◈ Episode 453. Darkness Falls (2)

Why do players fear possession?

It’s simple.

Whether you’re the one being possessed or the one facing it.

Because the moment you face it, it collapses.

You’re at the edge of a rift, and you’re pointing a sword at your former life partner. The person you were laughing with, the person you were crying with, is possessed by a demon.

Unless the demon leaves the body of the possessed of its own accord.

There is no known way to break the possession.

That was why Dmitry could not forget.

‘Again?’

The guild members he’d sent away by his own hand.

The Shining, one of the most powerful guilds in the world.

Even after the Cataclysm, they had been on the front lines, facing down demons.

‘I’ve never counted more than one finger.’

There is no telling who might be possessed, let alone yourself.

So there’s no need to feel guilty about killing a demon-possessed player. Those who enter the Rift have done what they set out to do. It was an unspoken agreement between players.

However, the current situation was different from [Possession].

Swak.

This Dmitry is being overwhelmed.

‘It’s impossible.’

At most, this is a level 300 guild member.

Overpowering him, a level 550?

Dmitry was confident that he could defeat three or four level 300 players, even if they were to charge at him. This was true even when a player was [possessed] by a demon.

‘Unless the demon possessed is a Demon King level…….’

The level 250 gap meant that it could not be crossed.

However, this was not a possession, but a corruption.

Its appearance had changed into a full demon.

Its strength could not be easily guessed.

BANG.

Dmitry blocked the attack with a huge blunt weapon.

This guild member was level 300 and had a great skill proficiency.

He was quite skilled.

But now that he was corrupted.

Not a trace of that characteristic remained.

‘Did you say you were craving answers?’

As befitting a message that had only just flashed by.

“Tell me. About Lee Hoyeol!”

He was just flailing his arms.

Still, it was strong.

So strong that Dmitry barely had time to catch his breath.

Dmitry looked around.

‘Are the others safe?’

Aside from the demon, there was no sign of his fellow guild members.

Dmitry imagined the worst, then calmly took stock.

‘If only I didn’t realize it until it all happened.’

There is a huge gap between me and that guy.

……Yes, of course.

The corners of Dmitry’s mouth twitched upward.

‘You mean I could die and wake up and still not win?’

This is why I shouldn’t have done what I did.

I gave up this opportunity to Camilla for no reason.

I’m going to get fucked.

‘Fuck that too.’

Because I didn’t answer his question about Lee Hoyeol, that asshole holy war commander. The demon was not satisfied with the response, so it rampaged even more.

Kugung.

Dmitry desperately sought an opening.

A basic skill of a warrior who has reached mastery.

He activated [Counter Smash].

“Asshole, shut up. I’m thinking about it!”

Puck.

It was a perfect hit.

The demon’s head spun 360 degrees.

However, even if it was a perfect counter, it was meaningless.

kkeug.

There was a pause.

deudeudeug.

It recovered with an eerie snapping of bones.

The demon grinned at Dmitry.

His voice was full of anticipation.

“So you knew, then, I’ll wait. I’ll wait for you to finish your thoughts. But don’t let me down, don’t let them down. Do you understand? I’ll kill you if you let them down?”

“Ha.”

It’s a bizarre response that makes me laugh out loud.

However, Dmitry was also an executive who led Shining.

Faced with a dead end, his brain spun faster than usual.

‘Corruption, a supercompatibility of possession.’

The reasoning was simple. It was Evil Eye of the ‘High Ranking Demon Kings’, as he called them, who had spread the anomaly and corruption. Yes, that ‘thing’ in the night sky.

Dmitry looked at Evil Eye and gritted his teeth.

‘Maybe this is just the beginning.’

So what judgment am I to make here?

……Tap!

Dmitry’s feet moved furiously. A burly body cut through the rift, through the crumbling rubble. The demon called after him.

“You’re moving to find clues to your memories? Good!”

No, I’m not. I’m bouncing, asshole.

The words came rushing back, but I held them back.

I ran at full speed, not gaining any distance.

