Chapter 310: Episode 310_Betrayal Is an Art (5)
5.
This had never been Kenji’s plan.
No, even if he conceded a hundred times over... fine. The world was a madhouse. He might have earned the overblown title of “the Third Hand that Moves the World” and brazenly twisted events to his liking, but some things would always be beyond his control. That was just how it was.
Not everything could go exactly the way he wanted.
But at the very least, nothing like this had ever happened before.
Normally, even when his plans went off track, they did so within the bounds of his expectations, within his margin of error. And if it was within that margin, he could respond. Being able to respond meant that even if the plan had gone awry, events still moved according to his will, just along an altered path.
This time, however, that was not the case.
It was simply too unfamiliar.
He found himself wondering if this could possibly be the same reality he had inhabited his entire life.
’It’s not reality.’
It was a game.
Yes, it was a game. Even so, wasn’t this far too alien? It felt like he was the victim of a hidden camera prank. He wished someone would just tell him it was all a joke.
Of course, it was no joke.
Even in the midst of his confusion, Kenji’s cool head was spinning rapidly, trying to make sense of the situation. And he succeeded.
His gaze naturally drifted to the Hatchling’s corpse, lying there in all its imposing glory.
He fell silent.
Not once since the moment he had succeeded in the raid had he ever doubted. Who would even think to? The moment the Dragon Hatchling breathed its last, he had hurriedly ordered the other players to clear the area and had even checked for any signs that someone had taken so much as a single scale.
He had thought that was more than enough. In that brief instant, who would imagine someone might steal the dragon’s Heart?
So, of course, even now, as he stared at the Dragon Heart pulsing before the Emperor as if it were still alive, radiating magical power, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of disbelief.
’How? There was no sign of tampering on the outside.’
At that moment, he noticed that the Hatchling’s limp jaws were slightly open.
“...No way.”
’Come on. No way.’
That made no sense. Even if it was dead, did that mean someone had climbed inside the dragon’s mouth? In that short span of time? And stolen just the heart?
He was speechless.
There was no room left for doubt. The undeniable fact was that the Holy Dragon Hatchling’s Heart was up there. Unless Han Simin had somehow procured a new one from somewhere else, the corpse Kenji had brought would no longer have a heart where it should be.
There was no need to confirm it with his own eyes. Han Simin wasn’t the type to go to such trouble, much less spend money on it.
Besides, what mattered now was not how flustered Kenji was. What mattered was what came next.
He had been thrown into an unknown situation as the protagonist, and the future would change depending on how he acted. The more he froze up and floundered, the worse it would be for him. This wasn’t a place where you could just stand still and plead ignorance. If you didn’t know, you lost.
And this wasn’t merely an unknown situation; it was a scenario Kenji himself had orchestrated. He’d only looked away for a moment, and someone had changed the entire picture.
He had to stay calm. Even in a tiger’s den, if you kept your wits about you, you could buy enough time to think of a way to survive.
This was a scheme cooked up by that bastard Han Simin, who was standing up there in the distance, wearing a nasty, crooked grin and waving with a sly little smile. Whatever his intention, whatever kind of trap he had set, there was no way it would ever work out in Kenji’s favor.
Far away, Kenji saw the Demon King, Epia, walking out of the Imperial Palace with lofty grace, and he frowned.
Then he began to think, fast.
*
Epia looked more like the Heavenly King than anyone.
Even the users watching the stream felt that way. Hardcore fans who not only caught every one of Han Simin’s streams live but also rewatched them—fans who had seen the Demon World episodes more than ten times and proudly called themselves “true Sippak”—were confused.
—I’ve rewatched the Demon World arc 14 times, and seeing Epia like this, I could actually believe she’s the Heavenly King.
—NGL, based on looks, the Heavenly King always looked more like a Demon King anyway.
—A succubus Heavenly King with a tail and twitchy ears? Sign me up. Can we just let Epia be the Heavenly King already?
—Nah, she’s a Demon King through and through.
It was only natural. Preconceptions and fixed ideas don’t vanish easily. The pure-white image associated with the Celestials and the Heavenly King, the noble, beautiful image of angels carved into people’s minds—when you compared Epia and the Heavenly King, at least in outward appearance, Epia was far closer to that image.
If Han Simin hadn’t gone out of his way to claim Epia was the Heavenly King, if the two of them had simply kept their mouths shut, people might have naturally mistaken Epia for the Heavenly King and revered her as such.
That was how beautiful she was.
While her youthful physique might have fallen slightly short of the typical “angelic” image, her other features were so overwhelming that no one would have ever considered her lacking. On top of that, the sacred vestments she wore and the divine object she held sealed the deal.
Her long, shimmering silver hair cascaded down her back, swaying with every movement. It gleamed with luster, and her snow-white skin was so smooth it looked as if honey would drip from it.
A perfect presentation.
And at the corner of her lips, a faint smile.
It was a beauty that seemed capable of embracing the entire world.
—What’s he trying to pull?
—She’s still a Demon King in the end.
—How’s he going to prove it?
Ultimately, viewers watched streams for entertainment. Some tuned in just to drool over the impossibly beautiful women who existed only in Fantastic World, but for most, the beauties were secondary. The majority watched to enjoy an interesting story and unpredictable developments.
