episode_0048

Dreek, who had previously had a strong will to negotiate, now completely changed his attitude. This was because Leos learned that threats and such did not work. However, despite this, there were some parts that Dreek had no choice but to ask questions about first.

“If I…tell you everything, will you spare my life…?”

Leos wordlessly thrust the knife to Dric’s neck. When the surface was scratched and a wound was created, Dreek grabbed the neck, backed away, and spoke urgently.

“Sorry. I’ll just…let me just say it.”

It is better to keep your life alive for a while than to die right away. Deciding so, Dreek began to tell Leos what he knew one by one.

“Leos…no…Leos will know. After the Red Gate Whirlpool occurred, looter guilds began to emerge at a rapid pace. In less than a month, guilds for low-mid and high-ranking looters were created, and there were even people who paid bribes to the high-ranking looter guilds, so you must have noticed that the system was quickly and strangely established.”

“I know.”

“That’s all because the Heavenly Council intervened.”

“What do you mean?”

“After the Redgate Whirlpool incident occurred, there was someone who gathered the looters outside and brought them inside the vortex.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because…I’m one of those types. I wasn’t in range when the Redgate vortex occurred in the first place. He was just a guy who lived his day by stealing people’s money while avoiding the eyes of the empire. Regardless of one’s swordsmanship skills, the empire’s surveillance was so thorough at that time that it was difficult to do things as openly as now. However, not long after Red Gate was created, a man who introduced himself as Artan came to visit.”

“Artan…”

Leos searched for memories. Artan, a member of the Celestial Society and a person who personally tested the Eternal Life. As of a few years ago, he was a man who had almost the same level of strength as Leo.

‘No, based on a few years ago, he actually had better skills than me.’

I don’t know what it is like now because several years is a very large amount of time, but in the past, Artan was definitely superior to Leos. Leos continued to listen to Dreek as he organized the information.

“The man who introduced his name as Artan made an offer to me. Why not try a test inside the Red Gate Vortex?”

“Test?”

“Yes. He wanted two tests. One is control by the group. I wanted to know how much resourcefulness can be achieved by systematically creating a group of marauders and forcibly squeezing out the people, and whether it is sustainable. That’s why I divided the looters, including myself, into lower, middle, and upper ranks, and had them steal money from innocent people and make bribes. In order to scare those who didn’t want to pay or tried to run away, money… that is, things with monetary value, such as food or money, were properly distributed. Those who did not pay were killed.”

“So what is the conclusion?”

“Artan. He came to me a few days ago and talked to me. [It’s less efficient than I thought. In order to imprint fear, we have to kill more people than expected, so the loss is great.] ”

“Then why do you keep doing this?”

“There is also the next word. [It’s not efficient, but since we’ve already laid out the board, it’ll be fun. We continued our actions by saying, ‘Just go ahead with it.’”

“…”

Leos was silent for a moment and then made a gesture. As if to tell me the next story right away.

“What I just mentioned was the first test that Artan wanted. And the second test is eternal life.”

Dreek took out a dice filled with green liquid from his chest, showed it to Leos, and spoke.

“Artan introduced himself as a member of the Celestial Society… According to what he said, this eternal life was originally a liquid created to stop aging at the moment it was hit and enable it to continue eternal life. But now it’s in an unstable state, so most people who get hit die or turn into undead…”

“…”

“Artan has requested information from us. How many hours do people die after administering the liquid, or what percentage of cases turn into undead? Furthermore, I wanted to know the results of the experiment, which were determined by various variables such as force, gender, time and amount of input, age, and total amount of mana. So… to put it simply, he viewed everyone inside the Redgate Vortex as a test subject.”

Leos stuffed the information into his head. And I asked one question.

“From what I’ve heard so far, it doesn’t seem like Belin and the shadow group have anything to do with the Celestial Society. What are you going to tell me?”

“No…!”

Dreek spoke urgently.

“The Dark Souls seem to operate under the orders of the Emperor, but in reality, they act according to the will of the Heavenly Council. Among the high-ranking figures planted within the empire, there were several members of the Heavenly Council, and they adjusted the situation of the empire by killing those who did not agree with their opinions.”

“So the current emperor is a puppet of the Celestial Council?”

“That is to say, yes. The reason the undercover group used Bellin to imprison you was because of instructions from superiors. But isn’t it strange? At that time, you were the head of the famous Gate Management Headquarters. It received a lot of support from the public and was also highly recognized. Not now, but…”

“What do you want to say?”

“There was no need to kick you out at the time. If you think rationally, wouldn’t it be absurd to eliminate the gate management center itself just because monsters haven’t appeared in a few years? This happened by order of the emperor. At the time, the emperor ordered the gate management headquarters to be destroyed on the grounds that it was useless, but in reality, it is said that the emperor was afraid. Your influence is growing.”

