Owner of Twilight Intuition – Chapter 256

‘This is…… There’s no choice.’

If I refuse, the Main Scenario progress made so far will disappear.

Unless I intend to give up on quests altogether, I have no choice but to accept the situation.

‘By the way, what happens to the dead players?’

Will the Main Scenario disappear due to quest failure?

Since the battle at the defense line was fierce, a considerable number of players died.

Moreover, due to a previous patch, if you die now, you cannot connect for 24 hours, so those who did not receive the current quest are likely to have their Main Scenario disappear, recognized as a refusal or failure.

‘It would be unfair if it really disappears.’

Well, it has nothing to do with me.

It’s the dead guys’ fault, not mine.

Thinking that way, I looked around and checked the number of people who received the quest like me.

A little over 100 people.

We faced a difficult situation where we had to eliminate the Apostle with only this small number of people. However, remembering the effect of the Sacred Relic that I heard from Arus, I felt that it was possible even with this number.

“I guess everyone will participate, right?”

“With Rudin-nim and the Emperor Guild members here, they’ll definitely participate.”

As Sina said, they would participate, but I didn’t know how actively they would fight.

The people here are not fools either, so they would be conscious of the players who died and did not receive the quest. And to avoid becoming like them, they would probably try to protect themselves as much as possible.

“Well, it doesn’t matter.”

Even if they actively attack, how much help would it be?

With that thought, I said it didn’t matter, and Sina, who heard my words, spoke as if impressed.

“You have tremendous confidence.”

“We have the power of the Sacred Relic.”

And Sina, who heard about the effect of the Sacred Relic with me, thought about it for a moment and soon nodded.

“It will certainly help, but…… Still, doesn’t it mean we have to face the Apostle?”

“We’ll have to face it someday, even if it’s not now.”

Looking at the quests I’ve received so far, it seemed like we were bound to fight it eventually.

So, it was better to deal with it now with the power of the Sacred Relic.

Step- Step━

“It’s time. We should get going.”

At that moment, Arus, who had retrieved the Sacred Relic a few days ago and imbued it with Light Attribute, approached and spoke.

Perhaps due to the imbued Light Attribute, the Sacred Relic emitted a strong light, causing me to frown instinctively. However, Arus casually held the Sacred Relic and looked around.

“Unfortunately, there aren’t many people.”

“Wouldn’t they come if we waited just one day?”

If we waited just one day, the connection waiting time for the dead would be over, and they would be able to connect.

So, I brought it up, but Arus coldly shook his head, expressing his refusal.

“Unfortunately, we don’t have time. Even now, the Light Attribute contained in the Sacred Relic is fading away.”

Geez, why didn’t you infuse it a little later?

Anyway, after confirming that only those who survived the defense line battle could receive the quest, I nodded indifferently, and Arus spoke to the remaining people, as if to double-check.

“Therefore, it seems we’ll have to catch the Apostle with the heroes here. If anyone finds it difficult, please let me know anytime.”

“……”

“……”

Refusing the quest leads to its disappearance.

Knowing this, everyone remained silent, with no one stepping forward. Arus, perhaps interpreting this as affirmation, showed a disgusting, smug smile.

“As expected. I’m glad only heroes with a sense of mission remain.”

[You have received the quest ‘Use the Sacred Relic to Eliminate the Apostle.’]

Come to think of it, isn’t this a threat?

Anyway, with the quest as a hostage, the players and I had no choice but to follow Arus, and he slowly started walking.

“Then, let’s depart.”

*　*　*

“Ha, how long do we have to walk?”

“You know the answer. We’ll walk until the Apostle appears.”

“We could at least ride a carriage.”

“We did use the Teleportation Device in the middle. Otherwise, we would have had to walk for at least a week.”

“Can we catch it?”

“With the effect of the Sacred Relic and…… Rudin over there, we should be able to manage somehow.”

“Right, he was amazing back at the defense line when he blew away the Remnant Thoughts. If Rudin wasn’t there, we would have been pushed back easily.”

The players, having arrived at the village closest to the Apostle using the Teleportation Device, slowly walked towards the Apostle, engaging in various conversations.

Of course, contrary to the casual conversations, the atmosphere itself was gloomy.

“Ah…… what will happen if I die this time?”

“Wouldn’t it be considered a quest failure?”

“Fortunately, the Main Scenario doesn’t disappear even if the quest fails.”

“Just how great is the reward that they’re making us go through this?”

“At least as much as the Emperor Guild, right?”

“What? A territory? We don’t know how beneficial a territory will be. I hear they’re running a deficit right now.”

“Hey! The Emperor Guild is nearby, what are you saying?”

The player finally stopped talking about me and the Emperor Guild and looked around, but no one seemed to care about them.

It wasn’t exactly wrong, and it was more accurate to say that they didn’t want to worry about anything else.

Anyway, apart from that player, I looked at Arus and the 10 or so priests walking ahead, along with 30 paladins.

That seemed to be the maximum force Arus currently possessed.

‘Well, since only the players will fight, that force is meaningless anyway.’

Anyway, after walking for a while, I could see a faint black mass in the distance, as if we had arrived.

“We’ve arrived.”

Along with those words, Arus stopped walking and spoke quietly.

We were still quite a distance away, but I thought we would reach it in 10-20 minutes at most. I started preparing for battle, and the other players were doing the same.

‘By the way, I wonder how Aizen is doing.’

