Chapter 217: Episode 68. Hope (2)
The man was wearing a skull mask. He was a key figure in the Guild of Heaven’s Will. He had disappeared often, but he came back when people needed him. Until one day, he never appeared again.
People said he died. He did things on his own, so people thought he went to explore the dungeon alone and died in there. Others believed he died because of the monster wave. Anyhow, people assumed he was already dead.
One day, four demons invaded and destroyed Korea. Countless people died.
Some awakened heroes, including Yoo Eunhye, still believed that the man would return. They supposed he would appear when people were in danger, just like before, but he didn’t. The demons released a large number of monsters and devastated Korea, and he was slowly forgotten.
“It has been a while, Yoo Eunhye and Edward Windsor,” the man began to speak, taking off his mask.
At that moment, Yoo Eunhye’s eyes widened.
“Ah!” she exclaimed.
She recognized his face. She could not be mistaken. It was a face etched in her memory. He was the man who found Yoo Eunhye and helped her develop her abilities. He led her from the front, pushed her from the back. Also, he saved Edward and helped him improve his skills.
“You…are…alive,” Yoo Eunhye uttered, trying to contain her disbelief.
She was not the youngling she used to be. She had grown into a graceful woman, yet a skilled fighter. She was a worrier but could fight against enemies and knew how to compromise. Now, she was the leader of the party.
“Many things have happened,” the man said.
Yoo Eunhye observed that not much had changed since the last time she saw him—his baritone voice, cold expression, and gaze remained the same.
She was pleased to see him, but she kept her emotions in check. To her, the name ‘Randalf Bruciel’ was a hero. However, he was already dead, at least for her.
Maybe he was revived through a demon’s plot, or it could be somebody else wearing his mask. She was living in strange times. No one…nothing…could be trusted anymore.
“Captain?”
One of the team members stepped forward as he saw Yoo Eunhye was tense. He noticed the unsettling atmosphere.
The members were confused. They had no idea about the relationship between Yoo Euhnye and the stranger or Rose’s identity. However, Yoo Eunhye felt like she was in trance, and everything was just noise. She was too occupied at the moment.
“Why are you here? How do you know Miss Rose?”
“What do you think?” he asked back. Yoo Eunhye’s cheeks blushed, embarrassed.
Rose was one of the savior’s children. The savior had saved Korea and then disappeared. Only Roy and Rose stayed. People crowned the two children as king and queen. The influence of the two dark elves in South Korea was unsurpassed.
‘It’s impossible,’ Yoo Eunhye thought. Her body trembled as a thought occurred to her. It was like being hit by lightning.
She had considered it once a long time ago. The savior hid his face. No one knew how he looked like. Yoo Eunhye speculated at the idea of Randalf Bruciel being the savior. She supposed he hid his identity and might appear as the savior in the future.
But no matter how positively she tried to think, it was unreasonable. They were similar but different at the same time. It wasn’t just his appearance. It was hard to explain.
Honestly, the person who was called the savior had a dark atmosphere. He evoked fear. She was terrified when she saw him slaughtering monsters.
The Randalf Bruciel she knew was different from him. Besides, the savior had superior power than humans. Although Randalf Bruciel was also stronger than humans, he was not as strong as the savior.
Therefore, some awakened heroes, including Yoo Eunhye, were convinced that the savior was a demon or a monster who took dark elves. Even so, none of them said anything to the humans—those who did not have any power or supernatural strength. Civilians needed hope and faith to rebuild Korea. The savior’s identity did not matter as long as people had hope. It was a secret they would take to their graves.
The unit leader of Devil Hunter was a human—at least that’s what Yoo Eunhye believed. He was violent, but he was different than the demons that Yoo Eunhye knew. Demons and monsters usually did not compromise with humans. The Korean dungeon master was the only demon who communicated with humans, but that also changed as the demons from abroad came.
There was no way that the unit leader of Devil Hunter was the savior. Yoo Eunhye found the idea nonsensical.
‘Master… Savior…’ Yoo Eunhye kept thinking about what Rose said.
But she could not figure it out. Her head ached. She was perplexed. What if they were the same person?
“It seems like Kim Yongwoo hasn’t said anything about me,” the man assumed.
