Absolute One Is New to Fatherhood Episode 139

A carriage led by three wolves cut through the thick darkness, advancing forward.

Their destination was the Chaos of the Abyss—the dimension ruled by the deities of the Star Cluster Cthulhu, beings often referred to as the "Outer Gods."

"The time approaches."

Surtr, the Flame Giant who yearned for destruction, fixed his gaze beyond his spear as he recalled the voice he had heard at the dawn of creation.

"Ironically, you were created bearing the fate of annihilating the very star cluster you belong to—Asgard."

It was the voice of the Creator God.

"The day of predestined destruction."

"That day shall be called..."

"Ragnarök."

Surtr muttered under his breath.

"Ragnarök..."

He traced back his ancient memories.

"Wait for your era."

"When that time comes..."

"Burn the entire world to ashes."

He had first opened his eyes in Muspelheim, the Land of Fire, where molten lava and sulfur flowed through the cracked earth.

Muspelheim—a territory located at the southern edge of the Star Cluster Asgard, known as the "Realm of Flames."

A land choked with scorching heat, where mirages shimmered in the air.

There, Surtr had waited, watching over the fire giants known as the "Muspels," biding his time.

"That day draws near."

He had received the revelation from the Creator God.

At last...

He had begun moving for Ragnarök.

'When did it all start going wrong?'

Things had spiraled out of control.

His allies had perished...

And Ragnarök had been delayed again and again.

'Perhaps...'

He knew the reason clearly.

'■■■.'

Ever since the one bearing that title appeared, all plans had gone awry.

Jörmungandr and Hela had been annihilated by ■■■...

And Loki, who had lost both eyes, had been reduced to a cowardly wreck.

"Lord Surtr..."

The call came from Loki, now a pitiful sight.

Surtr did not answer immediately, silently observing his wretched state.

His lips were parched, devoid of any vitality.

The eyes that once brimmed with curiosity and valor had been gouged out.

He looked...

Like the very embodiment of a fallen schemer, the kind often depicted in myths—a greedy fool who had reached for what he should not have.

Loki, now reduced to this state, cautiously asked again.

"Do you truly plan to involve the Outer Gods?"

Only then did Surtr respond.

"He will inevitably intervene."

He had been informed that the world's narrative had reached its "Beginning," with Earth now serving as the main stage.

If so...

Then that thorn in his side, ■■■, would undoubtedly become an obstacle to the predestined day of destruction.

"Not for the sake of Asgard, but to protect his own dimension—Earth—he will act."

Loki nodded as if in agreement.

"Yes, undoubtedly..."

Their current forces were insufficient to even face Asgard's deities.

And if ■■■ were to side with them and interfere, the outcome would be clear.

"We have suffered tremendous losses."

They had lost key figures like Jörmungandr and Hela, who were meant to play pivotal roles in Ragnarök.

"And now, with you having lost your eyes, you can no longer contribute meaningfully to our forces..."

Surtr trailed off, gazing out the carriage window.

They had reached the "entrance" of their destination.

"If things continue like this, Ragnarök will undoubtedly fail."

Such an outcome was unacceptable.

Yet...

Surtr remained composed.

"Which is why we have no choice but to borrow their power."

"But..."

"Did ■■■ not make enemies of the Outer Gods?"

Surtr saw his foolishness as an opportunity.

The Outer Gods surely harbored deep resentment toward him.

If they paid a suitable price, they would undoubtedly lend their strength.

Just then, the carriage came to a smooth halt at the outskirts of the Chaos of the Abyss.

"Let us disembark."

Surtr stepped out, planting his first foot into the Chaos of the Abyss.

The Abyss was far more oppressive than he had imagined.

A suffocating, dense energy flooded his lungs...

And the beings coiled within welcomed the uninvited guests personally.

Figures of indescribable forms surrounded them.

"Grrrr..."

Fenrir, the giant wolf pulling the carriage, along with his two sons, Sköll and Hati, bared their fangs and began growling...

"Lord Surtr..."

Loki, sensing the overwhelming malice radiating from the unprecedented beings around them, nervously licked his lips and asked again.

"But will they truly aid us without demanding anything in return...?"

