◈ Episode 455. Darkness Falls (4)
The swamp drake and the storm dragon.
The momentum of the evil dragons rampaging with malice was destructive.
Enough to shake the dwarves aboard the Iron Castle.
“The compatibility is poor, Lord Chainwalker!”
“Of all things, a dragon that causes storms. In winds like this, it’s hard enough just to hold the controls. We can’t even sortie the fighters. Are the magic cannons ready?”
“It seems there’s a problem with the machinery!”
“Damn it.”
Clang, clatter.
Walswile, hammer in hand, burst out in frustration.
“This is why I said the Iron Castle needed modifications too, didn’t I? It’s impossible to respond to them with our technology alone. Whether it’s the adventurers’ technology or the Magic Tower’s magic, we should accept anything we can…”
“I understand. That’s enough nagging, Walswile.”
The process of refining had to be planned.
Because every mineral could endure a different degree of tempering.
The Iron Castle was the culmination of dwarven technology. He knew that modifying the Iron Castle, with its intricate, high-level refinement processes, in a short period of time was impossible.
Then why had he uttered such meaningless words?
Clang.
Walswile brought his hammer down.
“Because I’m frustrated, that’s why!”
Because the situation was utterly hopeless.
If the only threat before them had been the evil dragons, the Iron Castle would have stood in their way even if it meant being half-destroyed. Shamefully, he did not want to think as though he were relying on someone, but… ‘If it’s reversal magic.’ If it was the Commander-in-Chief’s miraculous magic.
He would surely be able to restore even the shattered Iron Castle to its original state. But the evil dragons were not the only threat.
Behemoth’s maw was showing signs of spewing out demons, and the Commander-in-Chief’s whereabouts were also unknown.
Guuuuung.
A roar came from the ground.
Bang.
A fragment that shot upward struck the Iron Castle. The Iron Castle shook violently. The safety of the adventurers and the Great Alliance, who would have to face the evil dragons on the ground with their bare bodies, was gravely concerning.
“Tch.”
Of course, that did not mean they had the余 strength to support them.
Crack.
With a roar, cracks began to spread across the Iron Castle’s window.
“L-Lord Chainwalker!”
It looked like glass, but it was no ordinary glass. For the sake of defense, it had been made by carving jewels and crystals with extreme craftsmanship, like a single vast barrier.
“You’re saying mere wind cracked it?”
“If we go outside in a storm like this…!”
“It wouldn’t be strange if our skin were torn to shreds!”
“Just wind has this much power…?”
The one who answered that hollow question was the spirit, Hiel.
“It is not merely wind.”
“What do you mean, Lady Hiel?”
“This storm contains killing intent beyond malice.”
The effect of the World Tree’s blessing.
Hiel had come to understand not only the forest, but {nature} itself. Thanks to that, Hiel could see it. The indiscriminate violence that the King of All Things was wielding against all things, exactly as it was.
Hiel held back her words. ‘The scent of blood is thick.’ She could feel how many lives the storm dragon had taken while flying here. The trail left by the swamp drake rampaging on the ground would not be much different.
As if coming to a decision, Chainwalker nodded.
“Then all the more, we cannot simply stand by and watch. Are the repairs done, Walswile? Prepare the magic cannons at once. With the Commander-in-Chief absent, we have no means of purifying the evil dragons!”
Clank.
The mechanisms meshed together, giving off a grand sound.
At the same time, cannon barrels rose from the Iron Castle.
Their output was at maximum.
Chainwalker finished steeling himself.
“Today, we kill the King of All Things!”
It was not an easy decision.
If the Commander-in-Chief, Hoyeol, had been there, he would have been able to save even the most viciously rampaging evil dragons. Even if they had already committed unforgivable sins, he would have forgiven and rehabilitated them.
Chainwalker clenched his teeth. ‘Even if a lowly dwarf like me cannot understand it.’ You would have accomplished it as if to show us all.
But they had no such pride.
No such ability, and no Commander-in-Chief.
So this was the best they could do now.
“Stand by to fire!”
The moment the resolute Chainwalker widened his eyes.
The moment he desperately tried to align the swaying cannon barrels.
