Chapter 197
Chapter 197
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 197
Chapter Title: Dragon Bow Sword Hrunting (2)
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The God of Causality.
Theo thought that he—or she—was particularly unique among the many gods of the Pantheon.
Even when climbing the White Tower, they’d occasionally shown a somewhat ditzy(?) side.
And right now, it was exactly that same vibe.
‘If Asin’s right, and all the messages I’ve seen so far were made by this god... there’s just too big a gap.’
All the messages Theo had encountered up to now had been utterly mechanical, stripping away any hint of emotion and bluntly delivering only the facts.
The quest failure penalties had always ended in death, no less.
It was hard to imagine such a harsh personality behind trials like that.
‘Above all, they’d consistently shown favor toward me in the White Tower.’
So Theo just couldn’t connect the messages with the God of Causality.
‘Kerto.’
『Yes, Master.』
‘What do you know about this?’
『Well, I’m just a simple intermediary conveying the will of the Pantheon, so...』
‘......’
『But there is one thing I can tell you. The ‘messages’ you mentioned—what you call the system—are indeed created by the God of Causality. And they manage it as well.』
So those messages really were all from the God of Causality?
Then it hit Theo—a loophole in Kerto Sukus’s words.
‘Just because they’re the creator and manager of the system doesn’t make them the user.’
『Exactly. Using the system is a completely different concept altogether.』
That meant the god who’d been giving Theo quests all this time was someone else entirely.
‘Then who’s the user?’
『Everyone.』
‘Everyone?’
『The gods of the Pantheon. They’re all watching you closely, Master. And the expectations they have for you vary wildly. Some brim with goodwill.』
Theo’s gaze involuntarily shifted to the messages.
[The Administrator startles as if making eye contact with you.]
[The Administrator shyly scans the surroundings, trying to hide.]
『Others hold no particular expectations.』
[The God of ■■ watches you.]
『And some harbor outright hostility toward you, Master.』
‘Hostility? Toward me?’
Theo couldn’t wrap his head around Kerto Sukus’s words for a moment.
They might ignore him, fighting on the front lines in their stead against the Nameless Sovereign, but why actively hate him?
『Mostly gods who think the Selector should’ve been someone else. Or those with ties to the outer gods.』
Theo wondered how gods of the Pantheon could befriend outer gods, but he soon understood and nodded.
Think of Ed—it was obvious.
Human society worked the same way. There could be spies, or someone whose temperament meshed better with a rival faction despite their affiliation.
Each had their own political position, after all, shaping their stance.
Why should gods be any different?
If anything, Theo felt relieved.
Even transcendent gods weren’t above it all—they were just another form of life.
『Or gods who want to test you further, Master.』
[A god hiding their name scrutinizes your every decision and action meticulously.]
[A god hiding their name hopes you’ll show something more evolved.]
Theo had a pretty good idea who that god was.
—Sigurd Ragnar.
It wouldn’t be strange for the founder he’d glimpsed in passing to take a deep interest in the descendant who’d become the new companion of Lordvrok.
‘So in the end, this “system” you’re talking about is just the will—or the trials—of the Pantheon’s gods?’
『Yes. The God of Causality merely coordinates it appropriately.』
Theo finally understood why the quests had been such a jumbled mess in difficulty, and why some hadn’t connected at all.
‘Then the rewards from them come from the Pantheon’s gods too.’
Theo felt a rush of clarity at unraveling the secret of the messages, but at the same time, a sour taste crept in.
‘So they see me as nothing more than a puppet they can manipulate at will?’
The very idea of mortals being toyed with “at their whim” grated on him.
Sure, he’d borrowed the quests’ power to grow stronger faster.
And yes, he’d exploited and milked the system for all it was worth.
But bad feelings were bad feelings.
Just as humans viewed ants as insignificant pests to squash.
Now he had a glimpse of how the gods saw humans.
‘I can kind of see why Father held such contempt for Lordvrok and the Mad Dragon Emperor.’
Lordvrok was essentially the god of this world, proxy for the Pantheon.
The Mad Dragon Emperor was a madman lost to frenzy, offering his soul and reason even to outer gods.
The reason for hating the Selector was similar.
Their divine power to rewind time stripped away human free will.
[The Administrator fidgets anxiously, insisting not all gods are like that.]
Theo readjusted his grip on the Dragon Slayer Sword and Dragon Bow Sword in both hands.
Whatever the God of Causality said, distrust of gods and transcendents had already begun to take root in his heart.
Of course, he had no intention of rebelling against their will just yet.
But at the very least, respect was gone for good.
And,
“To make that crystal clear, I need to wipe that thing out completely.”
Theo’s gaze landed where he pointed.
The chunks of Asin’s flesh that had scattered in the explosion writhed in midair, extending tentacles in all directions.
The pieces connected, birthing upside-down human faces one by one.
“Kyahaha!”
“So fun! This is so much fun!”
“Such a hot-blooded game—first time! First time!”
“Play more! More!”
“And get eaten by me!!”
It wasn’t over yet.
