◈ Episode 339. A World Line Without You (2)
It’s more than I expected.
[Warning: understanding is too low].
Grandfell’s deep, dark past is enough to overwhelm me. It must be the warnings that have come flooding back. As proof, I feel differently when I enter the [Curse, Irresistible Flow].
‘What do you mean by lack of understanding?’
Is it simply because the suitable magic affinity is 0%, so it’s not enough……?
No matter how hard I try, I can’t figure out the intent in a one-line message.
I’m not immediately convinced.
However.
[Blessing of the First World Tree rejects ‘Caution’].
[Caution: level of understanding is too low].
[Blessing of the First World Tree rejects ‘Caution’]…….
Thanks to the blessing of the World Tree.
I forced myself to open my eyes.
It was as if I had switched the channel to the wrong frequency.
My vision is filled with crackling noise.
As if that weren’t enough, even the perspective is unfamiliar.
‘……I can’t see.’
The long hair is especially awkward.
I slap it away with a quick glance.
Dark Understanding, the effect, says I must confront the past.
‘Are we in the past of Grenfell?’
I recalled the setting of Grandfell.
『He is characterized by long flowing silver hair and a handsome appearance, and in his daily speech and actions he uses a tone that conveys the nobility of his status.』
Alas, this is what long, flowing silver hair is all about. I can’t believe I thought this was cool. I guess I didn’t like the flashy outfits of demon hunters back then for no reason.
But.
[The past is unstable].
I remember from earlier.
What does it mean to have an unstable past?
Again, it’s best to guess.
Let’s focus on the unstable and think about it.
Crackling vision.
A mismatched frequency.
Yeah, it’s like…….
Grandfell’s past.
It feels like he’s trying to push me away.
‘Well, this isn’t the same situation as Black Flower.’
Even if I’m seeing it from his point of view.
I don’t know if my voice will reach him.
However, as an adult, I must say these words.
Please don’t think about taking on this alone again, will you?
‘Maybe I have a stake in this!’
You have to take responsibility for your mistakes.
That’s what I, Lee Hoyeol, thought of as adult pride.
I don’t know if my thoughts reached Grandfell or not.
‘You can only tell because of his demeanor.’
But I do know this.
‘……What is that?’
Lack of comprehension.
Just like the message.
Maybe I just don’t understand Grandfell.
Of course.
Because in my blurry vision, I saw it.
Silver hair.
With Claudi’s hair.
The back of a man’s head.
And me.
Only the back.
The unidentifiable man said.
“I hate you, Grandfell.”
The extinction of the great family, Claudi.
I’ve thought about the setting I wrote down many times since awakening as a player, especially as I’ve discovered more and more traces of Claudi.
How did Claudi get disappear?
The evidence is clear.
It simply didn’t show up on the continent.
To the dragons, elves, and other pillars of Arcana, Claudi’s greatness remained.
Even the Four Families, each with the power of an empire or more, could not even look up at the mention of Claudi.
That’s why I did.
Even as I wrote it down, I wanted to turn away.
Part of me was curious.
I wondered if I shouldn’t.
I wondered how the Claudi family’s extinction was realized.
And then I realized.
‘Such a mess……!!!’
Yeah.
It’s always the secrets of birth and blood ties that resolve cliffhangers in soap operas! Claudi’s enemies were not external.
It is clear that Claudi’s destruction was started from within, by that unknown man.
As if in response to my thoughts, the man speaks.
“I remember the way you looked at me as a child, holding my hand, and even then you were looking down on me, with that same arrogant gaze, not unlike the one you have now.”
Let’s use the keen eye for peeking over the shoulders at the drama that Ms. Choi Kanghee and my older sisters were watching together. I don’t know who it is, but I can guess one thing from the line just now.
‘First of all, he is older than Granfell.’
Thanks to this, even situations filled with hatred were expected.
“Yes, that was the gaze of Patriarch’s eyes, the gaze I can’t have.”
That was it, after all.
『There was a good reason why Grandfell was chosen as the family’s successor at the age of only 7.』
This man, whoever he is.
The position of patriarch was taken from him by a seven-year-old child.
He hated it from the bottom of his heart.
If I tried to understand his feelings, they were not incomprehensible.
You’re too good to be true, Grandfell.
Judging by your reaction, you were quite sincere in your desire for the position.
But.
No matter what.
Isn’t it a bit much for an adult to yell at a child?
There.
The man walked away and said his last words.
“Granfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo, patriarch of the damned Claudi. May you protect the Claudi family to the end, until the day I see you again.”
That was the end of the sarcasm and respect.
Jijijijijik—!
My vision began to shake violently.
[The past is unstable].
The landscape changes in time with the message.
Now I understand why my vision was subtly different.
The vantage point is unexpectedly high.
It was just a memory from his childhood, when the Grandfell hadn’t fully grown up.
‘So from now on…….’
We’re in the relatively recent past.
There’s certainly nothing out of place about this point in time other than the noise.
It’s just that the setting at first glance is too shocking to be believable.
Claudi’s estate.
“You have to avoid……. will……. Patriarch…….”
With those words, the man, who must have been one of Claudi’s vassals, died.
I shift my gaze and see Claudi’s mansion in flames.
I see a garden splattered with blood.
A fountain spews blood instead of water.
It’s a memory of “that day,” the day Claudi destroyed.
A moment of realization.
‘!’
My body jerked. I suddenly realized that my precariously staggering body was extremely squishy and heavy. It was soaked with blood from my mutilated body.
‘This…….’
I don’t know the exact number of percentages of blood that a human body must lose before it dies. But there is a scale.
‘……Isn’t that dangerous?’
