Chapter 696 – Game of Thrones (2)

Exorcist.
The unique skill of a Demon Hunter, [Exorcism], transformed.
Until now, I had only thought of it as a skill that allowed me to seize control within an exorcism ritual more easily.

But—

People really do need to learn from the past.

From the memories accumulated by the Hoyeols of previous cycles, I had witnessed the true nature of Exorcist. Thanks to that, I was able to put this plan into action. I looked upon Seoul.

A desolate sight.

The city had already suffered irreparable damage from Agares’s appearance. Yet all of it was nothing more than what unfolded within Exorcist. A false image conjured by Agares’s will.

And within a ritual, time is always distorted. Hours—or even hundreds of days—might pass within, while in reality not even a few seconds might slip by. Yes, Exorcist was truly the secret art of the [Demon Hunter].

I swallowed a bitter smile.

So very typical of my senior of Akshan.

In short, Exorcist was a skill imbued with Akshan’s lingering resolve.
Even if control were seized and the Demon Hunter defeated, as long as the demon failed to realize it was all an illusion, it would remain trapped within Exorcist, sealed for eternity.

“You are arrogant, Lee Hoyeol.”

But I told Agares the truth. The meaning was simple. I had no intention of losing.

“To dare profane a king.”

The king of Seoul, is it?

Let’s see—from the Yusra Kingdom, to the Magic Tower, to the Empire.

If there was one thing I learned while activating [Authority] here and there, it was this: whatever I wished to wield, I could wield. That was the fraudulent system known as [Authority].

Though I barely used it, for the sake of my integrity.

Take the Magic Tower, for example.
Through Authority, I could freely command the Senior Mages. Not just one or two—every last one of them. Anyone with even a little knowledge of Arcana’s Chronicle would be horrified by what that implied.

With Authority alone, one could influence the entire continent.

In that sense, the Authority of Seoul, this land of anomalies?
Even if Agares hadn’t wholly consumed Seoul, by activating it he could wield power far greater than any other Authority. And with the added boon of incantation’s power—

“For Lord Agares!”
“Kill the adversary, Lee Hoyeol!!”
“Protect Seoul!”

As you can see, I had effectively turned the entire city into my enemy. And that was precisely why I had willingly yielded control to Agares within Exorcist.

This satisfies the condition for Tyrant.

All that remained was to hunt Agares.
Of course, not the ordinary Agares. As I’ve said again and again—this is a battlefield of ritual, where control dictates all.

Here, Agares is stronger than ever before.

Put simply: high risk, high return.
I hadn’t reclaimed every contingency from past iterations either. To think I could overwhelm the Agares who had devoured Seoul? I never believed that from the start.

This was a gamble I should never have chosen.

So then, one might ask: why would Lee Hoyeol, not even Grandfell, make such a choice?
How should I answer that?

…Well, perhaps because it’s the last time?

I swallowed those words, retracing my memories.
Even after being caught within Exorcist, one person still managed to speak to me. My troublesome youngest sister—Lee Yerim.

I’m sorry, Yerim.

-“At least try to make up with Grandfell.”

That promise… it seems I won’t be able to keep it.

.

.

.

“Then you’re saying all of this is fake?!”

Park Minjae.
His flimsy common sense about the Arcana Continent’s lore was crumbling apart. He was always considered one of the most insignificant demon hunters out there. Why, shall we compare him to other classes?

“People often call players chosen for a hidden class the ‘chosen ones’… but hidden classes are nothing more than shortcuts. In the end, when you reach the final destination, depending on perspective, even a normal class can surpass a hidden one.”
“You mean our Taemin, right?”
“Yes, exactly. But the demon hunter is…!”

It was a class with no such thing as a final destination. How could it be otherwise? Demon hunter was already an obsolete class back when Arcana was still just a game.

“Among the normal classes, the only one with zero active players was the demon hunter. Of course, the destruction of Akshan had its effect, but even before that, all players who had chosen demon hunter had stopped logging in for long stretches.”

Nam Cheolmin nodded and picked up the thread.

“It’s hard to believe, right? I feel the same. But Arcana was never just an ordinary game. If not your life, then your very existence was at stake.”
“!”
“Most of all… I experienced it firsthand.”
“Experienced it? What do you mean by that?”

Possession by an imp had given him more than a few advantages. Nam Cheolmin simply smiled in response to Park Minjae’s question. Explaining it in words would never convey it—the sensation of stepping into an exorcism ritual. But Nam Cheolmin was under no illusion.

“To be precise, it’s not all fake.”
“Then what?”
“Even when the ritual ends, the aftermath will remain in reality. Only one between Mr. Hoyeol and Agares will be able to return alive.”

Nam Cheolmin activated a timer on his smartwatch.

“Think of it this way: everything that happens from here on will accumulate, and at the moment the ritual ends, it will all be imposed at once. In any case, this fight won’t be easy.”

Whether intentional or not, the initiative of the ritual had already fallen completely into Agares’s hands. The evidence of that was the authority over Seoul, the Land of anomalies.

Rumble!

The deafening sound made Park Min-jae gasp.

“Th-the Magic Tower is collapsing!!”

