He Left the Synchronization Marble at Home
The guard who had claimed he left the Synchronization Marble at home came tearing back at a dead run.
"The item."
"H-here. I've got it."
Yujun examined the orb with a hawk's eye. It was the Synchronization Marble, sure enough. Once he had confirmed the item information as well, he smiled and nodded.
"And the rest."
He had not forgotten the trait gem Reylon had promised him, either. A mid-grade gem, no less. Warden Reylon handed it over.
"Thanks. If you need anything else, just say the word."
"......I doubt that day will ever come."
"You sure?"
"I am."
Something in the man's tone stirred a pointless urge to undo the Blood Lord's seal. Yujun swallowed it. Later, perhaps. Not now.
He returned to where the others were waiting.
"So? What happened after that?"
"Nothing much. He just smashed them all by himself. Cut down well over ten thousand enemies single-handed, more or less."
"Ooh. Did you not say the place where Master distinguished himself was War of the Gods? Then Master must have been a god as well!"
"Uh...... yeah. That's right."
"Mm-hm. As I thought. Master was a god."
Paranet and Do Jiyun were chattering away like that.
"You two have gotten pretty close."
Yujun addressed Do Jiyun. She startled, then managed an awkward smile.
"He's secretly a lot of fun, for all that he looks like that."
Yujun smiled and nodded. Paranet was, pointlessly, rather cheerful.
"Oh? Master! Is that truly so?"
"Is what?"
"That you were a god! Master."
"......"
Yujun turned an incredulous look on Do Jiyun. She turned her head and dodged his eyes. When he kept staring without looking away, she had no choice but to mumble the words out as if she were chewing them.
"You were a god, though...... weren't you? God of War, God of Pay-to-Win, that sort of thing......"
"......"
"I'm sorry. I was wrong."
Those embarrassing nicknames had not come about because he wanted them. They were the work of HongdaePartyJoSeop, who loved to exaggerate and run his mouth. Do Jiyun knew that too, and she clamped her lips shut.
Paranet took it rather differently.
"God of War?! Master! Might you not favor me with a tale of bygone days? I am ever so curious!"
"No."
He refused flat. None of it had even been real. They were things that had happened in a game, and with Do Jiyun—who had played that very game—standing right beside him, it was even harder to talk about.
"Let's head for Heaven."
"......Is it all over?"
"Yes."
"And the Blood Lord?"
"I caught him."
"You didn't kill him......?"
"I told the guards I did. You don't need to worry."
"So you didn't kill him, then?"
"I locked him in a seal marble."
"What are you going to do if the guards find out later?"
"I'll say he's some other vampire. And I'm not an idiot. Am I going to unseal the Blood Lord out in the open inside Sky Prison?"
"Fair enough. As long as we don't get caught, it shouldn't matter."
"How do we get to Heaven, anyway?"
"The easiest way is to ask the warden. There are other methods, but you'd obviously find them a pain, so I don't feel like recommending them."
"Ah...... We'll have to go back."
He should have asked how to reach Heaven from the start. All of this had been a wasted trip.
Yujun moved with the others to where the guards were. The aftermath of the battle was severe, and they were wholly occupied with the cleanup. He sensed the warden's location and went straight to him.
"What is it this time?"
Reylon looked faintly worn, so Yujun came straight to the point.
"I want to go to Heaven."
"......"
"What? Too much trouble?"
"It is not a difficult request. I will open a warp gate at once."
Reylon glanced at him, then spoke.
"But why are you trying to go to Heaven?"
"Do I have to tell you?"
"I ask only out of curiosity. You need not tell me."
"I have a comrade there. I heard he was in danger, so I'm going to help."
"You did not strike me as the sort who helps others."
"A comrade isn't 'others.'"
"......Hoh. Unexpected."
"What did you take me for?"
"A selfish man."
"......"
Remarkable powers of observation.
Arriving in Heaven, Yujun tilted his head. The air was clean, without a trace of pollution, and the natural scenery was pleasant to the eye. They had come by warp gate, but apparently one could not choose a fixed destination when traveling to Heaven. Where you warped was impossible to know. In other words, it was random.
"Heaven's surprisingly nothing special, isn't it?"
"It really isn't."
"Is this your first time here too, Jiyun?"
"Yes. I'd only heard about it from Jo-Seop. Coming in person is a first."
He had expected something of Heaven, but now that he was here it was not so different from the Continent. The one distinction was the density of power he could feel all around him. The celestials possessed martial strength so far above other races that they might as well have stood a full tier higher—a people who even outclassed the demonkin, long reputed to be comparatively strong. That was the Heavenly Race. Through his senses, Yujun caught the presence of those celestials in numbers beyond counting.
If you look only at the level of the players, this is another world entirely.
Set beside Heaven, the Continent was a playground for children.
"Paranet."
"Yes."
"You stay inside."
"Why?"
"Nothing good comes of an undead wandering around here. If anything, I expect nothing but people charging in to kill you."
"Understood."
More than that, celestial mana was utterly lethal to the undead. If Paranet were forcibly unsummoned, Yujun would not be able to use him when it actually mattered. For now, it was better that he stay put.
"Do Jiyun. You said before there were hardliners and moderates. Does that mean Heaven has only one kingdom?"
"Calling it a kingdom is a little off. Think of Heaven as a single nation. Right now the hardline faction and the moderate faction have split, and they're at war."