He also passed the Trial of Light and received the quest to retrieve the stolen Sacred Relic, but he said he was stuck there.

He said he couldn’t gather enough people?

Even so, Aizen’s situation was better than mine because he headed to the Karzen Kingdom, where they only had three Apostles left because they had already caught one during the first Main Scenario.

Therefore, the burden would be less than here, so I wasn’t too worried.

‘The problem is this side.’

If we were defeated in this battle, I couldn’t even guess what kind of quest would come next.

Moreover, except for me and the Emperor Guild members, the other players didn’t show much enthusiasm, so I didn’t expect much from them in battle.

“Please get ready everyone.”

Suddenly, as soon as Arus finished speaking, the Remnant Thoughts, which had gotten closer, seemed to have spotted us and immediately started running towards us.

“I will also activate the Sacred Relic. Then, I’ll leave the rest to you.”

‘Hmm?’

Is he going to activate it now?

We’re still quite far away.

I didn’t know how wide the range of the Sacred Relic would be, but I wished he would activate it within a range that could trap everything, including the Apostle. However, Arus, as if it didn’t matter, raised the Sacred Relic high, and a bright light emanated from it, illuminating the surroundings and dyeing the entire area white.

“Wow……”

“Is this the power of the Sacred Relic?”

The range of the Sacred Relic was wide enough to impress all the players.

Moreover, Beluin’s Remnant Thoughts, which were running towards us, started to disappear one by one as if their bodies were burning in the light, emitting gray smoke from their entire bodies. This was one of the effects of the Sacred Relic.

Simply put, it dealt continuous damage to the Remnant Thoughts.

And the damage wasn’t insignificant either, as we could see the Remnant Thoughts disappearing one by one before they even reached us. In the end, after witnessing thousands of Remnant Thoughts being cleared in less than a minute, the players and I could see the Apostle, who, like us, had not taken any damage.

‘I wish the Apostle had also taken damage.’

In any case, thanks to the power of the Sacred Relic, we were able to eliminate all the bothersome Remnant Thoughts.

Only four Apostles remained. I wondered what would happen if the Apostle here ran away, but perhaps because we were also small in number, the Apostle did not flee and started running towards us, replacing the vanished Remnant Thoughts.

“The duration of the Sacred Relic is 30 minutes. Please settle it within that time.”

’30 minutes.’

It’s a short time if you think about it that way.

But when we caught Deshon, the Nightmare of the Desert, it didn’t even take 30 minutes, so I thought it was possible. I stepped forward, and some guild members asked me.

“Will Rudin-nim take on the Second Apostle?”

“That’s the plan. I’ll leave the rest to you.”

“Of course. Don’t worry.”

When I, Yua, and the Emperor Guild members retrieved the Sacred Relic before, we were able to hold on without much difficulty, so it would be the same this time.

“Jayer’s Guardian Shield.”

After a brief conversation with the guild members, I used all my skills, including Jayer’s Guardian Shield, Battle Awakening, and Shield of Light, and then ran towards the Second Apostle.

‘The problem will be the daggers the Second Apostle throws, right?’

Each time I got hit by a dagger, my defense would decrease, so as long as I fought carefully, I had a good chance of winning.

As soon as I thought that, the Second Apostle, who had gotten close enough to me, immediately threw a dagger. However, at the same time, I also used the skill I had prepared.

“Blink.”

Elsyke’s Phantom Shift.

While it was difficult to dodge those damn daggers after seeing them, it was somehow possible to use Phantom Shift in response to the preparation motion.

Fwoosh!━

Successfully dodging the throwing dagger without much difficulty, I saw the Second Apostle turning its head towards me and ran at full speed, not giving it another chance to attack.

“Giant’s Sprint!”

Then, as I ran at full speed with Giant’s Sprint, I could see the Second Apostle throwing another throwing dagger, but I didn’t have the capacity to block it while already running.

[You have taken damage! -4,504.]

[Black Dragon’s Curse……]

‘Tsk.’

Kwaaaang!!━

[Skill Damage! 33,234.]

Instead, the Second Apostle was also unable to avoid my attack and was knocked back, resulting in an exchange of blows. However, I had achieved my initial goal of pushing the Second Apostle away.

“Blink.”

Moreover, to avoid giving it any leeway, I used Phantom Shift to move behind the Second Apostle.

I thought that it wouldn’t be able to see me if I was out of its sight, even though it could see through stealth. And my thoughts seemed to have hit the mark, as the Apostle looked around as if searching for me.

“Thunder Strike!”

Kwaaaang!━

[Skill Damage! 32,156.]

‘Is this enough?’

After hitting the Second Apostle, whom I had knocked back with Giant’s Sprint, with Thunder Strike, I turned my head to see the situation of the other players.

The players who had followed me after I made the first move started to confront the remaining Apostles. After confirming that, I judged that I wouldn’t have to worry about the other Apostles except for the Second Apostle.

As soon as the battle started, it became a one-on-one fight between me and the Second Apostle.

━You continue to interfere with us.

“Ah, you remembered me?”

━Do you think you can defeat me?

What are you talking about?

“Can you defeat me without your power?”

The reason I initially thought this battle was manageable was simple.

Beluin’s power could not be used here.

The thing I was most worried about when facing the Apostles was their power. However, after hearing from Arus that the activation of the Sacred Relic also sealed Beluin’s power, I thought I could fight and win.

And perhaps because my words hit a nerve, I could see the Second Apostle swinging its hand wildly.