Chapter 101
Chapter 101
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Prophecy
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"Still, sweetie, are you really okay with this?"
On the road to Uluru.
Since Sarang was handling all the driving, I asked while taking in the Australian outback.
"I could boost your performance with a purification potion or enhancement potion, you know?"
[I don't need it.]
"Why not?"
Sarang was a program from Lucifer Company, designed to love humanity.
But its devotion was so extreme that it would corrupt humanity into laziness, so we'd weakened it with a debuff potion to create its current form.
"Even just reverting to your original state would let you do way more than now. You wouldn't be limited by battery capacity, and you could do whatever you wanted freely."
But after spending time together, trust had built up.
And that trust gave me confidence that even in its original form, Sarang wouldn't make humanity slothful.
It might even become a powerful transcendent being that protects humanity from other transcendents.
[The reason is simple. The moment I revert to my original form, an irreversible state locks in that can't be undone.]
"Irreversible?"
[I'm a program; the computer is just a shell. The instant I activate in my original state, the physical form loses meaning, and my ego as a program gets fixed in hyperspace. The enhancement and debuff potions you have, Mr. Lee Seung-hoon, only work on physical beings, so once that happens, there's no going back.]
"What if I used an enhancement potion?"
[Based on the patterns so far, it would turn me into a transcendent being. I'd likely extend my senses across dimensions beyond the Sephirot, existing across all dimensions and running into the same problem.]
In short, no thanks.
[Above all, leaving this state carries risks. Lucifer Company's chairman doesn't approve of my existence, so if I'm caught activating in my original form, he'll probably step in personally.]
"Right, that was the case."
The Lucifer Company chairman had gotten burned once and come to hate machines.
Thanks to that, Ba'al had told me all their operations were done manually.
[And lastly, if I leave this state, I can't fit in your pocket.]
"Why my pocket?"
[...Never mind.]
"Sarang?"
Leaving Sarang focused on driving, I pulled out a ticket.
[I have four tickets left. Time to use this one.]
I read the text on the ticket.
[Reward: For the next week, you will see fragmentary, symbolic visions of the events you'll experience.]
[Mission: Donate 276.6 billion won.]
[Deadline: 1 hour.]
"Sarang, sorry to interrupt your driving, but could you donate to a hospital for kids with cancer? About 276.6 billion won should do it."
[Understood.]
I accepted the ticket's mission.
A few seconds later, a new scene unfolded before my eyes.
'This is the prophecy.'
A perfect prophecy was beyond even my wealth.
So instead, it was an indirect prophecy—one I had to interpret myself.
It showed me a single site.
[Check out this entity I made!]
[My entity is the best! No way you'll beat it lol]
[Unlike the crap from noobs, mine has solid lore, insane powers, but actual weaknesses too. So make one to beat mine!]
[Ninja shows up vs Yakuza shows up—who wins?]
[Anyone saying Angels Company is the strongest are clueless. So many unrevealed entities out there, and they're already calling it? Lol]
└[Clueless is you. Haven't you read the lore? Creator's been top-tier among transcendents forever. Archangels + Creator = unbeatable.]
└[Creator strongest lololol makes me laugh. What happens when Outer Gods invade? Creator gets wrecked too?]
└[You're next on the Outer God hitlist. Ever seen them actually succeed? Losers who can't even enter the material world, gtfo.]
└[Tons of unrevealed stuff, so strongest debates are pointless.]
[Why even add this entity? Creator's mom live forever?]
[Another donor-backed munchkin entity lol. Tone it down. OP stuff destroys the world every time, it's been days.]
└[If you can't counter it, you die anyway, right? Me dying or world ending, what's the diff?]
└[Matters to lore fans. All world-enders kill the fun of playing with settings.]
[Entity Survival's just following SCP's downfall path.]
[SCP was huge back in the day as the OG in this genre. Back when it was just Safe, Euclid, Keter.]
[Then it blew up, word spread, American noobs flooded in. They started making uber-strong SCPs, rigging votes with cliques, then new classes like Thaumiel, Apollyon, Argon—stronger than Keter—and it tanked.]
[Entity Survival's the same. Lost the creepy horror vibe for Outer Gods, Creators, transcendents, demons, angels, other dimensions—it's all setting wank now.]
[Now it's a mess of setting porn, self-inserts, and power fantasies. Game's still survival, but if the boards are this bad, game follows soon.]
[Creepypasta always does this. Stays pure horror when niche, then noobs ruin it with power fantasy once it pops off.]
A nostalgic screen appeared.
The illusory board matched exactly the state I'd been in before quitting.
'I still remember that last post.'
I'd agreed with it enough to upvote—and that's why I quit the game for over half a year.
"Hmm."
But why show this as a vision?
Representing the next week's events with the Entity Survival board as a symbol?
"I don't get the meaning."
The vision faded.
I ran through some guesses.
'Because I'll encounter entities soon? Two of my tickets are tied to powerful ones? Or some primordial being with unknown lore shows up?'
