◈ Episode 426. I Don’t Believe (1)

[The Great Master of Anomaly: A being unborn in Anomaly has come to aware of Anomaly. As a pioneer, your teachings will lead countless people to the realm of Anomaly.]

So that’s how it happened.

Dragons, elves, High Ranking Demon Kings. Even if they are ahead of me in the realm of Anomaly, it means that for them, the Anomaly is merely something familiar.

But not me.

I’m the one who realized it while struggling to live. I understood it from the very bottom and moved forward.

‘Thanks to that understanding.’

I am bound to be better than any other being who has entered the same realm of Anomaly. Thanks to this, I was able to obtain the grandiose title of Anomaly’s teacher and Great Master.

Is this what a teacher’s vision is?

I could see the intent behind the Apostle’s movements as if I’d known it all along. Perhaps that’s why I was able to defeat him over and over again.

Weakness.

So, the Apostle’s body was a shadow.

The thunderbolt wasn’t just a metaphor. I enveloped my sword force in intense light, burning not only him, but his shadow as well.

As a result, his veins were pierced.

[Level: 1,001]

Gained 25 levels in one fell swoop.

This means I’ve entered the four-digit level.

I slowly channeled the surge of suitable magic power.

‘Anyway.’

Wide field of vision.

Thanks to it, I realized that this place was the Holy Land of the Shadow Mercenaries that took Grandfell’s sister’s life. Under normal circumstances, it wouldn’t have been surprising if [Blackening] had occurred immediately.

‘Well done, Grandfell.’

But was it because of what he said to Kichi.

‘You’re a man of your word, no matter what.’

The sins of the previous generation of Shadow Mercenaries.

I have no intention of releasing it to Kichi and other shadow mercenaries.

They’ve forgiven me.

I was able to collect Grandfell’s sister’s debt by activating [Celestial Infant Solitude] instead of Blackening. But don’t think this is the end.

Shadow God.

At least you can’t escape your responsibility yet, right?

I opened my mouth to speak.

It sounded like I’d said it many times before.

“I don’t believe in Gods.”

Whether it’s a Goddess or a Shadow God, it’s the same.

My religion, Lee Hoyeol, is non-religious.

Grandfell doesn’t have the personality to serve anyone either.

That’s what I meant when I said it.

……Wiggle─

……That Shadow God seems to have gotten a little carried away!

Sssssss.

A breeze blows through the Valley of the Forgotten.

‘What.’

The scale of the scene is different from when Apostle appeared.

If Apostle had appeared stealthily like a shadow.

Now, the cowering one is…….

Swoon.

It was like he was desperate to proclaim his greatness……!

Look at the way it defies the laws of physics now.

Sunlight faintly shined down on the bottom of the canyon.

The shadows stretched by that sunlight.

Every shadow in the area is bizarrely agitated.

It’s times like this that I’m grateful for my status as a player.

Look, it was arcanian.

I wonder if I’ve really incurred the wrath of the Gods, it’s enough to make me shudder.

But a flickering vision.

[Main Quest: Revealing the Darkness]

Thanks to this, I was able to speak confidently.

“Self-proclaimed Shadow God.”

Obviously, the title pissed him off.

Swoosh!

The shadows all around me stretched menacingly toward me. My shadow was no exception. My shadow is raising Gwicheol’s shadow and aiming at my neck.

Someone watching might ask.

Isn’t this dangerous?

One of the most powerful organizations on the Arcana continent.

The Shadow God, the very essence of the Shadow Mercenaries, is enraged.

If you use your mouth even a little bit wrong, you might lose your head without even knowing what’s going on.

Even if I have faith in [The Last Adventurer], the death penalty will prevent me from rescuing Diend.

These are all valid points.

“You’re being shy, it’s dark around here.”

Yeah, I knew it, and I was just blurting it out brazenly.

Because, if no one else, the Shadow God needed it.

It was all thanks to the quest.