The subtle gap was still there.

‘I see you are watching.’

I’m not that clueless of an asshole.

So the palm-to-palm chase didn’t last long.

Suddenly, I hear a shout.

“D, Dmitry!”

Not the Arcana continent, but the real world.

Outside the rift, not in it.

In the presence of ordinary people, not players.

“Is it a demon on the other side?”

“Ewww. What’s so gross about that?”

“Anyway, come on, Dmitry!”

A flash.

Everyone seems to have lost their grip on the situation.

Look at my serious face.

Now seems like a good time to take a good video.

‘Well, whatever.’

But Dmitry never forgot his purpose.

Before he knew it, there was a rift in his back. Dmitry didn’t forget his location. It was a new rift with 37 percent collapse progress and plenty of time to go.

‘Good thing I memorized the location.’

I didn’t realize it would be my grave.

Yes, Dmitry was going to seal the demon in the rift.

Now that he’s learned that [corruption] and [possession] are different.

‘It won’t be able to get out of the rift.’

The only people who can come and go from the Rift freely are the player and the Arcanians. Because demons were always treated as demon-type monsters. Look at what it looks like. Could that be a player?

‘It’ll buy us some time before the rift collapses.’

Dmitry said.

“Follow me.”

[Entering the rift, ‘Collapsed Building Lookout’].

jeobeog.

‘Thank God.’

There was no sign of the player inside, so that was half the battle. He followed, entering the rift, and the citizens filmed the whole thing.

‘This will spread quickly.’

No more than the speed at which the photos of my performance spread. Then, whether it’s Lee Hoyeol, or the Holy War Alliance, or the senior mages of the Magic Tower. The savvy ones will be here.

I hate to admit it, but…….

‘If it’s Lee Hoyeol.’

The Lee Hoyeol who hunts demon kings and commands Akshan Wolf.

Unlike me.

You’ll be able to find out more information from the demon in front of you.

So from now on, I had to try my best to fight it.

The silence seems to have gotten to it.

An eerie voice rings out.

“You tricked me, didn’t you?”

“Asshole, do you understand now, after all, I told you I didn’t know?”

“How dare you.”

“It’s not you who dared, it’s the asshole who believed.”

“You dare them.”

How long do you think I could stand up to that demonic bastard? I honestly couldn’t give an estimate. From the moment I faced the demon.

[Status abnormality, ‘Fear’ occurs].

‘……damn.’

Neither his body nor his mind was listening.

But Dmitry gritted his teeth.

It was his dignity that kept him going.

‘Actually, I don’t know if I have any dignity left.’

I’ve had enough of these asshole reporters.

But for the sake of dignity.

Shouldn’t I at least die having done something?

Not just the assholes.

Even the paparazzi won’t have anything to say!

“I’ll tell you one thing, you don’t have to look for Lee Hoyeol.”

“……what?”

“Because here, Dmitry!!”

Because I, Dmitry Malcolm, the great player who will be remembered as the one who sealed the dangerous demon in the rift, am here. For now, pay attention to Lee Hoyeol.

kwakwang!

.

.

.

“……!!!”

But Dmitry had overlooked something.

The message wasn’t just any demon.

It was a ‘mixed blood demon’.

Gulp.

The demon grabbed Dmitry’s cold ankle with one hand and pulled him out of the rift. It looked at the stunned citizens, and addressed them with a question.

“Foolish ones, They are asking.”

“……?”

“What do you know of Lee Hoyeol?”

*

AAU was confused.

“A mixed-blood demon. A demonic monster that can freely travel to and from non-collapsed rifts. The condition for its appearance is when the player is afflicted with an abnormality, ‘Corruption’…….”

“What’s different from possession?”

“The aftermath will be overwhelmingly stronger than possession.”

Park Minjae, the South Korea Branch Leader, continued.

“In Possession, it was lesser demons, imps, and other demons big and small, but in Corruption, it’s Evil Eye. The true rulers of the Demon World, the ten thrones, the High Ranking Demon Kings.”

