◈ Episode 498. The Noble Ones (3)
Western Demon Realm.
The Demon King of the Ninth Throne.
Paimon’s domain.
A fortress of a scale so grand it surpassed magnificence, bordering on arrogance.
Paimon walked down the fortress corridor.
From Paimon, who seemed deep in thought,
flowed a pressure heavier than the fortress itself.
The other rabble were not even worth considering.
“Baal, you would surely deem all of this meaningless.”
To those seated upon the Ten Thrones, worldly wealth and glory held no meaning.
As he walked down the corridor,
works of art passed through Paimon’s field of vision.
From paintings embroidered with gold thread,
to dolls adorned with rare materials,
to sculptures carved from entire gemstones.
Each work of art possessed a beauty capable of stirring emotions with a single glance, yet Paimon’s feelings as he looked upon them were dry and barren.
Was it because he had grown used to the emotion art inspired?
No, it would be more accurate to say he could not feel it.
Because he gazed down from the distant, lofty Ten Thrones.
The same was true of the vast western domain of the Demon Realm, and the loyalty of the demons who followed him was no different from those works of art. Paimon was keenly aware of his own thirst.
Even so, unlike Baal and the other Ten Thrones,
the reason Paimon held onto worldly authority was simple.
It was his sense of responsibility as a monarch.
“Perhaps you are the same as I am for that very reason.”
The world of adventurers and the Arcana Continent.
Those two worlds, for which you should not have even a speck of lingering attachment,
you protect so desperately.
“Is that why, I wonder, I feel goodwill toward you?”
Rumble.
At last, when Paimon stopped before a massive door, it opened on its own.
From the floor to the walls,
even across the ceiling, an alien-shaped magic circle had been engraved.
It was a curse, one that could be called demonic magic.
“That is why you cannot overlook it.”
Paimon gazed at the lump of flesh placed at its center.
A human corpse that had no reason to exist in the Demon Realm.
It was the body of Yong Seongrak, stolen from Antonium.
“If it is you as I have seen you, you must be feeling responsibility even for a single insignificant corpse. In that sense... perhaps I am committing an act of unparalleled folly.”
The purpose of the densely engraved curse was the creation of an avatar.
An avatar.
The Ten Thrones were beings that could take tens of thousands of lives simply by having their true names shouted. Paimon did not overlook the fact that if such a being of the Ten Thrones moved in their true body, they could destroy an entire world, regardless of their intentions.
“I have no intention of running wild like a stupid horse, you see.”
Paimon cast a sneer toward Gamigin, who had fallen into hell, and poured mana into the avatar. Then vitality began to return to Yong Seongrak’s rotting corpse.
“Truly, this is a foolish act, Paimon.”
With only a slight exaggeration, he had lived for eternity. Moreover, even if not because of your promise with me, you would surely have set foot in the Demon Realm in due time to search for this corpse.
“So this is what it feels like to grow impatient.”
The moment he faced Hoyeol,
Paimon’s stopped clock had begun to move.
More than the eternity he had lived through,
this fleeting instant now began to feel longer.
“It must be because my second hand has finally begun to move.”
He could guess the reason himself.
“Because we are looking toward the same place.”
Because I had been waiting desperately.
For an existence equal to myself.
The Ten Thrones?
As he had said countless times, Baal was far beyond reach,
and the rest were nothing but worms.
Crack.
Soon, Yong Seongrak began to move with the sound of bones shifting.
No, Paimon’s avatar did.
When Paimon opened his mouth, the avatar moved its mouth as well.
“I know that you will not look kindly upon this act.”
However.
“I suppose I am yearning even for that.”
A clear madness dwelled in Paimon’s eyes.
“Even for the killing intent you will direct toward me.”
Yet there was no need for concern.
The moment you set foot in the Demon Realm,
all obstacles between us will disappear.
“The moment even the final obstacle, that ‘single ray of light,’ vanishes.”
Meaningful words followed.
“We will be able to understand each other completely.”
*Squeeze.
“Jesse! I missed you~”
“We met yesterday.”
“It means I miss you every day, even if I see you every day.”
The Floating Garden.
Adept Mage, Jesse Hainnes.
Camilla sat down beside Jesse and rolled her eyes around.
