Devouring the Traitor God
A tremendous roar erupted from his left hand—a pillar of crimson-black flame shooting skyward.
At the same moment, his armor vibrated.
The special effect of the Heavenly Demon armor.
Heavenly Demon Qi.
An overwhelming pressure radiated in all directions.
"K-keeek?"
"Grrr... yelp!"
The charging wolves froze in their tracks.
The tips of the ice soldiers' spears trembled.
The monsters backed away.
It stemmed from primal fear.
But that wasn't all.
The unbelievable sight unfolding before their eyes.
Sssizzle!
The blizzard pouring from the heavens evaporated above his head.
Snowflakes vaporized into white steam before they could even touch him.
The ground boiled.
Black flames surged from cracks in the asphalt.
A land seething with hellfire.
The moment that authority activated, the very laws of this district changed.
The domain of cold was erased.
In its place, a realm of scorching, ferocious heat overlaid everything.
He had crushed a god's rules with the power of a stronger god.
He took a step forward.
Flames parted before him, clearing a path.
Kieeeek!
One ice soldier that couldn't escape brushed against the blaze.
It was instantaneous.
Crack!
With a scream, its body melted away.
And ignited.
Hellfire burned not just matter, but souls as well.
But there was something even more extraordinary.
Whoosh!
The flames swept through street trees and buildings.
Yet the trees didn't burn.
The signs didn't melt.
It targeted only the monsters.
Only the aberrant beings born of disaster crumbled into black ash.
The fire ignited solely where his killing intent directed.
The path is open.
3 kilometers.
No short distance.
But no obstacles remained.
He strolled leisurely down the red carpet of flames.
Monsters retreated to either side, trembling and bowing their heads.
Like lesser demons witnessing a demon king's procession.
Eventually,
He reached the heart of downtown.
Before the largest building.
Unlike the others, its entrance was completely sealed.
A thick, transparent ice wall.
The source of the cold.
Hiding, are we?
He smirked.
Pressed his left hand against the ice wall.
Fwoosh!
Heat burst from his palm.
The mana-forged ice, said to be harder than steel, melted like sugar in hot water.
A hole opened.
A passage wide enough for one person.
He stepped inside immediately.
An empty lobby.
Only chill permeated the air.
And in its center.
A man sat on a chair of ice.
His eyes closed.
As if meditating.
Sensing the presence, he slowly opened his eyes.
"...Noisy."
A voice laced with irritation.
He confirmed the man's face.
In an instant.
He halted.
His steps stopped dead.
I know that face.
All too familiar.
Grind!
His teeth ground together unconsciously.
Bones cracked in his clenched fist.
"...Kim Insu."
The name spat from his lips like venom.
A name he couldn't forget.
A name he must never forget.
It was you?
Betrayal surged up.
Blood refluxing through his veins.
Kim Insu.
A comrade from his previous life.
Not just any comrade.
Humanity's final desperate squad.
One of the elite 500 who had raced with him toward the tower's summit, humanity's last hope.
Kim Insu had dropped out early in the tower—but.
That explains it.
Now the puzzle pieces fit.
Past memories flashed like a montage.
Floor 27 of the tower.
A vicious labyrinth ruled by blizzards and extreme cold.
There, they suffered irrecoverable losses.
The cause: Kim Insu.
—Ah, my bad! My side's breached!
—Sorry, Jeong-seok! Cooldown messed up!
Too critical for a mere mistake.
One "mistake" cost three comrades their lives.
Back then, he'd chalked it up to Insu's lack of skill or bad luck.
But.
It was deliberate.
The bastard trolled at crucial moments.
Sabotaging formations subtly, blocking retreat paths.
And during the Floor 27 boss raid.
At that pivotal moment, he vanished.
After the battle, amid the bloodbath, he never reappeared.
Declared missing.
Presumed dead.
No body found, but survival in that chaos seemed impossible.
But he lived.
No, he couldn't have died.
He was the owner of that floor.
He approached slowly.
Killing intent swirled like a storm within his armor.
"Who the hell are you? How do you know my name? That heat outside—you did that?"
Kim Insu furrowed his brow.
