Chapter 365: 365
'It's no fun when no one is fighting back . '
Michael stared at the corpses strewn about the field while smoking a rolled tobacco . Ash-grey smoke mushroomed up in the air . This cigarette was manufactured by the second generation of craftsmen . The reason why Michael enjoyed hunting demons or going on a 'business' trip was because he got to smoke the cigarettes he liked so much, to his heart's content .
In , smoking was an 'evil', a sin .
Michael smoked through several cigarettes in a row and as he fell into a chain of thought, stubbed it out by rubbing it against the exposed flesh of a dead corpse .
'Have I taken too long?'
「What do you mean, too long? It's only just begun . 」
Michael heard the voice reverberating within his head and frowned deeply .
'Shut up . '
「Hurry, wake me up . Unshackle me already . 」
Michael pulled out a new cigarette .
He had been hearing this particular Fable's voice for a long time . And whenever he did, Michael simply had to burn through more cigarettes, one after the other .
'Now isn't the time . '
Michael took another long drag of the rising smoke .
[Nebula has issued a new revelation . ]
*
[Archangel hunting, is it? It does sound rather interesting . ]
Asmodeus grinned brightly to reveal two rows of pearly-white teeth after hearing my offer .
[It's not just any other Archangel, but the 'Saviour of the Corrupted', too… . Are you being serious about this?]
"Of course . "
[However, aren't you in a friendly relationship with ? If you do something like this, won't you end up as their enemy?]
"Doesn't matter . I'm a Demon King, after all . "
Even if I didn't mean it, I still had to say it out loud . Because . . . I'm trying to convince none other than Asmodeus here . And the Demon King itself seemed to be seriously agonising over my suggestion at the moment .
"Do give it careful consideration . You need the syllable [Gru], right? On top of that, you'll be able to earn a Fable concerning an Archangel, too . 「The One who Hunted Down a Great Archangel」 . . . . Doesn't the thought alone excite you?"
Unfortunately, Asmodeus wasn't to be swayed that easily . No, rather than that, it was shooting me a proving gaze as if to ascertain what my true intentions were .
I decided to throw an even bigger bait at this juncture . "Well, that's disappointing . As a member of the 'Gourmet Association', I figured that you'd be different from other Constellations . "
Asmodeus's long, slender brows quivered noticeably after hearing my words .
[Your understanding of the Demon King, 'Asmodeus', has increased by a great deal . ]
[Your understanding of the applicable individual is quite high . ]
[2nd Stage of 'Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint' has activated!]
Now that's the first time I heard such a message .
Finally, the skill level of the [Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint] had risen up high enough to let me take a peek at the inside of selected Constellations . And right afterwards, I could hear Asmodeus's inner thoughts .
「He's utterly, hatefully arrogant, this 'Demon King of Salvation' . 」
Its inside was like a thick, sticky swamp . Listening to the private thoughts of a being looking back at me with a pair of quietly withdrawn eyes was making me feel rather uncomfortable .
Its thoughts continued on .
「A trap that I want to fall into this badly, is it . . . . 」
As expected, it wasn't for nothing that Asmodeus had climbed up to the position of the 'Candidate for the future Great Demon King' . It had already figured out that my offer was a trap .
「It's likely that the target of the 'Demon King of Salvation' is the 'Saviour of the Corrupted' . 」
「And he wants to use me and other Constellations to hunt down Michael and steal the 'Modifier Necklace' afterwards . 」
「It's commendable that he's using his brain so much, but well, it's a bit irritating to pretend that I fell for his schemes, isn't it . 」
Asmodeus's expression gradually changed into an icy one . Unsurprisingly, it seemed that this much convincing wasn't going to be enough .
「Michael is a difficult angel to fight against, even when he's being restrained by the Probability of the 2nd generation . . . . 」
Asmodeus's conflicting thoughts were gradually finding their heading now . A faint killing intent seemed to ooze out from its long nails .
I could sense Anna Croft next to me tense up and get into her battle mode . Maybe, she used the [Precognition] and saw something that was about to happen .
However, I wasn't worried in the slightest . Because, it was about time that a situation even her [Precognition] couldn't have predicted began, that was why .
Like clockwork, Asmodeus's expression became rather weird .
