◈ Episode 554. No Negotiations
"What is that supposed to mean, Granfel."
'Until the day all worlds head toward destruction.'
So unnecessarily grandiose……!
If you say something like that, it's one more burden I'll have to bear, isn't it.
But what was important wasn't Granfel's babbling.
Gaiber.
He had collapsed to the floor, his breathing stopped.
To be exact, his heart had been pierced.
At the final moment.
Hamed.
From how sorrowfully he had uttered that name, perhaps Gaiber had been afflicted with a status condition I didn't know about. That's why I hadn't wanted Gaiber to die.
If only I could…….
I wanted to revive Gaiber, who had died instantly from a pierced heart.
But as I said, reversal magic has its limits.
Even if I can reverse wounds.
I cannot reverse a life that has already died.
So there was only one thing I could do.
"How cowardly. To the point that the name is wasted."
The living, moving heavenly sword, Excalibur.
I had no choice but to hold onto this culprit caught red-handed.
It must be because the battle had ended with Gaiber's death.[The ritual, 'Vortex of Chaos,' subsides.]
The space of consciousness severed from space-time gradually fades.
The battlefield scenery comes into view again.
The voices of the Holy War Allied Forces are heard.
"G-Gaiber has fallen……!"
"H-Has the Supreme Commander won?"
"Wait, what happened?"
It made sense.
Because I had been fighting against a sword, not Gaiber.
But now was not the time to be distracted.'……What kind of aura is this strong, this thing?'As I've said many times.
My mana is of a different caliber from ordinary mana, and thanks to that, its efficiency is on another dimension as well. With such mana, I had been trying to block Excalibur's movement.
Trembling.
That no one could recognize.
It was a minute trembling that only I knew of, but.
Even releasing mana enough to make my eyelashes tremble, I could not stop Excalibur's movement.
Damn it, is my absolute mana value still insufficient?'No, but if that were the case, the feeling is somewhat different.'Even if my mana were infinite, I didn't feel confident I could stop Excalibur's movement. Because it felt as though mana didn't apply to it at all.
I, Lee Hoyeol, displayed what little perceptiveness I had.'……Could it be that different rules are applying?'If it were an irresistible rule, I could understand. The Divine Realm was a different world from the Arcana Continent. If so, what rule did I have to use to stop Excalibur's movement?'If I let you go, I'll be in trouble.'Misunderstandings like I defeated Gaiber, or disposed of him—I refuse those……! Did my desperation draw out the potential of my wretched brain?
The thought arrived.
That's right.
Karma.
It's karma.
Hadn't it been said that only 'karma' could control holy relics?
Judging by the Shadow God's reaction in the past, even 1,000 karma would have been considerable. My current karma had easily broken through 4,000 and was approaching 5,000.'Whether it's the God of War, or whoever it is.'The probability that bastard possesses higher karma than me?
Well, wouldn't it be unlikely?
Thinking so, I reached out resolutely.
"By the proof of my karma, I command."
Toward the heavenly sword, Excalibur.
"Kneel before me."
.
"Uwooooo."
Park Hwigan barely held onto his sanity.
"Finally, finally!"
The gates of Muon opened, and.
Only after the Holy War Allied Forces entered did it finally feel real.
You survived somehow again this time, Hwigan.
"Thank you as always, just Homen."
-Your faith has finally returned, Hwigan!!
-But didn't Hwigan miss that scene?
-What? You missed that legendary scene?
-How much are you losing out on life, for real."W-why? Did something happen outside Muon?"
Park Hwigan asked quietly, feeling a pang of guilt.
The reason he hadn't watched Hoyeol's movements was that, as a follower of the Hoyeol Church.
It was because he was a bit ashamed.'I can't say I unconsciously empathized with the Goddess Church.'Of course, that didn't mean he hadn't earned his keep.
"No, I'm grateful that you're all answering, but……. Could you please speak slowly one by one? The chat is scrolling too fast to read……. No, I'm not trying to solicit donation messages!"
It was the moment Park Hwigan waved his hands.
Tap, tap.