He stared straight into the man's eyes, answering with silence at first.
Then slowly spoke.
"You're Kalligo, aren't you?"
"...!!"
The reaction confirmed it.
Master of Floor 27, the Blizzard God Kalligo.
Kim Insu was Kalligo's avatar.
...Damn it.
He'd hoped it wasn't true.
Hoped at least they weren't.
The final squad.
Humanity's last hope.
Prayed no spies lurked among them.
But it was rotten from the start.
Kim Insu was an avatar.
Then the others? The Sword Emperor? The Great Sage?
No way to know.
We were doomed from the beginning.
He knew they couldn't win.
But they'd fought an unwinnable war from the outset.
Dancing in the enemy's palm.
Kim Insu spoke.
"Who the fuck are you?"
Clear panic in his voice.
"Fine, you know my avatar's name. But how do you know my true name? I never told anyone. Impossible."
His eyes narrowed.
"Which faction are you with?"
Faction.
Always with the factions.
Just like when he killed Kim Yuhwan, the low-tier Earthquake God Kartal.
They obsessed over cliques and affiliations.
Their hierarchy and order.
No need to answer.
He raised his left hand.
Hummm!
Crimson-black flames reignited.
Authority: 'Land Seething with Hellfire'.
Kwaaaah!
Explosive heat engulfed the lobby.
The ice chair vaporized instantly.
The marble floor melted into lava.
"...?!"
Kim Insu's eyes filled with shock.
He spewed cold desperately, but it was futile.
Sssizzle!
It erased on contact.
No—devoured.
His hellfire consumed the cold, expanding its domain.
"Th-this... domain overwrite?"
Kim Insu staggered back.
"Impossible! How can a mere avatar erase my domain?!"
He smirked.
"Thanks."
"...What?"
"Cleared up my mind."
He clenched his fist tight.
"I have to kill you all."
Kim Insu's face twisted.
He sensed the crisis.
Death loomed.
Instinct told him so.
"You bastard..."
He gnashed his teeth.
"Do you know how much I invested in this avatar? Can't let scum like you ruin it."
He glared, muttering.
"Not some ordinary punk. Fed it Nectar? Pumped it full of divinity?"
Misunderstanding.
No need to correct it.
Woooong!
Golden light flowed from Kim Insu's body.
Similar to his 'Descent'.
But different.
His was brilliant, pure gold.
This was murky, earthen yellow.
"Die!"
Kim Insu thrust his hand forward.
Kwaaang!
A massive ice spear formed.
A spear of absolute zero, infused with divinity, freezing even souls.
But.
Slow.
To his eyes, it seemed frozen in place.
Heavenly Demon armor's stat boost.
His physical abilities were already superhuman.
He didn't dodge.
Charged straight in.
Splatter!
Punched through the ice spear.
"Wh-what?!"
Kim Insu's eyes bulged.
Shards flew.
He pressed on, reaching for the throat.
Surge.
Distance closed in a flash.
"Guh...!"
An ice shield rose.
Kwajik!
It tore like paper.
Through the shards, he seized the collar.
Slammed him into the floor.
Thud!
"Kuhuk!"
Kim Insu vomited blood.
He mounted him.
Raised his right hand.
Golden runes spun wildly, glowing.
Weeeeng!
Time to devour.
"Y-you... that hand..."
Kim Insu paled at the sight.
He recognized it.
Not a mere attack skill.
A predator threatening his very existence.
"No! St-stay back!"
He thrashed.
But Heavenly Demon Qi crushed his limbs.
Indifferently, he pressed his palm to the face.
"Bon appétit, Kalligo."
"Aaaagh!"
A scream erupted.
Not mere pain.
"M-my power...! The link to my true body...!"
It sucked in.
Not just the avatar's mana.
Even the divinity of the true body on Asgard's Tower Floor 27.
Pulled out like slurping through a straw, root and all.
"Wh-what are you?! How can you devour divinity?!"
Kim Insu's face wrinkled rapidly.
Aging accelerated.
Life force draining.
"Stop! Please! Spare me! I'll give you anything!"
Begging.
Groveling for life.
