Episode 324
324. Persuasion
Nyx was not the only god who conspired with Artaros.
‘That guy is behind it. ‘Not the Knicks.’
Ryumin gritted his teeth after finding out who the god behind it was.
Ordering him to be killed and setting Artaros as the boss for round 20 were all done by that primordial god.
‘You’re trying to use Artaros to get rid of me by saying that if you do as you’re told, the curse will be lifted.’
I’m angry, but there’s nothing I can do.
The opponent is the primordial god, whom even Artaros cannot do anything about.
I wanted revenge, but right now I have to avoid this crisis.
‘First of all, all of Artaros’ combat skills will be deleted.’
Flipping through his memories like a bookshelf, he completely erased all the skills Artaros had learned.
Then, I found a way to release the space of nothingness, and the method was simpler than I thought.
‘The space of nothingness is a technology that Artaros maintains in real time. Therefore, if you erase the memory of learning a skill, the space will naturally disappear.’
I got the information I wanted, but there’s one more thing I need to know.
The question is how to pass round 20.
‘It would be best to remove Artaros’ curse and kill him, but that is impossible.’
According to my memory, the curse cannot be broken except by the person who placed the curse.
If so, a possible way is to change the settings of the 20th round boss back to the original.
‘If you remove Artaros from the boss position, you will be able to pass 20 rounds with ease.’
But how do you change it?
Even Ryumin couldn’t figure out how to do that.
No matter how much I searched through Artaros’ memories, there was no plausible method.
‘I can’t help it. The only way is to persuade Artaros.’
[You looked through all your memories.]
[Are you sure you want to end memory deletion? Y/N]
‘End.’
Ryumin’s time, who was trapped in Artaros’ past, has returned to its original state.
* * *
Time is relative.
To get a feel for that, just look at the remaining round time.
[Time remaining until round end: 01:47:08]
‘Only 3 seconds have passed.’
It feels like I’ve been going through memories all night, but only 3 seconds have passed.
When I looked around to see if it was a lie, I saw my colleagues hiding using monsters as shields.
It’s the same scene I saw 3 seconds ago.
“What did Black Scythe feed you?”
“You opened the angel’s mouth and put something in, right?”
That time when people are curious.
The pure white space disappeared and the familiar darkness of the boss room came.
The space of nothingness has been released.
“uh? “I’m back where I came from!”
“The buff lock function has been unlocked!”
“Is it because of the potion that Black Scythe gave him?”
Strictly speaking, it was because his memories were erased, but there was no time to explain to his colleagues.
Right now, I have something to ask Artaros.
“Artaros. “Open your eyes.”
[Uhm… … .]
Artaros, still chained, opened his sleepy eyes.
[Where am I?]
“Wake. “I only erased how to use techniques, but I didn’t erase the memories of fighting with me.”
[You guy… … Black scythe?]
Artaros, who had been blinking, soon showed a clear look as if he understood the situation.
[It did. I was fighting you. Then, after taking a strange potion, I started to remember… … .]
“What you took was a potion that erased memories.”
[what?]
“I was able to turn you into a dumb idiot according to my will. but… … .”
Ryumin said as if he was being generous.
“I didn’t erase the memories, but left room for conversation like this.”
[Is this something to be thankful for? Hmm, that’s not even funny.]
Artaros snorted, but couldn’t help but wonder inwardly.
If they could have turned him into an idiot, why did they leave him with memories so he could talk to himself?
[Right. Is there something you want from me?]
“All you have to do is answer a few simple questions.”
[That’s not even funny. You think I, who was trying to exterminate you just a moment ago, will cooperate?]
“I think you’ll cooperate?”
[On what basis do you say that?]
“You actually want to die.”
[…] … .]
Tendons appeared on Artaros’ once neat forehead.
“I’m sick of living now. You want to lift the curse of immortality. is not it?”
[How did you know that?]
“I read your past. “When you erase a person’s memory, you can see the person’s entire past.”
[…] … It’s unpleasant.]
Artaros furrowed his brows, revealing anger for the first time.
[I can’t believe my past was revealed in detail to a mere human. It couldn’t be more humiliating than this.]
“Instead of feeling humiliated, you should be grateful. “If I hadn’t read the past, would I have had a chance to help you?”
[How can you help me?]
“It’s simple. “Take me to the human who cursed you.”
[what?]
“When I read the past, I found out that I went to that person and knelt down and prayed. But they didn’t lift the curse.”
[…] … .]
“So I’ll go and ask you to release me. “You will be able to persuade me because we are all human beings.”
[Are you going to go see that guy in person and ask him to lift my curse?]
“Is that so?”
