Chapter 107: Kali Yuga (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 107: Kali Yuga (1)
"Who..." Welter grew tense. "...are you?"
Even as they spoke, those stamped with the mark were rampaging like lunatics. There was no time for foolish banter. Welter furrowed his brows, full of guard.
"More importantly, do you know the Saintess?"
"I don't know her, but she definitely knows me."
"'Her'? 'Me'?"
His way of speaking was extraordinary. Visually, even with a generous estimate, he looked barely in his mid-thirties.
Is it maturity dripping from his voice? Or sheer experience?
Welter took a closer, thorough look at the man again. Black hair. An unbothered, nonchalant attitude oblivious to the dire atmosphere around them. A Hawaiian shirt.
Wait.
Black hair? Black eyes?
Welter hurriedly turned back to Yoo Se-in.
"Don't tell me, Saintess. Could that man..."
"Don't make a fuss, he's not my father or anything. Wait, I graduated from Joaquin Academy, so maybe he is like a father?"
"Saintess, please... I would really appreciate an explanation I can actually understand."
Yoo Se-in introduced the man bluntly.
"He's the Hero of the Origin."
"..."
Huh?
Yoo Se-in, her eyes growing calm before anyone noticed, drove the point home.
"That man is Balor Joaquin."
Crunch! The man munched loudly on his ice cream.
"It feels like nearly seven hundred years since I last heard someone call me that," Balor Joaquin smirked, revealing his teeth.
Episode: Kali Yuga
Yoo Se-in stood up, brushing sand from her skin. The lace draped around her waist fluttered in a sudden gust of wind. Welter spread his arms and legs wide in a star-shape to shield her swimsuit from view.
"Saintess! Your clothes, your clothes!"
"Quiet before I take off even the swimsuit."
"Yes, ma'am."
Welter stepped aside. Yoo Se-in stared intently at Balor Joaquin and spoke.
"You shouldn't be able to exist in this worldline. The 'Evil Eye of the Loop' is a single-use ability."
When Yoo Se-in was reincarnated, she had glimpsed a fragment of the truth.
"The Evil Eye of the Loop is an absolute eye. Even for a god, that rule should be absolute."
"Correct. Even as an Infinite Regressor, I had to offer up my entire regression ability just to activate the Evil Eye of the Loop. Just as you said, even a god can only use it once," Balor Joaquin answered.
Yoo Se-in, listening blankly, instantly turned pale.
"An Outer God sacrificed their own life to use the Evil Eye of the Loop..."
"...and pushed me into this worldline."
Kang Geomma and the Outer God were identical yet different beings.
The Outer God was the version of Kang Geomma who had not abandoned his divinity—a cog in the grand machinery of the universe.
The guy swinging a sashimi knife up in the sky was simply the God of Sword.
A god who refused to become an Outer God governing all worldlines. Or perhaps, a human.
"Why would an Outer God do such a thing...?"
Welter, caught between them, looked back and forth with bewildered eyes. Because...
'Correct. As an ■■■■, offering up my entire ■■ ability...'
'An ■■ sacrificed their life to use ■■'s ■■...'
'...and pushed me into this ■orldline.'
'Why would an ■■ do such a thing...?'
To Welter's ears, the words sounded fragmented and broken.
"Hmm. As expected," Balor Joaquin glanced at him and continued. "They must have judged this to be the only remaining possibility. And in fact, it likely is. After all, this is probably the first time the Counterforce directly dispatched an Apostle to forcibly shut down the server."
"That's quite convincing. However, before that..."
A haze of pure white light flowed over Yoo Se-in's skin. It was Holy Power, her unique authority.
"You'll have to prove that you really are Balor Joaquin."
"The Reincarnator sure is suspicious."
Balor Joaquin scratched his head with his ice cream stick. Yet a smile rested on his lips.
"That makes you all the more trustworthy."
Light particles gathered around the wooden stick. Using the stick as a core, the grains morphed into the shape of a sharp sword. The sandy beach billowed upward as if struck by a cannonball.
[Blessing of the Sword God manifests.]
This sound did not originate from Yoo Se-in.
++++++++++++++++++++
《May the Blessing of the Hero be with you.》
++++++++++++++++++++
"...It really is you."
