Chapter 108 : Chapter 108
Chapter 108 : The Knights (9)
“……Wait, what did you say?”
It was no wonder Royer doubted his own ears.
The weight that the name Cain carried in the World of Justice Online was just that immense.
“How did you find that out?”
“Vell Blackwood had Cain's item.”
“……Cain's item?”
Yuliana knew the gauntlets Vell Blackwood was wearing.
Although she couldn't recall it immediately when she first saw them, there was a reason for that.
Because that memory was one that Yuliana wanted to erase.
Forgotten Slaughterer's Sealed Gauntlets.
The memory of that day was a painful one for Yuliana.
At that time, Yuliana belonged to a guild named Reka.
One day, friction arose between Reka and Cain, and Reka declared an extermination order on Cain.
Yuliana, who had no particular grudge against Cain and had heard of Cain's notoriety, was reluctant, but she participated in the operation anyway as it was a guild order.
The result was disastrous.
At that time, Reka was a guild that belonged to the upper ranks within the World of Justice Online, even if not quite Five-star-level, yet they were annihilated by Cain alone.
As a result, Yuliana had all the precious items she had barely obtained by clearing a labyrinth at that time stolen by Cain.
The Forgotten Slaughterer's Sealed Gauntlets were one of them.
An item stolen by Cain.
An item she wanted to forget for that reason, and an item she had actually lived forgetting.
“It could be a coincidence, right? He could have picked up something Cain discarded, or maybe he bought it with money.”
“If an item of that level had appeared in the auction house or the market, there's no way I wouldn't have known. You know?”
“Umm, true.”
Royer didn't know what that item was, but if it was an item Yuliana had kept in her heart like this, it must be an item of considerable value.
“Then how do you think Vell Blackwood has Cain's item?”
“It's one of two. He foolishly stole Cain's possession, or he's someone who has some sort of connection with Cain.”
“……Hah. Whichever of those it is, we can't touch him carelessly. If Vell Blackwood is really someone connected to Cain, the aftermath will be unmanageable.”
Of course, there was still doubt as to whether Cain was in this world or not, but the fear that Cain's name brought was too great to gamble on such a thing.
Where in the world is there a moron who would take a gamble where there's nothing to be gained by winning and everything to lose by losing?
“What are you going to do now?”
“We have to go back. We have a lot of work to do, and there's nothing left to do in Winter Castle.”
It was just as she said.
Although they had met Vell Blackwood by chance, the reason the Griffin Knights had come to Winter Castle was already finished.
It was time to go back.
“Come to think of it, what happened with recruiting Vell Blackwood into Bellerophon?”
“It's still too early for that. It won't be too late to do it after we've grasped more about Vell Blackwood later.”
“Hmm, alright.”
It was unfortunate that things hadn't been resolved cleanly, but it was better than rushing things and ruining everything.
Royer was about to leave the office, but stopped his steps.
“Why?”
“Come to think of it, I didn't ask about Dennis.”
“Who cares about that damn embezzler? Bellerophon will take care of it. Just report that you investigated moderately but couldn't find him.”
“Really? Alright.”
“Get out.”
There were just too many things Yuliana had to deal with to be able to worry about such trivial matters.
“……Vell Blackwood.”
Yes, far too many.
***
The support troops from the Empire, including the Griffin Knights, returned not long after.
Since they were troops drawn from the central army centered around the Imperial Household and from each territory, other problems could arise if they were away for a long time.
Just as the Empire's body was huge, its borders were also vast, and naturally, there were many things to protect.
It meant that if even one of those collapsed, other places could also collapse in a chain reaction.
‘Well… despite that, the reason the Empire has survived until now is probably because the Empire is just that powerful.’
When looking at the long history of mankind, no matter how powerful an empire is, its collapse is instantaneous.
And if the Empire were to collapse in a situation like this, it would definitely not be good for me.
‘If a huge deterrent force like the Empire disappears, there's no telling how many more bastards like the Twilight Troupe will pop up.’
In many ways, it was better for me that the Empire continued to exist.
‘Well, anyway…….’
Starting with the vacation to the Demonic Realm, the King of the Demonic Realm incident, and the visit from the Griffin Knights. All of those things were over.
For me, who hadn't been able to rest a bit until now, I could finally catch my breath for a moment.
“Everyone worked hard cleaning up without getting a proper rest. Rest well for the time being.”
Edric said that and disappeared.
It meant that since we had fought a war following an arduous journey, we should take the rest we had postponed and postponed, rather than training.
“Ugh, are we finally resting?”
“Damn Winter Castle. I want to get out of this place even one day sooner.”
“I agree.”
With the rest we'd met for the first time in a very long time, peace came to the 4th Special Task Force.
Conlan and Albino collapsed right away, and Alicia left the barracks, saying she would train alone.
“I'll be back.”
“Oh, alright.”
It wasn't that I wasn't tired, but that was mental fatigue, and my physical fatigue was almost recovered thanks to the Orb of Water.
It was a part where I could understand why, among the many powers the Orb of Water possessed, the recovery ability was considered the best.
Therefore, I could do physical training with Alicia, but there was something I needed to check first.
‘It was Bellerophon, she said.’
Yuliana had never said where she belonged, but considering her statement that she was looking for Dennis and her warnings about the dangers of the Ascension Stone Fragment, it was highly likely that she also belonged to Bellerophon.
