Not a Bad Picture
Players returned to the Claudy mansion. With experience gains, drop rates, skill proficiency buffs... the rewards from that hunt were tremendous.
"When's the last time I leveled up a full one in a single day?"
"Guys! I got a unique item!"
"I'm a proficiency master now too!"
But more important than the staggering loot was the message that had popped up midway through.
Yes, Grandfell Claudi...
"...What came after that? Anyway!!"
They desperately wanted to ask Lee Hoyeol, who was surely the one involved. What the hell a Mythic quest even was!
But it was common sense among players to avoid sensitive questions as much as possible.
Just like that.
At the grand mansion, Shining stood out. Camilla spoke to Dmitri, who was leading the way.
"You know better than anyone, don't you, Dmitri? You, of all people, who values privacy so much. Getting stripped bare by player paparazzi..."
"Th-that's totally different from this!"
Huh—!
He seemed to brush it off casually, but Dmitri had already turned away. His damp eyes suggested he still hadn't overcome the pain of heartbreak. The watching players clicked their tongues in pity.
Dmitri protested earnestly.
"Sure, from a player's perspective, quest progress is way more private than heartbreak. But it's Lee Hoyeol, right? Our supreme commander?"
They wouldn't have asked any other player. Before or after the cataclysm.
Information in Arcana was more valuable the less it spread. People naturally wanted to hide it.
Dmitri added the real reason.
"He's not ordinary, is he?!"
But it was Hoyeol. Not just any player. Sometimes he showed sides that transcended humanity.
Of course, that wasn't the only reason.
As mentioned before, Hoyeol was the supreme commander of the Holy War Alliance.
Dmitri clenched his fist, as if truly resolved.
"I'm going to ask. As a member of the Holy War Alliance, I can at least do that, right? Whether he answers is up to the commander. If that info on the Mythic quest is needed for our alliance."
Dmitri's words held logic. The onlookers could tell he felt a genuine sense of belonging to the Holy War Alliance.
Rocks muttered softly.
"That could be a problem."
"Huh? What'd you say, Rocks?"
"Nothing."
A glance.
"...".
Camilla eyed Rocks' faint smile. But she couldn't stare long.
Perhaps due to Dmitri's gruff voice. A crowd had gathered.
"Hey, isn't that Nam Taemin's crew?"
"We need to talk, Dmitri."
"What, a scout offer? I get it, I do."
On the Arcana continent. Most players from the first hunt had realized it. The need for a solid tank.
Unlike rifts, which provided enemy levels in updates.
His muscular shoulders puffed up proudly.
"You have to tank hits directly to gauge a monster's level. Only tanks make that possible. It's natural to want my help. But I'm a man of loyalty, live and die by it..."
"What bullshit is that, Dmitri?"
"Huh? Not a scout?"
In the current giant alliance. Kang Eun-taek, formerly of Gaon, swallowed a sigh.
Americans drink kimchi soup better than I do.
"Do we need you when we have Nam Taemin?"
"Wh-what?!"
Barbarians are damage tanks, not pure tanks! He wanted to argue passionately, but he couldn't.
Nam Taemin had reached player ranking 1st, excluding the off-spec Lee Hoyeol.
Not content with that, Kang Eun-taek added seriously.
"The reason we're stopping you is simple, Dmitri. It's best not to ask the commander about the name in that message or the Mythic quest."
Dmitri finally got properly pissed.
"What? Now you're his spokesperson too, hanging around as his closest aide? But hey, isn't that for the commander to decide, not you?"
Ignoring Dmitri, as Kang Eun-taek tried to pass by.
Kang Eun-taek sighed and finally explained in detail.
"Sigh. You should know this, Dmitri."
"What the hell am I supposed to know?"
"That you don't pry into personal matters."
...Personal matters?
At those words, Shining and the other onlookers focused intently.
Kang Eun-taek recalled Nam Taemin's words. He wanted it shared with all players if possible.
Kang Eun-taek steadied his breath and continued.
"Yes. Grandfell Claudi..."
(Note: the name's too long, so glossed over.)
"...Romeo. Anyway, Grandfell. After witnessing the Mythic quest message for Grandfell, the commander summoned an Akkshan wolf at the mansion. He's currently away following its trail."
"...!!!"
Kang Eun-taek spoke calmly, but the content was anything but.
A few words packed unthinkable info.
Players just arriving at the mansion, unaware of the situation, stirred in shock. They grabbed those who'd been staying and asked.
"That can't be bullshit, right?"
"I saw it. The Akkshan wolf and Commander Lee Hoyeol!"
"R-really?"
Grandfell and Lee Hoyeol. Were they not the same person?
Dmitri seemed deeply shocked. He murmured low to Rocks beside him.
"...Looks like you were right, Rocks."
"Yeah?"
"What kind of family is this?"
He looked up at the Claudy mansion.
From the territory treated as a peace zone to the mansion surpassing most palaces. He'd thought it extraordinary, but this much?
Yet the most shocking part was...
"That there's another being like Lee Hoyeol?"
Someone capable of a Mythic quest. He'd thought only Lee Hoyeol across Arcana and reality.
Perhaps because it was an unknown realm. Even chatty Dmitri struggled to continue.
