Episode 300
“Fire, quickly!”
The moment Seojun rose after dropping to one knee, an arrow flew from the participant who had heard Divine Sword’s shout.
Swoooosh!
The arrow cut through the quiet air of the basement and aimed for Seojun’s heart. Seojun avoided it simply by tilting his body to one side.
As long as they are watching carefully, basic attacks do not work on professionals unless they are ambushes or unpredictable.
They were people who anticipated attacks by watching the bowstring. Of course, they had to move faster than that, and they could not dodge every single time—but if it was only shot lightly.
“Ah, how blasphemous. In the end, have you fallen under that man’s influence, Brother Ethan?”
Seojun looked straight ahead with an expression of genuine regret.
“……”
“Why don’t you fire once more? I won’t dodge.”
“What are you plotting?”
“I merely wish to show you reality.”
“What reality?”
Ethan asked.
“If you continue to let yourself be used like this, Divine Sword will betray you, and everyone except him will die. I saw the future. The only survivor is Divine Sword.”
Divine Sword cut in.
“What have you been talking about this whole time! You’re the mastermind! You! You damn bastard, Kael!”
“Is that really the case?”
“Just shoot!”
The arrow once again cut through the silent air, and Seojun took it head-on.
It sank into his chest. There was no special defensive device.
Seojun’s health decreased.
No—before that, his health was revealed.
“Huh…? Wha—?”
To the hero Ethan, who had fired the bow.
“He really was the mastermind…? How?”
Seojun enjoyed the shock in Ethan’s eyes, then gave a crooked grin.
“In the end, you fell for it. You are confirmed as a heretic.”
“You would have killed him even if I hadn’t! What are you doing! Shoot more! We’ll fight too!”
Seojun clicked his tongue.
Divine Sword had come to know him far too well. Unfortunately, the fact that he did not know what items Seojun had bought was the reason his plan had failed.
“Ahh. In the end, Lord Divine Sword has gone and done it.”
“Done what!”
Even as the bow skill was used and three swordsmen approached, Seojun remained relaxed.
“You killed them all.”
Seojun used the Mask.
***
“Ahh, one of them has gone to his grave. Because of you.”
“Get him!”
Divine Sword screamed.
Just as Seojun had said, one person had been stabbed by Seojun’s sword and died only moments ago.
Seojun had not even used the Judgment Sword.
The man had simply died from allowing a series of basic attacks to land.
After pulling his sword free and letting the corpse fall to the ground, Seojun prayed once more.
“How many more lives must be lost because of you, Divine Sword, before you come to your senses!”
“You crazy bastard! Argh! You just killed him! With your own hands!”
“Ahh… What a pitiful soul.”
After finishing his words, Seojun tilted his body and rushed toward his next target.
Ranged attacks continued to fly at him, but he paid them no heed.
He simply dodged the attacks he could avoid and methodically cut down the next target.
Seojun allowed each of them to attack him once.
They had now realized that the act was a deception.
They could see just how much health he had—twice that of an ordinary hero—and how little it was decreasing.
“Haha. We’re finished.”
The professional taking Seojun’s attacks spoke in resignation.
Clang!
The sword cut into a vital point.
It pierced through the defense and dug in, like a viper seeking out a vulnerable spot.
It was not that the atmosphere had changed.
Seojun was still continuing his ridiculous little play.
“Repent.”
“……Damn it.”
“No, it’s not over! Don’t give up!”
Divine Sword protested while continuing to intervene in an attempt to stop Seojun’s attacks.
But—
Clang! Clang!
“His damage is too powerful. He must have bought an item. He has a lot of health, too. More than anything, his skill…”
Against his opponent’s powerful attacks, his superior skill—everything was collapsing.
“We shouldn’t have fought if Kael really was the mastermind…”
“No. You should have repented sooner.”
The second participant died.
Only Divine Sword and the archer Ethan remained, and Seojun walked past Divine Sword.
***
“You knew this was how it would end, Brother. And yet you went through with it.”
The basement fell silent.
“……”
Whoooosh!
The same scene unfolded for the third time.
Divine Sword attacked Seojun in anger, while Seojun did nothing but dodge and provoke him.
