Chapter 294: God-Slaying God (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 294: God-Slaying God (2)
Ryozo’s eyes snapped open. Bursting out of her room, she rushed across the living room and headed straight for the balcony.
Dash.
Cynthia was startled by her daughter's sudden behavior. Suppressing a groan, she turned her gaze toward the balcony railing. Her stomach churned, and her head throbbed.
“…What’s gotten into her all of a sudden?”
Just a moment ago, both mother and daughter had been unconscious. The damaged atmosphere and ozone layer had left the air depleted of oxygen.
Yet Earth had regained stability within the crucial one-minute golden window. The fading vitality of the world throbbed back to life, pounding once more.
“……”
Clinging precariously to the balcony railing, Ryozo looked up at the sky. As if a curtain of light blue were being draped across the pitch-black, lightless sky, an enchanting shift of color was reflected in her sky-blue eyes.
“Geomma.”
Ryozo murmured with sorrowful eyes. The one who had saved humanity on the brink of destruction was none other than Kang Geomma.
That dream.
While lost in unconsciousness, she had dreamed. An abyss deeper than darkness. A realm where time had lost all meaning. In that place, Kang Geomma was engaged in an endless, bloody struggle against an unknown force. Desperate and utterly alone.
An eternal battle with no end in sight. Though it was an event rooted in the past, it exerted a profound influence on reality and the future. The twisted laws of causality were instantly manifesting.
It might just be a meaningless dream. From the bottom of her heart, Ryozo prayed that was all it was.
Please.
Every time she recalled Kang Geomma in that dream, her heart sank with cold dread. Logic and reason slowly dissolved the comforting possibility that it was merely a random nightmare. The spectacle unfolding before her eyes alone was evidence enough to support her fear.
She swallowed hard, feeling as though a thick chunk of ice were sliding down her throat.
“Whoa—!”
Cynthia stepped beside the troubled Ryozo. Resting her elbows heavily on the railing, she let her hands dangle loosely over the edge. A precarious posture. Cynthia was every bit as tough a woman as her daughter.
“The sky is so beautiful.”
Cynthia spoke, taking in the ocean breeze. Dark blue like dawn and deep crimson like sunset shared the sky half and half. Light and darkness, dawn and dusk, yesterday and today coexisted. If one were to paint the journey of the universe on a canvas, wouldn't it look like this?
With those thoughts in mind, Cynthia smiled at her daughter. The dark blue and deep crimson washed over the side profiles of mother and daughter alike.
“The Heavenly Sword stopped by our house just a few days ago, didn't he? That day, he promised me he'd definitely return. From what I can tell, he seems like a man who always keeps his word. What do you think, Ryozo?”
Ryozo parted her lips, then gave a low nod.
“…He keeps his word once he says it. No matter what happens.”
“Right?”
Smiling softly, Cynthia beamed even brighter as she ran her fingers through her daughter's hair.
“Then let's believe in him. If you're really anxious, why not try praying? If you don't want to do it alone, Mom will join you.”
“If I pray... who am I supposed to pray to...?”
Ryozo hesitated. She had always been far removed from religion or faith. Yet was it because of that disturbing dream? Her distrust toward gods had only grown.
Could the ones fighting Kang Geomma be those very gods?
Such an impious suspicion lingered in her mind. Perhaps that was why Ryozo didn't want to pray to them.
“Who else? You should pray to the Heavenly Sword.”
“Geomma is human. Praying to another human feels like a contradiction.”
“The object of a prayer isn't strictly limited to gods, my daughter.”
Just then, a single star flickered in the sky. Thanks to the thinned atmosphere, it sparkled more clearly than ever.
Their numbers grew. Hundreds, thousands. The scale multiplied with terrifying speed in an instant.
Soon, the sky was completely filled. Their total count was roughly estimated at three billion—reaching more than half of the world's population.
Their gazes stolen for a moment, mother and daughter looked at each other simultaneously. Cynthia smiled and continued.
“If each of those stars represents people's wishes, I wonder who they're praying to?”
It was a question with a predetermined answer. At this point, there was only one being whom humanity trusted and relied upon above all else.
“Kang Geomma.”
Slowly but surely, humanity had begun focusing on tangible reality rather than vague, abstract entities. They no longer entrusted everything to the will of heaven. Unlike before, when they would seek out gods the moment things went awry, times had changed.
