#275
Re-war (4)
After the arrival of Marquis Laurence, the Lord of the Imperial Palace Tower, and his battle mages.
The incident in the outskirts of the slums was quickly resolved.
Stave, who resisted to the end, could not hold out for long and was subdued, and the few masked people who attempted suicide as soon as they realized that they could not escape the archmage’s intrusion…
“Big!”
“Ugh!”
“Hey, where are you! Stay still.”
Before I knew it, I was stiff with the thread of the curse wrapped around my entire body, including my mouth, and then I was dragged away by the wizards who had joined me, with all my means sealed away.
‘As expected, it’s very useful.’
Hesperon nodded, glancing at his right hand, which was now radiating a much darker aura than before.
It was partly due to the masked men letting their guard down just before committing suicide, but even taking that into account, they were able to completely subdue those guys who were of a considerably high level, all thanks to the growth of the “Right Arm of Desire” and its increased output.
Another great achievement was being able to use detailed curses like ‘Paralysis’ more skillfully this time.
-Situation over! Thanks to you, I survived. Thanks, Riley.
-Haa— Thank goodness it’s not too late. ···And if you think about it, this is my fault, so I should be the one apologizing. I should have taken care of it from the beginning so that I wouldn’t cause any trouble···.
-It’s okay, it’s okay. That’s just how the world is. If you did your best at that time, that’s enough. From now on, I’ll do my best and deal with it···!
Hesperon, who had been leisurely encouraging Riley, who was reproaching herself like that, suddenly stopped talking.
Then his gaze turned back to his right arm.
Swish—
A dark, cursed aura rising slowly.
The “right arm of desire” that had swallowed the sorrow and felt satisfied was slowly raising its head again and protesting.
-Heron? Why are you suddenly like this? Are you okay? Are you hurt somewhere?
-Oh, sorry. It’s nothing. I just made eye contact with Stab for a moment. He glared at me.
But Hesperon, while answering her every word, looked intently at his right arm, which was now beginning to convulse violently.
‘Oh, this is dangerous.’
Contrary to what I had said to her, her pale complexion was slowly starting to lose its color.
Knock knock—
Although his expression was calm, blood from his nose flowed down his face covered in cold sweat and dripped onto the floor.
Some of the wizards who were cleaning up the area hurriedly approached him, but he didn’t have the presence of mind to pay attention to them at the moment.
Saaaaah—
Soon, the cursed energy that had been slowly creeping in began to run wild.
“Is this… a side effect?”
Even in that situation, he maintained his composure using the “Mind Hub” and frowned slightly as he carefully examined each part of his body.
No matter how successful the curse was in carrying out the contract, its very nature was a double-edged sword from the beginning.
Isn’t it not even an ordinary curse, but a special being that has acquired its own rank by being spiritual?
Unless you’re someone like Hans the Immortal who completely ignores curses, it’s always been an ability that you have to be careful with.
‘···I definitely overused it this time.’
Not only did he use his power, but he also used it for defense, and he clashed head-on with attacks containing black magic several times.
If the shock transmitted through that filter was enough to shake the internal organs, how much more serious must the accumulated damage have been to the arm?
Swish—
At that moment, the black dragon that had appeared and wrapped its arms around me stared at me intently.
Unlike his usual dignified appearance, his eyes shine like a snake’s.
Then, the curse that had been limited to the right arm began to slowly expand its area.
“Tch, that’s why I should have listened to the doctor’s advice to be careful.”
Hesperon quietly clicked his tongue at that behavior.
Of course, this time it was an emergency situation that could not be helped, but it was necessary to come up with a solution in some way.
Because I really didn’t know what would happen later when the curse grew further.
“But right now, it’s out of the question, you punk.”
Falling—
And as expected, the curse that was trying to expand its territory kept wriggling, unable to go beyond the shoulder line.
Not only did the bandage seal wrapped around his shoulder begin to fiercely resist attempts to invade his body, but his skill, “Curse Predator”, also began to fiercely resist.
‘now!’
Parallax—
While the curse was still hanging over him for a moment.
At his will, the bandage on his shoulder was suddenly released and wrapped around his right arm in the blink of an eye without leaving any gaps.
