Chapter 647. Sincerity and Power (3)
It’s not as easy as I thought, these broadcast guys.
‘Isn’t this enough of an answer?’
I was struggling to suppress my shame.
To think they’d throw such a sharp question.
I had no trouble understanding the intention behind it.
‘How could you hide your glorious presence completely?’
If I, the Demon Hunter, am to hunt the Demon King,
Doesn’t it imply that I can also hunt a Demon as grand as the “Source of All Evil”?
Suddenly, I recalled what Grandfell had said to me.
-“There are no limits to your natural enemies.”
-“Even if that enemy is the ‘Source of All Evil.’”
-“You, of all people, could hunt it.”
I, Lee Hoyeol.
I still don’t believe that you, Grandfell, foresaw everything and made all the preparations.
Because the path I’ve walked has been full of harsh trials and suffering, wouldn’t you agree?
But…
‘I understand now.’
I wasn’t confused anymore.
I began to understand why you made that decision.
It was probably because I had returned to my original self.
The Demon Hunter.
Before revealing my class on Today Arcana,
I reflected on what it meant to be a [Demon Hunter].
If the enemy is a demon, I must throw myself at them without hesitation, disregarding danger, and if I’m unlucky, I might end up dragged into hellfire with the demon I so loathed—it’s a class not much different from a moth drawn to a flame.
As I remembered this, I muttered to myself.
-“Yeah. Try saying the class choice was your arrangement, huh?”
Grandfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo.
Could there be a being who could face someone like you, a being who made even the World Tree and Bael tremble with fear?
Naturally, the only beings who would dare face you would be insane.
Those who knowingly rush to defeat themselves, even though they know they’ll lose. The only being who comes to mind in my head is that insane one.
Akshan.
-“…It feels like it might have been arranged.”
I truly believed it for a moment.
Perhaps the reason I chose the class [Demon Hunter] in the first place was also due to some twisted plan by you, Grandfell. But, that’s unlikely.
‘Personally, I’d rather believe that’s the case. Please.’
That would be the only way to deny the dark past I wrote with my own hands…! Anyway, you, Grandfell, must have known about the Demon Hunter’s nature too.
‘You’re no different, are you?’
I returned to thinking about your settings, Grandfell.
“Grandfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo didn’t care about wealth. Born as the heir to a great family, he had tasted the end of prosperity. He had no reason to be obsessed with wealth and fame.”
Your integrity became my habit.
Even now, after you’re gone,
I’ve never once looked at my bank account.
『Of all the things Grandfell learned as the heir to the family, the most important was not to be swayed by trivial things. The seat of the head of the Claudi family allowed no disturbance.』
The same goes for emotional expression.
Although people often tell me that I have a good smile,
Nowadays, perhaps because I’ve been maintaining a neutral expression for so long, even lifting the corners of my lips is hard.
That’s probably why.
At the last moment, the way you smiled at me, I could never hate it.
Having lived your life with a blank expression, how could you smile so brightly at that moment?
『Grandfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo’s talent wasn’t limited to one thing. A sharp mind was given, as well as innate magical talent that allowed him to mimic most spells just by observing. He also possessed physical potential that was not inferior to it.』
Even if I say your smile was a talent, I can’t deny it…
But, what I focused on was not those small details.
That’s right.
『Grandfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo. His exact age is unknown. Though born the heir of a great family, it fell to ruin because of a demon. Grandfell was the only survivor of the family and, seeking revenge on that demon, became a Demon Hunter.』
Looking back, the demon in the story wasn’t Pride.
You, Grandfell, knew.
You knew that Pride had sacrificed himself for you.
I can now be certain.
I know who that demon is, and why you chose the path of the Demon Hunter to hunt that demon. The demon you hated was the vessel of the Seven Deadly Sins—Pride.
‘You, Grandfell, must have been Claudi itself.’
I bit my lip.
Being a Demon Hunter, I knew the traits of demons.
When I first faced a Demon King, I realized that the strongest demons consume negative emotions.
You must have known that too, Grandfell.
That’s why you revealed your radiant silver light without hiding it.
And why you rose high above the Arcana continent.
『Grandfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo is noble. No matter who the opponent, he never bows his head. His pride is heavy and unwavering.』
You’ve always been confident, right?
Even if the fact that you’re a demon is revealed to the whole world,
You would never waver.
In fact, you’d probably welcome that.
Because…
『Even if you drown under that weight.』
You, Grandfell, would become the ‘Source of All Evil,’ surpassing the primordial evil and Bael, taking on all the negative emotions, and ultimately, falling into hell at my hands.
-“Kill me.”
That’s why you must’ve asked for that wish, and pushed me into a corner.
Skal, Frostnax, Hiel, and Harkon—making them face harsh trials.
‘Naturally.’
No matter how much I struggle, I knew I couldn’t escape your plans. Thinking of the consequences, it wouldn’t be surprising if, the more I struggle, the more you push me into a corner.
I couldn’t shake the self-pity in my mind.
‘But still, with the feelings involved, don’t you think this is too much?’
I had to overcome it.
To rise above the reality of these questions.
Even if it was you, Grandfell.
“Of course.”
I understood your pride.
And I will face it in my own way.
