◈ Episode 481. The Calling (1)
Baek Seongryun, former Five Star of Heavenly Unification.
Five Stars was the term for the highest-ranking executives of Heavenly Unification.
To be counted on one hand within the super-guild Heavenly Unification.
One could well imagine his competence.
Yet Baek Seongryun's eyes were filled with terror. Because he had experienced something horrific enough to make one's blood run cold? No, I tilted my teacup and watched Baek Seongryun as he looked about furtively.
"……How can this be?"
Antonium, some tavern within.
Baek Seongryun, as if he could not believe it.
Scoured his surroundings thoroughly.
"Right here, in this very spot, Yong Seongrak was beheaded in a single blow. He was clearly under Liu Junchun's [Brainwashing]…… by a man with black hair and eyes……!"
Beheaded, he says.
It was sudden ill news of Yong Seongrak.
Though I swallowed a groan inwardly.
I was able to identify the man with black hair. 'The Warrior of Sunrise.' Surely, I had thought I dispelled the [Brainwashing] during the duel through spacetime, but.
While I was away, Oxidin—
No, it seems Liu Junchun has schemed again.
Swish.
Instead of asking further, I manifested magic.
Thanks to a manifestation ability of a different caliber.
Mana particles vividly reenacted what had transpired here.
"I shall believe your words."
If only to mourn his sudden death.
His body, at the very least, must be properly laid to rest.
One question remained: where had his body disappeared to?
'No one moved it. It vanished as if evaporating.'
Swish.
Yong Seongrak's mana particles dissipating unnaturally.
The implication was simple.
His body no longer existed on the Arcana continent.
'Then there is only one possibility.'
The Demon King of the Ninth Throne, the Noble Paimon.
Yong Seongrak's body was with him.
I replayed Baek Seongryun's words.
—"A message appeared, but I could not read a single character. Yet Paimon spoke to me. You are a witness. A witness who will prove my innocence……"
This was difficult to swallow no matter how many times I replayed it. Even for me, Lee Hoyeol, who is quite understanding, the story about Paimon was hard to accept. In truth, if I summarized the core of Baek Seongryun's words, it was simple.
"It will sound like the ramblings of a madman…… but Paimon protected Antonium. As if nothing had happened here. Leaving only me, the sole witness behind……"
Yes, if it had not been for Paimon.
To be precise, if it had not been for Paimon's incarnation.
Antonium would have likely. 'fallen into Liu Junchun's hands by now.'
To think he infiltrated Antonium, diverting the Holy War Alliance's attention with the Great Monsters to seize the imperial throne. Oxidin—if I had known his true identity was Liu Junchun.
'I would never have let my guard down.'
Because both I and Grangfel were wary of his obsession.
Clack.
Until I had completely emptied my green tea, I said nothing.
While I remained silent, even the surrounding chatter fell still.
Indeed, it could not be helped.
'To Grangfel, demons are merely prey.'
And among them, high-ranking demon kings of a different dimension were regarded as trash not even worthy of recycling.
That Paimon, one such piece of garbage, had protected Antonium.
I flinched.
The rampage of [Heaven Above, Earth Below, I Alone Am Honored].
Thanks to that, Paimon, whom I had encountered unexpectedly, had been excessively formal, unlike a demon. If he had not been a demon, he gave the impression that he would have gotten along quite well with Grangfel.
Thanks to that, I could guess.
'Could this be an extension of when he quietly returned to the demon realm?'
What Paimon wanted?
It was precisely my, Lee Hoyeol's, entry into the demon realm.
Once I considered the examiner's intent and observed the situation.
'It's one hundred percent.'
If Antonium were turned into a ruin by Liu Junchun.
My entry into the demon realm would be further delayed.
Paimon had clearly prevented such a situation.
But it was not something I could simply feel relieved about?
'Why are you doing this to me?'
A favor this burdensome was a first.
And from a high-ranking demon king, of all things?
An opponent that even the current me cannot guarantee victory against.
'The demon realm…… I want to go even less now.'
But who is Lord Grangfel?
One who must keep every word he utters,
and must repay what he has received—a man of such character.
Only then did my lips move.
"It is my principle not to exchange words with prey."
"……???"
At the cold tone, the tavern's gazes focused on me in an instant.
It was an embarrassment I had yet to grow accustomed to.
Outwardly paying it no heed, I continued.
"However, I shall take special circumstances into account in my disposition."
Yes, well thought, Grangfel.
'Fighting immediately upon meeting is one thing,'
if only because of the favor received from Paimon—
even if I succeeded in the hunt, it would have been extremely uncomfortable.
But the senses of a demon hunter cannot be overlooked.
They were more exceptional than I, Lee Hoyeol, had imagined.
The thought process of one's natural enemy reminded me of a fact I had forgotten.
"For that purpose, he must have taken Yong Seongrak's body."
That was it.
That I—that Grangfel—would enter the demon realm to retrieve Yong Seongrak's body.
Paimon knew this.
Though it appeared to be nothing but a favor on the surface, behind it lay a thorough calculation.
Indeed.
'He is on a different level from ordinary demon kings.'
To think I must enter the demon realm where the Ten Thrones' demon kings, equal to or greater than such a Paimon, lurk in abundance.
This is no time for this.
From now on, I may not have a moment to sit still.
I rose from my seat and asked Baek Seongryun.
"Do you have a destination?"
Heavenly Unification had long been disbanded. Liu Junchun, who had once been his sovereign, had his existence exposed by none other than Paimon; he would never again be able to return alive like a ghost.
Baek Seongryun answered.
"I had made contact with Yong Seongrak to discuss that matter."
