Chapter 178 : Chapter 178
Chapter 178 : Bikers
Following Royer's guidance, I arrived at the Griffin Knights, and Yuliana was waiting for me in her office.
“Vell Blackwood, you already know the reason I was looking for you.”
“Does it work?”
“Yes, that's right.”
“Just the news I was waiting for.”
Finally, the work from Bellerophon I had been waiting for arrived.
“What kind of work is it?”
“Do you know about bikers?”
Bikers.......
It was a name in my memory.
“About as much as knowing it's a Hall of Subjugation.”
“As expected, you know. It's information that Bikers' activities were recently detected in the southwest of the Empire. It was confirmed that all of them have been turned into Demonic persons.”
“The Bikers I know are just an ordinary bad-mannered guild. What are those guys doing in the southwest of the Empire?”
“We haven't grasped that far yet. But it is clear that they are plotting something collectively.”
I briefly thought about what a bad-mannered guild could possibly plot, but if all of Bikers were turned into Demonic persons as Yuliana said, there was a high possibility it wouldn't end at just a bad-mannered level.
Things that were just bad-mannered acts in online games would have become violent crimes like murder and robbery now that it has become reality.
“And there is one more thing bothering me.”
“What is it?”
“Traces of the Twilight Troupe were found in Bikers' activity area. There is a possibility that Bikers joined hands with the Twilight Troupe or made some kind of secret deal.”
“Twilight Troupe?”
To think I would hear that name now.......
In fact, just a while ago, the Twilight Troupe had a precedent of persistently targeting the Winter Castle.
Since they had been a bit quiet after that and all attention was focused on the Supreme King's side, I had forgotten for a moment, but news came as if waiting.
“Have you been monitoring the Twilight Troupe until now too?”
“The reason Bellerophon exists is not only to check the danger of Fragments but also to maintain peace in this world.”
“I didn't know there was even such a grandiose purpose.”
“......I know how you view Bellerophon. But I hope you know that there are people with pure purposes in the world too.”
“I'll try.”
Well, it was none of my business what purpose Bellerophon had or what ideology they had.
The important thing was what benefit they could bring me.
“Setting that aside, has the Twilight Troupe's purpose been identified?”
“We haven't grasped that yet. But if you also know about the Twilight Troupe, I think you can grasp what their ultimate goal is without difficulty.”
“Is it the destruction of the world?”
But assuming so, there was a strange point.
“Does the Twilight Troupe intend to maintain their purpose even in this situation? It's a bit strange.”
The scenery revealed as the sky opened is a tremendous event not only for players but also for the original inhabitants of this world.
But if they still maintain the existing keynote even in this situation, that too was strange.
“How would I know inside the heads of crazy bastards?”
“It would be easy to think like that but.......”
As someone who knows about the Twilight Troupe better than anyone, it wasn't easy for me to just think like that.
Even though those guys were out of their minds, they were guys who were certain about consistency regarding their purpose.
“Regarding the Twilight Troupe, I can just go and find out for myself, and is it enough to just clean up Bikers?”
“For now, that is so but...... will you be okay? It would be a request not easy to do alone.”
“It doesn't matter as long as a fitting price is paid.”
“......Fine. Since you showed that much ability, I can't deny it either. For the Fragment, would a size similar to what was given as advance payment be enough?”
“That much is enough.”
Honestly speaking, just the advance payment was enough, but I didn't bother to say that.
Anyway, I needed more Ascension Stone Fragments now, and there was no need to decline if they were giving more.
“Good.”
Yuliana nodded.
“I'll summarize. The requested content is the disposal of Bikers who revealed themselves in the southwest of the Empire, and additional remuneration will be paid depending on the information about the Twilight Troupe. Will this be enough?”
“It's sufficient.”
I was planning to look into the Twilight Troupe separately regardless of the request anyway, so if they give additional remuneration for that, there was no reason for me to refuse.
“I wish you luck.”
“Is Bellerophon's side not moving?”
“It's just that we can't pay attention even to guys like Bikers. It bothers me a bit that the Twilight Troupe's tracks overlap but...... for now, we don't have the spare capacity.”
“Is that so? Understood. If you wait, I'll bring you good news.”
“I hope so.”
The request negotiation ended.
“Ah, is the damage compensation money for the last incident ready?”
“......Regarding that part, the Fragment hasn't arrived from Bellerophon yet. When the work is finished, I will pay it together with the remuneration for this job. You understand that much, right?”
“Yeah. Understood.”
Since there was no way an Ascension Stone Fragment that wasn't there would appear just by rushing unnecessarily, it was better to leave the talk at this.
Because there was almost no possibility that Yuliana, who had already seen the fact that I have resistance close to immunity against Demonic energy, would withhold the Ascension Stone Fragment even to the point of becoming enemies with me.
“Then I will get going.”
“Uh...... right away?”
“Why? Is there a problem?”
“No, it's not that but....... No, it's nothing.”
“You can say it if you have something to say.”
At that, Yuliana moved her lips and soon spoke as if vomiting it out.
“......I was sorry last time. I apologize sincerely.”
