Chapter 691 – Call It a Diversion Operation (5) #PART2
“Baek Yiseol…!!”
Nam Cheolmin’s cry went unheard. The telepathy was one-way, so Baek Yiseol couldn’t receive it. If it had come from anyone else, he would have doubted its truth. But it was Baek Yiseol who had delivered the news.
—“The one who possessed the Supreme Commander was a demon.”
It was Baek Yiseol, with whom he had shared secrets no one else knew. Even from an analyst’s perspective, her words held weight.
Then Hisagi asked abruptly,
“Did something happen to Ms. Baek Yiseol?”
Nam Cheolmin glanced around. They were at a subway station with civilians. Not the place for this kind of talk.
“Let’s move somewhere else.”
“Agreed.”
Whoosh.
Hisagi immediately opened a portal. And the destination was none other than—
“Wha—! You scared me!”
“My apologies, Branch Manager Park. We’ll only be a moment.”
“Ch–Cheolmin? Ah, yes, go ahead.”
The office of Park Minjae, Branch Manager of AAU Korea. After a quick bow to the startled Park, Nam Cheolmin got straight to the point.
“This is something you need to know as well, Branch Manager Park.”
“Y–Yes!”
“You said it was Baek Yiseol, didn’t you? She’s Sinhwa Guild’s master.”
“Right. And it seems Baek Yiseol fell victim to Agares.”
“……!!!”
The instant those words fell—
Clack.
Hisagi and Schreig equipped their gear from their inventories. The only one frozen in bewilderment inside the branch office was Park Minjae, who was no player.
“C–Could you explain in more detail what’s going on?”
“Of course. Let’s start the briefing.”
The telepathy had been short and to the point, but Nam Cheolmin had already run through several possibilities beforehand.
“According to Baek Yiseol, Agares seems to be using mind-control authority. Because she was possessed twice against her will, she developed resistance. But the rest of Sinhwa Guild… could not.”
Park Minjae flinched inwardly.
Baek Yiseol was possessed by a demon twice?
And yet she’s still alive?!
If that story spread, it would cause chaos. But Nam Cheolmin spoke of it as though it were a trivial fact. Which only meant—
Stay sharp, Park Minjae. The next thing he says will be even worse.
And right on cue, Cheolmin continued.
“She said they’re worshipping Agares now.”
“…Worshipping?”
“They’ve given up fighting?!”
Nam Cheolmin nodded.
“That’s right. And as proof—don’t you find it a little too quiet outside?”
And indeed, once he pointed it out—
Silence.
It had been a while since demons began pouring through the portal Agares opened. Yet there were no screams, no sounds of battle. Nothing. And then, the killing blow—
[Guild: Apollo has surrendered.]
[Guild: Big Bang has surrendered.]
[Guild: Venom has surrendered.]
One after another, guilds that had seized their territories declared unconditional surrender. Humanity could sometimes be more vicious than demons themselves—that assumption had shaped their plans.
“Damn it…”
Was the Ten Thrones truly beyond human response?
Against such overwhelming authority, all their carefully laid strategies had crumbled. Nam Cheolmin bit his lip, while Hisagi and Schreig finished their preparations to leap from the office.
Cautiously, Park asked,
“Will you both be all right?”
“Of course.”
Schreig gave a wry smile.
“To be honest? No. We can’t resist an authority that robs us of our will. But we can’t just sit and watch, either.”
Hisagi nodded.
“We’ll avoid fighting if we can, Cheolmin.”
An analyst of the Great Alliance, Nam Cheolmin was shaken—but Hisagi hadn’t forgotten his role. His words brought Cheolmin back to his senses. Yes. Unnecessary battles had to be avoided.
“You’re right. In the end, all we can do is wait.”
The enemy’s power was far beyond anything they had accounted for. Their plans had been overturned, but their role had not changed.
“We wait for Mr. Hoyeol to appear.”
All they could do was support Hoyeol, the one who could stand against Agares of the Ten Thrones.
“We have to act to minimize civilian casualties. And we can’t ignore the possibility that players under Agares’s control will turn hostile. Stay alert at all times.”
Nam Cheolmin overlooked nothing. Even the corrupted system messages.
“With the system malfunctioning, the only thing we can trust is our senses.”
Nod. Hisagi and Schreig leapt out the window, dropping dozens of meters and weaving between skyscrapers. Watching them go, Cheolmin shrugged.
“Then we should do our part, too.”
“…Our part?”
“The AAU network is still secure, isn’t it?”
“Of course. Without question.”
Back in the early Cataclysm, before AAU’s limits were exposed, the branch buildings had been constructed with immense technological resources, touted as humanity’s last bastions. Park had doubted at the time, but the engineers swore it was true.
Click.
As Nam Cheolmin plugged into the AAU’s internal line with a tablet, he added,
“They said the network would survive even if the world ended. They even laid new undersea cables across the Pacific for it. But why bring this up now…?”
“Well, in that case, tampering should be impossible.”
“Tampering?”
Agares had absorbed real-world knowledge through the bodies of players. Proof of it: he was manipulating the Arcana system itself to ascend as Lord of Seoul.
Would someone that calculating really broadcast his every move openly? Surely, the knowledge he had acquired included the concept of mass media.
Nam Cheolmin intended to cut off that possibility from the start.
“In other words, it’s time for AAU to earn its keep.”
Through the world’s first AAU-led live stream!
He didn’t know which player Agares had taken knowledge from, but it would take time for him to reach into AAU’s secure line. Until then, Cheolmin would broadcast unfiltered truth to the world.
Agares, no matter what tricks you pull, the truth won’t be hidden.
Nam Cheolmin’s lips curled faintly.
And Mr. Hoyeol’s grand entrance had better be captured, too…
And he was right.
“The other branch directors are in uproar.”
“Tell them exactly who’s to blame.”
“Already muted them all.”
Unfiltered truth spread across the world. Who had betrayed the Holy War Alliance in chaos, whose knees bent beneath Agares’s authority, and finally—
As the portal ripped the sky open crimson, Agares himself emerged.
“Is that… a dinosaur?”
Cheolmin shook his head.
“You know better. It’s Agares.”
“Yes, of course. It’s just… hard to believe. A crocodile that size?”
A massive crocodile, upon whose back rested a throne. And on that throne sat Agares.
The moment his true body appeared, the silent streets came alive.
“Agares…!”
“Our King!”
“Save us, O merciful one!”
Voices broke in tearful ecstasy. Park Minjae clutched his head. Even he felt his sanity fraying.
“And all of this is being shown live to the world?”
“That’s right.”
“…Somehow that feels helpless. Hopeless.”
So this was what it came to—Seoul, offering a bloodless welcome to one of the Ten Thrones, unable to resist.
At that moment—
“…!”
Cheolmin’s hand. A clenched fist so tight his nails drew blood. Yet his voice remained steady.
“They say the darkest hour comes just before dawn.”
Because he truly believed it. That soon, the brilliant light of Him would rise.
But the unfiltered broadcast showed no sign of him. Not when players were mocked by demons. Not when citizens trembled in terror.
[The Lord of Seoul has been crowned.]
“…!!!”
Even in the very moment Agares took the throne.
—