So Let's End It Here (1)
Claudy Territory.
The Arcana Continent, shrouded in darkness. Sensing something ominous, the players had all returned.
They pooled their heads together, but no answers emerged.
"So I get that it could be some family feud. But a mere family squabble shaking the entire continent like this?"
"It's not 'mere.' There's probably some myth quest or whatever involved."
"Even so..."
"Well, it might just be a temporary phenomenon triggered by some special condition."
"Agreed. No matter how transcendent the Grand Commander is, he's still a player at the end of the day, right? No skill or spell could possibly sway an entire continent..."
Dmitri, listening from afar, let out a sigh.
"How long do we just sit here twiddling our thumbs?"
Beyond mere curiosity, it was now genuine worry.
Dmitri muttered, staring glumly at the enveloping darkness.
"...And where the hell did that bastard Nam Taemin run off to?"
The greatest threat at present: the fallen dragon.
The Giant Alliance had joined up with the Iron Castle Ho to track it, per plan. They just hadn't broadcast it to every player.
Giant Alliance's Kang Euntaek shot Dmitri a glare.
'No good comes from letting the plan leak.'
Contributing to slaying the fallen dragon, Yunak Seus, had shot the Giant Alliance guild masters up 50 levels in one go.
The value of 50 levels hit harder the higher your rank. In this world where word spread fast, Kang Euntaek recalled the chatter among players.
-"If the chance comes, we gotta charge in, right?"
-"Hell yeah, life's all about that one big hit!"
-"Alright, let's aim high. Hell, imagine landing a skill on a dragon nets you 10 levels each time! We don't even have to finish it off ourselves?"
That sealed Kang Euntaek's lips even tighter. The few Giant Alliance members left in Claudy Territory felt the same.
Dmitri glared back at Kang Euntaek.
'Damn, they don't look like they're gonna spill a word...'
But the silence, each with their reasons, didn't last.
Soon, new presences stirred in Claudy Territory.
Camilla's vast field of vision rippled with mana.
"...Someone's entering through a portal."
Peace, Claudy Territory. The portal linking it to the Arcana Continent.
Someone was entering Claudy Territory via the portal.
But as mentioned, all players had returned to Claudy Territory.
Dmitri made a fuss.
"Lee Hoyeol...? No, the Grand Commander’s back?"
In his mind, the only one left who might enter Claudy Territory via portal was Hoyeol.
Yet the Arcana Continent was vast and boundless, as repeated.
Camilla shook her head.
"No, entering from both directions at once."
"...What? More than one?"
"Yeah."
The implication was simple: at least two.
The players tensed.
Someone even uttered that ridiculously long name.
"...Could it be Grandfell Claudi Arpeus Romeo? I mean, that guy might be returning to Claudy Territory at the same time as the Grand Commander?"
Back after settling the family feud?
The thought was brief. A man gazing at the sky shook his head.
"No, that can't be it."
The Arcana Continent remained swallowed in endless deep darkness.
And not just that. Camilla continued.
"More than two."
"Even more? Not new players, surely?"
"And... they don't feel right."
A ray of light fades in the endlessly deep darkness.
Rocks silently raised his sword at Camilla's words.
Not just Rocks. Claudy Territory was Hoyeol's domain—and humanity's indispensable forward base.
Whoever the intruders were, they had reason to defend it with their lives.
But no swords swung.
Two forces entering from different portals. Their apparent leaders.
Their conversation drifted over.
"Hey, tubby."
"Heh. Your red eyes look a mess, Dune."
"Says you. Mocking my looks when you're soaked to the bone? 'Fell in a well' won't fly with that gut of yours—wouldn't even fit."
"W-what?!"
Dmitri spoke up.
"...What the hell? Sudden comedy duo?"
Big shots. Even the ancient great evils, the Seven Deadly Sins, had only recently learned of them.
Players, as outsiders, couldn't be expected to recognize them.
Yet their extraordinary nature was plain from appearances.
Dmitri chided himself.
'No, stay sharp. They look flashy as hell.'
Diamond Merchant Guild and Red Eyes.
The Diamond Merchant Guild's procession seemed endless. Red Eyes was smaller in number, but each member's aura and armament were formidable.
The rankers clocked it immediately.
Rocks ran the numbers in his head.
'Far surpasses the Lionheart Knights.'
Rare even among Arcana natives. Perhaps rivaling the Mage Tower.
Why had these extraordinary forces come to Claudy Territory?
Fortunately, before tension peaked, they spoke first.
"Are you the adventurers we've only heard of in rumors?"
Gamond Phil scoffed at Shahin Dune's question from Red Eyes.
"First time for you, eh, Shahin Dune? Figures you'd be clueless. We've met before, you could say. Look—every piece of gear you adventurers use bears my guild's touch!"
...What the hell was that out of nowhere?
