Chapter 206
Chapter 206
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 206
Chapter Title: ACT.39 Song of the Dead (2)
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“Intruders!”
“Protect the Priestess!”
Jun Bo-ra, who had entered first, had already neutralized half the followers using Teleport.
*Thwack!*
The moment a stone was thrown, she would teleport it to strike them squarely between the eyes.
It was hard to react to and dodge, and more importantly, the teleportation acted like an acceleration, dealing significant damage.
With a method like that, subduing them quickly was possible.
‘Not bad.’
She understood her abilities well and was making full use of them.
A hard-working protagonist who grows.
Jun Bo-ra fit that image perfectly.
‘The Priestess is…’
There she is.
After confirming the sight of the Priestess in the very back, quietly singing with her hands clasped, I stomped my foot hard.
*Kwaaaang!*
Chains of darkness shot out from the ceiling and floor, binding the followers.
A path to the Priestess was naturally formed.
I glanced around at those who weren't bound by the chains because they were outside the attack's range.
They were the ones who, despite the intimidating situation, fanatically shouted to protect the Priestess without a shred of fear.
When will I ever be done with these damn fanatics?
*Swoosh…*
From the darkness, soldiers began to rise one by one.
At this, even the fanatics who seemed ready to self-destruct hesitated, unable to move recklessly.
“Subdue them all. Don't kill them.”
[As you command.]
“Whoa!? You scared me!”
*Fwaat!*
The assassin soldiers, led by Zeta, fanned out.
I could have restrained all the followers here by using just a little more power, but I needed to use the Army of Darkness frequently to raise their loyalty.
When loyalty reaches its maximum, it provides a stat boost.
Maxing out something like a proficiency skill to unlock additional abilities—what Korean gamer could resist prioritizing that?
“You have a nice voice, but it's time to stop singing.”
In that time, I approached the ‘Priestess’ who was singing while facing the wall and subdued her in an instant.
Not even a scream escaped the mouth that had been singing.
They just called her a Priestess as they pleased; she was merely a doll that sang a song to summon a god.
“...”
The Priestess, her eyes covered by a blindfold, showed no reaction.
The moment the song was cut off, she stopped singing, so this should be the end of it…
*Ah-ahhh-*
“...What?”
The song doesn't stop.
I checked the Priestess's mouth just in case, but it was firmly shut, not moving a bit.
Then why?
The Priestess is silent, so why isn't the song stopping?
“Extreme Eye.”
[Character Information]
Name: Park Ha-ram
...
Trait: ...Created Priestess of the Evil God (S)
I quickly checked only her trait.
I didn't find the wrong person.
This woman is indeed the created Priestess meant to summon the Disaster of Defiance.
Only the Priestess can sing the ‘Song of the Dead.’
No other being should be able to sing the Song of the Dead, right?
“What's wrong? Is she not the Priestess?”
“No, she's the Priestess. But the song won't stop.”
“Maybe they're playing a recording?”
“You think that's possible?”
“Why not? No one's ever tried it, so we don't know if it works or not.”
Jun Bo-ra clasped her hands behind her head.
The idea itself was novel, but there was a reason it wouldn't work.
“The Song of the Dead spreads by imbuing mana. A simple audio recording would have no effect. Besides, what recorder in this world could broadcast to the entire planet just by turning up the volume?”
“...A recording-related item?”
It's not like those don't exist.
Seeing my dubious expression, Jun Bo-ra laughed and said it was a joke.
If that were possible, Tarwi would have recorded the Song of the Dead and played it all over the world.
-We've subdued everyone over here. Se-hyeon-nim, have you not dealt with the Priestess yet?
It was a call from Lee Min-hwa.
I could faintly hear Hwang Chan-jin's voice, so it seemed they were together.
“I've subdued the Priestess. However, the Song of the Dead won't stop.”
-But you said the Priestess is the one who sings the Song of the Dead?
“That's right.”
-Then, could it be that there are multiple priestesses? There's no rule that says there can only be one.
Lee Min-hwa's words left me momentarily speechless.
She was right.
In the original game, there was only one Priestess, but there was no rule stating there could only be one.
