[You have entered the ‘Gateway Zone: Third Gateway’.]
[Checking the trial assigned to the ‘Third Gateway’.]
+
[Trial: Defensive Battle.]
■ Overview: Since ancient times, numerous species of Magical Beasts have existed in the Upper Plane, but they were not a significant threat to the natives. This was because the greatest enemies of the Magical Beasts were other Magical Beasts. However, the story changed completely after the Demon King appeared in ancient times and formed the ‘Allied Army of the Demon King’. Now, they no longer antagonize each other. They endlessly expand their forces, strangling the natives of the Upper Plane, and have even occupied the final bastion, the central continent of ‘Eden’. Fend off the endlessly surging Demon King's Army and protect the holy fortress.
■ Clear Condition: Defend the Crusader's Holy Fortress for 24 hours.
■ Difficulty: D
■ Time Limit: 24 hours.
■ Reward: ‘???’
+
Leaving the Boundary of the Gate, I arrived at the stage of the final gateway.
It was the top of a wall of a solitary castle, standing in the middle of a vast wilderness.
‘…….’
A solitary castle with a white inner fortress, befitting the name of a holy fortress, and a light gray outer wall.
The wilderness beyond it.
The horde of the Demon King's Army, yet unseen but certainly there.
…This was the battlefield that would mark the end of the Gateway Zone.
-…So this is the place.
-Yahoo!
-How much are we going to have to suffer here?
I wasn't the only one dropped into this space.
As stated in the system notice, the quest here, unlike in the First and Second Gateways, was a kind of joint quest that everyone had to solve together.
All the Plane Transcendents from the 131st batch who had entered the Gateway Zone were summoned onto this outer wall.
The sight of the diverse group of people lined up along the castle wall was quite a spectacle.
‘…200 people. More than I thought, but it should be enough.’
That was the number I roughly estimated.
And then—
[The Constellation, 'Olympus's Ruffian’, applauds your bold decisiveness.]
[The Constellation, 'Dog-headed Judge', expresses gratitude for the rare spectacle you provided.]
[The Constellation, 'An Immortal More Human Than Anyone', apologizes for the slight doubt they held towards you.]
[The Constellation, 'Successor of the Divine Tree', feels an unexplainable sense of pride while looking at you.]
.
.
.
The sentences from the Constellations, pouring out their overdue impressions, appeared.
It seemed the rough formalities for starting the Third Gateway were over.
[In a moment, the Demon King's Army will advance towards the castle.]
[Time Remaining: 00:29:38]
Before my Regression, I think I spent this given time sharpening my sword.
Preparing for the horde of Magical Beasts that would be swarming from beyond the castle walls.
Thinking back on it now, there was nothing more foolish.
‘…Not even knowing that the greatest enemy was inside.’
Because in the end, the Third Gateway concluded without us ever directly clashing with the Magical Beasts outside the walls.
“Ahem, hmm.”
Looking at the still unsettled people, I cleared my throat once and took out the Memorize Paper I had purchased in advance through Eliya and tore it.
Riiip—
A sentence and a magic circle appeared simultaneously.
[Using a Memorize Paper.]
[Embedded Magic: Megaphone]
[Ah, ah—mic test. Can you hear me?]
—……!!
As I made a light sound, a reaction came immediately.
‘The performance is pretty good for an E-rank magic circle… Was it drawn recently?’
The people reflexively turned their gazes at the sudden loud noise.
Towards them, I simply stated two things.
[We will gather in the inner fortress for a moment.]
One was the reason I used this amplification magic.
There was something to take care of before the Magical Beasts began to swarm in earnest, so the people here needed to gather at least once.
And the other was.
[For your information… I’m the one who killed the Cyclops in the Second Gateway. If you don’t want to get killed for acting up, you should all gather.]
It was a piece of advice in a threatening tone, enough to draw everyone's attention.
But then……. Grin—
[…is what I almost said.]
Filled with a joke.
[The Constellation, 'Olympus's Ruffian', is agape at your unheard-of sentence structure.]
[The Constellation, 'Olympus's Ruffian', asks how this is any different from stabbing someone in the gut with a knife and then apologizing, saying they didn't know they would die.]
[The Constellation, 'Dog-headed Judge', admires your excellent high-brow gag.]
***
My intention to gather people inside the inner fortress was fairly successful.
Of course, not everyone gathered.
There's a saying that if even five people gather, there's bound to be trash, so how could there not be at least one person with a rebellious spirit among 200?
Though it seemed a few who read the true intention behind my joke remained standing on the outer wall.
Well, that much didn't matter.
I never intended to gather everyone from the start.
‘…They’re probably among these people.’
The hastily made wooden interior of the inner fortress, with its ambiguous, rural church-like feel that was neither holy nor not, further heightened the chaotic atmosphere among the people.
-…I think I’ve seen that guy too. Not the Cyclops, but I saw him kill Orcs.
-The Rapid Albino Orc…….
-Ah, fuck, I hate this kind of thing. If he has something to say, he should just say it quickly.
-Seriously, why am I even here risking my life in the first place?
-What now…….
.
.
.
Thud, thud—
The people's gazes followed me, urging me to hurry up and speak, but I deliberately moved more leisurely.
I slowly walked around the crowd and headed for the main gate of the inner fortress.
Creeak—
I slowly closed the door.
[The Constellation, 'An Immortal More Human Than Anyone', watches your actions with interest.]
Then I went back up to the inner fortress’s dais, lit a cigarette I'd brought with me, and slowly began to speak.
Flick—
Phew.
“Hello. My name is Seo U-jin.”
