Chapter 84
Chapter 84
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 84
Chapter Title: 46. Messiah (2)
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It was so long ago now that I could barely remember it.
I think it was a Thursday.
A world of ash-gray.
Beyond the horizon, countless colossal monsters swarmed in numbers beyond counting.
I remember clearly the radio chatter that reached me in that forsaken corner, where I lay pinned with broken limbs, unable to so much as twitch.
I was abandoned.
Reason: worthless.
Who would've believed it a year ago?
The man once tipped as the world's top Hunter candidate—worthless.
Of course, dying there would've made for a perfect cautionary tale to cap off Park Gyu's story.
A bitter ending.
But I came back alive.
I set my own broken bones, pumped myself full of painkillers just shy of lethal, and crawled tooth and nail to the survey team's patrol route. Then I waited nearly a month, rationing emergency rations and starving it out for the next team.
When they found me, my weight had plummeted from 81kg to 45kg.
But my will hadn't diminished a bit.
The elite pride of the man once called Professor still burned strong.
Unable to accept I was worthless, I volunteered for the artificial Awakening enlightenment trials.
Now called mental resonance tests—trials that drove children to their deaths.
I tried three times. Failed every one.
Once, I was brain-dead for a month, lost in time on a hospital bed.
Staring at my skeletal arms, I closed my eyes and admitted it.
This Park Gyu was just an ordinary man.
One unfit to face the infinity beyond that rift.
"......"
I stared blankly at the sticker on my room wall.
Black, right next to Su's.
The color of the powerless.
And a sign of my lingering obsession.
Proof that worthless me still thirsted for that power.
While I lay brain-dead, I heard my juniors, led by Woo Minhee, had Awakened.
I didn't know the details, but the rumors piqued my curiosity.
They said it: Awakeners draw out Awakeners.
Like a model mentor inspiring those around them—a powerful Awakener could guide others toward enlightenment.
Woo Minhee had been aide to another savior, Na Hyein.
Once, Woo Minhee asked why I never asked for help.
I could've begged.
Crawled to the era's strongest, the Savior, for scraps of insight.
But back then, I was a different man.
I had the chance but let it slip, choosing retirement instead.
Over five years passed.
I've changed a bit now.
Thirty-something, learning to live among people.
Late to the party, I bonded with iamjesus.
Our little bond holds firm.
Just between us, away from prying eyes.
*
"Senior. You been well?"
Woo Minhee radioed in.
Some Awakeners sense intent, reading brainwaves to grasp motives and thought directions—not minds, but vibes.
She doesn't have that gift, but I knew her angle.
"Internet working?"
"Internet?"
"Yeah. The Starfield setup and laptop I gave you before. You get them?"
Blocked by iamjesus, now she's scrambling to me.
Desperate, judging by hitting up my socially inept ass.
iamjesus's value must have her sweating.
They're sinking fortunes into a crumbling Incheon's lab to snag alpha Awakeners like him.
But I wanted my internet use off her radar.
Privacy. Life-or-death stuff.
If she sniffed out SKELTON as a hardcore, she'd tear the peninsula apart to find me.
"Nah, no internet for me. Never did, remember? Hate the stuff. Doesn't sit right."
"What'd you do with the gear?"
She presses like a scolding daycare teacher.
No senior respect.
Feeling like a naughty kid, I guilt-tripped back.
"Gave it to Baek Seung-hyeon."
"Whaaaat?!"
She shrieks, prosthetic scraping metal, shredding my eardrums.
"Ow. Quiet. What? What's up?"
"Why give it to him of all people?!"
"Yeah, wonder that myself. Can you take it back for me?"
"Can't just snatch back a gift! Ugh, seriously?!"
Sudden heavy silence over the radio.
Then.
"Dongtanmom!!!!!!!!!!!"
A scream, then dead air.
She finally pieced it together.
"......"
Hoping Dongtanmom vanishes for good.
