Ch.2929. The Purifier (3)

“Does this work?”

“…”

“…”

Silence spread around after Elia’s words.

Perhaps everyone shared the same sentiment.

Surrounding them were Mantiters sprawled on the ground, writhing.

‘…Everyone opposed it at first.’

Elia snickered as she shouldered her sword.

When Talion first told everyone about the ‘plan,’ they all thought he was crazy.

Even Elia, who was urgently summoned here, would have reacted the same way if she hadn’t been told that Darwood Campbell was the one who devised this plan.

In an emergency situation with monsters appearing in the city, the most orthodox solution would be to call the knights and evacuate civilians while waiting for them to arrive.

No matter what anyone says, the Empire’s strongest force is the knights, and there are always knights residing in and around Elphante Academy.

But what about Darwood’s plan that Talion shared?

‘…A dozen or so students, a few knights, and some academy professors taking down this many monsters.’

Elia let out a hollow laugh as she recalled the absurd plan.

To put it bluntly, it was just about gathering whoever happened to be nearby to face the monsters.

In simple terms, it was a death wish.

After the power of demons directly manifested quite some time ago, monsters are classified as humanity’s main enemy.

Even though their intelligence has regressed, they possess brute combat power that even superhumans with abilities find difficult to handle.

So dealing with monsters basically assumes that ‘more humans’ face ‘fewer monsters.’

Which means…

The current situation, where fewer than 20 humans have completely subdued hundreds of monsters, is nothing short of a miracle.

The motivation behind the plan was even more ridiculous.

‘…He said there would be too many casualties.’

Waiting for the regular knights to arrive while evacuating civilians would inevitably result in casualties.

But if they subdued all these monsters beforehand, they could eliminate even that risk factor.

He really is consistent.

Seeing his belief in saving people first regardless of the situation makes her think he’s even more dedicated than herself, a Vagabond candidate.

‘Does he have some special reason?’

As she tilted her head at that thought…

“Indeed. It actually worked.”

Conrad Baltador, the dean of the Knight Department, approached and patted her shoulder.

He was one of the few who supported this plan along with Chancellor Atalante among those participating in the battle.

Their influence was so strong that the plan was executed despite opposition.

“It’s fortunate that you and the Chancellor were here. Without either of you, such an outcome might have been impossible.”

It truly was.

No, to be precise, if any one of the people here had been missing, such an outcome would have been absolutely impossible.

“If even one had been missing, it would have been impossible, huh.”

Conrad’s eyes narrowed.

“Right. About that. Do you know why the Chancellor and I were in this area?”

“Pardon?”

“That guy recommended it. Told us to have dinner around here.”

“…”

Elia frowned.

“Really?”

“He even got tickets, so I had no reason to refuse. And then coincidentally, this incident happens.”

“…”

Suddenly, a hypothesis formed in Elia’s mind.

As Conrad continued speaking, the hypothesis became more concrete.

“And that shy kid over there. The Monster Research Department student.”

He pointed to Evan Craymore, a second-year student from the Monster Department.

He was a face Elia remembered well.

He was the student who managed the mock battle during orientation when Darwood participated.

Apparently, Darwood specifically asked Talion to find this student.

“We probably couldn’t have achieved this without him, right?”

Indeed, that was true.

Monsters possess various bizarre characteristics in addition to their brute combat power. Even knights who primarily fight them can’t memorize all of these traits.

Unless they’re eccentrics who ‘professionally’ research such things.

If that student Evan hadn’t provided appropriate weakness exploitation methods, everyone couldn’t have finished the battle so smoothly.

“He said that guy also invited him to the festival. Around this area specifically. Said he couldn’t refuse a request from his benefactor.”

“Benefactor?”

“The Monster Research Department is the least popular among the Knight Departments. We were even considering closing it this year.”

“…”

“But when I ‘coincidentally’ checked the mock battle stage, I found some capable individuals. So I held off on that.”

Elia’s pupils trembled slightly.

Yes, the ‘coincidence’ this man is talking about here…

It occurred because he visited due to a ‘certain person’ he was keeping an eye on.

And a student from the preserved Monster Research Department happened to be nearby.

At an incredibly good timing.

At someone’s request.

“…”

The hypothesis crystallizes.

