novelraw Chapter 168: The Path of Light (1)
Chapter 168: The Path of Light (1)
Translator: Dreamscribe
Arsilan was becoming devastated.
As time passed, the sense of loss over Leon grew stronger. All quests related to Leon were suspended at the Solis royal palace, and the places where Leon was frequently seen were now filled with nothing but silence.
Some Heroes blamed the Creator God, and a large-scale fundraising campaign for protest trucks was underway. In fact, whenever FS Games employees came out of the headquarters, reporters and Heroes would follow them.
"Leon can come back, right?"
"Please bring Leon back to life!"
"Is there a route to bring Leon back?"
"How are we supposed to beat that?"
In the midst of that atmosphere, Han Yong-seon, the director of Salvation Headquarters, held a brief press conference in front of the headquarters.
"All the landscapes of Arsilan Saga are a history created together by all of you. Just because you don’t like the outcome in front of you doesn’t mean you can undo what’s already happened."
Han Yong-seon spoke firmly.
"What I can say clearly is that Arsilan Saga will continue. Everything may change depending on the outcome."
Han Yong-seon’s remarks caused a huge stir.
Some Heroes predicted that if Arsilan were to be defeated by Erosion, the result might be that all Heroes would end up as minions of Erosion.
It was a fully plausible outcome.
It was a world we were creating where even the Creator God did not intervene. Too many routes had been prepared.
"There has to be a way."
"At least we’re all immune to Erosion, right? It was reversed because of the power of the Reverse World, not full corruption."
"Uwaaah! Let’s do this!"
Ella and Helby were still recovering and could not help.
All beings in Arsilan began moving desperately to find a way somehow.
But the situation was not good.
As time passed, it became increasingly despairing.
The Legion of Light had retreated all the way to the Seoul Field, where they established a defense line at the rift connected to LA to block the invasion. Since the Legion of Erosion could not revive in the Seoul Field, it seemed they were focusing their firepower on the rift and successfully holding it back.
However, most predicted it was only a matter of time before the defense line was breached.
There was a reason.
Reports came from other cities occupied by the Legion of Erosion.
They came from what were commonly called “ghost scouts”. These were people using Soul Glasses, roaming the cities in spectator mode. They couldn’t see deep inside, but they could observe what was happening.
"We really do feel like spies?"
"Can’t believe we’re moving around like this in real life."
"Thanks to this, we’re getting healthier though."
French Heroes came into reality using Soul Glasses.
They opened a group chatroom, moved systematically, took videos and photos of the current situation, compiled them into reports, and uploaded them to Arsilan Worlds.
Accordingly, an “Information Board” was created in Arsilan Worlds. Heina and the command staff stayed there, receiving all reports from the Heroes.
The French Heroes looked at the Eiffel Tower.
The Eiffel Tower, the symbol of Paris, had become a Tower of Erosion. Its surface was squirming, and they used the zoom function of the Soul Glass to examine it.
"Ugh, blegh!"
"Crazy...."
All the squirming things were enormous rats.
Grotesquely distorted rats were clinging to the surface of the Eiffel Tower like spiders, and they were coated in sticky fluid that dripped down to the ground.
It seemed like it would negatively impact the tourism industry, but instead, the number of tourists increased. Many people came to see this horrifying sight. While one could always see the usual scenes of Paris, a Paris drenched in apocalypse might not be viewable again. For some reason, there were also reports that pickpocketing and other crimes had decreased.
Paris had already been completely occupied by Erosion, just like LA. The same went for other cities where a Soul Gate had been installed.
"That is...."
"A rift...."
In front of the Eiffel Tower, space began to tear open. The rats pouring out of the Eiffel Tower looked like bulls. Through the opened space, the Seoul Field came into view.
The Heroes, watching the scene in a daze, quickly took photos and uploaded them to Arsilan Worlds.
The same was happening in other cities.
Title: Breaking News!
Paris, London, and Tokyo have experienced rifts leading to the Seoul Field. It looks like everything will flood in all at once. If all that comes through, Seoul Field is sure to be destroyed.
Anonymous1 (KR): Erosion keeps falling from the Great Rift... There’s gonna be a ton of monsters pouring out?
Anonymous2 (UK): And Leon-nim and the Legion of Erosion are there, too.
Anonymous3 (JP): What’s with the difficulty?
Anonymous4 (FR): What’s the situation in LA?
└ForRiceMoney: The Heroes currently in LA have opened a broadcast channel.
If all of that floods in, the defense line would crumble in no time.
LA was where the reversed Leon resided.
Heroes wearing Soul Glasses could see Leon. He was seated on a throne with his eyes closed. While they couldn’t get close while wearing the Soul Glasses, they could at least get near enough to clearly see his appearance.
If they ignored the warning message and approached, the landscape of the Reverse World would disappear, and only the real world would remain visible.
