Chapter 109: Kali Yuga (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 109: Kali Yuga (3)
Choi Seol-ah parted her lips in an 'O'.
"Woah..."
A soft sigh slipped through her teeth. Balor Joaquin was sitting on the floor, strapping on his greaves.
He was the very image of the Hero of the Origin, straight out of a history textbook.
'To see him with my own eyes.'
A wave of emotion washed over her. Former villain or not, Choi Seol-ah was still an alumnus of Joaquin Academy.
As Choi Seol-ah stared, Balor Joaquin noticed. Glancing at her, he chuckled softly.
"If you're worried about the armor and gear looking ancient, don't be. Might not look like much, but the greatest smith of the age poured every blessing he had into crafting this."
"The greatest smith of the age... Gasp!"
Choi Seol-ah gasped, covering her mouth with hands that trembled violently.
"H-Hephaestus?"
She used to frequent auction houses all the time. Almost every item breaking record high prices back then had been Hephaestus's work.
'Dammit! Talk about missing what's right under your nose!'
Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine that armor and weapons forged by Hephaestus—masterpieces, no less—were hidden inside the academy!
'How much would all that sell for...?'
Her mouth watered instantly.
Unaware of—or perhaps ignoring—her insidious thoughts, Balor Joaquin gave a slight smirk and began to brag.
"Oh? That fellow's name is still passed down today? He used to harp on and on about wanting to become a legendary blacksmith, and he actually achieved his dream."
Clack.
Balor Joaquin pushed himself off the floor and stood up. He then drew his sword about two handbreadths from its scabbard.
"The weapon's the same story. He put even more effort into this than the armor. It withstands 'that power,' so it's no ordinary piece."
"That power... you mean the same power my master... I mean, the Heavenly Sword uses?"
"Sharp eyes. Did you catch on just from peeking behind the palm tree earlier?"
"...Yeah, well. I know it all too well."
Choi Seol-ah absentmindedly rubbed her stomach. In her younger days, she had been stabbed more than a few times by blade thrusts infused with the Blessing of the Sword God. Just thinking about it made her stomach ache.
Deciding to treat Choi Seol-ah like his minion, Balor Joaquin confessed quite openly.
"It's the same power, but the difference in output is massive. Heavenly Sword... Ugh, calling my own apprentice by a ridiculous title like that feels weird, but anyway."
My master is the apprentice of the Hero of the Origin? How?
However, Choi Seol-ah hid her confusion. After all, the actual Hero of the Origin had suddenly popped up out of nowhere. Causality had already been twisted out of shape long ago.
Besides, if it was her master, anything felt possible. That guy wasn't even human.
Balor Joaquin continued speaking.
"He's the original, and mine is a degraded version. It costs more to use, and I can't even draw out one hundred percent of its power."
"That's surprising. I naturally assumed the Hero of the Origin would be the original or at least stronger."
"Now listen to you talk nonsense."
"Pardon?"
"I admitted he's the original, but I never said he was stronger than me."
...Isn't that the same thing?
Balor Joaquin pointed his thumb at himself and shrugged.
"Geomma has a long way to go before he catches up to me. My output might be weaker, but technically speaking, I'm far more experienced. And I've grown younger now, so it's a bit too early for the student to surpass the master."
Naturally, he was thrilled that his disciple—no, his son—had shown such remarkable growth.
But that was precisely why Balor had to remain an immovable wall. A person who loses their target loses their way. If life's compass breaks, the future becomes murky. Such a path leads only to bitter boredom and cynicism. And the stronger one is, the faster that stain corrupts them from within.
Surpassing the master.
The student exceeds the teacher.
Conversely, the master must do everything in their power to keep from being overtaken.
That was the paradox and the destiny shared between a peerless disciple and the master who trained him.
Rumble, rumbllllle...!
Dust piled atop the items in the storeroom rattled down in waves. A tremor.
* * *
CAUTION
Hello. This is Blessing of the Apocalypse M 2nd.
'Emergency Maintenance' has concluded. We deeply apologize for the inconvenience and will ensure that such issues do not... (Rest omitted)
* * *
Balor Joaquin pulled his gaze from the emergency window and looked out the window. Rays of light were pouring down like a cloudburst. From that wicked red glow, Balor Joaquin read clear hostility.
"Looks like the enemy's getting impatient."
They had to move fast.
Balor Joaquin strode quickly toward the exit. Choi Seol-ah watched his retreating back as he passed her, then blurted out without thinking,
"No matter how I think about it, setting everything else aside... in terms of pure technique? Skill? I think my master is better!"
