Chapter 162: You’ve Still Got More Toiling to Do
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 162: You’ve Still Got More Toiling to Do
Sion’s mental state was incredibly unstable.
His mind was half-shattered from a drug overdose. Furthermore, his soul was under immense strain, having served as the gateway for hundreds of vengeful spirits to manifest. He was even suffering from severe blood loss due to his battle with the monsters.
Though he received intensive treatment from Paramel and the healers while hovering on the brink of life and death, Sion’s consciousness had already drifted a step closer to the afterlife.
Even painkillers no longer had any effect. Sion’s physical body was slowly dying.
‘This place is...’
It was a world of gray.
It was the netherworld within the Labyrinth, where the spirits of adventurers who died inside wandered. Here, one would drift for an eternity before eventually fading into nothingness.
This was where he had pulled Shaka out from, and where he had first encountered Helena. The other souls he had contracted today had also been wandering this place.
Unless one possessed an exceptionally strong soul or unique spiritual abilities, it was difficult for those wandering here to perceive one another.
Of course, Sion, with his Spiritual Eye, was different. Everything was clear to him, and he could see those who drifted through this void.
Now, Sion had fully stepped into the spiritual world he had previously only glimpsed through his Spiritual Eye.
‘Am I... dead?’
His spiritual form felt strangely hazy for that to be the case. He wasn't dead yet, but it wouldn't be strange if he died at any moment. His exhausted mind was half-dead, and as a result, it seemed to have connected to this realm.
‘There’s no one here.’
The pitch-black silhouettes that usually wandered this place were nowhere to be seen today. They had likely all ascended to the Underground City. They would have successfully formed contracts with him, bound by his Spirit Chains.
The place felt strangely empty now that the lingering souls had vanished.
To leave, he had to find an exit—or hold out until someone woke him up.
Sion decided to look around for a bit. This wasn't a place he could visit often, so he wanted to gather as much information as possible while he was here.
He walked forward for a long time, buffeted by a wind blowing from somewhere. He walked and walked through the infinitely unfolding Labyrinth of the afterlife.
And then, he arrived.
At the very source of the wind.
“Ah...”
In a place where no one else remained, a single person stood alone, staring blankly into the distance.
For some reason, her back looked familiar. Sion moved toward her. As he drew closer to the pure white figure, his suspicion turned into certainty.
“Saintess...”
Saintess Freya. She was standing there alone.
Sion realized then. The Saintess was dead. She had died and come here.
Sion hadn't been able to properly witness the battle between the Saintess and the Demon King. However, he had felt it through the noise and the tremors in the air.
If the Saintess was dead, what had happened to the Demon King?
Sion felt a surge of anxiety and fear. The Demon King he had witnessed was a true monster, one he couldn't even dream of facing. If the Saintess hadn't appeared in time, everyone in the Central Section would have been slaughtered.
“You don’t need to tremble in fear. The Demon King has likely already descended back down.”
Just then, the Saintess spoke to Sion, her gaze still fixed on the void. She told him not to worry—that the Demon King had retreated.
She had sensed his anxiety without even looking at him.
“Then... Saintess, you...”
“It seems I have died. My lifespan reached its end. My time to remain in the world of the living has expired.”
Only then did the Saintess turn around to look at Sion. Her eyes looked serene.
“If your lifespan reached its end...”
“My physical body has collapsed. I suppose resurrection is out of the question now, isn't it?”
“Then, Saintess... will you be wandering this place? I... I will get you out of here.”
“Hahaha. Porter. I am not trapped here. I was simply waiting for you.”
Soon, a glowing gate appeared before the Saintess. Beyond the pure white gate, everything was filled with warmth.
That was likely heaven. A door opened by the Goddess herself. An entrance to paradise opened for Freya, who had lived and died as a Saintess.
If she passed through there, Freya would be able to go to the Goddess’s side. Unlike other souls, she wouldn't need to wander the Labyrinth. She could immediately receive the reward for her painful life.
“My afterlife is already guaranteed. I have no need to wander this place.”
“Ah...”
“The Goddess is calling me. Telling me it is time to find peace.”
“....”
Sion could only fidget with his hands as he watched the Saintess, who seemed to have no lingering attachments to the world of the living. He opened and closed his mouth several times, but no words came out.
Two conflicting emotions were clashing within Sion’s heart. An altruistic desire to let the Saintess, who had suffered her whole life, rest in peace in heaven—and a selfish urge to ask her to stay and help him until the very end.
Who would hesitate in front of the entrance to heaven? Anyone, if given the choice between wandering the netherworld forever until they vanished or going to heaven to enjoy eternal happiness under the Goddess, would step through that gate without a second thought.
Because he knew that, Sion hesitated.
“Fufu. You seem to have a lot on your mind.”
“Well... yes.”
“That is the burden of those left behind. What is it? What is troubling you?”
“It’s... nothing. It’s too shameless a thought. I’ll just keep it to myself.”
“Huhuhu. A shameless thought. You and I have something in common. We share a fanatical obsession, willing to use any means necessary for victory. I am like that, but you... you are quite the dogged one as well, aren't you?”
“I... suppose I can’t deny that.”
