Chapter 699 – Different Front and Back (2)

What should I say when we meet?
Should I start with a formal greeting?
Are we even in the kind of relationship where greetings still matter?
In that moment, will I even be able to speak properly?
I had agonized over it again and again.

But I could never reach a conclusion.
The reason was simple—
I still lacked both the courage and the ability to face you.

I thought it was something far, far away.
And why wouldn’t I?
To fulfill the wish I had made in the green tea fields, I had to overcome countless hardships and trials just to reach you.

Hunting Agares?
In terms of difficulty, it was the most dangerous thing I, Lee Hoyeol, had ever done.
And yet, when compared to the path leading to you, it was just another ordinary step along the way.

But then—

“What the hell, you…?”

If my final goal suddenly shows his face like this, what am I supposed to do?!

Of course, I had never expected this.
Not at all.

Your radiant eyes?
I’d already seen plenty of them back in the Arcana continent, so they didn’t shock me.
Right after stepping out of the ritual, I even wondered for a moment— Wait, are we back in Arcana?

That was the extent of it.
But then—silver hair. Upright posture. That aura no fake could ever imitate.
And you appear this brazenly?!

“More importantly, did you just call me a child left by the water?”

That’s the first thing you say upon showing up?!

Well, in a way, it was so very you.
Having become so accustomed to Grandfell’s way of speaking, even mastering it to some degree myself, I had to admit—your words were perfectly timed.

Because if you looked at me now…

‘Yeah, the usual you would definitely spit out that kind of venom.’

The exorcist ritual ended, and came the time of settlement.

I gazed upon the scattered legends written by the Hoyeol of a previous cycle.
If I could recognize them, then surely you could too, Grandfell.
That must have been why you said such a thing.

I felt a sudden urge to rebel, but kept the words in my heart.

‘I am not like you.’

The past is only something I can lean on, not live in.

“You must know this as well.”
“……”
“The past is nothing more than the past.”

And so, even faced with your venom, I, Lee Hoyeol, could do nothing but stay silent, like a dumb mute.

‘When a man loses spirit, he really loses it all.’

Perhaps it was because it had been so long since I last met someone I could bare everything to—you.
But somehow, I found myself wanting comfort.
And no wonder, considering how troubled I’d been lately.

‘Agares alone, for instance…’

That bastard was vicious beyond words.
Of course, I’d brought it upon myself with the firm goal of becoming Seoul’s Tyrant.
Still… knowing that didn’t make it feel any better.

‘Becoming everyone’s enemy…’

Agares’ authority, Eternal Suggestion, lingered even in hell.
For all I knew, players of the Holy War Alliance—Hisagi among them—might truly despise me.

‘It reminded me of those days.’

Perhaps that’s why I even caught myself regretting.

‘This is exactly why you’re not supposed to open your heart.’

But our Grandfell-nim, even after so long, was utterly unchanged.
Why? Because he pressed me relentlessly with that same venom that once crushed senior mages in the Topaz Hall like mice…!!

“Even if you had a purpose, the sacrifice was unnecessary.”
“Reckless beyond belief.”
“You need to reflect more.”

Today, I, Lee Hoyeol really learned a lot.

‘So this is how everyone felt.’

No wonder they stormed out of Topaz Hall in tears.
My lips twitched bitterly.
Yeah, you were right about everything.

‘For the sake of my goal, I endangered everyone.’

I recalled the reason behind a decision I would never have made in the past.
And suddenly, I found myself afraid of what I was becoming.
The more I retrieved the arrangements, the clearer the past lives’ memories became.

‘…The closer I come to a monster.’

The duller I grew.

‘Even just now.’

When I embodied the legend of a past Hoyeol—
I had failed to understand the emotions of others, including Agares.
It proved that the past Hoyeol had gone so numb after enduring things too difficult to even fathom.

And in that moment of self-reproach—

“You, yourself.”

Grandfell added.

‘…Me, myself?’

At first, I thought I’d misheard.
Because if you added that final phrase, then your venom would no longer be venom.
I questioned it, but I didn’t need to ask.

Grandfell murmured:

“Even up close, it still does not suit you.”

Does not suit me?
What the hell is that supposed to mean?
No, that’s not even criticism—that’s picking a fight.

That should’ve been my reaction.

‘But what is this?’

Something about it felt familiar.
As though I’d heard those words from you before, vaguely, in another round.

Confused by the hazy memory, I couldn’t hold back my curiosity.

“That—wasn’t that something you said in a previous round, Grandfell?”

But as I said, our Grandfell-nim was unchanged.

“One last thing.”

He stubbornly spoke only what he wished.

“You may believe without doubt.”
“Believe what? Are you going to leave out the subject, even with us?”
“You already know, even if I don’t say it.”

Know it? Me?

No, you’re overestimating me.
Unlike you, I don’t turn overestimations into reality.
I’m Lee Hoyeol—you know I only understand things if they’re spelled out in detail!

Why, even your wish—I pretended not to know until the end…

“!”

That was when my vision shifted.
For a split second, I stared blankly around me.

It was still Seoul.
But something was different.
And I realized it.

“…Grandfell?”

You were gone.
As though you had never existed in the first place.

And in that instant, one possibility surfaced.

‘Wait.’

Fallen into the demon world, Grandfell could no longer appear freely.
He’d said it himself: Manifestation.
For the Ten Thrones to project their body into Reality or Arcana, a sacrifice was necessary.

