◈ Chapter 505. What Remains After It Passes (1)
He does not waver.『The first thing Granfel learned as the next head of the family was not to be swayed by private joys and sorrows.
The position of head of the Claudi family was one that did not tolerate even the slightest agitation.』If it were Granfel from the setting.
How would he have reacted in this situation?
I, Lee Hoyeol, might not know anything else, but I knew one thing.
At this moment, Granfel was clearly different from usual.
Swooooo.
Through the wavering appropriate mana.
He was expressing his emotions without restraint.
Those emotions were undoubtedly anger.
Even thinking it over again sent chills down my spine.‘……
He wants to tear him apart.’In all my life, this was the first time such violent words had come out of Granfel’s mouth. I truly never even imagined it. I thought I was the one most flustered by Granfel’s emotional outburst.‘……
What?’Aha, I guess it must be quite a shock for you too?
Before I knew it, tears had welled up around Paimon’s eyes as he transferred into his incarnate body.
Honestly, truly.
I wondered what on earth this situation was.‘What is this all of a sudden, Granfel……?’Was this really something to get that angry about……?!
Of course, I could understand that you might be offended.
After running his mouth about pride, Paimon had immediately possessed Rox and stabbed us in the back. By Granfel’s strict standards, he would have failed.
But was he the only demon like that?‘Besides, he did have his reasons, in his own way.’The ones who first broke the relatively peaceful atmosphere.
Were our Akshan seniors from Hell, after all.
Normally, in other words, if it had been the Granfel I knew.
Even if he had been targeted.
He would have practiced the virtue of give-and-take.‘What exactly about that offended you so much?’To the point that it felt unfamiliar.
Had something happened that was worthy of such rage……?
No matter how much I racked my brain, no answer came.
But what are you doing too, Paimon?
Drip, drip.
Now tears were truly streaming down his cheeks from his eyes.
His voice was drenched as well.
“My dear, I had no choice. This was the best I could do for you……! Why is it that you cannot understand even the slightest bit of my heart……?”
The best you could do for me?‘By stabbing me in the back?’Of all obvious lies, that was an obvious lie.
As expected, if it had been the usual Granfel, getting agitated would be one thing.
He would not have listened to those words at all.
But my vision flickered.[※Warning: Appropriate mana concentration is at its limit.]
No, at this rate, [Blackening]
was going to occur, wasn’t it?
Truly, there was no end no matter how much I peeled you back, Granfel. I thought we had shared everything, starting from my dark past, yet at times like this, I could not even guess what had made you angry.‘But I understand.’Granfel, no one else.
If you are this angry, then there must be a proper reason.
However, right now, I would like you to look around you.
Even if it had become a Strange Land.
This place was reality.
Seoul, the capital of South Korea.‘Even if you really can’t, at least for my sake.’Moreover, Paimon had said it.
That a being of a different rank like one of the Ten Thrones caused ripples that could not be hidden every time its main body moved. That was why even I, who had risen as a new member of the Ten Thrones, needed to learn about an “incarnate body.”
That alone was serious enough, but Granfel, whose restrictions would be released through [Blackening].
If you were to run wild……
Seoul might suffer damage it could not overcome.‘This time, absolutely not.’It was not that I wanted my second sister to discover that I had the status abnormality called Blackening.
I meant it.
Perhaps my vague desperation had been conveyed.
A voice flowed between my lips.
“We shall discuss this matter at a later time.”……
Well done!!
You’ve calmed down, our Granfel.
No matter how stormy and turbulent a phase you may be going through.
A certain amount of emotional control is necessary. Yes, indeed.‘Commendable.’The moment I, Lee Hoyeol, nodded inwardly.
Paimon, who had seemed submerged in uncontrollable grief until just a moment ago.
His aura changed completely.
“!”
In an instant, he revealed blatant killing intent toward me.
“Even if I am torn apart!”
However, that madness was not fully expressed.
“Therefore, close your mouth there.”
My vision flickered.[A status abnormality, ‘Silence,’ occurs in the incarnate body of the Demon King of the Ninth Throne, Noble Paimon.]
