Chapter 387: Episode 74 – Great War of Saints and Demons (2)
The first person to raise her voice was Han Su-Yeong. “What the hell? How can you even think that? Does one’s intelligence get worse the more you regress?”
“Taken words right out of my mouth. To think that a so-called writer would cook up something so unpleasant.”
She and Yu Jung-Hyeok growled and glared at each other.
And the first one to back off was also Han Su-Yeong. “Fuu.... Right, regressing three times could mess with your mind and cause you to dream up weird things. So.... You’re saying that ‘Secretive Plotter’ is ‘Kim Dok-Ja from the future’?”
“That’s what I think.”
“Fine, well. It’s not completely impossible, I’ll give you that. All sorts of crazy things happen in the <Star Stream>, and....”
Han Su-Yeong was about to say “A novel can also become reality in our world” but quickly swallowed those words back. Even if that was true, she thought that such a thing shouldn’t be mentioned in front of Yu Jung-Hyeok.
So, she said something else. “Wouldn’t it be quickest to ask the ‘Secretive Plotter’? Did you try to confirm it?”
He nodded his head. “I had a deal with him. If I do something for him, then he’d answer a single question of mine.”
“What did you ask him?”
“I asked if his identity was truly Kim Dok-Ja from the future.”
“And then, what?”
“He said that he wasn’t.”
“In that case, why are you.....”
“Let me be more clear. He said, ‘Once upon a time, I might have been someone, but now, I am no one.’”
....Might have been someone, but now, they are no one?
Han Su-Yeong quickly realised what was wrong with that statement.
The ‘Secretive Plotter’ didn’t implicitly deny being ‘Kim Dok-Ja from the future’ in that reply. No, what he said was much closer to ‘I might be Kim Dok-Ja, or I might not be’ than anything else.
In that case, Yu Jung-Hyeok not backing away from his guess made sense.
Han Su-Yeong asked one more time. “Was that all you asked him?”
“He knew of all the regression turns I’ve lived through.”
He was something once upon a time, but now, just a simple ‘Secretive Plotter’; a being that knew every regression turn Yu Jung-Hyeok had lived in.
“Anything else?”
“No.”
“You kidding me? You fought like crazy just to ask him only that?” Han Su-Yeong yelled at him while panting like an angry bull. “That guy didn’t exist in your previous regressions, right? If you couldn’t find out his real identity, you should’ve at least tried to learn other info, you know?!”
“....I did hear what his goal was.”
“What was it?”
“He said that there was something he wanted to change. And, someone he wished to kill, as well.”
It felt as if the more she heard, the deeper she was being sucked into the quagmire. By flipping the term ‘someone he wished to kill’ around, you’d get ‘someone he can’t kill yet’.
Was there a being on the level that even a godly existence like ‘Secretive Plotter’ couldn’t do anything about?
“That’s all I’ve heard from him. That was all the questions I was permitted to ask.”
“You couldn’t dig out more info, though?”
“That means I’ll have to make another deal with him. If I do, then I’ll have to bear a heavier cost than the last time,” said Yu Jung-Hyeok, and he shifted his gaze to the sky.
She also looked up as well and activated [Midday Tryst].
– Is he looking at us?
– I can’t sense his gaze.
That was a slightly disappointing result; they were chatting away openly like this so that the subject in question would hear them, but it seemed that he wasn’t even watching them right now. Should she say it wasn’t like ‘Secretive Plotter’?
Han Su-Yeong spoke.
– Well, this is problematic. If a godly being on that level decides to butt into the middle of something important, then no matter how good our plan is, it’ll be useless.
Especially so when on a stage as important as the current ‘Great War of Saints and Demons’; if a small variable could flip the table on its head, then there was no way she’d not be concerned by it.
However, Yu Jung-Hyeok’s thoughts were different from hers. “He probably won’t step forward personally.”
“What makes you think that?”
“The evidence is with him using Kim Dok-Ja or me to carry out his schemes. If he was able to make a move, then he’d have done so already. An existence of his level would need to exhaust a great deal of Probability if he intends to make a move.”
“....That makes sense. Who knew that the moment I’d thank the shitty Probability would actually come?”
“I have something to ask you now.”
“Ng?”
“I still haven’t heard the basis for your unpleasant hypothesis. Why did you say the ‘Secretive Plotter’ is ‘that person’....?”
Yu Jung-Hyeok’s question elicited a smirk from Han Su-Yeong. “What’s this? I thought you weren’t interested, but I guess it does bug you.”
“You never fail to add unnecessary comments, don’t you.”
Just before he could grasp the cold hilt of his sword, a rather sly voice came towards them from nearby. “You two seem to be enjoying each other’s company.”
Two people’s cold, murderous glares squarely landed on Kim Dok-Ja.
He formed a bitter smile and was about to wave his hands around while backing away, but then, a new scenario message rose up in the empty air.
