183 episodes
47 Champion(2)
A stillness that occurs naturally and with the Black Seongha of Zion that overwhelms the entire library.
How long has such silence passed?
“ Why don’t we stop exploring now and get to the point?”
A low voice came out of Shion’s mouth with a feeling of a little breathlessness.
“ You probably didn’t come to see me to say this.”
That was correct.
The reason Claire came to meet Shion from the beginning was not to ask questions, but to draw her towards her.
“ After… … Then I will tell you straight up.”
The hero who took a deep breath looked straight into Shion’s eyes and opened his mouth.
“ Help me, no, help us with what we are trying to do, Your Majesty.”
“ What is it?”
“ I am a warrior. And there is only one thing a hero has to do.”
world salvation.
From the beginning, the fate of the hero was made for this, and so was Claire.
Claire thought Prince Zion would accept it.
There was no reason not to do it in the first place.
His intentions may be different, but what Prince Zion was trying to accomplish and his goal were almost identical.
‘ It seems that there are still many secrets, but it is sure to be of great help once you get them here.’
Perhaps it could have been of greater help than Evelyn Agnes, who looked after Claire herself before returning.
However,
“ Why should I help you?”
“… … !”
The words that came out of Zion’s mouth were rejection.
“ And that at no cost.”
“ Yeah, of course… … !”
“ And.”
Shion continued the conversation, cutting off Claire’s answer to him by raising her voice.
“ I think the person who proposed it in the first place was wrong.”
“ If you are the subject… … .”
“ Think. Who, you or I, is more likely to achieve that ‘doing’?”
“… … .”
At that, Claire was silent.
If it had been before the return, he would have answered that he was himself without any hesitation.
Because only you in the world are destined to become a hero who will destroy the Demon King.
But now that it has already failed once, I am starting to feel a little skeptical about such a fate.
“ No matter how you look at it, I don’t think I’m any lower than you.”
That was true.
strength and power.
The status and weapons they have.
And even the things I’ve done against the magician so far.
In any case, Claire was not able to get ahead of Prince Zion.
Although he had acquired the absolute advantage of ‘future knowledge’ by returning, Prince Zion had even that equally.
“ Proposals are made by those who are superior to those who are below them.”
With those words, Zion’s eyes curve like a crescent moon.
“ So, on the contrary, I propose to you.”
It was obviously a smile, but everyone there felt an unknown ominous look.
“ Come under me.”
A very unusual word.
“ Then I will fulfill the ‘world salvation’ you desire.”
Saying that, Shion smiled as if he was a demon offering a deal he couldn’t refuse to someone who desperately wanted something.
“ What nonsense!”
“ Why not? There’s no law that says you shouldn’t serve someone just because you’re a hero, right?”
Of course, there was no such law.
But there were no warriors like that until now.
A hero is a person who leads everyone at the forefront and silences destruction according to the fate bestowed upon him by the world.
In a way, it was impossible for a hero who is a true ‘savior of the world’ to go under someone else.
“ Still like that… … .”
“ You have already failed to be saved once before your return.”
“!!!!!”
Once again, at the shocking words that came out of Zion’s mouth, the hero’s eyes fluttered.
“ In order not to fail again this time, I think it would be better to throw away that humble pride.”
“ No matter how much you tell the prince, you seem harsh.”
At Shion’s words, Turzan, who was behind him, got up and opened his mouth.
His momentum naturally arises with him and begins to dominate the surroundings.
However, that momentum did not spread to Zion.
Previously,
“ Where do you dare to look down on your master and radiate momentum? If I wanted to die right here, I would have said it in words.”
Because the blood emanating from Liusina completely pushed Turzan’s momentum away.
“ What? This damn witch… … .”
When the atmosphere in the study tightens as even Lane intervenes with him,
“ Both of you, stop and sit down.”
A calm voice came out of Claire’s mouth.
In her eyes, the childish agitation suddenly disappeared.
‘ It’s an overstatement, but… … That’s not wrong.’
