The Player Hides His Past

Episode 568. You’re mean, even behind your back (2)

Overflowing malice.

Though his powers were suppressed by Lucifer’s Chains, and he was trapped in a trashy body, Barbatos was the Ten Thrones. The man who had been chattering loudly stuttered.

“Cha, Mr. Changwoo……? What’s wrong with your eyes?”

That too for a moment.

Pug.

“Ugh! all of a sudden, what’s wrong with everyone?!”

Everyone except himself and Choi Changwoo pass out and hit their heads.

Even if he dreams, he doesn’t dream of such improbable things.

Moreover, Choi Changwoo would never appear like this in a dream.

So.

This is real.

I must run away.

“Shit!”

Tadadak.

It was the moment when the man who had made his decision was about to run out of the office. The mediator’s understanding. Barbatos, who understood all of Choi Changwoo’s memories in his body, spoke.

“So that’s what happened.”

Choi Changwoo.

This man is a ghost of the past to you.

The Ten Thrones, Lee Hoyeol.

Barbatos spoke in Choi Changwoo’s voice.

“Excuse me, Mr. Huang?”

“Cha, Mr. Changwoo? What, have you come to your senses?”

“What? What do you mean?”

Startle.

Mr. Huang, who was holding the office door knob, frowned.

“Are you trying to beat up on me now, Mr. Changwoo, after making the office look like this? When did you do something like this, huh? What, did you put sleeping pills in the water dispenser?! ”

I thought I was seeing things.

The blackened pupils were everywhere.

Huang vowed to himself.

I will never be fooled.

“No, there’s no need to mix things up, right?”

Mr. Huang turned to leave the office.

The office door opened from outside.

“Huang, are you going to the restroom?”

“Mr, Mr. Manager, you need to get out of here right now!”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“Choi Changwoo, that asshole……! No, look at the office!! ”

It’s better to see this unbelievable sight than to say a hundred words.

It might be faster to tell the story.

Bam.

Mr. Hwang quickly stepped aside.

“Huh?”

Hwang’s face went blank.

As if nothing had happened.

No, as if he was about to make a fool of himself.

tadadadadak

The calming sound of typing.

It’s just a normal day in the office.

Suddenly, the boss’s icy gaze turns from the office to Mr. Hwang.

A barrage of scolding rains down.

“Ms. Hwang, did you fall asleep on the job again?”

“Oh, no, sir, it’s that asshole Choi Changwoo.”

“What, asshole?”

“That’s not it, obviously.”

“Mr. Hwang?”

Without making any excuses, Choi Changwoo holds out the papers to him.

“I’ve sorted the documents you asked for.”

“Sorting documents? Why is Intern Choi doing that?”

“That’s what Assistant Manager Hwang asked me to do…….”

“What? Asked? Hey, what did Assistant Manager Hwang ask intern Choi to do?! ”

Normally, he would have been shaking in his boots.

The manager’s scolding fell on deaf ears.

At this moment, he was more afraid of Choi Changwoo in front of him than anything else.

Hwang swallowed dryly.

‘Was I dreaming?’

“…”

“…!”

Did I doze off like the manager said?

No, that’s not possible.

I didn’t fall asleep.

I wasn’t tired enough to hallucinate.

Then.

“What the hell was that?”

I feel like I’m literally possessed by the demon.

“I’m sorry, sir.”

But Mr. Hwang was a professional.

Even if he didn’t understand English.

That meant he had to take responsibility for what he had done.

Mr. Hwang bowed his head and the manager clicked his tongue.

“Forget it, Mr. Hwang, you need to see me right now, and Intern Choi, you’ve had a hard time, and you deserve a break, especially in this day and age, what an asshole, you asshole.”

Mr. Hwang was still puzzled as he accepted the documents.

But he soon understood.

Well, it was an extremely improbable situation.

‘Why, didn’t you talk about a fictitious day in Today’s Arcana?’

Possession doesn’t happen to just anyone. Most of the time, you have to be a player or someone of great social standing to be possessed. In short, you have to be of value to the demon.

Hwang’s gaze fell on Choi Changwoo.

“There’s no reason for the demon to possess this asshole.”

Then Choi Chang-woo started to look like his normal self again.

After the chief, he takes a moment to pray.

Huang whispered to me privately.

“Look at me later, Mr. Chang.”

I must have been mistaken.

I guess he’s going to tell the director soon, right?

Hwang vowed to himself.

Before I take off his intern tag.

He would make Changwoo crawl out of the company on his own feet.

However, the answer he got back was different.

“Really?”

“Are you kidding me? Really.”

“Mr. Hwang, you’re going to regret this.”

“What?”

The same was true of the secretly whispering voice.

“Do you think that was really a dream?”

“……!!! ”

Mr. Hwang couldn’t say anymore. When he stopped walking, the manager himself grabbed him by the nape of the neck and dragged him away.

Choi Changwoo. No, Barbatos shrugged.

“The lives of ants are beyond my comprehension.”

You can use magic to search for truth.

You can use your gifts to reach superhuman levels.

It’s not like you can live forever.

Why do we live with hatred for each other.

Why do we waste our fleeting lives?

Why are we so obsessed with the ghosts of the past that we ignore reality?

‘I know without looking through the Objective Eye.’

Humans.

You are indeed foolish animals.

But thanks to you.

‘Indeed, a suitable land.’

A land of such negative emotions would be more conducive to concealing one’s presence than the desolation of the Demon World. It will be harder for you to track me down now that I have willingly relinquished my power.

And then there is the fact that cannot be overlooked.

You are, after all, human, aren’t you?”

Barbatos thought while reading Choi Changwoo’s memories. Perhaps, this ghost of the past may be a clue that can shake up ‘Human, Lee Hoyeol’.

