Chapter 176
Chapter 176
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 176
Chapter Title: Evolution
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The demons and angels, who had been plotting in hiding due to the Magic Tower and the sanctification, had been eliminated.
It would be a stretch to say that all their influence had been completely eradicated, but at least...
- The stock market had stabilized.
- The World Association declared the South Korea annihilation scenario concluded...
It could be said that things had entered a lull.
They had no idea what Go Yohan was capable of right now.
So they had no choice but to stay silent and watch the situation.
Just in case.
‘I need to properly confirm the Magic Tower’s sphere of influence.’
‘How far does that barrier extend?’
If the Magic Tower’s power reached them, they probably thought they would suffer massive losses as well.
Both the Black Gate and the World Association were quiet in the meantime.
Even those under their command kept their mouths shut, focusing on self-preservation.
“Strictly speaking...”
In a cafe in Seoul.
“You can think of it as evolution.”
A seemingly ordinary man and woman were conversing.
“Evolution?”
“The human body is designed to be unable to withstand the full release of its potential. Especially if it’s just the body of a child.”
No one around seemed to pay them any attention, but it was too unusual to call it an ordinary conversation.
“There was no reason to maintain it for long in the first place. It was just meant to be used as a weapon for invasion and discarded once its role was fulfilled.”
Peel back one layer, one shell.
“You could say they’ve lasted this long thanks to you, Michael.”
Their appearances were far from ordinary as well.
“You prevented their collapse, and the archdemon that should have possessed them didn’t, allowing them to cling to life.”
Like a goddess from a fairy tale, and a knight silently walking his path despite his oddness.
The World Tree, Yggdrasil.
And Go Yohan.
“What had been suppressed and held back exploded this time. But their accumulated experience, your influence...”
Finally.
Smooth.
Yggdrasil rubbed her belly.
Go Yohan grimaced for a moment at the sight, but she didn’t seem to care.
“Thanks to my fruit, they’re finally evolving.”
“Could you stop with those weird gestures?”
“It’s the truth. Anyway, the vessels that should have shattered are being reborn. So don’t worry and just wait quietly.”
Go Yohan’s expression didn’t soften, but he eventually nodded.
Even without Yggdrasil’s words, Go Yohan could feel it too.
“When they tear through the fruit and emerge, they’ll be your true apostles.”
“They’re not my apostles. They’re the goddess’s apostles. Yggdrasil.”
“Think whatever you want, like always. And.”
Yggdrasil.
She, who truly embodied the form of a goddess, smiled brightly, drawing gazes from around her.
Despite being concealed by multiple layers of barriers and illusion magic, her smile seemed to pierce through it all, enchanting those nearby.
It was like the effect of the unsealed Rusty, but different from Rusty, who couldn’t control that power.
“Sehwa.”
Yggdrasil—no, Sehwa—said.
“Yusehwa. Isn’t that the name you gave me? So I have to use it.”
At that sight.
“Whew.”
Go Yohan let out a sigh.
*
*
*
Yggdrasil had demanded a reward for her major contribution to this incident.
‘I knew she was unpredictable from the start.’
Yggdrasil’s eccentricities had been famous since the days of Travania.
They were even recorded in Travania’s history and passed down.
One day, she ordered her elf followers to transplant a seed in the middle of a desert.
There was also the famous anecdote of her planting a sapling in the middle of the ocean and breaking off branches.
Because of that.
‘The elves couldn’t show themselves to the world.’
The elves, bound to follow Yggdrasil’s demands, had hidden themselves for so long that it took ages for them to finally reveal themselves to the world.
However.
‘Three mass extinctions.’
Elven history, spanning long ages, told of how they had averted a great crisis that nearly wiped out the entire continent.
No matter how capricious she was.
‘Divinity.’
It was a divinity even Go Yohan acknowledged.
He wondered if it was right to so easily grant her demands.
And her demand was.
“Come on, say it.”
Just like with Cheol Jung-bae, she wanted him to give her a name.
“Yusehwa.”
A divinity asking for a name, of all things.
-Anyway, she belongs to you now, right? According to human customs, a married person takes their spouse’s surname. But I’d rather have a name. A name to live with in this new world.
But her demands didn’t end there.
“I said say it. Yusehwa!”
“......”
“Come on!”
And one more.
-Show me around your world. Opportunities like this don’t come often.
Until the apostles awakened, she wanted to tour the world.
-It’s not just for me. It’s for those apostles you cherish so much.