Certainly, it could have been that they had a higher chance of preventing destruction by going under Prince Zion than helping them.
In fact, Prince Zion has already pushed the demonic beings that already exist in the capital into a corner, and the Demon Lord regards such Prince Zion as much more demanding than himself as a hero and recognizes him as an adversary.
‘ But… … .’
However, he could not serve Prince Zion right now.
After meeting with Prince Zion, deep in Claire’s heart, a question arose as to why she was chosen as a hero and why she returned.
In addition, if he even went under Prince Zion, his reason for existence seemed to disappear.
“… … Your Majesty’s suggestion, let’s think about it. Please give me some time.”
In the end, these were the only words that came out of Claire’s mouth.
“ I hope that thought doesn’t take long.”
Looking at the hero as if he knew how to say that, Shion smiled and opened his mouth.
“ Then, shall we try to tune in the next time we met like this?”
“ Tuning?”
“ Yeah, honestly, do you know that the routes so far overlapped a lot?”
“ Yes.”
Claire nodded at him.
“ If we know each other’s movements to some extent in advance, this will not happen and we will be able to move much more efficiently.”
Then you won’t have to run into each other or waste your time.
“ Certainly, that sounds like a necessity.”
It was Claire who immediately agreed to it because she had been fooled several times because of it up until now.
“ Then let’s start with the most urgent thing first.”
“ If it’s the most urgent thing… … Are you talking about a ‘floating city’ that will soon arrive in the capital?”
“ No.”
Shion shook his head at those words.
“ You know that I removed all the plants in the capital this time, right?”
“ Yeah, I even know that it made the Witchcraft’s preparations for war much quicker.”
“ I will delay the preparation.”
Still, it took a little more time for Shion himself and the warriors to face the great war.
Therefore, it could be said that delaying the preparations for warfare is the most urgent task at the moment.
“ How do you slow it down?”
“ Zellos.”
“ When it comes to Zelos, are you referring to one of the four Grand Dukes?”
“ Yeah. You should dig into it.”
Compared to the Empire, it is a new piece of blood, but there were beings who had other thoughts than the destruction of the world on the devil side.
And one of them was the Archduke of Jealousy, Zelos.
Unlike other archdukes, he is dissatisfied with the current system of demons and the demon king.
‘ In the chronicle, although it did not happen, he tried to rebel in the middle of the Great War.’
Sion was planning to use such Zelos to bring chaos to the demonic realm.
“ There seems to be a possibility. However, in order to stimulate the jealous archduke, you must first enter the Demon Station… … no way.”
The hero who had been talking up to that point looked at Zion as if he had noticed something.
“ Okay, you’re going to go into the magic world.”
“… … !”
The eyes of Lane and Turzan, who were listening to those words, shook.
Because it was a magical place that was an extinct place where no life could live in the past, and a land of death that is now infested with demons.
“ It’s a place we have to go later anyway, so it wouldn’t be a bad idea to rehearse ahead of time.”
Sion continues to speak with a tone of insignificance even while looking into those eyes.
“ And this is also an opportunity for you.”
“ A chance?”
“ You already know that there aren’t a lot of elements left in the Empire to help you become stronger, don’t you?”
Claire nodded her head.
As he said, there were few things in the Empire that would give him and his party an opportunity to grow dramatically.
Prince Zion in front of him ate most of them, and some of them disappeared altogether due to the changed future.
“ On the other hand, there are still a lot of such elements in the magic station.”
Zion’s words were true.
Although it is very dangerous compared to the Empire and it has to hide its identity, unlike what is known in the world, a human who has reached a certain level could survive in the Demonic Magic.
In addition, there were also myth-level weapons and hidden powers that could only be obtained there.
‘ Actually, the hero’s party in the chronicle also achieved rapid growth after entering the magic station.’
Shion sincerely hoped that the hero and his companions would grow up in the Demon Station.
That way you can use it more usefully later.
“ For sure… … That might be better.”
Unlike the others, the hero who knew such a future said with his eyes shining as if he understood Zion’s words to some extent.