As I opened my mouth, the murmuring voices subsided, and all eyes gathered on me.
The only light was the natural sunlight streaming through the stained glass, but it was bright enough to examine each person's face.
After scanning them once, I continued speaking.
“As I said before, to briefly introduce myself, I am the person who personally hunted the Cyclops in the Second Gateway. As some of you may know, I'm also probably the person who killed the most Orcs in the First Gate.”
Words that, at first glance, sounded close to boasting.
No, it was actually a boast meant for them to hear.
“So, I probably have the most coins among everyone here. I’m also the strongest. In many ways, the conditions for battle are more favorable for me than for you all……”
A boast intended to elicit a specific reaction.
And, not long after I started talking, the reaction I was waiting for came out.
-…So what? Did you call us here just to brag?
A resentful reaction that suddenly popped out from the crowd.
That was exactly what I had been waiting for.
As soon as that reaction came out, I took out a sack I had prepared beforehand and showed it to them.
Thud—
And I immediately got to the point.
“Some of you might think I gathered you all here to brag… but that’s not it.”
—…….
“As you have all seen and know, unlike the First and Second Gateways, the Third Gateway is a joint gateway that everyone completes together. No matter how skilled one person is, it's a gateway that's difficult to pass if the whole group doesn't do well. So, with the Coin I have, I bought something similar to a potion that you all can use.”
Rattle—
[The Constellation, 'Olympus's Ruffian', frowns at your irrational consumption of Coin.]
As I spoke, I untied the sack, and long flasks, about 5cm in length, poured out onto the dais.
‘E-rank Holy Water’, bought in advance at the Boundary of the Gate through Eliya.
If the doping agent of the Allied Army of the Demon King was ‘Black Olive’, then the doping agent of the Allied Forces of The Order was this Holy Water.
A special liquid that inherently possesses the property of purifying demonic energy.
In truth, it was hard to say this Holy Water was particularly effective in the Gateway Zone.
E-rank Holy Water was a common item that could be bought for about 3 coins, and while it had a slight effect on Magical Beasts, its true purpose was for dealing with demon-type species.
If I had to say, it was just slightly better than nothing.
So, Ares's assessment that buying Holy Water in such a large quantity to distribute to people was ‘not rational’ wasn't exactly wrong.
…But it didn’t matter.
The Constellations didn't know yet, but this wasn't bought to deal with the Magical Beasts swarming from outside the castle anyway.
Someone who recognized the Holy Water shouted.
-Isn’t that… Holy Water? I think I heard an explanation about it from my Acolyte Priest.
-It is!
The people's murmuring voices, which had been small whispers, soon grew into a buzz, and it seemed the suspicion towards me among the people had sufficiently subsided.
After a somewhat decent atmosphere was created, I opened my mouth again.
“I intend to help you all. That's why I gathered you. However, I don't think I need to help even those who are hostile towards me. It's not like I have an overflowing supply of Holy Water either.”
-That's right!
“Therefore, I intend to distribute the Holy Water only to those of you who listened to me and gathered here.”
And as I picked up a few of the Holy Water flasks that had fallen on the floor and put them back in the sack, I said.
“Now, line up. One person can’t drink twice.”
***
Lining up in a single file from the dais where I stood, the people began to down the Holy Water one by one.
At first, some people hesitated due to lingering suspicion, but once one person drank it and confirmed the truth through the system, the line to drink proceeded smoothly after that.
“Next.”
“Next.”
“Yes, next.”
“Drink it all down.”
“It’s fine.”
And so, most of the people drank the Holy Water, and only eight people who stubbornly refused to drink it until the end remained.
I asked them.
“May I ask why you aren’t drinking the Holy Water that’s being provided for free?”
They answered.
“What reason do we have to trust you and drink that unknown liquid?”
“Hmm… The people before you should have already proven it through their system windows.”
“We weren't even fully convinced about being dragged to this place called the Gateway Zone in the first place. How are we supposed to know if you can manipulate this so-called system?”
It was a valid argument.
“Hmm~.”
Even I, in my past life, probably wouldn't have drunk it.
So.
Smile—
“Okay, you pass.”
I smiled at them and turned my body.
Then I slowly walked towards the group of people who had already drunk the Holy Water.
Step— step—
-Wha… what is it? Why all of a sudden…….
-……?
-Why? We all drank it.
My suddenly hardened expression.
The sudden change in direction.
The sudden movement caused the people in my path to become flustered, but I paid them no mind and walked past them.
And then, I stopped in front of one person.
That is.
“Hmm……?”
In front of ‘Kim Sia’, who was tilting her head with a nonchalant expression.
And I grabbed her by the hair and—
SLAM—!
Slammed her head straight into the floor.
[The Constellation, 'Dog-headed Judge', widens its eyes at your sudden action.]
[The Constellation, 'An Immortal More Human Than Anyone', is agape at the unexpected twist.]
[The Constellation, 'Successor of the Divine Tree', feels an unexplainable sense of disappointment.]
[The Constellation, 'Olympus's Ruffian', asks for the reason behind your Ruffian-like behavior.]
Questions from the Constellations, who couldn't understand the sudden development, rained down, but I paid them no mind and pressed her head harder into the floor.
And then.
“Keoheok—!”
‘Holy Water’ flowed from the corners of her mouth along with a cough.
With it came a familiar bitter smell, and I was certain.
“…The stench of a demon is reeking from your maw.”
That she was no longer ‘Kim Sia’.
Meaning.
“…Auntie Succubus.”
That this being here was a wicked Succubus wearing the guise of ‘Kim Sia’.