It was extremely natural for members of the same organization to have similar goals and ideologies.
‘On top of that, she continuously took actions that seemed to be testing me.’
And that was probably not unrelated to the Demonic energy rampage phenomenon I had seen from Yohan.
I had already seen firsthand what a Player consumed by Demonic energy eventually transforms into.
I suspect that what Yuliana is concerned about is not so different from what I was concerned about.
‘I need to look into this properly.’
There were already things I could sufficiently guess from various circumstances, but confirming whether those were true was another problem.
It meant that verification of the information was necessary.
Fortunately, I had a means to obtain information easily.
Although it wasn't easy to get quality information from the Anonymous Bulletin Board, what about the Tips and Know-how Bulletin Board operated by the point system?
[Opening the Tips and Know-how Bulletin Board.]
[Attendance points have been paid. (+5)]
[Currently held points : 10pt]
With the payment of attendance points, I had finally gathered 10 points.
This meant that I could now see the post I wanted to see.
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-Regarding the Characteristics of Demonic persons
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The reason I paid attention to this post was simple.
The word Demonic person was a term that didn't exist in the World of Justice Online that I knew, so it was highly likely that it was a term born from the changes due to the Ascension Stone Fragment or the Destruction Dragon.
In addition to that, the name Demonic person itself seemed related to Demonic energy, so there was no reason for me not to look at this post.
[10 points are required to view this post. Would you like to view it?]
[YES / NO]
Of course, it's yes.
[Viewing the post.]
[Points are consumed. (-10)]
[Currently held points : 0pt]
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To talk about the characteristics of Demonic persons, it is first necessary to say what a Demonic person is.
What is a Demonic person?
And, why did they come into being?
First, a Demonic person refers to a being that was originally human but underwent some kind of change while being corroded by Demonic energy (especially that dwelling in Fragments).
Yes. A being that is human but not human.
Demonic energy contaminates both the human mind and body, and as long as one is human, it is not easy to endure it.
At least among the cases I have seen, there were people who ‘endured’ Demonic energy better than others, but there was not a single person who succeeded in completely overcoming and controlling it.
Yes. Not a single one.
In other words, even if one is not a Demonic person right now, the more one is exposed to the Demonic energy dwelling in Fragments, the more the Demonic person-ification slowly proceeds.
One becomes a Demonic person.
Although it hasn't been clearly revealed what the standard for Demonic person-ification to proceed is, considering that the majority of Demonic persons are born between Bulletin Board access levels as low as 4 and as high as 6, no longer able to withstand the corrosion of Demonic energy, it would be right to see it as around that point.
When Demonic person-ification proceeds, one gradually takes on several characteristics, with the representative symptoms being the loss of control over Demonic energy and the loss of reason.
The majority of Demonic persons are closer to a result of being unable to overcome the conflict and craving, rather than becoming Demonic persons because they wanted to.
It can't be helped, as the path through which the majority of those who become Demonic persons are contaminated by Demonic energy is through Fragments.
What Fragments are, and what power they hold, we still do not know well.
There are only a few clues.
Some say that Fragments are the only clue to return to Earth, and others say that Fragments are dangerous and must be kept away from.
One interesting point is that both those who make those two claims are trying to get their hands on Fragments.
Anyway, the important thing is that the curiosity and desire for Fragments continuously tempt and tempt the Players who have fallen into this world.
No matter how much one warns about the dangers of Demonic persons, it's a structure where Demonic persons are bound to be born.
It's a situation that can't help but feel as if a terrible malice is playing games with us.
Getting back to the point, I would like to talk about a few characteristics of Demonic persons.
First, the most prominent characteristic, as you can tell from the name Demonic person , is the emission of Demonic energy.
As the existence of a Demonic person itself originates from the corrosion of Demonic energy, they can handle Demonic energy at will.
There is no need to explain how dangerous and powerful Demonic energy is.
If you have level 4 bulletin board access, you already know about that power to a sickening degree.
Second, most Demonic persons cannot control themselves, and thus show very impulsive and berserk appearances.
Most individuals are at a level where rational conversation is impossible, and even if it is possible, they do not hesitate to kill due to the craving for the Fragments that Players possess.
This is also the reason why general Players are concerned about the birth of Demonic persons and are hostile to Demonic persons.
The third characteristic is that, as mentioned earlier, Demonic persons cannot endure the craving for Fragments that are right in front of their eyes.
This is like an instinct for Demonic persons, and although it seems some exceptional Demonic persons can endure small Fragments, it is only to the extent of small Fragments.
Fundamentally, Demonic persons, who have weak control and strong instincts, cannot endure the craving for Fragments.
Also, this is often used quite usefully as a discernment method for Demonic persons.
It's about thrusting a large Fragment in front of someone suspected of being a Demonic person.
Well, as a personal sentiment, it's not a method I would recommend unless one is extremely confident in their skills.
In general, Demonic persons are overwhelmingly stronger than Players of the same level, and they are also very difficult to deal with as they handle Demonic energy.
Fourth is the point that the mimicry of Demonic persons has become quite clever recently.
Rather than having found their reason as humans, should I say it's as if the Demonic energy itself that has encroached upon the Player's body has succeeded in completely taking over the human brain?
It's not good news.
These are the characteristics I have grasped about Demonic persons so far.
Thank you for reading.
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