continent. Still, it was strange. Even so, this was guilt by association, wasn’t it? ‘……
Now that I think about it, this is unfair, isn’t it?’ I couldn’t simply blame Granfell’s temper.
Calling someone the demon’s bloodline out of nowhere.
Even I, Lee Hoyeol.
If the Lee family heard an insult like that, I wouldn’t be able to stay still.
Was that why? The atmosphere grew even more heated.
“…….”
Me, the demon hunter openly showing hostility, and the Akshan demon hunters who remained silent while surrounding the two of us. The one who broke the continued silence was a man familiar even to me.
“What is going on?”
Dexio.
The demon hunter class-change officer.
Before explaining him,
the first thing to point out is that no official hierarchy exists in Akshan.
All demon hunters of Akshan were in a horizontal relationship. It was a setting I could understand even back then.
Aside from what they truly were, demon hunters were those who, metaphorically speaking, gazed into the abyss, never knowing when they might be possessed by a demon. For ranks to exist in such a group?
Demons would have abused it as much as they pleased.
They would have turned Akshan into a boiling cauldron of chaos and then some.
Of course, Akshan wasn’t an ungrateful organization. ‘Still, there are concepts like senior and junior, master and disciple.’ In that sense, Dexio was Akshan’s great master.
Even his appearance was far from ordinary. From the pure white beard that hinted at his age to the scars left on his face and body. They seemed to speak of the countless demons he had faced. ‘……
Well, it’s not as if I learned much from him.’ That was only natural, considering the skills I obtained when I changed class into a demon hunter. [Natural Enemy Relationship]
and [Exorcism Ritual].
That was it. Compared to other classes, wasn’t it pathetically meager?
Perhaps that was why.
Even with Dexio’s appearance, I was still glaring straight at the man.
But the man was different.
Because he said something similar to Dexio as well.
“You know it too, Dexio, do you not?”
“Is it that again?”
“Claudi is clearly the demon’s bloo……!”
Dexio cut the man off.
“Eucla, it seems the time has come for you to look within yourself as well.”
Eucla.
That was the man’s name.
At Dexio’s words, Eucla’s gaze wavered.
“……
What do you mean by that, Dexio?”
“I can guess that this demon hunt was arduous.”
“No. It was not the least bit arduous for me.”
Aha, so he had gone out of Akshan to hunt demons? Judging by the situation, it seemed he had heard something about the Claudi family during that demon hunt.
I recalled Akshan’s iron rule.
Those who hunt demons gaze into demons, so it would not be strange if they were tainted by malice at any moment. Thinking of that iron rule and looking closely, Eucla’s eyes were indeed quite haggard.
Eucla avoided Dexio’s steadfast gaze.
“Dexio, do not look at me with those eyes.”
“I am not interrogating you. Do not be shaken, Eucla.”
“……
I am not wrong!”
Shing.
In the end, he drew his silver sword toward me. I did not shrink back. I wasn’t a demon, and there was no reason to be afraid of a demon hunter’s silver sword. ‘More than anything, I know very well that he’s missing a screw.’ Besides, Eucla’s hand was trembling faintly. In the end, the commotion came to an end there for the moment. In any case, Dexio, who was respected even by the demon hunters of the world, had declared it.
“Prepare Eucla’s exorcism ritual.”
“……!”
Exorcism Ritual.
It was a skill for hunting demons that had possessed humans.
Needless to say, it had no effect on ordinary people.
I checked the system window. ‘Natural Enemy Relationship hasn’t activated.’ That meant Eucla was not a demon.
Even if he had uttered those words under a demon’s influence,
it meant he was not in a state of possession.
Dexio seemed to know that as well.
“Do not take offense, Eucla. You know this.”
“…….”
“This is no different from our return ritual.”
Akshan upheld its iron rules and stayed vigilant against malice. ‘I don’t know about it, though.’ Apparently, demon hunters who returned from hunting demons were required to undergo the exorcism ritual. Considering that even Eucla, who had been showing open hostility, quieted down.
