Chapter 97
Chapter 97: Collection (6)
Living, one inevitably finds oneself caught in situations that you want to avoid but cannot escape.
Like the Great Cataclysm Patch that began without warning, what must happen will eventually happen.
That is the law of life.
"So, here you are, having avoided me all this time, finally facing me like this."
It was the same for Riferoze, who rose from the Abyss of the Demon Realm.
'In the end, it comes to this...'
For Jang Du-sik as well, who finally came face to face with her.
This was because the Pope and Erik's party had parted ways.
The Pope decided to return to the Vatican through the Empire, while Erik's group was heading to the Elven Autonomous Region via the Laphin Magic Tower.
"I have truly been indebted to you all this time, Lady Riferoze."
Thus, Jang Du-sik had no choice but to confront Riferoze.
"Although five years have passed—a timespan in which mountains and rivers change halfway—this Du-sik continues to strive to live like a proper person without forgetting your teachings."
At the foot of the hill where the Laphin Magic Tower stood, Jang Du-sik bowed deeply to Riferoze.
"W-what did you just say?"
Riferoze witnessed an unbelievable phenomenon.
'Is this a hallucination?'
She turned her head and examined her surroundings.
Far in the distance, the great granary region of the southern Empire was clearly visible.
The Pope and the Holy War Knight Order were crossing through golden wheat fields, heading toward the Empire.
"Huh..."
This was neither an illusion nor a dream—it was reality.
Riferoze's eyes widened in astonishment.
'That simple soul...'
Short, closely-cropped hair.
Below it, a vicious-looking face.
The typical appearance of a ruffian with muscles packed onto his frame.
'...And yet, the appearance is definitely Du-sik.'
The large, luminous eyes that shone like chestnuts were unmistakably the figure she knew.
The aura felt the same too.
However, his manner of speech had completely changed.
"So you are indeed that Jang Du-sik?"
"Yes, that is correct."
To her question, Jang Du-sik answered respectfully, lowering his head.
He began to act as if he were a changed person, as if opposing an instinctive fear that had been carved into him.
"I am indeed that Du-sik who received teachings from you, Lady."
After finishing his words, Jang Du-sik straightened his posture.
Unlike usual, he wasn't favoring one leg, nor was he swagger-walking with a club as a cane.
It was an extremely neat and proper stance.
"No matter how much I try to correct it, I could not fix that street thug-like behavior, yet how have you changed so much!"
At that sight, Riferoze let out an exclamation of admiration.
Jang Du-sik answered humbly.
"I have done nothing but diligently practice day by day, recalling the teachings of Lord Astia that you taught me."
"Yes! That's right! The teachings of that sublime Father have finally changed even you!"
Jang Du-sik, speaking in a refined tone.
It made no sense whatsoever.
Erik stared at the sight with his mouth agape.
'Did that guy have a split personality?'
This was the Jang Du-sik who maintained a cocky attitude even before the Emperor.
This was the Jang Du-sik who spoke like a street thug even before the Imperial Princess, his future wife.
'That manner of speech that wouldn't improve no matter how much he was beaten...'
Jang Du-sik had changed like he was bringing out a different personality.
As Erik was so startled, the grip in Ruelle's hand, hanging on his arm, strengthened.
"-Hiss!"
Ruelle shrank back as if he were getting goosebumps.
Erik felt the same way.
'It's like seeing a ghost.'
How could that Jang Du-sik speak in such a manner?
"As they say, there is no end to learning. I will continue to strive further henceforth, mindful of your teachings, Lady."
"Huh—a hundred words cannot compare to seeing once with one's own eyes, and yet seeing it makes it hard to believe. It has been a long time since I've felt this way."
Riferoze was shocked twice greatly in her lifetime.
The first time was when she confirmed that Erik's [Status Window] actually existed.
A peculiar power to which the world's laws do not apply.
'It was just as astonishing as that time.'
The change in Jang Du-sik was equally astonishing.
Furthermore, she felt this change was not limited to Jang Du-sik alone.
Riferoze naturally shifted her gaze to Janson, who was beside Jang Du-sik.
"Janson, you have transcended the wall."
