Chapter 178 - Episode 24. Ancient God (3)
Chapter 178: Episode 24. Ancient God (3)
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After leaving the manor, Jaehwan headed straight into the busy part of the city.
“We are going to the blacksmith’s first.”
He had left Manri Shintong to handle the Followers waiting at the manor. Jaehwan had not ignored Karlton’s advice to build a force, but no matter how he thought about it, he had no desire to lead them and accomplish anything.
“It has been a while since it was just the three of us.”
Runald followed behind, humming as if he were in a good mood.
Jaehwan examined Runald’s World Force, which had grown noticeably steadier since they left 〈Metaverse〉. Even throughout the entire 《Abyss》, it would be rare for a soul to mature this much in such a short time.
At this rate, Runald might soon be able to handle the Vicegerent of an ordinary mid or high-grade god without much trouble.
“We will be able to keep traveling as the three of us, right?”
“Do not say things like that.”
“What? Why is that ominous?”
“Never mind.”
Andersen kept sighing, but she did not look particularly unhappy.
Advertisements listing the items up for auction were playing all along the road to Festival Street.
[Meet Master Craftsman ‘Bergel’s’ new product at the Grand Auction House!]
[‘Serengeti.’ We will restore your lost instincts.]
The weapons and armor were clearly made from high-grade materials.
Runald stared at the advertisement, then asked, “Are Parts made by dream demons really that good?”
“They are a little overpriced, honestly, but they are good. There is a reason luxury brands are luxury brands.”
“Have you used luxury goods too, Andersen-nim?”
“Of course. I used to be rich.”
Andersen seemed genuinely interested in the subject. She began listing the dream demon brands she knew.
“Every dream demon at Master Craftsman level or above has a brand of their own. Bergel, Liberty, Reinholtz, Serengeti... Even without the inflated prices, Parts made by dream demons of that caliber perform differently.”
Some of those brands sounded familiar.
“Do we really need to use things made by dream demons? Humans can make the same things, can’t they? For example... Jaehwan-nim can use [Processing] too, right?”
Judging by how Runald was estimating Jaehwan’s abilities, it seemed Runald now understood Awakening fairly well.
Jaehwan, who had been listening, spoke for the first time.
“I can use it, but I cannot do the same things dream demons do.”
No matter how much Awakened Ones defied the System, there was an inborn gap between dream demons and humans. If effort alone could solve everything, Meikal would not have suffered so much.
Andersen added to Jaehwan’s explanation.
“Dream demons are a species specialized in ‘imagination’ from birth. Anyone can make a Part, but products made by dream demons have a different level of detail.”
“Detail?”
“Those dream demon bastards all get obsessed with strange things. Concepts like freedom and eternity, emotions and desires, sometimes even species like humans or orcs. The details in their products change depending on what a dream demon is obsessed with. It is not something you can reproduce by copying them. Some things in this world can only be made by someone who is truly insane.”
By the time they finished talking, they had reached a plaza in the shopping district. Shops draped in colorful banners lined the main road stretching to the left.
Runald brightened.
“I think it is over there.”
Behind them stood the dome-shaped grand auction house. The road Manri Shintong had called Festival Street seemed to be this area.
“That checkpoint again.”
The problem was the checkpoint blocking the way to the auction house. It looked like they would have to pass through it again to enter the street.
“We do not have a Public Trust Certificate yet. Will that be all right?”
They needed at least five Followers to receive a Public Trust Certificate.
Of course, Jaehwan had not gained a single Follower throughout the long journey through 〈Metaverse〉.
“Why not take the people waiting at the manor as Followers?”
He would have done so in the past.
Yet Jaehwan had changed a great deal while passing through 〈Metaverse〉.
He would eventually destroy this world. Asking the people who would live in it to help him was absurd.
One insane god and one Follower were enough to follow him while knowing his goal.
Jaehwan walked straight up to the checkpoint attendant and showed his Public Trust Certificate.
‘What? Where did you get that?’
‘Manri Shintong made it for me.’
The attendant studied the certificate Jaehwan held out.
“Is this not fake?”
“It is not.”
“It is fake.”
Jaehwan conspicuously stroked Dokbul’s hilt before speaking again.
“It is not.”
The attendant stared at Jaehwan in disbelief.
“Who exactly are you...”
Jaehwan was considering whether it would be better to send the attendant flying when a man who seemed to be the checkpoint chief approached with a pale face.
“Are you perhaps ‘God Slayer Jaehwan-nim’?”
People all around them turned to look at him.
“God Slayer?”
“Could that be the ‘Metaverse Destroyer’?”
“The one who recently rose to the Eight Heavens...”
Rumors about Jaehwan had apparently spread throughout 〈Caspion〉 already. Eyes full of reverence and hostility alike gathered on him.
The checkpoint chief looked at Jaehwan with a face drained white.
“My apologies. Even if you are ‘Heaven Destroyer,’ rules are rules...”
“Heaven Destroyer?”
“D-Do you dislike that title?”
The checkpoint chief could not even meet Jaehwan’s eyes, as if he had no idea how the rumors had spread.
Then the crowd’s Pushes caught in Jaehwan’s 「Doubt」.
“Looks like the rumor about his awful temper was true. I heard he does not care about rules at all.”
Jaehwan quietly took his hand off Dokbul’s hilt.
“I heard he destroyed the Tower like that too. Apparently, he threw away the Task because he did not like it, broke through the ceiling, and climbed up.”
That part was true.
“Crazy. Is something like that even possible?”
“I heard he always strips naked when he fights too.”
That was true as well.
“He really is insane. Why would he take off his clothes?”
None of the rumors were wrong, so Jaehwan continued listening while touching Dokbul’s hilt.
“Wait. He is wearing clothes today?”
“That is why it is a problem.”
“Why?”
