Light of Arad: Forerunner

Chapter 51

Jinseong was simply staring into Azelia’s violet eyes.

The first reason he couldn’t move an inch was, of course, because he was flustered.

‘…Right. My first meeting with Azelia wasn’t in front of Diregie.’

Players encounter Azelia right before confronting the 6th Apostle, Diregie of the Black Plague. Azelia creates a protective barrier to shield the player adventurers from Diregie’s plague and moves with them.

In other words, the main scenario quest to directly confront Diregie involves the player, Louise, Michelle, and Azelia.

Jinseong remembered that much, of course.

‘Now that I’ve met her, I remember. Damn it. There was a scene, just like a silhouette flashing by. Louise… Louise meeting and talking with Azelia.’

A scene so brief and merely rendered as a silhouette that neither Azelia’s name nor her appearance was clearly visible.

Only after meeting Azelia did Jinseong recall that scene, a limitation of human memory, perhaps.

“Answer me. Who are you? Why are you following Lady Louise and the adventurer?” Azelia asked.

She moved her wand slowly, signaling that if she didn’t like his answer, she wouldn’t hesitate to use force, causing Jinseong to flinch.

Though now officially a member of the Duchy of Bell Meyer’s Wizard Guild [Emergency Phenomenon Countermeasures Committee], the second reason he couldn’t speak confidently as usual was her identity.

“Uh, I’m not a suspicious person. So, to explain, um…”

Jinseong knew many things he could say to describe Azelia Lot.

The leader of the Grim-Seeker.

Her true identity is a survivor from [Planet Terra], the origin of all things and the source of past destruction.

She is aware of the ‘plans’ of Nemer and Hilder and has deduced their intentions to some extent, aiming to prevent their plans from coming to fruition to protect the world.

Using a combination of time-warping technology and magic, she has been preparing and acting for a long time to achieve that purpose.

At the same time, she supports the player, the adventurer, believing in and empowering them.

In the world of Dungeon & Fighter, she is a figure so significant she could easily be one of the top-ranking characters.

With someone like her in front of him, what should he even say?

Azelia’s wand pointed a little closer toward Jinseong.

“If you’re just trying to stall for time—”

“I’m in a similar—well, yes, situation as you, Miss Azelia. Rather than saying I’m in the same situation, I’d say I share a similar goal.”

In the end, Jinseong had to make a choice.

It wasn’t just about now.

Thinking of the things he would face in the future, knowing what would happen here in Arad, there was no reason to antagonize Azelia.

Not only that, but considering the possibility that he might need to actively engage with her.

“Pardon? What do you—no, more importantly, how do you know my name—?”

Azelia’s violet eyes widened.

Looking at her, Jinseong said,

“Prophecies… must always be wrong.”

Gulp.

Both Jinseong, who had spoken, and Azelia, who had listened, swallowed dryly at the same time.

The two of them observed each other in silence for a moment.

Jinseong, too, was watching Azelia’s expression.

Trying to maintain composure but clearly flustered, her violet eyes seemed to pierce through him.

“Do you know about the prophecy?” Azelia asked.

Her question seemed more like a test, offering no clues that could be useful.

And Jinseong knew exactly how to respond to that.

“Rather than a prophecy, it’s more of a… um, plan. To protect Arad, that plan must be thwarted in any way possible.”

As Jinseong spoke, Azelia’s eyes flashed once more.

She seemed to recall something and said,

“How curious. Once, there was a time… when I went through something like this.”

Listening to her speak as though reminiscing about the distant past,

Jinseong smirked.

“In that place which has now become a dense forest, is that what you mean?”

He thought of the words that would resolve this situation.

Seeing Azelia, who could no longer hide her surprise, Jinseong continued,

“I am also a member of the Duchy of Bell Meyer’s Wizard Guild. [Emergency Phenomenon Countermeasures Committee]. My name is Jinseong.”

That was the clincher.

* * *

The phrase ‘not prophecy but plan,’ and the fact that it must not come to fruition.

That alone was shocking enough, but what did Jinseong mean by what he had just said?

“Th-that’s… that’s…”

Azelia, with a shocked expression, was at a loss for words.

The fact that Jinseong had managed to surprise the Azelia he knew gave him a strange sense of pride, but this wasn’t the time to be acting smug.

Considering how critical the information he knew was.

And the amount of truth and story contained within it.

Without explaining everything, even a single sentence was enough to imply awareness of the hidden truth.

“You don’t need to be too surprised. I’m the only one who knows that fact. Not even our Guild Master knows this information.”

Jinseong hurriedly tried to reassure her.

Azelia nodded slowly, only after hearing that.

“I see. [Emergency Phenomenon Countermeasures Committee]… Jinseong, right? Did the Grand Magician foresee the future and pass on his knowledge and information to you—?”

The Grand Magician Meyer.

The sage who shared the truth with her, to protect Arad and save the world.

Jinseong knew there was no need to delve into such stories right now.

“Oh, no, no, it’s nothing like that. It’s just… um, this isn’t really the right place or situation to talk about everything. It’s hard to explain it all here.”

So, Jinseong bowed lightly and chose not to say more.

That was exactly what Jinseong wanted.

Anyway, how Azelia perceived him now was what mattered.

