Chapter 697 – Game of Thrones (3) #PART 1
A distortion caused by the massive exorcism ritual.
Within the warped flow of time, only one with a “class” that surpassed both Hoyeol and Agares could walk with such dignity. That very being had revealed itself in reality.
*
The Kingdom of Yusra.
“……!”
Jesse Heinnes’s shoulders jolted. It felt—how to put it—like waking up from a half-sleep. Her mind was hazy, her body’s senses strangely incomplete.
The one pointed hat noticed it too.
-It seems something has happened.
“Looks that way.”
-This isn’t the time for it, though.
The moment Agares manifested in Seoul, [Exorcist] had been activated. Because of that, time in reality had frozen at the instant of Agares’s appearance.
Tatadat.
As Jesse quickened her steps, she saw the Yusra army preparing to march. Most were Arcanians, dragged unexpectedly into reality by the update, who had no real reason to stake their lives to protect Seoul.
“Hear me, warriors of Yusra!”
The King of Yusra, Hakuna.
“Today, we stand before a mighty demon.”
His speech was moving the Arcanians. The pointed hat watched with a crooked gaze.
This is why, back in my days as Tower Master, I avoided dealing with monarchs.
-There is no freedom, no individuality.
Jesse, mingling in the crowd, whispered back.
“But wasn’t your problem, Master, that you were too free?”
Back then, he had dumped virtually everything onto the Chief, Marcelo. With no real argument, the pointed hat trailed off.
-Well… in its own way, I suppose even that’s progress.
Hakuna. Once possessed by the Archdemon of Greed, one of the Seven Deadly Sins. The fragile king of the fallen ancient Yusra was no longer.
“Your chances of surviving this battlefield are slim. Mine are no better. Yet still, my comrades—I ask of you true sacrifice.”
Hakuna’s command of the troops as a monarch was evident. The surge of morale was so sharp it made goosebumps rise on Jesse’s arms.
“This is not a sacrifice for me.”
Hakuna’s eyes gleamed with resolute light.
“This is a holy war for that sublime ‘Ray of Light.’”
As the roars poured forth, a memory rose unbidden.
Are you listening, Harkon?
The days he’d trained under Harkon on Yusra’s islands. Harkon had once told him: his swordsmanship talent was objectively exceptional.
-“I’m not fond of flattery.”
-“A god has no need for flattery.”
Harkon had laughed, then added:
-“One day, even the Supreme Commander will need Yusra’s aid.”
-“Oh, come now. Yusra? Do you really think that day will come?”
-“It surely will.”
At the time, Jesse had dismissed it as a white lie meant to give him a sense of purpose. No matter how much he trained, could he ever keep up with his benefactor’s footsteps?
Back then, doubt weighed me down.
But Harkon’s words had been truth.
I never thought your absence would weigh this heavily.
The warriors of Yusra roared their fervor.
Hakuna felt the weight press upon him. As their king, leading them meant sharing life and death alike. Yes—at last, the day had come to repay the grace Yusra had received.
Goooooo.
The mana stone of Yusra blazed, opening a massive portal. Its destination, of course: the Anomaly land, Seoul.
Jesse manifested a separate portal of her own, recalling the first duty that lay before her.
“First, we must protect Seoul.”
-Indeed, Jesse. It is too soon for you to face Agares.
“Not until the Chief appears, anyway.”
The Holy War Alliance had already split in two, and even the Magic Tower was suffering a power vacuum. Safest, then, to regroup with the Chief.
Step.
The instant Jesse stepped into the portal—
“……!”
That hazy feeling swept over her again. The pointed hat’s voice sank low.
-It seems Seoul’s space-time has become entangled.
“……Entangled, how?”
-I don’t claim perfect knowledge of space-time. Don’t dig too deep.
Even with the amassed wisdom of a grand archmage, this battlefield was hard to follow. Still, the eerie silence of Seoul alone made it clear: the entanglement was deep.
Jesse’s eyes scanned for details.
Yet nothing appeared.
“……I don’t see anything, Master.”
-I see it too.
“Wh-where did everyone go?!”
As Jesse reeled, Hakuna and the Yusra army also arrived in Seoul. Their reaction was the same—shock.
Hakuna cried out:
“Is this the enemy’s trap?”
The Explorers’ Federation, too, had split between hardliners and moderates. A moderate explorer, activating the class skill [Danger Sense], shook his head.
“No, I don’t think so. I sense no threats at all!”
Indeed.
In the distorted Seoul, there was no Agares. No citizens who had worshipped him. No Hoyeol who had stood against him. Truly—not even an ant remained.
The forest of skyscrapers. The sky darkening with unnatural speed, far too fast for daytime.
In this twisted Seoul, only one thing existed.
“……?”
Everyone’s gaze lifted skyward. A brilliant silver radiance.
Grandfell’s evil eyes.
“!!!”
*