◈ Episode 480. Innate Evil (2)
A lingering will.
Liuo Junchun’s will, which not even death had been able to break,
was being broken, miserably.
It seemed there were levels even to helplessness.
With a single stroke.
This was on an entirely different level from the elf who had separated his body from his head.
Liuo Junchun’s obsession, which had not broken even when his head rolled across the floor,
“Let us see. Nothing good will come of making a commotion.”
meant absolutely nothing to Paimon, who continued speaking calmly.
Even so, Liuo Junchun’s lingering will thought.
How can I escape this crisis?
‘……
If it were Lee Hoyeol.’
Yes, if it were Lee Hoyeol.
Noble Paimon.
He might be able to deal with that high-ranking Demon King.
‘Use an enemy to catch an enemy.’
Liuo Junchun’s gaze turned toward the people of Antonium.
If possible, through the hands of the Transcendents he had brainwashed,
he had wanted to toy with the lives of the people.
‘There definitely wasn’t a message.’
The status abnormality, [Brainwashing],
was still in effect.
Yet the Transcendents were not acting according to his will.
No, beyond even that level……
“Looking at you makes such thoughts come to mind.”
Piercing through the shell called Oxidin.
He felt a lofty gaze staring precisely at him.
At that moment, within Paimon’s pupils raged a vortex that could not be called human. But Liuo Junchun did not have the presence of mind to meet Paimon’s gaze.
For what was truly puzzling was not the Transcendents.
‘……
Why?’
The people of Antonium were acting as if they had lost all awareness of his existence. Yes, the very people who, until just moments ago, had looked up at him in terror.
“The fruit is especially sweet today.”
“Hey, how about a drink at the tavern tonight?”
“Dad, we’re going outside the castle tomorrow, right?!”
They were savoring peace as if nothing had happened. Yes, like Antonium in the days when Arcana had been nothing more than a game. To Liuo Junchun’s bewildered lingering will, the words continued.
“Why were you born human?”
“……?”
“Your malice is so filthy, base, and hideous that it would not fall short compared to any demon of the Demon World. In that sense, I envy you.”
What nonsense are you spouting?
An abrupt insult.
Emotion surged up, but he could not express it.
Whoooooosh.
“……!”
Because Paimon’s swirling pupils went beyond grotesque,
and were enough to inspire awe.
Paimon’s solemn voice continued.
Those words were not addressed to Liuo Junchun’s lingering will.
Nor to Oxidin, the shell.
“Had I not been a demon, I could have shared a cup with you.”
……
Shared a cup?
Liuo Junchun tried to think about its meaning, then stopped.
Now was not the time to be swayed by stray thoughts.
My purpose, which did not break even in death.
The throne of the Empire is right before my eyes.
‘If only I can seize the throne, I……!’
The hidden class, [Tyrant],
would be able to unleash its true potential.
If he activated the [Authority] function that could manipulate the Empire, then no one would dare covet it, a kingdom of his own that even unification of the world could not surpass……
“But that is enough.”
……
Craaaack!
No sooner had Paimon’s words fallen than Oxidin’s body twisted. His limbs began to crumple like a paper doll, then his spine and ribs, and finally even his skull, were hideously crushed.
As if caught in a vortex.
Amid the excruciating pain,
Liuo Junchun clenched his teeth.
‘Paimon, I will not die……! No, I cannot die!!’
His intense lingering will did not allow him to forget the existence of the skill, [Succession of the Tyrant].
If someone placed my crown upon their head,
just as I took possession of Oxidin’s body, I can resurrect again.
Step.
However, as stated before, Paimon’s swirling pupils were staring precisely
at Liuo Junchun’s essence.
And at last, the crown.
Liuo Junchun’s lingering will.
Was caught in Paimon’s grasp.
Even if grandly dressed up as a lingering will, in the end,
it was no more than a clamor in the palm of his hand.
“Even seeing it again, it arouses my curiosity.”
Humans and demons were different.
Because he had been born a noble Demon King, Paimon knew that fact better than anyone. However, at times, one encountered sights that could not be believed even after seeing them.
For example, like now.
“You are an existence that will benefit me in many ways.”
A new world witnessed through the Demon Eye.
It was the world of adventurers, different from both the Demon World and the Arcana Continent.
