Chapter 134
Chapter 134
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 134
Chapter Title: The Scarlet Lion's Verdict
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“What will you do?”
Anna felt as though those words were a death sentence.
A declaration that she would die if she didn’t back down—an unavoidable, absolute verdict.
But.
“I refuse.”
Her answer was predetermined.
She was a knight, willing to face even death for her liege’s command.
Whoosh!
And that was precisely why she was a knight.
“Scarlet Lion Knights, all hands. Seize Rachel Ashford…”
It was at that moment.
KABOOM!
An immense force clashed against the blade she instinctively thrust out.
Not sword aura or any skill—just raw power.
Screeeeech!
Sparks flew as it slowly pushed Anna’s body back.
“Hngh!”
Even with all her strength, all she could do was barely hold it off.
And then, following right after.
Crunch!
The second strike that came flying in made her unique-grade sword feel like it was shattering into pieces.
Anna couldn’t hide her shock.
A surprise attack like this.
‘No, it’s not a surprise attack.’
He had warned her, and she had shown hostility—so this was justified.
What was truly astonishing was this absurd power.
“……!”
It felt like her entire body was being torn apart.
“All hands…!”
As she braced for Go Yohan’s third strike and tried to shout.
Tremble!
Anna’s body shuddered.
“Sheathe your sword!”
In that instant.
Shrieeeeeek!
A tearing wind grazed past Anna’s cheek.
Her sword was already in pieces on the ground.
Drip.
Blood trickled from the gash on her cheek.
If she hadn’t shouted at the last second, what would have fallen was her head.
“…….”
Pushing aside her shock for later, Anna quietly sheathed her broken sword and closed her eyes.
Nod.
When Anna nodded and opened her eyes again.
“Thank you for waiting.”
Anna Flame spoke with proper courtesy.
“The Imperial Family will entrust Duke Rachel Ashford’s custody to the Temple.”
“…….”
A glint of interest flashed in Go Yohan’s eyes.
‘Just now.’
She had communed with someone else.
A wavelength similar to the one he shared with his apostles.
But what surprised Go Yohan was.
‘She communed with the outside.’
The fact that Anna Flame had communicated with the world beyond the gate.
Even for him, gates—treated as separate dimensional spaces—weren’t easy to connect through to the outside.
“…….”
And they were doing something so extraordinary as if it were nothing.
“But this is actually a loss for Duke Rachel Ashford.”
“What we have on our side?”
“Sir Yohan, we know your forces and power are formidable, but…”
Anna’s eyes blazed.
“Remember that there are still many things on this Earth you do not know.”
That was the end of it.
Swish!
The Scarlet Lion Knights turned to follow Anna, who whipped her cloak around and spun on her heel.
“We’re heading back!”
Step, step, click.
“England…”
Go Yohan murmured, watching their retreating figures.
“And the Royals.”
He could certainly see that this Earth had forces not to be underestimated.
But one thing he was sure of.
“You all still don’t know me either.”
For a fleeting moment, an image of Michael brushed by.
Through his sky-blue eyes, he discerned how they communicated with entities outside the gate.
“I should be grateful.”
He had a hunch that soon, they too would be able to do the same in their own way.
“…Is it over?”
Go Yunsu said, eyeing the Scarlet Lion Knights retreating into the distance.
“Yes. Let’s head back ourselves.”
*
*
*
The Scarlet Lion Knights had appeared in a special manner and demonstrated special power.
And one more thing he could confirm.
“…….”
They clearly possessed a unique ability to enter and exit gates.
The power to forcibly open and close entrances.
And though not yet widely known, Go Yohan knew of others who had similar abilities.
‘The World Association.’
Regardless of that.
“…I can’t for the life of me understand why I even went to England.”
Go Yunsu’s voice from beside him dripped with thick defeat and humiliation.
He had prided himself on building ties with the Royals in England.
Splash.
But he had to admit he knew nothing about them.
It wasn’t just Go Yohan.
Paluka and most of the plane’s survivors were stunned.
The Cyclopes that had driven Go Yunsu and Paluka to the brink.
“…What the…”
Their corpses lay scattered everywhere, as if echoing Anna Flame’s voice.
‘This is a gift.’
Their consideration on the way out—ensuring an easy path—was secondary.
The true intent was likely closer to flaunting their power.
“…Not everything is as it seems. Even if you look closely, there’s so much you won’t understand. Take me—I’m the same, right?”
Go Yohan’s consoling voice followed, as if to ease Go Yunsu’s sense of defeat even a little.
“You didn’t even know what I was hiding, big bro.”
“……Huh?”
It was then.
“You knew?”
“……?”
Go Yohan’s eyes widened at Go Yunsu’s words instead.
