◈ Episode 508. Nevertheless, There is No Sin in Flowers
A flower red as blood.
I never heard its name. But I remember Agentress’s demeanor toward it clearly. He looked at it with a cold gaze and said.
-“You may trample it as soon as you see it.”
I was puzzled.
Even if it grew on the Arcana continent.
I thought flowers had no sin.
Unlike the ugly humans.
-“This flower is nourished by human blood.”
Even if it grew from human blood.
I thought there was no sin in a small life.
But Elsidor nodded as the Agentress continued.
-“Only from human blood, of which the fountain was unknown until the end.”
The red flower in his hand.
Agentress was displeased that he had even brought such a thing to Sisley. He glared at the flower in disgust, then waved it away.
hwaleuleug.
He burned the flower without a trace.
-“So remember, Elsidor.”
He added to himself.
-“You must not even think of approaching this flower or smelling its scent. For this red flower is the symbol of ugliness, the last struggle of the scum.”
It is a flower that bloomed from the last struggle.
I didn’t immediately understand the meaning.
Without that much understanding.
Only now, many years later, did I realize its meaning.
‘Flowers to Hell…….’
China again.
Elsidor walked the streets with Kinver.
The landscape was murderous, the streets deserted, and there was no sign of life.
Kinver stomped his feet awkwardly as he trailed behind Elsidor.
Then he whispered.
“Are you insane, elf? You’re going to follow him to Hell?”
It’s not like we’re anything great.
At best, we’re business partners.
Whether he goes to hell or not is probably none of my business.
But.
“……How are you going to explain it?”
A glance.
Kinver whipped his head around to look at ‘him’, and it wasn’t just him. It was Lorenzik, the Named NPC among the Named.
‘Seriously, the pressure is on.’
Kinver swallowed hard and started walking.
Suddenly, a familiar building came into view.
“Are you really……!”
It was the closed Heavenly Unity Branch.
Why was this unlikely building closed?
No, the reason why the street itself had turned into a ghost town was simple.
Kinver and Elsidor.
Trash they couldn’t even recycle.
Because it was a trace that had been erased from this world.
Kinver was sure of it.
This demonic elf is going to confess all of our secrets.
“……This is the first time in my life that I have confessed my conscience, damn it.”
Kinver gritted his teeth.
He’d made a big deal of himself.
Why, ‘pride of scum,’ as he put it.
“Damn…….”
But what was the point of trash-talking about pride?
If it’s not pride in His eyes.
No matter how much I call it pride, it won’t be pride.
In the worst-case scenario.
He might see it as senseless slaughter.
And if that’s the case, what will become of me?
Elsidor had a capacity.
Whether it was overwhelming brute force or the ability to tend a flower garden, I, on the other hand, am incompetent. I’m not even good enough to stand out among the players, let alone Elsidor.
‘Furthermore.’
Before the revelation of the Kingdom of Yusra.
I once attempted on his life.
And in the process, I made eye contact with Knight Commander Lionheart, Harkon.
I literally shit my pants.
“…….”
Kinver had no choice but to shut up.
jeobeog.
Until the doors to the closed branch of the Heavenly Unity opened.
“There is one truth in that flower.”
Until Elsidor told him the secret of the flower.
“The Blood Grown Lycoris Flower does not grow from vast quantities of blood as its nourishment; it grows from the blood of deep resentment, regardless of the amount of blood.”
“Ooh, a deep resentment!”
Lorenzik shook his head.
“Then the question is. If a man dies and falls into Hell, it must be for some reason or other. To say that they harbored a deep resentment and allowed it to blossom, is shameless, isn’t it?”
Elsidor replied.
“That’s why Agentress hated the flower, as a symbol of those who don’t know what they’re doing and will fight to the bitter end.”
……jeobeog.
He strode off, looking determined.
At this moment, Elsidor wanted to check.
Whether his actions were right or wrong.
Elsidor opened his mouth.
“If it has not blossomed, then dispose of me.”
Kinver gulped, swallowing hard.
“But if there is a single flower in bloom.”
……cheolkeog.
“Give me the chance I told you about.”
Suddenly, the door burst open, revealing the carnage.
The dignity of the Heavenly Unity had fallen to the floor.
The interior of the Heavenly Unity branch is in shambles.
“……!!!”
But I didn’t have to look too hard to see the mess.
Yes, because it was immediately visible.
No, because it filled my vision.
[Blood Grown Lycoris Flower]
[Blood Grown Lycoris Flower]…….
Dozens, hundreds, thousands.
Yes, blood-red flowers, like.
As if to curse Kinver and Elsidor for returning to this place.
As if to lure them to Hell.
They were rustling their beautiful petals.
Kinver gritted his teeth.
‘It was a useless worry, Kinver, you idiot.
After all, they were non-recyclable assholes.
*
So that’s the secret of the Blood Grown Lycoris Flower.
‘Well, if Agentress is telling the truth, I’m sure.’
He’s seen more blood than anyone else, hasn’t he?
If it’s Agentress who’s been through the bad time.
I stared at the dense bloom of Blood Grown Lycoris Flower and collected my thoughts.
‘The remnants of the Heavenly Unity.’
I hear they’re working hard to close the rifts that are opening up all over China.
I heard they were working hard.
How do I know what’s going on in China that isn’t part of the AAU?
‘How did I know, I voted for them.’
I’m the general manager of the AAU’s Yusra branch.
After the collapse of the Heavenly Unity.
China had formally requested to join the AAU.
Needless to say, I voted in favor.