In that place, a half-blood demon was running rampant.
“Your innate evil will serve as inspiration for half-bloods, for mixing blood.”
The instant he heard those words.
『!』
Liuo Junchun’s lingering will, dwelling in the tyrant’s crown, thought intensely.
『Then.
Accept me.
I can give you what you desire.』
However, Liuo Junchun’s longing,
crumble.
『……?!』
began to scatter into the air along with the crown that was being crushed.
The same went for his lingering will.
At last, it was completely over.
Paimon looked at Liuo Junchun, who had been utterly annihilated, and muttered.
“Unbelievable.”
Then he looked at the peaceful Antonium.
At the same time, he looked at the Transcendents who had fainted and collapsed to the ground.
All of it had been something he had chosen to do.
“To think I would commit such acts for the sake of meeting you again.”
And furthermore, though only for an instant, to think he would come to envy a human.
Paimon’s avatar.
Its gaze turned toward the man who had collapsed and had watched everything.
“You must have seen a dreadful sight.”
“…….”
“But do not resent me. Would one witness not be necessary? Only then can unnecessary misunderstandings between you and me be avoided.”
At last, the fingertips of Paimon’s hand holding the teacup scattered.
His entire body began turning into dust.
Because of that, the teacup fell to the floor.
Crash.
As if Paimon’s avatar had finished what it had come to do,
it became complete dust and vanished from the Arcana Continent.
The man who had witnessed the entire situation because Paimon had intended it.
Baek Seongryun.
He stammered.
“……
Th-this is insane.”
What on earth did I just see……?
*
I gathered the news being delivered.
“At the point we hunted the second Great Beast, changes were observed in them! It definitely looked as if they had broken free from the Monarch’s brainwashing!”
Nam Cheolmin spoke on behalf of the Eastern Holy War Coalition.
From what I heard,
everyone had fought quite the fierce battle in the Prototype Rift.
I swallowed a dry cough inwardly.
‘Ahem.’
Because I had smashed everything apart with Dragon Tongue.
I did not properly understand the structure of the Prototype Rift, but the fact that it had been connected to reality and allowed communication seemed to have helped the players.
All meetings must always be strict, solemn, and serious.
“Let us stop here.”
Having barely bent Granfell’s stubbornness,
I adjourned the meeting at that point.
Above all, everyone looked like they desperately needed rest.
‘Even running just one raid is exhausting.’
They had practically jumped into a Great Beast raid the moment they escaped from the Prototype Rift, hadn’t they? It wasn’t as if the other players had [Blessing of the First World Tree] like me.
‘So cut them some slack, Granfell.’
Immediately after, I spoke with Marcelo.
“I witnessed the precious fruits you have brought forth, Sir.”
……
Precious fruits?
‘What did you see this time, damn it!’
Because of the sins I had committed until now, I flinched.
Fortunately, it was not about me.
The three guild masters of the Great Alliance.
“What they displayed was unmistakably the Extraordinary.”
I see.
So all three of them entered the realm of the Extraordinary.
In truth, there had been signs from before.
‘Would it be similar to having grabbed hold of the doorknob?’
Talent like that did not disappear.
They had been rankers who flew and crawled since the early days of the Arcana Continent. To think they had entered on their own the realm of the Extraordinary, a place I, Lee Hoyeol, would never have reached without Granfell.
I commend them.
And I commend myself as well.
Recruiting such reliable allies was a very fine thing, Hoyeol.
By the way……
“The Magic Tower will also hurry to follow in your footsteps, Sir.”
A title really was important.
[Grand Master of the Extraordinary]
Honestly, what had I even done? All I did was square my shoulders and chest proudly, scold people for not knowing, and boast that I could do it……!
‘I’m so embarrassed by the praise I can’t even raise my head.’
Even so, of course, I did not show it.
Yes, because this was not the time to get carried away by Marcelo’s words.
There was still something unresolved.
I asked seriously.
“Have you detected Yugwid’s mana trace, Marcelo?”
“Regrettably, I have not detected even the slightest sign.”
“I see. It is not your fault.”
Yugwid and the Great Sage Rise had undoubtedly been caught up in the Prototype Rift. The field transformed by the Great Beast had been restored to its original state, but their whereabouts remained unknown.
