Chapter 29: Purifier (3)
"This works?"
"…"
"…"
Silence spread around Elijah's words.
Perhaps it's because everyone all share the same sentiment.
Man Eaters were strewn all over and wriggling the ground.
'…Everyone was against it at first.'
Elijah chuckled, sword resting on his shoulder.
When Tallion first told everyone about the "plan," they thought he was crazy.
Even Elijah, who was urgently summoned here, would have reacted the same way if she hadn't been told that it was Dowd Campbell who came up with this plan.
In a state of emergency of monsters appearing in the city, the standard solution would be to call the knights and buy time until civilians evacuate.
No matter what anyone says, the strongest force in the Empire is the knights, and there are always knights residing in and around Elfante.
However, what about Dowd's plan that Tallion told them about?
'…We can deal with this with a dozen or so students, a few knights, and several academy professors.'
Recalling the contents of the plan, Elijah still found it absurd even now and let out a bitter laugh.
It was basically just to round up the nearest people around and throw them to deal with the monsters.
To put it bluntly, it was a death wish.
It had been quite some time since demonic power manifested, and Man Eaters were classified as enemies of humanity.
Even if their intelligence had deteriorated, they possessed simple but brutal combat capabilities that even warriors find difficult to deal with.
Therefore, dealing with Man Eaters is fundamentally based on the premise that "more humans" will confront "fewer Man Eaters."
So, the fact that less than 20 humans had unilaterally suppressed hundreds of Man Easters was almost miraculous.
The motivation behind the plan was even more absurd.
'…There would be too many casualties.'
If civilians are evacuated while waiting for the knights to be dispatched, casualties inevitably occur in the process.
However, if they just subdue all the Man Eaters before that, they could eliminate such risk.
Truly a man with great foresight.
When it comes to the conviction of saving people first during a crisis, Elijah couldn't help but doubt that this man was more keen than her, despite being the hero candidate.
'Is there any special reason?'
Elijah tilted her head in wonder.
"Good job."
As she was having such thoughts, the Dean of the Knights School, Conrad Baltador, approached her and patted her on the shoulder.
He was one of the people who supported this plan, along with President Atallante, who had participated in the battle.
Because their influence was so strong, the plan was executed as is, shutting down the opposition.
"I'm relieved that both the Dean and the President are here. If even one of you wasn't, such an achievement might not have been possible."
It really was.
No, to be exact, if even one human here was missing, this achievement would have been impossible
"…It would have been impossible if even one is missing."
Conrad's eyes narrowed.
"Yes, I share the same sentiment. Do you know why me and the President happened to be around here?"
"Yes?"
"She recommended that we eat here."
"…"
Elijah frowned.
"is that so?"
"She already booked the seats, so I have no reason to refuse. But then, coincidentally, this happened."
"…"
A hypothesis started forming in Elijah's head.
And as Conrad continued, the more it became concrete.
"And that guy over there, he's a student from the Monster Research Department."
Conrad pointed to Evan Kramer, a sophomore in the Monster Research Department.
Elijah remembers this face well.
Because he was the facilitator of the mock battle at the orientation that she did with Dowd.
Dowd had told Tallion to find this student as well.
"We probably wouldn't have been able to achieve this result without him."
Definitely.
Apart from their brutish fighting ability, monsters also have a variety of strange and bizarre traits. Even for a knight whose main profession was fighting against them, it's impossible to memorize all of their characteristics.
Unless one is geek who specialize in studying such things...
If that student named Evan hadn't provided them the Man Eaters' weaknesses, they wouldn't have been able to end the battle so smoothly.
"I heard that he was asked to come to the festival. He couldn't refuse because it was from a benefactor's request."
"A benefactor?"
"The Monster Research Department is the least popular department among the Knights School. We were considering closing it by the end of this year."
"…"
"But when I 'coincidentally' checked the mock battle stage, I found capable people. So I revoked that decision."
Elijah's pupils trembled slightly.
Right, we're saying it was a coincidence.
But it happened because of 'a certain person' Conrad was eyeing.
And coincidentally, the student from the rarely-visited Monster Research Department happened to be nearby.
At a terrifyingly perfect timing.
Because of someone's request.
"..."
Then it became clear.
The students affiliated with the "House of Purification" foundation, who participated in this battle, were also said to have not mutated into monsters because Dowd had done something.
The knights who were dispatched to this scene were also people that Dowd had called upon beforehand, after requesting it from the President.
"…Ha."
When viewed separately, it's a series of completely unrelated coincidences, but there is one focal point that connects all of these coincidences.
"Uh, Dean."
"Hm?"
"Has that person been preparing for this a long time ago?"
Conrad laughed instead of answering.
All the actions taken up until now, the people that Dowd has met, and the resulting outcomes - all point to this situation.
