Chapter 33
Chapter 33: Revenge is a Hundredfold (2)
Humans possess an instinct to pursue efficiency.
The desire to obtain the greatest results in proportion to the effort invested—this human greed manifested as a single word was none other than efficiency itself.
It was such that the specialized term "efficiency fanatic" was even born.
"Th-! Director Erik, how did you escape in just two days……."
Even in a world different from Earth, efficiency was an indispensable word for mankind.
But to escape from the Labyrinth in just two days?
'Last time, you came out in a day too.'
The Imperial soldier guarding the Labyrinth Plaza found it utterly unbelievable.
The efficiency of the Labyrinth lay in the time ratio between inside and outside.
The basic principle was to farm with all one's might until the very end.
'It seems the assault incident hasn't been revealed yet.'
Erik tilted his head, observing the reaction of the soldier guarding the Labyrinth Plaza.
Despite there being so many Adventurers and the escape stele having paved the way, not a single party had actually escaped.
'Those damn adventurers.'
Erik's face contorted.
The soldier flinched and took a step back.
"Besides me, no one else has come out?"
"Yes, Director Erik and your party are the first to return!"
There must have been many witnesses, yet it seemed no one had escaped.
Well, he understood since their livelihood depended on it, but……
Still, wasn't this a Black Mage problem?
'The Imperial Army should stay since they need to handle internal affairs. But those adventurers…….'
Erik's trapezius muscle twitched.
His eyes turned toward the Adventurer's Guild built on one side of the Labyrinth Plaza.
[Adventurer's Guild Imperial Headquarters]
The guild's nameplate gleamed above the massive rectangular building.
Beside the nameplate, the emblem of a sword and staff crossed in an X over a shield caught the eye.
'Discipline…….'
The Possessors found among the adventurers, the Black Mages—adventurers who witnessed them yet failed to report it.
These guys who claimed to be adventurers were ignoring a Black Mage?
"Huuuuh."
No, that wasn't it.
Erik slowly closed his eyes.
'I'll have to tell the Emperor about this at the banquet.'
Even someone like Erik couldn't meddle with the Adventurer's Guild carelessly.
The Adventurer's Guild spread across the world.
Because they bore the heavy duty of managing the Demon Realm.
Erik composed himself and called Jang Du-sik.
"Du-sik, explain the situation to the soldiers and have them call over Erica. Tell her to seal off the Labyrinth Plaza."
"Ah, understood."
Usually, Jang Du-sik would have asked what nonsense this was, but his mind had become sharper due to the Black Mage situation.
A Black Mage had appeared and the number of Possessors had increased greatly.
'My brother must be having a hard time enduring this.'
While Jang Du-sik scratched his head, a shriek of 'Kyaaaa!' came from beside him.
Jang Du-sik glanced sideways with his eyes.
"May this land be protected."
Emitting brilliant golden light, Erik raised both arms high to the sky.
As he recited a single prayer, a massive divinity bloomed above the Labyrinth Plaza.
Kiiiiing!
Clang!
The sacred light resonated from all directions, scattering resonance tones, and a brilliant golden dome was created over the vast Labyrinth Plaza.
At this, people raised their heads and cried out to the god.
"Ahhh! Lord Astia! Please let him return safely!"
"……Please, may my wife return home safely."
To anyone watching,
It seemed as though Erik had bestowed a massive blessing.
However, the reality was.
'Not even a single footstep to escape.'
He intended to prevent the adventurers who had come out of the Labyrinth from fleeing as they pleased.
Of course, ordinary adventurers would move about freely.
But what if it were a Possessor in hiding?
'There's a possibility of an accomplice.'
A Black Mage.
The only good Black Mage was a dead one, and those who cooperated with them were no different from Black Mages themselves.
"The Possessor Management Bureau will come to take you."
Toward the Possessors standing vacantly inside the golden dome, Erik left a curt statement.
The Possessors watched the massive back gradually receding, trembling in fear.
***
"Erik!"
As Erik appeared, opening the church's front door, Ruelle came running toward him in quick steps.
'He's safe.'
It was something she already knew, but confirming it in reality brought relief to her heart.
Erik's tense mood eased somewhat.
Seeing Ruelle rushing toward him, Erik spread his arms wide.
Crack!
A back smash came flying at him.
"Hey! Erik!!"
Ruelle was pushed backward.
Erik stood firm and looked down at her.
An expression of not understanding.
"Why are you angry?"
"You had people follow me without telling me?"
"When the church was collapsing, didn't you make acquaintance with Janson?"
In the middle of the church's plot, piled high with materials.
Ruelle stood with her arms crossed, looking up at Erik.