He beat his chest as if asking for it to be left to him, but Artaros just looked at him with suspicious eyes.
[Let’s talk about it after loosening the chain.]
“good. Instead, you should be quiet.”
[do not worry.]
Ryumin lifted the chain rune and freed Artaros.
Then the people watching looked wide-eyed.
“Black Scythe released the angel.”
“What are you trying to do?”
“It seems like you two have been talking since a while ago?”
“I can’t hear what you’re saying clearly.”
“It would be dangerous to leave it like that… … .”
Although free from bondage, Artaros is not dangerous, contrary to people’s worries.
Anyway, he erased all the techniques he knew from his memory.
Of course, he couldn’t ignore it with just his physical ability, but as long as he was blocking it, he wouldn’t endanger other players.
‘There’s no way I could endanger it. ‘He will have no choice but to listen to my suggestion.’
As Ryumin looked at him with confident eyes, Artaros asked.
[Are you saying this because you know what kind of person the person who cursed me is?]
“I don’t know. “The only thing I can say is that I am a human being from another dimension.”
[But how are you going to persuade me?]
“well? I don’t have a way to do this either. “I’ll have to meet you first and hear your story.”
[Hmph, that sounds like there is no solution.]
“Still, I’m confident I can persuade you. Don’t you know? “Would it work if it came from the same person?”
[You’re saying this because you don’t know. That person is out of his mind.]
“That’s something to judge after seeing it in person.”
[Do you think I will let you meet that person?]
“huh. “I think so?”
[On what basis?]
“Aren’t you feeling like grasping at straws right now? “If there’s even the slightest chance of breaking the curse, shouldn’t we try?”
[…] … .]
Artaros was silent for a while, perhaps because he had a lot to think about.
[…] … It was true that I was good at persuading.]
“So I guess I’ll help you?”
[There must be something you want from me instead, right? Is there a way to get out of the current situation?]
“You’re not oblivious.”
Ryumin smiled at the corner of his mouth.
But even for a moment.
[Sorry, but there is no way.]
The corners of Ryumin’s mouth narrowed at the sound of despair.
“What are you talking about? “If you designated yourself as the boss for round 20, wouldn’t you know how to solve it?”
[I was not the one designated as the boss. It’s God. No matter how much I do, I can’t change the rules of the system.]
Ryumin knows too.
Because I saw it in Artaros’ memories.
‘I asked just in case, and it turned out to be me.’
But you can’t give up.
“Then you can ask that primordial god, right? “Please change the settings back to the original.”
[What excuse are you giving me to ask him for? Even the order to exterminate humans was not carried out.]
“You have to make excuses yourself. “Don’t you want to break the curse?”
[…] … .]
Artaros hesitated to answer.
That’s how desperate it is to lift the curse.
‘Actually, the reason Artaros moves is because of the primordial god. ‘He promised to lift the curse if we killed him as he was told.’
However, that memory has been completely erased by Ryu Min.
Because he won’t cooperate while he has that memory.
“Ask God right now. “Please change the settings for the 20th round boss back to the original.”
[…] … What next?]
“That way, if we pass the 20th round, we will meet the person who put the curse on you and convince him. “Of course, I don’t know how to move to another dimension, so I’ll have to help you out.”
[You’re not going to help me by saying that, right? It’s not a lie to avoid a situation, right?]
“Do I look like someone who would lie?”
[…] … Honestly, it looks that way?]
Ryumin sighed as if he was dumbfounded.
“You have no choice anyway. “The only way to break the curse is to trust me.”
[…] … Are you really going to keep your promise?]
“Protect it? To be honest, I would be happy if the curse were lifted and you died. Because it is the only opponent that can be matched against. Do you know how annoying it is to have enemies that keep respawning? Is there a way to lift the curse in such a situation? “I should be willing to help, so why not protect it?”
[…] … You are right.]
Artaros was completely persuaded by Ryumin’s words.
[Do not accept the offer. I will talk to God so that you and the humans here do not perish.]
“Good idea.”
[Instead, you must keep your promise.]
“I said I understood. “If we can escape the current crisis, I promise to actively cooperate in lifting the curse.”
Artaros nodded.
It was the moment when we joined hands with the enemy we had been fighting with just a moment ago.
“There’s no time, so move quickly.”
[Okay, okay… … .]
[Tsk tsk, I knew it would be like this.]
At the sound of a third party’s voice, Artaros and Ryumin froze like stone statues.
‘This voice… … .’
Ryumin raised his head at the familiar voice he heard from somewhere.
A huge eyeball can be seen through the torn space.
This is the eyeball seen in Artaros’ memories.
‘Chaos, the god of chaos.’
He, the god of the beginning and the culprit of all events, came.