With my pride as Lee Hoyeol.
“That is ‘our’ pride.”
*
read only on pindangscans
support me : https://ko-fi.com/pindangscans
*
“Just look at that unchanging expression.”
Lee Jiyoon, the second daughter of the Lee family, clicked her tongue.
“I was wrong. There’s nothing different at all.”
Lately, she thought Hoyeol might have come back to his senses. But there he was, on a global broadcast, boldly speaking without a hint of shame.
“I’m telling you, you don’t know how lucky it is that you didn’t try the Arcana Continent Chronicles back then. Honestly, if you, Lee Yerim, had started following Hoyeol, I can’t even imagine how bad it would have been.”
Unlike Hoyeol, who used to scribble something in a notebook while chuckling, the third daughter, Lee Yerim, had gone through her rebellious teenage years. Yerim shot a glare at Jiyoon.
“Why are you suddenly grabbing my hair?”
“Why? Your expression was so ugly that I had to do something.”
“Aunt, did my face really look ugly?”
“…Hey, Arang, can you speak properly?”
Too bad, being the only niece, there was nothing she could do about it!
“Fine, I’m going in!”
Bang.
“Look at that terrible temper. Hoyeol only became a player, and yet he’s like this. Lee Yerim, if you had awakened as a player, the whole world would have gone crazy…”
The sound of Jiyoon’s nagging echoed, but Yerim firmly locked the door. She sat at her desk and took out a black notebook that she had kept hidden in the drawer.
Scritch.
Yerim opened the notebook. She calmly read the lines that Hoyeol had written back then. Had she read this when she knew nothing, it would have just been ridiculous. But now, everything written there had become a reality, just like the Arcana Continent’s Chronicles.
“…Are you serious, Lee Hoyeol?”
Yerim knew.
She knew that all of these settings had turned into reality, just like the Arcana Continent Chronicle.
That’s why Hoyeol’s final answer was even harder to believe.
────── Name: Grandfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo ──────
“What kind of pride is that…?”
────── ps. No matter how many times the world ends ★never★ will I betray ──────
*
read only on pindangscans
support me : https://ko-fi.com/pindangscans
*
The Magic Tower.
“So, is that it?”
Flame Magic Senior, Bensch William, asked with a confused expression. His wide-open eyes were full of curiosity. If you didn’t know him well, you might fall for his earnestness.
But the one facing him was Vangrit, who knew him better than anyone.
“You saw and heard the rest, Senior Bensch, didn’t you? Chief Lee personally answered all the questions, so what more are you curious about?”
“No, there’s the atmosphere, you see. You said a new Evil Eye has appeared on the Arcana continent, right? Is it really the Evil Eye of the Ten Thrones? The Ten Thrones are definitely…”
“Ugh.”
Bensch William.
He had a knack for picking up on unnecessary things.
Vangrit closed his mouth and thought to himself.
‘I’m already so confused…’
The Source of All Evil.
Vangrit saw the resemblance in that Evil Eye.
He remembered the gaze of Chief Lee when they were in Jeju Island.
It couldn’t be helped.
Vangrit was one of the people who had been wounded by Hoyeol.
“Are you seriously going to act like this? If you keep this up, I won’t stay silent either! I’ll formally request that Tower Master Marcelo give me the freedom to leave the Magic Tower!”
The likely next Chief,
whether he realized his position or not,
Bensch was jumping around, seeing only the immediate future. Vangrit spoke calmly, as if to rein him in.
“Senior Bensch.”
“Yeah, Vangrit. Finally ready to speak up?”
“If I may.”
“What? What’s with the hesitation?”
“Well…”
Vangrit swallowed dryly and continued.
“Out of the blue, what about the William family’s secret technique? If, by chance, Senior Bensch activated the technique and could no longer control it, what judgment would you make?”
What was he suddenly talking about, the family secret?
“Well, that’s…”
If he was an ordinary person,
he would have figured out the intention behind the question right away.
But Bensch, being transparent, was clueless.
Vangrit, who had understood the true worth of the William family’s technique, proudly presented his opinion to him.
“Well, I’d burn it up and end my life!”
“…What?”
“Because every power comes with responsibility, Vangrit.”
The eldest son of the William family.
Even though he had joined the Magic Tower as an outsider,
the dignity of being born into a magical family remained.
“I see.”
In that sense, the concept of responsibility was something difficult for Vangrit, a commoner, to understand. After all, Vangrit was still aiming for a long life, even if it was a modest one.
Bensch asked, now a bit confused.
“Why are you suddenly asking about the secret technique?”
Vangrit recalled the moment he had seen Chief Lee earlier.
At that time, Chief Lee had honestly admitted his own shortcomings.
‘He admitted his shortcomings that made us suffer.’
If Chief Lee, who bore an even heavier responsibility than Bensch, failed to control the suitable magic power again,
what kind of responsibility would Chief Lee take?
“…No way.”
Vangrit was in disbelief.
Swish.
The words began to appear on Vangrit’s parchment.
The two men’s faces went pale as they met the handwriting.
“What? Chief Lee is resigning? What does this mean!?”
.
.
.
read only on pindangscans
support me : https://ko-fi.com/pindangscans