“The story afterwards, as you know, became one where they were like eternal enemies. They belong to the same group but don’t even look at each other’s faces.”
“What about Duke Huangyeol? Just hearing about it, there are more than a couple of incidents he was involved in.”
“Starting from simply leading the Spirit King to be found, it’s the trigger for Magic Lord Karia’s corruption.”
“He made it happen that Karia would encounter Arne under the pretense of ‘coincidence’, and by preventing that fight, he thoroughly established ‘neutrality’.”
“Besides that, there must have been a lot more political movements that I don’t know about.”
“To acquire ‘swords’ that can be moved as he wishes.”
Arne let out a bitter smile.
“Having come this far, it would be foolish not to know. It’s not everything, but I know to some extent that he was involved.”
Hoo…
“He would have needed the power to develop and maintain the Empire, and the two of us are the most suitable individuals for that.”
“Even so, you followed Duke Huangyeol?”
“…Because what Karia did was right.”
Clack.
The teacup moved back to her lips.
“Even if his mind was corrupted by the power of the demon, it wasn’t without Karia’s will. The words he said when he was first revealed were mostly the truth.”
She hesitated whether to drink the tea or not.
After a moment of contemplation, she took a sip of tea.
“…Both of us have deepened the rift of emotions. Since we didn’t even think of clearing up misunderstandings, we just interacted emotionally.”
In the end, the two, filled with distrust and suspicion, decided to live as they were rather than resolve it.
Karia continued her experiments without caring anymore.
Arne felt disappointment and disgust towards her while doing his own work.
It was an inevitable choice since they had already come too far.
“You asked why I follow him. I know well that he’s not purely good. I realized he had some dark schemes when the Empire was at war.”
Yet the reason for following Duke Huangyeol was simple.
“The superficial reason is that it is still the Empire built by our own hands. Despite the troubles, in the end, I built about 30% of it with my own hands.”
Another reason was…
“…I understood his ‘ideal’.”
“Ideal?”
“Ideal?”
Leo, munching on popcorn with a serious expression, suddenly chimed in.
This is the crux of the story.
The purpose of Duke Huangyeol, which he had to stir things up to the point of overturning the Empire, something he was so curious about.
“You know there are powerful beasts in this world, right? Creatures wearing the Blue Ring.”
“Yes.”
“He wants to go ‘up’. To gain great power, elevate his rank, and ultimately ‘ascend’.”
“Is that all there is?”
The golden sword swoops in, mocking the raccoon. Seven sharp blades pierce the raccoon’s sturdy body, protected by the blessing, without a care.
Once again, blood spills as the raccoon kneels.
“Those who haven’t faced trials are always weak.”
“Haah… haah…”
“Is the trial really that great? Or without it, are you just mere beasts?”
“…For someone who’s lost, what nonsense are you spouting in this corner? To think, a mere component for the outsiders would forget its place—”
Thud!
“Ugh!”
“Does ‘component’ refer to you?”
“How dare you—”
“I’m Hongsa, a 4th-grade administrator from the User Anomaly Management Team. This was a newly established organization formed to prepare for the disturbances after the Kraken incident, right?”
“…!”
The raccoon’s eyes widen in shock.
No wonder! This was information only shared among ‘Administrators.’ Residents and even users know nothing about it.
Hearing such information from the mouth of the ‘World Boss of the Empire’ left the raccoon, an administrator, utterly confused.
Fourth-grade administrator Hongsa, the lowest of the low, glared at him while nursing his unhealed wounds.
“Surprised? You should be. Isn’t that the arrogant mindset of you lot?”
“…Who told you? Did that guy grant you powers similar to ours?”
“Your expression has improved a lot.”
“I don’t know who dared to break the ‘bystander’ rule… but you’ve made a grave mistake.”
Boom!
The space trembles.
A blue ring appears above the bleeding raccoon’s head, and the wounds start to close rapidly.
Simultaneously, the veil that had been blocking the internal signals of this space began to lessen.
Duke Huangyeol and Robelian, observing everything, were filled with admiration.
“A mere 4th-grade is using the powers of the upper. That’s a talent none of the others have.”
“It seems you’re a dragon. That’s a power the others don’t have.”
“All administrators can draw upon the headquarters’ power in a crisis severe enough to be a problem for the Management Bureau. And right now, we have a situation with a Betrayer among the admins.”
“NPCs that have lost control due to insiders need to be dealt with.”