“How could I not? The way you’d shout for the goddess at the dinner table, or how Uncle Jaekyung would cover for you like that.”
“…….”
“I figured the rascal from the family turned out proper after all.”
“……You knew?”
“Yeah. The only one who doesn’t know…”
Go Yunsu chuckled.
“…is that idiot Go Minji, probably?”
“……!”
Go Yohan’s face went blank for a moment.
“Why the long face? We’re family.”
“…….”
“Does it make sense for someone to go on a backpacking trip to ‘cool off’ before elementary school? And you think Mom and Dad wouldn’t care that much about you?”
“Ha…”
Go Yohan let out a hollow laugh.
It seemed he was the only one who thought he’d hidden it well.
‘Mom, Dad…’
Even big bro knew.
At least it seemed to have lifted Go Yunsu’s mood considerably.
“So, what happens to them now?”
Go Yunsu asked.
They were the plane’s survivors.
They had witnessed the Royals’ hidden power and the conflict that followed.
“You’ll be fine, but…”
The Royals wouldn’t just let them go.
Entrusting Rachel to them meant entrusting their treatment as well.
Players were one thing, but civilians were the problem.
“I’m not doing anything.”
“You’re you, sure. But…”
“They’ve already handled it.”
“……?”
Go Yohan spoke to the puzzled Go Yunsu.
“At the very least.”
The world visible through divine sight.
Without the perk of being the World Tree’s betrothed, he wouldn’t have seen this deep.
Amid it all, something close to the truth of the gates emerged—something beyond words, but felt.
“England knows more about gates than I do.”
Go Yohan, Paluka, Rachel, Go Yunsu.
Unless Go Yohan intervened, the rest would lose all memories of this place the moment they exited the gate.
“Let’s get out of here.”
Go Yohan said, gazing ahead.
Cyclopes clad in what looked like red armor—their single eyes enormous and extraordinary.
Likely the boss of this presumed S-rank gate.
Go Yohan didn’t even glance at it.
Whoosh!
He swung his arm.
When the razor-sharp blade compressed space and shot forth.
Slash!
It cleaved in two and collapsed.
*
*
*
[You have acquired a Fragment of the World.]
[Your Faith stat has increased.]
By the time he heard those voices and opened his eyes, Go Yohan was already outside the gate.
The Fragment of the World in his hand.
“……!”
It was clearly something different from what he’d obtained conquering the black gate.
“Captain!”
A familiar voice called out then.
He had opened his eyes in the heart of Pyongyang.
Click.
There stood masked Lee Jaekyung and similarly masked zealots guarding the perimeter.
The distant presence of North Korean troops and players.
Swish.
And one by one, those who had exited with Go Yohan began to regain their senses.
“…Where’s this?”
Go Yunsu, the first to come to, steadied and lifted the staggering Rachel, while Paluka immediately bowed toward Lee Jaekyung and the zealots.
The others.
“…Uh… where are we?”
“I…”
“I was on the plane…?”
They seemed to have no memory of what happened inside the gate.
The rise in his Faith stat, the Fragment of the World, and the goddess’s voice from before.
[Some god of the Pantheon has performed a miracle.]
He was sure he’d heard something like that.
Interfering with the memories of so many people—even players with resistance—and erasing them wholesale was truly akin to a miracle.
“…….”
Go Yunsu’s face hardened, as if he’d expected it.
“You’ve got a ton of questions, but not here.”
“I know that much.”
Go Yohan nodded and spoke to Lee Jaekyung.
“What time is it?”
He remembered entering the gate at dusk, but now the sun was slowly rising.
He knew time flowed differently inside gates versus outside, which was why he asked.
“It’s 8 a.m.”
“And the date?”
Lee Jaekyung smiled beneath his mask.
“December 25th.”
“It didn’t roll over to the new year, did it?”
Of course, it was a joke.
But also a bit of verification.
‘Miracle.’
A word not to be used lightly.
“Two years have passed.”
“……!”
Go Yunsu shuddered at Lee Jaekyung’s words.
“…T-Two… years?”
That time—short if short, long if long—had been two whole years?
A flurry of thoughts raced through his mind.
Go Yunsu staggered, nearly dropping Rachel.
“Don’t play weird jokes.”
At Go Yohan’s words.
“…That obvious?”
Lee Jaekyung shrugged.
“You couldn’t warp time that much against me.”
Not with the goddess’s blessing.
“N-No way, a joke?”
Go Yunsu glared with bulging eyes.
“Yes, a joke. Less than a day has passed. Welcome back.”
Only then did Lee Jaekyung slightly lift his mask and say.
“Ah…! Un… Uncle!”
Go Yunsu shouted in surprise upon seeing Lee Jaekyung’s face.
Lee Jaekyung was someone he could forgive for pranks like that.