"It's this vast, and it's one country?"
"Yes."
So it was something like the Illusion Realm. If you were not guarded against mental attacks, the Illusion Realm was more dangerous than Heaven itself, packed as it was with those who wielded illusion magic. Heaven, by contrast, was a place where the raw combat power of individual players ran extremely high. That was the difference.
If you ranked the races by their inherent value, the celestials would sit at the very top.
"Where do we go to find Jo-Seop and Joseon's Finest Blade?"
"Those two are being held by the moderates right now, so... if we take this spot as the center, east should do it."
"Are the moderates and the hardliners far apart?"
"Of course. They're at war. Still, it shouldn't be all that far."
"If we rescue Jo-Seop and Joseon's Finest Blade, we'll basically be turning one side into an outright enemy, won't we?"
"I suppose so. They might not care much about losing two prisoners, but those two are humans you don't often see in Heaven, so......"
"Hm? Them being human matters?"
"They're an example. It isn't just those two, either. There are prisoners from other races as well. Side with the hardliners, and we won't leave any race alone—that sort of warning. And if someone rescues the example, the moderates will obviously step in themselves, one way or another."
"Then we'd better go get them quickly."
"I completely agree with that. You have no idea how much of a nuisance Joseon's Finest Blade has been over messenger......"
"Is it all right to leave the guild on its own?"
"Ah, the Shrine Guild?"
"Yes."
"That place runs itself just fine. To the point I'm not even sure they need me."
"......I'd have thought the guild was letting you rake in money."
"The points I can use privately are less than you'd think. That's why I lost the auction bidding war to you......"
"Ah, I was grateful for that. Behemoth's Blood worked like a dream."
"Ugh, you're awful."
"If we rescue the two of them, it won't come back on the guild, will it?"
"I don't know. I can't see them coming all the way down to the Continent just to interfere with my guild......"
"You never know, so keep your face covered while we're out."
"All right. Being careful can't hurt. What about you?"
"Me? Even if I cover up, everyone recognizes me anyway."
Yujun glanced at Harp and smiled. Harp smiled back.
"Hehe. Dad, what is it?"
"Just looking because you're cute."
"Dad's cute too!"
"Uh, huh? Me?"
"Yes!"
"......Thanks."
He had not expected to be called cute by Harp. It was a little embarrassing.
"Yujun! What about me?"
Manuela asked, eyes shining.
"What about you?"
"Shouldn't I cover my face too?"
"Why would you?"
"I've gotten a bit famous among the people of the Continent, too...... It could be dangerous later, you know."
Manuela looked faintly put out. Yujun added a few words.
"You're going to keep traveling with me anyway. If I go around with my face out, you'll get attacked right along with me, so what's the point of hiding who you are?"
"Th-that's true, isn't it? Okay!"
He was not sure what she thought she had understood, but she looked oddly pleased, so he decided not to ask.
They took the road east, bound to rescue Jo-Seop and Joseon's Finest Blade. Yujun walked along tearing into soft jerky when something occurred to him.
"Do you think there are Demon God Worshippers in Heaven, too?"
"Didn't Demon God Worshippers turn up in every race?"
"They did, but if even the celestials have them, it feels like the last line of defense is collapsing."
"......I get the feeling. It's a strange comparison, though. And the celestials are absolutely not a kind race."
"I know that."
"In some ways, people say they're more vicious than the demonkin. I've never seen it myself."
"How are they vicious?"
"They don't show a shred of mercy toward anything they believe is right. Put another way, they have no flexibility."
"Is that vicious enough to count?"
"Imagine that celestial is a Demon God Worshipper. Even without being brainwashed, they'd think they were in the right, wouldn't they? You know what kind of atrocities Demon God Worshippers commit. They go around doing every unethical thing imaginable, even offering living creatures—players, at that—as living sacrifices."
"You're right. Nothing would be more horrific than a celestial who's a Demon God Worshipper."
"And it's that celestial stubbornness that's kept this war dragging on so long. Neither side ever bends. No matter what happens. Persuasion barely works, either. I heard that even within families, if their views don't match, blades come out."
"Who'd you hear that from?"
"Jo-Seop."
"That's beyond imagination."
"In a world like this, how many players are even in their right minds? Kill dozens, hundreds of lives, and if you're still fine afterward, that's what's strange."
"Are you out of your mind too, Do Jiyun?"
"......Let me correct that. Not everyone is like that. For one thing, I think I'm perfectly fine."
"They do say seeing yourself objectively is the hardest thing......"
"Are you dissing me right now?"
"Of course not. But, Do Jiyun."
Yujun's expression hardened.
"What is it?"
"Didn't you say there was an event at Sky Prison?"
"......Ah. That."
"What happened to it? When I got there, nothing was going on."
"I'm sorry. The truth is, it isn't that there was no event. By the time I told you, it had already ended."
"Why would you lie......"
"I was afraid you wouldn't come otherwise."
Surprisingly, she knew him well. It was the sort of move that came of years spent playing the game at his side.
"I'm really sorry."
At Do Jiyun's apology, Yujun let out a sigh.
"It's fine. We were saving comrades. A lie of that size is allowed. If you hadn't said there was an event, I might not have come at all. And thanks to you, I picked up rewards at Sky Prison."
"As expected, you're so generous—"
"Pay me back in items."
"......"
"You thought I'd just let it go? Not a chance."