Chapter 24
Finally, the boss collapsed.
The grotesque mass of flesh, the boss, no longer moved.
At the same time, a system message appeared, indicating the dungeon was cleared.
[ Dungeon Cleared? ]
“…Question mark?”
At Daehyeop Kim’s murmur, the three exchanged glances.
“Why does it feel so ominous?”
“Could it be a developer’s prank? Or maybe…”
Suzuka’s words trailed off there.
The view suddenly went completely dark. It wasn’t because their eyes were closed.
What in the world is this all of a sudden?
Sweet felt an unknown fear in the darkness.
A sense of discomfort creeping over his skin and a queasy feeling in his stomach.
He couldn’t see ahead, but something was there.
How long would they have to stay like this?
Just as the question crossed his mind, his vision returned.
Wriggle—!
As soon as the vision returned, what appeared before him was the writhing body of the boss.
He turned his head to look around, but Suzuka and Sweet were nowhere to be seen.
“What is this?”
Was the boss using some sort of desperate move pattern?
That would be a bit much.
He thought these trivial thoughts inwardly as he pointed his staff.
Ready to burn that mass of flesh at any moment.
[ Main Story – Attack ]
[ Main Story – Watch ]
At that moment, a system message appeared before Sweet’s eyes.
“Main story?”
The sudden disappearance of Suzuka and Daehyeop Kim made sense now.
It had been designed so that the main story would proceed automatically after defeating the boss.
Quickly assessing the situation, Sweet made his choice.
[ Moving to Main Story – Watch. ]
He didn’t know what might happen if he attacked recklessly.
So, Sweet chose to trust his mage’s mobility skill, Blink, and selected to watch.
“It got even bigger.”
The writhing became more intense, and it seemed like the mass had doubled in size.
It felt like if he left it alone, it might go bang! and explode, causing his fear to spike.
Should he attack it now?
Or should he wait just a little longer?
“….”
Sweet chose not to select an option, observing the situation instead.
Wriggle—! Wriggle—!
The corpse transformed into a giant spherical shape.
Thud—! Thud—!
From inside, something began to stir.
It looked as if a life inside an egg was being conceived.
“Burn it all, Fireball.”
Fwoosh—!
Unable to overcome his anxiety, Sweet took action immediately.
Whatever that thing was, he could no longer just sit by.
The thought pierced his mind that he must not let that egg hatch as it was.
Boom—!
A massive fireball struck the egg, exploding upon impact.
The unidentified egg burst apart, turning to ashes.
“What, that was nothing.”
It was at that moment that a presence was felt from the entrance of the cavern.
“Raven?”
The presence belonged to Raven.
“You came just in time. Look at this, I destroyed the last of the Heretic’s Hideouts…”
“It’s a trap.”
“…What?”
A trap? What in the world was she talking about?
Sweet’s thoughts didn’t go any further.
Wuuung—!
A magic circle appeared where the boss had died and the egg had burst.
“The Raven Kingdom was destroyed by an Elder Lich that suddenly appeared in the capital.”
Her gaze shifted towards the magic circle.
At the same time, despair shadowed Raven’s eyes.
“I always thought it was just a coincidence.”
The locations of the hideouts all aligned with the axes of a specific magic circle.
And at those places, there was always a boss monster ending with the name ‘Sacrificial Lamb.’
This entire process had happened exactly the same way in the Raven Kingdom.
At first, they accepted it as coincidence, then grew suspicious, and finally became certain.
“The activation condition of the magic circle is the death wail of the Sacrificial Lamb.”
The Sacrificial Lambs were created from the lives of citizens kidnapped by the Disciple of Salvation.
The magic that would destroy the Empire, made with the blood of its people on the land of the Empire.
That was the summoning of the Elder Lich.
“Doom is coming.”
As soon as Raven finished her line, the quest was completed.
―――
[ Heretic Purification (10/10) ]
- You have learned from Raven that there are Heretic’s Hideouts throughout the Empire. Eradicate all Heretic’s Hideouts in the Empire to uproot the source of evil.
- Completing this quest allows you to proceed with the ‘Approaching Catastrophe’ quest.
―――
[ Quest ‘Heretic Purification’ Completed. ]
[ Accepting Quest ‘Approaching Catastrophe.’ ]
―――
Doom is coming.
***
After hearing Raven (the prince)’s explanation, Suzuka sought a solution.
But after the many trials, her body and mind were exhausted.
No matter how hard she thought, she couldn’t come up with a suitable solution.
How could they possibly overcome this desperate situation?
“There is one way.”
“Really?”
Raven had a solution!
That was truly a stroke of luck amidst the misfortune.
They couldn’t just stand by and watch the Empire fall.
“Will you trust me?”
A voice filled with resolute determination made Suzuka’s expression harden.
Should it be called a woman’s intuition?
As Raven continued her explanation, Suzuka bit her lip.
