Chapter 117 …
“Crazy….”
At Dohyeon’s unconscious mutter—
Crazy….
Liza….
Jihad and Eliza beside him echoed the sentiment.
Charlie said nothing, but his trembling pupils revealed he felt the same.
It was that overwhelming a sight.
“Ahh… O Goddess.”
“The Goddess has manifested to bring salvation…!”
More than a hundred priests gazed at the ceiling in worship,
Saaaa—
And as the light touched them, the abyssal monsters were steadily pushed back.
Every part of it was astonishing—
but the most astonishing thing was that one single person was causing all of it.
The young woman floating above the ceiling.
[You encounter the will of Seras, the Holy King of the ancient humans.]
‘Seras? Holy King?’
It was a name none of them had ever heard.
Dohyeon glanced at Gamilion just in case, and he looked equally shocked.
“…I can’t believe it.”
However, it seemed he did know of Seras’s existence.
“Why is the ancient Holy King…? Did even the Holy King leave behind her will?”
Judging by how he muttered under his breath, he clearly hadn’t expected this situation.
Considering what Gamilion knew and the reaction through the Fragment of Fate…
Circumstantially, it definitely seemed connected to Kashiyar.
‘Ah.’
At that moment, a sudden realization flashed through Dohyeon’s mind.
He slowly nodded.
‘So that’s what it is.’
Only now did this situation make sense.
This wasn’t an event originally meant for players to clear.
In RPGs, there are often scenes the player cannot control—massive, cinematic sequences that play out like a movie.
A kind of event scene that appears during the scenario.
‘This was the event for obtaining the second Fragment of Fate.’
That was exactly what was happening now.
Just like when he obtained the Fragment of Fate in Raven and encountered Kashiyar, this was a mandatory event triggered upon acquiring the second fragment.
‘Wow… Yeah, I knew something felt off.’
Defeating the Destroyer Gaiman might be possible somehow—
but sending back the Abyss Legion like that was strange.
Even considering the main quest was originally content meant to unlock three years later, there were limits.
That was simply too much.
Now he could just watch like it was someone else’s problem.
…My instincts are telling me. That woman is insanely strong.
Liza-liza.
Such overwhelming divine power… Has a goddess truly descended…? How wondrous.
Had they instinctively sensed it was popcorn time?
The Guardians, who had been tense moments ago, were now completely relaxed and in spectator mode.
Dohyeon also focused on the unfolding event scene.
Aaaaa—
That was when a beautiful melody was heard from somewhere.
No—
It was a voice.
As an unreal, heavenly voice and melody filled the hall, the darkness that had been slowly receding was instantly dyed in brilliant light.
“…It’s returning to normal.”
“Ahh… The Goddess is showing mercy.”
The ground that had been corrupted by the abyss returned to its original state,
and the insect-like darkness writhing on the walls vanished.
[The Eye of the Abyss is closing.]
As if blinded by the radiant light, the massive eye slowly shut.
The passage grew distant, and the path of darkness snapped apart piece by piece.
The abyssal monsters that had been approaching with grotesque forms fell into the abyss and returned to its embrace.
A heavenly harmony….
…At this rate, taking the risk would be difficult.
Behind those monsters, the two masters observing the situation clicked their tongues.
No matter who they were, reopening the closed Eye would require too great a sacrifice.
So now is not the time….
The Holy King appearing… Still, we gained valuable information.
In the end, they chose to withdraw without hesitation.
Vessel… I will remember you… The day we meet again… approaches….
Beyond the closing eye—
With the fading, amused voice of the Immortal Master, the Eye of the Abyss finally shut.
[The Eye of the Abyss has closed.]
[A powerful force has vanished. Your physical abilities return to normal.]
As if everything moments ago had been a lie, the enemies vanished without a trace.
The grotesque eye that had exuded overwhelming presence—
and the beings of the abyss—
all disappeared like a mirage, and ordinary reality returned.
Flash.
That was when the woman’s form changed.
The enormous figure floating near the ceiling flashed brightly and shrank to the size of an ordinary woman.
Then she slowly descended and met Dohyeon’s gaze.
[So it is you. The one he chose….]
A clear, jade-like voice rang inside Dohyeon’s head.
His eyes widened at the strange phenomenon—he could hear her voice even though her lips hadn’t moved.
She smiled faintly.
[Since I am sending my will, others won’t be able to hear. It’s our first meeting, and I wanted us to speak privately.]
“Ah….”
[I even prepared a script in case it would be awkward if I talked alone… but unfortunately I can’t use it. I used too much power, so my time is up.]
“……”
Dohyeon closed his mouth as Seras smiled gently.
‘…This is different from what I imagined.’
