Chapter 234. Full-Scale Confrontation (2)
─ Is that the Prophetic Magician?
─ That’s Merlin?
─ I think this is the first time I’ve seen him.
─ As far as I know, this is the first time he’s ever shown his face publicly.
The Constellation Tube chat exploded.
Despite his enormous reputation, ordinary Constellations had almost never had the chance to interact with the S-rank Constellation ‘Prophetic Magician.’
And now, for the first time, Merlin had appeared publicly through a live Constellation Tube broadcast.
─ Is he planning to beat down the Nameless King right here?
─ If the Hound Warrior is here, maybe they’re just going to kill him.
─ One hit from Gáe Bolg might be enough to kill the Nameless King.
And in the direction Merlin was looking...
stood the Nameless King.
He was with the A-rank Constellation ‘Handsomest Knight,’ Astolfo.
Meanwhile, the one pointing a spear at them was the S-rank Constellation ‘Hound Warrior,’ Cú Chulainn.
He seemed to be keeping the Nameless King in check so he couldn’t move.
“Constellations of the Spirit Realm watching this broadcast.”
Then, on the main screen of Constellation Tube...
Merlin spread both arms and began to speak.
“Today, I intend to speak about the deceit of a certain Constellation.”
“Let me make one thing clear first.”
“I am by no means an honest man myself.”
“I have done many things that cannot be spoken of publicly, and there are many aspects of my actions that other Constellations could rightfully criticize.”
“I acknowledge that.”
“However, the deception committed by the Constellation I wish to speak about today... the Nameless King... is something I cannot possibly tolerate.”
“That is why I have revealed myself and appeared before all of you today.”
“As you all know, this broadcast is being managed by Arlecchino Number 49, who follows the Nameless King.”
“If too many things unfavorable to the Nameless King are said, Arlecchino Number 49 may choose to cut the broadcast.”
“If that happens, I ask that all of you condemn such an act.”
“Until now, the Nameless King has led Constellations into the Material Realm to fight Pandemonium.”
“As the ‘Dragon-Slaying Immortal’ pointed out recently, this is a complete reversal of the proper role of a Constellation.”
“But I will set aside that criticism for today.”
“What I wish to discuss is the Nameless King’s deceit.”
“Until now, the Nameless King has descended into territories controlled by Pandemonium.”
“This time, however, he descended into Kolkata, India... a city inhabited by humans.”
“The Nameless King’s Contractors, Kang Yujin and his companions, were already present in this city.”
“Then, at precisely that moment, demons invaded.”
“And the Nameless King descended at exactly the right time.”
“Does that not seem strange?”
“Why did Kang Yujin and his companions just happen to be here?”
“Why did the demons just happen to invade this place?”
“There is only one answer.”
“All of this was orchestrated by the Nameless King.”
“Do you know why the demons invaded this city?”
“Because they received information that a holy relic... an object connected to the ‘Son of God’... was hidden here in Kolkata.”
“But Constellations...”
“What if that story itself was fabricated?”
“The one who informed the demons of this supposed holy relic and lured them into attacking Kolkata was the Nameless King himself!”
“Many Constellations have interfered with the Material Realm in the past and caused all sorts of conflicts.”
“But has there ever been a Constellation who manipulated demons into invading humans?”
“Never!”
“Such a being should not exist!”
“Because that is something a Constellation must never do!”
“And yet the Nameless King did exactly that!”
“He crossed a forbidden line!”
“The Nameless King deliberately caused demons to invade a human city!”
“And then he intended to broadcast himself magnificently defeating them!”
“Not only that...”
“This time, the Nameless King even brought his own Contractors into the affair!”
“All so he could present them as special beings capable of standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Constellations!”
“He had always descended in Europe until now, yet this time he deliberately chose Kolkata in India!”
“Why?”
“Because India is close enough to Korea, the base of Kang Yujin and his group, for them to reach!”
“Dragging them all the way to Europe would have been much more difficult!”
“All of this is the result of the Nameless King’s excessive desire for self-glorification!”
“He dragged even demons into his scheme and staged this ugly farce for the sake of his own vanity!”
“Am I wrong, Nameless King?”
“If I am wrong...”
“Then show us the holy relic!”
