Chapter 2061 – 2061. Savior Of The Academy
I continued to move forward.
When I thought there was no end in sight, I had already reached the end.
A wide space. A shattered marble floor here and there. At the end, a being pierced by spears and swords.
『The Demon Hunter (S) has sensed the presence of a demon.』
『All stats are temporarily increased.』
『Attack power against demons is temporarily increased.』
『The Demon Hunter (S) discerns the demon.』
『Unable to obtain information about the demon.』
Power surged through my entire body.
The Demon Hunter (S) wanted to kill the demon in front of me. I approached it.
Its pitch-black body was cracked in places. Its mouth was torn in a sinister smile. Blood flowed from the areas pierced by swords and spears. However, its two eyes resembled those of a human.
The Demon Hunter (S) did not know the identity of this demon. It was because the demon in front of me was a very old, ancient demon.
“You look quite miserable.”
“Heh heh. Even like this, I’m at peace, you know? I may look like I’m in pain, but I feel no agony. It’s been so long that pain is no longer pain.”
“Are you pretending to be relaxed? I’m going to kill you now.”
“The demons who threw me here couldn’t kill me. I was strong back then. But as time passed, I grew weaker. Weak enough to be killed by a mere human. Hehehe.”
I frowned. I didn’t like the way this guy was smiling so nonchalantly. I wanted to see him beg for his life.
“Since you’re going to die anyway, try begging for your life and amuse me. Who knows? I might have a change of heart and spare you.”
“A Demon Hunter sparing a demon? Haha. That’s a funny joke.”
“Don’t you want to survive and take revenge?”
“Are you trying to tempt me? I don’t know who the demon is. Revenge is fine. After all, there’s an expert in killing demons right in front of me, isn’t there? Even if I die here, you won’t stop and will kill those guys. The scales are already tipped in your favor.”
I didn’t like it.
His attitude, as if he had won even though he had lost.
Even the fact that I was going to kill the demons and take revenge for him, even if it was by chance.
But I couldn’t not kill this guy, and I couldn’t not kill the demons.
“What are you doing, the nemesis of demons? Kill me. Isn’t there a demon in front of you? Ah, are you curious about my name? I am Aphalax. The demon of truth. I see the truth, reveal the truth, and pierce through the truth. Now, kill me quickly. Nemesis of demons. Or would you prefer to be called this? One who came from outside the world.”
“……”
This guy knew about me after all.
No, was it right to say he knew?
I narrowed my eyes and looked around. There was no one.
It was strange.
Yuria and Elena’s abilities were by no means inferior to mine. Especially Yuria, unless she wanted to, this kind of attack wouldn’t work on her. She had an absolute mind. Elena might be more prone to mental breakdowns, but she would eventually overcome it.
“Where are they?”
“Are you talking about the ones who came from outside like you? Their records were too insufficient, so they were sent to a different space upon entry. They probably won’t be held for long.”
Records.
The demon of truth didn’t just randomly scan my memories and judge the truth.
‘Well, it’s too subjective to judge the truth based on memories alone. People’s memories can be distorted, and there’s no guarantee that what a person directly saw is the truth.’
I realized that Aphalax’s power was a more advanced ability.
But instinctively, I knew this guy was missing something.
I came from the outside? That’s right. But he didn’t know exactly where I came from. If he knew, he wouldn’t have spoken vaguely and would have shown off.
I recalled what I had seen on my way here.
Everything was from the [Academy Savior] world. Nothing from other worlds appeared. The same was true for the first playthrough. Yuria and Elena were sent to another space because their records were insufficient?
The answer was clear.
“You call yourself the demon of truth. You’re not living up to your name at all.”
“…Huh? If it’s a pointless provocation, stop it. I know you know much more truth.”
“Then do you know about the gods?”
“Of course. They’ve already abandoned this world. They’ve moved to a world more suitable for them. All that’s left in this world are their traces. The gods that remain in this world are not in a normal state.”
“What about the god with nine eyes?”
“Are you talking about the outer god who is on par with the demon gods? They are basically not interested in this world, except for the demon gods.”
“You are indeed the demon of truth. You know a lot. So you must know the truth of this world too.”
“The truth of this world? What are you talking about? That this world was created by the mercy of the gods? That this world has overcome the crisis of destruction seven times? You spoke so confidently, so don’t disappoint me too much.”
