Chapter 628: Continent’s Real Darkness (4)
It was a room without a window.
“No way…’
It was literally a room without a window. It had no natural light flowing in.
Like the name of a prosecutor of the sunset, the space filled with artificial light had a strangely heterogeneous atmosphere.
A bad atmosphere, yes, a really bad one. Shady and stuffy, my whole body reacted with rejection.
The room was so nauseating that I couldn’t even breathe properly, making me feel dizzy. What more did I need to say when I was suspicious of the reality?
Luxuries all over the room… It looked like a collection of all the expensive things on the continent.
Most of the items showed no signs of being used.
He sat in the middle of the room and looked like a colorful artificial bird trapped in a colorful cage.
‘Why… why is the lock outside?’
The room was designed to be locked from beyond its interior.
‘How come… there’s no window?’
The answer was already set, and there was no need to speculate. Hyung used to be treated like that.
‘What’s with that necklace?’
Artifacts with location tracking? Why would he need that?
‘In a place like this… Did you live in this place before? Did you live in this place?’
I didn’t know exactly how long he had been there, but if anyone stayed in a place like that for more than two weeks, they’d have mental problems.
They wouldn’t be pleased, even if they were surrounded by numerous gold and silver treasures and luxuries.
I decided that I had to endure it and that I shouldn’t look strange anymore, but I couldn’t withhold the tears that came out of my eyes.
It wasn’t normal. That place was an abnormality that had to disappear.
My hands were shaking. I wanted to unsheathe my sword and destroy everything.
What were the Blue Guild members doing? Cho Hyejin. Did she know about that? What the hell were the other guild members thinking?
Wasn’t it clear that he was being held in custody? He was being watched and suppressed.
In the past, Honorary Cardinal Lee Kiyoung had been living his life alone. It wasn’t unreasonable to doubt the guild members who he used to trust and follow.
Did Jung Hayan, who introduced herself as his fiance, know about the room? Perhaps she was a collaborator.
I wanted to trust Cho Hyejin, but the cage seemed to tell me not to trust anyone related to the Blue.
The most impressive thing was his reaction.
“It was a place that the guild had provided for me. There are many inconveniences… and I haven’t been around here for long.”
“…”
“It’s too wide for me to use… Anyway, you’d better go outside instead of doing this here, haha…”
‘He’s not conscious of it.’
It seemed that he was completely unaware of what was wrong and what the problem was.
‘He’s not stupid.’
He wasn’t so foolish as to not realize that.
He didn’t even take care of himself and just cared for others. The unconditional sacrifice was enough to call him a fool… But he was by no means foolish.
Lee Kiyoung should’ve thought about what was wrong a long time ago. He would’ve already realized what he was being treated like.
Maybe… maybe he was brainwashed by some magical means. And losing his memory was also a side effect.
I thought of that possibility, but I had to shake my head.
I had never heard of such perfect brainwashing magic. Not only was the probability small, but it wasn’t a good method for Kim Hyunsung.
He wanted his brother to act with free will. He wasn’t trying to make a puppet.
Slowly and naturally, Lee Kiyoung tried to paint the pure white paper with a dirty color.
‘Petty little bastard. He can be chewed up and spat out.’
“Are you alright, Raphael?”
“I’m alright, Hyung.”
“You don’t look too good. Why don’t you go in and rest?”
“No, I’ll stay… I’ll stay together with you.”
“You can always tell me if you feel uncomfortable.”
“No, I’m not uncomfortable at all. Not at all.”
‘I can’t leave them alone.’
“…”
“…”
“Then we’d better get moving, Kiyoung.”
“Yes.”
The Blue Guild Master’s eyes, which had always been cold, were already armed with kindness, giving him a bright smile.
Kim Hyunsung’s pretentious appearance, which I had never seen before, was so different that it was like he was wearing a perfect mask.
If that demon didn’t brainwash Hyung using artificial methods such as magic or drugs, maybe he had strengthened his grip on Lee Kiyoung through other methods.
He was constantly shaking his ego… Maybe he didn’t allow himself to make a proper judgment.
In the end, it seemed safe to think that they were leading Hyung to a catastrophe.
Shameful and vile acts must’ve been committed in the shadows, all to manipulate Lee Kiyoung. If one thought about the fact that they’d been together since the Tutorial Dungeon, it would make even more sense.
In dire situations, having a strong force was enough to exert influence on others.
Hyunsung continued to create a situation in which Hyung had no choice but to lean on him, and as a result, he gained perfect confidence.
