◈ Episode 453. Darkness Falls (2)
The reason players feared possession?
It was simple.
Whether you were the one possessed or the one facing them.
The moment you faced it, you broke.
In a Rift where you risked your life, you had to point your blade at a comrade with whom you had shared life and death. A comrade who had been laughing and crying with you moments ago, all because they had been possessed by a demon.
Unless the demon left the possessor’s body of its own accord.
No method of undoing possession was known.
That was why Dmitry could not forget. ‘Again?’ The guild members he had sent off with his own hands.
Shining, one of the strongest guilds in both name and reality.
Even after the Cataclysm, they had stood on the front lines and encountered demons. ‘I didn’t count past one hand.’ You never knew who would be possessed, himself included.
So there was no need to feel guilty after killing a player possessed by a demon. Those who entered Rifts should have already steeled themselves. That was a kind of agreement among players.
But the current situation was different from [Possession].
Swish.
Because this Lord Dmitry was being overwhelmed. ‘Impossible.’ At most, this was a guild member in the 300-level range. And he was overwhelming me, someone who has broken past level 550?
To put it bluntly, Dmitry was confident he could win even if three or four players in the 300-level range came at him. The same held true even when a player was [Possessed] by a demon. ‘Unless the demon possessing him is Demon King-class…….’
It meant the gap of 250 levels could not be crossed.
But this was not possession. It was [Corruption].
His very appearance had transformed into a complete demon.
It was impossible to easily estimate his strength.
Bang.
Dmitry blocked the attack with his massive blunt weapon. For a level-300 player, he had been a guild member with excellent skill proficiency.
He had been fairly deft with his hands.
But now that he had been corrupted.
Not a trace of that trait remained. ‘Did he say he craved answers?’ As befitted the message that had merely flashed past.
“Speak. About Lee Hoyeol!”
He was simply swinging his arms at random.
And yet, he was strong.
Strong enough that Dmitry had no chance to even catch his breath properly.
Dmitry looked around. ‘Are the others safe?’ Aside from the demon, the guild members who had been accompanying him were nowhere to be seen.
Imagining the worst, Dmitry assessed reality coldly. ‘If I failed to notice until they were all taken down.’
Then there was an enormous gap between me and him……
In that case, naturally.
The corners of Dmitry’s mouth rose bitterly. ‘Does that mean I couldn’t win even if I died and came back to life?’ This was why you shouldn’t do things you weren’t used to.
I gave Camilla the opportunity for nothing.
And now it looks like I’m going to die like a dog. ‘And damn it, no less.’
All because I can’t answer a question about Lee Hoyeol, that unlucky commander-in-chief of the Holy War Alliance. As though dissatisfied with the response, the demon thrashed about even more violently.
Rumble.
Dmitry desperately looked for an opening.
A warrior’s basic skill that had reached Master proficiency. He activated [Counter Smash].
“You bastard. Shut up for a second. I’m thinking too!!”
Thwack.
It was a perfect hit.
Enough to twist the demon’s neck a full 360 degrees.
But even a perfect counter meant nothing.
Kk.
It paused for a moment.
Crack, crack.
Then recovered along with the grotesque sound of bones fitting back into place.
The demon looked at Dmitry and smiled.
Its voice was full of anticipation.
“So you did know after all? Then I’ll wait. I’ll wait until you’re done thinking. But don’t disappoint me, or them. Got it? If you disappoint us, I won’t let you off?”
“Ha.”
It was such a bizarre reaction that a hollow laugh escaped him.
But Dmitry, too, was an executive who had led Shining.
In a dead-end situation, his brain spun faster than usual. ‘Corruption is an upper-compatible version of possession.’
The reason he judged so was simple. The status abnormality, Corruption, had been spread by the Demon Eye of the “higher Demon Kings,” whom this thing called “them.” Yes, the “thing” floating in the night sky.
Dmitry gritted his teeth as he looked at the Demon Eye. ‘Perhaps this is only the beginning.’
If so, what judgment should I make here……?
Tap!
Dmitry’s feet moved sharply. His heavy body cut across the Collapse Rift, through the crumbling debris. The demon chased after him and spoke.
“Are you moving to find clues to your memories? Good!”
No, I’m running, you idiot.
A retort surged up, but he held it back.
He had sprinted at full speed, but the distance had not widened in the slightest.