[Main Quest: Revealing the Darkness]

The Arcana continent has collapsed, and the pantheon has opened. However, the Shadow God’s incomplete ‘status’ as a Shadow God prevented him from entering the pantheon. From now on, the Shadow God will use any means necessary to fulfill his status.

Shadow Mercenaries.

I learned more about them when I joined the AAU as the head of the Yusra branch. After all, why did the mere mortals of the Shadow Mercenaries have room to play a role so late in the Arcana Continent biographical story?

It was because of the secrets the Shadow Mercenaries held.

‘The problem was, no one knew what that secret was.’

Back when AAU was Cosmo, they didn’t know because they weren’t given a specific setting……. It’s only now that I’ve run into the party that I know.

That ‘Darkness’ was referring to you, self-proclaimed Shadow God.

That’s why I can be shameless.

It was why I had to be brazen at the same time.

Quest Objectives.

-Encounter the Shadow God in the battlefield of proof. (Ongoing)

So, this isn’t the battlefield we’ll be fighting on, is it?

“Do you want my throne?”

I spoke like I was actually a Demon King.

Seug.

The Valley of the Forgotten, a place so remote that no one would ever seek it out,

I scanned the Shadow God’s shrine with an arrogant gaze.

“Indeed, it’s worth coveting. You must have also grown tired of the scenery here, at the bottom of the continent’s shadow, dreary, smelly, and devoid of any beauty.”

I’m reminded of this…….

When it comes to spewing poison.

I feel like I’m being a douchebag for being so proud.

But I think I got my point across.

!!!

Was it scratched properly? The shaking shadow.

But I’m not the one to stop now.

I added

“Then I will be waiting. I wish I could face you on the battlefield of proof. Just as you took my sister from me, so I will take you from me.”

Grandfell added with no less sincerity.

“Your everything.”

That was the end of the conversation.

‘…… Let’s see, I need to direct.’

In truth, the battle for the Demon King, the Proof of the Ten Thrones, had already begun. Why, the Demon World Lich Discus made a surprise attack targeting the throne of Buer that I had taken over?

‘But you do not know that.’

However, given the quest and its objective.

It was clear that the Shadow God was unaware that the Battle for the Demon King had begun. In such a situation, would it be possible for him to attack me, a man who can handle a different level of power?

Even if he had the ability to do so.

What if he killed me?

He will be left with a question that he cannot solve for the rest of his life.

‘Therefore.’

Just as the Shadow God had threatened me, I needed to threaten him just the right amount to drive him away, and I had a trick up my sleeve that I could use to do just that.

[Aesthetic: High]

By adding aesthetics, the magic of casting out shadows is revealed.

The shadows are wild and churning.

My flesh begins to glow intensely as if to suppress the shadows.

sswaaa.

What made that possible was thanks to [『Anomaly』], which was added to magic power of a different level. Only then did he lower his tail and begin to hide himself in the shadows once more.

Soon, my vision flickered.

[The Shadow God promises to meet you again.]

Reunion.

This, to the High Ranking Demon King.

To the infested demons.

Now even the dark side of the Arcana Continent called Shadow God.

It looks like they’re after my life.

That’s why I can’t stand still any longer.

I cannot be without you, Diend.

The canyon’s landscape has changed forever.

The shadows that shroud the Canyon of the Forgotten are gone.

[The Canyon of the Forgotten, a Holy Land of the Shadow Mercenaries, is revealed on the Arcana continent].

The magic tool I borrowed from Matisse, the Refined Ring of Araxitas, has begun to blacken. Where the suitable magic pulsed, I stepped toward it.

And I saw it.

For a moment.

With something I had overlooked.

If the Canyon of the Forgotten is the holy ground of the Shadow Mercenaries, then why did the seniors who escaped from Akshan choose to head for the Canyon where the Shadow Mercenaries are based?

Akshan and the Shadow Mercenaries.

Since there was some kind of contact between the two…….

They are not like the Akshan Demon Hunters.

At the bottom of this dreary, cold canyon.

I wonder if their reputations have changed?

[Class Quest: Akshan Civil War]

A fugitive from the Akshan base.

