Chapter 117 - Episode 17. 500 Years of Destruction (4)
Chapter 117: Episode 17. 500 Years of Destruction (4)
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After the battle ended, the village’s Followers carried the tattered Harvester into a warehouse. Having lost all his World Force and suffered a half-shattered soul form, he was hovering on the brink of death. Judging by the severity of his injuries, even his link to a god appeared to have been severed.
Even so, he was barely alive.
As Hans tightly bound the Harvester’s soul form to a warehouse pillar, he said to Jaehwan, “Andersen-nim was never one to easily cause soul extinction, no matter how vile the enemy was.”
“You will not finish him yourself?”
“We cannot carelessly kill an Alliance Harvester. It is not something we can handle...”
After securely binding the Harvester’s limbs, Hans wiped the sweat from his brow and muttered, “When ‘that person’ arrives, they will probably deal with him personally.”
That person?
[I am sorry, but I will be asleep for about a day now.]
Andersen’s voice came at just the right moment. Her tone was weak and unsteady, as though she were barely holding back an overwhelming wave of sleepiness.
[I overdid it. Singing up to the second verse was not something I could do in my current state.]
The second verse. She must have meant that strange song.
Her World Force had increased explosively with every verse. That song was likely Andersen’s primary Setting.
[I will rest for a little while. I will explain many things later, so please do not do anything strange while I am gone...]
Who did she think was the troublemaker?
Andersen’s presence vanished completely, and Jaehwan followed Hans to the lodging. It was still late at night, and they would likely have to stay in the village for several days anyway. People curious about Jaehwan lingered nearby, but Hans rolled up his sleeves and shooed them away.
“Jaehwan-nim is tired as well, so everyone should go inside for now. There will be time tomorrow.”
As the disappointed villagers turned away, Jaehwan briefly activated 「Doubt」 and scanned them. He was looking for the being who had blocked his Stab.
Yet even after widening his senses, he could not detect any enemy capable of threatening him.
“It is shabby, but please rest here tonight.”
Hans gave Jaehwan and Runald a small room with basic furnishings, then withdrew with his usual easygoing smile. Despite the village’s rundown exterior, the room itself was fairly decent. A soft mattress lay on the bed, and a small candle-shaped reading lamp sat on the bedside table.
Come to think of it, the village had a strange atmosphere. The streetlamps lighting the village were one thing, but although its appearance was clearly medieval, unfamiliar technology seemed mixed into every part of it.
Runald bounced on the bed, saying it felt like staying at a luxurious inn, then quickly fell asleep. Jaehwan gently pushed the sleeping Runald into a corner before lying down.
Perhaps it was because he was finally resting somewhere decent. Or perhaps it was because he had glimpsed Andersen’s memories today.
Jaehwan found himself thinking of his early days climbing the 《Tower of Nightmares》.
The first day in the 《Tower of Nightmares》, when he had succeeded in hunting a monster for the first time, sold its hide, and fallen asleep in an inn room. Those days when every day had been a struggle to survive. Memories that no longer came easily.
What had he been like back then?
“Jaehwan, are you doing that again? How many hours has it been now?”
“Jaehwan-gun, could you not take a break now and then?”
“Jaehwan, you are really diligent.”
With every blink, his Companions’ voices rang out like auditory hallucinations. Jaehwan recalled the routine he had repeated every day back then.
Tomorrow morning, he should try doing Stabs like he used to.
With that thought, Jaehwan quietly closed his eyes.
Somewhere in the distance, a crow cawed.
* * *
Jaehwan woke early the next morning and went out to Hans’s backyard. He lightly removed his top, loosened up, then picked up Dokbul. With a sensation that calmed his mind, he stabbed into empty air in a precise stance.
Stabbing, then stabbing again.
As he repeated the movement with all his focus, Jaehwan used 「Doubt」 on his Stab for the first time in a long while.
This Stab was no longer a simple technique. It had become his Setting.
“Jaehwan-nim, could I learn it too?”
When Jaehwan turned, Runald was standing there with his hands lightly clasped together.
Urgency and anxiety colored his voice. Jaehwan had little difficulty understanding the feelings of his only Follower.
Runald believed he was weak.
