Solo Swordmaster - Chapter 208

#208. It’s just a common story.

“Nonsense!”

the moment I heard that.

What came out of Carol’s mouth was an almost instinctive denial to protect her common sense.

“She must have died trying to stop the Demon God from Count Sierra Sea Serpent!”

“It is known externally as such.”

Rose readily nodded.

Then he added a word in a low voice.

“But, as you know, Prince Carol, it is not very difficult to concoct the truth.”

“…!”

Is it because he himself has a history of making up the truth?

just distort the face.

Seeing Carol who couldn’t bear to deny her words, Rose calmly told her about the past.

When the demon that destroyed Europe in the past spread its demonic power to the British Empire.

Countess Sierra, the Blue Dragon Princess of the time, couldn’t have just watched it.

Even then, Countess Sea Serpent was defending the British Empire, and the existence of London, the mainland, was a serious enough issue to decide the rise and fall of the Blue Dragon clan.

However, the Demon God at the time was literally a divine being who defeated even Limon after a desperate struggle.

Even after being resurrected from death, he became stronger by destroying numerous cities in Europe.

It was impossible to stop such demons with only the power of the Blue Dragon clan.

Even if he asked for cooperation from the Seven Dragons, there was no one who would cooperate with the survival of the clan.

There was only one person in London, at least at the time, who would lend Sierra strength in that dilemma.

“The witches of the 27 lineages of magic set out to stop the demon… Was it because of Count Sierra’s persuasion from the beginning?”

“That’s right.”

Originally, the blue dragon clan and the 27 lineage of magic are nemesis.

The relationship between Limon and the Seven Dragons was as deep as that of resentment.

Because at the end of the Silver Age, it was Jeongcheongryongdeokgun, the founder of the Blue Dragon Clan, who defeated the ladies of the lake.

However, in the face of Sierra’s sincere persuasion and the common enemy of demons, the Mado 27 genealogy put off their long-standing grudge and joined hands with the Blue Dragon clan.

And I decided to use one method to stop the demon.

I mean the London showdown.

Because the most powerful magic of the Age of Silver, which allowed the ladies of the lake to deal with Jeongcheongryongdeok-gun for years, was the only hope to stop the Demon God.

It was also thanks to the power of the Blue Dragon clan that the witch of the 27th line of magic was able to collect 9 new magic tools.

However, there was something that could not be obtained even with the power and wealth of the Blue Dragon clan.

That was the price of magic.

I wonder if it was the Silver Age when the gods remained on earth.

In the age of heroes, when it was already difficult to meet God in person, except in Jerusalem, there was no way to pay the price of the London confrontation.

“Even if the ‘price’ that the 27 lineages of demons had accumulated over a thousand years was paid, it wasn’t enough for the showdown.”

“That’s why, as you said, Princess Carol, I had no choice but to pay for the lack of human sacrifice.”

“Of course, sacrificing the people for the sake of protecting them is a contradiction and a sin.”

“But fortunately, there was a being in London at that time who could pay the price of the Great Battle of London without committing that contradiction or crime.”

Rose paused for a moment.

Then, he looked straight at Carol’s pale face.

“A person who could solve everything with his own life without forcing others to sacrifice.”

Maybe it’s because I heard something so unexpected.

Carol, who had been frozen like a stone statue, opened her mouth with a choked voice after a while.

“So… you mean Count Sierra sacrificed himself? To complete the London showdown without sacrificing citizens?”

“That’s right.”

“gibberish! What kind of powerful person in the world would do such an outrageous thing!”

Carol shouted furiously.

“Certainly, a person with power like you wouldn’t do it even if he died.”

Limon also smiled and agreed.

with only one condition.

“Unless you are the princess of the blue dragon clan.” A person in power who sees even a human like

“…”

as a means to maintain his or her power never makes sacrifices for others.

However, the Blue Dragon clan, who take care of people like pets but never use them as means, are willing to give up their lives for the sake of the people.

Carol couldn’t bear to deny the sarcastic remark of Limon.

As an Englishman, he knew very well what the Blue Dragon Clan was like.