So, naturally, they were curious.
Pretty was pretty, and their personal wish that Epia might truly be the Heavenly King was just that—a private wish. No matter how much they wanted it, Epia, who had lived her entire life as a Demon King, wouldn’t suddenly become the Heavenly King. And besides, as spectators, it was far more fun to watch the story veer off in an unanticipated direction.
Wasn’t that more interesting? The story branching away from the obvious path.
How would he get through this?
The die had been cast. Han Simin had somehow secretly joined Kenji’s raid and, the moment it ended, had siphoned off the Heart. In doing so, he had shattered Kenji’s plan to use that Heart to rescue the Heavenly King.
However, that was only a stopgap measure. The move he had made to block Kenji might very well backfire on him.
Proof.
Having chosen a frontal confrontation instead of flight, the Demon King Epia would, one way or another, regain her strength. In the end, just as Kenji wanted, the Heavenly King’s unjust suffering would be revealed to the world.
—What’s he going to do?
—What kind of trick does he have up his sleeve?
—Is he just gonna awaken the Demon King and go straight into conquering the continent?
—No way. This is the heart of the Empire. How? Even with a Dragon Heart, there’s no way eating one thing suddenly restores the Demon King’s full power, right?
—Yeah, and it’s not like the Emperor would let her eat the whole thing.
—It’s about how she uses a portion of that power to get through this.
—Han Simin looks like he’s already won, judging by his face.
Han Simin, of course, knew all of this.
People stopped their debating and simply tore into their fried chicken as they watched. No more words were needed. They just had to see what happened.
There would be no dragging things out. Epia had already stepped before the Emperor and picked up the Dragon Hatchling’s Heart.
Then she split it cleanly in half.
“I will prove it.”
Before the Emperor could even speak, she preempted any potential complications. Her determination to regain only the minimum power necessary to prove herself was clear. It was impossible not to trust her.
The Emperor bowed his head. He was the ruler of the continent, but the Heavenly King stood above even him as God’s agent. He didn’t believe in God, but as the Iron-Blooded Emperor, he knew how to feign deference, if only for a moment, before a visible agent stronger than himself.
If she failed to prove herself, he was ready to cut off her head on the spot.
Epia lifted the Heart to her left breast with a bewitching smile. There was no barbaric display of tearing into the Heart and devouring it like a savage.
WOOM.
Even the act of absorbing the Heart was holy. The Heart of the Holy Dragon, brimming with divine power, spewed out a blinding light.
Condensed divine power. The divine power that had gathered over the hundred-odd years of the Hatchling’s life, thick and dense, loosened its bonds and was drawn into Epia’s body.
—Oooooh!
—What the hell? She’s just straight-up absorbing divine power. What’s going on?
—She’s a Demon King. Is she even allowed to do that?
—I thought divine power and magic power were opposites.
—Is it because her power’s been sealed?
A flood of speculation washed over the stream chat and over Kenji, who was watching from below.
’Is she really the Heavenly King?’
Even Kenji, who had heard the entire truth from Han Simin, couldn’t help but wonder.
In the meantime, the halved Heart was completely absorbed and vanished. The divine power that had seemed to spread out and cover the entire world was, before anyone realized it, gathered back in.
The dreamlike moment was over.
Epia’s gently closed eyes opened. Her gaze was clearer and more luminous than any in the world.
She murmured softly, “Dream, a pleasant dream.”
POP.
Once again, pure white divine power burst from her body.
*
[ 12 God’s Sacred Relic]
- Grade: God
- Absolute Option 1: Converts all power in the world into divine power and amplifies it by 1.5( 3) times.
- Absolute Option 2: The potency of divine power becomes 2( 4) times stronger.
It was as simple as could be. Yet no one would ever frown at such a simple description. Even Han Simin, who had enhanced countless Epic and Legendary items to
15, had judged it a moneymaker the moment he picked it up. Among the three divine objects, he had chosen this one without hesitation. That was how incredible it was.
In any game, the simplest, most fundamental things were the best. God’s Sacred Relic was no exception.
He hadn’t brought it specifically in anticipation of Epia’s current situation. He had simply judged that, even if he were to sell it, this one would fetch the highest price.
Naturally. God-grade aside, both Absolute Options were broken. Not just broken—absurdly, untouchably broken. They didn’t work in percentages; they applied a flat multiplier to one’s power. With no cost whatsoever. It was so over the top that one had no choice but to acknowledge it as a divine object. It made you wonder why the Heavenly King hadn’t carried something like this into battle against Epia.
On top of that, its use wasn’t limited to those who could wield divine power. No matter what kind of magic a person used, it would all be converted.
That was why Epia could prove herself as the Heavenly King.
’I never thought the day would come when BetaGo looked cute.’
That was probably because, in this world, God was BetaGo. A god who was fair to everyone. According to the lore, the Celestials of Heaven served God, but God gave everyone a chance. The options on God’s items reflected that.
Naturally, if the relic had gone to the Heavenly King instead, the opposite would have happened. No, even before that, the Heavenly King would have proven himself without needing a divine object.
With a sense of satisfaction, Phase Two of the proof began: Epia’s ultimate skill, converted into divine power, scattered across the world.
Han Simin was no exception.
A dream unfolded before his eyes.
*
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