Chapter 164
Chapter 164
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 164
Chapter Title: The Third Night (15)
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The Pandarians believed.
That their wisdom was the solution to every problem.
There was no obstacle that couldn't be overcome with the wisdom piled up over endless ages.
In truth, the world had known peace under the Pandarians' guidance.
'It was all an illusion.'
But it was nothing more than illusion and hubris.
It didn't take long to realize that everything had gone wrong.
'The connection to the Abyss laid bare every flaw.'
Once the Abyss had been triggered.
The world was torn apart by demons, forcing the Pandarian King to confront just how foolish they had all been.
-Lend us your wisdom!
-Wisdom to confront the demons!
-A path to victory against them!
-Without the Pandarians' wisdom, we cannot fight!
Their world had simply grown dependent on the Pandarians over countless years.
It was merely a tacit agreement that the world would heed the "wisdom" proclaimed by the Pandarians.
Could that truly be called peace?
'In our Pandarians' shadow, the world lost the ability to solve its own problems.'
They had reached a point where they could resolve nothing on their own.
Yet the Pandarians had no way of knowing.
The demons of the Abyss were entirely new to them.
Beings that existing wisdom could not overcome.
But to claim knowledge of the unknown was taboo.
Pretending to know was the Pandarians' gravest sin, so they all sealed their lips.
-Are you abandoning us?
-Pandarians! Why withhold your wisdom?
-Don't you know everything?
-What are we to do...!
-Without Pandarian wisdom, we can do nothing!
As they fell silent, the entire world turned to hatred and curses against the Pandarians.
They pinned the blame for defeat squarely on them.
Even to the bitter end, the Pandarians did nothing.
Believing they would eventually provide a solution.
In the end, the world fell to the demons with pitiful ease, meeting its destruction.
'...This world holds many things that wisdom alone cannot resolve.'
Only then did they understand.
That their wisdom couldn't solve every dispute.
That matters resolvable by wisdom alone were exceedingly rare.
But regret came too late.
A world already doomed.
To keep the "Gem of Wisdom" from demon hands, the Pandarians took their own lives.
The true problem arose afterward.
Even in death, they could not truly die, trapped instead in this "Temple of Death."
Unlike the others, however, he alone retained his sense of self.
Likely due to the Gem of Wisdom in his possession.
'I thought. Endlessly, without cease.'
He had lost track of how much time had passed.
Time's flow meant nothing anymore; he simply pondered infinitely.
What had gone wrong.
Where the threads had first tangled.
...The answer was plain from the start.
'Power. We need power.'
They lacked power.
The power to defend themselves.
The power of will to confront and resolve issues independently.
Merely offering solutions against the demons was pointless.
The Abyss transcended their very framework of thought.
Thus, power was essential.
Overwhelming, unbreakable, unyielding ultimate power—that alone would grant true freedom to all!
'Arahan. You who cling to purity can never conquer death.'
...He sensed an Arahan entering the temple.
Several "Arahans" had challenged death before, but none breached Anubis's barrier.
It was inevitable.
Their insistence on purity alone mirrored the Pandarians' own wisdom too closely.
To stand against the Abyss demons, they had to abandon that rigidity.
Only by greedily pursuing every avenue without surrender could one overcome death and the Abyss.
So this one would fail too.
'...What is this Arahan?'
......Yet.
The Arahan before him was different.
He wielded magic, then abruptly performed a summoning.
From the Arahan's shadow emerged a warrior.
A technique utterly unlike any known to the Pandarian King.
Not pure.
Not fixated on a single path.
Rather...
Kwaduk!
Swords clashed.
The shadow warrior dubbed Azos lunged in an instant, pressing the Pandarian King.
'...A mass of pure desire.'
He could feel it.
From the shadow warrior.
No—from the Arahan who summoned it.
The immense hunger to grow stronger.
Unthinkable in a typical "Arahan."
How had one harboring such desire earned "Arahan" status?
Shiiik!
Chaeng!
And not just that.
The Arahan struck from the flank alongside the shadow warrior.
This too strayed far from Arahan ideals.
They demanded unyielding honor.
To perfect pure martial prowess, they shunned all shortcuts.
Attacking one foe with two was utterly forbidden.
As forbidden as feigning knowledge was to Pandarians.
Yet here he was.
Assailing from both sides without shame.