They have fled into the Canyon of the Forgotten, one of the most dangerous places on the Arcana continent. Enter the Canyon of the Forgotten and retrieve the Akshan artifacts stolen by the fugitives from Akshan.

-Enter the Canyon of the Forgotten. (Success)

-Retrieve the Akshan artifact. (Ongoing)

I stared at the skeleton and the gear it wore.

Silver weapons engraved with the mark of Akshan, the Akshan wolf. Whether they were relics or legacies of Akshan remains to be seen, but I reached for it anyway.

It was then.

An unexpected message popped up.

[Akshan’s relic rejects you].

……Reject me?

Even after all this, I’m the last survivor of Akshan.

What’s wrong with you?

*

AAU.

“Senior, can I ask you something?”

“Huh? What is it?”

“Nothing else…….”

Sung looked at his monitor.

There was an image of an Akshan wolf on it. Yoon Soogyeom shrugged his shoulders. Sung hadn’t even spoken yet, but he could almost see what he was going to say.

“You think the general manager is a demon hunter? It’s not surprising that you would think that way after crushing the Demon King and taming the Akshan wolf. But, you know that, right? What kind of job is a demon hunter?”

Demon hunters.

Their flashy equipment may look cool, but it is of no practical use, making them a worst second class in the Arcana.. Yoon shook his head in disbelief.

“It’s not like I haven’t thought about that too. No matter what, I am still far from the general manager. Above all, considering that he held the position of chief of the Magic Tower a long time ago, the speculation that he is a mage-type hidden class that surpasses the Archmage is more credible….”

“Senior, I haven’t asked you a question yet?”

“Eh? Weren’t you going to ask about General Manager class?”

Tsk, Sung Hyunjoon playfully clicked his tongue.

“Senior, you still don’t have enough pride. Don’t be hasty in finding out about the General Manager. Have you seen him hiding anything from us?”

……That’s serious.

“It’s too early for us to know, and I’m sure the General Manager is holding back, so if you want to know, you’ll have to say it before you eat from now on, Homen.”

“……Really, you’re talking like Homen.”

No matter what, I’m not as good as you.

Yoon Soogyeom stuck his tongue out for a moment.

He turned back to Sung.

“So what do you want to know?”

“Oh, not about anything else, but about the Akshan deletion update! I know the Akshan base was completely wiped out after the Cataclysm, but the fact that it happened means there was a plan, right?”

Druk.

Sung moved his mouse, and the minutes of the meeting came up.

“In fact, the update plan for the deletion of the Demon Hunter class is still in the Cosmo database, and updates need a plausible story, right? I was wondering what kind of story is tied to Akshan, and if you know, it might be helpful to the General Manager…….”

Yoon Soogyeom nodded.

“Oh, is that what it is? I’ll ask him then.”

Yoon Soogyeom immediately opened the messenger. From Cosmo days to now. They are former colleagues with whom they have shared a close relationship. The answer came back right away.

However, Yoon’s expression was puzzled.

“…….Doesn’t exist.”

“What?”

“Hyun-joon, remember, there has to be a reason for everything.”

The vague idea of a story set on the Arcana continent had been realized no matter what. Whether it was the direction Cosmo intended or not.

At the Akshan base, however, the opposite was true.

“There was an employee who attended that meeting. However, the proposal to delete the Demon Hunter class was withdrawn early on. Deleting a class simply because it is unpopular does not fit the way Arcana operates.”

“What? Then why is Akshan on……?”

“Cosmo, that is, perished without our intervention.”

Yoon said meaningfully.

“The cause of Akshan’s destruction was ‘internal’.”

.

.

.

Magic power is like a material.

When added to any interfering process.

No one can predict what the result will be.

The same goes for the suitable magic power.

I looked at Diend. He had been blackened by the suitable magic power from the Akshan fugitives. He turned to me and declared.

“We Akshans must hunt.”

Only then did I realize it.

“Grandfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo, you.”

The Akshan Civil War.

Grandfell was the cause.

You are indeed a man of many sins, Grandfell……!