The students related to the ‘House of Purification’ foundation who participated in this battle were also somehow prevented from transforming into monsters by Darwood’s intervention.

The knights dispatched here were also people summoned by the Chancellor at Darwood’s request.

“…Ha.”

When viewed separately, they’re just a series of unrelated coincidences, but there’s one common denominator connecting all these coincidences.

“Um, Dean.”

“Yes?”

“Has that person been preparing for this all along?”

Conrad responded with a wry laugh instead of answering.

All the actions taken so far, the people Darwood met through them, and the results that followed.

Everything points to that conclusion.

Darwood Campbell had been designing a response to a threat no one else noticed from the beginning.

Everyone present here.

From the start, he had ‘assumed’ such an incident would definitely occur and meticulously calculated to gather them all.

‘It really would have been impossible if even one person was missing.’

Because the entire setup was flawlessly arranged from beginning to end!

Elia spoke with a dejected voice.

“…What kind of person is he, really?”

“I don’t know. It might genuinely be a series of coincidences.”

Conrad scratched his head as he answered.

“Though I doubt he would have ordered one more thing if that were the case.”

“Pardon?”

“You didn’t see Talion during the battle, did you?”

That was true.

He would have certainly been a valuable asset, but his absence was puzzling.

“What do you think he’s doing right now?”

“…”

Elia’s expression hardened.

“Is that person possibly planning something else here?”

Instead of an answer, she received laughter.

It contained a boisterousness that made further questioning unnecessary.

“Really.”

What kind of person is he?

Elia sighed and tilted her head back sharply, an action to shake off the fatigue from battle.

“Huh?”

It was thanks to this that she noticed the ‘gray’ covering her entire field of vision.

Like a mist spewing from somewhere, it expands endlessly and rapidly. It covers the sky, the space, and everything else as if eroding them.

Then.

Everything stopped.

●

Time solidified.

No, not in some metaphorical sense, but literally as the sentence states.

“…”

My consciousness is intact. The world is perceived clearly, almost too clearly for someone with a hole in their chest.

But.

Everything except my consciousness is frozen in place.

Marquis Riverback with his puzzled expression in front of me. The blood flowing from my pierced chest and dripping to the floor. I can’t even feel the wind. Even the flow of air has stopped.

Everything has been dyed gray.

Frozen like a photographed landscape.

“…”

However.

Among all this, there was one thing that moved.

Something ‘descends’ from the edge of my vision.

It comes down gently from above as if completely unaffected by gravity, giving an alien impression as if even the physical laws of the world don’t apply to it.

Snow-white hair reaching down to the ankles. Crimson red eyes redder than blood. Flawlessly white skin. A naked form without a single thread of clothing.

It’s a familiar appearance, if familiar is the right word.

If Elnore were to age a few years, she would probably look exactly like this.

But this isn’t Elnore. I can tell just by looking.

If it were Elnore. No, if it were any human.

They couldn’t emit this much ‘malice.’

‘Grey Demon.’

In the game, it never directly reveals its appearance. It only appears in the form of possessing Elnore’s body for the boss battle in the finale.

So the form before my eyes is its ‘fragment.’

The demonic essence that Marquis Riverback put into his body is just an object containing a small remnant of the demon, but when all the demon’s fragments are gathered, they can summon the real demon.

There are various fragments of the Grey Demon scattered throughout the scenario, and in the game, they all eventually gather to Elnore. It’s almost a necessity.

In other words, what this person possesses now is just a tiny part of it.

The power of the ‘authority’ it possesses wouldn’t even be a tenth of the Grey Demon’s main body, and the time it can materialize wouldn’t be long either. At most, a few tens of seconds.

Nevertheless.

[ Crisis situation detected. ]

[ Judged to be a direct threat to life. ]

[ Applying skill: Dire Straits at EX grade. ]

Just by having this being in front of me…

The deactivated Dire Straits turns back on.

“…”

This is ridiculous, damn it.

Just by appearing, the entire world stops, and I’m facing a life-threatening situation just by making eye contact with it.

That’s how vast the gap is.

While I’m thinking this, the ‘demon fragment’ taking Elnore’s form steps toward me.

Simultaneously.

