'I finally got the thing I wanted most.'
Being able to use Domination Authority in reality?
That meant he could control someone completely, however he wished.
'I've already decided who I'm going to use it on.'
He curled his lips into a sly grin—only to feel several gazes fixed on him.
It was the nine angels who had lost the bet.
'Damn it, who knew Black Scythe would come in 1st place again!'
'How is that human always first, every single time?'
'Don't tell me someone leaked the攻略 or something?'
They weren't just dumbfounded anymore; they were outright angry.
They wanted nothing more than to pop his head like a balloon right now, but unfortunately, they no longer had their Execution skill.
They'd already used it earlier to "establish dominance."
At this point, about ninety percent of the angels probably had no Execution left.
[Hehe, what's with those long faces?]
When Priscilla approached with a bright smile, the angels shrank back like puppies in the rain.
[N-no, it's nothing.]
[No one has any objections to me becoming king, right?]
[O-of course not. Priscilla is king now.]
[That's right. So, Priscilla, what do you want to do first?]
[Who are you going to make the guide for the zone?]
[Hold it, hold it. Before I answer your questions.]
Priscilla's eyes turned icy.
[Kneel before me. All of you.]
◀ ROUND 7 End ▶
[All Zones]
└ Survivors: 3,463,533
[Current Zone C2-ESKA003]
└ Survivors: 2,461
[In a moment, your souls will be transferred back to your bodies in the original dimension.]
[Round 8 will begin at midnight on August 1st, 2022. See you in the next round. Congratulations on surviving.]
"Haa…"
The first thing Ma Kyung-rok did upon returning was look around.
"Is this… a hotel?"
No way this was another illusion, right?
With that uneasy thought, he pinched his cheek several times and walked through the suite.
Just in case, he even made a phone call.
"Manager An. We're back?"
– President! You're safe.
"This isn't reality, is it?"
– …Pardon? This is reality, President.
"You're sure?"
– I'm sure. We got the result tally and even the 'welcome back' message.
"You never know. That could be part of the illusion too."
– C-come on, there's no way… Ah, w-wait. What if it is…?
The more he listened to his boss, the more anxious An Sang-cheol became.
"Just come up to my room for now."
– Understood.
Ma Kyung-rok soothed his nerves the way he usually did—with whiskey.
Clink—
Holding his glass, he stared out at the view beyond the hotel windows.
The lights sewn into the darkness always calmed his heart when he looked at them.
'Did I really return to reality?'
He'd been hit with so many illusions that it just didn't feel real.
No, more than that—it felt unreal.
Doubt crept in, again and again.
That was how deeply he'd been mentally damaged.
'What I saw was an illusion?'
He could still see it in his mind—his brothers cornering him on a rooftop, urging him to jump.
It was an illusion he never wanted to experience again.
'What if it wasn't an illusion, but a glimpse of the future?'
Thinking that those events might still happen made him even more uneasy.
He felt a sudden, urgent desire to grow the company quickly and gain his father's recognition.
Knock, knock—
"Come in."
An Sang-cheol came in and bowed politely.
"President, are you all right?"
"I'm fine. It's just that after being burned by illusions so much, I had trouble telling what was real for a moment."
"What kind of illusion did you see…?"
"..."
Ma Kyung-rok silently took a drink of whiskey instead.
Realizing he'd misspoken, An Sang-cheol bowed again.
"I apologize. That was out of line…"
"I'll just think of it as a really shitty dream."
Glug—
Turning away, Ma Kyung-rok refilled his glass.
"Anyway, are you all right, Manager An?"
"Ah… I wouldn't say I'm fine…"
"What kind of illusion did you see?"
"Well…"
He couldn't bring himself to say it.
That he'd seen himself strangling Ma Kyung-rok.
"Just… a dark sort of thing, really…"
"I'm sure everyone's was like that."
Downing the whiskey in one gulp, Ma Kyung-rok grimaced.
"Feels filthy, doesn't it. Even though we survived."
With a bitter, self-mocking smile, one particular person came to mind.
"I wonder if the prophet made it through his illusion."
"I figured you'd be curious, so I called him on the way here. He's alive."
"Is that so? Well, yeah. The one who told us not to be swayed by temptation wouldn't be the one to fall for it."
Nodding as if he'd asked something obvious, Ma Kyung-rok suddenly frowned.
"But something's off. If he knew escaping temptation was the攻略, shouldn't the prophet have taken 1st place across all zones?"
"Huh? That's true, now that you mention it."
"Yet there was no nickname that looked like his in the results."
As always, 1st place across all zones was Black Scythe.
2nd was his fiancée, and 3rd was himself.
He didn't know the prophet's nickname, but he could at least tell he hadn't been in the top ranks.
"If he's really a prophet, he should've shrugged off the temptation instantly… Did he intentionally delay his clear?"
"I have no idea."
It was puzzling—but there was something they didn't know.
If you were aware that it was an illusion, you couldn't even participate.
The very fact that a "prophet" had survived, in that sense, was a contradiction.
"Well, we can always ask him when we see him next."
Deciding he should at least try to get some sleep, Ma Kyung-rok dismissed An Sang-cheol.
"Then please rest well, President."
"You too, Manager An."
Once An Sang-cheol left, Ma Kyung-rok lay down on the bed and stared up at the ceiling.
"..."
The mental shock was immense.
He wanted to sleep, but his eyes were wide open.
That night, Ma Kyung-rok stayed awake until morning.
He was afraid he'd have nightmares if he closed his eyes.
By lunchtime, Ryu Min was sitting down for a meal with Min Juri.
He'd wanted to brief her on Round 8 early.
