## Chapter 2269 – 2269. God’S Atlantis
The atmosphere turns chilly.
Samuel must have felt it too, as he raised his hand and waved it.
“Calm down. There’s a reason I can’t tell you. It’s not just to waste your time.”
“What’s the reason?”
Mirror asked, not hiding his displeasure.
“There are several reasons, but two stand out. One is the Divine Seats. If the Divine Seats find out, the attempt itself could become meaningless. Of course, I don’t think you’d blab to the Divine Seats. But I believe the Divine Seats have abilities that transcend common sense. Even if you don’t say anything, there’s a chance you might unconsciously show it, or the Divine Seats might be able to pull something out of your heads. The safest thing is for you not to know.”
“You’re overestimating the Divine Seats.”
“No, you’re underestimating them. It’s understandable. You haven’t seen the Divine Seats actively intervene in Atlantis so far. You use the power you receive from the Divine Seats, but you don’t understand what kind of power the Divine Seats actually have. Now, the Divine Seats will actively intervene. Don’t let your guard down.”
“……”
“The other reason is that there’s a spy among us.”
Everyone’s gaze turned to me. Even Elena, who knew my identity. I hid my embarrassment as much as possible.
“Why are you looking at me? You don’t think I’m the spy, do you?”
“It’s not that, but you’re the most unusual one among us. Honestly, I can’t help but think, ‘Wouldn’t you be the type to be a spy?’ Even if you were a spy, I’d just be like, ‘Oh, okay.’”
Jewel Mask, Sparkle, said.
He was such an annoying bastard. He’d been trading with me all this time and still suspected me.
“That guy would probably betray us just for the fun of it.”
Raccoon said to me. I barely held back the urge to smack this insolent raccoon.
“I never said the Heavenly Demon was the spy. Everyone was looking at the Heavenly Demon, so I looked at the Heavenly Demon too.”
Samuel said with a smile. This guy surprisingly knew how to joke around.
“So, who’s the spy?”
I asked, hiding my frustration.
Samuel’s gaze left me and turned to the side. Everyone’s gaze, including mine, followed his. The gaze landed on a newcomer wearing a mask with various letters on it.
“Me, a spy? I think you’ve got the wrong idea.”
Letter Mask was calm.
“Letter. I already finished verifying you. About two months ago. You remember two months ago, right? Before you became a manager.”
“…I know that lies don’t work in this space. I’ll say it again. I’m not a spy. I wish you’d stop with these baseless speculations and accusations. If the boss of Helten is like this, it’ll lose credibility.”
“Everything you just said is true.”
“Then you understand. I’m not a spy.”
I still looked at Letter Mask with suspicious eyes. He’d been paying attention to me since earlier. And it didn’t seem like Samuel would make a mistake.
Since I knew the original story, my trust in Samuel was even higher. Samuel only acted when he was certain.
“That statement is true.”
“Yes. This area proves it. I’m not a spy. I understand that you’re suspicious because I’m new, but stop with the pointless probing. I have no reason to betray you.”
“Do you know how the Star’s Judgment distinguishes truth from lies?”
“No.”
“The Star’s Judgment isn’t omnipotent. The judgment is based on the subject speaking. If the subject believes it’s the truth, it’s the truth, and if they believe it’s a lie, it’s a lie. However, it’s hard to deceive because even the subconscious is included in the criteria. In other words, the Star’s Judgment is like a high-level lie detector. If you’re determined to deceive it, there’s no reason you can’t.”
“Pathetic. Do you want to frame me as a spy that badly? What do I have to do for you to believe I’m not a spy?”
Click.
Letter Mask took off his mask, revealing his bare face. He was a man with tanned skin and strong features. His black hair was dry and his black eyes were coldly calm.
I knew why he’d been paying attention to me since earlier. He was from the desert. His tanned skin proved it.
“You didn’t have to take off your mask.”
“It doesn’t matter. I just want to get rid of the spy suspicion, even if it’s like this.”
“No, that’s not it. That face is fake anyway.”
His face contorted in anger.
“……Enough. There’s a limit to what even I can tolerate.”
The killing intent emanating from him spread around. But no one here would be intimidated by that level of killing intent.
The other managers were just interested, watching Samuel and the man.
‘If I were sure he was a spy, I’d just kill him.’