[ ¡̛̰̖̲͉̜̿͑̈̍̕̚͟͝Ą̷̦̘͉̹͓̝́̾͂͂̂͂̅͡͝ø̵̧̡̜̲̗̳̟̀̒̽̊͆̃͒̎̚͟͟ͅ Ç̳͈̟̯̻̾̿̔͆̃̋́͌͘̕Ḁ̷͉̞͎̯̥̫̳̻́͆͊̉̀̾͘͞·̴̢̥̱̝̘̟͎͊͐͌̿̎̋̕͜͟͝͞Î̶̻̙͓͓͎̫͛́͌̀̆͊͒͆̚±̦͖̺̗͎͍̰͊̏͒̉̍̉̚͟͠×̵̢̯̥̟͖̞̔̈́̃̚͘͞·̶̛͈̪͚̹̺͖͉̪̇̎̃̏̃̎̚͡ͅ¡̴̹͉̤̭̥̒̇̎̅͘͝ͅ¹̖̯̰̰̦̝͐͆̿̌̃͂͟͠Ö̵̩̭͇̹̭̤͌͆̔̀̆̚ Situation ¡̛̰̖̲͉̜̿͑̈̍̕̚͟͝Ą̷̦̘͉̹͓̝́̾͂͂̂͂̅͡͝ø̵̧̡̜̲̗̳̟̀̒̽̊͆̃͒̎̚͟͟ͅ Ç̳͈̟̯̻̾̿̔͆̃̋́͌͘̕Ḁ̷͉̞͎̯̥̫̳̻́͆͊̉̀̾͘͞·̴̢̥̱̝̘̟͎͊͐͌̿̎̋̕͜͟͝͞Î̶̻̙͓͓͎̫͛́͌̀̆͊͒͆̚±̦͖̺̗͎͍̰͊̏͒̉̍̉̚͟͠×̵̢̯̥̟͖̞̔̈́̃̚͘͞·̶̛͈̪͚̹̺͖͉̪̇̎̃̏̃̎̚͡ͅ¡̴̹͉̤̭̥̒̇̎̅͘͝ͅ¹̖̯̰̰̦̝͐͆̿̌̃͂͟͠Ö̵̩̭͇̹̭̤͌͆̔̀̆̚ ]

[ ¾̶͕̻́̊̇î̸̙̪͎̥͎͍̲͔̔̈́̀̃͗́̚̚͠͠͝͠ ̷̨̨̣̭̭͓̱̼͚̮̼̭̟̱̾̄͑̈́̋͝¼̸̢̛̞̟͓̗̙͗͊̆̓̈͘͜͠Ǫ̵̛̠̟̲͔̟̀̔̍͛̈́°̶̨̙̠͆͋̔͛̒̀̾̆̉̏̕³̶̟̝̙͔̥̖̯̠̒̈̋̃̇̾̃̽̆̅͊͆̋̋ Direct threat ¾̶͕̻́̊̇î̸̙̪͎̥͎͍̲͔̔̈́̀̃͗́̚̚͠͠͝͠ ̷̨̨̣̭̭͓̱̼͚̮̼̭̟̱̾̄͑̈́̋͝¼̸̢̛̞̟͓̗̙͗͊̆̓̈͘͜͠Ǫ̵̛̠̟̲͔̟̀̔̍͛̈́°̶̨̙̠͆͋̔͛̒̀̾̆̉̏̕³̶̟̝̙͔̥̖̯̠̒̈̋̃̇̾̃̽̆̅͊͆̋̋ judged. ]

[ ¾̶͕̻́̊̇î̸̙̪͎̥͎͍̲͔̔̈́̀̃͗́̚̚͠͠͝͠ ̷̨̨̣̭̭͓̱̼͚̮̼̭̟̱̾̄͑̈́̋͝¼̸̢̛̞̟͓̗̙͗͊̆̓̈͘͜͠Ǫ̵̛̠̟̲͔̟̀̔̍͛̈́°̶̨̙̠͆͋̔͛̒̀̾̆̉̏̕³̶̟̝̙͔̥̖̯̠̒̈̋̃̇̾̃̽̆̅͊͆̋̋ Applying EX grade. ]

The window in front of me breaks and…

Part of my ability is ‘torn away.’

“…!”

Of course, the Purifier also downgraded my Dire Straits, but this is on a different level.

