Chapter 102
Chapter 102
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 102
>Chapter Title: The Destroyer's Scheme
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For once, I thought it would go smoothly, but what the hell is this mess?
Gamillion, who had been dazed by the untimely encounter with the Destroyer, cautiously asked,
“…Didn’t you say the feeling was good?”
“Ahem, do you think I expected this?”
“No one could find the Destroyer, but you tracked it down faster than anyone, so yeah, the feeling was good. The problem is that it led to a murder scene…”
“…”
A sharp fact bomb that left no room for rebuttal.
But as Do-hyun, this was unfair.
It wasn’t like he had a bow-tied kid trailing him, causing incidents everywhere he went.
The most unjust part was something else.
[The Eye of Truth activates.]
‘No, why does it activate just from seeing a monster’s heart?’
The eerie red glow emanating from near the creature’s heart.
It was definitely the same red that had drawn Do-hyun here.
He’d gotten excited thinking it might be a fragment of fate, only for it to be some monster’s heart—not even a deep-sea monkfish or whatever. What kind of absurd nonsense was this!
Did Abyss Contractors have hearts made of special gems or something?
“…There’s a lot I’m curious about, but let’s deal with that first.”
“Good idea.”
Do-hyun sighed and nodded at Gamillion’s words.
There were plenty of questions, but now wasn’t the time.
[Remaining time limit: 00:00:18]
He had to rescue the High Priest from that monster within 20 seconds.
[Thousand Changes applies ‘Shroud of Darkness.’]
[Mana is consumed per second.]
[‘Striking’ increases attack power by +40.]
As Do-hyun wrapped Thousand Changes in darkness, Jihard and Eliza—now perfectly in sync—took their positions.
Jihard gathered black mana, ready to summon undead at any moment, while Eliza hid in his robe, waiting for a chance to spew spiderwebs.
“Be careful. That thing survived a clash with Sir Lebed.”
Do-hyun nodded instead of replying.
He could sense it instinctively. That monster’s strength was no pushover.
But that didn’t matter.
Do-hyun’s goal was just to save the High Priest anyway.
Even without full info, he could handle it solo if needed.
Creak—.
A brief moment of taut tension hung in the air,
“Guh… kkh…”
and in the silence, only the High Priest’s choked groans leaked out.
Thud!
Do-hyun kicked off the ground fiercely.
At the same time, Thousand Changes shifted form.
[Thousand Changes transforms into ‘Bastard’s Training Sword.’]
[Swordsmanship Proficiency LV14 effects apply.]
A sword. The weapon with the highest proficiency among Do-hyun’s arsenal.
He’d chosen it over a spear’s range, sacrificing distance for the first-strike buff to deal maximum damage.
‘I need to inflict massive damage on the first hit.’
In a situation where he had to rescue in 17 seconds, a prolonged fight would disadvantage him.
But then—
[A mark is generated.]
The moment he used Backstab to appear behind it and swing.
Plop.
The creature, squinting its ominously glowing red eyes, simply released the High Priest and retreated.
Do-hyun’s strike sliced empty air futilely, and by the time he turned, it was already gone.
‘Stealth?’
No, the Eye of Truth didn’t activate.
[Target is out of sight. Backstab unavailable.]
Even a second Backstab failed the same way.
The thing had truly vanished.
From the quest popping up to its disappearance—all in a mere 5 seconds.
Do-hyun exhaled the breath he’d held and tilted his head, prompting Gamillion to approach.
“…It ran away.”
“Yeah…”
It had worked out in the end, but… what was this emptiness?
Not regret, but a hollow puzzlement.
‘Why did it run?’
If it had clashed once and then fled, fine—but it bolted the instant Do-hyun charged.
Like a thief caught red-handed.
It could have counterattacked easily, yet it vanished instead. Utterly baffling. But a following groan snapped Do-hyun from his thoughts.
“Guh…”
“Oh, right. The High Priest.”
“High Priest Rondrik, are you alright?”
Gamillion urgently lifted the fallen Rondrik, infusing mana to clear his airway. Rondrik’s complexion improved slightly.
He rasped in a cracked, effortful mumble.
“Destroyer… burst in suddenly… killed them all… different from before… dangerous, kkh.”
Rondrik’s fragmented words trailed off as his body went limp.
-M-Master, he dead!?
-L-Eliza!?
“…No way.”
Jihard and Eliza panicked, but Gamillion checked Rondrik’s pulse and shook his head.
“He’s alive. Just unconscious.”
“Ah.”
-Phew… scared me.
“Tell me about it.”
Do-hyun and Jihard sighed in relief.
Then, watching Jihard’s genuine relief, Do-hyun asked,
“Hey, aren’t you the guy who blows up undead all the time? Why act like this?”
