Light of Arad: The First to Walk - Chapter 147



Only Noblemtl

147

The adventurers and Siran, who were chasing the major events that occurred in the past, will finally confirm that the ‘madman’ who committed those atrocities was Iris.

And then there would have been a showdown between Iris and the user, and they would have tried to subdue Iris and kill her in the dungeon… … .

‘Seria appears. She purifies all the curses and bonds that Hilda had placed on Iris.’

If there was one thing that Jinseong himself had been worried about while heading to the Tower of Despair, it was the contaminant elements that could be found in Iris.

This is because Iris is the one that could have a bigger impact than other contaminations that could occur within the , and even more than other contaminations that could be treated as ‘bugs’ on users’ monitor screens by Jinseong himself turning his attention to it.

But looking at Iris now, Jinseong could tell.

At least there were no problems in the process of freeing Iris.

“Did Siran say anything?”

Jinseong asked Iris.

Then what about the problem of Siran not forgiving Iris?

“Siran-.”

Click.

Iris was about to say something, but Sharan spoke first.

Soon, Siran’s voice flowed out from the small box-like object she was holding.

“What Iris-sama did is not something that can be easily forgiven just by saying that she was manipulated. There are people who understand, but there are many who don’t. There’s nothing I can do about that. But it’s also true that Iris-sama did a lot for Arad… I will have to repay my sins by saving people in the future.”

“ah.”

Jinseong nodded.

A remark that is quite similar to the script of Siran that I saw on the monitor during my user days. If so, then it means that Siran also forgave Iris, and most of the residents of Arad who heard the news of Iris also maintained the same attitude as Jinseong’s own memories.

‘It was finished perfectly, without any contamination.’

That was the point that made Jinseong’s eyes dumbfounded.

I knew that Jinseong’s own timeline and the flow of the main scenario quest were similar.

But has anything ever gone this far without any problems?

Doesn’t the fact that all the quests related to Iris have been completed mean that all the problems in ‘Jinseong’s own timeline’ have been resolved cleanly?

‘Although nothing much happened in the Pennes Kingdom’s Noirefera before – at that time, I was chasing after a certain user, and there was a possibility that another user had been infected at that time.’

This time, Jinseong himself did one thing.

Obtained the [Contamination] card.

In the long main scenario flow called , it is impossible for all the contamination to have been ended with just one card.

If we were to be that picky, the Celestial Cartel issue should have been settled with one card.

If I were to name just one incident that happened besides this, there would be only one.

‘The disappearance of the Golden Cave. Ultimately… …it’s about me.’

shifts its gaze from the ‘character adventurer’ to the ‘true adventurer’ and ‘one who will become a sharpened blade’.

And again, if it has been moved from ‘Those who will become sharp blades’ to ‘tongs’… … .

‘Perhaps in the future, pollution itself will… … .’

Jinseong’s eyebrows twitched.

The expression on her face made even Iris nervous, let alone Sharan.

“Iris.”

“yes yes?”

Jinseong said.

“Can you read my fortune for me?”

“Mr. Jinseong…? Suddenly a fortune teller? Iris-sama is a fortune teller, though-.”

It was such an unexpected statement that even Sharan was taken aback.

But Iris’s eyes rather became calm.

“Yes, I will tell you everything I have seen, seen, and will see again.”

“Oh my? Iris-sama? Do you know what Jinseong-ssi is going to say? Then let me join-.”

“Oh, Lady Sharan. When you have your fortune told, you’re not supposed to have other people around. Right, Lady Iris?”

“Yes. I am grateful for your consideration, Guild Leader. Shall we go, Jinseong?”

“Hehehe, yes. Then, Sharan, see you later!”

Jinseong headed to the secret room for consultation with Iris.

Specifically, it was a time to learn about the rather than a consultation.

However, the problem is that it is an absurd situation for Sharan who is left alone.

“……Look at these people?”

