Chapter 123 - Episode 18. God Without a Vicegerent (5)
Chapter 123: Episode 18. God Without a Vicegerent (5)
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“Graaah!”
Beris’s World Force billowed up, igniting as scorching flames gathered around his blade.
It was not as powerful as Ignis’s 「Crimson Flame Tribulation」, the Abyss Representative Setting, but his 「Crimson Flame Blade」 was still a formidable Setting within 〈Metaverse〉.
A 「Crimson Flame Blade」 filled with World Force to its limit could split a mid-grade god’s Vicegerent in two with a single blow.
Ten such blades rushed at Jaehwan simultaneously.
“Die, naked freak!”
Clang, clang.
Like someone throwing rings, the daggers Beris had hurled pierced into Jaehwan’s Dokbul.
“What the...”
Jaehwan’s expressionless face remained unchanged as he stabbed at Beris.
Beris was startled for a moment, then shouted with a smug look on his face.
“Useless! This is a Legendary Skin! Its defense is on a completely different level!”
Beris casually swept his coat aside to block Jaehwan’s attack.
“Gaaah!”
Beris staggered backward, silver light pouring from his pierced side.
How was this possible?
He could not understand it. New Legendary Skins always boasted the best performance among Skins of their era.
So why?
Beris quickly checked the Skin’s description.
[Its durability is extremely low. Exercise caution when equipping it.]
“You fucking bastards!”
Still, it was a Legendary Skin. There had to be some special effect.
[This Skin contains an embedded special Setting.]
“Just as I thought!”
+
Supplementary Setting: 「Salvation」
Description: ???
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Was the instruction manual defective?
Then another message appeared before Beris’s eyes.
[This Skin has one additional hidden Setting. Would you like to check it?]
“Oh, right! That makes sense!”
Beris leaped back and quickly checked the Setting.
+
Supplementary Setting: 「Growing Stronger Through Death」
Description: Each time you die while wearing this Skin, you grow stronger.
+
A Setting like that?
Even in 〈Metaverse〉, it was practically a cheat item.
If the description was accurate, he could become infinitely stronger by dying...
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* However, this Skin does not guarantee your resurrection. Resurrect yourself.
+
No, wait. Then...
“Time out! Wait! Guh!”
Beris shouted as silver light streamed from the wounds in his thigh and shoulder.
“Activate the Skin’s embedded Setting!”
At this point, he had no choice but to activate the other embedded Setting.
The mysterious Setting filled entirely with question marks.
Beris stretched out his hand toward Jaehwan and shouted.
“Salvation!”
Jaehwan’s body twitched briefly.
Beris’s face brightened.
As expected of a Legendary Skin. Had it worked?
Jaehwan stared at Beris for a moment, then began approaching again.
“Salvation! Salvation!”
Beris’s entire body was riddled with Stabs.
“Gaaah! Salvation! Gaaah!”
Watching from afar, Ethan clicked his tongue and muttered.
“The Alliance has fallen quite far.”
While Beris dealt with Jaehwan, the remaining Alliance members began closing in around Ethan. Ethan did not panic in the slightest, instead controlling his flock of crows to neutralize them. The Alliance members were overwhelmed in an instant and fell into the crater.
How many more had fallen?
[The ‘volcano’ has begun to stir.]
At last, a message appeared.
[Charge rate until the ‘volcano’ erupts: 54%.]
That was when a remarkable Vicegerent appeared.
While everyone else was helplessly overwhelmed by Ethan’s flock of crows, only one Vicegerent evaded them with light, nimble movements. More precisely, the flock seemed to slow noticeably whenever it came before him.
The Vicegerent greeted Ethan with a relaxed expression.
“Ethan, it has been a long time.”
“You.”
It was Jihan, the second-in-command of Alliance ‘Mogi’.
Ethan looked at Jihan’s face and spoke.
“I did not expect the Alliance to send you. Was this ‘Shining Spear’s’ order?”
“No. I came of my own accord. To settle the past.”
Ethan looked at Jihan with eyes steeped in the weight of long years.
