◈ Episode 523. The True Calamity (1)
The Golden Land.
Third Legion Commander, Silver.
Second Legion Commander, Golder.
“……!!”
The two demons sensed a presence. ‘We must stop him.’ My lord, venerable Paimon.
Even if it costs me my life.
That existence, so absurd it defies description.
We cannot allow it to approach you.
Golder and Silver.
The two legion commanders left their original battlefield in an instant.
The ice dragon’s freezing breath.
The blows of Transcendents that could not be ignored.
The pain caused by the magical bombardment?
None of it mattered. ‘We must not let him approach the curse.’ Their lord, Paimon, had thrown away everything he had to overlay the western Demon World upon this land. If an absurd existence like that approached the curse…… ‘No matter how great my lord may be.’ Having consumed a considerable amount of the Ten Thrones’ magic power, he would not be able to respond now.
It was not to their liking, but Golder and Silver made their decision.
Until the First Legion Commander manifested upon this land.
We must hold that existence here.
Golder took that existence into his sight.
Brilliant silver hair.
Judging from that lofty appearance, there was no doubt. ‘A new Ten Throne.’ He knew well the weight of the Ten Thrones.
However, his lord was, along with Baal, one of the only Ten Thrones of an entirely different caliber. If it was the First Legion Commander recognized by such a lord, he might be able to stop that man.
But. ‘All we need to do is buy time……?!’ It was a misconception.
The two legion commanders, who had suffered little damage despite facing their natural enemy, a demon hunter; a dragon knight who had begun soaring atop an ice dragon; and several Transcendents, came to a halt on the spot.
“If……? If……? If……?”
Repeating those utterly foolish words, they froze in place. 『Black Coffin』 A black magic that robbed the senses.
All their senses had been swallowed by appropriate magic power so dense it defied description. And that included not only the five senses, but even their sense of time.
It could no longer be called an ordinary Black Coffin. 『Avici』 Soon, toward those caught in Avici.
Black hands descended upon them.
It was not a figurative expression, but exactly as it appeared.
Slithering.
Beyond simply being visible, it had become tangible. Appropriate magic power condensed so densely that it possessed mass slowly tightened around the two demons’ necks like enormous hands.
Fssssss.
The moment the armaments of the Golden Land touched the black hands, they vanished.
It was not nullifying and reversing the effect of Paimon’s authority, the Golden Land.
It was trampling over it with overwhelming destructive power.
The battle ended with that. ...[You have defeated the Third Legion Commander, Silver.][You have defeated the Second Legion Commander, Golder.][Your level has risen.][Your level has risen.][Your level has risen.]
……
Messages blinked in and out.
In particular, the messages announcing level-ups showed no sign of ending.
It meant she had contributed quite a bit in this battle.
However.
“……
Fuck.”
Leonie could not be happy.
Because she simply could not shake the thought.
That, in the end, she had ended up reaching out to Hoyeol for help again. ‘I’m not the only one pissed off by this, am I?’ The moment Leonie narrowed her eyes.
“He’s different after all.”
Nam Taemin spoke meaningfully.
“Different? Taemin, may I ask what you mean by that?”
“Snake Eyes is right. What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“The Commander-in-Chief right now isn’t the usual Commander-in-Chief.”
“?!”
Nam Taemin did not hide it.
Because Hoyeol had not hidden it first.
“I think he’s in that state he mentioned last time.”
“That state……?”
“Right. A new power even the Commander-in-Chief himself cannot control.”
[In Heaven and Earth, I Alone Am Honored]
Its [Rampage].
Since the person in question had not spoken the skill’s name, Nam Taemin did not know its exact name either……. Even so, he could be certain. Nam Taemin wrinkled the bridge of his nose, which had become sharply sensitive. ‘It’s subtly different from back then, but I’m sure. It’s that unfamiliar smell.’ On top of that, information even more certain than his sense of smell arrived.
—His pattern has changed.
“……
Cheolmin hyung?”
—It’s completely different from the Commander-in-Chief’s usual pattern.
Since even his class had not been revealed.
The Commander-in-Chief possessed an array of attack methods.
Therefore, the fact that he was currently using only appropriate magic power.
Conversely meant that he was not the usual Commander-in-Chief.
Nam Taemin asked the key question.
“Did the Commander-in-Chief judge that he had no choice but to use that skill?”
—I think that could be the case. It’s a raid against a high-ranking Demon King, after all.
“It definitely has been on a completely different level from the raids until now.”
The final boss, Paimon, had not even appeared yet. And despite the ice dragon Froznax joining their side thanks to the dragon knight Skal’s efforts, they still had not been able to seize a clear advantage, had they?
“……
Then can we relax now, hyung?”
The tide of battle had changed drastically when Hoyeol appeared on the battlefield.
Merely by grasping his targets with appropriate magic power.
He had defeated Golder and Silver, whom they had failed to conquer.
However.
—Well.
Nam Cheolmin beyond the static, of course.
Everyone on Jeju Island could feel it. ……
It was dangerous.
The First Legion Commander who would appear next.
It did not mean that the final boss, venerable Paimon, was in danger.
Slithering.
If the Commander-in-Chief’s appropriate magic power felt more threatening.
Than even Paimon’s curse burning Jeju Island……. ……
Was that a thought they should not have?
They were the highest-ranking players gathered on Jeju Island, those who had always stood on the front lines against the threat known as rifts. The instincts of those who had crossed countless lines between life and death were warning them.
They had to be wary of appropriate magic power more than any other threat.
Even so, they did not want to believe it.