A subtle gap continued to be maintained. ‘He’s going easy on me.’
I’m not such an idiot that I can’t tell that much.
And so the chase in the palm of the demon’s hand did not last long.
Suddenly, a shout rang out.
“D-Dmitry!!”
Not the Arcana Continent, but reality.
Not inside the Rift, but outside it.
Because there were ordinary people, not players.
“Is that a demon on the other side?”
“Urgh. Why does it look so disgusting?”
“Anyway, hang in there, Dmitry!!”
Flashes burst.
It seemed none of them had grasped the situation yet.
Look at my serious expression, all of you.
Does this look like the time to be casually filming videos? ‘Well, fine.’
Even so, Dmitry did not forget his objective.
Before he knew it, the Rift was behind him. Dmitry had not forgotten its location. Collapse progress: 37 percent. It was a new Rift with still some time before collapse. ‘Good thing I remembered the location.’
Though I never thought it would become my grave.
Yes, Dmitry intended to seal the demon inside the Rift. Now that he knew [Corruption] and [Possession] were different. ‘That thing won’t be able to get out of the Rift.’
Only players and Arcanians could freely come and go through Rifts. Demons, after all, were treated as demon-type monsters. Just look at him. How could that possibly be a player? ‘I should be able to buy time until the Rift collapses.’
Dmitry said,
“Follow me.”
[Entering the Rift, “Collapsed Building Outpost.”]
Step. ‘Thank goodness.’
He felt no sign of players inside. In that case, half of it was a success. The thing entered the Rift after him, and the citizens filmed the entire scene. ‘It’ll spread quickly.’
It didn’t need to be any faster than the speed at which the photos of my heartbreak spread. That alone would be enough. Then whether it was Lee Hoyeol, the Holy War Alliance, or the senior mages of the Magic Tower, the quick-witted ones would gather here.
I hate to admit it, but…… ‘If it’s Lee Hoyeol.’
If it was Lee Hoyeol, who hunted Demon Kings and even commanded the Akshan wolf.
Unlike me.
He might be able to extract more information from the demon before him.
So from now on, Dmitry had to struggle with all his might.
As the silence continued, the thing seemed to realize it too.
An eerie voice rang out.
“You deceived me?”
“Bastard, you only realized that now? Above all, I told you from the start that I didn’t know.”
“How dare you deceive me.”
“It’s not ‘how dare.’ The bastard who believed me is the one at fault.”
“How dare you deceive them.”
How long could I endure against that demon bastard, now utterly enraged? He honestly could not estimate it. After all, from the moment he had faced the demon.
[Status abnormality, “Fear,” has occurred.]
‘……Damn it.’
Neither his body nor his mind had been listening to him.
But Dmitry gritted his teeth.
What sustained him was his pride. ‘Though I don’t even know if I have any pride left.’
Those damned reporters had hounded him so much.
But even if only for the sake of saving face.
Shouldn’t he at least accomplish something before dying?
Something that would leave even those damned reporters.
And those paparazzi bastards with nothing to say!
“I’ll answer one thing. There’s no need to look for Lee Hoyeol.”
“……What?”
“Because here stands this Lord Dmitry!!”
I, Dmitry Malcolm, who would be remembered as the great player who sealed a supremely dangerous demon inside a Rift, am right here. So for now, stop being interested in Lee Hoyeol.
Kwa-bang!...
“……!!!”
But Dmitry had overlooked something.
The fact that what had appeared in the message was not simply a demon. ‘It was a half-blood demon.’
Drag, drag, drag.
The demon gripped the cold, lifeless Dmitry by the ankle with one hand and stepped out of the Rift. It looked at the horrified citizens. Then it threw a question at them.
“Foolish ones. They ask you.”
“……?”
“What do you know about Lee Hoyeol?”*
AAU fell into chaos.
“A half-blood demon. A demon-type monster capable of freely entering and exiting Rifts that have not collapsed. The condition for its appearance is when a player is dominated by the status abnormality, ‘Corruption’…….”
“What makes it different from possession?”
“The aftermath will be overwhelmingly stronger than possession.”
Park Minjae, branch head of the Republic of Korea, continued.
“The agents behind possession were lesser demons like imps, as well as demons of various sizes and ranks. But the agents behind Corruption are the Demon Eyes. In other words, the Ten Thrones, the higher Demon Kings said to be the true rulers of the Demon World.”
