Chapter 293
Chapter 293
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 293
Chapter Title: ACT. 59 The End of a Long-Standing Grudge (1)
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“Illegal replication…?!”
The message appeared in mid-air for everyone to see.
As if to make an example of them.
“It’s mana oversaturation! I can’t do anything about this on my own…!”
Hwang Yu-jin, who had been trying to treat the convulsing people, shouted.
Mana oversaturation.
It was a status abnormality even more dangerous than mana depletion.
It wasn't as simple as pouring water into a container until it overflowed.
If you connect an air pump to a balloon and keep inflating it, it will eventually burst.
Mana oversaturation was just that dangerous a condition.
[This is the price for trying to use power without going through the proper channels.]
A small, all-red demon scoffed.
He was the demon in charge of managing all of Japan.
[With the system blocked, they lack the strength to handle the mana, and this is the backlash. Unless all the mana built up in their bodies is drained, or the illegally replicated power is removed, they'll never be free from this pain. They might even die from being unable to bear it. Well, in severe cases, their bodies might just go 'pop' and explode.]
He playfully cupped his hands around his mouth, mimicking an explosion.
A few of the artificial Players, who had managed to hold onto their consciousness amidst the chaos, turned pale.
The demon had already given them a hint.
They just had to remove the illegally replicated power.
To do that, they had to capture Cromwell, the one who created this method.
“Yaogami! Are you still going to hide Cromwell's location even now!?”
“What do you take me for! Follow me. Cromwell is hiding deep within Mount Fuji! The injured will stay here and clean up. Only the able-bodied will follow! Mayuri! If you've recovered, use your spatial transport jutsu!”
“Ye-yes!”
As expected of the leader of a major guild, Yaogami's orders were swift and precise.
Mayuri hurriedly created a ritual formula with a talisman, and Seimei and Iwato assisted with their mana.
Han Hyeok-jun positioned himself on it faster than anyone else.
A deep killing intent emanated from Han Hyeok-jun's eyes, so intense it was chilling to watch.
The final group consisted of five people: Yaogami, me, Jeong Ha-yeon, Jun Bo-ra, and Han Hyeok-jun.
“We wish you good luck!”
The floor glowed, and space stretched out.
After a sensation of being forcibly grabbed and stretched by the head and body passed, we found ourselves transported in front of what looked like an abandoned building.
“This is the research lab sponsored by the Yamato Guild. If Cromwell hasn't fled yet, there's a high chance he's here….”
*KABOOM!*
Before Yaogami could finish, Han Hyeok-jun blasted through a wall and stormed into the building.
“Hey, why not use the perfectly good door….”
Jun Bo-ra let out a disbelieving laugh.
In that state, he'll probably charge at Cromwell the moment he sees him, without a second thought.
“It'll be dangerous if he runs into a trap like that. Let's follow him right away.”
“For all that, I don't really sense any presence.”
Jeong Ha-yeon was right.
Even when I tried to detect him with mana, there was no sign of anyone who could be Cromwell, let alone any sign of life.
‘He ran.’
Cromwell was given too much time.
The moment he heard that Players had come from Korea, he must have started to feel uneasy, and it's entirely possible he'd heard rumors through the grapevine that it was me and Han Hyeok-jun.
But because we had to face Gwe-ryeok-nan-shin and then Shuten-doji back-to-back, a considerable amount of time was lost.
“Then we don't have time for this, do we? We have to chase him, quickly!”
“And how would we know where he ran? In the worst-case scenario, he might have already fled the country. That would make him hard to track.”
“What about the possibility that he's hiding with a skill like Mana Concealment….”
“Unlikely. If that were the case, I would have seen him.”
No matter how skilled his mana concealment technique, it's useless before Extreme Eye.
How can you hide from something that sees through your very essence?
“It's not like we ever intended to return Cromwell to the Order unscathed. We formed a somewhat synergistic relationship because his technology for creating artificial Players alone was valuable. The calculation was that if many ordinary people could awaken as Players, our forces for fighting demonic beasts would increase, which wouldn't be a bad thing. Our plan was to use him for what he was worth and then dispose of him at the right time.”
Yaogami said, looking around the now-desolate interior of the lab.
“But I never imagined it would turn out like this….”
*KRAAAASH!*
All eyes turned to one side.
There, where the explosion had sounded, was Han Hyeok-jun, silently wreaking havoc.
He's really going to cause trouble at this rate.
“…I'm going to take a quick look outside.”
“That's not a bad idea. Let me know if you find any traces.”
I nodded and went outside the building.
Cromwell is a meticulous person.
He never leaves behind any traces of his movements.
Getting information that he'd gone to Japan this time was highly unusual.
So, there was no reason to think there would be any clues outside.
“You followed me all the way to Japan?”
I spoke toward a thicket of trees.
Then, with a rustling sound, a man emerged.
“Oh my, have I been discovered?”
The man was Clover.
The same man who, before I took the warp gate from America back to Korea, had revered me as a hero, acting like a fanatic.
His characteristic jocular smile made me frown.
“You were deliberately leaking your mana to draw me out, weren't you?”
“It was only for a brief moment, but as expected, you are incredible.”
Clover slowly closed the distance.
I immediately drew my sword and pointed it at Clover.
“Don't come any closer. Just state your business.”
“My… isn't this a rather cold reception? I gave you some incredible information last time. Is that still not enough to earn enough trust for me to get a little closer?”
Clover put on a sorrowful expression.
It was a brilliant performance.
