Chapter 43: Even the Absolute Being Is a First-Time Dad
Absolute One, First Time Being a Dad - Episode 43
Aldebaran still floated in midair, his form shrouded in thick mist.
"Wh-wh-what brings you to the outer reaches of this abyssal dimension...?"
His voice trembled with barely contained agitation.
"This is my hometown," Kang-jun replied curtly, his tone icy.
"By the way, a god, huh..."
There was an undeniable difference between the Aldebaran he remembered and the one before him now.
Back then, he had been nothing more than a greedy human desperately clinging to undeath in pursuit of immortality.
But now... something indescribable, something akin to divine power, radiated from him.
"Aldebaran, did you actually become a god while I wasn't looking?"
"Indeed. A power beyond comparison to before—"
"Then let's see just what kind of god you've turned into."
As soon as Kang-jun finished speaking, he unleashed his mana in full force. A violent gale erupted within the chapel, howling like the collapse of a massive dam releasing an overwhelming flood.
Whoooooooosh—!
The thick mist cloaking Aldebaran was instantly torn away, revealing his true form in its entirety.
"This body... has changed."
At first glance, Aldebaran still appeared as nothing more than a skeletal figure—unchanged from before. But his presence was entirely different.
His towering frame now stood several meters tall, his hollow eye sockets seething with dark, ominous energy. A cracked and rusted crown sat atop his skull, and his body was clad in ancient armor overgrown with moss and lichen.
"Because of you... I was forced to flee, living in disgrace..."
The clash between Kang-jun's mana and Aldebaran's divine aura sent shockwaves through the chapel. Two opposing yet eerily similar forces tangled violently, twisting around each other like serpents.
Krrrrrrrrr—!
The entire building trembled as if caught in an earthquake. Lights flickered wildly before all electronics malfunctioned at once.
The speakers' volume suddenly spiked, and the serene music that had been playing swelled into a deafening roar.
—Freude-! Freude-!
—Joy-! Joy-!
—Götterfunken-!
—Divine spark-!
—Freude-! Freude-!
—Joy-! Joy-!
Seizing the moment, Aldebaran bellowed with all his might.
"■■■, I have ascended to godhood—!"
"My deeds in Anux have been immortalized in legend—!"
"I have claimed divinity and taken my seat upon the throne of gods—!"
The cult leader, who had been silently observing, suddenly gasped. "Ah...!" He immediately prostrated himself in worship.
"O... O Great God..."
As if on cue, the other devotees followed suit, completely overwhelmed by Aldebaran's divine presence.
Yet...
Aldebaran himself couldn't hide his unease, his hollow gaze fixed solely on Kang-jun, who remained utterly unfazed.
'I should scare him off and retreat while I can...'
Their earlier clash—an invisible battle of wills—had taught him one thing.
He couldn't win.
As a newly ascended god, he stood no chance against the being known as ■■■, feared even by the abyss itself.
'For now, escape and regroup...'
The only saving grace was that, since he hadn't fully manifested, even ■■■ wouldn't be able to kill him.
"Why do you all hesitate?! Slay this heretic—!"
He planned to use his followers as shields, buying himself even a moment to flee into the Abyssal Darkness.
"Carry out the will of our god!"
At the leader's command, hundreds of devotees surged forward, their eyes wild with fanaticism as they lunged at Kang-jun.
"By imperial decree."
Kang-jun's quiet words caused a pair of figures—silently seated in the chapel's corner—to rise abruptly.
"Execute all of Aldebaran's followers."
The two figures, a man and a woman, removed their hoods in unison and bowed deeply.
"As you command..."
Aldebaran's expression darkened instantly upon recognizing them.
"H-how...?! Even ■■■'s hounds are here?!"
Though not as formidable as their master, two of the Five Great Generals—Crabsley and Iriel—now stood before him.
Even if he manifested now, he wouldn't stand a chance against them.
"Damn it—!"
If he hesitated any longer, he'd be trapped. He had to escape into the Abyssal Darkness immediately.
But then—
Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 blared through the speakers, reaching its climactic crescendo.
