Chapter 33 - Episode 6. God of Despair (2)
Chapter 33: Episode 6. God of Despair (2)
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The Anti-Evil Squad Commander’s eyes widened at Cheongheo’s words.
[Is that true?]
[It is. What’s more, the Awakened One’s identity and affiliation are both unknown.]
A chill ran down the Anti-Evil Squad Commander’s spine. An Awakened One appearing in the Fortress was a grave matter. Awakened Ones possessed the power to completely overturn the balance of forces in 《Chaos》.
[Could it be the 「Rupture」?]
The Anti-Evil Squad Commander’s voice was wary.
[For now, we know nothing.]
Just then, the entrance to the tent flapped violently as figures in dark blue martial uniforms entered.
The Anti-Evil Squad Commander recognized them at once. They were the Shadow Corps, the guardian force that served the Chief Internal Administrator. The one standing at the front was none other than the Shadow Corps Commander.
[Why are those bastards here...?]
The Shadow Corps had nothing to do with subjugating Deadmans. It was an independent unit that only carried out the secret orders of the Fortress Lord and the Chief Internal Administrator.
The Shadow Corps Commander strode forward, stopped before Jaehwan, and bowed.
“The Shadow Corps Commander greets the Nokmyeong envoy.”
The Nokmyeong envoy?
Cheongheo and the Anti-Evil Squad Commander looked at each other.
“Benefactor, please come with us to the Inner Fortress. As you know, the Fortress Lord’s life...”
The Shadow Corps Commander, who had been reciting the lines without pause, suddenly trailed off after noticing that something was wrong.
“Hm? Why is the Anti-Evil Squad Commander here...? And the Divine Doctor too?”
The Shadow Corps Commander stared at Cheongheo in shock. Yet Cheongheo and the Anti-Evil Squad Commander had already forgotten about the commander completely. As they looked at Jaehwan, the exact same thought crossed both their minds.
Who the hell is this guy?
While they sank into deep thought, the Shadow Corps Commander knelt once more and spoke.
“Benefactor, I beg you. Please come with us. Gorgon Fortress is waiting for you.”
* * *
There was a reason Jaehwan had willingly followed them all the way to Gorgon Inner Keep, even into the office.
“Looking for a dream demon?”
Gorgon Fortress was vast. Dream demons were rare and difficult to encounter, but if he searched thoroughly, there was a good chance that at least one would be somewhere in the Fortress. That was what Meikal had said.
“Go to the administrative department in the Inner Fortress. Give them my name and show them the scabbard I made. They should let you inspect the entry and exit records.”
Just as Meikal had said, checking the records might reveal the dream demon’s current location.
That had been Jaehwan’s first plan. If not for the various incidents along the way, and if the Inner Fortress had not come looking for him itself, he would have done so long ago.
Perhaps this was for the best.
The middle-aged official before him was clearly highly placed, someone who could not even be compared to the head of the administrative department. Depending on the situation, getting information about the dream demon might become much easier.
Jaehwan quietly studied the man’s appearance.
A neatly trimmed mustache, a dignified jawline, and eyes that gleamed with wisdom. If there truly was such a thing as the face of a strategist, this person fit it perfectly.
On the surface, Yulhen looked no older than someone in their mid-forties, but the strength Jaehwan sensed from that body proved the official was a very old soul.
“Before we discuss business, I believe I should introduce myself. My name is Yurhen Chiver. I serve as the Chief Internal Administrator of Gorgon Fortress.”
“Jaehwan.”
Yulhen laughed heartily at the brief introduction.
“Just as the Divine Doctor said.”
Beside Yulhen, the Divine Doctor of Despair Cheongheo muttered, “See? I told you he was that kind of bastard.”
Yulhen spoke.
“But you already know that your name is not what we are curious about.”
“I figured.”
“Jaehwan, I will ask directly. Are you an envoy of the Nokmyeong Great Family?”
“No.”
“As expected.”
Not even the slightest agitation showed on Yulhen’s face.
The one surprised instead was the Anti-Evil Squad Commander beside Yulhen.
“You are not an envoy of the Nokmyeong Great Family?!”
“I said I wasn’t.”
Cheongheo sneered as if he had expected this.
“Hey, brat. Let me ask you this, then. If you are not from the Nokmyeong Great Family, where did those Soulstones come from?”
Cheongheo glared at the Soulstones rolling across Jaehwan’s hand.
“I picked them up.”
“You expect me to believe that? What happened to the owners who had them?”
