Chapter 705 – What Comes to Light (1)

Akshan.
Their incomprehensible way of speaking remained unchanged.
And yet—perhaps, as Chief Lee once said, I’m beginning to grow used to it.

Bellier bit her lower lip.

‘Yes… The dragons are mistaken.’

Only a demon hunter can kill a demon.
And if a demon isn’t slain by a demon hunter, it’s been proven—they can always return.
That is precisely why demons fear only one kind of being: the demon hunters.

The Kings of All Things seemed to understand the meaning behind those words.

“So all this slaughter… was for that?”

For a demon’s resurrection, a sacrifice is required.
Eunaxus must have assumed it—Chief Lee had offered the Arcana Continent as a sacrifice, to bring back Claudi.

“There is not a shred of pride in that.”

That word—pride—made the Holy War Alliance stir.

“Did he just say pride?”
“Even at this point, they still speak of pride…”
“Then this must be after the Supreme Commander meeting.”

‘This is bad.’
Bellier’s thoughts raced.
She was the only one certain that the black-haired boy was Chief Lee.
Even then, it was only because she had assumed that Chief Lee might still hold the miracle of resurrection.

‘It might not be good for everyone to know.’

Possession. Demon. Sacrifice.

‘If they realize… it will only cause chaos.’

They couldn’t even tell whether the visions shown by this curse were truth or illusion.
But Bellier still had faith—at least she was ready to believe that whatever choice Chief Lee made, it would be the right one.

‘But others… might not.’

So Bellier spoke up.

“Or perhaps… he’s simply fallen into corruption—an Evil Dragon.”
“An Evil Dragon, Lady Bellier?”
“Wait, that actually makes sense, doesn’t it? Even in reality, some dragons swallowed evil seed and vanished from sight. Maybe here, too, the seeds of that evil are sprouting—and they’re just raving nonsense. How would we know?”

To lie…
A lie that obvious, at that.
It was the byproduct of living too truthfully, under the strict discipline of the Magic Tower’s rules.
And only too late did Bellier realize—Akshan’s demon hunters could see evil.

‘They’ll see through it immediately.’

Those dragons weren’t corrupted.
The true demon to be wary of… was that boy—what resided within Chief Lee.

If she told the truth—

‘How could I possibly take responsibility?’

Her clenched fist was damp with cold sweat.
As she tried to hide her unease and glance toward Akshan, one of the masked demon hunters stirred.

“You still do not understand.”

…Still don’t understand?

‘He must know my words were lies.’

Bellier had believed herself different from the others—that she saw more clearly.
But the demon hunter turned his entire body to face her directly.

“Who do you think it is?”

Their speech was always roundabout; it was no wonder Leonie snapped.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake—again with the riddles! You people are pushing it. Just because you’ve already died once doesn’t mean you can talk like that! You think I’m afraid to die again?!”

A Berserker.
A class that walked the razor’s edge between life and death.
Perhaps that was why Nam Taemin didn’t even try to stop her.

“So, who do you ‘great’ people think that kid is, huh?”

Even then, Akshan remained unfazed.

“Who do you think brought us into this curse?”
“That’s not the question here—!”
“Who. And why.”

The demon hunter didn’t look at Leonie—his eyes were still fixed on Bellier.

‘Why show us… this version of Chief Lee?’

Yes.
He was asking her.
And realizing that, Bellier was struck by confusion.
The question wasn’t hard to answer.

One of the players spoke first:

“The Source of All Evil. The one who bears the silver evil eyes, right?”

Bellier nodded inwardly.

‘Yes… Claudi.’

But that only deepened the mystery.
A demon has nothing to gain from revealing its own existence—
especially a truth that would harm both itself and Chief Lee.

‘So why?’

If this was part of understanding its meaning—

“Maybe… this is only our first step.”

At that, the demon hunter turned away without hesitation.

“Then perhaps there is at least one who begins to understand.”

And with that, he added a single line:

“Will you simply stand and watch, Holy War Alliance?”
“……?”
“If you wish to escape this curse—then do something.”

Akshan’s tongue, after all, had a knack for summoning disaster.
They had noticed—the gleam in the dragons’ eyes, the Dragon Eyes that perceived all.
Through the curse, they had sensed the Holy War Alliance, distorting space and time to break in.

Shahin smiled faintly.

“Didn’t think it’d end quietly anyway.”
“Sure, but they’re not all coming straight for us, right?”
“We’ll see. Let’s live long enough to find out who they even are.”

The Holy War Alliance’s sudden arrival made Eunaxus’s expression harden.

“When did you… plant such a trick, you?”

He wasn’t speaking to Hoyol.
That rage was directed toward Grandfell, who had sown such a contingency into the depths of darkness.

“Why would you try to overturn a past already decided!”

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read only on pindangscans

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“……!”
Normally, I wouldn’t have noticed. But I guess losing the cow really did help me fix the barn—vowing never to be fooled by Grandfell again turned out to be useful.

‘Something’s changed.’

I could sense a shift in my consciousness. I couldn’t tell exactly what it was, but I could make a guess.

‘Grandfell can’t interfere directly with my mind.’

