◈ Episode 401. A Good Reason

Holy War Alliance.

The players, including the Great Alliance, headed for the capital of the Empire, Antonium. The reason was simple. Antonium was the only city that was still standing.

Nam Taemin’s mouth watered.

“There may be a city of the Four Families or some other faction yet to be revealed, but……. We don’t know if they’ll be friendly to us, and we don’t know where they are.”

It’s not just that they’re not communicating.

It’s like they’re holding a sword to your throat.

It’s just that Arcana has a different weight than when it’s just a game.

Hisagi adds.

“I miss the resurrection power I heard so much about.”

The early days of the Arcana Continent.

NPCs would mention the power of resurrection whenever they interacted with players and adventurers.

At the time, I didn’t realize how important it was, and it made my ears prick up. It wasn’t until I was in their shoes that I understood. The resurrection was indeed a fraudulent power.

“Come on, the walls look strong.”

jjuug.

Leonie raises her head and looks up at the walls of Antonium.

According to Hoyeol, Antonium has seen its fair share of storms…….

Hisagi assesses.

“Still, it’s an empire, so it’s got some strength.”

“If nothing else, I’m sure Master Harkon will be pleased.”

“When did he say he’d be here?”

“A few more days, considering the time difference.”

Knight Commander Lionheart, Harkon.

Before entering the Arcana continent.

In reality, he was making final preparations.

Though he belonged to the Holy War Alliance, he was still a Knight of the Lionheart, the sword of the Empire and the Emperor.

Nam Taemin spoke in a regretful tone.

“We won’t be able to see our master’s face much in the future, will we?”

The Arcana Continent, the landscape.

Even in the real world, where the Rift had caused so much damage, it was nothing compared to what the Arcana Continent had suffered.

The place where the Lionheart Knights are truly needed is the Arcana Continent.

Harkon will never return to reality after stepping on the Arcana Continent.

Leonie replied bluntly.

“It’s like you’ve never seen him again.”

“Well, the portal opened.”

“You’ve always been good at this, Taemin-kun.”

“Do you think you know a man’s heart?”

“I’m a man, too.”

“……Let’s not talk, shall we?”

As always.

Grumbling, they approached the northern gates of Antonium.

Belonging to a Great Alliance.

A player on a scouting mission.

The news he couldn’t believe.

“What? The North Gate is closed?”

“Yes……! It’s not just the north gate, according to a merchant staying in a village near Antonium, the south gate, the west gate, the east gate, quite simply, Antonium is completely locked down!”

“What the hell is that?!”

The Great Alliance was quick to react to the panicked situation.

Telepaths, items, anything and everything.

They relayed the news of the Antonium lockdown to their allies in the Claudi territory.

“I’ll return to reality now and break the news to the Magic Tower!”

And with that, the news of Antonium was relayed to the real world.

However, time on the Arcana Continent is four times faster than in the real world. Considering the time difference, and moreover, the weight of the burden Hoyeol is carrying in reality…….

Nam Taemin cautiously opened his mouth.

“Shouldn’t we get some kind of clue first?”

What could we do?

Work with our fellow Holy War Alliance members and the dwarves to find out what’s going on in Antonium? As much as I’d like to, the situation doesn’t allow for it.

Hisagi shakes his head.

“There’s more than one thing to worry about on the continent.”

Hadn’t I already experienced that?

Demon beings, their strange and overwhelming destructive power.

Discus might be just the beginning.

It was not to be overlooked.

The Battle for the Demon King, the Battle for the Ten Thrones, had already begun.

You can’t take your eyes off [Behemoth’s Maw].

What if the Iron Castle, guarding the Behemoth’s Maw, were to be called to Antonium and a demon were to regurgitate from the Behemoth’s Maw in the meantime?

“I don’t even want to think about it.”

Nam Taemin bit his lip.

“Maybe it’s best to just hope it’s nothing.”

But I can’t just let go.

“First, let’s split up and gather information.”

“Maybe it’s just a simple quest.”

“You hear me? Call me if you find anything.”

The villages that Hoyeol had rebuilt around Antonium had been rebuilt, and there would be people in them who had fled Antonium and never returned for various reasons.

“Hopefully something will come of it.”

It was a burden to disperse the troops.

It was unavoidable.

Besides, we don’t have a reliable ally in sight, do we?

The Quernberg Machine Tower.

“That was Akshan’s secret weapon.”

“I can’t believe they went in there and came out.”

“……, what is that?”

Leonie’s brow furrowed.

“That’s when I started working with Mr. Hoyeol.”

“That’s a story I haven’t heard.”

“Why would I tell you that story?”

The two men, Nam Taemin and Hisagi, didn’t even pretend to listen. An asshole. Word of Leonie’s intuition had spread through the Berserker Guild to the Great Alliance.

“No, look at that, assholes.”

But this time it wasn’t a hunch.

“What do you want me to look at, it’s nothing again…….”

“It just moved, that thing! That thing in the distance!”

“……what?”

kkigigigig─

“!!!”

They could see it, they could hear it.

It was coming from the north, from far away.

The sound of giant cogs turning.

“The Quernberg Machine Tower is moving!”

Clatter.

The ground vibrates and shakes.

It was as if the tower had begun to stomp its feet.

The implications of the situation were simple.

“Is this jet lag, too? Things are happening many times over, aren’t they?”

Akshan’s secret weapon.

Enough to make the Quernberg Machine Towers come to life in unison.

An enemy worthy of it.

Which means the demons are coming from the north.

Sreung.

The three Guildmasters of the Great Alliance shouted.

“Prepare for battle!”

“Evacuate the villagers first.”

