Chapter 39: Everlast Ruins (6)

A chilling voice came from behind me, unmistakably a man’s.

But when I turned around, there was no one there.

In an instant, countless questions flashed through my mind.

‘An invisible-type monster? Or sight-distortion magic?’

Of course, the biggest question was different.

‘I’ve never seen a situation like this in the Original.’

Even as my confused thoughts tangled and twisted, the sharp voice continued to echo toward me.

“Are you surprised? Do you really think the whole world is in the palm of your hand?”

I couldn’t even tell exactly where the voice was coming from anymore.

In front? Behind?

Or all around?

What is this, some kind of haunted house?

“Hey! Come out right now!”

“You’re already out.”

“Then show yourself!”

“I wonder if you’d care to request that of your meaningless eyeballs.”

…Now it’s playing word games too?

But still, I couldn’t see a single human figure anywhere, and it was maddening.

Knowing this game’s world better than anyone, this situation was baffling beyond measure.

‘What on earth is this?’

This dungeon was supposed to be cleared by the Broken Puppet Warrior Commander.

I was supposed to receive the dungeon clear reward from that NPC first.

And after proving I’d achieved the hidden objective…

…A new path would open into the hidden space behind.

That was the passage to the Secret Stone Chamber.

There, I was to meet the Five Guardian Saints and receive the special reward, the Guardian Star’s Blessing—the dungeon’s hidden finale.

All of it.

But something strange was happening.

Something I’d never heard or seen before!

“…Huh? Wait.”

“Hm? What is it?”

“I wasn’t talking to you, mister.”

Suddenly, a thought flashed through my mind.

‘Right, the Five Guardian Saints.’

Come to think of it, those guys also appeared as NPCs in the form of disembodied voices.

Saint of Bow and Wheel was a delicate girl.

Saint of Spear and Sword a sharp young man.

Saint of Shield and Flame a strong-willed woman.

Saint of Dog and Wolf a lively boy.

And Saint of Light and Darkness…

‘Yeah, he appeared exactly like this—as an ambiguous male voice whose identity couldn’t be guessed.’

Right, that voice.

‘Okay, then it’s this!’

With that conviction, I opened my Inventory without hesitation.

I threw my Steel Sword, which had been strapped to my waist, inside and pulled out a bow instead.

[Weapon] A bow modeled exactly after the one used by the Elf War Hero Shilogis. It lacks some accuracy but can be fired very rapidly.

It was the bow I’d gotten after thoroughly shaking down a dealer in the Shadow Market.

‘I originally saved it for the Rite of the Crimson Wind.’

But here I was, putting it to use like this.

I immediately nocked an arrow and drew the string with all my strength.

I didn’t have any bow-related Skills yet, but it didn’t matter.

‘I’m not trying to shoot right now.’

Simply drawing the bowstring was enough.

[‘Eye of Walakas has been activated!’]

As I pulled the string, the glasses I was wearing changed.

Swoosh.

Like computer graphics overlaying my vision, a predicted trajectory for the arrow appeared in my sight.

‘Good!’

It showed the path the arrow would take when shot with Swift Arrow.

If I let go of the drawn bowstring now, my arrow would fly precisely along that path.

This was the effect of the magical glasses called the Eye of Walakas, stolen by Varmilo from the Chief’s Library.

Thanks to them, even though I was holding a bow for the first time, I could accurately predict where the arrow would fly.

But I had no intention of firing the arrow.

“…Now then, where are you? Where?”

I held the bowstring steady.

I hadn’t drawn the bow to hit anything in particular.

‘I only drew it to activate the Eye of Walakas.’

I was using the glasses’ function in an unusual way—tracking something invisible to my eyes.

What do I mean?

…You’ll see.

“Interesting. Do you really think I’d be afraid just because you’re holding a bow like that?”

The teasing voice still sounded.

But I was already aiming the bow in one direction.

“No, but now I can see you this way.”

“Hm?”

Beyond my glasses, the arrow’s predicted path abruptly ended unnaturally.

I was pulling the bowstring with all my might, but the trajectory shown by the glasses cut off sharply in midair.

Right there.

That meant the thing was standing exactly in that spot.

The owner of this sudden voice.

Saint of Light and Darkness.

He was standing in the space I was aiming at, no doubt about it.

The glasses, touched by Demonkind’s influence, could detect not just physical forms but also invisible, mysterious presences.

Thanks to that, this kind of detection was possible.

By forcing the glasses to interpret a space where the arrow couldn’t pass, I was able to pinpoint the location of the unseen enemy.

‘Of course, this method was usable in the Original game as well.’

So I could be confident.

…Right now, I was aiming straight into his eyes.

“Saint of Light and Darkness, I know everything you’re doing there. If you want to play, at least show your face.”

Then a cold voice laughed.

“Yes, I shall respond positively to that interesting eye contact and bold suggestion.”

A new change happened.

A black shadow rose from the floor and began to take human form.

