The One I Met in the Virtual Space...
The branch head Dustin had begged him to kill, back in the virtual space, was named Mah.
How very convenient.
Even if Dustin hadn't asked, this was someone I would've had to kill anyway, wasn't it?
He had every intention of honoring the request—he'd been paid with something as precious as the Blessing's Laurel Crown, after all—but a job he would have had to do twice had just folded into one. It was nothing, really, and still it put him in a good mood.
"Do you know of Mah?"
"Heard the name, sure. Heard it. Don't have the faintest idea what he looks like, though. Mind giving me a description?"
"I have never seen him in person either. I do know that he is a beastkin, and that his frame is imposing."
The beastkin part, Yujun already knew. Dustin had told him. The size, he hadn't.
Big. He carved that into his memory as well.
"Anything else?"
"That is all."
"Any chance he's in Heaven?"
"I could not say. From what I understand, however, the branch heads come and go as they please—Heaven, the Demon Realm, the Continent, the Illusion Realm. They flit between them all."
"Got it. Thanks."
"Hardly worth thanks. I have only told you what I know."
For the moment, the odds were good that Mah was in Heaven. Before anyone had been cast into the virtual space, the setting had been the banquet hall of the Castle Lord's estate—so the Mah who had thrown Dustin in was probably in Heaven as well.
He couldn't be sure, of course. Decades had passed since Dustin was sealed away, and nothing guaranteed that a person was summoned into the virtual space only while they were physically in Heaven.
I really ought to get back to the Continent soon.
If he could just be certain Mah was here...
"Hang on a minute. I've got something to take care of."
"Okay."
"Where are you going?"
"Something I need to check."
Yujun made his way out toward the edge of the Golden Temple, opened his inventory, and drew out a single item. It was a parchment—and, true to anything that came out of his inventory, it was no ordinary parchment.
◈ Write a word, and information about it is displayed.
◈ If the Storyteller does not know it, the effect does not activate.
The Wise Know-It-All Storyteller's Parchment. He had used it once before. It had done exactly what it promised, and he had nothing but good memories of the result.
Talks too much, but he shovels over useful information. This feels like exactly the right time.
Items like this didn't exist in endless supply, so there was reason to be sparing with them. Fail to use one when the moment called for it, though, and it might as well be trash.
He drew a deep breath. The Storyteller loved the sound of his own voice, and he had a gift for wearing people out. A little mental preparation was in order.
"All right."
Yujun wrote down what he wanted to know, then immediately fed mana into the parchment. As before, it fluttered. The same gentle warmth spread through it. He turned it over at once and watched the letters etch themselves in.
Been a while, hasn't it?
I figured you liked my information enough to call me right back.
You didn't. I'm disappointed.
Anyway—you haven't gotten stronger again, have you?
Thinking about how fast you were growing back then, you've probably gotten absurdly strong.
Or maybe you've stalled. The ones who shoot ahead early always hit a slump sooner or later.
Oh. No? Your face says otherwise.
I can't get a read on how strong you are right now, you know? Which means you've gotten so strong there's no comparing us, right?
Either that, or you've got some way of hiding your power from other people.
You called me, so you must need my help. Let's see what you're after.
The location of Mah, branch head of the Demon God Worshippers?
Hmm...
...
The silence stretched, thoroughly unlike the Talkative Know-It-All. Yujun couldn't tear his uneasy eyes from the parchment. Did he really have nothing on Mah? Know-it-all or not, the Cult kept itself wrapped in so many veils that it was possible he simply didn't know.
Yujun was on the verge of a sigh when fresh lines appeared.
Didn't think you'd ask that.
Anyway, it's something I know, so I can answer.
Mah is on the Continent right now.
Same as ever—snatching strong players and turning them into slaves, or into the Cult's lowest believers.
Just saying "the Continent" isn't really a complete answer, is it?
So I'll throw in a little more.
The place Mah is running his operation is the Koruna Kingdom.
Familiar name, right? The kingdom that was tied up with the plague in the Kingdom of Sitahel.
"Koruna..."
It was a familiar name, though not quite in the way the Storyteller seemed to mean. He kept reading what was still being written.
You might as well consider the Koruna Kingdom occupied by the cult of the Demon God Worshippers. Everything that happens there passes through their hands. It's also the place on the Continent where the most horrific things are carried out—the kind that make even me shake my head.
Truth is, the Cult has been this way since ages ago, so there's nothing surprising about it now. You're strong, so maybe you don't feel much of a sense of crisis, but the situation is very serious. I can tell you didn't ask about Mah because you want to help him.
So. I have a favor to ask.
Do my favor, and I'll give you a gift. How's that sound?
Yujun stared at the parchment as if he could glare the gift into revealing itself, but no new writing appeared. Did he have to say it out loud? Or write it?
He set his answer down on the front of the parchment. Three characters.
Sapganeung? What's that supposed to mean? Why won't the system translate this?
