◈ Episode 456. Darkness Falls (5)

Status Abnormality, [Corruption].

AAU and Magic Tower.

Even the Goddess Church, which is extremely restrained in its external activities.

They have gone to the Collapse Rift to find a way to suppress the Corruption.

In the middle of the sea, far from the effects of the Corruption.

They say it is the Kingdom of Yusra.

I couldn’t stay still.

A group of over a hundred explorers.

Leading the League, a mix of players and Arcanians, was the romantic explorer Lorenzik. Explorer and Nettuber Park Hwigang rolled his eyes. It didn’t feel real.

“I never thought I’d be on a ghost ship.”

dudungsil.

A ghost ship literally flew through the sky, carrying the Explorer Federation.

Lorenzik chuckled.

“Dwarven Kingdom, it’s a shabby ship compared to the Iron Castle, but……. Well, there’s a difference in the labor that went into it. Be content with this.”

How could they not be satisfied?

“Of course they should be.”

Fabien Delong, President of the Explorer Federation.

A living legend and an object of admiration.

I broke out in a cold sweat in front of Lorenzik.

The scale was truly unimaginable.

“I never thought the legend of the Sabres was true.”

The legend of the Sabres has become a reality.

Wasn’t this beyond the influence of a single explorer?

After a moment of admiration, Fabien swallowed a sigh of relief.

“I can’t tell you how fortunate we are that Lorenzik-nim came to our aid. We had orders from King Hakuna, but we weren’t sure we had the power to make it happen.”

King Hakuna, King of Yusra, has commanded the Explorer Federation.

In order to catch the clues to corruption, the power of the Explorer Federation is essential. I couldn’t refuse. It was not the first time that the Kingdom of Yusra showed favor to the Explorer Federation.

Of course, even if they weren’t, I’d still move.

Lorenzik shrugged.

“Enough of the greetings. I’m not with the Federation, and I’m not moving to help the Federation. If anything, I’m with the Holy War Alliance, and it’s my duty to explore and study the Corruption.”

“In any case, thank you. Mr. Lorenzik.”

“Is that so? I am not at ease.”

“Is there something that concerns you?”

“Because it’s hideous.”

Suddenly, Lorenzik’s gaze lifts to the sky.

“It’s uninspiring.”

There was a Evil Eye with ten pupils.

A boy who never grew old because he never lost his romance.

Lorenzik had seen a great deal of magic and witchcraft in his travels across the continent.

“It’s more strange than even I can fathom. I’ve been to hell and back. I don’t know the first thing about the Demon World.”

Lorenzik’s pure desire to explore is stronger than any explorer’s.

The thought of an unconquered Demon Realm motivated him.

Lorenzik quickly regained his composure.

“So don’t expect much help from me, for all I can do is drop you off near a suitable collapse rift.”

“For that alone, I am grateful.”

“I’m grateful for every word. This is why I’ve been traveling alone, but it’s a burden.”

“I’ll try to fix it.”

“Oops. I don’t feel comfortable with that answer either.”

A ghost ship sails through the city center.

It was spreading adventurers one by one through the collapse rift.

The players, including Park Hwigang, froze.

[A mixed-blood demon, the ‘Demon of Confinement’, appears.]

“There’s a demon nearby!”

“……What is the Demon of Confinement?”

“I don’t know, but just the name sounds terrifying!”

Park Hwigang shouted urgently and raised the camera.

Even if you’re a NetTuber, you know how to be sensible.

A heat-sensing camera not meant for broadcasting.

An anomaly that fuses two completely different concepts.

“I don’t know if this is an anomaly, but whatever……!”

I say to myself, my conscience pricked. However, based on the standards of ‘someone’ who considers internet search to be anomaly, Park Hwigang’s actions were anomaly. And anomaly somehow manages to be active.

“There’s a thermal reaction inside the building!”

That was it.

The demon was revealed.

seumeolseumeol…….

