Vol 2 Chapter 58
Did that mean it was entirely Kran's fault, who had been acting as their guide and leading them all this time? Kapros had been thinking it was a bit strange that the monsters they encountered were getting stronger and then becoming weaker again.
It had felt like they were going straight into the depths without any bends, but in reality, they had been coming back out... It seemed that if they took a wrong turn at a fork, the path would change somehow.
'Even so, of all the paths to come out on...'
As Kapros sighed dejectedly, Kran's back, standing in front of him, flinched. Just as Kran turned around slightly with a tearful face, about to say something as if he knew he had done wrong, an unexpected voice cut in.
"If you choose the wrong path at a fork in this cave, you get thrown back to the entrance."
The slightly relaxed atmosphere instantly froze again. The stiff voice coming from inside the helmet was undoubtedly Caesar's.
Kapros felt surprised that his tone was calmer than expected. Given all the terrible rumors he had heard, and seeing how he had charged at them like a ghost as soon as they met, Kapros hadn't expected him to speak first. Well, he was human after all, so of course he could speak.
Feeling the tension he had been feeling towards the man strangely breaking, Kapros raised the corners of his mouth in a smile. At that moment, he felt Caesar's gaze piercing through his hood, just like on the battlefield earlier. Kapros quickly hid his smile as fast as he had shown it, but Caesar's gaze wouldn't leave him. Yu-wan and Kran seemed to sense this subtle atmosphere as well.
"...Why did you chase us?"
As Yu-wan spoke, he slightly moved his body to stand in front of Kapros, following Kran, blocking the unpleasant gaze. That was fine, but somehow it made Kapros feel like he was being protected. He had received a confession, but he certainly hadn't agreed to be protected.
While feeling this subtle displeasure, Caesar's helmet, which had been staring through Yu-wan at Kapros, slowly turned towards Yu-wan. It was chilling just to look at, but Yu-wan, expressionless as usual, showed no sign of tension. That too was a skill, if you could call it that.
"Do you know who I am?"
Caesar asked slowly in a slightly resonating voice.
"Caesar, isn't it?"
While a sharp current formed between Caesar and Yu-wan like a battle of exploration, Kran moved slightly closer to Kapros.
"Kap, have you met that guy before?"
Kran's eyes held a hint of worry as he whispered quietly so Caesar wouldn't notice. Kapros silently shook his head.
"Then I don't understand why he's only glaring at you."
As Kran was slightly frowning his well-shaped eyebrows, Caesar's voice was heard again.
"That's right. I'm performing the Knight of the Demon God quest. Then you should be able to guess why I'm here, right?"
At that moment, Kapros felt as if he had made eye contact with the man again, passing through the two walls of Yu-wan and Kran.
"You didn't think I wouldn't know that all three of you are quest performers, did you?"
Kran's eyes widened as he held his breath. Even Yu-wan seemed a bit surprised by those words and was momentarily at a loss for words.
"How..."
Kran muttered, but Caesar seemed to have no intention of responding to that, slowly drawing his long sword from its scabbard. The sword he held was glowing with a clear blue aura, even longer than the blade Kapros had seen only once when watching Yu-wan fight Magictopia.
"Especially the one with the hidden face over there..."
As Kapros watched the aura brightly bursting from the swords that Yu-wan and Kran quickly grasped, he listened to Caesar's low voice.
"It's strangely bothering me. I need to check your face."
The voice was quiet, but oddly grating, as if scratching a corner of his nerves. Kapros felt an unreasonable gratitude towards Kion-hyung, who had pressed this hood tightly on him before they left. Although hyung's attempt to draw Caesar's attention had ultimately been in vain, Kapros found himself appreciating it in this situation.
"Don't be ridiculous. There are three of us here. We'll take off your unpleasant helmet before you can even touch Kap."
Kran growled, his face distorted with killing intent, as if he had sold off his usual gentle and polite attitude somewhere. However, Caesar merely chuckled softly at those words.
