Chapter 575: Return (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 575: Return (1)
The newcomer wore a featureless white mask and a dull-colored robe that covered his entire body minus his hands, which were covered with wrinkles.
"Heh... who's this old man?"
"Hm..."
Butterfly and Black peered at the mysterious stranger with open curiosity.
However, Queen, who had also never met this man before, had a different reaction. Although he was an unfamiliar face, she seemed to have realized who he was right away.
"Wait... Master!"
Wolf had also clocked the identity of our uninvited guest and immediately ran up to greet him.
"It's been a while, Wolf. Have you been well?"
"I'm always good thanks to you. But, Master, what are you doing here? If you had informed me beforehand..."
This exchange made it clear to anyone listening that the two of them had some sort of connection.
"Well, this is the final meeting, so I came here to see everyone one last time," our guest explained. "And there is something I need to do here as well."
"Something... you need to do?" Wolf seemed curious about what he meant, but the Master didn't elaborate.
Keeping us on our toes, was he?
"More importantly..." Master stared directly into Wolf's eyes. "Could you step aside for a moment? I wish to greet the others as well."
"Ah...! Sorry!" Wolf immediately apologized and loped back to his seat. He looked more like a dog than a wolf at the moment.
I eyed the man as he sat down, and Master's gaze shifted to me. "Cause and effect is such an interesting thing. How does it feel to see the end as well?" Unlike our first encounter at the Round Table, it seemed this guy no longer had any intention of hiding the fact that he was Auril Gavis.
Not that I was surprised.
"The Master of the Round Table is Auril Gavis."
Wolf had already told us that, and the old man must have given him permission to share that information in the first place.
Tap, tap.
So what was the reason he was showing his face here again? Given how familiar they seemed to be, if Gavis wanted to relay some sort of message to me, he could've done so through Wolf.
I ran through the different moves I could make here in my mind, then smoothly responded, "Well, doesn't feel all that special."
"Hmm, is that so? I thought you would be a bit sad, at least. After all, you practically founded this place, no?"
Well, that was true. Not the Round Table specifically, but I was sort of the one who came up with its lie detection game system.
"P-Pshe?!"
"The Round Table... was founded by him...?"
The issue was the over-the-top reactions of the other people at the table.
"Ah, of course, that is a tale of twenty years ago... and back then, it was just evil spirits from the other world."
As the Master continued to talk at me, their reactions grew more and more extreme.
"So the Round Table existed twenty years ago...?"
"No, but more importantly, it was made by evil spirits from the other world...?"
Hah, this was getting annoying. If he was going to do all this, couldn't we just have had a quiet chat in private after the meeting?
Despite feeling frustrated, I decided to ignore it and focus on the conversation at hand for now. Just sitting in the same room as this old man already took up most of my mental energy.
"So, what are you doing here?" I pressed.
"I told you. There is something that needs to be done, so I thought I might come see everyone in the meantime." The old man shifted his gaze from me to a different member. "Greetings, Ms. Fox. Have you been well?"
"Sorry? Ah, ha... Yes... It's been a while."
"To be honest, I was a little sad about you. You were so happy under my wing when you had nothing, but now you don't even consider me a good person, haha."
"H-How did you...?!" Fox's eyes shot wide open as her words were echoed back to her, and the eyes of the others flew open as well. There was only one way he could possibly know what Fox had said earlier, and he didn't even need to say it. This old man must have a way of hearing everything that happened here.
...Which means he's been listening in this whole time.
A shiver ran down my spine. I already knew that he was a nasty guy, but I didn't expect him to be this foul. The most sickening part was that despite already knowing everything, he'd walked through that door and casually commented that there were masks here he'd never seen before. Lying was as easy to him as breathing.
Fox was left a stuttering mess by the reveal. "Um... it's not like that..."
"You don't have to make excuses. I am truly fine with it, so do not worry."
And it really did seem like he was fine. To this old man, Fox wasn't even worth caring about. She could be bleeding out in front of him, and if he didn't have a concrete reason to save her, he would just watch her die.
"Excuse me."
Queen, who had been taking all of this in, joined the conversation. "Are you really...? You say you're the Master of the Round Table, so... are you Auril Gavis?"
"And if I am?"
She hesitated. "I have something to ask you. From what Mr. Wolf has said, you have the power to stop the community from shutting down... Is that true?"
"It's true. I'm the one who weakened your power in the first place."
At that very casual declaration, Queen went deafeningly silent for a moment before croaking, "What did you say?"
Auril Gavis let out a grating chuckle. "You claimed there was an issue with the item I gave your friend, but it's fine. It only seems like there is something wrong with it because I have slowly begun to reduce the power being funneled into it."
"Reducing the power... How is that possible?"