‘They hadn’t given us time to prepare.’

They’d simply needed time to prepare their sacrifices.
So no matter how great Grandfell was, without a sacrifice, he couldn’t manifest in Seoul.

Showing your eyes was one thing—
But not your whole self.

‘Then what was the Grandfell I just saw?’

And then, it clicked.

“No way.”

Had you taken advantage of the ritual’s ending to scramble my senses?
Thinking that, I finally understood your behavior—appearing, saying only what you wished, and then vanishing.

Now it all seemed absurd.

‘Really, what was that?’

If that’s what you wanted to say, couldn’t you have just come quietly at another time?

‘Why not during your precious tea time, so we could share a cup of green tea…’

Step.

That was when I felt a presence.
To be precise, a familiar mana trace drifted closer on the wind.
That rare twilight mana… Jesse Heinness, no doubt.

“Ch–Chief!”

I wasn’t a Chief anymore.
I wanted to correct her immediately.

But I didn’t overlook one thing.

‘Right now, I am the Tyrant.’

Though I had lost the system and couldn’t confirm with messages, I had fulfilled every condition.
Naturally, I had gained the Tyrant’s title.

Which meant—

‘I must not speak carelessly.’

Even if Jesse hadn’t been dragged into the ritual, just being seen close to me could draw Seoul’s hatred upon her.

‘Sorry, but…’

I was about to leave without responding to her call.

And then—for some reason, Jesse spoke, her voice thick with emotion.

“I’m sorry. Once again, I was of no help at all.”

No help at all.

Normally, I wouldn’t have thought much of it.
I knew there were reasons beyond words for why I could act as I did.
I never intended to blame those who couldn’t follow me.

‘Because I have no right to.’

But something about her tone was strange.
If she hadn’t been in the ritual, Jesse shouldn’t know anything.
To be precise, she couldn’t possibly be aware of what had happened inside.

‘Then how does she know?’

And so, naturally, my thoughts turned back to you, Grandfell.

During the ritual, Agares and I had both felt it—
That ominous disturbance outside.
It must have been you.

‘You could certainly interfere with the ritual.’

I was sure.
That time, you had meddled.
Your words came back to me:

-“Even up close, it still does not suit you.”

That excuse about not suiting me—
You used it as your reason to intervene.

And then, I realized.
The footsteps were growing closer.

“Supreme Commander…!”
“Benefactor.”
“Thank goodness you are safe.”

Hisagi approached, clutching his wounds.
Behind him was Schreig.
Following Jessi came Hakuna, Yusra’s soldiers, and more.

Not just them.
Players, citizens too.
All of Seoul, the Land of Anomalies, was fixed upon me.

Agares’ authority, Eternal Suggestion.
Its effect was no lie.
I vaguely recalled struggling against it in another cycle.

So then—why?

“We will never lose sight of our benefactor again.”
“Damn it, I thought something truly terrible had happened.”
“Thank goodness… really, thank goodness…!!”

The Tyrant.
I, who deserved only the hatred of all—
Why was I being welcomed like this?

I realized the reason in Jesse’s next words.
Her voice was firm, like a vow:

“If we meet again, I won’t let it slide.”

…Won’t let it slide? Who, exactly?

“To pull such tricks the moment you finished hunting Agares, Chief… He really had not an ounce of ‘pride’ in him…!”

And then, beneath her pointed hat, Jesse’s gaze turned skyward.
More precisely—
To your eye, Grandfell, suspended above.

You, Grandfell, being accused of lacking pride.

‘…For my sake.’

What on earth did you do?

*

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Demon World.

The one leading the hardline Holy War Alliance was Nam Taemin.

“Hey, I told you not to stick so close, it’s annoying.”
“Bullshit. You think I’m sticking to you because I like it?!”
“Then why the hell are you doing it?”

Of course, Leonie wasn’t going to let that slide.

“If I just quietly follow behind, people will think I’m your lackey.”

Nam Taemin was so dumbfounded he almost asked back—
If rank was decided just by who walked in front, did that mean all those Arcana big shots trailing quietly behind them were beneath them, too?

Leonie quickly added, to avoid any misunderstanding.

“Other people don’t matter. But not you two.”
“Two? Don’t tell me you mean that bastard Hisagi too?”
“Who else would I tie to you if not him?”

On any other day, someone would’ve stepped in to stop such a childish spat.
But this time, no one did.
After all, the demon world—once collapsed and then overturned—was far too horrific for anyone to care.

A member of the Great Alliance guild swallowed back the sickness rising in his throat and muttered.

“Please, please keep fighting, both of you.”
“Huh? Are you mocking us?”
“No… It just feels like I can only hold it together if the atmosphere stays fierce. Ugh.”

Squelch.

“Move your damn hand, or not?!”

Nam Taemin pressed down on Leonie’s head as she bared her teeth, then lifted his gaze.
A few steps ahead, the Akshan demon hunters were cutting a path through the wasteland.

‘So it’s true… they really did return from hell.’

To think they could march so boldly through the demon world, where threats could appear at any moment.
As if sensing his gaze, one of the hunters suddenly turned his head.

“From here on, you’d best be cautious.”

From here on? Did something change?

“Because he has returned to the demon world.”

He? Who did they mean?
Even without Taemin asking, the demon hunter continued.

“A being more merciful than any, yet less merciful than all.”

Of course, that was just the Akshan way of speaking.

“The question is… will we be the ones to receive his ‘favor’?”