“This world is a creation.”
“Are you trying to say it’s a brain in a vat world? That it’s a creation because it was made by the mercy of the gods? Don’t try to fool me with such wordplay…”
The demon of truth couldn’t finish his sentence.
One of the demon of truth’s powers was to discern lies from truth. He realized that what I had just said was not a lie.
Aphalax’s calm body faltered. Confusion was evident in his human-like eyes.
“This world is in a creation? A creation made by a god? Is that what you’re trying to say?”
“Humans made it. To be precise, it could be called a company. The original work is a game, so there’s a scenario writer, an illustrator, a programmer, capitalists, and so on… It’s a world made for fun by everyone working together.”
“……”
Clunk. Clank.
Aphalax moved his body. But it was impossible because swords and spears were piercing his body.
“…If this world is the game you’re talking about, how did you enter the game?”
“Because my ability is to enter creations. Novels, movies, dramas, comics, games. I can enter any world. This sword I’m holding, the Hwaryeonbid, was originally from reality. I asked a god from another creation called ‘God’s Atlantis’ to enhance it, and now it’s like this.”
“That’s absurd. There’s no way such an ability exists…!”
Was the demon of truth trying to deny the truth? It was a ridiculous sight. I smiled contentedly as I looked at him.
“Shall I tell you another truth? I’m in my second playthrough. In my first playthrough, I was called SSS-rank and played around in this world. If that bastard Mekin hadn’t betrayed me at the end, this world would have been mine.”
“…Things I couldn’t understand are becoming clear. If what you say is true, then… But. But…!”
“Demon of truth. Everything you know is a lie. How is it? Is the truth of the world you learned at the end beautiful and satisfying?”
“Damn it!!!”
Magic power surged from the demon of truth, sweeping in all directions. I held my sword forward and resisted the magic power.
“I know that that ridiculous nonsense is the truth! I can see from your records that it’s the truth! But why did you say it now? To make fun of me? To shake my mind? Did you degrade this world for such a reason?! If you hadn’t spoken that truth… that truth wouldn’t have existed! You have defined this world as a lie!”
“A lie? I didn’t say a single word like that. This world is real. Even if it’s a world in a creation, it’s real. Even though other ordinary guys feel like NPCs, some of them are my women who I wouldn’t trade for anything.”
“……I see. Because of you, this world becomes real, not a fiction. Are you a god?”
“No, I’m not. If I were a god, would I be doing this? I would have taken care of all the annoying things first. Well, if there was really no other way, I would have used Absolute Authority… But using that would feel too empty.”
“……”
The demon of truth closed his mouth and shut his eyes.
He was in despair. That was what I wanted. I chuckled and beheaded the demon of truth.
『Successfully hunted a demon. The effect of the Demon Hunter (S) is enhanced.』
『The rank of the Demon Hunter (S) has risen to SS.』
『The Demon Hunter (SS) obtains information about ancient demons.』
『The Demon Hunter (SS) absorbs a portion of the power of the demon he killed.』
『Power of Truth
Rank: S+
Discerns the truth.
Finds out the truth.』
The rank of the Demon Hunter rose, and I also gained a power.
The power of truth could be seen as a kind of lie detector.
Woo-oong.
The surrounding space distorted. Aphalax’s corpse disappeared, and Elena and Yuria appeared in the air.
“Being trapped is not a good feeling.”
“I believed that Master would resolve it.”
It wasn’t just them who appeared.
The three from Guirak Valley also appeared, each collapsing or sitting down on the floor. The guys who I thought would be eaten and killed by the demon of truth had survived. The demon of truth had died before they did.
“Yuria. Subdue them.”
“Yes, Master.”
Swish.
Shadow chains appeared and bound them. The bound guys were still not in their right minds.
“I don’t know where we got caught.”
Elena muttered. We had used a space teleportation scroll to move. It was convenient. And it could shake off any possible pursuers.
“They may be dying right now, but they’re not ordinary humans. There’s no way these humans came here by chance. Shall we start by messing with their minds?”
Elena raised her staff. Messing with the minds of others to obtain information was her specialty.
I raised my hand to stop her.
“I’ve gained a new power this time. Let me experiment with it.”
To use the power of truth, I had to wake them up. I approached them and slapped their cheeks.
Slap! Slap! Slap!
Sharp sounds echoed in succession. I continued to swing my palm until they woke up.