He must have felt it keenly while fighting the other Followers on the first floor of this tower. At this rate, he would only become a burden on the journey ahead.
Jaehwan looked down at Dokbul’s scarred scabbard.
His Stab had been forged through thousands of years.
He did not know how much Runald could learn if he taught him now, but it would still be better than not teaching him. Every Stab began with the first stab.
Keeping his stance, Jaehwan lightly wrapped his hand around Dokbul’s hilt. Slowly and precisely, using every muscle in his body evenly.
Jaehwan stabbed with his sword.
Though he put no force into it at all, the dead grass in the village yard flattened violently. Severed blades of grass spun sharply through the air, and a few brushed Runald’s cheek.
Runald stared blankly at the Stab as if moved by it, then tears suddenly rolled down his face.
“Uh... I am sorry. Why, why am I crying?”
It was only a Stab.
“Can you do it?”
“I will try. I really want to do it too.”
Runald quickly composed himself, awkwardly gripped a wooden sword lying in the backyard, and began practicing in the air. Once, twice. Jaehwan gradually corrected his posture.
Runald’s Stabs stretched forward clumsily.
Jaehwan knew it would take a very long time.
By the time this boy’s Stab was complete, Jaehwan might no longer be Runald’s god.
“Haaah!”
The movement looked simple on the surface, but the years spent honing it had never been simple. Time spent stabbing and stabbing again for a perfect straight line.
This Stab was a technique that could only be tempered through such a history.
“May I try it too?”
Hans poked his head out. He had apparently been watching their training for some time.
Hans was not alone.
“I-I want to try too.”
Christian timidly stepped forward, belly protruding slightly. Along with him, villagers with curious eyes came pouring in from somewhere.
“Is this a Setting that is popular in the Abyss these days?”
“I used to wield a sword myself...”
Everyone seemed excited. Holding broken branches or scraps of wood, the villagers stood awkwardly and began imitating Runald.
As if that Stab had become some kind of ritual to them.
“I am sorry. Everyone tends to make a fuss. Even this is an event in this village.”
When Jaehwan turned, the red-haired woman was covering her mouth as she smiled. One of her eyes was covered with something like an eyepatch, and there was something familiar about her.
“Thank you for saving us yesterday.”
Looking more closely, she was one of the villagers he had seen yesterday.
Her name was...
“My name is Marianne. I was Andersen-nim’s fourth Apostle.”
While they exchanged brief greetings, the villagers practicing Stabs began heading off somewhere one by one.
“Oh, it is already time. Everyone, let us go.”
Jaehwan asked, “Where is everyone going?”
“Today is the temple festival day. If you have time...”
Just as Jaehwan was about to say it sounded troublesome, Marianne continued.
“All the Followers you met yesterday want to see you.”
“Me?”
“Yes. Because you are Andersen-nim’s new Vicegerent.”
He felt bad about disappointing them, but he still had to say it.
“I am not that girl’s Vicegerent. It is true that she is inside me, though.”
“Ah.”
Marianne covered her slightly parted lips.
“I see. I thought that might be the case.”
“I was not trying to deceive you.”
“That is all right. The fact that Andersen-nim came here with you is already a great gift to the people of this village. With that in mind... may I invite you once more?”
After she put it that way, he could not exactly refuse. If Yoonhwan or Seoyul saw this, they would tease him again for being “Jaehwan who cannot say no.”
Was it because the Metaverse was also a 《Tower of Nightmares》? Old memories had been surfacing especially often lately.
“All right.”
As Jaehwan walked through the village with Marianne and Runald, he closely examined the village structures. The streetlamps and utility poles he had seen yesterday caught his eye again. No matter how he looked at them, they did not fit a medieval Worldview.
“This village’s Worldview is unusual.”
“It is, somewhat.”
Marianne smiled and added, “Andersen-nim was an unusual god. She was a god, but she had a human side. She called her fellow gods ‘friends.’”
Friends.
“The person who created our village was also one of those ‘friends.’”
Jaehwan silently studied Marianne’s face. He had heard that Followers who lost their god all became Lost Ones and went mad.
“You said you were Andersen’s Followers.”
“Yes.”
“Now that Andersen has returned, will you become Andersen’s Followers again?”
Marianne’s body suddenly stopped.