Indeed.

A trace of a memory.

It was a strange, yet delicious word.

Barbatos murmured.

“Seongseon Middle School.”

*

The Crystal Hall is shaking.

“Did he collapse?”

“What the hell, all of a sudden?”

“Did he pass out?”

No wonder everyone is freaking out. Barbatos, who had just removed his mask and spouted his diabolical words, is now slumped over in the lectern.

Marcelo speaks up.

“Do you have any guesses, sir?”

Me neither.

I don’t just guess, I know the whole story.

I’ve been seeing flashes in my vision.

[Barbatos gives up possession of the power, the Objective Eye].

Yes.

Barbatos gave up his powers to escape the effects of the [Lucifer’s Chains of Atonement], and not only that, but he fled from this place, leaving his body behind.

I opened my mouth as usual.

“You cut off your tail and ran away.”

You know, Grandfell always have a way with metaphors.

“Looks like lowering the tail wasn’t enough.”

That’s not to say it’s wrong.

Barbatos had thrown away the entirety of the Ten Thrones’ “power” and I know firsthand what that power can do.

‘When I think of Paimon and Gamigin.’

The Ten Thrones without power is like bungeoppang without red beans.

Even if it said he was hiding somewhere.

It means he can’t pose much of a threat to Reality and the Arcana Continent.

But in this moment, I was regretting it.

《I should have killed him.》

I don’t know what you think, Grandfell, but I wanted to make sure I hunted down Barbatos, even if I had to concede a little bit of it.

It has to be that way.

‘So that we don’t lose anything.’

Is this my mistake?

‘No, I didn’t even think about it.’

In the first place, it was impossible to even expect that Barbatos would give up his power. As I said, power meant a great deal to the Ten Thrones.

‘Without it, you’re no better than a common demon.’

If it were Paimon.

‘Paimon would rather die as Ten Thrones than give up his power.’

Barbatos, he was definitely a weird demon.

‘We must be on our guard.’

But I couldn’t let myself fall into deep thought.

This is a Magic Tower, and I am the Chief mage of such a tower.

Besides, I was the only one who could explain what had happened.

ttogag.

Therefore, I stood up.

I didn’t even activate [Heavenly Demon Reign].

The gazes of the Crystal Hall were focused on me as I stood up.

Click.

The camera lenses that had been focusing on Barbatos also turned toward me.

I wonder what else this cubic crystal will say to the cameras that are broadcasting around the world, and whether my sisters will be watching.

‘This is our weight too, isn’t it, Grandfell?’

I shifted my feet, as always.

Toward the pulpit where Barbatos had fallen.

Then, as I lifted my hand, there was a clang.

…!

The [Lucifer’s Chain of Atonement], which had been wrapped around Barbatos’ neck, was once again returned to my hand. At that point, the silent crystal hall began to roar.

“…….As expected, the Commander-in-Chief put a leash on the dog!”

“Well, that’s certainly an item I’ve never seen before.”

“Isn’t it at least legendary to be so gorgeous?!”

I’m glad I don’t have to tell you the name of the item, Lucifer, blah blah blah. Let’s see, what should I say first?

‘Unnecessary misunderstandings are not good.’

The fear of the footless horse.

I know this better than anyone, don’t I?

If this is the end of the matter without any explanation.

-Barbatos, Pre-verification Burden? Self-destruction

You won’t be surprised to see a lot of articles like this.

It’s not over yet.

Before everyone starts drinking the kimchi soup.

We need to set the record straight.

With all the attention.

“Barbatos broke his promise and fled.”

I opened my mouth.

“He abandoned his power and his dignity as the Ten Thrones.”

I wish I could have left it at that.

But you never let it go, do you?

Do you have to say it out loud to get it off your chest, Grandfell ……!

“He ran away from me.”

*

“That’s an unexpected ending, isn’t it, senior?”

Sung Hyunjoon stuck his tongue out.

Hoyeol’s words were simple.

Barbatos fell for his own trick and became a cornered rat.

The rat cut off its tail.

It was cowardly and fled down the rat hole.

Yoon Soogyeom nodded.

“Surely we can’t categorize that as a demonic monster anymore, it’s too complex and different to be one of the simple patterns.”

“Exactly. Who would have guessed?”

It was an unexpected finish, but Sung didn’t feel bad about it. In a strange way, it felt like the tide had shifted from Barbatos back to him, to General Manager Lee Hoyeol.

“The Ten Thrones have given up his power ……!”

Although I didn’t know what kind of power it was, just the fact that Barbatos, who had been choosing flattering words, had shown his true colors, cut off his tail, and fled was enough to make me feel better.

“Senior, you feel the same way as me, right?”

After saying that, Sung Hyunjoon couldn’t help but stutter.

For some reason, Yoon Soogyeom’s expression wasn’t very bright.

Yoon Soogyeom replied.

“I’m supposed to be happy, but I can’t.”

“What? Why?”

“Because I realized it again.”

Lee Hoyeol.

A player beyond players.

The leader of the Holy War Alliance and General Manager of the Yusra Branch.

That he is in a place where you can’t reach him even if you stretch out your hands as much as you can.

Because I felt it again.

Yoon Soogyeom spoke with a wistful tone in his voice.

“I used to think that if we tried hard enough, we might be able to keep up with him, but I guess not, Hyunjoon, because all we could do was look at him.”

Instead of helping or working together.

Once again, it was an overwhelming victory.

It was truly an overwhelming feeling.

Yes, that feeling is truly ‘awe.’

It’s a very subtle emotion, a mixture of respect and fear.

*

Jiziiing.

A vibrating smartphone.

It was the alumni chat room of Seongseon Middle School.

Kim Hyunmin’s brow furrowed as he checked the sender.

“Choi Changwoo?”