From the Past to the Present
Events and incidents have always held an irreplaceable place in human history as vital records. Two years had passed since Kain settled in the capital. During that time, countless minor incidents had occurred, along with major events like the Grant Department Store terrorist attack and the Mana Up app incident that dominated public discourse. Yet none had shaken the continent as profoundly as the war between the underworld and Yggdrasil since that conflict.
Simultaneous terrorist attacks had struck churches in both the Fan Empire and Yggdrasil. Numerous casualties followed, and both nations had formed their own investigative teams to hunt down the perpetrators. An uneasy atmosphere began to spread across the entire continent, even reaching the Ellemental Kingdom, which had suffered no attacks of its own.
"……"
Upon receiving the news, Majoan's brow furrowed slightly. The first suspect that came to mind was, of course, the underworld. Not merely a likely culprit—practically a certainty. The real question was why they had done it.
'The Death King never moves without reason.'
Whether it was to cause annoyance or irritation, no matter how trivial the matter, whenever he acted, there was always a purpose behind it. Viewed in that light, the current movements felt far too abrupt and sudden.
'There must be a reason.'
Just like when the Death King had personally intervened during the Nasara Trading Company incident, there had to be some undisclosed motive behind these actions.
'Did they have some kind of conflict with the Church?'
But that didn't quite add up either. The underworld was currently most active in the Ellemental Kingdom. If trouble had arisen with the Church, the Church's forces here would have been the first to suffer.
'Or are they simply being cautious around us?'
Had they avoided causing a scene in this country out of consideration for their deal? No, that was impossible as well. Though their direct conversation had been limited to that brief phone call, the Death King's personality had made it clear he was not the type to hesitate over such trivial concerns. If conflict with the Church had occurred, he would have swept away everything in sight without hesitation, then notified or apologized to their side afterward.
"I can't make sense of it."
There was simply too little information. Sitting alone at his desk would never reveal the answer. That was why a conversation was necessary—a direct dialogue with those who surely knew the truth, whether they were the perpetrators or not.
"I've brought them."
As Majoan looked up, thinking this, a light knock sounded from outside, followed by his secretary Nell's voice. Before he could ask them why, they had contacted him first. They had something to say and wished to speak with him alone.
"Let them in."
The moment the words left his mouth, the door opened and someone slowly stepped into Majoan's office.
"It's been a while."
"Indeed it has."
Pride of the Seven Deadly Sins. The Death King's proxy and the underworld's second-in-command who upheld the continent's darkness. Though they had exchanged many messages, this was their first face-to-face meeting since the last negotiation.
"So, what is it?"
Majoan had his own business to discuss, but the other party had initiated the meeting. Adopting a tone that suggested the one in need should speak first, Majoan opened his mouth. Pride casually took the seat across from him as if it were his own home, then raised his chin.
"It's exactly as I wrote. I came because I have something to say. I'm also willing to answer what you're curious about."
"……"
"You have questions, don't you?"
So he had no intention of easily yielding the initiative. Majoan clicked his tongue softly at the sight of Pride speaking as though he already knew exactly what Majoan was thinking. This conversational style had been confirmed during the negotiation, but it remained just as difficult to deal with.
To gain the upper hand in dialogue with this man, one had to seize a position of absolute dominance from the start. Anything less and he would never relinquish control, just as he was doing now.
'And the fact that he's appeared before me now means he's confident he can maintain that initiative.'
True to his name, Pride was a perfectionist who could not admit his own mistakes. If there was even the slightest chance of error, he would never have shown himself until his preparations were flawless.
"My business can wait. You're the one who requested this meeting first."
"Well, that's true enough."
At Majoan's words, Pride yielded a step with ease. Then he lightly bowed his head and replied.
"First, thank you for everything. Thanks to your cooperation, we were able to finish our business in this country without issue."
They had found the entrance to the Underworld. Kain had gone there himself and uncovered the full truth of what had been happening behind the scenes. There was no longer any need to restrict their movements to this country alone.
"So your work here is done?"
"No. Strictly speaking, everything we could accomplish in this country is finished."
"Then the reason you've appeared before me is to propose a new negotiation."
The Death King's desires had not yet been fulfilled. And the underworld would accomplish those desires by any means necessary. Pride needed to change the terms of their agreement to fulfill the Death King's will. There could be no other reason for him to seek Majoan out.
'After all, they could have simply sent the completion notice via message or call and been done with it.'
It wasn't only Majoan who found meeting uncomfortable. If anything, Pride found it far more taxing. Holding a one-on-one conversation with an Absolute Being was more exhausting than one might imagine.
"Does this have anything to do with the incidents that occurred in the Fan Empire and Yggdrasil?"
"Precisely. As expected of Majoan."
Pride nodded as though he had never intended to hide it in the first place.
