The Reenactment of Ruin (2)

“…”

“…”

“…”

Immediately after Gaon entered the trial,

A deep silence fell over the imperial treasury.

Everyone’s eyes were fixed on the tightly shut door.

An eerie energy was still leaking from beyond it.

—Come with me, Pean.

Fortunately, Gaon did not face this despairing trial alone.

Two people.

That was the maximum number of participants allowed to enter the trial.

Thus, just before passing through the door, Gaon had asked Pean to accompany him…

—Yes. Of course I will.

…And Pean had followed him without a single moment of hesitation, as if he had already known Gaon would call for him.

Creak, thud.

As the two Sword Masters vanished into the room, the door sealing the trial shut tightly once more.

A challenge to prevent the fall of the Rashutku Empire.

Into that horrific catastrophe, which even the great beings could not bear and fled from, the two Sword Masters stepped side by side.

“I have lived for two hundred and twelve years and witnessed a total of four ‘trials,’ but…”

Biyolf murmured quietly.

His voice was laced with deep anxiety.

“…that damned trial has the most foul energy of them all.”

The old mage paused, staring at the sealed door.

An instinctive dread, unique to those who had lived through centuries, flickered in his eyes.

Watching him, Adelia asked softly,

“Are you worried about the Seekers' safety?”

“Of course I am.”

Biyolf let out a heavy sigh, shaking his head.

“No matter how incredible Sir Gaon and Sir Pean are as Sword Masters, the trial of an evil god is not something to be taken lightly. Especially when it harbors such a terrifying energy.”

Biyolf muttered, his expression grim.

His words stemmed not from doubt, but from genuine concern.

Adelia bit her lower lip unconsciously.

To be honest, she was just as anxious deep down.

Gaon had broken through countless trials until now, resolutely overcoming situations that seemed utterly impossible.

But this time was different.

The energy rising from beyond the door was far more threatening and despairing than any trial they had faced before.

Even Adelia ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠herself couldn't bring herself to look directly at the door, instinctively turning her head away.

Still…

Adelia tried to calm her racing heart.

…Sir Gaon will surely overcome it.

Recalling her mentor, who always rose above despair and turned the impossible into reality, Adelia quietly reaffirmed her faith.

“By the way,”

Selena spoke up cautiously.

“What on earth did Sir Gaon mean by his final words?”

“…”

“…”

Instantly, the treasury fell back into silence.

From the primordial era to the fall of the Rashutku Empire, the information known about it all was far too scarce. Even Marcus, who was the most knowledgeable about ancient lore, could not comprehend the meaning behind those words.

However,

Two individuals reacted differently.

The spiritual remnant of Emperor Tarosk.

Remembering the primordial era, he could faintly guess the meaning of Gaon's words.

And the other, Targon—or rather, Strawberry Latte—was also silently staring at the door where Gaon had vanished.

As another reincarnator who knew the truth of this world, he understood Gaon's intentions better than anyone.

The plan is perfect, Strawberry Latte thought to himself.

If it were anyone else, he might doubt it, but Gaon could definitely overcome that trial.

It meant he would perfectly conquer the nightmare of Rashutku, which no one had ever managed to surpass.

“…”

Yet, despite his confidence…

He couldn't stop a creeping anxiety for Gaon from rising in a corner of his heart.

Because he knew exactly what lurked beyond that trial.

Please, just come back safely.

Creak, thud!

With the sound of the door closing, Pean and I were trapped in a completely isolated space.

Inside the room lay a dark red crystal ball.

A hideous energy wafted from it. An overwhelming pressure, far more intense than any trial before—even more so than the trial of Camillo von Taribas.

But what concerned me right now wasn't the trial itself…

Did it work?

…It was the reaction of Pean, who had entered this room with me.

To be honest, I wasn't sure if this bluff would work.

I had dropped quite a few hints in front of Pean so far, and as a result, he misunderstood me to be some ancient, primordial entity.

But this time, the scale was different.

I openly implied that I was on par with the Great Ones…

He might believe the ancient entity part, but would he buy anything beyond that?

“Gaon,” Pean spoke up while I was lost in thought.

For some reason, his voice was filled with sincere gratitude.

“Thank you for sharing such a great secret with me.”

“…?”

“The others may not have understood, but I, at least, clearly comprehended your meaning.”

Pean’s voice grew even more solemn.

In his eyes, along with deep respect, was a sense of intimacy, as if we now shared a sacred secret.

“Now that you have revealed everything… I will do my utmost to assist you so that your will may be done.”

And hearing those words…

It worked!

…I cheered inwardly.

As expected of Pean.

The moment I throw out any bait, he just jumps to the perfect misunderstanding on his own.

At this rate, he's basically a bait-consuming machine.

It was a massive catch.

He wasn't even a fish, yet it was mind-boggling how he bit the hook every single time I cast the line.

Anyway.

With this, I had secured another reliable ally alongside Adelia.

Of course, I would still have to carefully maintain my persona in the future, but for now, the biggest hurdle was cleared.

If a powerhouse of Pean's caliber was completely on my side, things would be much easier going forward.

And as I had said many times before,

Since I had been unfairly dragged into this game world, I intended to survive by any means necessary.

Even if I had to pretend to be a god.

Though…

…It is a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bit bothersome that one of us eventually has to die because of the 'Seal of the Sword Master.'

