◈ Episode 542. O Unchanging Ones (2)
The reason demon-type monsters were troublesome? “Because the ones with neither rhyme nor reason are always scarier.” Just as Grandfel said, it was because they did not know their place.
Ironically, thanks to that, demons could always burn with malice. But even such demon-type monsters had beings that could make them tremble in fear—their natural enemies, demon hunters.
I thought coolly. “Absolute strength is meaningless before demons.” You didn’t have to look far; just think of the demon worshippers who had been hiding in the Magic Tower. Those called elder mages—would they really have been afraid of such ordinary demons, not great evils or high-ranking Demon Kings?
The voice of Karimjeva, the fire dragon, came to mind.
—“If it is you, then you shall reach the true truth……!”
They had simply, without realizing it themselves,
been bewitched by demons.
Demons were cunning and vicious bastards, after all.
In that sense, I shrugged my shoulders before Grandfel for the first time in a while. “If I hadn’t chosen demon hunter, that is.” Grandfel, even if it was you,
dealing with demons wouldn’t have been easy.
That’s absolutely no exaggeration, you know?
As you can see, they’re the same even in Hell.
[Hell Imp : Lv.200]
Regardless of the number, their strength was excessive.
Their felt level was comparable to mobs of at least level 1,000. On top of that, true to their nature as demons who did not know their place, they were not intimidated even when they saw my mana, which was on a different level.
But demons were not the only ones who remained unchanged.
Flash.
A quest message flickered.
[Class Quest: Are We Still Demons?]
Akshan, I ask you. We became demons and fell into Hell in order to hunt demons. We have hunted demons even after falling into Hell. Are we still demons?
—Encounter the demon hunters of Hell. (Success)
Click.
The sound of a crossbow being loaded rang out.
“Hiiiiiiik?!”
The terrified faces of the imps made me realize it.
“It has been a long time. Akshan, my comrades-in-arms.”
The demon hunters of Hell.
The natural enemies of demons had appeared here.
Of course, no answer came back. “Really, they’re so cold, just like someone else.” Still, I followed you all the way to Hell; wouldn’t even a nod of greeting have been fine? I felt a little disappointed, but then again, when had Akshan ever exchanged friendly greetings?
At my words, Kinver released [Stealth].
“C-Comrades-in-arms? Then could that rumor have actually been true……?!”
Comrades-in-arms, Akshan.
It seemed he had caught on from my muttering.
That my class was [Demon Hunter]. “Yes, it was true. That rumor.” But somehow, the way he said it was a bit strange, Kinver. “What other rumors are there besides this?” Had Kinver perhaps gone and misunderstood something on his own without my knowing? “……
There are so many absurd rumors that I can’t even guess.”
It was the moment I was thinking seriously.
I heard Elsidore murmur.
“I cannot believe it.”
Well, even from the perspective of a blood elf, it must have been astonishing.
“That they were truly human.”
In truth, even I, who had witnessed the martial might of the Akshan seniors of Hell several times, could not get used to the sight. Even with [Tenacity] and [Natural Enemy Relationship] activated, to think that was a demon hunter.
“S-Spare me!!!”
“I don’t want to die again!!”
“U-Uaaaaargh!!”
It was, quite literally, overwhelming.
The swarm of imps, who had not been intimidated by my magic, nor even by Elsidore’s sword aura,
began to flee in terror.
“This is Hell, where the dead fall.”
What that meant was simple.
“In truth, killing or being killed is meaningless.”
But our seniors were the very embodiments of [Tenacity].
Yes, the seniors were continuing their demon hunt,
which, in a way, might be meaningless,
even in Hell.
“To the point that even demons of Hell were forced to know their place.”
As expected, needless to say, the battle ended there.
The entire swarm of imps was hunted down and once again
went up in blazing green flames—hellfire.
Lorentsk spoke in a low voice.
“An endless treadmill, is it? This is literally a scene of Hell.”
I thought the same.
The Akshan seniors had continued a demon hunt that would never end for all eternity in Hell, where no one could escape. To put it in Grandfel’s manner of speech,
“because that must be your pride.”
There was no thrill of victory.
The emotion flowing through the silence was……
If I had to describe it, should I call it reverent?
“……
Damn it, I never thought the day would come when that outfit looked cool again.”
It was the first time since those days, since my second year of middle school.
Of course, that was not what mattered.
The quest objective was flickering before my eyes.
Let’s see. Now only a choice remained.
I looked at the blinking message.
—Enter Hell. (Success)
●Acknowledge Akshan of Hell. (Select)
●Reject Akshan of Hell. (Select)
For reference, what mattered was not my opinion.
It was Grandfel’s opinion.
Inside, I watched Grandfel’s reaction. “……
The truth is, I’m still not sure.”
I dare say that there is no one in reality or on the Arcana Continent who knows you better than I do. And yet, even so, I can’t tell what’s going on inside you. “If it’s the Grandfel I know.”
And if it was the Grandfel known by the vengeful spirits we had just faced, then he would surely acknowledge the demon hunters of Hell. No, beyond acknowledging them, wouldn’t he praise them and say he was proud?
“Completely shamelessly, of course.”
After all, we had gone from being a survivor of Akshan to the leader of Akshan.
But as I said, I could not be certain. The other side of Grandfel I had witnessed during the runaway state of [Darkening] and [Throughout Heaven and Earth, I Alone Am Supreme] remained vividly in my memory.
It was then.
Tap.
……
I see. Regardless of my concerns, you are as decisive as ever, aren’t you? My feet began to move toward the Akshan seniors. However, my lips did not part.