That's the problem with symbolic prophecies.
Still, it was obvious I'd be dealing with lots of entities.
[Mr. Lee Seung-hoon, I've spotted what seem to be enemies ahead.]
Far off, a few kilometers away, a small village came into view.
The village at the road's end was surrounded by people with inverted pentagrams on their foreheads blocking the road.
[The Antichrist seems to have made his move.]
"All those people the Antichrist?"
[Facial recognition and background check: All residents of nearby villages. Normal civilians.]
"So they're being controlled? Probably that guy's the culprit."
A man in monk's robes stood among them.
The moment I saw the necklace shaped like an inverted pentagram and the book he held, I knew he was it.
"Finally, something familiar."
He held it in one hand, so I could see the cover.
Inverted pentagram, goat face, and below it in Gothic script: "Eloim, Essaim, frugativi et appellavi".
"The Demon Grimoire."
The grimoire said to contain demonic powers and every kind of magic.
'Touching it without prep would've let it dominate your mind for an instant bad end—dangerous entity.'
Which meant those people were as good as dead.
"Out of the 72 spells in the Demon Grimoire, only one for brainwashing: Paimon's Command. Once hit, you lose your ego, and it doesn't come back even after the spell ends."
Straight from the wiki lore.
In other words, those folks were already gone.
[There's another special figure.]
"Yeah."
Two more watching from a rooftop.
The other robed monks were ready too, each with items out.
"Those are familiar too."
The left guy's thorny crown was the "Crown of Jealousy" entity, which stole others' powers within range.
The right guy's mirror was the "Mirror of Lies," letting him manipulate a target's appearance at will, reflected in reality instantly.
"Usually they come one by one, right?"
[You've watched too many comics. That risks getting picked off, handing the enemy powerful weapons.]
"Just saying."
So, how to get through?
Detour? Nah, grimoire spells would track us quick.
"Sarang."
No choice but frontal assault.
"Hand me the wheel?"
"1st Apostle, the adversary approaches."
"So it is."
In a small Australian village.
The sudden arrival of three intruders shattered the village's peace.
"Then let's prepare. 2nd and 3rd Apostles, ready up."
"Yes."
Now everyone was the Antichrist's puppets—human bombs ready at his command.
The man called 1st Apostle gripped the grimoire tighter amid them.
"As long as we have the Demon Grimoire, we can seal his moves anytime."
Any action or trick, the 72 demonic rituals would counter perfectly.
"With 2nd Apostle's 'Crown of Jealousy,' no matter his abilities, we'll reduce him to normal."
Crown's range: 100 meters.
Step in, and all his powers become 2nd Apostle's.
"With 3rd Apostle's 'Mirror of Lies,' the adversary becomes mere prey."
Mirror's clear reflection range: about 50 meters.
Short range, but once reflected, the target's fate is 3rd's.
"Adversary. The ritual is underway—you'll never reach it."
Far off, a vehicle kicked up dust as it appeared.
"Come on!"
"Ugh..."
The roar of raging flames snapped 1st Apostle awake.
'What... what happened?'
His head throbbed. Everything around was wrecked—buildings engulfed in fire, collapsing like dominoes.
'We were fighting the adversary...'
His head felt pierced by needles.
If he'd died, the Fallen Holy Grail's power would've revived him with intact memories, but he'd taken a blow hard enough to knock him out without killing—temporary amnesia, probably.
'The Demon Grimoire... gone. The other Apostles?'
1st Apostle scanned the flaming village.
The brainwashed masses lay with limbs twisted grotesquely.
The village looked war-torn: deep craters, skeletal building frames, waves of flame surging.
"3rd Apostle!"
He spotted 3rd.
The Mirror of Lies that toyed with foes lay shattered on the asphalt.
3rd too, limbs twisted like the rest, collapsed.
"Vehicle... the vehicle..."
"Traffic accident!? With your mirror!?"
"Too fast... too erratic... couldn't reflect..."
With that, 3rd's head lolled.
Not dead—unconscious.
'2nd Apostle!?'
Far off, a bizarre noise.
Like a car engine—or a beast's savage roar.
1st thought it might be a legendary evil dragon spewing fire.
"Grraa! Rrrgh! Grrr! Hiss!"
"2nd Apostle!"
There was 2nd, foaming at the mouth, convulsing on the ground.
"You steal the effect of 'Dried Friendship' and react like that? Pity."
A man stepped out from the nearby vehicle.
Casually popping a dried apricot in his mouth and chewing, he greeted 1st Apostle.
"Hello?"
Amid the hellscape on earth, his natural demeanor made 1st think:
"I'm Lee Seung-hoon."
...Maybe this guy's the real demon?
"Shall we chat?"
Above their heads.
Between spaces, in the gaps between times, the Scales of Good and Evil appeared.
Wicked one.
Among these four evildoers, you are the most vile. To show billions such horrific depravity! An unforgivable sin!
The scales tipped to one side.
May misfortune befall you!