Having seen this much, Yoo Se-in had no choice but to nod.
"What do you need?"
From Welter's perspective, she expressed her willingness to cooperate with Balor Joaquin almost anti-climactically fast.
"Every element that makes up the game."
"For instance?"
Balor Joaquin slashed the ice cream stick through the air, carving a small slit in space.
"To make the Status Window visible to ordinary people, we must wound this world. Saintess, your Status Window serves to sew those wounds shut."
"..."
She was right. That was why status windows kept popping up relentlessly whenever Kang Geomma drew his sword.
"The Status Window must be visible to ordinary people as well. Only then can they perceive this apocalypse as a game."
"The expert on that is up there."
"And right here."
Balor Joaquin pointed the stick at his own chin. Yoo Se-in let out a faint sigh.
"There will be many other things needed, but let's start from there for now."
Yoo Se-in closed her eyes and quietly chanted an incantation.
"Stop peeking and come out already."
At Balor's gaze, Choi Seol-ah, who was hiding behind a palm tree, flinched. She was the very person who had guided Balor from Gehenna to the Human Realm. Though he hadn't offered any explanations, Choi Seol-ah was slick... rather, quick-witted.
Inferring from his conversation with Yoo Se-in, she etched into her mind that this pervert was the Hero of the Origin (Real).
Choi Seol-ah shuffled forward timidly.
"D-Did your conversation go well? Heh... hehe."
"Thanks to your guidance."
"I-I-It's an honor, Hero of the Origin."
"Besides that, I have one more favor to ask."
"...What kind of favor?"
"Since this is a Gehenna Gate, there should be a Subspace Warp, right?"
Choi Seol-ah nodded, feeling bewildered.
"Yes. It's just a short walk from here."
"Lead the way."
"S-Shouldn't you be fighting here?"
"How frustrating."
Balor Joaquin shoved the ice cream stick into his pocket.
"I need my armament and armor, don't I?"
Ah.
* * *
Thanks to the swift response of Speed Weapon and the Gate standing forces, people were evacuating safely. They lined up and entered the underground bunkers on the island.
Hawaii was a borderland threatened by demons due to the Gehenna Gate.
Naturally, there were multiple bunkers prepared for emergencies. Speed Weapon and his team chose those bunkers as shelters. Since they were military facilities, doing so might cause security issues later on, but...
"I'll take full responsibility, so get everyone inside."
Weapon spoke in a stern tone.
"At least we should report to the Association President..."
"Deputy Lee, you graduated from Joaquin too, right?"
"That's correct."
"Then even though you're wearing a Hero Association employee badge right now, you're still a hero. Listen carefully. To a hero, the most important thing—first, second, third, tenth, and hundredth—is 'citizens' safety'."
Weapon was usually a boss famous for treating his subordinates well. Suffice it to say that quite a few female employees held admiration for him.
Yet now, his facial muscles hardened as he emphasized:
"Right now, we shouldn't be worrying about getting chewed out by our superiors. What we should feel guilty about is failing to bring those stamped with the mysterious marks into the bunker."
"...I didn't think it through enough."
"Let's do our best, Deputy Lee."
Weapon patted her shoulder lightly.
A short while later, the employee verified that the final person at the very end of the line had entered the bunker. She meticulously checked the roster, tapping the list with the tip of her pen.
"Bunker 3D-45a3g is at full capacity for now."
"..."
"Team Leader?"
Weapon looked somber. Well, given that this catastrophe had struck, it would be weirder if he were smiling.
However, Weapon's grief didn't seem to stem from that direction.
"Ah, yeah. All done?" Regret.
"For now, everyone whose identities could be verified has been evacuated to the bunker, Team Leader."
"Good work. Let's head into the bunker as well."
"Um, Team Leader."
"Huh? Is there more left to report?"
"Yes. Actually, we received word that the Spear Saint was about to deploy to Hawaii Island, but decided he had to reroute elsewhere."
Richard de Myura was one of the Seven Stars, humanity's core military power. Far from growing frail with age, the Spear Saint grew fiercer by the day. Though retired from the Association, he was undeniably active as a hero.
Right now, anyone could see this was a catastrophe for humanity. The Spear Saint was one of the few superhumans capable of dealing a meaningful blow to this apocalypse.
