◈ Episode 510. The Shortest Week (2)
This works out, even if it hadn’t. “I was planning to go there anyway.” To the Arcana Continent.
A meeting between Paimon of the Ten Thrones and the Great Evil, Pride.
Just hearing it was enough to make an indescribably unpleasant feeling well up inside me. On top of that, the Arcana Continent and reality no longer had the rifts that had served as a kind of safety device, did they? “Seoul is a land of wonders.” With Behemoth’s Maw ceasing its activity, the demons of the Demon World could cross freely into the Arcana Continent, and that Arcana Continent was now completely connected to Seoul. “Meaning there are far more things to worry about.” Paimon and Pride.
The only two demons whose true intentions I couldn’t read.
I couldn’t even begin to guess how those two might stab me in the back.
Which meant I had to prepare on my end as well.
My loose tongue finally admitted it.
“Even so, a week should be sufficient.”
Yes, even you.
Conscientiously speaking, you’d need about a week to prepare, wouldn’t you, Granfel?
If so, I had to spend my time with utmost planning. “Not that I’m unfamiliar with that.” It wasn’t as if Granfel and I had never done it before. Weren’t we the ones who trained our bodies while others slept, and finished writing morning greeting letters by the time others woke up? “However, if there is one thing different now.” It was that I had to be cautious in every action. Just as I had recognized Paimon and Pride’s meeting without any particular caution or effort. “If I can see them, then they must be able to see me too.” As someone who had risen to the Ten Thrones, my presence wasn’t something that could be easily hidden even if I tried. In that sense, it might truly be necessary. The “avatar body” that Paimon had mentioned, that is.
But that was purely from Lee Hoyeol’s point of view. “Hide? What would our Lord Granfel ever hide?” The great Lord Granfel, hiding his own presence? “If he were boasting about it himself, maybe, but because he was intimidated by a demon?” Sneak, sneak.
Try imagining Granfel walking stealthily without making the clicking sound of his shoes. Try picturing Granfel taking off the Dawn Jacket because it was too flashy.
Good heavens.
There could be no greater character collapse than that.
And one more thing that went without saying.
“An avatar body.”
In heaven and under heaven, I alone am honored.
“For me, there could be nothing so meaningless.”
As if our Lord Granfel would ever easily acknowledge a being that dared to stand in for him! No matter what effort went into creating an avatar body, there was no way it could ever meet Granfel’s standards.
But I, Lee Hoyeol.
Did not despair in the face of Granfel’s bullheadedness.
Because I had already thought of something.
“I have alter egos that surpass avatars.”
That’s right, now was the time.
The countless epithets and renown.
And the legends we had built up until now.
Wasn’t it time to put them to proper use?
At last, I summoned my alter egos.
“Hiel. And Diend.”
“Hiel answers my lord’s summons.”
“Diend shall follow my lord.”
Their greetings were still formal to the point of being burdensome.
They were definitely my alter egos number one and two.
It felt like looking in a mirror, so even today, the taste in my mouth turned bitter.
I inwardly clicked my tongue at that bitter taste and continued.
“Show those inferior beings what they desire.”
As always.
“For that is the attitude of a noble, to bestow in accordance with what one possesses.”
In other words, I scratched at the demons’ pride in Granfel-style speech.
“It is time to practice noblesse oblige.”
*
The Demon World, an utterly plain spire.
At its summit stood a man adorned in green garments, green jewels, and jade hues from head to toe. The man’s gaze turned west. The corners of his mouth slowly drew an arc.
“It seems it wasn’t the guest you were waiting for, Paimon?”
The Demon King of the Eighth Throne, Gentle Barbatos.
He, too, was one of the Ten Thrones.
So Barbatos could sense the displeasure Paimon was expressing.
Just the fact that he had exchanged words with a lowly demon of the Arcana Continent.
For Paimon as he was, that alone must have required great patience.
In that sense, the guest was unlucky.
“For the noble Demon King suffered an unprecedented humiliation.”
Even if he had moved an avatar body in secret. Demonic Eyes had appeared in reality. Of course, the Demonic Eyes that had appeared earlier had once all been destroyed by the new member of the Ten Thrones.