In fact, with enough time and a suitable candidate, they could theoretically ‘create’ as many of these fake priestesses as they wanted.
“Multiple priestesses... so that was their method.”
Jun Bo-ra covered her mouth with her hand.
“You said you can do something similar to detection even without a detection skill. Can't you find the other priestesses with that?”
“I've already tried. There are none within my detection range.”
“What should we do? Should we bring Min-ah over?”
“They're already short-staffed over there. They won't have any breathing room until morning at the earliest.”
We have to solve this with just the people here.
After a moment's thought, I brought out Eida, whom I had imprisoned in the space of darkness.
“Eek! The... the outside? Is this really the outside!?”
Eida, terrified, supported herself on the floor and crawled a little before collapsing face-down.
“Hic, sniffle. I was wrong. I was wrong, so please, just not back in that place...”
“...That's a reaction that makes you wonder what it's like in there.”
“I found it cozy.”
“Well, that's because it's your power.”
Jun Bo-ra shrugged.
She seemed curious about Eida's reaction, but her gaze held not a hint of pity.
I approached Eida and began to question her.
In this state... she'll probably talk without me having to threaten her.
“I have something to ask. If you answer well, I promise I won't put you back in there.”
“A-ask me anything! I'll answer everything! Please!”
“Where is the other Priestess?”
Even when I spread my mana as far as I could to detect, there was nothing that seemed like a second Priestess.
If she were at least in Incheon, it would be easy to handle, but she could be outside Gyeonggi Province or somewhere far away.
In the worst-case scenario, I couldn't rule out the possibility that she was overseas.
However, Eida's reaction was unexpected.
“Another Priestess? What are you talking about?”
“See? She's lost her mind. Just throw her back in.”
“W-wait! I really don't know! What are you talking about!? Isn't that woman over there the Priestess!? There's only one Priestess!”
Eida began to defend herself frantically, gesturing with her hands and feet.
Jun Bo-ra's eyes narrowed.
It seemed Jun Bo-ra didn't trust Eida at all, but Eida's reaction was hard to dismiss as a lie.
That was the reaction of someone who genuinely didn't know.
‘What's going on?’
While it's possible to create additional priestesses, finding a suitable candidate and then turning them into one are two different matters.
Besides, the ‘Disaster of Defiance’ tends to try and destroy Korea first.
Now that Paradise has fallen, there shouldn't be anyone with the resources to create an additional Priestess.
[Kim Se-hyeon!!]
Just as one question led to another.
Besial, who had been out of sight on a task I'd given him, contacted me.
This wasn't a whisper through my contract but a message using his authority as a Manager.
In other words, it meant something had come up that needed to be officially reported, separate from my orders.
‘Why? What's going on?’
[You know the Priestess singing the Song of the Dead, right!?]
‘Of course I know, that's what I'm dealing with right now...’
[There's a Priestess in China too!! Those bastards must be crazy! They're determined to strengthen the disaster with their own hands!]
...What?
***
*Kwajik!*
[Piyooo...]
Leaving behind a mournful cry, the massive magical beast slumped onto the cold ground.
The upper body of an eagle, the lower body of a winged lion.
Its identity was a Gryphon, an S-rank magical beast that ruled the skies.
There were countless flying magical beasts, but it was safe to say the Gryphon was the one that made it impossible to use airplanes.
Whether it was a passenger plane or a fighter jet, they were nothing more than toys before a Gryphon.
Players, too, had no means to fly and fight in the sky, and fighting from a helicopter was impractical.
And such a Gryphon now lay dead, a sword embedded between its eyes.
“Incredible! It's just as you said, Sie-nim. To think you could take down a Gryphon, one of the 'Untouchables'...”
“It's nothing. The rumors were just exaggerated.”
“Even so, it is a fact that you defeated a Gryphon that no one else has managed to kill. As expected of the pride and idol of Bonghwang. That's Sie-nim for you.”
The woman called Sie's face scrunched up slightly.
“Stop with the embarrassing flattery. More importantly, are the planes ready?”
“Of course. An elite force of 1,000, hand-picked from Bonghwang, is on standby.”
“1,000? Is that all the planes Bonghwang had?”
“Many were destroyed by Gryphons and other flying magical beasts before this.”
