◈ Episode 510. The Shortest Week (2)

Even if it wasn’t, it was good.

‘I was going to go anyway.’

On the Arcana continent.

The Ten Thrones, the meeting of Paimon and Great Evil, Pride.

I couldn’t describe how excited I felt just hearing about it. Even now, there’s a rift between Arcana and reality, a kind of safety device has disappeared, right?

‘Seoul is the land of anomalies.’

The Behemoth’s maw had ceased to function, allowing the demons of the Demon World to freely cross over to the Arcana Continent, and the Arcana Continent and Seoul were completely connected.

‘That’s a lot to worry about.’

Paimon and Pride.

Two demons whose true intentions are unknown.

I can’t even imagine how they’re going to stab me in the back.

That meant I had to prepare myself.

My snout finally admits.

“Still, a week should be enough time.”

Yeah, whatever you think.

You can’t in good conscience give yourself a week to prepare, can you, Grandfell?

That means you’ll have to be very organized.

‘I’m used to it, actually.’

Me and Granfell never did that. We’re used to working out when others are sleeping, and finishing our morning letters when others are waking up, aren’t we?

‘Except for one thing.’

Now I have to be deliberate in every action. Just as I recognized Paimon’s meeting with Pride without much care or effort.

‘If I can see them, they can see me.’

My presence on the Ten Thrones is not something that can be easily concealed, so in that sense, it may be necessary. The ‘incarnation’ Paimon spoke of.

But that’s only from Lee Hoyeol’s perspective.

‘What is there to hide, my Grandfell?’

The great Grandfell of heaven hides his presence?

‘I don’t know if you’re talking about yourself, but you’re being chased by a demon?’

Gently.

Imagine Grandfell walking softly, without the sound of squeaking shoes. Imagine Grandfell taking off his dawn jacket because it’s too colorful.

Oh, come on.

There would be a character breakdown.

And another obvious one.

“It’s an incarnation.”

Heavenly infant Solitude.

“Nothing is so meaningless to me.”

No matter how hard we try to create an incarnation, we will never be able to create an incarnation that meets Grandfell’s standards.

But me, Lee Hoyeol.

I’m not discouraged by Grandfell’s stubbornness.

I had already thought about it.

“I have alter egos that transcend incarnation.”

Yes, now is the time.

All the titles and fame we’ve accumulated over the years.

And isn’t it time to put the legends to good use?

With that, I called my alter egos.

“Hiel. And Diend.”

“Hiel answers your call, my lord.”

“Diend will follow you.”

The unnecessarily formal greeting remains.

It’s definitely my alter ego number 1 and 2.

I feel like I’m looking into a mirror, and I have a bitter taste in my mouth today.

I swallowed the bitter taste in my mouth and continued.

“Show the inferiors what they want.”

As always.

“That’s the attitude of a nobleman, to give as much as he has.”

Grandfell’s style of speech scratched the demons’ pride.

“Time to do the Noblesse Oblige.”

*

Demon World, a simple spire.

Atop it stood a man, clad in green robes, green jewelry, and jade from head to toe. The man’s gaze turned westward, the corners of his mouth slowly curving into a parabola.

“I suppose it wasn’t the guest you were expecting, Paimon?”

The Demon King of the Eighth Throne, Gentle Barbatos.

For he, too, is of the Ten Thrones.

Barbatos sensed Paimon’s frustration.

The mere fact that he was speaking to a demon from the lowly Arcana Continent.

Paimon, as it was, would have had a lot of patience.

In that sense, the guest was out of luck.

“This is an unprecedented humiliation for a noble demon king.”

Even if he secretly moved his body. In reality, it reminded me of Evil Eye. Of course, all of the early Evil Eye had been destroyed once by the new Ten Thrones.

“The focus was blurry, but it was enough to watch you.”

But the rifts continued to form, and the Ten Thrones continued to influence them, so Barbatos had seen it all.