Only whispers from players echoed.
"Yeah, that's personal alright."
"Sounds like family stuff."
"Akkshan wolf means demons are involved..."
But the shock didn't last.
If asked why such a shock faded so quickly.
An even greater one struck the players.
Someone said,
"More than that, time flies here. The sun was high earlier, but it's pitch black already? No light at all..."
By then, everyone noticed.
Too dark. Not the darkness of mere sunset.
They peered out nearby windows. And freaked out.
Camilla, with her wide field of view, stammered.
"...I can't see a thing."
A landscape where pitch black swallowed sky, earth, even floating air.
Since the peace-zone Claudy territory was treated differently from the Arcana continent.
Players wondered if it was unique to Claudy territory.
Then, the message appeared.
The Arcana Continent is engulfed in endlessly deep darkness.
"!!!"
Unlike with Grandfell Claudi Arpeus Romeo.
Endlessly deep darkness...
At least here, in Claudy territory, the players knew that epithet.
Silent Dmitri finally spoke.
"...What the hell is going on, Lee Hoyeol?"
*
Wrath questioned itself. What was happening...?
It gauged its authority. Greed, Envy, Lust had fallen to hell. Their evils lost direction.
Masterless evil turned to wrath, becoming its power.
Insatiably.
Though it didn't know what was happening, at the same time.
Crisis seemed to strike Gluttony and Sloth too. Their evils turned to bone-chilling wrath, dwelling in its flesh.
Such wrath's authority? It dared claim.
Even the king of beasts, dragons.
Dozens charging wouldn't faze it.
So it couldn't understand.
Endlessly deep darkness. Silver hair fluttering.
Why did this body fear a mere human?
Moon and stars, demon eyes, even night sky buried in darkness. Earth too.
Absolute blackness where one couldn't distinguish a step ahead.
The only visible thing.
The last Claudy, last Akkshan survivor.
Something's off...
Sudden scene change. As Wrath pondered the reason.
Irresistible pressure crushed it. Not mana or swordsmanship.
Just a voice.
"Kneel."
"...!"
Incomprehensible, yet felt. A command. Arrogant one.
A mere human commanding this great evil?
Impossible even wearing human skin. Absurd now, having absorbed other deadly sins.
It would rip that arrogant mouth.
Wrath's veins writhed.
...Thud!
Irrelevant to boiling emotions. Knees buckled before the man.
Wrath judged swiftly. True to its primal sin, spirit unbowed even in terror.
Crunch!
Wrath's hands tore at its lower body. Veins bulged in grip.
Chilling sound, frail legs ripped off.
Using overwhelming regeneration from authority.
Not frail legs, but new ones to stand again.
But voice continued, mocking resolve.
"No legs? Then bow your head to the floor."
"...!"
Unbelievable from mere human voice, so profound.
Incomprehensible still, body moved on its own.
Wrath's head, facing the man, slammed floor.
Thud!
...Cut off head?
With overflowing regeneration, viable. Like legs, new head would grow.
But Wrath knew. Not the body that mattered.
The core.
Shuddering—...
Wrath thought, then realized. After head cut, what command next?
Thus aware. Overwhelmed, despite believing itself strongest.
In that moment, Wrath's vision showed blood-soaked hands.
Not its blood. Hands that just ravaged the man's body.
Sensation vivid, so incomprehensible, Wrath asked.
"...Who are you?"
Not strength issue. Not long-grown hair.
Aura different. Entirely new personality within.
But naturally.
Silence. No answer.
Clack.
Head smashed fueled terror. Approaching presence hastened Wrath.
Wrath's voice more urgent.
"Won't tell? Then I will. You're no different from a demon. Two minds in one body. Possession, isn't it?!"
No different from demon. To last Claudy, last Akkshan survivor. Who must despise demons utterly.
Ultimate insult.
But no answer again.
Clack.
Wrath realized. Couldn't escape crisis by own efforts.
Its life not in own hands, but the man's.
Thus, genuine doubt.
"...Why?"
Yet fingertip sensation of tearing bone and flesh. No illusion.
Man clearly cornered in mortal peril.
"Why is one with power to scorn all creation trapped in such flesh? A bit deeper, heart would've burst, death..."
Finally, words came. Consideration?
Comprehensible now. But not answer.
Unilateral chant.
"Wrath comes with loss."
"...What?"
"Wrath grows when precious is lost."
Simultaneous mockery.
"But lesser kin have no precious. So your emotion isn't wrath. Mere base impulse to rend."
...Base impulse? To Wrath?
This body mere impulse?
Grind—!
As Wrath gnashed teeth.
Voice continued.
"In that sense, you enraged me."
Slash— Head, bowed, severed, skyward.
Thus, Wrath finally saw the man's face.
Natural enemy, demon hunter. Demon's breath cut falls to hell.
Great evil no exception.
Rising hellfire, felt heat.
But Wrath didn't scream in pain.
Last moment, facing man's face indescribable.
Wrath left final words.
"Born primordial, lived near-eternal ages, first curiosity toward human. Pity... to fall to hell knowing nothing of you..."
As Wrath fully burned, the man, Grandfell, spoke.
"You can take nothing more from me."
Icy cold.
"Not my—no, our history either."