“The focus was blurred, but it was enough to watch you.”
However, rifts continued to form without end, and the Ten Thrones had continuously exerted their influence over them. Thanks to that, Barbatos had witnessed it all.
Paimon’s humiliation.
“It seems persuasion is not easy. Understandably so.”
However, he had no intention of laughing at Paimon.
There was nothing to gain from earning the displeasure of Paimon, who had regained his madness.
Barbatos merely waited for the proper time.
“If you happen to need my help, I will cooperate, Paimon.”
Why was the modifier “gentle” attached to a demon?
It was because of Barbatos’s unique authority.
Barbatos was an excellent mediator.
The ability required of a mediator?
Naturally, to read the flow of both sides.
Barbatos could see through to the essence.
To put it simply...
Something similar to a player’s system messages.
Only Barbatos.
He alone could see it in a way he could understand.
The greater the presence, the less it could evade Barbatos’s authority.
And then, Barbatos had no choice but to flinch.
“!”
Goosebumps rose all over his body.
“Oh, foolish Baal...”
The Demon King of the First Throne, Foolish Baal.
“You have awakened from your long slumber.”
He was stirring after breaking a long silence.
He had merely twitched.
Yet the pressure felt as though it were wrapping around his body.
Barbatos desperately racked his brain.
Baal had awakened. Why? For what reason? Could Paimon’s actions have offended Baal? All kinds of possibilities cluttered Barbatos’s mind.
However.
“I have not the slightest intention of peering at you, Baal.”
Unlike lowly demons.
Barbatos did not misunderstand the reason Baal was called foolish. Because Baal existed alone in another dimension. Because no one could grasp the intent behind his actions. He was merely regarded as foolish for that reason. “I refuse to die a meaningless dog’s death.” It was only an instant.
Yet merely sensing Baal’s presence made his head throb.
His authority had been strained.
Barbatos looked west again.
Paimon’s presence had fallen silent.
“It seems you do not need my help, Paimon.”
For now, that is.
Then I have no need to be on edge either. Now that the contest for the Demon King’s throne and the proof of the Ten Thrones had begun, ordinarily he would have had to be busy as the Demon King of the Eighth Throne.
Barbatos gave a faint laugh.
With no sincerity behind it.
He spoke empty words.
“For I truly wish to repay you this favor.”
The reason the turn had not yet come to him, ranked eighth.
Was because Paimon, ranked ninth, had acted so actively.
Then shall I leisurely enjoy my ease for now?
Enjoying the silence, Barbatos thought.
Paimon, I still do not understand how you can command so many subordinates. Those lowly beings who do not match your level in the slightest.
“If it were me, their clamor would drive me out of my mind.”
But Barbatos’s leisurely soliloquy did not last long.
“...!”
Goosebumps rose along his spine once more. “It isn’t Baal...?” But this time, the chill was of a different kind from when it had been Baal.
This was not a presence transmitted from the Demon World.
It was the Arcana Continent.
Thanks to that, he could immediately recognize it.
“The new Ten Throne. That one is moving.”
To reveal such a presence with the main body rather than an avatar body.
It could only be the new Ten Throne, who did not accurately understand his own power.
Barbatos swallowed a hollow laugh.
“Did you dare ignore Paimon’s advice, newcomer?”
Barbatos’s expression changed.
“In that case, it would not be bad for me to teach you a lesson.”
As he had said, he had no intention of opposing Paimon.
Nor did he intend to inflict direct harm.
He literally intended to stop at the level of discipline.
Barbatos glanced west.
“If by any chance something happens to you and the noble Paimon falls into deep sorrow, this Demon World will once again be plunged into fierce madness, you ignorant whelp.”
The manifestation of authority.
Barbatos slowly closed his eyes.
And, following the whelp’s energy, he searched the Arcana Continent.
But something was strange.
“...?” ...
It was not one.
At first, he thought the aftereffects of daring to spy on Baal’s movements still lingered in his mind. But it was not a mistake. Barbatos’s lips moved on their own under the influence of his authority.
“...
As the Emperor of Spirits, he shall restore the destroyed nature.”
It was not a prophecy.
