End of Ruins (1) and End of Ruins (2)
‘… … .’
From sometime ago, the chatting in the Darkness Guild had been completely silent.
X-Large lifted all restrictions, but no one spoke first.
The first user to speak was one of dozens of mid-level executives.
-Where did all those monsters come from?
-Couldn’t it be that Hyeon moved those monsters… .
– It’s impossible.
Fias, one of the top executives, intervened.
hoping someone would agree with him.
However, as the silence continued after a while, Pias hurriedly added his words.
– No, think about it everyone! It is unbelievable to move thousands or tens of thousands of monsters with the power of the user!
‘… … .’
-Among the monsters, there were high-ranking monsters like vampires, and even those that looked stronger than that! No matter how prefecture is, there’s no way you can move that much power, right?
It was at that time that X-Large’s chat came up.
-Then how should I explain this?
He said, replaying the scene that was recorded on Mayday’s broadcast.
The very scene where all the monsters bowed their heads at the girl who was presumed to be Ain.
-… that.
-You all know that the border city is run by undead troops, right? Hyun has been dealing with monsters since long ago. Even if the number increases a little, it won’t be incomprehensible.
-… … .
The chat window fell into silence once again.
‘Does Hyun have the ability to lead monsters?’
‘Hyeon’s ability? Or maybe it’s the ability of someone in the Shade Guild?’
‘If I can command a monster like that, swallowing one or two small and medium guilds is a piece of cake!’
The reason why X-Large asked Mayday to broadcast was to raise awareness of the Shade Guild to the still immature executives.
Because they only regarded the existence of Hyeon as a slightly better user than a ranker.
However, when the broadcast ended, the awareness of the top executives, including X-Large, rose even more.
It was because they also did not think that Hyun could move such a force at will.
Bearshield muttered to himself.
-If that’s really Hyun’s ability… . It’s ridiculously difficult to get even one NPC’s affinity, but I don’t know how they managed to move so many monsters.
-I must have persuaded a guy like the monster corps commander.
-That’s more difficult. It’s close to impossible for users to gain the trust of core NPCs in the world.
NPCs with artificial intelligence of 1.5 generations or higher were greatly affected by the user’s trivial tone.
In addition, the quests that could be received by barely raising the favor rate boasted an absurd level of difficulty.
That was the reason ordinary users couldn’t buy their ‘trust’.
– What is certain is that there is a huge NPC force behind Hyun.
‘perhaps… .’
X-Large’s instinct said this.
Maybe Hyun has already risen to a position where he can’t be touched.
The relationship between Hyun and ‘darkness’ could be roughly guessed from the contents of the history quest.
If that woman who briefly appeared on Mayday’s broadcast was ‘dark’… ?
At first glance, a silver-haired woman who seemed to be a user.
Is it really dark?
Because X-Large wasn’t sure, and because of the importance of the information, he swallowed the remark to himself.
‘If my assumption is correct, Hyun is taking the best NPC in the world as a colleague.’
However, if that woman was really dark, it would be a long way from Darkness’ point of view to go beyond the shade.
‘I have one more reason not to be hostile to Hyun.’
In the ensuing X-Large chat, I could feel the chaos.
After a while, he said something that would not be easy as a guild leader.
– For the time being, when dealing with the Shade Guild… . You’d better forget about guild rankings.
The rankings we have maintained so far may not mean anything… I didn’t even get the word out.
It was because those words would completely destroy the pride of the guild members.
However, if I don’t say this much, there might be some executives who get drunk on the status of the guild and make wrong decisions.
Just like Fias made a mistake in the past.
‘… … .’
The executives each felt different feelings.
Xlarge’s remark just now.
No one would not have noticed that Darkness had indirectly circumvented the fact that it was below the Shade.
– I think you need to review the plans you have made in advance. We’ll bring this up again at a later meeting.
While everyone was deep in thought, Darkness’ guild chatting went quiet again.
***
Even after the war, Hyun’s main quest did not disappear.
It seemed that the quest would be completed only when Louise woke up all the subordinates, so Hyun decided to prioritize personal maintenance.
Some time passed even after the sudden night hit Carinta Island.
The destroyed city was rapidly restored thanks to the help of the island’s inhabitants and the undead still remaining on the island.
Residents still talked about the miracle of that day at every opportunity.
The existence of harmony was more deeply established in their hearts.
Another special change, a new statue has appeared in the temple of Carinta Island!
An unknown angel who descended with demons to save the island.
