Chapter 92 - Iluna's Unexpected Event (2)

'There isn't time!'

What if Louise stayed in Iluna until the event ended?

Hyun didn't think that she'd be able to survive.

He had to make a decision quickly.

Ain's eyes sank deeply.

"What if I want to go anyway?"

"You could die."

"That means I can go, right?"

"Are you planning to go no matter what?"

"Yes."

Radiette fell into deep thoughts after hearing the girl's answer.

If she went to Iluna right then, there was a huge chance that she would end up dying.

'It's funny that I have this kind of worry.'

After noticing what he was thinking about, Radiette laughed inside.

Users revived after dying.

Not only that, but the girl was a stranger. She just happened to be similar to the person in his memories.

It had been hundreds of years since that day, so the wounds of that day had faded.

But he had flinched the moment he’d seen her.

That meant that there was still a lingering feeling left in his mind.

Maybe it was his last chance to get rid of that remorse that was lingering in his mind?

After a while, Radiette answered.

"I'll go with you… I stayed in this forest for too long."

The moment he was able to get the help of the Heavenly Being Radiette, Hyun celebrated inside.

* * *

[Laillai is about to take off! Flight duration is three hours!]

Fwoosh-

While honking the horns, the shuttle rose into the sky.

It was the sign of the shuttle departing from the gate located in the capital of the Holy Kingdom.

Because of the high price of the ticket, at the moment, there wasn't any user that could board it.

—Except for a very few wallet warriors.

"Mr. Radiette, it's an honor meeting you."

"Bless you."

Radiette was very popular among NPCs.

The other Heavenly Beings were also almost equally popular, but Radiette was more famous because of his past achievements.

For a while, he had committed sinful actions, but the story of him locking himself away from the rest of society to think about his mistake was a famous story, even in the Heavens.

It had been 10 years since the last time a Heavenly Being had visited the Holy Kingdom, so Radiette received lots of attention.

Ain, who was next to a Heavenly Being, also received lots of attention.

The good thing was that, thanks to Radiette, they had been assigned to first class.

A few NPCs were mumbling among them while looking at Ain.

If Ain hadn't changed her hairstyle and clothes, the NPCs that belonged to the Heavens would've probably recognized her.

Not only was she a Grand Master in PvP, but she had twice cleared a quest from the Knight Commander—she had gained some reputation thanks to that.

To be more precise, it had been Hyun and TarrTarr who had cleared the second one, but since the Knight Commander thought of them as one party with Ain, her name had also spread.

"Since she's with a Heavenly Being, she's also probably one."

But despite her fame, the NPCs weren't able to recognize her.

Although it really didn't matter since Ain was distracted, looking at the virtual space.

"How long are you planning to stay in Iluna?"

Suddenly, Radiette asked him a question.

Hyun, who was also looking at the window, answered him.

"If my business goes fast, one day; if not, maybe a week?"

"One week is too long."

"Why?"

"Iluna getting clearer means it's moving further away from its normal orbit. It will soon be lit up by the sun," Radiette said while referencing Heaven's sacred books.

In the sacred books, it was written that Iluna would turn into hell the moment light reached it.

Once Iluna was covered by fire, it would end up being devoured by the Abyss.

But rather than the topics related to the Abyss, Hyun focused on another thing:

The sun…

The reason why Louise was staying on Iluna was probably because she was under a curse that made it so her location would become known to her enemies if the sunlight touched her.

But what if the eclipse disappeared?

Iluna wouldn't be a safe place for her anymore.

"Since when did Iluna's orbit start to change...?"

"It hasn't been long... But the speed is increasing each day. In about four days, it will be completely off, and that's why I'm saying that one week is too long."

While Hyun was starting to feel uneasy, Radiette continued the explanation.

"There’s a record of something similar happening thousands of years ago. It took 500 years before the orbit normalized."

Hyun could feel his lips getting drier after listening to Radiette's explanation.

He never thought that there would be a time limit to the quest of searching for Louise.

Not only that, but he didn't have much time.

What if he hadn't received the Evil's Seed Dungeon from the Knight Commander?

What if he hadn't been able to get a clue from the Abyss Repository?

If there had been a delay in any sector... Everything would've ended before he was able to meet Louise again.

'No, should I be glad I got to know it now?'

Hyun breathed slowly.

Hyun's eyes slowly sank. He was thinking of a way to find Louise as fast as possible once they reached Iluna.

Iluna…

The moon, which had a radius about half the size of earth’s moon, didn't have night or day.

Phantom Land…

—It was the name people from Asra used to refer to Iluna.

There weren't many people who knew about the existence of Iluna, even among users.

But there was someone who had just become the first user to arrive at Iluna.

The number one ranking player in the Hall of Fame!

It was Lattice.

'It's hard getting used to this place's weather.'

Because it wasn't reached by light, the temperature was always below 0.

Although some Magic Circles could control temperature, it required too much Magic Power to heat such a large mass of land.

Because Lattice didn't have the title of Heavenly Being, he felt the cold just as it was.

