Chapter 166
Chapter 166
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 166
Chapter Title: A Moment's Respite
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That wasn't all.
"Traitor."
Edwin slipped in silently using the Dimensional Clown's technique.
He aimed to stab Esu in the side.
Kurosh circled behind, eyeing an opening.
The angel avatar's gaze followed, warning Ha Yeonsi.
She deployed a barrier.
[The Angel Incarnation (SSS) borrows the angel's power.]
- Unique defense skill 'Uriel's Cliff' is created.
- Unique protection skill 'Raphael's Shield' is created.
The barrier unfolded, deflecting the aftershocks of the skills Soma had bounced back.
But it wouldn't be enough against Kurosh, who charged in an instant with his divine beast body and superior combat prowess.
"Whatever we do, we're screwed anyway."
Skills continued to rain down like carpet bombing, while the futurists and melee hunters eyed their lives greedily.
Soma Sangai and Esu wouldn't last much longer.
'I don't know what they're thinking, blocking like that, but they've bought us time.'
Thirteen seconds left.
He grabbed a throbbing copper-colored metal bracelet from his inventory.
The unsuspecting citizens of Chilman, living their daily lives in the unique city Deserthio, oblivious to everything.
The Bracelet of Sacrifice, which burned their lives to grant SSS-grade durability and 10 seconds of invincibility.
That was Clear Walls and Wilds (U.SSS).
"Profitable deal. Shall we?"
The decision was made.
Trade the lives of the bastards in front of him for the 70,000 lives he had saved.
But a firm hand grasped that terrifying copper bracelet.
It was Esu, wearing a Buddha-like smile.
"Don't use it, Gonghyeok-nim. You'll regret it later."
Even as Diamond Indestructibility ended and his back was shredded by skills, Esu showed no sign of pain.
Stab.
Edwin's sword had just pierced his collarbone.
Traits like Immortal Iron King were useless against futurists like him.
Esu grabbed Edwin's sword and slammed him to the ground.
Blood gushed from the roughly torn nape.
"You think I'm not gonna?"
At Ju Gonghyeok's indifferent words, he smiled again.
"No need."
In his blood-soaked grip was a scroll.
Gonghyeok knew the item.
A U.SSS item passed only to the master of the Compassion City Nirvana.
"You got it from the original owner."
"Yes."
"Capable fellow."
"I took it by force. Shameful."
Esu's bloodied scroll unfurled.
Its contents were an old Buddhist painting of a lotus.
The painting glowed pink, and countless lotuses poured out from the scroll.
The raining skills dwindled, and the hunters looked at their palms.
"Damn it, skills aren't coming out?"
"What the hell?"
Messages appeared where the lotuses passed.
[Birushana Buddha's Pure Land World erodes part of floor 39.]
- An 'Absolute Peace Zone' forms centered on the scroll.
- No acts of violence can occur within the space.
Myriad lotuses emitted a pink halo, adorning the world.
Wherever the lotuses took root, the laws of the world changed.
A paradise of peace where no conflict was permitted.
「Great Sun Tathagata Pure Land Lotus Repository World (大日如來淨土 蓮華藏世界)」
A U.SSS-grade barrier formation possessed only by Nirvana's master.
"Nirvana's original owner, Sharma, boasted about this barrier, and now..."
"It already passed to the next master, Esu."
No violence was possible within the peace zone.
This neutralized both humanity's side and Ju Gonghyeok.
"What a coincidence."
"Being a U.SSS item, it won't last long."
The hunters formed ranks and approached.
In their minds, time was on their side.
Attack again the moment the barrier lifted, and it was over.
The five futurists gathered around Esu holding the scroll.
"Traitor."
"Traitor."
"Traitor."
Traitor, traitor, traitor, traitor.
The icy gazes of his former comrades pierced Esu.
Their looks toward Soma and Ha Yeonsi were no kinder.
The hunters advanced in formation, and Christina asked pitifully.
"Yeonsi, even now..."
1 minute 58 seconds.
The world creaked and shifted.
The distance between human and human grew infinitely.
The sign that floor 39 was closing.
'Two seconds early.'
Soma had been the wall, and Esu had bought time with the Lotus Repository World.
Ju Gonghyeok didn't need to use his trump card—the world closed.
[Floor 39 has been cleared.]
- Clear reward: 10 green coins granted to all survivors.
- From floor 40, a new battlefield, the Dimensional Holy Realm, opens.
- After entering floor 40, boundaries between other races blur.
- High probability of encountering beastkin cities.
- High probability of encountering machine god cities.
Foretelling the new battlefield ahead, Azazel reverse-summoned the hunters.
Lost in their thoughts, the hunters returned to floor 5 one by one.
Soon, Soma and Ha Yeonsi would return to floor 5 as well.
A thorny path awaited them back in their cities.
Standing with Ju Gonghyeok was treason against humanity.
Even as city executives, forgiveness would be hard.
Compani and Deserthio might face persecution just for being Ju Gonghyeok's cities.
'About that...'
Ju Gonghyeok's gaze turned to one side.
The necromancer hunters who hadn't participated in the battle.
And he spotted Sigmund disguised as the Necromancer King.
'I'm counting on you, Sigmund.'
With his capabilities, he could prevent Ju Gonghyeok's city alliance from disintegrating.
If Illivatus's 'Mental Collective' deemed that side more valuable.
Ju Gonghyeok wouldn't return for a while.
No matter what hardships Soma and Ha Yeonsi faced.
Suddenly, Gonghyeok felt arms around his neck.
Impossible with the dimension closing.
- I came this far only for Oppa.
The touch of snow-white arms.
A single outer wing wrapping his body.
'Ha Yeonsi's angel.'