Someone tapped Park Hwigan's shoulder from behind.
"Mr. Hwigan!"
"Ahack, Chief Nam!"
"Ah, are you broadcasting?"
"Yes, but I was about to end it anyway!"
Thanks to that, without being able to read the backed-up chat.
The broadcast ended abruptly.
Park Hwigan wiped his hand on his pants and shook hands with the analyst, Nam Cheolmin.
"I watched your broadcast. It helped with the infiltration."
"Hehe, no. What did I even do."
The reason the Holy War Allied Forces could quickly infiltrate Muon. It was thanks to Park Hwigan secretly broadcasting the chaotic internal situation of Muon that this was possible.
"Cheolmin hyung……. Huh? Mr. Hwigan is here too?"
"Y-you know my name?!"
"Of course I do. I even subscribed."
Well, because videos of Hoyeol go up.
Nam Taemin replied nonchalantly, but Park Hwigan couldn't take it that way. To think my broadcast had helped two people who could be called Hoyeol-nim's closest aides.
"I'm prouder than when I receive donations. Really."
"Really?"
"Yes, really!"
Nam Cheolmin smiled and asked his younger brother.
"Why, Taemin, is there something special in Muon?"
"No, doesn't look like it. We're thoroughly searching for traps or hidden ambush magic circles, but nothing's coming up."
"As expected, but that's a relief."
"More importantly, where's the Supreme Commander?"
It was Hoyeol who had entered Muon with the Holy War Allied Forces.
But before anyone knew it, Hoyeol was nowhere to be seen.
Nam Cheolmin looked around and lowered his voice.
"Freija."
"……If you mean Freija, the Saintess?"
"Yes, the Supreme Commander went to rescue the Saintess."
"What? After what she did?"
The reason they could pinpoint the Saintess's location.
That too was thanks to Park Hwigan.
Though Park Hwigan himself looked bewildered.
Swish.
Nam Cheolmin adjusting his glasses.
"Actually, I witnessed a clue in Mr. Hwigan's live broadcast. It was filmed with the passage where the Saintess disappeared in the background. You did intend that, right?"
"I-intended?"
When on earth was that filmed……?
Unintentional luck.
As Park Hwigan hesitated, Nam Taemin clicked his tongue.
"No, hyung, you lack way too much sensitivity. Is it because you're a science major? There aren't many people in the world who can boast about themselves like this. How uncomfortable must Mr. Hwigan be."
"Is that so? I'm sorry if it was uncomfortable, Mr. Hwigan."
"Ah, no! That's not it……."
"At times like this, you should just say thank you."
See, like me.
"That courage was a great help, Mr. Hwigan."……
Isn't this more uncomfortable?
Nam Taemin suddenly bowing his head.
Park Hwigan had no confidence in handling this anymore.
Whether it was intended or not, the Saintess was filmed, and he said it helped.
Park Hwigan also bowed his head forcefully.
"No. It is an honor to have been of help, yes……!!"
It was then.
"I shall not forget this humiliation."
"……?"
The eerie voice that echoed throughout Muon.
In that moment, Park Hwigan doubted his ears.
Because that voice was so terrifying?'W-what is it?'No, rather than that.
It seemed he was the only one who had heard that voice.
Park Hwigan faltered and observed the mood.'……Did I mishear?'As if answering that doubt, the voice rang out again.
"I shall demand the price for daring to bind me."
Only then could Park Hwigan intuit it.'I think I'm in big trouble.'Yes, from the moment I felt fear seeing Hoyeol-nim, I had suspected something was wrong with my mental state. It seemed my head really had gone wrong after all.'An auditory hallucination, of all things!'He rolled his eyes one last time to check, but.
"And what are you picking a fight with me for?"
"It's not a fight but sincere advice, Taemin."
"Advice my foot, how does a Barbarian learn magic, huh?"
As expected, no one in the Holy War Allied Forces cared.
Even now…….
Though he was saying something incredibly serious.
"How dare you, what do you think this body is."