Surtr laughed heartily.

"Should we not pay a fitting price to borrow their strength?"

"A price...?"

"I have already prepared it. You need not worry."

As soon as he finished speaking, Surtr's demeanor shifted abruptly.

"Loki, the giant whose mouth was once sewn shut."

"Yes..."

"You who were born for destruction."

His massive hand, wreathed in flames, suddenly seized Loki by the scruff of his neck.

CRACK—

Loki let out a pained groan, his voice laced with shock as he immediately protested.

"Wh-what are you—?"

Without hesitation, Surtr hurled Loki toward the Outer Gods surrounding them.

THUD—!

Then, he shouted to the unfathomable beings.

"O Great Outer Gods!"

The creatures stared at Loki, now sprawled helplessly at their feet, drooling with hunger.

"We have come before you to humbly request your aid."

One of the Outer Gods coiled a long tentacle around Loki's body, lifting him high as it asked with interest.

"What is this?"

Surtr smirked.

"How could we dare come empty-handed?"

Loki, bound by the tentacle, thrashed desperately.

"P-please, spare ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me!"

Surtr shook his head and answered quietly.

"I ask that you sacrifice yourself for the predestined day of destruction."

"N-no!"

"Were you not also born for Ragnarök?"

Surtr then turned his gaze back to the Outer Gods and explained further.

"Do not be fooled by his appearance—he possesses many achievements and narratives."

One of the Outer Gods, still holding Loki aloft with its tentacle, responded softly.

"You are called Surtr, correct?"

"That is correct."

"We shall offer him to ■■■■."

Then, it asked Surtr:

"What is it you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠seek our help for?"

"We ask that you lend us your strength on Asgard's predestined ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠day of destruction."

"And what do you promise in return?"

"We shall offer all of Asgard's gods—far superior to him."

Surtr paused briefly before continuing in a calm tone.

"And also..."

The atmosphere grew heavier.

"■■■."

"The one who dared insult the Great Old Ones and publicly executed one of their own at the Star Banquet."

The Outer God showed interest.

"An intriguing proposal."

"■■■■ has long coveted his title."

It gave its answer.

"Very well. We shall lend our strength."

Only then did Fenrir realize Surtr's plan and began barking furiously.

"Bark! Bark! Bark!"

Fenrir and his sons, Sköll and Hati, had only obeyed Loki's orders.

They were not blindly loyal to Surtr, and now, filled with rage...

They knew they could neither save Loki nor take revenge on Surtr themselves.

"Bark! Bark! Bark!"

The three wolves turned and fled without looking back.

They ran blindly, not knowing where to go.

As Fenrir escaped the Chaos of the Abyss...

'■■■.'

Originally intending to head to Asgard, Fenrir changed direction...

Sköll and Hati immediately followed suit.

'We must go to ■■■.'

Even if it meant bowing their heads to him, they would beg for vengeance against Surtr, who had sacrificed their father for his ambitions.

"Bark! Bark! Grrr—!"

And so, the three giant wolves began their journey toward Earth.

Their narrative resonated softly in the Abyss.

『 Fenrir howled as he raced through the Abyss. 』

『 At first, he sought the gods of Asgard... 』

『 But remembering the one who had overwhelmed him, he changed his course. 』

As the three giant wolves advanced toward Earth, the dimension where Kang-jun resided...

The world's narrative also raced forward without pause toward the next word—

'■'(■).

Unintentionally, I returned home after several days.

But...

The house looked no different than before.

"I'm hooome—!"

Seol, who had happily returned from kindergarten, immediately dashed to the bathroom to wash her hands, as she always did after going outside...

"Kang-jun."

My sister, whom I expected to scold me, reacted completely differently.

"I know everything."

I had braced myself for a lecture, but it seemed I was mistaken.

"You had to go to a 'Gate' urgently, right?"

"Huh?"

"The Hunter Bureau requested your help?"

Lee Soo-bin pressed on confidently, as if she had already figured it out.

"Am I right?"

"Yeah, you are..."

"That's what it seemed like."

Then she added,

"Even if it was unavoidable, next time, no matter how urgent, try to at least give me a rough explanation. Would that be too difficult?"

