Chapter 172: The Sin of Greed (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 172: The Sin of Greed (1)
“Ahaha—is it really that surprising?”
“Emil…!?”
Line’s eyes widened in disbelief.
The Apostle of Greed burst into laughter, seemingly delighted by the reaction. Her attitude was as casual as if she were greeting an old friend.
However…
“…”
Sensing the gravity of Line’s reaction, Evan, who had been wearing a light expression until a moment ago, immediately drew his sword.
Even if he hadn't reached the level of a Master, he could instinctively sense just how dangerous the person who had suddenly appeared before them was.
In that moment of extreme tension—
Thwack!
“Urgh!?”
Evan’s body slumped as a sharp pain struck the back of his head.
“Li… ne?”
Confusion clouded his face as he realized that what had struck his neck was the Golden Tube Line used.
“I’m sorry. But this is for the best.”
With Line’s voice fading into the distance, Evan lost consciousness.
“My, how clever. Or… is there another reason?”
“Shut up.”
Line glared fiercely at the Apostle of Greed’s mockery.
Soon, Line used the Golden Tube to move Evan to a safe distance on the opposite side.
“Why so angry? I didn’t think we were on such bad terms.”
“You… you have the nerve to say that now?”
“Of course. After all, who do you think taught you how to use the ‘Library’ in the first place?”
“…!”
The Library.
At that word, Line’s body gave a small shudder.
“I never needed… such a thing!”
“Do you really think so?”
Emil chuckled leisurely.
Line scowled deeply, her lips moving as if further conversation was useless.
“───!”
At that moment, golden eyes that had been invisible until now revealed themselves.
Rumble!
The Golden Tube erupted from her pupils, savagely scraping against the surrounding pillars and marble as it shot toward Emil.
It was a speed that happened in the blink of an eye.
However…
“Hmm—I did read the information, but you carry something quite interesting, don’t you, Line? From the look of it, is it from the Illanef Empire?”
The Golden Tube, which should have riddled the Apostle’s body with dozens of holes, was stopped effortlessly the moment it reached her.
Screeeech!
The Apostle scattered an ominous energy, and tree branches emerging from the void blocked the path.
“!”
Line’s brow furrowed even further.
But the Apostle of Greed, Emil, merely flicked her finger with a relaxed smile.
Simultaneously, the branches that had only been blocking the Golden Tube began to crawl up it like vines.
“!”
Line immediately retracted the Golden Tube.
“How disappointing.”
Her voice carried no real emotion, despite the words.
As if she were going easy on her, the Apostle only responded to the attacks and did not launch a counteroffensive.
While feeling confused about why she had appeared here, Line desperately searched for a way out of this situation.
‘What do I do?’
If they were outside instead of underground, she would have been confused, but not anxious. Outside, she could use Pluto without restriction.
Even then, she couldn't be certain of victory. Unlike ten years ago, she now truly understood who the ‘entity before her’ was.
But they were underground.
An underground space far too small to use Pluto.
She might be able to try if she were prepared for the cavern to collapse. Line was confident she could survive even if the cave fell in.
But the problem was—
Alon and Evan.
In the worst-case scenario, Alon and Evan could be caught in the collapse.
Line’s mind raced to find a breakthrough.
However…
The Apostle of Greed simply watched Line, who was consumed by anxiety, with a leisurely expression.
As if she were looking forward to seeing what choice she would make.
* * *
Meanwhile, inside the gray world.
“Answer me, Mage. I asked if you were the one who summoned me.”
Alon snapped back to his senses at Kailas’s freezing gaze and replied.
“…It is true that I summoned you, but I do not know where this place is either.”
“You don’t know?”
“I don’t.”
Kailas’s brow furrowed deeply.
Staring intently at Alon as if to discern the truth, he suddenly extended his index finger and drew a straight line in the air.
Screeeech!
Blue mana, different from what he had used during the fight in the Labyrinth, flowed from his hand, scratched the air, and vanished.
Having confirmed this, a look of slight patheticness crossed Kailas’s face.
“What are you talking about, Mage? It makes no sense for you not to know this place.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“…You really know nothing. How on earth did you pull off such an absurd stunt with that level of knowledge?”
A deep sigh echoed through the air, as if he found it utterly incomprehensible.
“I’ll explain it once, so listen well, brat.”
Kailas, who had instantly demoted Alon from ‘Mage’ to the ‘brat’ of old, began his explanation.
“This is a Mental World. It is different from the world you live in. It is a unique world held by each individual who has achieved Karma.”
“Then is this… your Mental World?”
Alon thought his deduction was quite plausible.
Recalling the Golden Dragon Rainisius’s story, the Magus before him had a history of fighting the Black Things, regardless of how his end had come.
‘Then is this showing his Mental World as the state of the world after fighting the Black Things?’
Alon silently surveyed the ruined world.
Just looking at the scenery reminded him of the danger the Black Things posed.
‘…The world a thousand years ago was far worse than what I saw in the game.’
In Psychedelia, the Black Things caused great damage to the continent, but they were eventually stopped by Elivan and various powerhouses.