Crackle— crackle!
Soon, as if in response to that, black sparks flew out and the arms flapped noisily.
A black dragon appears and disappears repeatedly like a fluorescent light blinking in time with it.
At the same time, an excruciating pain began to surge from his right arm, but his “Mind Hub” and “Soul Firewall” thoroughly blocked it and protected his mind.
However, unlike the mind, the body’s reaction was directly affected by pain, and he couldn’t help it.
He wasn’t Harley, who could control every single muscle and cell.
The pain that took over my brain and nerves caused my pupils to dilate and my muscles all over my body to convulse.
In contrast to his pale complexion, thin streams of blood flowed from his mouth and nose, and his entire body was drenched in cold sweat as if he had fallen into water.
Like that for about 5 minutes.
Is it because I kept tightening the reins with the “chain of oaths” connected to the curse?
The “Right Arm of Longing” that had been running wild finally began to calm down, and his body also gradually regained stability.
‘Whew, if this had exploded during battle, there would have been no answer.’
He soon sighed in relief and rubbed his throbbing right arm.
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Then, carefully move your bandaged arm around to check its condition and then raise your head.
“You… are you okay?”
“How long have you been here?” asked the Marquis Laurence, speaking cautiously with a strange expression.
“Yes, I’m fine now.”
Since I had often encountered him while learning magic in the palace, I could say that we had a somewhat familiar relationship.
He sometimes gave her various pieces of advice, perhaps because he was conscious of Riley, the next person to have the most power.
“Well… I don’t mind if you’re okay with it.”
“Haha, I apologize for being late in greeting you. Thank you for saving me. I was just in the middle of feeling like I was in real danger.”
“What, you fight well too. I heard you only started training for a short time, and you’re already at that level.”
He continued speaking as if he was surprised, then stopped and slowly looked over Hesperon again.
The dirt and dust covering his body, the blood stains here and there, his pale complexion, his whole body soaked in cold sweat, and his muscles still trembling intermittently.
No matter how I looked at it, it didn’t look okay at all.
‘No, even if that wasn’t the case, anyone who saw what happened earlier would have thought that.’
Lawrence stroked his beard and squinted his eyes.
A conflict between a curse that runs wild and out of control and the will to somehow suppress it.
Just by looking at the body’s reaction, one could easily guess the level of pain inflicted at that time, but Hesperon’s face was extremely calm now, as if nothing like that had ever happened.
‘Your mental strength and self-control are beyond words. What a shame, what a shame.’
The growth rate that I have been watching over you so far, and the way you have held out against Stave until I arrived this time.
If you take him as a disciple and teach him well, you might be able to make him your successor.
‘Well, maybe I’ll bring it up later.’
But now was not the right time to bring up that topic.
Since you’ve decided to do something, it’s better to make it clear.
If something goes wrong with him due to a side effect, wouldn’t he end up hearing the princess’s resentment after saving him?
“That’s not right.”
“···yes?”
“Come on, let’s go.”
“Ah… yes.”
In this way, Hesperon was forced into the imperial hospital under Lawrence’s urging.
After hearing the whole story, Riley immediately decided to hospitalize him for a long period of time.
With the worried nagging that was conveyed through “Chain of Oaths”, asking why he said it was okay.
***
A base established on the outskirts of Seoul.
Knock knock knock—
The sound of fingers tapping on the table dispersed through the quiet room.
I stared blankly at the monitor where the report that came in the security mail was printed out, and then fell into quiet thought.
‘Auterica has now reached its end.’
There were still quite a few minor issues left, but the events that would bring about major changes to the world had been roughly concluded.
What we have to do going forward is for the avatars to steadily increase their influence in their respective positions and successfully conclude the home theater?
‘The only big thing is the sanctions against the Herman Hart family…’
Actually, I don’t think that will last that long.
Because Riley was really, really angry, she was moving around more actively than ever before.
Although she was still at the Royal Palace of Roselia, she began to make large-scale moves, commanding the forces she had gathered in the meantime in a coordinated manner.
Not only the political world, but also the business world, academia, the magic world, and even mercenaries.