The moment he aimed for that fleeting instant.
“…?”
Beyond the cracked crystal window.
He saw silver hair fluttering. The one who revealed himself within the storm was the being they had waited for so dearly—no, the being they had never once doubted—the Commander-in-Chief of the Holy War Alliance Army.
It was Hoyeol.
But.
“His hair…?”
His radiant silver hair hung long, falling past his waist.
If that had been all, he would not have been surprised.
The several days of his absence.
No matter what had happened to Hoyeol, it would not have been strange.
With Hoyeol’s appearance, the Iron Castle regained its calm.
He had thought he had simply stabilized the air currents with magic.
But that was not it.
“…
Chainwalker.”
Walswile quietly called Chainwalker.
He could not help it.
Just when, at what moment, had it happened?
Not only had the storm dragon become soaked in blood.
Both of its wings had been completely snapped, and it was plummeting toward the ground.
This was not the sight they had expected.
“I’m watching.”
Even so, Chainwalker forced himself to nod.
Perhaps that evil dragon had already been beyond saving.
Above all, Lady Hiel would surely know the Commander-in-Chief’s will.
The moment Chainwalker turned his head.
“Lady Hiel…?”
He saw Hiel with her eyes gently closed.
The one who should have been happier than anyone at Hoyeol’s return.
With her eyes closed, Hiel clasped her two hands together.
“My lord.”
Softly murmuring that single word.
*
The Great Alliance.
A message appeared before the players.
Thanks to that, they were forced to realize it, unbelievable though it was.
[Your level has risen.]
[Your level has risen.]
……
The evil dragon was dead.……
Gulp.
Dry saliva went down their throats on its own.
Because the impact was immense. It was the swamp drake that had destroyed the area simply by rolling around. Befitting its massive bulk, the presence of its severed head and body was tremendous.
Spurt.
There was no need to explain the fountain of blood surging from its neck.
Amid the unexpected situation.
Hisagi was the first to speak.
“…
It seems there was no other way.”
Hisagi had faith.
Had it been the usual Commander-in-Chief, he would surely have purified the evil dragon. Frostnax, who was protecting the World Tree near Antonium, was living proof of that.
“No way to return the evil dragon to its original state, that is.”
That was why he was puzzled.
Why had he not purified it this time, why had he not shown the evil dragon mercy?
Was it because the swamp drake had already trampled an entire village? ‘…No.’ That was not the issue.
Hisagi shook his head.
The Commander-in-Chief was someone who had forgiven even worse wickedness than this if the sinner truly repented.
Moreover, even they knew that the dragon had merely gone berserk after being swayed by the Evil Fruit (惡果).
Just as he became convinced that there was some other reason.
Kukukukung.
A roar sounded from far away.
The falling storm dragon had crashed somewhere into the mountain range.
It had literally happened in the blink of an eye.
Schreig let out a hollow laugh.
“Should we say, as expected of the Commander-in-Chief…?”
Just what skill or magic could slay both a dragon on the ground and one flying in the sky at the same time? And in a fleeting moment at that, literally in the blink of an eye. He could not even guess what realm Hoyeol had reached.
But what was even more unfathomable than that was.
“No, is that not it…?”
The unfamiliar presence radiating from Hoyeol.
The only outward change was his long silver hair.
Its length fell lightly past his waist.
Was that why the atmosphere around him felt so different and unfamiliar?
After pondering, Schreig muttered.
“Considering that, it suits him well.”
As though he had always kept his hair long from the very beginning.
Of course, their pondering did not last long.
Nam Taemin opened his mouth.
“If we’re curious, we can just ask.”
It had been like that since their first meeting.
Hoyeol had never hidden anything from the flood of questions. Of course, there had been a time when he had coldly said that he would not accept questions from those lacking etiquette and manners, but…
[Berserk] deactivated.
Nam Taemin, having regained etiquette in place of wildness, corrected himself.
“No, we can just ask him.”
He was certain.
If it was the Hoyeol he knew.
Even if no one asked, he would explain the reason for his actions first.
The reason he had no choice but to hunt the evil dragons instead of purifying them.