Hyun naturally laughed when he saw the residents praying to Ain.
“I heard that if you receive prayer, you can use the power of empathy. Is there any special change for you?”
“doesn’t exist. Are your wings gone now?”
Unfortunately, Ain is an ordinary user.
It seemed that the people’s prayers could not handle the power of empathy.
The day after taking a day off in the city like that.
Hyun headed back to the ruins.
“I want to go too!”
Originally, I was only going to take Louise with me, but somehow Ain came along as well.
Do you want to enjoy the freedom liberated from Caidrial?
Hyungwon nodded without saying anything.
There was a possibility that someone, including the regressor’s guild, might remain inside the ruins.
The war is over, but the real work has just begun.
<Main Quest: End of Hibernation>
-Those who served the darkness are asleep nearby.
-Help Louise to awaken her minions.
“It will be fine now. All the dangerous guys around are gone.”
“Okay, then.”
In the deserted ruins where no one was present, Louise released empathy again.
“… … .”
Hyun felt a chill for a moment.
Right after releasing empathy, Louise’s eyes seemed to shine terribly.
“huh… ?”
And after a while, I fell into doubt.
It was because Louise, who looked around for a moment, soon sealed her empathy again.
“Why did you suddenly quit?”
“I remembered the location.”
“entire… ?” They say the number of subordinates exceeds 10,000.”
“Not all of them, but I plan to wake up those sleeping nearby one by one.”
Louise seemed to have researched an efficient method in her own way.
“I don’t know how long it will take to wake up all my men. Wouldn’t it be safer to do it only occasionally than to be unleashing empathy all day?”
“hmm… . It is.”
“It is!”
From then on, the party started following Louise.
Aren’t there any regressor guild members or paladins left inside the ruins?
Hyun, who had been accompanying Louise with such thoughts, soon realized that her concerns were overblown.
I’ve been to every nook and cranny of the site, but I’ve never found anyone.
The expedition made up of NPCs did not come across either.
Busy with rebuilding the city, it seemed that the island’s manager hadn’t sent an expedition yet.
‘It’s kind of boring.’
Louise was busy waking up her subordinates and sharing Haewoo with them, so Hyeon couldn’t talk much with her.
However, in the position of following her, the reality is that there is nothing to do.
‘It’s good that you brought Ain. She almost died of boredom.’
If Ain hadn’t been his companion, he might have spent the day yawning.
Fortunately, there were a lot of topics with Ain.
Is it a petty rebellion against having sold oneself? In real life, Ain didn’t tell her what she was doing for a month, but this time, she was able to find out what she was doing.
“There is nothing special. To the extent that I spent most of my time in the Demon Realm?”
“A demon world?”
“Yeah, I raised my level and made achievements there, and I learned many other things besides that. As for how it was… .”
Hearing Ain’s explanation, Hyun’s impression was exactly like this.
A demonic version of the knight’s coffin.
In a word, Ain seemed to have become much stronger through the use of ‘Pandemonium Training’.
In the meantime, he received instruction from various dukes, cleared quests, and sometimes even experienced life-or-death hunting.
Hyun listened to Ain’s story.
Since Hyeondo was a user of the sky in Asura Online, he did not know much about the abyss, such as the ecology of the Pandemonium.
Moreover, even in Asura Online, there were almost no users who became devil’s apostles, so Ain’s saga was even more interesting.
“Oh right! There is something I got as a gift from the Duke of Succubus.”
“what… ?”
Ain suddenly rummaged through his inventory.
He took out something like a suspicious pink potion and smiled sinisterly.
“Whoops, what is this?”
“That’s it… .”
“Ah, viewing item information is prohibited!”
When Hyeon tried to touch the potion, Ain quickly ran away from him.
“Don’t look and guess.”
“It’s weak… ?”
“… !”
At that moment, Ain’s eyes became round.
Hyeon held out his hand to Ain, who was only blind, and said.
“Oh hey, give it to me quickly.”
“Uh, huh? I was thinking of writing… I’m going to write Hyun… ? Hopefully me… ?!”
“That’s not it, why did you get something with an age limit!”
“Sah, it doesn’t matter… ! I only have a few months left anyway… .”
Time flew by as we chatted about such useless things.
shoot-!
Before they knew it, the party reached the twelfth area where a huge waterfall fell.
The most complex, mysterious, and widest area.
Louise said most of her men were asleep here.
How much longer will it take to wake them all up… .