When Jaehwan looked ahead, the temple was already before them. It was built in a style that blended the medieval and modern eras. At its front stood a familiar statue of a young girl. It closely resembled the Andersen he had seen in the Unique World.
“We would like to, but it is impossible.”
“Why?”
“We are no longer in a state where we can become anyone’s Followers.”
Before Jaehwan could ask further, Marianne bowed respectfully and entered the temple first. Jaehwan dusted off his shoes and followed her inside.
More statues lined the passageway leading from the entrance.
“In honor of the four gods who joined the Revolution Five Hundred Years Ago.”
Jaehwan examined each statue.
“God of Definition ‘Justice’ and their Vicegerent ‘Illium.’”
“God of Yesterday ‘Arteina’ and their Vicegerent ‘Yuben.’”
The final statue was damaged, with only its legs remaining. There was no Vicegerent’s name, only the god’s.
“God Without a Vicegerent ‘Ethan Cart.’”
Jaehwan and Runald stopped for a moment and looked at the statue.
“There are gods without Vicegerents?”
“I heard about one long ago. They said there was a god in the Metaverse who did not have a Vicegerent... But I did not know that god was one of Andersen-nim’s fellow gods.”
Runald moved his lips several times, looking overwhelmed.
“It does not feel real. Andersen-nim was such an amazing god. That cannot be right.”
“Andersen never told you anything?”
“No. She always avoided talking about what happened five hundred years ago.”
The villagers who had arrived first were sitting in order inside the prayer hall. They wore almost nothing but underwear or thin robes, practically naked.
Nobody explained it, but Jaehwan understood what it meant.
Andersen’s Worldview was 「Naked」.
Then it was not strange for them to be nearly naked.
Jaehwan pressed the undress button on his combat suit and removed his clothes.
Since it was 「Naked」 anyway, taking everything off should be fine. Andersen had always liked being naked too.
“Ah, you have arrived, Jaehwan-nim.”
As Jaehwan looked for a place to sit, Hans warmly greeted them.
“Um, Jaehwan-nim. But if you do that here...”
Hans glanced Jaehwan up and down and cleared his throat, looking extremely uncomfortable.
“Is this not where everyone takes everything off?”
“What? What do you mean...?”
“Andersen has the 「Naked」 Worldview.”
“Of course, having a ‘naked heart’ is truly important, but you do not need to actually take off all your clothes...”
“...”
“Of course, Andersen-nim did really enjoy taking her clothes off, but...”
Jaehwan decided he would kill her when she woke up, then took a seat.
He thought they might ask something of him because they had said everyone was waiting for him, but once he arrived, nobody spoke to him. Left alone, Jaehwan stared at the Followers in the prayer hall.
They all had their heads bowed, praying for something.
It was an unfamiliar atmosphere to Jaehwan.
“It has been a very long time since I came to a temple.”
Jaehwan turned to Runald. Come to think of it, where was Runald from?
“In my hometown, the nobles blocked us from entering.”
Vague memories flowed from Runald.
Being chased after stealing bread. Being pursued by nobles and having his life threatened after trying to protect his younger sister. Then being dragged into the 《Tower of Nightmares》 when it suddenly appeared.
“I kind of like that anyone can have their own god in the Abyss.”
Souls forced into situations they could not handle alone, no matter how hard they tried, might eventually have no choice but to rely on a god.
“Nothing will come of believing in me.”
“Believing is still important. It is comforting on its own.”
Then Runald began to pray. Even Jaehwan, a novice god, could faintly feel the pure faith in the boy’s heart.
「Please let me obtain the ‘Demon King of Salvation’ Skin.」
It would have been more moving if Jaehwan had not heard the content of the prayer.
Jaehwan slowly looked around at the other Followers.
Bearded Hans, gluttonous Christian, quiet Marianne. They were all praying for something. They said they were no longer Andersen’s Followers, so for whom and for what were they praying?
Without realizing it, Jaehwan activated 「Doubt」.
Then, the next moment.
「Save meSave meSave meSave meSave meSave meSave meSave meSave meSave meSave meSave meSave meSave meSave meSave meSave meSave meSave meSave meSave meSave meSave meSave meSave meSave me」
He heard their prayers.
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