◈ Chapter 504. I Wanted to Become the Light (3)
The beginning?
-“Since it’s come to this, why don’t we do it properly, Rox?”
-“What is it, Dmitri? You still haven’t given up on me~”
-“Would you shut up, Camilla? Once I get rejected, I don’t cling pathetically. That’s not what I meant. I’m saying that if the three of us join forces, we could make a name for ourselves on the Arcana Continent!”
There had been no grand purpose.
-“Yeah. Sure, why not.”
Even as he founded the guild, a part of him wondered if he had gotten dragged into something troublesome. After all, he had heard that guilds had to manage their Fame value.
-“You’ll have to hold back on PK from now on, Rox.”
Was it from then on?
-“Well, I’ll try.”
That he began pretending to be an ill-suited guild master.
Back when Arcana was nothing more than a game.
As Rox founded the guild, he had said this.
-“What should we name the guild?”
-“If we’re doing it anyway, let’s make it sound cool at first glance!”
-“Dmitri, you’re trying to show off in front of a girl again, aren’t you?”
-“W-What?!”
-“That’s not your real problem, though~”
-“……
Camilla, what’s that supposed to mean?”
If they were going to do it, make it cool.
Then let’s go with Shining.
Shining.
Simply following Dmitri’s desperate pleading.
He had thought it was a decent enough guild name.
In that sense, it was strange.
Even if the position did not suit him.
The position made the person.
-“Congratulations, Rox.”
-“Congratulations for what?”
-“Don’t play dumb, Guild Master. Our Shining is ranked number one among the guilds!”
For someone who had been forced into starting as a guild master, he thought he had still managed to do his part. Of course, after the Great Cataclysm, things had slowly begun to creak out of place……
Dmitri, shouting within the revolving lantern of Rox’s life, came to mind.
-“Do you understand? I’m telling you to run before it collapses, Rox!”
At the moment of collapse.
A rift where even the high-level monsters in its depths could surge backward all at once. In a rift where he could lose his life after being trampled by the pouring monsters, Dmitri had said that.
-“You’re saying you have no intention of running? You’re out of your mind, Rox. Remember this. You’re the guild master of our Shining!! And at the same time, you’re the light of this damned country. I’m saying you dying is on a completely different level from me dying!!”
Of course, Dmitri did not die in that rift.
-“Damn it. I tried to look as cool as possible, and then……”
Because a rival guild had reached the depths of the rift first.
And had emptily defeated the named monster.
But Dmitri’s actions had been enough to send ripples through Rox.
Rox smiled bitterly.
It must have been from then on.
That the precarious performance truly began.
Just as he had pretended to be an ill-suited guild master.
Rox had performed as the “light.”
To become the guild master you wanted, Camilla, Dmitri.
To become the player his country wanted.
To become a hero.
He wore a mask.
And then Lee Hoyeol appeared.
Lee Hoyeol.
From his very first appearance, he had been extraordinary beyond measure.
He entered [The Count’s Fortress], which not even the highest-ranking guilds dared attempt to clear, alone. Through cooperation with the great mage Jesse, whom even I could not control, he defeated Count Ascurra.
Of course, there were many players who came into prominence after the Great Cataclysm.
If one did not care about means and methods, like Cheonhatongil.
There were countless ways to grow stronger.
At first, he had thought Lee Hoyeol was one of that sort as well.
But he was not. ‘Because you were the real light.’ A light that illuminated even darkness. ‘……A light even I, wearing a mask, could not avoid.’ There were countless pieces of proof.
But what left the deepest impression on him was Jesse Heinness’s withdrawal from Shining.
And, at the same time, Jesse’s attitude toward Hoyeol.
At that moment, Rox had felt a chill at his own emotions. ‘I thought everything was just an act.’ It seemed that, at some point, it had ceased to be so.
As the guild master of Shining, Rox had been dealt a tremendous shock by Jesse’s departure. He should not have been…… Dmitri, he had even said things that hurt you.
-“Ahem. Seeing him like that, I can understand Jesse too.”