Just by standing in front of this being…

The entire ‘system’ feels neutralized.

“…”

Right, the Grey Demon is described that way in the lore.

A transcendent being that distorts even the basic laws of the world just by existing.

The demon fragment takes another step toward me.

It reaches close to me and immediately grabs my cheek.

Its expression shows an intoxicating smile as if melted by heat. It’s even more alien seeing such an expression on Elnore’s usually expressionless face.

And.

What’s stickily melted and adhered to the bottom of those eyes is endless desire.

It’s almost as if I can hear it screaming in my ear that its entire existence is for loving me.

After standing there looking down at me for a while, it lowered its head to my ear.

Then its mouth opens.

“I ¾ú´ÂÁö´love Á¦ ÇÏ¿¡you”

Just hearing the words feels like my brain is being fried. That’s the level of pressure.

A feeling of skin being macerated. A disgusting sensation flows through my entire nervous system, tingling as if someone poured tar into all my blood vessels.

If I could freely move my body right now, I’d probably just collapse and retch endlessly.

As I suffer from the terrible sensation that feels like my entire body is being sliced, the being drops down to me, still with a smiling face.

It reaches toward my chest and slightly twists its hand as if turning a dial there.

Then.

Time ‘rewinds.’

As if that part was cut out and the video rewound, my chest that was penetrated by Marquis Riverback’s demonic energy is restored.

“…”

The pain disappears. Vitality flows through my entire body.

Simultaneously.

A tattoo is engraved on my pierced chest.

[ You obtain ‘Seal of the Fallen Sky.’ ]

[ The Seal of the Fallen Sky Ç̳͈̟̯̻̾̿̔͆̃̋́͌͘̕Ḁ̷͉̞͎̯̥̫̳̻́͆͊̉̀̾͘͞·̴̢̥̱̝̘̟͎͊͐͌̿̎̋̕͜͟͝͞Î̶̻̙͓͓͎̫͛́͌̀̆͊͒͆̚±̦͖̺̗͎͍̰͊̏͒̉̍̉̚͟͠×̵̢̯̥̟͖̞̔̈́̃̚͘͞·̶̛͈̪͚̹̺͖͉̪̇̎̃̏̃̎̚͡ͅ¡̴̹͉̤̭̥̒̇̎̅͘͝ͅ effect Ç̳͈̟̯̻̾̿̔͆̃̋́͌͘̕Ḁ̷͉̞͎̯̥̫̳̻́͆͊̉̀̾͘͞·̴̢̥̱̝̘̟͎͊͐͌̿̎̋̕͜͟͝͞Î̶̻̙͓͓͎̫͛́͌̀̆͊͒͆̚±̦͖̺̗͎͍̰͊̏͒̉̍̉̚͟͠×̵̢̯̥̟͖̞̔̈́̃̚͘͞·̶̛͈̪͚̹̺͖͉̪̇̎̃̏̃̎̚͡ͅ¡̴̹͉̤̭̥̒̇̎̅͘͝ͅ. ]

“…”

Couldn’t you at least make this readable?

As I stare at it in disbelief, the demon fragment covers its mouth and chuckles.

Then it squats down in front of me with its chin resting on its hand, smiling. Its spinning around gives the impression of asking ‘Anything else you need?’

“…”

Even though it’s just a tiny part of the main body, having a world-class strongest being act so friendly toward me gives a strange feeling.

I thought it might be something like this.

[ Skill: Fatal Charm ] [ Grade: ??? ]

[ Makes it easier to gain favor from individuals with evil tendencies. The more extreme their tendencies, the stronger the effect. ]

The more extreme their tendencies, the stronger the effect means that the Grey Demon, whose very existence is a detonator for world destruction, can’t help but show extreme affection upon seeing me.

The problem is…

I don’t know how this will play out in the future.

Just by meeting Elnore and Elia and developing relationships with them, the scenario has twisted this much from Chapter 1.

But if I also form a connection with this being, what happens then?

‘…Since when did I care about such things?’

I smile wryly as I turn the window.

Anyway, I can’t overcome this crisis without this being’s help right now. I should take whatever I need.

<System Message>

[ Using ‘Skill Copy Voucher’! ]

[ You can copy 1 skill from target ‘Elnore’. ]

Right now, this being has manifested using Elnore’s body as a medium.