Beside her, Janson, with scars twisting his face, hung his head low.
As if he were a criminal.
"Those guys!"
Ruelle pointed to one corner with her finger.
'Kehehehe!'
An old man let out a startled cry.
He was hiding his body in the passage connected to the orphanage.
His belly, bloated from consuming Black Mages, protruded through the passage gap.
Looking closely, two masks were visible beside the pillar……
"All four of you are caught."
Erik nodded his head.
"That fat old man is someone I used to see whenever I went to District 5 for relief work! And those twins! Ah! They were the kids running the pop-up shop in front of Jean's Magical Tool Shop!"
Ruelle placed her hands on her waist, clearly upset.
Her curvaceous figure was further accentuated.
Erik opened his eyes wide and examined Janson and the old man.
Both had their eyes shut tight.
"These are bodyguards prepared for High Priest Ruelle."
"If you tell me beforehand, what difference does it make?"
"Ahem. I apologize. Their identities……."
"If they're not nobility, they're all the same people! What! Checking their status?"
At Erik's excuse, Ruelle flared up once more.
Speaking as a High Priest who served the god, she made a fair point.
"That's similar to Du-sik and……."
The moment Erik added another remark.
"What?"
Ruelle's eyes wavered.
"Similar to that ruffian?"
Ruelle disliked Jang Du-sik.
Before Erik's guidance took effect.
Jang Du-sik was a genuine street thug.
At that time, Jang Du-sik had made a verbal misstep to Ruelle.
"Uh, what's the use of being pretty? My age is approaching forty. And what's the problem with calling my sister ‘sister’?"
It was the moment Erik learned of Ruelle's age.
"Why do you get along with kids like that?"
"But didn't you say everyone is the same person……."
"People must seem like people to be people."
Ruelle glared at the old man and Janson coldly.
The two people had their eyes closed, but as if they sensed that gaze, they hung their heads lower.
"What about those children?"
"The twins are pure……. Well. They're good kids. Except their minds are a bit……."
"Like Du-sik?"
"That……. Yes, well. I'd say they're similar."
"I see."
Ruelle looked at the twins' masks sadly.
From their body size, they were unmistakably small children.
"Where do they stay?"
"They live in the slums of District 5."
Erik recited the facts honestly.
With Ruelle as the opponent, he might hide things, but lying wouldn't work.
"What about having them stay here?"
Ruelle felt pity for the children's appearance.
The two masked children appeared to be around ten years old based on their build.
"Aren't there many empty rooms in the orphanage?"
As if her anger had never existed, her tone was calm and her eyes gentle.
At this, Erik lowered his massive body and whispered to Ruelle's ear.
"What?"
Ruelle trembled.
It seemed she had heard shocking news, as her body swayed.
Erik held Ruelle's waist and calmed her down.
"Surely……."
Ruelle's gaze turned toward Janson and the old man.
"It's similar."
"My goodness."
Ruelle's mouth opened wide.
"Lady Riferoze's arrangement……."
"There's no need to attach such a grand name as 'arrangement.'"
Erik shook his head.
And he spoke thus.
"It's merely the delusion of a fanatical master that came to fruition."
"Let's talk about it separately for now."
Ruelle led Erik into the orphanage.
Though the church had collapsed, the connecting passage remained intact. The two passed through the sacred barrier installed at the end of the passage.
"Those children……. They won't be able to pass here either, right?"
Ruelle asked as they passed through the arched passage.
It seemed the shock from what she had heard from Erik still hadn't faded, as her body swayed.
'Children of a Possessor!'
It was truly shocking.
Ruelle grabbed the back of her neck.
Since Janson and the old man were said to be similar existences……
"Could Janson be their father?"
Suddenly, the reason why such a strong Sword Master bore wound marks across his entire body came to mind.
A being that sacred healing couldn't cure was only a Monster or a Possessor and Black Mage.
"That couldn't be."
Erik strode in front of Ruelle, blocking her view.
What appeared in Ruelle's eyes was the vast orphanage corridor.
The massive Erik confessed the facts, looking at Ruelle.
"They are children born by that guy."
That guy?
The back of Ruelle's neck became even more stiff.
An existence that Erik concealed the name of.
The title 'that guy.'
"Surely……."
"Yes, that very surely."
The one who unleashed calamity upon the continent.
The worst Black Mage-class Possessor.
"A guy who possessed me 15 years before."
Ruelle's cyan eyes cast downward.
Recalling that dreadful period, she felt chills run down her spine on their own. And to think these children were related to that incident……
For Ruelle, thoughts of the children were more important than the terrible memories.
