The Sword Saint has disappeared.
Now that the Sword Saint is gone, the Bracelet of Sealing he possessed can’t be used either, making the perfect seal impossible.
“The problem isn’t just that, though.”
Currently, there are a total of 4 Bracelets of Sealing.
One belongs to the Sword Saint.
Since the other one has yet to be found, we need to locate it to succeed in the raid.
“Have you not found the other one?”
“How could we find something only outsiders seek? You all took the Spirit Child, too.”
“There are only two users. You could hire someone separately from the Empire to find it.”
“The Empire only accepts those qualified. Still, we’re searching, so you should put that down!”
“Hmmm.”
Thud!
I put the White Guardian down again.
This is a bit problematic.
In the end, it means we’re back to square one despite putting pressure on the Empire.
The Sword Saint has vanished, and the remaining one is simply nowhere to be found.
I’ve searched even the islands outside the continent, but I couldn’t locate it.
At this point, it’s like it doesn’t even exist.
“What’s the rest doing?”
“What do you think they’re doing? Everyone is doing their best in their positions.”
Cough!
“…Anyway, if you’re done talking, just go already. I’ll be sure to find it!”
“That’s true.”
As I turned my steps, a sigh of relief was heard.
Though he acts tough, he’s just about 10 years old.
It can’t be easy for him to challenge me from the Emperor’s Seat.
“But.”
“What is it?”
“Doesn’t His Majesty not do anything? I haven’t seen him.”
Clearly, the highest authority of the Empire is neither Duke Huangyeol nor Ruslan, but the Emperor.
Of course, the actual power lies with Duke Huangyeol, but on the surface, the Emperor is the ultimate authority.
Ruslan’s face turned slightly static.
“?”
“…My father is just taking a short rest.”
“A rest? Is he unwell?”
“It’s not that. It has nothing to do with you, so just leave already.”
“Can I help?”
“What?”
The prince, Ruslan.
Though he’s called the Emperor’s son and Duke Huangyeol’s brother, that kid has no attributes of holy power or celestial race.
Just an ordinary human.
‘Nothing special, aside from being royalty.’
“I can heal him a bit.”
“…Do you think you can do what even the Saintess couldn’t?”
“Is that so?”
“Yup. Even the Saintess can only maintain his condition, and how can a heretic like you…!”
“It seems he really is sick. The Emperor of the Empire is bedridden…”
“Ah?!”
Oops!
Ruslan belatedly covers his mouth.
If Duke Huangyeol found out about this, he might throw a fit.
Ruslan, looking like a big incident happened, is sweating profusely, waving his hands around.
“Get up.”
“Well, I’m not lying in bed!”
“Then where are you lying?”
“I’m just lying down occasionally; most of the time I’m sitting…”
“So you can move around?”
“Yeah! …No!”
“What do you mean no?”
“He’s, um, perfectly fine! So just disappear quickly!”
“Uh…”
This child. Isn’t he too loose-lipped?
Duke Huangyeol clearly told Ruslan he has the title of Emperor, but his actions and thoughts are far too light for that.
‘Maybe this is just normal.’
The Emperor that Duke Huangyeol desires is a puppet.
Perhaps it’s precisely because of this disposition that he chose Ruslan.
Screech…
“If you need help, come find me at Elbrite.”
“Why would I… No. Don’t you dislike the Empire?”
“The enemy of my enemy can become my friend.”
“…?”
Someday, when Ruslan rises to the throne of the Emperor…
Then there will surely be a time when I can help.
‘A very distant future, though.’
“Make sure to come.”
“…I have no reason to go!”
■
Walking along a dark road.
After walking for a long time, and walking again, and more walking.
It’s just walking, but this road isn’t an easy one.
The path was uneven with highs and lows, and every now and then traps that threatened his life would spring up.
Demon beasts targeting his ankles, shadow beasts aiming for his back, and ghost beasts that induce hallucinations, among others.
Countless demon beasts sought his life, but he overcame them all.
This, too, must be a trial.
And at the end of the trial, there would surely be a great reward.
‘Light…’
As the darkness slowly lifts, light seeps through.
Finally reaching the end of the path, a huge fork in the road appeared, perfectly split down the middle.
One side was light, the other side darkness.
“…A fork in the road.”
Ding!
[■■! You are entering the Altar of the Impossible Being…]
[Title, One Who Faces the Altar, acquired.]
[The Master of the Altar is observing you.]
[World Quest progress for ‘Truth of Light and Darkness’ increased by ‘2%’.]
[Players at the Altar – 2]
Seeing that the road divides means if one side is chosen, the other option becomes unavailable.
I would like to check both sides if possible, but…
“……”
Vwooaaah-!!
Ahhh!!