It means yes, right?
Yujun nodded.
But you've got to hear the favor first. What are you going to do if I ask for something ridiculous?
"Then the reward would just get bigger."
Well, well. This one's a real piece of work. The nerve on him...
I was only tossing it out there, but I think I can trust you with it.
It's tied to what you asked about anyway. I've got my own bad blood with the Demon God Worshippers, you know? Killing Mah is fine and all, but if you run into the Cardinal later, think you could beat him to a pulp?
"The Cardinal...? You mean that demon, right?"
Oh? How do you know about the Cardinal? Don't tell me you've actually met him.
"Yeah."
You're standing there perfectly alive, which means... you killed the Cardinal? No way?
This time Yujun shook his head.
"We fought once. What I killed was a clone."
Ah. I'd heard the Cardinal uses clones. Seems that was true.
"But why do you want the Cardinal dead? You have a grudge?"
There is a grudge. The details are a secret. Anyway—can you kill the Cardinal?
"Leave it to me. Do I just need to go to the Koruna Kingdom?"
Once you wrap up whatever you're doing where you are. No need to hur— ...That's what I was about to say. Something's going to happen on the Continent soon. You'd better head down quickly.
That's all I've got. See you later, friend.
One last thing. Don't die. If you die, it's all over.
That last line carried more than one meaning.
So the Storyteller was expecting the Great Cataclysm too. Does he have some kind of future sight? Then again, if he knows practically everything I ask...
He hadn't used the words Great Cataclysm, but the implication was the same.
If Mah isn't in Heaven... then there's no reason for me to stay.
He would have liked to stop by Heaven's market, but he didn't have that kind of time—and it was hard to believe anything worth his while had come in over such a short stretch. He'd been checking with the Great Merchants by messenger all along. For the time being, he doubted he'd have cause to visit the market at all.
"Let's go."
"Where?"
Manuela threw the question back at him.
"The Continent."
"Just like that? You're done with your business in Heaven?"
"Yeah."
"We're leaving right now, aren't we?"
"Why? Haven't finished decorating the temple?"
"I haven't, but it's not as if we'll only come once. It doesn't really matter."
"Good. We're heading out, so get ready."
"I shall take my leave, then."
"Back to Sky Castle? What about the Demon God Worshippers?"
"Now that you have felled even the Cardinal, they should be unable to interfere with Sky Castle for the time being."
"That was me, not you. And I'm not going to stay at Sky Castle forever."
"Even a cult cannot pour out elite players without limit. They have already spent an excessive amount of manpower on Sky Castle. I doubt they will strain themselves further just to seize it in haste."
"Well, if it gets dangerous, tell me. I can't promise I'll come running on the spot, but I'll do what I can to help."
"You truly are a kind and righteous man. I am sincerely grateful."
"Don't forget to have something good ready before you call."
"..."
"What? Were you planning to work me for free?"
"Not at all. Of course I shall do as you say."
"I'll send you off first."
Yujun threw the Castle Lord out of the Golden Temple. That, too, was a privilege of its owner. The man might be a little put out, but it was the most efficient method, so Yujun banished him.
That was when Yenil approached, looking haggard.
"What's with you?"
"New-generation magic... no. The magic you taught me, I mean. It is far too difficult. Honestly, I cannot fathom how anyone is meant to learn this..."
She said it while tearing at her hair. It was the first time he had seen her look this beaten down, and he found it faintly fascinating.
"I'd give you a hint if I could, but if you don't realize it yourself, there's no point. Frustrating as it is, you're better off grasping it on your own."
"I know. That is precisely the problem. I cannot even ask you for advice."
Yenil let out a long sigh. She must have been agonizing over the magic for a very long time—she, who always kept her Cleanliness, had actually started to look grubby.
"If it isn't working, you're better off clearing your head than forcing it."
"I think you are right. I could not continue now even if someone ordered me to."
Completely burned out. Most players would rather work their bodies for hours than their heads.
"I would ask you to tell me just one thing. The magic you described... it truly sounds like grasping at clouds. You were not saying whatever came to mind just to deceive me, or to make sport of me, were you?"
"You know I wasn't. If you were a layman, maybe. But you're a mage too."
"I am sorry. I was frustrated."
"I get it. Actually, I don't—but you look miserable, so I'll pretend I do."
"I rather wish you had kept that last part as a private thought."
Even so, she seemed to feel a little better. A smile touched Yenil's lips.
"We're going. Now."
He kept warning them for a reason. Spring a warp on someone without notice, and the shock could send their mana backflowing. The odds weren't especially high, but he couldn't call them zero, and he had no desire to lose a companion that pointlessly.
The warp began. As a matter of course, they were moved to Heaven—the place where he had been to begin with.
Now he had to reach the Continent, and he couldn't simply go. He would have to take a portal, and the places where those portals could be boarded were fixed. He had their locations memorized, so he made for the nearest one and crossed to the Continent without delay.