Chapter 344: The Fall (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 344: The Fall (3)
Apostle.
To put it simply, the term refers to a god’s proxy, or one who serves a god from the closest possible position.
They are beings who listen to the word of god, experience miracles firsthand, and then spread that word far and wide.
For example, it is said that Jesus had twelve disciples specifically to spread the gospel.
The word that refers to them as one is “Apostle.”
If so, was the apostle she spoke of something similar?
“Is there something I have to do as an Apostle?”
When I asked, she shook her head.
“There are no obligations. You need only immerse yourself in what you want, what you wish to do, and what you desire to obtain, just as you have been.”
Her words sounded strangely profound.
She said there were no obligations, yet the words that followed felt like obligations themselves.
It made sense. Her name was Gula.
She was the personification—no, in this case, should I call it a deification?—of what I had simply considered a sinful emotion.
In any case, she was Greed itself.
To obtain what you want without fail, to do what you desire no matter what—wasn't that the best way to serve her, and at the same time, the duty of one who pursues greed?
I was about to ask to clarify this but soon gave up.
Seeing the sly smile playing on her lips, it didn't seem like she would give me the answer I wanted.
Perhaps I should ask a different question.
“Is the title of Apostle given to all who follow you?”
“Of course not.”
She shook her head firmly and continued.
“It is an honorable title permitted only to the two foremost beings among my followers.”
“Does that mean… I’m in the top two among your followers?”
“Indeed.”
That was a bit of a surprise.
At the end of the path lay seven seats.
But the number of those who had begun the competition was a staggering five hundred and four.
What did that mean?
It meant the structure was such that dozens, even hundreds, were inevitably forced to compete for a single seat.
Based on that, it meant that at least several dozen to a hundred people were attached to the name of Greed, and I was in the top two among them…?
“Does being at the forefront mean I’m that much stronger?”
The simplest and most effective means of establishing a hierarchy was none other than power.
Suspecting that perhaps all the others who had gathered under Greed were low-ranking competitors and I had just gotten lucky, I posed the question. But she shook her head once more.
“Power is not unimportant, but there is something more important than that.”
“What is it?”
In response to my follow-up question, she answered with a twisted smile.
“How far you have fallen.”
The moment she finished, my mind replayed a voice I had heard so vividly in my dream.
“Fall….”
A single word, spoken as if to compel me in a world of pure black.
Gula, having overheard the word I had unconsciously uttered, nodded with a satisfied expression.
“I was the one who delivered that message. I needed to clearly show my followers the path they must walk.”
So, it wasn't just me who heard that. Did it mean that everyone who had gone beyond merely having the disposition and had stepped onto the path of Greed had heard it?
But there was something I was more curious about.
“‘To fall’… what exactly does that mean?”
That was what I wanted to know most.
What did it mean to fall?
She resolved my curiosity in a single word.
“Corruption.”
Corruption.
A deeply negative word, formed by two characters that both mean ‘to fall.’
Did falling mean throwing my body into the depths of the abyss?
As one question was answered, another, more incomprehensible one loaded itself in my mind.
“Are you saying I’m the most corrupt among your followers?”
I couldn't believe it.
There were so many rotten bastards in this world, and I was the most corrupt?
All I’d done was live according to my desires, coveting this woman and that.
She chuckled.
“That’s right. You are the most corrupt among my followers.”
“……”
Are all the people following this woman a bunch of goody-two-shoes who’ve never even killed an ant?
As I scowled at the unpleasant feeling, she spoke.
“There is one thing you are misunderstanding.”
“…A misunderstanding?”
Gula nodded.
“You are the most corrupt, but you are not the one who has fallen the deepest.”
“……?”
What in the world did that mean?
Didn't being the most corrupt mean I had fallen to an unparalleled depth?
“Hmm… was my explanation a bit too difficult?” she muttered, seeing the lingering confusion on my face.
“Let me explain it this way.”
As if something had occurred to her, she slapped her knee with her palm and continued.
“Here, look at this.”
She gestured in the air, and a blue energy shimmered around us.
“This is the sky.”
Then, she waved her hand below it, and this time, a deep yellow energy gathered.
“This is the earth.”
And her hand waved once more.
Below the earth, a black energy undulated in a sinister form.
Pointing to this place, she said,
“This is the abyss. It is the destination that you, who have begun to fall, must rightfully reach.”
With another gesture, human-shaped shadows appeared on the yellow, earthy ground.
“All humans fall from this earth toward the abyss. If we were to calculate the average distance… yes, you could say most of them stop around here.”
The shadows that began to fall one by one came to rest somewhere between the ground and the abyss.
A place still much closer to the earth than to the abyss.
“But your position is merely… about here, I suppose.”
Another shadow was drawn between the earth and the abyss.
It was a shadow that lingered much closer to the earth than the others who had fallen before it.
“That’s me?”
“Yes.”
Then it made even less sense.
“According to the picture you’ve drawn, aren’t I the furthest behind?”
How could I, who was below average, have become an Apostle?
“The reason is simple.”
