Chapter 209
Chapter 209
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 209
Chapter Title: The Unseen Existences
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The world appeared peaceful, but that peace stemmed from the well-being of unseen beings.
No, it was their orchestration.
The invisible truth.
The moment ordinary people laid eyes on it, they wouldn't be able to endure and would drive themselves mad.
"Unless you're prepared, it's impossible no matter what."
Ignito, who usually showed a playful and eccentric side, looked more composed than anyone else right now as he spoke those words.
"Unseen existences. Do you know what they are?"
"Most people think the Royal Class are those existences. You believed that too, until you resolved to become one yourself."
Yong-un nodded.
Ignito was right.
Until the moment he vowed to become a Royal Class to fully protect what was his, Yong-un had thought the Royal Class ruled this world as its kings.
But the deeper he dug, the more unseen truths emerged—truths that sometimes made the world look like a sewer, other times filling him with an inexplicable sense of unease.
"Now you know. The Royal Class can't possibly be those existences."
The title of world king held by the Royal Class was nothing but a facade.
Of course, the power and authority that came with the name were real.
It was a systemic gift bestowed upon them by the unseen existences.
"I was like you. Everything crumbled the moment I met that guy."
After encountering Man, Yong-un had realized the truth.
"The one you speak of... is that the entity that was parasitizing one of my subordinates?"
The unseen existence that had elevated the Royal Class to their status by meeting them one by one.
It was Man.
"Correct. How was it? Your impressions of meeting him?"
"It wasn't my first time."
"What?"
"Man. It wasn't the first time I'd met him."
The truth Yong-un revealed this time startled Ignito.
Ignito's face twisted in disbelief.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Do you remember when I cleared San Marino Demonus?"
"Of course. That's when I first learned about you."
"He was near me even before that."
"......?!"
Ignito's eyes widened.
"Do you happen to know that guy's name?"
"W-wait. No, we don't. But is it true? That he's... been by your side all along?"
"It's true. Hiding behind the name 'God,' he borrowed the body of one of my subordinates to occasionally chat with me. But to think that guy... was what he really was..."
"Must've been a shock."
"Do you recognize these characters?"
While conversing in the front yard of Gwisalhonmyeol's house, Yong-un used the Demon-Slaying Sword to write hanja characters on the ground.
A bizarre word formed by combining hanja: ma-gi ma-e so-u-ra.
[Man]
Man—the one Sung-min had faithfully served as his god.
That was his name.
But the instant he saw it...
Ignito suddenly shot up from his seat.
"Th-this is..."
"You recognize it!"
The startled Ignito fell silent for a moment, lost in thought.
A few seconds later,
he bit his lip and continued.
"Have you heard of Demon King Rune Letters?"
Demon King Rune Letters.
The sudden mention of the term made Yong-un's eyebrow twitch.
Then he nodded.
"I know of them. I visited the GHO's fourth basement level to gather info on Death Demon Cry, which is related to Demon King Rune Letters."
Ignito's expression hardened at Yong-un's honest admission.
"This... is a combination of Demon King Rune Letters. I don't know exactly which ones were combined, but it's definite. Look at this."
He erased the roof from the character for demon in demon spirit, then removed the character directly below it.
Only the character for ghost remained.
Ignito precisely halved the character for ghost.
A peculiar shape that no longer resembled a hanja.
"From my experiments... this letter refers to a specific demon from the demon realm. I tried summoning it once, but failed."
A rune letter designating a demon!
The very information Yong-un had sought upon becoming a Royal Class flowed from Ignito's lips.
Staring intently at the unexpected yet crucial hanja,
Yong-un furrowed his brow.
'This... is a rune letter for a demon...'
Ignito shook his head and raised his hand.
"Hold on, we got sidetracked. What I wanted to say is about that wooden box he gave you. Why didn't you take it?"
"I didn't need it."
"You didn't... need it?"
"It contained a sword."
"A sword!?"
As if that were the key fact.
Ignito's face lit up with shock once more.
"What color was it?"
His raised voice made Yong-un think he shouldn't tell the truth.
"White."
"...White?"
Though he'd lied, Ignito seemed to accept it completely.
Yong-un stared steadily at him.
He'd shared a lot of information, but Yong-un still didn't fully trust Ignito.
The lesson he'd learned best in the martial world was suspicion.
He'd seen and experienced firsthand the fates of those who trusted too easily.
Someone unbound by ties, unworthy of trust, must be doubted repeatedly.
That way...
'I'll survive.'
As Ignito looked up, Yong-un deliberately averted his gaze.
'Hide what's most important.'
He couldn't fully trust Ignito yet.
Blind faith without being a Royal Class could be poison.
Avoiding his eyes, Ignito spoke in a serious tone.
"He gives divine weapons as payment for contracts. Like this staff I'm holding. And those weapons don't overlap between Royal Class—they're all unique. But... someone else received a sword from him, just like you."
"Who?"
"The First Royal Class. Light of the Sky."
Divine weapons don't overlap.
Yet one had for the first time?
"Why ask about the color?"
"The color is as important as the type."
Ignito conjured flames.
For Royal Class contracted with Man, the divine weapons they received completely altered the nature of their mana.
Whoosh.
Not crimson flames, but golden ones matching his divine weapon.
They coalesced into the shape of a sword.
Then, with a pop, the flames scattered.
"Talking too much, huh? Can't say more from here. No certainty."
Ignito's serious expression lightened.
"Certainty about the info we know... and about you."