"Why, there is no way I would have handed everything over to that friend of yours, now is there?" His answer was short and to the point, leaving absolutely no room for misinterpretation. "Don't be too upset," he consoled, noticing that Queen was at an obvious loss for words. "I am only taking back what was already mine. And didn't you get a lot of use out of it in the meantime? All right, now that that's settled..."
With that, Auril Gavis walked up to the Round Table and put his hand on its gem.
Shaaa.
Just like when a monster's corpse disintegrated into light in the labyrinth, the jewel also disappeared into flecks of light that flowed into the tips of Auril Gavis's fingers.
"All done."
Unlike the other members, who were watching him in a haze of disbelief, I knew exactly what was happening here. Twenty years ago, after Auril Gavis created the Round Table's gem, he told me he lost most of his power over this space by doing so.
"So, what are you doing here?" I pressed.
"I told you. There is something that needs to be done, so I thought I might come see everyone in the meantime." The old man shifted his gaze from me to a different member. "Greetings, Ms. Fox. Have you been well?"
"Sorry? Ah, ha... Yes... It's been a while."
"To be honest, I was a little sad about you. You were so happy under my wing when you had nothing, but now you don't even consider me a good person, haha."
"H-How did you...?!" Fox's eyes shot wide open as her words were echoed back to her, and the eyes of the others flew open as well. There was only one way he could possibly know what Fox had said earlier, and he didn't even need to say it. This old man must have a way of hearing everything that happened here.
...Which means he's been listening in this whole time.
A shiver ran down my spine. I already knew that he was a nasty guy, but I didn't expect him to be this foul. The most sickening part was that despite already knowing everything, he'd walked through that door and casually commented that there were masks here he'd never seen before. Lying was as easy to him as breathing.
Fox was left a stuttering mess by the reveal. "Um... it's not like that..."
"You don't have to make excuses. I am truly fine with it, so do not worry."
And it really did seem like he was fine. To this old man, Fox wasn't even worth caring about. She could be bleeding out in front of him, and if he didn't have a concrete reason to save her, he would just watch her die.
"Excuse me."
Queen, who had been taking all of this in, joined the conversation. "Are you really...? You say you're the Master of the Round Table, so... are you Auril Gavis?"
"And if I am?"
She hesitated. "I have something to ask you. From what Mr. Wolf has said, you have the power to stop the community from shutting down... Is that true?"
"It's true. I'm the one who weakened your power in the first place."
At that very casual declaration, Queen went deafeningly silent for a moment before croaking, "What did you say?"
Auril Gavis let out a grating chuckle. "You claimed there was an issue with the item I gave your friend, but it's fine. It only seems like there is something wrong with it because I have slowly begun to reduce the power being funneled into it."
"Reducing the power... How is that possible?"
"Why, there is no way I would have handed everything over to that friend of yours, now is there?" His answer was short and to the point, leaving absolutely no room for misinterpretation. "Don't be too upset," he consoled, noticing that Queen was at an obvious loss for words. "I am only taking back what was already mine. And didn't you get a lot of use out of it in the meantime? All right, now that that's settled..."
With that, Auril Gavis walked up to the Round Table and put his hand on its gem.
Shaaa.
Just like when a monster's corpse disintegrated into light in the labyrinth, the jewel also disappeared into flecks of light that flowed into the tips of Auril Gavis's fingers.
"All done."
Unlike the other members, who were watching him in a haze of disbelief, I knew exactly what was happening here. Twenty years ago, after Auril Gavis created the Round Table's gem, he told me he lost most of his power over this space by doing so.
"You're here to take back your power," I guessed.
Auril Gavis had now regained his old abilities.
"That's right. Now, I can do anything in this space. Even something like this." He flicked his wrinkly wrists and, as if yanked off by an invisible hand, everyone's masks fell onto the table with a series of taps. The only mask left in place was mine.
"Kya!"
"Wh—!"
"P... Pshe?"
As the faces behind the masks were exposed, the Round Table fell into chaos. Some covered their faces with both hands while others crouched down so people couldn't see their features. Some just sat there blankly, too stunned to do anything.
Of course, not everyone reacted so passively. With the itchy trigger finger that served as the hallmark of a true gamer, some made the quick decision to log out immediately after realizing their masks had fallen. Two people, at that.
"Despite how you usually all act here, everyone seems quite shy now. It shouldn't really make a difference if people see your real appearance, should it?"
One of the people who disappeared without a goodbye was Clown. I conjured up an image of him in my mind, trying to recall what he looked like in that brief moment of exposure. I remembered him being Caucasian, but because he'd disappeared so quickly, I couldn't get a good look at him. He also looked a little chubbier than I expected.
And the other one who disappeared is... Black.
Black's seat was empty. She had actually disappeared faster than Clown did, so I wasn't even able to get a glimpse of her.
I quickly scanned the room to get a look at the others before they could run away too.