Jihan, too, watched Ethan with strange emotions flickering in his eyes.
“You are still making Dolls these days.”
It almost sounded as though hallucinated voices echoed through the cawing of crows.
「“God, God! Let’s go over there this time!”」
「“Can gods and Followers truly become equals?”」
There had once been a time when Ethan had a Vicegerent too.
It was already more than five hundred years ago.
Ethan forced those memories away and answered.
“It seems the Alliance treats you quite well.”
“The Doll-making method I learned from you proved useful.”
“And your new god?”
“Highcircle is a concept god without a personality. Highcircle only supplies World Force. It is the perfect god for me.”
A concept god without a personality.
Ethan smiled bitterly.
It was a fitting god for Jihan, who had betrayed him and joined the Alliance.
“Seeing how weak you have become, I am glad I changed gods.”
At the same time, Ethan manifested his Worldview.
Sanctuary Manifestation.
「Graveyard of Crows」.
As Ethan’s world opened, the scenery around them began to change.
A sticky swamp. The cawing of crows coming from every direction.
Dolls wearing crow costumes emerged from the swamp and stared at Jihan.
“Your Sanctuary is unstable. It looks like the number of crows has decreased considerably too.”
“You still do not understand my Worldview.”
Perhaps because he had manifested the Sanctuary in haste, the wreckage of the ruined village floated atop the swamp. Among the debris were statues of heroes from five hundred years ago that had stood in the village shrine.
Jihan looked down at the inscription on one fragment of a statue.
Ethan Cart, God Without a Vicegerent.
Jihan smiled faintly.
“I understand it well enough. If you manifested your Sanctuary at full strength, there would be almost no god in the Metaverse capable of facing you.”
Jihan kicked the statue aside and continued.
“But no one would ever choose to face you head-on.”
Jihan took a cube from inside his clothes.
Beris’s booming shout rang out from the air.
“Hurry up! Damn it! I think this Skin might be defective!”
Beris, whose coat and clothes had been shredded by Jaehwan’s Stabs, was screaming.
Jaehwan’s attacks were growing increasingly fierce. World Force gathered around his black sword. Even at a glance, it was an alarming level of World Pressure.
Jihan nodded.
The cube opening and Ethan turning back to shout happened at the same time.
“Everyone, get away!”
The instant dazzling light burst from the cube, Jaehwan’s Stab ignited.
Yet the force of attraction coming from the cube swallowed Jaehwan’s Stab, then began pulling in Jaehwan himself.
Ethan reached out to save Jaehwan, only to be caught in the storm of attraction as well.
Runald screamed both their names until he was hoarse.
A moment later, when the storm of light vanished, Jaehwan and Ethan were nowhere to be seen.
Jihan let out a breath and tightly locked the cube. Beris, now in tatters, descended beside him.
“Damn it, it is a Legendary Skin, but its durability is like a paper doll’s! Ahem, how did the operation go?”
“It succeeded.”
“Keh. That Part really is as impressive as the rumors say.”
Jihan looked down at the cube in his hand.
This cube was called the ‘Time Cube’.
It was the Part they had used even when subduing Andersen five hundred years ago.
“They said it could even seal a Metaverse Six Gods-class being. It truly is impressive...”
Thud.
A powerful tremor rang out from inside the cube.
Thud. Thud.
Terrifying vibrations passed from within the cube to the outside, as though something heavy and blunt was striking its inner walls.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Perhaps it was only his imagination, but he thought he heard a cracking sound as well.
Beris’s expression changed as he asked.
“It can even seal one of the Metaverse Six Gods, right?”
“It can, but...”
That sealing stone was already shaking?
“It does not seem like it will last as long as expected. We should finish this quickly.”
Jihan looked at Runald and Andersen, who were slowly backing toward the crater.
Beris asked, “What will we do with that god, Andersen?”
“Neutralize Andersen and retrieve her. The Alliance’s high-grade gods will likely attempt God Devouring.”
God Devouring.
Beris smacked his lips and asked.
“What about the kid?”
“Kill him and turn him into a Doll.”
“Understood.”