[New coordinates for the 113th regional conflict have been set.]
The gazes of the group were now fixed on Kim Dok-Ja. Finally, time to make another move had arrived.
“Well, let’s go and cause another scene, then.”
As if they were all waiting for it, Fables of <Kim Dok-Ja Company> began clamouring loudly.
[New Fable is sprouting in the Demon King, ‘Demon King of Salvation’!]
[List of candidates for ‘Demon King of Salvation’s’ second Modifier have been generated.]
*
The Demon World’s second-in-command was called by a variety of Modifiers; ‘Ruler of East Hell’, ‘Demon World’s Proxy’, ‘Destroyer of Sanctity’.
Even though he carried many varied names, there could ever be only one true name for him.
The Master of the 2nd Demon World, Agares.
Ever since the Master of the 1st Demon World suddenly disappeared, Agares had been protecting the Demon World for the past thousands of years or so. He cut off the heads of Archangels salivating over his territory, and protected those Fables that allowed ‘Evil’ to exist as evil.
While he tested the qualification of ‘Evil’, restricted, and even ruled over it, he focused all of his being on only one question.
What did ‘Evil’ exist for?
Every time he ripped apart yet another living being, he immersed himself in that question. It was not important whether this question had an answer or not; no, that question simply enabled him to carry on.
[113th regional conflict has been forcibly concluded.]
[114th regional conflict has been forcibly concluded.]
However, this was his first time seeing such a spectacle in the thousands of years he’d lived so far.
– Everyone, be strong for a little bit longer!
– We’ve almost suppressed them all!
There were people rescuing the Reincarnators from the chaotic battlefield. The expendables being sacrificed regardless of the outcome of the great battle between ‘Good’ and ‘Evil’ were being saved by someone.
Now normally, such actions would correspond to the side of ‘Good’. However, the problem here was that a Demon King was responsible for performing that very action.
[Chaos Points have increased by 4.]
[Chaos Points are currently 60.]
[Warning! Chaos Points have exceeded 60!]
Chaos. Neither ‘Good’ nor ‘Evil’, it was ‘something’ that existed outside of the world’s Probability and its natural order.
[You want to increase the Chaos Points and stop the ‘Great War of Saints and Demons’, is that it?]
Reddish horns sprouted up below the fedora pushed down deeply on Agares’s head, which was his unique quirk whenever he was intrigued by something.
[Stop smaller-scale destruction with the threat of even bigger destruction. It truly is an idea only the ‘Demon King of Salvation’ can cook up.]
The one to offer his opinion was the ‘Devil of Lust and Wrath’, Asmodeus.
Agares spoke, his fingers gripping the throne wagging to and fro. [Why does he not side with ‘Evil’? Surely, he’d not lose out by joining this side.]
[Once this ‘Great War of Saints and Demons’ concludes, his ‘Climax’ will be completed. It also means that the ■■ he pursues is not on the path of ‘Evil’.]
[Even then, he doesn’t seem to be pursuing the ■■ of ‘Good’, either.]
This was a far more awkward situation than if he had chosen to side with either the ‘Good’ or ‘Evil’.
Agares asked again. [What are your thoughts?]
[Metatron will make a move first before we do. There is simply no way that the aged Angel who had been thirsting after this war more than anyone else would let his careful plans get thrown into disarray.]
Almost at the same time as those words came to an end, a single line message arrived through the Demon King’s line of transmission.
– Agares, I’ve contacted you with a matter I need to discuss.
The torn corners of Agares’s lips curled up in a smile.
– Metatron, I’m sure we don’t enjoy a relationship where we can relaxedly chat away our spare time like this.
The highest authorities in the Demon World and <Eden> currently were speaking face to face through a screen. Just from the exchange of their gazes, a powerful burst of Probability’s sparks exploded out.
– I don’t mind shooting the breeze with you, but for now, it seems that I need to borrow your power for a little while.
– Have you ever heard of a story where ‘Good’ and ‘Evil’ joins hands?
– Well, the stories of ‘Evil’ trying to achieve its goal by any means necessary are quite common, aren’t they?
Even after hearing Agares’s sarcastic tone of voice, Metatron remained composed.
– There is a certain immature Nebula; young juniors, that believe they are the centre of the universe.
It was pretty clear who those juniors were in this little story. Agares chuckled and replied.
– To think, you’d use the hotline just so that you can trample on a small Nebula. How amusing.
– If things go wrong, then even the ‘Great War of Saints and Demons’ could collapse because of that small Nebula.
– Do you wish to instil discipline in them as a senior of the <Star Stream>, then? Your ‘Kkondae’ disposition still remains, I see.
– Let’s just say that I merely wish to teach them the true ways of the world.
– I decline. I don’t need to join hands with someone like you, because crushing a Nebula like that is nothing to me.
– I’m not proposing that we join hands.
– Then, what?
Rather than a verbal reply, Metatron floated a small crucifix above his hand. It rose up in the air and continued to spin around.
