Vol 2. Chapter 419: Facing and Protecting (6)

“Cut the bullshit.”

Cale didn’t bother hiding the crooked look on his face.

A single sheet of paper listing the beings fated to die in six months.

Out of all of it, Cale could read only the words God of Death.

“That’s a load of nonsense? I’m saying you’re the best.”

“......”

“Sorry.”

At Cale’s silent stare, the God of Death raised a hand as if admitting fault.

“Is that state you’re in because of the God of Chaos?”

“Mm.”

The God of Death pointed at the part of his body that had turned gray.

“This is because of the God of Chaos.”

“And the rest?”

“This arm is because of the God of War.”

“Figures. That bastard probably sided with the God of Chaos too.”

“Yeah. War happens inside chaos.”

“Hey.”

Cale called out to someone inside him.

“...Mm.”

But this time, none of the ancient powers answered.

“Tch.”

Cale clicked his tongue.

“Are you worried about me?”

He lightly ignored the God of Death’s bright, smiling question.

The God of War, huh.

Cale had never met the God of War, directly or indirectly.

But he had heard quite a lot about him.

The Water that Devours the Sky.

The one who had named her judging water and bound her down had been the God of War.

And Cotton.

Cotton, who currently belonged to the mediator alliance, had been the saintess of the God of War.

A former one, at that.

And the current saintess is someone else.

The young lady of House Orsena.

The head of the noble faction in the Roan Kingdom that held immense power centered around the capital.

The Orsena Ducal House.

That place had been laid waste, and the young lady of House Orsena had vanished.

Mm.

This was pretty complicated.

So, to sum it up—

“That bastard God of War is pissing me off too.”

Yeah. That was all.

The God of War was an enemy.

Apitoyu.

The World Tree of Apitoyu, the world that had been stolen by the Dragon Lord and the dragons.

The ones who had thrown that World Tree into an endless swamp of despair were the Dragon Lord, the Wanderers, the saint of the God of Chaos, and the saintess of the God of War.

They’re all on the same side.

Mm.

What kind of being was the God of War?

But if Cale ever faced him, there was no way they could be allies.

The Water that Devours the Sky.

The sky that one wanted to seize was the God of War.

Yeah, no wonder she’d lose it.

She had lived a life crushed under the God of War.

She had barely escaped, only to find no happiness there either.

As long as the Water that Devours the Sky was Cale’s ally, the God of War was simply an enemy.

Though what are the chances I’ll ever run into him?

Honestly, Cale was little different from a bystander in this fight of the divine realm.

He couldn’t go to the divine realm, and he had no reason to get tangled up in it either.

The God of Death let out a sigh.

“Right. War, that bastard really is annoying.”

And yet, for some reason, Cale had a feeling he might get entangled in it after all.

“But what’s the point of someone who’s about to be erased worrying about gods beating each other bloody?”

At the words the God of Death offered with a grin, Cale’s face twisted.

“Ha. This is pissing me off.”

His irreverent, thoroughly crooked gaze glared at the God of Death.

“Erasure, my ass.”

He really hated seeing the bastard who had shoved work onto him, dragged him into all kinds of messes, casually smiling while talking about being erased.

It just pissed him off.

“Until I get to be unemployed, you don’t get to rest either.”

Cale threw the sheet with the list at the God of Death and spoke.

“If I had to guess, the method of erasure was found either by the Demon Realm or by the hunters.”

The God of Death, who had silently looked at Cale for a moment, opened his mouth with a soft smile at the corners of his lips.

“It probably isn’t the Demon Realm.”

“Why?”

“The God of Justice disappeared.”

It came out of nowhere, but a strange light flickered in Cale’s eyes.

The God of Justice.

The five ancient gods.

Hope.

Balance.

Chaos.

Justice.

Negativity.

One of them—Justice.

He was—

The god who entrusted a mission to the first Wanderer.

And also—

The first Wanderer disappeared because of that mission.

And also—

The God of Justice has never said what that mission was, or whether it succeeded or failed.

And—

The head of the hunters’ Five Colored Blood family is the first Wanderer.

After revealing that fact, Choi Jung Gun had lost consciousness because of the corruption of chaos.

Cale opened his mouth.

“Was what the God of Justice asked of the first Wanderer the ‘erasure of a god’?”

Nod.

The God of Death nodded with a stiff face.

Cale spoke again.

“You said the God of Justice is missing, so how did you figure out what that request was?”

And—

“So should I assume the God of Justice has joined the God of Chaos’s side too?”

At those two questions, the God of Death sighed.

“I don’t think it’s that simple.”

Dense fatigue drifted off his face.

“I sent one of my subordinates to visit the God of Justice’s residence. But there wasn’t a trace of anything there. The God of Chaos was wrecking everything at the time, so I didn’t even realize the God of Justice had disappeared.”

“And?”

“There was, however, a note left behind by the God of Justice.”

SNAP!

The God of Death’s fingers struck together.