“…”

“The reason the emperor was afraid of you was because the Celestial Council next to him… In short, treacherous associates manipulated various materials and continuously made the emperor aware of the fact that you could rally forces and stage a coup. no see. The incompetent emperor ultimately decided that it was right to demote you and eliminate your influence.”

Leos’ expression gradually became distorted, but he tried to understand the situation as much as possible.

“I don’t understand? I don’t know the strength of those Celestial Council members, but if there were several people with Artan’s level of power, they could take over the entire imperial palace, so why use such a complicated method?”

“Because it’s fun.”

As Leos held the sword in his hand, Dric waved his hand urgently and spoke.

“Well…that’s not what I said. I was curious too, so I asked, and Artan told me. [Because it’s more fun. Wouldn’t it be too easy and fun to create a result by pressing everything with force? Idiots who do not know the thrill of producing results by causing various butterfly effects will not understand how I feel, but witnessing the process with my own eyes can truly be called a heavenly feeling.]”

Leos completely changed the image of the Celestial Council in his thoughts. Until now, they were just strong guys, but these guys are really crazy, trashy guys.

“I knew that the Heavenly Council had persuaded the Emperor to issue an order, and that the Shadow Order had devised a plan to oust me based on that order. I already know that Bellin also moved under the orders of the shadow group. Is there anything else you know?”

“…This is the end of what I know.”

Leos felt strange and asked one more question.

“But how does someone like you know all this information?”

As Dreek was the head of the Lieutenant Marauder’s Guild, his strength was naturally strong enough to overwhelm ordinary people. However, if you were to ask whether he was a Cheonsanghoe-level person, he was definitely not. Also, he didn’t seem to have any ability. Rather than saying he found out the information, it would be more accurate to say he told it to him directly.

All information related to the Heavenly Council as well as the Eternal Life. Why did you bother to reveal information that would have a huge impact if it were to spread?

“Artan…he told me everything.”

“He said there was a reason for all his actions. Why did you tell me about these things? Please tell me even if you have any guesses.”

“Me too…I don’t know either. But Artan said. He said that if there is anyone who knows anything about the Celestial Association, they should tell him all the information he said. Furthermore, I would like to add a word to him…”

Dreek began to shake his head and was unable to speak.

“What did you say? Please tell it as it is without missing a single word.”

“…that…that…”

When Dric was speechless, Leos immediately stabbed his shoulder with his sword. Then Dreek opened his mouth in pain.

“Didn’t we say that all relationships end someday? You’ve thrown everything away for nothing but your personal interests, but take a good look at what’s left next to you now. In the end, I was right.”

Leos recalled the conversation he had with Artan when he first met him.

-What is the reason you remain there? If you join the Heavenly Council, you will be able to gain money, fame, and power that are difficult to compare to now.

-Because I have colleagues here. Even if they give me 10 million won, I have no intention of leaving the Gate Management Headquarters.

-All relationships are bound to end someday. You are a foolish person who throws everything away for personal reasons.

-Even though it may be foolish, I was taught to live like this.

-Time will tell who is right. There will be a day when we will see each other again.

Feeling as if the strings of reason are being broken. I began to feel crazy anger as I wondered if the whole process was just to prove that one word he said was right.

“Come out…”

“Yes…?”

Dreek was taken aback by Leos’ sudden words telling him to come out. However, Leos spoke again as if he had not told Dreek.

“You said that you feel pleasure when you see the butterfly effect with your own eyes and the results match. A pervert like that would definitely be lurking nearby and watching my expression right now. Come out. Or am I afraid?”

“…”

A few seconds of silence passed, and Artan, who had been hiding, slowly revealed his form.

“It’s been a while.”

Artan smiled and greeted him, and Leos just stared at him. Drik, who found Artan, urgently ran towards him and spoke.

“Ah… Artan! I did everything as you said. So please kill this guy and save me…”

“First of all, let’s get rid of uninvited guests who have finished their roles.”:

-Slap!

When Artan swung his hand, Drik’s body was split in half without the sword being fired. Artan spoke to Leos without even looking at him.

“Leos. It is not yet time for me to appear before you. But since it’s finally out, I’ll give you some information. Belin, that bitch has a younger brother. And that younger brother…”

-Chaeeeng!

Leos hurled his chain sword straight at Artan, and Artan returned it. No, I thought I was talking back.

“Huh…”

Artan was furious as he wiped the blood flowing from his cheek with his hand.

“I like being curious, but I can’t stand being cocky.”

Leos held his sword backwards and whispered indignantly at him.

“You guys are the ones who are arrogant. From now on, I will kill them all in the most painful way possible. I will see with my own eyes whether you can maintain that attitude even before you die.”