Chapter 54 - Episode 8. The Last Romance (10)
Chapter 54: Episode 8. The Last Romance (10)
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They were volunteering to join the 「Abyss Expedition」 now?
Jaehwan could not make sense of their intentions.
“What are you plotting?”
“...Plotting?”
It was the Goddess Hall Master who tilted her head, as if she did not understand what he meant.
“Does one need an ulterior motive to join a journey meant to restore life to the people of 《Chaos》?”
Voices of agreement rose from all over the stands. The Goddess Hall Master’s words had touched a vulnerable part of the audience’s hearts.
Not everyone reacted that way, of course.
“What exactly are you trying to say, Goddess Hall Master?”
“The match is not over yet. Draw your sword already!”
Those were the voices of people who cared less about lofty ideals and more about seeing the match before them.
Jaehwan shrugged and looked at the Goddess Hall Master.
Her expression remained calm.
“It seems the Fortress Lord has forgotten this tournament’s first purpose.”
“Original purpose?”
“Yes.”
In truth, she was not speaking to Jaehwan alone.
“Since we have come this far, let us speak openly. From the beginning, you had no intention of handing over the Fortress Lord’s position to any of us. Is that not right?”
“...”
“Because this tournament was never meant to select Gorgon’s new Fortress Lord. It was held to recruit members for the 「Abyss Expedition」.”
A faint murmur spread through the stands.
The Goddess Hall Master did not let the opportunity pass.
“Honestly, I was impressed by your method, Fortress Lord. Since the 「Abyss Expedition」 failed nine hundred years ago, no one has planned anything this grand. To push forward with this while risking your own life... I cannot help but praise your ability to act.”
The Goddess Hall Master turned in a slow circle. With her back to Jaehwan, she faced the audience.
“That is why I am proud to stand here with all of you. I am sure everyone in these stands feels the same.”
Her voice had been enhanced by the Sound Amplification skill. She wanted the entire audience to hear this conversation. Tens of thousands of powerful beings from Chaos focused on her.
“If this tournament had simply been held to choose a new Fortress Lord, so many people would never have gathered here. The proof is all those seated in the stands despite being more than qualified to participate.”
The Goddess Hall Master’s gaze briefly rested on Shin Mugeuk and Cheongheo.
“You did not come here simply because you were curious about the Fortress Lord’s position.”
At that moment, as if she had been waiting for it, the Goddess Hall Master tore off her veil.
The audience gasped when they saw her face.
Her gaze moved slowly from the left side of the stands to the right.
Heads swayed throughout the audience like waves. Everyone who met her eyes hurriedly lowered their head.
It was a gaze that saw through the depths of a person’s heart and made them reflect on the most righteous part of themselves.
It was the power of Goddess Hall Master Ja Geukryeong’s top-grade skill.
「Eyes of Justice」
The Goddess Hall Master spoke again, her voice carrying a strange, entrancing quality.
“I want to hear your honest thoughts. What words brought you here? 「Gorgon’s New Fortress Lord」, or 「Abyss Expedition」?”
Her clear voice wrapped around the question as it knocked deep within each person’s heart.
One by one, the expressions in the audience changed.
Perhaps they had realized it.
This had been a question with an answer from the start.
Unlike the Goddess Hall Master’s words, some in the audience were drifters, while others had come only to watch a thrilling match.
Yet the moment she asked her question, the audience began to think that their separate reasons for coming here were converging into one great ideal.
It was what Chaos had desired for so long but never achieved. A goal everyone yearned for, yet no one had dared to reach.
The Goddess Hall Master opened her mouth.
“I want to believe that 《Chaos》 has not yet forgotten romance.”
That was the final nail.
The last romance dreamed of by everyone living in 《Chaos》.
Someone in the audience murmured as though reciting a poem.
“The Abyss Expedition...”
The scattered whispers began to form distinct voices.
“The Goddess Hall Master is right.”
“What we truly wanted to see was...!”
Her supporters began appearing throughout the stands.