"......?"
That single sentence brought Balor Joaquin to a dead stop.
"What?"
"I mean, unlike you, Lord Hero of the Origin, my master can use any sashimi knife. He always says, 'A true master doesn't blame his tools.'"
"......"
Grin.
"On the other hand, it seems you're quite picky. Well, if I'm wrong, then never mind."
"You..."
Balor Joaquin glared at her coldly.
"You get beaten up by Heavenly Sword pretty often, don't you?"
"N-No, I do not?!"
Snicker.
Leaving behind a mocking smirk, Balor Joaquin turned and walked away.
"I said I don't!"
"Sure, sure. Whatever you say."
Choi Seol-ah stomped her foot in indignation, shouting excuses.
"I swear it's not like that!!"
* * *
Choi Seol-ah hurriedly gave chase to Balor Joaquin.
Rumble!
The clamor outside grew even more frantic. The cadets were in total chaos—status windows suddenly popping up in their vision, red light rays pummeling the ground.
"Eek!"
"Instructor Zotto Mate! Get the kids to the bunker!"
"Y-Yes, sir (はい)!"
On top of everything, they had to evacuate. It was literal, complete bedlam.
Compared to that, the commotion in the storeroom was practically nothing. Perhaps before Balor and Choi Seol-ah left, but now, it was just a few collapsed display racks.
Slidddde.
Under the aftermath of the quake, a curtain rod gave way and collapsed.
But as the curtain pulled back, a slender silhouette was revealed. It was a black-haired girl, Chae Lina. She had been standing there even while the previous two were present. Strictly speaking, she was the first one there.
"So even you have come," Chae Lina muttered. "The person who severed him from Earth and left him drifting aimlessly in this world."
Her voice had no inflection.
Dry, withered, and flat.
"...And at the same time, the person who saved him from 'Hell'."
Shatter!
Unable to withstand the tremors, a full-length mirror tipped over and smashed. Though the shattered glass barely retained its oval outline, Chae Lina's reflection within the shards cracked severely across her image.
As Chae Lina stared quietly at her fragmented self, the emergency notification window from earlier reappeared. It was a new announcement from Kali Yuga.
* * *
ALARM
Please be advised that the recent 'Emergency Maintenance' was unrelated to the game developers.
We encourage all players to enjoy the 'Golden Age' to your heart's content without misunderstanding!
Please make full use of magic with all your strength!
* * *
Ha.
A dry laugh escaped her.
"You're not even bothering to hide it anymore."
The wording was blatantly raw.
Kali Yuga was growing impatient. Its objective was to tear down the boundary between reality and Blessing of the Apocalypse M 2nd.
Chae Lina turned her head toward the window. Even amid the tide of evacuees, she caught glimpses of students attempting to cast magic. Their expressions were filled with delight, ecstasy, and raw desire. The giant eye dominating the sky continuously rained down beams of light as if urging them to use magic.
'At least two-thirds of the world's population must view this apocalypse positively for it to manifest its power as a True God.'
Even as an Apostle of the Counterforce, manifesting as a True God right after Ragnarok would be impossible. Therefore, it intended to break down the barrier between fantasy and reality—two domains as immiscible as oil and water.
"...By denying the Heavenly Sword in this world."
The monster intended to have the people embrace only Kali Yuga, effectively erasing the existence of the 'Heavenly Sword.'
'An Apostle of the Counterforce?'
Hardly.
It was ridiculous.
Kali Yuga had defied the Counterforce's decree of world normalization. It coveted this world and wanted to snatch it away from Kang Geomma. The laughable thing was that Kang Geomma didn't even view this world as his possession.
To Chae Lina, this world was merely a cage trapping Kang Geomma—whose True Name was Kim■■.
And yet... even so.
To Kang Geomma, this world was a home. A reward of sorts for his past life, where he had wandered without a place to belong.
That was why she was jealous.
"Don't be so happy... in a world where I am not with you..."
You promised you'd return to me someday. Yet far from keeping that promise, you forgot it entirely.
'So why are you risking everything...'
Why are you fighting with all your might to protect this world?
It annoyed her.
She hated this world.
But most of all, she was angry at Kim■■.
She wanted to make contact with Kali Yuga right this instant. Joining forces with that giant eyeball to normalize this world would make logical sense. It aligned with the promise she had made to the Counterforce when crossing over into this world.
Clench.