‘If we leave China alone, it will be…….’
I voted yes because I didn’t want to add to the burden I would have to carry. Of course, the vote was justified from Grandfell’s point of view, not from Lee Hoyeol’s cheesy point of view.
‘We don’t know what damage will happen if the rift collapses’
However, China’s admission to the AAU was still pending.
Unfortunately, it didn’t get a majority vote.
I hate to think about it, but it was obvious.
‘Even in this situation, it won’t stop.’
On the competing interests of countries around the world.
Big or small, they’ve all been hurt by China in the past.
In any case, if Liu Zunqun is dead and the remnants of the reformed Heavenly Unity, there will be others who are not. I don’t know why, just as I don’t know people.
‘Perhaps they were possessed by demons.’
Those people must have died at the hands of Elsidor.
‘Even in Hell, they could not let go of their grudges.’
Is it because I heard the truth about Blood Grown Lycoris Flower?
The fluttering red flowers look eerie.
I can see why Lorenzik returned from the mouth of Hell.
Lorenzik seems to have realized something, too.
“So this Blood Grown Lycoris Flower painting was an invitation from the dead, inviting the living to Hell to settle their scores, and I didn’t even know it!”
Surely an explorer is an explorer.
The way they rejoice when they learn something they simply didn’t know.
Of course, I was too busy being dumbfounded to be pleased.
‘An invitation to Hell.’
A shift in gaze from the Blood Grown Lycoris Flower.
[Class Quest: Are we still demons?]
I ask you, Akshan. We who have become demons to hunt demons, who have fallen to Hell to hunt demons, and who have hunted demons after falling to Hell, are we still demons?
-Enter Hell. (in progress)
Well, not even other people.
I don’t want to doubt our seniors…….
Seniors, you don’t have a grudge against me, do you?
You didn’t invite me to Hell for that purpose, did you……?
Even if the Akshan were a group that was far from blood, seniority, or education.
‘Still, I’m sure that……. No, the Akshan don’t really have any?’
Anyway, I don’t know what kind of flower the Blood Grown Lycoris Flower is.
Or what Hell is a place?
I knew some of it.
In that sense, I had something to confirm.
I turned to Elsidor.
“Does your decision still stand, Elsidor?”
The blooming Blood Grown Lycoris Flower of this fallen branch of the Heavenly Unity would be equal to the number of dead who would be waiting for him in Hell, holding a grudge against Elsidor.
I asked.
‘Lorenzik you probably haven’t committed many sins.’
Even if the explorer had incurred resentment, how much would it have cost?
He may have nothing to fear in Hell because of it.
You’re not, right?
Elsidor said nothing in response to my question.
He just looked at his Blood Grown Lycoris Flower and nodded.
‘Then I won’t stop you.’
It’s not like I’m in a position to worry about others when I don’t know what’s going on with the Akshan seniors. By the way, it looks like the cat can’t pass by the hut.
Ssssssss.
The Blood Grown Lycoris Flower swaying in the breeze through the broken window.
Even if it is said that it is a flower that grew out of a gruesome resentment.
Grandfell’s exalted aesthetic.
Ignoring the artist’s intentions.
He made his evaluation based solely on his own standards.
I opened my mouth.
“Sometimes there’s beauty in the ugly.”
Whatever.
Just be honest.
I should have just said I needed a [Blood Grown Lycoris Flower].
“I’ll accept your invitation because the effort is worth it.”
You’re shamelessly good at saying one thing, really?
*
The deadline given was only one week.
In a week, they’ll be entering hell.
Kinver gazed at a single red flower.
[Blood Grown Lycoris Flower]
[Rank: Unknown]
[Limit: Unknown]
[Effect: Unknown]
[Description: Not a flower of this world].
“…… Bloody hell of mine.”
I scratch my head in disbelief.
How did you end up in Hell, Kinver?
No, technically, I wasn’t dragged.
I volunteered.
-“I, along with Elsidor, will take responsibility!”
Along with clearing karma.
“After all, I can’t turn down an invitation from those assholes.”
As recyclable trash.
Turning down invitations from scum who have no remorse in hell?
Because they deserve to be humiliated.
By the way.
“Really…….”
Kinver’s gaze shifted to the tomb.
Beneath this grave lay Long Shenglac.
Him.
Hoyeol had brought Long Shenglac’s body back to his homeland.
He had personally buried him in his homeland of China.
“You are carrying so much burden…….”
How can you care about such things?
It was pure admiration.
In a way, I was worried.
“……shit.”
I wonder if I’m going to end up holding you back.
In the real world, or on the Arcana continent, I knew the subject matter.
I was confident I wouldn’t grab your ankle.
“I’ve never regretted my ugly past before.”
But it was Hell to face the grudges and karma he’d accumulated. Kinver could not help but agonize over the fact that he had caused Hoyeol the slightest bit of harm.
“……You’re no different from me, right?”
Of course not.
The arrogant, overbearing elf was doing something called ‘preparing,’ and now I have to start thinking. What I, the weakest of the weak, can do for him in Hell.
Kinver muttered.
“Even if it means giving my life.”
But Kinver did not need to give his life.
Even if he caught them by the ankles.
It won’t make a dent in the slightest.
And so it was.
At this moment, no one could guess what kind of trials a man with a thousand karmas would face in Hell, where he would have to face his karma.
.
Except for one man.
“Hell, Grandfell, my brother.”
Pride whispered.
“Are you not afraid of your family’s original sin?”
If not.
“Have you really forgotten everything because of that ‘ray of light’?”
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