「 . . . . Mm?」
The demon's briefly-hardened expression shifted into one filled with complicated emotions . Its eyes danced around as if it was reading something in the empty air .
And so, how much time passed by like this? Countless emotions flitted in and out of Asmodeus's eyes before they finally landed back on me .
[Fufufu . Well, this is… . It's so hard to figure out the will of the sometimes, you know . ]
" . . . . What do you mean by that?"
[I was just talking to myself . Very well . I accept your offer . Let's try out this Archangel hunting thing, then . ]
Asmodeus's announcement caused Anna Croft's eyes to go completely round in shock . She then formed a puzzled expression next .
Completely disregarding her, the Demon King smacked its lips and concentrated on sending a message to someone somewhere . It was probably busy communicating with other 'Seekers of the End' right about now . And at the same time, a message from a certain someone entered my head .
「(Did I do well?)」
'You did . Thank you, Sang-Ah-ssi . '
The reason why Asmodeus changed its mind? It probably read a certain 'revelation' just now . More specifically, the fake 'revelation' Yu Sang-Ah and I had cooked up and spread around, that was .
It said, 「The corrupted Archangel will die by the sword of a 'Swordmaster' on the island of the aged Forgotten People . 」
*
" . . . . Another revelation was made??"
The Bureau was also turned upside down by the news of a new revelation . The first place to be affected by this was the sales department .
"Sir, we have a sudden spike in the sale of the Swordmaster-related skills!"
"Replenish their stock immediately! Call the related subcontractors and tell them to speed up the output of the mass production-type Stigma!"
"B-but, even then, our stock is running low, sir!!"
"D*mn it . . . . Where did all the Fable manufacturers disappear to?! Ah?? Who was it again? Right, if we request the 'Mass Production-type Maker', then . . . . "
In the meantime, Bihyung was quietly observing the developing situation from within this crucible of confusion and chaos . The Great Dokkaebi 'Baram' addressed him from the side .
[Bihyung, you should start a new scenario . ]
" . . . . I've already done so, sir . "
A new message was floating up on the scenario observation screen that flickered into life just then .
[Sub-scenario, 'Archangel hunting', has commenced!]
Soon, the sight of the Constellations hiding within the forest and the plains rushing somewhere en masse showed up on screen . They had all purchased Swordmaster-related Fables from the [Dokkaebi Bag] just now .
"Will it be fine to open a scenario like this one, sir? Surely, would strongly oppose this . "
[We have already obtained the Scribe's consent . He said that it doesn't really matter . We've already compensated them, so there's no need to hold back . ]
"To think, he'd allow one of his angels to be used as the subject of a scenario… . That doesn't sound like what the leader of the Absolute Good would do . "
[That's how the 'Absolute Good' operates . For the sake of the Greater Good, they would trample on smaller Good every now and then . ]
"I'm aware of that, sir . But lately, it's becoming harder for me to understand them . "
[Regarding?]
"Just what are and the Demon World thinking? Them agreeing to go ahead with the 'Great War of Saints and Demons' scenario, and… . Wouldn't they all perish together if they do this?"
Baram stared at Bihyung with unreadable eyes before forming a smirk .
[There is a saying about how short life is, but 'art' would go on forever . ]
"That's a saying from Earth, isn't it, sir?"
[Correct . Those are words that exalt the story's eternal nature . But, you should be aware of this – such a notion is false . Even the greatest Fable will die sooner or later . It's just that, compared to the length of a Fable's lifespan, a human's life is simply far too short, that is all . ]
Baram's voice seemed to contain the regrets of an innumerable length of time . Indeed, those words belonged to a Dokkaebi that had continuously told the tales of Constellations for a truly long time .
[Did you know? Once upon a time, stories with no distinction between good and evil didn't exist within . ]
"Yes, I know . "
[But, what about now?]
Screams from the Constellations killed by Michael's blade could be heard coming from the screen . And there were other Constellations silently peeping at this battle .
These Constellations were sponsoring someone else, they were busy swearing at others, or were fully enjoying the show . Coins exchanged hands, and cries of pleasure and despair continued to resound out .
And within this spectacle, not one person seemed to care about either good or evil .
"Ah . . . . "
As he spat out that short gasp, Bihyung finally understood the Great Dokkaebi's wisdom . Baram addressed his junior once more .
[This is a war to stop them from disappearing . ]
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