How A Mythical Holy Knight Lives As A Villain (Novel) - Chapter 72
Chapter 72
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Camping inside a giant gate wasn’t particularly unusual for players.
There were even custom-made pieces of equipment designed for that very purpose.
“We’ll take care of the scouting.”
Kim Do-Ha said.
“Geo will stand guard.”
Choi Ji-O added.
Swish.
Go Johan silently entered his own tent that had already been set up.
……
Unlike the collective Geo and Viren, there was nothing for the lone Go Johan to help with.
Moreover-
“That rude bastard…”
Having seen what he had done, there was really nothing more they could say.
When someone was singlehandedly doing the work of fifty top-tier players, it would only be absurd to assign him chores.
“Ji-Woon.”
Choi Ji-O called out to his younger brother, who was spouting curses.
“Enough.”
“Hah. Are you taking that bastard’s side now?”
“Calm down. What’s got you so worked up?”
“It’s just…”
But Choi Ji-Woon shook his head as if to say never mind and moved away.
“Take your rest. I’ll assign the guards.”
“It’s the guild…”
“I said I got it!”
He had always been a bit rebellious, but-
‘It’s getting worse.’
It must be because he’d grown rapidly and received more praise than ever lately.
The more Black Gates he entered, the worse it got.
……
Left alone, Choi Ji-O became lost in thought.
Time passed, night deepened.
People took turns resting.
Choi Ji-O too leaned back against his tent to steal a bit of sleep when-
Ssshh.
He sensed an unfamiliar presence near the tent.
His hand immediately went to his sword’s hilt, but-
“Big brother. It’s me, don’t worry.”
The one who entered through the tent flap was his brother, Choi Ji-Woon.
And then-
“Guild Leader Kim Do-Ha?”
Kim Do-Ha followed him in.
“It’s the spirits. Go Johan’s fallen asleep-we checked. But he’s a monster, right? Can’t hurt to be careful.”
“…What are you talking about?”
“…It means, Go Johan won’t hear whatever we say in here.”
Choi Ji-O’s face hardened.
“Wait a second.”
He tried to interrupt.
“It’s the perfect moment to hunt the boss monster.”
“I agree as well.”
Kim Do-Ha’s and Choi Ji-Woon’s sudden conversation left him speechless.
“That monster-eliminating him, this is the only chance.”
“…!”
Choi Ji-O’s face turned pale.
“The Centaurs were horrific.”
“What are you talking about right now?!”
Choi Ji-O shouted, and Kim Do-Ha tilted her head in apparent confusion.
“Vice-Guild Leader Choi Ji-Woon, what’s going on here? Don’t tell me… the Guild Leader doesn’t know?”
She giggled eerily.
Goosebumps ran over Choi Ji-O’s skin.
“Well, it’s come to this. You were always so stubborn, big brother.”
“Ji-Woon!”
As Choi Ji-O tried to draw his sword-
Thunk.
It wouldn’t move.
“…!”
“But at this point, you can’t refuse anyway.”
“He really is stubborn.”
Choi Ji-O’s face turned ashen.
“Don’t tell me… you’re planning to kill Go Johan!”
He wasn’t so foolish as to miss the meaning of their words.
“Isn’t it obvious?”
“Brother.”
Choi Ji-Woon and Kim Do-Ha looked at Choi Ji-O.
Something unreadable flickered deep in their eyes.
“Can we just leave a monster like that alone?”
“For us to become the very best-it’s a necessary step, brother.”
“C-crazy…”
“As long as that guy’s alive, you know Geo Guild will never be number one, don’t you?”
Choi Ji-Woon gestured for Kim Do-Ha not to interrupt and continued.
“Number one, brother. Number one-the thing you always wanted.”
“Ji-Woon!”
“Don’t shout. Unlike you, who gave up and became satisfied with reality somewhere along the way, I never let go of my dream.”
He grinned.
“That’s why they gave us this power.”
“…Are you saying these blessing items are demonic tools?”
“Oh, don’t misunderstand. They’re nothing like demonic tools.”
“…Then what are they?”
“Just real power. And ‘they’ aren’t actual demons either.”
Choi Ji-O’s face was ghostly white.
“The real demon is Go Johan. That divine background, monstrous strength… and did you know?”
Choi Ji-Woon said,
“The Sanctuary Alliance pledged loyalty to Go Johan. Loyalty! In this modern age! As if they were knights in some ancient order. Ha!”
He kept on,
“There’s even a rumor that Goldian’s under Go Johan’s command. That’s not all.”
“What…”
“So, brother.”
Choi Ji-Woon leaned in even closer, a wicked smile on his face.
“That impossible thing, that monster managed to do it. Which is why we need to kill him here.”
The recording device had been switched off.
“Ji-Woon… get a grip. This isn’t right.”
Choi Ji-O shook his head.
“This isn’t the kind of number one I wanted. And to kill Go Johan here, no matter what…”
“Stop pretending to be clean, brother. It’s disgusting.”
Ji-Woon’s face twisted in disgust.