The front of her shirt crumpled in her tight grip. Chae Lina slowly relaxed her hand over her chest and let it fall.
"Just this once."
This was simply because Kali Yuga's actions were foul.
This whim of hers.
It was strictly because an Apostle of the Counterforce was drunk on personal greed, abusing its authority.
Chae Lina brought her hands together in front of her stomach. As her palms joined to form a triangular shape, debris floated into the air as if the surrounding area had been plunged into zero gravity. Chae Lina's skirt and dark hair drifted in the air.
"True Name: Hela."
Her lips parted slightly.
A faint, ethereal voice flowed out.
───────────.
Hell sings.
...
She knew it herself.
Better than anyone else.
She knew the root of this whim.
This mistake was entirely deliberate.
Kali Yuga's greed was merely an excuse for the outside world.
In the end, Chae Lina herself was drowning in emotion, turning an ally like Kali Yuga into an enemy.
Even if it meant destroying this world, she wanted to take him back, but...
'I...'
I still lack the courage to face your grief.
I don't have the stomach to endure your eyes filled with reproach.
And so.
Just this once, instead of a Requiem...
She would sing a hymn for him.
"Kang Geomma."
Because she loved him.
Not yet.
She wasn't ready to be hated by him just yet.
Someday, he would blame her.
She just hoped that day would be as far in the future as possible. This was Chae Lina's innermost truth.
'And perhaps that day...'
Would be her true apocalypse (Kali Yuga).
— Kali Yuga (End)
My blade wavered.
Slash!
=Aaaarrrgghhh!=
The emergency maintenance landed effective hit after effective hit on the giant eyeball.
"Tsk."
Even so, the eyelid wasn't severed that easily.
The more strokes I dealt, the smaller the eyeball shrank. Consequently, the number of light beams rained down upon the earth decreased visibly.
'At least on Hawaii Island, there won't be any more casualties.'
I wished I could breathe a sigh of relief, but it was too early for optimism. This wasn't a localized incident.
It was a global catastrophe.
It was still unclear if the primary host was even the eyeball on Hawaii Island.
'Above all, there are too many urgent priorities.'
It would be wonderful if reducing or destroying the eyeball's size settled everything.
But the synchronization between reality and Blessing of the Apocalypse M had to be severed too.
To use an analogy, oil was desperately trying to seep into water, and we had to completely isolate them so it could never encroach, pulling the problem out by its roots.
Looking down, I saw Yoo Se-in sweating profusely. She was pouring every ounce of her holy power into preventing Kali Yuga from mentally manipulating the population.
However, it didn't look easy. A single dam couldn't hold back the ocean waves forever.
'I need to wipe out those eyes fast.'
No time to weigh options.
I had been serious from the start.
But now I intended to unleash my full power.
If I worried too much about the strain on the world, everyone would end up as Kali Yuga's puppets.
'Let's go.'
Just as I made up my mind—
"...!"
An electric shock jolted down my spine.
Silence.
Silence.
Glancing around, the faces of those fighting alongside me had turned deathly pale. Cold blood was coursing through my own veins, so imagine how bad it was for them.
I shook my head violently to clear the sudden daze.
'This is definitely...'
The feeling I felt right before the Parsi Massacre.
[Hey.]
It was Yoo Se-in. Looking down again, she curled her pale lips and mouthed the words.
[The tide has turned.]
'What do you mean?'
[You know why blessings, magic, or awakenings happen, right? It's all because substances with opposing attributes collide.]
Out of left field.
'Speak plain English.'
[You really lack comprehension skills, don't you? To put it simply, I was trying to hold on with my holy power, but suddenly the power of Hell gave me a massive push from behind. As a result, Kali Yuga's interference with reality is being pushed back.]
'So without getting into the details, that bastard's plan to gamify reality just got ruined, right?'
Yoo Se-in nodded.
[Look up.]
"...What is that?"
The single eyeball began drawing in countless others, gathering together. Instinctively, I realized these were the eyeballs that had been scattered all across the world.
Unable to hold out, it was pulling them all back to Hawaii Island. Clumped together like clay, the eyes gradually molded into the shape of a monstrous figure.
It was the hideous Rakshasa I had seen while wiping out villain cells—multiple pairs of arms, pockmarked across its entire blue-skinned body with eyeballs.
Except...
[Look at its face. That bastard is terrified.]
Terror was visibly swimming in those eyes.
[Everyone, let's go.]
Yoo Se-in said, bestowing holy power upon all of us.
[May the Blessing of God be with you.]