Chapter 708 – Loss (1)
The target coordinates of the portal.
‘It’s still too difficult.’
For now, I’m on the Arcana continent. Even after retrieving a large portion of my arrangements, crossing two dimensions in one go was still impossible. No—magically speaking in the first place…
I still lack understanding of the Demon World, don’t I? Which means I can’t enter it without passing through Behemoth’s Maw. So by necessity, I had to set foot on the Arcana continent first.
Looking out over the vast Arcana continent for the first time in a while, the remaining objectives came to mind: the Primordial Evil, the dragons who devoured Evil Seeds, and the legacies of previous loops that needed to be cleaned up.
‘But.’
Among them, the one I had to be most wary of was the last of the Ten Thrones—Vassago. Aside from Bael, Vassago was always the one who tormented me until the very end in every loop where we crossed paths.
I murmured,
“Let’s brace ourselves.”
Of course, I didn’t have time to go after Vassago immediately.
‘Not like I need to, anyway.’
The hardline faction of the Holy War Alliance.
I needed to join them, now that they had entered the Demon World. Grandfell was overseeing the place, so it didn’t seem like anything disastrous would happen to them… but for some reason, it bothered me.
‘It’s my responsibility, after all.’
The Great Collapse of the Demon World. It was I who sealed it with reversal magic. But as obvious as it is, even for me it’s impossible to grasp every world the Demon World had swallowed.
‘Thinking back to the time of the backlash—’
Even with full preparation starting from the Quernberg Fortress, it wasn’t something we could easily stop. Even if many of the big names of the Arcana continent had joined the Holy War Alliance, I couldn’t say they were entirely safe.
Suddenly, I found myself muttering,
“Am I… worrying about them?”
Them, of all people.
‘Don’t be ridiculous, Lee Hoyeol.’
Repeated loops. Emotions worn down by unspeakable deeds. Because of that, I couldn’t admit to myself what I was feeling now.
It was disgusting.
“…Ugh.”
I forced down the rising nausea.
Self-loathing.
What I felt was nothing more, nothing less. Not an impulsive emotion pulling me into reckless action—
‘Just responsibility. That’s all.’
KANG—KANG!
Near Behemoth’s Maw.
From afar came the unceasing clanging of something being hammered. There was no way I wouldn’t recognize that sound. Soon, cutting through the noise, a booming voice rang out:
“You call that forging, eh?!”
“S-sorry, sir!”
“This is why I said I’d never teach humans. What can you even do with those long, skinny fingers? Grab the hammer properly! Like this!”
Wallswail.
Among dwarves known for dexterity, he was called the greatest. I hid my presence and approached. Perhaps I should be grateful that it was daytime, when Grandfell’s Evil Eyes wouldn’t surge forth.
‘If you’d seen this, you’d have lectured me again.’
Shameless—no, that unconcealed attitude was exactly what you always emphasized. But I didn’t have the courage to face him. Between the clashing steel, hallucinations pressed into my ears.
-“Take it and get out.”
I saw a vision of Wallswail throwing equipment at me.
-“I will never again hold a hammer.”
I opened my eyes before I realized I’d shut them. I didn’t want to see it again—the sight of Wallswail smashing his own fingers with his hammer.
But.
‘What scared me even more—’
Was that I didn’t remember the details clearly.
Such a shocking scene—
One should at least remember the cause and effect. Yet aside from Wallswail’s hateful words, nothing came back to me.
That terrified me.
What on earth had the Hoyeol of the previous loop done and gone through, that even a horrific memory like that was just one of many?
Intermediate Illusion Magic: Afterimage of Sunlight.
A spell that could only manifest under strong sunlight, hiding the caster’s form in the glare. Thanks to it, I approached Behemoth’s Maw without drawing attention.
Wallswail’s furious shouting continued:
“And you there! Is this sightseeing? You’re disrupting the work. If you’re not here to learn proper technique or at least help with grunt work, get lost before I smash your skull in!”
They were busy preparing for a potential resurgence of the Demon World.
‘It was the final order I issued as Supreme Commander.’
They had previously only built fortresses, but now they were connecting those fortresses into a full city. Judging by the scale, it looked like it could rival Frost.
‘Everyone’s doing their part.’
The players too.
“I came to record footage, and what is this?!”
“What choice do we have? If we don’t work, we get kicked out!”
“I mean, we’re players—manual labor is a bit—”
“Hey, you! Why aren’t you carrying that molten metal?!”
“Hiieek, sorryyy!”
The hardline faction of the Holy War Alliance entering the Demon World—
Reality had been abuzz with the news. After the Seoul Tyrant Operation ended. And now that they hated Grandfell instead of me.
The headlines were still vivid in my memory:
—The final enemy resides in the Demon World? Did the Holy War Alliance know all along?
—Source of All Evil—what is its true identity?
—AAU claims: “High likelihood the Demon World is already his domain…”
With real-world threats gone,
Naturally, interest soared regarding the hardline Holy War Alliance, who had entered the Demon World where Grandfell resided. Most of the players here were probably following their tracks.
‘Not that they can enter the Demon World on their own.’
They must’ve been caught while trying to wait near Behemoth’s Maw.
I simply watched them blankly.
Right—nothing had changed.
Reality and the Arcana continent were still being swept along by great currents, just as always.
‘Yes. The only one who changed… is me.’
Only I know the truth.
So I had no intention of indulging in sentimentality any longer.
I stepped into Behemoth’s Maw.
A massive hole, unimaginable as something that once belonged to a living creature. So I expected nothing to happen.
“…?”