“Thanks to our Jesse, I even get to look around the Floating Garden~ What’s good here? Latte? Cake? Do they sell fresh fruit juice, by any chance? Maybe it’s because I’m getting older these days~ I feel like I’m lacking vitamins...”
“Green tea.”
“...
Huh? What? What tea?”
Jesse answered firmly.
“Just drink green tea.”
Two teacups placed on the table.
Brazenly draped over them were,
as expected, green tea bags.
Camilla grumbled.
“Can you add this kind of menu once you’re at chief level?”
“Camilla, I have something to tell you.”
“Huh? I’m not complaining, it’s just fascinating, fascinating!”
Shake, shake.
“That’s not it.”
The cone hat shook its head. Camilla let out a sigh of relief, but tilted her head all the same. She had thought it was just her imagination, but was there a reason Jesse had pulled her cone hat down so deeply today?
Just as Camilla was about to ask again, Jesse continued.
“Can I return to Shining again?”...
Am I dreaming?
Camilla prided herself on knowing Jesse’s personality better than anyone.
But return?
She had never even imagined Jesse would say something like that.
After all.
“Return?! Jesse, even when you belonged to Shining, you acted however you felt like acting, didn’t you? Of course, you left however you wanted too. In the first place, you don’t have the kind of personality that can be tied down anywhere...”
“So you’re saying I can’t?”
“No, absolutely not!”
Camilla hurriedly waved her hands.
“I’m in favor of it, unconditionally in favor!”
She could no longer even ask for his opinion, but.
Dmitri, you’d definitely be in favor too, right?
And.
‘...
Rox, you too.’
She had encountered the guild masters with branches in Seoul, including the Giant Alliance, at the Magic Tower. Honestly, she had been surprised. Because even for Camilla, an executive of Shining, the competition quest had appeared.
‘Everyone must be serious about it. About the Holy War Allied Forces.’
Camilla smiled at Jesse, who still would not show her face.
‘Well, when he showed them something like that, how could they not follow him?’
Lee Hoyeol.
Through this declaration of resurrection, it had been revealed that he was a noble hero whom no one, whether in reality or on the Arcana Continent, could find fault with. Camilla shook her head faintly.
‘Whatever the case, I couldn’t do that.’
Death was not a fear that could be overcome.
She had realized that indirectly through Dmitri’s death.
Camilla clenched her fist to control her trembling hand.
‘But why is that, Jesse?’
Just retracing it made her chest ache—Shining’s recent course of action. Even so, Camilla looked back through her memories. Then she looked at Jesse.
‘You really aren’t going to show your face until the end?’
You, who used to demand anything and everything so boldly.
If you cannot even meet my eyes,
it means you’re hiding something from me.
‘You’ve grown a lot, but you still can’t beat me.’
No matter how she thought about it,
Jesse had no reason to return to Shining.
However, Camilla shrugged.
“Well, Rox will definitely be in favor too.”
“...
Really?”
“If Rox were the kind of man to hold grudges like that, would he have picked us, who ran wild however we pleased, and seated us as executives of Shining in the first place? So there’s nothing to worry about.”
“I see.”
At Camilla’s unwavering attitude, Jesse bit her lower lip.
The cone hat comforted Jesse.
—Mages are liars by nature, Jesse. Exploration, interference, manifestation. From the very process of magic itself, is it not pure falsehood? It is merely dressed up in a plausible manner.
Of course, it was not even the slightest comfort.
She did not want to deceive Camilla.
But she could not bring herself to say it.
Jesse replied to the cone hat.
‘...
I can’t say I’m going to monitor Rox.’
Jesse Hainnes.
In addition to magical achievements comparable to an Adept Mage, the twilight mana she had realized through the education of Mary, a member of the magical clan. On top of that, the aptitude of [Archmage] she had obtained as a chosen player.
Jesse, who had entered the realm of the extraordinary early on, had keen eyes and ears.
Thanks to that, she had seen it.
Rox, and what kinds of tempting hands were reaching out toward him.
—“The future of the United States of America rests on you, Rox.”
—“It is necessary for the sake of world order!”
—“All humans change. Would Lee Hoyeol be an exception?”