MagicMark, who had unlocked International City Marogo and completed the second-class advancement for mages, was a worthy name among the named Heroes.
He arrived in LA the previous night. He had stayed connected with the Heroes who had unlocked Marogo together and formed a large guild.
“MagicMark?”
“BlingJena?”
BlingJena, who had been with him for over two years, appeared at the rendezvous point. It was the first time seeing each other in real life. Their appearances were different, but since they had been together for so long, they quickly became familiar again.
MagicMark and BlingJena approached the area near where Leon was and put on their Soul Glasses. Then they immediately began streaming. Several other named Heroes also joined the broadcast.
“There’s a ton of them.”
“...The average level looks like it’s in the 90s.”
MagicMark and BlingJena’s expressions darkened.
The crowd gathered around them looked the same. LA police were controlling the streets to maintain order. The city of LA was cooperating with FS Games as much as possible, so people could observe safely.
-There’s a fuckton of them.
-If all that crosses into Seoul Field, it’s just game over.
-If Arsilan also falls, what happens to Arsilan Saga?
-They say rifts have appeared in all the other cities, too.
-We’re screwed. We haven’t even found any clues yet....
Monsters flowing from the Tower of Erosion approached Leon’s location. There were so many that the entire area turned pitch black from the mass of monsters. If all of them crossed into Seoul Field, destruction was practically guaranteed.
[The Great Rift has fully opened, connecting with the world of Erosion.]
The sky over LA turned completely black.
As the Great Rift opened, the space of Erosion and LA were now fully connected.
Swoosh!
Something long fell from the sky. It resembled the tentacle of an octopus. Instead of suction cups, a giant red eye was attached.
-Wow....
-Is that the Lord of Despair?
-Crazy.... The scale is on another level.
Its size was overwhelming, almost awe-inspiring.
A horrifying laugh echoed out. The Lord of Despair approached Leon, who sat on the throne. The tip of the tentacle transformed into a massive eyeball and came before him. The eyeball was far larger than Leon himself.
[My servant. March toward the last remaining city. And open the Gate of Arsilan to summon me forth.]
The Lord of Despair commanded Leon.
-Fuck...
-We’re screwed.
-Are they invading now?
It was posted as breaking news on Arsilan Worlds, and Seoul Field went on high alert. But Leon merely sat still.
Squirm!
The massive tentacle squirmed.
Seeing Leon unresponsive, the entity seemed momentarily confused.
[It is a command. Deploy immediately.]
The Lord of Despair gave the order in a thunderous voice.
Leon, who had kept his eyes closed, opened them and stared at the eyeball in front of him.
“You said it was a command?”
[Yes. Obey, my servant.]
Leon smirked and stood from his throne.
[Destroy the world of Heroes and offer all of Arsilan to me!]
When Leon stretched out his hand, a cursed sword materialized.
The Lord of Despair was filled with ecstasy.
Thud!
[What....]
Leon stabbed the eyeball with the cursed sword.
“I am the Emperor.”
As Leon raised the cursed sword overhead.
Kwagagaga!
From the eyeball at the tip of the tentacle to the massive root that connected it to the sky, it split in a straight line.
“No one can give me orders. Arsilan belongs to me. It is my land.”
[H-how dare you...!]
“Once I erase the light of Arsilan and build my own empire... I will then destroy your world. Wait for it.”
Leon had not fallen.
He was simply reversed due to the influence of the Reverse World. Since he had not been corrupted by Erosion, there was no reason for him to follow the Lord of Despair. The tentacle squirmed and tried to crush Leon, but it was useless.
Leon’s cursed sword began to absorb the energy of Erosion. The tentacle shriveled up and was absorbed into the sword. All the surrounding monsters’ bodies also disintegrated and were sucked into the cursed sword.
Swoosh!
Leon’s cursed sword began absorbing the Erosion from cities beyond the space as well. As the gray Erosion reached Leon’s vicinity, it transformed as if becoming a completely different energy, turning black.
It was no longer Erosion.
It was a darkness even deeper than Erosion.
The cursed sword scattered and turned into a black current. The black current drifted toward Leon’s head and turned into a black crown. The Lord of Despair flinched and vanished into the Great Rift.
Leon sat back down on the throne.
MagicMark and BlingJena stared blankly.
-Wow....
-Even though he’s reversed, he really is still Leon-nim.
-Yeah, it never made sense for him to follow something like Erosion.
-But... are we supposed to be happy about this?
The energy from all the cities, except for the Seoul Field, was pouring toward Leon.
-They say the Great Rift in Paris is closing?
-Tokyo too.
-Looks like he’s absorbing everything.
It was good that an invasion wasn’t happening right away. But people were afraid of what kind of result would come after he had absorbed all of it.
“Should we head back to Arsilan for now?”
