Chapter 84: To the Demonic Realm (12)

Yohan’s eyes widened.

“How did you…….”

“Just as I thought.”

It wasn’t a very difficult guess.

If the fragments contaminated both the Player’s body and mind, it was an extremely natural deduction that the protagonist of the old ghost story on the Anonymous Bulletin Board was someone contaminated by a fragment.

Yohan said with a bitter expression.

“I don’t know about the others, but at least the Newbie hunter I saw was a pitiful person. They were suffering a lot.”

“Is that so?”

To be honest, I wasn’t very interested in what circumstances or situation the Newbie hunter was in.

The important thing was that if the fragments were left alone like this, second and third Newbie hunters would continue to appear.

‘No…… it would be right to see it as they are already appearing.’

Another hypothesis came to mind.

The hypothesis that the Newbie hunter actually existed, and also that an unspecified number of individuals on the Anonymous Bulletin Board were also acting as Newbie hunters, was correct.

It meant that the users on the Anonymous Bulletin Board might have been implicitly using the Newbie hunter as a front to go around killing other users.

And their purpose was one.

‘Ascension Stone Fragment.’

I didn’t know if that was because of the Player’s personal objective, or because their mind had been contaminated by Demonic energy.

But what was clear was that all Players who entered the World of Justice Online were bound by this thing called the Ascension Stone Fragment.

Whether they wanted it or not.

It was not an exaggeration to say that we had already entered a giant storm centered around the Ascension Stone Fragment.

“I’m thinking of getting moving soon, what do you plan to do now? Your body should be able to move, roughly, by now, right?”

“Huh? Ahh……?”

As I’d said, thanks to focusing the Power of the Orb of Water on Yohan, Yohan’s physical condition was not bad.

He wasn’t at a level to fight an intense battle right away, but I’d say he was at a level where he could escape the Demonic Realm using the path of the boundary.

“Don’t tell me you used recovery-type magic? Because of me, that kind of……!”

“It wasn’t magic, so you don’t need to worry too much.”

“……Really?”

“Yes.”

Only then did Yohan let out a sigh of relief.

All magic required a Price appropriate for it.

That was why he had been worried that I might have paid a price greater than necessary for his sake.

‘Anyway…….’

While I was clicking my tongue inwardly, Yohan said as he struggled to raise his body.

“……First, I want to say thank you once again. I survived thanks to you. I don’t have much, but please take this.”

Yohan held out a money pouch that looked like his entire fortune.

At a glance, its size and weight were not ordinary; it seemed to contain a considerable amount.

Considering that Players usually didn’t prefer to fill their backpack’s volume with unnecessary copper coins or silver coins, it was likely at least over fifty Gold.

I looked at it and hesitated for a moment, but soon accepted the money pouch.

Because it was obvious that given Yohan’s personality, if I refused the payment, he would feel greatly indebted and be bound by it.

“I’ll gratefully accept it.”

“……That’s a bit surprising. Honestly, I thought you wouldn’t accept it.”

“There’s no need to refuse something that’s given. I did go through quite a bit of trouble. If I think of it as hazard pay, there’s no reason I can’t accept it, is there?”

“I see.”

“Regret it?”

“Not at all.”

Yohan smiled faintly.

“If it were up to me, I’d like to give you everything I have, but if I did that, I don’t think I’d have any travel expenses left. I have quite a long way to go.”

“This is enough.”

“Then…… Luke, do you plan to stay in the Demonic Realm longer?”

“I’ll have to. I still have work left to do.”

Yohan nodded his head.

“Um, but……”

“Is there something you want to say?”

“It’s been bothering me for a while, but… your way of speaking seems to have changed a bit. Was that how you always spoke?”

“Is it uncomfortable?”

“No, well. You’re my lifesaver, so this is nothing. Please speak comfortably. Yes.”

Yohan smiled lightly.

“I’m thinking of heading back now. There’s no reason to be in the Demonic Realm anymore, and I think I’ve found something I need to do.”

“Are you giving up on hunting Mutants?”

“After something like this happens, I can’t do that again. I also think I might have been thinking about it very wrongly.”

“Is that so?”

The history of humanity proved that the animal called man inherently had a contrary spirit.

That was why I didn’t needlessly string together words warning Yohan about the dangers of the fragments again.

Not only did Yohan himself seem to know well about the dangers of the Ascension Stone Fragment, having experienced it firsthand, but the words I spoke out of concern could, on the contrary, pull Yohan back to the Ascension Stone Fragment.

“Then, I guess we’ll part ways here. It’s a bit disappointing.”

“If fate allows, we’ll see each other again.”

“That’s something I’ve heard often somewhere.”

Meeting a connection from the past in a place like this was a very welcome thing for me, but that was all.

My journey with Yohan ended here.

“Ah, there’s one last thing I want to ask.”

“Please ask. If it’s something I know, I’ll answer everything.”

That’s a very reliable answer.

“Even now that all the Demonic energy is gone, can you access the bulletin board?”

Yohan made a slightly surprised expression, as if he hadn’t thought about that part.

“Ah…… just a moment. I’ll check.”

Soon after, Yohan, who had waved his hand in the air a few times, said with surprised eyes.

“……It works.”

“Does it work?”

“Yes. The Anonymous Bulletin Board, of course…… and the other functions also seem to be working fine.”

Seeing that he could use the Anonymous Bulletin Board just fine even though all the Demonic energy Yohan originally had was gone, it seemed that the bulletin board authority and Demonic energy operated separately.

It meant that Demonic energy itself did not grant any special authority.

“If you don’t mind, could you leave one post on the Anonymous Bulletin Board?”

“Ah, yes, yes. What should I write?”