'Maybe I asked her to meet too soon. She's really not doing well.'
Her mental state was worse than he'd expected.
"Juri. What's wrong? You don't have an appetite?"
"N-no. It's good. It tastes good, but…"
Her appetite wasn't the problem. The mental blow had been huge.
Round 7 had been truly grueling for her.
Ryu Min gently probed, reading her thoughts.
"So? What kind of illusion did you see? Was it really that painful?"
"I-I don't know…"
Unable to speak about it, Min Juri lowered her head.
If she raised it, she was sure her bright red face would give her away.
'Ah… it's not that it was painful. She's embarrassed.'
Reading her thoughts, Ryu Min was the one who ended up coughing awkwardly and fidgeting.
It seemed that, despite his warning, she'd had a hard time shaking off the temptation.
"Whatever it was, just forget about Round 7. It's already over."
"Y-yeah. I should."
"Anyway, there's something I need to tell you about Round 8."
As usual, he spoke in the tone of a prophecy.
Jeffrey, invisible nearby, was listening in, but there was no need to worry.
He was saying it loud enough on purpose.
'He'll probably relay my prophecy to Christine.'
Given her personality, Christine wouldn't trust him after just one prophecy.
So it didn't matter if they eavesdropped.
If anything, it was better—they needed to hear it for Christine to eventually trust him.
"So in Round 8, NPCs appear, right?"
"Yeah. I don't know if they're manufactured NPCs, or real beings of the Otherworld."
This time, Ryu Min explained the攻略 as thoroughly as he could.
Unlike Round 7, Round 8 had a lot of ways to gain experience.
In other words, it was a round where you needed to攻略 everything you could and raise your level as much as possible.
Right now, he was giving her a leg up.
"And there's one more thing you need to know."
"What is it?"
"In Round 8, you won't be able to move around with Black Scythe."
"Huh? Why not?"
He explained that as well.
Min Juri's eyes went round, as if she couldn't accept it.
"Why? What about Black Scythe-nim…?"
"I don't know why he makes that choice. I only see the future, that's all."
He lied shamelessly, then looked at the puzzled Min Juri.
Suddenly, the illusion he'd just gone through flashed through his mind.
The one where she was stabbed and used because she knew who he really was.
'That was only an illusion. A bad dream, nothing more.'
There was no way she'd learn his identity and end up in danger.
'Because I won't let that happen.'
Ryu Min made the promise to himself again and again.
He would never allow the people around him to be put at risk.
"There is only one thing in this world worthy of your faith: the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us all confess together and be saved. Hallelujah!"
"Hallelujah!"
"Lord Jesus!"
"We believe, we believe!"
Leaving the prayers of the many believers behind, Nathan returned to his office after the service.
Christine was waiting for him with a somewhat sour expression.
"Hm? When did you get here?"
"A little while ago."
"All right, what did you want to talk about?"
"Shouldn't you be asking about Round 7 first?"
"I already heard from Jeffrey. A wicked round built entirely on illusions, yes?"
"Yes."
"What kind of illusion did you see?"
"One about you, Father."
"Me?"
"You were… being threatened by the congregation. And I was put in a situation where I had no choice but to kill myself."
"…Good Lord. The more I think about it, the more diabolical this sorcery seems."
"The angels you believe in are the ones who did it."
"No, they would never. Those things are devils wearing the forms of angels. Satan often appears before us in familiar guises."
"So you're saying none of this is God's will?"
"You're stating the obvious. Is your faith that weak? Or have you let the devil sway you?"
"It's just… when you see illusions of the things you believed in betraying you, it unsettles you."
"Useless worries. You are the Messiah and Savior God has sent to this chaotic world. All you need to concern yourself with is raising your level and saving people. Don't clutter your mind with anything else."
"…Yes, Father."
"And about that prophet you mentioned before."
"The Korean?"
"Yes. Jeffrey says that man's prophecy was largely accurate."
"'Don't be swayed by temptation,' right? Yeah. Honestly, I didn't believe it at first, but it turned out to be the keyword for clearing the quest."
"It would be wise to draw closer to that prophet."
"…What?"
Christine's eyes widened at the unexpected suggestion.
It wasn't the sort of thing she expected to hear from her conservative father.
"You're going to trust him for getting it right once?"
"If the prophecy is correct, there's no harm in receiving help, is there?"
"But he could've just gotten lucky…"
"I had Jeffrey look into him, and he doesn't seem particularly dangerous."
"You had him investigated?"
"A prophet who just goes back and forth between his home and his company. He seems quite ordinary."
"..."
Christine didn't blame her father for having the man investigated.
She actually understood.
Because she knew it was her own distrust of people that drove him to it.
It had been the same before she accepted Ma Kyung-rok as her fiancé.
'I had Deacon Jeffrey tail him for a whole week back then.'
She'd only agreed to the engagement because nothing problematic had turned up.
"In your opinion, you think we need his help?"
"Your fiancé is already receiving it. They're practically business partners at this point."
"But there's still a chance he's a fraud…"
"How about this then, Christine?"
Right on cue, Jeffrey returned.
"Jeffrey? What are you saying?"
"I've just come back from obtaining information about Round 8 from him."
Obtaining was generous. He'd just eavesdropped—but that didn't matter.
What mattered was the information.
"Round 8? You mean you heard his prophecy?"
"Yes. This time, he went into considerable detail. If Christine still can't trust him, she can wait until after we experience Round 8 to decide."
"Hmm. That's not a bad idea."
"I'd prefer that, actually."
Not long after, however, the three of them realized there had been no need to eavesdrop at all.
Because they got a call from Ma Kyung-rok—who felt guilty keeping the prophecy all to himself.