Joshua, branch head of the United States of America, chewed on his lip.
He knew better than anyone.
Yes, because he had lost Dmitry, his infinitely precious comrade-in-arms, to that thing’s hands.
The death of Dmitry of Shining.
Even after several days had passed, the shock had not easily faded.
If only the root cause of the situation had completely disappeared. But making the player’s noble sacrifice seem in vain, Demon Eyes were rising into the skies all around the world.
At the same time, information regarding Corruption was being reported one after another.
“The Magic Tower and the Goddess Church have also requested close cooperation. Even after the establishment of the Holy War Alliance, it is unusual for the Arcana side to make the request first.”
“I suppose they have no choice.”
The branch head of London, England.
Baker opened his mouth.
His voice was unlike usual.
“Their situation must not be greatly different from ours.”...
The Magic Tower.
Crystal Hall.
Round Table Conference.
“I will permit apprentice mages to leave the tower.”
The Tower Master, Marcelo, made his decision.
Now that they faced Corruption, an unknown threat even the wisdom of the Magic Tower did not understand.
The Magic Tower, too, had to stake everything against that threat.
Bensch, senior of flame magic, muttered.
“……This doesn’t sit easy with me, Senior Bangrit.”
Even apprentice mages had been permitted to leave the tower.
No matter how much Bensch was considered a person of concern.
There was no way the application of Bensch, a senior mage, to leave the tower would be rejected.
No, beyond simply leaving the tower, their positions had changed now. They were senior mages who had been placed in a situation where they had to command skilled mages and apprentice mages.
Bangrit nodded.
“That’s true. The sense of responsibility is no ordinary thing. In that sense, adventurers are incredible. How are they able to lead so many people?”
Strength and leadership were not proportional.
“It truly is a heavy burden. The weight I’m carrying.”
Guidance was one thing, but command?
The mages of the Magic Tower were not accustomed to organizations or group action.
Bangrit looked around the Crystal Hall and continued.
“Skilled mages have enough ability to judge and act on their own, even without us…… But apprentice mages are truly fledglings, aren’t they? Even within the same apprentice rank, the gaps between them are huge…….”
That was why the current threat felt all the more real.
“Corruption, just how dangerous a status abnormality is it……?”
Bangrit shifted his gaze toward the strangely quiet Bensch and flinched. It seemed Bensch was anxious for a completely different reason.
Tremble, tremble.
His fingers were trembling, but not from fear.
If one had to compare it, it was like withdrawal symptoms……
Because he was merely restless from a deep sense of loss.
“An absurd number of practical opportunities are unfolding before our eyes……! No, just where on earth is Chief Lee? Senior Bangrit, do you happen to know anything? Of course, I have no reason to know where Chief Lee is or what he is doing, nor am I worried, but……!”
Tears welled in Bensch’s eyes.
“Why, of all things, did he take the decisive magical tool, the ‘Small Mana Sun,’ out of Garnet Hall? A mere magical tool like that would make little difference to Chief Lee whether he used it or not……!”
That was right.
In reality and on the Arcana Continent alike.
Several days had passed since Hoyeol had disappeared.
Likewise, in the audience seats of Crystal Hall.
Jesse Heinness, who was still a skilled mage by position, rummaged through her subspace. The letter Hoyeol had left behind came into her hand. Jesse was reading the final postscript for the several hundredth time.
──────
P.S. Even so, it is best not to go near social circles.
──────
Why had he added such words?
Could Chief Lee perhaps be in the Social Hall of Time and Space right now? If so, if I were to ignore his advice and enter the Social Hall of Time and Space……
How would Chief Lee react?
The Cone Hat recited.
-Do not think too deeply, Jesse.
“……Yes.”
Jesse nodded, but could not cast off her lingering thoughts.
That archmage’s intuition was correct to a certain extent.
Because at this very moment, Hoyeol was in the Social Hall of Time and Space....
The Social Hall of Time and Space.
The highest floor.
A space no one could approach or disturb.
A man opened his eyes.
[The comprehension of the curse, “Understanding of Darkness,” increases dramatically.]
[The proficiency of the skill, “I Alone Am Supreme Under Heaven and Above Earth,” increases dramatically.]
At the same time, his long silver hair flowed down as though spreading over the ground.