True to the coward who betrayed and fled in his past life.
He smiled coldly.
"No."
Tightened his grip.
"Give it all and get lost."
Kwaaaah!
The golden vortex faded.
What was Kim Insu.
Kalligo's avatar.
Vanish without a trace.
Only gray ash scattered in the air.
Low-tier Blizzard God 'Kalligo'
Divinity absorbed.
Authority 'Extreme Blizzard' permanently acquired.
Satisfying.
Flame, earth, and now cold.
He now possessed all three primal elements of natural disasters.
Perfect.
Then.
System messages flooded his vision one after another.
Mana density in the area has exceeded critical threshold.
Regional Episode 2, 'Frozen Daegu' begins.
Episode 2.
Normally, this would be the real start.
Kalligo's ice legion occupying the city, people trembling in cold and fear, fighting for survival.
But.
Main Boss 'Kalligo' has been annihilated.
Regional Episode 2, 'Frozen Daegu' has ended.
It ended as soon as it started.
Or rather, before it truly began.
With the disaster's source gone, the outside world changed instantly.
He glanced out the window.
The raging blizzard stopped dead.
Ice soldiers and snowfield wolves patrolling the streets collapsed, melting into puddles.
Storm clouds parted, bright summer sun shining once more.
The city reverted from winter to summer in seconds.
The system seemed flustered, a brief silence falling.
Then, with blaring alarms, it spat out messages.
Measuring clear time...
Measurement impossible.
Elapsed time: 0.00 seconds
Contribution calculation impossible.
System error.
The obvious outcome.
Like submitting the answer sheet before the exam started—no basis for grading.
But the system was absolute.
Error or not, rewards for the result were mandatory.
Irregular clear, but result is clear.
System grants #1 ranking by authority.
An impossible record has been set.
110! Hidden reward granted!
◈ Reward (2): 'Shattered Golden Rule Fragment x10'
Hidden rewards.
Straying from the beaten path, doing what others can't—that's how the real loot drops.
Even 10 Golden Rule fragments to boot.
His lips curved up.
The messages didn't end there.
Register your name in the Hall of Fame?
Hall of Fame.
It had appeared after Episode 1, Kartal too.
But he'd held off registering.
Simple reason.
Right after logging back in, I didn't know shit.
Tutorial hit right after realizing he'd regressed.
Hedged against worst-case by not listing his name.
But now was different.
Just as 'Rag' made his name in Asgard.
'Kim Jeong-seok' needed renown on Earth.
So that.
The gods' avatars would tread carefully around me.
Some would compete.
Others approach.
But none would rush recklessly.
They'd see him as a supreme god.
Plus, more reasons to join the Hall of Fame.
Hall of Fame ranking rewards.
Extra perks for those listed.
Especially rank-based bonuses.
Pre-regression, it was avatars' playground.
"Register my name."
Now different.
He'd claim it all.
Please decide the name for Hall of Fame registration.
No need for his real name in the Hall.
Listing it brought wealth and fame.
But made you a target.
Especially 'irregulars' like him—prime prey for avatars.
The gap was too vast.
Too much exposure was dangerous.
They mustn't know who, where, or what he did.
Thus.
Subtly, yet grandly.
Quietly. Decisively.
A 400-point gap over #2.
An insurmountable difference.
Hall of Fame rank perks were essential for widening growth gaps ahead.
He nodded.
In the past, Yamamoto took #1.
Fighting Emperor Yamamoto.
One of the final 5 from the desperate squad who reached the end with him.
True to his title, he'd dominated battlefields with overwhelming violence from the start.
He desperately hoped this genius wasn't a god's avatar.
They started from different lines.
In raw combat power, I was the weakest of the final 5.
Among the last 5, his pure fighting strength ranked lowest.
Fighting Emperor Yamamoto vied for 1st or 2nd with Sword Emperor Aritolt.
Head-on? Certain loss.
In a battlefield he prepared, fully ready—maybe 5:5 odds...
But that scenario won't happen.
He chuckled.
What did hypotheticals matter?
They weren't idiots.
Won't fight nicely in his home turf.
...That moment.