Chapter 96 - Episode 13. Catastrophe (10)
Chapter 96: Episode 13. Catastrophe (10)
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The True Body of the Sole King, Catastrophe, descended.
The descent of an ancient god who had slept for hundreds of thousands of years drew the attention not only of the Lords of the 《Great Realm》, but also of the gods dwelling in the 《Abyss》. The tremor that shook the entire Trunk of the 《Tree of Illusion》 alerted them all to something ominous.
Through the 《Little Brother》 network, the Lords and gods freely speculated about the presence they had sensed.
"...It is the aura of one of the Three Ancient Gods."
"Catastrophe has appeared? How?"
"Could the seal have been broken?"
Their questions differed, but they all led to the same conclusion.
The descent of the Sole King's True Body was an event great enough to shake the entire 《Tree of Illusion》.
"《Chaos》, is it?"
Among those watching the lower reaches of the 《Tree of Illusion》 alongside the gods of the 《Abyss》 was a man.
Like countless other gods, he possessed divinity. Dressed in a pure white coat, with an armband on his shoulder resembling a black scar, he was feared not only by the Lords of the 《Great Realm》, but even by the gods of the 《Abyss》.
Those personally acquainted with him, or those belonging to the organization he led, called him the Rupture Master. The Lords who feared him called him the Lord Hunter.
"Is that where Seolha is?"
The master of 「Rupture」, the largest and most notorious terrorist organization in the 《Great Realm》, looked curiously toward the bottom of the Trunk before turning away.
* * *
At the moment the Sole King Catastrophe descended, the five Generals each reacted differently.
Dragon Leg Lord Serim, the youngest of the Generals, looked bewildered.
Samyeong Hun had warned Serim beforehand. If the worst came to pass, they might encounter the Sole King Catastrophe.
Catastrophe, one of the Three Ancient Gods Serim had only heard of.
Yet now that Serim saw Catastrophe in person, the Sole King did not seem all that impressive. Serim could certainly feel an extraordinary power, but not enough to make Serim cower in fear.
"Doesn't that look manageable?"
The moment Serim looked around, though, that assessment changed.
Black Cloud Lord Mikata, standing nearby, was trembling as if having a seizure. Mikata seemed unable even to stand, kneeling on all fours.
"Lord Mikata?"
Foam bubbled from Mikata's mouth. Mikata was no longer in any condition to hold a normal conversation.
[Even the Generals have declined greatly. Then again, how could a mere insect sense a god?]
"What?"
A powerful Spiritual Pressure erupted from Serim's body.
"No. Stop!"
Blade Wind Lord Samyeong Yuha stopped him.
"Can't you see it?"
Her entire body trembled as she barely resisted her fear. Even after hearing her words, Serim still looked confused.
"What do you mean..."
An eerie laugh came from Jaehwan's mouth.
[You seated someone who has not even crossed the twelfth Adaptation Stage among the Generals. How pathetic.]
Among the five Generals, Dragon Leg Lord Serim alone remained at the boundary between the eleventh and twelfth adaptations. That was why Serim could not properly see the Sole King's true nature.
Just as Jaehwan had been unable to properly see the Sole King's True Body.
[There is one quick-witted one.]
The Sole King Catastrophe examined the Generals one by one with interest. At last, Catastrophe's gaze settled on Poison King Lord Nokmyeong Chundo.
Nokmyeong Chundo was already more than a kilometer away from the expedition force and Catastrophe.
Nokmyeong Chundo looked back and thought,
I will die. If I face that thing, I will vanish without a trace.
For the first time, Nokmyeong Chundo regretted coming here. Had he known this would happen, he would never have left the Great Family.
There were a hundred Lords here, along with five Generals. What use was any of that?
No being could resist a calamity.
Catastrophe's lips curled upward.
[Nokmyeong. I see. You are the ones who analyzed my world and made those things called Soulstones.]
At those words, a shadow appeared behind Catastrophe. It distorted space and time as it stretched out an enormous hand.
Whoosh!
In that brief instant, Nokmyeong Chundo, who had fled several kilometers away, was seized by the shadow's hand and dragged back.
"Argh!"
A moment later, Nokmyeong Chundo appeared through warped space with both arms crushed. Nokmyeong Chundo twisted on the ground like a ruptured grub.
"Ugh... Urgh... Blegh!"
Every Lord there froze.
Poison King Lord Nokmyeong Chundo, the third-ranking figure of the Nokmyeong Great Family.
Nokmyeong Chundo was known to be a thirteenth Adapter. Yet such a Lord had been reduced to that state in an instant.
Almost simultaneously, the one hundred Lords looked in the same direction.
A Lord had appeared beside Catastrophe where the barrier had shattered. Their only hope was there.
The strategist who had led a hundred Lords into 《Chaos》, and the strongest of the five Generals.
Then they saw it.
Their hope was steeped in despair.
