Chapter 612 – Drowning (3)

After all, he was a demon hunter.

-“Hey, Hoyeo l……. ”

-“You idiot, what did I tell you, don’t talk to that bastard?”

-“Oh, okay, why are you swearing at me?”

-“Are you pretending to be nice like that bastard?”

Arcana Continen Chronicles.

Of the unfathomable number of classes.

Why was he a demon hunter?

Maybe it was the way he was back then.

A demon is a being that never gives in. The tears it sheds are only a means of deflecting a crisis, and the loyalty it offers is only a way to put a knife in its back.

From friends who are slowly distancing themselves from each other.

Perhaps Akshan was superimposing the image of the demon he was talking about. Maybe he harbored ambitions to hunt demons in the game, even if it meant killing them, something he could never do now that his head was big enough.

It was literally a time when I was suffering from a disease in the second year of middle school, right?

That may be why Lee Hoyeol survived Akshan’s quests that everyone else had given up on. No, he went one step further and created another ‘me’ with his own hands at that time.

Yes, Grandfell.

That abominable evil.

I’m talking about you.

In that sense, it was still a question.

If Grandfell wasn’t created because of me, how did I even know of its existence and scribble its settings in my notebook? Some might say it was a coincidence against extreme odds, but we know that, don’t we?

Grandfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo.

The coincidence of such a bizarre name probably won’t happen again until the universe ends and repeats itself dozens of times. So now, Lee Hoyeol thinks, maybe this is our destiny.

Maybe this is our destiny.

Something that cannot be expressed by language, science, or the magic of the Arcana continent. As I once said, we may be the living proof of ‘Anomaly’.

Maybe that’s why.

[A status abnormality, ‘possession’, occurs on you.]

The moment I was confronted with the [possession] message.

My feelings were different from the majority of players who experienced possession, because I knew what it felt like to be possessed, having heard about it from Nam Cheolmin and Baek Yiseol.

-“My body was moving on its own…! No matter how much I screamed and tried to stop it, I couldn’t do it. I was completely helpless. To the point where I hated myself.”

This is getting to be a bit of a tale of the past, isn’t it?

Nam Cheolmin was the party leader of a party I joined shortly after awakening as a player. Possessed and manipulated by a lesser demon imp, he had brought the party to the brink, as he said.

-“……I’m sorry. Normally, I never behave like this. It may seem like I’m making excuses in a situation like this, but in fact, many of the rumors related to me are extremely exaggerated.”

Baek Yiseol was no different.

After all, I’m a demon hunter, after all. I could tell that Baek Yiseol’s behavior, which was causing all kinds of gossip, originated from a succubus.

In that sense.

Now that I think about it, I’m pretty dull, right?

I couldn’t control my body as I wanted.

It was the same for me too.

How much have you suffered because of that?

“The right mind resides in the right posture.”

I suffered from muscle pain for a while just from straightening my back for a long time. And what about keeping the place clean? It was a daily chore, like someone with severe dysentery.

“The flavor is truly amazing.”

I began to drink green tea like an addict, something I had never done before. One day, I threw a tantrum because I couldn’t even scream even though the boiling green tea was burning my palate.

“You’re a nuisance, you’re disrespectful to your sisters.”

Just thinking about it.

I’m getting chicken pox on my forearms, so let’s move on.

Anyway, my point is clear.

While being a demon hunter.

They said they didn’t notice the possession.

But that doesn’t mean I’m unqualified.

If it was a demon, it was an Akshan demon hunter trying to cut off the breath of whoever it was.

Why would fallen Demon Hunters fall into Hell at the hands of the same Demon Hunters if they weren’t willing to kill themselves?

It’s hard for a Demon Hunter to recognize his own transformation.

But I do.

Grandfell was not a demon.

He was Claudi’s lord.

It is said that he was born as a vessel of ‘Arrogance’ and is revered by the six seven deadly sins.

Grandfell, who has been with me all this time, was not a demon.

That much I could prove.

But at the same time.

I began to realize what I had done.

Why the Pride hated me to death.

I began to realize why.

I fumbled through my dark history. To be more precise, I reversed the course of the Claudi family, which Pride had so painstakingly buried, and returned it to the Arcana continent.

The same was true of the Six Sight Brooch, which holds the power of the Seven Deadly Sins.

Deep in the dungeon, in the Magic Tower, I finally got my hands on the fragment that was once in Pride’s possession.

I ended up activating the power of ‘Arrogance’.

But more than anything, I regret my behavior.

The way I dealt with demons.

That was Lee Hoyeol’s attitude.

It wasn’t you who hated demons, it was me.

Grandfell, you had no reason to hate demons. Even if I didn’t know the truth about the Claudi family, you did, didn’t you?

You knew, which is why you hid it so desperately.

Because the Grandfell I know, the you I know, wouldn’t have truly hated Pride for bringing down the Claudi family for you. If you truly hated Pride, you would have hunted him down the moment you saw him.

In the end, it was all my will.

It was I, Lee Hoyeol, who showed no mercy to the demon, not Grandfell. As I said, the Lee Hoyeol of that time projected the beings who traumatized the demon.

If that’s the effect, it’s not strange.

But this is strange, isn’t it, Grandfell?