"Wha—What are you doing?!"
Queen was shouting in shock, her blue eyes and blonde hair on full display. A textbook Western foreigner.
Well, she looked pretty normal otherwise. She wasn't supermodel gorgeous or anything, and was somewhere around her early thirties. The other members took this in with open surprise, a nagging sense of familiarity tugging at the back of their minds.
"For some reason... I feel like I've seen her before..."
Well, that wasn't just a feeling. Queen was the guide who confirmed whether the newbies who entered Ghost Busters were really players or not.
Anyway, onto the next.
Goblin...
He was unexpectedly pretty good-looking. In fact, he looked so handsome he could be an actor. His skin was on the darker side, so my first thought was that he was Southeast Asian, but Hispanic was probably the best bet.
Handsome Hispanic man?
The Handsome Hispanic. It was even alliterative—
—And not the point right now.
My eyes shifted over to the next person, and then the next, to take in the faces of all the people here. I knew that the appearance you had in Ghost Busters didn't mean anything out there in Rafdonia, but I was honestly pretty curious about who these people really were behind their masks.
Butterfly is Asian. Fox looks younger than I expected. And Wolf is some random old man like I thought...
The Round Table was an exclusive club, and the conversations shared here were reserved for top players. However, behind the mystique of their masks, everyone looked incredibly ordinary. They didn't look particularly powerful, and none of them looked particularly vicious either.
But I'm sure I'm no exception.
Who would think after seeing Hansu Lee's face that he went around bashing people's heads in with hammers? That he could laugh even as his limbs were being ripped off and his body bathed in blood?
These people were the same. Not a single person here could say their hands were clean. We would be dead by now if they were.
"So... why did you take our masks off...? I-It's a little... No, it's really uncomfortable... Ah! I, uh, not that I'm angry or anything..." Goblin stumbled over himself as he struggled to choose the right words, but Auril Gavis didn't seem to mind as he immediately answered his question.
"Hmm, aren't you curious as well? About the identities of the people you've been talking to for so long. Since this is the last time, I thought it might be nice for you all to have a conversation with your masks off."
"Uh... I-I guess?" Goblin nodded, still looking dumbfounded as his eyes flicked over to me. It was obvious what he wanted to ask. "But... why is Lion...?"
"Why didn't I take his mask off as well?"
"Yes... That's it." Auril Gavis had taken the masks off of everyone else without asking them, except me. Why?
"Haha, I need to be a little careful when dealing with this one! I don't know how things will pan out if I act out of turn."
"Ah... I-I see?" Goblin gave another awkward nod at his answer.
It was kind of funny, to be honest. If you were going to just accept any answer given to you, why bother asking the question in the first place? Well, to be fair, that was pretty in character for Goblin.
An awkward tension settled in the air. Auril Gavis seemed to be enjoying and didn't seem inclined to say anything else, and the other members kept glancing my way like they wanted me to do something about all this. Eventually, I gave in and broke the silence.
"So... is your business done here?"
In other words, if there's something you want to do, either get it over with or get lost. It was an uncharacteristically roundabout way of wording the question for someone like me, but it seemed I still got my point across.
"No, I still have one thing left to attend to."
"And that is...?"
"I have a question I wish to ask you."
"Really? Then go on," I readily accepted. I could decide if I wanted to answer the question after hearing it first.
"Ah, there are too many listening ears here to ask it," Auril Gavis said as he made a show of glancing around the table. "However, it feels rude to send them away. I've forced them to reveal their faces, so I should at least compensate them for that, no?"
I tensed at his word choice. There was no way this old man felt genuinely sorry enough for any of them to do something like compensate them. He had to be up to something.
And as expected, he continued, "But giving a prize out for free wouldn't be fun, so let's play a game."
"A... A game?"
"Why, yes. Don't you all like games? I should say upfront, though, that the reward will be given to only one person—the one who wins."
"...Could you tell us what the reward will be?" Goblin asked politely, inquiring after the prize before he even knew what the game would entail.
Auril Gavis tossed out a response with the casual carelessness of a man offering up spare change. "I will send you home."
The look in everyone's eyes immediately changed.
"You're here to take back your power," I guessed.
Auril Gavis had now regained his old abilities.
"That's right. Now, I can do anything in this space. Even something like this." He flicked his wrinkly wrists and, as if yanked off by an invisible hand, everyone's masks fell onto the table with a series of taps. The only mask left in place was mine.
"Kya!"
"Wh—!"
"P... Pshe?"
As the faces behind the masks were exposed, the Round Table fell into chaos. Some covered their faces with both hands while others crouched down so people couldn't see their features. Some just sat there blankly, too stunned to do anything.
Of course, not everyone reacted so passively. With the itchy trigger finger that served as the hallmark of a true gamer, some made the quick decision to log out immediately after realizing their masks had fallen. Two people, at that.