<Quest: Demon Djonial's Test>

- Destroy the 7 Magic Circles that exist on Iluna! (Amount Destroyed: 4)

If it weren't for a quest, he wouldn't be staying in such a frozen land.

A user who had received the quest of a demon…

The reason why Lattice had been able to reach the place was thanks to his reputation, which had increased thanks to his ranking in the hall of fame and winning the Duke's Tournament.

'A low-ranking demon, huh.'

Lattice, thanks to his own information network, had learned about the information of the most relevant NPCs.

He remembered the names of the known Transcendents especially well, so the moment he read the name of the demon, he knew its identity.

'Well, I guess this is my limit for now.'

Up until then, Lattice had successfully completed missions step by step.

Everything had always been easy for him.

He had skills, luck, money, and lots of other things, so failure wasn't even an option for him.

The reason why he was able to reach his current position was his perfectionist nature.

He had always succeeded because he had planned everything carefully so that he wouldn't fail.

Whap-!

The moment Lattice put the demonic crystal in, the energy of the Abyss started to spread through the Magic Circle.

Even if everything was going according to his plan, Lattice wasn't smiling.

To be able to talk about perfection, he was missing something.

Subconsciously, Lattice murmured a name.

"Come, Hyun."

He murmured that ID out of nowhere.

While investigating information related to Asra Online, there was a name that he read everywhere.

His accomplishments were so amazing that it was hard to tell if they were truth or rumor.

—That's why Lattice was especially impressed by them.

He didn't know where he was at the moment or what he was doing…

But if he were playing Asrian and had the goal of reaching the top, they would meet one day.

Was Hyun someone that was a match for himself?

As another Magic Circle of Iluna was immersed in darkness, Lattice's eyes also sank into the fading light.

* * *

[We're about to enter Iluna's atmosphere!]

Paf-

The shuttle shot a huge beam of light.

After receiving the beam of light, Iluna began showing itself.

"Oh, my..."

Radiette frowned after looking at the sight of Iluna through the window.

"There isn't a lot of light left... What happened?"

On Iluna, there were seven magical circles where there were columns of light that rose to the sky.

The magic circles controlled the orbit and also worked as lighthouses, but right then, there were only two left.

"It seems like the situation is far worse than I thought."

All the other Heavens NPCs couldn't hide their surprise after seeing what was happening.

Only a few Holy Knights that knew what was going on were able to remain calm.

It was at that moment…

The incident began without any warning.

"Kyaa!"

Suddenly, a scream spread through the shuttle.

Everyone's gaze turned to where the scream was coming from.

There, one of the flight attendants was morphing.

"Back off!"

Radiette pulled in Ain.

He was looking with gleaming blue eyes at the girl whose figure was transforming.

"What's happening?! An accident?!"

"Is that person okay?"

With everyone looking, the flight attendant's skin began turning dark.

Then, horns and a tail appeared on her body.

Finally, wings that seemed to contain a pitch-black darkness spread.

A violent energy began swirling from her black wings.

That figure belonged to someone who represented the Abyss.

"Oh...!"

The Priests, who were the first ones to feel the presence of the Abyss, put their hands together.

They began naming all the Angels while trembling.

"No..."

"How could something like this happen...!"

The figure of the flight attendant had fully morphed into that of a demon.

Not only her face, but her aura had changed as well.

Fwoosh-!

The flames of hell spreading from her feet began melting the shuttle.

Hyun uttered in surprise.

He knew the name of the demon who had just appeared.

The owner of the sharp wings was…

'Keidrial…?!'

One of the three highest-ranking demons that belonged to the Abyss.

The Great Demon of Deception had suddenly shown herself.

Her appearance had a huge effect on the shuttle.

Not only were the normal NPCs frozen, but even Knights and Magicians with high levels had pale faces and couldn't move.

Except for Hyun, Ain, and Radiette, it was probably their first time seeing a demon.

Demons hadn't made an appearance for hundreds of years, so they were like an existence from myth or legends!

"Ugh...!"

Just making eye contact made someone faint.

To people who belonged to the Heavens, a demon was synonymous with death.

They were frozen because of fear.

'Don't tell me... Is she Deception?'

Among NPCs, only Radiette was calm. However, he was also dripping cold sweat... He could remain calmer than the rest because he was a Heavenly Being.

"Don't panic. The demon probably won't be able to do anything here...!"

Radiette shouted toward the rest.

A Transcendent was an existence on par with a god.

They had enough strength to change the flow of the world, but they could only intervene indirectly.

Just by appearing there, she had probably used a lot of her strength.

"A Heavenly Being? You're a clever kid."

After finishing her transformation, she looked around while smiling.

"That's true. I have no intention of harming you. I came here today to see the face of someone."

Most couldn't look at the joyful expression of the Great Demon.

Except for two…

"Hmm..."

Suddenly…

Keidrial's gaze fixed on Ain and didn't leave her for a while.

It was as if she was looking through her soul; then she mumbled.

"There's two today as well."

Hyun felt his heart sink.

Keidrial, who was a Transcendent, could see through the soul.

He was sure she'd seen him «Assimilated» to Ain.

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