The plan of the Heavenly Horse is simple.
There are a total of 6 seals for the Kraken’s portals, and among them, only 5 locations are known.
After reaching out to the remaining four users, excluding himself, he plans to seal all 5 as the day approaches to weaken them.
It would be nice to seal the last one as well, but if it hasn’t shown up by now, the chances of finding it before the Great Cataclysm are slim.
“Well, a disaster with 6 portals is worse than one with just 1.”
“Do you think others will cooperate?”
“Of course. Didn’t you cooperate as well?”
“I will, but I don’t think everyone else will go along easily.”
Users play the game for fun and profit.
In such a situation, if they find out that he has one of the only five sealing bracelets available, what will happen?
Not everyone will, but it’s only natural that they would demand a significant share in the hunt and might ask for more than necessary.
Perhaps they could even threaten to not seal it if their demands aren’t met.
Since it’s a bound item, it’s impossible to take it away, so the chances of such behavior increase.
“It has to be made unavoidable.”
“Are you going to kill them? It won’t help anyway.”
Users are immortals.
They don’t die and feel no fear of pain and death.
Dying a few times only results in minor losses; there’s no risk significant enough to feel serious burden.
The Heavenly Horse shakes its head as it looks at me.
[Already thinking of killing, lol]
[OMG]
[Let’s just kill them]
[If they’re not high-level, death penalties are weak]
[?]
[Are you looking over here?]
More precisely, it’s looking at the camera.
“Those who received the mission to stop this chaotic world but remain inactive will be made an example by the Heavenly Horse Church.”
They become the enemies of the Heavenly Horse, who has grown strong enough to rank higher than 3rd or 4th.
Unless they’re a pretty strong ranker or protected by a large guild, they will surely face tremendous restrictions in their future life in Deoen.
Moreover…
“You won’t just sit by, right?”
“…Well, that’s true.”
It’s fine to make proposals for profit, but if they’re trying to sabotage the hunt itself?
That’s a good reason to kill them.
It’s one thing to stay quiet to avoid damage, but there’s no reason to spare someone who wants to ruin everything.
[For real, lol]
[Lily and the Heavenly Horse’s enemy? Oh snap]
[LMAO]
[Wow]
[Maybe it’s better to just quit and start over]
[Dog ten OP character?]
[That’s pretty dreadful, yeah]
[Should we… cooperate?]
[Cooperation (physical)]
However, if a certain level of support is needed, I am willing to provide it.
“It’s not a bad thing to want something in return.”
“Just sealing it would be enough, right?”
“You’ll gain some shares, but that’s not enough.”
I have no intention of forcing them to fight against destruction just because it’s a ‘noble cause.’
At the very least, they should receive a proper reward.
“…But I feel like I might just do it anyway.”
It’s a World Boss hunt drawing the attention of every user.
If they earned this bracelet, everyone must be putting their heart into the game, and they would be crazy for this ‘linked quest.’
Unless something special happens, the chance of them managing to stop it on their own is high.
“Not everyone feels that way. Raiders might actually want destruction instead.”
“Raiders?”
“Yeah. For them, the more the world’s order and influence collapse, the more they can take.”
“Um…”
[Well, that makes sense]
[Is that so?]
[Hmm]
[Oh my]
[Raiders?]
[But isn’t Lily a Raider? Lol]
[Having a Raider around could be problematic, just look at the Grim Reaper]
[Can’t we just kill them?]
[What?]
[It’s not Lily, it’s Rapina, so what are you saying?]
[Rapina?]
“A Raider… That’s definitely a possibility.”
If the one with the bracelet is a Raider or someone looking to gain something through regime collapse, it would be troublesome.
They’d likely be hoping for more than what they could gain through the hunt.
Perhaps they might swallow down the kingdom unit just like the Grim Reaper by using the chaos.
[Grinding my teeth and ignoring it]
[Lolololololol]
Let’s meet them first.
I don’t think it’s worthwhile to debate before even meeting.
“Who were you planning to meet next?”
“I was originally going to meet ‘him,’ but since he’s offline… I guess I’ll have to meet another owner first. Let’s see.”
As the Heavenly Horse’s eyes closed, the bracelet began to glow.
The Heavenly Horse, synchronized with the bracelet, opened its eyes again after a brief moment.
“This should be beneficial.”
“Who is it?”
“It’s someone you know well. This might actually be easier.”
[?]
[Not him?]
■
Swoosh!!
The greatsword resembling a dusky crescent moon makes a deep cut into the monster.
The monster with a bull’s head rolls on the ground, split into two halves.
The one who killed the monster slings the greatsword over his shoulder and begins picking up the dropped items.
