“Was that the wrong question?”
After a long silence, Thanatos tilted his head in confusion.
“No, it wasn’t a wrong question. It’s just… it’s hard to put into words.”
Ian waved his hand vaguely, glancing around the room. He cast furtive, pleading looks for help, but all he got in return was cold indifference—everyone expected him to handle it on his own. With a sigh, he cautiously began to reveal the truth.
“The thing is… we don’t really know why we’re here.”
“You don’t know?”
“Yes. One day, we just woke up in this world… forcibly summoned, actually. Strictly speaking, we’re victims too.”
“Forcibly summoned?”
As Ian’s words trailed off, Thanatos’s head tilted even more, his brow furrowing deeper. His voice rose slightly as he questioned, clearly struggling to grasp the meaning. The more confused Thanatos looked, the more Ian tried to reassure him, speaking earnestly as if to say, We are not your enemies. Thanatos raised a hand, eyebrows raised.
“Wait a moment. So you’re saying you were summoned here without knowing the reason, and you’re living in this world without any purpose?”
“Y-yeah, that’s right.”
“I don’t understand. Are there many humans in a similar situation?”
“Well… I’m not sure of the exact number, but I’d guess at least tens of thousands.”
“Hmph.”
“…”
Ian reluctantly nodded in agreement, and Thanatos let out a short, incredulous sigh. The Knights of the Round Table all wore uneasy expressions. Having lived as users, they had tacitly accepted the current situation, but now it felt like a forced exposure of a dirty secret. What was more unsettling was that Thanatos’s pointed questions left them with no real rebuttal.
“I may have been asleep for a long time… but this is truly absurd. Who exactly are you?”
“Pardon?”
“If you were forcibly brought here, there must be someone who summoned you.”
“Oh, yes. There is. An angel, they said…”
“An angel?”
“Yes, yes. Like a kind of helper. You know, with a pair of white wings on their back…”
Ian flailed his hands comically to illustrate, then suddenly stopped when he caught Thanatos’s gaze.
“…Ah.”
A faint exclamation escaped Thanatos’s lips. At the same moment, the Knights of the Round Table all swallowed hard.
The moment the word “angel” was mentioned, Thanatos’s demeanor shifted abruptly. Of course, it was still a subtle change—his eyes widened slightly, his voice rose a notch—but it was enough to suggest he had uncovered some deep secret. A flicker of curiosity stirred quietly in the back of his mind.
“Could it be that this is still ongoing…?”
“Well, if angels were involved before… then it’s probably the same this time…”
Thanatos muttered to himself, arms crossed. The room was so quiet that even without straining, everyone could hear his low voice clearly. The Knights exchanged glances, their expressions a little dazed.
Then, suddenly, Thanatos lifted his head.
“How unfortunate.”
His eyes shone with pity as he slowly scanned the table.
“I don’t know the full story, but there’s a saying that history repeats itself. It seems humans still can’t escape being pawns of angels.”
“That’s not true.”
Melinus brushed back his white beard and quietly interrupted.
“Thanatos, was it? I acknowledge that you are a god, as the Crystal of Truth has confirmed. But all we have verified is this much. I don’t know on what grounds you speak so, but your words seem inappropriate.”
“What do you mean by inappropriate?”
“Calling us pawns. I, too, don’t know why I was summoned here, but we are not lackeys acting under angels’ orders. We move by our own will, even at this very moment. So, it would be more accurate to say we have a cooperative relationship.”
“…So that’s why you say it’s unfortunate.”
Melinus’s explanation was logical enough to earn nods from everyone. Yet Thanatos denied it flatly, without hesitation.
“Because you don’t know where the path you’re walking leads. In the end, you’re only being deceived and used. But humans don’t realize it. Just like in the past.”
As he finished speaking, the Crystal of Truth emitted a sharp light and crumbled into ashes. Melinus opened his mouth as if to say something, then fell silent. Thanatos smiled bitterly and slowly withdrew his hand.
“Maybe it’s because I heard such shocking words… or perhaps because it’s been so long since I last felt this way. I feel dizzy.”
He calmly stood and pushed his chair back.
“I suppose I can rest for today?”
With that ambiguous remark, Thanatos quietly rose and began ascending the stairs.
The tense atmosphere that had felt ready to explode vanished without a trace. The sword hilt that had been gripped tightly now slipped loosely, the blade’s tip resting weakly on the floor.
And so, Eldora and the Knights of the Round Table all remained seated, silently watching Thanatos’s retreating figure.
“Phew.”
Back in her room, Eldora collapsed onto her bed the moment she opened the door, sighing deeply. Her body sank into the mattress like a wet rag. Just talking had drained her completely.
She wondered why she felt this way and closed her eyes gently, replaying the recent encounter in her mind.
At least one worry had eased. No, it wasn’t certain yet, but Thanatos didn’t seem as dangerous as she had feared. In fact, she was polite and human in a way that made the idea of her being a god feel almost like a lie.