An act so natural that anyone who hadn't seen Clover's fanatical side would have been completely fooled.
But for that very reason, it gave me an uncanny valley-like feeling.
The discomfort that comes from knowing something is fake, yet it looks disturbingly real.
“This isn't a world kind enough to build trust with just one act.”
“That is also true.”
His teary expression vanished in an instant, replaced by a smile.
He's the type I hate the most.
The kind whose thoughts are impossible to guess.
Perhaps that was why I was instinctively wary of him.
“Since you seem quite displeased, I'll get to the reason I'm here. I… hmm. I'm suddenly thirsty. Do you happen to have anything to drink?”
“You can still talk even if you're thirsty.”
“How cold of you.”
As if he hadn't expected anything else, Clover chuckled.
“Actually, I brought my own. Ta-da.”
“…”
“Ah, drinking in the mountains is truly delicious. Oh? Could it be that you'd like a drink too, Hero-nim? I can offer you some, if you don't mind that I've already put my mouth on it.”
“Are you messing with me?”
“Oops. You seem genuinely angry.”
Clover hid the water bottle with exaggerated surprise.
He's wasting time with this useless conversation.
Could it be that Clover is buying time for Cromwell to escape?
“Cromwell went to Fukuoka. If you use the spatial transport jutsu, you'll catch him at the perfect time. That man is extremely cautious, so if pursuers catch up to him before his escort from the Order arrives, he'll hide himself away and won't come out at all. So, it's best to arrive at the precise moment.”
However, Clover's next words brought another twist.
I cooled my head.
If this information is true, there's no reason to linger here.
But how far can I trust this guy?
He's definitely not the kind of person to help others for nothing.
He must have some kind of objective.
“Even after all this, you still don't trust me.”
For an instant, Clover's gaze shifted to somewhere behind me.
And then, the corner of his mouth crept up slightly.
“I am helping you right now at the risk of betraying Salvatio! And yet you treat me like this, don't you think that's too much!?”
His voice was deliberately louder than before.
As if he wanted someone to hear.
I hurriedly turned around to see Jeong Ha-yeon standing there.
‘Damn it.’
I was so focused on Clover that I hadn't paid attention to my surroundings.
Damn it. He must have done his research on Jeong Ha-yeon's personality beforehand to pull this off.
If someone like Jeong Ha-yeon, with her righteous personality, heard that without knowing the full context…
“Se-hyeon-ssi.”
“It's not like that. If you fall for that guy's words….”
“At least, he isn't lying.”
Jeong Ha-yeon's eyes were tinged with gold.
The Eyes of Justice, huh.
Indeed, it also has the power to see through lies.
In other words, the information Clover gave was, at the very least, true.
With things having come to this, I couldn't just blindly reject Clover anymore.
“…Alright. Then let's head to Fukuoka right away. Ha-yeon-ssi, could you go get Jun Bo-ra?”
“Yes. I'll be right back with her.”
Jeong Ha-yeon went back into the building, and Clover, watching her go, grinned.
“Haha. It seems my appeal was quite effective. Do you trust me now?”
“…”
I didn't answer.
The more I talk to that guy, the worse I feel.
“A question occurred to me.”
I was about to ignore Clover's words and leave.
“I wondered if the Strategy King known to the public might be a fake. If you organize the information you can gather by digging into various incidents, it seems more plausible that the real Strategy King is actually someone else.”
But his next words were enough to stop me in my tracks.
“For instance… someone like you.”
As I turned my head, my sword shot out, stopping just before it made contact.
As if he had anticipated that I wouldn't really attack him.
Clover didn't flinch, simply wiping away the blood trickling from the cut on his cheek with his finger.
“What's the meaning of this?”
“The meaning?”
Clover grinned.
“What could it be?”
Clover actually moved his head closer to the blade of the sword.
The wound widened and more blood flowed, but Clover seemed to be enjoying it.
A strange chill ran down my spine at the sight, and I unknowingly tightened my grip on the sword.
‘Should I kill him?’
When it comes to strategizing, intuition is more important than you'd think.
Maybe this is the full story of the incident. There's something suspicious about this place. Why is this item given here? It's about constantly considering possibilities, sorting through them to find the most plausible ones, and getting as close to the truth as possible.
Brain or brawn. That's why you can't be the best if you're lacking in either.
My instincts, honed by perfectly clearing countless games, were sounding an alarm.
This guy is dangerous.
“Are you going to kill me here?”
Just as I was about to put force into my movement, Clover spoke first.
“You must want to kill me. Someone like me, an unknown entity with unknown goals and unknown intentions. And yet, I approach you so cordially. Your suspicion grows, but you still know nothing. A 'Strategy King' would naturally try to eliminate such a variable beforehand. Yes. Just like you're doing right now.”
Clover grinned.
My heart sank.
‘I made a mistake.’
A moment of wavering.
With that, I had practically announced to Clover that I was the real Strategy King.
‘No.’
I held my breath for a moment and calmed my mind.
Besides, it's about time those Salvatio bastards figured it out anyway.
It being revealed now won't cause any major problems.
The reason I disguised Jun Bo-ra as the Strategy King was to set up a shield and buy time to build up my own strength.
Now that I've sufficiently achieved that goal, the secrecy surrounding the real and fake Strategy King has become less important.
“So?”
“Pardon?”
“Was that the ace up your sleeve?”
This time, Clover's pupils wavered slightly.
The dead tell no tales.
“What does that….”
“What are you going to do if I am the Strategy King?”
*Shhhk!*
I moved the sword that had been still.