Chapter 107
Chapter 107
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 107
Chapter Title: I’ll Leave This Place and Found a Religion That Follows Your Path! All of Korea Will Praise You!
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All the monsters had been defeated.
I returned to the hideout with the rescued heroes in tow.
The eel that had slithered into my body returned to the Alien God.
“Ugh……”
The heroes were prostrated on the ground, trembling violently.
Can’t blame them.
They’d abandoned their lifesaver and fled, only to get caught by that same savior.
Their minds were probably filled with nothing but “We’re fucked.”
A heavy silence stretched on for a while.
“G-God……?”
“Hm?”
The one who broke the silence was Shin Yujin, the hero with the injured waist.
Shin Yujin was a pretty famous hero.
She was a great fighter.
She was polite.
And she was even beautiful.
Perfect for the nation’s little sister role.
She mumbled in a quivering voice.
“Th-the betrayal was all the team leader’s doing. I just got swept up in it…… I’m innocent……”
“……”
This one might stir up some controversy?
Didn’t expect her to have such thick skin.
Even if she was just a one-note extra in the game, this was a fresh shock to me.
“I won’t be the one judging.”
“Th-then……”
“Kim Taeyang. I leave the disposition of these traitors to you.”
“Huh?”
“Kill them if you want. Torture them if you want.”
I didn’t want to hold people’s lives in my hands.
But it was still better than him arbitrarily killing them off.
“If you want to spare them, that’s fine too. However, one of you must pay the price for trying to flee from me.”
“Wh-what……kind of punishment?”
The Alien God picked up the bent sword.
The one he’d used to slice my arm.
“The sinner will lose their sight.”
I remembered playing the game.
Even in the game, sacrificing an arm took serious guts.
Your stats got cut in half……
So when the option to sacrifice both eyes popped up on top of that, it was a real dilemma.
More stat penalties for sure.
Could I even clear with such low stats?
That’s what I’d been thinking.
Anyway, in the end, it’s just a shallow trap.
If the player sacrifices consecutively, the Alien God gets moved.
“Oho! To think such a noble creature exists! Approved!!”
Something like that, and he takes back what he said.
“……”
Those who didn’t know that would find it terrifying.
The building fell deathly quiet, proof of that.
So quiet you could almost hear the dust motes colliding.
The Alien God handed me the sword.
“Decide if they live or die. And whose eyes to take. It’s all in your hands.”
I stepped forward toward the prostrated heroes.
They didn’t dare lift their heads.
They just flinched at every footstep.
“P-please spare us……spare us……”
“We’re sparing you, right? The team leader will obviously offer her eyes!”
“Wh-who said anything about offering eyes?!”
“Give us one more chance, and we’ll do anything you command……!”
For high-rankers, these were some pretty pathetic lines.
Not just because they were extras.
This event was originally one the protagonist of Academia had to face through some fateful encounter.
It was brutally difficult.
The Alien God was basically invincible.
“Hey. I’ve decided.”
As I raised the sword, the heroes frantically rubbed their hands together.
“P-please……”
“Sorry! We misjudged you! We were fools……!”
“Kim Taeyang! Forget personal grudges! We need to unite our strength now!”
Abigail shouted that, but her face was tear-streaked.
She probably didn’t even know what she was saying.
“Kukuku. What are you all blabbering about? No way I’d kill precious comrades, right?”
“Precious……comrades?”
Clang-!
I dropped the sword.
Then I spread my arms toward the Alien God.
“Hey! Take ‘em! I was gonna donate these eyeballs anyway—they’re just a nuisance!”
Ever since entering this dungeon, I’d been yielding and sacrificing nonstop.
It was starting to feel like I was Jesus or something.
“I’ll become the generously giving Kim Taeyang……!”
“Take it all……!”
Of course, I knew he wouldn’t actually take them, so I could say it.
“Good! Bring them here!”
“?”
Ah, fuck, wait a sec.
Why take them……?
You didn’t do that in the original……?
I need my eyes!
I’ve got Asmo-rearing to do later!!!
*
‘Fear not sacrifice.’
It was the creed of her church.
Abigail sought to live by it.
Her sacrifices stood out in everyday life.
Using paper straws for the environment, even if inconvenient.
Abstaining from delivery food to cut down on waste.
Donating a portion of her monthly income steadily.
Splitting her time for volunteer work, and so on……
“Even small sacrifices like these will accumulate and change the world.”
Abigail took great pride in her self-sacrificing ways.
Not every Celestial Church member lived as generously as she did.
Above all, she felt immense satisfaction in practicing the doctrine.
“I’ll save the world with my sacrifices.”
The church’s teachings led straight to salvation.
Abigail believed she was carrying out a noble mission.
She would save the world through her actions.
Even if small and slow……
“Hey! Take ‘em! I was gonna donate these eyeballs anyway—they’re just a nuisance!”
“???”
Then Kim Taeyang appeared before her like a massive tolling bell.
“Another sacrifice……?”
Honestly, this time she thought it was unavoidable.
By cold calculation, Abigail bordered on trolling.
Hadn’t Kim Taeyang lost his left arm because of her?
Hadn’t her bad call nearly gotten the whole team killed?
The team members were blaming her too.
And yet.
Even so.
Kim Taeyang stepped up to sacrifice in her place again.
“Good! Bring them here!”
The Alien God bellowed.
No one knew what courage drove her.
In that moment, Abigail screamed like she was wailing.
“Whyyyyyy-!”
The wind bit cold.
It pierced deep into her bones.
But her shaking wasn’t from the chill.
“Kim Taeyang…… How can you sacrifice so easily……?”