“Anything.”

It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Yohan, but it was better in many ways to have concrete proof.

In addition to that, I’d grasp Yohan’s Anonymous Bulletin Board nickname.

“I posted it.”

As soon as Yohan finished saying he had posted, I immediately accessed the Anonymous Bulletin Board.

[Accessing the Anonymous Bulletin Board.]

The scene of the Anonymous Bulletin Board, full of all sorts of posts as always, made me feel a certain nostalgia, but today I turned on the Anonymous Bulletin Board not for such nostalgia, but to find a specific post.

Recognizing Yohan’s post was not very difficult.

-Kim Yohan : Hello.

“Kim Yohan?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

With this, the verification was complete.

Even if the Demonic energy dwelling in a Player was removed, the authority, once granted by an Ascension Stone Fragment, did not disappear.

This information was quite significant.

‘In that case, what happens if a Player whose Demonic energy has been removed additionally absorbs an Ascension Stone Fragment?’

It might be that even if they came into contact with an Ascension Stone Fragment, they might not be able to absorb it, or even if the Demonic energy was removed once, if they were exposed to an Ascension Stone Fragment again, they could be consumed by Demonic energy once more.

Of course, all this was merely speculation, so it seemed a proper confirmation would be needed on this part later.

Yohan said.

“Ah, and there’s something I want to ask as well, as a last thing.”

“What is it?”

The first thing that came to mind was, as expected, the existence of the firearm.

This time, I had used a firearm to save Yohan, who was consumed by Demonic energy, and the probability that Yohan also remembered it was high.

However, that concern was pleasantly proven wrong.

“Are you perhaps someone who knows me? I just get that feeling for some reason.”

This… what should I say…….

I thought I hadn’t shown any sign of it at all, but just as people dealing with people wasn’t done with reason alone, it seemed Yohan had implicitly sensed something.

It might not be bad to continue this connection with Yohan.

Yohan was still the upright person I had known him to be, and as long as I wasn’t going to make all users my enemy, there was no harm in having an ally.

But I shook my head.

“No.”

“Ah…… is that so? I must have been mistaken. Pardon me.”

It wasn’t because I didn’t trust Yohan.

It was just that I had judged it was safer for both of us to remain as strangers for now.

Because I still lacked the strength to regain the things I used to have.

“Will I be able to see you again later?”

“If fate allows, I suppose so. Ah, if you post on the Anonymous Bulletin Board later, I’ll at least leave a comment.”

Yohan said with the same faint smile as always.

“That’s not bad either. Strangely, whenever I write a post, I almost never get any comments.”

Well, posts written by someone like Yohan were bound to be mostly uninteresting, so that was inevitable.

“Then…… I was truly sorry, and thank you. For going through this because of me, and for saving my life, for everything.”

“I already received payment, so don’t worry about it too much.”

“Haha, I had a feeling you’d say that.”

Yohan packed his backpack and belongings that were scattered on the floor and spoke.

He was limping, and his movements still looked a bit uncomfortable, but that didn’t mean I needed to watch over Yohan like a guardian until he returned safely.

Even though he had lost the Demonic energy he possessed, Yohan was still a mid-level Player.

It meant that if he used the path of the boundary, he could escape the Demonic Realm while protecting his own body.

“If you ever need my help someday, please contact me anytime. You should be able to find me on the Anonymous Bulletin Board.”

“I won’t refuse.”

“Since you say that, my heart feels a little more at ease. Honestly, I thought you’d refuse.”

“You’re offering to help, so there’s no reason to refuse, is there?”

“That’s true.”

Yohan smiled weakly.

I smiled too.

***

Yohan left.

In fate, if there was a meeting, there was also a parting, so I also left the safe zone right away without any useless lingering feelings.

I didn’t know if it was because there had been a considerable disturbance until just a short while ago, but the atmosphere within the Demonic Realm was quite unusual.

Groooowl──

Wooo…….

A gloomy, bizarre cry heard from far away.

Within the Demonic Realm, it wasn’t just demonic beasts; there were more than one or two things to be careful of, so I couldn’t just ignore each and every one of those omens.

Nevertheless, it wasn’t that I couldn’t break through if I wanted to, but should I say there was no need to go looking for trouble?

That was why I had no choice but to take a slight detour instead of the path of the boundary I had originally intended to use.

The boundary between the territories of demonic beasts.

That path was never fixed, and it changed along with every change in the situation within the Demonic Realm.

That was why knowing the path within the Demonic Realm was, to be precise, closer to knowing how to read that path.

The reason I had stopped my steps now was also because of that.

‘The boundary between territories is faint. Did the demonic beasts clash with each other or something?’

Demonic beasts whose territories overlapped fighting each other was one of the very common occurrences in the Demonic Realm.

However, it was rare for them to fight so violently that an entire pack completely disappeared.

Overlapping territories meant that the strength between the demonic beast packs was equal, and if such demonic beast packs fought, it would only result in mutual destruction.

‘In other words, in a case like this, it’s right to see it as being due to an external influence rather than a fight between existing demonic beasts.’

The atmosphere within the Demonic Realm was unsettled.

To the point where I couldn’t easily pass even the path of the boundary that I would have normally just passed through.

Yohan had said it was because of him, but there was no way the aftermath of just one level 6 Mutant and one Player rampaging was still remaining.

What’s more, wasn’t this place, location-wise, a place far removed from where Yohan had been?

‘The remaining possibility is that a big change has occurred in the power structure of the demonic beasts in the Demonic Realm, or…….’

The next deduction was, to be honest, an assumption I didn’t really want to think about.

‘One of the Kings of the Demonic Realm has awakened from a long sleep.’

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