“Why bring that up. It's fine as long as the damage compensation is certain.”
“Hearing you say that relieves my mind a bit. As a member of Bellerophon, I don't have thoughts of wanting to become enemies with a person like you.”
“Well. That's the same for me.”
This was sincere.
Because I also didn't want to cause friction unnecessarily with a huge faction like Bellerophon.
However, there was also something I hadn't said yet.
If I come to harbor thoughts different from Bellerophon, then many things will change.
‘I don't have thoughts of doing so yet but...... you never know about that.’
I still haven't made a choice.
Whether to open the door, or not.
Depending on that choice, probably many things will change.
***
Since I had already prepared to leave in advance, there was nothing special to prepare separately.
Leaving the inn, I left the Imperial Capital leading two horses provided by the Griffin Knights.
Since the distance was quite far, I intended to take two horses and ride them alternately.
To go to the southwest of the Imperial Capital, first I headed to the Hekar region in the south of the Imperial Capital.
It was a region I had stopped by once when going to Akiro's Labyrinth previously.
‘Come to think of it, it's been quite a while since I moved alone too.’
Considering that Luna or the 4th Special Task Force were there when I went somewhere recently, it was true that the feeling was different.
‘Come to think of it, I wonder if Luna is doing well.......’
I told her to come find me at the Winter Castle when her business was done, but since I ended up discharged, there was a high possibility our paths would cross.
But leaving a post on the Anonymous Bulletin Board for that, I don't know if Luna would see it either.......
‘Well, when the time comes, Luna's side will show some movement.’
I moved my steps.
The destination is the Azor Great Forest in the southwest of the Empire.
It is time to head there.
***
The journey from the Imperial Capital to the Azor Great Forest was absolutely not short.
Naturally, the only thing that could soothe my boredom in that process was the Anonymous Bulletin Board, but recently the atmosphere within the Anonymous Bulletin Board was unusual.
The trigger for change was, as expected, the scenery beyond the split sky created by the Supreme King.
There is no complete secret in the world.
Even more so when that secret is everyone's interest.
Not a short time has passed since the scenery beyond the sky was revealed.
Naturally, during that time, this and that speculation and stories went back and forth within the Anonymous Bulletin Board, and among them were also words close to the truth.
-If we open the door, we can return.
Naturally, at first, that post did not receive much attention.
Because the majority of Anonymous Bulletin Board users did not know what the door referred to, and saying baseless things wasn't persuasive.
Of course, since I wouldn't be the only one who knows part of the truth beyond the sky now, people mentioning specific information about it began to appear one by one.
-It's not just returning on a level of simply going back. We can return to Earth possessing the player's body no less. There, we can become gods.
All too naturally, the reaction to that at first was negative.
-?
-Bullshit is bountiful.
-lol delusions are sick.
It had to be so.
For the majority of players, this world was still the World of Justice, and thus returning to Earth meant being liberated from the game character and returning to the original ordinary body.
But returning with the player's body?
It's a dream-like story, but because of that, it was all too absurd.
However.......
-If we close the door, we will never be able to return. We will remain in this world and crumble away lonely.
-└Moderation, please. So what is the door, you otaku.
-fr lol
Reactions that were negative at first, as the same words began to come out from different people, the atmosphere had no choice but to become strange.
-But what if those words are real?
-Would it be?
-Isn't there any evidence that it's not either?
Especially, it was also because the nickname that posted such a post was a user known as a high-level within the Anonymous Bulletin Board.
-But isn't the person who posted that post high-level? I know them as Level 8.
-Yeah I know them too.
Humans believe what they want to believe.
Soon, what if those words are true?
Such doubts and thoughts began to rise slowly within the Anonymous Bulletin Board.
-Hey, but isn't it seriously easy life if we go to Earth with the player's body?
-If that's real, I'm going back immediately and smashing my military senior's head first lolol
-For me, my workplace boss.
-Without even needing to take revenge, with this ability, we could grasp both wealth and honor....... Then I could just hire a hitman without leaving a trace easily
Players who have already lived in this world know all too well what kind of power the power possessed by players is.
How powerful that power is, and also how dangerous it is.
Therefore, even if it might just be a delusion, Anonymous Bulletin Board users came to talk about it as if dreaming.
-But if it's as said, is there a reason for us not to open the door? If we can return even with the player's body, there's no reason to remain here lol
-So, how do you open that thing called the door? Is it above the sky?
-Hmm... Is it just me who thinks it might be related to Fragments.
-But can't you absorb fragments beyond a certain amount? You wouldn't be able to handle it.
It was when the Anonymous Bulletin Board public opinion was tilting towards ‘we must open the door’ in an instant.
Someone with the nickname of an old ranker called ‘Ballak’ left a strange post.
-If the door opens, it is not simply just us who can go to Earth.
Those words were so strange that the atmosphere of the Anonymous Bulletin Board, which had been heated up, cooled down coldly at once.
It is not just players who return to Earth.
Those words harbored all too many meanings, and to that, Ballak added his assertion.
-The door must not be opened.
It didn't take that long for the opinions of the Anonymous Bulletin Board to split in two.