That’s why Carol changed her point of view.

“A man’s life alone could pay for such an outrageous magic? Does that make sense!”

“It makes sense.”

Sir accepted Carol’s objection with a languid voice.

“Because the princess of the Seven Dragons is such a being.”

This is an era where gods have become mythical beings and spirits have become obsolete tools.

How can the price of a princess’s life, who inherited the pure blood of a dragon for nearly a thousand years and inherited the most noble lineage in the whole world, compare with that of an ordinary human?

Carol gritted her teeth as she watched Sir speak calmly.

“…Then, who has disappeared in the twilight hour?”

“Why are you asking me that?”

“Don’t pretend! Where did so many missing people go if they weren’t sacrificed to the London showdown!”

Carol’s beard trembled.

However, the moment Limon opened his mouth in an amused way, he had no choice but to stiffen.

“It’s either this world or the other world.”

“…what?”

“Hey, you seem to be arguing with the premise that ‘people go missing because of the gloomy hour.’ Did you check it properly?”

Carol put on a dazed expression at Limon’s sudden question.

“Verification?”

“I’m talking about whether the disappearance really happened because of the gloomy hour.”

“What an obvious thing to say!”

Carol frowned.

For British people, especially Londoners, it was common sense.

Seeing him like that, Limon twitched his lips.

“okay? So, do you know how many people go missing on average per day in a big city with a population of 10 million like yours?”

“In London, five or six people a day…”

“No, not London. In other big cities.”

“…”

There was no way to know.

He had been studying magical skills for half his life and finding a way to get rid of the dark time, but he had no interest in general statistical surveys.

All I knew was a rough investigation to catch Rose’s weakness.

On the other hand, Limon, a former PAB agent, came up with an answer on his own without much hesitation.

“In a large city with a population of more than 10 million, on average, dozens of people go missing every day.”

“Most of them are simple runaways in a safe place. Conversely, in places with poor security, crimes such as human trafficking are the main cause.”

“By the way, don’t you think London’s missing persons are a little less compared to other places? Especially when the man-eating fog appears?”

“…What do you want to say?”

“What a simple story.”

Carol hardened her face.

Seeing him, Limon let out a laugh.

“The fact that people go missing in the hour of twilight is itself a made-up rumor.”

The battle system in London is always magic to protect people.

Although it is an artificially created pseudo-underworld, it is only the souls of the dead that are attracted to the London battle system.

The effect of making a living person disappear doesn’t exist in the first place.

Seeing Limon speak calmly, Carol’s hands trembled.

“…made up nonsense?”

“okay.”

“The missing people who have been there have nothing to do with the fog, and everything is just a false accusation covered in the twilight hour?”

“That’s how it is.”

“does not make sense! Who the hell is spreading such nonsense that he has something to gain!”

Carol shouted as if arguing with bloodshot hair on her forehead.

As a Londoner, he had seen and heard horror stories about the Hour of Darkness all his life, and Limon’s words were nothing but nonsense.

“It is us.”

“It is us.”

“what?”

However, Rose and Shire so calmly denied his common sense.

“It means that it was the work of the Countess Sea Serpent and the 27th lineage of magic that created the ghost story that people go missing in the hour of darkness.”

It was like being stabbed in the back of the head with a mace.

No, it felt like I was hit directly by a missile rather than a mace.

As a monarch-level player, that level of shock would have to be applied to make his head tingle like this.

“why? No, why?”

“It’s because it was a price for maintaining the London battleground and a reward for the 27 lineage of magic.”

“compensation?”

Rose explained calmly to him who asked blankly as if he couldn’t believe that this situation was real.

“Compared to the Silver Age, the battle scene in London during the Demon God War was unstable and incomplete.”

“Of course it is. Even the noble ladies of the lake barely completed it with the help of a god, and it was only partially reconstructed using all sorts of expedients.”

“In addition, in the process, all the ‘mysteries’ accumulated over a thousand years of the 27 genealogies of magic were consumed in return.”

“So we needed to make up for that ‘destiny’ somehow.”