“We must fully utilize the Quernberg Machine Tower.”

The power of the Great Alliance scattered to gather information on Antonium. As Hisagi, the Wise Man of Tokyo, said, we must utilize the Quernberg Machine Tower as an ally and go into battle.

It was then.

[Negative energy fluctuates.]

A message flashed before their eyes.

Three Guild Masters.

And roughly twenty other guild members.

It was an unfamiliar message, even for those who had been through the whole thing.

“First of all, it’s not a status abnormality!”

In the Arcana system, messages don’t come around for nothing. Not after a cataclysm. So when a strange message is printed, it means it carries weight.

[The energy of the Demon World amplifies the instrument.]

“……!”

At that point, some of us recognized it.

Swoosh.

The dark clouds were rolling in from the northern sky.

Yes, the current message was like a prologue.

To put it simply.

It was a grand gesture to precede the arrival of the big name.

Leonie raised a pouty eyebrow.

“What a great bastard you are.”

Even before the appearance message.

“Are you trying to spoil the mood?”

Of course, the snarky question didn’t last long.

Well, at least the three Guild Masters in this place were experienced.

Hisagi’s snake eyes narrowed even further.

“…….This”

It was familiar.

The movement of the clouds.

The pressure from the sky.

And now, the howl that assaulted their ear drums.

“Krrrrrr-!”

[The fallen Ice Dragon, Frostnax, appears].

Eunaxus, the Fallen Elder Dragon.

It was only when he came face to face with Frostnax that he recognized it.

There was no lie in Hoyeol’s words.

“Damn……!”

You had said that Eunaxus, though corrupted into an Evil Dragon, had not lost his pride, and you were right. He could feel it in the dragon cry that emanated from it.

[Status Abnormality, ‘Submission’ occurs].

[Your senses submit to the King of All].

[Caution: you will lose control of your physical body].

[The King of All desires your ‘death’].

[Life regeneration is interrupted].

[Magic power regeneration will cease.]…….

“……Crazy.”

It was blatant murder.

At this moment, the evil dragon in the sky was unleashing its Dragon Cry, intent on killing everything in sight. The players were in a better position.

Nam Taemin gritted his teeth and looked away.

“Damn……!”

The Arcanians froze in their tracks, their bodies trembling.

It was impossible to save them and escape.

The walls of Antonium were sealed and closed.

Unless Antonium opens the gates.

Where could they flee to?

No area would be safe from the rampaging dragon.

So there was only one decision to be made.

“It’s my second time, so shouldn’t I improve from the first time?”

Frostnax.

To hunt down that corrupted ice dragon.

Hisagi shook his head and rolled his eyes.

‘We can’t hope for any help from the Commander-in-Chief here.’

The time difference between the Arcana continent and reality.

Even if he had delivered the news from Antonium.

He would have an agenda.

Even if he’s traveling straight to Arcana.

‘The vast Arcana continent.’

North of Antonium.

Unless you’re in a similar position to them, you’re not going to recognize the appearance of the Frostnax right away. Hisagi’s gaze flickers to the Quernberg Machine Tower.

‘Maybe.’

Even with that in mind.

Had he placed the Quernberg Machine Tower near Antonium?

He couldn’t fathom the implications, but that was all he could think of.

cheolkeodeog.

Near the upper level of the Quernberg Machine Tower.

chwachwachwag.

Countless silver needles sprouted from the gaps that separated floor from floor.

No blood, no tears, no order before the demon.

Furthermore, it is a machine.

It doesn’t cower in the face of status abnormalities or dragon cry.

Shush, shush, shush.

It immediately fired countless silver needles at the descending Frostnax. The Quernberg Machine Towers in the northern part of Antonium numbered roughly a dozen.

The number of silver needles they unleashed must have been thousands, if not millions.

Still, it was impossible to stop Frostnax.

Swoosh─

The intact dragon’s wings flap.

A chill rushes through the air.

The rush of silver needles froze in place and fell to the ground.

Nam Taemin spat out a hollow laugh.

“That was a lot of forgiving, Eunaxus.”

The King of All.

No, no.

A tyrant of all things, now corrupted by evil.

That was the power of the dragon.

Nam gritted his teeth.

[Frenzy].

If I can rely on my wild side, I’ll be able to shake off my fears.

[Skill, ‘Frenzy’ activation failed].

But the tyrant would not even allow himself to be wild.

He only demands submission before him.

He only wanted you to meekly comply in the end.

“heueub.”

The extreme cold slowly creeps in.

In an instant, my lungs begin to freeze.

Leonie struggled to open her mouth.

“Fuck……. than Russia……. colder?”

Would she have been able to struggle at all if the power hadn’t been dispersed?

No, it was a different story; none of the healers in the Great Coalition were capable of healing [Submission], much less this level of Freezing.

Still, I was not about to get discouraged.

“……?”

gooo.

A vast blanket of magic shrouding an insignificant, Great Alliance.

An endlessly updated message.

[You are imbued with pure healing mana].

[Status abnormality, ‘Submission’ is lifted].

[Status abnormality, ‘Freeze’ is lifted] …….

Every choice must be made for a good reason.

There were no exceptions to the strict discipline of the Magic Tower.

If Matisse had traveled to the Arcana continent on pure ability, and Bensch had traveled by blood to the imperial mage Nash, then there must be a good reason for Bellier, who had traveled with them.

“Apparently, our connection is quite deep?”

“Senior Bellier……?”

“Thank you, but how come you’re here?!”

sallangsallang.

Rust-colored hair swaying in the cold breeze.

Bellier answered with a gentle smile.

“Because I figured out how to purify the evil fruit.”