The 31st Piece Overturns the Game Board

God's Hand—despite its grandiose name—was literally a being with the shape of a hand.

'These guys are after Shin Kang's hand.'

Seol's gaze subconsciously turned cold.

Imagining the one-armed swordsman, Shin Kang's hand being taken and used by others made him furious.

"This is the first time I've heard about it. I haven't seen such a thing."

"Do you know what God's Hand looks like? Or the fact that it exists?"

"I don't know, and I'm not interested."

The woman with a small build behind him took something out.

"We'll see about that… Lies don't work."

The woman calmly said, "Is the answer he gave us true or false?"

[Belian used Confirmation Bias.]

[If the answer to the question is determined to be false, Summary Judgment will be activated.]

The pendant's eyes opened and responded.

- Lie…

[Summary Judgment is activated.]

"Damn it…"

"False. I will cut off your left arm."

Slash—!

"Agh—!"

Seol's left arm was cut off in an instant and fell to the ground.

- Wh-what?

- Crazy…

- I didn't see what happened.

Although Seol screamed in pain, his expression was surprisingly calm. It was as if he had been anticipating this.

'An illicit interrogator using Confirmation Bias… This is going to be a headache.'

Seol picked up his arm and brought it back to where it was severed from.

In an instant, the blood and flesh from his severed arm and body fused, and his arm was restored.

"Are you a monster…?"

Belian and her sister, Beldre, stared at him blankly. Judging by their voices, both seemed to be young.

"You are the monster for cutting my arm out of the blue."

Seol frowned.

'To think they would use Confirmation Bias… I guess the conversation is over.'

Even if they changed their attitude and decided to talk, Seol no longer felt like letting them get away.

"I'll ask the next question."

"I won't answer. It's my turn now."

"Your turn? You neither have the qualifications nor the power to ask the truth. Belian, are you ready?"

"Unni, I'm ready."

Despite seeing Seol preparing to fight, the sisters responded nonchalantly.

Seol didn't like their attitude.

"Qualifications? Well, I might not have any. But…"

Something dark rippled as soon as he placed his palms together.

Swoosh…

"I do have some power."

"Shadow…?"

CLAP—!

As he clapped, black energy swelled up like a balloon. Seol's eyes were becoming bloodshot.

His golden eyes changed into a strange red color.

[You summoned a night beast.]

[The night beast’s combat power scales with the summoner’s stats and the amount of Darkness used.]

Crack…

Crraaack…

The amount of Darkness Seol had used before collapsing due to the side effects of Night Crow was considerable.

The night beast soon swelled to the size of a medium one.

Grrr…

If a night beast could move despite not having a soul, it meant that it wasn't just the labyrinth that could handle them.

Thanks to having dealt with the corpses, Seol found a way to make them rise. This place was the Pitch Black Labyrinth. So he could accomplish anything he set his mind to.

"Th-That's…"

"A monster…"

Seol felt proud as he looked at the large night beast. Then he pointed ahead with his finger at the two sisters wearing masks.

"Bite them."

Paaf—!

Thanks to having gained power proportional to his stats, Seol's night beast was much faster than an ordinary night beast.

He discovered that the Darkness obtained from defeating night beasts not only served as a token to pass through the first gate but also as a resource to summon them.

'This is an occupational disease. Otherwise, I wouldn't have found it.'

It was the result of him devising a way to survive.

All he had were summoning arts.

If minor tricks didn't work, he would hone his summoning arts until it worked.

This was just a test of his hypothesis.

"A beast, it's a fake! Belian, assist me!"

"Okay!"

Ziinng…

[Belian used Shield of Wisdom.]

[Increase a target’s defense equal to your Wisdom.]Nôv(el)B\\jnn

CLANG—!

A brilliant golden shield faintly enveloped Beldre.

[Beldre used Killing Game.]

[If the first attack succeeds, the next attack will be a guaranteed critical hit.]

Ziinng…

Beldre's long sword emitted a clear sound.

Paf—!

She leaped up to counter the night beast summoned by Seol. However, upon doing so, she realized one mistake.

