Chapter 804
Chapter 804 – The Sorcerer’s Research (6) Fin
— Park Seung-yeop
As the chaos at the Antarctic Base was being resolved, I came to understand a few facts.
It took 25 years for Doctor Teacher, Older Sister Yusong, and my colleagues to rescue me from the hands of the prisoner.
It seems civilization began to crumble from the seventh year, meaning there were about 18 years of disorder.
This period is known to people as the Great War.
The tragedy of the Antarctic Base was one of many tragedies born from the Great War.
A land where humans cannot survive due to extreme cold.
When the connection with the Management Bureau was severed, they couldn’t endure anymore.
At first, they tried to escape to relatively nearby Chile, but an unknown entity was said to have destroyed the escape vessel.
After that, the events that unfolded were somewhat predictable.
Lack of food, crumbling order.
People shriveling up day by day.
The gradual onset of cannibalism.
“Hoo… you have no idea.”
“Stop.”
“How does it feel when a colleague you lived with like family looks at your body with those bloodshot eyes?!”
“Colonel Philip Morrison. You don’t need to say more.”
When the number of survivors fell below double digits, they became capable of doing anything to survive.
At that moment, a demon appeared in Antarctica.
“I… believed I dedicated my life to humanity.”
“…”
“I served the Management Bureau faithfully! Yet, they dare to say we have fallen—”
“Colonel, I told you it’s not true.”
“…”
The colonel, babbling like a madman, gazed vacantly in my direction.
“I told you, didn’t I? I’m the real authority at the Management Bureau Headquarters! With a word from me, even that David can’t move.”
“…”
“I’ll take responsibility for this. I’ll ensure you receive treatment and can return to the Management Bureau. So, prepare an elevator to go underground.”
— Clatter!
*
— Kim Sang-hyun
“In a way, I respect your colleagues.”
That voice! I feel like I’ve heard it before recently.
Soon, memories from a short while ago surfaced, and I realized the identity of my opponent.
The entity that appeared and killed my colleagues and David during the latter part of the second attempt!
Based on the circumstances, this must be one of the demons mentioned by David that had already been released.
A monster that suddenly invaded the secret base of the Management Bureau!
The entity before me appeared to be a living mass of crimson insect-like creatures.
The demon constantly squirmed, mimicking a human face, and its bodyless visage was a grotesque trigger for a sense of uncanny discomfort.
“Do you think you’ll get away with it this time?”
The moment I glared, my opponent responded as if amused.
“Get away with it? Haha! This is our first meeting, though.”
The demon had killed me and my colleagues during the latter part of the second attempt, meaning it was from the ‘previous round.’
It was incredibly powerful, but it was neither a prisoner nor a participant.
Thus, it was true that it didn’t know about the events of the previous round.
“It seems we’ve met before, haven’t we?”
However, the mocking tone was extremely unpleasant.
“You little…!”
As I prepared to shoot the Last Flash at any moment, I heard a voice scratching my ears.
“Are you thinking of fighting me? Take a look around.”
“…”
“This doesn’t seem like a good place to fight, does it?”
The hideous demon that ripped me and my colleagues apart during the second attempt.
Speaking with such a monster sent chills down my spine, and my throat felt like it was about to explode.
However, the demon’s assertion that this wasn’t a good place to fight was indeed true.
The surroundings were merely a cramped space of around 30 pyeong, and we were even on Basement Level 15.
Would I shoot the Last Flash in such a place?
Regardless of whether the demon would die, the subsequent ground collapse would surely mean my demise.
“…”
Seung-yeop’s situation above was also dangerous.
There was the Blessing of Luck, but that power didn’t make Seung-yeop invincible.
Also, Seung-yeop had already used his strongest ability, ‘Divine Fortune,’ during the resolution of Room 302, so it couldn’t be used again.
“I’m glad to see you’ve calmed down. Ah, should I apologize?”
“…”
“Oh dear~ Oh dear~ I’m sorry for having eaten you from the lost history.”
“… I didn’t get eaten.”
“Ah, that’s a relief.”
This demon seems to have no recollection of the previous round, but it does appear to understand that the world is looping.
“Let’s end the jokes here. What do you think? Unfathomable Liberation?”
The usage of the last term, Unfathomable Liberation, was a somewhat impromptu judgment.
The momentum of the situation had subtly shifted towards the opponent.
Thus, I needed to bluff as if I were predicting its true identity.
That wasn’t a bad decision.
“… Unfathomable Liberation. Do you know what that term means?”
The opponent, who had maintained a playful demeanor throughout, finally showed a serious reaction.
“Of course! There are stories about you in the Management Bureau.”
“…”
“I heard it from David. There are legendary tales passed down through the Management Bureau.”
The tales that even agents and seers consider folklore level stories.
Two Falls.
‘If you look back countless times at the beginning and the end, there once was a truly great civilization. Our ancestors were so great that they considered us monkeys.’
‘There were two falls. The First Fall turned 100 into 10, and the Second Fall turned 10 into 1.’
‘Information about the First Fall is much scarcer. Since it was a long time ago, that’s to be expected. From the known information, it’s said to be related to those who prevent liberation.’
“You guys, the ones who prevent liberation…!”