“To those who have passed away, did I not tell you? I told you that Divine Sword would kill you all.”
“……”
“Ahh. I wish to pass judgment, but I believe Lord Divine Sword will repent, so I shall endure this time of tribulation—”
“#$@$%!”
A strange sound reached Seojun’s ears. He was momentarily flustered.
It had not been translated.
What was this?
Chinese profanity?
The translation resumed.
But the content was strange.
It had not said “die,” but “kill.” There was no doubt that something was wrong with the translation system.
“Whom are you telling to kill? You killed all your companions with your own hands, and now you say, ‘Kill’?”
Seojun chuckled as he dodged Divine Sword’s attacks.
Then he checked the completed quest window.
“My abilities have increased. Ahh. Thank you.”
“Stop changing your attitude and attack! What are you doing!”
“I am waiting for Brother to repent.”
“Just because you keep calling me ‘brother,’ do you think you’re actually my brother?”
“Ahh. We are all His children, so we are brothers. Even if you are a heretic.”
“You lunatic! Aaargh! No, why aren’t you killing me! What are you doing!”
“Repent…”
Boom!
The greatsword Divine Sword brought down gouged deeply into the ground.
“Did we have some grudge in a past life? Huh? Why are you doing this? Why!”
Because he could kill only three people, and if he killed you, there would be no way to deny it.
“You bastard. You must have gotten an incredible reward from the mastermind buff and the Train. That’s how you managed to win like this, right? The others should have gathered more, but why didn’t they believe me, why! You despicable bastard! Damn you!”
“Anger is bad for your health.”
“Ugh! Hey.”
“Yes?”
“Die!”
Divine Sword thought Seojun was toying with him.
And then, at that moment—
The last remaining person came down into the basement.
“Huh?”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Divine Sword continued attacking Seojun without paying him any mind.
Whether the last remaining person voiced his confusion or not, he no longer had the strength to tell him to run.
He simply wanted to die right then and there. Or else kill Kael. Either one would satisfy him.
And Seojun opened his mouth.
“Hey, newcomer. Run. Divine Sword might kill you too.”
At that moment, Divine Sword’s eyes truly rolled back.
“So that’s why you’ve been acting like this all along! You bastard, ‘too’? You killed them!”
***
“So, to summarize.”
“Yes, Brother.”
“Divine Sword actually sold out Seojun in order to deal with us.”
“Yes.”
“And while he was dealing with us, Seojun happened to witness it, so Divine Sword tried to kill him as well?”
“Yes. Precisely.”
“Hmm… And Divine Sword’s claim is exactly the opposite?”
“I said from the start that he was the mastermind.”
The newly arrived figure in the lull was Yamada Yasuo of Japan.
He was a participant who had become Seojun’s fan from the moment he confirmed that Kael’s master possessed genuine skill at predicting vital points.
With fewer amateurs than professionals, he could be considered a skilled player, especially since he had entered as a different hero.
In Japan, he was actually regarded as one of the top amateurs.
Seojun had become his role model. Because of that, Yamada Yasuo had watched all of Seojun’s videos, and therefore knew—
that Seojun’s personality was not particularly pleasant.
‘……’
“Brother.”
“Yes, Lord Seojun.”
Seojun was speaking to him in a gentle voice right now. What could it mean?
‘He must be playing around.’
It was obvious.
Which meant Seojun really was the mastermind.
“What is it that has planted doubt in your heart? Please confide in me.”
Yamada Yasuo swallowed hard.
He felt as though he were being sucked into the pupils of the handsome Korean player looking at him with smiling eyes.
This was fear.
The fear of being toyed with by an existence he could not resist.
Was this what they called cosmic horror?
‘He wasn’t chosen as the mastermind for no reason.’
Yamada was genuinely afraid.
‘It feels like I’m looking at a true fanatic.’
To Yamada Yasuo, this place was a tiger’s den.
If he wanted to survive, he had to use his head well somehow.
Otherwise, there was no telling when the mastermind might suddenly change his mind, end his amusement, and kill them all.
He was even considering the possibility that Seojun truly was not the mastermind.
