Chapter 389: A Plausible Lie |
Boluak looked in bewilderment at the human hand extended towards him.
“Do you want me to cooperate?”
He observed that being, not human, who had revealed himself as the God of Time.
Sincerity was evident in his gaze.
“Is he really the God of Time?”
He had his doubts, but only for a moment.
Not only did he possess unimaginable power for a player, but he could also open rifts in space-time.
How could he doubt that he was the God of Time?
“I acknowledge that. But why is he making this proposal to me...?”
And also, why the God of Time wanted to eliminate the hosts.
As he simply stood there, not shaking the hand, Black Scythe nodded as if he understood.
“You’re very cautious. Of course, you still have many questions. Like why I’m abandoning Arquízar and switching sides. And why I want to eliminate the hosts.”
Boluak’s eyes widened.
It was as if he could read his mind.
“The reason for switching sides is simple. I didn’t like Arquízar. I can’t stand someone who betrays his own kind just to draw attention. But I couldn’t stop cooperating. Eliminating the hosts is my task.”
“Why does the God of Time want to eliminate the hosts...?”
“The host is an existence born against the laws of time. It’s fundamentally different from you, the seed.”
Boluak nodded in agreement.
Even though it seemed similar to him, a supreme being, in reality, they were a completely different species.
“I couldn’t just stand by while those ignorant hosts violated the laws of time. That’s why I descended into a human body.”
“Then, does the God of Time plan to eliminate all the hosts on this land?”
Boluak’s tone became respectful.
Perhaps he hadn’t realized it, but to Ryu Min, that was a good sign.
“I’m almost there.”
He smiled inwardly as he continued his act.
“Exactly. My goal is to exterminate the hosts. I don’t care if the seed dies or not.”
“Then, you cooperated with Arquízar because...”
“Yes. Even I can’t locate the hosts on my own, so I had to accept his help. I didn’t expect him to demand the elimination of other seed as a price.”
“Ah...”
A sigh escaped Boluak’s lips.
-Damn Arquízar! I disliked him from the moment I met him, and now
it turns out he was hiding these plans.
His thoughts flowed directly into Ryu Min’s mind.
-Eliminating other seed using the God of Time? Did he think he could sacrifice some hosts and continue absorbing vital energy just to be left alone in the world? He’s crazy! It’s madness for someone like him to be in a position of command!
Although Arquízar was the one receiving the blame, Boluak didn’t know.
It was all a lie invented at that moment.
“Good thing he’s a fool.”
In reality, Ryu Min didn’t expect Boluak to fall into the trap.
It was a crude lie.
“Fortunately, his stupidity made it work.”
But it wasn’t over yet.
The issue was whether he would agree to cooperate or not.
“What are you going to do? Will you cooperate with me?”
“First, I want to hear how you plan to help me get my revenge.”
There was a longing in Boluak’s eyes that hadn’t been there before.
A longing for revenge against Arquízar.
Ryu Min, seeing his sincerity, smiled.
“To get revenge, what do you need?”
“Um...”
A sudden question.
Boluak was left pondering.
“What’s there to think about? Obviously, you need power.”
“Ah... power.”
“I’ll help you become stronger so you can get your revenge on Arquízar.”
“How... do you plan to do that?”
“The method is simple. Absorbing the hosts.”
“The hosts...?”
“I understand that you grow stronger by absorbing hosts. Is that true?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Then provide information about the hosts’ locations instead of Arquízar. I’ll find them and eliminate them, and you absorb their bodies to grow stronger. Imagine. Absorbing all the hosts on this land and becoming incredibly powerful.”
Boluak imagined it.
Absorbing all the hosts on the planet and becoming immensely powerful.
“But for efficient absorption, it’s necessary to accumulate a certain amount of vital energy first...”
“Isn’t it true that absorbing a host without vital energy also makes you stronger?”
“Yes, it is...”
“Then there’s no problem. I’ll eliminate the hosts, you absorb their bodies and grow stronger. It’s a win-win situation, right? If you’re short on energy, you can gather human vital energy afterward.”
“Ah...”
It was true.
Boluak’s heart began to lean.
Finally, he opened his mouth.
“Alright. I’ll cooperate with you.”
“Perfect. Then let’s cut communication with Arquízar. I’ll count on you.”
“Yes. I’m counting on you too, God of Time.”
With reverence, Boluak saluted Ryu Min, unaware that he was being manipulated by that self-proclaimed god.
“Good. I’ve secured the cooperation of a seed.”
Now he wouldn’t have to use the Rune of Lightning to search for the hosts.
Boluak, a seed, would take care of finding them.
“The Rune of Lightning has its limits for searching. That’s why I need the cooperation of this guy.”
The seed and the hosts had been sent to collapse the timeline.
Although both were targets for elimination by Ryu Min, the most urgent task was to eliminate the hosts.
“The seed is the key to collapsing the timeline, but they don’t move immediately.”
The seed wouldn’t act until the hosts had gathered enough vital energy.
The ones causing havoc among humans were the hosts.
“To minimize damage, I must find and eliminate all the hosts on this land.”