And that swordplay—how masterful.
Wild swings at first glance, but flawless transcendent technique.
'Magic, summoning arts, and swordsmanship to boot?'
......Was this truly an Arahan?
Had the Arahans endorsed someone like him?
There had to be some error.
A thirst for power eclipsing demons, scorning no tactic for victory, mastering countless skills—miles from "purity."
But.
"Heavenly Punishment."
Kwa-rung!
Magic intertwined with blade.
Voltages fierce and vast enveloped Azos.
For the first time, the Pandarian voiced unease.
"Magic infusion...?"
He recognized at once the technique's otherworldly nature.
Blind as his eyes might be, miracles like this were unmistakable.
Heavenly Punishment infused into sword and Azos alike.
Normally, mana backlash or spell collapse.
Such feats were rare even in the Abyss—fingers could count them.
Dragon God Sepiro sprang to mind...
Chwaruk!
No time for rumination.
One thing clear: mastery of magic and sword beyond imagination.
'Sword and sorcery. Both pinnacle realms.'
Unbelievable.
He could scarcely credit his own view that this Arahan's arts rang pure.
......In the beginning.
He'd meant only to force retreat.
Shattering Arahan resolve was no simple task; expulsion seemed the sole path.
But.
'A novel breed of Arahan.'
Intrigue stirred.
Simultaneously, his Gem of Wisdom glowed turquoise.
Repository of omniscience, plumbing all creation.
This Arahan absent from its archives—he was surely thrilled.
Yet only thus far.
No intent to let an Arahan touch the "Outer God."
For an Outer God born supreme would herald only apocalypse.
Merely...
'Fascinating.'
Pure curiosity.
Pass the trial, and he'd offer counsel.
Paths to greater strength.
Locations of the "Mountain of Ascetics" harboring other Arahans.
How many clashes followed.
"Your turn, Charpam."
Cheeeeeok!
As Vastsea Hundred-Realm Charpam manifested through Azos's form.
"...!!!"
Drip.
The Pandarian King's every motion halted, feigned.
His pupils ballooned.
The Gem blazed brighter.
Beyond fluster—pure shock.
Inevitable.
No misperception possible.
That.
The shadow dubbed Charpam...
"Out, er God...!!!"
...For it was unmistakably an "Outer God" burst from the great fissure.
'No time.'
Before Anubis slayed all challengers.
This temple must be purified.
No leisure for banter with the Pandarian King.
'Down him fast as possible.'
To that end, he deployed every asset.
Even summoning Azos, the shadow warrior bound for the arena.
Yet the Pandarian King exceeded expectations in strength.
Even with mana-boosted Azos in tandem, blows barely grazed.
Kankun present might've shifted odds, but solo purification of the "Temple of Death" was impossible from outset.
'...Minimum level 100, eleventh realm monster.'
One gambit remained.
Summon Charpam, unleash "divinity."
The force that vaporized Conqueror Khan's palace outright—surely enough for the Pandarian King.
But the instant the Outer God appeared.
"......I see. So it has come to this."
The Pandarian King's face softened.
Initial shock yielded to realization, then resignation.
"You appear to be the one I've awaited."
"......"
Park Chan-woo betrayed nothing.
No clue what the Pandarian King might utter next.
But he'd pegged Hundred-Realm Charpam as "Outer God."
"Moments ago, I claimed only the 'Great Nine Lords' wield arms to hunt Outer Gods. Yet the 'Gem of Wisdom' recounts one outside their ranks who felled an Outer God."
The Pandarian King's gaze quivered serene.
His Gem, forged by every prior sovereign.
Honed further through eons of contemplation in this "Temple of Death."
And so.
The Gem unveiled troves of buried lore.
Abyss secrets, annals.
Tales of Great Nine Lords, demon gods, overlords among them.
But most riveting? Not those fiends.
Rather, "non-demons wielding demon might."
One rivaling the 'Great Nine Lords' in potency.
The "Arahan progenitor."
He who perfected ultimate martial arts, slaying even great-rift Outer Gods as due.
Lore lost—or unknown—to modern Arahans!
'......Undeniable.'
This Arahan mastering sword, spell, Outer God flawlessly.
The very soul the Pandarian King had awaited endlessly.
Thus, in quavering tone he asked.
"You... are you a descendant of the 'Heavenly Demon'?"