Joshua, the leader of the American branch, bit his lip.

He knew better than anyone.

Yes, he’d lost his dearest comrade-in-arms, Dmitry, to it.

Dmitry of the Shining dead.

The shock hadn’t worn off in the days since.

The player’s noble sacrifice has not gone unnoticed, as Evil Eyes has risen to the skies above the nations of the world.

At the same time, reports of the Corruption began to trickle in.

“The Magic Tower and the Goddess Church have also requested closer cooperation. It’s unusual for the Arcana side to make the first request, even after the formation of the Holy War Alliance.”

“I suppose that’s to be expected.”

The London branch leader.

Baker opened his mouth.

His voice was uncharacteristically quiet.

“Their situation won’t be much different from ours.”

.

.

.

The Magic Tower.

Crystal Hall.

The Round Table.

“I will allow the apprentice mage to leave the Magic Tower.”

Marcelo, the Tower Master, has made his decision.

Corruption, a threat unknown to even the wisdom of the Magic Tower.

He, too, must face the threat with everything he has.

Bensch, Senior Flame Mage, muttered.

” …… This does not make me feel comfortable, Senior Vangrit.”

Even the apprentice mage was allowed to leave.

No matter how much they say Bensch is a person of interest.

There was no way a senior mage could fail his application.

No, the situation has now changed beyond the simple leave the Magic Tower, but was now in a different position. He was a senior mage who was now in charge of a group of adepts and apprentices.

Vangrit nodded.

“I see. The responsibility I feel is not normal. In that sense, the adventurers must be extraordinary. How do they manage to lead so many people?”

Strength and leadership are not proportional.

“It’s really heavy. The weight I carry.”

It may be a map, but it’s a command.

The mages of Magic Tower weren’t used to groups, to collective action.

Vangrit glanced around the crystal hall.

“These are adept mages, and they’re more than capable of making their own decisions and acting on their own without us, but……. Apprentice mages are really newborn chicks, aren’t they? Even if they’re of the same apprenticeship rank, the gap is huge…….”

That made the current threat all the more frightening.

“Corruption, what a dangerous state to be in…….”

Vangrit’s gaze shifted to Bensch, who was uncharacteristically quiet. Apparently, Bensch was fidgeting for a different reason altogether.

Rattling.

His fingers were trembling, but not from fear.

It was more like withdrawal…….

He’s just restless with a deep sense of loss.

“An incredible practical opportunity is unfolding before our eyes……! No, where the hell is this senior? Senior Vangrit, do you happen to know anything? Of course, I have no reason to know where Chief Lee is and what he’s doing, nor do I care……!”

Tears welled up in Bensch’s eyes.

“Why did you take out the Decisive Magic Tool, the Small Magic Sun, from Garnet Hall, when it doesn’t seem to make a difference to you, Chief Lee, whether it’s used or not……!”

That’s right.

In reality, in the Arcana continent as well.

Several days had passed since Hoyeol had disappeared.

Likewise, in the audience seats of the Crystal Hall.

Jesse Heinness, still a adept mage by title, scoured the subspace. The letter from Hoyeol was in her hand. Jesse was rereading the last postscript for the hundredth time.

──────

P.S. Still, it’s best to stay away from social circles.

──────

Why did he add this?

Isn’t Mr. Lee in a spacetime social hall right now? And if I ignore his advice and enter a spacetime social hall…….

What do you think Mr. Lee’s reaction would be?

The Cone Hat said.

-Don’t overthink it, Jesse.

” ……yes.”

Jesse nodded, but she couldn’t shake the feeling of regret.

The Archmage’s intuition was somewhat correct.

At this moment, Hoyeol was in a spacetime social hall.

.

.

.

The Spacetime Social Hall.

The top floor.

A place no one can reach, no one can disturb.

The man opened his eyes.

[Curses, ‘Understand Darkness’ understanding greatly increases].

[Skill, ‘Heavenly Infant Solitude’ Proficiency greatly increases].

At the same time, long silver hair fell down like a blanket.