No.

kkumteulkkumteul.

“……!”

The building shuddered as if it were alive.

I wash my eyes and take a closer look.

Its outer walls were covered in something frowning.

Lorenzik and Fabien opened their mouths.

“Red blood……?”

“Do you have any idea?”

“You know what? I don’t know everything.”

“That……. looks similar!”

Park Hwigang interrupted their conversation.

“Capillaries! So in real science, those blood-like things are called capillaries, which means……. That building is a living creature……. No, that means it’s a demon?!”

Park Huigang’s speculation was sharp.

Kukugung.

This was also the effect of corruption.

A demon had eaten the building whole.

Its veins began to wriggle and move.

The players who watched the scene clicked their tongues.

“Is it a demon of confinement because there are people in the building?”

“You mean we can’t do this until we take him down, right?”

“Crazy! What, all those horrible mobs?”

“I told you. It’s all because of that, uh, flying evil eye?”

One player looked up nervously.

“……?”

The scene before them was disconcerting. Evil eye, who had been rolling its eyes ominously just a moment ago, was nowhere to be seen.

“What, what, where did it go?”

“What do you mean, suddenly?”

“Oh, no. It’s not that…….”

“Time to focus on what’s in front of you!”

But I didn’t have enough time to think about it.

Park Hwigang was shouting urgently.

His voice was anxious.

“If that’s a demon, then the citizens inside that building have been eaten by the demon’s stomach, right? What should we do about it? What should we do……!”

hwaleug.

There was no arguing who was first.

Lorenzik and Fabien.

Both men raised their torches.

The flames of hell blazing green.

“The belly of the Bad Omen. I’ve been in the belly of the Bad Omen, but never the belly of a demon, so this is good. Knowing what the belly looks like will help us hunt demons, won’t it?”

“Yes, it would.”

“You’re stiff, even under these circumstances.”

The boy berated the gray-haired middle-aged man.

But Fabien couldn’t argue with him, for he had never imagined that Lorenzik would be the one to share the Hellfire.

‘The Hellfire of the Federation was given to Lord Hoyeol.’

The reason was simple. But I never imagined that I would encounter the flames again through Lorenzik.

So there was no hesitation.

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

Player common sense.

Combat and non-combat classes.

Class limitations can’t be overcome.

Explorers can’t fly, and gears can’t do much in combat.

Park Hwigang asked worriedly, but they disembarked from the ghost ship.

He then gave the worried explorers an order.

“Take care of the survivors. Please.”

“Yes, sir. Of course!”

“Shall we go then?”

hwaleug.

The two explorers burned the demon’s blood with their hell torches.

They pushed open the closed door and entered the building and the demon.

Suddenly, the air around them turned chilly.

“……?”

A chill ran down his spine.

Park Hwigang was not alone.

The explorers chattered.

“I suddenly feel strange…….”

“What is it, can’t you see anything?”

“A system message? I don’t know, it’s quiet.”

A quiet system.

That was enough for Park and the other players to breathe a sigh of relief. Just the fact that it wasn’t an appearance message was enough to tell them that it wasn’t a threat.

But it didn’t take long for everyone to freak out.

It didn’t take long.

Eventually, a sound was heard.

ttogag.

There was a man where the sound that resonated in my mind came from.

What was it?

His long silver hair was flowing down.

It was definitely Hoyeol.

“Co, Commander-in-Chief!”

His appearance was a moment of joy, as if a savior had arrived.

kwajig.

A merciless sound.

Something hot and lukewarm at the same time.

It splashed on their faces, on their forearms, on their clothes.

“Ew, ew, ew!”

Blood and flesh splattering everywhere.

The demon that had become one with the building had burst out of it.

It wasn’t magic, it wasn’t skill, it wasn’t anomaly.

Just a simple stare had caused the demon to explode.

Even among adventurers with quick judgment.

Park Hwigang’s unusually fast-rotating head came to mind.