Beris grinned as he approached them.
“You were going on earlier about how that Skin had gotten dirty, right?”
Beris threw off the ‘Demon King of Salvation’ Skin, then equipped a new Skin.
Legendary Skin, 「Delusional Demon Kim Namwoon」.
A knife granted by the Skin’s special effect appeared in Beris’s hand.
[The Dragon God ‘Droyan’ finds the new Skin interesting.]
[The God of Flames ‘Ignis’ points at them, calling them cowards.]
[The God of Flash ‘Rayray’ threatens to unsubscribe if they kill that kid.]
The gods’ messages echoed through the air.
Since when had the broadcast been on? He had definitely turned it off earlier because the response was poor.
Well, perhaps this was better.
“Groups of terrorists like this need to be dealt with early. Please subscribe, like, and turn on notifications. Here we go.”
―Runald, run.
Andersen fluttered her wings and stood before Runald.
Yet even Andersen could not fight the enemies while possessing nothing more than a crow Doll.
―Hurry! We only need to hold out a little longer. Parts like that do not last very long!
Andersen’s Moya Moya Crow Doll charged at Beris.
With a wet smack, Andersen was flung aside.
“Andersen-nim!”
There was nowhere to run.
They were inside a volcanic crater. Alliance members had already blocked the only exit.
Runald drew the sword at his waist. It was the sword Hans, the kind villager, had given him.
Beris laughed.
“Look at this. What could a kid possibly learn growing up in a terrorist group like this?”
Runald knew this might be the end for him.
His life had been short. Still, it had not been a bad life.
Was his god alive? Would this prayer reach his god?
He did not know.
Perhaps Runald’s prayer was as meaningless as the prayers of dead Dolls.
Jaehwan-nim.
That was why Runald did not know.
In this crater filled with enemies, there was one god who could hear his prayer.
With a soft whirring sound, a drone broadcast the scene.
It was Rene’s relay drone.
* * *
―[LIVE] Naked Stab in Grave Danger!
Rene’s live broadcast had already surpassed fifty thousand gods watching.
Rene, who was relaying the situation through the drone, made a fuss.
“Those cowardly bastards! How can they use a sealing stone? Right?”
[The God of Flames ‘Ignis’ agrees!]
[The God of Flash ‘Rayray’ points at the Alliance.]
[Many gods agree!]
“Still, that will not keep them sealed for over ten minutes. Parts like that have an incredibly short activation time.”
[Some gods curse at the Alliance.]
“More importantly, gods! Our adorable Runald is under attack!”
[The God of Flames ‘Ignis’ says they just started their car, but it will take at least half a day.]
[The God of Flash ‘Rayray’ says they want to go at the speed of light, but their Vicegerent is asleep right now.]
At least those replies were comparatively reasonable.
[The God of Mortality ‘Thanatos’ says that all beings die someday.]
[‘Anonymous God 94’ says to hurry past the boring part because they want to watch the fighting.]
[‘Anonymous God 88’ asks what the big deal is about one little kid dying.]
[Many gods agree with ‘Anonymous God 88’.]
“What do you mean, one little kid? Gods, please do not...”
[‘Anonymous God 94’ has left the broadcast.]
[‘Anonymous God 88’ has left the broadcast.]
...
Rene bit her lip tightly.
“Oh, really?”
This was the reality of 《Little Brother》.
On the surface, they went on about it being a public forum for gods challenging 〈Big Brother〉, a collective intelligence platform of the 《Abyss》 that could stand against the Seven Divine Thrones, but it was all empty talk...
Should she step in herself?
She intended to if necessary.
She had promised the Attendant not to intervene if possible, but she could not lose Jaehwan’s Allies here.
Rene had just jumped to her feet when...
[... asks where that place is.]
There was a god who could help them.
“Finally, someone is going to help! Ah, this place is...”
Rene began eagerly explaining, then stopped.
Wait. That god just now.
Rene flinched and checked the god’s ID again.
“Huh?”
It was not a god.
[‘SirwenTV’ asks where that place is.]
Footnotes:
Chapter discussion