The tower’s presence loomed over even the distant city center. Just as Park Minjae said, it was crumbling from the top down. Agares explained in his stead.

“Even if this is merely a ritual—are not those who could aid you also within the ritual? Then I shall remove every variable, by any means necessary.”

Exactly so.
Had this been reality, even if Seoul’s authority were invoked, the Magic Tower could never be brought down. But this was Seoul inside a ritual claimed by Agares. Here, as long as his control permitted, Agares was omnipotent. Park Minjae, half-grasping the situation, stammered out:

“So the collapse of the Magic Tower isn’t real either, right? But then, how could anyone hope to defeat such a ridiculous being? Not even the General Manager himself could possibly…”

And then—

“H-huh?”

Across from Agares.
Hoyeol had finally begun to engage in earnest. It was a momentum they had never seen before. Nam Cheolmin, sharp-eyed as always, noticed the difference.

‘So you’re serious at last, Mr. Hoyeol!’

He couldn’t help but feel a thrill.
When it came to passion for Arcana’s lore, Nam Cheolmin would yield to no one. His greatest lingering question had always been about Hoyeol’s power—a force unmatched, unrivaled, truly singular.

At last, words spilled from Hoyeol’s mouth.

『Stir, O Legend.』

A chant!
Since the Magic Tower had opened, Nam Cheolmin had passionately studied magic. The difference between spellcasting with and without a chant was said to be like heaven and earth.

‘This is the first time I’ve seen Mr. Hoyeol chant a spell.’

And what’s more—this was no ordinary spell. Magic and legend, two entirely different concepts, fused into one anomaly.

Whoooosh—
Suddenly, a shadow loomed across the sky. The bloody heavens conjured by Agares were being steadily blotted out, until at last Seoul’s skies were entirely covered. Nam Cheolmin recognized it instantly.

“Th-the Dark Dragon!”

Because this was a ritual, Agares’s authority was magnified. By that same rule, because this was a ritual, Hoyeol could wield power beyond the ordinary as well.

Flap—
The Dark Dragon’s colossal wings beat, flinging back demons and players charging at Hoyeol. And that was only the beginning.

Fwoooosh.

From its massive maw poured forth a torrent of breath. Even with limited magical knowledge, anyone could tell this was no ordinary Dragon’s Breath.

“Do you see it, Manager Park?”
“Yes, I do. Seoul is burning to ashes…”
“No. Look more closely.”
“?”

Park Minjae’s eyes widened—and then froze.

‘Wait, there are people unharmed inside that furious breath?!’

Nam Cheolmin muttered under his breath.

“Perhaps my worries were unfounded after all.”

The Legend System.
It was a domain Nam Cheolmin did not yet understand. Of all players, only Hoyeol had carved out a legend so great that it could manifest in reality.

And who could deny how widely his legend had spread? Reality, the Arcana Continent, even the Demon World—Hoyeol’s legend had resounded everywhere.

Moreover—

『Who Do You Take Me For, Agares?』

The legend he had written was not only the Dark Dragon.

Ttogak.

Perhaps it was possible only because this was a ritual. Each step Hoyeol took into the empty air resounded across Seoul. With every step, the legends he had built took shape.

One legend coiled around his body like a sacred armament—

『I Am The One Who Blasphemes Even The Gods.』

Another flanked him like a guardian beast—

『To Some, I Am a Natural Enemy.』

Another sprouted as wings upon his back—

『To Some, I Am a Hero.』

And at last—

『To Some, I Am Terror Itself.』

They assembled into a legion.

“!”

Not even Agares could afford nonchalance before such a force. The meaning was clear: the initiative of the ritual was shifting away from him.

‘It can be done.’

Why Mr. Hoyeol had delayed his arrival—Nam Cheolmin could not guess. But it didn’t matter. No matter how strong Agares had become, if Hoyeol could bring him down—

‘The outcome won’t change.’

Nam Cheolmin quietly nodded. But just then, as though striking at his very thoughts, Agares spoke.

“Yes. You have become my fear, Lee Hoyeol.”

To think that even a Grand Duke would confess his terror—this was indeed Hoyeol. Nam Cheolmin’s admiration didn’t last long. For Agares bared his malice.

“And so it must be. My people, too, fear you.”
“……!!”

All of Seoul… feared Mr. Hoyeol?

Nam Cheolmin hurriedly checked the monitors. It wasn’t a lie. Ordinary citizens, players alike—not one welcomed Hoyeol’s counterattack. Instead, they trembled in abject terror.

And then—

‘Negative emotions…!’

Those negative emotions would only fuel Agares. But that wasn’t what horrified Nam Cheolmin most. He still had his faith.

‘No matter what, Mr. Hoyeol will not lose.’

If Hoyeol prevailed against Agares here, then all that transpired in this ritual would be seared into everyone involved. Agares’s smile twisted, brimming with malice.

“How long can a mere human endure within endless hatred?”

Nam Cheolmin ground his teeth.

“That filthy bastard…!”

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Click.

“As expected.”

As he set down his teacup, a distant memory blurred.

-“……Come to me as many times as you like.”

Grandfell spoke.

“Villainy does not suit you.”

And at that very moment—in reality, within Seoul, the Land of Anomalies—silver eyes opened in the sky.