Even so, Claire has been feeling thirsty for growth lately, and Shion’s words have no choice but to approach her with that much charm.
Even though she thinks that witchcraft is very dangerous, it was a place where she could expect rapid growth.
“ Then what will happen soon in the Empire… … .”
“ I will take care of it.”
At Shion’s reply that immediately flowed out, Claire looked at Lane and Turzan with worried eyes.
The two looked at each other as if to follow her decision and nodded their heads slightly.
From Claire’s mouth, who turned her head toward Zion again,
“ I see. Let’s go to the magic station.”
Words of acceptance flowed out.
“ There is one condition instead.”
“ Tell me.”
Saying that, there was a smile on Zion’s lips, as if he had predicted all this, as he looked at the hero.
* * *
A space in the abyss where even a single ray of light cannot be found.
“ Hisselor is dead.”
From such an abyss, a daunting and low voice came out, as if it would make you lose your mind just by listening to it.
“You know, not only Hisseller, but Keria, whom I sent with her, suffered as well?”
This time, on the contrary, a high-pitched voice answered.
“ They say that the plants were also destroyed. Isn’t this serious?”
“ Not serious. That too.”
Two of the six claws, which can be said to represent the external power of the Demon Demon, died at once.
In addition to that, the plant, which was the center of the ‘Great World’ they were building, was all destroyed, so there was no reason not to be serious.
And what’s worse is that all of this was done by just one person.
“ Sion Agnes. Perhaps this variable is bigger than we thought.”
“ So. I never thought it would be like this.”
Unlike the low voice, which did not contain any emotion, there was a deep interest in the words of the high voice that answered that way.
It was something I couldn’t find when the story about it came out last time.
“ I think we need to get rid of it quickly before it gets bigger. Do you have anyone to send now?”
“ I think you have to think a little bit. Even Hisseller was beaten, so it would be of no use to send in the half-hearted ones… … I mean, just in case, don’t even think about going out on your own.”
The low voice, sensing such interest, spoke to the high voice as if paying attention.
“ Why?”
” Have you already forgotten what ‘Future-Ann’ said that the twist of fate would be worse if we stepped forward?”
The fate of this world was destined for destruction.
Therefore, it could be seen that the magician was in a position to follow the order of things without disturbing his fate as much as possible.
Therefore, it was right not to do anything that would cause the twist of fate as much as possible.
“ It’s not like that guy is right. Besides, it seems to be getting more and more wrong lately.”
A high-pitched voice answered him in a cynical tone.
Obviously, as the saying goes, the frequency of predictions in the future is getting wrong these days, and on the contrary, the number of predictions is gradually decreasing.
I haven’t even said a word in the last month.
“ They say that predictions are difficult because there are so many variables with the new intervention. I can’t help it though. All the plans that are being made now are based on prophecies in the future.”
“ I don’t like that either. That the fate of the devil should be dictated by the words of that one guy.”
“ It is the king’s decision regarding him, so do not be dissatisfied any more. And now, I think about advancing the preparations for war rather than that… … .”
It was the moment when the low voice spoke as if in response to the dissatisfaction of such a high voice.
“ A new prophecy has come from within the future.”
A completely different voice rang out from the abyss.
A voice that sounds unstable.
“ Isn’t that a long-time prophecy? Seeing that you’ve come this far, I think it’s important. What did you say?”
A new voice, who had been silent for a moment, slowly opened his mouth at the high-pitched question.
“‘ The clock of doom has been twisted, and eons are about to arrive’… … .”
“… … !”
At those words, the faces of all beings in the abyss began to harden rapidly.
It was surprising that the clock of doom, or fate, had been twisted, but there was something more shocking to them than that.
eons (永劫).
Because there was only one person in the world in the past, the present and the future that the word eternity means.
“ What is that… … .”
Black Star Orrelion Khan Agnes.
The first emperor of the Agnes Empire and the one who still reigns as absolute fear for all beings of the devil even after hundreds of years have passed.
It was the name of the being.