“...Well, fine. 1,000 should be enough.”
The corner of Sie's mouth lifted slightly.
1,000 elite members hand-picked from China's number one guild, Bonghwang.
It was more than enough to attack the Korean players, who were already engaged in a meaningless war of attrition with the undead.
‘As long as there's a Priestess over here too, the Disaster of Defiance and the undead won't be weakened.’
China's population accounts for a quarter of the world's population.
With such numbers, if they were determined to find someone suitable to become a Priestess, it was inevitable they would find one. Creating another Priestess was a simple task for Bonghwang.
Sie's eyes glinted as she smiled.
“We're moving out. This time, we will finally bring Korea under Bonghwang's control. And...”
Sie's eyes shone with a chilling light.
“While we're at it, we'll have to kill the traitor, too.”
***
“China... so they've finally made their move.”
After I relayed what I heard from Besial, Lee Min-hwa sighed.
When I said I had something to explain, she had rushed over here with Hwang Chan-jin.
“The Chinese guilds have always been eyeing Korea covetously. It seems they've prepared thoroughly this time.”
“Those damn bastards pulled something similar in the game, too.”
“The game?”
“...It's another story.”
Just as Hwang Chan-jin said, I knew the Chinese would intervene.
The only thing was, it wasn't supposed to be now.
Originally, the major conflict involving China was supposed to happen after the Disaster of Defiance.
Even then, they would invite us under the pretense of a friendly match before revealing their true colors, not pull such a blatant stunt like this.
“Th-that woman! Sie! She's a player from Salvatio who's currently the master of the Bonghwang Guild!”
Just then, Eida quickly spilled what she knew.
Bonghwang. Salvatio.
And a guild master with a different name than in the game.
‘It's confirmed.’
That Facilitators were scattered across various countries around the world, and that most of them had gathered under an organization called Salvatio through some route.
And that they held important positions in the major guilds of each country.
I never imagined they would go so far as to oust the original guild master and take the position for themselves.
[Take a look at this. I secretly recorded it.]
As Besial finished speaking, a small screen appeared in the air.
It must have been set to be visible to others, as Jun Bo-ra and the others also fixed their gazes on the screen.
[...So, this time, it's a ve~ry special quest for you all.]
A demon in the form of a handsome young man with a beaming smile.
A friend of the incubi and succubi, and a naturally gifted swindler of a demon.
[Cross over to Korea and kill the Korean players, and what do you know! You'll receive 100 coins as a bonus for every person you kill! How about it, tempting, isn't it?]
After that, the short video ended with a picture of Bonghwang defeating the Gryphon and another of them about to board a plane.
[This was the best I could do without getting caught.]
“...So this is how they're going to play it.”
Normally, China would also be under attack by a disaster around this time, so they wouldn't have the luxury of interfering here.
The fact that a guild of Bonghwang's caliber was personally leading an elite force meant they had plenty of room to spare.
In other words, China was currently not experiencing a disaster.
‘The demon on the Chinese side has tampered with things to make their disaster appear later.’
I could naturally arrive at that conclusion.
If they're caught, it won't end with just a severe penalty.
This is actually good.
Because there's no evidence of ‘cheating’ more definitive than this.
I secretly sent a telepathic message to Besial using the Lord's authority.
‘Besial. Hold onto this as evidence, and continue to monitor them.’
[Huh? Why? If we report this to a Demon King-class right now, that guy's head will fly.]
‘You have to gather this kind of stuff and then drop it all at once.’
Besial said he understood and disappeared.
At the mention of Bonghwang's elite forces, Lee Min-hwa's face had hardened completely.
“We're already struggling to deal with the undead. If they come on top of this...”
“Either way, the dead will rise as undead, creating a vicious cycle that will only make things harder,”
Hwang Chan-jin was right.
This was the cunning part about the demons.
Even if the Korean players had the strength to fend off the Chinese, there would inevitably be casualties.
And the moment casualties occurred, they would turn into undead, making the situation even more complicated.
‘If only we could stop the Song of the Dead, we could prevent the undeath.’
Just then, Jun Bo-ra, who had been deep in thought, opened her mouth as if she had made a decision.
“I'll go to China.”