-“The path to withdrawal is always open, Dmitri.”
-“……
What? That’s not what I meant, Rox!”
Perhaps it was from then on.
-“Rox, your eyes have been strange lately. Relax them a little~”
That he began lashing himself more harshly.
Despite those efforts, when he heard that Cheonhatongil, Shining’s long-standing archenemy, had effectively collapsed because of Lee Hoyeol. ‘I really wanted to throw everything away.’ If he took off the ill-fitting clothes called Shining.
He even thought he might be able to catch up to Hoyeol.
Perhaps that was why.
He irresponsibly let go of his duties as guild master.
And scum had so readily approached such a version of him.
-“The future of the United States of America rests on you, Rox.”
-“This is necessary for the sake of the world order!”
-“Every human changes. Would Lee Hoyeol be an exception?”
In the midst of that, the decisive blow suddenly struck the back of his head.
-“Do you think Dmitri would want you to be weak?”
Dmitri had fallen in battle.
Not in a rift, not on the Arcana Continent, but in reality.
Yes, no matter how he thought about it, he could not have been in his right mind.
Clench.
Enough to seize the collar of a very important secretary in the White House.
-“Say that name one more time.”
-“R-Rox! I didn’t mean it like that……!”
-“Dmitri is not a name to be spoken with such intentions.”
So…… ‘Perhaps this was only natural.’ It was a common story, wasn’t it?
Because everyone around you lifted you up, you thought you had truly become something, ran wild, denied it even after facing the real thing, and only realized the truth after losing everything. ‘That was exactly the story of me and Lee Hoyeol.’ Lee Hoyeol had not founded a guild.
Yet he led the Crusade Alliance, which no one could dare look down upon.
Lee Hoyeol had never claimed to be the light.
Yet he was called the light.
Truly. ‘Everything is the opposite of me.’ That was why there was no room for excuses.
The reason he had charged at Lee Hoyeol?
It had not simply been because of the quest objective.
Rox knew that better than anyone.
So he thought it would not be strange to accept whatever judgment came.
And yet even someone like me.
Lee Hoyeol called me a light.
He said he had seen light in me.
It was from then on.
That Rox became able to look at himself fully.
Thanks to that.
He had been able to place a sword against his own neck without regret.
He was not shaken by something like Paimon’s whisper.
Because what I had intended to kill from the start was not you, but myself.
And yet.
[The First World Tree’s Blessing dwells within you.]
[The First World Tree’s Blessing rejects the status abnormality, ‘Bleeding’.]
[The First World Tree’s Blessing rejects the status abnormality, ‘Stun’.]
……
The moment Lee Hoyeol reached out his hand.
A warm heat settled into his body.
And that was not all.
The class quest that should have inevitably failed.
Had appeared in a completely new form.
[Class Quest: Wandering Knight]
O knight who has abandoned his loyal subordinates, his territory, and even himself. Whatever you pursue, you still possess a single sword, and thus your chivalry shall begin again from the lowest place.
-Reborn as a Wandering Knight. (In Progress)
※In order to change class into Wandering Knight, you must not belong to any guild. In addition, the player’s [Fame] system will be permanently deactivated.
Two choices, [Hero]
and [Wandering Knight].
If it had been his past self, he would not have hesitated. He would have struggled to succeed in the [Hero] class quest. But now that he had realized the truth, it was different. Moreover.
[The Grandmaster of the Strange guides you to the realm of the Strange.]
How could he refuse the path of [Wandering Knight]
guided by none other than a true ray of light? Rox did not hesitate. He accepted the new opportunity given to him.
[You have changed class to ‘Wandering Knight’.]
At the same time, a change came over Rox.
The enormous wounds on his back, left behind as the demon wings crumbled away. A fluttering cloak covered those wounds. The form of his once-flamboyant armor also changed, crudely wrapping around his enlarged right arm. ‘Wandering Knight.’ Rox lifted his head and looked at Hoyeol. ‘The last chance Lee Hoyeol has given me.’ The reason he was certain it was the last chance was simple.