She raised her head and looked at Erik.
"Love is……."
"'Production' would be a more fitting expression."
Good heavens.
Production?
It was a dreadful word.
"To explain a bit."
Regarding the two children born without love, Erik continued his explanation calmly.
"Master, this was the place where that guy lived in hiding."
Seven-year-old Erik was quite sensitive.
Day after day was a time of suffering.
Not knowing when his Divine Power would run wild and his body would burst and die.
His body ached terribly…….
Yet he also had to dispose of the Black Mage after killing it.
"Erik, aren't there just so many human dregs in this world?"
It was during such a time that he met two children.
In the secret hideout of the continent's worst Black Mage after killing him, two children lay sleeping.
"What would you like to do with them?"
"They are seeds of evil. They must be killed and erased."
Erik unhesitatingly held a greatsword toward the two three-year-old children.
Kaboom!
"Erik, endure it."
Riferoze blocked him.
Two children born with a Class and a Status Window.
In Erik's eyes, the children appeared only as seeds of evil.
"What sin could children who have just been born possibly have?"
The master smiled refreshingly and broke Erik's blade.
"They are not seeds of evil but merely children."
From the master's fingertips, emitting gentle warmth as the sleeping children were observed, Erik changed his mind.
As the explanation reached that point.
Crack!
"Even so, you held a sword to children?"
Ruelle's sharp palm struck him.
As a reaction, Ruelle was pushed back, and Erik strode toward her as much as she had been pushed back.
"I have reflected greatly on it."
This was Possessor Erik.
If one examines the life of Park Ji-hun, though his body was only seven years old, his mind was that of an adult.
'It hurt terribly.'
However, the pain of divinity had numbed his thinking.
Only when he wielded Divine Power in warfare did the pain disappear, which was why Erik became even more ferocious.
Nevertheless.
"Just as the High Priest gave me grace, I too am living in such a way."
Erik had changed.
Janson, the twins, the old man.
And even Erica on top of that.
He had saved and redeemed many lives.
"That's right. You were very different back then."
"I am always grateful."
Erik lowered his head and then explained to Ruelle the events that occurred in the Labyrinth.
Having learned all the details, Ruelle became calm.
The anger was washed away, and her face took on a resolute expression.
"So Black Mages like that have appeared again?"
"Yes, that's correct."
Though Ruelle was far from combat, her eyes were even sharper than Erik's.
***
"Boss, I truly don't understand at all. There's nothing to get caught on……."
"Kehehehe! I, I made no mistake!"
"Boss, that's not the right word?"
"Why is he the boss?"
Erik, who had left the orphanage.
The four people trembled.
Seeing those four people, Erik spoke thus.
"I cannot discern the High Priest's personality even if I try, so I cannot fault you all. You've worked hard."
Ohhh! Chills ran down their spines.
The old man was especially startled.
'Is he using and throwing us away?'
It sounded like he was saying he'd kill them.
For Erik to speak like that, what on earth was……
"From now on, you all are the guardians of the church. You'll also organize information here."
Continuing to speak to his befuddled subordinates, Erik went on.
That he would build one building next to the church where Divine Power had no effect.
That he would create a separate house for the twins.
"That……boss."
Unable to listen further, Janson interrupted and asked.
"Are you hurt somewhere?"
Erik strode toward Janson. A shadow fell over his scar.
"Janson, don't act like Jang Du-sik."
"……I apologize for the impertinence."
In any case.
Erik's words meant nothing less than freeing them to live outside.
"Kehehehe. Boss, why am I……?"
To the old man alone, this was incomprehensible.
He was truly a Black Mage.
Even if he had never killed a person, he was certainly a being who wielded Black Magic Power.
"However, old man, there is one condition for you."
Erik planned to use the old man as a delivery person for a 'Holy bomb.'
Once he heard the full explanation, the old man's complexion darkened rapidly.
"B, Boss. You mean you'll put divinity in this old man and send him to the Black Mage headquarters……."
Janson also seemed shocked as he questioned this.
Erik showed him a long ticket instead of answering.
"So they were ones with a guild home."
Janson understood.
The twins turned their heads at words they couldn't comprehend.
The old man…….
'Kehehehe!.' He let out a groan and held his head.
"Follow me. The plan is set, so now we must receive the Emperor's permission."
As Erik and the increasingly unstable old man left, Janson and the twins paid their respects.
"Gramps, take care!"
"It was fun!"
The two children bade farewell.
"Don't live as a Black Mage even after you're dead."
Janson's words scattered on the wind.
Because the plan Erik had devised contained nothing about the old man's return.
In any case.
The Holy bomb was now prepared.