Well, the two of them shared the common ground of being from Heavenly Unification.
But at the point of Yong Seongrak's death.
Baek Seongryun's destination had become uncertain once more.
'I am not the type to offer warm words.'
So I spoke in Grangfel-style rhetoric.
"Then enjoy your present, freed from shackles."
"……!"
"Wherever you go, it is your freedom."
"My freedom……"
That was all I could say.
Leaving Baek Seongryun to chew over my words.
I exited the tavern.
Let's see, though I had not checked the time.
Grangfel's internal clock of decorum, more accurate than a stomach clock, tolled its alarm. It was nearly time for the imperial conference, where the Holy War Alliance had gathered, to begin.
Clack.
I stepped toward Antonium's main castle, thinking.
Of Haiel, who by now would be faithfully executing my commands.
Rather than worry, I thought she was probably doing just fine.
'Well, it's not like she's Diend.'
Since she is my Avatar Number One.
If nothing else……
Our Haiel would never be outclassed anywhere.
*Spirit Kings. Rulers of {Nature}.
They were Spirit Kings who did not easily reveal themselves upon the continent.
Naturally, there was little exchange between them.
No, far beyond that.
"Strange rumors have been circulating on the Arcana continent lately, Zeus. Stories of a boy who looks exactly like you, wielding lightning, running rampant across the continent."
To the point that she would bring up such a sensitive topic.
Zeus, Spirit King of Thunder.
Crackle.
His displeasure manifested as lightning.
Ignoring that momentum and continuing to speak was Oried, the Spirit King of Earth, who held relative superiority over the thunder attribute.
She ran her hand through her hair and continued.
"Let's see, his name is the 'Child of Lightning,' is it not? Who wouldn't think of you upon hearing it, Zeus? Though it is no strange thing considering your history……"
"Enough."
"Even so, is it not unbecoming of a Spirit King to reach out to a human beyond the boundaries of the natural realm? I say this out of genuine concern."
"I will not say it thrice, Oried."
Beyond the level of mere sparking.
Zeus's body flickered in the form of a lightning spirit.
Only then did Oried shrug her shoulders and withdraw her words.
"Very well."
Of course, her chatter did not end there.
"Ah, but have you heard? The Great Monsters have begun moving all at once. My children are in tears because of it. They are being trampled mercilessly wherever they go……"
However, no one listened carefully to Oried's words.
At the thorough disregard, Oried turned her gaze to find someone who would nod to her words.
What entered her sight was Dryad, the Spirit King of the Forest, who possessed a comparatively gentle nature among the arrogant, dogmatic, and frankly disagreeable Spirit Kings.
Oried wiped her dry eyes with exaggerated distaste and spoke.
"Dryad, you must be feeling the same sorrow as I, yes? You and the spirits who dwelled in those vast, verdant forests have also lost your homes."
A nod.
As Dryad bobbed her head, Oried slowly began to get to the main point.
Yes, because she had a purpose for revealing herself here today.
"Therefore, as one who has become the King of Earth, I can no longer remain silent. I can no longer turn a blind eye. Especially now that the focal point we must believe in and follow has disappeared."
……!
At Oried's words, the Spirit Kings' gazes focused.
The absence of a focal point.
The focal point: the Mother of All Things.
For it was the word that meant the World Tree.
"Of course, I am well aware that a new World Tree has taken root. As the King of Earth. But you see. Can we truly call that young tree our Mother?"
A strange light flickered in Oried's eyes.
"This is a fact known only to Dryad and myself, the Spirit King of the Forest, but the World Trees currently existing on the Arcana continent are not limited to one."
To that, Aerial, the Spirit King of Wind, added.
"I know that as well."
"Is that so, Aerial? You knew as well?"
Oried smiled thinly and struck at the heart of the matter.
"Then why were you putting on an act of ignorance?"
"……What?"
"I am saying you already knew. That we must no longer remain silent. Two World Trees…… No, a situation where even more World Trees may sprout in the future?"
Oried reversed her abruptly changed tone and spoke.
"Can you all revere and follow every one of those World Trees as Mother? Do you truly believe those young World Trees can protect our natural world? Let me be the first to say it. I do not think so."
The natural world of spirits, which only those who have not lost their purity can witness.
Because spirits are beings who do not lose their purity.
Therefore, Oried was saying.
She spread her arms wide.
"At last, the time has come for us to break free from purity."
Again, there was no answer.
But Oried wore a rather satisfied expression.
Though it was the same silence, its meaning was different.
Since she had thrown the stone, ripples would surely return by the next meeting.
'Even if they did not, how long could they endure?'
It was no lie that the spirits were groaning in agony.
Those who had become kings of spirits were obliged to seek a solution.
Oried was certain.
"There is only one answer, everyone."
The only solution: the Spirit Kings.
The conviction that they themselves must exert influence over the Arcana continent.
'This should be enough,' Oried thought as she was about to rise from her seat.
Suddenly.
"Not yet, Oried."
The Spirit King of the Forest had called her to stop.
To think Dryad, ever cautious in word and deed, would stop her.
Could something urgent have happened?
But Oried's doubt did not last long.
Because as an avatar and mirror of 'someone,'
a being who is never late to an appointment,
had finally revealed herself.
Dryad opened her mouth quietly.
"You have come."
"……?"
Oried flinched.
A being at the very pinnacle of the spirit world's hierarchy.
A Spirit King using honorifics?
It was something that could not happen.
But beyond even that level, Dryad rose from her seat.
Before the presence slowly approaching.
She bowed her head.
"Wh-what are you doing……?"
A sound reached the ears of the astonished Oried.
Clack.
Footsteps subtly different from the rest.