Chapter 692. An Unpleasant Rebellion (1)

[King of Seoul]

The [Title] bestowed upon Agares, who had even absorbed the players’ system, became a source of boundless inspiration.
So that was why he had managed to devour the Arcana continent in such a short span of time.

“An ability rivaling Authority itself…”

And then—activation of Seoul’s administrative rights.

Ruuumble—!

At Agares’s gesture, the landmarks and structures of Seoul shook violently. Compared to the malice he had poured into rebuilding his palace in China, this sight was enough to make even him feel cheated.

‘Power so extravagant it almost stirs jealousy.’

But Agares only laughed it off.

‘It doesn’t matter. In the end, this too has become mine.’

A bloodless conquest. And more than that—
To seize the throne so easily.

What are you doing, Lee Hoyeol?

This was not what he had anticipated. Perhaps even this was part of Hoyeol’s scheme. Though he now claimed the throne of Seoul, Agares did not lower his guard.

You are the one who hunted not just a Throne, but Thrones.

Akshan. A demon hunter—natural enemy of demons. He would not be careless. And yet, when he considered the situation rationally, a smile crept across Agares’s lips.

Even so, you have underestimated me.

The instant the authority system was activated, Agares erased the thought of defeat from his mind. He had discovered how perfectly the authority system meshed with his own power: the Word of Command.

Agares murmured,

“The harmony of [Royal Decree] and [Word of Command]…”

It was worth testing its limits.

Swish.

He lifted a finger. Instantly, the masses who had been bowing ceased their worship and raised their heads. Their foreheads were bleeding from striking the ground. Beneath that blood—faces radiant with joy.

“Lord Agares has looked upon us!!”

Naturally, no negative emotions arose from those who had already surrendered. They truly worshipped him. Yet drawing out such emotions from them was not difficult.

“Offer a sacrifice for me.”

At once, the prostrated players rose to their feet. The kind of sacrifice did not matter. Anything within Seoul’s reach could be an offering.

Like water boiling in a cauldron, slowly, negative emotions began to seethe.

“Wait, why are they coming this way?”
“Did they finally snap out of it?”
“No! If they did, they’d be fighting the demons out there, not coming after us hiding here!”
“Boss, you lowered the firewall properly, right?”
“Yes, even locked it tight…”

Players.

Regardless of class hierarchy, stat distribution, or level—
this was the moment civilians were reminded that players’ bodies were fundamentally superhuman.

No thunderous boom was needed. Just the sound of something being crushed.

Crack.

A player’s grip tore through the barrier like paper, as easily as pulling back a curtain.

“Uwaaagh!”

Players?

At least, not to Seoul’s citizens. They were not figures of admiration. With the Magic Tower and the portal in Seoul, the city had always seen an influx of players.

So it was not some miraculous coincidence when someone whispered—
“Th—that’s Seong Siyoon, isn’t it?”

Guild Master of Venom, Seong Siyoon.

The citizens crouched beneath a café table whispered. They had seen him just a couple hours earlier, buying his own drink.

“…If it’s Seong Siyoon.”

He was one of the top ten ranked players in Korea. Though often overshadowed by Nam Taemin, few doubted his ability. Which was why they dared to hope.

“Maybe he’s trying to protect us?”

Swipe.

As if to answer that faint hope, Siyoon wiped the blood trickling from his forehead with a handkerchief. A middle-aged man hurried to him, spittle flying as he spoke.

“Injured or not, how could you tear down the barrier? At this point, you’ll have to protect us. Don’t think of running! I’ve been recording this whole time! For Venom Guild’s reputation—!”

Suddenly—

The man thrust his smartphone in Siyoon’s face. Citizens held their breath. At the same time, part of them felt reassured.

“At least that loudmouth is taking the heat for us.”

Given Siyoon’s reputation, surely he would swallow his pride. If he protected them, no barrier could be stronger. But that relief didn’t last.

Instead of a reply, they heard—

“Ptew.”

The sound of Siyoon spitting in the man’s face.

“?!”

They thought the man would explode in fury. But instead—silence. Too much silence.

“Mmmph! Mmmphhh!”

Listening closely, it wasn’t silence. The man was struggling to speak, but his voice was muffled—as though sealed shut.

“Uwaaagh!”

Thud.

He collapsed backward. The phone’s flashlight illuminated his face.

Skin sloughed off, his lips fused shut, his voice stolen.

“His… his skin melted!!”
“It’s not spit—it’s poison.”
“Y—you bastard…!”

Negative emotions surged. Amidst them, Siyoon muttered:

“Accept this first sacrifice, Lord Agares.”

Step.

Empowered by the unison of Word and Decree, Siyoon could not resist. He halted before his next victim, venom mist curling from his lips.

“P–Please, spare me—!”

But the plea didn’t last.

KRRRASH!

