Chapter 278
Chapter 278
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 278
Chapter Title: Monsters and Marvels (1)
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['The Noble One Who Illuminates the Sky' is watching you.]
'He's already received divine power.'
It wasn't Himura, Mayuri, or Seimei, but when it came to someone like Yaogami, it was a different story.
Even among S-ranks, the gap between having divine power and not was often so vast they might as well be in different classes.
He was already the strongest, and now he had divine power on top of it.
Moreover, 'The Noble One Who Illuminates the Sky' was one of the three most important deities in Japan.
The sun goddess, Amaterasu.
In other words, Yaogami had obtained divine power from one of the highest-ranking gods.
"So, did you really bring all these people just to catch me?"
"I like certainty. It's my creed to set the stage so there's no chance of failure, not even one in a million."
Yaogami's eyes flashed.
In that instant, brilliant yellow flames erupted around me.
Not to be outdone, I summoned my Black Flame to counter.
Fwoosh!
The two flames stopped, neither pushing nor yielding.
My calculation that the Black Flame, having evolved through an eternal formula, could stand against the flames of the sun proved correct.
"An ordinary Black Flame shouldn't be able to block this Heavenly Fire... You've done something. Transcendence? At this point, the materials to transcend the Black Flame shouldn't all be gathered yet. At best, you'd only have the remnants of a corrupted flame. What did you do?"
Yaogami narrowed his eyes slightly.
He doesn't know about the other world.
No, even if he knew about the other world, it's highly unlikely he'd know about the Black Steel Dragon, and he'd find it hard to believe I returned alive from there.
'That exchange just confirmed it.'
No matter how potent the divine power, it wasn't completely unrestricted within this barrier.
Although I couldn't see the other S-rank players, if I was determined to escape, I could manage it.
"Ah...!"
Suddenly, the Prophet cried out.
Rumble...
As if that were some kind of signal, the ground began to shake violently.
"A sudden earthquake...!"
"But this area is supposed to have a formula woven into it to prevent earthquakes!?"
The heavens are on my side.
If I'm going to escape, now's my chance.
I immediately tensed the muscles in my legs to move, but stopped just before I did, seeing something appear before my eyes.
[The existing sub-quest has been changed.]
[A main quest has been generated.]
"No, it's not this place. This is..."
"It's that evil spirit! It's awakened!"
As the Prophet screamed, Yaogami took a deep breath, his expression saying, 'So it has come.'
"Kim Se-hyeon. A temporary truce. Something's come up."
"Didn't you say you wouldn't stop the Disasters?"
"This isn't a Disaster. This is something else entirely."
It seemed that way.
Judging by the system message I was seeing.
[Ch. 23 It Shall Awaken from Slumber]
When the forgotten things begin to breathe.
The most forgotten one opens its eyes.
※This is a large-scale linked quest.
※Rewards will be received all at once after all linked quests are completed.
'This isn't a quest related to the Disasters.'
But the fact that a sub-quest had turned into a main quest bothered me.
Normally, that shouldn't be possible.
But, if we assume it is possible...
'Something that wasn't a major event has been influenced by something and escalated into a massive one.'
There were other problems besides that.
For one, it had been a while since I came to Japan, yet the main quest was only activating now.
Many things were different from that point on, but I focused on one thing.
'It skipped a chapter.'
The 20th chapter ended in America.
Logically, it should have been the 21st, but instead, it was Chapter 23.
I remembered what Besial had said before.
That the main quests were completely tangled.
I didn't know exactly what he meant back then, but was this it?
'More than anything, the reduction in main quests means a reduction in my coin supply, which is a major blow.'
Unlike now, where I'm the only one getting them, in EOA, main quest rewards were a given.
Even though my coin expenditure has decreased because I don't have to pay the 'usage fee,' a blow is still a blow.
'For now.'
Perhaps because the earthquake had affected the barrier, my mana circulation became smoother.
I clenched and unclenched my fist, then raised it for all to see.
"If that's the case, I'd like to tag along."
"...Do as you please."
Yaogami tossed out the words as if he couldn't care less, then led his guild away.
The Sword Saint also glanced back at me once before following.
"Are you really going to help?"
The Prophet approached, her face troubled.
"You must have had other objectives besides me. Now would be the perfect chance to pursue them..."
"It's something I have to do anyway."
The fact that it's a main quest is reason enough.
Besides, since I could only receive the reward after completing all the linked parts, I couldn't afford to miss it.
Even knowing I would clash with the Yamato Guild again as soon as this incident was over.
I stared at the Prophet for a moment.
The tens, hundreds of thousands of futures she must have seen.
Among them, could there have been a future as irregular as this one?
'There's no point in asking.'
The appearance of real-life figures who never even showed up in EOA.
From that point on, many things were bound to change.
Still, there was one thing worth confirming.
"Rei. Let me ask you one thing."
"Yes. Anything."
"Has there ever been a case with two regressors?"
"...What?"
The Prophet blinked several times.
That was answer enough.
"Never mind. I'll come back to hear the rest of your story when all this is over."
I kicked off the ground in a single bound.
As I followed the direction the Yamato Guild had gone, I felt a strange sense of unease.
It was the place I had been just a few hours ago.
The mountain where a cornered Iwato had released the seal on the evil spirits.
'Seimei should be there now, shouldn't he?'
And just as I expected.