Rumble—RUMBLE—
The half-dead Behemoth began convulsing. Naturally, I had not fully reversed Behemoth.
‘Reversal of life—I haven’t retrieved enough arrangements for that level yet.’
Maybe once I recovered every arrangement left by the previous-loop Hoyeol—but reviving a being requiring Behemoth-level comprehension was impossible.
Thus, Behemoth was only half-restored.
In simple terms—braindead.
So its body shouldn’t be able to move.
“What was that? Did the ground just shake?”
“Everyone prepare for battle!”
“B-battle?! Lord Wallswail, what do you—”
“Behemoth’s Maw is convulsing!”
“!”
It happened the moment I stepped inside.
RUMBLE—RUMBLE—RUMBLE!
Behemoth’s muscles thrashed violently. As if something that should never enter had stepped inside.
Perhaps Behemoth, being the Demon World itself, remembered something—
‘Maybe you’re recalling something like Bael did.’
More precisely, recalling a fragment of the “me” from the previous loop. Then its reaction made sense. So I whispered quietly:
“Do not fear.”
This time, things would be different.
“You may trust me.”
I can promise you that.
“Uwaaaah!”
“This is the worst death ever!”
“Who told me livestreaming would be easy?!”
Even the panicked players under Wallswail’s command gradually calmed. Behemoth recognized my presence—and understood my words.
Wallswail sensed something.
“Wait—everyone quiet!”
“You’re the loudest one here…”
“Didn’t you hear me say QUIET?!”
“…Yes sir!”
Just like that, Behemoth regained composure.
Thanks to that, I entered the Demon World without further disturbance.
And there, I came face to face with—
“I have been waiting.”
If it were Grandfell… I might have confronted him. That would’ve been nice. The long, ornate clothing was similar, but everything else about him was too different.
“Do you remember me?”
The man lowered his hood.
I could never forget that face.
Back when Arcana was just a game.
The face I cursed every day.
I opened my mouth.
“Axenheights.”
The man’s name was Axenheights.
“Well, I’m flattered you remember my name.”
He was the leader of Akshan.
*
*
read only on pindang
*
*
One, two.
“What the heck.”
After everyone escaped the curse, Leonie—who had been staring holes into something—muttered under her breath. One, two, three, four…
Something was off.
“What are you counting so hard for?”
Unable to restrain his curiosity, Nam Taemin asked. Leonie replied:
“Shut it. I’m already getting confused.”
“Come on, try using your brain for once.”
“Say one more stupid thing and you’re dead. What is it?”
Nam Taemin tried to argue logically for once.
“Look, the Great Alliance is split in half right now. We don’t have the head, the brain. I hate to admit it, but Hisagi jerk has a better head than we do, right?”
“That snake bastard is smarter than me? Are you crazy? Or were you stuck to him all day every day and finally caught feelings or something?”
“No, what I’m saying is—we can’t ignore stats.”
Caught feelings for Hisagi?
My brows furrowed sharply at that. Nam Taemin quickly added:
“With Hisagi—whose Intelligence stat spins his brain a little faster than ours—and with Cheolmin hyung gone, no matter how much we hate it, you and I have to put our heads together.”
A Barbarian–Berserker alliance.
If it were about brute strength, maybe. But brainwork? They were hopeless—and unfortunately, the two of them didn’t realize that. Being the ones involved and all.
Leonie spoke reluctantly.
“…I was counting heads.”
“Heads? You mean the Holy War Alliance?”
“Are you insane? How would I know that?”
Her hand swept toward Akshan.
“Do you remember? How many of them were there?”
Nam Taemin tried to recall.
“One, two… I don’t remember exactly either.”
Of course they didn’t.
Just looking at those shameless bastards made their stomachs turn, so both had avoided looking too long. But he knew why Leonie had been counting their numbers.
Nam Taemin’s eyebrow twitched.
“It does feel like someone’s missing.”
A sudden voice cut in:
“Maybe someone didn’t escape the curse!”
“What the—who’s this now?”
“Hello, I’m Park Hwigang.”
“Cockroach… what?”
“Why would you call a person a cockroach? Hello, Hwigang-ssi!”
Nam Taemin actually had some connection to Park Hwigang. Not personally—from what I heard, Cheolmin hyung’s analysis had relied quite a bit on the recordings that Hwigang provided.
“I’ve heard a lot about you from hyung.”
“Really? I’ve always been cheering for you too.”
“Just a fellow Homen.”
“Homen.”
…Are they both actually insane?
“With the snake gone, now we’ve got a monkey? What the hell.”
Leonie turned away and mulled over Hwigang’s words. Didn’t escape the curse?
Not ordinary people—Akshan, who were demons’ natural enemies. Could something like that even happen?
‘I can never tell what those guys are thinking. It’s unsettling.’
Leonie muttered:
“What if they ran off for some other purpose?”
.
.
.
Suddenly, my vision flickered.
[Class Quest: Successor of Akshan]
O final demon hunter—
You have already proven your qualification.
Please inherit Akshan’s will.
—Devote yourself to Akshan. (Success)
—Trace Akshan’s true intentions. (Success)
The class quest window—
The only thing that remained intact in the broken system.
Why had it stayed intact?
I soon understood the reason.
“There is something I must pass on to you.”
Axenheights, the former leader of Akshan, looked straight at me.
“Before that, I must ask. This meeting between you and me will be the first and the last.”
He asked:
“Are you truly prepared?”
A new quest objective appeared.
“What I’m asking is—are you prepared to bring an end to this repetition?”
—Hunt Grandfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo. (Optional)