◈ Episode 527. Hypocrisy (1)

Darkness is everywhere.

I wonder why everyone says that.

I think I know why they described Grandfell as an infinitely deep darkness.

More than half of the people understand it.

Maybe it’s because of that, the sensation was different from the past [Blackening].

It was like floating in the past of Grandfell.

No, it wasn’t just a metaphor.

I’m sure I’m really in an infinitely deep darkness.

Flinch─

The hand moved, and I could touch my face with it, even my hair. It was pitch black, and I didn’t have a mirror or anything, but…….

I could feel it.

‘This is my hair, that’s what’s bothering me.’

I don’t know, maybe it’s the effect of blackening.

Because Grandfell’s personality was completely in front of me.

I wonder if I’ve gotten inside Grandfell’s head.

‘It’s just a guess.’

The more I think about it, the more I feel lost in this landscape.

Do whatever you want, Grandfell. I’ll do whatever it takes to uncover the secrets you’re so desperate to keep hidden……..

You’re pretty amazing, too.

You think so, don’t you?

How in the world could you be so deceitful?

Of course, I imagined you like that.

I suppose I’m not much better than I was back then.

Anyway.

‘Maybe that’s why we got through.’

I took a step, a step into the darkness.

[Understanding Darkness].

As that understanding grew, I realized something.

As my understanding increases, so does my proficiency in the [Heavenly Infant Solitude].

Furthermore, it becomes more difficult to control Grandfell’s power.

Grandfell’s personality is gradually becoming clearer.

Grandfell’s emotions seemed to be coming through.

This darkness that you feel inside of you.

I can feel that you don’t want me to see it.

Nevertheless, I can’t help but go on.

What I don’t know yet.

What you’re hiding.

I’m not sure yet.

But I will promise you one thing.

As I’ve said many times.

Even if the world doesn’t understand you.

I will understand you.

‘Why, you’re right, there’s give and take in everything.’

Just as you understand dark history that not even my own flesh and blood would understand.

I will understand a past that not even your own flesh and blood will understand.

But…….

‘You’re so stubborn, even after all this …….’

How is it that nothing has changed?

I wonder if I’m even moving forward, but nothing has changed. I wondered if my eyes would adjust to the darkness and I’d be able to see something, but again, nothing.

Chuck.

I lifted my hands in a panic.

My veins are drained, and my legs are loose.

If there was a wall, I’d have something to hold on to.

That’s when it happened.

‘!’

A flash of light.

It was literally a split second.

I saw it clearly.

Grandfell, a memory from the past.

And yet.

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

What the hell……?

It was little Grandfell. I saw the young Grandfell I had encountered not long ago in the highest level of the Spacetime Quest. The same little Grandfell who was trying to run away from Claudi’s territory was smiling.

Another Claudi I knew.

In the arms of Pride.

Damn, every inch of Claudi’s house is like an onion.

‘What’s going on……?’

I asked, confronted by the Shadow Mercenaries, convinced. Pride, this guy must have had his eye on Grandfell’s life since he was just a toddler.

But 30%.

I saw no such desire in Pride, the one I witnessed in Grandfell’s inner world. Me, Lee Hoyeol. Even when I was at work and skipped all sorts of events, I didn’t show any signs of dislike.

‘This is crazy, man.’

Grandfell and Pride.

Why do you guys get along so well?

I couldn’t understand it.

I couldn’t help but reach out once more.

‘Surely, there must have been a trigger.’

Grandfell and Pride.

I’ve often wondered if it was the year Grandfell was chosen to be the next House Patriarch when he was seven years old…….

‘No.’

I knew that because I had met little Grandfell.

From the age of only six, our Grandfell was extraordinary. Anyone could recognize him as the next Patriarch. Hadn’t Pride, who was so close to Grandfell, realized that?

‘Of course not.’

……So one more time.

Because it was so fleeting, like a flash of light.

Maybe he didn’t see it coming.