Many had been influenced by Kang Geomma’s independent disposition. An era had arrived that valued individual willpower over faith in gods.
Ryozo turned her gaze back to the sky. She closed her eyes and clasped her hands together. Cynthia followed her daughter, pressing her palms together as well.
Quietly, yet desperately, the two transmitted their words to him.
Geomma.
Suddenly, the tips of her hair seemed to float upward, and a faint radiance spread across her skin. That light transformed into a beam and shot high into the sky.
A wish. Yet another star adorned the heavens.
* * *
The battle was tedious and grueling. Deprived of light, my vision was blocked by complete, pitch-black darkness. My five senses felt dull. Sharpening my faint instincts, I barely managed to attack and counterattack.
I couldn't see the enemy. I didn't even know if blood was spattering. Slashing with my sashimi knife felt sluggish, like trying to swing a blade underwater.
I measured my breaths in short bursts. I kicked off the air. I swung my sashimi knife. Intermittently, Lycan burst forth with flashes of lightning, illuminating the space ahead. Chasing those fleeting glimpses of vision, I drove my feet forward.
Rumbleeee!
〈Give up already.〉
One of the gods spoke, taking on a human form. A handsome, middle-aged man with a magnificent beard and hair. If one were to picture a statue of a god, he looked exactly like that.
〈Surely you know as well. Your power is indeed formidable. We know it all too well, for it was the very power that once eradicated us. You may not realize it, but one one-hundred-thousandth of our numbers has already fallen to your blade.〉
Dammit. I was swinging my blade at near lightspeed, and I only killed a hundred-thousandth of them? That means there are at least hundreds of millions of them. These god bastards are fucking everywhere.
〈However, the present you abandoned divinity and chose to remain human. In that state, you cannot defeat us.〉
Murmurs echoed from behind the middle-aged man. I could vaguely tell they were mocking me. Sure enough, the [Blessing of Communication] instantly translated the gods' language and conveyed it to me.
〈How foolish. Abandoning immortality to choose mortality.〉
〈Humans are mere momentary amusement. To suffer so much for the sake of playthings... how truly foolish you are, God of Sword.〉
〈To think this is the one who slew us. Shrouded in the abyss's darkness, he can't even see his own pathetic state. He has grown so weak.〉
The middle-aged man at the forefront waved his hand as if telling them to stop. The noise subsided. It seemed he was the ringleader among these bastards.
〈I am sorry, but this is who you are now. Face reality. You are strong. Even stronger than you were in the past. Yet, as you are, you are merely an incomplete god.〉
The middle-aged man extended his hand. As his lips curled into a benevolent arc, his beard glittered like golden dust.
〈My name is Jupiter. As the apex of the gods, I offer you a proposal. Become our leader in my stead.〉
A sudden offer. I glared back and forth between the middle-aged man, Jupiter, and the crowd behind him.
Seeing as there's no chatter, it seems they've already agreed among themselves.
—It appears so.
My guardian spirit—that is, Lycan—replied to my thoughts. Existing as an ashen heroic spirit, he guarded my surroundings.
Isn't that a total lie?
—Gods do not speak falsehoods. Even if they are harmful entities to us, that much is certain. In a way, it's natural since it defines their very identity. Well... though it seems he's disguised his outer appearance a little.
Lycan narrowed his eyes. His piercing glare pricked like static electricity.
〈God of Sword, I am not speaking only to you. I shall grant a seat to the lowly creature dwelling within you as well. Was his name Lycan? How about it—isn't it a tempting proposal? For a mortal entity to become an immortal being is an unprecedented event.〉
A somewhat rougher attitude than how he treated me. His tone and gaze were laced with contempt.
He talks like that, but he's fucking looking down on you.
—It's only natural. From their perspective, I am a creature lesser than a bug. Forcing themselves to offer a god's seat to such a creature must twist their guts inside out. I am merely a bonus, so to speak—a bait to entice you to their side, Geomma.
Lycan spoke with his arms crossed crookedly. Even amidst this, his eyes remained composed. Indeed, as someone who was once a ruler of the Demon Realm, he maintained his cool in any situation.
So, are you going to accept it?