In other words, from a gaming perspective…

If I use this copy voucher now, I can copy one skill from this being that is systemically treated the same as Elnore.

“…”

That’s absurd.

Well, if it doesn’t work, I’ll just get one of Elnore’s skills. That’s still not a loss.

With that thought, I operate the window, and a list of skills I can copy appears.

‘Indomitable, Talent of the Apex, Mind’s Eye, Master of Combat…’

The list of Elnore’s overpowered skills that I remember scrolls by, and I scroll down to the very end.

And at the last position is:

[ Skill: King of Pandemonium ] [ Grade: A ]

[ -Worship the Great Monarch!- ]

[ Reveals the majesty of the ruler of hell to all. When the skill is used, you gain type advantage against demon-type enemies for 5 minutes. ]

Yes, as expected of a world built on a game system, my hypothesis was exactly right.

Just from the description, it’s definitely not a skill Elnore would have. This is something all ‘demon’ bosses in the game possess.

‘…There are many tempting ones, but.’

This is the skill set possessed by none other than a fragment of the Grey Demon. It must have countless powerful ones.

For now, except for this one, all the other skill descriptions are broken and unreadable, which amplifies my anxiety.

If they have ominous effects like greatly reducing my vitality when used, or requiring the death of someone close to me to activate, they could bring irreversible consequences.

‘In the first place, what I’m getting now…’

This is a skill that will definitely be used at some point.

There are things I can only do if I have this skill. It will also help the current situation.

With that thought, I copy the skill.

[ Copying ‘Skill: King of Pandemonium’. ]

As that window appears, the demon fragment opens its eyes wide.

It probably doesn’t know the details, but it seems to have noticed that my state has partially changed in that brief moment.

Looking alternately at itself and me, it seems to have realized that I’ve taken some of its abilities.

“!”

It claps its hands with a bright smile. It’s congratulating me.

It’s quite jarring to see such childlike behavior from a more mature version of Elnore.

But considering what the main body of this fragment is, I can’t just laugh it off.

This being…

With this smiling face, it can destroy the entire world.

“…”

And finally, it seems time is up.

Having exhausted all the time it can manifest, the demon fragment smiles as it notices itself breaking into pieces from the feet up and scattering around me.

It raises its gaze to look at me again. Still with a smiling face, the demon fragment opens its mouth.

“I ¾ú´ÂÁö´love Á¦ ÇÏ¿¡you”

A voice like a radio with the frequency turned up and full of noise hits my eardrums again.

“So,̨̝̻̂̂̈́̾̀̃̐̒̀̕”

But.

“See C¾ð¾î°¡ UC¾ð¾î°¡ U you C¾ð¾î°¡ U again.”

The last sentence, unfinished because its form completely dissipated:

“Next time, I will definitely. You-“

Was an unmistakably clear voice I could never forget.

●

As the gray recedes from the world, time begins to flow again.

I’m back near the entrance of the academy’s outer wall. In front of me is Marquis Riverback, and Elnore is embedded in the wall.

〚…What just…?〛

Marquis Riverback looks around with a bewildered expression. He seems to know something appeared and disappeared, but has no idea what it was.

Outwardly, nothing has changed.

Except for one thing.

[ Activating Skill: King of Pandemonium. ]

[ You have absolute type advantage against demon-type enemies for 5 minutes! ]

[ Deleting the existence of the opponent’s unique ability ‘Skill: Purification’. ]

[ Crisis situation detected. ]

[ Judged to be a direct threat to life. ]

[ Applying skill: Dire Straits at EX grade. ]

As I stand up, I deliver a powerful uppercut to Marquis Riverback’s chin.

〚…!〛

With a sound almost like a bomb exploding, Marquis Riverback’s body soars several meters into the air.

Hmm, yes.

This cool and heavy sensation. It’s been a while.

“Hey.”

I smile as I watch Marquis Riverback hastily regaining his balance in mid-air.

My body is full of vitality. It almost feels like I’ve been reborn.

“Round 2. Come at me.”

The shameful days of showing my back are over.

Returning to being Darwood Campbell who could send a Vagabond candidate flying with one hit.

It’s time to teach this guy some manners.