“Does that not mean he is even crazier than usual?”
As Jaehwan touched Dokbul’s hilt faster and faster, the checkpoint chief took five or six steps back with a shriek. The chief looked ready to sound an intrusion alarm across the entire auction house.
An unexpected voice saved the chief.
“They are my Allies. Let them through.”
Since when had the man been there?
A tall man stood before the checkpoint with a group at his side. Ash-gray hair fluttered over a pure white cape. His warm smile was so bright that the surroundings seemed to light up, and the checkpoint chief stared blankly for a moment.
The chief came to his senses only after noticing the small star emblem hanging from the man’s chest.
“Are you the ‘Star Chaser’?”
The crowd stirred again.
“Good heavens.”
“The Star Chaser!”
...
“The King of the Third World Federation.”
“...iad... Declan.”
Jaehwan narrowed his eyes. A strange sense of familiarity washed over him through the scattered Pushes.
He looked over the man’s Subordinates. Every one of them wore the same white cape, and a cold, impersonal hostility radiated from them.
Something else about the man was even stranger.
He was not like Russell of the Seven Stars, who displayed strength openly.
He was not like Shiyu, the God of Aging, who refined his power to an extreme degree.
Nor did he give Jaehwan the sense that his strength could not be measured accurately, like the Leader. He did not carry the Driver’s mysterious air either.
That was why it felt strange.
Every powerhouse had a way of revealing their existence.
Some revealed themselves by displaying their Combat Power, while others revealed themselves precisely by concealing their World Force.
Yet this man did not simply seem to be displaying or hiding his strength.
It was as if he was not here at all.
Only then did Jaehwan feel a little chilled.
The man had entered Jaehwan’s range and walked around as he pleased, yet Jaehwan could barely sense his presence.
In other words, if the man had decided to kill Jaehwan, he might have been able to do so at any time.
No, perhaps not.
It was not that Jaehwan felt nothing.
He expanded his senses and activated 「Doubt」 across the entire area, including the man. Then, a faint but unpleasant feeling caught in his senses.
Something small and quiet, like a butterfly’s fluttering wings or a mouse’s breathing, yet clearly present.
Perhaps noticing Jaehwan’s gaze, the man’s eyes gleamed with interest.
Still, he did not show displeasure or hostility. He simply smiled brightly once more.
The man asked the flustered checkpoint chief, “Is my name not on the attendee list?”
“N-No! We were already informed that you would be coming. But...”
The checkpoint chief looked back and forth between the man and Jaehwan in disbelief.
“You are traveling together?”
“That is right. I will vouch for their identities as well. Though I do not know why there is any need to vouch for them in the first place.”
The man laughed heartily, and the checkpoint chief scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.
The crowd was in an uproar because of the man’s words.
“The Star Chaser and the God Slayer are moving together?”
“Good heavens. What an incredible combination.”
“This auction will be worth watching.”
In the end, the checkpoint chief seemed to give up and opened the way.
“Understood. You may enter.”
The man had easily passed through a checkpoint that even Manri Shintong’s forged credentials could not overcome.
Jaehwan narrowed his eyes and examined the man’s face again.
Star Chaser.
It was an epithet that felt as if it should remind him of something.
Strangely, though, he could not recall any information about the man. Even 『Record of the Abyss』, which had always provided useful information whenever something unknown appeared, remained silent this time.
The strangest one was Andersen.
By now, Andersen should have been chattering in Jaehwan’s head about the man, yet she kept her beak tightly shut on his shoulder.
Jaehwan finally asked first.
‘Andersen.’
‘Hm?’
‘Who is that bastard?’
‘Who?’
She looked as though she had not noticed the man’s presence at all.
When Jaehwan pointed at the man with his chin, Andersen jumped in surprise.
“What? When did this bastard get here?”
Had she failed to notice because she was lost in thought?
Jaehwan briefly explained the situation, though he kept some doubt to himself. Andersen replied.
“The Star Chaser? I have heard of that title. He leads the Third World Federation and is fairly famous throughout the 《Abyss》. But that is him?”
Andersen groaned for a long time as if she were trying to pull up an old memory, but she could not offer any meaningful information.
It was strange. A powerhouse Andersen, who had lived for thousands of years, did not know well, yet one who surprised everyone around them.
Could someone like that exist?
Still, the man had helped him.
Jaehwan gave a simple word of thanks.
“Thanks.”
“Not at all. It is an honor to be able to help.”
“Do you know me?”
“Is there anyone in the present 《Abyss》 who does not know you? God Slayer. No, I suppose I should call you Heaven Destroyer now.”
“Heaven Destroyer?”
The man tilted his head, then smiled.
“Surely you do not know your own new epithet?”
Only then did Jaehwan remember what Manri Shintong had said. He had mentioned that people who loved gossip had given Jaehwan a new nickname.
“Two days ago, you became one of the Eight Heavens of the Abyss. ‘Heaven Destroyer’ is the epithet given to you for becoming the Abyss’s eighth Heaven.”
Heaven Destroyer.
It was a grand title.
“What is your name?”
“It is an unremarkable name, so I do not know whether you have heard it.”
The man was looking up at the sky, as if counting invisible stars beyond the clear blue expanse. When he looked back at Jaehwan, his eyes held the sky he had just been watching.
“My name is Maiad van Declan.”
The instant he heard the name, Jaehwan reflexively gripped Dokbul’s hilt.
Maiad van Declan.
He knew that name. He had even thought of it often.
A chill ran down his spine. He doubted how this could be possible.
No matter how hard he thought, he could not remember.
He could not understand it. Every link to the information surrounding that man’s name had been severed from Jaehwan’s memory.
“Is something wrong?”
Beyond that blank in his memories, the man smiled at Jaehwan.
Footnotes:
Chapter discussion