Janson also respectfully bowed his head and offered words of gratitude.
"It is thanks to the teachings of Lady Riferoze. I am truly grateful."
"According to what Erik told me, you were able to forgive your sins and accept divinity."
"Yes, that is correct."
"But why are you limping?"
Hobble!
Janson limped toward Riferoze.
"Lady Riferoze, the pain you inscribed upon my soul—I wish to strive further in life while remembering it."
"Both of you are remarkably impressive, beyond words."
Looking at Jang Du-sik and Janson, Riferoze's expression was very satisfied.
All of her doubts had been resolved.
'Looking at how much Du-sik has changed... Erik's words must all be true.'
Whoooosh!
At that moment, a cool breeze blew down from below the hill.
It was a breeze sent by the World Tree far away, welcoming Erik.
"Erik, it seems the engagement between Du-sik and the Imperial Princess is not merely empty talk, as you said."
Buffeted by the fresh breeze sent by the World Tree, Riferoze turned her body.
She gazed intently between Erik and Ruelle.
Immediately, Ruelle cried out, 'Yikes!' and released her grip on Erik's arm, stepping back several paces.
Only then did Riferoze continue speaking.
"Erik."
"Yes, Master."
The breeze gently disheveled Riferoze's hair.
It was beautiful like snowflakes falling in the north.
"If Du-sik has changed that much, then your words about becoming the master of the World Tree must also be true."
Seeing a scene like a painting—a cool breeze and golden wheat fields and a pure white girl—Erik felt no particular admiration.
'This is maddening.'
Erik felt reluctant, but he was forced to accept this situation.
The tense atmosphere from the earlier dispute seemed to have eased somewhat.
As Erik was about to respond to something, an unexpected development occurred.
"Ha!"
Riferoze's expression twisted viciously.
"M-Master?"
Startled, Erik stepped back.
Whoooosh!
Riferoze unsheathed the greatsword on her back and suddenly swung a sword aura at Erik's back.
BOOOM!
Something exploded in the distance.
Erik wielded his staff to increase his eyesight.
A massive boulder was riddled with a round hole, and red blood was scattering around its vicinity.
Erik immediately grasped the situation.
'Someone was watching us?'
Someone Erik had failed to detect.
It appeared the sword aura that Riferoze had unleashed had eliminated them.
The distance was approximately three kilometers away.
"Sigh—Master, if you just kill them like that, what should we do?"
Erik let out a sigh.
To that, Riferoze quickly offered an explanation.
"It seems to be a spy for the Allied Nations. The fellow is very skilled at concealing their presence. Is it because of the Empire's war? Or perhaps because we headed toward the Demon Realm?"
"How did you know that, Master?"
"The corpse wasn't consumed by divinity, so they wouldn't be a Possessor or black mage."
Erik nodded in agreement.
However, a question still remained.
'The Allied Nations are too far from the Empire, aren't they?'
Based on the Empire's location.
To the north was the Garcian Kingdom, and to the east was the Solar Holy Army.
And the Allied Nations were located beyond those two kingdoms to the northeast.
As Erik was absorbed in such questions, a detailed explanation followed.
"The Solar Holy Army relied on divine power as their main strength, so I couldn't fail to recognize them. Furthermore, the Garcian Kingdom lacks the capability to operate spies trained as meticulously as that."
"To discern all that from just one sword aura... You truly are the Master."
Erik nodded, inwardly impressed.
'Still a monster.'
From just eliminating a single person, she had gleaned that much information.
Riferoze's intuition that transcended humanity.
Or perhaps the wisdom accumulated over the years of her long life enabled this.
"So Erik, when exactly do you plan to show me the transplanting of the World Tree?"
With the situation settled, Riferoze began to feel boredom setting in.
Time had accumulated wisdom within her, but it had also caused her to lose interest in the affairs of the world.
Erik skillfully spoke words to draw her interest.
"Before that, would you not wish to tour my Magic Tower?"
"Your Magic Tower? All magic towers are the same. What's different about yours?"
"My Magic Tower has automated equipment from the Possessor World installed within it."
"Those useless Earth civilization devices you mentioned?"