Seras’s personality, experienced firsthand, was quite different from her appearance.
Her holy beauty, porcelain-white skin, and elegant aura made her seem like a graceful swan—
but she was surprisingly talkative and somewhat… eccentric.
As he was thinking that—
Seras suddenly moved closer and kissed his forehead.
“??”
Gasp!?
L-Liza…!
Dohyeon, along with Eliza and Jihad, froze wide-eyed in shock.
Meeting his gaze, Seras chuckled softly.
But unfortunately (?), her kiss was not for the reason Dohyeon thought.
[You have obtained the Mark of the Holy King.]
It was to pass something to him.
Dohyeon instinctively checked the item, letting out a gasp—
and his eyes grew twice as wide.
[Mark of the Holy King]
[Grade: Legendary]
Description:
A mark personally left by Seras, the Holy King of the ancient humans.
It contains the power of immense faith, and there may be those who recognize her mark.
[Benevolent Light]: Increases HP and Mana recovery by 200%. This effect can additionally be applied to one chosen target.
[Power of Faith]: When used, reduces the cooldown of all skills by 65%. (Cooldown: 90 minutes)
Permanently applied; disappears if unequipped.
‘Legendary!?’
Not Hero—
not even Hero+—
but Legendary grade!
For Dohyeon, Legendary was an extremely meaningful tier.
Back in the Demrock days, he hadn’t obtained even a single Legendary skill.
He’d only gotten a few Legendary items or titles—
to the point the rarity haunted his dreams.
Wow… At this point, does the word “legendary” even exist in your dictionary?
Seriously, how do you always get at least Hero or Rare, but he gets trash items? You need a ritual or something.
…Hang in there.
Even his teammates had pitied him when he alone got junk drops from raid bosses.
When others got five, he got one or two.
That was what Legendary meant to him.
And now he had obtained one in just a few days—how could he not be moved?
The powerful options made his chest tighten with emotion.
‘Cooldown reduction and recovery boost.’
Among them, the cooldown reduction was the real prize.
Not one skill—
all skills reduced by 65%.
A ridiculously overpowered effect worthy of the Legendary title.
Ideas for how to use it were already forming in his head.
‘And I can pass the recovery effect to a target… that should help Jihad’s problem somewhat.’
For that unfortunate goblin constantly suffering from mana shortage,
this would be like rain in a drought.
‘Looks like I can’t item-swap since it disappears when unequipped.’
Sometimes options could become liabilities, and switching gear was a common optimization trick.
It had been Dohyeon’s specialty back in Demrock—
‘But asking for more would be greedy.’
Strictly speaking, this wasn’t an item but a mark.
Like the talismans often used by shamans—granting additional effects without taking up equipment slots.
Usually the effects weren’t overwhelming,
but the mere fact it granted extra bonuses made them considered broken…
‘Perfect balance. Yep. Totally.’
At that moment, former swordsman Dohyeon—who used to complain the most—had tasted the sweetness of the system.
Seras watched the thoroughly corrupted Dohyeon with a pleased look and quietly reached out.
When her hand touched his cheek—
[This is all I can give you for now. It will guide you to the right place.]
With those final words, Seras’s body scattered and vanished.
[The will of the Holy King Seras disappears.]
Though brief, her departure left a long aftertaste.
As Dohyeon silently stared at the empty space she left—
“Ahh… The hero has been chosen by the Goddess.”
A trembling voice rang out,
and soon thunderous cheers erupted.
“A hero chosen by the Goddess! Truly the qualifications of a hero to be written into history!”
“We are fortunate! A hero favored by the Goddess has saved the city!”
“O Hero chosen by the divine!!”
“Ahh…!”
Overcome with emotion, the priests dropped to their knees and began worshipping.
Their fanatical behavior made Dohyeon flinch and step back.
‘What the….’
It seemed they had completely mistaken Seras for a goddess.
As he awkwardly wondered what to do—
“…Successor, did you perhaps meet the Holy King?”
“Ah, Gamilion.”
Gamilion approached quietly and whispered.
Since he couldn’t deploy Silence Room here, he spoke softly.
Dohyeon nodded.
“My heavens… To think she appeared.”
Gamilion muttered with a grave expression.
Unable to hold back his curiosity, Dohyeon asked:
“Who exactly is the Holy King?”
“Ah, it seems you don’t know, Successor. If you have received her choice, then this too is fate…”
True to his nature, the fate-obsessed Gamilion continued solemnly:
“The Holy King Seras—though human, she was a saintess born with divine power, and one of the five kings of humanity during its most glorious era.”
“……”
“Though she possessed divine power, she was fated to oppose the gods… and in the past, she was one of the comrades who stood against the gods alongside Lord Kashiyar.”