But I didn't need to worry too much about that. It was a problem I could solve before long. After all, with my experience from 200 playthroughs, I already knew the solution.

“So,” ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Pean asked, looking at the crystal ball.

“Once we enter this trial… will ‘that’ formidable enemy, whom even you, Gaon, found difficult to handle, appear?”

I nodded.

A trial that could never be cleared by my strength alone.

In the first place, the biggest reason I had dragged Pean all the way to Dungard was for this very moment.

“I assume you are prepared?”

“Of course.”

There was no hesitation in Pean's reply.

Judging by his usual calm expression, he seemed to have steeled his resolve.

Of course, I couldn't read his inner thoughts. Like the sly old fox he was, he was someone whose inside didn't match his outside.

Even if he looked calm on the surface, he might be swallowing his anxiety deep down.

But that doesn't matter.

Since he had already declared himself fully on my side, there was no need to sweat the small details.

Right now, I only needed to focus on one thing.

Successfully clearing this trial and claiming the true reward of Rashutku.

I slowly approached the sphere in the center of the room.

As I drew closer, the energy radiating from within grew increasingly violent.

Like something waking from a long slumber, beginning to breathe.

Crack!

I placed my hand on it. Instantly, the sphere shattered into pieces, and a dark red flash swallowed us whole.

“Haa, haaa…!”

In a room splattered with blood and flesh, One-eyed Jack looked down at the hairy merchant's corpse, breathing heavily.

His breathing grew increasingly ragged, as if he were intoxicated by something.

Clank.

Just then, the knight removed his helmet.

What was revealed beneath was neither a human face nor hair… but a smooth, cold black sphere.

“Calm down, Batu. Now is not the time to be swayed by emotion,” the Sphere Knight said.

“B-But still!”

One-eyed Jack slowly turned to look at the Sphere Knight.

A mad satisfaction still flickered across his face.

“W-We got a lot of i-information, didn't we?”

One-eyed Jack grinned eerily.

“W-We found out what the Black Flame Merchant Group is targeting in this auction, and we confirmed how much capital the Blue Sea Coalition has brought in.”

“…”

“A-And the most important thing! We found out that the ones pouring in the biggest budget this time… are the mages of Wintershield!”

All of this was information extracted from the hairy merchant.

As expected of a merchant leader renowned for his information network, he had indeed known a wealth of useful insider secrets.

One-eyed Jack began to move his hands deftly.

The hairy merchant's corpse twitched.

It moved with a limp, dangling motion, like a puppet suspended on strings.

Squelch, rip, squish!

Following One-eyed Jack's hand movements, which resembled sewing, the wounds and scars began to be stitched together one by one.

Before long, the fully restored hairy merchant snapped his eyes open.

Though their appearances were completely different, just seeing him wear the exact same smile as One-eyed Jack gave the illusion that they were the same person.

“I-I… will keep devouring the big shots like this until the auction starts.”

The smile spreading across his lips was creepier than anything in the world.

“I'll fill the auction house with my puppets, turn it into my very own ‘stage,’ take the brain core, and… a-and then…”

Batu declared,

“I'll kill that fucking Sword Master bastard too!”

A notification rang in my ears.

The next sense to return after my hearing was smell.

The scent of something burning. No, it wasn't just burning… it was the sickening stench of flesh and bones charring.

This place is…

I looked around.

It was the balcony of the Rashutku Imperial Palace. However, it was completely different from the ruins I had seen so far.

It was far more grand and brilliant, with a pure golden light untouched by time coloring everything in sight.

Literally, we had returned to a moment in the glorious past.

“…”

Beyond the balcony, the empire's territory stretched out as far as the eye could see.

However…

The scenery outside was nothing short of horrific.

Flames erupted from everywhere, and black smoke choked the sky. Screams of the people carried over on the wind, and the thunderous crashes of collapsing giant structures echoed endlessly.

Heavily armored knights and soldiers rushed toward the castle walls, but their movements were filled with despair. Their faces showed they had already anticipated defeat.

“H-Help me! Argh, aaaargh!”

“Oh gods… have you truly abandoned our Rashutku?”

And far in the distance,

Something was slowly revealing itself in the sky.

No.

To be precise, it was beginning to shroud the entire sky in pitch black.

An entity that could hardly even be called a shape. A tangled mess of countless tentacles, eyeballs, and geometric structures incomprehensible to human reason, floating in the air… Every time ‘it’ moved, space itself seemed to warp, and just looking at it made nausea well up inside.

Urgh!

Nausea surged from deep within me.

Barely managing to avert my gaze, I turned my body in the opposite direction.

…As expected, even Mental Strength MAX can't withstand 'that.'

Of course, Pean was also struggling to keep his senses.

“T-That…”

Pant, pant.

Even with his eyes covered by bandages, he was gasping for breath as he faced 'it.'

No. Perhaps with his super-sensory abilities, he was feeling the true nature of 'it' even more vividly than I was.

“…Is that the entity we must face?”

The being that had driven the Rashutku Empire to ruin.

The catastrophe that had turned a brilliant ancient civilization into ashes overnight.

A bizarre deity that had crossed over from another dimension to erode this world.

The end itself, which even the Great Ones could not handle and had to flee to the heavens to escape.

An evil god.

Or, an Outer God.

Today, against an enemy from whom even the gods had fled… we had to defy the destiny of ruin.