Click.
The demon hunters of Hell.
They had loaded their crossbows and aimed them at me.
Elsidore’s urgent voice rang out.
“It is dangerous!”
Elsidore had witnessed the martial might of the demon hunters of Hell. Since such people had taken an attacking stance toward me, it was only natural that his voice became extremely sharp.
But it was all right, Elsidore. “Do you think this is my first day seeing those gentlemen?”
Akshan-style communication, which would not lose out even compared to Grandfel-style speech.
I, Lee Hoyeol.
To put it bluntly, even if the seniors had put silver swords to the nape of my neck, I would not have been the least bit afraid. “If I think back to when I first set foot in Akshan……”
The Akshan base stood atop a distant cliff. After I barely managed to climb up that cliff, they kicked me away because the time limit had passed—that was Akshan’s way of welcoming someone.
Besides,
“No matter how incredible they are, in the end, they’re demon hunters, aren’t they?”
The martial might from earlier was only valid when [Natural Enemy Relationship] was activated.
Am I right, seniors?
When I stared at them without so much as blinking, the seniors of Hell spoke.
“Until you face the truth.”
Straight to the point. As expected, it was unmistakably Akshan.
“You will not be able to understand us.”
My vision flickered.
●Acknowledge Akshan of Hell. (Unable to select)
●Reject Akshan of Hell. (Unable to select)
First of all, I apologize, Grandfel. “I thought there couldn’t be a human in the world with as many secrets as you.”
But those gentlemen are no joke either, seriously!
I don’t know what truth it is that I haven’t faced,
or why they went so far as to block even the quest choices.
Still, it was fortunate.
“However, if you are prepared to face it, proceed.”
Our seniors.
Though their words were fierce,
they opened the way toward the Third Gate.
Suddenly, I recalled the pleas of the vengeful spirits.
—“You must not go……! Beyond that door, even more painful trials and truths will be waiting for the young family head!”
Painful trials and truths, huh.
At the time, I had thought they were just saying it.
But I might do well to brace myself.
It seemed there was an opportunity in this Hell to face something extremely important that I could not simply gloss over. But then something happened that I had not expected in the slightest.
……
Huh?
The ever-confident steps of my dress shoes did not move. No matter how hard I tried to move forward, they would not budge. Still, because it was my own body, I could tell.
……
Grandfel?
I did not know the reason,
but Grandfel was not permitting my steps.
Wait, that’s not what you said. “You acted all cool and proper, like the family head.”
And now, with the chance to face that so-called truth right in front of you,
why on earth are you suddenly stopping?
My silence seemed to surprise the party quite a bit as well.
Kinver cautiously called out to me.
“Commander-in-Chief……?”
The ones who opened their mouths in my place, while I remained silent, were the demon hunters of Hell. Click. The seniors lowered the crossbows they had raised and spoke.
“I see. So you still need time.”
I, Lee Hoyeol.
At this moment, more than anything else,
the seniors’ magnanimous attitude was what frightened me most.
“We understand.”
So much so that those bloodless, tearless gentlemen understood.
So much so that even Grandfel of all people hesitated.
Was the truth waiting for me at the Third Gate that weighty? “What is it?”
It was the moment I flinched.
At last, the words came.
Grandfel spoke.
“Regrettably.”
I could tell from the very first word.
You, even in a situation like this……
You really don’t change, do you, Grandfel?
“Something more urgent than facing the truth has arisen.”
Hey, no matter what, that’s not an excuse!! “There’s nothing urgent, is there, for us?”
Unlike usual,
this was Hell we had entered after a full week of preparation.
To others, it might have been only one week, but to Grandfel, it was “an entire” week. “Though a few days did go up in smoke because of Paimon……”
On the day we entered, I had even told Mom and Dad, and even that enemy of mine,
that I would be going to Hell, so they should not worry.
I had practically made a confession before entering Hell!
However.
Whoosh.
Regardless of my doubts, the flames of Hell were already wrapping around me. Lorentsk had swiftly activated the effect of [Torch of Hell].
[Torch of Hell]
[Rank: Epic]
[Restriction: The Living]
[Effect: Causes one to go against the flow in Hell.]
[Description: A torch that illuminates Hell. Its effect is expulsion. The living, who cannot set foot in Hell, are sent back to reality; the dead, who cannot escape Hell, are sent into the depths of Hell…….]
“He seems strangely urgent.”
There was no trace of a smile on Lorentsk’s face.
Looks like I made him worry for nothing.
Most likely, my silence at the final moment had had an effect. “By the way.”
Green light.
Within the flames of Hell,
I could feel the seniors’ gazes fixed on me.
Under their stares, I thought as if making an excuse. “……
For now, we’ll go reach an agreement among ourselves first.”
So don’t think you can just gloss over this, Grandfel.
From the [Hexagram Brooch]
to retreating after making excuses and leaving behind the chance to face the truth.
“I might be able to square my shoulders before you for the first time in a while.”
I, Lee Hoyeol, as a proper adult and member of society,
resolved to give Grandfel a bit of a scolding.
It was at that moment.
My field of vision began to change rapidly.
And now.
Reality.
Seoul, the land of the bizarre.
As soon as I returned, the delayed messages updated.
And.
“……!”
At those messages, I had no choice but to yield another step before Grandfel this time as well. Damn it. To think something truly more urgent than facing the truth had actually happened.
“Pantheon.”
All sorts of emotions overlapped and layered over one another.
Was it thanks to that?
My voice sank coldly.
“The price for turning my steps away shall be exceedingly grave.”