It was a long-distance task that might take a few more days.
Whoops.
Magi raged and stopped.
After freeing Empathy once on top of the bridge over the giant waterfall and then sealing it again, Louise muttered apologetically to the party.
“that… That’s all there was to help.”
“huh?”
“That means you don’t need to protect me from now on.”
“Are you really going to be okay?”
To Hyeon’s question, Louise answered by beating her chest.
“Hehe, 10,000 men will follow me, so what’s the problem! I’m not afraid even if the entire Knights come rushing in!”
“That’s about it… ?”
“No, to be honest, going to the Knights is a bit scary… The users at that time are no longer my opponents!”
“but.”
Hyun nodded.
Even with twenty high-ranking monsters, it is enough power to destroy a tolerably prestigious guild.
Perhaps, among the monsters, there might be someone stronger than Louise.
Because she is gradually gaining power worthy of the darkness. She will not be able to act as a guardian forever.
“If anything happens, use this right away.”
Hyun said to the necklace magic tool.
Then, the same voice came from Louise’s necklace.
An invention made by NPCs who cannot use the whisper system.
“If you’re in a hurry, don’t forget to use the private room scroll right away. Understand?”
“i get it!”
That’s how Louise’s affairs were easily arranged.
But it was still too early to get out of the ruins.
“Ain, you’re going back soon.”
“Hyun?”
“I still have one thing left to do.”
“shall we go together!”
“Not this time.”
Hyun shook his head quietly.
“If you follow me, you might die.”
The 13th section of the ruins.
The statue at the entrance of the passage is the same guy you saw on Ufia Island.
There’s almost certainly a clue about chaos in the next area.
Perhaps that passage is the entrance to a new Nether.
‘Before, I lived, and only Ain died alone.’
Hyun recalled what had happened on Yupia Island.
Inside the room entered through the mirror.
As soon as I opened the door leading to the Nether, a purple mist came over me like a tidal wave.
Fog that mixes everything in the world into a turbid state.
While he was fine from the fog, Ain died as soon as he touched it.
Even though they were in a state of assimilation with each other.
The possibility of the same thing happening this time was strong, so Hyeon decided not to take Ain with him.
“What are you talking about? You left me alone again?!”
“It’s not just you, I have to go alone.”
Hearing that, Ain started to riot as expected.
“There is no guarantee that you will die again this time! It might be different this time!”
“No, that makes sense… .”
“I’d rather take a day off! Is there anything you can do alone anyway? If I die, I will watch current broadcasts all day long!”
Was the gap of a month long?
Separating Ain was not easy.
‘It can’t be helped.’
After about 10 minutes of rioting, Hyun sighed and thought of a compromise.
If you think about it, there was another passage connected to the nether inside the 13th floor of the dungeon on Ufia Island.
If it’s the same as then, you won’t die as soon as you enter the 13th section of the ruins.
Like going through a mirror, you’ll be safe until you cross a special boundary line in the area.
Even if Ain died by mistake, he could bear the loss of about a day.
No matter what he did in the Pandemonium, Ain’s level was already higher than that of Latisse, who was ranked first in the Hall of Fame.
“Okay, only up to the 13th precinct.”
Ain’s smile deepened with Hyun’s permission.
***
‘It’s finally here.’
Hyun finally arrived at the passage he had found with Louise.
another angle, another angle.
Then, he crossed the hallway guarded by the statue that shed bloody tears.
I deliberately slowed down.
It was because there were so many suspicious things around, and the atmosphere was not strange no matter what popped out at any time.
“Hyun, this is a bit suspicious.”
Ain muttered as he looked at his own shadow reflected on the wall.
“That shadow doesn’t feel like mine.”
“What are you talking about?”
“therefore… It seems to wriggle sometimes!”
“Are you dreaming? the shadow… ?”
Hyun looks at the shadow as she said. Again, she turned her gaze to the magic lantern behind her.
According to common sense, a shadow cannot move alone.
Did Ain misunderstand that the light source illuminating the shadows was shaking?
“Um, I don’t know.”
Hyun said and smiled softly.
It was obvious why Ain reacted so sensitively to everything.
From the moment she saw the statue at the entrance, she was very nervous because she was afraid that the ghost would appear again.
“Hehe, aren’t you too scared?”
“no… !”
“If that’s the case, why don’t we go back now?”
“It’s not! The shadow really moved by itself!」
It seemed that Ain wouldn’t admit it easily, so Hyun decided to clear up his doubts.