“Also, as the embracing darkness, he shall enfold the sorrow of the Arcana Continent in his own bosom. The great merchants of the shadows and the assassins of the shadows alike shall follow him from the heart.”
At this very moment.
“At the same time, as the savior behind the scenes, he shall lift the black curtain that had been cast over the Arcana Continent and bring back the voices of the forgotten gods.”
They were events occurring simultaneously.
And that was not all.
Major incidents too numerous to dare count.
Were happening all across the Arcana Continent.
They were simultaneously emitting the presence of a Ten Throne.
“...
Impossible.”
Barbatos clutched his head.
Common sense was being destroyed.
Even so, as a mediator, he calmly grasped the situation.
Thanks to that, he reached a conclusion.
Between trembling lips.
The name of the Demon King of the Fourth Throne slipped out.
“Gamigin, were you truly not careless after all?”
*
To think I would live to see the day I was grateful for bubbles...! “They were abundant enough to suffocate me.” Not only were there Hiel and Diend, my alter egos number one and two.
Now that I had [Materialized] my legends.
I was flinching.
I had said it several times before.
The power of a legend depended on how widely and resoundingly it had spread. “It’s only natural that it surpasses imagination.” After all, the legends of me, Lee Hoyeol, had spread through broadcasts in reality and been discussed hundreds of millions, even billions of times. They were on a different level from the past legends that had only resounded across the Arcana Continent.
[The Arcana Continent trembles with your legend.]
...
Ahem, so a message like that really could appear?
What was even more surprising was that even this had been adjusted in intensity.
Because not all of my legends were positive ones. “I only materialized the legends needed at the current point.” I also omitted a few shameful legends...
In any case, thanks to hiding my main body within this countless mass of bubbles. From now on, no matter what I did, the Ten Thrones would not be able to properly grasp what my true body was doing. “Paimon, Pride, I don’t know what schemes you’re plotting.” But likewise, you won’t be able to grasp my schemes either.
A tooth for a tooth, an eye for an eye.
Even if the opponent was a demon, I would not back down an inch.
Such was the pettiness of Lee Hoyeol...!
However, Granfel-style speech even wrapped my true feelings however it pleased.
“Noblesse oblige.” ...
You are really scratching at their nerves properly, Granfel.
“Be grateful for this shred of mercy, inferior beings.”
Isn’t it utterly brazen to say things like that even to a high-ranking Demon King?
Even as I thought that, I moved my feet.
Thanks to the bubbles, there was no chance my actions would be tracked backward.
Click.
As always.
It meant I set out confidently in search.
For the place only Granfel and I knew. “Only then could it be called thorough preparation.” At last, the vast Claudi Territory came into view.
It went without saying, but from the point players began coming and going.
Claudi Territory was no longer a place only Granfel and I knew. “The real one is another hidden piece concealed within Claudi Territory.” Naturally, to talk about that hidden piece, I had to retrace my memories. It meant I had to recall it, even if I absolutely did not want to.
Yes, that dreadful setting I had written down in a notebook...! 『No one could dare fathom the accumulated wealth of the Claudi family. The gold coins they had amassed alone were no fewer than the grains of sand on a beach...』 Just how worldly were you?
My past self, Hoyeol?
Never had Granfel’s nagging pierced so deeply into my heart.
“Riches and glory are meaningless, like a fleeting dream.” ...
I’m too embarrassed to say anything, Granfel.
This time, I’ll just quietly keep my mouth shut.
As I was hurrying my steps toward Claudi Territory.
My lips moved on their own.
“At times, there are realizations to be gained from vanity as well.” ...
How can you go so far as to nag even me, seriously!
*
The Great Sage, Rise, looked up at the sky.
More than the Demonic Eyes and stars mingled in the night sky.
More than the flowing Milky Way.
His eyes shone even more clearly.
A final flare before death.
At the last moment.
Like a flame burning violently.
The Great Sage gazed into the distant future.
He spoke.
“The future that had never changed has changed.”
In a voice filled with indescribable fear.
“The Arcana Continent.”
“The Demon World.”
“The Divine World.”
“The world of the adventurers.”
“Yes, every world you know shall perish.”
...
[Mythic Quest, ‘The Great Sage’s Final Prophecy,’ begins.]