“……?”
Then Paimon shut his mouth. To silence one of the Ten Thrones with a single sentence? It might look like there was an immense gap in level, but there was a perfectly good reason for it.
I could tell with my Demon Hunter’s senses.
Unlike when he first revealed himself.
Paimon had rapidly grown weak.‘It’s probably because of Rox.’Rox, who had tried to take his own life.
Paimon, who had escaped from Rox’s body back into his incarnate body, had been gasping for breath. I continued speaking to Paimon, who clutched his throat as if in pain.
“Wait in the Demon World.”
“……?”
“It is there.”
At any rate, that lingering grudge remains unchanged even at times like this.
“That I shall either hear your excuse or tear you apart, and deliver a fitting judgment.”
“……!”
Had that chilling threat been effective? At last, Paimon’s presence disappeared completely from Seoul. At the same time, the incarnate body, Yong Seong-rak’s corpse, closed its eyes.
By the way, Paimon, that guy.
Even in this situation, he kept his promise.
As per the oath, he disappeared after leaving Yong Seong-rak’s corpse in his homeland, reality.‘……
I really can’t understand him even when I think I do.’His mood swings are the enemy.
No, they’re worse than my second sister.
How was I supposed to accept that capriciousness that was worse than a split personality?
When he was kind to me and when he was hostile.
What, was there some special rule?‘Anyway, I’ll have to rack my brains over it.’Of course, now was not the time to think about that.
Slide.
Rox and Paimon.
Only after putting an end to everything did my gaze turn to my surroundings.
Only then did I realize just how many people had gathered to watch the situation. All sorts of thoughts occurred to me, but I did not have the leisure to grumble inwardly.
That’s right.
Because messages had appeared in Seoul.
The Strange Land overlaid with the color of Arcana.[You have saved Seoul from the crisis of destruction.][Your influence in Seoul greatly increases.][Your relationship level in Seoul greatly increases.]……
In the end, here it comes again, that damn heavy burden.[Your current order of succession is ‘1st’.]*The ripple effect was tremendous.
-So in the end, it was demons this time too?
-The only ones who cause mayhem are those bastards lol-Anyway, thank goodness, for realEven among the highest-ranking players.
Rox’s image had not been bad.
The shock when such a Rox sprouted demon wings?
“Senior, my heart is still pounding like crazy?!”
Now, they could proudly say they had gone through all sorts of hardships.
Even AAU had been frightened enough to clutch their chests.
At Seong Hyeonjun’s fussing, Yun Sugyeom gave a faint laugh.
“Is it fine now?”
“Pardon?”
“It’s not over. It’s begun in earnest.”
The Strange Land, Seoul.
The appearance of a being of a different rank that had been represented as □ in the message.
And Rox’s transformation, though they could not be certain it was because of that.
Events, each of which would have shaken the world on its own, had occurred one after another.
Yet even that might have been nothing more than the signal flare.
Yun Sugyeom folded down his fingers.
“Even if we count only the remaining high-ranking Demon Kings, there are more than can be counted on one hand. And there’s no law saying only demon-type monsters will appear. Just like how a colossal beast ran wild on the Arcana Continent not long ago.”
“……
Come on, senior.”
“To put it bluntly, couldn’t the monsters in the Hundred Thousand Caves of the Zero Mountains flow back as a group? This is literally a situation you could call the Second Cataclysm.”
Now that the Arcana Continent and reality were connected.
It was truly an unprecedented major incident.The weight of the words Second Cataclysm was not wasted.
Seong Hyeonjun smacked his lips awkwardly.
“When you put it that way, I’ve got nothing to say.”
“I didn’t say it to discourage you.”
“Yes, yes, I know.”
Tap tap tap.
As if he had never been excited, Seong Hyeonjun drooped as he tapped on the keyboard. Even in the midst of that, articles were pouring in, so how could he keep such shocking news to himself?
Life returned to him.
“More importantly, senior, did you check this? They say Rox actually left Shining just like that. And he revealed it, apparently. He changed to a new class and even began a new class quest!”