“…With this method, we can prevent the summoning of the Elder Lich.”
“And what about you, Raven?”
Suzuka was a player. She was not a resident of the world of Akare.
Because of that, she couldn’t understand most of what Raven explained.
But even if she didn’t fully understand, she could grasp the overall flow of the story.
Sacrifice.
Raven had chosen sacrifice once again.
Ever since he had his arm bitten by the Black Phantasmal Rabbit in her stead.
After failing the Litania Count’s Territory quest multiple times and witnessing Raven’s death.
Suzuka no longer wanted to see Raven suffer.
So she worked hard.
She practiced wielding the mace she was not used to and fought battles she had never faced before.
Even after joining Sweet and Daehyeop Kim’s party, she personally asked questions and learned about combat strategies.
She didn’t want to rely on Raven anymore; she didn’t want to see him suffer.
So, she grew stronger.
Yet, even after growing stronger, there was nothing she could do.
The flow of this story was already connected to “Raven’s sacrifice.”
Just becoming a little stronger wasn’t enough to twist the predetermined tragedy.
“Someone has to do it.”
“Why, why does it have to be Raven?”
Suzuka, who spoke with a trembling voice, knew deep down.
That the only person who could delay the approaching catastrophe right now was Raven.
“There isn’t much time left.”
The magic circle’s colour was gradually turning black.
Once it turned completely black, the summoning spell would be cast.
“Ah.”
Suzuka reached out her hand towards Raven, who was walking away with his back turned.
Even if she slowly extended her powerless arm forward, her hand couldn’t reach Raven.
“…”
Raven, standing atop the magic circle, turned his head to look at Suzuka.
And then, he spoke his final words to her.
***
“I’ll wait for you.”
Please, make sure to save me.
Raven’s final words were left unfinished.
Because the moment the magic circle activated, Raven’s figure disappeared.
“…”
Daehyeop Kim stared blankly at the spot where Raven had vanished for a long time.
He understood it in his mind—Raven’s sacrifice.
But his heart couldn’t accept it at all.
Reverse calculation of the summoning magic circle.
Changing the subject matter of the summoning and reversing the direction of the summoning.
Raven’s proposed solution was indeed the best choice.
With this choice, the Empire could delay the approaching catastrophe.
But because of this, Raven was summoned alone to the place where the Elder Lich resided.
At the cost of reverse-calculating a higher-level magic circle, he had lost all his mana.
“Why can’t this damn bastard do it? Damn it!”
Daehyeop Kim was a player. A stranger to this world.
Reverse calculation of the summoning magic circle? What the hell is that? How do you even do that?
He had never even experienced feeling mana before.
Even if he knew the method, even if he learned the principles—
Could he really put it into practice? No, not at all.
“So, you’re saying there’s a chance he might not die as a sacrifice.”
The Disciple of Salvation called Raven a sacrifice and continued to pursue him.
Betting his life on something whose meaning he didn’t even understand, that damn sacrifice.
What was even more unacceptable was that he himself had come to accept those words.
[ Replaying the record. ]
At that moment, a system message appeared.
And then, the surrounding scenery changed completely.
Just like when he had seen records in the Hall of Heroes.
The place where Daehyeop Kim stood was underground. Deep underground.
On the walls of the deep tunnels, several prisons lined up.
At the very bottom, at the end of the underground, Raven was imprisoned.
“Raven!”
Raven’s condition was dire.
His entire body was covered in blood, and he looked pale.
He was left in an injured state, slowly dying.
In his desperation to save him, Daehyeop Kim reached out his hand.
But of course, Daehyeop Kim’s hand was blocked by the iron bars and couldn’t reach him.
Step- Step-
An undead entered the prison where Raven was held.
It was the first raid boss that appeared in the highlight of the trailer.
“Breaking a person’s will is very simple.”
Elder Lich. He whispered to Raven.
“Daehyeop Kim… Was that the name?”
Flinch.
Raven, who had resisted every torture and threat until then, reacted to that name.
“I’ll capture that guy alive and torture him in front of you. Even if he dies during the intense torture, his soul will be trapped in my hell, swearing eternal suffering. He will writhe in agony and blame you.”
Raven’s eyes wavered. He was shaken. His eyes were filled with despair and sorrow.
“But all of this could be prevented by your decision.”
Click- Click-
The skeleton’s teeth clattered together, letting out a bizarre laugh.
“Give me your body. Then, I won’t harm the man you hold so dear.”
Raven bit his lip. Raven, with tears streaming down, was in agony.
No. Don’t do it.
Contrary to Daehyeop Kim’s desperate hope, Raven’s mouth slowly began to open.
And just as Raven was about to answer—
The surroundings changed once more.
A woman, reminiscent of the blue sky, smiled brightly and asked Daehyeop Kim a question.
“Did you enjoy the beta test?”
—
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