Having met countless avatars, Gonghyeok instinctively knew.
A heavenly voice whispered in his ear.
- No matter what, don't give up and come back. I'll believe in you, Oppa.
Bright light shone from Cluesti's coin, enveloping Ju Gonghyeok's body.
Cluesti's reward, the Babel Escape Ticket.
Three shooting stars with the applied reward flew out of Babel.
Nathaniel poked his head out.
- That avatar angel. I know who it is.
"I do too."
- That was Ha Yeonsi, right?
Ju Gonghyeok closed his eyes and answered.
"Yeah. But..."
'It was a Ha Yeonsi I don't know.'
The shooting star reached its destination, swallowing his words.
Thud!
The coin's bright light faded as it snapped trees.
Not Babel's red sky, but a blue one.
A lake below and deep green midsummer foliage.
The homeland of all, Earth.
"GM."
[Yes, Master.]
The avatar switched instantly, revealing GM's bizarre form.
"Where are we?"
[Based on latitude and longitude, predicted to be Colorado National Park in the western US.]
No wonder the natural scenery was so vibrant.
Korea's parks and mountains had become barren after monster attacks, artillery barrages, and industrial decline.
No oil, so they had to burn trees.
"America, huh."
Not bad.
The government system remained, currency still worked, and public order was maintained.
Tilting his ear, he heard signs of people.
Ju Gonghyeok headed that way.
* * *
Graham was a pioneer who had turned the national park into a ranch amid the food crisis.
Now he sent meat to the capital, New York, but he hadn't started with ranching.
Four years ago, in the war that unified the divided US east and west, he earned the Washington Falls Honor Medal and received this land as retirement compensation.
In these turbulent times, stable work without starving worries was rare.
Bang!
Satisfied with his peaceful routine, Graham jumped up at the sound of the door shattering while fixing the milking machine in the barn.
He emerged from the barn with a 12-gauge shotgun in hand.
A wretched figure stood in the house.
Dirty armor, rags for clothes.
'A hunter.'
Having seen hunters often in war and near dungeons, Graham recognized him instantly.
Hunters had superior physical abilities to normals.
Don't give them a chance to attack first.
"Get out!"
He roared, and the shotgun blazed.
At close range, the slug hit the intruder's head.
Athletes or E~F grade hunters who ran 100m in 5 seconds became rags from one shotgun blast.
Quick preemptive strike based on experience.
But the intruder's head didn't even flinch, let alone become rags.
"Hmm?"
The intruder glanced back casually and headed to the kitchen.
Click—
He opened the fridge and pulled out orange juice.
Gulped it down in one go.
"Wha, what..."
Then he dumped a whole box of cereal into a nearby bowl, poured milk, and ate calmly.
Like an unemployed guy watching TV at home.
Bang!
The next shotgun slug shattered the cereal bowl.
"Hunter! Get the fuck out of my house!"
Ju Gonghyeok stared blankly at the shouting Graham.
"Sorry."
Then he pulled smoked meat from the fridge and chewed.
"Ranch meat hits different."
"FUCKING BITCH!"
Graham's enraged shotgun barrage hit Ju Gonghyeok's back.
But the fridge emptied steadily.
Graham's wife screamed from upstairs.
"Aaah! Honey! Who is this guy!"
"Zombie hunter! Call the National Guard!"
"Waaah!"
Amid the screams, child's cries, and shotgun blasts, Ju Gonghyeok frowned.
"Noisy."
He tossed bags of teal and purple coins from his inventory behind him.
Pop!
The bags burst from bullets, scattering coins everywhere.
Graham gaped at the clinking coins.
"What the hell?"
His brother Joshua, who had gone to the ranch, returned at the shots.
Picking up a purple coin, he muttered in shock.
"This real?"
"Saw some when I worked at a dungeon. Probably legit."
Graham stopped his furious shooting, eyed Ju Gonghyeok warily, and began picking up coins.
Purple coins sold for about 4 million won for 10—upgrades and industrial materials.
In the US, with exchange rates and fluctuations, around $3,500 value.
"Honey, hurry and grab 'em."
"What about the teal ones?"
"Those? Uh, fakes! Toss 'em out!"
Ju Gonghyeok pulled out a cigarette.
"May I smoke?"
"Fucking do what you want."
Lighting up to the cold reply, Ju Gonghyeok smoked.
The Graham family swept up the scattered coins.
They diligently grabbed purples and tossed teals outside as fakes.
'Those teals are worth 100 times the purples.'
Ignorant fools who didn't know teal coins.
If they were hunters, he'd have killed them for the noise, but these were powerless civilians.
'Hunters, you kill because you need to.'
As someone resolved to save humanity, Ju Gonghyeok had no reason to kill Earth's civilians, who meant nothing to the apocalypse.
Finishing his cigarette slowly, he moved to the living room.
'GM, wake me if Imir and Marcus act suspicious.'
[I will notify at the predicted moment.]
After ordering GM, Ju Gonghyeok lay on the sofa.
"Tired."
Too much had happened.
Killed the Four Heavenly Kings, fought archangels, many became enemies, traitor comrades stood by him again.
Worst body condition since regression.
No healing skills possible.
Ju Gonghyeok deployed a blackout curtain, blocking noise and light.
'Eat well, sleep well.'
Top priority for recovery.
Having devoured the Graham family's food in 30 minutes, Ju Gonghyeok passed out.
A brief rest granted to Babel's Tyrant.
When the tyrant opened his eyes again, he would reclaim his throne.
Earth would drown in blue, and rebels' resistance would be futile.
Demon King, Dragon God, Alpard—all booked for unavoidable death.
The final throne was his alone to ascend.
Even if stained with regret and blood.