"Then why insist on meeting alone?"
"Discussing matters in a room full of people, as we did last time, would be exhausting for both sides."
"That's not it. You simply wanted my definite answer, didn't you?"
"Well, that too."
"Then what you need this time isn't the kingdom's help, but my personal assistance."
"Correct again."
Majoan snorted at Pride's words.
"Then you've come to the wrong person. If you wanted my help, you should have gone to His Majesty the King first and obtained his approval."
Under ordinary circumstances, he could act on his own, but this matter exceeded that scope. It involved four major powers: the Fan Empire, Yggdrasil, the Church, and the underworld. The stage was too large for Majoan to step onto personally. It was obvious the Ellemental Kingdom would become entangled as well.
"Your current attitude can only be seen as disregarding His Majesty King Raymond."
"Well, that's only half correct."
It wasn't that Pride looked down on King Raymond—it was that he valued Majoan's name even more highly. Honestly speaking, across the entire continent, no single existence wielded greater influence than an Absolute Being. Just as the underworld exerted its influence because of the Death King, the Ellemental Kingdom existed because of Majoan. Without him, Yggdrasil or the Fan Empire would likely have erased the Ellemental Kingdom from the map long ago.
"I believed that as long as you recognized the necessity, that would be enough. Then whether it's the King or anyone else, you would persuade them yourself."
Conversely, persuading others was unnecessary. Even if everyone else was convinced, if Majoan alone remained unconvinced, it would be of no help whatsoever going forward.
"Does that mean you're confident you can persuade me?"
"Of course."
"On what grounds?"
"Because unlike the other Absolute Beings, you are a man of justice in your own way."
Some might call him a hypocrite, but by average standards, Majoan could be considered a good man. He was someone who upheld the laws and order established by the nation and lived by adapting himself to the world accordingly. Based on the words of the Underworld King that his master had passed down, Majoan was the most desirable result the Underworld's system could produce when aligned with its purpose. That was why Majoan could never tolerate the Undying King, who sought to plunge the world into chaos.
'The Church's forces never reaching out to Majoan must be for the same reason.'
That was why Pride extended his hand. Though his intentions were deeply personal and impure, the process itself was undoubtedly the justice Majoan pursued.
"I'll hear you out first."
Partial permission. Even this alone was half a success. He had anticipated being shown the door without even being allowed to speak.
"To get straight to the conclusion, the incidents currently occurring in the Fan Empire and Yggdrasil were not carried out by us."
The real battle began here. Unlike before, when they had continued the conversation while concealing the truth, this time they would have to deliberately mix in lies. A single misstep would mean immediate failure.
'And this man is someone who can detect lies from even the smallest mistakes.'
He had to deceive him completely. Even if the lie was discovered, he needed to make Majoan understand that it didn't matter. Pride continued speaking while hiding the tension that filled him beneath a deliberately calm and arrogant demeanor.
"Rather, they are the ones we've been pursuing in this country."
He wrapped the lie in truth as quickly as possible, layering the wrapping until the falsehood was completely sealed away. The movement of eyes, tremors, the slightest twitch of fingertips, changes in breathing or heartbeat, even the minute movements of facial muscles—all the information contained in reflexive muscular and neurological responses determined truth from lies. The other man possessed the eyes to distinguish them. Just like Pride himself.
'Simple self-hypnosis won't work.'
No matter how perfectly one deceived oneself, the other would see through it all. The Death King, his master, had been the same. That was why what he needed now was not self-hypnosis, but self-control performed while fully aware that he was deceiving the other.
'If you know the symptoms, deceiving becomes simple.'
He deliberately blocked every symptom and pattern. Under normal circumstances this would be impossible, but with Pride's Ebon, it was achievable. Complete control over his own body was within his power.
'For the sake of carrying out Master's orders.'
He would accomplish even the impossible. The extreme madness born from his absolute faith in Kain. If scholarship was what expanded the realm of possibility for humanity, then it was an unyielding will that showed humanity the realm of impossibility and allowed one to surpass it. Manipulating his Ebon to its limits, Pride dared to deceive an Absolute Being—one whom even Jealousy had failed to deceive.
"More details."
And Pride's gamble ended in success. Majoan, finding nothing strange in his words, frowned and asked again. Unable to hide the smile that threatened to surface, Pride's eyes gleamed even more arrogantly as he opened his mouth.
"Immortal."
Now the ridge had been crossed. There was no longer any brake that could turn the situation back. All Pride could do was continue charging forward along the path he had laid out. By skillfully mixing truth and lies, he would perfectly deceive his opponent and set a new stage with the continent as its backdrop—by overlaying a new script of his own creation upon the stage the other had already built.
"Have you perhaps heard this name before?"
As Pride committed this bold act before an Absolute Being without hesitation, his performance began.