Evan D. Sherden, Punishment. (7)

The hellish night had come to an end. After directing the Dungeon Knights child members—including Serena—to rest, Evan told them to take a hands-on approach to the Sherden restoration work.

Although he did not notice it when he fought Gefrel, he had succeeded in growing his Heaven’s Press one step further in the process of crushing him and resisting the curse. As a result, Evan gained the ability to finetune the pressure of a wide range of areas, which enabled him to use it at the rescue site.

“I can feel people in there. Come out, I’ll just get rid of the top.”

“Master Evan, please…”

Everyone was tired and exhausted, but none of them rested or laid down. Everyone moved with dirt, grime, and sweat on their bodies and bloodstains on their faces.

“Master Evan, be careful! There is debris falling.”

“Oh, Master! There’s a pool of acid underneath it.”

One strange thing was that only Evan was involved in a series of unfortunate accidents.

The remains of the building fell toward Evan, or the poison, acidity, or traces of magic that the monsters emitted before they died, threatened Evan.

“I’m glad I’m here. Everyone, be careful when working.”

“That’s Master Evan, as expected!”

“Oh, did you see the slime that just popped out and absorbed the acid and died instead of Evan?”

But this could not be enough to harm Evan’s body. He remained calm in dealing with the situation and maintained his regular demeanor.

Was it because the development of the celestial sphere made his senses more advanced than before, or was it because of the growth of the level of existence that happened by killing Gefrel? He used slime as living sacrifices to overcome all dangers by controlling the divine force in situations where even an elite knight could not avoid injuries.

He reassured the people that he was okay and that they can continue the rescue operations.

“Never mind me. Rescuing people is the priority, right?”

“But you’re exerting yourself too much.”

“I’ve seen you face the scary guy alone. The whole city was in turmoil.”

“I was stunned when dozens of meteorites fell from the sky. I’m glad they all fell on him, though.”

“As expected, Evan has already learned how to use magic. But are you not exhausted after using that kind of magic?”

“Oh, that’s…”

Evan was perplexed by the questions that poured on him, starting with someone’s admiration. It would be impossible to cover up or hide his abilities now. It was about time that everyone discovered how powerful Evan truly was, even though he didn’t want that to happen….

“I’ve been watching you. You must be very tired. You have to rest…”

“I’m really fine.”

“Her Highness Serena fought well too. Is she all right?”

“Yes, her injuries are not fatal. But she should rest for now.”

As they talked about stopping Gefrel, the topic naturally fell on Serena. Evan wasn’t the only one who fought bravely today.

All living and breathing creatures in Sherden had been watching the mighty scene where Serena led the monster charge on Gefrel.

“Oh, Her Highness was great, too.”

“That’s a ridiculous ability. And that’s how we survived.”

“She was always fearlessly smiling throughout the whole ordeal.”

Although Serena’s skills were known to people, she had never shown overwhelming dignity like today. Perhaps after today, people’s perception towards her would change drastically. It was a good thing.

“Master!”

“Shine.”

Shine emerged while Evan continued to work, feeling embarrassed by people’s respect and attention pouring toward him and Serena.

As Evan and Serena did, Shine had grown considerably in the fight against one of the Four Heavenly Kings, and his movements were subtler and faster than before. The Silent Knight had grown stronger.

“Is that house done?”

“It’s coming to a close. Thanks to Raihan’s hard work. I have to say something to him later.”

Shine made a grim expression while talking about Raihan. Evan initially hurried to Sherden because of how Shine described Raihan in the battle.

“I’m sorry, Shine. I wanted to go straight to the mansion.”

“I know. You were dealing with the Demon named Gefrel. Didn’t you tell me before that he was a lot more horrible than the Shabelka?”

If Evan hadn’t showed up at the right time to stop Gefrel, Serena would have been kidnapped, and Sherden would have been done for.

Moreover, after he got rid of Gefrel, he didn’t have to go to the mansion to help him.

“It cost me a lot, but… we’ve killed two of the Four Heavenly Kings.”

“Well, soon, a new Heavenly King will appear. Well, whatever they were going to do, it would’ve been a big deal. You’ll be able to relax for a few years.”

Pellati, Sherden, and Evan’s performance killed countless Demons and monsters, which prevented them from fulfilling their objectives. Things would be a little quiet for some time.

“…So, what about you, Raihan? Are you all right?”

“Yes, I’ll be fine. But what is it? Everyone’s giving me strange looks, like I know something is up.”

“You tell me.”

“As soon as the battle was over, Hannah and Serpina carried you and disappeared.”

“Oh…”

If they had fought such a fierce battle together, they would have been filled with emotions.

So that happened…Evan slowly closed his eyes and blessed Raihan’s future.

“Anyways, everyone is now helping in the restoration.”

“Ah.”

Shine spoke calmly in front of Evan, who was smiling. Soon the little smile on Evan’s mouth disappeared.