“Y-yeah.”
At BlingJena’s words, MagicMark nodded.
They weren’t sure if this was something to be happy about, but at least they had gained some time!
Let’s hurry and find a way to overcome this crisis.
***
Jinwoo had returned to Arsilan, hiding his appearance and leaving behind an illusion of Leon using Illusion Magic. No matter how dramatic the performance, he didn’t like the idea of Leon becoming a slave of Erosion. Tia felt the same way, and that’s why she had prepared this scenario.
‘The response isn’t bad.’
The atmosphere was still grim, but since Leon wasn’t a slave of Erosion and was only reversed, things had improved significantly. Some people even said he looked cooler than before.
Many Heroes and Arsilan people were roaming around Arsilan, searching for a way to bring Leon back. Watching everyone cooperate in the face of crisis was a pleasing sight. The panic had subsided a lot, and now people were looking toward the future.
Now that a stage of despair had been set, it was time to bring in hope. Jinwoo headed for Hallon. Hallon was standing firm in the Archmage’s Laboratory. It was finally time for Haroron to enter the scene!
The ones who had reached the Archmage’s Laboratory while following the clues were NorthernGrandDuke, Haebyul, and several named Heroes. Judging by their damaged equipment, they’d gone through quite a bit to get here.
[Welcome! People of Arsilan, what brings you to seek me out?]
Hallon, who was dwelling within Haroron, began his performance. After hearing Haebyul’s explanation of the situation, Hallon fell silent for a moment.
[The Holy Sword has been reversed and turned into a Cursed Sword, and even Leon-nim, the incarnation of the Holy Sword, has become an enemy? On top of that, he’s growing stronger by absorbing all the energy of Erosion, and he’s about to invade Arsilan, destroy the Kingdom of Sillion, and establish an empire of darkness?]
Haebyul nodded.
Everyone present could easily predict what Hallon’s next words would be.
[Then....]
“Yeah, we’re screwed.”
Before Hallon could continue, UruBear jumped in first. Hallon, seemingly embarrassed by having his line stolen, cleared his throat awkwardly.
Haebyul looked at Hallon with a desperate expression.
“Isn’t there any way?”
[There’s always a way. It’s just a matter of whether it can be done or not.]
“Whatever it is, I’ll take it! Just tell us!”
[Hmm..., then let’s go back to the beginning.]
The golem arm extended and began pulling out books from the study one after another.
[Leon-nim is the incarnation of the Holy Sword. He forged the Holy Sword with the hearts he shared with the Heroes and his own soul, and he shared the light of the Holy Sword with all the Heroes. As long as the Holy Sword exists, Leon-nim is an eternal companion to the Heroes.]
The golem arm pointed to the Heroes’ chests.
[Feels empty, doesn’t it? The Holy Sword must have been dwelling within your souls. And now... it’s all gone.]
With the disappearance of the Holy Sword, the light had vanished.
[Then the method is simple. We just have to create the Holy Sword.]
“The Holy Sword?”
“You mean, make the Holy Sword...?”
Haebyul and NorthernGrandDuke looked shocked.
[If we create the Holy Sword and strike it into the soul of the reversed Leon-nim, something is bound to change. However... it must be far more powerful than the original Holy Sword.]
Come to think of it, it made sense.
If they could fill the lost light again, wouldn’t Leon-nim regain his senses? The Heroes nodded, thinking the same.
[The original Holy Sword... may not have been the true light of Arsilan. Do you know what was missing from it?]
“What was missing...?”
“What could it be?”
The Heroes pondered, but no answer came to mind.
Hallon looked toward Mia and the Arsilan people. NorthernGrandDuke’s eyes widened.
“The Arsilan people.”
[Correct.]
At NorthernGrandDuke’s words, Hallon nodded.
“That’s right. Arsilan isn’t just made up of Heroes.”
“Yeah. There are just as many Arsilan people as us.”
As Haebyul and UruBear said this and looked toward Mia, she blinked and then gave a bright smile.
Now, both the Heroes and the people of Arsilan were united as one in Arsilan. That meant the hearts of the Heroes alone couldn’t create the true Holy Sword. If everyone created it together, a true Holy Sword could be born!
“How do we make it?”
[First, we need Leon-nim’s light. We must gather a great amount of light and reforge it in Arsilan. The help of Ella-nim and Helby-nim is also essential.]
In response to Haebyul’s question, Hallon answered simply. But all of Leon’s light had already vanished. It had all reversed into darkness.
“But it’s all gone... how...?”
[Yes, it’s all gone. But that’s the only way. Didn’t I say it before? There’s always a way.]
There was always a method. The difference was simply whether it could be done or not. Despair began to settle once more on the Heroes’ faces.
Mia held Haebyul’s hand.