In Granfell’s manner of speaking, I uttered the cause of the situation.
“Time is an existence that no one can control.”
The time period and location in which they had been caught up in the Prototype Rift had both been different.
However, it was not as if there were no solution at all.
I continued speaking.
“That is why we cannot waste time. Hiel.”
At my call, Hiel appeared.
The reason I summoned Hiel was simple. It was the spirits of the Arcana Continent who had first conveyed news regarding Yugwid, Rise, and the Orc Auction.
“Hiel Chrisiad Four Season Leaf.”
Well, I don’t think introductions are necessary between us……
“I shall carry out any order according to my lord’s will.”
Would that ever be corrected just because I said something?
Having given up,
I got to the point.
“From this moment on, summon all spirits.”
“……!”
At my words, Marcelo looked somewhat startled.
The founder of theoretical magic, Marcelo possessed extensive knowledge regarding all existing magic. Knowledge of spirit magic would not be an exception.
Marcelo carefully opened his mouth.
“Sir, I apologize, but my meager insight cannot follow your words. Even if the Spirit World is as strict in procedure as the human world, its hierarchy applies only within the same attribute……”
It was a question one could fully raise.
Spirits were classified by attribute.
To make it easier to understand, should I use the Magic Tower’s contracted spirit as an example?
The contracted spirit of the Spirit Studies Senior Mage, Feiyan, was the high-ranking flame spirit, Fire Drake. However, only flame spirits of the same attribute obeyed Fire Drake’s orders.
Feiyan had said as much.
—“Is that why our Skilled Mages don’t listen properly to me either? Of course, spirit magic doesn’t exactly have a fixed training process……”
Back then, I had thought.
‘Maybe it’s because you’re always chewing on something, so they can’t understand you.’
Senior Feiyan was known in the Magic Tower as a notorious glutton. Every time I ran into him, he would hide food beneath the sleeves of his robe. However, I had never made a biting remark to Feiyan…… No, I had never pointed out his behavior.
Because.
‘He’s never done that even once in front of me.’
Feiyan must have seen what I did to Senior Bensch.
Well, it wasn’t strange that he would be careful on his own……
In any case, I answered Marcelo.
“You are correct, Marcelo. Even a strict hierarchy is effective only upon those who possess the same attribute as oneself. Even if one is a Spirit King, they cannot surpass that limit.”
It meant that they might shrink back and follow because of the intimidation that came from rank, but they would not truly obey. That was why Marcelo must have raised the question.
‘All spirits means spirits of every attribute.’
But what surpasses hierarchy is blood relation, isn’t it?
Yes, Hiel was none other than
a {Unique Spirit} directly descended from the World Tree, who had received [Blessing of the First World Tree].
‘They’ll have no choice but to gather, won’t they?’
As long as they gathered first,
wouldn’t she be able to seize the initiative with her first impression?
Because, perhaps having taken after someone, Hiel was extraordinary from her appearance alone.
Leaving Marcelo, who still did not understand, behind,
Hiel bowed politely.
“I shall obey my lord’s command.”
If we inquired among the spirits,
even if not through mana traces,
we would be able to obtain clues about Yugwid and Rise’s whereabouts.
‘Then, slowly.’
I should return to Antonium. Unlike the east, the north and west had wrapped up the situation early and returned to Antonium. I needed to speak with them as well.
“I will remain here and observe the situation.”
Seen off by Marcelo, I entered the portal.
And the instant I set foot in Antonium,
I realized it.
An intense presence.
“!”
It was not a mana trace.
An evil trace.
The footprint of evil was too vast to simply pass over.
There was no doubt.
A high-ranking Demon King, or a demon on par with one, had set foot in Antonium. I had no mirror and could not confirm it, but in this moment, my face was probably as cold as ice.
So cold that anyone who knew me even a little
would not dare say a word to me.
However, there was someone approaching me.
And I
looked at him.
At the man.
Then he spoke.
“……
Mr. Lee Hoyeol, who exactly are you?”
Lee Hoyeol.
You know the three syllables of my name, so what are you asking?
……
Wait, could it be?
‘Is he someone who knows my full name?!’
I was about to ask back, but I flinched when I saw the man’s face.
A man covered in blood, entirely out of place in peaceful Antonium.
You know what happened in Antonium, don’t you?