—It is tempting. Attaining divinity means being able to interfere with the truth. It means it's possible to obtain a new body and resurrect. Since my current state is neither alive nor dead, but somewhere in between.
Lycan smirked softly. Hearing those words, Jupiter gently curled the corners of his lips, a triumphant expression that said I knew it.
Lycan twisted his lips into a snarl and roared.
—However, I refuse.
〈For a mere creature to talk back... how utterly arrogant. Very well, speak your reason before you are erased.〉
Jupiter's gaze glinted dangerously. Lycan sneered and spat back.
—Do you know how many have been sacrificed because of your schemes?
〈I do not know. Nor do I care to know.〉
—That's the reason, you dumbass.
Lycan spat out the curse like phlegm. Was it because he had hung around me for so long? The insult rolled off his tongue with natural perfection. I, Kang Geomma, hereby officially recognize Demon Army 1st Corps Commander Lycan as a true Korean.
〈How deplorable.〉
Jupiter covered his forehead and shook his head side to side. He sighed with emotionless eyes.
〈A mere creation crawling up to its creator... This, too, is a reflection of our own failings. Perhaps this is why our past selves were annihilated by the God of Sword.〉
Jupiter shot a glance at me. It seemed the murder intent he had desperately suppressed was now welling up in his pupils. For a moment, his golden beard squirmed slickly like dirty yellow tentacles.
〈I hope you will not make the wrong judgment.〉
Jupiter spoke warningly. His eyes glowed red, and his skin slowly dyed green. He was right on the verge of wild frenzy, like a werewolf beneath a full moon.
Grrrrrr.
The gods behind Jupiter were no different. The dark light cast by these absolute beings distorted the abyss.
〈I do not make this proposal because I hold you in high esteem. After suffering defeat at your hands, we realized... that there is not merely one world, but many—perhaps infinite.〉
Bottomless greed dripped from Jupiter's voice.
〈We want all of them. Regrettably, we cannot cross those boundaries. We had no choice but to remain trapped in this world endlessly. But after our bodies were torn apart by you, we realized.〉
Jupiter bared his teeth chillingly. He beckoned with a crook of his finger, tempting me.
〈You are the sword that slashes and cuts all things. Therefore, tear open the boundaries of the worlds with your blade. If you do, we shall entrust this entire world to you.〉
Even though they possessed the entire world, they could not control their desires. It was their essence and a fate akin to a curse.
The gods had lost interest in this world. I pondered. While they reached out into the outer worlds, this world would be at peace. Furthermore, it would take an astronomical amount of time for them to traverse all those worldlines.
But what about the other worldlines?
Would it really be fine just caring about this world? At least I knew, didn't I? The future where these monsters of greed would extend their evil claws to other worlds.
They would wreak destruction there as well, laying waste to world after world. Even if gods existed there, it was obvious they would only bring ruin.
—If it were solely for the sake of this world, accepting their proposal would be the right choice.
Lycan advised.
—However, if you refuse like I did, the erosion of your humanity will be faster than the time it takes to kill them all. I will respect your choice, but for now...
Lycan trailed off. In the pitch-black background of this Pandemonium, grains of light began to coalesce.
Jupiter and the other gods wore bewildered expressions. An anomaly was occurring in the abyss, the exclusive realm of the gods.
As they stirred in commotion, the droplets of warm light drew a massive sphere around us. In the next moment, the lights were all molded into the exact same shape.
—This is...
Lycan looked around, unable to believe his eyes. The lights draped over him and me like a halo.
The abyss's raw skin was laid bare. The figures hiding in the darkness were exposed. Swords of light surrounded them, pointing at them all at once.
Each individual light was weak. But if there were many of them—let alone billions—even fireflies huddling together would burn as brightly as the sun.
My eyes counted them one by one before gliding toward the gods.
Now I can see your ugly mugs clearly.
Looks like a mix between deep-sea marine creatures—like octopuses—and humans. Looking at them, a dry laugh involuntarily slipped out.
“I don't negotiate with fish. I'm a swordsman.”
I pointed Murasame toward the enemy ranks. Beams of light—humanity's hopes—surged forward, ripping through the darkness.
“Sword Control.”
The abyss screamed. Between the sparse mesh of light, the sounds of death erupted.
“I'll cut every last one of you down right here.”
The blade that slays gods is the spirit of man.