98 Betrayal

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98. Betrayal

Ryumin immediately ran towards where the scream was heard.

But what was waiting there was a shocking sight.

'M-Min Juri?'

Min Juri was collapsed, clutching her stomach.

The ground was soaked with blood.

Ryumin approached with an uncharacteristically agitated face.

"M-Min Democracy! What happened?!"

"B-Black Scythe... no, Min... help me."

Ryumin was startled.

'She knows my identity?'

How did this happen?

He didn't sense any hint of this when reading her inner thoughts earlier?

As his pupils shook, Min Juri continued speaking.

"Min... Ryu Min. You're Ryu Min, right...?"

"How do you know my identity...?"

"Of course... I know. Why wouldn't I? You're... my first love... No matter how hard you try to hide it, it shows..."

"Then you've known all along and pretended not to?"

Min Juri nodded with difficulty.

"I knew... It was hard pretending not to know all this time..."

"Th-that's all well and good, but why is your stomach like this? What happened? Who did this?"

The injury was clearly severe at a glance.

She might die at any moment at this rate.

'Ah, Emergency Treatment!'

Like an idiot, he was too flustered to think of using it right away when he should have.

Whoosh-

When he belatedly used it, her wounds healed and Min Juri's expression became more comfortable.

"Thank you, Min."

"Who was it? Who stabbed you?"

"Ahn Sang-cheol... He did it."

"What?"

Sparks flew in Ryumin's eyes.

Blazing anger was directed at Ahn Sang-cheol.

"Where is that bastard?"

"I'm right here."

Ryumin's head whipped around at the voice from behind.

Ahn Sang-cheol was grinning like a typical villain.

Beside him, Seo A-rin was twisting the corners of her mouth like a villainess.

Just from that, he could tell the two had conspired to kill Min Juri.

"You fucking bastards."

"Whoa, such harsh words, Prophet-nim?"

"..."

Ryumin's distorted expression subtly changed.

The anger subsided and calmness returned.

"You knew I was the prophet?"

"No. We found out you were the prophet by torturing that Min Juri bitch over there. We didn't know until just now."

"I-I'm sorry, Min. It was so painful that before I knew it..."

He had no intention of blaming Min Juri.

Ryumin glared at Ahn Sang-cheol with a fierce expression.

"Keke, don't glare at me like that. Do you know how surprised I was when I heard your identity? To think that weak prophet bastard was Black Scythe. Who could have imagined, hehe."

"Let's hear your excuses before I rip your mouth. Why did you attack Min Juri?"

"Well, she seemed to have a close relationship with you, so I thought I'd get some information by ambushing her. But the harvest was bigger than expected? To think the prophet was Black Scythe, hahaha! The CEO will be so pleased when he finds out!"

Ryumin took out Death Scythe regardless of Ahn Sang-cheol's laughter.

"I wonder if you'll be able to deliver that message alive?"

"Whoa whoa, stop right there. Don't come any closer. Otherwise I'll detonate the bomb hidden in Min Juri's body."

"What?"

Just then, Heo Tae-seok walked out from behind Ahn Sang-cheol.

"Hehe, this friend helped a bit."

Ryumin could immediately guess the situation.

"You bastard, don't tell me..."

"I'm sorry, Black Scythe-nim."

"Don't tell me you planted a black seed in Min Juri's body?"

Heo Tae-seok silently nodded.

That simple action came as a shock to Ryumin.

Indeed, black mages learn a skill called [Black Seed] at level 40.

It's a skill that can summon one of the demon familiars randomly when used after planting it in the ground.

What would happen if such a skill was planted and used in a person's body?

The body would burst like a firecracker and a familiar would pop out.

It could be seen as an application of the skill, but it was a cruel act from a negative perspective.

Of course, in Ryumin's case it was the latter.

"You bastard... When did you reach level 40?"

"Did you think I was just playing around? I hunted hard because I wanted to become strong like Black Scythe-nim."

"Useless Gamer. Release the seed right now."

"No."