“Search this city from top to bottom and find the holy relic the demons were supposedly after!”
“Of course, you won’t find it!”
“Because it was nothing more than a lie you spread to lure the demons here!”
After finishing his speech, Merlin looked at the Nameless King with a smile.
He couldn’t check public opinion among the Constellations immediately.
But it was undoubtedly boiling over.
Strictly speaking, merely luring demons somewhere wasn’t necessarily something worthy of enormous condemnation.
When hosting Events or Quests, many Constellations manipulated monsters into attacking people.
Of course, as Merlin had just said, no one manipulated Pandemonium’s demons.
But that was mostly because, unlike monsters that could be generated by spending Origin Power, controlling Pandemonium’s demons was nearly impossible.
Even so...
the Constellations watching this broadcast weren’t necessarily capable of judging every subtle distinction themselves.
Not every Constellation blindly followed the Nameless King.
There were undoubtedly those who envied and resented his recent explosive rise.
And there had already been considerable support for Siegfried’s public criticism.
Those Constellations would inevitably be swayed by Merlin’s agitation.
Most importantly...
Merlin knew for a fact that there was no holy relic in Kolkata.
For a long time, Merlin had searched across the world for holy relics for the sake of his plans.
Not merely with his own eyes.
He had spent years using large-scale detection magic.
But there were no holy relics in Kolkata.
There hadn’t been any in this part of Asia to begin with.
Merlin already knew that the Nameless King had obtained Joyeuse, containing a fragment of the Holy Spear, from Marbas, and one Holy Nail from Astaroth.
If the Nameless King tried to present either of those as evidence...
it would only make it easier to brand him a fraud.
“Why don’t you say something, Nameless King?”
"..."
The Nameless King remained silent.
Seeing that, Cú Chulainn frowned impatiently.
“Hey. Why don’t you say something?”
Cú Chulainn was a short-tempered, rough man.
He probably had no patience for waiting while the Nameless King hesitated.
“Then why don’t we check?”
“What?”
“Whether there really is a holy relic here.”
"..."
“I heard the rumor says it’s in the Victoria Memorial.”
“Let’s go look.”
With that, the Nameless King started walking.
“We can ask Sherawat.”
"..."
Watching the Nameless King leave with Astolfo, Merlin frowned.
Is he still struggling even in this situation?
Merlin could more or less guess what he intended.
He would probably pull out Joyeuse or the Holy Nail he had acquired from Pandemonium and pretend that a holy relic really had been hidden here.
“Hey, what are we doing?”
“We follow him for now.”
In the end, Merlin followed the Nameless King together with Cú Chulainn.
If the Nameless King pulled out Joyeuse or the Holy Nail, Merlin could simply present recorded evidence and expose him as a fraud.
When they arrived at the Victoria Memorial, Indian Contractors were guarding the area.
“First...”
“We’ll skip the formalities.”
Merlin put all the guards to sleep with magic, then urged the Nameless King to enter.
"..."
The Nameless King entered the memorial with a stiff expression.
Inside, they found Sherawat.
“Ah... ah...”
Faced with the sudden appearance of several transcendent beings, Sherawat could barely speak.
But after Cú Chulainn threatened her with his spear, she had no choice but to guide them to the treasury.
“Now then, shall we search properly?”
“If there really is a holy relic here, my magic should be able to...”
“Wait.”
The Nameless King drew a sword from his waist.
It was unmistakably Joyeuse.
Is he planning to fake it with Joyeuse after all...?
Holding Joyeuse, the Nameless King wandered around the storeroom.
Then he began searching through crates where seemingly unimportant objects had been carelessly piled.
“Nameless King, what are you doing...?”
“If it was stored like this, no wonder the Indian side never properly identified it.”
The Nameless King pulled out a dusty box.
When he opened the lid...
there was a single piece of metal inside.
“Wait. Don’t tell me...”
The Nameless King brought Joyeuse’s pommel closer.
The metal fragment began to resonate.
“Joyeuse’s pommel contains a sealed fragment of the Holy Spear.”
“If this thing is reacting to it...”
“then this must be a holy relic too, right?”
"...!"
Merlin hurriedly reached out.
He touched the metal fragment and checked it himself.
“This is...!”
There was no mistake.