"Ah... I see. But it makes little difference to me whether I'm wearing this or not, so I might as well take it off now."
With a sound that made the speaker feel deflated, Caesar unhesitatingly grasped the top of his helmet and pulled it straight off. In that brief moment, Kapros recalled that no one had ever claimed to have seen Caesar's face. If the Magictopia guild members who had tried to take revenge on the wrong person, Yu-wan, because they didn't know Caesar's face, saw this scene, they would probably shed tears of blood.
'If it doesn't matter, why were you wearing it so insistently in the first place?'
What a funny guy...
The thought stopped abruptly there.
Clang.
As Caesar threw the removed helmet behind him, the sound of it hitting the ground echoed loudly.
"...I thought it might be an ugly face worth hiding so thoroughly."
Kran's honest, quietly grumbling voice sounded distant. Too distant.
"Then next..."
It was so distant that Kapros couldn't even tell where the voice was coming from.
"Right. If you three come at me and make it interesting, that would be good too."
Strange. Some thought, any thought, should be entering his mind.
"I'm your opponent."
Yu-wan's voice was almost fading. Behind him, no one noticed Kapros, who was writhing as if his heart had been suddenly stabbed, unable to even make a sound.
Suddenly, a conversation from some time ago flashed in his mind.
When his master had mentioned that the guy who had left had returned, Kapros had carelessly uttered someone's name.
At that time, Kapros had felt it as something very distant. So much so that he would have sworn nothing would change for him just because that guy had returned.
Yes, he had thought nothing would change. Since they hadn't met yet, he believed that even if they did meet, nothing would change. He had laughed, saying he was no longer his former self.
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Jin Soram, the top-ranked hunter representing South Korea's Rift Phenomenon Management Headquarters, is stronger than anyone else and lazier than anyone else. As soon as he arrives at the office, he buries himself under a blanket and falls asleep. When he goes out on a mission, he causes accidents and returns to the office, often shirking his duties.
"Do you know how it feels to play a game that's already messed up? ...Anyway, the next round will come, so this time, I'm just going to play it recklessly."
In fact, his true identity is someone who has regressed through three lives, trying to save the world from the Great Rift but failing each time. After repeating a life where he couldn't sleep peacefully even for a day, he became completely exhausted before this life even began.
"I know. You worked hard, Jin Soram."
And then there's Han Tae-un, the man who saved Soram and died in all three previous lives. As he did in every life, he comes to Soram's side once again. The Great Rift is approaching soon. It's impossible to resolve it in this life without any preparation. Soram vows to save Tae-un in this life and die himself. At least, he won't let Tae-un save a failure like himself again.
"For now, until then, let's sleep..."
As Soram sluggishly lives his life waiting for that moment, a gradual change occurs in his heart.
'I thought this was a messed-up round... but I want to live a little longer here.'
Leonardo Blaine, the true war hero of the Raina Logia Empire and the commander of the Armsilver 11th Squad, is dishonorably discharged for disobeying orders during the final battle that could have led the Empire to victory in the territorial war. People criticize and point fingers at him, and after being released on parole from prison, he disappears without a trace.
Three years later, his name has been forgotten by the world. The Council has been persistently pursuing him, but he has proven difficult to capture. Frustrated by this, Hugo Agrizendro, the commander of the Council's army, decides to personally apprehend him.
"Since when have you been watching me?"
Leonardo was calculative and astute, so it wouldn't be surprising if he had been observing Hugo for some time now. However, Leonardo's answer was something that even Hugo had not anticipated.
"From the very beginning."
Graduate student Yi-han finds himself reborn in another world as the youngest child of a mage family.
– I’m never attending school, ever again!
‘What do you wish to achieve in life?’
‘I wish to play around and live comforta-‘
‘You must be aware of your talent. Now go attend Einroguard!’
‘Patriarch!’
My future would be guaranteed once I graduate. For my future!
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