Ugh, seriously! Just back off aaaaah!!!
He turns his gaze.
A silver-haired woman is rushing towards him, panting from a place entirely different from the path he crossed.
Behind her, countless demon beasts that haven’t been dealt with follow her; the beasts were not of a level she couldn’t handle.
If she wanted, she could probably take them all down.
I had some doubts, but looking at the woman’s state, I understood.
“Are you badly hurt?”
“…! Brother! You were here… ugh!”
The woman, Aisha, who followed me, was already in a terrible condition.
Her body was covered in wounds from the demon beasts, and she was so exhausted that even a light tap could knock her down.
If the goal was just to cross over, it shouldn’t be that difficult of a path.
‘Pathetic.’
Under normal circumstances, I would have taken care of the demon beasts while slicing through them together.
I wasn’t foolish enough to let go of the opportunity I had regained just because I was irritated by her following me.
But if there were two paths…
Whoosh!
“Save me… Aaaaaah!!”
A sword aura, not purple but a pale blue, sliced through the demon beasts, passing by Aisha.
Since I had lost both my sword and magic, the color of the sword aura had returned to its original hue.
Thud!
“Wow… I’m alive.”
“Move quickly.”
“Ah. Yes!”
Aisha pulled a potion from her space and gulped it down.
The elixir cost hundreds of gold each, but for Aisha, a former pro and ranker with a trophy, that wasn’t a large sum.
“Phew! I thought I was going to die.”
“……”
“But where is this place? It says it’s some kind of altar.”
“I don’t know either.”
“Huh? Didn’t you come here knowing something?”
“The original plan wasn’t this.”
The plan wasn’t this.
After obtaining the Bracelet of Sealing, I intended to cut off Kraken’s limbs one by one while ultimately capturing the Kraken myself.
That was how it was actually going, and I was supposed to participate in the raid, but…
‘What is this?’
‘These are the things you need to capture. Please take care of them.’
As I dealt with the demon beasts commanded by the master of the active flame, I naturally learned something.
The magical stones possessed by the demon beasts.
Using those, I could locate the hidden dungeon that appeared through the Great Cataclysm update.
It was something only possible because the Sword Saint had used a sword imbued with demon race properties for a long time.
For accurate judgment, a large amount of magical stones was necessary, and eventually, I managed to find my way here.
[The Master of the Altar is observing you.]
[The Master of the Altar expects your choice.]
“A choice? What are we supposed to choose?”
“That’s referring to the fork in the road.”
Aisha looked around.
There was the Path of Light, gleaming smooth like marble, and the Path of Darkness, filled with darkness so dense that taking a step felt impossible.
The overall energy felt similar from both paths, but the impressions were completely different.
“You must choose a path. Once you choose one, you likely won’t be able to pick the other. So—”
“Okay. So—”
“Choose whatever you feel comfortable with, Oppa!”
Aisha’s eyes sparkle.
“I’ll choose after you, Oppa. Or should I tell you to choose first? Just in case something might happen.”
“Then…”
“Oh! Then it could be a first reward or something! If so, it’s better to go first…”
“…Go to the Path of Light. First.”
[The Master of the Altar asks if you really want to choose that.]
[The Master of the Altar says the Path of Light is very good.]
“Um… but you should choose first…”
“I was planning to go into the darkness anyway. As you said, it might be better to see what comes out first.”
“Above all…”
I lift my head.
The sky, filled with shades of gray between darkness and light, seems to be grinning oddly.
“Something’s bothering me.”
“Hmm… then! Yes! I’ll go first.”
After Aisha finishes the remaining elixirs, she stands up.
Slowly, Aisha heads toward the Path of Light.
She walks until she becomes small and disappears from sight, but nothing happens.
“…….”
[The Master of the Altar says “Go.”]
[The Master of the Altar says the Path of Light is that good.]
“Just pretending to be nice.”
To an ordinary person, it might seem she just walked, but the Sword Saint sees it differently.
‘She really passed through an incredible number.’
It took just a little over three minutes to walk, but much more time must have actually passed.
[The Master of the Altar laughs.]
[The Master of the Altar says the Path of Darkness will be much more difficult.]
“Well, if it’s just walking, it could be.”
As the Sword Saint reaches out his hand, magical stones fall from the Space.
The magical stones Aisha had gathered earlier.
As magic poured out from over a hundred black magical stones, the chaotic space instantly crumbled.
Only one space remained on the Path of Darkness.
[The Master of the Altar frowns.]
[The Master of the Altar says he doesn’t particularly like the girl using shortcuts.]
“It can’t be said to be a shortcut. This is also my power.”
[The Master of the Altar scoffs.]
[The Master of the Altar says to try it, just once.]
Clunk!
A giant door appeared in the middle of the road.
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