Chapter 36

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Translator: 8uhl

Chapter: 36

Chapter Title: Apostle

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Authority. The divine power lent to me by the Creator, the Absolute of this world.

To explain it, I'd inevitably have to mention that the world is racing toward its end. To avoid that situation, I'd been keeping it brief in places out of others' sight...

'When did she see that?'

A siren blared in my head, but I forced myself not to show it and opened my mouth.

"What do you mean?"

"...Right before Yi Mong-ryong went berserk, didn't you take that stance?"

'She saw it then.'

Choi Min Hunter lowered her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hand and shoved it into her pants pocket. With the streetlamp at her back, shadows fell over her face, amplifying her intimidating presence. Only her dark red eyes gleamed like those of a beast.

"Ah... Did I?"

"Yes. I saw it clearly."

'She's persistent.'

Tension hung thick in the air.

Silence or evasion would only fuel suspicion, so I decided to bluff my way through for now.

"It's actually a skill."

"A skill?"

"Yeah. C-rank magnification skill. Doing this makes things look bigger, like peering through a magnifying glass."

At my shameless attitude, Choi Min Hunter's eyes narrowed.

"I see. I was just curious."

Vroom.

'Perfect timing.'

The limousine I was to take arrived right on cue. I hurried to the car, opened the back door, and gave Choi Min Hunter a slight bow.

"Thanks for all your hard work today! I'll head out first."

"Hunter Shin Ji-ui."

"Yes?"

'What now?'

Just as I was about to get in, Choi Min Hunter spoke up again. She turned her head slightly to avert her gaze, then rolled her eyes back to look at me.

"Get your shoulder treated properly."

"...Ah."

'...She's sweet.'

Jin Ju-hyun Hunter had healed it somewhat, but a hospital visit wouldn't hurt.

Her sudden concern melted my tension, and the corner of my mouth twitched up unwittingly.

"Thank you."

Choi Min Hunter nodded curtly and walked off in the opposite direction.

Thud.

"Alright, let's get going."

As the car sped toward the Seoul highway, Choi Min Hunter's figure shrank to a dot and vanished.

'What kind of person is she, really?'

She had a truckload of mysteries and a cold personality, but she didn't feel dangerous for some reason. She'd even faltered when I mentioned Ji-yu.

Bzzz, bzzz.

Then my usual phone rang.

Caller―Mom

'Ah, she must've seen the clear news.'

I reached for the call button, but suddenly my consciousness began to fade. My ears rang as if I'd plunged into water, and my vision blurred soon after.

'So sleepy...'

Irresistible drowsiness enveloped my body, and my mind snapped away like a cut film reel.

Whoosh.

The sea sparkled like ink-blue paint mixed with jewels. Waves crashed against the sand with a splash, shattering into white foam.

'The Creator must've summoned me again.'

The Creator hadn't appeared yet, so I called out to the sky.

"Creator!"

"Annyeong~"

Unlike expected, the voice came from the ground. Sand grains gathered into a lizard shape, and with a shake, its sleek black surface gleamed. The Creator, who had made a flashy entrance, stared at me with its usual face.

"What's up with that woman earlier~?"

"You mean Choi Min Hunter?"

"Uung. The Time Deviant."

'Time Deviant?'

A strange nickname.

It almost made Choi Min Hunter sound like a regressor.

The Creator scratched its chin with its stubby legs, waiting for my response.

Sand rustle.

Its tail swept the beach, kicking up a dust wind, and from it emerged a rag doll resembling Choi Min Hunter. A red thread hovered horizontally above the doll.

"Ever heard of the Air Raid Shelter skill? It's her unique skill~."

"Yeah, I know."

"You know being inside it stops time's effects too~?"

"Yeah."

The Creator's eyes widened round. It seemed surprised.

"You know a lot~. Anyway, that kid lived like a corpse in the Air Raid Shelter for decades~."

Snap.

The red thread over the doll broke clean off.

"That's when her timeline snapped like this~. That's why we call her the Time Deviant~."

"So what?"

The Creator still hadn't gotten to the point. I crossed my arms and stared it down, making its eyes gleam fiercely.

"Because the friend who reconnected her snapped timeline is a bad guy~."

"Who?"

"The Harmonizer."

Poke.

"Ugh!"

The name 'Harmonizer' pierced my ear, and a burning pain scorched my chest.

'Damn it... I know the bastard.'

"Eeng? What's wrong~? You okay?"

"Hoo, uh... Yeah."

The Creator was definitely a prick, but then what about the Harmonizer? Was he on this world's side?

The name sparked no ominous premonition or reassuring vibe.

Literally nothing—just pure void. My sense of the Harmonizer was utterly blank.

'Probably neutral.'

I caught my breath and rubbed my chest. The Creator tilted its head at me, then added more.

"Anyway, the Harmonizer is an Absolute like me~. A scary guy who doesn't care about anything to maintain this world~."

Maintain this world. At least that meant he wasn't out to destroy it.

"Why did the Harmonizer reconnect Choi Min Hunter's timeline?"

"To make her his apostle~. He pulled her out of the Air Raid Shelter himself~."

My thoughts froze. Before I could process, the Creator spoke first.

"That kid is the Harmonizer's apostle~."

Wait. This was getting complicated. Let me sort it out...

The Harmonizer had pulled out Choi Min Hunter, who had hibernated in grief in the Air Raid Shelter after losing her family, and made her his apostle?

Amid the flood of questions, the most fundamental one surfaced.

"Why?"

"I don't know the exact reason~. But after making her his apostle, the world started rushing toward doom~."