Soon, Park Hwigan hardened his expression and made a decision.'I'll confess.'Having watched Hoyeol's steps, Park Hwigan was well aware of the horrors of demons and status conditions, [Possession]. Though he couldn't identify the owner of this voice……. 'The probability it's a demon is quite high.'
Rather than causing harm while possessed by a demon.'Better to die by Hoyeol-nim's hand……!'Having made his resolve, Park Hwigan opened his mouth.
"I have something to say, Chief."
"Yes, Mr. Hwigan. Please speak."
"It's just……. I think I'm having auditory hallucinations……."
"Auditory hallucinations?"
"Yes, auditory hallucinations."
The moment Park Hwigan caught his breath to continue.
"A threatening, impertinent voice, by any chance?"……
Huh?
What?
It wasn't only audible to me?
Park Hwigan's face turned even paler.
"T-then isn't this even more dangerous? If even Chief Nam is hearing auditory hallucinations, it surely can't be an ordinary demon……! We must inform the Supreme Commander of this immediately……!!"
"A demon? Ah, you must not know because you were broadcasting, Mr. Hwigan."
"Yes?"
Nam Cheolmin answered with a smile.
"It's not a demon. It's 'that thing'."
"……That thing?"
Where Nam Cheolmin's finger pointed.
There was a rock.
To be precise, a sword embedded in a rock.
"The heavenly sword Excalibur. The Supreme Commander acquired it as spoils of war."*[Your karma dominates the holy relic, 'Heavenly Sword (天劍) Excalibur'.]
Before the message could even finish flickering, a voice came from his waist. Any trace of being tainted by the Hexagram Brooch was gone, no different from the usual Gwichul.
-Is not the loser chattering noisily, master.
Hahaha.'Don't laugh, you're no different.'Actually, Gwichul was the one chattering more.
Perhaps because of the eerie form of a demon sword.
This much chatter was tolerable as a quirk.'More importantly.'Now that I had captured the holy relic, Heavenly Sword Excalibur, red-handed.
I had no choice but to pay even closer attention to the situation at the Pantheon.'What happened to you, Shadow God.'Thinking calmly.
Shadow God.
Could he alone turn the Pantheon into a mess?'Perhaps if it's just causing momentary confusion.'Completely suppressing the Pantheon is naturally impossible.
Moreover, now that I know someone capable of wielding cheat items like holy relics exists at the Pantheon. It felt amazing that the Shadow God had entered the Pantheon alone.
Of course.'The God of War.'I couldn't overlook the possibility that another cause had influenced the current severance. So I had been chasing the flickering of the message to confirm that.[Hidden Quest: Witch Hunt]
The Saintess, Freija, who could no longer hear the voice of the Goddess.
To the Goddess Church, Freija was no longer a Saintess but a witch.
The sentence handed down to the fallen witch was burning at the stake.
Saint or witch, if neither, then who is she.
The choice is yours.
-Encounter Freija. (In Progress)
Freija.
If it's her, she surely knows something.
Soon, I entered the underground sanctuary of Muon.'As always, the atmosphere here is solemn.'Underground sanctuary.
It was a kind of communal cemetery.
Hadn't it been said to be a place where those who martyred themselves for the Goddess were laid to rest?
Indeed, the tombstones engraved with names made that fact feel real.
By the way.
"Freija."
Though I called her name, I felt a sense of incongruity.
The quest objective was clearly to rescue Freija.
But the Freija before my eyes was far too unharmed.
Swish.
Yes.
To the point of knocking down the holy knights who had bound her to the floor.
Soon Freija opened her mouth.
"O endlessly deep darkness, I shall grant you an opportunity."
No, the 'Goddess' opened her mouth.
"Fight for me, and I shall show you mercy."
Ah, is that so?
I guess your mind changes between entering and leaving the bathroom?
What I had to say was simple.
"Too bad."
Coldly continuing.
"So it's possession by the Goddess."
There was no difference in that behavior.
"Then let's begin at once, Freija."
"Suddenly……? Begin?"
"A self-proclaimed god."
"Wh-what……?"
"It's time to drive out the specter no different from a demon."[The skill, 'Exorcism Ritual,' is activated.]
"?!!"