That was news that even Yun Sugyeom found tempting.
“Could that have been part of the class quest progression too?”
Rox’s sudden action.
That was a development beyond the range they could predict.
But if all of it was considered part of a class quest.
Then Rox’s actions could be understood……
Shake shake. However, Yun Sugyeom shook his head.
“No. No matter what, there’s a limit. The story came out of nowhere, didn’t it? If it were an Arcana quest, there would definitely be a storyline. What kind of class would throw a plot like that at someone?”
“Well, that’s true.”
The status abnormality, [Fall].
“Starting out with [Fall]
attached to you makes no sense to begin with.”
As soon as its existence became known, AAU had analyzed Fall.
Thanks to that, they had accurately determined that Rox had [Fallen].
Yun Sugyeom nodded.
“Right. At least in the Arcana we know, there were no quests that set forth such unreasonable conditions. If so…… there’s only one answer this time as well.”
Seong Hyeonjun swallowed dryly.
“You mean the Yusra General Manager, right?”
Yun Sugyeom nodded.
“That’s right. This time as well.”
Hoyeol, Rox, □□□.
The battle among those three was recorded from beginning to end. Between Hoyeol and the mysterious man, words that could not be interpreted were exchanged, but anyone could guess just by looking at the rest of the situation.
“The one who subdued the rampaging Rox, the one who subdued the mysterious being of a different rank, the one who saved Rox when he tried to take his own life, and finally, the one who led Rox to a new class quest……”
This time, all of reality had watched.
In the series of events, from every perspective, in every option.
Hoyeol had been involved.
As a former game master of the Arcana Continent Chronicle.
A pure question arose.
Could that truly be influence possessed by a single player?
Yun Sugyeom muttered.
“……
There’s no way.”
“No way what, senior?”
“Mm. Nothing, it’s nothing.”
In that sense, he felt relieved.
Because Hoyeol was in Seoul, which might have risen onto the table where predators were licking their lips. However, on the other side of that feeling, a small concern bloomed.
Because of the vast influence.
Held by the player named Lee Hoyeol.
It was truly something he did not even want to imagine, but…….‘If the General Manager had not been there.’What would Rox and □□□ have made of Seoul?
When he thought that, he began to understand.
All of a sudden, Yun Sugyeom’s eyebrows twitched.
“……
No way, did the General Manager foresee even that?”
If he had even taken his own absence into account.
Thinking of it that way, it was not only Rox. Nam Taemin, Hisagi, Leonie……. The highest-ranking players whose skills had grown rapidly had always attributed the reason for their growth to Hoyeol, Commander-in-Chief of the Holy War Alliance.
Indeed, it seemed people all thought similarly.
Seong Hyeonjun made a fuss.
“Senior, do you know what they’re calling the General Manager in the community right now? No, seriously, do these people do nothing but research this kind of stuff after eating? How can they come up with such a fitting title?!”*Exactly one day had passed.
There were many things I came to realize as that day passed.
Shall I look back over them one by one?
Fortunately for my sisters, who said each day had become precious to them lately, the flow of time in Seoul did not pass quickly like on the Arcana Continent but remained the same.‘And another important thing is…….’It was the moment I was going over them one by one.……
Bang!
All of a sudden, the door to my office in the Magic Tower opened.
It went without saying, but a person who would open the door to my office without notice? No such person existed in the Magic Tower. Of course, this too went without saying, but in case there was any misunderstanding, I should say this.‘No matter what, I don’t get angry over something like this.’I would point out that it lacked formality.
What I mean is that Granfel was not petty enough to hand down punishment over something like this. However, not Granfel but I, Lee Hoyeol, was truly horrified.
Because the fearless gentleman who had flung open the door to the Chief’s office.
Fearlessly mentioned it.
His feather pen moved even as he ran his mouth.
“The romantic explorer who sings of legends, Lorenzk.”……
Seriously.
“I have come to see the Beacon of All!”
Who the hell made and spread that burdensome title this time?!...[In the Strange Land, Seoul, the legend ‘Beacon of All’ resounds.]