◈ Episode 221. It’s a Dark History

The Claudi family.

It is a series of unbelievable stories.

But if we admit it to be true…….

‘makes sense.’

It could explain all the events currently unfolding on the Arcana continent.

There was no need to go far. Hadn’t you seen it yourself? A swarm of dragons, legendary beings, swooping through the sky.

The Sunrise Warrior spoke up.

” ……It must be true, right?”

A cold reply came back.

“Insulting. Do I look like the kind of person who would add to the lies by invoking that name? There is a degree of understanding ignorance, warrior of the east.”

“I didn’t mean it that way, I just meant…….”

Silence settled over the social hall.

‘The calm before the storm.’

The Warrior looked around.

It had never been this empty before.

Even for myself.

I stayed at the social hall for quite a long time to answer my questions about Claudi. Then, I barely encountered the transcendent person in front of me.

‘No wonder.’

If the history surrounding Claudi is all true.

No wonder the Transcendents are in such a hurry.

But at the same time, I had a question.

“……May I ask you one last question?”

“You’re more interested than you look. Okay, let’s hear it.”

“How did such a great family disappear?”

The Transcendent muttered in a low voice.

“Truly, it is a question that can only be asked in ignorance.”

He continued in a serious voice.

“Even I cannot answer that question. I have neither the qualifications nor the courage to speak for that day. But I can give you one piece of advice.”

A piece of advice.

“Forget the question you just asked right now.”

” …… Forget it, why?”

“Because that curiosity could hasten your fate.”

My curiosity will hasten my fate.

Isn’t this a curse disguised as advice?

The warrior was momentarily offended.

But soon, eerie words were heard.

“You must have thought it was a curse, didn’t you?”

“……!”

Indeed, the Transcendent.

Seeing through my inner thoughts.

I was caught off guard.

But the Sunrise Warrior was mistaken.

The Transcendent truly pitied the warrior’s ignorance.

So he added

“If there is a concept of curse in the East, if that’s what you’re thinking. If you’re wary of curses, you’re also aware of their dangers, which is why I want to draw your attention to them.”

The Warrior swallowed dryly.

How can I not know the curse?

Curse or black magic.

It was an extremely strange force.

‘It was a terrible experience.’

Sunrise Warrior remembered being cursed himself, robbed of his voice for several days, so he had no trouble understanding the Transcendent’s next words.

“It is an unfathomable debt I owe to Claudi.”

“……?”

“To the extent that a mere glimpse of it will leave you with an unbearable curse. A dark history that no one in Arcana would want to hear about.”

Indeed.

That was why all the powerful men on the Arcana continent had gone on the rampage.

And now Claudi was back in Arcana.

Claudi, on the day when you reveal that dark history yourself…….

“No one would dare to raise their head in front of him.”

“……!!!”

*

The Seven Deadly Sins, Gluttony.

The name of the Seven Deadly Sins has long since become irrelevant.

The Seven Deadly Sins were now down to just five, including himself, and while Greed had been sent to hell, Envy’s whereabouts were a mystery.

Walking around with one arm cut off wasn’t enough.

Now it’s disappeared from the continent altogether.

Gluttony gritted his teeth.

“You’re too stupid to be helpful.”

“……?”

The lively muttering drew the attention of everyone in the tavern.

The Arcana continent had become a wasteland.

It went without saying that a tavern operating on such a continent would be of a high standard.

Rattle─

Creak─

Dull dull dull.

From the smell of the shoddy tables to the horrible cheap liquor.

The food is so tough you’d swear it was made of leather and seasoned.

And the customers, too.

“Damn the liquor.”

“Well, did your colleague fall somewhere? Hahaha.”

“Hey, shut up, asshole, don’t make me feel bad.”

Bloodied swords and armor.

The devastated eyes tell what kind of life they have lived.

That’s what it meant to survive on the forsaken Arcana continent.

Of course, there was no sound from the Gluttony

‘……It can never happen.’

That was decades ago.

If they could have come back, they would have come back long ago.

It must have been a misunderstanding, a rant.

Gluttony racked his brain.

Then he spat out a laugh.

“You expect me to believe that bullshit?”

Evil, born of evil, itself.

Naturally, I don’t trust anyone’s word.

But the reason I cared so much was simple.

Likewise.

I thought it was bullshit, and then it hit me in the back of the head.

Akshan’s resurrection.

A rumor I dismissed as bullshit.

But the last survivor of Akshan.

When Gluttony heard that Gamigin had been sent to hell, he realized.

There are no absolutes in this world.

Gluttony muttered.

“……If they’re back, who’s back?”

Then it happened.

A bang!

The table flipped over with the sound.

“Can’t you fucking hear me?!”

“?”

“Get the fuck out of here, asshole! I’ve been mumbling something since you walked in the door. Are you possessed by the demon or something, huh?”

Broken bowls.

Gluttony looked at the food on the floor.

It was bad food, but it was definitely his meal.

He shifted his gaze to the man.

“What if it wasn’t him?”

“What are you talking about, you crazy bastard?”

“I’m asking what you would do if I were the demon.”

“……!!!”

Sereung─

There is a thing called feeling.

“As expected, it was a demon bastard!”

No matter what kind of life they’d led, these were men who had crossed the line between life and death countless times. The man realized immediately that Gluttony wasn’t kidding.

The man held the dagger to Gluttony’s throat and snarled.

“There was a reason why the taste of alcohol disappeared. You damn bastard.”

Soon, a group of men surrounded Gluttony.

