The King of the Forgotten
"······."
In the wake of the storm, an awkward silence settled over them. Hudson kept rolling his eyes, stealing glances at Serengeti without ever quite managing to look her full in the face.
He simply couldn't. He had hidden his true identity all this time and lived a continuous lie — and that alone made him a traitor beyond easy forgiveness.
"Now it finally makes sense."
Serengeti spoke without warning. What, exactly, had clicked into place? There were more than one or two things she might take issue with, so Hudson pricked up his ears.
She turned a cold gaze on him.
"The Hydragon that appeared at our wedding. That was clearly Lord Randolph's summon. I thought I might have been mistaken, but I wasn't. Why did you do it?"
A question with no good answer, even if he'd had a hundred mouths. From Serengeti's perspective, it was entirely possible to believe Hudson and Randolph had deliberately sabotaged the ceremony.
Hudson shook his head at once.
"······I'm sorry. We weren't trying to ruin the wedding on purpose. The Demon Realm suddenly started invading Earth, and my body was under attack. I had no choice."
"The Demon Realm is attacking the world of the sinners… no — the world of the Players?"
Serengeti frowned. That the Demon Realm would assault another dimension — and Earth's, the Players' homeland, at that — was news even to her.
Of course she wouldn't know. Hudson let out a sigh and explained.
"They've already invaded twice. And they'll keep coming."
"Why is the Demon King invading Earth instead of Pangenia?"
"······Because the Players keep getting in his way?"
The Demon King's purpose was invasion and conquest. But no one knew the precise reason he left a perfectly intact Pangenia alone and struck at Earth instead. Even the Great Expedition had been an act carried out within Pangenia. So why attack Earth out of nowhere?
There were many hypotheses. The most credible held that Earth and the existence of the Players themselves posed a threat to the Demon King — that he judged them a latent danger and chose to strike Earth first. That, at least, had some ring of truth.
"If Lord Randolph hadn't summoned the Hydragon then, I would have died."
Hudson said it flatly. But the content was anything but easy to take flatly. Without Randolph shoving him forward, Hudson would never have been able to log out alone — and he would have met his death.
A ripple passed through Serengeti's eyes.
"You said if Oliver on that side dies······ the you standing in front of me dies as well?"
"And the reverse is also true. There are no exceptions."
If Hudson died, Oliver died. Both bodies, across both worlds, mattered. It wasn't only death — even a disability on one side would deal a crushing blow to the other. The two bodies were organically bound.
"Is there no way to cross over to this side?"
"No. Pangenia and Earth are different worlds. Hudson can't go to Earth, and Oliver can't come to Pangenia."
"Then······ how is Lord Park Hyunmyung here in Pangenia?"
"······."
"If Lord Park Hyunmyung can do it, couldn't Oliver do it too?"
"Serengeti. Hyunmyung is an exception among exceptions. A singular, overwhelming, unimaginable case."
"But the possibility still exists."
"······People do call even a 0.000001% chance a possibility, I suppose."
The real odds were probably far crueler than that. But if one simply asked whether it was possible or not, the answer was the former. Park Hyunmyung had done it, after all. That didn't mean Hudson could do the same.
Still, that hardly mattered. Something far more important stood before them.
"Serengeti. Is there anything else you want to know?"
Hudson asked carefully. This was no simple matter. She was only pretending to understand. True forgiveness, true acceptance — that was still a long way off.
Serengeti exhaled a long breath.
"···Honestly, I'm still confused. I don't know what's what. The idea that a man named Park Hyunmyung is both Lord Randolph and Lord Wilhelm is strange enough. He appeared before us in his Earth form, but he never transformed into Lord Randolph's appearance. I'm sure everyone found that odd."
"······Do you think Lord Randolph died in the Tower of the War God?"
"Honestly······ I thought that was entirely possible. That's why I couldn't say a word. Hudson, Isabella, even the Blade Dragon God — all of you looked like you already knew something."