“Tsk. Nothing special.”
Ranked 8th, Black.
Owner of a hidden class wielding a mythical greatsword, host of simulated siege wars, head of the Black Moon guild, a popular streamer, and so on…
He had countless titles and fame, yet he was out hunting today without even streaming.
Under normal circumstances, he would be streaming while hunting or hunting with guild members, but recently, some rankers had been rapidly climbing up the ranks.
The 8th-ranked position was increasingly threatened by this surge.
Of course, Black was also making efforts equivalent to spending time in the academy, hunting, and tackling raid content, but the growth of the super rookies was more than he could match with mere effort.
Especially these days, the rankings between 10th and 30th often flipped on a daily basis.
“The Great Cataclysm hasn’t even occurred yet… No, is it because of the pre-Great Cataclysm?”
It was a confusing situation in many ways, but Black continued to level up quietly.
He needed to raise his level to better handle raids and future events, and that would eventually lead to the prosperity of both the guild and his streams.
To him, Black Moon was more important than anything else.
Boom…!
“Should I go out and check on the kids?”
The labyrinth dungeon that rebuilt itself every three days fell apart and flung him out.
The current situation was somewhat complicated, and recently, the market and taxes were going wild. However, thanks to the influence he had spread among the kingdoms, Black Moon was managing to stay afloat.
Still, leveling up was lacking compared to other large guilds…
“If Taebaek had been normal, he would have grown much more by now.”
The reason he still kept someone he could have kicked out long ago was not just sentiment.
“His shares are too much.”
Taebaek served as the Deputy Guild Master of Black Moon, owning nearly 30% of the guild’s shares.
With such a significant stake, he could lead the entire guild if he wanted to.
Guild shares were given based purely on contributions to the guild, so although there was some controversy, it also meant that Taebaek had contributed a lot.
“Honestly… Huh?”
As soon as he tore the teleportation scroll for the guild castle and returned to Black Moon, he sensed a disturbance.
There was a bustling atmosphere and signs of presence.
“Did someone arrive?”
“Hyung!”
“What? Who came?”
“There’s a fight! We need to go now!”
“What?”
Why is there a fight?
Especially right in the middle of the Black Moon guild castle?
Moreover, the effects of the ‘Flute of the Abyss’ could be felt within the guild castle.
It was a mythical item that drastically lowered the opponent’s stats, and that guy Taebaek had it.
“Is it Taebaek? I really told him not to cause any more trouble.”
“No, it’s him, but… not exactly… it’s him.”
“What the hell does that mean? Where is he?”
“Over there─”
KWA-AAAANG!!!
A black fragment scatters as a familiar shape swiftly brushes past, crashing miserably into the wall.
Guhh…
“Taebaek?”
It’s Taebaek.
He may look like a mess now, but there’s no one in Black Moon who can beat Taebaek.
Believe it or not, Taebaek is outfitted with equipment that ranks him within the top 100.
He’s even using the Requiem of the Descent.
‘Who on earth?’
Awareness.
A black robe flutters over the broken wall and gently descends in front of me.
That robe is…
“How dare you lay hands on my noble body. How rude.”
“…Lord Heavenly Horse?!”
“It’s been a while, Black. Was it three years?”
“???”
Suddenly, Lord Heavenly Horse shows up?
The Heavenly Horse, thought to have been inactive for the past three years, what the heck? Why has he ambushed me here?
We weren’t exactly hostile towards each other.
“What are you doing?! How could you just barge in like this?”
“I apologize. My original intention was a simple conversation. I didn’t mean for my hands to slip.”
“…What? Wait a second.”
‘Was the Heavenly Horse this strong?’
In the past, he was indeed powerful, but compared to how much stronger he’s gotten now, he was definitely weaker back then.
Yet, the aura of the Heavenly Horse before me is strong enough to far surpass my own.
It’s a blend that feels genuinely bizarre.
‘What on earth happened in those three years?’
“It feels a bit awkward to say this after suddenly showing up, but… don’t you manage your own faculty?”
“…What did Taebaek do?”
“He put his arm on my shoulder.”
“Hah.”
Once again, the same old guy.
While I was pondering how to deal with this, a doll flew in from beyond the shattered wall and stood next to the Heavenly Horse.
With blue hair…
“But I didn’t do anything.”
“You’ve already experienced it once, right? You must be scared.”
“Even Lord Heavenly Horse had reason to be scared.”
“The me of the past wasn’t that strong.”
“Lady Lily?”
???????
“Hello?”
“…Please tell me this is a dream.”
“Yes.”
“Please say it’s a dream.”
“This is reality.”
“Oh.”
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