At the refusal without a hint of hesitation, Ryumin's eyebrows twitched.

"Are you crazy? You dare defy me? Weren't you admiring me inwardly?"

"Of course Black Scythe-nim is like a god to me. But that's only if you handle this situation well. If you're not perfect, there's no reason to follow Black Scythe-nim anymore, is there?"

"..."

He was properly backstabbed.

Ahn Sang-cheol, Seo A-rin, and even Heo Tae-seok who had worshipped him like a god.

The impact of being betrayed by people he trusted was quite large.

"What do you want?"

"Hehe, that woman must be quite precious to you? Seeing how you can't move at all?"

"Shut up and speak. And promise. Promise you won't kill Min Juri if I give you what you want."

"Kuhahahahaha!"

Ahn Sang-cheol laughed with his mouth split wide.

"Sure. Keke."

"You promised."

"Right. If you give us what we want."

"So, what do you want? Information about the next round? The location of hidden pieces?"

"I'm not interested in that stuff."

"..."

"I'm just annoyed that someone like you dares to deceive us and try to manipulate CEO Ma."

Ahn Sang-cheol who was grinning suddenly spoke with a serious face.

"Kill yourself."

"..."

"Commit suicide in front of us. Then we'll let this bitch live."

"Alright. Keep your promise."

Ryumin put his scythe to his neck without hesitation.

Slash-

His head fell limply to the ground with a thud.

He seemed to hear Min Juri's scream for a moment, but there was no time to pay attention to that.

'If I can just save Min Juri... That's enough.'

His vision blurred.

The faces mocking him disappeared somewhere in the distance.

[There is a hidden sub-quest!]

'A message?'

Crackle- Crackle-

Suddenly cracks appeared in everything he was seeing.

As if the world he was seeing wasn't the original world.

'What's happening... Ah!'

Ryumin finally came to his senses at the messages that appeared in succession.

└Commit suicide without hesitation

└Upon success ▶ ?? ??? ? awarded

[You have completed the sub-quest!]

[The reward will be given to only one person per area!]

[The reward will be given when the results are tallied!]

At some point his body returned.

His severed neck was attached and the blood soaking the ground was gone.

Ahn Sang-cheol, Seo A-rin, Heo Tae-seok, Min Juri.

Everyone disappeared like a mirage before his eyes.

The scenery Ryumin was looking at was none other than the initial location.

It was the grassland.

[Player 'Black Scythe' escapes from the illusion.]

[You have completed the main quest 'Escape from the illusion within 2 hours'!]

[You have completed the sub-quest 'Commit suicide without hesitation'!]

"This was... an illusion."

He finally realized when he saw the message.

That what he had seen until just now was an illusion shaped by his inner anxieties.

There's no way Ryumin who had gone through 99 regressions wouldn't have known this fact.

Yet the system made it so Ryumin couldn't realize it.

'No, it's not the system. I made myself unable to realize it.'

Ryumin looked at the information for the temporary skill Authority of Control.

[Temporary Skill - Authority of Control]

- Remaining uses: 9

- Target used on: Black Scythe

The Authority of Control had been used once.

And it was used on Black Scythe, himself.

'So that's what happened.'

Belatedly all the memories came back.

'I used the Authority of Control to put a constraint on myself so I wouldn't recognize it was an illusion.'

As soon as he entered Round 7, Ryumin used the Authority of Control while looking at his face reflected in an item.

'It only doesn't work on players with higher level, but in case of same level, the Authority of Control works.'

The command he gave himself was simple.

- Do not think it's an illusion until completing the sub-quest.

The main quest for Round 7 is escaping from the illusion.

But if you know it's an illusion in advance, the illusion doesn't take effect.

In other words, the quest progress is blocked from the start.

'Then you'll end up being excluded from quest participation and be annihilated.'

How does he know?

He knows because he experienced being annihilated once.

He proceeded with Round 7 while recognizing it was an illusion, received a warning message, and ended up being annihilated.

'It felt so futile then. Like when I was defeated in the Round 20 boss room.'