She said her experiences, knowledge, and emotions would be passed on to the fruit.
They had already experienced the world, but the important thing was Go Yohan.
Time with him.
-The more time they spend attached to you, the greater the influence. That will make them stronger.
It was a convincing reason.
-And for the children who will be born from me in the future.
That was why he had allowed it.
“You’re not going to say it, are you?”
Yggdrasil—no, Yusehwa, having received her name—pouted and picked up a spoon.
“Then, eat this. Ahh.”
She scooped a bite of tiramisu cake and brought it to Go Yohan’s mouth.
“Hurry up!”
That sight brought back nightmares of Travania.
Their first meeting.
-Hold me.
That horrific memory.
“Stop!”
How could a divinity be so undignified?
“Aah!”
“I said stop!”
Yusehwa and Go Yohan.
As the two bickered.
“Sniff.”
A groan came from somewhere, halting their squabble.
“Sniff, sob.”
It was a crying sound.
Others in the cafe seemed to glance toward the sound.
But most soon lost interest and returned to their own affairs.
“Sniff.”
The teary-eyed man just quietly sobbed.
He didn’t even seek help from anyone.
That eerie sight drew Yusehwa and Go Yohan’s attention.
And.
“What’s wrong?”
Before Go Yohan could stop her, Yusehwa approached the middle-aged man and spoke to him.
*
*
*
Blink.
The middle-aged man looking at Yusehwa just blinked.
“What’s wrong?”
She asked again.
“Uh, uh...”
He only let out sob-like sounds, blinking in confusion as if he didn’t understand.
“Ah.”
Only then did Yusehwa realize why.
Perception impairment.
Even though she appeared as an ordinary woman, he couldn’t properly perceive her.
Moreover, her voice and questions must have sounded like strange mumbling.
Combined, it must have felt like something incomprehensible from a dream.
Whoosh.
A gentle aura flowed out.
And.
“Gasp!”
The man let out a startled cry and tumbled back.
“Hm?”
Yusehwa looked puzzled, not understanding.
“Sigh.”
Go Yohan realized the reason and rubbed his face.
“You...”
Yusehwa had lived isolated from the world as the World Tree.
She was still unfamiliar with life on the newly rooted Earth.
“You! The goddess of the Tower!”
“Yusehwa. Why do you think I was using perception impairment magic?”
At Go Yohan’s voice from behind.
“Eek!”
The middle-aged man was so startled he nearly wet himself, scrambling backward.
What made the scene even stranger was that no one else in the cafe seemed to notice.
“Go, Go...”
“Am I too beautiful?”
“Go Yohan!”
The man shouted.
“Well, that’s not wrong... No, forget it.”
Go Yohan gave up explaining and looked at the man.
The man was pale as if he’d seen the Grim Reaper, trembling.
“Go, Go Yo... Ah! I’m sorry...!”
In modern society, fearing someone like the Grim Reaper wasn’t common.
“I, I...”
But the name Go Yohan was indeed the Grim Reaper, at least in current South Korea.
“Even here, Michael. You’re treated the same, huh?”
“...Please, shut it.”
“But it’s impressive. He didn’t even wet himself? In Travania, people’s legs gave out at the sight of you, piss and shit...”
“Please! Act like a divinity!”
Go Yohan thought of stopping her again and rubbed his face.
If she weren’t a divinity, he wouldn’t put up with this.
‘Damn it.’
Since she was a divinity, he had to show respect.
That was his stance toward the goddess, and since she qualified to stand with the goddess, she deserved some courtesy...
“Anyway. No need to be so scared.”
Go Yohan approached the middle-aged man.
“Unless you’ve committed some great sin.”
“Eek!”
“If it’s not rude, may I ask what’s wrong?”
At Go Yohan’s polite demeanor, the man, who hadn’t regained his composure, began to calm down.
Whoosh.
Unbeknownst to the middle-aged man, Yusehwa’s spreading aura helped soothe him.
“......”
“Or did you really commit a sin?”
It was a casual tone.
“Eek! Eek!”
The man panicked again, tears flowing.
“Why make him cry?”
“I didn’t make him...! I just asked.”
Only after another round of bickering.
“...I’ve made a fool of myself.”
The middle-aged man finally calmed and stood up.
“...No, it’s fine. Anyway, I’d like to hear what happened.”
Go Yohan asked.
The reason for his interest was simple.
From him.
‘A stronger mana scent than expected.’
Mana was thickly emanating from him.