Chapter 155 - The Symmetrical World's Town (2)

"What are you doing?"

"It's a ghost that's scared of humans. Isn't that interesting? No, I'm a vampire right now, so is it afraid of vampires?"

Hyun smirked after seeing how someone who used to be so afraid of devils was playing around and scaring them.

Demons and devils should’ve been familiar beings. If Louise was a demon, it wasn't a weird scene.

Louise's fear disappeared after she drank the potion that the skeleton Duke had given them.

Had it touched something within her, or was it because she could understand their language?

It probably didn't matter. Louise always dealt with things that way.

"So skeletons can talk! How are they talking?"

"Vampire... lady... do you need something... from... me?"

"What are you doing?"

"Clack... I'm the security guard that protects the... town."

Louise began talking with the skeleton that guarded the town.

Although Louise talking with a skeleton looked dangerous, Hyun didn't feel anxious because he could understand what they were talking about.

He knew that the devils didn't feel animosity toward Louise.

Louise seemed to be having fun while surrounded by ghosts. It seemed she wouldn't get bored if they left her in the town.

"She's enjoying herself."

"That's better, right?"

Ain's smile deepened.

"Let's go somewhere, the two of us."

"Do you want to go hunting?"

"Hunting? Here?"

"Hmm. Although I'm not sure if there's a hunting ground around here…"

Were there monsters in the Symmetrical World?

"Are there monsters around the town?" Hyun asked a skeleton soldier.

"Yes..."

"Where should we go?"

"Outside... of the town... but when the fog is... thick... you shouldn't... go out... it's... dangerous..."

"When is the fog going to disappear?"

"It disappears... and rises again... but I don't know... the details... because I’ve never... left the town..."

Hyun looked around.

A black fog surrounded the town. The two Dukes had warned him and said he should be careful.

'I guess I shouldn't go out.'

He thought he would be able to move around while dodging it, but according to them, the fog around the area changed frequently, so he decided not to risk things on a pointless adventure.

"Is this food from this area?"

"Crack... Yes... This is a gift... for you, miss..."

"Hmm. It doesn't look bad. It seems delicious!"

Hyun turned after hearing Louise's voice.

She was grabbing something in her hands while talking with the skeleton guard.

A stone turtle skewer…

It seemed like the shopkeeper lizardman was a friend of the skeleton guard, so she gave Louise a skewer.

‘Seeing that she can grab the affection of devils she's never seen before, Louise is definitely 'Darkness,' right?’

'It doesn't look delicious... Yet she's doing a good job of eating it.'

Flavors were replicated very well in Asrian, which was why many users were interested in the food.

But Hyun and Ain weren't among those people. Rather than eating, they enjoyed exploring the unknown more.

"Hyun, let's go into town! How about there?"

Ain pointed to a tower.

An altar called the ‘pitch black lighthouse’ was in the middle of the town.

Guooo.

Something dark rose from the top of the altar at that moment.

According to Scothanatos's explanation, the altar was dedicated to Darkness.

'Is this a temple?'

Holding a ceremony was similar to praying, so he thought he wouldn't be wrong if he thought of that place as the Temple of Darkness.

"It looks quite fancy."

"Right?!"

Hyun waited for Louise to finish eating, and the three of them went to the tower.

"Oh, you're…!"

There was an old Priest within the tower.

He welcomed them as if they were old friends.

"Vampire... are you really vampires?"

"Yes...?"

"I didn't think I'd be able to meet other vampires here!"

Hyun soon realized why the old Priest seemed so happy.

The Priest was an old vampire who was suffering from loneliness.

"It's been too long since a vampire traveler came to the town."

"I… I see."

Was he asking that because he noticed they'd drunk the transformation potion? Hyun was wondering about that, but after realizing the Priest was honestly happy to see them, he felt relieved.

"It's been that long...? It seems like there aren't any other vampires in this town."

"I’m the only one. They're all mostly skeletons, ghosts, or lizardmen."

"Hyun, I haven't seen any high-ranking devils in this town," Ain added.

Just as she said, the only vampire they'd seen in the town was the Priest in front of them. It seemed like there also weren’t any high-ranking devils with high intelligence.

Why was that? Did devils have different hometowns? The old vampire soon answered those doubts.

"It’s not that there have never been any other vampires. Yes, it's been eight years since they left."

"They left eight years ago...?"

"Right, they've now disappeared."

They received new information from the Priest.

"Eight years ago, when the 'Darkness' hid, they disappeared. Those ungrateful bastards! To think they'd go away as soon as the Darkness disappeared!"

"What does that mean? The Darkness disappeared."

"What? How is it possible that you don't know? Don't tell me..."

The Priest glared at Hyun.

"Are you from the forces of Deception?"

"No...! That's not it...!"

Although they weren't as hostile as the Heavens and the Abyss, the forces of Deception and Darkness didn't get along very well.

Hyun quickly used his knowledge of Asra and made up an excuse.

"I've been hibernating, so I haven't heard news from the outside."

"Huh? You don't know what happened outside because you hibernated a bit?"