“They died.”
“They died? Who would dare kill the household members of one of the Five Great Families...?”
“I did.”
The Anti-Evil Squad Commander’s mouth fell open.
Yulhen, the Chief Internal Administrator, stopped Cheongheo as he began to rise from his seat.
“Please calm yourself, Divine Doctor.”
There was a certain dignity in Yulhen’s calm attitude that even impressed Jaehwan.
“Th-that bastard said he killed all the Great Family’s household members!”
“We still do not know exactly what happened between Jaehwan and the Nokmyeong Great Family.”
“...”
“Let us hear him out first. I believe Jaehwan had his reasons.”
Yulhen gave Jaehwan a look.
Jaehwan opened his mouth.
“They attacked first. They tried to take the horn I had, so I dealt with them.”
“A horn? You expect us to believe that...”
As Cheongheo raised his voice in anger, the last remaining Garnak horn emerged from Jaehwan’s backpack.
Cheongheo’s mouth shut.
A Garnak horn. It was a rare treasure that spoke louder than a hundred explanations.
Yulhen spoke.
“I see.”
The Nokmyeong Great Family was a group with an intense greed for materials. If a human had been carrying high-grade materials like a Garnak horn, it could easily have led to conflict.
If Jaehwan had fought to protect himself and killed them in the process, there was little anyone could rebuke him for.
After hearing that much, Yulhen became curious.
Then how had this man come here, even being mistaken for someone from the Nokmyeong Great Family?
“Could you tell us more of your story, Jaehwan?”
“It is not difficult.”
Jaehwan nodded and slowly began his story.
After a short while, Yulhen leaned forward over interlaced fingers and spoke.
“I see. Let me summarize what you have told us.”
“First, Jaehwan became caught up in something ‘by chance’ and entered 《Chaos》.”
Jaehwan nodded.
“Second, Jaehwan ‘happened’ to obtain those Soulstones from the Nokmyeong Great Family and entered this Fortress.”
Jaehwan nodded again.
“Third, Jaehwan ‘happened’ to get caught up in this incident, met the Divine Doctor, and tried imitating the Deadman Slash of a Divine Doctor you had never met before.”
Jaehwan nodded one final time.
“I see. I understand.”
Cheongheo, who had been watching from the side, looked frustrated.
“...Chief Internal Administrator. You do not seriously believe that bastard, do you?”
“I do.”
“Has the Fortress Lord’s disappearance driven you mad?”
Yulhen smiled faintly at Cheongheo’s words.
“Divine Doctor.”
“What?”
“To earn someone’s trust, one must first trust that person.”
Yulhen left the Divine Doctor speechless, then turned back to Jaehwan.
“Jaehwan, if you do not mind, may I ask you a few more questions?”
“Fine.”
“Then here is the first. Your physical body is still alive, correct?”
Jaehwan’s fingers froze around the Soulstone.
Before entering the Main Game of the 《Tower of Nightmares》, Jaehwan had entered 《Chaos》 as a soul. His physical body was still on Earth.
The problem was that Jaehwan was the only one in this world who knew that fact.
“...How did you know?”
“Did you not say it yourself, Jaehwan? That you became caught up in something by chance and entered 《Chaos》.”
“I did.”
“Did you know? In 《Chaos》, no one describes their own death that way.”
Yulhen’s senses were remarkably sharp.
“Then my second question. Is there a reason you do not wish to reveal your identity?”
Jaehwan was silent for a moment before answering.
“Yes.”
“Is someone threatening you?”
“Maybe. Maybe not.”
“So it is both true and not true.”
Yulhen tapped the table for a while before speaking again.
“There is one thing I must apologize for.”
“What?”
“For the past four days, my subordinates have been watching you from nearby.”
“I knew.”
“As expected, you were aware.”
Jaehwan remembered the man in dark blue martial clothes who had been hiding near 〈Twilight Dusk〉 not long ago. The one Jaehwan had knocked unconscious by striking the neck with Light Stab. He was probably one of the Chief Internal Administrator’s subordinates.
“Your skills were too great for us to watch you easily, but our surveillance was not entirely fruitless.”
“...”
“We discovered several things. Would you like to hear them?”
“Go ahead.”
A gentle smile reached Yulhen’s refined eyes.
“This document summarizes the incidents that occurred after you entered the Fortress.”
Yulhen held up the document in front of Jaehwan.
It bore the words 〈Target Log〉.
+
First day.
Target clashed with Karlton, chief of the northern checkpoint.