—Freude! Freude! schöner Götterfunken!
—Joy! Joy! Beautiful divine spark!
—Freude! Freude! schöner Götterfunken!
—Joy! Joy! Beautiful divine spark!
Crabsley and Iriel moved with eerie grace, their movements fluid like dancers as they effortlessly cut down the cultists.
Splaaaat—!
Blood sprayed across the chapel walls. Screams and wails melded with the symphony's rising intensity, as if the dying cries were part of the orchestration.
Kang-jun watched impassively before finally speaking.
"Beautiful."
He slowly raised his hand.
The entire building shook violently, as if struck by an earthquake.
Krrrrrrrrr—!
From beneath the ground, hundreds of coffins erupted, their undead occupants stepping forth.
"Keeekekeke..."
"Kieeeek..."
"Krrrrr..."
Skeleton warriors clad in obsidian armor, wielding weapons wreathed in eerie light.
Skeleton mages in tattered robes, each cradling a dark, swirling orb in their hands.
Even the fallen members of the cult's Twelve Executives, now resurrected as undead, marched among them.
An army of the dead had joined the slaughter.
"Immortal's soldiers...!"
Aldebaran shuddered uncontrollably, memories he had tried desperately to forget resurfacing.
The Legion of the Dead.
Wherever they tread, hell followed. The day they had ravaged his kingdom.
"Aldebaran, I have a few questions." Kang-jun's voice was calm. "How did a greedy wretch like you become a god?"
"Th-that's..."
"And tell me—can I kill a god and raise it as my servant?"
"Silence—!"
"I'll take my time unraveling those answers. Though, I must say... gods are far more disappointing than I expected."
Kang-jun stepped forward, his expression that of an executioner.
Thud. Thud.
Aldebaran flinched before rallying with a sneer.
"Fool! Even if I haven't fully manifested, I am still nothing more than an illusion to you!"
"No matter what you try, you cannot touch me!"
"Were I in my true form, I would snap your neck here and now—but I shall retreat for today!"
Kang-jun tilted his head. "Oh?"
Then, without warning, he summoned a jagged bone spear and hurled it with full force.
Shwoooooosh—!
The spear passed straight through Aldebaran's form before embedding itself deep into the chapel wall with a thunderous crash.
"See, you fool?!"
"We cannot harm each other!"
"Your death will have to wait—!"
But then—
The cult leader, who had been silently watching, suddenly stepped forward, veins bulging in his neck as he screamed.
"N-no, my lord!"
Aldebaran's expression twisted.
"W-we shall gladly offer ourselves as living sacrifices! Please, manifest and deliver divine punishment upon this heretic—!"
"Wh-what...?!"
"Carve out the new world you desire! Only... do not forget us, your faithful servants who gave their lives for you—!"
With that, the leader drew a dagger and plunged it into his own throat.
Ggghhk—!
He twisted the blade, chanting through the blood gushing from his mouth.
—Ο Θεός θα τα παρατήσει.
—Χρυσό κοτόπουλο Olyve
—Θέλω να φάω πουρνγκλ.
Aldebaran recoiled in horror.
"St-stop...!"
"Don't do this...!"
"I beg you—!"
But the leader's desperate act had already set the others in motion.
"The great god will avenge us!"
"Better to die like this than be slaughtered!"
"Let our deaths serve our god!"
"He will remember us!"
One by one, the surviving cultists followed suit, stabbing themselves in a frenzy of devotion.
"Stop, you madmen—!"
The leader, his throat slit, collapsed to his knees, his eyes filled with childlike hope as he gazed at Aldebaran.
Did I do well? Will you praise me now?
"DAMN IT ALL—!"
Aldebaran's form twisted violently, like water spiraling down a drain, before forcibly merging with the leader's body.
The leader—now Aldebaran—trembled as he stared at his own hands.
"Haaah..."
He exhaled shakily before his gaze lifted to meet Kang-jun's approaching figure.
"Fuck... I'm screwed."
Forced into manifestation by his own followers, Aldebaran could only utter a single, defeated whisper.