Compared to Kim Taeyang’s sacrifices, Abigail’s were nothing.
No, her entire life amounted to nothing.
Abigail wasn’t grateful to him.
On the contrary, she hated him.
She couldn’t stand how he made her feel so pathetic.
She couldn’t understand it either.
How could he make that choice?
What drove Kim Taeyang to sacrifice?
“Hey. Don’t spout nonsense, you sow team leader.”
“Wh-what do you mean by that…… What did I……”
“There’s no such thing as an easy sacrifice in this world?”
“!”
No easy sacrifices……
Right. I’ve been so arrogant.
I mistook his casual attitude for easy sacrifice.
Her throat tightened.
Probably from the misery.
Kim Taeyang’s mindset was too vast for a hypocrite like her to follow.
“He was never someone a small fry like me could comprehend.”
She felt unbearably ashamed of herself.
Hot tears welled up and fell like raindrops.
Her hands clenched her knees.
Her whole body tensed.
Just like when she first met the angel.
“Sniff…… I’m sorry…… Truly sorry……”
“Sow team leader. Straighten your shoulders.”
Even then, Kim Taeyang comforted Abigail.
A true big-hearted display.
“Who’ll lead the team if the sow team leader goes blind?”
“Why……why trust me that much……?”
Kim Taeyang shrugged it off like it was nothing.
“Ahh— it’s just a pledge I made. To devote myself from the moment I joined the team.”
“A pledge……?”
“I pledged to myself to live as a team member, not an individual. Isn’t that basic hero conduct?”
“……”
In that instant, a small light flickered in Abigail’s mind.
Her pupils dilated, taking in a massive image of Kim Taeyang.
“I want to learn from this man……”
Religion, revelation.
They were mere means.
Not the only path.
The path of Kim Taeyang.
His infinite path of sacrifice and love captivated Abigail.
“……”
Her constellation, Fortis, remained silent.
Probably the Alien God’s influence.
“This is the end, Lady Fortis.”
Abigail quietly removed her ring.
Then she looked up at Kim Taeyang with resolute eyes.
“Let me be the one to sacrifice.”
*
Lucky!!! Super lucky!!!!
Thanks to Abigail changing her mind, I could spend the whole day rearing Asmo.
Honestly, going blind scares me too……
Anyway.
Abigail’s finally doing her job as team leader properly.
“Hey! The rest of you, go join up with that Kim Jun-hwan guy! Keep the operation going!!”
“Got it!”
The newly polite team members headed out into the ruins.
The sun was still high.
We needed to gather at least a few of the Alien God’s entrails to progress the event, so they’d have to hustle.
I was about to get serious with Asmo-rearing when the Alien God approached me.
“A hypocrite, are you.”
“Huh……?”
I flinched, honestly.
I am a hypocrite.
But how’d she know?
“I know everything. Reading the thoughts of lowly creatures like you is child’s play.”
“Hey, hey! Get out of my head, you stalker sow!!”
Could she really read my mind?
Or just bluffing?
Probably the latter.
If she could truly read my thoughts, she’d have noticed something off ages ago.
I’m a possessor, after all.
“But hypocrisy can also be a virtue. In that regard, I rate you highly.”
The Alien God smiled faintly.
Up close like this, she looked like a total beauty, hard to believe the monstrous power inside.
“Hey. Got a question.”
“Hm?”
“What’s your deal? A constellation?”
The Alien God’s true nature never gets fully revealed in the original.
Back when I was playing the game, I just figured she was a throwaway NPC, but now that it’s reality, it’s different.
From that eel deep kiss, I could tell.
Her power is the real deal.
Maybe……even stronger than the final boss.
“I am a god from beyond the stars. Your language can’t explain further.”
“Huh? So not a constellation?”
“I am a constellation, yet not a constellation. I can be anything, or nothing at all. An existence beyond your comprehension—so don’t go mad and be satisfied with that.”
Maybe, maybe not~
Just testing the waters, huh?
Still, since she can become a constellation, maybe I could recruit her as mine?
“Wanna become my constellation?”
“Puhahaha. You dare contract with me? You felt the eel deep kiss’s power— you couldn’t handle my full might.”
My guess might be spot on.
She’s no ordinary constellation.
A cut above—maybe several levels.
Possibly a true god-like being.
“If you’re that strong, can you kill constellations?”
Constellations don’t die.
Usually.
There are ways, but the conditions are insanely harsh.
But this one.
“Of course.”
She seemed like she could kill any constellation, no strings attached.
“If you don’t believe me, I can show you right now.”
The Alien God pointed at Pomi, coiled up in the distance.
She’d gotten seriously scared and blocked her own view.
I flashed back to the eel deep kiss.
This one could kill a constellation just because she was bored.
Like kids squashing ants.
“Kidding. Do I seem that immature?”
“You chopped off my arm ‘cause you were pissed, and now you’re blinding eyes—what’s that if not immature?! Huh?!”
“Heh heh. Fair point. But thanks to me, you gained followers.”
“Followers?”
I thought she meant the team warming up to me.
Until the blinded Abigail crawled gropingly to my feet.
She grabbed my foot tight and looked up.
“Mr. Kim Taeyang! I want to walk your path!!”
“Huh……?”
My path?
What’s that?
How do you even walk it?
“I’ll leave this place and create a religion devoted to your path!”
“Hey, hey! Who said you could start a religion on your own?!”
“Our leader will surely guide countless lambs to the righteous way! The entire Justice Guild will praise you! No, I’ll make all of Korea follow you!!”
“……”
No, please don’t……
It’s scary……