Anyway, her panic showed: iamjesus had evolved from forgotten relic to Viva! Apocalypse!'s star freak.
PaleNet's revival flooded our board with their spawn.
They spread his alpha Awakening cert pic everywhere—even topping the exam board I once lurked, his glowing eyes dominating.
Four thousand comments.
No need to look further.
iamjesus was Viva! Apocalypse!'s undisputed top name now.
A god had descended on our board.
But iamjesus hadn't changed a bit.
He spouted obscure Bible-like verses as always, unseen by most.
The world, though, is fickle.
One word from him,
and followers echoed back in droves.
Dark forces still stalked iamjesus relentlessly.
But iamjesus had unbreakable will.
No temptation from the mighty shook him.
Like young Jesus rejecting the devil in the wilderness.
The Defender siblings messaged me after seeing it.
"Whoa, thought that guy's just nuts. But damn? Holding out like that? SKELTON? You seeing this?"
Da-jeong was hyped.
Defender was hooked too.
"Hubby gets cooler the more I watch..."
But Defender voiced his worry, true to form.
"Still, our hubby in danger?"
He'd gone quiet lately, but Defender made his name hunting people down.
His interests ran that way.
"Legion and big shots probably hunting real-time right now."
Yeah.
Those after iamjesus weren't just online trolls.
They'd scour every post to pinpoint and snag that golden alpha Awakener.
I asked the expert.
"Your take? They find iamjesus? From the cert pic alone?"
"Checked a few. Onaholes aside, nothing stands out. Not sneaky—just doesn't go outside."
"Makes sense. Hey, that Justice Min still lurking?"
"Nah, quiet. Dude doesn't post anymore, so who knows. But bet he's hunting iamjesus too."
"More fans than we thought?"
"Duh? You know alpha value. Your cohort had Kang Hanmin and Na Hyein, right?"
"Yeah."
"How were they?"
Defender's question pulled up that day—the "change" I witnessed.
Not like iamjesus, at least.
No glowing eyes, no halo.
But the whole world, and everyone in it, felt bathed in some subtle, unearthly glow.
And in their hands, tiny candle-like flames.
Heavy with the weight of humanity's life itself.
My peers outclassed iamjesus, basically.
"......A cut above iamjesus, I'd say."
"Figures."
"Think others find him?"
"Doubt it."
Defender had doubts.
"Foxgame said our board's hackable, but the satellite backbone? No Melon Mask-level access, no dice."
"Huh."
"Board's just a satellite net side gig."
Satellite pinpointing? Near impossible, per Defender.
Makes sense—Melon Mask built our world.
Issue was iamjesus's behavior.
He might be fending off temptations from unknown users right now.
Any real power would have multiple Viva! Apocalypse! alts.
Woo Minhee might even be sweet-talking via burner.
His cert pic: eyes blazing, onaholes stealing the show—but his body looked perilously gaunt underneath.
A year and a half back, his "meal" reveal was brick rice—dried rations.
War raging, holed up in the dark, no joy, posting to echoes, skimping on food—his health tanking was obvious.
How long could he resist the reaching hands?
Me? I'd crack.
A guy whining "Mamen" after days of labor—what'd starvation do after a year? Unthinkable.
Whatever he chose—no blame.
Legion plotting Jeju's doom, or humanity-traitor cults.
Then one day.
iamjesus messaged.
Text alone? Just another manic outburst I'd imagine.
But the tweak was telling.
He used "ㅠ"—tears.
Doubled up. Real deal.
iamjesus.
Our board's madman was suffering!
"?!"
Replied instantly.
Peak Skeleton: manic flair meets concern.
Normies get curses, but iamjesus? He sees the unseen, thinks different, Awakened unique.
My reply unlocked his guarded heart.
iamjesus was reaching out to me for help.
Spurning mighty factions and flashy lures.
My role was clear.
Not pure altruism.
I needed him too.
"......"
My heart still yearned for the battlefield.
If he could give me the strength to return, I'd gladly be his apostle.