Whoosh…

The night beast she was facing head-on exuded a pressure beyond imagination. It was so strong that it almost forced her mouth wide open. She should have avoided a head-on collision.

Upon noticing her mistake, Belian assisted.

[Belian used Strong Will.]

[Increase a target's maximum Constitution by 20% for 30 seconds. After 30 seconds, the bonus Constitution will be lost, but the target’s defense will increase by 20%.]

"Haap—!"

CLANG—!

The night beast's fist and Beldre's sword clashed.

At that moment, Beldre's eyes widened in surprise.

"What kind of strength is this…"

The contest of strength was over.

The loser was now bound to fall.

CRACK—!

Beldre was sent flying, knocking down two trees.

However, she was also someone close to being a superhuman. As long as Belian assisted her, she wouldn't be easily defeated.

"Unni!"

Paang—!

After getting herself together, Beldre rushed forward faster than before.

Grr…

Due to her sudden charge, the night beast missed Beldre.

However, Beldre wasn’t targeting the night beast. She was targeting its summoner—Seol.

She chose the most traditional and efficient method of dealing with a summoner.

Tap—!

As Seol touched a tree, it suddenly got bent.

"What…?

[You used Night Haze.]

[You can control objects without a will through Darkness.]

At the same time, Seol withdrew and clapped.

Clap—!

Kagagagak—!

Beldre swung her sword to cut the tree flying toward her.

Due to the strange energy mixed in the tree, it wasn't cut as easily as she thought, but she eventually succeeded.

"Now…"

Seol, who had definitely been hiding behind the tree, vanished.

"Unni! Watch out!"

While she slashed the tree, the medium-sized night beast transformed into three smaller ones.

Beldre had never encountered a summoner who used such bizarre and devious powers.

However, she thought she had the advantage.

Now that they were small, their power probably didn't match that of a medium-sized one. Fragmenting them would surely create an opportunity for her.

However, Seol had the habit of targeting the opponent's most vulnerable parts.

Paf—!

One small beast rushed toward Belian, and the other two blocked her.

"You coward!"

That wasn't something Beldre—who intended to target the summoner rather than the summon—should have said. But in a fight, no one was more useless than a coward.

In the past, Seol wouldn't have been able to perform such neat and precise movements.

The only summon he could perfectly control was Night Crow, and his ability to handle it wasn't particularly neat.

However, thanks to having spent three months training to perceive space, Seol could now understand how time itself was flowing. This gave him better control over his night beasts.

"U-Unni!"

"Belian! Run!"

Whir—!

Beldre swung her sword and slashed the neck of a night beast.

As expected, since he had fragmented the night beast, its strength and durability had decreased.

Now that she realized that…

"That's enough."

"…"

Seol suddenly appeared and grabbed Belian's neck. His other hand was holding her mask.

"I'm going to break it."

"Ugh…"

Seol had many things to ask them, so interrogating them was better than killing them. Although how they had cut his arm bothered him a bit, he didn't particularly care.

After having suffered for so long, his mind had become somewhat calm.

"Drop your weapon."

Thud…

Beldre dropped her sword.

"Question. Where did you come from?"

"We're normal treasure hunters. We're wanderers, so even if you find out where we came from…"

Grin…

Seol smiled as if he had anticipated the opponent to respond like that.

"That's not good… Did you already forget?"

Paf—!

"Ugh… U-Unni…"

Seol took out Confirmation Bias from Belian's hands.

"Lies are bad. Now…"

Beldre became startled and waved her hand.

"I-I'll tell you the truth!"

Unlike Seol, who could easily reattach his arm if he were to lose it, she would have to live the rest of her life with only one if she were to lose hers.

"We came from the West…"

"Is her answer true or false?"

- True…

Confirmation Bias proved that her answer was true.

'She came from the West?'

It was an unexpected answer. To think that the West, which he had no interest in, would suddenly pop up.

After a brief silence, Confirmation Bias regained its strength.

'I need to ask more specific questions.'

He would have to dig deeper.

"What group do you belong to?"

"We belong to the Artifact Association…"

"Is her answer true or false?"

- True…

The answer was determined to be true.

