– How much time is left? What time is it now?
└ It’s 10 o’clock. There’s about an hour left.
– I’ve skipped all the story parts, and I don’t think I can cut down on the combat time more than this.
– With 10/10/10, the boss’s HP is just way too high.
– Isn’t the Part 3 boss the Pope? If Sariel and Ramiel didn’t make eye contact, we could have skipped that part; why didn’t we?
-(Manager 1): Before going into the Part 3 boss battle, we need to kill an angel and rescue Daniel as a preliminary task.
└ (Manager 2): + And we have to not just kill him but also release him.
– Are you saying we have to let Daniel go? facepalm LOL
└ He’s the source of all evil; how can we endure this?
– Honestly, it’s more impressive that he hasn’t died yet.
└ This is just ridiculous gameplay;;
└ Adella has gotten so strong that it seems easier compared to Part 1.
[LG Chaos: The final phase has a double lariat pattern. Be careful of the instant kill mechanics that you can’t block in the mid-range!]
[Veixel: Adella is rotating behind, so don’t dodge too early and slice as much as you can!]
– It’s an instant kill, but we still have to slice it, LOL! How do we do that?!
– NoName manages to pull it off.
– It’s hard to even follow it with my eyes.
Words that are easy to say are consecutively unleashed upon Na-me like spells.
Yet, with machine-like precision, Na-me dodges the weapons of the other angels.
Like catching a fly, she grabs an angel’s head and crashes it into the ground.
Without Na-me having to say anything, Adella ends the battle by stabbing a dagger into the heart of the angel.
CLANG-!
A crack appeared where the angels were standing.
The statues were serving as sealing stones.
A desolate land, where not a single plant was growing, split into two, and a mechanical sound of gears started echoing from between the cracks.
CLUNK-CLUNK-
A huge animal cage, which could be found in a circus, rose from the ground.
And inside it, Na-me easily recognized the fallen people.
“Daniel, Repi…”
Basking under the piercing sunlight, Daniel rubbed his eyes. Having not seen light for a long time, it took time for his pupils to adjust.
Seeing two familiar silhouettes outside the prison, Daniel smiled brightly.
“Adella! Forest Keeper! You came to save us!”
Daniel rose, holding onto the bars with a bright expression.
Watching him, Adella bit her lip in exasperation.
“How could you…! Because of you, our Abyss and NoName! Almost all of us died!”
“What are you talking about, Adella? I…”
“I knew everything… You’re a pawn of the Empire!”
Adella swung her fist through the bars.
With that hit, Daniel flew against the opposite side and fell helplessly.
“If you hadn’t seduced Gestalt, this wouldn’t have happened. Why did you do it?!”
Adella almost pleaded, her voice breaking.
How many relives were sacrificed because of that absurd invasion operation?
“Because of you, we almost died! No, I’m sure we all died! You pushed us into that abyss knowingly!”
Adella could recall every memory from all the relives as if they had happened just yesterday.
“Speak! Why did you do it?!”
“Do you have to make it sound like I caused everything wrong?”
“Uh?”
With both hands gripping the bars, Daniel shouted hoarsely.
“Did I steal the laurel? Or did I personally conduct the experiment of Yggdrasil? I was just following orders. I’m a victim too!”
“This… This…”
“You know I came here knowing that Repi is our mother, right? Can you ever empathize with my situation? My mom is being held hostage by the Empire, and if I slip up in front of the Kingdom, my head is on the line! No, you wouldn’t understand at all. You trash from the streets have no precious ones to protect!”
With bloodshot eyes, he continued to unleash his grievances. Each word felt disgusting to Adella, who closed her ears, but he persisted.
“I’ve been hiding for ten years, trying to avoid being killed by the Kingdom. Slaves sacrificed in experiments? Who cares? Whether they die starving on the streets or in the forest, it’s all the same.”
“So you knew Yggdrasil was a summoning circle for demons and did that anyway?”
“Demons? Ha. Listen closely. Whichever demon gets summoned, it’ll be a better life than the world we have now.”
“What?”
The essence of the laurel retrieval was ultimately a power struggle among the demon worshippers.
The Empire faction, led by the Crown Prince, even went so far as to hide the growth of Yggdrasil under the pretense of forest purification in order to deceive the Emperor.
However, truth can’t be hidden forever. While the naive delegation transferred the laurel, spies planted by the Jin Chronicle and the Kingdom uncovered the truth.
The Empire and the Kingdom attacked each other, determined to seize the laurel by force, leading to the five laurel branches scattering everywhere.
“The world is already in the hands of demon worshippers. Whether it’s the Empire or the Kingdom, it doesn’t matter! If one side wins quickly, it’ll be better to end the war!”
The Pope worshipping Baal Zebub and the Crown Prince worshipping Belphegor.
In addition, there were fanatics worshipping various other demons scattered everywhere.
Knowing the true power of the laurel, Daniel planned to use the Eternal Laurel as a bargaining chip to save his mother. However, due to Na-me’s appearance, he felt threatened and had to hand over the laurel.
If she were to side with either the Empire or the Kingdom, his life would be at stake, laurel or no laurel.
“Then what’s the reason you planned the Academy Invasion Operation?!”
“Gestalt contacted the headquarters to check my identity, you see? I had no choice if I wanted to stay in the Empire for long.”