Sharan blinked her large, turquoise eyes rapidly and just stared at the backs of the two people.

* * *

At least one thing was certain.

Even if you kick away the label that Iris is Hilda’s puppet, she is still a capable fortune teller.

“The only thing I can tell you is to go to Heaven. What you want, Jinseong, can only be obtained by going to the Demon Realm… and the path to the Demon Realm will open soon.”

Head towards Heaven. There, the path to the Demon World will open.

Jinseong chuckled as he thought about the prophecy she had made.

The wind blowing through the wide open window blew his hair.

‘Of course. The ‘Castle of the Dead’ will appear. I should have acted a little surprised instead.’

To her, it was a prophecy and fortune telling, but to Jinseong himself, it was something he already knew.

The warning to beware of dark and scary things was also a meaningless prophecy to Jinseong.

Considering the events one must go through to get to the Demon World, it would only be so.

That wasn’t the only problem.

“Hilda… I don’t have to doubt myself anymore?”

“Hilda-sama……. Yes, that’s what my horoscope says. Also, since I believe that Jinseong-sama knows what Hilda-sama, Hilda, wants…… I guess it can be interpreted in the same way.”

“What Hilda wants… Yes, of course I know. Even the prophecy of the .”

“……That’s surprising. Rather, I’d like to thank you for not revealing to those around me that I was being manipulated until now.”

“Well, that’s, ahem, that’s what it is. Anyway-”

Although I didn’t use the expressions “contamination” or “the cause of contamination,” I had a short but concise conversation with Iris about her suspicions toward Jinseong Hilda.

Now that she was completely free from Hilda’s control, it was unlikely that she would lie to defend Hilda, and her suggestion to judge rationally rather than simply prophecy/divination also made sense.

The contamination of is all intended to disrupt Hilda’s planned plans.

This is to make it impossible for the blade to be sharpened.

In other words, the probability that Hilda, who is trying to fulfill the prophecy of the as planned by sharpening the blade, is the is low.

Nevertheless, there was a reason why Jinseong could not shake off his suspicions about Hilda.

“-If Hilda had a reason to do something like that, it would be because of the person who helped her obtain the . Have you heard any mention or anything of that kind?”

The existence of Nemer.

There is a suspicion that Hilda may have also come up with her own plan to keep Nemer in check.

The second apostle, Hilda of the Crying Eyes, knew how great and fearsome she was, so he couldn’t exclude her from the list of candidates until the end.

But Iris shook her head.

“At least not that I know of. It’s said that Lady Hilda’s specialty is piling plans upon plans and tricks upon tricks… I’m sorry I couldn’t be of any help.”

“No, no, just saying that now is enough to help.”

Iris was once considered one of the most powerful people in the Demon World.

It is fitting to say that Hilda did not simply control her, but acknowledged her abilities and made her her own puppet. At the same time, she is someone who has been hearing information about Hilda for a long time.

‘Even Iris doesn’t know the clue at all. Then, we can confirm it now. Hilda is not the .’

She declared that she did not know.

It was actually a refreshing answer for Jinseong.

Because it can be accepted that Apostle Hilda, who was one of the main candidates for the , can be excluded.

‘If it’s not Hilda, then the other apostles are practically meaningless. You can leave them all out. Surely it’s not Cain.’

The second apostle, Hilda of the Crying Eyes, is the only one among the remaining apostles who is as special and yet has unknown powers.

The first apostle, Cain of Fate.

Even though there was no proper information about Cain, his true identity could be determined.

There is no way Cain is the .

‘You are a being that excels in military force. You are the strongest among the apostles, but Hilda is better in terms of trickery and strategy.’

That is why Soldoros trained in the Tower of Despair for over two thousand years.

If [moderate] Azalea’s intention is to protect the apostles so that the prophecy of does not come true.

[Hardliner] Soldoros’s intention is to break the board from the beginning so that the prophecy of does not come true.

