Chapter 38
Raven, who was incapacitated, slowly began to fall below the crumbled audience chamber.
Sweet ran forward, catching Raven and examining her condition.
How is she? What if the Necromancer’s spirit still lingers? Is she severely injured?
A whirlwind of thoughts flooded his mind, nearly turning him into a fool.
He hadn’t even noticed that the other party members had disappeared.
Their absence signified that the story cutscene had begun.
And a story cutscene marked the end of the long and arduous Elder Lich Raid.
“Raven.”
Sweet called Raven, now free from his worry and anxiety.
In his arms, Raven lifted her head slightly, looking up at him.
“You kept your promise.”
“Yes. It was really hard.”
Raven’s pale, delicate hand touched Sweet’s cheek.
“I’m glad to see you again.”
“Me too. Thank you for holding on.”
Enduring merciless torture and endless nightmares—
It was far too cruel a burden for a single woman to bear.
Even after facing such hardships, even after nearly being consumed by the spirit of the Ancient Necromancer—
Raven endured, she did not give up, and her resilience led to this joyful reunion.
“I’d love to hear about your journey, but there’s no time.”
“What do you mean, no time?”
Sweet’s expression grew serious in an instant, as Raven’s words unsettled the atmosphere.
Watching Sweet’s sudden serious face, Raven couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
“I’m joking.”
“Sigh…”
Sweet let out a sigh of relief.
Even in a situation like this, she wanted to joke around.
But she was so beautiful, cute, and lovable that she was entirely forgiven.
“Still… I can’t resist the drowsiness hitting me right now.”
“Are you alright? Maybe I should ask the priest to heal you…”
As Sweet was about to request healing from Suzuka, he realized it was only him and Raven.
“Hold my hand.”
“Alright.”
Without asking why, he held her hand immediately.
“I’ll dream happy dreams, instead of those dreadful nightmares.”
With those final words, Raven closed her eyes.
“…She’s asleep.”
Her breathing and pulse were normal.
Judging from her steady breathing, it didn’t seem like she was having any nightmares.
“But why hasn’t the cutscene ended?”
By now, it seemed like the cutscene should have been over.
Just as he wondered why it was still going, a system message appeared.
[Elder Lich Aftermath – Proof]
Without any warning, the Elder Lich Aftermath had begun.
Sweet’s gaze turned toward the entrance.
Beyond the entrance of the audience chamber, he sensed the presence of multiple figures.
Thump, thump—
The synchronized footsteps of several people.
Having served in the military, Sweet quickly realized the source of the approaching figures.
“The Blackmane Knights.”
The Blackmane Knights entered the audience chamber and surrounded the area.
Jasper, the Knight Captain, stepped forward in front of Sweet.
“You have successfully defeated the Elder Lich.”
“Yes, but…”
Sweet glanced around at the knights encircling them.
“What is the meaning of this?”
“Do you know the truth about the fall of the Raven Kingdom?”
What nonsense is he spouting now?
Sweet gave Jasper a look that conveyed that thought.
Anticipating that look, Jasper continued his story.
“She testified before the throne that the kingdom’s downfall was caused by the Elder Lich’s resurrection. To verify the credibility of her testimony, a 7th-circle mage capable of viewing a location’s memory was dispatched. The truth they discovered contradicted her account.”
Jasper drew his sword.
“From the beginning, the Elder Lich was just a smokescreen.”
There was a flash of killing intent in his eyes.
“The reason everyone in the Raven Kingdom died simultaneously that day.”
The Knight Captain’s sword pointed towards the sleeping Raven.
“The resurrection ritual for the Object of Destruction and the true purpose of the Church of Salvation.”
The sacrifice for the ritual was the lives of every person in the kingdom.
And the total number of Objects of Destruction that could be resurrected by the ritual was two.
“The goal was to resurrect all Objects of Destruction, bind them into a single entity, and bring forth the God of Destruction.”
The resurrected Ancient Necromancer had taken over the Elder Lich’s body.
Then, where did the remaining one go?
“Raven is the vessel for the God of Destruction created by the Church of Salvation, the Object of Destruction that caused the second-highest casualties after the Heart of the Demon Realm.”
An entity capable of controlling and manipulating humanity’s negative emotions.
“The Witch of Sorrow.”
The knights surrounding them simultaneously raised their swords.
Sweet frowned as murderous intent poured in from all directions.
“That vessel already contains two combined Objects. For humanity’s sake, it must be destroyed.”
Jasper no longer regarded Raven as human.
He saw her as an Object of Destruction, a threat to humanity that had to be eliminated.
In retrospect, there were countless suspicious points.
First of all, Raven’s growth rate was suspiciously fast.
An NPC, yet growing at a pace comparable to a player?
Even that alone proved Raven was no ordinary NPC.
Additionally, the Ancient Necromancer had an unhealthy obsession with Raven’s body.
The reason the necromancer coveted Raven’s body, which possessed only talent for swordsmanship.
And even the ability to reverse-calculate the Elder Lich’s summoning magic circle and sacrifice herself.
If Raven truly were the Witch of Sorrow, one of the Objects of Destruction, as Jasper claimed, it all made sense.