Dexio opened his mouth.
“Then, I will take volunteers to participate in the joint exorcism ritual.”
Demon hunters raised their hands here and there.
One, two…….
Dexio counted them and continued.
“Oh dear, we are short one.”
As expected of demon hunters.
They were thoroughly prepared.
It must be a joint operation meant to respond to any sudden situation.
As I was admiring that……
Slide.
My hand moved on its own.
Dexio looked at me.
“Good, Granfell.”
Understanding of Darkness.
In other words, in Granfell’s past, I was on the side of watching. Since it was not mine but Granfell’s past, it couldn’t be helped. So I did not lament my situation.
And I did want to see it for myself. ‘Why.’ Why Eucla had said such a thing....
Akshan Fortress.
Entering its main castle……
Let’s see. Even including the days when Arcana was nothing more than a game, I had only done it once. Yes, other than the day I changed class into a demon hunter, this was the first time I had set foot in the main castle. ‘As expected.’
My aesthetic eye did not flare.
There were no words that could describe the interior scenery of Akshan’s main castle better than that.
Was the fact that it looked splendid on the outside but lacked substance also embodied in the main castle? ‘Why is it so empty?’
Bleak.
In truth, considering the nature of demon hunters, it wasn’t strange. Did these gentlemen enjoy drinking, song, and dance? Did they enjoy luxurious living? Every demon hunter had set foot in Akshan because of an ill-fated relationship with demons.
It meant that everyone had a tragic story. ‘Well, perhaps not as much as Granfell.’ Even on their days off, all they did was train their bodies.
It was only natural that no sense of daily life could be felt.
But even amid that, there was a place that caught my eye. [Hidden Piece: Akshan’s Treasury] ……
Oho.
The underground of the fortress where the exorcism ritual was to be held.
When I discreetly rolled my eyes, I saw a tightly shut iron door.
A class quest suddenly came to mind. [Class Quest: Akshan Civil War]
The fugitives of the Akshan base.
They fled into the Valley of the Forgotten, one of the most dangerous places on the Arcana Continent. Enter the Valley of the Forgotten and retrieve the Akshan relics stolen by the Akshan fugitives.
-Enter the Valley of the Forgotten. (Success)
-Retrieve the Akshan relics. (In Progress)
The place where the relics were most likely to be.
It had to be Akshan’s treasury beyond that iron door.
The quest aside, I was purely curious. ‘Akshan’s relics, huh…….’ As Akshan’s last survivor, I’d like to at least take a look. As I was wondering whether there would be a chance, Dexio, who had been walking ahead, flung open the iron door.
“Everyone, take a relic.” ……
Take a relic? ‘I guess relics are needed for the exorcism ritual.’
Of course, the exorcism ritual required a sacrifice.
You know, a sealed demon’s item.
But one must always take the period into account. ‘The Demon World hasn’t opened yet.’
Unlike after the Cataclysm, demonic items would inevitably be rare. Thanks to that, it seemed they used Akshan’s relics, which could substitute for demonic items, in the exorcism ritual.
This is getting interesting. ‘Depending on the level of the demonic item,’
the “kick” of the exorcism ritual, as people commonly put it, also changed.
I had once offered a Demon King’s Trophy dropped by a Demon King as the sacrifice for an exorcism ritual in order to hunt a Demon King.
Back then, I truly had nothing, so every single stat and every single buff was precious.
Then, could these relics increase the effect of the exorcism ritual, and further, the combat power of demon hunters? The moment I approached Dexio with that expectation—
Thud.
Just as he had done with the other demon hunters, Dexio handed me the designated relic. Let’s see. The other demon hunters had daggers, silver arrowheads, pendants that looked extraordinary at a glance……
But why, why am I……? ‘A cup, out of nowhere?’
To call Akshan’s cup a holy grail would be putting on airs; it was plain. Just a cup made of silver. If there was anything distinctive about it, it would be that the Akshan wolf emblem was engraved on its surface. ‘What is this? It’s not a weapon. It’s not armor.’