Because of that, the situation had never reached this point.
But a world that failed to stop the Black Things was the very definition of total ruin.
It was a sight that left even Alon, who usually maintained a stoic expression, dazed.
Just then.
“…Ha.”
“?”
Kailas let out a hollow laugh.
“What nonsense are you spouting, brat? This Mental World is—”
An even more shocking statement dropped from his lips.
“It’s yours.”
“…What?”
Alon’s mouth hung open.
“My… Mental World?”
“Yes. In the first place, there’s no way a Mental World could exist for someone like me who has been stripped of everything.”
Kailas added that Alon seemed to know nothing about such basic things, then glanced around and shrugged.
“Anyway, brat, this is your Mental World.”
“…Is a Mental World the same thing I know it to be?”
“Yes. Though for someone like you who lacks a formula, it’s likely just a powerful memory manifesting as a Mental World.”
Alon tried to process his internal confusion at Kailas’s words, but…
“So, brat. Why did you summon me?”
The following question brought his train of thought to a halt.
After a brief silence, he answered.
“Because I have things to ask.”
“Things to ask, you say.”
Kailas stared intently at Alon.
“Speak. But keep it as brief as possible. Since you did defeat me, I’ll give you that much of an answer.”
He moved slowly and sat down on a pile of rubble.
At his urging, Alon hesitated for a moment.
There were quite a few things he wanted to ask.
“…”
After a brief moment of deliberation, Alon asked his first question.
“…I heard about you from the Golden Dragon Rainisius. That you were originally a Magus.”
Kailas’s expression turned peculiar at those words.
“You met the Golden Dragon?”
“Yes.”
“I see he’s still alive.”
At Alon’s nod, Kailas smoothed his furrowed brow and let out a small sigh.
“…That’s a relief.”
It was a murmur so low it was barely audible even to Alon.
Alon debated whether he should tell him what state the Golden Dragon Rainisius was in, but before he could decide—
“…Well, fine, brat. Is what you’re curious about why I, a Magus, appeared as an Outer God?”
“Yes.”
Alon nodded at Kailas’s follow-up question.
“It’s simple. For revenge.”
“…Revenge?”
The brief answer came back immediately.
“Yes. To get revenge on the Black Things, I threw everything away and became a Goblin.”
* * *
“Is that… possible?”
“No. Normally, it’s impossible.”
Kailas’s brow contorted as if he were reminiscing about the past.
“I lost everything in the battle against the Black Things. My comrades, my friends, everyone. Nothing was left around me but corpses.”
“I, too, was waiting for a death that wasn't far off in that heat.”
“But I didn't want to die. I wanted revenge on the Black Things that killed my comrades and friends. I wanted to annihilate them with my own hands, no matter what.”
A strange light flickered in his eyes.
“I searched for a way to live. I squeezed my already shattered Mana Hole to the point of no return, barely maintaining my life while I racked my brain. And at that point, the Goblins appeared.”
His expression, however, remained infinitely calm.
“Hundreds, perhaps thousands of Goblins, who had been hiding in tunnels underground, suppressed by the presence of the Black Things, began to feast on the corpses of my comrades.”
Kailas’s eyes burned as if he were facing that scene right now.
Only then did Alon vaguely realize the true nature of the strange light in his eyes.
“The hand of a Magus who had been joking with me just a day before was ruthlessly chewed in a Goblin’s mouth.”
“The head of a Magus who had been worrying about his disciples just a day before became a toy for the Goblins.”
“The torso of a young Magus who had been dreaming of the future just a day before was turned into minced meat and fed to young Goblins. And—”
It was rage.
A calm, quiet, and therefore even more turbulent rage.
“—In that situation, I found a way to live through the Goblins who were devouring my comrades’ corpses.”
The next words came from Alon’s mouth.
“The God of Goblins.”
As if confirming that deduction, Kailas continued calmly.
“Squeezing out my remaining mana, I transformed into a Goblin.”
“I slaughtered Goblins with my broken Mana Hole to gain their fear.”
“I took my comrades’ corpses away in front of the Goblins and then gave them back to earn their worship. I reduced my comrades’ corpses to mere lumps of meat—earning the worship of those hungry ghosts who crudely stuffed them into their mouths.”
The puzzle pieces clicked together in Alon’s mind.
Why Kailas, a Magus, had appeared as an Outer God in the form of a Goblin.
Why he could no longer use the Shadow Spirit Dragon.
“Mental World, formulas, magic, honor, dignity, comrades. I threw everything away and—”
His face contorted as he finished the sentence.
“I became the Outer God Kailas.”
Only then did Alon realize.
Where the strange rage in Kailas’s eyes was directed.
It wasn't rage toward the Black Things.
It wasn't rage toward the Goblins either.
It was—
“That is the reason I was able to remain in this world as an Outer God.”
It was rage toward himself, Kailas.
A terrible self-loathing and rage toward himself for surviving so disgracefully and miserably for the sake of revenge.
“…”
Alon could say nothing.