Chapter 329
Chapter 329
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 329
Chapter Title: Creator Park Chan-woo (4)
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Thump!
Her heart pounded.
As intense pain surged through her, Adora had no choice but to open her eyes.
"Ah, Lady Adora! Are you alright?"
The demon merchant Dagon urgently checked on her and shouted.
Having come to her senses, Adora looked around.
"...Where is this?"
"Valhalla."
The place where Adora had opened her eyes was not a mana-forged prison.
A home.
A warm blanket and the fresh scent of grass.
Adora rose from her spot and stepped outside.
"......How did I get back?"
It had clearly been the territory of night.
In the midst of battling the Black Witch, she had commanded 'death' upon Sepiro, who was crushing Park Chan-woo's ego.
At that moment, Adora should have died as well.
Yet she was alive.
Alive and back in Valhalla, no less.
"Do you not remember?"
"What about him?"
"Lord Sepiro entered the 'rift' alongside Cygnus."
"No, I don't mean Sepiro......"
"Yes, the second Lord Sepiro."
Her head was spinning.
A second Sepiro? She couldn't make sense of it.
Dagon slowly explained everything that had transpired.
Park Chan-woo becoming the master of dragons, him being the second Sepiro, and heading to the rift to prove it.
Adora's eyes shook violently upon hearing it all.
'Thank goodness.'
He seemed to have returned.
The presence of Sepiro that had threatened Park Chan-woo from within her heart appeared to have quieted.
He had acted to save her and everyone else.
"Lady Ataraxia lent her power to our return. We nearly ended up as guinea pigs for the dragons otherwise."
Dagon let out a sigh of relief.
But that wasn't what mattered to Adora.
'Why my heart......'
Every time she thought of Park Chan-woo, her heart tingled.
Something had clearly gone wrong with him in the rift.
Adora surveyed her surroundings.
Valhalla. The territory she ruled, filled with all sorts of created Abysses.
The tree of the evil god Ialdagolth, the foxes, everything was as it had been.
Except Park Chan-woo was missing.
Only Park Chan-woo was gone.
He had always acted alone and vanished somewhere on a whim.
But this sense of loss felt greater than ever.
Then it hit her.
"The Black Witch's heart......"
The finger of the Black Witch had made her a 'creator' as well.
It felt natural.
Just as Park Chan-woo had used the 'Black Witch's heart' to claim his qualification.
A qualification far greater than hers.
"Pardon? What happened to the Black Witch's heart?"
Adora shook her head at Dagon's question.
"It seems he's become the Lord of Pride."
"Pardon?"
"The Black Witch will know it too. She couldn't possibly be unaware of what I've learned."
"Th-then what happens now?"
"She'll attack."
"......!!!"
It was certain.
The Black Witch's dream was the Lord of Pride itself.
She wouldn't sit idly by knowing Park Chan-woo had achieved what she couldn't.
Having already drawn a line against them, she would target Valhalla.
She might even take them hostage to renegotiate with Park Chan-woo.
If the witches invaded while he was away, their chances of victory were slim.
If it were Park Chan-woo.
How would he handle this situation?
'He'd make it so they wouldn't even dream of attacking.'
Arming Valhalla thoroughly was one way, but there was no time.
Adora gazed at the tree of the evil god Ialdagolth.
The Crystal Ents were generating 'etherstone' beneath Valhalla's soil.
"Dagon, there's something you need to do."
"Just say the word."
Adora listed out everything Dagon needed to handle.
Having heard it all, Dagon...
"......Ah."
went pale as a ghost.
The demon merchant guild had suffered massive losses recently.
"That damn Demon King of Inferno!"
"What about the payment? The payment!"
"Who do we even collect from?"
"The Lord of Deadly Sins?"
"Damn it! You think we can even bring it up?!"
The fourth night had recently taken place.
It was the first night hosted by the newly appointed manager of 'night', the Demon King of Inferno.
He had poured enormous coins into creating a grand spectacle and was riding high on success.
The demon merchant guild had invested heavily to curry favor with him.
For demon merchants, night was the most valuable opportunity.
They had laid out countless lures to collaborate with the Demon King of Inferno.
"...No results at all."
"We lost everything! Everything!"
Only wails echoed through.
The entire guild was shaken.
They hadn't recouped a single coin of their investment.
And it wasn't just coins.
Everything in the casino had come from the guild's coffers.
They had essentially set up the casino itself.
The contract was structured to receive nearly all payments after the night ended.
No one had imagined the Demon King of Inferno would fail and vanish on his very first night.
The first night hosted by a night manager had never failed before.
In short.
'We're screwed!'
All the guild executives had gathered.
But even pooling their heads, no solution emerged.
"How much are the losses?"
"Around 300,000 coins."
"So we just lost it all outright?"
"......Since it's not bankruptcy but annihilation, the 'Black Witch' seized everything the Demon King of Inferno left behind."
"Then we collect from the Black Witch?"