To destroy evidence, he sent an anonymous tip to the Jin Chronicle and caused the other unaware members to betray him.
The now empty Abyss branch 15 was destroyed by the Jin Chronicle, and taking advantage of the confusion, Daniel escaped. At first glance, it seemed like a perfect operation.
However, the Jin Chronicle, sensing something amiss, preemptively contacted the Kingdom’s Inquisitor, causing his plans to fall apart.
“I’m going to kill you… I’m really going to kill you!”
“Do you think I’m sharing all this with you without any thoughts of trusting you? You can kill me anytime, you monsters! You’re looking for the Creation Laurel, right? I assure you that without the Execution Sword of Phama, you can never defeat the Pope. I know where it is.”
Daniel said with confidence.
As the screams were exchanged, Repi’s head flinched, as if trying to wake up. He gently patted her head.
“Get Repi and me out of here. I won’t ask for anything more. Why do you look at me so fiercely? The weak live cowardly like this. Why blame me? You should blame this world.”
“…”
“You don’t even know where Gestalt is, do you? If you don’t make a decision quickly, that uncle might die, you know?”
Currently, the laurels in Na-me’s possession are ‘Eternal’, ‘Life’, and ‘Diligence’.
‘Creation’ was in the hands of the Pope, and ‘Death’ was still missing.
[Daehagwonsaengsalryeo: If you just let Daniel and Repi go here, I’ll tell you the random spawn coordinates with the Execution Sword of Phama. The initial chance has Daniel lying, so you can’t just kill him because he said something! If you go and find no sword, you have to go back and argue it out.]
“Is the sister really going to believe that bastard’s words? He’s been lying from start to finish! Who do you think caused us to go through this?”
– If we kill him, I really want to stab him with a knife~
– If there’s no Execution Sword of Phama, we really can’t take down the Pope?
└ While we distract the fanatics, we should be looking for the Life Vessel too.
– Let’s be resolute, Room Leader. If he dies here, Adella dies with him.
– T_T If it weren’t for the time attack, it would be easier to just cut him down.
– Are there that many spawn locations for the Execution Sword of Phama?
└ There are a lot, at least 30 minutes, and if you’re unlucky, it can take over two hours.
[Daehagwonsaengsalryeo: Room Leader, it can’t be, right? If you kill him, we won’t be able to break in time!]
“What are you thinking about? What will you do if he betrays us again?!”
Daniel was relaxed. Meanwhile, Adella was pleading, her eyes glistening.
“Right now, sister is… just the vessel for the original body’s spirit. Have you ever imagined the pain the original owner suffered? You have enough power. You could easily defeat the Pope without needing that Execution Sword!”
Suddenly, Adella mentioned the word “vessel.”
-?????????
-??????
– Did you just say “vessel”?
– What? How did you know?
– I feel scared now.
– Is she realizing the existence of the player right now?
– DDDDDAAAAAAAHHHHH!
– LOL, this is insane.
– Has the end of the human age finally arrived?
“I understand that we need to reclaim the laurel as soon as possible. But how does it make sense to spare that guy to find a way to defeat the Pope? Who caused us so many deaths to escape that hellish Academy!? It’s not like we need to lower ourselves to the level of Demon Kings or demons or those kinds of scum to do it!”
Adella thought the two years after failing the Academy exam was hell itself, but she had long since adapted to that routine.
And she hated Daniel so much for thoroughly destroying it that she wanted to slit his throat immediately.
If it weren’t for his manipulation, wouldn’t there have been days where she could have gotten along well with the other members? She continued trying to persuade Na-me.
With her lips quivering, Na-me hesitated to respond. She blinked incessantly, scanning Adella’s face and body.
“Demon King… Demon King… Let’s talk later.”
Na-me grabbed her sword.
Adella flinched and took a step back.
Still, Na-me took a step toward the cage, mud splattering everywhere, dirtying the green grass.
“Hurry and get us out. I’ve been here long enough and it’s starting to itch.”
“I understand all your actions, Daniel. You’ve worked hard to protect your mother while not betraying the heavenly principles; you must have done this to survive in a harsh world.”
“Sister, no, NoName!”
“I knew you’d understand. You must have abandoned all your comrades in the forest to escape, right?”
Adella and Daniel displayed conflicting emotions.
“But just having heavenly principles isn’t enough of a reason for me to forgive you. Is that all that’s stopping me from killing you here?”
“Are you joking? If I die… the Pope won’t even stand a chance if he woke up… Do I look like I’m lying?”
“When gambling, people always think they’re lucky when winning, but why do they blame others when losing?”
“No. You can’t do that… You mustn’t! You can’t do that to me! You should think carefully. If you kill me, all of you will be wiped out in the Vatican!”
“If you stepped into the gaming arena, you must pay the price when leaving. It’s only natural.”
Na-me unsheathed her sword.
Daniel dashed to the opposite side of the prison, trying to distance himself, but the glistening sword from Na-me could pierce through the entire prison.
Her unwavering, icy gaze made it clear she would surely kill him.
Daniel’s heart raced beyond control, delivering him agony.
“I’m going to die, die, die.”
The man grasped one side of his chest and knelt on the cold iron floor.
When he realized it wasn’t just fear causing his heart to ache, he could see Na-me’s expression through the slanted bars, devoid of emotions.
“You’re an adult, aren’t you? You have to take responsibility.”