I swallowed nervously and took a few steps back.

I was completely caught off guard by Saint of Light and Darkness’s sudden appearance.

‘Saint of Light and Darkness… that’s who you are.’

I needed to think fast and come up with a way to deal with this.

But as the shadow finished shifting and fully assumed its form, all my worries became meaningless.

“A bit late, but welcome to our world, Outsider.”

“!”

I couldn’t even begin to respond.

[Please check your rewards.]

The System Message was still flashing.

It was instructing me to receive the perfect dungeon clear rewards.

But I remained silent, and the man who had settled into his throne smiled faintly.

All of it.

‘This man is Saint of Light and Darkness.’

His strong, beautiful smile carried an edge I couldn’t quite place.

Why did he appear like this?

I clenched my teeth and glared at him, unable to understand the Transcendent’s intentions.

“Why is that? Is there a problem with our procedure?”

A problem?

Of course, there was one.

From the swirling questions in my mind, I chose one and condensed it.

“Why am I the Outsider?”

“Hm?”

“What do you know about me?”

I was curious about what information he had.

But instead of answering, Saint of Light and Darkness started laughing maniacally.

“Hahaha! I know! I certainly know!”

“You do? How?”

“No, actually I don’t.”

…Are you kidding me?

I frowned at the ridiculous joke he was making.

“I know you, and yet I don’t. Or I don’t know you, yet I can say I do.”

Surprisingly, his voice was serious.

So I decided to hear him out.

“Alright, then excluding what you don’t know, what do you know about me?”

“You must have come from a dimension other than this one, yes?”

“…!”

I was momentarily at a loss for words.

That was a heavy question right from the start.

What was I supposed to say here?

‘Should I just admit it? Is that okay?’

I had no idea how to judge.

“Uh, well…”

As I stammered, Saint of Light and Darkness quietly laughed.

“There’s no need to hide it. It’s not your weakness, nor a fault.”

…Yeah, that made sense.

Where I came from wasn’t something he could control or manipulate.

Rather, this was exactly the point I wanted to ask about.

“Then do you know why I was summoned to this dimension?”

He stroked his chin with a meaningful expression and said,

“I know. But I do not know.”

“…This guy, seriously.”

I almost shouted at him to stop joking around.

“What I mean is, I know you came to our world to fulfill your destiny, but I do not know what that destiny is.”

“!”

His detailed explanation silenced me.

But the more I thought about it, the more confused I became.

“You came here to fulfill your destiny?”

What kind of nonsense was that?

Destiny?

Wasn’t that something only in cards?

“What exactly is that destiny?”

I could feel my voice trembling.

But his voice remained calm and cold.

“Destiny is a path. And even I do not know where your path leads.”

“…”

“I only know that those with such a destiny return here.”

“Those with such a destiny?”

A name flashed through my mind.

‘Eveiler! Irgal!’

The one who had taken the player character’s place came to mind.

“T-Then you mean there are others like me with such a destiny? Right?”

“That could be true or false.”

“…”

I really wished I could shut his mouth or tear it apart.

And what was this?

Those with such a destiny ‘return’ here?

“Ugh, I don’t get what you mean. I didn’t return—I just dropped here!”

“Hahaha!”

When I protested with a twisted face, Saint of Light and Darkness laughed again.

“Yes, you will continue to think and worry about your destiny, surely.”

His voice was deeply meaningful.

At the same time, a sudden chill rushed over me.

[Status Effect: Perfect Overwhelm applied!]

“…!”

A pain gripped my heart like it was being squeezed dry.

It reminded me once again that the being I faced was far beyond human.

‘The Five Guardian Saints only appear when the terrestrial gods weaken.’

In other words, they were beings that opposed and rivaled the gods on earth.

They were no one I could treat or scold lightly.

“Now that your turn is over, we shall ask questions.”

Saint of Light and Darkness rose, radiating a terrifying aura to prove that fact.

I gritted my teeth and endured it.

I had to stay alert and steady, biting my tongue if I had to.

The applied status effect, Perfect Overwhelm, forced the target to speak only the truth.

‘A powerful status effect created only by beings who reached divinity.’

But NPCs with high Intelligence and Charm Stats could strongly resist it.

“Ugh!”

By clamping my mouth shut and refusing to say anything, I planned to resist.

“Answer me, Outsider.”

No matter what Saint of Light and Darkness asked, I wasn’t going to say a word.

Absolutely nothing!

But something I hadn’t expected happened.

“Do you believe you can become Emperor as a member of the Imperial Bloodline?”

“…Huh?”

Did he just ask if I could become Emperor?

“Uh, well…”

I instinctively opened my mouth in surprise.

“Emperor? That’s totally possible…”

“Good, then. Excellent.”

Wait a minute.

What is he talking about right now?

Before I could even process it, System Messages popped up one after another.

[Faction Scenario: Empire and Continent’s Ruler has appeared!]

[Do you accept the scenario?]

…Huh?

What the hell is going on?