It was at that moment that I cautiously reached out toward the darkness.

‘?’

This time, my eyes itched.

In the depths of the darkness.

I saw a bright ray of light.

……What is it?

As I thought, the light began to fill my vision with more and more intensity… and now. A faint vibration in the palm of my hand.

[1 missed call: eldest sister]

Ziiiiiing.

[Hoyeol, I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize you called me.]

I realized this in hindsight.

I realized how I fell into [Blackening].

And then I saw it in hindsight.

“……!”

The scenery of Jeju Island.

The curse that was hovering in the sky, the Paimon Domain, was nowhere to be seen. The flames that threatened to burn Jeju Island to the ground had died down. Even the demons that flowed from the curse trembled in fear.

But it wasn’t over.

Bensch William, Senior in Flame Magic, lay gravely wounded on the ground.

Vangrit Tom, a Senior in Pure Magic, fell unconscious from magical exhaustion.

The former Shadow Mercenaries, now the new Demon Hunters of Akshan, collapsed to the floor.

Senior Ice Mage, Senior Kotein Revel.

Senior Earth Mage, Maia Deian.

The two senior mages had their circles damaged to the point where they could never manifest magic again.

That was enough.

I could feel their eyes on me.

It was a familiar feeling for a demon hunter.

Yes, their eyes were filled with fear.

I realize in hindsight.

……What have you done, I thought.

‘I knew it, Grandfell.’

That you were not as merciful as I thought you were.

I knew it, but I let you get away with it.

To Paimon.

I didn’t want to show any mercy.

But this is the aftermath.

I, Lee Hoyeol.

This was the price I paid for ignoring the weight of my burden and rampaging.

I gazed at the vast amount of black magic flowing around me.

Creeping.

Mugan, a space that even the most powerful mages of the Magic Tower could not withstand. An extremely dense black cloud, not unlike such a void, enveloped Jeju Island.

Suaass.

But not anymore.

As I look away, the black magic dissipates.

The black cloud lifts and sunlight shines through.

It’s like the inside of Grandfell.

I’ve been floundering in the depths of darkness.

Like a ray of light.

Thanks to the light.

I was able to see myself more clearly.

The faces and emotions that were changing at this moment.

Fear turned to joy.

Worry turned to relief.

Yes.

I, Lee Hoyeol.

I, Lee Hoyeol, had faced myself fully without turning away.

My weight.

So this time, I can’t let it go.

So understand, Grandfell.

I opened my mouth to speak.

“You’ve unintentionally shown ugliness.”

*

“……Ugh.”

Vangrit opened his eyes with difficulty.

Where am I……?

The ceiling is unfamiliar.

But then he hears a familiar voice.

“Vangrit, you’ve finally come to your senses!”

“Senior Bensch……?”

If only the ceiling had been familiar.

You must have wondered if you were dreaming.

But Vangrit slowly pushed himself upright and kicked off the covers.

“……How many days have passed since then?”

Bensch replied with a stony face.

“A month. Exactly one month.”

“A month? You can’t be talking such nonsense……!”

“That’s right, it’s a ridiculous joke. Hahaha!”

“……Yes?”

A joke?

A joke in a situation like this?!

To Vangrit’s incredulous look, Bensch added.

“It hasn’t even been a day yet, and you’re in pretty good shape for such a thing, aren’t you? I thought you’d be stuck in the guest room for months, even under Senior Bellier’s care.”

Not even a day has passed……?

It almost sounded like a joke.

It had to be.

“It was definitely a serious injury…….”

Even if it was the senior Bensch who had fallen, he himself had released enough energy to overload the unopened Circle. Bensch smirked.

“What kind of harmony would you like?”

“……No way.”

“Yes. He was there when we were knocked out.”

“……!”

Vangrit breathed a sigh of relief.

The last thing he’d seen before he blacked out.

It was the icy gaze of Chief Lee.