[Do you really think it’s impossible? Haven’t you already reversed the impossible and created a miracle before?]
“Ah!”
At Hallon’s words, Haebyul suddenly realized something and nodded rapidly.
“That’s right! We’ve done it once before!”
Haebyul looked at everyone.
“The Giants! That time, we went back to the past and won!”
“Y-yeah! We changed history!”
At Haebyul’s shout, UruBear responded with great excitement.
NorthernGrandDuke nodded slightly and looked at Haebyul.
“The Temple of Miracles we used back then still remains. There’s also the Dimension Gate that can cross between worlds.”
It was the Temple of Miracles built with materials gathered by everyone.
[You must bring back as much of Leon-nim’s light as possible. So instead of everyone going at once, it would be faster for many to split into teams and make the trip. That means there will be various restrictions.]
Once they reach the past, it would immediately branch off into parallel worlds.
Those worlds are all precious, so they must not be negatively influenced. Hallon gave that advice.
Hallon pulled out a piece of paper and wrote down the ritual.
It was a ritual to resonate the Dimension Gate with the Grand Temple of Miracle. Haebyul ran up to Hallon and hugged him tightly.
“Thank you!”
[Ahem! A grown woman shouldn’t just hug a strange man- no, I mean, a strange golem like that!]
[Arsilan] Once again, beyond time.
The history we’ve shared has always moved toward the light. The righteousness of the past creates the light of the future.
Once again, let's cross time, retrieve Leon’s light, and forge a Holy Sword infused with all the light of Arsilan. The way to save the world always lies within your heart. Even if it seems impossible, if everyone works together, a miracle can be made.
Let us forge the light of eternity, unchanging, unreversed, and move forward!
Participants: No limit
Reward: The True Holy Sword
A quest window appeared before everyone in Arsilan.
“A quest popped up!”
“Let’s go!”
“Hehe!”
Even Mia, who had been standing beside the Heroes, raised both her hands high in excitement.
Jinwoo watched Hallon’s performance in admiration.
This time, he planned to prepare a separate space for each party.
With the True Magic Stone and all the powers he had absorbed so far, it was possible to realize it. Jinwoo intended to link everything directly to the Magic Tower and control it himself.
‘I’ve grown, too.’
He had to reproduce all the log records from the Magic Tower as they were and calculate all the outcomes based on everyone’s actions.
Even with ten Archmages, it would normally seem impossible, but now, he could do it. Once this scenario ended, he might suffer from a headache for a while.
‘It’ll be tough, but...’
It would be worth it.
Jinwoo was determined to put everything he had into it.
***
Preparation was completed quickly.
In Arsilan stood the painstakingly constructed Grand Temple of Miracle and the Dimension Gate. Once the recovered Ella inscribed the ritual onto the Dimension Gate, and Helby imbued it with magic power, the gate began to rotate, then flipped upside down.
[Time Reversal has been added to the Dimension Gate!]
*You may return to the timeline of Episode 2.
*If you negatively impact the timeline, you may be forcibly returned. Please act covertly!
*Time travel duration is 1 day. You will be forcibly returned after 1 day, so take caution.
“Ooh!”
“Yeah! This is what Arsilan Saga is all about!”
The Heroes were full of curiosity about what sights awaited them after the time reversal. The Heroes who had once played as part of the Romance-North Mercenary Corps decided to go together again. Mia and other Arsilan people were also included. A maximum of 20 people could travel at once, so they were divided into multiple parties.
‘Episode 2... Before the Great War?’
NorthernGrandDuke fell into thought.
Haebyul looked at her.
“Unnie?”
“There’s a place I need to stop by when we arrive. I’ll join up with you shortly, so go ahead first.”
“Got it.”
As they stepped into the Dimension Gate, the surroundings flew past as if they were inside a wormhole. The further they walked down the long corridor, the more the scenery around them shifted, transforming into the past.
An upside-down door appeared.
NorthernGrandDuke stepped forward, opened the door, and went inside. Her expression filled with astonishment.
The place they arrived in was a high mountain within the Magic Barrier.
Far in the distance, they could see International City Marogo and the Heroes fighting monsters. It was Arsilan before the Great War had begun, unfolding before their eyes.
Everyone was dumbfounded by the sight.
Haebyul swallowed hard and opened her message window.
At the end of her own username was a “-” symbol. It indicated that she had traveled back in time.
‘Then maybe...’
Haebyul tried sending a message to her own username.
Haebyul(-): Hello?
Haebyul: Huh, what? Is it hacking? What is it?
Haebyul(-): An error has occurred.
Haebyul: Error?
When a reply came, she was startled and hastily disguised it as an error. Haebyul showed everyone the message window.
“This is...”
“Insane.”
No, how is this even possible?
It was truly a crazy sight.
At this point, they should probably start worshipping the Creator God, right?
*****
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