‘The interpretation of the prophecy of the is that the last two remaining apostles are Cain and Hilder. In other words, Soldoros’s argument is that if Cain is killed, the will not be realized regardless of whether the sharpened blade pierces the other apostles or not.’

However, the general opinion is that it is not certain whether Soldoros’ blade will reach Cain.

To that extent, there is no need for someone with power greater than Soldoros, who has been trained for over 2,000 years, to use something as troublesome as ‘Contamination’. They can just destroy everything.

Pusheeeek… …!

As Jinseong was gathering his thoughts, he heard the sound of steam escaping.

[This stop is Slough Erringhill, Slough Erringhill Station. The door to get off is on the right.]

Jinseong stood up from his seat while listening to the announcement that was coming at the same time.

The sea train gradually began to slow down.

After talking to Iris about the , Jinseong moved even more quickly.

It was because I felt like I had effectively lost a little over a month of time at the Tower of Despair.

There is no way that time would have passed like this only for the NPCs that Jinseong interacted with. If it had been a game, then it would have been different, but in the end, this flow of time would have been applied equally to not only Jinseong, who was living in the reality of Plain: Arad, but also to all the ‘possessed people’.

“Huh, as expected… it smells like an industrial complex.”

In other words, regardless of how difficult the dungeons and monsters related to Anton are, the thought that Ah-hang may have already advanced to the Demon Realm cannot help but come to the forefront.

Jinseong, who had no time to hesitate, immediately went to the celestial zodiac, took the Lufthansa, and boarded the sea train to finally arrive here.

[Slau Industrial Complex]

Just as impressive as the gloomy sky were the various types of facilities spread out everywhere as far as the eye could see.

Among the Jiben Imperial Kingdoms of the Celestial Realm, the ‘Eaton Industrial Zone’ is an area with a particularly high concentration of power generation facilities, and the ‘Power Station’ that supplies electricity to the entire Celestial Realm is located right here.

In addition, the industrial complex connected to this power plant produced various manufactured goods that were used throughout the heavens, and commerce also developed in conjunction with such large production facilities, making it literally the center of the heavenly commerce.

However, all that Jinseong could see now were the fully armed Hwangdo Army and people who were trembling and unable to leave this place.

Jinseong noticed that they were all glancing at the distant sea, even though they tried their best to avoid eye contact.

“……Crazy, I see. I didn’t know that when I saw it in the game……”

Jinseong also followed their gaze and looked across the sea.

The sky was already gloomy, but even thicker and blacker smoke was rising from the distant sea like a signal fire.

Knowing why that scene happened, Jinseong couldn’t help but swallow his saliva.

[Keep kek kek… … I see. It’s the smell of a pig who can’t stop eating.]

Black Goo also recognized a being on the same level as his original self.

“Yes, that’s Anton. That’s the ‘black smoke’ that Anton spews out, blocking attacks from the outside while making it impossible to infiltrate the inside.”

Jinseong explained with a light sigh.

How far away is Anton? How far out to sea must he be from here, in the Slough Industrial Complex, by warship?

‘And yet, I can see the smoke billowing out from here… … Oh, me.’

How many times should we multiply the ‘area of ​​Yeouido’, which is often used as a comparative example in the news?

Jinseong’s mind was complicated, and he heard the sound of a motor turning.

The clanging sound of metal followed, and then a young boy’s voice rang out.

“Test your luck and skills with the crane game! Come on, it’s the crane game!”

It was a voice mixed with the shouts of the peddlers hawking their wares throughout the Slough Industrial Complex.

However, Jinseong had to turn his head without realizing it.

“……Huh? What is it? Mathias Nessmann?”

Jinseong recognized the boy who was scurrying around from a distance to attract customers.

It had to be that way.

Matthias Nessmann.

An NPC loved by users during the time when Anton Raid was actively maintained as content.

“Pick a draw? You want me to pick a draw?”

The NPC who oversaw the ‘doll grabbing’ system called the crane game was screaming.