Chapter 694 – An Unpleasant Rebellion (3)

Seriously.

“They’ve lost it. Their heads are gone—completely gone, all of them.”

Seoul subway station.

Lee Yerim crouched in the corner of the platform, glancing around. A moment ago, Team Leader Kim, who had been grumbling nonstop, now howled at the top of his lungs.

“Agares, my king!!”

I knew he’d do that.

“That damn eyesore.”

Didn’t I say his face alone spelled trouble?

At work, too, Team Leader Kim had always been a master at clinging to the right line. So of course he’d end up latching onto one of the Ten Thrones.

And apparently, he wasn’t the only opportunist.

“Our king──!”

God, my ears.

Regardless of Yerim’s thoughts, grotesque echoes filled the platform. Yerim’s knowledge of Arcana Continent Chronicles barely scratched the surface, but even she could tell from the transformation what was happening.

“They’ve been taken by the demon.”

Even the Players who had been stalwartly guarding the subway exits hadn’t escaped its influence. Weapons discarded, they prostrated themselves on the floor, banging their heads in worship.

And so—

“…Am I supposed to be glad about this or what?”

In the crowded platform, packed with people, Yerim alone remained unaffected. Still crouched in her corner, fiddling with her smartphone. But the signal was dead.

The only thing left to do was watch whatever broadcast was still somehow airing. Yerim forced herself to think clearly.

“AAU must have prepared for a situation like this.”

Disaster broadcasts should still be transmitted even if the telecom networks went down. But another broadcast left her unsettled. Her intuition flared.

“VBC? That’s just a regular broadcasting station.”

Could it be that this so-called Agares was behind it? The thought was proven when the screen displayed an utterly bizarre title.

[Today’s Arcana: Seoul’s King, Agares Edition]

“…No way.”

The moment she saw it, her thoughts connected.

She remembered hearing that phrase before—the “Seoul’s King” plan! The day Hoyeol had, for the first time, introduced his friends… no, the Nam brothers, Nam Cheolmin and Nam Taemin.

Yerim’s brow twitched.

“Seoul’s King—wasn’t that what you were supposed to be?”

Had she just blasphemed their so-called king?

‘Shit, that scared me.’

Zap—everyone’s gazes suddenly shifted to her muttering. Yerim scrambled to move. With everyone else flat on the ground, even the slightest movement drew attention.

“Sorry, Hoyeol. I just… can’t. It’s not in my nature.”

Seoul’s King?

She didn’t know what it really meant or how important it was. But one thing was clear: Agares claiming the throne meant Hoyeol’s plan had hit a snag.

Yerim ground her teeth.

“Agar… whatever your name was. Who the hell do you think you are?”

To interfere with my Hoyeol?

Lee Hoyeol, King of Seoul!

Just imagining it had made her grin, planning how to tease him over it. And now this thing dares to ruin her fun? She wanted to grab Agares by the hair—but no, she wasn’t reckless.

“…No. I have to keep still.”

She couldn’t risk becoming a burden to Hoyeol.

Yerim didn’t know why she alone was unaffected. She chalked it up to pure luck. If she tried something stupid and ended up holding him back—

“That’d disqualify me as your sister, seriously.”

All she could do was hope everything passed quietly. She forced down her temper, curling tighter into her corner. Then—

“…Rebellion!!”

The platform stirred with whispers.

“Rebellion?”

She was quick on the uptake, so she understood immediately.

“…Hoyeol?”

Agares had already declared himself King of Seoul. The only one who could possibly challenge that seat—was Hoyeol.

She just had to wait until it was all over. Keep quiet in her corner—

“Lee Hoyeol must die.”

What?

“In the end, Lee Hoyeol is the true culprit!”
“If only he’s gone, Seoul will be an eternal paradise!!”
“Only Agares is our savior!!”

Her mind knew. This was just Agares’s influence making them babble nonsense. But even knowing, her heart twisted uncomfortably.

The lingering resonance of Grandfell’s magic—the “Memory of Reversal” carved into her without her knowing—stirred faintly.

It triggered a strange déjà vu.

‘At this rate…’

Was this déjà vu?

‘Everyone in Seoul will… hate you forever, Hoyeol.’

Maybe you wouldn’t care, but I couldn’t stand by and watch. Yerim whispered under her breath.

“You really haven’t changed a bit since you were a kid.”

You’re trying to shoulder it all alone again, aren’t you?

…Thud.

Yerim stood.

Was she just recklessly rushing to grab at his ankle? No. She told herself she was calm—more than ever.

“The truth is, Hoyeol…”

If she hadn’t stolen a glance at that black notebook of his, she might still be crouched in that corner. But she had seen it. She had realized what a useless sister she’d been back then, unable to help him at all.