Dowd Campbell has been designing a response to an unnoticed threat since the beginning.
Everyone set in their positions.
From the beginning, that person had expected that something like this would happen and prepared for it meticulously
'It's impossible if even one person is missing.'
It's a tightly knit plan from the beginning to end!
Elijah said disheartened.
"…What kind of person is he, really?"
"I don't know. In the first place, it could really be just a series of coincidences."
Conrad replied while scratching his head.
"But if that's really the case, then I feel like there shouldn't have been one more thing."
"Yes?"
"Have you seen Tallion during the battle?"
That's true.
If he was there, he would have undoubtedly been a great asset, but his absence was puzzling.
"What do you think he is doing right now?"
"…"
Elijah's expression hardened.
"You think he's planning more?"
A boisterous laughter was what she got instead of an answer.
It had a carefree tone that didn't require any further questioning as to what it meant.
"Seriously."
What kind of person is he?
Elijah sighed and tilted his head back to relieve the fatigue from the battle.
"Eung?"
Suddenly, her entire field of vision was covered in 'gray'.
Like a smoke that spewed out from somewhere, it rapidly expanded. It endlessly covered the sky, space, and eroded everything in its path.
And then.
Everything stopped.
●
Time went still.
No, not figuratively. Time literally stopped.
"…"
Even with a hole in my chest, my consciousness remained intact and I could perceive the world clearly.
However.
Everything except my consciousness remained still.
From Marquis Riverback's twisted face in front of me, to the blood from my pierced chest, nor could I feel the wind. Even the air flow had stopped.
Everything was dyed gray.
It was frozen like a photographed landscape.
"…"
Everything but one.
And that was.
Something was "descending" into my field of vision.
The figure's gentle descent is seemingly unaffected by gravity. No, the laws of physics for that matter.
Pure white hair flowing down to one's ankles, crimson eyes that's redder than blood, flawless white skin without any blemish, and an immaculate body uncovered by a single thread.
This figure, this woman, looks familiar.
If given a few years to mature, Elnore would look just like this person.
But this was not Elnore. You can tell just by looking.
Because if it were Elnore, or simply any human...
They wouldn't exude such a level of "evil."
'The Gray Devil.'
In the game, it never really revealed its true form directly. It only appeared as a form of boss battle by possessing Elnore at the climax.
So, the figure before me right now is basically an "avatar."
The Devil's Essence that Marquis Riverback infused with his body just contained a small piece of the devil's power. When all the fragments are pieced together, the real devil can be summoned.
The Gray Devil fragments scattered throughout the scenario pool together in various events within the game, ultimately converging in Elnore. It is inevitable.
In other words, the avatar in front of me right now is only a small part of it.
The 'authority' it possess is insignificant compared to the Gray Devil's true form, and the duration it can materialize is only short-lived, at most a few tens of seconds.
But even so.
[ A moment of danger has been detected. ]
[ Determined the situation as life-threatening. ]
[ Skill: Desperation raised to EX Class. ]
Just by having this avatar front of me, the deactivated Desperation turned on again.
"…"
It was ridiculous, f*ck.
'Her' presence alone brought the entire world to a standstill. And her gaze made me threatened for my life.
In other words.
If I were to directly meet her eyes right now, I would die.
That's how vast the gap is.
While I was thinking that, the 'devil avatar' taking on Elnore's form approached me.
At the same time.