-Undead are already dead. That’s different.
“Hmm… fair point.”
-Right?
A necromancer acting like that felt off, but logically, no counterargument.
Mocking the dead meant nothing to monsters, and that thing was a monster too—applying human morals was weird anyway.
That was the moment.
[Sudden Quest ‘Rescue Rondrik’ cleared.]
[Rewards: Massive EXP, Rondrik’s favor gained.]
[Level up.]
‘Level up already?’
Do-hyun startled at the vision-obscuring message.
He’d just leveled up recently.
Near graduation level, EXP gains were notoriously stingy—this was huge.
The sudden quest’s reward seemed skimpy at first, but it never failed to deliver.
‘34 now. Just one from graduation.’
Others took a month in Brion; he’d hit it in two days.
A testament to how generous the main quest and this hidden linked quest were.
Rewards aside, the EXP was a treasure trove.
‘This is why we hunt hidden pieces.’
As Do-hyun savored the satisfaction—
“Hm? This is…”
Gamillion’s eyes narrowed at something in Rondrik’s robes.
Do-hyun’s attention snapped there too.
It was a small iron badge.
“…A priest badge proving high priest status.”
“Uh… is that normally that color?”
A priest badge, carried by all high priests of Brion who followed the god’s will.
An intensely ominous aura poured from it.
* * *
Priest Badge.
Like a magic or identity plaque, a status symbol given only to Brion’s high priests.
But it wasn’t just for identification.
“Brion’s priest badges aren’t mere ID cards.”
“Then?”
“They’re badges only high priests possess, infused with the holder’s divine power. They also serve as a gauge of the priest’s faith.”
A special device stored the wearer’s divine power.
Higher realm meant purer, clearer color; some High Priests even emitted a soft glow.
Rondrik wasn’t top-tier, but still a High Priest.
Ssssh—
Yet the badge, meant to shine holy, was blackened and murky.
“…So what’s this?”
-Horrible, Master.
-Eliza…
Do-hyun pointed at the badge; Jihard and Eliza recoiled like they’d seen filth.
Sensitive to auras, it must’ve felt like garbage to them.
Gamillion frowned slightly but calmly explained.
“As I said, it holds the wearer’s divine power. In other words, it reveals if the priest has fallen. Thus, it prevents rash Abyss contracts in advance.”
“…So that means?”
“Yes. This… is a priest badge of someone contracted with the Abyss.”
The message followed.
[‘Abyss Investigation’ cleared.]
[Acquired Destroyer trace ‘Corrupted Priest Badge.’]
[Corrupted Priest Badge]
-Rarity: Rare+
[Description: A priest badge proving high priest status. Severely corrupted for some reason.]
“High Priest Rondrik doesn’t feel off at all with this. Just an ordinary cleric.”
Before the message faded, Gamillion’s grave voice continued.
“This means someone deliberately planted it… Probably the Destroyer.”
“Why bother…”
“Priest badges can’t be identified by anyone but the owner when removed. Divine power is the god’s—indiscernible.”
“Ah…”
“It looks like a frame job.”
Now Do-hyun understood why it fled so cleanly.
Its goal was framing Rondrik as an Abyss Contractor.
Caught in the act, no point lingering and risking variables.
That chilled Gamillion.
“Things are getting serious. Too rational and meticulous for an Abyss-corrupted mind.”
Abyss Contractors were more like those permitting corruption.
They resisted with pure divine power, retaining some human mind and form—but still childlike monsters.
Ultimately consumed by endless desire and destruction.
Yet this one showed sharper intellect than most humans.
“…It knows all our moves.”
The implication was clear.
“Looks like Destroyer Geymon retained full human intelligence.”
“…My god.”
If true, horrifying.
It had a high priest’s badge and knew post-meeting movements.
Only high priests and Lair Grand Temple priests knew of the emergency meeting.
Exclude temple priests—they lacked divine power for such sanity.
“High chance it’s an Elder or High Priest.”
All conditions pointed to Elder or High Priest minimum.
“But they’re all human, right? Detection orb missed them.”
“Seems it maintains perfect human form and mana. Human mana emission—obviously undetectable… Damn, that’s how it escaped ten years ago too.”
Meaning Destroyer Geymon attended meetings humanly, strolled Brion streets casually.
“That possible? What, detachable like some accessory?”
-Master, weird solo joke again.
-Eliza.
Do-hyun chuckled dryly at that point.
How do you catch something like that? If it hides for real, impossible.
‘Hm? Wait.’
But something odd struck him.
“Strange. Why reveal itself now? Could’ve stayed hidden forever.”
“Well… the Abyss’s recent activity is unusual…”
Gamillion answered naturally, then fell silent.
After a brief think, a short murmur escaped.
“…Hm?”