“Exactly. You and I are of the same kind. That’s why I think I know what you want to say to me.”
The Saintess smiled. She spoke the words for the agonizing Sion.
“You want to hold onto me, don’t you?”
“...”
“Do you still need my help? Answer me, Porter.”
“That... yes. It’s shameless, but to be honest, I need your help. Humanity is still... too fragile and weak to face that deep darkness.”
“Very well. But there is something you must know. Even if you take me out of here, I will no longer be a Saintess. I won't possess the same massive divine power as before, and I no longer have a physical body to stand before everyone and block the darkness.”
The Saintess’s strongest weapons were the divine power bestowed directly by the Goddess and the 'Holy Body' that could fully draw out that power.
The current Freya’s lifespan had ended. In other words, by completing her 'destiny of life,' she had lost her qualification as a Saintess, and her Holy Body had collapsed. Even if she were resurrected, she wouldn't be able to exert the same power as before.
“Does that matter to you?” the Saintess asked.
She was asking if he still needed her, even in her weakened state. To this, Sion answered without hesitation.
“Yes. I need you.”
Sion told the Saintess with a voice full of conviction. He needed her. At his words, the Saintess smiled once more.
“Now that I’ve cast off my duties, the world looks so different. I feel a bit sorry to the Goddess, but... it seems I must stay on the surface a little longer.”
The Saintess looked back at the gate and offered a brief apology to the Goddess. Then, the glowing gate vanished, and something flew out from beyond it, touching the Saintess’s soul.
It was a small cluster of light.
“This is....”
“What is that?”
“Haha... The Goddess is truly something. To give such a gift.”
It was a gift from the Goddess to Freya, who had chosen to remain on the surface to fight the darkness. It was a small Authority.
“Things are getting interesting, Porter.”
“No, what exactly is it..?”
“A gift from the Goddess. She is telling me to become a Messenger of God instead of a Saintess.”
“A Messenger of God? Is that different from a Saintess?”
“It is. Very different. If a Saintess is one who stands at the vanguard of humanity to fight evil, a Messenger of God is the Goddess’s faithful servant and herald. By the way, Sion.”
“Yes, Saintess.”
“I am no longer a Saintess. Call me Freya.”
“Understood, Freya-nim. So, why did you call me?”
“The Goddess tells me you have a certain bird. Is that correct?”
“Uh, yes. That’s right.”
Sion had the Ice Snow Bird he had received from the Druid Club President.
“Give it to me. As a Messenger of God, I will take that bird’s body as my own.”
The Saintess asked him to let her possess the Ice Snow Bird. This was a very easy and simple request. He hadn't had a suitable soul to put into it anyway, so it was actually better if Freya entered it.
“I will do that. I’ll put you in as soon as I wake up.”
“Good. And as a Messenger of God... I think I’ll assign you a few tasks.”
“Tasks? I’m already carrying way too many tasks...”
Sion felt like he was going to die from overwork just trying to stop the Labyrinth Eruption. And now more tasks? Sion felt the phantom sensation of his hair falling out from stress.
“There’s no need to look so miserable. These tasks will ultimately be of great help to you as well.”
“What kind of tasks are they that you’re so confident..?”
“Free the Spirit God.”
“The Spirit God? Is he trapped somewhere? He seemed to be moving around just fine.”
The Spirit God had been watching when Sion pulled the Hypercube. Because of that, Sion thought the Spirit God was perfectly fine.
“That was merely his will. His true body is trapped on the 7th Floor. Furthermore, the Demon Kings of the 7th Floor are currently siphoning the Spirit God’s power.”
“What?! My resources! My oil!!!”
Sion felt like he was going to burst with rage at the thought of the Demon Kings siphoning the 'oil' that he didn't even have enough of for himself. Of course, the Demon Kings weren't literally turning the Spirit God into oil, but Sion felt a strong sense of personal loss regardless.
“We will likely have to find the World Tree somewhere on the 7th Floor and defeat the Demon King of Mistletoe who is clinging to it. The Goddess says so. Huhuhu. This looks like it’s going to be quite a struggle.”
At Freya’s words, Sion wiped his face with his hands. Just reaching the 7th Floor required an immense amount of effort. And now he had to conquer the World Tree guarded by Demon Kings?
“If we succeed, we might be able to turn the 7th Floor into human territory, just like the 5th Floor.”
“If we get our hands on the World Tree, you mean?”
“Exactly. I know the way. I am a Messenger of God, after all.”
“It won't be easy, will it..?”
“Of course not. It seems there are several more Demon Kings like the one we met today. Unless we mass-produce warriors on my level, conquering the 7th Floor should be considered impossible.”
“Good grief...”
“But I am here, so don’t worry too much. I will guide you.”
Freya, now a Messenger of God, laughed. Perhaps because she had already died once, she seemed somewhat unburdened. Seeing Sion looking miserable at the thought of toiling like a dog made her feel strangely cheerful.
She could laugh because she no longer had to do the toiling herself. She could just watch Sion, who would become her master and work himself to the bone.
Watching Sion, who still had to serve on the front lines, the 'retired' Saintess couldn't stop smiling.