WHOOOOOSH—

A gust of wind rose in the space, which looked like a modern company office, and then—

Clack.

A drawer opened, and a single sheet of paper from inside it came to a stop in front of them, right before Cale’s eyes.

<The divine realm is full of Negativity. I will bring down the hammer of Justice.>

Cale squeezed his eyes shut.

“Ha—”

Seriously.

“These god bastards are so damn annoying.”

At this point the curses just came out on their own.

“I’m a god too, but gods really are damn annoying.”

The God of Death expressed very strong agreement with Cale.

“Haa.”

“Ha.”

The two of them let out sigh after sigh.

Cale pressed down on his throbbing head and spoke.

“So after finding this, you looked at the death list and saw your own name on it?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s why you’re guessing the contents of the request were the death of a god?”

“That’s right.”

“And the God of Justice hasn’t joined Chaos either. He’s literally just in hiding?”

“Yeah.”

So he had thought it was Balance and Chaos beating on each other, but now some lunatic called Justice was off doing something alone.

“Then what about the first Wanderer? Isn’t that bastard on Chaos’s side?”

At Cale’s frustrated question, the God of Death answered calmly.

“He could have joined hands with both. Chaos and Justice.”

The God of Death looked at Cale.

“The reason I called you here was to tell you about the first Wanderer. Hearing about the affairs of the divine realm wouldn’t interest you much anyway, right?”

“Yeah. That’s right.”

Cale truly had neither the intention nor the ability to involve himself in the fights of the divine realm.

Like hell I’m going to fight gods.

When giants fought, it was the little guy who got crushed.

“Heh. I thought so.”

The God of Death chuckled as if amused and continued.

“The first Wanderer is someone who has existed longer than anyone except the ancient gods. He was in the divine realm before me.”

Originally, he should have become a god, but the first Wanderer refused godhood.

“To be honest, even since I came into existence, the first Wanderer only took on requests from the ancient gods, so I didn’t have many chances to cross paths with him.”

Cale listened carefully to the story of the first Wanderer.

Because he was an enemy he would face someday.

He might even be more dangerous than the Absolute God that would be created.

Because he was the mastermind behind everything.

“But except for the God of Justice’s final request before he disappeared, I heard the success rate of all his missions was one hundred percent. So apparently he’s quite strong.”

The God of Death fell silent for a moment before adding—

“And apparently he’s smart. I heard that more than his power, it’s that intelligence of his that stands out.”

The God of Death, who had paused again, stared right at Cale.

“What?”

When Cale asked back with a sullen face, the God of Death smiled.

“No. Anyway, what I wanted to tell you is that there’s a reason the first Wanderer rejected godhood.”

Even though he was that strong, he still refused the seat of a god, so whenever many people asked him about it, the first Wanderer would merely smile and say, “I have another goal.”

Hearing that, Cale muttered quietly—

“Another goal.”

What kind of goal could someone desire more than becoming a god?

“I don’t think that goal is the Absolute God.”

Cale said that as he looked at the God of Death, and the God of Death agreed.

“Yeah. I think so too. Even the Absolute God might just be part of the process toward that goal.”

“Mm.”

Cale crossed his arms and furrowed his brow.

Anyway, let’s keep it simple.

The goal was simple.

Stop the Absolute God, and crush every last one of the hunter families so they can never pull this kind of thing again.

That was all.

Now the only ones left are the Transparent Blood, the Five Colored Blood, and the Absolute God.

The problem was that those two families and the Absolute God were harder to deal with than the other three families had been.

Well, that’s something I can deal with one step at a time.

Cale stopped thinking there.

Just then, the God of Death spoke.

“Well, that’s everything I had to say. Ah, one more thing. You need to know where King Zed Crossman dies, don’t you?”

Zed Crossman.

The father of Crown Prince Alberu and the missing king of Roan.

His time of death was clear, but his location kept changing.

“I think I figured out why I couldn’t pin down his location properly.”

After saving Choi Jung Gun, the next step would be to go save that king.

He had promised His Highness Alberu.

“Even now, the king’s location keeps changing. The dimension keeps changing.”

“And?”

Cale knew the God of Death wasn’t saying something this hopeless for no reason.

The God of Death grinned.

“Hey. You fainted inside the game, right? That means I can call you now.”

“Of course. That game is becoming reality now. A real world.”

Cale thought of the God of Death’s divine relic mirror that should be in his arms.

“That means we’ll be able to contact each other inside the game now too.”

After saying that, Cale added—

“Is His Majesty the King inside the game too?”

“Ah, seriously!”

The God of Death grumbled.

“I was trying to build up to it, and you already figured it out?”

“......”

When Cale only stared at him, the God of Death cleared his throat and continued.

“From what I can tell, during the daytime he seems to be moving through dimensions at regular intervals, but at night, there—”

The god pointed at Cale.

“New World. I think he’s inside the game.”