"Useless? I dare say it will be the most wondrous sight you have witnessed of late."
Erik said so with a broad smile.
Whoooosh!
The World Tree sent breeze after breeze, as if urging him on, but Erik turned his head indifferently.
His purpose was clear.
'Sacred Magical Tools.'
Had he not just obtained suitable materials?
***
The General Assembly of the Allied Nations was held.
The Allied Nations was formed by the union of 11 small to medium-sized kingdoms.
They had each abandoned their kingdom's name and replaced it with numbers instead.
In order to prevent the Empire's ambitions of continental conquest, they had joined forces while even sacrificing their national names.
"Kingdom 2 held a general assembly, but why is there no word from you?"
"We heard that Kingdom 2 was reporting on the results of the spy mission..."
The 11 leaders attending the general assembly sat around a round table, looking at the man seated in the second position.
"Uh, about that..."
The representative of Kingdom 2, who had convened the assembly, struggled to speak.
He appeared to be anguishing over something.
Then, finally, the representative of the Allied Nations, the leader of Kingdom 1, opened their mouth.
"Calian, how are the results such that you cannot continue speaking?"
"Ahem, ahem."
Calian, the representative of Kingdom 2, who had cleared his throat, carefully began to speak.
With a lean body and dark circles under his eyes from chronic stress.
He looked like an overworked office worker.
"According to the report of our spy..."
It began with an account of the Eastern Great Forest, devastated by Holy Spear bombardment.
The Eastern Great Forest, corrupted by the Demon Realm, had been turned into flat land.
"So the Great Forest is no more."
"Even if it was corrupted by the Demon Realm... that heavenly barrier is gone."
"Lu-Solace is finished now."
"T-that is... still quite some time away, however..."
The report continued.
The Black Mage Group that had fled from the Demon Realm to the Labyrinth.
And the emergence of a nine-lined existence.
"H-how is that possible!"
"So the being offered a hundred million lives as sacrifice actually existed?"
"It was not merely a rumor then..."
The round table fell into chaos.
Upon this was added another statement.
"The Black Mage Group fled to the abyss, and Riferoze appeared from the abyss at that moment."
"Huh..."
Only silence descended.
The return of a walking calamity, one of the world's foremost powerhouses, brought with it a shock of that magnitude.
"She found our intelligence agent and killed them."
"Finding one of our spies from three kilometers away... something even the Emperor failed to notice!"
It was shocking.
A spy of the Allied Nations was not something easily produced.
It required countless hours, effort, and money before even one or two would succeed.
"A-and there's more..."
The representative of the Allied Nations fixed his gaze firmly on the leader of Kingdom 2.
"Calian, what else remains?"
"Huh—"
The final report proceeded cautiously.
It was about Saint Erik.
Things like abnormally rapid growth not befitting his age.
Or that his subordinate had become the first Holy Mage.
Commonplace knowledge they already knew about.
"Hasn't the Saint Erik been thoroughly investigated already?"
"We all know well that he is powerful and has overwhelming influence in the Empire and the Church."
The Allied Nations had designated Erik as a top-priority target and investigated him thoroughly.
Both his military strength and his dominant position in the Empire and the Church were sufficiently known.
What the Allied Nations truly valued over Erik's might or status was something else entirely.
"Do we still not have evidence that he is a Possessor?"
Is the Saint Erik a Possessor?
This was the crux of the matter.
"There is a matter to report regarding this."
The leader of Kingdom 2, who consolidated the Allied Nations' intelligence, carefully opened his mouth.
"The Saint Erik is absolutely not a Possessor."
"Is it because he handles divine power?"
"No! His violent nature and bold actions are absolutely not something Possessors could display!"
The spy's reports are delivered in real-time.
The leader of Kingdom 2 can confirm what the spy sees and hears identically.
"Erik is an extremely extreme being."
He gave an example: the emergence of Makia, the leader of the Black Mage Group.
"Even the Pope attempted to respond to dialogue, but Saint Erik ignored it completely and drove his spear straight through instead."
"It is somewhat strange that the religious folks would initiate a surprise attack, but..."
The truth was that Erik's actions were far from ordinary.