He knew that Seojun was the sort of streamer who would play around like this even when falsely accused.
For now, he decided to play along.
“Lord Seojun, you said that one of the mastermind’s traits was having twice as much health as normal. You acknowledged that, didn’t you?”
“Yes. That is true. But did I not say that it was thanks to the item I obtained as a reward?”
“Divine Sword claimed that your damage was high as well.”
“That is a lie. Shall I hit him once?”
“No.”
That would be dangerous. If Seojun’s true identity were revealed, Yamada would die right then and there.
There was no need to deliberately provoke a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
This concerned both their survival.
For now, his goal was to survive without offending Seojun in any way!
‘Survive.’
At some point, Seojun had positioned himself with his back to the entrance and was pressuring them.
“Just kill him, you idiot.”
“What are you talking about, Lord Divine Sword?”
“Lord Seojun?”
“Yes, Brother. Please speak comfortably. Have you begun to realize who the mastermind is?”
“To be honest, I’m fifty-fifty.”
No.
It was closer to nine-to-one. And nine parts of that was the suspicion that Seojun was the mastermind.
“Hmm.”
Seojun looked down at him without a word. Yamada swallowed hard and met that gaze as calmly as he could.
Before long, Seojun slowly raised the corners of his mouth and broke the silence.
“You suspect me.”
Yamada’s heart sank.
“But there is no evidence, so it would be difficult to persuade you any further.”
“Haha.”
Had he survived?
Was Seojun letting him go?
“Then let us do this.”
Or not.
Was he going to die?
Clop. Clop.
Seojun approached Yamada.
Yamada naturally stepped backward.
It was the instinct to maintain distance from a predator.
Clop. Clop.
Yamada passed by Divine Sword, who was sitting there exhausted and dazed.
Thud.
His back met the cold wall. There was nowhere left to retreat.
Was he going to die like this?
Even in this extreme situation, Yamada exercised restraint and did not draw his sword.
He knew he would lose if they fought anyway.
At last, the approaching Seojun turned right in front of him.
He gave Yamada a smiling look that said not to even dream of running.
Seojun went to the wall without a word, fiddled with the window in front of him, and then spoke.
“Brother?”
“Yes, Lord Seojun.”
“We will be going our separate ways again soon.”
“Yes.”
“Since meeting like this must be fate, would you do a good deed?”
“A good deed?”
A quest appeared.
[Donation]
==
Victory Condition: Win when the opponent’s health decreases below 20%.
Defeat Condition: Lose upon taking even a single hit.
Payment
Upon Victory: Gain 0 points
Upon Defeat: Deduct 100 points
==
Yamada read the conditions of the quest and thought.
‘Damn. He has no conscience.’
He knew he was being shaken down.
Even so, wasn’t this a little too much?
Of course, if he refused, he would die.
As the price of his life, this much was—
Yamada swallowed hard, then—
“A good deed… A donation… I will do it.”
He nodded.
His foremost priority was to survive by playing along with the mastermind’s amusement.
***
Two people appeared first at the exit of the basement.
Yamada and Divine Sword.
“Phew. I’m glad we made it out alive.”
“I don’t want to live.”
“Lord Divine Sword.”
“What.”
“Let’s go check the ruins you mentioned first. If there really are ruins and relics, I’ll completely believe you.”
“You got shaken down for 100 points and you still don’t get it?”
“I do understand.”
“Understand what?”
“That he can shake us down even if he isn’t the mastermind.”
“……Haha. Hahahaha! That’s true. That bastard.”
“Now that we’ve survived, let’s go prepare. Even if we can’t beat him right now, a way to catch him will appear eventually. Soon.”
“Soon. Yeah. Ha. I’ll get my revenge.”
“If Lord Divine Sword turns out to be the mastermind after all, I think I’ll get seriously creeped out.”
“Yeah, that’s right. I’m the mastermind, just like that bastard said. I’ll just be the mastermind. Kill me already.”
“I apologize. That was a slip of the tongue.”
The two heroes who had survived the devil moved without rest toward a different terrain, with no time even to celebrate their survival.
They were searching for a way to defeat the devil who was chuckling in the dark basement as he settled the points.