Gamond's gaze fell on Dmitri's plate armor, who tilted his head.
"This one's from our forges too."
"Our forges...? Do you know how much this costs...?"
The players' confusion was swept away by the 'titles' that soon followed from their lips.
The two men, staring up at the overhanging darkness, spoke.
"It shan't take long, surely."
"Time to settle the hierarchy once and for all, Shahin Dune."
"Hierarchy, eh? Fine, I'll play. Who'd you hunt?"
"Heh. Don't faint. None other than a Seven Deadly Sin!"
"S-Seven Deadly Sins?!"
Seven Deadly Sins. Not Shahin Dune, but the players—Dmitri specifically—reacted with shock.
Any player knew those great evils well enough to be stunned.
Gamond's satisfied smile at the savory response was brief as he finished.
"I slew Sloth with these hands!"
"...!!!"
Slain a Seven Deadly Sin, Sloth?
Hard to believe, naturally. Players who knew demonic terror all too well found it even harder.
Shahin Dune would deny it, he thought—
But Shahin Dune nodded readily.
"Explains the swagger. I hunted Gluttony. One sword sufficed. No need for your gut, jowls, or holy water bath."
This one hunted Gluttony...!
The meaning was clear.
Dmitri counted on his fingers before speaking.
"I-if true, that's only a few left of the seven, right?"
Truth aside, shock was inevitable.
Briefly stunned, the bickering duo turned to the players.
Asking in unison:
"When does your liege return to his domain?"
Liege...?
That reignited the players' shock.
These mighty forces, unscathed after slaying Sins, called Hoyeol their liege.
Dmitri's outgoing nature proved useful here.
As all fell silent, he answered.
"Seems he's tied up with personal matters..."
"Our liege's personal affairs..."
"It makes no sense that you know what we do not. Speak plainly. What happened?"
Dmitri glanced around before replying.
"Uh, well. The Grand Commander got word on Grandfell Claudi Ar... whatever. Romeo or something? Anyway, he rushed off! Myth-class quest, y'know—something huge!!"
Dmitri mangled it.
But the two grasped it astutely, frowning.
Shahin Dune murmured.
"Quite the misunderstanding, adventurers."
Gamond nodded.
Indeed. To those who knew Claudy well, the flaw was obvious.
The Grand Commander and Grandfell Claudi Arpeus Romeo were not separate...
"...Hold."
Shahin Dune, about to reveal the grim truth to some, halted.
Dmitri's face had gone sheet-white.
Not just that. Gamond whispered.
"That's their adventurer vision, I presume, assistant."
Adventurers had their own vision.
Shahin Dune had learned it from adventurer news.
Thus, he took no offense at the interruption.
Just curiosity. What had they seen to wear such horror?
Yet none could speak easily.
They couldn't grasp the message's full meaning.
A ray of light fades in the endlessly deep darkness.
But its gravity was clear.
......
Iron Castle Ho.
"...!!!"
Shock etched the Giant Alliance's faces.
Unlike other players, they didn't hesitate.
They had means to pursue Hoyeol now.
"Chainwalker!"
Chainwalker nodded at the urgent call.
"Understood."
He'd suspected. The darkness blanketing Arcana stemmed from Hoyeol.
It wasn't the first time the continent had fallen dark.
But this time...
High El and Diend. The two spirits linked to Hoyeol were silent.
Unlike before, when they'd eased worries.
More precisely...
Leoni spoke.
"...This okay?"
Both spirits were unconscious. As if assimilated into the continent's darkness.
Anxiety was natural.
But Chainwalker steered the Iron Castle Ho steadily.
'In this moment, deepest in the darkness...'
Hoyeol himself.
Gunner and the dwarf pilots prepped for sortie.
Finally, Chainwalker issued the order.
"Search for the Grand Commander by any means necessary!"
*
Grandfell gazed at the scene through strands of fallen hair.
Could it be called a scene?
Only pitch-black darkness met his eyes.
"......"
At some point, the single ray piercing the dark had vanished.
Grandfell stepped into that darkness.
Unable to see, his destination was unknown.
Yet one thing was certain.
Until that ray illuminating the endless depths returned.
Grandfell Claudi Arpeus Romeo.
No one could halt his advance.
Be it beast, human, demon—none were exempt.
Even a demon king who reached the heavens beyond heaven.
One of the Ten Thrones.
The Demon King of the Tenth Throne, Buer, appears.
"To meet so soon. Did you come to greet me at the Demon Realm's gate? You wished to converse as well! Good. A fine offering for my manifestation."
The fully manifested Buer greeted warmly.
He'd wanted to speak with one who'd entered heaven-beyond-heaven as human.
But Buer couldn't.
Couldn't comprehend.
"□ □□ □□□ □□□ □□□□□."
The current 'him' was not the 'him' from before.
That was...
Something beyond even heaven-beyond-heaven.