Paimon’s humiliation.

“It seems like appeasement isn’t easy, and that’s understandable.”

But he had no intention of laughing at Paimon.

There was nothing good about being hated by Paimon, who had regained his madness.

Barbatos would just wait for the right time.

“If you need my help, Paimon, I’ll cooperate.”

How could a demon be labeled ‘gentle’?

It was because of Barbatos’ special powers.

Because Barbatos was a great mediator.

What skills does a mediator need?

To read both sides, of course.

Barbatos was able to see the essence.

To use a simple analogy…….

Something similar to a player’s system message.

Only Barbatos.

He could see in a way that only he could understand.

The greater its presence, the more it could not escape Barbatos’ power.

Barbatos could only gasp in disbelief.

“!”

Goosebumps sprouted all over his body.

“Oh, foolish Bael…….”

First Throne Demon King, Foolish Bael.

“You have awakened from your long slumber.”

He was stirring after a long silence.

It was just writing.

A sense of dread seemed to envelop him.

Barbatos rolled his eyes desperately.

Bael had awakened. Why? For what reason? Had Paimon’s actions offended Bael? All sorts of possibilities raced through Barbatos’ mind.

But.

“I have not the slightest intention of spying on you, Bael.”

Unlike lesser demons.

Barbatos was not mistaken about why Bael was called foolish. Alone in another dimension, no one could grasp the intent of his actions. It was only considered foolish.

‘I’m not interested in dying.’

It was only a moment.

The mere sensation of Bael’s presence made his head swim.

The power had come.

Barbatos looked westward once more.

Paimon’s stirring had ceased.

“I see you don’t need my help, Paimon.”

Not for now.

Then I needn’t worry about it either. The Battle for the Demon King and the Proof of the Ten Thrones has begun. I should be busy as the Eighth Throne Demon King.

Barbatos smirked.

He didn’t mean it.

It was hollow.

“I sincerely wish to repay you for this favor.”

The reason why his turn didn’t come even to him, who was ranked 8th.

It was only because Paimon, ranked ninth, took the initiative.

So, for now, it’s time to relax and enjoy the moment.

Barbatos thought, enjoying the silence.

‘Paimon, I still don’t understand why you have so many underlings, lowly beings who are nowhere near your level.’

“I would be distracted by their shouting.”

But Barbatos’ relaxed musings were short-lived.

“……!”

A shiver ran down his spine again.

“It’s not Bael……?

But this time, it was a different kind of goosebumps.

This was not a sign from the Demon World.

It was the Arcana continent.

It was instantly recognizable.

“The New Tenth Throne, he’s moving.”

To reveal such a presence with a body that was not an incarnation.

Only the New Tenth Throne would know the full extent of his power.

Barbatos swallowed hard.

“You dare ignore Paimon’s advice, newcomer?”

Barbatos’s face changed.

“In that case, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to give you a lesson.”

As I said, I had no intention of antagonizing Paimon.

Nor did I intend any direct harm.

It was literally a matter of discipline.

Barbatos glanced to the west.

“If by any chance you do wrong and cause the noble Paimon to fall into deep sorrow, this demon world will once again be plunged into a frenzy of madness, One-day old puppy.”

Manifestation of Power.

Barbatos closed his eyes tightly.

He followed the one-day-old puppy’s aura to the Arcana continent.

But something was off.

“……?”

There was not one …….

At first, I thought the aftereffects of daring to spy on Bael’s movements were still lingering in my mind. But I was wrong. Barbatos’s lips moved of their own accord, driven by power.

“…… As the Emperor of the Spirits, I will restore the destroyed nature.”

It was not a prophecy.

“And as an embracing darkness, he will wrap the sorrow of the Arcana continent in his arms. The subjects of the Underworld, and the living of the Underworld, shall follow him wholeheartedly.”

This moment.

“At the same time, as a savior of the darkness, he will lift the darkness that has fallen upon the Arcana continent and bring back the forgotten voices of the gods.”