Target caused unrest among the residents by openly displaying Soulstones.
Target defeated a gang in a back alley.
Target trespassed into Twilight Dusk and threatened the Deputy Workshop Master.
Target illegally occupied Twilight Dusk for three days. Estimated property damage during this period: 180 million horn.
Target began Processing SS-grade material, ‘Garnak’s Horn.’
...
Third day.
Target severely damaged Northern Market Street. Estimated property damage: 40 million horn.
Target encountered the Janya Brothers and Geumcheon Hall. Fourteen people, in addition to the chief of the northern checkpoint, were seriously injured.
Target eliminated the Janya Brothers and members of Geumcheon Hall.
Target encountered a medium Deadman.
Target killed the medium Deadman. Estimated property damage during this process: 30 million horn.
Target encountered the Divine Doctor.
Target used the Divine Doctor’s Ultimate Technique, ‘Deadman Slash’ (important).
...
Target danger grade: SS.
Target Combat Power: Cannot be measured.
Confirmed property damage: Approximately 380 million horn.
+
“Do you know what such a person is called?”
The Divine Doctor, who had been quietly watching, cut in.
“A lunatic.”
The Anti-Evil Squad Commander added a word as well.
“I cannot tell whether you are a hero or a villain.”
Yulhen smiled.
“That is right. Some will call you a hero, while others will call you a villain. And some will simply call you a lunatic. Everyone will call you by a different name.”
Yulhen’s fingers stopped tapping the table.
“I call people like you a ‘protagonist.’”
Cheongheo glared.
“I said he is just a lunatic!”
“I only mean it as a metaphor. If someone lives as they please, unbound by any rules around them, what else could they be but a ‘protagonist’?”
Ignoring Cheongheo, Yulhen continued.
“These ‘protagonists’ have one common trait. Do you know what it is?”
“...No.”
“They become the talk of the town.”
Jaehwan was silent for a moment before speaking.
“For the results of a four-day investigation, it is remarkably crude.”
“I admit it. There was even a problem with what we investigated.”
“...?”
“Well, people knew nothing about you.”
Yulhen continued.
“Powerful people intoxicated by their own strength tend to let information slip without realizing it. The harder someone has worked to attain that strength, the more likely they are to let such details slip. Their birth, their status, their story of success. Even if they do not reveal such things themselves, those around them spread the stories as they talk...”
Jaehwan listened in silence.
“Yet strangely enough, nothing was known about you except your name. Not in Chaos, nor in the Great Realm. Even the Fortress’s administrative system, which can look up information on any Adapter as long as it has a name, could not find anything about you. Do you know what that means?”
Jaehwan did not answer.
Yulhen immediately continued.
“It means someone is blocking information about you.”
“...”
“They are protecting you from becoming known, whatever their purpose may be.”
Jaehwan held his breath.
“And in my opinion, the force concealing your information does not seem favorable toward you.”
“Why do you think that?”
“If a force powerful enough to manipulate information were supporting you from behind the scenes, you would not have faced trouble at the northern checkpoint over something as trivial as identification papers.”
Jaehwan was genuinely surprised by Yulhen’s deduction.
“To summarize my conclusion, you are a ‘protagonist’ fleeing some immense force who ‘happened’ to enter this 《Chaos》.”
“...”
“What do you think of the story I have put together?”
Jaehwan honestly admired Yulhen.
Yulhen’s words even aligned exactly with Jaehwan’s own thoughts.
‘It should be about time that bastard called the Lord of Darkness made a move.’
By now, the Lords must have noticed that something had gone wrong with the cultivator and Product contracted to him. If so, there was a high chance they had begun taking serious measures.
The information block was probably part of those measures. It was no longer possible to rule out the chance that they would soon come here.
Jaehwan spoke.
“So what are you trying to say?”
“I have gone around in circles, but the proposal I wish to make is simple.”
Yulhen, the Chief Internal Administrator, said,
“Gorgon Fortress will protect you.”
“Protect me?”
“We will not ask about your status or identity. We will not demand compensation for the damage done to the Fortress. As long as you remain in this Fortress, we will guarantee your safety. In return, you need only grant us one favor.”
Jaehwan had a vague idea of what that favor was.
The Pushes he had picked up everywhere on his way here, and the immense Spiritual Pressure he felt deep within this Inner Fortress, had already revealed the nature of that favor.
Then Yulhen spoke.
“Please save our Fortress Lord.”
Footnotes:
Chapter discussion