‘Kim Yongwoo? Does the guild master know something about him?’ Yoo Eunhye wondered, surprised at this new information.
It sounded like the guild master knew something and was deliberately hiding it from her and the other guild members.
The man had a cynical smile on his face as he spoke, “I was the one who gave out a warning that all the demons would gather here.”
“I heard British leaders hardly found out—”
“Humans like to mask their weaknesses,” the man cut off Yoo Eunhye. “By the way, it looks like you have grown well. I guess the Advanced Training Room was quite helpful?”
“Oh…”
Flop!
Yoo Eunhye’s legs felt like jelly, and she collapsed.
What he said was a definite hint. Only the savior and Yoo Eunhye knew the details about the Advanced Training Room. The savior said he would come back when she became stronger. His words implied that he was the savior.
“Are you an ally?” she asked, hardly raising her head.
Whether he was the unit leader or the savior, it was natural to think he was an ally. However, she still felt anxious. She couldn’t get rid of her doubts. She also felt somewhat glad, but everything was just confusing.
If he, the man she trusted, turned out as an enemy, she would despair. She knew no one could win against him. He always ensured that everything would play out according to his designs.
“Are you a demon, Randalf Bruciel?”
The savior was not a human. The rational awakened heroes were sure. Some thought he might be an angel or a god, but they were all just assumptions.
Seeing how other angels behaved, there was no way that the savior was an angel. He did not use any divine power.
Supposing him as a god was not an option for Yoo Eunhye. She had already lost any devotion from surviving in this world. Thus, she ignored that thought.
He might be a monster…but monsters were puppets of demons. All monsters were under the control of demons.
‘Is he really a…’ Yoo Eunhye mused.
She hated to admit it, but the only explanation that made sense was he was a demon. However, only a small number of Korean awakened heroes considered the savior as a demon. Most of the people who initially had that suspicion already changed their minds. They refused to believe it. They were not having any of it.
Even if they thought the savior was a demon, they refrained from speaking about it. Human faith was surprisingly easy to ruin. And once faith was loss, they were likely to despair.
The world was already filled with despair. If people lost hope again, they would not be able to stand anymore. Everyone was well aware of this. It would be best to focus on the future. Thanks to that, Korea was in the process of recovery.
“Please…,” Yoo Eunhye muttered.
She nervously looked at him. If he was a human, then everything would be okay. Everything he had done could be justified.
But what if he was a demon? Everything he had done had to be considered from a different perspective, and Yoo Eunhye had no confidence to do so.
The ‘hero’ that she once believed in and trusted would turn into a traitor. She had to reflect on how he dealt with things, especially his demeanor when faced with a challenging situation.
Soon, he remarked in a low but decisive tone, “Yes, I am.”
Clang!
The members simultaneously pulled out their weapons. The conversation was interpreted through magic items, so everyone understood the meaning of ‘demon’.
Demon… It was a target that needed to be handled before monsters.
It was a widely accepted theory that if demons disappeared, the dungeons and monsters would vanish, too. Therefore, no matter how the situation went, the demons had to be destroyed.
“S-stop. You shouldn’t attack him,” Yoo Eunhye finally spoke, barely recovered.
However, the team members were warriors from different countries. They hadn’t taken orders from Yoo Eunhye since the beginning. She was only a temporary leader because she was the strongest. Thus, they did not adhere to her command.
“But there are only two opponents.”
“We can’t win.”
“Captain, it seems like you know each other, or at least acquainted. Did you lead us towards them on purpose?”
“I will never do such a thing. Never!”
Doubts increased, and speculations doubled. Yoo Eunhye denied it, but the others did not seem to believe her.
“Then don’t interrupt us. We can’t just let a demon go after being in contact with him.”
Hope was made to kill all demons and monsters. The team members judged that if that demon figured this out, he would attack them first. They believed demons would never compromise with humans.
“Power of Sky!”
“Electric Force Enhancement!”
“Blessing of Strength!”
The members used buff skills and rushed towards him like raging beasts. It happened before Yoo Eunhye tried to stop them.
The man did not even attempt to dodge as if the attacks would not injure him. He only had a cynical smile.
“I won’t spare those who aim their swords at me,” he warned.
Soon, his words became a reality.
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