“Mrs. Milia… those brought by Milia D. Retron from within the family. Outside of the Thunderbird Guild and Evergreen Guild… Paradise Guild. Phoenix Guild and Heat Shield Guild helped us…”

It was a quick process. In the first place, the Sherden clique was good at acting quickly without revealing themselves. They were quick to respond when the Demon and monster invasion began, as well.

“Of course, most of the Bloody Apple members had their hands on the situation first, so there was very little armed conflict. Only…”

“…Yes, thank you all for your effort. Really.”

Evan knew about the traitors because he had heard some of it from the witches. It served as an opportunity to reflect on one’s inner self, which was bound by the Yo-Ma Great War scenarios.

“The back of my head is tingling. I’m like this too, but Eric…”

“Yes, at least you look fine on the outside… it was amazing to see Master Eric lead the soldiers in battle, too.”

“Thanks, Shine. It must have been hard and tiring to fight one of the Four Heavenly Kings.”

“No, my fight was just like any other. But yours took a great sacrifice, didn’t it?”

Shine, who was looking at Evan again by saying that, frowned. Evan had commanded Shine to train his curse resistance, and had also prepared a simulator for him where he could condition himself to deal with the Devil Rune’s power.

Of course, Shine was talking about the curse that Evan was afflicted with.

“Master, did the curse…”

“I’ve blocked it to a certain extent. It’s not that great…”

“That’s great! …How can that not be great.”

Shine, who inadvertently raised his voice, realized that there were other people around, so he clenched his teeth and lowered the sound. Evan was just looking perplexed, but Shine was already aware of the seriousness of the situation.

“The curse must have been tremendously powerful to penetrate through your curse resistance and leave a trace. You never said that Gefrel had the ability to curse. Did you foretell that, too? Is that why you took the curse on Serena’s behalf?”

“No, you idiot. Calm down.”

“Are you calming down now? Because I couldn’t protect you, that curse was…”

“No, it’s not.”

Evan beckoned Shine to restrain his guilt and anger, and to calm down for now. Shine bit his tongue and suffered silently.

“Maybe it’s not a curse that weakens your strength, damn it……!”

“It wouldn’t have mattered if you were there; the curse was inevitable. I think the curse that was lurking in the world was triggered when the Demons recognized the threat I posed to them. But don’t worry, I successfully blocked it. It’s just a curse of misfortune that makes bad things more likely to happen around us.”

Shine shivered in silence. His expression hardened.

“Right now, everything… I know everything. You don’t have to explain it anymore.”

“I think you’re misunderstanding something right now.”

“No, I realized for sure. Your strange ability, the curse of the world…to the other affairs, it’s too simple to think about.”

“Uh…”

How did Shine know what Evan himself didn’t know? It should have been impossible to understand the curse without being associated with the Demon King.

Evan was thinking about asking what the hell it was, but he decided not to. He didn’t think he’d get a proper answer.

“But it’s never going to work the way they think it is. I’ll always be there for you.”

“I don’t know what made you come to that conclusion, but thank you for protecting me.”

Evan clenched his fists and laughed at the way Shine said it.

“I will never let you die.”

“Yes. I would never, ever, ever die.”

He couldn’t afford to die until he met the caster of this damned curse. Shine was now smiling.

“Huh, it’ll be harder to protect me from now on.”

“It’s been so easy all this time. I’ll try to stop the Demon King’s invasion.”

“That’s big talk for someone who struggled to one of the Four Heavenly Kings.”

They looked at each other and smiled faintly. Then they heard someone running and shouting.

“The Sherden dungeon is closed! I can’t get into the dungeon!”

“…What?”

“The magic at the entrance of the dungeon has completely lost its light.”

Shine, who heard what the man said, instinctively looked back at Evan. Evan’s lips were trembling.

Shine immediately noticed that Evan had an idea about this. And, of course, he was correct.

It was the main scenario in the halfway point of Yo-Ma Great War 3 where it slowly revealed the Demons’ plot to revive the Demon King. It was also at this time when the treachery of the Thunderbird and other Guilds slowly came to light.

With the Dungeon’s closure and possible transformation, explorers had to be forced to explore more difficult dungeons because of the change in the structure, ecology, and appearance of dungeon monsters.

And the fact that it happened now…

“I’m really accelerating and starting to twist things…”

Evan mumbled and clenched his fist.

The main character of Yo-Ma Great War 3 had not even appeared yet. Evan thought that it was unfortunate to skip all the events and go straight to the climax.

“Now, really, I can’t believe my knowledge anymore…”

In the original game’s scenario, the dungeon’s shutdown lasted for more than two years, and no additional events occurred.

The main character had not appeared yet, the extra was not dead, and the game hadn’t started yet.

Evan then heard a voice.

[Now, it’s your turn. It’s time to wake up from a long sleep and take some fruit.]

“…This is ridiculous.”

[Destiny’s tool, it was all his will. It’s only done by him, so leave your weak body to him. You shall be born again.]

“No, absolutely not……”

[Destiny’s tool, you’re an agent of the Demon.]

A strange, gruesome voice spoke.

[Now open your eyes.]