[Infernal Hell]
Theo clenched his fist.
Embers flared, unleashing a barrage of lightning strikes.
Kwarung! Kwarung! Kwarurung!
Lightning speared the ground, incinerating the flesh chunks, while flames rising from the earth devoured the remnants.
Kukukuku—
But that wasn’t enough. An iron gate materialized behind Theo, swinging wide to unleash the dragon legion.
This legion was slightly different from before.
At the feet of the various dragonkin, chronographs spun rapidly in reverse, manifesting the forms of swordsmen atop their bodies.
[Dragon mana is evenly distributed throughout the area.]
[The activation conditions for [Array of Clockwork] have been met. The magic activates.]
[Heroic spirits emerge.]
—Dragon Child Corps!!
The heroic spirits of the Spirit Demon Sword attempted to descend.
—Outer god? Don’t care! Let’s sweep up the rest!
—Gozu aaa!
—Charge!
The 299 heroic spirits swiftly erased Asin’s fragments attempting to multiply.
[The emergent heroic spirits gain the ‘Purification’ attribute. Anti-virus program activated.]
[The virus is deleted at high speed.]
[Some viruses resist fiercely.]
The spirits, spraying aura wildly, were as mighty as in their prime, when they’d driven the Nameless Sovereign to ruin.
Above all, the dragon legion fighting alongside them had sky-high morale this time.
Rage boiled over at the death of their long-time comrade, Nesi.
“Aaah...!”
“Wanted to play more...”
“Such a shame...”
“Wanted to eat... tch!”
“But! But next time, you’ll play again, right? Yeah?”
Asin’s faces dissolved rapidly, yet showed no pain—only delight.
As if looking forward to meeting Theo’s true body someday, not a clone.
Kwajik!
But when the last one’s head exploded, the commotion finally died down.
—Phew...!
—What’s with this tenacity?
—In some ways, worse than the disgrace itself?
Pasus—
The heroic spirits sighed deeply as Asin’s powder crumbled and scattered.
As a reversal born from Nesi’s sacrifice, the mental fatigue was real.
The surroundings were a wasteland now—explosions had left nothing intact, forest or otherwise.
—By the way, descendant, why the long face still?
One spirit tilted their head at Theo, still scanning the area with a grim expression.
“It hasn’t appeared yet.”
—Huh? What?
The message saying the virus was fully eradicated, or that the quest was cleared—
That’s what Theo started to say.
Kwaaang!
Suddenly, the ground behind Theo erupted, birthing an Asin several meters tall that gaped its maw wide.
“Ahaha! Surprise attack! Not all of me was gone!”
—Damn it!
—Hiding underground!
—Shit!
The spirits and dragons, who’d missed its stealth, paled and moved late.
They shuddered at Asin’s vitality, regenerating no matter how many times it was killed.
But,
“Sorry, but you weren’t my real target from the start.”
Theo sneered with sunken, cold eyes.
Asin had no reply.
Before it could, a black bolt from the sky cleaved its body.
Kwarururung—!
Pususu!
At the strike’s epicenter.
Dust billowed as a man slowly rose.
—That face?
—Looks just like the descendant?
—So this guy’s our descendant too?
—Why does he reek of that damned disgrace, though?
The spirits glared with hatred at the black-haired man, thick with Holy Demon Church stench.
Grrr!
The dragons bared hostility too.
The bisected Asin staggered back, reforming. Its head spun clockwise, bellowing.
“What’s this all of a sudden, Fifth Apostle! Did ■■■ teach you to do this?!”
Was it because he’d ruined the fun just as it was getting good?
Asin stomped the ground furiously, indignant.
The man just scoffed dismissively.
“Sorry, but I’d prefer you not lump me in with the other apostles. My pact with the Disgrace is an equal contract between us. And...”
Teobuk!
As he stepped forward, black demonic energy and madness spread sharply, devouring Asin’s scattered flesh chunks.
Those were the raw materials for its clones to revive. He’d nipped that in the bud.
The absorbed divine power from Asin massively amplified the man’s mana.
“This was my playground to begin with. That kid was my guest. And you dare yap after interrupting?”
With a casual wave at the air, the madness and demonic energy coiling around Asin’s body took dragon form and devoured it whole.
Kwajik! Kwajik!
“Eeeek! I’ll let it slide this time! But next time! Definitely! We’ll play for real! Promiseee!”
Asin vanished with a grotesque wail.
“Phew. Finally rid of the uninvited guest.”
The spirits and dragons eyed the man warily—the one who’d effortlessly devoured Asin’s clone after all their struggle.
—A Ragnar who’s also an apostle... What the hell is that?
To them, he wasn’t a true Ragnar. Nor a fanatic of their ancient foe, the Holy Demon Church.
A monster blending both.
A hybrid, through and through.
But the man ignored their stares, turning to Theo.
His gaze held a warmth utterly at odds with madness or demonic energy.
“Didn’t expect to meet like this. Still, good to see you, grandson.”
The Mad Dragon Emperor smiled.