Samyeong Hun, Darkness's strategist, stood there with his left eye ruptured and his right leg half-crippled. Looking up at Catastrophe with his sole remaining eye, Samyeong Hun no longer even had the strength to tremble.
Samyeong Hun had thought he knew enough about the Sole King Catastrophe.
He had even read every record of Catastrophe preserved in the 《Akashic Records》, the archive of the 《Great Realm》.
"How... Your power was supposed to have been sealed by the Great Lords of the twelve zones..."
The Akashic Records had said that the Great Lords of the twelve zones had sealed the Sole King in the past.
As a result, the Sole King Catastrophe had supposedly never been able to leave the Strange Factory.
Jaehwan slowly turned to look at Samyeong Hun.
The outward appearance was Jaehwan's, but what filled it was not Jaehwan. As a thirteenth Adapter, Samyeong Hun could feel Catastrophe's power simply by meeting those eyes.
Then something like laughter echoed from somewhere.
[...The Great Lords of the twelve zones?]
It was as if Catastrophe had read Samyeong Hun's mind.
[Those fools sealed me?]
The laughter seemed to have read Samyeong Hun's fear instead.
Living history broke into thunderous laughter. The wilderness shook, and the sky boomed.
The world itself was laughing at Samyeong Hun.
Sweat poured from every pore of Samyeong Hun's body. It felt as though his soul was melting.
Only then did Samyeong Hun realize something.
The Akashic Records had lied.
The Great Lords of the past, who had only been around the current Generals' level, could never have sealed the being before him. The Akashic Records were a fabricated history, invented by the Lords of the past to preserve their honor.
As though confirming that suspicion, Catastrophe spoke.
[Those fools did nothing. They were too busy running away.]
Seeing that lofty bearing, Samyeong Hun felt all strength drain from his body.
Could Darkness face Catastrophe if Darkness came personally?
The Great Lords of the past and those of the present were on entirely different levels. Even so, Samyeong Hun was not certain.
A god powerful enough to subdue a thirteenth Adapter in a single move. Even if all five Generals and all one hundred Lords attacked together, they could not be certain of victory.
Samyeong Hun slowly took a deep breath.
Fortunately, Catastrophe's intentions were still unknown. Their best solution was to somehow get through this situation peacefully.
Samyeong Hun belatedly bowed and asked Catastrophe, "Sole King. We have no intention of opposing you."
[Is that so?]
Catastrophe smiled as though Samyeong Hun's unexpectedly calm response amused him.
Samyeong Hun continued, "We only want the Product you are possessing."
[This one? Then that is unfortunate. I cannot grant that request.]
"Were you not meant to refrain from involving yourself in matters of 《Chaos》? You made such a promise to Big Brother..."
[Never say that name before me again.]
Samyeong Hun flinched from head to toe at the icy voice.
I see. Big Brother.
It seemed Big Brother, not the Great Lords, had sealed the Sole King Catastrophe hundreds of thousands of years ago.
That made sense. If Big Brother was the symbol of the System, it was not strange that Big Brother could subdue the Sole King. Even Samyeong Hun, who had lived for five thousand years, did not know exactly what Big Brother was, or whether Big Brother was even an existence at all.
Samyeong Hun quickly shook his head and continued.
"My apologies. In any case, I understand that you do not keep a Vicegerent because of that."
Not keeping a Vicegerent.
That was the rule the sealed Catastrophe had promised 《Big Brother》 to follow.
Catastrophe gave a short laugh.
[This one is not my Vicegerent.]
"What?"
How could Jaehwan borrow such power without being a Vicegerent?
No, perhaps...
[This one said that even in death, he would not give up his own ‘world.’]
Every Vicegerent had to accept a god's Worldview. Yet that Product had rejected it.
"Then the Sole King's descent is..."
[We made a ‘contract.’]
"A contract..."
[You do not need to know the details. What is certain, though...]
Catastrophe's lips twisted into a wicked smile.
[...is that every one of you will die here.]
At those words, earthquakes began throughout 《Chaos》.
Sandstorms swept in from the eastern desert zone, and massive waves surged in from the Great Sea Zone to the south. Landslides struck in the northern forest zone, while Deadmans ran rampant across the western plains zone.
Samyeong Hun clenched his teeth hard enough to crush them.
"May I take that to mean you have broken your promise with Big Brother?"
Anger filled Catastrophe's eyes.
What a bold fool.
A mere insect of the System dared to threaten Catastrophe by invoking 《Big Brother》?
Even so, a promise was a promise. Catastrophe had an obligation to answer.
[I have not broken my promise.]
"What does that..."
[This is my power, but not my will.]
Rumble!
At the same time, the world began moving toward the Lords.
Samyeong Hun understood Catastrophe's words a moment too late. In the end, it meant this disaster was not caused by Catastrophe, but by Jaehwan's will, the one who had summoned Catastrophe.
"That is a contradiction. That is..."
Samyeong Hun bit his lip and gathered World Force.