An old man spoke.
“I agree with the Goddess Hall Master. I did not travel all the way to this distant north merely to watch a brawl.”
His voice was filled with spiritual power strong enough to reach the entire audience.
The crowd whispered after realizing who he was.
“It is the Gentleman Sword!”
Han Myeonggwan, the Gentleman Sword of the Great Sea Zone.
An independent wanderer said to possess Combat Power equal to the Ten Hall Masters, he was also an old man respected by all for his gentle nature. That was the kind of person Han Myeonggwan, the Gentleman Sword, was.
Yet Jaehwan did not miss the exchange of glances between the Gentleman Sword and the Goddess Hall Master.
...They are working together.
The Goddess Hall Master responded to the Gentleman Sword’s words.
“What we must do now is not pointless ‘internal conflict,’ but ‘unity’ for our true goal. With that in mind, I ask Gorgon’s Fortress Lord to end this tournament immediately.”
That was what the Goddess Hall Master had truly been aiming for.
“Because the tournament has already achieved its purpose. Tens of thousands of souls willing to risk their lives for the 「Abyss Expedition」 have gathered here.”
The initiative had now completely passed to the Goddess Hall Master.
She praised Jaehwan’s intentions in holding the tournament, then boldly pointed out and crushed the needless turmoil caused along the way. She was close to claiming the tournament’s result, the 「Abyss Expedition」, as though it were her own achievement.
A clear light rippled through the Goddess Hall Master’s irises.
“But everyone, it is too soon to celebrate. We still have an important issue to resolve.”
Someone in the audience asked, “What is it?”
The Goddess Hall Master opened her mouth as if she had been waiting.
“The question of who will become the Expedition Commander.”
Cheongheo, who had listened until then, frowned.
“That girl is working her schemes.”
The Limitless Hall Master beside him nodded in agreement.
“She has even layered the top-grade rhetoric skills 「Subtle Deception」 and 「Deceive the World and Delude the People」...”
They were top-grade rhetoric skills that covered weak grounds and logical leaps with acrobatics of tone and delivery. The Goddess Hall Master’s voice had carried the power of such skills from the very beginning.
Only Adapters of the seventh stage or higher, those stronger than her, had not fallen for her rhetoric.
Then someone in the audience spoke.
It was Han Myeonggwan, the Gentleman Sword, who had spoken earlier.
“Then who does the Goddess Hall Master believe is best suited to become the Expedition Commander?”
“I would like Gorgon’s Fortress Lord, who has driven all this forward, to take the position.”
The audience let out cries of admiration.
With the trust of the audience fully behind her, no one could have faulted her if she had claimed the position of Expedition Commander for herself.
Yet the Goddess Hall Master willingly set aside her own ambition and yielded the position to Gorgon’s Fortress Lord.
“This old man objects.”
It was Han Myeonggwan, the Gentleman Sword, who spoke.
“I cannot trust the Fortress Lord.”
The people around the Gentleman Sword protested.
Ja Geukryeong restrained the audience and asked, “Why would you say that? Gorgon’s Fortress Lord is more than qualified to lead the expedition.”
“Of course, this old man agrees with that to some degree.”
Han Myeonggwan continued.
“His Combat Power surpasses the Ten Hall Masters, and his strategic ability exceeds that of the Scholar Forest Hall Master. Looking through all of 《Chaos》’s history, it would be difficult to find another talent like Gorgon’s current Fortress Lord.”
It was praise too lavish to heap upon one person.
“Then why do you object, Gentleman Sword?”
“Because the position of Expedition Commander cannot be carried out through outstanding Combat Power and strategic ability alone.”
The murmuring audience fell silent.
It was Han Myeonggwan, the Gentleman Sword, speaking.
He had not joined the 「Abyss Expedition」 nine hundred years ago, but he was one of the few souls who had personally witnessed its founding.
The Goddess Hall Master smiled gently.
“Then what else do you believe an Expedition Commander needs?”