"Yeah, I'll do that."

"Especially since Seol waited for you so anxiously. You know how she usually sleeps soundly, but the moment she heard footsteps, she kept jolting awake?"

As she spoke, Lee Soo-bin wiped ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her wet hands on her apron and asked again.

"You haven't eaten yet, have you?"

"No, not yet."

"I'll fix you something quick."

Just as the conversation settled...

"Lord Immortal."

Marbas, who had been dutifully guarding the entrance, scratched the back of his neck with his hind leg and spoke.

"I kept watch faithfully."

"You did well."

"Of course, nothing major happened, but..."

Marbas lowered his voice.

"There were some... unusual behaviors from the young Immortal."

"Unusual behaviors?"

"Yes, to summarize a few..."

Marbas, now nestled in Kang-jun's arms, wagged his tail like a snitch eager to report.

"Would you believe me if I told you the young Immortal left snacks uneaten?"

"Left snacks?"

"Not only that, but she didn't watch any TV animations for days..."

Marbas's voice dropped even lower.

"And she didn't even bully me."

"Then?"

"She just sat quietly."

He continued,

"After coming back from daycare, she would sit right beside me and just... stare at the closed front door."

Kang-jun glanced over.

"Mwooshi mwooshi ttokgateulkka..."

Seol, still too short to reach the sink, stood on a small stool, humming as she meticulously washed her hands.

"Chopsticks two, just the same..."

Her name was unusually short—just one syllable.

Seol.

Shorter than others by one character.

"Mwooshi mwooshi ttokgateulkka..."

Before even learning to write her own name, Seol had first learned to write the word "Dad."

"Dad and Seol are just the same..."

Her cheerful humming, after days of missing him, filled the air softly.

Even in her made-up lyrics, Seol always put the word "Dad" first.

"Looks like..."

A sincere murmur followed.

"I should avoid long absences from now on."

For the time being, he resolved to cherish the peaceful daily life before him.

But then—

[Attention to all star clusters and deities within the Abyss.]

[The main narrative of the 'Beginning' phase is commencing.]

[The title of this main narrative is the predestined day of destruction for the great star cluster, Asgard.]

[The stage for this narrative will be Dimension No. 129—'Earth.']

[The countdown to the main narrative's start: 7 days remaining.]

System messages flickered chaotically before Kang-jun's eyes...

-B-breaking news!

The TV screen abruptly changed, and the news anchor shouted in a frantic, urgent tone.

-According to a statement released by the World Awakened Association, abnormal phenomena have been detected worldwide—

-The most prominent anomaly is occurring at the dormant volcano in Mount Baekdu's Heaven Lake—

-The volcano is expected to reactivate soon, and a Gate has begun forming directly above it—

-An unprecedented, catastrophic threat level has been observed—

-The World Awakened Association has issued its first-ever global warning, stating this could lead to worldwide destruction—

The world was plunging into chaos once more.

"Mwooshi mwooshi ttokgateulkka..."

Yet, the child continued singing.

Humming her made-up lyrics in a bright voice.

"Dad and Seol are just the same..."

After washing her hands, Seol naturally turned to the TV.

Without understanding the context, she muttered fearfully.

"Scary..."

Likely due to the footage of monsters from past Gate incidents playing on screen.

"Daddy, monsters again...?"

Kang-jun picked her up and answered softly.

"It's okay."

But Seol, still frightened, trembled.

"Seol scared..."

Holding her tighter, Kang-jun reassured her.

"Nothing will happen."

The child buried her face in his chest.

"I promise."

Her trembling fear resonated within him.

That vibration settled deep in Kang-jun's subconscious...

Stirring and awakening something dark.

"Really, it's okay."

Daddy will kill them all for you.

Crush them into dust.

Grind them to powder.

"It's okay..."

Swallowing the rest of his words.

Pat...

He gently patted her back.

Pat...

Until her trembling subsided.

Pat, pat...

He kept soothing her softly.

The main narrative of the Beginning.

The time remaining until Ragnarök...

A mere seven days.

Once the main narrative of the Beginning begins...

The world's story will reach the next word—

'■'(■).