The conversation had failed, but it had not been for nothing. During that brief exchange, Samyeong Hun had determined that Jaehwan's body was in an extremely unstable state.
Samyeong Hun recalled one of Catastrophe's powers.
Descent of the Deadman.
It was the Sole King Catastrophe's power to descend by linking to an infected soul.
It was an incomplete descent, so it could not last long.
At most, the descent would last only a few minutes. A human soul was too small a vessel to contain the Sole King.
[Gather together.]
Samyeong Hun quickly sent a Push to the scattered Generals.
[We only need to endure for a moment. Then we can win.]
Collapsing landslides. Raging storms. Floodwaters crashing down. Deadmans charging at them.
The Lords' faces stiffened as they watched nature itself rush toward them.
Each was a warrior worth hundreds, even thousands. They were invincible Lords said to split mountains and part seas.
But those were only figures of speech. How many of them had truly split a mountain or parted the sea?
They now faced nature itself.
"Aaaaargh!"
The Lords' death cries vanished beneath the waves.
World Force that no one dared oppose.
Catastrophe stood proudly at its center and flicked a hand like the conductor of a grand orchestra. A death requiem played by the world. Whenever one phrase of a movement ended, the Lords' screams followed like a chorus.
Samyeong Hun shouted with all his strength.
"Endure somehow!"
His voice broke miserably beneath the waves' assault.
"Ten minutes! No, if we can hold out for five minutes, we win!"
At that moment, the body of Dragon Leg Lord Serim, who had been charging straight at Catastrophe, exploded.
It took only one strike.
The Dragon Legs Serim had prized so highly were torn off and sent flying through the air, as easily as a child pulling a grasshopper's leg.
Then Black Cloud Lord Mikata, surrounded by Black Cloud, let out a shriek and charged Catastrophe.
Mikata was wrapped head to toe in Black Cloud.
Just as Mikata's specialty, Thunderbolt Strike, was about to unfold...
Pshhk.
Silver blood sprayed from the clouds. Along with the Black Cloud Mikata had been so proud of, Mikata's body was crushed and sent down the path to soul extinction.
Blade Wind Lord Samyeong Yuha met the same fate.
She charged Catastrophe with the maximum amount of World Force poured into 「Blade Wind」, her greatest skill.
As the Samyeong Great Family's strongest swordswoman, her swordsmanship was extraordinary. She blocked the approaching landslides, endured the incoming sandstorms, and overcame the surging floods of the Great Sea Zone.
After overcoming all of it, with only three final steps left before reaching Catastrophe, she turned to silver dust and vanished.
Nokmyeong Chundo died last.
Having already lost both arms, Nokmyeong Chundo opened his mouth to release insects.
The poisonous insects the Nokmyeong Great Family took pride in. Each carried an extreme poison, so even one of them escaping could turn the battlefield upside down. The insects alone could not harm the Sole King, but Jaehwan, who served as Catastrophe's vessel, might have been a different matter.
Before Nokmyeong Chundo could fully release the Nokmyeong Great Family's insects, a transparent sword pierced Nokmyeong Chundo's stomach.
[Where do you think you are bringing out something so filthy?]
The Void Sword.
The Sole King's signature weapon, the supreme divine sword that annihilates all living beings, revealed itself.
Screeeech!
The Void Sword was a sword that controlled time.
Nokmyeong Chundo's soul, pierced by its point, rapidly became contaminated, then began to swell uncontrollably.
Mutation.
In an instant, Nokmyeong Chundo's soul became a Deadman, a faithful servant obedient to Catastrophe's words.
Yet Catastrophe only glanced at Nokmyeong Chundo as if disgusted, then turned away.
[Explode.]
Nokmyeong Chundo burst apart like a bloated earthworm. Silver scattered from Nokmyeong Chundo's body splashed directly across Samyeong Hun's face behind him.
Amid the cascading spectacle of silver, Samyeong Hun could not come to his senses.
Screams came from every direction. It was a scene of utter chaos unlike anything found anywhere in the 《Great Realm》. Even the composed Samyeong Hun lost his calm for a moment.
With a terrible ringing in his ears, Samyeong Hun clutched his head and collapsed.
Breathing. Screams. The clash of weapons.
What... was this?
What had happened?
So much blood had flowed that the entire world was filled with silver. Then, after some time passed, the silver drifting around began to settle.
Splash.
The screams that had filled the air also died down.
Samyeong Hun came to his senses. His five senses gradually returned, but he could not feel a single living being nearby.
Not the powerful Generals. Not the valiant Warlords.
...Ah.
Silver splashed with every sound of footsteps.
Someone was approaching Samyeong Hun.
Exactly five minutes had passed before every Lord lost their life. In those five minutes, one hundred Lords had been exterminated like insects.
It was truly a sight worthy of being called a Lord Massacre.
Yes. You won.
At the center of that tragedy, Black Shadow Lord Samyeong Hun looked at the god of calamity approaching him.
But not everything will go as you wish.
Footnotes:
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