"From utilizing Possessors to assault the Labyrinth, to now building a city of Possessors—how can such an Erik not be a Possessor?"
To this, the leader of Kingdom 2 produced clear evidence.
"I am certain that the Possessor is Jang Du-sik, known as the Saint's right hand."
Silence fell upon the round table.
"That street thug, Jang Du-sik, is a Possessor?"
"He has thoroughly erased himself."
The intelligent appearance that Jang Du-sik displayed when meeting Riferoze was explained in detail.
"Good heavens! That Du-sik was a Possessor all along...?"
"Then that means he manipulated Erik and Riferoze with words?"
"That fellow Jang Du-sik is certainly a schemer of legendary proportions!"
***
Waiting before the Magic Tower, thirty minutes had already passed.
"How great can that factory be?"
Growing tired of waiting, Riferoze cast a suspicious gaze.
"I don't understand at all—what am I supposed to expect from a civilization that creates automobiles slower than knights?"
Earth's civilization is remarkable.
However, those in this world who have not witnessed it thought it was utterly insignificant.
"Erik, didn't you say that Earth civilization lacks even teleportation technology, so they have to travel far distances by building flying contraptions?"
"I meant it in the sense that it is remarkable..."
This discrepancy in perception was a burden comparable to Erik's very mission.
It was a desire to prove the convenience and greatness of Earth's civilization to this barbaric world.
'If I just say it aloud, it does seem inefficient.'
An automobile slower than running was certainly one thing, and there was no reason to take an airplane instead of teleportation.
However, from Erik's perspective, having lived in both worlds, Earth's civilization was certainly more remarkable.
But when he tried to explain it, no words came to him.
While Erik was thus troubled.
"Exactly what is this tower master doing, making me stand here like this?"
Riferoze began to lose her temper.
Just before she threatened to split the tower in half.
The main gate of the Magic Tower opened.
Whoooosh!
Scattering magical formulas, the heir of Duke Raffin appeared.
He was carefully approaching Erik, receiving thorough protection from the Magical Soldier Unit.
"I-I am... the one who w-will inherit the dukedom, Raffin."
A stammering manner of speech.
His face wasn't even visible, hidden behind the Magical Soldier Unit in a cowardly manner.
And the distance was very far.
He was pressed right against the tower entrance, clearly prepared to flee at any moment.
"Goodness, how... hmm. How tiresome of you."
Jang Du-sik almost revealed his true nature inadvertently.
"Oho!"
"Hoh—"
However, Erik and Riferoze reacted differently.
A clear Status Window was visible in Erik's eyes, and Riferoze sensed an otherworldly aura.
"Truly a laughable fellow."
Just as Riferoze was about to draw her sword, Erik grabbed her wrist.
Riferoze paused.
"Master, wait a moment"
"Erik, did you not say that the only good Possessor is a surrendered Possessor?"
"This one feels different."
Raffin, the heir of Duke Raffin, is a Possessor.
And Duke Raffin is not a Possessor.
'I wondered why the so-called Four Pillars of the Empire protected Possessors so much.'
Erik felt one of his doubts being resolved.
Why had the Duke, called the Four Pillars of the Empire, so thoroughly shielded Possessors?
The reason had been revealed.
'His son was a Possessor.'
From Aaron, the third-in-command of the Magical Union, to the collaborators who built the factory equipment of the Magic Tower.
The number of Possessors the Duke had protected easily filled a truckload.
The Duke had admitted all charges and headed to the battlefield.
'His obsession with Sacred Magical Tools must have been for that reason as well.'
The reason was singular.
Because his son was Possessed.
And it was likely because the Duke loved his possessed son as his own child.
'Yet the Emperor treated the Third Prince as if he didn't exist...'
It was a completely different reaction from the Emperor.
Erik looked with an interested expression at the Duke's heir, hiding among the Magical Soldier Unit.
"Duke Raffin loved his son despite his soul being exchanged, doing his best to show love as a father."
Erik truly admired the Duke for this.
So he posed one question.
"Possessed Kim Jung-hyuk, what about you? Do you think of Duke Jenedik Raffin as your father?"