Drifting down.
It seemed the Iron Castle had also noticed Hoyeol’s appearance.
It was slowly landing.
Suddenly, voices from the players belonging to the Holy War Alliance Army could be heard.
“…
Am I alive? Thanks to the Commander-in-Chief again?”
“Seeing as level-up messages popped up, I think so.”
“Hey, but why is that still like that…?”
“It’s not alive, is it?”
“Stop trying to jinx it, please.”
“…!!!”
At that moment, the three guild masters of the Great Alliance.
The rankers, including Schreig, flinched.
Now that they thought about it. ‘Why?’ The corpse of the evil dragon was not disappearing.
The green flames that rose when a demon was slain.
Nor what the Romantic Explorer Lorentsk called “hellfire.” Nor the Arcana Continent Chronicle’s system, the phenomenon of a dead monster scattering into smoke, could be seen.
They did not know why, but one thing was certain…
“He didn’t take the loot?”
No one had obtained the dragon’s spoils.
So it could only be questionable.
In the battle, Hoyeol had recorded an overwhelming contribution to the kill.
“He took both of them down by himself, didn’t he?”
After all, all they had done was get hit by the evil dragons’ attacks. According to the kill contribution system, Hoyeol should have automatically obtained the loot.
Hisagi spoke inwardly. ‘…Did he refuse the loot?’ Was that even possible?
He was a player, but he could not be certain whether such a system existed.
Because, of course, there would be no player who would turn down loot.
The moment the question grew even greater.
Click.
Hoyeol’s foot moved.
He was walking through the air, yet the sound of dress shoes rang in their ears.
Everyone doubted their eyes.
But it was still too early to be surprised.
“…!!!”
Because at the same time, Hoyeol disappeared.
At the sudden situation, everyone froze.
It was to the point that they felt the illusion that even the gears of the Iron Castle were creaking to a halt.
Leonie stammered.
“Th-there must have been something incredibly urgent, right?”
Otherwise, there would be no reason for him to slay two evil dragons and then disappear without even glancing at the loot. Schreig, wiping away cold sweat, chimed in.
“Right! Things on the real-world side aren’t normal right now either, are they?”
But Nam Taemin and Hisagi did not easily open their mouths.
Ironically.
The act of not obtaining the loot was understandable. ‘Because it’s none other than Hoyeol.’ Incorruptibly pure.
Neither fame.
Nor loot had ever mattered to the Hoyeol they had seen.
However, what was more incomprehensible than anything was. ‘He did not even glance at us.’ After his appearance.
Hoyeol’s gaze had not turned toward the Holy War Alliance Army even once. No, rather than simply saying he had not looked at them, it would be more accurate to say that, just like the loot, he had not even spared them a glance.
Nam Taemin recalled the usual Hoyeol.
Kinder than anyone, in moments of crisis.
He recalled the “single ray of light” that had saved him again and again.
But at this moment, no mercy could be felt from Hoyeol.
It was strange, yet not strange.
Yes, if he acknowledged just “one thing,” everything fit together. ‘If the current Hoyeol isn’t the Hoyeol I know.’ Nam Taemin recalled the unfamiliar scent that lingered at the tip of his nose.
An utterly alien scent.
And, just like that, one utterly “alien name” came to mind.
Yes, “that name” that had followed behind Hoyeol from some point onward.
『Grandfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo』
Nam Taemin blurted out before he knew it.
“No way.”
*
The Another Space.
The despairing count was being updated anew.
“The number of Evil Eyes detected thus far is 642.”
A truly despairing number.
But the count, which had been rising sharply, returned once again to zero.
It did not take long for it to go back to nil.
Crack.
The Evil Eyes of the Ten Thrones surrounding Earth burst all at once.
“…
Senior, I think there’s something wrong with the camera.”
“What? I just finished checking it. Why?”
“Th-that’s, the Evil Eyes suddenly disappeared from the screen!”
“Wh-what did you say?!”
At the moment the Another Space fell into confusion.
At the same time.
On Earth, an article appeared.
…
[Breaking News] Lee Hoyeol Appears—Will He Become the Spark of a Reversal?