I was convinced by the amount of blood that soaked my clothes and drenched the area. This is the amount of blood that wouldn’t be strange if I collapsed, fainted, passed out, or died.
‘This is the point at which I really started trying to sink.’
Grandfell stood upright with such a body.
Maybe it was pride, maybe it was formality, maybe it was neither.
He couldn’t tell if it was because of the man in front of him.
It was the same man he’d just seen.
This time, not from behind, but from the front.
But I couldn’t get a good look at his face.
The crackling noise was still there, and the blood was still pouring out of him.
My vision was blurred, and I couldn’t even focus properly.
What a bad time to be showing me.
‘What’s the point of starting a little further ahead?’
I could have gotten a little more information, any information.
The only information I can gather at this point is……. All we know is that he’s here to retrieve the double-wire he threw earlier. As I swallow my disappointment, I hear a voice.
“You failed to protect it, Grandfell.”
Of course, I don’t pay attention to the deception.
This isn’t an opportunity that comes around often.
Grandfell is reminded of the setting.
『Heir to a great family, the family was destroyed by a demon. The sole survivor of the family, Grandfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo, hereafter known as Grandfell, is…….』
That’s right.
In the ruins of Claudi’s estate resides the demon that led the family to annihilation.
Of course, I knew the Seven Deadly Sins were involved, as they were the ones who commissioned the Shadow Mercenaries to assassinate Grandfell’s sister.
But.
‘It can’t be the Seven Deadly Sins alone.’
Greed and envy.
I have already hunted two of the Seven Deadly Sins.
Experience gives me an estimate.
I know that Claudi is not a family that would falter if the Seven Deadly Sins came after them all. I realize that Claudi’s name is tied to a demon far beyond the power of the Seven Deadly Sins.
But again, damn it.
‘I can’t even see it, so what am I supposed to……’
……This isn’t going well, Black History!
As I grumbled earlier.
The noise is getting to me, and now the blood is starting to cover my eyes.
The only thing I can see clearly is.
[The past is unstable].
The only thing I can see is the flashing message from earlier.
Footsteps grow closer.
A man was approaching Grandfell.
That’s him.
I was sure of it. Those were
A gait filled with murderous intent.
But there would be no reason to fear.
‘Grandfell didn’t die here.’
Yes, because he didn’t die.
He’s alive and well, and he’s been haunting me all this time. At this point, a loyal vassal will appear, or a force in Claudi’s service, and he’ll pull Grandfell out of danger.
jeobeog.
jeobeog.
jeobeog.
……It should be.
No matter how close the man kept getting.
There was no flinch.
“Do you see, Grandfell? This is the result of your stealing my place at the head of the family. Look at that arrogant gleam in your eye. The end of Claudi.”
Grandfell’s life is taken for nothing.
Even with the man’s deception.
There was still no savior in sight to save him.
The man speaks, his voice hushed.
“As expected, I do not enjoy talking to you in the slightest.”
Sereung─
The sound of metal clashing pierces my eardrums.
“Now I’m getting goosebumps. How can you not falter in the face of all this? Look at it straight, Grandfell. Everyone in Claudi is dead except you. Your arrogance has brought the Claudi family into disgrace. Isn’t it enough to atone with tears?”
pug─
The man’s rebuking blade pierces Grandfell’s breastbone.
What if that blade had been aimed at the nape of his neck……?
Grandfell would have died instantly.
At that point, I was convinced.
On Claudi’s estate that day.
No one came to save him.
No one came to the rescue of Grandfell.
“Not even a scream, I see.”
Sereung─
A sword held with two hands instead of one.
He had gotten so used to the sword that he could handle the hilt.
Just by looking at his stance, I can picture the next scene in my mind. If he swings with enough force, he’ll separate Grandfell’s head from his neck, like a beheading.
There was no hesitation in the man’s actions.
Swoosh!
The sword rushed forward.
Suddenly, a thought occurred to me.
This was definitely Grandfell’s past.
A situation where no one would come to the rescue?
Looking back, it’s not incomprehensible.
The dragons themselves were sincerely repenting for their inaction that day, so there was only one question in this situation.
…… How the hell did Grandfell survive?
No, more than that.
‘If he dies, what about me?’
I thought back to my memories from The [Curse, Irresistible Flow.]
‘Bael must have heard my snout and reacted.’
And because of it.
-“Why do you waste such a great sacrifice, Bael! Do you realize how much the Demon World has sacrificed for this day? The Demon World is not satisfied with a mere Seorn continent. Fulfill your end of the bargain. Use that sword to open the gate to the Arcana Continent!”
The Arcana Continent was safe.
‘Then isn’t the opposite situation also possible……?’
I’m not sure.
But with my life on the line.
If there was even a one percent chance.
I can no longer stand idly by.
Okay.
I don’t care if no one comes to his rescue.
Right now, in this moment.
Because here I am.
To be precise.
『Heir to a great family, the family was destroyed by a demon. The sole survivor of the family, Grandfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo, hereafter known as Grandfell, is…….』
I, Lee Hoyeol, added love to my lonely background.
『I set out on the path of a demon hunter to take revenge on that demon.』
It is possible, Hoyeol.
Bael, that bastard confirmed it, didn’t he?
The curse is so fucking twisted.
It can interfere with the past.
If you change the past, you can change the history of reality.
I mean.
My.
No.
Our vision flickers.
[Skill, ‘Natural Enemy’ is triggered].
His tightly closed mouth moves.
“Don’t make me say it again and again.”
“……what?”
“Don’t you dare try my patience.”
I can see it now.
I knew it.
It was you, the demon that drove Claudi to destruction.
A symbol of possession.
I said coldly, looking at the man’s black pupils.
“I don’t talk to my prey.”