“No, why would the Commander-in-Chief have appeared on Jeju Island? In the end, he must have stepped forward to save Jeju Island, right? So don’t think anything useless……”
But mercilessly, their vision blinked.[※Warning: Mental Strength is too low.]
“!”
What that single-line message implied was immense.
It meant that the appropriate magic power, paying no heed to its surroundings.
Was surging with the sole intent of tearing Paimon apart.
Surely, it was not an emotion felt only by the players.[The First Legion Commander of the Golden Land, ‘Primordial Satan,’ appears.]
“……!!!”
The final gate leading from the curse formation to Paimon.
Paimon’s trusted retainer revealed himself.
His momentum was far from ordinary.
The ice dragon, Froznax.
“Brat, perhaps we may need to leave this place.”
“……
Leave this place?”
“The battlefield from here on.”
Enough to make even the king of all things take a step back.
“Will be of a different class.”
Fourth Legion Commander, Copper.
Third Legion Commander, Silver.
Second Legion Commander, Golder.
He was different from the beings who had boasted grand displays whenever they appeared.
Beyond the curse formation shining intensely.
All that could be heard was a steady sound. ……
Clang.
Nam Taemin’s ears perked up.
“……
It sounds like metal being dragged across the ground.”
His guess was accurate.[The First Legion Commander, ‘Primordial Satan,’ changes the field.]
He was enormous.
And resplendent.
But something was strange.
“What the hell is that bastard?”
Leonie stammered.
She had no choice.
The dazzling metal wrapped around his body.
It was neither armor nor a weapon.
“W-why did he appear with his own arms and hands bound?”
That was right.
Those were restraints that limited his movements.
And not only his limbs.
Primordial Satan’s eyes were covered with a golden-embroidered blindfold, and his mouth was gagged as well. Analyst Nam Cheolmin’s briefing reached the three bewildered people.
—Everyone, be careful. His patterns will probably change drastically with each phase. I’ve seen a gimmick like that before. Each time you clear one phase, one of his restraints will be released, and new patterns will pour out.
Indeed, it was an understandable analysis.
However, the three could not rejoice.
Even as Nam Taemin raised his greatsword, he flinched.
“……
That means one restraint equals one pattern, doesn’t it?”
One, two, three, four, five…….
Because it was not easy to count the number of restraints.
With all that, could he even display his original power?
In the midst of that question, he realized.
Hisagi bit his lip hard.
“It means he’s stronger than those earlier bastards even in that state.”
“……!!!”
And the one who had subdued such a Primordial Satan and placed those restraints on him was the high-ranking Demon King, venerable Paimon. Only then did they begin to understand.
“I understand how the Commander-in-Chief feels.”
Why you.
Had drawn out once again an ability even you could not fully control.
And at the same time, they blamed themselves. ‘If only we had been able to so much as look at your feet…….’ Shake, shake. However, Hisagi shook his head.
“Even so, we must stand against him.”
Even the Commander-in-Chief in his current state might not be able to face Primordial Satan and Paimon alone. It was an oppressive presence that left them no choice but to judge so.
As they could see.
【Ancient demon, what a pathetic state you are in.】
Even at Froznax’s provocative dragon words, his momentum did not shrink.
Nor did his steps stop.
Before long, the one who had fully revealed himself astounded them.
A movement that was, literally, light.
However, the aftermath was by no means light. With countless restraints dangling from him, merely flicking a single finger had changed everyone’s vision.
“……
What is it this time?”
Like a film.
Primordial Satan’s vision was shared inside everyone’s minds.
The contents were truly simple when summarized.
An endless golden army surging in.
A battle that continued for a time close to eternity.
At the end of it, Primordial Satan knelt, and Paimon recognized his ability, making him the First Legion Commander. No, to be more precise, with countless restraints placed upon him, he was imprisoned underground in the western Demon World.
After that, he was sealed away for a span of time close to eternity.
“……!”
Amid such humiliation and disgrace.
Primordial Satan chewed over his rage.
And at last, the chance to release that rage had come.
They were standing directly before such a Satan.
The ice dragon, Froznax, shouted in dragon words.
【Everyone, fall back.】
Those dragon words were not directed at Satan.
He was an ancient demon against whom even Froznax himself could not guarantee victory. It would be meaningless for the brats to approach. Having made that judgment, he uttered those dragon words to protect his allies.
It was then.
Crack.
Along with the sound of something enormous being crushed.
The one who had once ruled the Demon World.
The one who had waged a life-and-death struggle against the high-ranking Demon King Paimon for ages.
Primordial Satan began to tilt helplessly.
The existence that had done such an absurd thing revealed its identity.
This time, too, it was appropriate magic power.
Hoyeol had defeated Primordial Satan, who had stood on equal footing with Paimon, in a single blow.
However, no one could cheer.
Because it had appeared in the players’ sight.
A blinking message.
“……!”
They could not read a single thing.
But at least Nam Taemin.
Nam Taemin, who had agonized over it since the day he had first smelled that unfamiliar scent.
Could be certain.
At this moment.
“Damn it…….”
The greatest threat that had befallen them.
Was neither Primordial Satan nor Paimon.
It was the Commander-in-Chief, Hoyeol.
It was certainly Hoyeol.
And yet, at the same time, it was ‘someone’ who could not be called Hoyeol.
“……
That’s just a side effect of a skill?”
But his thoughts went no further.
“!!!”
Boom, boom, boom.
Because in the next instant, Primordial Satan was mercilessly blown apart.
Swipe.
Someone who was not Hoyeol.
Grandfell wiped away the drops of blood splattered on his cheek.
That action revealed not the slightest hint of emotion. ...[□□, ‘□□□ □□□□ □□□□□ □□□’ has □□□□□.]