‘reversal.’
Pod! He put Ain’s form in and took out his own form.
If that’s the case, you’ll have to admit that you overreacted.
So, are you done now?
The moment I was about to say that.
‘… … ?’
Hyeon and Ain had no choice but to stop when they saw the shadows reflected on the wall.
Even though the person has completely changed, why does the shadow still have the appearance of a demihuman?
through. The head of the shadow slowly turned to the side.
And after a while, it started running away like crazy.
“What, what?!”
Until the shadows running along the wall disappeared into the distance, Hyeon stood in a daze and couldn’t move.
Ain belatedly shouted as if he was unfair.
“look! Ears, you’re a ghost! I’m right, but Hyun said he was just scared of me… !”
“Wait, okay, calm down!”
Huu, Hyun took a deep breath and tried to grasp the situation once again.
what happened… ?
monster… No, was it really a ghost?
Even after using the reversal several times, and even disabling assimilation, the shadows of himself and Ain did not reappear.
Even though I stand under the lantern, the shadow does not shine.
‘He didn’t die without my knowledge, right?!’
Hyun quickly checked the status window.
Fortunately, that didn’t seem to be the case.
There was no phenomenon in which his physical strength became negative, and Ain was still by his side.
What if not dead?
That’s when Hyun was in serious trouble.
Parrrrr! The magic lamp started flickering wildly.
“Kyaaak!”
Ain’s shoulders shook greatly.
Hyun immediately assimilated back to Ain.
“What else is this time?!”
The lights decorating the hallway turned off and on repeatedly.
Pod, at some point the blinking stopped.
A hallway filled with ominous silence.
Above them, magical lamps emitting purple light were shining brightly.
‘… !’
Hyun’s eyes shone fiercely.
So far, lanterns have shown only two colors.
Blue in the surface world, orange in the symmetrical world.
But after suddenly flickering as if out of order, all the lanterns turned purple.
Hyun had seen a similar color somewhere.
Yes, there was a purple fog like this in the Nether when I first entered, and even after the fog cleared to some extent, the world was still light purple.
Tring!
[The mission goal of the final awakening quest: Transcendence has been updated!]
-Are you a person of deep faith?
-If not, you will never find the entrance to the second world.
A quest message suddenly popped up.
This will also prove that he has come very close to chaos.
At this point, Hyun decided to send Ain back.
「Ain.」
“uh… ?”
“Let’s go back here.”
Hyun’s serious voice forced Ain to break his stubbornness.
Because she was aware of the fact that she was being forced to.
I wanted to spend a little time with Hyun, so I tried to use a small group.
“Okay, but you have to turn on the broadcast instead.”
“of course.”
“And I’ll close the connection a little early today.”
“Why… ?”
“… … .”
“… … ?”
“… … !”
“Okay, I will… .”
“Okay, did you promise?!”
So, Ain ended the matter by compromising with Hyeon.
We can’t play together, but this wouldn’t be such a bad exchange.
That is, if his intentions were conveyed properly through a fairy tale.
“Well, then it can’t be helped. Hyun is even accepting that request… Because I can’t be stubborn… .”
‘… ?’
Hyun didn’t know what Ain was saying, but he went back the way he came to send her back.
However, it was also at that time that I realized that things were taking an unusual turn.
Ain, who was crossing the corridor under the purple lantern, murmured strangely.
“Did we come this deep?”
I think I walked for about 5 minutes from a place where I couldn’t hear the sound of the waterfall, but now I’m walking outside for the 10th minute. However, the exit was still not visible.
“It seems you walked a lot unexpectedly.”
“no… .”
Hyeon realized what he had forgotten about Ain’s question.
“It’s true that you should have already arrived in the entire area.”
There is only one passage from District 12 to District 13.
In other words, it was necessary to use a means called ‘prayer’ to return to the original place in District 13.
Because the only way to go back the one-way road is to skip the world by prayer.
But can I use that method now that Louise is not around?
Without Louise, I’d never had a single successful prayer.
「Ain.」
“huh?”
“I’m sorry for saying this… .”
Cold sweat ran down Hyun’s forehead.
There was no way to go back since he had left the return scroll only to Louise.
No, there was no guarantee that the return scroll would work here.
[You cannot summon a partner here!]
I tried activating the coupling, but only such a message came back.
“It seems we’ve been trapped here.”
***
Not being able to go back has a completely different meaning than not being able to find the way.