This is why Ryumin didn't reveal it was an illusion when telling the prophecy.

If you know in advance it's an illusion, you'll be mercilessly annihilated.

'I tried methods of self mind control too, but it was useless. If you recognize in your mind that it's an illusion, you'll end up recalling it at some point without realizing.'

The method he thought of to eliminate this risk was the Authority of Control.

If he erased his own memory with the Authority of Control, there would be no problem.

'I also learned then that I could use the Authority of Control on myself.'

But the real problem was in clearing it.

He could proceed with the round, but it wasn't easy to clear.

'Especially the sub-quest was difficult.'

Committing suicide without hesitation is not an easy thing to do.

Especially for Ryumin who prioritized survival, it was even more so.

'Moreover, since I didn't know it was an illusion, I couldn't intentionally commit suicide either.'

So he devised methods while going through Round 7 dozens of times.

Finally he was able to find the answer.

The method was simple yet not simple.

'I just need to brainwash myself before entering the other world. That I must save Min Juri even if I have to sacrifice my life. That I love Min Juri.'

Round 7 shows illusions based on inner anxieties.

In Ryumin's case, he had anxiety about his identity being revealed and trusted comrades betraying him.

The system creates illusions based on this and induces situations to commit suicide according to the sub-quest's purpose.

'Then what if I deceive the system to make it seem like I love Min Juri?'

The system will create a story about that.

And it will induce suicide.

The prediction was accurate.

'As a result, I committed suicide without hesitation.'

It was possible because he had thought about loving Min Juri as if brainwashing himself in advance.

"Fortunately, it proceeded according to plan."

If he hadn't had such thoughts, he would have certainly hesitated when told to commit suicide.

'I failed the sub-quest countless times in the past too. When I hesitated for a moment when told to commit suicide.'

At that time, it was before meeting Min Juri, so someone else was taken hostage.

'My brother.'

It was a cliché story of Ryu Won being kidnapped and threatened by thugs when he returned after completing the Round 7 quest.

At that time, Ryumin hesitated slightly at the kidnapper's words telling him to commit suicide.

'So I always failed the sub-quest every time I repeated the regression.'

There was no particular way to deal with it if he didn't use the Authority of Control to make himself unaware it was an illusion.

'That's why I came up with the method of mind control before the round.'

If a situation arose where he had to save Ryu Won, he would sacrifice his life without hesitation.

By repeating that to himself hundreds of times inwardly and entering Round 7, he could commit suicide without hesitation.

This time, only the target changed to Min Juri.

'Fortunately the brainwashing worked and the sub-quest was successful.'

As Ryumin was grinning, suddenly Seo A-rin appeared.

"Ah, Black Scythe-nim. Did you pass the Round 7 quest?"

"Yes. You too?"

"Yes... I escaped from the illusion too."

She smiled shyly and glanced at Ryumin's expression.

She even looked around to see if there were other people.

"The others... seem to have not escaped from the illusion yet."

"I see."

"Um, Black Scythe-nim."

Suddenly taking on a serious mood, Seo A-rin speaks with a blushing face.

"You might be surprised by me saying this suddenly, but..."

She hesitates to speak, then finally continues.

"Actually... I like Black Scythe-nim a lot."

"Don't joke around."

"Haha... It's too sudden, right? I know. It sounds like a joke. But it's not a joke, it's sincere."

"..."

"I'm gathering courage to say this because we're alone."

"..."

Ryumin's reaction was indifferent.

Rather, he was gripping his scythe tightly as if waiting for something.

Whether she noticed the strange atmosphere or not, Seo A-rin gathered courage once more.

"Um, Black Scythe-nim. Will you go out with..."

Slash-!

With a chilling sound, Seo A-rin's head flew through the air.

Thud-

Ryumin muttered towards the system with cold eyes.

"Stop with these pathetic tricks already."

As if responding, Seo A-rin's body disappeared and a message popped up.

[You have completed the main quest 'Escape from temptation within 2 hours'!]

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