'Artifact Association?! This is getting troublesome…'

The Artifact Association was a group that mostly operated covertly in the West.

They often excavated or seized artifacts and used them to orchestrate schemes.

That's what Seol knew about them, but he wasn't completely sure since he hadn't heard about them for a while.

"What's the next question?"

Beldre spoke casually, pretending not to like the situation. Amused by her act, Seol teased her.

'Did she think I would fall into Confirmation Bias's trap?'

She was scheming something.

"I will change the question's target to your younger sister."

"Wh-What? Why…"

"I just want to."

"M-My sister doesn't know much. I can answer everything!"

"I'm not so sure about that."

If the target answered truthfully and sincerely up to the third question, Confirmation Bias would impose a fatal penalty on the questioner.

Therefore, when using Confirmation Bias, asking a third question was taboo.

It wasn't a well-known fact. So, Beldre probably thought Seol wouldn't know about it.

However, Seol had no intention of relinquishing the initiative.

"You, why does the Artifact Association know the exact location of the objects here?"

So far, no one except Shin Kang had survived the Pitch Black Labyrinth. While he had reached its end, he created a door and left, which was different from having completely broken through it.

Or at least that's what Seol knew.

That's why even if God's Hand was here, there shouldn't be anyone who knew about it.

'Moreover, they had a nickname like God's Hand…'

"That…"

"If you don't answer, you will lose your mask, arm, and neck in that order."

"There are people with special powers… They're helping us."

"Special powers? If you don't answer more sincerely, I could take your arm with my own strength…"

"U-Understood. We call them Prophets. They can find the location of artifacts with strong energies hidden throughout the continent."

Seol used Confirmation Bias.

"Is her answer true or false?"

- True…

Confirmation Bias once again entered charge mode.

Now, only one question could be asked.

After some thought, Seol asked a question that could get to the core.

"Why is the Artifact Association looking for God's Hand?"

"…"

"Belian! Don't answer! G-Give up your arm…"

"Sob… Sob…"

Thinking she would lose her arm, Belian shed streams of tears.

Tears flowed down her mask.

Seol angrily replied to Beldre.

"Do you think you're going to survive if you avoid answering?"

"If you kill my little sister… I promise I'm going to kill you no matter what."

Thinking he seemed to be making enemies wherever he went, Seol shrugged his shoulders and poked at Belian's body.

Flinch!

"Answer."

"…"

"If you don't cooperate, I'll break your neck before your arm."

Upon hearing Seol's ultimatum, Belian lowered her head.

"The Artifact Association is gathering artifacts to try and oppose those who have taken over the power of the Holy Nation of Varanoa. They have become rotten, and they are deceiving the people… They must be stopped."

"Is her answer true or false?"

- True…

Seol looked around.

'Has the nature of the Artifact Association changed? Well, I only remember how they used to be. Anyway… is it about time?'

Paaf—!

"Aah—!"

Seol sent Bellian flying.

Beldre, who picked up her sword and retrieved Belian, said to Seol.

"I'm going to kill you right now…"

Paf—!

Seol threw Confirmation Bias at Beldre and cut her off.

"Right now? That would be hard."

Seol retrieved the night beasts.

Whoosh…

The darkness returned.

Now, even such small amounts were precious.

Although Darkness was similar to Shadow, which was used for his summons, he liked how flexible they were.

Having used them in combat, he had seen firsthand how well they performed. All that was left was to perfect his usage of them.

As Seol showed no interest in further dispute, Beldre became increasingly furious.

"What nonsense…"

At that moment, a chilly voice sounded in her ear.

"Are you a guest?"

Swoosh…

Fwoosh…

Shin Hyun's sword was gleaming at a distance where it seemed like it could easily touch her neck.

When did he get so close?

"You better be a guest."

Gulp…

Seol grinned.

"Oops, was it already this late?"

In the world, there were forces that forced you to speak the truth, but…

"Haven't you heard him? Answer."

Beldre said without being able to move her body.

"Y… Yes."

…there were others that forced you to lie.

Shin Hyun said while laughing.

"Then, stop playing around and go back home before night falls."