The Spear Saint had intended to fly over as quickly as possible. He planned to join Kang Geomma, resolve the initial crisis starting here in Hawaii, and then extinguish the sparks of apocalypse one by one across the world. However, the reality across the globe was far more horrific than reported. His conscience as a hero pained him too much to ignore it under the pretext of his original mission.
Thus, the Spear Saint hastily changed his route.
"It's hardly a replacement, but they said the Sword Emperor should arrive in Hawaii shortly."
"It's unfortunate, but I understand how the former Association President feels. We only have it this manageable because Director Seong and the kids are here. Other places must be truly dire."
Weapon spoke bitterly.
"I should be fighting out there alongside them too."
Just then—Bzzzzzt. His smartphone vibrated. It was a call from an unknown number.
"Hello?"
—Yeah. It's Yoo Se-in.
"Yoo Se-in? The Yoo Se-in?"
—Is there another Yoo Se-in? Anyway, I need you to do something. There's no time to explain at length, but it's crucial to saving the world.
Thump!
"...Save the world? Me?"
—Because out of all the healers I know, you're the most capable one available.
"Say that again."
—Say what?
"'Out of all the healers I know, you're the most capable one'?"
—For now, at least?
Weapon placed a hand over his heart. "Tell me anything. Whatever I can do."
—Why is your voice trembling so much? Anyway...
Weapon nodded repeatedly. Then, the moment he ended the call, he bolted as if launched by a spring. His subordinate called out after his hurriedly retreating back.
"Team Leader! Where are you going?!"
Weapon answered without looking back. "To the local Hawaii broadcasting station!"
It was the sole facility that controlled the island's entire audio infrastructure.
"I..." He chewed over the thought like self-hypnosis. "...will save Director Seong and the world."
Weapon was thoroughly galvanized.
* * *
My hands didn't get a single moment's rest. My companions and I had been slicing through the raining beams of light for nearly thirty minutes.
Everyone was visibly growing exhausted. This was nothing more than a stopgap measure without a fundamental solution. I knew it, and the kids knew it too.
I need to buy time.
Close-quarters combat was my job.
Devising a plan was Yoo Se-in's.
I have to trust her.
When the time came, she would reach out one way or another.
Bzzzzt! The giant eye flashed. I slid in close. I brought Murasame against the light beam and cleaved it straight through. Damn it. Kali Yuga seemed determined not to give us time to devise a countermeasure. The light beams and explosive roars bursting from all directions wore down our minds.
The anxiety that a single hit would leave a mark, coupled with the repetitive motions, was grinding everyone down. If even I felt this way, how much worse was it for the others? It was admirable that they had held out this long.
I tilted my head up to look at the sky. The Giant's eye narrowed. It seemed to have sensed my gaze.
Should I cut down that eye? I wanted to do it right this instant.
"...I can't."
A quick look at the surroundings revealed the reason. The giant eye had spread red threads across the island. They were tethering cords connecting that eye to the civilians. If I cut it down, those people would die.
Kali Yuga was taking the people hostage. What a truly rotten apocalypse. How did it manage to figure out my fatal weakness...?
Beams of light tightened around us from all sides. From above, a heavy, unrelenting gaze. Kali Yuga's combination attack was driving me toward an extreme choice.
Use it.
Slice them all down.
Just swing your sword, can't you?
It was as if it was saying that. The giant eye curved arc-like. An eye-smile? It really knew how to get on my damn nerves.
Fwooooosh! Red bloodlust flickered along my Murasame. An urge to cut down the entire place at once knocked against the roof of my mouth. A single strike would result in a massacre, but in the end, was this the only way...?
In that instant—Pee-ree-ree-reet! The melody of a recorder drifted in from somewhere. We involuntarily turned our heads. It belonged to Weapon. His music resounded loudly enough to send widespread ripples across the sea.
[Blessing of Healing manifests.]
[Holy Power is added.]
[Blessing of Healing — Awakening manifests.]
In that split second, Yoo Se-in's voice resonated inside my head. It was just a single word.
'Cut it.'
Ah, I see.
The full picture crammed into my mind, instantly understood.
I smiled. And with my sashimi knife, I severed the string in my mindscape that I hadn't been able to let go of.
[Blessing of the Sword God is deactivated.]