There were at least twenty of them.

But Gluttony didn’t flinch.

He just muttered.

“I don’t want to fill my stomach with this.”

And it was over.

Wagzak.

Mmmm.

Woosh.

The sound of crushing, breaking, and chewing.

“Ugh…….”

The tavern’s owner cringed and shuddered.

It happened so fast he didn’t even have time to stop the fight.

The men were sucked into the palm of Gluttony.

Wad-dum-dum.

And a terrible noise filled the tavern.

A customer’s call was heard.

It was Gluttony.

“Boss.”

“……!”

“I’m sorry, sir, but a glass of water, please.”

There was no strength to resist anyway.

He swallowed his fear and handed over the glass of water.

Gluttony seemed to be no big deal.

“Here, I’m sorry for the disturbance.”

“……Not at all.”

“You’re upset, and you shouldn’t be.”

“I’m sorry. I’ll try to be quiet.”

“Oh, will you, thank you.”

In a place like this, a fight is not a big deal.

Normally, he would have cleaned up the mess and gotten the money for the repairs, but he was frozen in place.

He had a demon in front of him.

The demon who swallowed twenty men.

“Whether the rumors are true or false, we need to find a solution that works.”

Gluttony didn’t care about the man’s fear.

Even now, after devouring twenty humans.

His head was still full of thoughts of Claudi.

The tavern fell silent.

The only sound was the owner’s heartbeat, pounding with fear.

Somehow, an idea popped into my head.

“I just had to go out there and check it out.”

Okay.

I’ll bait the hook.

A bait that Claudi would have to bite.

And I had the perfect bait.

Yes, demons who don’t know fractions.

Demon Kings.

A mongrel born of the demonic world.

Funny guys who call themselves the kings of evil.

Except for the 10 Demon King who originally existed like Gamigin, they were all like scum.

Ah, now that Gamigin has fallen to hell. There are only nine genuine demons left.

“If this is done well, it might be a suitable dinner show in many ways?”

All right, let’s not dwell on it.

Dragons, Elves, and Transcendents.

Didn’t everyone there hear the news about Claudi?

Before they could make a move one way or another, I needed to make a move first.

“Let me calculate.”

“……It’s okay.”

“Is this really okay?”

“I really don’t want to take it.”

“Okay?”

As if searching his pockets.

Gluttony searched the inside of his open palm.

Even if it was gold or silver, he couldn’t accept something from such a place.

Suddenly, he stood up and turned around.

‘…… Goddess.’

From the nameless demon.

Thank you for taking care of me.

It was a time when the man was looking for a God he did not even believe in.

Suddenly, Gluttony approached the man.

“By the way.”

“?!”

“I don’t know about alcohol, but I think you should stop selling food.”

He looked at the food on the floor and chuckled.

“You’d better thank the man in my stomach, because if I had that kind of food in my mouth, I’d have devoured you first. For the crime of serving something less than human.”

A wicked grin.

A rattle.

The man’s legs shook.

“Haha, just kidding, just kidding. Suck it up, boss.”

It wasn’t until Gluttony was completely out of the tavern that he realized.

This was no goddess’s care.

His survival was simply due to the whim of a demon.

Anyway, I never get a day off.

I went back to the office as soon as the roundtable was over.

There wasn’t much I had to do at the roundtable.

Before the roundtable.

Tower Master had come forward and apologized for the embarrassment he had caused.

‘…… Apart from that, it’s strangely condescending.’

As you can see, the Roundtable has changed.

It is no longer a meeting of the ranks.

But it’s not without its leader, the Tower Master.

But I can’t believe you’re coming in the form of a cat!

‘It’s more than just Grandfell, it’s shameless.’

The apprentice and adept mages couldn’t see through his transformation.

But Tower Master, you’re one of us, aren’t you?

How can you pretend to be a cat while being a human?

I mean, he’s still when I touch his belly, and then he makes a funny little purring noise?

“Well, that’s a good deal.

Someone just came back from hunting and suffering in the Zero Mountains.

How can you be so carefree?

No matter how much you are recuperating.

I couldn’t help but feel my heart twist.

But if you want to find comfort, go to…….

‘Was it a regular conference starting next week?’

I thought to myself.

‘I’m going to make a real splash at this one!’

I have a good reason.

It is not contrary to Grandfell’s pride.

Why, there’s a thing called the Noblesse Oblige.

The responsibility that comes with the position.

If you are in a high position, you have to take responsibility, our tower master.

Dalkak.

Of course, I’m suffering from that responsibility.

As always, a pile of application forms piled up on the desk.

Let’s see, put down the tea cup.

By scrawling a rejection letter on Bensch’s application.

Before I start my daily routine…….

Instinctively, my gaze traveled to the parchment.

I recognize the unfamiliar handwriting.

This guy likes to go out.

Thanks to him, I had carefully examined the application forms of all the members of the Magic Tower.

Still, the unfamiliar handwriting meant it was his letter.

‘Tower Master.’

A large stamp confirms the handwriting’s ownership.

‘What is this?’

A cat’s paw print.

That’s right.

The letter was definitely from Tower Master.

‘What, a seal?’

If it’s written, it must be signed.

What is a paw print?

I didn’t think it was a big deal.

After reading it, it was clear that a seal was needed.

But…….

──────

As the current tower master, I would like to recommend you as the next tower master, Chief Lee Hoyeol.

──────

What the hell?

Are you calling me the Tower Master?

No, you’re trying to run away!