“Character.”
There was not a moment of hesitation in his reply.
“If Combat Power is lacking, a strong general can provide it. If wisdom is lacking, a strategist can supply it. Character is different. The capacity to embrace countless members. I believe that is what an Expedition Commander needs above all else.”
“Are you saying Gorgon’s Fortress Lord lacks the character required to lead the expedition?”
At the direct question, everyone’s eyes turned to the Gentleman Sword.
Yet instead of answering it head-on, Han Myeonggwan cleverly redirected the conversation.
“This old man heard several rumors about Gorgon’s Fortress Lord while traveling here.”
“Rumors? What kind of rumors?”
“I heard that Gorgon’s Fortress Lord has lived for only fifty years, and that he has been in 《Chaos》 for barely a month.”
The stands stirred.
The audience had already heard those rumors.
The Goddess Hall Master asked Jaehwan in the Gentleman Sword’s place.
“Gorgon’s Fortress Lord, is that true?”
“It is not wrong.”
Jaehwan answered without hesitation.
At once, a great wave of unrest swept through the audience. Confusion soon hardened into clear words.
“Huh, that is a problem.”
“We cannot entrust the expedition to a child who has not even lived fifty years...”
A quiet hostility spread through the stands.
Jaehwan’s age, far too young by Chaos’s standards, had become a shackle around his ankle.
The Goddess Hall Master spoke.
“Gentleman Sword, your argument has some merit. In most cases, a short life does not guarantee deep wisdom. But...”
Han Myeonggwan nodded.
The Goddess Hall Master continued.
“It is rude to diminish his character over something as trivial as ‘time.’ We do not know what kind of fifty years Gorgon’s Fortress Lord has lived through.”
This scam had become massive.
Words praising the Goddess Hall Master’s character once again spread through the audience.
Han Myeonggwan said, “I agree with the Goddess Hall Master. Yet this old man still believes Gorgon’s Fortress Lord needs to be tested.”
“A test? Well, who could possibly judge a person’s character, and how?”
“I believe the Goddess Hall Master can take on that task.”
“Me? How?”
“What if you hold a Question of Justice with the Fortress Lord?”
Justice Questions and Answers.
There were few in 《Chaos》 who did not know of Goddess Hall Master Ja Geukryeong’s Question of Justice.
High-stage Adapters in 《Chaos》 often deliberately requested a Question of Justice from the Goddess Hall Master to fill the Enlightenment Points needed to advance to the next adaptation stage.
Her Question of Justice cast Adapters into a Mind Demon state, but those who overcame it received immense amounts of Enlightenment Points.
Someone in the audience shouted.
“Of course! A Question of Justice may be enough to judge his character!”
“Hold a Question of Justice already!”
As a few people began stirring up the crowd, the mood of the audience began shifting in that direction.
The Goddess Hall Master spoke as if she had no choice.
“Really, I suppose there is no helping it. If that is what all of you want...”
The Goddess Hall Master gave a faint smile and turned toward Jaehwan.
“But we have gone on talking among ourselves without even asking what the Fortress Lord wants. I apologize, Fortress Lord. What do you think? Are you willing to take the position of Expedition Commander?”
Jaehwan did not answer.
Instead, he silently looked up at the sky.
Dark clouds approaching from afar reflected in Jaehwan’s clear retinas. A faint, ominous air drifted through the distance.
Jaehwan had experienced a similar presence before.
Cheongheo, who had been watching Jaehwan from afar, let out a low groan.
“That girl has completely played you. What are you going to do now, kid?”
Before anyone knew it, things had reached this point.
If Jaehwan drew his sword as usual and cut them all down, the 「Abyss Expedition」 would be completely ruined. No one would want to follow an Expedition Commander who stabbed all of his subordinates to death.
If he agreed to Ja Geukryeong’s proposal, however, Jaehwan would have no choice but to undergo a test of character.
How much time passed?
At last, Jaehwan opened his mouth.
Footnotes:
Chapter discussion