“This is unprecedented. I didn’t think that the heavenly Chief would admit his mistake. Oh, you don’t mean to imply that our Chief is a shameless person who knows no wrong?!”

Bensch hurriedly threw up his hands.

“It’s because he’s never been one to make mistakes in the first place, Chief Lee……. In that sense, he could have let it slide this time as well.”

The perspective of a senior mage of Magic Tower.

Especially since it was Bensch who was dealing with the costly arcane magic of House Williams, Bensch spoke in an uncharacteristically calm voice.

“I’m sure no one would have been able to stop them. Even if it’s not Paimon, it’s the primordial Satan that is the First Legion Commander, and the way Kotein and Maia Senior have turned into what they are.”

Kotein Revel and Maia Deian.

As senior mages, they were the old guard of the Magic Tower.

Maia, in particular, was another genius whose accomplishments as an earth mage were considered second only to Elder Yugweed’s.

But even those two were exhausted from the exertion of dealing with the Fourth Legion Commander.

In a separate room.

The two are still unconscious.

Looking at them, Bensch spoke.

“But it wasn’t all Paimon, as there was an unidentified ‘Hand’ that lightly crushed them.”

” ……Just like that.”

“Obviously, Chief Lee had anticipated that.”

Thus.

“He made the judgment that he had no choice but to use forces beyond his control, and who are we to criticize that choice?”

Vangrit nodded.

“Moreover, knowing what kind of a man Chief Lee is…….”

“That’s what I’m saying, Vangrit.”

“What?”

“I’m ashamed to say, I was pleased.”

“What……?”

Bensch smiled crookedly.

“Chief Lee, who doesn’t need to ask for our understanding, was happy to admit his mistake. I finally thought that Chief Lee I knew, whom had nothing to hide, had finally returned.”

“If that’s the case……. I feel the same way.”

“is it so? If so, that’s comforting. Honestly, I was worried. Did you unintentionally look at Chief Lee with suspicion out of a sense of needless resentment?”

Vangrit winced inwardly.

Senior Bensch, do you have a sharp edge?

But Bensch didn’t seem to notice.

“I can assure you that anyone who knows Chief Lee’s personality would have dispelled their concerns with this. But it would be unreasonable to expect that for everyone.”

“……Has it spread by any chance?”

“Why wouldn’t it? Everything moves so fast in this world, doesn’t it?”

Thanks to the exploration of anomalies.

Bensch and Vangrit had grown accustomed to social media and breaking news traveling over the Internet, as well as the turbulent atmosphere in the Magic Tower.

Bensch said meaningfully.

“Perhaps a great wind is about to blow through this world.”

The shroud that never, ever wavered.

It was a natural order since Chief Lee was shaken.

Vangrit replied, also meaningfully.

“We’ll have to make sure we don’t get caught in the wind.”

“Senior Vangrit. That sounds reassuring, doesn’t it?”

“It’s a bit of a shame to hear that from Senior Bensch…….”

“What, you mean I’m not reliable?”

“Honestly, I don’t think you don’t have that side of you…….”

“Huh?”

“Why, just by looking at the contents of your application form…….”

“Are you really going to stab me in a corner that hurts like that?!”

Both of you are childish.

What a disturbance in the recovery room.

Even if you’re senior mages, you shouldn’t be allowed to……!

Klee, an adept mage of the Healing School, coughed up the courage.

“Ehem……!”

Vangrit was the first to regain his senses.

Maybe it was because of him.

An afterthought occurred to him.

“More importantly, where is Chief Lee now?”

As always when a great wind blows.

Chief Lee would be the first to face it.

Vangrit rolled his eyes.

Still, if it’s a Magic Tower…….

Sheltered from any wind.

It would be a safe haven.

However, Chief Lee always did more than anyone could imagine.

“What? He went back to Jeju Island?!”

Why would he go back to the windiest island in the world……?!

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『Reversal Magic』