But finding them was like searching for a needle in a haystack.
The Rune of Lightning had a cooldown of an hour, during which he couldn’t do anything.
It was impossible to prevent human casualties by working alone.
“That’s why I need to deceive a superior seed. To use him as my navigator in the hunt for hosts.”
Using a seed capable of detecting the hosts’ locations would greatly ease the task.
“Everything has gone better than expected. Sure, I could have used the threat of the scythe, but...”
He couldn’t be sure that he would give in to threats.
The best option was to gain his voluntary cooperation through a convincing lie.
Plop!
When Ryu Min snapped his fingers, the space-time barrier deactivated, revealing the village.
“You can consume the host’s corpse.”
“Really, I can?”
“I promised, didn’t I?”
With Ryu Min’s permission, Boluak extended his hand towards the host’s corpse that had endangered Montana’s status.
Then, Gurgle...
A black liquid oozed from the corpse and was fully absorbed by Boluak’s hand.
Although no biological energy had accumulated, Boluak felt that he had grown slightly stronger.
“So that’s how absorption works, huh?”
“That’s right.”
“Then let’s go find the next host.”
“Yes. One moment.”
After concentrating for a moment, Boluak pointed in a direction.
“That way.”
“Lead the way.”
Boluak formed black wings with the liquid and soared into the sky, followed by...
Paf!
Ryu Min, who unfolded his wings of darkness to follow him.
To eliminate the host.
————
“Hey, Arquízar.”
Hearing Rukainu’s question, the sid Arquízar raised his hand, asking for patience.
He was focused and didn’t want interruptions.
Shortly after, Arquízar opened his eyes with a very serious expression.
“What’s going on?”
“The signal from the host sent to Mexico has been lost.”
“What?”
Rukainu, surprised, recalled the stories of a hunter he had heard before.
“Could it be the work of that player named Black Scythe who hunts hosts?”
“I’m not sure, but it’s a possibility.”
“How powerful is Black Scythe exactly?”
“I don’t know, but he’s at least strong enough to kill a host.”
“Shouldn’t we do something instead of just standing idly by?”
Arquízar shook his head.
“It’s not time yet. We don’t know how strong he is. If we act rashly, we could be the ones who fall.”
“As a leader, you’re quite cautious even in this situation, huh?”
“I understand your dissatisfaction, but it’s necessary. Besides, I sent Boluak as bait to gauge Black Scythe’s strength, remember?”
“Ah, right. But why did you tell Boluak not to touch the hosts’ corpses?”
“So that he would touch them. It’s basic psychology for intelligent beings. If you tell them not to do something, they’ll want to do it more. Boluak is no different.”
“Wow, you’re cunning. Now I see why you’re the leader.”
Arquízar smiled, pleased with the compliment.
“Boluak surely went to absorb the host in Montana.”
“Are you sure?”
“100%. He might even have encountered Black Scythe.”
“Or perhaps he found no one and simply consumed the host in Montana.”
“That’s right.”
If Boluak survived, it would be an indication of Black Scythe’s strength.
“It’s time to contact him.”
With that, Arquízar connected his telepathic frequency with Boluak.
-Can you hear me? Boluak? Boluak?
Despite repeating it several times, he got no response.
‘If he’s not responding, he must be dead.’
Had he killed both the seed and the host?
That would mean Black Scythe was as powerful as suspected.
‘We can’t face him rashly. We need to gather the seed and discuss a strategy...’
But his assumption was wrong.
-Who is this?
-Ah...
He had connected with Boluak.
-Who are you?
-It’s me, Arquízar.
-What do you want?
Arquízar, a little surprised, didn’t know what to say.
-Are you alright?
-What kind of question is that?
-I just want to know if you’re injured. As you know, my duty is to take care of the seed.
Despite the confusion, Arquízar tried to play it off, but the voice he heard was gruff.
-I’m fine. Why would I be hurt?
-I don’t know if you knew, but we lost the signal from the host in Mexico. It could be the hunter’s doing.
-The hunter Black Scythe?
-Yes. Be careful if you run into him.
-I’ll handle it. Don’t worry.
The communication ended there.
Boluak seemed more irritable than in their last conversation, but Arquízar attributed it to his mood.
The most surprising thing was that Boluak was still alive.
‘How is that possible? Did he not encounter Black Scythe?’
If he had encountered Black Scythe, he should have reacted upon hearing his name.
But Boluak’s voice showed no change.
Rukainu, seeing Arquízar’s surprised expression, asked:
“What’s wrong? Did the telepathy end? Did you manage to communicate with Boluak?”
“Boluak is alive.”
“Then he didn’t encounter Black Scythe.”
“It seems so. From the conversation, it doesn’t seem like they met.”
The plan to use Boluak as bait to gauge Black Scythe’s strength had failed.
“Then what do we do now? We can’t act without knowing Black Scythe’s strength, right?”
“We must investigate the place where the host died. I leave that to you, Rukainu.”
“If it’s an order from the leader, I’ll obey. Understood.”
Thus, the two seeds couldn’t help but feel growing unease towards their enigmatic enemy, Black Scythe.
***
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