"It seemed like I suffered from a side effect, so I woke up after 10 years. I really don't know what happened."

Could something like that happen...? It had been a long time since he'd met other vampires, so he left his doubts aside.

"Okay, I'll explain to you."

The Priest began talking as if he were teaching some ignorant young vampires.

"You know that Demonic Energy is from demons, right?"

"Yes, of course."

"Because we serve Darkness, we're just borrowing power from Darkness, but eight years ago, that strength disappeared for a short while."

All devils had Demonic Energy.

That's why they could feel the presence of the Transcendent they served.

Eight years prior, all of the Demonic Energy of those that served Darkness had vanished, and the forces of Darkness had fallen into panic.

Thankfully, thanks to the demons that were under Darkness, their Demonic Energy had returned, but it wasn't the same amount as before.

"Ah, that's why I felt empty after finishing hibernation...! It makes sense now!"

"Hmm... That's probably because Darkness disappeared."

"I see!"

The Priest said something like this:

—The Pitch Black Lighthouse was a town created to serve Darkness.

—After they realized that they wouldn't be able to obtain more strength from serving Darkness, the vampires left the town.

From that, Hyun realized that vampires were very pragmatic.

'Did they change sides to Deception... Or did they begin serving a lower-rank demon?'

The forces of the Abyss moved according to the laws of strength.

Those with high strength often changed masters.

Vampires were high-ranking devils, so it wasn't weird for them to leave the town.

"But… old man, you still perform the ceremony."

"Yes."

"But does it have an effect now that the Darkness isn't present anymore?"

"Not really."

"Then why are you doing this...?"

Wasn't the old vampire the weird one?

After asking that, Hyun saw the expression of the old vampire getting distorted.

"You aren't any different from the other vampires."

"What does that…?"

"You all say ‘Isn't there no point in serving Darkness if we don't receive anything in exchange’? Nonsense! I do the ceremony every day because I know that Darkness will resurrect soon!"

The reprimand spread through the altar.

It was clear that he wasn't doing that for strength but for faith.

"The Darkness will soon resurrect! Maybe the others haven't noticed, but I've clearly seen it! It was about a month ago...!"

The Priest narrowed his eyes. He was trying his best to remember.

"A month ago, I saw this altar get covered by Demonic Energy. Although it was only for a short while, I clearly saw it!"

"What does that mean...?"

"The Darkness responded to the ceremonies! It was a sign! Do you understand? The Darkness hasn't disappeared yet! Even now, that superior being is probably somewhere hiding from the sunlight and making the necessary preparations!"

Hyun remained silent while hearing the certain shout of the Priest.

Ain frowned, and Louise shrugged in surprise.

"Ehem... It seems like I overdid my reaction."

After a short while, the Priest noticed his reaction was a bit exaggerated.

As the voice died down, there was silence over the altar.

The Priest coughed in embarrassment. Hyun remained silent not because he was overwhelmed…

He was focusing on something that the old vampire said.

'He felt the presence of the Darkness a month ago...?'

Hyun had fallen into thought.

The vampire had said that he'd felt the Darkness being reborn a month prior.

'When was that?'

Hyun started to look back.

If it was a month ago, it was when Louise was on Iluna.

Was he referring to when Louise reached level 200?

The moment the old vampire said that, he felt the Darkness being reborn coincided with that period of time.

He had changed his job to a Shadow Linker, and Louise's level had gone up.

Considering when it happened and the fact that the word 'Darkness' was mentioned, it couldn't be a simple guess.

'Yes, I'm sure of it! Louise is Darkness!'

Ting-!

When Hyun became sure of it, a quest window appeared in front of him.

The main quest had changed.

In Asrian, hidden quest routes often opened after the system read the user's brain waves.

[Event: You have figured something out about the encroachment of the Heavens!]

[New information about the main quest will be added!]

'It changed again!'

The content of the main quest was confusing, but it was starting to change.

Why was a Knight of the Holy Kingdom in the Symmetrical World? Hyun got the answer to that question faster than he thought.

- The Heavens have been planning to invade the Abyss. The Holy Knight in the Kaidan Castle was a spy who secretly infiltrated for that purpose.

- They just picked up their swords! Those who have received the oracle of Light will come to the Underground!

- You have to take Darkness and help her escape from the Heavens’ attack. You probably already know where you have to go.

- The Darkness will open her eyes to a new strength at the heart.

Kiieekk-!

As that message ended, a cry from a ghost could be heard from somewhere.

If it were back then, he would've just dismissed it as one of the many cries of a devil.

…But after becoming a vampire, Hyun started to understand their language.

That wasn't a cry for help… it was a cry to alert them of danger.

"What's wrong...?"

"It came from outside...!"

Ain and Louise had also heard the ghost’s screams.

"Let's check out what happened!"

Hyun took Ain and Louise and ran out of the altar.

Thanks to the town being small, they soon reached where the incident had happened.

"That..."

There was a fight happening at the town’s entrance.

People that seemed to be users and the skeletons protecting the town were fighting each other.

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