Even the church was leaking stories about Stave becoming a dark knight and even requesting an Inquisitor, so what more can I say?
‘I also have a grudge against you, so I accepted it quickly.’
These are the words spoken directly by the representative of the empire.
Wouldn’t that be enough justification for the church to intervene directly?
‘If you feel like it’s not enough, you can just plant a few connections with the Immortal Army there.’
If you do that… This can’t be happening!
A noble duke can very easily become a traitor to humanity!
A traitor who was blinded by power and joined hands with the Immortal King.
Even if he was a duke of the empire, it took only a moment for one family to be destroyed.
Moreover, if the Hwang family has turned their backs on him, the possibility of recovery would be zero.
‘But if you think about it, it’s not wrong, right?’
And after thinking about it carefully, I realized that it wasn’t a false accusation.
It had already been confirmed that Duke Herman Hart was one of the executives of the Oath of Reverse Heaven.
What kind of people are the ones who made the Oath of Reverse?
Aren’t they an evil group that planned to revive the Immortal King, open the Gate of the Abyss to bring out madness, and cause the sinking of the Enamel Continent and the great war of the Ion Continent?
‘I don’t know how much he knew and how much he cooperated, but the facts are the facts.’
It was no longer important whether they had truly cooperated knowing that the continent could be destroyed, or whether they had simply created a crisis for their own gain.
This has now become a legitimate execution.
‘···Your thoughts have wandered elsewhere. Then you should do that···.’
My gaze turned back to the security mail on the monitor.
Then, the feeling that had been forcibly raised for ventilation sank back to the bottom.
The caller was Andrew Weaver.
A slave with the unique skill “Trajectory Observation” that is useful for gathering information… no, he was a talented person.
And the report that came this time contained content that made me feel that hiring him was worth it.
‘The decree holder···.’
Suddenly, I remembered the image of him being beaten to pieces by Hans in Japan.
And I was reminded of the past that I had experienced while experiencing the hospital terrorist attack not long ago.
Fire and explosions, heat, screams, the smell of blood.
A voice calling your name, a look in your eyes, warmth, memories.
“Huh, phew—.”
With a deep breath, the emotions I had tried to keep buried in the dire situation began to bubble up and boil over.
It wasn’t time yet—the anger and resentment buried in “Persona” began to slowly raise its head.
‘Yeah, I’ve endured a lot to this point. It’s about time to start seeing results.’
The corners of his lips, which had been twitching, slowly rose upward.
East Asia Branch Manager Yulryeongja.
And that means.
Aren’t you saying that he was the decision maker and the person responsible for the terror attack that happened back then?
I don’t plan on ending it with just that one, but it’ll at least give me something to quench my thirst.
I closed my eyes and leaned back in the chair.
Darkened vision, the small sound of the computer running.
and.
“Hans.”
In the room.
Darkness fell.
***
The deepest part of Auterica.
abyss.
That place, where the standards of time, space, material, and concepts were disrupted and floating around meaninglessly, was filled with chaos as always.
It has always been that way, and it will always be that way.
Dismissed!
however.
In a place that seemed like it would never change, sudden changes began to occur.
Parsa Sasak—
Kwadduk— Kwajik!
The sound of space breaking apart and something breaking echoed.
No, maybe it’s not space that’s breaking.
This was a place where even such a concept could not fully exist, so even the sound might have been an illusion.
But whatever the reason, the unknown changes were still continuing.
It finally threw another anomaly into the mix.
“Hmm.”
A man who had been there for a long time suddenly appeared.
Even in a space where everything was noisily mixed, he was not affected at all and slowly looked around, then let out a soft sigh.
“Is it a dud again this time?”
But I still couldn’t be sure.
Since it was not an official visit but rather an intrusion through illegal means, there have been similar cases in the past.
Originally, security vulnerabilities were located in remote places like this, out of the reach of administrators.
The man who thought like that… He seemed ordinary, but he also gave off an intimidating vibe, and he was a presence that felt vague—.
The host of the Bancheonhoe opened his mouth with the corners of his lips twisted.
“I hope we get some useful harvest this time···.”
But before he could finish speaking.
《XXXX is looking at you.》
Drumroll—
The space shook with a loud thump.