“In order to prepare for another threat that may come at any time and to maintain the battleground in London…”

“To continue the 27 lineage of magic.”

Carol put on a confused expression as she heard Rose and Sir speak alternately.

If what he had felt a moment ago was shock and disbelief at hearing such an unexpected sound, what he felt now was suspicion and doubt.

“fate? Are you a mystery? What are you talking about?”

It sounds like you heard something difficult.

Seeing Carol unable to hide her embarrassment, Shire let out a laugh as if she knew that.

“I expected it, but… it’s cheap. You are greatly mistaken about magic.”

“What did I misunderstand?”

“You know nothing about magic, but you talk about your actions as if you knew everything about magic.”

Sir held a sneer.

It was absurd to believe that ‘only’ tens of thousands of lives would be enough for the London showdown.

Well, it may be unavoidable.

Although Carol was born in the Age of Heroes, he was a human whose heyday was in the Age of Iron.

It was because he was a monarch who was too used to the logic of players who used skills without paying anything and valued even human lives in terms of levels and numbers.

That’s why the beginning witch, who had lived since the Silver Age, laughed at Carol.

“The price or value of the world has nothing to do with the price of magic you have repeatedly said.”

Magic is the power to deceive providence.

By analogy, the magic of the priest is a legitimate crime that the police condone.

The black magician’s magic is a heinous crime that is unconditionally punishable by death if caught.

And the witch’s magic can be said to be a gray crime that avoids judgment by stabbing loopholes in the law.

The important thing is that when a criminal breaks the providence, like paying a fine or bail, he needs to pay the price.

However, the providence of the world does not accept money.

You only get three.

“The important thing is ‘causality’, which is the scale of providence, and ‘fate’, which is the weight of the scale, and ‘mystery’ that is used to deceive the eyes of the scale.”

It was for this reason that witches and wizards ran magic halls.

Wouldn’t it be a priest for whom God pays the fine, or a black magician who passes the blame on to others?

In order for a witch to use magic, it was necessary to collect ‘causality,’ ‘destiny,’ and ‘mystery’ just like paying expensive lawyer fees in a trial.

Or by consuming the things with those things in them.

That was the reason why they were basically mystics and secretists.

As much as they hide secrets and act mysteriously, they can use more powerful magic at relatively little cost by avoiding the eyes of the providence of the world.

For example…

“Isn’t it interesting? The contradiction that the fear and mystery of this gloomy fog has been the driving force that has kept people safe until now.”

Sir smiled meaningfully.

Looking at her, Carol’s face twisted.

“The gloomy fog protected people?”

“That’s right.”

Rose calmly agreed.

The ghosts of London, who appear at twilight hours, never harm people.

Rather the opposite, to put it bluntly.

It was more like a watchman who guides the lost, blocks the way to those who want to commit crimes, and warns of danger.

As long as the confrontation system didn’t show real power, that was all they could do.

But that alone has given London a lot of protection.

The reason why Edward, who was the specter of the Liberation Brigade, couldn’t step out to his heart’s content was because the shadow monster he called was bound by the gloomy hour.

“Of course, the gloomy time is not omnipotent. Accidents or disappearances due to carelessness, or crimes committed deliberately by someone are unavoidable.”

Because he was a party to the Demon God War.

And because he knew all too well about the disposition and magic of the blue dragon clan.

Limone, who knew the truth of the London battle scene from the beginning without having to listen to anyone, added a word.

“One of them was your daughter.”

Thanks to Wei Ling’s investigation, she learned that Carol had lost her daughter in the twilight, and after that, she carefully reviewed the information.

That’s why Limon was able to assert.

Even if it wasn’t because of grandiose magic like the Hour of Darkness, it was common to lose a child.

That child will eventually live or die somewhere else.

So, even if the gloomy time was eliminated, the daughter would not come back.

Limon, who spoke in a dry voice with no emotion, finished his words lazily as he looked at Carol with a bewildered face.

“After all, you were one of those common parents who just wanted to put the blame on someone for the loss of their daughter.”