The Creator was indirectly painting the Harmonizer as the world's destroyer.

'Something feels off.'

He'd cleverly avoided lying but was steering me to think 'the Harmonizer is bad.'

'Fine, I'll play along.'

"So you're saying the Harmonizer is bringing about the apocalypse, and Choi Min Hunter is helping him?"

The Creator smiled quietly.

'Oh, not confirming it outright.'

"I don't lie."

'Yeah, because you didn't answer at all.'

The more ambiguous it got, the clearer the truth became.

If the Creator, hell-bent on apocalypse, was targeting Choi Min Hunter, then she—and her master, the Harmonizer—were at least opposing the Creator.

With a lighter heart, I sat on the beach.

"Ji-ui still doesn't wanna be my apostle~?"

"You're clingy."

"I need the power of someone as stron~g as youuu...".

Even after I smacked it once, it wasn't letting go easily.

'Time to bait more info out of it.'

I turned to the Creator casually.

"You're saying there's only one apocalypse-stopping charm for me?"

"Noo~? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠There are more~. One isn't enough."

"Hmm. So I'm the last one to get one."

"That's..."

Rumble.

'Gotcha.'

My smooth leading question drew a slip from the Creator. Gentle waves surged into a tsunami. Its yellow pupils elongated vertically, and the peaceful sky flushed red.

"Oopsie, my bad~."

Click.

Like flipping a switch, the beach regained its peace. The Creator reverted to its dumb face, rolling in the sand with peep peep noises.

Thanks to its idiotic slip, one thing was clear.

'The Creator's fragments are already distributed among the apostles.'

One variable down. Things had shifted subtly with my SS-rank awakening, but I was still the last apostle to join. Now, I just needed to find who was blocking Ego from my memories, eliminate them, and get the Creator to reveal the apostles.

"Got it. So I just need to watch out for Choi Min Hunter?"

I smiled and stood. The Creator nodded slowly.

"Uung. She's dangerous~ And you, Ji-ui, need to be a hundred, a thousand times more careful~."

"Me?"

The Creator draped its stubby legs over my shoulder, gazing down pityingly. Its sun-like eyes seemed to peer right through me.

"Think about it~. If I were an Absolute who wanted to destroy the world, and I learned you're the only SS-rank."

What was it getting at?

An uneasy feeling made me want to brush its feet off, but my body wouldn't move properly.

"Then I~"

Splash.

"...Huh?"

"Wouldn't I want to kill you first~?"

Blood sprayed. Crimson liquid gushed from my throat, filling my vision. Instinctively, I clutched my neck. Hot, sticky fluid seeped through my fingers, soaking the sand.

"Wh-what's happening...?"

Before I could grasp it, my mind drifted far from all sensation.

Wait. This was completely unexpected...

"Surprised?"

"Hah, huff!"

My mind snapped awake like I'd been pulled from water. My hands found no blood on my neck—no wound at all. No trace of liquid anywhere.

"See~? Your guard is way too looow...".

Bang!!

I pulled the trigger. A massive bullet cleaved the lizard form in half, but it merely rippled, didn't explode. Like stirring water, its shape wobbled briefly before reforming.

"Eeng?"

"You think this is a joke?"

"Scawy~"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

The Creator flattened itself before me, covering its eyes with its feet.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Fury unrelenting, I fired repeatedly at its head, but the bullets only vibrated the ground uselessly.

My body trembled. Fear or rage—I couldn't tell which dominated, leaving me gasping. My blood ran cold, eyes brimming with physiological tears.

"I was just trying to heighten your senses...".

"Cut the crap and get me out of here."

"...Okayyy. Sorryyy."

Sand rustle.

A limousine door rose from the beach's center—the one I'd taken earlier. I wanted to beat that crazy lizard until my rage subsided, but it'd take more than a day. I held back.

'I'll find all the fragments and make sure it never comes back.'

Resetting Ego to its place, I opened the door at once.

Thud.

―Tomorrow's Seoul weather will be mostly cloudy, with occasional showers...

The radio droned with the forecast. I forced my eyes open and scanned around; the Han River flowed past the window.

"Haa..."

I'd escaped that whatever-space.

Lifting slightly from the seat, cold sweat trickled down my back. I redirected all the rear AC vents toward me and sighed in relief.

'Is her saving me related to her being the Harmonizer's apostle?'

Mysteries lingered.

She was more trustworthy than the Creator, but... I needed to dig deeper.

"Ah, darn..."

The driver sighed shortly. Ahead, the narrow alley to my home was blocked by a food waste truck.

"I'll take a detour to drop you off."

"It's fine. It's right up anyway, no big deal."

"Still..."

I shook my head at the driver and opened the door.

"Drive safe!"

"You too, Hunter Shin Ji-ui!"

Vroom.

The luxury limousine pulled away from the shabby alley. I turned to look at my house. A pale yellow crescent moon hung over the building. Bathed in moonlight, I dragged my heavy legs up the hillside to the villa midway.

Thud.

"Haaaa."

I collapsed at the entryway the moment I entered.

'This time, I can really succeed, right?'

The real hardship hadn't even started, yet my body and mind were already exhausted.

"I'd want to kill you first~?"

I touched my neck again. Smooth, no scars, but the sensation revived, making me shiver.

'I have to live. I must survive.'

If I couldn't even fulfill this, I had no face to show Ji-yu.

"I'll survive somehow, Ji-yu."

Kiiing.

A massive progress boost?

The unprecedented reward jolted me alert. It was a huge chance to advance Nokdu's growth.

'Twelve hours?!'

The problem was that golden opportunity vanishing in twelve hours.