These events were happening simultaneously.

That wasn’t all.

There were more events than I dare to fathom.

They were happening all over the Arcana continent.

The presence of the Tenth Throne was being felt simultaneously.

“……It doesn’t make sense.”

Barbatos clutched his head.

Common sense was being destroyed.

Still, as a mediator, he calmly assessed the situation.

And so he came to a conclusion.

Through trembling lips.

The name of the Fourth Throne Demon King, his name, slips out.

“Gamigin, you mean to tell me that you were not truly caught off guard?”

*

I never thought I’d come to appreciate bubbles in my life……!

‘It was so rich that I felt suffocated’

As if my alter egos number 1 and 2, Hiel and Diend, weren’t enough.

Now that I had [Materialized] my legends.

I was in a daze.

I’ve said it many times.

The power of a legend is how far and wide it echoes.

‘It’s only natural that it goes beyond imagination.’

The legends of me, Lee Hoyeol, have been told hundreds of millions and billions of times over the internet in reality, unlike the legends of the past, which only echoed in the Arcana Continent.

[The Arcana Continent is stirring with your legends.]

……Ehem, is this message even likely to come to mind?

What’s even more surprising is that the intensity of this was also adjusted.

Because my legends are not necessarily positive legends.

‘I’ve only materialized the legends I need at this time.’

I left out a few shameful legends in there as well…….

Anyway, thanks for hiding my true self in all these bubbles. No matter what I do from here on out, the Ten Thrones won’t be able to see what I’m really doing.

‘Paimon, Pride, I don’t know what you’re up to.’

You can’t figure out what I’m up to either.

A tooth for a tooth, an eye for an eye.

I don’t back down even if my opponent is a demon.

This is the cunning of Lee Hoyeol……!

But Grandfell style of speaking, disguised my sincerity.

“Noblesse Oblige.”

……You’re really scratching my tempers, Grandfell.

“Be grateful for any mercy you can get, you inferior race.”

Do you have the audacity to say anything to a high-ranking demon king?

I walked on, even as I thought.

Thanks to the bubble, my actions could not be traced back.

ttogag.

As always.

It means I’m boldly going in search of it.

To a place that only I and Grandfell knew.

‘Only then would I be truly prepared.’

Soon, the vastness of the Claudi Territory comes into view.

Of course, at this point, players were starting to come and go.

It wasn’t just me and Grandfell who knew the place.

‘It’s actually another Hidden Piece hidden in the Claudi Territory.’

Of course, to talk about that hidden piece, I had to jog my memory. It meant I had to remember it, even if I didn’t want to.

Yes, that horrible setting I wrote down in my notebook……!

『The accumulated wealth of the Claudi family was beyond anyone’s comprehension. The gold coins alone could be compared to the number of grains of sand on the beach…….』

How worldly were you?

Hoyeol from the past?

Grandfell’s nagging voice had never cut so deeply into my heart.

“Wealth and fame are as meaningless as a dream.”

……I’m at a loss for words, Grandfell.

I’ll just keep my mouth shut this time.

As I paced toward Claudi Territory.

The lips moved as they pleased.

“Sometimes there’s something to be learned from nothing.”

……What if I scratch my head while doing this, really!

*

Rise, the Great Sage, looked up at the sky.

He looked up at the stars, at the Evil Eye, and the stars that blended into the night sky.

Even the Milky Way.

His eyes glowed even more brightly.

A grayish half-light.

The final moment.

Like a rapidly burning flame.

The Great Sage gazed into the distant future.

He spoke.

“The future, which had never changed, has changed.”

His voice filled with indescribable fear.

“The Arcana Continent.”

“The Demon World.”

“The God Realm.”

“The World of Adventurers.”

“Yes, all the worlds you know will perish.”

.

.

.

[Mythic Quest, ‘The Great Sage’s Last Prophecy’ begins.]