A voice boomed from elsewhere.
"You think that'll work?"
"Our relations with the witches are already bad enough. You think she'll hand it over if we ask?"
"So we just go bankrupt too?"
"Half of us will lose our heads over this!"
"What do we do then?"
"It's not just empty coffers. The whole guild is on the brink of true ruin!"
"Why did we borrow coins from the demon gods to cover the shortfall......!"
The meeting room was chaos.
They were too busy yelling and fighting.
Sensing no answers, all eyes turned to one spot.
"Lord Bel. What do you make of this situation?"
The legendary demon merchant, Bel.
He had his eyes closed.
A loss equivalent to 300,000 coins.
Not a single coin recovered.
Shouldering this would bankrupt the guild.
Half the demon merchants would be forcibly annihilated in the fallout.
It had been too great a gamble.
They had spared no investment, convinced of success.
They had borrowed coins from all over, including from some demon gods.
Those lenders wouldn't forgive a dime.
They'd be desperate to collect first.
"...If we liquidate the remaining goods quickly, we can cover 30,000 coins. That should handle the interest."
"You're saying we buy time first?"
"The Abyss is shifting rapidly. With the Racial War imminent, the guild's role will become even more crucial. If we hold out until then, a way forward will appear."
It meant there was no immediate fix.
No clever plan existed beyond waiting for the trickle-down from the Racial War.
Even the legendary merchant Bel seemed half-resigned.
The Twelve Races were separate from demons.
Just before the Racial War began, the Twelve Races might actively utilize the guild.
Demon merchants dealt not only in goods but information.
The witch had claimed the night realm, and the great rift had opened.
There were even rumors that Sepiro's clone had been swept inside.
In other words, this Racial War could rival the ancient 'Great War'.
If they just endured, there was hope...
"Will the demon gods wait for a mere interest payment?"
But it was doubtful the demon gods would settle for interest and wait.
They lacked patience.
Especially regarding coins.
They had borrowed from demon gods one should never borrow from.
They'd pursue collection relentlessly, even if it bankrupted the entire guild.
"......"
Bel couldn't give a firm answer on that point either.
This too was a gamble.
At that moment.
Knock knock!
Someone rapped on the meeting room door.
All executives tilted their heads and looked toward it.
"We're in an executive meeting. I said no one enters."
"It's Dagon."
"Dagon...?"
All eyes shifted back to Bel.
Dagon was one of Bel's many children.
A discarded child, but lately a rising star in the guild.
"Let him in."
At Bel's command, the door opened.
Dagon soon stepped to the center of the gathered executives and spoke.
"I can resolve the guild's current crisis."
"...You have a plan?"
"I can buy us time."
"Time?"
Bel repeated.
Dagon's eyes gleamed as he pulled an item from his bosom.
"Is that...?"
"An etherstone!"
It was indeed an etherstone.
The most valuable ore in the Abyss, occasionally found only in ruined worlds.
"Gifting etherstones to the demon gods we borrowed from will buy time."
"...For free?"
"No, not for free. There are conditions."
"Speak."
"This etherstone came from 'Valhalla'."
"Not a ruined world, but Valhalla?"
Valhalla.
A name Bel knew well.
One Abyss among many that stood out.
He had heard its creator was quite capable.
For etherstone to emerge from there, though.
"Instead of gifting etherstones to the demon gods, I want exclusive mediation rights for the 'Racial War'."
"......You lack the authority for that."
"On the condition that the guild establishes a branch in Valhalla, which I will manage. That should grant sufficient authority."
"......"
Bel was at a loss for words.
The other executives too.
Unless one's guts were spilling out.
Establishing and running a guild branch meant becoming an 'executive'.
In another creator's territory, no less, claiming all mediation rights for the Racial War—dealing directly with the Twelve Races.
In short, declaring 'complete independence'.
Existing as an extraterritorial entity with guild ties yet autonomous power.
What a bold notion.
They'd never allow it.
No matter the dire straits.
Yet.
'Not bad.'
Bel nodded.
A thirsty man digs a well.
A proposal he'd ignore in normal times, but Dagon had brought an oasis.
Moreover, Valhalla's intel was priceless.
A place producing etherstone.
Revealing it outright showed his confidence.
Set up the branch, let the Twelve Races come and go, ensuring natural protection.
And Dagon would hold mediation rights for Valhalla's etherstone too.
'He's grown quite a bit.'
A child he had cast aside.
But at some point, things changed.
Now, he posed a threat.
Surprising, wasn't it?
After brief contemplation, Bel spoke.
"......Approved."
"......The audacity."
The Black Witch trembled with rage.
Uncontrollable fury surged within.
"My heart...... The Lord of Pride......!"
She could not forgive it.
The dream she so desperately craved, the hope forever out of reach.
He had taken it all so easily.
"I will never forgive you, Sepiro."
The Black Witch's gaze turned toward 'Valhalla'.