[ ¡̛̰̖̲͉̜̿͑̈̍̕̚͟͝Ą̷̦̘͉̹͓̝́̾͂͂̂͂̅͡͝ø̵̧̡̜̲̗̳̟̀̒̽̊͆̃͒̎̚͟͟ͅ Ç̳͈̟̯̻̾̿̔͆̃̋́͌͘̕Ḁ̷͉̞͎̯̥̫̳̻́͆͊̉̀̾͘͞·̴̢̥̱̝̘̟͎͊͐͌̿̎̋̕͜͟͝͞Î̶̻̙͓͓͎̫͛́͌̀̆͊͒͆̚±̦͖̺̗͎͍̰͊̏͒̉̍̉̚͟͠×̵̢̯̥̟͖̞̔̈́̃̚͘͞·̶̛͈̪͚̹̺͖͉̪̇̎̃̏̃̎̚͡ͅ¡̴̹͉̤̭̥̒̇̎̅͘͝ͅ¹̖̯̰̰̦̝͐͆̿̌̃͂͟͠Ö̵̩̭͇̹̭̤͌͆̔̀̆̚ danger ¡̛̰̖̲͉̜̿͑̈̍̕̚͟͝Ą̷̦̘͉̹͓̝́̾͂͂̂͂̅͡͝ø̵̧̡̜̲̗̳̟̀̒̽̊͆̃͒̎̚͟͟ͅ Ç̳͈̟̯̻̾̿̔͆̃̋́͌͘̕Ḁ̷͉̞͎̯̥̫̳̻́͆͊̉̀̾͘͞·̴̢̥̱̝̘̟͎͊͐͌̿̎̋̕͜͟͝͞Î̶̻̙͓͓͎̫͛́͌̀̆͊͒͆̚±̦͖̺̗͎͍̰͊̏͒̉̍̉̚͟͠×̵̢̯̥̟͖̞̔̈́̃̚͘͞·̶̛͈̪͚̹̺͖͉̪̇̎̃̏̃̎̚͡ͅ¡̴̹͉̤̭̥̒̇̎̅͘͝ͅ¹̖̯̰̰̦̝͐͆̿̌̃͂͟͠Ö̵̩̭͇̹̭̤͌͆̔̀̆̚ ]
[ ¾̶͕̻́̊̇î̸̙̪͎̥͎͍̲͔̔̈́̀̃͗́̚̚͠͠͝͠ ̷̨̨̣̭̭͓̱̼͚̮̼̭̟̱̾̄͑̈́̋͝¼̸̢̛̞̟͓̗̙͗͊̆̓̈͘͜͠Ǫ̵̛̠̟̲͔̟̀̔̍͛̈́°̶̨̙̠͆͋̔͛̒̀̾̆̉̏̕³̶̟̝̙͔̥̖̯̠̒̈̋̃̇̾̃̽̆̅͊͆̋̋ 직접적인 situation 되는 ¾̶͕̻́̊̇î̸̙̪͎̥͎͍̲͔̔̈́̀̃͗́̚̚͠͠͝͠ ̷̨̨̣̭̭͓̱̼͚̮̼̭̟̱̾̄͑̈́̋͝¼̸̢̛̞̟͓̗̙͗͊̆̓̈͘͜͠Ǫ̵̛̠̟̲͔̟̀̔̍͛̈́°̶̨̙̠͆͋̔͛̒̀̾̆̉̏̕³̶̟̝̙͔̥̖̯̠̒̈̋̃̇̾̃̽̆̅͊͆̋̋판단합니다. ]
[ ¾̶͕̻́̊̇î̸̙̪͎̥͎͍̲͔̔̈́̀̃͗́̚̚͠͠͝͠ ̷̨̨̣̭̭͓̱̼͚̮̼̭̟̱̾̄͑̈́̋͝¼̸̢̛̞̟͓̗̙͗͊̆̓̈͘͜͠Ǫ̵̛̠̟̲͔̟̀̔̍͛̈́°̶̨̙̠͆͋̔͛̒̀̾̆̉̏̕³̶̟̝̙͔̥̖̯̠̒̈̋̃̇̾̃̽̆̅͊͆̋̋peration raised to EX Class. ]
My system window was broken.
It's like a part of it has been 'ripped off'.
"…!"
Of course, the Purifier also downgraded Desperation, but this is a whole different ball park.
Just standing in front of this person...
Made it seem like the entire 'system' was rendered powerless.
"…"
That's right, the Gray Devil was originally depicted with such abilities.
A transcendent being that distorts even the fundamental laws of the world just by staying still.
The Gray Devil approached me a step further.
As she came close, she caressed my cheek.
She smiled that seems to melt in the heat. It felt weird because she's doing so with Elnore's usually expressionless face.
And...
I could see endless desire into those deep eyes.
To a point that I saw an illusion, screaming that her sole existence was for the sole purpose of loving me.
Then she lowered her head to my ear.
Her lips parted.
"I¾ú´ Áö´loveÁ¦ ÇÏ¿¡you"
Just hearing these few words felt like my brain was being deep fried. The pressure was that much.
I felt my skin crawl. There's a nauseating feeling permeating my entire nervous system as if someone poured tar into my veins, causing a tingling sensation.
If I could move my body freely right now, I might have just collapsed and start vomiting.
As I was suffering from this horrible feeling in my body, she leaned in towards me, still smiling.
She reached towards my chest, then twisted her hand like she's turning a dial.
Then.
Time 'rewinded'.
The hole that's been pierced by Marquis Riverback's demonic energy was healed.
"…"
The pain was gone and I feel energized.
At the same time.
A tattoo was engraved on my perforated chest.
[ Obtained 'The Fallen's Seal'. ]
[ The Fallen's Seal CA.l+x:¡has the effect CA.l+x:¡ of. ]
"…"
However, I have no idea what it was.
As I stared at it in bewilderment, Gray Devil covered her mouth with a chuckle.
Then, with a smiling face, she leaned towards me and rests her chin on her hands. Her casual attitude gives off a feeling of "Is there anything else I can help you with?"
"…"
Even though its only a small part of the Gray Devil, the fact that one of the strongest in the world was being so friendly to me felt strange.