…But.
Eldora bit her lip.
Something’s off.
Uneasy. Confused. Though she had confirmed the woman’s identity, something nagged at her, refusing to settle. No matter how hard she tried to clear her mind, the pitying look in Thanatos’s eyes kept flashing in her thoughts.
Why?
A simple question, yet the answer wouldn’t come easily. She had never really thought about it deeply before. Until an hour ago, it was a problem she had forgotten—or perhaps, once she got used to it, she had resigned herself to it.
“Wait a moment. So you’re saying you were summoned here without knowing the reason, and you’re living in this world without any purpose?”
Come to think of it, that was true. It was obvious, but when someone is suddenly summoned, everyone wonders the same thing at least once.
But no matter how many times they ask, no matter how much they protest, nothing changes. Instead, they’re forced to endure a brutal rite of passage, a cruel survival test, before entering the new world called the Hall Plain.
And the first thing they hear from the existing users is always the same:
“We, standing here now, were once humans living on Earth.”
“The only difference between us and you is the order in which we arrived.”
“Whether we came to this Hall Plain first, or later.”
“In other words, we are not the ones who can send you back home.”
Someone once said humans are creatures that adapt to their environment. Maybe it was from that moment Eldora began to realize that no matter what you do, reality doesn’t change. The moment you give up, you fall behind—and falling behind means death.
In the end, there’s only one path left. Those with even the tiniest desire to live start to face reality, give up, and accept it. Only then do they begin to act not as humans, but as users.
In that sense, Eldora was no different. She had been an ordinary girl on Earth, but after being summoned to the Hall Plain, she was reborn as a revered user. Not just Eldora—the entire Round Table was likely in the same position.
Because of that, no one could answer this fundamental question. It wasn’t like a hammer blow to the back of the head, but still, there was nothing to say.
Click.
Just then, as Eldora lay face down in her sheets lost in thought, the door quietly opened. She glanced back, and a faint smile appeared on her face.
“Melinus!”
“Heh heh. I hope this old man isn’t intruding.”
The one who entered was Melinus. Eldora lay back down, half-rising before relaxing again as Melinus waved reassuringly and approached.
“You look troubled, Clan Lord.”
That was true, but—
“It’s just… I heard something big all of a sudden. For some reason, my head feels foggy.”
Eldora smiled sheepishly, looking more composed than before.
“I see. Then shall we talk for a while?”
Melinus sat at the edge of the bed, smiling gently. Eldora met his gaze full of trust. Though her mind was tangled beyond grasp, she had always relied on Melinus, the ‘Prophet,’ to find rational answers whenever problems arose. As always.
Meanwhile, at the same time—
Thanatos, Eldora, and Melinus had left, but the twelve Knights of the Round Table remained seated around the table. Their faces were grave as they whispered among themselves, an ominous tension hanging in the air.
“We’re… being deceived?”
“Isn’t it a bit too soon to jump to conclusions? Honestly, I don’t even know what I’m trying to say.”
“That’s unexpected. I was just thinking it might be some kind of game.”
“Either way, it’s still unpleasant. …Ian, what do you think?”
Natalie’s sudden question seemed to snap Ian out of his daze. He blinked, gathering his thoughts.
“Uh? Well, I’m not sure.”
He adjusted his glasses with a practiced flick of his hand.
…And yet, no one noticed the subtle shift in Ian’s gaze as he glanced sideways at the stairs—an enigmatic curve in his eyes, a crooked smile playing at the corner of his mouth.
‘I never expected to be shaken like this on our very first meeting… At this rate, D-Day can’t be far off.’
Today, Thanatos had played his part perfectly. Not only did he reaffirm his identity as a god, but he also dropped hints about the angel’s true nature, sowing seeds of doubt.
They say you can mix lies into the truth. Since the angel had put a human forward as their proxy, it was an unchanging fact that they were being used. In other words, only what’s certain needs to be spoken as truth. The rest—whether past or history—can be twisted however you like.
By now, Melinus must have approached Eldora. That leaves the remaining Knights of the Round…
Ian slowly lowered his hand, his expression settling back into its usual calm.
After a moment, he spoke quietly.
“This is what I think.”
---------------------------= Author’s Note =---------------------------
Hmm… yes.
The story’s nearing its end, so I suppose it’s time to create a new illustration.
I did mention before that I’d like to draw a main character illustration before the finale.
So, it’ll be Kim Soo-hyun plus someone else, but I’m still debating who to partner with.
After some thought, I’m considering one of these five: Gehenna, Ko Yeon-ju, Im Han-na, Hwa-jeong, or Han So-young (in a new version).
If you’re wondering why these five, well, you know. -_-
Ah, of course, Hwa-jeong hasn’t appeared yet.
Anyway, if you have any other great suggestions for partners, please don’t hesitate to let me know.
Soon, I’ll compile the comments and select the top four or so candidates for a poll.
Thank you all. (__)