Her hand lingered over the blue energy, the place representing the sky.
Soon, a pure white light coalesced, forming a silhouette.
A winged person, standing tall upon the clouds.
“Your starting line was different.”
The winged person began to fall at a terrifying speed.
In the blink of an eye, it hit the ground and lost its wings, and as it continued toward the abyss, it lost its light as well.
The place it came to rest was the very spot she had just pointed out as my position.
“You were the noblest among my followers. That is why you fell not from the earth, but from the sky. You fell from a place farther than anyone else, and have finally begun your journey toward the abyss.”
Now I understood.
I understood why she had called me the most corrupt person.
I didn't know why a man like me was described as so noble, but in the end, while others fell a distance of a handspan, I had fallen a length many times greater.
My depth might be insignificant compared to others, but in terms of distance and speed, I was longer and faster than anyone.
Having finished her explanation, she smiled.
She opened her mouth, revealing a smile filled with utter ecstasy and affection.
“How could I not welcome one who was meant to fly higher and reach heaven, yet chose to fall into my arms!”
The one who had come from the farthest place to follow her.
That must have been the biggest reason for her consistently favorable attitude.
The image that had just disappeared, the smile she was wearing now.
It all came as quite a shock to me.
It was finally sinking in.
The man I am has truly changed a great deal.
No, I have fallen.
A strange feeling tickled my chest.
“Therefore, I have appointed you, who fell from the farthest place, and the child who has reached the deepest, as my Apostles.”
Below her drawing, another shadow was etched.
An overwhelming frontrunner, one who had reached a depth incomparable to the others and was still, little by little, stroking its way toward the abyss.
Unlike me, who endlessly contemplated and hesitated, the shadow advanced toward the abyss without a shred of doubt. Seeing it, I felt a strong sense of tension and pressure.
There was only one crown for the victor at the finish line.
The moment that thing finally reached the abyss and took its given seat, I would be defeated.
Would it be a simple elimination?
Or would it be death?
If not, perhaps… a life as a puppet moving at that bastard’s command.
“My Apostle.”
Her voice roused me from my thoughts.
When I lifted my head, Gula had risen from her chair and was approaching me.
She reached out and gently cupped my face.
“I shall formally appoint you, who have finally reached me, as my Apostle.”
With those words, she pulled me into an embrace.
At that moment.
A message window appeared before my eyes.
[The Goddess of Greed, Gula, appoints you as her Apostle.]
[The trait ‘Bearer of Karma’ changes to ‘Apostle of Greed’.]
[The sub-trait ‘Gluttony’ is fully unlocked.]
“……!”
My trait had changed again.
And Gluttony, which I could only use conditionally, was now fully unlocked.
“Covet more, and seize it in your hands. And fall further, to come and meet me.”
Her voice spread softly in my ear.
“My Apostle. You must strive harder than you do now. The moment you become complacent, all that awaits you is ruin.”
Affectionate words poured out.
Not a command, but a desperate plea.
“I know I must love all my followers equally, but I dare to hope. That you will be the one to reach me.”
I could feel an affection that made my body burn.
Was it because her body and face both resembled Han Ju-hee?
Without realizing it, I was gladly accepting that affection.
What would it have been like if she had held me this warmly?
“I will look forward to the day we meet again. At that time, I hope…”
She whispered into my ear.
“We can share a deeper affection.”
Her tone was so sensual, so sticky, that a single phrase was enough to make my cock stand on end.
At the peak of my intoxication, she pulled me from her embrace, smiled, and continued.
“It is time to part. The one who awaits your awakening, the one who will make you fall even deeper, is waiting.”
“What does that…?”
“Huhu… you will know when you awaken.”
With those cryptic words, she gave me a light push with both hands.
The world that had been a temple was now dyed black.
The ground beneath my feet vanished, and I fell rapidly into the deep darkness below.
My body sank deep.
My consciousness, which had entered the world of the unconscious and fallen into a deep slumber, finally awoke in my real body.
Forcing my heavy eyelids open, the first thing I saw was Ju-yeon.
And she wasn't wearing a single thread of clothing.
“Nuna…?”
I spoke in a state of bewilderment, and she smiled in response.
“Huhu… you woke up just in time…? Nuna was just about to eat Do-jin’s dick…♥”
A sense of crisis instantly cleared my muddled mind.
Only then did I realize who Gula had been talking about—the person who would make me fall even deeper.
Anything but that.
Setting myself aside, what about the shock Ju-yeon would experience when she later found out I was her brother-in-law?
“Nuna, wait…!”
I tried to twist my body to stop her, but it was no use.
She might be a Healer, but she was an S-rank Hunter.
It was impossible to overpower her with sheer strength.
Having easily subdued me, she grinned and opened her mouth.
“Too late♥”
Her ass, which had been hovering over my cock, swollen as if about to burst, slammed down in an instant.
Schlick—!
“Heuk…♥”
The complex thought that we had finally crossed the line lasted only a moment.
The pleasure from my cock forcing its way into her tight pussy began to turn my mind completely white.