Though, I do have an idea on why this is.
[ Skill: Fatal Charm ] [ Class: ??? ]
[ People with evil alignment are more likely to get attracted to you. The more extreme the alignment, the stronger the effect. ]
The more extreme the alignment, the stronger the effect. This means that the Gray Devil, whose existence itself was to destroy the world, would show absolute, extreme affection towards me.
The problem is.
I don't know how this will work in the future.
It's just Chapter 1 and the story has already been twisted so much because I got entangled with Elnore and Elijah.
Now, if I get acquainted with an existence like her, what will happen?
'…When did I ever care about such things?'
I smiled and opened the system window.
Anyway, I won't be able to get through this without her help. I better get everything I need.
[ Used 'Skill Copy Ticket'! ]
[ You can copy 1 skill from the target 'Elnore'. ]
The Gray Devil is currently using Elnore's body.
In other words, from a game perspective, if I use Skill Copy right now, I should be able to copy one of her skills as she's systematically treated as 'one with Elnore'.
"…"
It sounds ridiculous.
Well, if it doesn't work, I could still copy one of Elnore's skills. That alone is not a loss.
Navigating through the system, a list of skills that I could copy came to mind.
'Indomitable, Supreme Genius, Mind's Eye, Warlord…'
I scrolled past Elnore's list of skills and went straight to the end.
[ Skill: King of Pandemonium ] [ Class: A ]
[ -Bow down to the great monarch!- ]
[ Embody the dignity of Hell's absolute ruler. Upon usage, grants unconditional advantage against demonic beings for 5 minutes. ]
Alright, as I suspected, my hypothesis was correct. This world works like a game.
Just looking at its description, it's definitely not a skill that Elnore would have. This is something only a 'devil' boss would hold.
'…I want a lot of things.'
As the Gray Devil, despite having a fraction of her full power, naturally has countless powerful skills.
It's just that except for this one, all the other skills have broken descriptions, making them unrecognizable. It'll be basically like playing a lottery.
If it drastically cuts my life force when used, or is only activated by killing someone close to me or any horrible effects, it will bring about irreversible results.
'In the first place, what I can get right now…'
Although it is very a specific skill, this would help in the immediate situation.
With that thought in mind, I copied the skill.
[ 'Skill: King of Pandemonium' has been copied. ]
As this window appeared, the Gray Devil's eyes widened.
She might not know the specifics, but in that fleeting moment, she knew that something has changed within me.
Moreover, she was looking back and forth between herself and me, indicating that she realized that I took something from her.
"!"
Then she clapped her hands with a big smile on her face. She was congratulating me.
It's strange seeing a more mature version of Elnore engaging in childish behavior.
However, when I think about the true nature of this existence, I can't bring myself to laugh.
This woman.
She might be carefteely smiling, but she can absolutely destroy the world.
"…"
And finally, time has come to an end.
With her time on this earth exhausted, the Gray Devil started vanishing into particles.
For one last time, she looked at me and said while still smiling.
"I¾ú´ Áö´loveÁ¦ ÇÏ¿¡you"
A voice reminiscent of a noisy radio with the frequency turned up pounded my eardrums.
"Okay¾ð¾î°¡ UC¾ð¾î°¡ Uthen"
However.
"SeeC¾ð¾î°¡ UC¾ð¾î°¡ U또C¾ð¾î°¡ U later."
She couldn't finish her last sentence as her avatar body dissipated.
"At that time, definitely. You-"
It was a clear voice that I will never forget.
●
As the gray receded from the world, time began to flow again.
I'm now back at the entrance of the academy with Marquis Riverback in front of me and Elnore pinned on the wall.
〚…What the hell… just happened…?〛
Marquis Riverback looked around bewildered. He seems to understand that something happened, but he has no idea what it was.
On the surface, nothing has changed.
Except for one thing.
[ Skill: King of Pandemonium has been activated. ]
[ You have unconditional advantage against demonic beings for 5 minutes! ]
[ Canceled enemy's unique ability 'Skill: Purification'. ]
[ A moment of danger has been detected. ]
[ Determined the situation as life-threatening. ]
[ Skill: Desperation raised to EX Class. ]
Standing up, I delivered a powerful uppercut right to Marquis Riverback's chin.
〚…!〛
With a sound akin to an explosion, Marquis Riverback's body shot up several meters into the air.
Yeah, that's right.
This cool, solid feeling. It's been a while.
"Hey."
I smirked at Marquis Riverback, who hurriedly regained his balance in the air.
My body was brimming with vitality. It almost feels like I'm reborn.
"Round 2. Bring it on."
No more running with a tail between the legs.
It's back to Dowd Campbell, who one punched the hero candidate.
Time to instill some manners in this b*tch.