Hudson, Isabella, even the Blade Dragon God. All of them had seemed to already know about the man called Park Hyunmyung. But Serengeti and the rest had been unable to adjust to the sudden appearance of this Park Hyunmyung. If he had at least transformed into Randolph right before their eyes, they might have believed —
"But in the Tower of the War God, Lord Wilhelm defeated 'Randolph.' After that, Lord Wilhelm vanished, and Lord Randolph······."
The reason she hadn't asked why he couldn't transform into Randolph was the fact that 'Randolph' had been defeated in the Tower of the War God. Defeated, in plain terms, meant killed. And yet he had appeared as Park Hyunmyung — and that Park Hyunmyung claimed that both Wilhelm and Randolph were himself.
It was a contradiction. All three had clearly existed simultaneously inside the Tower of the War God.
Honestly, Hudson found that part strange as well. Why had Park Hyunmyung appeared in this world? And why hadn't he taken on Randolph's form? If the goal was to convince everyone, that would have been the surest method.
"Maybe······."
Hudson's expression grew deadly serious. He continued slowly.
"Maybe Hyunmyung has lost his form as 'Randolph.'"
"······Lost it?"
"In the Tower of the War God, Lord 'Randolph' was split apart. His memories and experiences were embedded in the tower as if they were real. His experiences as Wilhelm may have been split there as well."
"You're saying everything was divided?"
"Probably. In the end, Lord 'Randolph' was defeated by the recreated Lord Wilhelm. But for some reason, even though the avatar died, he survived as 'Park Hyunmyung.'"
"Then······."
"We have to protect him."
Hudson was certain. Randolph was dead. And so, right now, Park Hyunmyung had lost Randolph's form — a state in which he could log in but could not transform into Randolph.
Hyunmyung was the only one who could enter God's Island.
Perhaps that was why Park Hyunmyung still lived even after Randolph's death. God's Island, which ordinary Awakeners could not enter. Only Park Hyunmyung had set foot there and awakened once more. He might have been a different person sharing the same name — but Hudson was certain it was him.
In that case —
"Hudson. You're saying the Park Hyunmyung of now is not as strong as Lord Randolph?"
Serengeti's face hardened. Hudson nodded with an equally set expression.
"For now. But he will without a doubt reclaim his rightful place."
Until then, they had to protect him with everything they had. In a single stroke, Park Hyunmyung had become like a child left by the water's edge.
Serengeti agreed with Hudson's assessment. From what she had seen, Park Hyunmyung still fell far short of Randolph's level.
"······So that's why he became Raiga's disciple."
"Obviously a cover. Maybe to infiltrate this place. Either way, we have to grow stronger — strong enough to become his shield."
Randolph or Wilhelm becoming Raiga's disciple? Hudson was confident he could laugh that off as absurd. Raiga becoming his disciple, maybe — but not the other way around.
Serengeti answered at last.
"You don't need to worry about that. The Knights of the Round Table are all strong."
She was certain. Hudson had joined the Knights of the Round Table as well — all that remained was for him to grow stronger.
But Hudson still couldn't make sense of her words.
"···Serengeti. What you said about all the Knights of the Round Table being alive······ is that true?"
It was the story she had told Park Hyunmyung. But the Knights of the Round Table were all dead — all except Serengeti.
All of them are alive. Here, in the dungeon of the World Tree.
And yet Serengeti had told Park Hyunmyung that every Knight of the Round Table still lived. By any common sense, that was impossible. If they were alive, Randolph would have known — and he would never have failed to join them.
But the conversation had ended there. Park Hyunmyung had seemed to understand and asked nothing further.
"You'll know soon enough."
"Soon? When?"
"When we enter the dungeon."
Serengeti smiled. But not just anyone could enter the dungeon of the World Tree. There was a test of qualification — and a limited capacity as well.
He couldn't bring himself to press further.