Ignito's finger pointed at Yong-un.
"Not sure if you're on our side yet."
His gaze shifted behind Yong-un.
There lay Sung-min, collapsed.
"But one thing's clear: you still have value to us."
Because he hadn't accepted the divine weapon?
Yong-un nodded.
Ignito smirked at his calm expression.
"You catch on quick. Even more enlightened."
Adjusting his clothes by rolling his shoulders, Ignito prepared to leave.
Spello, who had come with him, appeared at his side.
"Well."
Ignito extended a hand to Yong-un for a shake.
"Congrats in advance on becoming a Royal Class. Soon, you'll get an invitation from us. If you want to hear everything we know, come to the place written on it. We'll assume you're joining us and tell you all."
Yong-un glanced at Spello.
He silently turned away, seemingly agreeing with Ignito.
Staring at the two Royal Class, Yong-un exchanged a glance with Ignito.
Then.
Grip.
He clasped Ignito's hand firmly.
"Good."
Whoosh.
Golden flames erupted from Ignito's feet while their hands were joined.
The blaze swallowed Ignito and Spello in an instant, vanishing from Gwisalhonmyeol's house.
= = =
After the Royal Class departed, Yong-un checked on Sung-min, Chun-il, and Barum.
The rampage linked to Demon Cry or Man was obvious, yet strangely, they were stable.
Just deep asleep, like they'd fainted.
They'd wake fine after a good rest.
He assigned all the Ghost Souls to guard their rest, then climbed alone to the roof of Gwisalhonmyeol's house.
"Ignito..."
Before Ignito vanished.
He looked at the hand he'd grasped with his.
And recalled the voice he'd heard then.
「Believing you'll join us, I'll tell you one thing. Truth is, us Royal Class... are Demon Cries.」
He already knew, but hearing it directly from a Royal Class felt different.
Demons, called enemies of humanity.
Yet the six kings, humanity's hope and light.
They were Demon Cries contracted with humanity's foes.
If this got out, the world would descend into chaos.
"But... why did Ignito tell me something so crucial?"
Amid his tangled thoughts, a subtle instinct stirred.
Ignito and Yong-un weren't allies or enemies.
Thus, a relationship where full trust or rejection wasn't possible.
Yet in that, he'd shared a world-shaking secret.
No matter how Yong-un pondered, it didn't make sense.
"Hmm..."
Between vague memories, unsure what was true or not.
Entangled like a spider's web in complex thoughts, Yong-un lay back on the roof and gazed at the sky.
Then slowly turned his head sideways and said,
"You're late."
"Ignito and Spello already came and went, I see?"
The 2-meter hulking Mercenary King arrived silently and sat naturally beside Yong-un.
"Is he someone you need to capture too?"
"Not just me. It's the will of all Royal Class."
"How did you know to come here?"
"We're Demon Cries contracted with him. When he fully descends for a contract, all Royal Class linked to him lose mana temporarily."
"Our wager cuts off?"
"Royal Class are strong because of that contract and the mana we draw from him."
Yong-un eyed the Mercenary King.
His ties to Royal Class were similar.
Yet unlike Ignito, the Mercenary King hid nothing from Yong-un.
"Why stare so intently?"
"Is it okay to share that info with me?"
"Of course not. If the other Royal Class knew, they'd come for my head."
"Then why tell me?"
Snort.
The Mercenary King chuckled through his nose.
"Who knows. Just a feeling?"
Yong-un's first impression of the Mercenary King was of someone utterly carefree.
Not fitting for an absolute ruler.
But his occasional aura of supremacy convinced Yong-un he ruled as world king for good reason.
Yet now, he sought to conspire with Yong-un, not a Royal Class.
Sharing all info, no less.
Could this be dismissed as mere whimsy?
"What're you thinking so hard about?"
The Mercenary King placed a hand on Yong-un's shoulder.
Yong-un answered honestly.
"Wondering about your intentions."
"Intentions... Heard you became a hunter recently, but you've been through a lot, huh? Don't overthink. I mean it literally."
The Mercenary King grinned.
"My feeling says you'd do anything."
At the vague reply, Yong-un stared harder.
The Mercenary King shrugged and pulled a paper from his pocket.
"Truth is, I came for a real reason."
"Not to catch him?"
"No spatial movement skill—how could I? I came to see you."
Snap.
The paper in his hand unfurled with a flick.
A familiar pattern appeared.
"Topic for the upcoming Royal Class meeting. Know what this symbol means?"
The Mercenary King's eyes brimmed with conviction, as if Yong-un did.
Meeting them, Yong-un asked,
"Why think I know?"
"My feeling tells me. You do."
That damn feeling.
But one thing was certain.
The Mercenary King's feeling...
Resembled Yong-un's instinct.
The Heavenly Demon Cult's greatest weapon that had saved his life—his instinct.
"Well? Feels like you know."
The Mercenary King had it too.
After a moment staring at the pattern, Yong-un nodded.
"I do."
How could he forget?
The image the Mercenary King brought.
In Viscount Ratari's memories, amid shattered time, that bizarre demon conversing with him.
One of the many rune letters hanging behind Sheix.
A bright smile spread across the Mercenary King's face at Yong-un's answer.
He clenched his fist and shouted,
"What does it mean? Tell me!"
Like a student finally solving a long puzzle.
"Before the meaning... I need to know why the Royal Class seek this symbol."
"Ah, that... well..."
"Shall we move somewhere else? This'll be a long talk."