“Whatever you say-it was me who brought in the blessed items. You allowed it. And I watched over you for years. You’re not so clean yourself.”
Choi Ji-Woon stood up.
“So, what will you do? We’ve all made up our minds. If you refuse….”
A chill shimmered in the air.
“We’ll have to silence you, too.”
“You…”
“I don’t really care what happens.”
He left the tent.
“We have until tonight. Tell us your decision then.”
“Is this really okay?”
Kim Do-Ha asked Choi Ji-Woon.
“I poisoned him with a paralysis drug. I’ll keep watch with a spirit. No rush-he can decide before Go Johan wakes up at dawn.”
Just as Choi Ji-Woon said, Choi Ji-O couldn’t move.
“Don’t bother shouting. No one will hear-you’re sealed in.”
With that, they both left the tent.
Kim Do-Ha winked on her way out.
“Don’t regret it.”
Slam.
Choi Ji-O’s world shattered.
…How…how did it come to this?
He had no idea what the right answer was anymore.
*
*
*
Choi Ji-O was left stupefied.
Everything felt empty-and terrifying.
“…The warning was true.”
Choi Ji-Woon insisted the blessing items weren’t demonic tools, and that their benefactors weren’t demons, but Choi Ji-O thought otherwise.
Demons, all of them.
The fact that no one else even realized it made it all the more hopeless and terrifying.
-Destruction.
Go Johan’s warning about the end was not a single lie.
Where had it all gone wrong? How far had the demons’ hands reached?
Clench.
If he refused here, who knew what would happen.
But even if he accepted, the consequences would be dire as well.
“Ji-Woon…”
He had known there was darkness inside his brother, but he never imagined it was this deep.
He closed his eyes.
And as he was about to make his decision-
Ssssh.
Someone quietly approached the tent.
It was obvious Ji-Woon and Kim Do-Ha had come to hear his answer.
“I refuse.”
Choi Ji-O spoke without opening his eyes.
Refusal meant his own death, but at the very least, he didn’t want to see his brother raise a blade against him.
“This isn’t right, Ji-Woon. This isn’t what I wanted.”
He thought of this as his last will.
But-
“That was close.”
A voice that was neither Choi Ji-Woon’s nor Kim Do-Ha’s.
“…!”
It was Go Johan.
“To be honest, I didn’t expect you to be innocent-just incompetent.”
“…Go Johan?”
“Moreover,”
Go Johan, standing inside the tent and looking down at the collapsed Choi Ji-O, said,
“I expected you would be swallowed by your own power.”
Tremble.
Choi Ji-O’s body shook.
Go Johan’s words pierced right through all his previous anxieties.
‘If these truly are demonic tools, then…’
Would he really be able to let go of the power when the time came?
“…You knew everything?”
He found himself unconsciously speaking in formal language.
“It was hard not to see.”
“…Then why…”
“Now that the things hiding in the shadows finally revealed themselves-wouldn’t it be a waste to cut off only the tail?”
Markings shuddered and writhed on Go Johan’s skin.
“Even if not all, if I can root out at least a portion of them-that’s…”
Go Johan spoke with a blank face.
“If they can’t hurt me, it’s better to let them be.”
“That’s not what I mean!”
Choi Ji-O cried.
Was it the spirits or Go Johan’s overwhelming presence? The outside was eerily silent.
“Why…why…”
Choi Ji-O sounded almost like he was about to cry.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
That his own brother had joined hands with demons.
That most of Geo Guild had been swallowed by them.
“If you’d told me earlier…”
If only Go Johan had spoken sooner, maybe things could have been prevented.
Go Johan tilted his head.
“I did warn you.”
“…!”
“I told everyone about the existence of demons, that their tricks alone could destroy the world.”
Go Johan said.
“I warned you the very first day we met.”
-If you have anything to do with demons, I will kill everyone involved.
He had indeed said that.
“But…”
Still, he never imagined it would be so closely related to Geo itself.
“You were suspicious. You had doubts. That was enough.”
Go Johan said.
“I believe my warning was clear. Thanks to that, I’m here now.”
“….”
He could not deny it.
“Still…”
“It’s wrong, isn’t it? Couldn’t I have saved them? If I have the information, the power-”
Go Johan cut him off sharply.
That was exactly what Choi Ji-O was about to say.
“And why should I?”
Choi Ji-O was speechless.
“Do you think of me as a hero, or a savior?”
Go Johan pulled a chair in front of him and sat down.
“I just learned there’s nothing you can save by being those things.”
“…”
“I’m just a knight serving the one I worship.”
At that moment, Choi Ji-O recalled Go Johan’s declaration:
-I don’t care if I become a villain or a demon.
If that was what it took to destroy the demons, he would become anything.
“Accept Choi Ji-Woon and Kim Do-Ha’s proposal.”
Go Johan returned the chair to its place and said,
“I’ll take care of the rest. If you won’t-do as you wish. The result will not change.”
And when Choi Ji-O blinked, Go Johan’s presence vanished as if it had all been a dream.