—“Do you think Dmitri would want you as weak as you are?”
The cone hat comforted its disciple.
—Did you not already give him enough chances?
That voice was not simply kind.
—You had sworn that if that man Rox appeared at the Magic Tower, you would neither return to Shining nor monitor him. So consider everything the responsibility of that man who failed to show his face at the Magic Tower.
For once, the cone hat showed an attitude befitting a former Tower Master.
—In the end, he failed to prove his pride.
To Jesse, who kept her mouth tightly shut, Camilla asked,
“So when are you coming back to the guild house, Jesse?”
“Right now.”
“Really? Great! I left your private room exactly as it was!”
Clink.
What a waste.
Camilla did not ignore Jesse’s rare goodwill.
That meant she forced herself to drink the green tea, even though it did not suit her taste.
“Ugh, bitter.”
When Camilla put down her teacup, Jesse said,
“Then, shall we go back?”
The two got up from the Floating Garden and went down the stairs of the Magic Tower.
The reason they did not manifest a portal was simple.
They wanted to take in the atmosphere.
Camilla clung to Jesse, linking arms with her.
“So who’s going to become the lord of Seoul here? I don’t know who it’ll be, but doesn’t your head hurt just thinking about it? It seems like there’ll be more than one or two things to worry about~”
“For starters, Camilla can’t.”
“Me? Why can’t I?”
“You’re too clingy.”
“That’s so mean~”
Camilla felt as though the everyday life she had lost for a while had returned.
Of course, that everyday life did not last long.
Camilla’s brow finally twitched.
“Wait, Jesse.”
She had been desperately ignoring it because she did not want their long-awaited meeting to be interrupted, but the vibration showed no sign of stopping. When she checked, it was an executive of Shining.
“Why are you calling like you can’t wait to chew me up?”
Before an answer could even come through.
“...!”
Only then did Camilla see it.
The players looked more than unsettled.
Somehow,
they seemed sharpened to the utmost.
Their sharp gazes
all focused at once on the sound of her presence.
Step.
An urgent voice came through her ear.
Camilla pulled her arm away from Jesse’s.
—“Lady Camilla, Guild Master Rox has...!!”
Click.
Camilla ended the call.
Jesse asked her.
At last, you’re showing me the face I was so desperate to see, Jesse.
“What happened?”
But this time, Camilla hid the truth.
“I’m sorry, Jesse.”
“What is it?”
“I don’t think it’ll work after all.”
“...
What won’t?”
“Your return to Shining.”
Camilla clenched her fist so hard it dug into her skin.
“No matter how I think about it, I can’t forgive a traitor.”
*Crash.
“Then, excuse me...”
A berserker far removed from magic, Leoni.
To Leoni, the only place in the Magic Tower that felt familiar—
the only place where she could change clothes—
was the Healing School’s annex room.
“Please come again!”
Was telling me to come again the same as telling me to get half-killed again?
‘Surely not.’
Leoni answered with a crushed smile.
“Ah, yes. Thank you for your help.”
As Cle innocently saw her off, Leoni properly put on the battle gear she had thrown on roughly. Right, she had not expected anything in the first place. It was not as if this was the first or second time she had seen those player bastards act like this.
“...
Shining.”
Because Camilla had visited the Magic Tower, she had thought there would be no special movement. To think Rox had acted alone and swallowed up Bohemian’s guild house on the street right next to them.
“Then, did Camilla put up a smokescreen...?”
...
At least Camilla was not the kind of person to do that.
“Shit, then is Rox that kind of person?”
Leoni’s head was a mess.
The moment she calmed herself by tearing at her hair,
she saw a familiar head on the stairs of the Magic Tower.
“?”
To be exact, she saw a cone hat.
“...
Jesse Hainnes?”
What are you doing here...
“!”
Leoni approached Jesse, then swallowed the rest of her words.
This was different from her usual self, which had always been endlessly dry.
Agitation showed on Jesse’s face.
Of course, a berserker had no such thing as delicate emotions.
“You can’t believe it?”
“...?”
“Well, if you can’t believe it, you can confirm it with your own two eyes.”
“...!”
“Open a portal. I’ve got something to confirm too.”
Leoni ground her teeth.
“Just how much Camilla knows.”