A massive surge of energy radiated from Hongsa’s hand, and soon a bolt of golden lightning appeared.
The power was strong enough to incinerate Duke Huangyeol in a single strike.
“After I kill you, I’ll retrieve your soul and investigate. I need to know who’s had the audacity to break the rules. Stay still.”
“You seem useful, but first, let me point out two errors.”
“The great judgment.”
Kwah-ji-ji-jik!!!
“First. You’re not pulling power from the headquarters; you’re using the energy embedded in the ring above your head. Simply put, this situation hasn’t been communicated to the management group yet.”
“You’re talking nonsense. The barrier you set has already been shattered.”
“And the second—”
Kwah-ah-ah-ahng!!!
The bolt of judgment descended.
The enormous judgment enveloped Duke Huangyeol, releasing power strong enough to cover the entire space.
Even the caster, Hongsa, swayed like a reed before the wind, yet he soon found himself in disbelief.
Duke Huangyeol was unscathed.
The ‘blue water’ that appeared above his head took the form of a ring, blocking all attacks.
Moreover, it protected the entire space as well.
“This place is still intact.”
“…Cheongsu?”
Sgeng!
The Golden Sword beheaded the raccoon.
Grade 4 Administrator Hongsa rolled helplessly on the ground while Duke Huangyeol reached out before the core of the administrator, the Blue Ring, disappeared.
Swaaaa…
The energy of the Blue Ring seeped into Duke Huangyeol.
“Is this the fourth one?”
From the moment he first opened his eyes in this land long ago.
Simply put, an NPC that was supposed to be hunted down as the ‘Forgotten Lower Angel’, realized the existence of a manager due to his Celestial Race and gained the power of the ‘higher beings’ by luck.
He could now see the world without being trapped in a mold.
—This time, I got lucky. Thanks to Lady Lily’s rampage, their management network has become rather sloppy. Senior Hwangsu won’t catch on.
“…The left hand?”
—It’s the right hand. Cheongsu’s power is nice, isn’t it? Just be careful using it. If you’re found out, you must kill them just like this time.
“I know. Is it okay if a manager just vanishes like this?”
No matter how low-ranking, a manager is still a manager.
Is it fine for them to be suddenly treated as ‘missing’?
In response to his question, the blue water circled around Duke Huangyeol’s body, as if chuckling.
He circled around Duke Huangyeol’s body, chuckling.
─Worrying about everything, even after having already devoured four. Those raccoons who got their positions without trials? Just fill them back in with some level 4 ones. There’s no issue with whatever reasons you come up with for them being unsuitable.
“……”
─Ah. Of course, you can’t just catch anyone. If the security team detects any anomalies and intervenes, it gets complicated.
Cheongsu’s right hand submerged in water faded away with a chuckle.
The creature he met on the day he gained the power of ‘Above’.
He suggested that Duke Huangyeol wouldn’t want to diverge from an ordained future, and upon learning of a future where he would be hunted down, Huangyeol accepted.
That was the reason he hadn’t established an empire or swallowed the entire continent.
To achieve his goals, he needed to minimize ‘risk’.
“What is your objective?”
─That person’s objective is the same as yours.
‘Ascension.’
Moving beyond possessing some power to actually sitting in the position of ‘Above’.
No matter how much they might be Celestial beings, it’s aHeight so high it can never be reached. But the possibility was seen.
─The information was fairly useful, so I granted permission. It would have been great if we had collected that fake too.
“I can’t do it for now. They’ve probably gotten stronger by now.”
─Are you sure?
“Didn’t I see it firsthand?”
Definitely that woman.
‘She was already an ascended existence.’
For reasons unknown, she had fallen to the status of mere vermin, but based on her past appearances and the recent existence of the ‘Fake Lily’, it was certain.
Though Robelian was a Lower Celestial Race, he had encountered the ‘Eight Great Pillars’ in distant memories.
Of course, given the difference in ranks, it wouldn’t be strange for him to have completely perished, yet for some reason, Robelian opened his eyes thousands of years later without dying.
─I’m curious. What kind of person could descend from that position?
“…That’s something I’m curious about too.”
Why had she, a once-great being, ended up like this?
And what thoughts occupied her mind on a daily basis?
■
“…I want to eat skewers.”
Why did I place a sealing magic on the box containing Celestial Skewers?
If I meet Black Lily again, I will definitely smack her head.
I vowed as I exerted strength against the box that would never open.
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