Sweet fell into deep thought.
Does that mean Raven has to die?
For a moment, anger almost consumed him.
But he kept his composure and did his best to calm his mind.
Persuasion seemed nearly impossible. Appealing to emotion wouldn’t work either.
In the end, only one option remained. The only way was to fight.
What about the power difference?
His opponent was the elite among elites, the Blackmane Knights.
On the other hand, Sweet was alone. He also had to protect Raven.
Victory seemed impossible. Should he just give up?
“No.”
He couldn’t give up. The entire journey of the past month had been solely to save Raven.
His hesitation ended.
Sweet looked directly at Jasper, who was in front of him.
“I am weaker than you.”
“…So?”
“Even if I resist, I’ll be subdued soon enough.”
“I don’t want to see needless bloodshed. You are favoured by His Majesty, after all.”
Jasper’s words could also be interpreted as a willingness to shed blood whenever necessary.
“An enemy of humanity. An entity feared even by the Empire, an Object of Destruction. I survived facing a vessel containing two of such entities.”
“…”
Jasper’s gaze, speechless, fell upon Sweet.
“And I managed to subdue it without killing her.”
“What are you trying to say?”
Finally, the words Sweet wanted to hear came out of Jasper’s mouth.
“Raven is not an Object of Destruction. To be precise, she has not been overtaken by the consciousness of an Object of Destruction.”
“Why?”
“Because if she had been possessed by an Object of Destruction, several contradictions arise.”
Raven had, indeed, met with the Emperor alone once.
If Raven were truly the Witch of Sorrow, she would have killed the Emperor on the spot.
The Emperor’s death would create immense chaos, a situation the Church of Salvation desires most.
“Additionally, the fact that the Church of Salvation hasn’t interfered in this situation, and has left Raven, the vessel, unattended is itself contradictory.”
They sacrificed an entire kingdom to resurrect two Objects of Destruction.
There was no way they would just stand by and watch it be lost in vain.
“…”
Did Sweet’s fervent arguments manage to sway Jasper?
Jasper fell into contemplation, and Sweet delivered his final blow.
“The power of an Object of Destruction can prevent the resurrection of another Object of Destruction.”
Fight fire with fire.
“Please, grant me a chance to prove it.”
After Sweet’s last words, Jasper ended his hesitation, sheathed his sword, and raised his hand.
“Everyone, stand down.”
“Captain!”
“I will take full responsibility.”
Having successfully persuaded Jasper, Sweet let out a sigh of relief..
***
Watching Sweet’s broadcast, I couldn’t help but be surprised.
What I expected was for him to confront Jasper, get beaten unilaterally,
and be transported, along with the deeply sleeping Raven, to be confined in the imperial underground prison.
But in that short time, Sweet managed to point out contradictions and successfully persuade Jasper.
The usual route was for the story to flow in such a way that Jasper, clashing with the player, would feel a sense of discord and postpone Raven’s judgment.
‘Everything else went as expected.’
Daehyeop Kim had a duel against the Blackmane Knights and was thoroughly disciplined.
Paegwi tried to parry Jasper’s blow but only ended up breaking his sword and shield.
Lastly, Suzuka appealed to emotion, but Jasper wasn’t someone easily swayed by emotion.
‘Is this the power of love?’
What even is love, anyway?
I wanted to research it, but I’d never experienced romantic love, so I couldn’t even fathom where to start.
“Now, the real beginning starts.”
The Elder Lich Raid was a raid that marked the true beginning of Akare.
From here on, new classes, regions, and even second awakenings would be introduced.
Just combining what’s already updated would require about a year of consistent play.
‘All the big-party broadcasters have shut down.’
[Indie Minor Game Gallery]
I habitually opened up the gallery for a bit of browsing, as I usually did, and went straight to the trending posts page.
“Huh?”
I expected to see the page filled with posts about the Elder Lich epilogue.
―――
Moving gallery – check the link in the post [145]
Your gallery is dead! [31]
Akare discussions go to Akagal [19]
Finally back to my little indie gallery [24]
―――
I was greeted by totally unexpected posts.
“To Akagal… So they’ve made a separate Akashic Records gallery.”
Come to think of it, it was strange that discussions about Akashic Records were happening on InGameGal all this time.
After all, the gallery’s name is “Indie Minor Game Gallery.”
Akashic Records was no longer an indie or minor game.
I clicked the link in the post and moved to my new home base.
Then, scrolling to the very bottom of the trending page, I checked out Akagal’s monumental first trending post.
―――
[Title] Thumbs up if this girl is so damn cute lolol
(Aurora cosplay blue pill meme)
Downvote if this is the best game director ever
Views if she’s adorable
Comment if you want to date her
Likes: 8150 Dislikes: 8150
―――
[Comments 3500]
FandralBoost
ㄴ Look at the land of fire roaring!
ㄴ These Akare fans are insane
ㄴ First trending post praising the director, of all things
Views and comments, seriously lolol
ㄴ How do I date big sister Aurora?
ㄴ Private comment.
ㄴ Answer provided.
―――
“Hah…”
This gallery is dead.
—
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