– <Kim Dok-Ja Company> was able to ruin the battlefields due to the fact that they have been exploiting how the forces are balanced, each side’s power being equal.
-So what?
– But, what if it’s a battle where that balance has been broken from the beginning?
Metatron blew at the crucifix; when he did, its axis of rotation was slightly disturbed and it began spinning unstably. Agares asked as if he was displeased by something.
– Are you suggesting that we create a battlefield where one side is at a disadvantage from the beginning?
– That’s correct.
Unless the combat forces of either side were evenly matched, <Kim Dok-Ja Company> would have to try to shift the balance if it had tilted to one side already. If it had tilted towards ‘Evil’, then lean towards ‘Good’, and if it was tilting towards ‘Good’, then push back to ‘Evil’.
If that situation was exploited inversely, then it’d not be an impossibility to engineer a regional conflict where <Kim Dok-Ja Company> would be met with annihilation, too.
– And you want to start a battle with who in disadvantage now?
– We should play fair in this matter, at least. If we create a regional conflict with the ‘Evil’ side in a disadvantage, then I shall create another one with ‘Good’ at a disadvantage.
– Interesting. I guess that you dearly wish to kill them even at the expense of sacrificing angels.
– We can’t sit back and watch the Chaos Points rack up like this. Also, by creating several regional conflicts we will be able to disperse <Kim Dok-Ja Company>.
– What if they don’t react to this provocation?
– Wouldn’t that still be enough, then?
Metatron’s eyes, as seen on the screen, were glowing in white light.
– If they don’t respond, then the ultimate victor of this war would end up being ‘Good’ and ‘Evil’, after all.
*
[Gate leading to 115th regional conflict has opened!]
[Gate leading to 116th regional conflict has opened!]
[Gate leading to 117th regional conflict....!]
I chuckled hollowly while watching the Gates blanket space in real-time.
I knew it. There was just no way that Metatron or Agares would let this matter slide like that.
Jeong Hui-Won watched the portals that appeared and disappeared in real-time and asked a question. “Dok-Ja-ssi, what’s going on?”
“They’ve started several regional conflicts at once.”
“But, can that even happen?”
“Originally, no. Even if it’s nominally a regional conflict, it can’t start and end that quickly, you see.”
[115th regional conflict has concluded.]
[116th regional conflict has concluded.]
Along with the battlefields that were concluding abruptly, the scenario message floated up in the air as well.
+
[Current state of Great War’s progress]
Absolute Good Points: 57
Absolute Evil Points: 57
Chaos Points: 60
+
The ‘Good/Evil’ Points were rapidly climbing up as if to compete against the Chaos Points we had racked up. The one who eventually shot up from his seat first was Yi Hyeon-Seong.
“We can’t just sit back and do nothing.” He clenched his fist tightly and continued on. “There must be Reincarnators being sacrificed in those battlefields.”
“Of course there are. But if we enter one of those, we’ll all die,” replied Han Su-Yeong as she chewed on her nails.
“....Excuse me?”
“Don’t you get it? Those are all traps. They made up their minds to totally destroy us, that’s what.”
Yi Hyeon-Seong dazedly stared at me, and I nodded my head at him. “Han Su-Yeong is correct. Most likely, we will be attacked the moment we enter there.”
“It’ll be the same end even if we don’t enter.”
The complexions of the group became gloomier after hearing Yu Jung-Hyeok’s words.
Currently, the members of <Kim Dok-Ja Company> were split up among ‘Good’ and ‘Evil’.
If the victor of the ‘Great War of Saints and Demons’ was declared in this fashion, then the losing side would be met with a terrible fate. Obviously, the Incarnation bodies would cease to exist, and even if one’s luck was good and they became a soul, one would be tortured by the intense heat of Hell and his or her ego would be destroyed in the end.
We had no choice but to participate in the battles.
“....It can’t be helped, I guess.”
Sometimes, one had to step right in knowing that it was a trap.
I quickly divided the members. “Jeong Hui-Won-ssi and Yi Hyeon-Seong-ssi, please participate in the 117th regional conflict. Han Su-Yeong and Yu Jung-Hyeok, you two enter the 119th Gate...”
“Hey, hold up, what about you?”
“I’ll enter the 121st Gate alone.”
Yu Jung-Hyeok glared at me and wordlessly grasped the hilt of his sword, so I quickly made myself clear.
“N-no, I’m not saying that I’ll really enter alone, you know.”
“Then, who are you going with?”
“Folks who will become our allies.”
This time, Han Su-Yeong tackled me. “Who? Who’d wanna become our allies in the current situation?”
Indeed, no one would want to side with us, normally.
However, if my thoughts were correct, then at least, there was one. No, make that two.
[Nebula, <Underworld>, is waiting for you.]
I smirked and replied. “My parents.”
<Episode 74: Great War of Saints and Demons (2)> Fin.