A closed room, not a maze!
If you don’t know how to get out, if you can’t cross the world with prayer, you’re bound to be stuck here forever.
‘What do we do?’
Hyun suddenly became impatient.
What is more fearful than death in Asrian is the situation in which one cannot even die.
He and Ain were in exactly the same situation.
‘Well, there are all these places… ?’
Hyun assimilated with Ain and ran forward.
A few minutes, a few tens… .
No matter how far I went, there was no sign of the end of the hallway.
Only repeated scenery appears.
The magic lamp hanging on the wall never flickered again. That, too, is natural.
According to the regularity of the map, there was no ‘passage’ in District 13.
But still can’t understand
If District 13 is a place without “passages” or magic circles… It didn’t physically make sense that the same type of road would continue forever.
‘no way… .’
A piece of knowledge he heard one day passed through Hyun’s head.
Ringwanderung phenomenon.
You think you’re moving forward, but aren’t you actually circling the same place in a huge circle?
As soon as that thought came to Hyun’s mind, Hyun canceled the assimilation.
“Ain, wait alone for a moment.”
“Yes… ?”
“I have something to experiment with.”
“Uh huh? wait for a sec!”
Hyun is about to leave, leaving himself alone on the ominous purple corridor.
Ain ran quickly and grabbed Hyeon’s arm.
Hyun couldn’t shake off Ain because he was no match for his agility.
“Don’t make funny jokes! Where are you going alone in a place like this?!”
“I’m not kidding!”
“really… ? Then, can I just log out in the meantime?”
“No, I’m connected, I’ll be right back.”
Hyeon left Ain in place and ran quickly.
The feeling of running through a dark tunnel.
A myriad of purple lights flashed across my vision.
How many minutes did it run like that?
‘As expected, my prediction was correct!’
Hyeon, who was only running forward, soon ran into Ain holding a flame in his hand.
It was the moment when speculation became certain.
‘It was hovering around the same place.’
District 13 was not a place that seemed like a single road like before.
It was a real single road, and at the same time it was a closed room.
About 30 minutes thereafter.
Hyun and Ain tried various things, such as breaking down walls and ceilings, and finding secret passages.
But the more I did, the more I was convinced that I couldn’t escape this secret room.
[The mission goal of the final awakening quest: Transcendence has been updated!]
-Are you a person of deep faith?
-If not, you will never find the entrance to the second world.
Looking at the quest window again, I bit my lip.
Now I understand the meaning of this sentence.
The meaning of faith is to ask if you know how to pray, right?
It meant that if she couldn’t cross the world with prayer like Louise, she would never be able to escape from this place for the rest of her life.
“… … .”
No, it’s not like you can’t get out of your life.
Now, there was only one way left.
How could things be like this… .
Haha, an absurd laugh suddenly burst out of Hyeon’s mouth.
“Ain. thank you.”
“… ?”
“If you hadn’t asked me to come with you, it would have been a big deal.”
Hyun stretched out both arms.
To implement the only way to escape from here now.
“Now, kill me.”
“Uh… ?!”
He briefly explained to Ain, who couldn’t hide his embarrassment.
“This is the only way to get out of here.”
“really… You want me to kill you?”
“okay.”
Ain could have committed suicide by himself.
It was because he possessed many skills that consumed his physical strength alone, such as potential explosion and determination to disappear.
But he wasn’t.
If someone didn’t kill me, I had to be stuck in the same place for the rest of my life without dying.
So, Hyeon considered it lucky that Ain followed him today.
“Hmm, I see what you mean.”
After a while, Ain also understood Hyun’s intention and agreed.
“Can I kill the way I want?”
“huh?”
For a moment, Hyun felt uneasy.
Was it just an illusion to think that the corner of Ain’s mouth went up for a moment?
Ain’s body blazed with flames.
Suddenly, a claw rose from her right hand.
Ifrit’s claw that turned countless enemies to ashes.
“Well, then I’ll go… ?”
Ain stuttered a little.
anger. Like a wolf attacking its prey, it burrowed into Hyun’s arms in an instant.
He hugged his back with his left hand, and the claws of the other right hand pierced the stomach of the string.
“… !”
Hyun felt the heat cover his whole body.
Even the face where the flame didn’t reach at all.
The breath of Ain, who faced him up close, was hotter than he thought.
[died!]
[The transcendental person takes care of you.]
[The time it takes to revive is reduced by half.]
[Unable to access for 24 hours.]