Why did you go along with my rhythm, my determination, my stubbornness?

I could not guess.

-“The demons must all go to hell.”

-“I do not speak to my prey.”

-“A useless being, that is the demon”

How did Grandfell feel when he said those words out of his own mouth?

At the same time, the situation began to make sense.

Why would you want to leave me?

Even if I reversed the position, I would have felt less affectionate.

I was the one who didn’t even notice when you did, but kept ranting about the need to hunt down all demons, and I put all the blame on you for that.

It’s all my fault.

I can’t even imagine how illiterate I must have looked in your eyes. I know very well how mercilessly you treat useless beings.

But.

Give me a chance.

A chance to pick up on a slip of the tongue.

And give me a chance to keep my promise to you.

You’re the kind of person who doesn’t let anything slip through your fingers, right?

Even if the world abandons you, it won’t be me.

At this moment, I wasn’t shocked to learn that Grandfell was a demon.

Like I said, I could understand any secret.

It was just that I couldn’t bear to think that the words I’d spoken might have hurt him indelibly.

So please.

The consciousness I was desperately clinging to gradually faded.

I couldn’t tell if it was the effects of the [Possession] or what.

I squeezed out my last bit of strength.

I turned to Grandfell, who didn’t answer.

‘Don’t leave me like this.’

Soon, infinitely deep darkness came again.

[The head of a great family, ‘Grandfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo’ goes berserk.]

*

The Demon World.

The Ten Thrones used their minds to survey the situation on the Arcana continent and in the real world.

Things were taking a serious turn.

They spoke softly.

“I didn’t even expect this from you.”

The Evil Dragons were defeated?

It wasn’t like I was just bragging.

Dragons are hailed as the kings of all things.

It was because of their experience.

Of course, a few thousand years is nothing compared to the eons that the Ten Thrones have lived. Still, the dragon’s wisdom was enough to crush the humans.

“The only thing of use is gone.”

The problem is that they were blinded by blind malice and failed to utilize that wisdom, and fell helplessly. Some people may ask whether it’s a pity to lose a big card called a dragon.

But the Ten Thrones were looking farther ahead.

“The time has already come for their presence to fade.”

Dragons were called the kings of all things on the Arcana continent.

Only they were the ones who had entered the anomaly realm.

But not anymore.

For now, counting only those humans who could be seen in the Evil Eye, the number of those who had entered the anomaly realm was roughly ten fingers. The Ten Thrones were agitated for another reason.

Agares, the Demon King of the Second Throne.

【Master of Language】

At the same time, as the de facto ruler of the Demon World, his brow furrowed. It was none of his business to know that strange malice was stirring.

Agares’s purpose was only negative emotions.

More precisely, the negative emotions of the Ten Thrones.

Agares had covered up the death of Amon, the demon king of the Seventh Throne.

To steal away negative emotions and swallow them up.

Defeating Amon.

He perfectly fooled the Ten Thrones into believing that it was Lee Hoyeol, not Baal.

He’s human, so he can’t absorb negative emotions.

“……!”

But contrary to his expectations, the negative emotions didn’t wander off.

That’s right.

Lee Hoyeol, because he was absorbing negative emotions.

Agares, his head makes the decision.

The wisdom that makes even dragons laugh.

So it wasn’t hard for Agares.

He came up with the correct answer.

“……He was a demon?”

I couldn’t believe it.

I couldn’t believe I hadn’t noticed.

Why he was a demon and hated the same demon.

None of it made sense.

However.

“No, this is really dangerous.”

That’s not what matters.

What mattered was the future that this reality would bring.

For a moment, Agares could see.

The Arcana continent.

And the world of adventurers.

The influence of Lee Hoyeol that encompassed both worlds.

His influence was at a level where he could control both worlds. Didn’t you even witness it? Didn’t you bring it on yourself? The sight of his influence gradually turning into negative emotions…!

So Agares made a decision. It wasn’t a time when he couldn’t absorb negative emotions, but now Lee Hoyeol has become dangerous enough to threaten his throne.

Agares opened his mouth to speak.

“Don’t you think so as well?”

Another reflection in Evil Eye.

He whispered towards ‘Bael’s Grasp’.

It was a statement made by the master of language.

“This is no time to stand still, is it, Foolish Bael?”

Flinch.

Then Agares’ body flinched. For a moment, Agares regretted it. He was beginning to feel as if he had touched a fire to catch a flea.

Still, Agares gritted his teeth.

“I suppose the reaction is that you can’t let it go either……?”

It was proof.

Baal, who hadn’t reacted at all when the Ten Thrones had dismissed him as stupid, was showing signs of discomfort at the mention of Lee Hoyeol, the new Ten Thrones.

And now, Agares’ urging was realized.

Kugugugugugung……!

The demon world begins to tremble.

To be precise.

The worlds that the demon world has swallowed up are offered.

“Ha, hahaha. What kind of majesty is this…?!”

Yes.

Bael, the First Throne Demon King.

As an offering for his full manifestation.

*

Grandfell opened his mouth.

“How foolish of you.”

Toward Bael’s grasp, who struggled to shake off his fear.

“Foolish Bael.”

Coldly.

“You have failed to realize ‘this time either’.”