Everything was exactly as he intended.
It was embarrassing to see why they hadn’t noticed it, and the circumstances were overflowing.
‘There are so many things I can’t explain.’
Looking back on Kim Hyunsung’s past track record, most of them hadn’t been recorded properly.
Even during the Revolution… or during the Laos crisis… or when the Devil Worshipper Ito Souta incident broke out…
‘He wasn’t there.’
He arrived at his seat late.
What he was doing and how he was doing at that time, everything had been completely covered up.
I doubted if he was really the devil who was shaking the continent, but how could I deny it while looking at the most obvious circumstances?
‘What am I supposed to do?’
What should…
‘I can save Hyung, right?’
How could I get him out of that guy’s hand?
Could I succeed if I hit aimed for his neck at that moment? Could I beat him?
I thought of many possibilities, but many things were impossible to judge. There was no way to beat that monster at the moment.
Even if I were lucky enough for him to let his guard down, my neck would be sliced apart first before I could unsheathe my sword. Kim Hyunsung was incredibly strong.
‘The way to persuade Hyung is…’
“You didn’t have to prepare this much…Thank you, Hyunsung.”
‘It can’t be.’
When I saw Hyung smiling so brightly, I had no choice but to think that the second method wasn’t right.
‘It can’t be…’
I couldn’t find any doubt… It was a smile that I hadn’t even seen before.
It was highly likely that nobody would listen to me listen if I tried to expose what kind of human Kim Hyunsung was.
Hyung would probably say that the Guild Master wasn’t that kind of person.
“The guild members seemed to have put some effort into it.”
How many people had been deceived by his false appearance?
“First of all, thank you. Raphael, please eat.”
“Yes, Hyung.”
A sumptuous dinner over at a large table.
‘That dirty bastard.’
It wasn’t Hyung but Kim Hyunsung that was living a luxurious life with numerous goods from all continents.
It wasn’t Hyung who used power and honor to control the people around him.
‘If only I had the power…’
If I had the strength to fight…
That kind of thought kept coming into my head, and I was stuck around it.
‘I have to… build up my strength. I’m sure I’ll get a chance if I wait. I’m sure I will.’
But how long did I need to wait? Things would get worse over time.
Hyung would fall deeper into the darkness, and Hyunsung’s influence would grow.
‘We have to run away. We have to get out of here.’
Currently, the extent to which one could choose was limited, but even that wasn’t easy.
“So… do you like it, Raphael?”
“Yes… yes, Hyung.”
‘Will he follow me? No, do I deserve to save that man? I’m the biggest sinner in the world.’
“You had a hard time training today, too. You must be exhausted… I’m glad that you’re enduring it well. The same goes for Hyunsung. I’m saying this for no reason, but I hope you two get along well. I don’t think it would be bad to have this kind of time often. I think it would be beneficial to call the blue guild members.”
“…”
“…”
“More than anything else, it’s very refreshing to see Raphael coming to the guild himself. I would like it if you come with me when I go back to the guild after work. Isn’t that right, Hyunsung?”
Kim Hyunsung didn’t answer. I heard a thud outside while they were having a useless conversation.
“Excuse me, Guild Master.”
“Come on in.”
“Park Yeon-joo from the Black Swan contacted me urgently and told me that she has something important to discuss.”
“Today I’m…”
“I’m sorry, but she said it was really urgent…”
“Please tell her I’ll be in touch with her in a few minutes.”
“That’s alright, Hyunsung. You can tend to it.”
“Whoo…”
“She said it wouldn’t take long. I think she just called you to confirm some business-related matters. You should go.”
“If you say so… Excuse me for a moment.”
He reluctantly stood up from his seat.
‘Is this my chance?’
Before long, my mouth opened without realizing it. It was because I thought I had to know what Hyung exactly thought of Kim Hyunsung.
“Hyung…”
“Yes?”
“What kind of person is the Blue Guild Master?”
“What? All of a sudden…”
“I’m just curious about what you think of him since I don’t know him very well…”
“Well, I don’t know.”
“…”
“He’s a man of strong will, a man of greatness both in appearance and personality.
“…”
“Maybe when you become closer to him, you’ll soon realize that he’s not what he appears to be. He looks strong, but he is also weak. He’s also a person who’s under the weight of responsibility. He also likes random jokes that are lame. I’m very, very fortunate to have met him, and I’m glad I could work with him. He’s a reliable person.”
“…”
“He’s my precious friend.”
“…”
It looked like it would be impossible to persuade him with words.