An ear-splitting crash, dust erupting, and Siyoon was hurled back. A voice cut sharper than his venom:

“Did you think Nam Taemin’s absence made you something, Siyoon? I feel no pity. Were it up to me, I’d thrust my spear through your throat here and now.”

In an instant, Siyoon was subdued.

It was Hisagi. His magic swept through the café, absorbing the poison.

“Ghhk—”

Siyoon, incapacitated. Hisagi glanced toward the citizens, recalling his master’s teaching: demons fed on negative emotion.

If Nam Taemin or Leonie had seen this, they’d be retching.

With narrow eyes, Hisagi smiled faintly.

“You have nothing to fear. I am here.”

Wooooom.

Since the Magic Tower opened to players, Hisagi had spent nearly all his time honing the hidden class of Magic Spearman. Now its fruits were revealed.

You can’t restore collapsed buildings with ordinary skills.

But with magic?

He raised a barricade of conjured architecture around the ruined café. It wouldn’t hold forever, but it might suppress despair for now.

“Thank you, Mr. Hisagi!”
“Think nothing of it.”

Turning from the citizens, Hisagi examined Siyoon’s condition. He had aimed away from vitals to find the cause of his actions. Even so, the system displayed a critical hit. It couldn’t be helped.

There’s a gulf between you and us.

So you trained in rifts and hunting grounds, waiting for your day?

True growth is not found in such places.

Stats and levels were mere numbers. Hisagi trusted in the Commander’s teachings. He wasn’t gloating—his eyes locked coldly on Siyoon’s pupils.

By the laws of Arcana’s chronicles…

Near death, Siyoon should have regained his senses. Hisagi remembered a report from when the Inazuma Guild had been dispatched to China, in the days when Heavenly Unity and Liu Zunqun were still active.

-“We captured them all, but every last one claims they remember nothing. They insist all their actions were Liu Zunqun’s brainwashing…”

And yet—

“…Lord Agares.”

Siyoon’s gaze was still fixed solely upon Agares. No sign of recovery. Hisagi stroked his chin.

“Y–You’re going to kill him? We’ll pretend we didn’t see anything! Our phones have been dead anyway…!”

The citizens were terrified. Even at death’s door, Siyoon still had the power to slaughter them all. Their pleas meant nothing to Hisagi.

Stab.

A grave matter.

His hesitation wasn’t over Siyoon’s life. Hisagi was trying to see the forest, not the tree.

They stir negative emotions even at the brink of death.
No—worse, those dominated by Agares become sources of despair even in death.

Softly, Hisagi whispered:

“…So this too was a part of your arrangements?”

*

Read only on pindangscans

*

Truthfully, I had never really hidden it—neither then nor now.

“The path of the tyrant, you say…?”

Because of that damned setting, I couldn’t conceal a thing. Every time, it kept me on edge.

What if someone happened to strike the mark with the right question?

So I explained to Elsidor—not about the plan to become “King of Seoul,” but the plan to become the “Tyrant of Seoul.”
Thankfully, he caught on quickly. Perhaps by now Elsidor, too, had built up his share of experience.

He’s gone through hell twice already, after all.

Of course, I knew Elsidor better than anyone else.

“I understand everything.”

Elsidor was already one of the most arrogant of elves, and among those haughty beings, his personality was the most difficult of all.
Even from the fragmented memories of past rounds that occasionally surfaced…

There weren’t many rounds where I’d grown this close to Elsidor, were there?

The implication was simple. For all his temper, Elsidor wasn’t the kind to say anything he didn’t truly mean.

And now that very Elsidor was looking at me and speaking—

“Indeed, you are right. If being a King is not enough, then the time has come to be a Tyrant. And I understand, too, that to walk the Tyrant’s path, one must strike down the revered King. Such is the adventurer’s law. Imperfect though it may be, I can accept it. But…”

He fixed me with trembling eyes.

“That would mean those under Agares’s dominion will see you as the enemy who slew their sovereign, would it not? Considering the stature of Agares…!”

So he knew. He was right.

The Anomaly of Royal Decre and Word of Command.

That effect would likely persist even after Agares’s death. How long it would last, even I didn’t know. None of the memories I’d recalled from previous cycles had provided that answer.

After all, this is my first time walking the Tyrant’s path.

Perhaps that was why Elsidor’s worry came so earnestly.

“I cannot accept it. I know—at least in part—what trials you endured to protect them. I saw enough with my own eyes. To then watch them repay you with such ingratitude… I cannot stand it.”

Elsidor’s pupils gleamed as if aflame. For a moment, I almost mistook it. Could it be…?

…Crying for my sake? No, surely not.

But it wasn’t a mistake. Elsidor was, indeed, that perceptive.

“Even after sacrificing yourself for them, do you truly mean to walk the path of their enemy?”

And then the question I could no longer avoid came flying straight at me—

“After all that… are you truly all right with it…?!”

*

*

*

Pindang: change from Lord of Seoul to King of Seoul