“?!”

Yes, the survivors in the building captured by the thermal camera.

The two explorers who entered the building to save them.

Lorenzik and Federation President Fabien.

Gazes shifting urgently.

“Kyaaaaaagh!”

Park Hwigang was relieved by the screams that erupted.

Everyone was covered in demon blood and flesh, but…….

Everyone was still alive and well!

“Wow, what a terrible experience.”

Lorenzik shook his head in disbelief.

Then he looked at the shattered magic tool.

He looked at 『Contract with Miscellaneous Gods: Fountain Pen of Signature』.

“Are you saying that even a Miscellaneous God is a God? Anyway, I survived thanks to your care.”

What would have happened to us if we hadn’t had the fountain pen?

Lorenzik looked up at the sky.

In the sky, there was Hoyeol that shattered demons.

“Let’s see, if the Commander in Chief skills…….”

Even if we were inside the demon’s stomach.

With their exquisite manifestation power, they would have hunted only demons.

However.

Doesn’t the shattered fountain pen speak for itself?

Fabien muttered.

“……Obviously, he had something on his mind, or else he believed that now that we had entered, we would surely protect the citizens.”

“Oh my. Such a judgment in such a short time?”

“Yes, sir. If it’s no one else, but Commander Lee Hoyeol, whom I’ve been watching……. He must have seen far enough ahead, calculated, and acted.”

Lorenzik nodded.

“If you are, then maybe.”

It wasn’t out of genuine sympathy for Fabien’s words.

Lorenzik hadn’t taken his gaze from Hoyeol’s eyes.

‘My thoughts are a little different.’

It was.

Hoyeol’s gaze never once turned away.

There was no special treatment for those who were covered in blood and flesh and confused, or for themselves, who would have been turned into blood and flesh as well if it weren’t for the magic tools.

His gaze could not have been more impartial.

Lorenzik thought.

‘Have you seen through the existence and effects of my magic tools?’

If not, then…….

“Perhaps we were simply lucky.”

Lorenzik wasn’t sure.

He didn’t know much about Lee Hoyeol, the man he’d regurgitated from the Bad Omen, so perhaps……. a more objective perspective.

“Who exactly you are.”

*

In front of the TV.

Lee Yerim blurted out.

“He doesn’t show his face even once.”

“He must be busy. Didn’t you hear on the news earlier that he’s hunting down demons by blowing up the Evil Eyes in the sky with one burst?”

Chatting with my sister, Lee Jiyoon…….

“I heard it, I heard it!”

My nephew, Arang, blocks the screen.

Lee Yerim picks her up and hugs her, tickling her.

When did she grow up so fast?

“Ouch. You don’t make short tongue sounds anymore, do you?”

“Yihihi. Tickle me, Auntie.”

“Why do you only call your aunt when you’re like this, not your uncle?”

Lee Jiyoon snorted.

“I only look for my uncle when I see him.”

It’s not surprising that Hoyeol, our one and only younger brother, would be on the news on camera, but he’s been speaking so differently since he became a player.

No. 1, Lee Eunhye, had a hint of worry in her voice.

“Is he really that busy?”

“Of course not, he hasn’t called me in days.”

“What did I tell you, he’s going through puberty?”

No, well, he said it himself, he’s Heavenly Demon……!

Lee Yerim was trying to sound enthusiastic.

Their ears were only open to the sound of the TV.

I wonder if such a longing wind reached them.

-……As we speak, Lee Hoyeol has been spotted for the first time. This is an exclusive report from VBC Today’s Arcana team!

“Hey, Lee Yerim, shut up!”

No, it’s true!!

“Heub.”

That was the moment when Lee Yerim shut her mouth tightly in front of her relatives.

The image of Hoyeol really appeared on the TV.

At the same time, Lee Yerim’s pupils twitched as the grass died.

“?”

She looked up to see long silver hair.

“What’s that……?”