You know, I’ve grown a little wiser too. No matter how great you are, if we’re not facing each other directly, your influence on me is limited. What happened in Seoul is proof of that.

‘At the very least, I still remember the truth.’

Then the answer is simple.

‘If you didn’t influence me in this timeline…’

Maybe you affected the past me instead. Since we’ve already discovered that altering the past can change reality, the possibility becomes clear.

‘A top-tier spacetime quest? Or a curse? If not, then…’

However—

“I don’t know.”

That was the problem. I couldn’t be sure of anything.

My mind churned with thoughts. Confusion layered upon confusion, and I couldn’t tell if my reasoning followed Grandfell’s design or my own will.

“But whatever it is,”

I didn’t want to regret anymore. Whether it was your will or mine—I just wanted to make a choice without regret.

‘Because right now, I’m drowning in it.’

I stared blankly—
at the teacup in front of me. More precisely, at the damp green tea bag that had been soaking too long. A wish, huh? I shouldn’t have made such a promise in the first place.

“Let’s go.”

But knowing I couldn’t turn back, I shrugged and brushed off my hesitation. At this moment, I would choose the path I’d regret the least.

And naturally, my destination was the Demon World.

The Holy War Alliance had split between hardliners and moderates. I was heading to meet the hardliners. Of course, they didn’t possess the power to oppose Grandfell.

Even with the Dune Clan joining them, even with senior mages from the Magic Tower supporting them—the outcome would not change. Grandfell, who had devoured the Demon World, was beyond even my estimation.

-“Mr. Hoyeol, are you free today?”
-“Chief, you can’t just ban me from leaving the Magic Tower!”
-“Any story is fine. Please… just talk to me.”

Nam Taemin. Bensch Williams. Bellier Yusia.

Not just them—but every face that had stepped into the Demon World flickered through my mind.

Anyone hearing this would call it hypocrisy.
And honestly, I wouldn’t be able to deny it.

‘I think so too.’

In faint memories of previous iterations, I had betrayed them, hurt them, and done worse. For someone like that to feel something like this?

Even I found it detestable. Maybe back when I knew nothing, it would’ve made sense—but not now.

More than that, I was aware.

The clearer my memories of past loops became, the duller my emotions grew. And because of that, I couldn’t be sure—

Whether what I felt now was the faint sympathy left in Lee Hoyeol…
or the arrangement of you, Grandfell.

Either way, I needed to face that answer.

Ttogak.

I opened a portal.

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A rain of breath.

“What happens if we get hit by that, Senior Vangrit?”

A barrier formed from pure mana, overlaid by the twilight’s power. Vangrit exhaled deeply before answering.

“You’ll be flung outside the curse.”
“Not burned alive by the breath? Then that’s a relief—!”
“But depending on the case, death might be preferable.”
“Eh? Why?!”
“Because you never know what price you’ll have to pay.”

A curse—simply put, it was like an exorcism ritual manifested by demons. Records of curses existed for that very reason.

If dying inside one truly meant death, nothing would’ve been left behind.

Leonie curled her lips into a smirk.

“So keep your heads straight, everyone. If that ‘price’ turns out to be corruption into a demon, those hot-headed ones will be the first to come for you.”

Who would’ve thought Akshan’s positive side would come out here.

“Yeah, no thanks, sis. I’d rather die.”

Just imagining being hunted down by Akshan’s smug demon hunters was enough to snap anyone back to focus. Nam Taemin was no exception. He wondered—
what would Cheolmin have said in this situation?

Before surrendering himself to [Wild Instincts], he thought carefully.

‘Even if it’s a curse, there must be a clear condition to lift it.’

Was it simply defeating the dragons?

‘No… that doesn’t fit.’

As Akshan said, this curse had a purpose—to understand Mr. Hoyeol. Then…

Nam Taemin recalled everything that had happened so far.

‘If it’s the Hoyeol I know, he’ll appear to save that boy.’

If that’s the case, then their objective might not be so different—
to buy time until Hoyeol arrives.

At that exact moment, he reached his conclusion.

“But he won’t let things go as we wish.”

A suffocating Dragon Fear shook the air once again.

Was that really the once-gentle Eunaxus, who even as a corrupted dragon had unconsciously held back his strength?

Shahin warned sharply.

“Seems he’s not interested in playing with us.”

The Elder Dragon’s words resonated. All dragon eyes turned toward the boy.

Nam Taemin understood. The more one knows, the more one sees. Even if he couldn’t see it himself, the dragons must’ve had good reason to be wary of that boy.

But then—why?

‘Why do I feel this way?’

He couldn’t just stand and watch. He had to protect that boy.

And then, decisively—

“Damn it.”

Nam Cheolmin wasn’t there to hold him back.

Nam Taemin surrendered to his wild instincts and charged forward.

As the distance closed, his vision brightened, his courage swelled—

and because he took that step—

‘…Wait.’

He recognized it.

Black hair.

Grandfell’s projection—no, in Grandfell’s eyes, it looked the same as it did now.

“Mr… H-Hoyeol?”

The image of Hoyeol from that time.