That’s why she couldn’t turn away now.

“Because there’s one thing I have to say.”

As she began pushing through the crowd of Agares’s worshippers, he too noticed her. Yerim finally reached the station exit when she heard it—an ominous sound of impact, mingled with someone’s groan.

“Ughhh…!!”

Hisagi, the adventurer, was desperately resisting Agares’s power. His mind was already seized, but his body still fought back on sheer instinct.

An annoying variable. The command came—remove Yerim.

“Grrrr…!!”

But Agares was no ordinary demon. With the union of his [Word] and [Royal Decree], he had carved into realms far beyond the anomaly. In the end, Hisagi’s body moved, unable to resist.

“Huff, huff…”

He thrust his spear toward Yerim, standing at the station exit.

Hisagi’s thrust was so fast it seemed a beam of light shot forward. Worse, his body had been enhanced beyond its limits by Agares’s influence.

In short—

“You can hear me, can’t you? Hoyeol!!”

Yerim should not have been able to utter even a word.

That was why Agares’s face slowly drained of color. In this land of anomalies—Seoul—only Agares himself realized what had happened. His trembling voice muttered:

“…It stopped?”

Hisagi’s spear hadn’t been blocked or slowed. It had frozen. As had he.

No—everything had.

The drones buzzing through Seoul’s skies, the flapping insects, even the ants crawling along the floor—all were motionless. Everything, except—

“You promised, didn’t you? That you wouldn’t make me worry.”

That one woman.

Agares finally began to piece things together. Lee Hoyeol was a legendary figure even in the adventurers’ world. The only one who could address him so naturally… must be blood.

Which led to a realization.

“…Grandfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo.”

For Grandfell, his own family name had been no more than a curse, a bloodline that condemned him to a demon’s life. And yet—even then, he had treated his blood relatives with utmost formality.

And now he had protected this woman?

That could only mean she was Hoyeol’s blood. And he had regarded her as his own.

Agares finally realized what he had done. He had struck at the reverse scale of both Hoyeol and Grandfell. He needed to decide quickly.

Even if the vessel of water is overturned, one must still choose the best move. As the de facto leader of the Ten Thrones, Agares chose the most demon-like solution.

“I must gamble it all.”

If she was precious to them both, then her death would unleash overwhelming negative emotions from them both.

“The reason they were so hard to face was simple.”

That unshakable composure—

It was why Grandfell and Hoyeol were the demons’ greatest natural enemies.

Which meant now was the time to strike.

“Hear me, my subjects.”

In the frozen time, Agares gave his command. The union of Word and Royal Decree carried a force that even death could not refuse. Even if time itself had halted.

“The King commands.”
“We obey, Agares!”
“Death to your enemies!!”

If his authority could override even time, then it could break this too.

But what Agares failed to notice was this: time itself had begun to slip.

The instant he thought he had judged quickly, Yerim had already said everything she wanted to her one and only brother.

“You idiot. So what if you make me worry?”

Yerim forced a crooked smile.

“You’re the youngest of the Lee family. Why do you feel like you have to carry the world? If it weren’t for you, this world would’ve been destroyed a dozen times already. I may not know much about Arcana Continent Chronicles, but I know that.”

Because Hoyeol wasn’t here in front of her, she said things she never could have otherwise, too embarrassing to voice.

“So…”

Yerim spoke with all her heart.

“Just do what you want, Hoyeol.”

What kind of sister says something so pathetic? Her chest ached, her mouth bitter as she spoke.

“I wanted to give you better advice, honestly. But what do I know? Lately I regret it every day—that I didn’t play Arcana Continent Online with you back then. Maybe if I had, our Lee family would’ve collapsed even sooner, but still…”

What was the monthly subscription fee again?

“Anyway.”

She forced a joke and exhaled softly. Only one thing left to say. Her eyes shone.

“Really, Hoyeol. Do whatever you want.”

And then she smiled.

“Because no matter what you do, this big sister will always be on your side.”

And then—

“How dare you.”

Agares’s time-sense returned.

“!”

Yerim instinctively felt the killing intent bearing down on her.

She had said all she needed, resolved not to hold him back, and had no intention of dying here. Normally, she’d have bolted.

“…?”

But the strange déjà vu welled up again.

More precisely—it was the faint trace of Hoyeol and Grandfell, lingering through countless reversals, whispering to her. She couldn’t know that, of course.

So she only thought vaguely.

“And just one more thing.”

Perhaps thanks to that notebook she’d stolen a look at.

“If you can…”

Suddenly, a name surfaced.

“Make up with Grandfell too.”

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