That’s what I would have done if I were the boss. Samuel was different from me.
“His name is Nathan. He’s 32 years old. A continental from the desert region. The son of a hunter. He awakened his status window and unique traits five years ago by hunting monsters. Later, he made a contract with a Divine Seat and left the desert region to operate. He joined Helten on the recommendation of a former colleague. His goal is the liberation of the desert region.”
“……You know a lot about me.”
“It was easy to investigate. This much information came out in less than three days. The liberation of the desert region… does that mean killing the Heavenly Demon? The Heavenly Demon currently controls 15 areas of the desert region.”
“My goal is for the desert region to be free. Not to be controlled by anyone, including the Heavenly Demon.”
“You want complete liberation that even the gods can’t control?”
“That’s right.”
“Good. That’s a great goal. Except that it’s not your real goal.”
“……?”
“You know? In Atlantis, humans don’t disappear immediately after death. It’s very difficult, but if you meet certain special conditions, you can revive the dead. Among the Divine Seats, there are gods who can control the dead or have the power to turn back time. And there’s also this item.”
He took out a pure white skull from his inventory.
“It’s called the Skull of Descent.”
Samuel explained about the Skull of Descent, showing us the information directly.
「Skull of Descent
Temporarily summons the dead.
You must know the name and face of the deceased.
The deceased can’t do anything except speak.
Remaining uses: 1
Rank: S」
“Originally, it can be used three times. I used two times personally. I’ll use the last one now.”
Whoosh.
A cold, sharp wind blew. The wind gathered around the skull Samuel was holding, turning into a hazy smoke. The smoke turned into flesh, sticking to the face.
It was soon Nathan’s face.
The head looked around in confusion, then was shocked to see the same face in front of him.
“W-what? Why am I there?!”
“…D-don’t be ridiculous. Samuel! You’re saying I’m dead?!”
Samuel lifted the head. As if telling it to answer instead. The head glanced at Samuel, then glared at Nathan as if to kill him.
“It’s you! You’re the bastard who killed me in the desert!! Did you kill me to impersonate me?!!”
“Don’t play tricks! I’m alive like this!”
“You disgusting bastard! Don’t act like me with my face and voice!”
“You’re the one acting! Samuel! Do you think this kind of trick will work?! Get rid of that unpleasant thing right now!”
“You! You’ve observed me a lot! I don’t know how you can act like me so well… but there’s information only I know. If you’re really me, answer this! How did my father die?!”
“My father died while hunting a Giant Scorpion. Are you satisfied now?!”
“Hehehe. You don’t even know that much. I killed my father with my own hands! That crazy bastard was planning to sell me to a black magician! I killed my father and disguised myself before I was sold! Everyone was fooled because he was a hunter.”
“……!! D-don’t talk nonsense!”
“Even if you acted like me, you don’t have my memories, do you? I remember your face. It was a featureless face. A face that could be seen anywhere, a face that strangely didn’t make me feel wary! Do you remember? The faces of your mother and father!”
“Of course I remember….”
Nathan couldn’t answer and staggered. He rolled his eyes as if desperately trying to remember something, then lowered his head and sweated profusely.
“M-memories… I can’t remember. What did my mother and father look like…?!”
Nathan’s face and body melted into a black liquid. Inside was another person. A man with a plain, featureless face, just like the head had said.
“I guess I don’t need this anymore.”
Samuel threw the head he was holding.
“W-wait! Let’s talk-.”
Thud.
The head fell to the ground and shattered. The shattered pieces were in the shape of a skull.
“……”
The featureless man inside Nathan moved quietly. A small blade popped out from his wrist, dripping with blood. The blade’s target was Samuel’s neck.
“White.”
A person wearing a faceless mask near Samuel moved silently. He grabbed the man’s arm, twisted it in the opposite direction, and kicked the man’s calf, causing him to collapse. The featureless man sat down without a scream. His eyebrows were furrowed and sweat was pouring down, as if he was feeling pain.
Mana gathered above his head, trying to take some form.
“Lion.”
A man wearing a lion mask leaped and swung a spear that killed magic. The form couldn’t be completed and disappeared. The man didn’t give up. He tried to force himself up with his broken leg.
“Stay still, you bastard.”
Raccoon, who had approached the man, hit the man’s back with his small hand. Bone armor appeared, restraining the man.