This is why you should never have hasty expectations of Akshan, if nowhere else……! However, regardless of my disappointment, there was not the slightest hint of disappointment in Granfell. ‘You actually like it, don’t you?’
Honestly.
As long as you can pour green tea into it, anything is fine, is that it?
In the end, I gladly accepted the cup Dexio handed me.
Soon, my vision flickered. [Akshan’s Relic
- Tear of Humility 1/7] [Grade: Epic] [Restriction: Lv.0] [Effect: Substitutes for the sacrifice of the exorcism ritual and increases its power.] [Description: The Seven Deadly Sins, the original sins of the Arcana Continent that stemmed from the Primordial Evil. This is an Akshan relic made to hunt the Seven Deadly Sins. It contains the craftsmanship of beings on a different level.]
Akshan had known of the Demon World’s existence
and the dangers of the Demon Kings even before the Cataclysm. However, Akshan’s main enemies were, to the very end, the native demons of the Arcana Continent, the great evils—the Seven Deadly Sins. ‘Indeed, at least when it comes to demons.’
Their screw-loose behavior vanished completely; they were professionals.
Why, just look at how they built the decisive weapon,
the Quernberg Machine Tower, on the Arcana Continent. ‘More importantly, the craftsmanship of beings on a different level, huh.’
If the system that never lies says it like this, it must undoubtedly mean dwarves, right? Seeing how plain it is, it doesn’t seem like it was made by Wallsweil……
I was having such trivial thoughts.
At the very end,
Dexio, having taken his own relic, took his place. ‘Around here, I suppose.’
If nothing else, I’m good at reading the room. Before I knew it, with Eucla kneeling in the center, the seven demon hunters, including me and Dexio, had formed a line around him.
“We will begin the exorcism ritual for proof.”
Ding.
When Laxio shook the relic in his hand, a bell, the exorcism ritual began at the same time. I had heard it was a process demon hunters who returned from demon hunts were required to undergo.
Tremble.
Even Eucla, with that filthy temper of his, seemed unable to defy the rules.
Forgetting his war of nerves with me, he appeared to be focusing on the exorcism ritual.
I took in the scene before me. ‘You never know, do you?’
Someday, I might rebuild Akshan. I should remember this well, if only to preserve, leave behind, and pass down even one plausible regulation. ‘Of course, retrieving the relics would be the start.’
In that sense, it was questionable.
Akshan’s relics had been well preserved in their own way.
For all seven relics to be lost,
there must certainly have been some major incident related to demons.
Just as I was racking my brain—
[Failed to activate unique skill, ‘Exorcism Ritual’.]
Huh?
An unfamiliar message appeared before my eyes. The activation of Exorcism Ritual had failed? Both the sacrifice and the target had been fulfilled. But was this a silver lining in misfortune? I did not need to flounder around trying to find the reason.
Starting with Dexio.
“Granfell.”
For some reason,
everyone’s gazes were directed at me.
Only then did I feel it.
A sense of incongruity.
The reason Akshan’s relics, which could not easily be taken outside, had been lost all at once.
The reason Granfell had become a party to Akshan’s civil war.
And finally,
Slosh.
The reason weight was now felt from the cup that had been empty.
I looked down at the cup.
The cup was filled to the brim with endlessly dark black water.
Dexio’s voice sank.
“Who are you?”
This is because I had so diligently hunted demons……!
Damn it.
How could things get this tangled?
If you hunted demons, you had to return to Akshan and undergo the exorcism ritual to prove your innocence. I didn’t know about such a rule. I quit Arcana Chronicles before I learned that. Without knowing, I hunted demons, the Seven Deadly Sins, and Demon Kings……!! ‘I can just explain each thing kindly.’
But there was no way Granfell’s mouth would meekly express that unfairness.
I recited.
“As you see.”
With Granfell’s way of speaking, calmly as ever.
“I am Granfell ‘Claudi’ Arpheus Romeo.” ……
Honestly, this damned mouth is the problem!
Shing! ... [The Akshan Civil War begins.]