"Despite how you usually all act here, everyone seems quite shy now. It shouldn't really make a difference if people see your real appearance, should it?"
One of the people who disappeared without a goodbye was Clown. I conjured up an image of him in my mind, trying to recall what he looked like in that brief moment of exposure. I remembered him being Caucasian, but because he'd disappeared so quickly, I couldn't get a good look at him. He also looked a little chubbier than I expected.
And the other one who disappeared is... Black.
Black's seat was empty. She had actually disappeared faster than Clown did, so I wasn't even able to get a glimpse of her.
I quickly scanned the room to get a look at the others before they could run away too.
"Wha—What are you doing?!"
Queen was shouting in shock, her blue eyes and blonde hair on full display. A textbook Western foreigner.
Well, she looked pretty normal otherwise. She wasn't supermodel gorgeous or anything, and was somewhere around her early thirties. The other members took this in with open surprise, a nagging sense of familiarity tugging at the back of their minds.
"For some reason... I feel like I've seen her before..."
Well, that wasn't just a feeling. Queen was the guide who confirmed whether the newbies who entered Ghost Busters were really players or not.
Anyway, onto the next.
Goblin...
He was unexpectedly pretty good-looking. In fact, he looked so handsome he could be an actor. His skin was on the darker side, so my first thought was that he was Southeast Asian, but Hispanic was probably the best bet.
Handsome Hispanic man?
The Handsome Hispanic. It was even alliterative—
—And not the point right now.
My eyes shifted over to the next person, and then the next, to take in the faces of all the people here. I knew that the appearance you had in Ghost Busters didn't mean anything out there in Rafdonia, but I was honestly pretty curious about who these people really were behind their masks.
Butterfly is Asian. Fox looks younger than I expected. And Wolf is some random old man like I thought...
The Round Table was an exclusive club, and the conversations shared here were reserved for top players. However, behind the mystique of their masks, everyone looked incredibly ordinary. They didn't look particularly powerful, and none of them looked particularly vicious either.
But I'm sure I'm no exception.
Who would think after seeing Hansu Lee's face that he went around bashing people's heads in with hammers? That he could laugh even as his limbs were being ripped off and his body bathed in blood?
These people were the same. Not a single person here could say their hands were clean. We would be dead by now if they were.
"So... why did you take our masks off...? I-It's a little... No, it's really uncomfortable... Ah! I, uh, not that I'm angry or anything..." Goblin stumbled over himself as he struggled to choose the right words, but Auril Gavis didn't seem to mind as he immediately answered his question.
"Hmm, aren't you curious as well? About the identities of the people you've been talking to for so long. Since this is the last time, I thought it might be nice for you all to have a conversation with your masks off."
"Uh... I-I guess?" Goblin nodded, still looking dumbfounded as his eyes flicked over to me. It was obvious what he wanted to ask. "But... why is Lion...?"
"Why didn't I take his mask off as well?"
"Yes... That's it." Auril Gavis had taken the masks off of everyone else without asking them, except me. Why?
"Haha, I need to be a little careful when dealing with this one! I don't know how things will pan out if I act out of turn."
"Ah... I-I see?" Goblin gave another awkward nod at his answer.
It was kind of funny, to be honest. If you were going to just accept any answer given to you, why bother asking the question in the first place? Well, to be fair, that was pretty in character for Goblin.
An awkward tension settled in the air. Auril Gavis seemed to be enjoying and didn't seem inclined to say anything else, and the other members kept glancing my way like they wanted me to do something about all this. Eventually, I gave in and broke the silence.
"So... is your business done here?"
In other words, if there's something you want to do, either get it over with or get lost. It was an uncharacteristically roundabout way of wording the question for someone like me, but it seemed I still got my point across.
"No, I still have one thing left to attend to."
"And that is...?"
"I have a question I wish to ask you."
"Really? Then go on," I readily accepted. I could decide if I wanted to answer the question after hearing it first.
"Ah, there are too many listening ears here to ask it," Auril Gavis said as he made a show of glancing around the table. "However, it feels rude to send them away. I've forced them to reveal their faces, so I should at least compensate them for that, no?"
I tensed at his word choice. There was no way this old man felt genuinely sorry enough for any of them to do something like compensate them. He had to be up to something.
And as expected, he continued, "But giving a prize out for free wouldn't be fun, so let's play a game."
"A... A game?"
"Why, yes. Don't you all like games? I should say upfront, though, that the reward will be given to only one person—the one who wins."
"...Could you tell us what the reward will be?" Goblin asked politely, inquiring after the prize before he even knew what the game would entail.
Auril Gavis tossed out a response with the casual carelessness of a man offering up spare change. "I will send you home."
The look in everyone's eyes immediately changed.