How Zed Crossman could access the game—

That was unknown.

His current condition too.

How he moved through dimensions.

All of it was unknown.

But—

Once I find him, I’ll get my answer.

If he was inside the game—

Then Cale could find him as much as he wanted.

“But even if I know he’s inside the game, I still can’t tell the exact location.”

The God of Death said—

“I still don’t fully touch that world yet.”

Cale nodded at those words, then opened his mouth.

“That world is probably going to become more and more real as time passes anyway. Tell me anything you learn about His Majesty the King. We can at least exchange simple messages with the mirror now, right?”

“Yeah. I think messages through the mirror should be possible.”

After hearing that answer from the God of Death, Cale asked—

“Anything else?”

“No?”

“Then send me back.”

Cale demanded it boldly.

“I need to get back quickly.”

And it was a perfectly legitimate demand.

That total mess.

With believers of the Order of the God of Chaos and two Wanderers still left there, could Cale’s group really handle it all properly while also taking care of the sacrifices and even the Order of the Sun God?

They’ll handle it.

Alberu Crossman seemed to be regaining consciousness, and there were smart dragons, Rosalyn, and the others.

Even so, I need to go.

Cale demanded it again, forcefully, from the God of Death.

“Send me back.”

The God of Death grinned.

In an extremely sinister way.

“Sorry.”

“What?”

Cale’s face crumpled.

SNAP!

The God of Death struck his fingers together again.

WHOOOOOSH—

As the wind blew, Cale’s vision began to darken.

“By the time you wake up, about three days will have passed.”

Three days.

Enough time for everything to already be over.

Fuck.

Cale didn’t hide his irritation.

In his fading vision, he stared irreverently at the God of Death, who looked half dead himself.

“Annoying bastard.”

“Wow. You’re calling a god a bastard now?”

As the God of Death exclaimed in admiration while looking at the vanishing Cale—

Cale’s voice reached his ear.

It was an incredibly surly voice.

“I’m going to steal the method of erasure, so don’t die. Work forever.”

With those words—

WHOOOOOSH—

Cale’s existence vanished from the office.

“Ha, haha—”

The God of Death, left alone in the office, burst into laughter.

“He really is softhearted.”

Cale Henituse, Kim Rok Soo—that brat was really softhearted.

The voice had been surly, but the thought contained inside it had been obvious.

“...So he’s saying he’ll save me.”

Save a god fated to be erased?

“What an interesting bastard.”

The God of Death sighed.

“I don’t particularly want to live.”

Heavy fatigue rested under his eyes.

He rose from his seat, pulled aside the office blinds, and opened the window.

“I’m sick of this.”

The divine realm, which had at least looked beautiful on the surface, was burning and rotting away.

The divine realm had been split in two.

It was a battlefield.

Balance and Chaos.

The two sides were confronting each other sharply.

“Seriously, these god bastards are annoying.”

The God of Death was helping Balance for the moment, but—

He didn’t like Balance either.

He really didn’t like how narrow-minded that side was, and how unwilling it was to let go of its own power.

“Maybe I should just—”

He muttered quietly.

“Flip the whole thing over?”

Maybe he should just overturn everything?

Death.

That name had never been a light one.

It was only that the other gods had never been erased until now, that the name had passed them by, so they had treated it like something that had ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) nothing to do with them.

But now a way to erase gods had appeared.

That too was a kind of death.

Even gods could die.

“......”

After standing silent for a moment, he grinned.

“Yeah, well, I can think about that after I don’t get erased!”

He said it lightly, playfully, then left the office.

It was time to fight again.

*****

Cale regained consciousness.

But he couldn’t open his eyes.

He felt something soft against his back.

It felt like he was lying on a pretty good bed.

But he couldn’t open his eyes.

He was hungry too, but he still couldn’t open them.

HUFF, HUFF.

Someone was breathing hard.

It was familiar.

Raon.

Raon kept muttering.

“Three days have passed. Our human and the nice Crown Prince still haven’t woken up, and it’s already been three days.”

HUFF, HUFF.

“I’m going to smash everything! I’ll smash the God of Chaos, and the Order, and the hunters too! I’ll just smash all the gods too!”

HUFF, HUFF.

Raon was extremely angry.

Thankfully he wasn’t crying, but for some reason his voice sounded stuffed up.

He had probably already cried a lot.

For some reason, Cale still couldn’t open his eyes.

That was when—

HUFF, HUFF?

“Hm?”

Raon tilted his head.

Alberu and Cale.

Raon, who had been between the two unconscious men, slowly turned his head.

Cale.

He walked over to the bed where Cale was lying.

The bed dipped on one side.

Cale felt it.

A chill ran down his spine.

He did not open his eyes.

He lay still and did nothing but breathe.

That was when—

HUFF, HUFF.

The sound of angry breathing came right by his ear.

“Human, why are you pretending to sleep?”

GASP!

Startled for real, Cale sucked in a breath and opened his eyes.