‘Hehe, she probably thinks of me as a disciple or associate of Grand Magician Meyer or something like that. For now, this should be enough.’

This should be enough to gain sufficient trust to handle the current matter.

Azelia’s eyes darted side to side.

“That’s likely true. The important thing is that you know about what happened back then with the Grand Magician and me… And stating that in front of me also suggests that you have a strong will similar to mine, that prophecies must be defied, but with a somewhat different purpose.”

She pieced together the situation by picking out only the most credible parts of Jinseong’s words.

‘Indeed… She’s not the leader of Grim-Seeker for nothing. She hasn’t lived from the time of Planet Terra to now for no reason.’

Even when faced with a situation that would normally leave anyone dumbfounded, her composure made Jinseong admire her.

Azelia asked once more.

“So, what brings you here?”

She was asking his purpose, the same as when they first met minutes ago, but her emotions behind the question had completely changed.

Jinseong scratched his head and replied.

“Why am I here… well, as I said, I have my own purpose. It would take a long time to explain. Ah! But don’t worry, it won’t interfere with what you’re doing.”

“Do you know what I’m trying to do?”

As Jinseong stared at her sparkling violet eyes, he slowly averted his gaze.

Of course, he knew.

Azelia had come here to ‘protect’ Diregie. Along with Louise.

However, after witnessing Diregie’s influence that twisted even people, Louise eventually made the choice to save them, and when they met earlier, Louise must have persuaded Azelia.

‘Louise isn’t just anyone either. One of the seven founders of Grim-Seeker… Hmm.’

So, instead of protecting Diregie, they decided to save the people.

They had already discussed cooperating with the adventurer to defeat Diregie.

‘…The problem is that I can’t say this.’

Apart from showing off his abilities, Jinseong couldn’t share such information, so in the end, he could only give vague answers.

“Roughly?”

“…Pardon?”

“I roughly… know. About what to do with Diregie, the Apostle Diregie, I mean.”

More importantly, that kind of detail wasn’t significant right now.

Seeing Jinseong’s concise response, Azelia’s eyes widened again.

“Impressive. I assumed you would know about Apostles since you knew about the Grand Magician and me, but… it’s like you’re reading my mind—do you have time manipulation powers? Or the ability to open dimensions—?”

“Oh, no, nothing like that. If I did, well, I wouldn’t be standing here like this. And it’s not about dimensions either. It’d be nice to have that kind of power, honestly, that would fit better, haha.”

Jinseong chuckled awkwardly, rubbing his blackened arm.

He knew well what was fitting if considering the background of a Dark Knight.

In any case, the mismatched cheerful mood ended there.

“I’m hungry, hungry, I need to fill my belly!”

A cry resembling a shriek echoed through North Myre.

It was a voice that made not only Jinseong but even Azelia flinch.

And what caught their eyes from the direction of the sound was a giant rat.

Bigger than a human, the rat moved swiftly on all fours before suddenly standing on two

legs to scan its surroundings.

“That rat is from before—”

“It’s ‘Scar.’ And if Scar has started moving—”

The giant rat ‘Scar’ began moving again, and in the distance, the female Ghost Knight player, NPC ‘Poison King’ Louise, and Michelle Monahan were visible.

Jinseong continued.

“—it seems they’re planning to follow that rat to track Diregie’s location.”

“If that’s the case, we must hurry and follow. If they encounter Diregie first, it could be disastrous.”

With those words, Azelia began to prepare to move.

That sight made Jinseong flinch and nod in agreement.

‘So it was corruption. Azelia isn’t following the player.’

While he didn’t remember that Azelia and Louise would meet here, he knew what happened afterward.

Most importantly, Jinseong, who was certain that the female Ghost Knight’s quest was corrupted, could respond without panicking.

“No, Miss Azelia, there’s no need for you to follow. I’ll chase after them.”

“Pardon? But if you don’t—”

“I already know where Diregie is. It’s fine.”

“H-how could you… how does Jinseong know that—”

Azelia’s violet eyes, which had been watching Scar, refocused on Jinseong.

Jinseong smirked as he met her gaze.

Unless you were a player who just recently started Dungeon & Fighter, you would know.

“I told you. I’m a member of the Wizard Guild’s Emergency Phenomenon Countermeasures Committee. I’m well-informed and well-prepared. I’ll tell you the location, so it would be better for you to wait there for the three of them to arrive.”

The place famously known for its BGM, where Diregie is transferred and resides.

The dungeon that Jinseong remembered as the one he ‘ran so many times he could taste blood in his mouth.’

**.

“Of course… Alright. Though I’ve only just met you, Jinseong, I feel a strange sense of trust in you.”

Azelia nodded.

When all the information he had given her so far finally began to work effectively.

Jinseong made a proposal.

“May I ask a favor in return?”

In some ways, it was like destiny that he met Azelia, and thinking of **, Jinseong realized this.

Azelia had no reason to refuse Jinseong’s proposal.

As soon as she nodded, Jinseong began to pursue the female Ghost Knight player.

Watching Jinseong’s retreating figure, Azelia murmured to herself.

“If it’s him, perhaps… In that place where I can no longer return…”

Words that Jinseong couldn’t hear.