"So until we go in, I want you to tell me. About Earth. About the Players. About Oliver."
Serengeti's eyes. That gaze, hungry for the truth, could no longer be avoided. It seemed the time had come to lay everything bare.
······Even if, at the end of it, Serengeti left him.
Isaac closed his eyes. Unbelievable stories — and yet truths he had no choice but to believe.
"Whether you leave or stay is entirely your freedom."
As he wrestled with the decision, Isabella spoke from beside him. Isaac frowned.
"Isabella······ are you really fine with this?"
"What is there to not be fine with?"
"He approached us under false pretenses, after all······."
"If he had not done so, I would still be wasting my life on empty dreams and rage."
The futile dream of finding her bloodline. In the end, the Dercian family had been hell for her. She never wanted to return. And beyond that — she had been able to recall the memories of Sonora, more precious than anyone. She could remember Sonora. She could feel Sonora's presence.
If Randolph had never called her a Sacred Awakener? She would have squandered her time without ever knowing any of these truths.
"······Didn't you say there was someone you needed to find?"
"In the Holy Capital."
"Then why did you come here?"
"Because being here is more important right now."
"Doesn't sound like a very important person."
"······I am simply waiting for the right moment."
Sonora was in the Holy Capital. Saintess Seia herself had confirmed it — sealed in the deepest reaches of the Papal Palace. Charging in blindly would solve nothing. She would have to slip in through a gap when oversight grew lax.
On the day of the Goddess Festival.
On that day, when every soul of the Goddess Sect held festival and paid homage, she would seize her chance. And there was still time until the Goddess Festival. No need to rush.
As long as she's alive.
As long as she was alive, Isabella would save her. Without fail.
"Isaac. We were chosen."
"···What do you mean by that?"
"Among the nearly one thousand patients of the Divine Illness that he saved — he sought out only us."
And so they had been chosen. Of a thousand, he had found only three: Isabella, Isaac, and Valte. He had healed their wounds, embraced them, and set them on a path forward.
"And if you still find your own choice so disagreeable that you wish to leave, I will not stop you."
"But you'll be disappointed."
"I will never look upon you again."
Isabella and Isaac had grown rather close over time. They shared similar pain, and both took pride in serving as vassals of Randolph. But if Isaac chose to leave, Isabella was prepared to cut him off without hesitation. They would never meet again.
"······Cruel friendship."
"It is not only me. No one will look upon you."
"You're saying no one else will leave?"
"You ask the obvious."
Even if Randolph had become Park Hyunmyung, he was still himself. Nothing had changed.
Isaac spread both hands and scrubbed hard at his face.
"Damn it. Am I the strange one? How can all of you stay so unshaken after hearing something this shocking? You, and everyone else."
"Because you are human."
"You're human too, Isabella······."
"Isaac. It is because you are a good person."
"······."
"That is why. If you mean to leave, it is better never to keep company with us at all."
Isaac was human. The most human among all those gathered here — a good man who continued to suffer even over things he had never done. And so, if he meant to leave, it was better they never mix again. He would be stained by them eventually.
Isaac bit his lip. Then he kicked off from where he stood.
"···I've decided. I'm not leaving."
Isaac made up his mind. Watching him clench his fists, Isabella let out a short laugh.
"Lord Hyunmyung is far greater than you imagine. A halfhearted resolve won't be enough to keep up."
"Have you forgotten? I am already a Knight of the Round Table."
"······!"
Isabella's eyes wavered — as if she had never expected that answer. But Isaac had only been briefly confused. Deep down, more than anyone, he had wanted to become a Knight of the Round Table. He had wanted to follow. Their legends and myths. The story of Wilhelm.
If everything had come about through his own choices, then he had to see it through to the end, did he not? Isabella — and even Valte — held firm to their faith. How, then, could he abandon the grace of the one who had chosen and saved him? He could not become something lower than a beast.
······Me, a good person.
······Because he was a good person.