“…”
“Destroyed the great First Civilization.”
At that moment, the crimson figure mimicking a human face twisted into a smile.
“I want to share two stories with you.”
“What?”
“First, we are not a singular collective as you think.”
“What do you mean by that—”
“Do I look like a henchman of the Son of Dawn?”
“…”
“Think for yourself. I may not know about the previous round, but you certainly do.”
As I calmly considered, I vaguely felt what the demon’s words meant.
The Son of Dawn is part of the Unfathomable Liberation.
The demon before my eyes is also part of the Unfathomable Liberation.
However, the two entities did not seem to aid each other.
The Son of Dawn never saved the demon from the movie theater, nor did the demon ever face us for the sake of the Son of Dawn.
“Your master—the one seated on the Celestial Throne. He considers all who counter his will to be reverse heavens.”
“… A being counter to paradise?”
“You could say that.”
The one who sheds tears for the three thousand worlds seeks to establish paradise.
So, all who counter it are referred to as ‘Unfathomable Liberation.’
Of course, this is a one-sided opinion of one party.
“Secondly, the claim that we caused the fall of the first civilization… Well, I have a hard time agreeing with that.”
“…”
“Do you remember what was written in the notebook? Didn’t I show it to you?”
…
There exists knowledge A.
Is it most reasonable to respond with A1 when one learns of A?
But what if when everyone chooses A1, they all end up losing?
…
“We only revealed A to you.”
“…”
“It was you humans of the past who chose A1. No one forced you.”
Long ago, our ancestors reportedly chose A1 by themselves.
… ‘Everyone’ did.
“What exactly are A and A1? What’s with this wordplay—ugh!”
The next moment, a crimson tentacle shot out like lightning and began to constrict my neck.
“Ugh! Grrk!”
“Isn’t your greed a bit too much? You should figure that much out on your own.”
Slowly and cruelly, the tentacle tightened around my throat.
I reached out to resist, but…
For the same reason as before, I absolutely couldn’t shoot the Last Flash.
Am I going to die so futilely at the hands of a demon?
If I die like this, my celestial companions will surely use tickets to revive me, right?
As these thoughts enveloped me, just before I lost consciousness.
— Whoosh!
A strange sound echoed.
Soon, the demon slowly looked up at the ceiling.
— Scratch!
The lightning-like dark lightning struck the demon, splitting it apart!
“Teacher! Are you alright?”
*
.
..
…
The events that followed unfolded seamlessly.
The wicked magic that had engulfed the entire Antarctic base vanished without a trace.
I took the ‘Dagger to Slay the Demon King’ and returned to the surface, while Seung-yeop, slightly excited, brought up various topics.
For example, telling David not to let the researchers at the Antarctic Base die.
“Let’s do that.”
“Is that okay? These people may have been swayed by the demon’s whispers, but, uh, it was not by their own will. They were merely forced to submit—”
The Management Bureau isn’t an organization that concerns itself with whether someone fell willingly or under duress.
When mold grows on bread, there’s no need to investigate the reasons for the mold.
However, if Seung-yeop and I ask for it, that should work.
“It should be fine.”
Though the staff at the Antarctic Base might no longer be able to work at the Management Bureau, after undergoing memory-erasing measures, they can still live as ordinary people.
“Did you obtain the secret weapon?”
“I got it.”
“Haha! That’s a relief.”
“It seems Seung-yeop can now use the power of the feathers? The power he displayed while dealing with the demon just now appeared to be the power of Fortuna.”
Seung-yeop smiled confidently.
“Yes. So, it kind of continued from the previous realization.”
“Previous realization?”
“I told you, didn’t I? The essence of the feathers is like that of the Son of Dawn. Thus, when acting for the sake of others, that power amplifies.”
“I understand.”
The descent, which could be long or short, bore fruit.
Seung-yeop realized that he could again use the power of the feathers when acting for humanity.
As for me…
— Click!
“Is this a secret weapon?”
“That’s right.”
“Ugh! Just looking at it makes my eyes hurt…”
“My eyes hurt too. I guess I shouldn’t look at it for too long.”
I obtained the ‘Mobius Strip.’
This meant I had achieved everything I sought through my descent.
Thus, Seung-yeop and I will soon return to the hotel.
“…”
However, there was one thing I could not comprehend at all.
“Teacher? What are you thinking so hard about?”
“… Seung-yeop, about that final strike I launched at the demon.”
“Haha! The ultimate strike of the ages, right?”
“Objectively, how powerful was it?”
“Huh?”
“Was it on the level of the Last Flash?”
“Uh, um, I don’t think so?”
“…”
Considering the events at the end of the second attempt.
The opponent may not have compared to the prisoner, but it was certainly a much stronger demon than me.
Did such an entity really fall to Seung-yeop’s ultimate strike?
Even if it’s true that a strong being can die from a weakling’s dagger.
But could it really be that the demon who dominated the entire Antarctic Base was unaware of Seung-yeop’s approach?
As I pondered over this oddity of the events at the end in the underground.
“Huh?”
Seung-yeop, rummaging through his bag, suddenly made a strange sound.
“What’s wrong?”
“Something appeared and then disappeared in the bag just now.”
“Huh? What was it?”
“Um… a notebook?”
“…”