Through the flickering system messages, Rox knew that he had fallen.
That he had become a demon.
Rox opened his mouth.
“I offer you my infinite gratitude for your mercy.”
Even if he was a half-blood demon, a demon could not live mingled among humans.
Become a Wandering Knight and leave.
That is the last mercy I bestow.
Lee Hoyeol was surely saying that.
As he had said, he was grateful beyond any further expression.
Infinitely grateful. ……
Rustle.
So, for the last time, Rox took in the scenery of reality with his eyes.
And he witnessed it.
Camilla, looking at him with a tearful face unlike herself.
And Jesse.
Perhaps a message had appeared.
A message saying that he had withdrawn from Shining.
In a voice too small to be heard, Rox murmured.
“Still, at this point, wouldn’t you call it a happy ending, Camilla?”
But it was not an ending.
“It is not over yet.”
Yes, for a certain someone’s lingering resentment was exceedingly tenacious. ……
Rustle.
At the words he heard, Rox ended up turning around again.
“You have yet to convince me.”
Yes, it was Hoyeol’s voice.
“Until you present a reason worthy of that slip of the tongue.”
“……?”
“Wandering Knight, Rox.”
“……!”
“You cannot leave the Crusade Alliance.”
“……!!”
*
You’re absolutely sick of it, aren’t you?
‘It’s written all over your face, Rox.’
What a shocked expression. It was almost a waste that I was the only one seeing it.
So you’d better give up early.
Whether you changed class to [Wandering Knight] or whatever else.
‘Granfel is stricter than anyone when it comes to things like this.’
Why, if you want to know just how petty……
No, strict he is, it would be faster to ask Senior Bensch William in the Magic Tower rising over there, wouldn’t it? In other words, don’t even think about leaving the Crusade Alliance for the time being.
‘In any case, I’m glad.’
The newly opened {Nature} ability.
Just as Hiel had done, I had become able to use [The First World Tree’s Blessing] more freely. Thanks to that, I was able to heal Rox’s fatal wound without a trace.
‘By the way.’
I looked at Paimon’s avatar, who was gasping for breath.
Just what in the world were you thinking?
That just now was definitely possession. ‘You might be able to fool others, but not my eyes.’ The moment the restraints came undone.
Rox had charged at me.
But that had not been Rox’s will.
In that fleeting instant.
It had been Paimon’s will, abandoning his avatar and possessing Rox. ‘I really can’t get a read on him.’ Did Paimon have any reason to raise his sword against me?
When I thought about it carefully……
There was only one.
Our Akshan seniors in Hell……! ‘No, just how relentlessly did they hound him?’ For Paimon to suddenly turn and rush at me as if he meant to kill me!
Indeed, judging by that expression……
The look of utter disgust was plain, so it seemed my guess was right. ‘Well, the seniors might not know.’ What debt I owed Paimon.
In that sense, I had no reason to be hostile toward Paimon.
Let’s consider what happened just now an incident in the process of give and take. ‘More than anything.’ His goodwill toward me.
I felt I would not be satisfied until I learned what its source was. Especially from the position of someone who would soon have to set foot in the Demon World, a connection with Paimon? ‘It’s necessary to maintain a good relationship.’ Besides, wasn’t Paimon a demon who had a certain pride of his own?
In that sense, I intended to exchange words with Paimon.
But.
[※Warning: Suitable magic power is surging.]
……
What’s this all of a sudden, Granfel?
It was an unexpected situation. After all, there was no reason for it. Paimon was different from ordinary demons. He was different from the other high-ranking demon kings as well. To some extent, one could reason with him. ‘……No, there was a reason for this, wasn’t there?’ Suitable magic power surged as if shaking its head at my question.
Even Paimon seemed surprised by its force.
While catching his breath, he urgently spoke to me.
“You……”
But I, no, Granfel, did not listen.
“Shut your mouth.”
An uncontrollable, blatant rage.
“At this moment, I.”
That appearance of Granfel was unfamiliar even to me.
“Am suppressing, to the utmost, the impulse to tear you limb from limb.”