Arriving at the destination a short while later, I found the atmosphere was already as tense as walking on thin ice.
"Was this your doing, Seimei?"
"A very unpleasant misunderstanding. I'm the one who should be asking. From Iwato unsealing the evil spirits to everything else, wasn't this all the Yamato Guild's plan?"
Yaogami turned to Iwato as if to ask what he was talking about.
In place of the pale-faced man who could only move his lips, Mayuri answered.
"It was my mistake. It was an accident that occurred because I couldn't stop the vice-captain's rampage. It could have escalated into a major incident, but thanks to Kim Se-hyeon and Seimei over there, we managed to subdue it before anyone was hurt. No one was injured."
"Is that so. It's a relief no one was harmed."
Yaogami's gaze rested on me for a moment before moving on.
I thought he'd at least thank me.
Crack.
The ground crumbled.
The ground, already weakened by the emergence of the evil spirits, completely collapsed, and a huge, cavern-like hole opened its dark maw.
'This is...'
I could feel a demonic aura surging up.
They say that when ghosts are present, the surrounding temperature is observed to drop.
This wasn't just a simple drop.
It went beyond seeing your breath; frost was forming on the surrounding terrain.
The temperature was plummeting.
"What in the...!"
Seimei, startled, blocked the entrance of the cavern with a large number of talismans.
And yet, the demonic aura leaking through the gaps alone was enough to keep the temperature dropping.
"Everyone, assist Seimei!"
Mayuri stepped forward and used the same incantation as Seimei.
Several more layers of barriers were stacked on top of the talisman barrier Seimei had erected.
With that, it bulged a few times before settling down.
No, it only seemed to have settled down.
It was slowly swelling, so much so that anyone could see it.
KRA-KOOOM!!
In the end, the talisman barrier couldn't hold and finally burst, tearing apart and scattering in all directions.
"Such a powerful demonic aura...! This is dangerous! This is a king-class oni, no, perhaps even stronger!"
Seimei shouted, his face grim.
Stronger than king-class.
In other words, the monster that had just been released possessed power exceeding that of a Cheonryang.
Iwato's body trembled like a leaf.
His own actions had sown the seeds of a disaster, so his mind must have gone completely blank.
"I will hold you accountable later."
Yaogami drew a sword wrapped in bandages.
"For now, stopping that monster comes first."
Reacting to his mana, the bandages took on a metallic sheen.
Seeing the language written on the surface of the bandages—similar to Chinese characters but different—begin to glow, it seemed the bandages weren't ordinary either.
'Was there a sword like that in EOA?'
You never know.
Just as I created the Black Moon Divine Sword, maybe Yaogami had also crafted new equipment with the fine materials he'd acquired.
[It has been a long time.]
The 'monster' that had finally revealed itself was humanoid.
At a glance, it looked like nothing more than a well-built young man, but its inverted eyes—with white irises and black sclera—showed it was anything but ordinary.
[Those who sealed me. Detestable humans. I will make you suffer the same pain I endured.]
KWAAAAAAAH!!
The demonic aura spread out in all directions like a wave.
Even though they had been preparing for it, the onmyoji who were getting ready to weaken and seal it showed signs of difficulty breathing, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.
Even Seimei, the greatest onmyoji, looked strained; one could only imagine how the others felt.
"Do not panic."
Thump.
Yaogami lightly struck the ground with his sword, and a wave of mana spread out, neutralizing the demonic aura.
"We've known of its existence for a long time and have been steadily preparing for it. Just do as we practiced."
At Yaogami's words, the Yamato Guild moved with perfect coordination.
At a glance, it seemed they were forming a proper formation, but I could spot gaps here and there.
"Himura. Where is the Shirokage Unit?"
"...My apologies. They were wiped out."
"Wiped out? Answer me properly. How, and who were you fighting? I don't recall giving you any such orders."
Yaogami's cold eyes fell on Himura.
Himura bit his lip and occasionally glared at me, unable to answer easily.
Why's he looking at me like that?
The one who fought them wasn't me, but Han Hyeok-jun.
Come to think of it, if he let Himura get away too, he'd have no other way to get information on Cromwell. I wonder what he's up to.
'Once this is over, I should summon Zeta and ask.'
[What's wrong? Weren't you about to do something?]
"A trivial matter came up. We can't use that plan anymore."
[And I even waited for you. Disappointing. Very disappointing.]
"It's too early to be disappointed, oni."
Yaogami's eyes flashed.
Just as he had with me, a baptism of brilliant yellow flames instantly engulfed the oni.
[The flames of the sun goddess! So that's why you were so confident!]
The oni laughed cheerfully.
Then, with a single punch into the air, it extinguished all the flames.
Yaogami's face hardened slightly.
[But this isn't enough. Not nearly enough.]
The demonic aura that had swept the area when the seal was broken was just the tip of the iceberg.
I could say that because, upon re-evaluation, the creature's power was on a completely different level than before.
"Could it be..."
Seimei muttered, his expression one of dawning realization.
"Did you figure something out?"
"If my thoughts are correct, he isn't merely king-class. He is a higher being who far surpasses that level. The power he just displayed resembles that of a being I have only ever heard of in legends."
Seimei's Adam's apple bobbed.
The tense muscles in his face said it all.
"A Goeryeoknansin. A being that has entered the realm of a demigod."