Chapter 74: Even the Absolute Being Is a First-Time Dad
Absolute One Is Also New to Fatherhood Episode 74
The membrane that had been draped over this world was lifted.
The sunlight that had been pouring down vanished in an instant...
The once-blue sky was now dyed entirely crimson.
This was the truth of this world.
Niflheim, from time immemorial, had always been a desolate realm composed solely of 'ice,' 'cold,' 'mist,' and 'frost.'
The bitter chill was so intense that it defied description—every exhale formed visible puffs of breath in the air.
The peaceful facade of the small town had completely disappeared, leaving behind only those who were stripped bare, suffering under the cold and forced labor.
Hela, the de facto ruler of this place, stared piercingly at the blood-red sky with eyes filled with tangled emotions.
"Creator God... why...?"
Her gaze then shifted back to Kang-jun.
"You who have received the Creator God's favor..."
Meanwhile, Kang-jun silently observed the hellscape unfolding beneath the spire where he and the hunters stood.
Countless undead summoned by her were desperately scaling the towering structure.
Hundreds? Thousands? Tens of thousands?
Kang-jun quickly gave up trying to count and clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"Kieeeek...!"
"Kieeeek...!"
"Kieeeek...!"
Just as some of the undead climbing the spire reached the 'summit' where they stood—
Kang Sung-hyun, who had been calmly assessing the situation, suddenly roared at the Reclamation Team hunters.
"Form ranks!"
But most of the hunters who had witnessed Hela's true, horrifying form had already frozen in place like statues.
"H-how do we fight... that...?"
"It's over..."
"We're all dead..."
Then, Guide Jo Min-jin, trembling uncontrollably, spoke in a strained voice.
"I... I knew something was off..."
Hadn't she been suffering from an unshakable chill ever since setting foot here?
Perhaps it was because her light-based powers were fundamentally incompatible with this world.
"M-move aside..."
She stepped forward, clutching the cross hanging from her necklace tightly—
"I'll handle this..."
A blinding radiance erupted from her, so intense that it could have seared the eyes of anyone who looked directly at it.
The undead, who had been slowly closing in, suddenly halted in their tracks.
Those bathed in the light melted away helplessly, like snowmen under a scorching sun—
But that was all.
Hela herself remained completely unaffected, standing there with an eerie calm.
"Pathetic tricks!"
As Hela slowly raised one hand, Jo Min-jin's body floated helplessly into the air.
"Ghk—kuhhk...!"
Her face turned blue as if an invisible force were strangling her.
"S-someone... help...!"
She thrashed desperately, but it was futile.
Swish—!
Swift Blade Yoon Hee-su, snapping out of his daze, drew his sword and lunged at Hela—
"Insects!"
With just a glance, Hela sent a gale-force wind crashing into him, flinging him far away.
Yoon Hee-su tumbled across the ground several times before groaning and glaring at Hela.
"How...?"
Forget cutting her in half—he couldn't even get close.
Every possible scenario flashing through his mind screamed one thing: impossible.
Despair.
The sheer overwhelming power of the enemy had completely shattered his will to fight.
"Dammit! Dammit! DAMMIT!"
He slammed his fists into the ground in frustration.
Just then—
"RETREAT!"
Kang Sung-hyun bellowed at the hunters.
He pulled out a small, glowing stone from his pocket—a Return Stone.
It was clear they wouldn't survive if they stayed.
But the moment he did—
Hela flicked her fingers.
A dagger-shaped force shot forward—
Crunch.
The Return Stone shattered into dust.
"H-how...?"
Even the hunters who had been desperately holding back the undead paled at the sight.
"Is this... annihilation...?"
One by one, they began stepping back.
"Kieeeek...!"
The undead swarmed the spire, tightening the noose around them.
"It's over..."
Seol Eun-bin, having exhausted all her mana freezing the undead, collapsed to her knees.
"Why are you giving up already?!"
Go Du-yeol roared, swinging his fists wildly to knock undead off the spire.
"Don't you dare quit until the end!"
Yoon Hee-su gritted his teeth and gripped his sword again.
"Even if we die, we take down as many as we can!"
Amid the suffocating despair—
"N-no, everyone will make it back alive."
Bong-gu spoke with absolute certainty, electrocuting an undead before cleanly beheading it.
"I guarantee it—no one will die today."
Seol Eun-bin stared at him in disbelief.
"How can you say that so easily?!"
Bong-gu simply replied,
"Well, for one, Hyung-nim is here..."
"Hyung-nim?"
"And tomorrow is Seol's kindergarten entrance ceremony."
He glanced at Kang-jun.
"Right?"
Kang-jun nodded indifferently—then finally stepped forward.
Hela, sensing his movement, gathered her divine power and readied herself.
Jo Min-jin, who had been struggling midair, collapsed to the ground, gasping for air.
"Hah... hah...!"
Her neck was red from the invisible grip, her eyes bloodshot.
Kang-jun stopped in front of her, staring at Hela.
"What do you see?"
Jo Min-jin weakly turned her head toward Hela.
"Look deeper."
As she focused, the true nature of Hela's power became visible—like a mirage.
The foundation of her immense power was a terrifying, abyssal darkness.
"Darkness..."
Jo Min-jin muttered, dazed.
"A darkness so thick... it reminds me of death itself..."
Kang-jun asked again.
"And me?"
The moment their eyes met—
Her face turned deathly pale.
Her teeth chattered uncontrollably as she barely managed to speak.
"D-death..."
She swallowed hard.
"Why... is Death standing behind you...?"
What she had seen in that instant was Death itself—an inescapable fate looming behind Kang-jun like a shadow.
It was so vast it could swallow all of creation without hesitation.
"You saw well."
"......."
"Do you think I'll lose?"
Jo Min-jin shook her head fervently.
"N-no... never..."
As the others stared in confusion—
"Stay back and watch."
Kang-jun walked toward Hela, his back to them.
"Let's finish this quickly."
Then, as an afterthought—
"I've got my daughter's entrance ceremony to attend."
And then—
"Necropolis."
He uttered the incantation.